The Long Peace: Inquiries Into the History of the Cold War - Softcover

Gaddis, John Lewis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195043359 ISBN 13: 9780195043358

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1989

Synopsis

In this fascinating new interpretation of Cold War history, John Lewis Gaddis focuses on how the United States and the Soviet Union have managed to get through more than four decades of Cold War confrontation without going to war with one another.
Using recently-declassified American and British documents, Gaddis argues that the postwar international system has contained previously unsuspected elements of stability. This provocative reassessment of contemporary history--particularly as it relates to the current status of Soviet-American relations--will certainly generate discussion, controversy, and important new perspectives on both past and present aspects of the age in which we live.

About this title

About the Author

John Lewis Gaddis, Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio University, is the author of The United States and the Origins of the Cold War and Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American National Security Policy.

Review

"Coherent, learned, well written--and a reminder of just how changeable are the passions kindled by nuclear deterrence....[Gaddis is] an intelligent historian, and he combines theoretical reflection with a deep knowledge of the massive American archives....[These essays] constitute a unified history of the Cold War."--The New York Times Book Review

"With his customary insight and care, John Gaddis gives us important and illuminating essays that deepen and alter our understanding of Soviet-American relations."--Robert Jervis, Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University

"A sophisticated addition to the Cold War literature."--Booklist

"Gaddis raises some interesting and timely questions....Provocative and well-argued."--Library Journal

"A fresh slant on the history of the Cold War."--Cultural Information Service

"Gaddis writes superbly well, no mean task when mixing narrative, analysis, personal reflection and advocacy....He asks questions that go to the heart of the matter; he offers subtle, skeptical answers clearly open to continuing debate."--The Washington Post Book World

"Few are more qualified to analyze the "long peace" than John Lewis Gaddis....[He makes] a case for the relative stability of the international order. In so doing, he offers an interpretation as insightful as it is provocative."--St. Petersburg Times

"A distinguished historian of post-1945 international relations presents eight substantial, thoroughly researched essays on the overall theme of the war the United States and the Soviet Union have managed to avoid with each other."--Foreign Affairs

"A collection of well-wrought and insightful essays."--The New Republic

"Together, these essays...form a comprehensive and perceptive statement that scholars and politicians alike ought not to ignore."--American Studies International

"[These essays] are uniformly well-written and stylishly crafted....[Gaddis] is a delight to read....By asking a different set of questions, by identifying new areas to investigate, and by taking virtually nothing as a given, Gaddis has forced all historians to examine and reexamine existing arguments and evidence."--Diplomatic History

"Provides essential historical perspective and keen insight on the troubled era of the Cold War."--Alexander L. George, Stanford University

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0195043359
• ISBN 13: 9780195043358
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352