Understanding the Cold War

Understanding the Cold War PDF Author: Adam B. Ulam
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351300741
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
Understanding the Cold War is the story of a man and an epoch. Its telling moves between detailed personal history and an Olympian assessment of the origins, significant events, and outcome of the Cold War. Professor Ulam describes his hometown, family, and early education, as well as his departure, with his brother, for the U.S. just days before the Nazi invasion of Poland would have trapped them. Then follows reminiscences of his college and Harvard years, all rich with anecdote and insight, and his thoughts as an acknowledged expert on Soviet affairs. The volume offers basic antidotes to simplistic explanations. Whether discussing the Kirov assassination or the Moscow Trials of the so-called Trotskyist Bloc, or the nationalist basis of disputes between China and Russia during the Vietnam War period, Ulam avoids the sensational and the speculative in favor of the the empirical and the evidentiary. The core segments of the work review the Cold War from the belly of the Stalinist and later post-Stalinist communist system. And in a section entitled "The Beginning of the End," Ulam discusses the Gorbachev interregnum and the early years of the transition from communism to democracy. He well appreciates how the ease of the transition does not betoken a simple movement to the democratic camp. In contemplating the changing nature of the new political configuration, one could hardly have a better guide to clarity and authenticity than Adam Ulam. Reviewing Understanding the Cold War, Stephen Kotkin, director of Princeton's Russian Studies Program, observed "...And whereas some celebrated analysts, such as John Maynard Keynes, had dismissed Marxism as 'illogical and dull,' Ulam highlighted the doctrine's intricacy and comprehensiveness, which, he argued, explained its attraction not just to peasants, but also to intellectuals."

Understanding the Cold War

Understanding the Cold War PDF Author: Adam B. Ulam
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351300741
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 518

Get Book

Book Description
Understanding the Cold War is the story of a man and an epoch. Its telling moves between detailed personal history and an Olympian assessment of the origins, significant events, and outcome of the Cold War. Professor Ulam describes his hometown, family, and early education, as well as his departure, with his brother, for the U.S. just days before the Nazi invasion of Poland would have trapped them. Then follows reminiscences of his college and Harvard years, all rich with anecdote and insight, and his thoughts as an acknowledged expert on Soviet affairs. The volume offers basic antidotes to simplistic explanations. Whether discussing the Kirov assassination or the Moscow Trials of the so-called Trotskyist Bloc, or the nationalist basis of disputes between China and Russia during the Vietnam War period, Ulam avoids the sensational and the speculative in favor of the the empirical and the evidentiary. The core segments of the work review the Cold War from the belly of the Stalinist and later post-Stalinist communist system. And in a section entitled "The Beginning of the End," Ulam discusses the Gorbachev interregnum and the early years of the transition from communism to democracy. He well appreciates how the ease of the transition does not betoken a simple movement to the democratic camp. In contemplating the changing nature of the new political configuration, one could hardly have a better guide to clarity and authenticity than Adam Ulam. Reviewing Understanding the Cold War, Stephen Kotkin, director of Princeton's Russian Studies Program, observed "...And whereas some celebrated analysts, such as John Maynard Keynes, had dismissed Marxism as 'illogical and dull,' Ulam highlighted the doctrine's intricacy and comprehensiveness, which, he argued, explained its attraction not just to peasants, but also to intellectuals."

Critical Reflections on the Cold War

Critical Reflections on the Cold War PDF Author: Martin J. Medhurst
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 9781603447058
Category : Cold War
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
Rhetoric and history intersected dramatically during the Cold War, which was, above all else, a war of words. This volume, which combines the work of historians and communication scholars, examines the public discourse in Cold War America from a number of perspectives including how rhetoric shaped history and policies and how rhetorical images invited interpretations of history. The book opens with Norman Graebner's wideranging analysis of the rhetorical background of the Cold War. Frank Costigliola then parses Stalin's speech of February, 1946, an address that many in the West took as a declaration of war by the USSR. The development of NSC68 in 1950, often referred to as America's "blueprint" for fighting the Cold War, is the subject of Robert P. Newman's review. Shawn J. ParryGiles and J. Michael Hogan then focus on American propaganda responses to the perceived Soviet threat. H. W. Brands, Randall B. Woods, and Rachel L. Holloway examine the effects of liberal ideology and rhetoric on domestic and foreign policy decisions. Robert J. McMahon and Robert L. Ivie raise the issue of what it has meant to be the "leader of the Free World" and what the task of postCold War rhetoric will be in this regard. Scholars concerned with the role of words in public life and in the study of history will find challenging material in this interdisciplinary volume. Historians, speech communication scholars, and political scientists with an interest in the Cold War will similarly find grist for further milling.

Reflections of a Cold Warrior

Reflections of a Cold Warrior PDF Author: Richard Mervin Bissell
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300146108
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
Richard M. Bissell, Jr., the most important CIA spymaster in history, singlehandedly led America's intelligence service from the age of Mata Hari into the space age. Under his guidance the U-2 spy-plane, the SR-71 "Blackbird," and the Corona spy satellite were developed, and the agency rose to the pinnacle of its power. Bissell was also, however, the architect of the infamous Bay of Pigs operation that failed to overthrow Castro in 1961 and led to the decline of the CIA. In this compelling memoir, Bissell gives us an insider's view of the personalities, policies, and historical forces surrounding these and other covert operations and the lessons learned during those times of conflict.Bissell begins by describing his early years as a member of America's unofficial aristocracy. Born in a house that his father bought from Samuel Clemens, he was educated at Groton and Yale and befriended by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, among others. Bissell recounts how he became acting head of the Economic Cooperation Administration, the agency in charge of the Marshall Plan after World War II, and helped to create the European Payments Union. Bissell was brought into the CIA in 1954, where he initiated a revolution in intelligence-gathering techniques. He reveals the details of these developments, as well as of the unique CIA-Lockheed partnership he pioneered, his participation in the CIA-sponsored coup to overthrow Arbenz in Guatemala, and his involvement in crises in Laos and the Congo. Bissell's memoir sheds light not only on pivotal points of American foreign policy but also on America's evolution from isolationist to interventionist superpower.

