A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev / Edition 2

by Vladislav M. Zubok

Overview

In this widely praised book, Vladislav Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears, and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, and taped conversations, among other sources, Zubok offers the first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side. A Failed Empire provides a history quite different from those written by the Western victors. In a new preface for this edition, the author adds to our understanding of today's events in Russia, including who the new players are and how their policies will affect the state of the world in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807859582
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	02/01/2009
Series:	New Cold War History
Edition description:	Paperback Edition
Pages:	504
Sales rank:	543,779
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Vladislav M. Zubok is associate professor of history at Temple University. He is coauthor of Anti-Americanism in Russia: From Stalin to Putin and Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev.

Table of Contents

Contents

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This book is the best history we have of the Soviet side of the Cold War. Far more than a survey, Zubok's analysis is based on cutting-edge historical scholarship. He makes use of the most recently available sources and brings to their interpretation an unusually sharp mind.—William Taubman, Amherst College



An excellent overview of Soviet foreign policy and a forceful explanation of why Communism collapsed, centering on Gorbachev's mistakes and misjudgments.—O. A. Westad, author of The Global Cold War

Editorial Reviews

"This book is the best history we have of the Soviet side of the cold war. Far more than a survey, Zubok's analysis is based on cutting-edge historical scholarship. He makes use of the most recently available sources and brings to their interpretation an unusually sharp mind."
— William Taubman, Amherst College

"Ranks as the new standard work on the Soviet Union's Cold War—for scholars and students alike. . . . An excellent combination of old and new, offering both a synthetic interpretation of Soviet foreign policy in the latter half of the twentieth century and fresh new material to reconceptualize the factors behind that policy. . . . An important book [and] a standout."
— Journal of American History

From the Publisher