The Cold War A New History By John Lewis Gaddis Essay

I chose The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis for my book to review. I originally read parts of this book for History of the International System, but we did not read the entire book in class, only certain chapters. It’s been two years since I’ve picked up the book, and after reading about the Cold War in the context of U.S. foreign policy rather than simply an international history class, it seems like an entirely new book. I really like how the book into broken up into a series of themes, rather than a chronological re-telling of history year by year. More than that, his book is not so much a history of the war as it a re-telling and careful account, or rather, an interpretation of the Cold War to his readers. Gaddis published this book in 2005, long after the Cold War ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Another interesting feature of this book is that Gaddis writes in almost over-simplistic terms to illustrate his points. The conflicts between the communists and the capitalists; between Stalin and the free world; and between right and wrong are heavily emphasized in this book. However I did not walk away from reading this book with one clear theme, lesson, or moral from Gaddis about the Cold War as a whole. Maybe this was Gaddis’s intention, but I certainly expected him to have an overarching lesson for those of us who were born after the end of the Cold War, myself included, as his presentation of the Cold War themes were certainly based on hisShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis831 Words   |  4 Pagesof American history was analyzed. The Cold War is rampant with American foreign policy and influential in shaping the modern world. Strategies of Containment outlines American policy from the end of World War II until present day. Gaddis outlines the policies of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, including policies influenced by others such as George Kennan, Jo hn Dulles, and Henry Kissinger. The author, John Lewis Gaddis has written many books on the Cold War and is an avidRead MoreThe Cold War : A New History By John Lewis Gaddis1690 Words   |  7 Pagessince the dawn of American history. The American revolt against the arrogant, totalitarian regime set a precedent for the future events in which the nation came together to oppose anything that went against the concept of democracy, and capitalism. Communism, or Marxism posed as a huge threat to the free mined Western societies, thus resulting in world wars that left perilous aftermaths, and bred an ongoing conflict between the two global political establishments. 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David Reynolds’ piece titled The European Dimension to the Cold War is a historiographical piece