"The Cold War is rapidly receding in the rear-view mirror of history, and for Millennials might as well be the Crusades of the Middle Ages. Edwards and Spalding tell the story superbly, reminding us in their not-to-be-missed conclusion of the vital lessons that endure from that great clash of ideas at the heart of the Cold War--a clash that persists in different forms today. One way to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past is to learn them correctly, as readers of this book will do."
--STEVEN F. HAYWARD, Ronald Reagan Professor of Public Policy, Pepperdine University, and author of The Age of Reagan "This invaluable historical sketch makes clear: the Cold War was, at its heart, a dramatic contest between competing visions of the human person that turned on principles of individual freedom and dignity. For those of us who grew up during that worldwide struggle against a toxic ideology that thought history was on its side, and for a new generation facing new foes, A Brief History of the Cold War is a reminder of the critical importance of that human perspective."
--NINA SHEA, director, the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom
"In an eminently readable 'Brief History, ' Edwards and Spalding lay out the real conflicts when one side makes the state supreme, with the person a mere cog, and the other side--a coalition of the free--gives the person all the dignity and integrity with which God created them."
--VERY REVEREND PAUL B. R. HARTMANN, judicial vicar, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and president, Catholic Memorial High School
"A Brief History of the Cold War is a remarkable accomplishment. Lee Edwards and Elizabeth Spalding capture the essence of the longest and one of the most complicated conflicts of the twentieth century, and manage to do so in a concise and beautifully written manner. This book is a must read for all students of politics, history, and American foreign policy, and for anyone interested in understanding the conflict that set the stage for the twenty-first century. This is a truly masterful and accessible account--a gem of a book."
--STEPHEN F. KNOTT, professor, Department of National Security Affairs, United States Naval War College, and author of Rush to Judgment: George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and His Critics
From the Back Cover
The euphoria that accompanied the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union lasted only a moment, dashed by the horror of 9/11. But the rise of a new global enemy driven, like the old one, by a hatred of Western freedom and democracy makes the lessons of the Cold War as relevant as ever. The half-century struggle between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, a struggle that determined whether hundreds of millions would live in freedom or slavery, is one of the most dramatic and consequential epochs in history. Yet to the generation that has grown up since the Cold War's astonishingly peaceful conclusion, this titanic geopolitical conflict can seem as remote as the Punic Wars.
In this accessible and highly readable account, Lee Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards Spalding explain the essential events, persons, and ideas that shaped the Cold War, from Harry Truman's strategy of containment to Richard Nixon's détente to Ronald Reagan's simple yet powerful philosophy of "we win, they lose."
When an American student can write, as one did recently to his local newspaper, that communism "is certainly not an ideology to be feared," even though it still oppresses more than a billion human beings from China to Cuba, the urgency of teaching this history to a new generation could not be clearer.
A nation that prizes its freedom must never forget the wisdom and courage with which the Cold War was waged and won.
About the Author
Lee Edwards, PhD, is a leading historian of the conservative movement. He has written more than 25 books, including Goldwater, The Conservative Revolution, A Brief History of the Cold War, and Just Right, as well as hundreds of essays and articles. Dr. Edwards is the Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought at the Heritage Foundation and an adjunct professor of politics at the Catholic University of America. He chairs the foundation that dedicated the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2007. He has received distinguished awards from Hungary, Taiwan, Lithuania, and Estonia, as well as from the Ashbrook Center, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Fund for American Studies, Young America's Foundation, Accuracy in Media, and Grove City College. Dr. Edwards was the founding director of the Institute of Political Journalism at Georgetown University and a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
