Shop Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery
Amazon prime logo
Buy new:
-29% $23.99
FREE delivery Thursday, January 9 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$23.99 with 29 percent savings
List Price: $33.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Thursday, January 9 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$23.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Returnable until Jan 31, 2025
Returnable until Jan 31, 2025
For the 2024 holiday season, eligible items purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2024 can be returned until January 31, 2025.
Read full return policy
Returns
Returnable until Jan 31, 2025
For the 2024 holiday season, eligible items purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2024 can be returned until January 31, 2025.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$15.73
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, January 3 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 9 hrs 36 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$23.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
$23.99 with 29 percent savings
List Price: $33.99
FREE pickup Wednesday, January 8 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

1.76 mi | Ashburn 20147

How pickup works
Pick up from nearby pickup location
Step 1: Place Your Order
Select the “Pickup” option on the product page or during checkout.
Step 2: Receive Notification
Once your package is ready for pickup, you'll receive an email and app notification.
Step 3: Pick up
Bring your order ID or pickup code (if applicable) to your chosen pickup location to pick up your package.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$23.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Returnable until Jan 31, 2025
Returnable until Jan 31, 2025
For the 2024 holiday season, eligible items purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2024 can be returned until January 31, 2025.
Read full return policy
Returns
Returnable until Jan 31, 2025
For the 2024 holiday season, eligible items purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2024 can be returned until January 31, 2025.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Derek Leebaert
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World Paperback – June 1, 2003

by Derek Leebaert (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$23.99","priceAmount":23.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"uSe8jEmCImmmVjv2k%2BfvqFAcqgLXzwqZklRJKIGpzl4uNPPk1cFdxdULlF2kRQJADAv4fcTufyNe%2Btt5fogGkq43zB9KD4P64w4go9X3CNt92wb2p2NqU40B8QfHKrVqeqCgUaT9z1o%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$15.73","priceAmount":15.73,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"73","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"uSe8jEmCImmmVjv2k%2BfvqFAcqgLXzwqZSh1jAxrl4qkQorN%2BuJxCceZWSEk7ELm7FuZCoqmb0TIH2yl1u2qhVR4y0tjP%2FrFQpExb%2F2KRh%2FGyBToUdT07wHQn2qvCIR0AcJDEXXXAGJ1%2FBj0uCNtkD0ywnEGIPG8ulET%2Bwgqxl5qC5LwZ%2BltZy2Amj5M5E9bZ","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}],"desktop_buybox_group_2":[{"displayPrice":"$23.99","priceAmount":23.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"uSe8jEmCImmmVjv2k%2BfvqFAcqgLXzwqZklRJKIGpzl4uNPPk1cFdxdULlF2kRQJADAv4fcTufyNe%2Btt5fogGkq43zB9KD4P64w4go9X3CNt92wb2p2NqU40B8QfHKrVqeqCgUaT9z1o%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"PICKUP","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":2}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The Fifty-Year Wound is the first cohesively integrated history of the Cold War, one replete with important lessons for today. Drawing upon literature, strategy, biography, and economics -- plus an inside perspective from the intelligence community -- Derek Leebaert explores what Americans sacrificed at the same time that they achieved the longest great-power peace since Rome fell. Why did they commit so much in wealth and opportunity with so little sustained complaint? Why did the conflict drag on for decades? What did the Cold War do to the country, and how? What was lost while victory was gained? Leebaert has uncovered an astonishing array of never-published documents and information, including major revelations about American covert operations and Soviet military activities. He has found, in the shadows of one of this century's great, epic stories, the sort of details and explanations that hit with the force of a lightning bolt and will change forever the way we think about our past.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    784 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Back Bay Books
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.54 x 1.27 x 8.22 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0316164968
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0316164962
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World
This item: The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World
$23.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, Jan 9
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Modern Times Revised Edition: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties (Perennial Classics)
$14.99
Get it as soon as Monday, Jan 6
Only 10 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Treatment
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A splendid book.... At a moment when the CIA has attained new importance, funds, and powers, Leebaert provides sound reasons for skepticism about its ability to fight terrorism."

"Necessary reading in the current climate of national crisis and global terrorism, not only becaus we are still struggling to control the fallout of our Cold War global adventures in places like Afghanistan and Iraq but also because a closer look at the era may just help us to heal America's 50-year wound rather than allow it to fester for another half-century."

"THE FIFTY-YEAR WOUND did what the experts and the usual suspects of left and right most feared--bypassed their dreary symbiotic bickering, told the story in all its aspects, and set the standard by which future efforts must be judged.... Mr. Leebaert's a master stylist with a superb eye for the singular fact or vignette that simultaneously focuses, entertains, and persuades."

About the Author

Derek Leebaert teaches government at Georgetown University. He holds a D.Phil. from Oxford University and is a founding editor of the journal International Security. He lives in Washington, D.C., and frequently consults for agencies of the U.S. government.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Back Bay Books; Reprint edition (June 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 784 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316164968
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316164962
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.54 x 1.27 x 8.22 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Derek Leebaert

Derek Leebaert

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Derek Leebaert won the biennial 2020 Truman Book Award for Grand Improvisation. His previous books include Magic and Mayhem: The Delusions of American Foreign Policy from Korea to Afghanistan and To Dare and to Conquer: Special Operations and the Destiny of Nations, both Washington Post Best Books of the Year. He was a founding editor of the Harvard/MIT journal International Security and is a cofounder of the National Museum of the U.S. Army. He holds a D.Phil from Oxford and lives in Washington, D.C.

