A geopolitical contest between the United States and its allies on one side, and the Soviet Union, China and their associates on the other side, the Cold War was also an ideological struggle between two political and economic systems. Crises arose and proxy conflicts occurred, sometimes resulting- as in Korea and Vietnam- in large-scale death tolls. In the main, however, confrontation took the form of a battle for the hearts and minds, and it was conducted through propaganda campaigns in books, newspapers, radio, movies, and television. The author focuses on the decisions of those who made the policies and the experiences of those who were caught up in the major events of this highly charged period in recent history. -- from Back Cover.

Includes 10 loose-leaf facsimiles of historical documents in back pocket.

Introduction: competing worlds -- Origins : 1917-1945 -- Confrontation : 1945-1950 -- Crises and neuroses : 1950-1962 -- Cooperation and protest : 1962-1972 -- Bleak midwinter : 1972-1983 -- Endings : 1983-1991 -- Legacies : triumph of the West?.