Synopses & Reviews
Combining classic and contemporary scholarly essays, this best-selling anthology from the respected Problems in American Civilization series presents challenging perspectives on the complex origins of the East-West confrontation after World War II.
About the Author
Robert J. McMahon received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in 1977 and was professor of History at the University of Florida before moving to Ohio State University. He specializes in United States diplomatic history. He is the author of Colonialism and Cold War: The United States and the Struggle for Indonesian Independence (1981) and The Cold War on the Periphery: The United States, India, and Pakistan (1994). He is also the co-editor of the Problems in American Civilization book The Origins of the Cold War, which entered its fourth edition in 1999.Thomas G. Paterson, professor emeritus of history at the University of Connecticut, graduated from the University of New Hampshire (B.A., 1963) and the University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D., 1968). He is the author of Soviet-American Confrontation (1973), Meeting the Communist Threat (1988), On Every Front (1992), Contesting Castro (1994), America Ascendant (with J. Garry Clifford, 1995), and A People and a Nation (with Mary Beth Norton et al., 2001). Tom is also the editor of Cold War Critics (1971), Kennedy's Quest for Victory (1989), Imperial Surge (with Stephen G. Rabe, 1992), The Origins of the Cold War (with Robert McMahon, 1999), Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations (with Michael J. Hogan, 2004), and Major Problems in American Foreign Relations (with Dennis Merrill, 2010). With Bruce Jentleson, he served as senior editor for the Encyclopedia of American Foreign Relations (1997). A microfilm edition of The United States and Castro's Cuba, 1950s?1970s: The Paterson Collection appeared in 1999. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of American History and Diplomatic History. A recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, he has directed National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminars for College Teachers. In 2000 the New England History Teachers Association recognized his excellence in teaching and mentoring with the Kidger Award. Besides visits to many American campuses, Tom has lectured in Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Venezuela. He is a past president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, which in 2008 honored him with the Laura and Norman Graebner Award for "lifetime achievement" in scholarship, service, and teaching. A native of Oregon, Tom is now informally associated with Southern Oregon University.
Table of Contents
Preface. Introduction. Acronyms and Abbreviations. Chronology 1. Explanations Joyce and Gabriel Kolko, American Capitalist Expansion Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Communist Ideology, Stalinist Totalitarianism, and American Universalism Daniel Yergin, American Ideology: The Riga and Yalta Axioms Melvyn P. Leffler, America's National Security Policy: A Source of Cold War Tensions Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Pleshakov, Stalin's Road to the Cold War Thomas G. Paterson, Inevitable Conflict: The Unstable International System 2. The Origins of the Cold War in Europe Barton J. Bernstein, Saving American Lives and Pressing the Soviets: The Atomic Bomb Decision Robert H. Ferrell, Reorienting American Foreign Policy: Harry S. Truman's Achievements Carolyn Eisenberg, Dividing Germany Robert A. Garson, The Limits of American Power in Eastern Europe Frank Costigliola, Demonizing the Soviets: George F. Kennan's Long Telegram Thomas J. McCormick, Economic Crisis and American Militarization John Lewis Gaddis, Two Very Different Empires Melvin P. Leffler, The Primacy of Security in Soviet Foreign Policy 3. The Cold War in Asia Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Subordinating China Robert J. McMahon, The Cold War Comes to Southeast Asia Sergei Goncharev, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, The Conflicted and Troubled Origins of the Sino-Soviet Alliance Suggestions for Further Reading Maps Europe After the Second World War Asia and the Middle East After the Second World War