Cold War: An Illustrated History, 1945-1991

Rating:
Summary: 46 years in the making, I guess
Review: Everyone and their brother has released a book on World War II. Or any other period in history, for that matter. The Vietnam and Korean wars, its all been told a thousand times. But few books that I've ever found in general circulation cover the broad topic of the entire Cold War. Issacs and crew cover the period with as much detail as possible in such a complicated and even sometimes confusing period of time. They do a superb job, with each chapter covering a specific feature of the Cold War, such as the Cuban Missle crisis and more interesting, though less known of events. Issacs provides a very objective viewpoint, and makes reading Cold War: An Illustrated History not so much as a chore as some history books can be.
The pictures provided are really good, and provide many pictures of the key players in the game of chess that was played on Earth throughout the decades.
I rather enjoyed the various side bars presented throughout the book, each one touching upon various aspects of the Cold War, such as spies, or even entertainment.
If you have any interest in the Cold War, or are just plain curious as to what made the world what it is now, this is your best place to start. Buy it.

Rating:
Summary: An excellant general read on a complex period in history...
Review: If you're looking for general history on the 40 to 50 year period known as the "Cold War", than this book along with the CNN program "Cold War" is for you...contrary to a few of the other reviewers, I liked this book in it's general state and I would not want to extoll my opinions concerning morality here. I'm sure that there are other books that would welcome that type of review, but this book is just for the general history reader and presented in a fabulous format! Maps, color photograhs and charts along with clear and interesting prose make this an excellant "launching pad" to the struggle and to other more detailed views. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: An excellant general read on a complex period in history...
Review: If you're looking for general history on the 40 to 50 year period known as the "Cold War", than this book along with the CNN program "Cold War" is for you...contrary to a few of the other reviewers, I liked this book in it's general state and I would not want to extoll my opinions concerning morality here. I'm sure that there are other books that would welcome that type of review, but this book is just for the general history reader and presented in a fabulous format! Maps, color photograhs and charts along with clear and interesting prose make this an excellant "launching pad" to the struggle and to other more detailed views. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A great historic book to read.
Review: This book, of course, is a companion to the 24-part series on CNN. While it is comprehensive, well-photographed, and well-edited, Ted Turner's Team just can't help taking the revisionist's view that the Cold War was fought by morally equivalent superpowers. The US certainly didn't wear a white hat during the Cold War, but putting us on the same moral level as a reactive, authoritarian regime that crushed all dissent, inside and outside the country, is pure folly. A good example is the coverage of Stalin's Gulag and the McCarthy era. McCarthyism was truly a dark spell in US history which led to careers and reputations being ruined. However, I don't remember millions of suspected subversives/dissidents being worked/starved to death in Alaska. Better dead than Ted!!!

Rating:
Summary: Apparently, the victors DON'T write history.
Review: This book, of course, is a companion to the 24-part series on CNN. While it is comprehensive, well-photographed, and well-edited, Ted Turner's Team just can't help taking the revisionist's view that the Cold War was fought by morally equivalent superpowers. The US certainly didn't wear a white hat during the Cold War, but putting us on the same moral level as a reactive, authoritarian regime that crushed all dissent, inside and outside the country, is pure folly. A good example is the coverage of Stalin's Gulag and the McCarthy era. McCarthyism was truly a dark spell in US history which led to careers and reputations being ruined. However, I don't remember millions of suspected subversives/dissidents being worked/starved to death in Alaska. Better dead than Ted!!!

Rating:
Summary: reader from the desert
Review: This is an excellant recount of the cold war. I grew during the latter years of Reagan and glasnost and never really knew much about the 45 year conflict that shaped the second half of the 20th century. This book helped me to understand the scope, maening, events, and lasting impact of the cold war on history and current politics. I highly recommend it.