The Cambridge History of the Cold War

The first historical reexamination of the early years of the Cold War, tracing the evolution of the conflict.

Melvyn P. Leffler (Edited by), Odd Arne Westad (Edited by)

9781107602298, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 26 January 2012

662 pages, 43 b/w illus. 6 maps
22.7 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 1.02 kg

Review of the hardback: '… [its] cogent summaries of various aspects and theaters of the conflict from 1945 to 1962 seem likely to stand the [test] of time … many undergraduate courses would benefit from the assignment of some of these readings.' David Kaiser, H-Diplo

This volume examines the origins and early years of the Cold War. In the first comprehensive reexamination of the period, a team of leading scholars shows how the conflict evolved from the geopolitical, ideological, economic and sociopolitical environments of the two world wars and interwar period, and discusses how markets, ideas and cultural interactions affected political discourse, diplomacy and strategy after World War II. The chapters focus not only on the United States and the Soviet Union, but also on critical regions such as Europe, the Balkans and East Asia. The authors consider the most influential statesmen of the era and address issues that mattered to people around the globe: food, nutrition and resource allocation; ethnicity, race and religion; science and technology; national autonomy, self-determination and sovereignty. In so doing, they illuminate how people worldwide shaped the evolution of the increasingly bipolar conflict and, in turn, were ensnared by it.

1. The Cold War and the international history of the twentieth century Odd Arne Westad
2. Ideology and the origins of the Cold War, 1917–1962 David C. Engerman
3. The world economy and the Cold War in the middle of the twentieth century Charles S. Maier
4. The emergence of an American grand strategy, 1945–1952 Melvyn P. Leffler
5. The Soviet Union and the world, 1944–1953 Vladimir O. Pechatnov
6. Britain and the Cold War, 1945–1955 Anne Deighton
7. The division of Germany, 1945–1949 Hans-Peter Schwarz
8. The Marshall Plan and the creation of the west William I. Hitchcock
9. The Sovietization of eastern Europe, 1944–1953 Norman Naimark
10. The Cold War in the Balkans, 1945–1956 Svetozar Rajak
11. The birth of the People's Republic of China and the road to the Korean War Niu Jun
12. Japan, the United States, and the Cold War, 1945–1960 Sayuri Guthrie-Shimizu
13. The Korean War William Stueck
14. US national security policy from Eisenhower to Kennedy Robert J. McMahon
15. Soviet foreign policy, 1953–1962 Vojtech Mastny
16. East central Europe, 1953–1956 Csaba Békés
17. The Sino-Soviet Alliance and the Cold War in Asia, 1954–1962 Shu Guang Zhang
18. Nuclear weapons and the escalation of the Cold War, 1945–1962 David Holloway
19. Culture and the Cold War in Europe Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht
20. Cold War mobilization and domestic politics: the United States Laura McEnaney
21. Cold War mobilisation and domestic politics: the Soviet Union David Priestland
22. Decolonization, the global south, and the Cold War, 1919–1962 Mark Philip Bradley
23. Oil, resources, and the Cold War, 1945–1962 David S. Painter
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], The Cold War [HBTW], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], History of the Americas [HBJK], General & world history [HBG]