Overview
For over forty years much of the world was held captive by a conflict between two wholly incompatible economic ideologies-capitalism and communism-and the two primary superpower countries who practiced them, the United States and the Soviet Union. Written in accessible language for readers with little or no previous knowledge about the subject, this work is first a general history of the Cold War, with an overview of its root causes and the policies and theories that were in place from 1947 through 1990. A thoroughly annotated chronology of important Cold War events follows. Short biographies of some of the major United States political figures and world leaders conclude the work.Synopsis
For over forty years much of the world was held captive by a conflict between two wholly incompatible economic ideologies-capitalism and communism-and the two primary superpower countries who practiced them, the United States and the Soviet Union. Written in accessible language for readers with little or no previous knowledge about the subject, this work is first a general history of the Cold War, with an overview of its root causes and the policies and theories that were in place from 1947 through 1990. A thoroughly annotated chronology of important Cold War events follows. Short biographies of some of the major United States political figures and world leaders conclude the work.
Library Journal
One of several good Cold War reference books published in recent years, this very general yet useful compendium covers major superpower personalities, events, and chronologies that define the more salient and provocative issues of the Cold War era. The author admits to leaning toward a "liberal" political viewpoint, but his biographical entry on atomic spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg is a well-balanced account that evokes all too effectively the anti-Communist sentiment that was rampant throughout America during the darkest days of the superpower rivalry. Overall, the book is much better for finding basic information on Western leaders and personalities than on their East-bloc counterparts. Similar in content, scope, and level to The Encyclopedia of the Cold War (LJ 11/15/94), this cannot compete with the more substantial and authoritative The Cold War 1945-1991 (LJ 9/1/93), a three-volume set edited by Benjamin Frankel. Still, not a bad buy for public and academic libraries looking to beef up their reference collections regarding the history of the Cold War.-Stephen W. Green, Auraria Lib., Denver