{"title":"Ronald Powaski","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"cold-war-book-ronald-e-powaski-9780195078503","title":"The Cold War","description":"For half of the twentieth century, the Cold War gripped the world. International relations everywhere--and domestic policy in scores of nations--pivoted around this central point, the American-Soviet rivalry. Even today, much of the world's diplomacy grapples with chaos created by the Cold War's sudden disappearance. Here indeed is a subject that defies easy understanding. Now comes a definitive account, a startlingly fresh, clear eyed, comprehensive history of our century's longest struggle.   In The Cold War, Ronald E. Powaski offers a new perspective on the great rivalry, even as he provides a coherent, concise narrative. He wastes no time in challenging the reader to think of the Cold War in new ways, arguing that the roots of the conflict are centuries old, going back to Czarist Russia and to the very infancy of the American nation. He shows that both Russia and America were expansionist nations with messianic complexes, and the people of both nations believed they possessed a unique mission in history. Except for a brief interval in 1917, Americans perceived the Russian government (whether Czarist or Bolshevik) as despotic; Russians saw the United States as conspiring to prevent it from reaching its place in the sun. U.S. military intervention in Russia's civil war, with the aim of overthrowing Lenin's upstart regime, entrenched Moscow's fears. Soviet American relations, difficult before World War II--when both nations were relatively weak militarily and isolated from world affairs--escalated dramatically after both nations emerged as the world's major military powers. Powaski paints a portrait of the spiraling tensions with stark clarity, as each new development added to the rivalry: the Marshall Plan, the communist coup in Czechoslovakia, the Berlin blockade, the formation of NATO, the first Soviet nuclear test. In this atmosphere, Truman found it easy to believe that the Communist victory in China and the Korean War were products of Soviet expansionism. He and his successors extended their own web of mutual defense treaties, covert actions, and military interventions across the globe--from the Caribbean to the Middle East and, finally to Southeast Asia, where containment famously foundered in the bog of Vietnam.  Powaski skillfully highlights the domestic politics, diplomatic maneuvers, and even psychological factors as he untangles the knot that bound the two superpowers together in conflict. From the nuclear arms race, to the impact of U.S. recognition of China on detente, to Brezhnev's inflexible persistence in competing with America everywhere, he casts new light on familiar topics. Always judicious in his assessments, Powaski gives due credit to Reagan and especially Bush in facilitating the Soviet collapse, but also notes that internal economic failure, not outside pressure, proved decisive in the Communist failure. Perhaps most important, he offers a clear eyed assessment of the lasting distortions the struggle wrought upon American institutions, raising questions about whether anyone really won the Cold War. With clarity, fairness, and insight, he offers the definitive account of our century's longest international rivalry.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50057783607569,"sku":"CIN0195078500A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50995435241745,"sku":"GOR014164400","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51324778250513,"sku":"CIN0195078500G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52130083045649,"sku":"NLS9780195078503","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0195078500.jpg?v=1751426862"},{"product_id":"entangling-alliance-book-ronald-powaski-9780313272752","title":"The Entangling Alliance","description":"In an earlier study, Toward an Entangling Alliance: American Isolationism, Internationalism, and Europe, 1901-1950, Powaski described the events, factors, and personalities that contributed to the American decision to abandon a century-and-a-half-old isolationist tradition and join an entangling alliance with European nations. This study is a continuation of the story of America's involvement in Europe's security affairs since 1950. In it, Powaski explains why America expanded its military commitment to Europe--including the stationing of U.S. combat forces, both nuclear and conventional, on the continent--and why the U.S. military presence in Europe is now declining. In addition, Powaski describes the issues and personalities that have divided, as well as united, the United States and its European allies, and why, despite these disagreements, America's involvement in the entangling alliance is likely to endure.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52336993141009,"sku":"NLS9780313272752","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780313272752.jpg?v=1758165192"},{"product_id":"toward-an-entangling-alliance-book-ronald-powaski-9780313272745","title":"Toward an Entangling Alliance","description":"Conceived with a dedication to manifest destiny, individual freedom, and opportunity, the United States, from its inception, made an effort to avoid political or military involvement in Europe which could conflict with its pursuit of those goals. Ronald E. Powaski's study analyzes why the United States pursued this isolationist policy, and the factors, events, and personalities which challenged it and finally necessitated its abandonment.    Powaski's chronological approach to the topic begins with historical background material which identifies the origins of isolationism as a natural outgrowth of colonial ideals. The major portion of the text is devoted to how the political, military, and economic upheavals of the twentieth century gradually forced the United States to reevaluate its isolationist policy, ultimately reaffirming its original ideals through continuing involvement in world peace organizations. A list of suggested reading and a full index complete this work.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52337192403217,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52337192894737,"sku":"NLS9780313272745","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780313272745.jpg?v=1758165852"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-ronald-powaski.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}