The Cold War contains a selection of official and unofficial documents which provide a truly multi-faceted account of the entire Cold War era. The experiences of the East Berlin housewife are placed alongside those of the South African student; the participation of political leaders from Europe and the Third World stand juxtaposed. Not only does this book put a human face on the conflict, but it draws emphasis to the variety of ways in which this conflict was experienced. The final selection of documents illustrates the global impact of the Cold War to the present day, and establishes links between the Cold War and the events of 11th September 2001.
Jussi M. Hanhimäki is Finland's internationally best known historian. He is currently Professor of International History and Director of the Programme for the Study of Global Migration at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, and previously taught at the London School of Economics (1995-2000). In 2006 he was named Finland Distinguished Professor by the Academy of Finland. He is the recipient of the Bernath Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) and has authored or co-authored eight books and countless articles and chapters.
Harvard University Professor Akira Iriye, a doyen of international historians, has described Jussi Hanhimäki as "a superb embodiment of the internationalized scholarship that is a precondition of any study of international relations." Iriye came to this conclusion upon reflecting on Hanhimäki's truly international career path. He left his native Finland in 1987, studied in the United States (Boston University), and spent his early postdoctoral years in Canada (Montreal) and the United States (Harvard University, Ohio University). He then moved to London in 1995 (LSE), before accepting his current post at in Geneva in 2000. Among the institutes where he has held fellowships are: the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University; the Contemporary History Institute at Ohio University; the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the United States Institute of Peace.
A specialist of the international history of the Cold War, transatlantic relations, and the role of international institutions, Jussi Hanhimäki's forthcoming publications include: Transatlantic Relations Since 1945: An Introduction (2012), written jointly with Benedikt Schoenborn and Barbara Zanchetta; and The Rise and Fall of Détente: American Foreign Policy and the Transformation of the Cold War (2012). He has previously authored or co-authored: The United Nations: A Very Short Introduction (2008); The Flawed Architect: Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy (2004); (with Odd Arne Westad), The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts (2003); and (with A. Best, J. Maiolo and K. Schultze) International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond (2008, 2nd ed.), and other works.
Hanhimäki is currently working on two big book projects: Refugees: An International History and Transnational History of the Cold War.
