A HISTORY OF THE COLD WAR

by John Lukacs ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Candidly admitting the hazards of putting historical perspective on virtual current events, Lukacs has nonetheless produced an admirably even-handed account of the ideological battle between East and West. He lets blame, where blame there is, fall on both sides, conceding he is risking accusations of excessive broadmindedness toward the Russians and excessive severity toward the West. Yet Lukacs is a young refugee from the Soviet ""liberators"" of his native Hungary. The author sees two Cold War heroes: former British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin and former President Harry S. Truman, the latter in particular for his swift, almost instinctive action, against the North Koreans. If there is a villain in the West, it would appear to Lukacs to be the late John Foster Dulles for excessive rigidity that failed to take advantages of changes in the Soviet after Stalin's death. The author's conclusions can perhaps best be summed up in his contention that there is a large group of persons on both sides of the Iron Curtain with a vested interest in the Cold War.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1960

Categories: NONFICTION