The World Since 1945: New Edition

Some time ago, I bought a second edition copy of this book and read it. Later I bought the third edition and read it again. Now I buy third edition copies and give them as gifts. This text (more or less concerning the 20th century with great emphasis on the second half of those years) can help one to know something of the influences that shape current events. I hope to read it again; a fourth edition would be most welcome.

The book was in very good condition, and was shipped in the specified amount of time.

I'll keep this short. The book is a terrific overview of what has been happening in our little world since 1945. There is so much here that you will never learn through our media and through other historical text books. Especially given the current world circumstances, it is imperative that Americans learn about histories of other people and how American foreign policy has done some wonderful, and also horrendous, things to other people in the last 50 years. THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR OUTLOOK ON AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY FOREVER.

This is essentially a history of the Cold War period, i.e. 1945 to the early 1990s. Even so, it does not focus on the U.S. and the Soviet Union, nor great power politics as such. Instead, Vadney broadens the focus and gives due consideration to the Third World which, as he notes, accounts for the vast majority of the world's population (since India and China can be placed in this category). The general emphasis is on major political events and trends, with only some attention given to economic and social factors. Nonetheless, this is still a highly useful book, as Vadney provides essential background and details on a number of events and regions not normally covered in standard "world history" or "Western civ" texts. The book's organization and uncluttered writing style also make it an outstanding reference work for this period.

From the Russian revolution to the Cuban missle crisis.The establishment of the Bretton Woods institutions and Marshall Aid to the OPEC oil shocks.From the collapse of collonialism,to the collapse of the Berlin wall. The 20th century had it all,and this book manages to cover it all in a logical easy to follow format.Each different era in covered ,as is each region(Europe,the Americas,Asia,Africa).