Did the Soviet Union want world revolution? Why did the USSR send missiles to Cuba? What made the Cold War last as long as it did? This text presents a comprehensive comparative history of the conflict from its origins, to it most dangerous moment - the Cuban Missile Crisis.

1. Dividing the World ; 2. Cold War Empires: Europe ; 3. Cold War Empires: Asia ; 4. Nuclear Weapons and the Early Cold War ; 5. The German Question ; 6. The Third World ; 7. Economics, Ideology, and Alliance Solidarity ; 8. Nuclear Weapons and the Escalation of the Cold War ; 9. The Cuban Missile Crisis ; 10. The New Cold War History: First Impressions ; Notes, Bibliography, Index

The author, who has been writing about the Cold War for more than 20 years, synthesizes documents and scholarly literature, much of it drawing on material housed in foreign archives, to provide American, European, Soviet, and Chinese viewpoints on the conflict...The book's ten chapters deal with the following topics: the American and Soviet struggle for Europe, Asia, and the Third World; nuclear weapons; the division of Germany; the economic and ideological nexus of various state alliances; nuclear weapons and Cold War escalation; and the Cuban missile crisis./Sage Publications. It is thought-provoking and informative, fraught with observations inviting the reader to evaluate, to object and to assess./The Journal of Strategic Studies September 1998. Gaddis' accomplishments as a Cold War historian need little in the way of advertisement. He writes provocatively and brilliantly...These accounts, taking the story of the Cold War up to 1963, are intrinsically valuable and provide welcome short-cuts to the student./John Dumbrell/American Studies 32/1. history at its best and most accessible. It elegantly surveys key episodes up to the Cuban Missile Crisis...Gaddis unearthed some startling new facts./Gary Kent/Tribune Friday 4th December 1998. `within his self-set limits, Gaddis shows unquestionable mastery ... massively reinforced by Soviet and Chinese material, he gives us an overview that, if not definitive, is certainly magisterial and is unlikely, in essence, to be challenged for many years.' Sir Michael Howard, Times Literary Supplement `His new study makes excellent use of the end of superpower confrontation ... The author has deployed his usual very clear, well-structured style ... this is an impressive, valuable and compelling study. It succeeds in establishing itself as the best general analysis of the first twenty five years or so of the Cold War, as the first text for any serious student of the topic.' Michael F Hopkins, Contemporary Review `within his self-set limits, Gaddis shows unquestionable mastery ... massively reinforced by Soviet and Chinese material, he gives us an overview that, if not definitive, is certainly magisterial and is unlikely, in essence, to be challenged for many years' Times Literary Supplement `His new study makes excellent use of the end of superpower confrontation ... The author has deployed his usual very clear, well-structured style ... this is an impressive, valuable and compelling study. It succeeds in establishing itself as the best general analysis of the first twenty five years or so of the Cold War, as the first text for any serious student of the topic.' Contemporary Review An interesting and well-informed interpretations, sometimes burdoned by over- interpretations and a somewhat naive re- discovery of moral dimensions of the cold war. `An important work, where some of the revelations are stunning, the general argument fascinating and the literary style brilliant.' NOD and Conversion

Written by the pre-eminent authority on the United States and the Cold War. The book stands as a powerful vindication of US policy throughout this period, and provides intriguing insights into the character of Joseph Stalin, portrayed as the primary instigator of Cold War tensions. Written from a unique vantage point the end of the Cold War, and from a truly international perspective. The book utilizes a wealth of new information from previously unavailable Soviet and Chinese sources. Endorsement from Lawrence Freedman, Department of War Studies, King's College, London: 'John Gaddis has long been the master of Cold War history. He has now taken advantage of recent scholarship and, particularly, the new Soviet and Chinese material which has only recently become available. The result is the fullest and most thoughtful account to date of those critical years.'

Written by the pre-eminent authority on the United States and the Cold War. The book stands as a powerful vindication of US policy throughout this period, and provides intriguing insights into the character of Joseph Stalin, portrayed as the primary instigator of Cold War tensions. Written from a unique vantage point the end of the Cold War, and from a truly international perspective. The book utilizes a wealth of new information from previously unavailable Soviet and Chinese sources. Endorsement from Lawrence Freedman, Department of War Studies, King's College, London: 'John Gaddis has long been the master of Cold War history. He has now taken advantage of recent scholarship and, particularly, the new Soviet and Chinese material which has only recently become available. The result is the fullest and most thoughtful account to date of those critical years.'