Understand the Cold War (Teach Yourself)

✍ Scribed by C. B. Jones

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 289
• Edition: Reprint
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

All the important aspects of the war are explained and explored, from what JFK and his assassin had in common to a discussion of whether the tension ended after the fall of the Berlin Wall With extensive discussion of the global effects of the Cold War as well as the role of individuals, this book provides readers the opportunity to understand the global reach of the 45-year-long conflict that shaped the latter half of the 20th century. From the definition of the term "cold war" and an explanation of the conflicting ideologies of communism and capitalism, through to the rise of Yeltsin and the Cold War in film, this is a truly comprehensive look at the conflict.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Book title......Page 2
Contents......Page 4
Meet the author......Page 10
Only got a minute?......Page 11
Only got five minutes?......Page 13
1 What was the Cold War?......Page 16
What was the Cold War?......Page 17
Who were the Great Powers?......Page 18
Conflicting ideologies......Page 20
Conflicting aims in Europe......Page 22
The end of the war in Europe......Page 25
Yalta......Page 27
Poland......Page 28
The Potsdam Conference......Page 30
3 Containment......Page 36
Poland......Page 37
Romania......Page 38
Yugoslavia......Page 39
Greece......Page 40
The Truman Doctrine......Page 42
The Marshall Plan......Page 43
4 Germany......Page 48
Germany divided......Page 49
The formation of NATO......Page 56
The German question......Page 58
Crisis in Berlin 1961 – face-off at Checkpoint Charlie......Page 59
Ich bin ein Berliner......Page 61
5 The Far East......Page 64
China 1949–50......Page 65
Fear of Communist expansion......Page 66
The Malay Emergency......Page 67
Korea......Page 69
The Domino Theory......Page 80
6 The thaw......Page 85
Khrushchev......Page 86
Poland......Page 88
Hungary......Page 89
7 The arms race......Page 96
What was the arms race?......Page 98
The hydrogen bomb......Page 99
National prestige......Page 100
Rocket science......Page 102
The missile gap......Page 104
NASA......Page 105
Should the West use nuclear weapons?......Page 106
How safe were nuclear weapons in the hands of the superpowers?......Page 107
Détente and the arms race......Page 109
Ronald Reagan and the second Cold War......Page 111
Reagan and Gorbachev......Page 114
Public reaction to the arms race......Page 116
8 Kennedy and Khrushchev......Page 121
Castro’s revolution......Page 123
American attempts to destabilize Cuba......Page 124
The Bay of Pigs invasion......Page 125
Khrushchev’s bright idea......Page 127
ExComm hawks and doves......Page 129
Cuba in quarantine......Page 131
Cuba’s view of the situation......Page 135
Reaction of the people......Page 136
Win–win......Page 138
Result of the crisis......Page 139
Russia and China......Page 142
Sino–Soviet split......Page 144
A new domino......Page 146
The likelihood of war increases......Page 150
Gulf of Tonkin......Page 151
Operation Rolling Thunder......Page 152
The United States commits to ground involvement......Page 154
The Tet offensive......Page 156
Vietnamization......Page 157
Peace with honour?......Page 158
Implications of the war......Page 159
10 Czechoslovakia......Page 164
The Prague spring......Page 165
Fear of reform in the Eastern bloc......Page 167
The invasion of Czechoslovakia......Page 168
Were the Soviets invited in to seize control in Czechoslovakia?......Page 169
Why did the West once again fail to act?......Page 170
Brezhnev Doctrine......Page 171
11 Détente 1971–9......Page 173
Motives of the Great Powers......Page 174
Relations between the USA and China......Page 176
The United States and the USSR......Page 178
Arms limitation discussions......Page 179
Human rights on the agenda but ignored......Page 182
The end of détente......Page 184
12 The Middle East......Page 187
United States interests......Page 189
Arab–Israeli conflict – the background......Page 191
The Suez crisis 1957......Page 192
The Six Day War......Page 195
The October War......Page 196
Sadat’s ‘sacred mission’......Page 199
Iran......Page 201
The Gulf War – Iran v. Iraq......Page 203
Afghanistan: the Soviet Vietnam......Page 204
13 The Cold War in Africa and Latin America......Page 209
Angola......Page 212
The Horn of Africa......Page 216
Latin America......Page 218
Chile......Page 219
Nicaragua......Page 222
14 The second Cold War......Page 228
Poland......Page 229
Confrontations......Page 232
Mikhail Gorbachev – change in the USSR......Page 233
Détente......Page 234
15 The collapse of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe......Page 237
Hungary 1988......Page 239
East Germany 1989–90......Page 240
Czechoslovakia – the Velvet Revolution 1989......Page 242
Romania......Page 243
Yugoslavia......Page 245
16 Cold War spies......Page 249
Why spy?......Page 252
Technology and spying......Page 253
Spies in literature and the movies......Page 255
Ordinary people......Page 257
17 The end of the Cold War......Page 261
How did the Cold War affect the people?......Page 264
What was the financial cost of the Cold War?......Page 266
Glossary......Page 269
Taking it further......Page 275
Index......Page 278