There are countless Cold War courses, tutorials, articles available online, but for some, having a book is still a necessity to learn. This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
- The Cold War: A New History (2006)
- The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War (2019)
- Cold War: An International History (2017)
- The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction (2003)
- The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times (2007)
- The Clever Teen’s Guide to The Cold War (The Clever Teen Guides) (2017)
- America’s Cold War: The Politics of Insecurity (2012)
- The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy (2010)
- Simple History: The Cold War (2016)
- Origins of the Cold War: The Novikov, Kennan, and Roberts ‘Long Telegrams’ of 1946 (1993)
- The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963 (2013)
- The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts (2004)
- Latin America’s Cold War (2012)
- The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters (2013)
The Cold War: A New History (2006)
The “dean of Cold War historians” (The New York Times) now presents the definitive account of the global confrontation that dominated the last half of the twentieth century. Drawing on newly opened archives and the reminiscences of the major players, John Lewis Gaddis explains not just what happened but why—from the months in 1945 when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War (2019)
“The best true spy story I have ever read.”—JOHN LE CARRÉ If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation’s communism as both criminal and philistine.
Cold War: An International History (2017)
The decades-long Cold War was more than a bipolar conflict between two Superpowers-it had implications for the entire world. In this accessible, comprehensive retelling, Carole K. Fink provides new insights and perspectives on key events with an emphasis on people, power, and ideas.
The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction (2003)
The massive disorder and economic ruin following the Second World War inevitably predetermined the scope and intensity of the Cold War. But why did it last so long? And what impact did it have on the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, and the Third World? Finally, how did it affect the broader history of the second half of the twentieth century–what were the human and financial costs?
The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times (2007)
The Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the United States indelibly shaped the world we live in today–especially international politics, economics, and military affairs. This volume shows how the globalization of the Cold War during the 20th century created the foundations for most of today’s key international conflicts, including the “war on terror.” Odd Arne Westad examines the origins and course of Third World revolutions and the ideologies that drove the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
The Clever Teen’s Guide to The Cold War (The Clever Teen Guides) (2017)
From the end of World War Two to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the world lived within the shadow of the Cold War. For almost half a century the East and the West eyed each other with suspicion and often hostility.
America’s Cold War: The Politics of Insecurity (2012)
The Cold War dominated world affairs during the half century following World War II. It ended in victory for the United States, yet it was a costly triumph, claiming trillions of dollars in defense spending and the lives of nearly 100,000 U.S. soldiers.
The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy (2010)
The first full account of how the Cold War arms race finally came to a close, this riveting narrative history sheds new light on the people who struggled to end this era of massive overkill, and examines the legacy of the nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that remain a threat today. Drawing on memoirs, interviews in both Russia and the US, and classified documents from deep inside the Kremlin, David E.
Simple History: The Cold War (2016)
The Iron Curtain and nuclear missiles. The Cold War was a scary situation. As the Capitalist West faced off against the Communist East, the world anticipated a nuclear showdown. Witness the Berlin Wall – a symbol of the great divide. See the Cold War conflicts. Be amazed at super spy gadgets, and marvel at the space race. Simple History, telling the story without information overload.
Origins of the Cold War: The Novikov, Kennan, and Roberts ‘Long Telegrams’ of 1946 (1993)
In September 1946, the Soviet ambassador to the United States, Nikolai Novikov, sent a 19-page cable to Foreign Minister Molotov describing the likely direction of U.S. foreign policy in the postwar period. Recently discovered in the Soviet archives, the Novikov telegram parallels the famous “Long Telegram” of U.S.
The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite, 1945-1963 (2013)
Today when you factor in the interest on the national debt from past wars and total defense expenditures the United States spends almost 40% of its federal budget on the military. It accounts for over 46% of total world arms spending. Before World War II it spent almost nothing on defense and hardly anyone paid any income taxes. You can’t have big wars without big government.
The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts (2004)
The Cold War contains a selection of official and unofficial documents which provide a truly multi-faceted account of the entire Cold War era. The experiences of the East Berlin housewife are placed alongside those of the South African student; the participation of political leaders from Europe and the Third World stand juxtaposed.
Latin America’s Cold War (2012)
For Latin America, the Cold War was anything but cold. Nor was it the so-called “long peace” afforded the world’s superpowers by their nuclear standoff.
The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters (2013)
During the Cold War, freedom of expression was vaunted as liberal democracy’s most cherished possession—but such freedom was put in service of a hidden agenda.
Best Cold War Books: The Ultimate List
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some cold war books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
Author(s): Ann Coulter
ID: 2322603, Publisher: Crown Forum, Year: 5 Oct 2004, Size: 329 Kb, Format: epub
The Spy in Moscow Station: A Counterspy’s Hunt for a Deadly Cold War Threat
Author(s): Eric Haseltine
ID: 2363491, Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, Year: 30 Apr 2019, Size: 2 Mb, Format: epub
Empire of Secrets: British Intelligence, the Cold War, and the Twilight of Empire
Author(s): Calder Walton
ID: 2393671, Publisher: ABRAMS Press, Year: 29 Oct 2014, Size: 5 Mb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not errorless. Some books are absolutely hot items according to Chicago Tribune, others are composed by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant resources you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.