Essay Cold War Study Guide - 609 Words

Nicole Marie Ascano 10310850 HIST 4381 October 24, 2012 History As We Know It Writing about the already written history of the Cold War events have been relatively challenging due to numerous circumstances. Not only are authors biased, but there has also been difficulty in getting primary sources because of national security. Also, Soviet and Chinese documents had previously been cut off, as well as some of the information from their allies. Much of the Cold War history includes different historiographical approaches to the subject, with many historians fitting into a certain school of historiography. In John Gaddis’ We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History, he doesn’t write about the entire overview of the Cold War but instead†¦show more content†¦Gaddis goes over what is new about the Cuban Missile Crisis, including it being â€Å"a more important turning-point than we had earlier believed it to be† (pg. 261). Gaddis emphasized ideology and political principles and was able to retell the story through the minds and actions of the individual leaders. Personally, post-revisionism or post-dà ©tente is where I would place myself when it comes to studying the Cold War. Just like in Gaddis’ book, he had revisited the struggle of the Cold War and goes through how both sides drove the progressions of the war. In the text, Gaddis discovers that both the United States and USSR’s policies were to a certain degree shapes by interaction with their respective allies. Overall, Gaddis provides a solid reinterpretation and analysis of a subject that had previous been one-sided since of all the challenges that came with writing about the Cold War. He goes into explaining all sides of the Cold War, from China’s role and to investigating nuclear weapons and the Third World. Though he doesn’t completely address why and how the Cold War had ended, his does do a fairly good job in focusing on intense first half of the war. Though he does a good job in visiting all sides of the war, he still refuses to give any blame to t he US for its inability to stop Stalin before things escalated. Gaddis still concludes if blame could be put into the hands of a single person, it would be put inShow MoreRelatedThe Cold War Is A Time Of Political Tension Between The United States And The Soviet Union1154 Words   |  5 PagesThe Cold War is a time of political tension between the United States and the USSR following World War II and lasting decades. It was a clash of ideology- capitalism versus communism- and a fight for dominance, by utilizing every opportunity for expansion (Trueman 1). The results and lessons learned from the Cold War still remain as reminders and helpful guides for the future. 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