The looming threat of Communist expansion led the United States and eleven Western nations to establish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Responding to NATO, the Soviet Union and the Communist Eastern bloc formed the Warsaw Pact. European nations soon aligned with one of the opposing military forces. This book takes a closer look at how NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and the Iron Curtain played a role in the sharp political division between the West and East.

Introduction: What's cool about a cold war? -- Mounting tensions -- The Iron Curtain, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact -- The faces of the Cold War -- Negotiation and innovation -- The legacy of the Iron Curtain, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact -- Chronology -- Glossary.