The Cold War An International History, 1947-1991 [Paperback]

Based on insights into the structure of postwar international politics revealed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, this study provides a fresh assessment of the entire course of the Cold War. Drawing on newly released material and scholarly research from both the West and former communist states, it argues that the Cold War can only be understood by exploring the interplay between ideology, domestic politics, and military security, not only in the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but in other states and movements with a capacity for significant military and political action.

Based on insights into the structure of postwar international politics revealed by the collapse of the Soviet Union, this study provides a fresh assessment of the entire course of the Cold War. Drawing on newly released material and scholarly research from both the West and former communist states, it argues that the Cold War can only be understood by exploring the interplay between ideology, domestic politics, and military security, not only in the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but in other states and movements with a capacity for significant military and political action.

Simon Ball is a professor at University of Glasgow.

The author displays extensive knowledge and sound judgment of the policies of nations whose histories are so rich and complex that many historians could spend a lifetime of study before uttering the kind of sensible pronouncements that Ball repeatedly makes....[A] valuable contribution to the Cold War corpus, as a reference text, as a possible course textbook, and as a model for all bold enough to write about international history. Canadian Journal of History

By writing a useful, judicious overview of the cold war from a multipolar perspective, Ball has made a valuable contribution to the literature. The International History Review