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Kort, Michael. The Columbia guide to the Cold War
New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. xiv, 366p. index ISBN 0-231-10772-2 cloth
The Cold War, a term popularized by journalist Walter Lippmann, was the longest conflict in American history and the defining event of the second half of the twentieth century. Interest in this period of the nation's history has been on the rise making the Guide timely and useful. Coverage, outlined in a concise chronology of events, begins in 1945 with the Yalta Conference and ends in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Starting with a narrative overview, the Guide gives a background to the debates that surround the origins and waging of the Cold War. The overview is followed by six chapters: The Cold War and Its Historians, The Cold War Begins: 1945-1953, From the Thaw to the Brink: 1953-1962, Vietnam and Detente: 1962-1975, The New Cold War: 1976-1984, and The End of the Cold War: 1985-1990. Each chapter has an...