Do you know why the world nearly destroyed itself in a catastrophic nuclear war?
Two words – ‘Cold War’.
The Cold War was international affairs for the second half of the 20th century. Nuclear weapons testing, civil wars in all corners of the globe, and the race for economic dominance were all key spheres of the Cold War, although they were just a few elements of an intriguing global puzzle. More so than the great battles between Carthage and Rome in ancient times or the Napoleonic Wars, the Cold War defined our world. But, there was one key difference between the Cold War and earlier major wars. Due to advances in technology and communications, the Cold War touched most countries on earth.
This introduction to the Cold War tells the story of the great clash between the communist Soviet Union and the capitalist USA. It covers the period from 1945 to 1991 in one combined edition, neatly breaking the Cold War up into three parts.
The book starts by describing how two super-powers emerged out of the rubble of World War Two and includes the following:
- How the Soviet Union and the USA quickly went from wartime allies to enemies
- Events in East Asia – the Chinese Civil War and the Korean War
- The most dangerous event of the early Cold War years, the Cuban Missile Crisis
- The Vietnam War and its impact on the Cold War
- The shocking power of nuclear weapons – and attempts to control them
- Uprisings on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain
- The superpowers as friends? Détente, Richard Nixon, and Leonid Brezhnev
- The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
- The rise of Ronald Reagan and his aggression in the early 1980s
- How Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader
- Glasnost, Perestroika, and how the Cold War ended
The approximately 250-page book is the perfect complement to the Cold War History audio series that is available as part of the ‘History in 28-minutes’ podcasts.
Required History
The aim of the ‘Required History’ book series is to create approachable, succinct written introductions to some of the most interesting topics in history. They are designed for those:
- That want to quickly learn about some of the world’s major historical events
- Studying history. The books act as a perfect complement and overview to those undertaking high school and introductory college courses in history
- Who enjoyed the audio podcasts and want to reinforce and further their knowledge
- Learning English. The language and level of detail in the books are perfect for those in advanced English classes
All of the Required History books are designed to build on the audio podcasts available on the publisher’s website. They provide an extra layer of detail to the major historical events that the audio podcasts cover.