Otherwise he has long been a management consultant, advising enterprises in the IT, defense, and healthcare sectors. He coauthored the MIT Press trilogy on the rise of the information technology revolution, including MIT's The Future of the Electronic Marketplace.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
19 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Devereaux
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best Overview of the Cold War
    Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This may be one of the best overviews of historical events since the end of WWII. Based on the 4-year terms of presidents, it ends with Reagan, but covers all the dumb moves that government has made over these times. By way of example, ONE conclusion you can come to is that if the CIA says it's true, it can't be true. And he backs his positions up with references.

    This, of course, is not an exhaustive investigation of ALL actions of our government. But it does make you seriously question just how well foreign policy is being run.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Stephen M. Picca MD
    3.0 out of 5 stars important story-poorly told
    Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2002
    Verified Purchase
    Without understanding the hisory of the cold war you cannot make any sense out of the present state of the nation or of current events such as the disaster of Sept.11. This book attempts to give an overview of this enourmous subject from the end of WWII up until today. It is well referenced and informative and many non-historians would benefit from reading it. The main problem is that the writing is terrible. It reads like a first draft of a book that the author did not have the time or interest to craft into a real book. As such it is simultaneously interesting, informative and frustrating to read.
    24 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Terry Pelletier
    5.0 out of 5 stars 50 year wound
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    this book is full of facts that never saw the light of day in a class room. my mother in law got it and I read it and then bought it for my husband to read....we all enjoyed it and have had many conversations regarding it.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Donald J. Morrissey
    5.0 out of 5 stars Quick service, excellent product as advertiesed
    Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This was quick excellent services and product was as advertised
    Helpful
     Report
  • advokat
    4.0 out of 5 stars some are brilliant, some are silly
    Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2015
    A poorly structured jumble of corrective insights into the history of the Cold War. Most insights are interesting, some are brilliant, some are silly. If you know nothing or little about the period, the book will leave your perplexed. A good deal of prior knowledge is required. However, if you are well versed in the topic, and, perhaps more importantly, in the theories about it, then you are certain to enjoy it.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Glenn McDorman
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is the book we've been waiting for
    Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2002
    America has been waiting for this book since 1991. Leebaert has given us a rich and detailed account of what the Cold War cost the United States in resources, people, and money. No one is sacred; no one is exempt from Leebaert's cold scrutiny. The myths of Kennedy and Kissinger are shattered, and Reagan is finally put in perspective.
    Leebaert's writing is often complex; one can easily get lost in his grammar. But don't let that deter you from picking up this book; his research and analysis are top-notch.
    You should know that this book, although proceeding in a chronological way, is not a history of the Cold War. It is an analysis of what it cost the U.S. If you don't have a good understanding of the outline of the Cold War, watch CNN's documentary before you tackle this book.
    7 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Stuart D. Walker
    3.0 out of 5 stars but kind of boring.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Okay, but kind of boring.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Schmerguls
    4.0 out of 5 stars Deserves to be read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2002
    This is not an objective history of the Cold War. It is crammed with the author's beliefs, but those beliefs are deserving of attention, and many make a lot of sense. I was disturbed by the lack of footnotes for many startling statements, and even when there are footnotes they often are unenlightening in regard to the statements footnoted. Let me illustrate: on page 248 he has a discussion of Red China, and includes the statement that 20 to 43 million lives were lost in Red China between 1959 and 1961. There is no footnote in regard to the statement, and I for one would like a hint of the authority for this statement. I presume the author figures his word should be accepted, but a lot of lesser itmes are footnoted, and it would be helpful if statements such as this were too. On a pickier note, on page 165 Leebaert refers to "Colorado senator William Milliken" whereas those of us who observed the Senate in those days know his name was Eugene Millikin. And It would be nice if there were a footnote for the assertion (page 109) that when Senator Borah died in 1940 his safety-deposit box contained $200,000 in cash--which the author suggests may have come from the Soviets! Allen Weinstein in his book The Haunted Wood tells of Samuel Dickstein, who served in the House from 1923 to 1945, receiving the present-day equivalent of $200,000 from the Soviets, but $200,000 in 1940 would be well over a million dollars in today's money, so this is pretty sensational stuff, but Leebaert just throws this out and someone who wants to know more about it is given no help at all by so much as a footnote. Stuff like that. But the book is a fascinating read, nonetheless, and a lot of what he says may be right.
    11 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • advokat
    4.0 out of 5 stars some are brilliant, some are silly
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A poorly structured jumble of corrective insights into the history of the Cold War. In the style of Paul Johnson, Gregor Dallas. Most insights are interesting, some are brilliant, some are silly. If you know nothing or little about the period, the book will leave your perplexed. A good deal of prior knowledge is required. However, if you are well versed in the topic, and, perhaps more importantly, in the theories about it, then you are certain to enjoy it. Also, a good springboard for further reading - a lot of interesting literature is referenced, not mainstream, mostly available on Amazon.
    Report