The Cold War: A World History

Excellent book- I enjoyed the read

This is an exceptional book for people who are willing to invest a considerable amount of time to understand the underlying currents of the Cold War. What was most revealing was just how horrible the atrocities were after World War II ended. Most people reference the horrors of World War II as ones we can never allowed to happen again, but they do not realize that they already did happen again several times over in the Soviet union, China, and much of the developing world after European empires collapsed. The book goes into a bit too much detail at times, which is why readers need to invest quite a bit of time to get through this book. That said, it is an extraordinary piece of work.

Learned a lot reading the book and enjoyed the read. The book is pretty long though, so if you go slowly I could see it becoming a slog. Biggest problem with the book in my opinion is that (since I was not alive when any of these events occurred) it is hard to place the events described within a global timeline. The book is organized around kind of sub timelines which focus on events that form a cohesive and related sequence usually within a specific region, but these overlap in time and so you are constantly jumping forward / backward. I found it hard to understand the simultaneous events going on in other parts of the world while reading these sections. Not sure what could be done about that; maybe just inevitable as just covering events chronologically would lose much of the cohesiveness. Also noticed that there is a lot of repetition (like saying basically the exact same thing but 40 pages apart) although could also be a plus as you might forget things. Also you realize how much of a bird's eye view the book is when a topic like the Vietnam war is covered in very few pages (like 25 pages).

Great overview. He doesn't dig into details on a lot of issues (the Khmer Rouge get maybe 3 pages, for example) but that's to be expected from a work of this scope. Westad does a great job of drawing out the major threads of the Cold War and showing the common themes that remained constant throughout the struggle and the areas where each superpower moderated or altered its stance as the years went on. It also doesn't hurt that he is a good writer who produces clean, readable, and engaging prose. If you're already a subject matter expert it probably doesn't bring anything new to the table, but if you want a single volume introduction to the major issues it can't be beat.

The author is summing up important events before during an after the cold war. He concludes that the US "won", which may be hard for some to accept. The same goes for his ecaluation of the Marxist - Leninist legacy. But many of us will share his conclusions. The quote of an old Bulgarian conmunist boss at the end of the book is pricless. Anecdotes an characterisations of key players both precise and entertaining. For those of us who remember much of this from growing up this is both an entertaining and intresting read.

Masterful global synthesis

Mr. Westad does an outstanding job of showing both the global reach of The Cold War. How essentially what started out as a bipolar conflict between the US and USSR over control and domination of Europe spread to Asia, Latin America and Africa. He also shows its limitation while both the US and USSR saw everything in that prism. In most parts of the world that global conflict took a back seat to the end of colonization, the vast gaps between rich and poor in many parts of the world. The result was that both US and Soviet policy makers made decisions that severely negatively impacted those countries that became battlegrounds between the two competing ideologies. Some may not care for the layout of this book how Mr. Westad goes from country to country or region to region. It is not specifically a chronological order of The Cold War, though it does have that component. I found it interesting to see the Global reach of the Cold war and its limitations .

I enjoyed reading the book and its conclusion about the post Cold War errors in U.S. policy due to the distorting Cold War lens is original and worth debating. On the whole, the ideological position is perhaps too critical of the role of the U.S. in the Cold War, and it reminds me a bit of the theory of equivalency my middle school and Lyceum teachers were so proud to present: “Communism and Capitalism are two ideology equivalent in their overall average between the Good and the Evil delivered to the citizen”. The author seem to forget the order of magnitude difference between the number of human lives cut short by the catastrophic Marxist Leninist ideology in the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, Eastern Europe, Vietnam and Cuba and the evil perpetrated by the “anti-communist”. Another interesting omission is any discussion of the historically curious and potentially fatal Chinese repudiation of the communist party even more than 20 years of joining the list of capitalist economies. Overall, I do recommend this wonderful book, both as a reasonable detailed account of the Cold War and an essential springboard for those who wish to start a study in depth of the second half of the twentieth century.

El libro llegó en muy buen estado. El problema es el libro en sí. No recomiendo este libro para nada. Es pura propaganda al estilo de una película de Hollywood. Los bondadosos, que sólo tenían buenas intenciones para salvar a la humanidad con capitalismo (EUA según el autor), que se enfrentan a los malos y depravados que solo quieren dominar el mundo y esclavisar la humanidad (la URSS según el autor). El autor obvia e ignora hechos y acontecimientos de gran importancia para imponer su relato sesgado, y blanquea atrocidades y crímenes de lesa humanidad con el mismo objetivo. Por ejemplo, en ningún momento hay un intento de hacer un análisis serio de las causas de la Guerra Fría con la documentación adecuada. El autor simplemente culpa a la URSS, y expresa opiniones. Hay una gran falta de fuentes primarias. Me imagino porque sólo así el autor puede mantener su argumento parcial. Quizás lo peor de este libro es saber que el lector con menos conocimiento acabará creyendo que la versión expresada aquí es la correcta.

Westad has written, in his lucid, direct style, an up-to-date, comprehensive single volume history of the Cold War in its global context. His command of the available Russian and Chinese sources, as well as of contemporary research in the West (especially at LSE's IDEAS and at Harvard), gives him an unequalled advantage.His analysis of the Cold War's origins, which he traces back to the late 19th century, contrasts favourably with the more conventional starting point located in the breakdown of the anti-Axis alliance during and after World War II. Highly recommended for the general reader as well as for students of the subject - ideal for those taking International Baccalaureate History and undergraduates new to this field.

Great entry for understanding the phases of 20th century, governing the world till the date! It also broadens the scope to include the global impact and intricate international dynamics that shaped this era. Also, Westad portrays Stalin as a shrewd and ruthless leader, deeply committed to consolidating and expanding Soviet power while promoting communist ideology globally. His legacy, marked by both his contributions to the Soviet state and the immense human cost of his policies, is critically examined, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of his role in this turbulent period.

Not very good.

Finally I now understand the cold war from a global perspective. Without this extensive history, I could not understand why many events happened. But now I do.