A Cardboard Castle?: An Inside History of the Warsaw Pact, 1955-1991 Illustrated Edition

by Vojtech Mastny (Author), Malcolm Byrne (Author), Magdalena Klotzbach (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-9637326080

ISBN-10: 9637326081

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This is the first book to document, analyze, and interpret the history of the Warsaw Pact based on the archives of the alliance itself. As suggested by the title, the Soviet bloc military machine that held the West in awe for most of the Cold War does not appear from the inside as formidable as outsiders often believed, nor were its strengths and weaknesses the same at different times in its surprisingly long history, extending for almost half a century.

The introductory study by Mastny assesses the controversial origins of the "superfluous" alliance, its subsequent search for a purpose, its crisis and consolidation despite congenital weaknesses, as well as its unexpected demise.

Most of the 193 documents included in the book were top secret and have only recently been obtained from Eastern European archives by the PHP project. The majority of the documents were translated specifically for this volume and have never appeared in English before.

The introductory remarks to individual documents by co-editor Byrne explain the particular significance of each item. A chronology of the main events in the history of the Warsaw Pact, a list of its leading officials, a selective multilingual bibliography, and an analytical index add to the importance of a publication that sets the new standard as a reference work on the subject and facilitate its use by both students and general readers.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"By far the most ambitious and integral project in the burgeoning field of Cold War history has been the Parallel History Project on NATO and the Warsaw Pact, directed by Mastny. This is its early culmination, a massive volume... Mastny's extended introductory essay does more than survey the history."―Foreign Affairs

"An impressively extensive collection of original documents and transcripts of the Warsaw Pact from its beginning in 1955 to its dissolution in 1991. The two main themes in the documents is that the Pact seemed to have no intention of a preemptive attack on Western Europe. The other is that the Pact was not all as united as outside observers believed. This is a great book for historians and for anyone else who is interested in this subject."―Amazon (extract from a reader's online review)

About the Author

Vojtech Mastny is a Senior Fellow at the National Security Archive, where he coordinates the Parallel History Project on NATO and the Warsaw Pact (PHP).

Malcolm Byrne is Director of Research at the National Security Archive where he coordinates a program involving Russian and East European scholars in documentary research, conference preparation and publications relating to the Cold War.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Central European University Press; Illustrated edition (April 10, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 786 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9637326081
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9637326080
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.17 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.69 x 1.63 x 9.61 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,131,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,615 in Political History (Books)
- #20,033 in European Politics Books
- #20,922 in European History (Books)

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David Michel

An excellent historical source

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2005

"A Cardboard Castle?" is an impressively extensive collection of original documents and transcripts of the Warsaw Pact from its beginning in 1955 to its dissolution in 1991. The two main themes in the documents is that the Pact seemed to have no intention of a preemptive attack on Western Europe. The other is that the Pact was not all as united as outside observers believed. This is a great book for historians and for anyone else who is interested in this subject.

However, the book's binding is not the best, so you have to be careful handling it.

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A Cardboard Castle?: An Inside History of the Warsaw Pact, 1955-1991 Illustrated Edition

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