Russia, America, and the Cold War, 1949-1991 (Seminar Studies in History)

Rating:
Summary: Not bad
Review: A good overview of the main events of this period: if you're just generally curious about the Cold War and what the main events and trends in it were, this is quite suitable. However, the sheer brevity of the format of this series of books (and 'Seminar Studies' is very good, believe me) works against a fully fleshed-out account of this topic. There are mentions of certain events but they lack a little background needed to explain them. I kept finding myself reading some remark and thinking 'But *why* did that happen?'. Still, a good read, and well-explained.

Rating:
Summary: Student Review
Review: As a student taking a first year University course in which this book is an assigned text, I have to say: there must be a textbook that is less boring than this one. In terms of facts, this book is great. Style-wise, it is enough to lull one to sleep. Best read in sections, carefully, closely, and with attention to detail so one doesn't have to read this book more than once, I would strongly suggest to any teacher or professor considering this as a text to supplement it with something that has a radically different style. Perhaps something with historical accounts intercut with the actual text rather than documents tacked on at the end. Just my opinion of course. :)

Rating:
Summary: An excellent overview
Review: As an AP American Hisitory teacher, I was looking for a concise book that would give my students a good overview of the Cold War. This turned out to be an excellent book, well suited for my purpose. I have my students read three books over the summer as they prepare for my class, this was one of the three. McCauley gives a concise account of the Cold War, starting with the Berlin crisis of 1948 and ending with the fall of the Soviet Union. His chronological framework to the book takes the reader through some very difficult sernerios for the United States. McCauley starts off with some background material, giving the reader eight theories about the reasons for the Cold War, some give the reader many interesting things to think about as they go through the book. McCauley then goes through the Cold War and breaks it down into five generalized time periods. This makes it easier for students that may not know much about the time period to understand the Cold War. McCauley ends the book by asking seven challanging questions for the reader to ponder. This gives the reader a chance to digest the information and helps the reader come to some interesting conclusions. The sixteen documents that McCauley provides also gives the readers of the book different ideas and causes as well as consequences of the Cold War that may have been missed in this short but excellent overview of the Cold War.