Reflections on the Cold War

Reflections on the Cold War PDF Author: Lynn H. Miller
Publisher: Philadelphia : Temple University Press
ISBN:
Category : Cold War
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
"The essays in this volume grew out of a lecture series at Temple University during the 1970-71 academic year." Includes bibliographical references and index.

In from the Cold

In from the Cold PDF Author: John Blaxland
Publisher: ANU Press
ISBN: 176046273X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Open hostilities in the Korean War ended on the 27th of July 1953. The armistice that was signed at that time remains the poignant symbol of an incomplete conclusion – of a war that retains a distinct possibility of resuming at short notice. So what did Australia contribute to the Korean War from June 1950 to July 1953? What were the Australians doing there? How significant was the contribution and what difference did it make? What has that meant for Australia since then, and what might that mean for Australia into the future? Australians served at sea, on land and in the air alongside their United Nations partners during the war. They fought with distinction, from bitterly cold mountain tops, to the frozen decks of aircraft carriers and in dogfights overhead. This book includes the perspectives of leading academics, practitioners and veterans contributing fresh ideas on the conduct and legacy of the Korean War. International perspectives from allies and adversaries provide contrasting counterpoints that help create a more nuanced understanding of Australia’s relatively small but nonetheless important contribution of forces in the Korean War. The book finishes with some reflections on implications that the Korean War still carries for Australia and the world to this day.

International Law and the Cold War

International Law and the Cold War PDF Author: Matthew Craven
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110849918X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 615

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Book Description
This is the first book to examine in detail the relationship between the Cold War and International Law.

Inside the Cold War a cold warrior's reflections

Inside the Cold War a cold warrior's reflections PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 142899128X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description


Inside the Cold War

Inside the Cold War PDF Author: Chris Adams
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
ISBN: 9781478344384
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
This publication reflects a compilation of excerpts from an unpublished broader treatment that recounts the nearly five decades of delicate coexistence between two nations known as the “superpowers” during the international conflict known as the “Cold War.” Publication of this text fulfills one of the author's principal purposes in the original manuscript; that is to pay tribute to that special breed of American heroes known as the “Cold Warriors” – the men and women who served in the strategic nuclear forces during the Cold War. Another purpose is to provide a brief parallel view of Soviet war fighters. These two opposing groups of warriors served their respective countries faithfully during those critical years of roller coaster politics, inconsistent diplomacy, and occasional lunacy. The Cold Warriors were the centerpiece of that protracted conflict; many paid the supreme price. This text attempts to provide a reasonably comprehensive essay on the Cold Warriors – both American and Soviet – their commitments, their weapons systems, their missions, and their sacrifices. It has been said that the ware is faceless; the Cold War represents a time when two nations created unprecedented arsenals and stood ready to attack, or be attacked by, the faceless enemy. The United States and the Soviet Union maintained that unprecedented mutual stance over a sustained period of time. There were a series of critical events during this war, including the Berlin Blockade, the invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Korean and Cuban crises, and the war in Vietnam. All involved the Cold Warriors in one way or another. They were often called upon to transition from their primary strategic nuclear combat preparation role into totally different mission environments and war-fighting systems. These transitions required retraining and reorientation as well as relocating. Then they returned to their original strategic nuclear mission – which required still more retraining, reorientation, and relocating.

Exiting the Cold War, Entering a New World

Exiting the Cold War, Entering a New World PDF Author: Daniel S. Hamilton
Publisher: Foreign Policy Institute
ISBN: 9781733733953
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
This book explores how and why the dangerous yet seemingly durable and stable world order forged during the Cold War collapsed in 1989, and how a new order was improvised out of its ruins. It is an unusual blend of memoir and scholarship that takes us back to the years when the East-West conflict came to a sudden end and a new world was born. In this book, senior officials and opinion leaders from the United States, Russia, Western and Eastern Europe who were directly involved in the decisions of that time describe their considerations, concerns, and pressures. They are joined by scholars who have been able to draw on newly declassified archival sources to revisit this challenging period.

Reflections on the Russian Soul

Reflections on the Russian Soul PDF Author: Dmitry S. Likhachev
Publisher: Central European University Press
ISBN: 9633864925
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
This compelling and often traumatic book is the memoir of one of the most important figures in modern Russian history, Dmitry S. Likhachev, revered as ‘a guardian of national culture’. Reflections on the Russian Soul is an incredible account of an intellectual’s turbulent journey through twentieth century Russia. Likhachev re-counts the fortunes of people with whom he came into contact and reproduces the air of passed years in Russia. Likhachev vividly portrays his childhood years in St. Petersburg and continues into his student life at Leningrad University that led to an agonizing period of imprisonment and near death. He describes how a harmless prank caught the attention of the Secret Police, resulting in his exile and confinement within the infamous prison island of Solovki. He describes his first-hand experience of brutality in prison during the early Stalin years and the incident that not only saved him but also haunted him for the rest of his life. He reflects on the years after his release from prison and the events leading up to the Second World War. His powerful recollection of the blockade of Leningrad provides the reader with a horrific insight into the harsh effects of war, hunger and survival. Lichachev goes on to describe post-war Russia and how his own livelihood developed from literary editor to a return to Leningrad University as Professor of History. This compelling autobiography finishes with Likhachev’s poignant return to Solovki as a free man.