The Cold War: A World History

Product Description

The definitive history of the Cold War and its impact around the world

We tend to think of the Cold War as a bounded conflict: a clash of two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, born out of the ashes of World War II and coming to a dramatic end with the collapse of the Soviet Union. But in this major new work, Bancroft Prize-winning scholar Odd Arne Westad argues that the Cold War must be understood as a global ideological confrontation, with early roots in the Industrial Revolution and ongoing repercussions around the world.

In
The Cold War, Westad offers a new perspective on a century when great power rivalry and ideological battle transformed every corner of our globe. From Soweto to Hollywood, Hanoi, and Hamburg, young men and women felt they were fighting for the future of the world. The Cold War may have begun on the perimeters of Europe, but it had its deepest reverberations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, where nearly every community had to choose sides. And these choices continue to define economies and regimes across the world.

Today, many regions are plagued with environmental threats, social divides, and ethnic conflicts that stem from this era. Its ideologies influence China, Russia, and the United States; Iraq and Afghanistan have been destroyed by the faith in purely military solutions that emerged from the Cold War.

Stunning in its breadth and revelatory in its perspective, this book expands our understanding of the Cold War both geographically and chronologically, and offers an engaging new history of how today’s world was created.

Review

“[An] epic account…One reason Mr. Westad’s narrative is so strong is its use of fresh archival sources from across the globe…How Big Was the Cold War? is easy to answer: It was huge, as this book demonstrates, not only because of the perilous stakes but also because of the size of the two main actors. How Deep Was the Cold War? is also easy to answer, and Mr. Westad does that so very well, showing how it reached into so many places in the world that were a long way from the Berlin Wall.”―
Wall Street Journal

“[A] big, serious, and thoroughly intelligent stud[y] of the cold war.”―
New York Review of Books

“An account of the Cold War that is truly global in its scope… a wise and observant history… It also arrives at a moment when we must grasp the dynamics of the Cold War if we want to understand some of today’s most urgent developments, from North Korea’s acquisition of long-range nuclear missiles to the rise of socialist movements in Western democracies.”―
New Republic

“Rich with details drawn from archival research and interviews with politicians, soldiers, scientists and others who lived through the cold war…. Westad, a specialist on China as well as on the cold war, adds a valuable dimension with chapters on Asian countries and Latin America…. [An] ambitious study, perspicacious and panoramic in scope.”―
Financial Times, Best Books of 2017

“Today, western attempts to contain radical Islamism continue an us-and-them mentality. Angry Muslims decry the perceived depredations of US imperialism and the infidel free market; the threat posed by suicide bombers makes the old east-west rivalries look almost manageable by comparison. Westad’s huge, single-volume history is the beginning of wisdom in these things.”―
Guardian

“[A] riveting historical compendium.”―
Independent

“A sweeping study…. In astute, thematic chapters, Bancroft Award-winning historian Westad offers an excellent sense of the ideological conflicts fulminating since the late 19th century that formed the crux of the Cold War…. This is an enormous story, and the author tackles it with admirable clarity and elegance…. A tremendous and timely history lesson for our age.”―
Kirkus Reviews, starredreview

”
The Cold War evinces a lifetime of research and thought on the subject. Compelling ideas and valuable insights appear frequently.”―
Natio