Myths of the Cold War : amending historiographic distortions / Albert L. Weeks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weeks, Albert Loren, 1923- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cold War--Historiography.

Cold War.

Historiography.

United States--Foreign relations--Soviet Union.

United States.

International relations.

Soviet Union.

Soviet Union--Foreign relations--United States.

Physical Description:

x, 143 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, [2014]

Summary:

Myths of the Cold War: Amending Historiographic Distortions Provides a corrective for the distortions and omissions of many previous domestic and foreign (including Russian) studies of the U.S.-Soviet Cold War, especially those published since 2000.The "Present Interest" motivation in Weeks's analysis is gaining a clear understanding of the $4 trillion, nuclear-war-threatening standoff that lasted for over forty years after World War II, until the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. Without such knowledge and understanding of this dangerous conflict, any future encounter of the Cold-War-type with another nation-state is liable to be construed in confusing ways, just as the U.S.-Soviet War was. the consequence of such mis-understanding in the historiographic sense as well as in policymaking at the highest level is that the populations of the contending powers will have distorted conceptions of the reasons for the confrontation. the result of this, in turn, is skewed tendentiousness that masks concrete, underlying causes of intense inter-state contention. Practical benefits thus flow from an unprejudiced analysis of the past Cold War with Soviet Russia. This understanding can help prevent a future conflict, such as one with Communist China, which some reputed Sinologists are currently predicting of one with post Soviet Russia; conversely, if a new cold war is imposed on the West, a clearer understanding of the post-World War II archetypical Cold War will be edifying. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Distorted Cold War Historiography 1

2 Cold War Basics 19

3 The Myth of "Ideological Irrelevance" 33

4 Fallacy of Stalin's"Defencist"Security 55

5 Cold War Clash Over a Postwar World 97

6 Current Russian Texts on the Cold War 109.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9780739189696

0739189697

9780739189702

0739189700

OCLC:

874969898