The Columbia Guide to the Cold War [Hardcover]

Michael Kort (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231107722 | ISBN-13: 978-0231107723 | Publication Date: December 15, 1998 0

The Cold War was the longest conflict in American history, and the defining event of the second half of the twentieth century. Since its recent and abrupt cessation, we have only begun to measure the effects of the Cold War on American, Soviet, post-Soviet, and international military strategy, economics, domestic policy, and popular culture. The Columbia Guide to the Cold War is the first in a series of guides to American history and culture that will offer a wealth of interpretive information in different formats to students, scholars, and general readers alike. This reference contains narrative essays on key events and issues, and also features an A-to-Z encyclopedia, a concise chronology, and an annotated resource section listing books, articles, films, novels, web sites, and CD-ROMs on Cold War themes.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"War that is very strong and very hot ends with either death or peace, whereas cold war neither brings peace nor gives honor to the one who makes it."

So wrote a 14-century Spanish tactician, who might just as well have been describing the second half of the 20th century, when the world's superpowers and their allies waged a war that only sporadically involved bloodshed yet consumed the energies and economies of most of the planet. Historian Michael Kort here assembles a fact-filled compendium of the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union (and their allies) in several parts. The first is a brief narrative history of the war, from its beginnings at the end of World War II until its last gasp at the end of the 1980s; in that narrative, Kort also describes the different schools of history that emerged from the conflict, from traditionalists like Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who maintained that confrontation with an aggressive Soviet Union was inevitable, to postrevisionists like Geir Lundestad, who placed responsibility for the conflict on America's shoulders. The second part of Kort's book is an A-to-Z almanac of the conflict's principal actors and events, followed by a chronology. The fourth and final part, a heavily annotated bibliography of the scholarly (and some popular) literature, will be especially useful to students of the cold war seeking reference materials. Kort's thoughtful encyclopedia is the product of years of work, and of great value to serious readers of modern history. --Gregory McNamee

From Library Journal

This is the first in a projected series of one-volume guides that seek to synthesize the extensive literature on a topic and organize it in a useful way for the student, scholar, or general reader. If Kort's book is the model, then this should be a successful venture. In fewer than 400 pages, Kort covers a lot of territory, beginning with a narrative survey of the Cold War which explains some of the historiographical debates that have occupied historians for more than 50 years. Following this section is a mini-encyclopedia consisting of one- or two-page essays on a wide range of Cold War topics. The book concludes with a concise chronology and a comprehensive bibliography of books, films, novels, journal articles, and archival sources. Finally, in keeping with the times, Kort points out some of the relevant current websites and CD-ROM products. An impressive debut and a worthy companion to Thomas Arms's Encyclopedia of the Cold War (LJ 10/15/94) and Thomas Parrish's The Cold War Encyclopedia (LJ 12/95); recommended for all libraries.?Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 420 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231107722
• ISBN-13: 978-0231107723
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,254,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dry but informative, June 16, 2000

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Cetoken - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Columbia Guide to the Cold War (Hardcover)

As a child of the 70s, I happily realize that I missed a very paranoid and chilling period in global history. I've been attempting to understand the history of the Cold War, and this book definitely helped. The readability of the book isn't great; but it's not a novel. The information contained is broad and descriptive, and the timeline is especially informative. I'd recommend it for anyone wanting to have in-depth knowledge of this period in history.