The World Since 1945

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Summary: For those who want to know who did what to whom and why.
Review: From the Russian revolution to the Cuban missle crisis.The establishment of the Bretton Woods institutions and Marshall Aid to the OPEC oil shocks.From the collapse of collonialism,to the collapse of the Berlin wall. The 20th century had it all,and this book manages to cover it all in a logical easy to follow format.Each different era in covered ,as is each region(Europe,the Americas,Asia,Africa).

Rating:
Summary: CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Masterful.
Review: I'll keep this short. The book is a terrific overview of what has been happening in our little world since 1945. There is so much here that you will never learn through our media and through other historical text books. Especially given the current world circumstances, it is imperative that Americans learn about histories of other people and how American foreign policy has done some wonderful, and also horrendous, things to other people in the last 50 years. THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR OUTLOOK ON AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY FOREVER.

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Summary: Global history of Cold War era
Review: This is essentially a history of the Cold War period, i.e. 1945 to the early 1990s. Even so, it does not focus on the U.S. and the Soviet Union, nor great power politics as such. Instead, Vadney broadens the focus and gives due consideration to the Third World which, as he notes, accounts for the vast majority of the world's population (since India and China can be placed in this category). The general emphasis is on major political events and trends, with only some attention given to economic and social factors. Nonetheless, this is still a highly useful book, as Vadney provides essential background and details on a number of events and regions not normally covered in standard "world history" or "Western civ" texts. The book's organization and uncluttered writing style also make it an outstanding reference work for this period.