The current obsession with international terrorism has dimmed our collective memory. It was only 14 years ago the Soviet Union collapsed and historians were declaring that such an unexpected and tumultuous event could only herald 'the end of history.' Many would argue that it was the global bipartite control of the two superpowers-the USA and the Soviet Union-during the Cold War era, which kept the forces of terrorism in check. An interested reader of history who would like to learn more about the Cold War would be well served by reading A to Z of the Cold War, a historical dictionary....I highly recommend this reference book for all public, school, and academic libraries. Its strength lies in its authority, flexibility, and ease of use. Useful for the layperson looking for a basic understanding of political events, the undergraduate student writing a term paper and the scholar doing a quick fact search.

Reference Reviews

Can you quickly summarize the Hallstein Doctrine? How about giving the difference between trilateralism and tripartisme? Smith (American diplomatic history, Exeter U.) and Davis (history, City U. of New York) explain it all to you in this dictionary of the war that has passed into our increasingly unreliable memories. They open with a comprehensive chronology and introduction, followed by hundreds of entries about the politicians, events, weaponry, issues, and countries involved. They list the treaties, organizations, acts, doctrines, hopes and fears of that remarkable era. As a result, readers get a basic background in what happened, along with a healthy dose of why. Smith and Davis include a select bibliography ordered chronologically and a subject index.

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