The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War

by H.W. Brands

In the late 1950s, Washington was driven by its fear of communist subversion: it saw the hand of Kremlin behind developments at home and across the globe. The FBI was obsessed with the threat posed by American communist party--yet party membership had sunk so low, writes H.W. Brands, that it could have fit "inside a high-school gymnasium," and it was so heavily infiltrated that J. Edgar Hoover actually contemplated using his informers as a voting bloc to take over the party. Abroad, the preoccupation with communism drove the White House to help overthrow democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Iran, and replace them with dictatorships. But by then the Cold War had long since blinded Americans to the ironies of their battle against communism.
In The Devil We Knew , Brands provides a witty, perceptive history of the American experience of the Cold War, from Truman's creation of the CIA to Ronald Reagan's creation of SDI. Brands has written a number of highly regarded works on America in the twentieth century; here he puts his experience to work in a volume of impeccable scholarship and exceptional verve. He turns a critical eye to the strategic conceptions (and misconceptions) that led a once-isolationist nation to pursue the war against communism to the most remote places on Earth. By the time Eisenhower left office, the United States was fighting communism by backing dictators from Iran to South Vietnam, from Latin America to the Middle East--while engaging in covert operations the world over. Brands offers no apologies for communist behavior, but he deftly illustrates the strained thinking that led Washington to commit gravely disproportionate resources (including tens of thousands of lives in Korea and Vietnam)
to questionable causes. He keenly analyzes the changing policies of each administration, from Nixon's juggling (SALT talks with Moscow, new relations with Ccmmunist China, and bombing North Vietnam) to Carter's confusion to Reagan's laserrattling. Equally important is his incisive, often amusing look at how the anti-Soviet struggle was exploited by politicians, industrialists, and government agencies. He weaves in deft sketches of figures like Barry Goldwater and Henry Jackson (who won a Senate seat with the promise, "Many plants will be converting from peace time to all-out defense production"). We see John F. Kennedy deliver an eloquent speech in 1957 defending the rising forces of nationalism in Algeria and Vietnam; we also see him in the White House a few years later, ordering a massive increase in America's troop commitment to Saigon. The book ranges through the economics and psychology of the Cold War, demonstrating how the confrontation created its own constituencies in
private industry and public life.
In the end, Americans claimed victory in the Cold War, but Brands's account gives us reason to tone down the celebrations. "Most perversely," he writes, "the call to arms against communism caused American leaders to subvert the principles that constituted their country's best argument against communism." This far-reaching history makes clear that the Cold War was simultaneously far more, and far less, than we ever imagined at the time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Russian History, Russia, Political Science

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

About the author

H.W. Brands is an acclaimed American historian and author of over thirty books on U.S. history, including Pulitzer Prize finalists The First American and Traitor to His Class. He holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his PhD. Originally trained in mathematics, Brands turned to history as a way to pursue his passion for writing. His biographical works on figures like Franklin, Jackson, Grant, and both Roosevelts have earned critical and popular praise for their readability and depth. Raised in Oregon and educated at Stanford, Reed College, and Portland State, he began his teaching career in high schools before entering academia. He later taught at Texas A&M and Vanderbilt before returning to UT Austin. Brands challenges conventional reverence for the Founding Fathers, advocating for a more progressive and evolving view of American democracy. In addition to academic works, his commentary has featured in major documentaries. His books, published internationally and translated into multiple languages, examine U.S. political, economic, and cultural development with compelling narrative force. Beyond academia, he is a public intellectual contributing to national conversations on history and governance.

