The Cold War: A World History

Westad (Restless Empire), professor of U.S.-Asia relations at Harvard, reassesses conventional frameworks of the Cold War and identifies its origins in the late 19th century with “the expansion of the United States and Russia as transcontinental empires” and “the sharpening of the ideological divide between capitalism and its critics.” Within this expansive structure, Westad traces the development of the epic global confrontation between capitalism and socialism “both as an ideological conflict and as an international system.” He ably synthesizes contemporary scholarship to produce an accessible narrative that provides a fresh perspective on the conflict’s pervasive global influence. This work covers the most prominent issues—the division of Europe, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, the showdown over Berlin, the arms race—and delineates the ways in which the Cold War influenced virtually all international developments, including European postwar reconstruction, decolonization, the Iraqi revolution of 1958, and the institution of military regimes in Latin America. Given the complexity of the era and the breadth of the approach, a single volume can only scratch the surface of the multitude of topics involved, but Westad’s panoramic history is nevertheless an impressive feat that will be appreciated by scholars, students, and general readers. Agent: Sarah Chalfant, Wylie Agency. (Sept.)