Reviews for The cold war; a study in U. S. foreign policy

The average rating for The cold war; a study in U. S. foreign policy based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-03-03 00:00:00 Bruno Volk Ralph Levering has written a clear account of the standoff between the US and the USSR in the period between the end of World War 2 and 1987. If only he had waited two more years, he would have been able to include the end of the USSR, which came as a surprise to everyone in the West. There is no hint of that event in this book, though Levering speculates that the competition between the two most powerful countries would decrease as other countries would grow in importance. Since I was born in 1950, much of the material in this book is familiar from having lived through it. It was clear to me that on the US side there were hawks always calling for more weapons and for standing up to the Russians, a view that prevailed except for some relaxation of tension during the Nixon/Kissinger years. The American people were kept in a constant state of fear throughout, so severe in the 50's that President Eisenhower felt it necessary to address Americans on TV to try to ease it (not mentioned in the book). Hundreds of thousands of people died in proxy wars, in the case of Vietnam alone, over 2 million, as the US and USSR maneuvered to gain advantage. With the exception of early failures in the development of long range missiles, the US was never at a disadvantage or behind the Soviet Union in any technology, though the launch of Sputnik in 1957 was easily used as a scare. The Soviet Army was undeniably huge in comparison to what NATO deployed, but the presence of nuclear weapons on both sides made it unthinkable for either side to launch a war, though in the Reagan years there was foolish, frightening talk of "nuclear war fighting capability". The principle effect of the Cold War was to prompt the spending of incredible amounts of money on one weapon system after another, each lasting for a few years before being made obsolete by a new generation of weapons. In missiles, the US had Nike, Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, Polaris, Poseidon, Trident and ultimately the canceled MX. The most outstanding example of cost-no-object was the Carter proposal to shuttle MX missiles around on railroad tracks between multiple shelters, literally a shell game, forcing the Russians to guess where the missiles were in vast areas of Nevada. This would, of course, invite the Russians to build even more missiles. Fortunately, it never got off the drawing board. Though the Cuban missile crisis is adequately covered, there is no mention that at the time neither side had more than a handful of ICBM's capable of reaching the other over the pole, though of course even one successful hit on a target would have brought chaos. The attempts to reach agreement on limiting and scaling back nuclear weapons is recounted, though as we know, thousands still sit ready to launch by both the US and Russia. Today, President Obama calls for a major overhaul and renovation of the US nuclear force. Nobody is talking about any reductions. For the most part, the public has forgotten about nuclear weapons but I am very concerned that eventually there will be either an accidental detonation or one done for the purpose of terror. In the panic that would follow all-out nuclear war could result. With the Internet available, a book like The Cold War isn't needed on anyone's bookshelf as it is primarily a reference that, being from 1987, is quite out of date. Nevertheless I found it a very good refresher about a time that I am grateful we came though, though so many in the "third world" did not.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-10-30 00:00:00 Joann Baker This is a rather short book given the scope of the cold war. But it is well written and is ideal for anyone starting a study of the cold war. Its biggest flaw is the fact that it's a US-centric work. Tho it's not overbearing in any sense. It's biggest strength is that every chapter is uniquely thematic and each comes with a bibliography specific to the chapter in question. This should be recommended to any student beginning a study of the cold war or to educated general readers who may want to delve more into the topic.