Reviews

[Joey Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short answer: Brilliant professor and thorough analysis of a complex conflict that spanned decades! After reading through chapters 3-5, what I enjoyed most about this section was the way Professor Brands cycles through different perspectives of the war throughout America, including the president, his national security advisors, conservative and liberal media critics, ordinary representatives of the American public, and other world leaders. Though the book’s main focus is on the precarious relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, by alternating between domestic and international relations, Brands provides plenty of context for how this relationship was affected by changes in power of the presidency and the changing minds of the public. While reading about the decreasing trust in the presidents beginning with LBJ’s “credibility gap” with the Pentagon Papers to Nixon’s Watergate and the coverup of the CIA’s operations, I question how both positions, the president and CIA director, were able to gain reliability and reputation with Americans again. While mistrust in the operations of the government has consistently persisted in America, it’s interesting how most Americans expect a certain degree of transparency and “presidential-ness” in the commander-in-chief along with or even above of criteria such as policy and background qualifications. The majority of issues that the federal government addresses aren’t understood or interesting to the average American, but this book provokes a question of what degree of privacy of the president and the public should be allowed during “unique and critical” times such as the Cold War and during peace times? The CIA was criticized for opening U.S. mail, wiretapping for evidence, and even sending a squad of “plumbers” to trail high-profile suspects, such as Daniel Ellsburg. Post-9/11 the Patriot Act allowed the executive branch to monitor emails and phone logs of ordinary citizens in the name of national security. These instances of privacy violations beginning in the Cold War will continue into the 21st century as the relationship between the United States, China, and the role of cybersecurity in shaping the future of American foreign policy.
While this book was published at the very end of the war period when peace and the daunting "next" proved uncertain, the information remains relevant for today's times as we continue to navigate the legacy of the Cold War.

[anwoot · Rating 2 out of 5]

literally had to grind to finish this shit. busted my mf ass trying to understand this. like content wise some parts were really interesting like i never knew these sides of the cold war (and how shitty america was LOL) but like wow it was so dense and so hard to follow. i’m gonna cry trying to write this mf essay but at least i’m done 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

side note: wow like america good at calling soviet’s shitty but THE CORRUPTION IN THE CIA MY GOD

calling martin luther and other racial justice fighters communists ?!?! it was crazy

[Yvonne]

One of my favorite historians. I really enjoy his wit and approach to the Cold War. One of my favorite lines was "...Most Americans didn't want to see Reagan disgraced (after Iran-Contra). He was a nice old man, entirely unlike that shifty Richard Nixon..."

Thoroughly enjoyable, informative read.

[Kelsey]

I'm having to read this class for American Foreign Policy. My professor actually wrote it..

[Julian Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of the U.S. foreign policy elite from 1945 to 1990. Brands takes a pretty neutral approach on Cold War historiography, not veering into the narratives of the right and left in this concise book. The sources are almost all primary sources from presidents, secretaries of state, or senior advisors, so it’s pretty much a top-down approach to Cold War history.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific examination of the role of the US in the Cold War from 1945 to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It's a particularly good time to read it since it's starting to look like the Cold War never really ended. Maybe it's time for Brands to undertake a revised, second edition?

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

So glad I bought this used, this man doesn’t need any incentive to feel he should continue writing more books. Would have found a pdf online but no one’s ever heard of this work, probably for the best.

[Ava Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woohoo! Doctor brands give me an a!!!

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not something I'd read of my own choosing, but it was interesting and informative. Many of the events mentioned in passing by the author I wish he would have explained at least the basics of, like the Iran-contra affair. I simply had no knowledge of them whatsoever, besides maybe hearing the name once or twice.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book could have been a four star for me if it weren't for the author's sarcasm. I couldn't figure out why it bothered me so much until I realized it was because it showed arrogance--an "I don't have to convince you because my correctness is so obvious" attitude. It was an otherwise interesting look at how Americans came to see the world in black and white (or communist or non-communist).

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief but good summation of the cause of the Cold War and its perpetuation. Very balanced. Brands notes the impact of the Cold War not only on foreign relations and the military, but on the economy and civil rights.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lucid and engaging account of American history during the Cold War period. Brands writes with a great deal of wit and jam-packs a ton of info into a relatively short volume. While the density of the text made it a little slower going than usual for me, it was entirely worth it.

[Chase Parsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I revisited this book - I read much of it in college and sat down and read the whole thing again. I was unimpressed. Brands comes off as dull and it reads like a dry textbook. Style points aside, it is very well researched and covers the basics.

[Brenden]

The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War by H. W. Brands (1993)

[Mikayla Harden · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

good, short survey of US foreign policy during the cold war