The newest entry in Alan Axelrod’s engaging, successful Real History series—and the only current illustrated book on a misunderstood and mysterious topic. \\From the fall of Nazi Germany to the fall of the Berlin Wall, a cold war raged between the US and the Soviet Union. Though not a shot was fired, the hostility between the two superpowers threatened the globe with nuclear annihilation. Axelrod reveals the intriguing, suspenseful true story behind this globe-spanning battle of wills, and as always, he’s created a study that’s authoritative, comprehensive, and a pleasure to read. Judiciously, incisively, he probes the pivotal events of the era: the Marshall Plan; the iron curtain; the Berlin airlift; the Cuban missile crisis; the rise and fall of Joesph McCarthy; the Korean War; the Vietnam War; the arms race. Rarely seen illustrations, detail-packed sidebars, maps, stats, quotes, alternate takes, and “reality checks” to popular myths make this a work general readers will turn to and enjoy.

Dramatis personae -- Ashes and ideology. Allies and enemies ; Spoils of war ; New sun rising -- The world according to "X." The Iron Curtain ; Flashpoints : the Mediterranean and the Middle East ; The Marshall Plan -- Superpowers. A monopoly ends ; Mad world; Red China ; Berlin held hostage ; Spy wars -- Crossing the line. Hot war in a cold place ; Red scare nation -- Combat by proxy. High noon in Hungary ; From the Bay of Pigs to the Cuban Missile Crisis ; Vietnam -- Détente. The President, the Chairman, and the Premier ; Asymmetric dawn and the Soviet sunset ; "A new world order" -- Cold War timeline -- Live and in person.