The Cold War: A Post-Cold War History

by Ralph B Levering, John Hope Franklin (Editor), A S Eisenstadt (Editor)

By taking advantage of the recent opening of information from the former Soviet Union, China and Eastern Europe, Levering has injected fresh insight into his discussions of the origins of the Cold War, the Korean War, the Berlin crisis of 1958-1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the era of detente, and the "third dangerous phase" of the Cold War, between 1980 and 1984. He concludes with a thoughtful analysis of the startling developments taking place from 1985 to 1991 that abruptly ended the Cold War and saw the disintegration of the USSR. "An outstanding text for beginning students, one that distills a huge amount of scholarship into a concise, readable, and stimulating narrative. It will engage students and at the same time provide them with a sweeping overview of the Cold War years."--Charles E. Neu, Brown University

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction, American History

217 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Clif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ralph Levering has written a clear account of the standoff between the US and the USSR in the period between the end of World War 2 and 1987. If only he had waited two more years, he would have been able to include the end of the USSR, which came as a surprise to everyone in the West. There is no hint of that event in this book, though Levering speculates that the competition between the two most powerful countries would decrease as other countries would grow in importance.

Since I was born in 1950, much of the material in this book is familiar from having lived through it. It was clear to me that on the US side there were hawks always calling for more weapons and for standing up to the Russians, a view that prevailed except for some relaxation of tension during the Nixon/Kissinger years. The American people were kept in a constant state of fear throughout, so severe in the 50's that President Eisenhower felt it necessary to address Americans on TV to try to ease it (not mentioned in the book). Hundreds of thousands of people died in proxy wars, in the case of Vietnam alone, over 2 million, as the US and USSR maneuvered to gain advantage.

With the exception of early failures in the development of long range missiles, the US was never at a disadvantage or behind the Soviet Union in any technology, though the launch of Sputnik in 1957 was easily used as a scare. The Soviet Army was undeniably huge in comparison to what NATO deployed, but the presence of nuclear weapons on both sides made it unthinkable for either side to launch a war, though in the Reagan years there was foolish, frightening talk of "nuclear war fighting capability".

The principle effect of the Cold War was to prompt the spending of incredible amounts of money on one weapon system after another, each lasting for a few years before being made obsolete by a new generation of weapons. In missiles, the US had Nike, Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, Polaris, Poseidon, Trident and ultimately the canceled MX. The most outstanding example of cost-no-object was the Carter proposal to shuttle MX missiles around on railroad tracks between multiple shelters, literally a shell game, forcing the Russians to guess where the missiles were in vast areas of Nevada. This would, of course, invite the Russians to build even more missiles. Fortunately, it never got off the drawing board.

Though the Cuban missile crisis is adequately covered, there is no mention that at the time neither side had more than a handful of ICBM's capable of reaching the other over the pole, though of course even one successful hit on a target would have brought chaos.

The attempts to reach agreement on limiting and scaling back nuclear weapons is recounted, though as we know, thousands still sit ready to launch by both the US and Russia. Today, President Obama calls for a major overhaul and renovation of the US nuclear force. Nobody is talking about any reductions. For the most part, the public has forgotten about nuclear weapons but I am very concerned that eventually there will be either an accidental detonation or one done for the purpose of terror. In the panic that would follow all-out nuclear war could result.

With the Internet available, a book like The Cold War isn't needed on anyone's bookshelf as it is primarily a reference that, being from 1987, is quite out of date. Nevertheless I found it a very good refresher about a time that I am grateful we came though, though so many in the "third world" did not.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short ( 192 pgs.) study of the Cold War, part of The American History Series. I think I already knew most of the info about the Cold War but it was useful to look at the whole period from 1941 to 1991. I grew up during the Cold War and remember as a kid fearing that the world would be destroyed in World War III. That's the most amazing thing about the Cold War: it did not result in hot war between the USA and the USSR. And the ending of the Cold War with the collapse of the Soviet Union was not predicted by anyone.
Gorbachev met Bush (I) on Malta in 1989 and said, "We stated, both of us, that the world leaves one epoch of Cold War and enters another epoch. This is just the beginning ... of our long-lasting peaceful period." Sadly, the "peaceful period of history" was to end with the rise of Putin. We are now in Cold War II...
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

[Dermot Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rather short book given the scope of the cold war. But it is well written and is ideal for anyone starting a study of the cold war. Its biggest flaw is the fact that it's a US-centric work. Tho it's not overbearing in any sense. It's biggest strength is that every chapter is uniquely thematic and each comes with a bibliography specific to the chapter in question. This should be recommended to any student beginning a study of the cold war or to educated general readers who may want to delve more into the topic.

[Courtney Lindwall · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as assigned historical reading goes, I wasn't gripping the edge of my seat, but I was interested and enlightened. And for that, 3 stars Mr. Levering.

Also, mid 20th century was some crazy shit....