Synopses & Reviews
The Cold War was only cold in that the major powers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, did not engage in a nuclear war. But during that period (1945-1991) there were wars, spying, shoot downs of numerous reconnaissance aircraft, captures of U.S. military personnel, murders, defections, a space race with men put in orbit and an eventual moon landing.
Dangerous Games: Faces, Incidents and Casualties of the Cold War is a return to that era. This book contains many unknown and long-since forgotten stories of that period. Some of the Cold War incidents covered include:
- The Marines in China;
- The first Cold War downing of an American Aircraft in the Baltic Sea;
- Death on the Orient Express (murder of a U.S. Naval Attache Officer);
- Actor James Garner's Front Line Army Experience South of the Yalu River during the Korean War;
- Soviet Spy Betty Bentley Who Triggered an Earthquake in American Politics;
- No Kum-Sok, the North Korean pilot who Defected to South Korea Delivering the First MIG Fighter to the West;
- CIA Officers Downey and Feacteau Who Spent 20 Years in a Chinese Prison;
- East German Soldier Hans Conrad Schumann and His Iconic leap to the West in Berlin;
- The Mysterious Death of British Frogman "Buster" Crabb;
- Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space;
- Commander Lloyd Bucher and the Second Korean Conflict;
- The USS Forrestal Fire.
With the resurgence of Russia, and its aggressive handling of the Georgian situation, Eastern European countries have become increasingly alarmed that Russia is attempting to recreate a sphere of influence over satellite states of the former Soviet Union.
To add to the mounting tension with the West, Russia in its attempt to become a world power once again, has already begun to show its flag in the Western Hemisphere.
Considering that we may be facing a second Cold War, this book is a timely reminder of some notable incidents from the intense political period following the end of the Second World War.
About the Author
James E. Wise Jr., a former naval aviator, intelligence officer, and Vietnam veteran, retired from the U.S. Navy as a captain. His books include The Silver Star, The Navy Cross, Stars in Blue and U-505, among many others. He lives in Alexandria, VA. metropolitan area. Scott Baron, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and former law enforcement officer in California, is the author of They Also Served: Military Biographies of Uncommon Americans and coauthor, with Wise, of The Silver Star, The Navy Cross and Women at War.