Russia's Cold War : from the October Revolution to the fall of the wall / Jonathan Haslam.

Author
Haslam, Jonathan [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
New Haven : Yale University Press, ©2011.
Description
xvii, 523 pages ; 25 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks DK266.45 .H37 2011 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    The phrase 'Cold War' was coined by George Orwell in 1945 to describe the impact of the atomic bomb on world politics: 'We may be heading not for a general breakdown but for an epoch as horribly stable as the slave empires of antiquity.' The Soviet Union, he wrote, was 'at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of 'cold war' with its neighbors.' But as a leading historian of Soviet foreign policy, Jonathan Haslam, makes clear in this groundbreaking book, the epoch was anything but stable, with constant wars, near-wars, and political upheavals on both sides. Whereas the Western perspective on the Cold War has been well documented by journalists and historians, the Soviet side has remained for the most part shrouded in secrecy- until now. Drawing on a vast range of recently released archives in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Eastern Europe, this book offers a thorough and fascinating analysis of East-West relations from 1917 to 1989. Far more that merely a straightforward history of the Cold War, this book presents the first account of politics and decision making at the highest levels of Soviet power: how Soviet leaders saw political and military events, what they were trying to accomplish, their miscalculations, and the ways they took advantage of Western ignorance. This book fills a significant gap in our understanding of the most important geopolitical rivalry of the twentieth century. -- Book Jacket.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    • Underlying antagonisms
    • Ideology triumphant
    • Cominformity
    • On the offensive in Asia
    • Thaw
    • Sudden frost
    • Taking the world to the brink
    • Détente
    • The impact of Vietnam
    • Détente fails
    • The Reagan presidency
    • Down comes the wall.
    ISBN
    • 9780300159974 ((cloth ; : alk. paper))
    • 0300159978 ((cloth ; : alk. paper))
    • 9780300188196 ((pbk.))
    • 0300188196 ((pbk.))
    • 9780300168532
    • 0300168535
    LCCN
    2010026281
    OCLC
    601350026
    Statement on language in description
    Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...
    Other views
    Staff view