The Cold War: A History

To my knowledge, this was one of the first Cold War History books published in the west. The writing is thick in details but highly readable. It is a brilliant historical edition. Highly recommend for students of the Cold War.

I took an International Baccalaureate (IB) History course my senior year (along with all other IB subjects) and this was, for all intents and purposes, our textbook for the majority of the year. It was an incredible resource that helped me and my peers get an fresh look at this time period and the heavy use of political subtlety that took place. We realized why it was actually a "war" (it moved us away from the fifth grade formula of 'it was a fight between capitalism and communism that didn't use guns so that's why it was cold') and developed our skills in analyzing the author's viewpoints. If there are any teachers of gifted/accelerated history courses out there, this is your choice for great Cold War material that can be appreciated by 17/18 year olds.

While there are many books on the Cold war this one has to be the best. It is the only book I have read that uses voluminous research from not only the American side but the Russian side as well. If you are looking for that fair and balanced viewpoint than this is the place to start. Walker writes very well and covers the relevant aspects of the war including détente. It focuses mostly on the power that the two exhibit and sticks with diplomatic history. There is some discussion of third world (with the exception of Cuba, Vietnam and Egypt) otherwise it really focuses on Europe. Nonetheless it deserves its five stars and is the only book I ever recommend when someone wants to read about the cold war.

It's always risky buying books off the shelf, especially on controversial subjects like the Cold War. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised by Martin Walker's history of that vexed period. He strives for a balanced and non-partisan approach, and succeeds admirably. This is no small accomplishment, given the kinds of pressures, commercial and ideological, to cast the contest as one pitting the Free World (us) against the Evil Empire (them). Wisely, Walker avoids such reductionist thinking.Basically, the contest that emerges is between two very complex empires, each striving for domination of the other. And if the West emerges victorious as it did, it's not because of any inherent moral superiority, but because its institutions ultimately proved more efficient at producing both guns and butter. Astutely, Walker avoids divisive moral comparisons, since to do so would entail endless rounds of which side commited the greater atrocities, about which there is considerable blame on both sides. Highlighting the book is the little gem of a chapter on the Cuban missile crisis, a dramatic account that once again shows why war is too important to be left to the generals. If the book has a fault, it's the occasional absence of tissues to connect events from one chapter to the next. Thus important threads sometimes dangle. This is probably unavoidable for a relatively brief account that covers such a densely packed 50 year time period. Thus Walker's book emerges as an excellent short history of those events that shaped the lives of so many of us.

There are four really impressive features about this book. First, it is so evidently fair-minded, trying to look at the history of the planet from 1945-1990 from the point of view of Russians, Americans, Europeans and the developing countries alike. Second, it is phenomenally well-researched, taking us from the private letters between JFK and European leaders like prime minister Macmillan or between Reagan and Gorbachev to the secret Politburo discussions on the invasion of Afghanistan. Third, it blends together the economic as well as the politico-military history of the era, and keeps reminding us that while the Soviets throught they were fighting an ideological war, the West knew that is was fundamentally an economic struggle, and that in the end the money would win. Finally, this author writes like a dream, clearly and yet movingly, mixing anecdote and deep historical perspective. I bought this book because the New York Times review called it is the best single volume history of the Cold War, and they were absolutely right. Having read this, I also bought the same author's 'America Reborn', which is even more brilliant.

The writer supplied an immense amount of detail revolving around the political aspects of the cold war. Don't read this if you are looking for a military book. I thought the writer did a great job at reporting facts and leaving his bias to a minimum.