Brief History of the Cold War : The Hidden Truth about How Close We Came to Nuclear Conflict

by Hughes-Wilson, John

• ISBN13: 9780786717316
• ISBN10: 0786717319
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-05-10
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

The Cold War was an undeclared war, fought silently and carefully between ideological opponents armed with the most fearsome weapons mankind has ever seen. Here, author Hughes-Wilson takes a cool look at this war, from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the dissolution of the USSR thereafter. He examines the suspicion and paranoia on both sides of the greatest stand-off in history. Written by one of Britain's leading popular military historians, A Brief History of the Cold War makes accessible for the first time one of the key periods to shape our world.

Author Biography

Colonel John Hughes-Wilson served in the British Army's Intelligence Corps for 30 years. His books include The Puppet Masters: Spies, Traitors and the Real Forces Behind World Events and Military Intelligence Blunders.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
Acknowledgements	x
Hot Wars, Rumours of War and Proxy Wars: Timeline 1945-91	xii
Introduction	1	(111)
1 First Frosts
The Bolsheviks Declare War	4	(13)
2 The View from the Frozen Steppe
Mutual Loathing	17	(9)
3 Stalin's Spy Wars
The Undercover War	26	(10)
4 Warm New Friends?
Hitler and Stalin	36	(12)
5 Cool New Allies?
The Three-Sided War	48	(13)
6 Growlers
The Victors Fall Out	61	(9)
7 The European Iceberg
The Cold War Begins	70	(14)
8 New Bombs, New Wars
The Nuclear Dimension	84	(20)
9 Death of the Ice Bear
Exit Stalin	104	(8)
10 The People Speak
Ideology and Propaganda	112	(11)
11 New Leaders, New Chills
Khrushchev, the Peasant Czar	123	(7)
12 Northern Lights
Spying on the USSR	130	(8)
13 Icepack
Hungary and Suez	138	(10)
14 Moscow Heat
Ike and Khrushchev	148	(16)
15 Hot Point
Berlin	164	(10)
16 When icebergs Collide
The Cuban Missile Crisis	174	(24)
17 Tropical Interlude
Vietnam	198	(32)
18 The Chills of Autumn
Problems in the USSR	230	(13)
19 Microwaving the Problem?
Détente	243	(22)
20 Frostbitten Crusader
The Carter Years	265	(20)
21 The Ice Man Cometh
Ronald Reagan's Great Plan	285	(18)
22 Hunting a Polar Bear
The Secret Attack on the USSR	303	(16)
23 The Icebound Reformer
Mikhail Gorbachev	319	(15)
24 The Melting of the Pack Ice
The Soviet Retreat	334	(18)
25 Thaw
The Soviet Union Unravels	352	(10)
26 Spring at Last?
The Collapse of Communism	362	(9)
27 Conclusion	371	(6)
Glossary	377	(4)
Appendix How the Cold War was Fought	381	(21)
Notes and Further Reading	402	(21)
Index	423