The Cold War

The term the Cold War has had many meanings and interpretations since it was originally coined and has been used to analyse everything from comics to pro-natalist policies, and science fiction to gender politics. This range has great value, but also poses problems, notably by diluting the focus on war of a certain type, and by exacerbating a lack of precision in definition and analysis. The Cold War: A Military History is the first survey of the period to focus on the diplomatic and military confrontation and conflict. Jeremy Black begins his overview in 1917 and covers the 'long Cold War', from the 7th November Revolution to the ongoing repercussions and reverberations of the conflict today. The book is forward-looking as well as retrospective, not least in encouraging us to reflect on how much the character of the present world owes to the Cold War. The result is a detailed survey that will be invaluable to students and scholars of military and international history. The Cold War, in many respects, defined the Twentieth Century. In this important book Jeremy Black illustrates the ways in which military issues and ideological conflict were intrinsically connected to one another. By showing how the confrontation of the post-1945 years had its roots in the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War, he also succeeds in illuminating the causes of the East-West tensions that have returned to plague the world today. Written with insight and panache, this is a work of great erudition and genuine global reach. Richard Toye, Professor of History, University of Exeter, UK Professor Black skillfully deploys his considerable expertise in military and diplomatic history and presents a concise narrative that demonstrates the complexity and global nature of the Cold War. This is a history of the superpower conflict and the crises that engulfed the Third World. From Black's emphasis on the Russian Civil War and the root causes of the ideological and geopolitical conflict of U.S. and U.S.S.R. to detente and proxy wars and to his argument about the fall of the Soviet Union as the result of a crisis of totalitarianism, this book is international history at its best. Ingo Trauschweizer, Associate Professor of History, Ohio University, USA Jeremy Black deftly analyzes the Cold War military struggles within the broader global context of domestic politics, foreign policy, economics, anti-colonialism, nationalism, geostrategy and ideology examining a long period of sustained hostility and "proxy wars" dating to the Russian Revolution of 1917. He evaluates not just the traditional US/NATO versus USSR//Warsaw Pact rivalry, rather, he expertly relates military conflict and violence to the more complex international dynamics that roiled empires, alliances, nation-states, and former colonies. Stanley D.M. Carpenter, United States Naval War College Jeremy Black's new book provides us with a thought-provoking and wide-ranging overview that highlights the nature of the Cold War as war. An impressive synthesis of research by a scholar at the peak of his powers. Holger Nehring, University of Stirling, UKPreface 1. 1917-39 2. 1939-45 3. 1945-53 4. 1953-68 5. 1968-79 6. 1979-85 7. 1985-92 8. Postscript Selected Bibliography Index