From the Publisher
For fifty years the Cold War shaped our lives and divided our world and its influence will continue for decades to come. While other authors have portrayed the period as an uneasy "peace" enforced by the mutually assured destruction of atomic and nuclear weapons, Norman Friedman has synthesized a vast array of information from a diverse spectrum of sources on both sides of the Iron Curtain and come up with some foundation-shattering new conclusions. His book is already being considered a landmark study by those privileged to see the work in progress. The renowned defense analyst has fired a devastating shot over the bow of conventional thinking and set a very high mark for those who follow him in attempting to make sense of one of the most complex and fascinating epochs of world history.
With a depth and scope of analysis unseen in other literature on the subject, Friedman dashes the prevailing notion that the Cold War was but a loose succession of related events and shows instead that it was World War III conducted at a much slower pace than a hot war, allowing for the enduring technological, cultural, and social effects of the past five decades. He is the first to amalgamate geopolitics with the technical and military developments of the last fifty years. Avoiding the trap of blaming it all on ideology, Friedman connects each side's politico-military strategy and central defining character. Among the many questions he discusses are: Was it communism versus capitalism or just old-fashioned Russian imperialism cloaked in a largely irrelevant ideology? Did the West win or did inherent flaws doom the Soviet system from the start?
A recognized authority on twentieth-century warfare and defense strategy, Friedman is uniquely qualified to interpret the importance of geopolitical events and their influence on the future. His ability to convey matters of great complexity with ease and interest is nearly without parallel, and his profound insights will prove useful to specialists and general readers alike. Even his footnotes are entertaining.
From the Soviets' first advances in the Spanish Civil War to the official end of the Soviet state on Christmas Day 1991, Friedman provides the reader with a comprehensive, incisive, and thought-provoking history. We cannot afford to ignore his Cold War analysis and lessons for the future.
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