Until recently, studies of the Cold War have emphasised interpretations of American and Soviet activities. The process of East-West tension, though dominated by the Superpowers, was often conditioned, and in its early stages accelerated, by Britain's continuing world-wide interests and influence. For more than a decade, British scholars have been mining rich seams of newly-released material to demonstrate the central role in the origins and development of the Cold War played by British governments from Attlee to Wilson and beyond. This book provides a survey of this recent work, as well as offering its own interpretations of the major events from the start of the Cold War to its end with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

'There are at least three very attractive features of Greenwood's study: its scholarship, its clarity of expression, and its historical scope. Using previously unpublished archives and memoirs, he marches us in steady formation through the first period of the Cold War, ending with Josif Stalin's death in 1953, then into the next phase that concluded in the 1970s with the rise and fall of superpower detente, and finally into the years of the Thatcher-Reagan grand alliance. This is a great story well told.' - Michael Cox, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 'A well-balanced, easily accessible, account.' - Dr P.J. Maguire, University of Brighton 'Greenwood has produced a thought-provoking and wide-ranging book which bears out the maxim that the best things come in small parcels.' - Gill Bennett, English Historical Review 'This is a judicious and fair account with extensive footnoting and a full bibliography of primary and secondary materials. It provides a most useful introduction to the question of Britain's involvement in the Cold War.' - Michael F. Hopkins, International Affairs

About the Author
SEAN GREENWOOD is Professor of Modern History and Head of the Department of History at Canterbury Christ Church University College.

Reviews
'There are at least three very attractive features of Greenwood's study: its scholarship, its clarity of expression, and its historical scope. Using previously unpublished archives and memoirs, he marches us in steady formation through the first period of the Cold War, ending with Josif Stalin's death in 1953, then into the next phase that concluded in the 1970s with the rise and fall of superpower detente, and finally into the years of the Thatcher-Reagan grand alliance. This is a great story well told.' - Michael Cox, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 'A well-balanced, easily accessible, account.' - Dr P.J. Maguire, University of Brighton 'Greenwood has produced a thought-provoking and wide-ranging book which bears out the maxim that the best things come in small parcels.' - Gill Bennett, English Historical Review 'This is a judicious and fair account with extensive footnoting and a full bibliography of primary and secondary materials. It provides a most useful introduction to the question of Britain's involvement in the Cold War.' - Michael F. Hopkins, International Affairs



Book Information
ISBN 9780333676189
Author Sean Greenwood
Format Paperback
Page Count 227
Imprint Red Globe Press
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 312g