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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “The Cold War, by John Lewis Gaddis, is a terrifically researched, footnoted and marvelously written historical account of the Cold War. In the book's preface, Professor Gaddis explains concisely what he set out to do with this project and one, if in doubt about reading this account, should simply...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“This was pretty great. I enjoyed how it was sort of in chronological order, but free enough to be more coherent. I liked this. I feel like I have a much better grasp of the Cold War because of this book.”
Andrea T wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Really interesting treatment of the subject. Rather than straight chronology, examines the Cold War's progression through analysis of the topics that defined certain stages of it, from Germany's partition after the war, through mutually assured destruction, detente, and finally the collapse of the Soviet Union. Great history writing. Also, utterly insane when you stop to think that for 30 years, the cornerstone of US foreign policy was built around stockpiling weapons so destructive, they'd kill not just "the enemy" but "us" too. ”
Jenny B wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Why don't all historians write like this?”
sweetafton wrote this review Monday, January 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Gaddis, in his new account of the Cold War portrays the breadth of the conflict in detail and offers a wonderful introduction to the bi-polar clash between the Soviet Union and the the West, led by the United States. While offering much to the reader, this book certainly lacks quite a bit. Gaddis' account is very much triumphalist and western-based, which is certainly well within his right. But anyone looking for meaningful discussion of Soviet thinking, intentions or aspirations will not find it in this book.
Karl wrote this review Saturday, May 24 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Also, seldom are peripheral conflicts (i.e., the "third world," Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa) discussed in much detail, although almost anyone would argue that these conflicts were central to understanding the Cold War, as it often turned "hot" on these frontiers.”
“O volume é uma espécie de história concisa da Guerra Fria. Infelizmente, não é um dos melhores livros do Gaddis. O autor muda diversas de suas premissas sobre o regime soviético, de maneira a voltar às interpretações conservadoras da década de 1950. Apesar de relevar a centralidade da questão econômica para o fim do conflito, não examina de forma alguma o substrato econômico do conflito. ”
Rogério Farias wrote this review Tuesday, November 13 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“The Cold War, by John Lewis Gaddis, is a terrifically researched, footnoted and marvelously written historical account of the Cold War. In the book's preface, Professor Gaddis explains concisely what he set out to do with this project and one, if in doubt about reading this account, should simply read these three plus pages. Gaddis speaks of the need for a "short, comprehensive, and accessible book" on the period that passes the test of his late Yale colleague and historian's litmus test of "So what?". The author answers both needs with aplomb.
EmeraldRocket wrote this review Thursday, January 25 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Gaddis writes on the origins of the Cold War dating beyond the Soviet and United States' respective war aims in the Second World War and into the competing ideologies, both political and economic. He writes on the inevitability of it, the terror, the geopolitics, the blunders. Gaddis misses nothing of consequence. Interestingly, he takes events, sometimes even "failures" in policy and shows the consequences to be quite different than originally interpreted by historians who, Gaddis maintains, might have been hindered by a lens of history too close to the event(s) itself. Certainly an interesting viewpoint.
A Cold War should be thought of as required reading for all students of 20th Century geopolitical history. Gaddis is perhaps a bit effacing in his comment that the book is "not a work of original scholarship" but rather a synthesizing narrative of much research already completed. While there is much truth to this, the reality is that Gaddis is the source of a mountain of research and America's leading authority of the period. One might think, quite incorrectly, that he would be the wrong one to pull it all together in a fascinating and readable account. He does a splendid job on all accounts. One could only hope that future historical authors and editors one read this and learn his technique of focusing on "each chapter on a significant theme" rather than a straight chronological report. As a result "they overlap in time and move across space". Quite simply his writing works and produces a very readable and highly interesting account of The Cold War.
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