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  <title><![CDATA[The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[In the late 1950s, Washington was driven by its fear of communist subversion: it saw the hand of Kremlin behind developments at home and across the globe.  The FBI was obsessed with the threat posed by American communist party--yet party membership had sunk so low, writes H.W. Brands, that it could have fit &quot;inside a high-school gymnasium,&quot; and it was so heavily infiltrated that J. Edgar Hoover actually contemplated using his informers as a voting bloc to take over the party.  Abroad, the preoccupation with communism drove the White House to help overthrow democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Iran, and replace them with dictatorships. But by then the Cold War had long since blinded Americans to the ironies of their battle against communism.       In The Devil We Knew, Brands provides a witty, perceptive history of the American experience of the Cold War, from Truman's creation of the CIA to Ronald Reagan's creation of SDI.  Brands has written a number of highly regarded works on America in the twentieth century; here he puts his experience to work in a volume of impeccable scholarship and exceptional verve.  He turns a critical eye to the strategic conceptions (and misconceptions) that led a once-isolationist nation to pursue the war against communism to the most remote places on Earth.  By the time Eisenhower left office, the United States was fighting communism by backing dictators from Iran to South Vietnam, from Latin America to the Middle East--while engaging in covert operations the world over.  Brands offers no apologies for communist behavior, but he deftly illustrates the strained thinking that led Washington to commit gravely disproportionate resources (including tens of thousands of lives in Korea and Vietnam) to questionable causes.  He keenly analyzes the changing policies of each administration, from Nixon's juggling (SALT talks with Moscow, new relations with Ccmmunist China, and bombing North Vietnam) to Carter's confusion to Reagan's laserrattling.  Equally important is his incisive, often amusing look at how the anti-Soviet struggle was exploited by politicians, industrialists, and government agencies.  He weaves in deft sketches of figures like Barry Goldwater and Henry Jackson (who won a Senate seat with the promise, &quot;Many plants will be converting from peace time to all-out defense production&quot;).  We see John F. Kennedy deliver an eloquent speech in 1957 defending the rising forces of nationalism in Algeria and Vietnam; we also see him in the White House a few years later, ordering a massive increase in America's troop commitment to Saigon.  The book ranges through the economics and psychology of the Cold War, demonstrating how the confrontation created its own constituencies in private industry and public life.       In the end, Americans claimed victory in the Cold War, but Brands's account gives us reason to tone down the celebrations.  &quot;Most perversely,&quot; he writes, &quot;the call to arms against communism caused American leaders to subvert the principles that constituted their country's best argument against communism.&quot;  This far-reaching history makes clear that the Cold War was simultaneously far more, and far less, than we ever imagined at the time.]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[In the late 1950s, Washington was driven by its fear of communist subversion: it saw the hand of Kremlin behind developments at home and across the globe.  The FBI was obsessed with the threat posed by American communist party--yet party membership had sunk so low, writes H.W. Brands, that it could have fit &quot;inside a high-school gymnasium,&quot; and it was so heavily infiltrated that J. Edgar Hoover actually contemplated using his informers as a voting bloc to take over the party.  Abroad, the preoccupation with communism drove the White House to help overthrow democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Iran, and replace them with dictatorships. But by then the Cold War had long since blinded Americans to the ironies of their battle against communism.       In The Devil We Knew, Brands provides a witty, perceptive history of the American experience of the Cold War, from Truman's creation of the CIA to Ronald Reagan's creation of SDI.  Brands has written a number of highly regarded works on America in the twentieth century; here he puts his experience to work in a volume of impeccable scholarship and exceptional verve.  He turns a critical eye to the strategic conceptions (and misconceptions) that led a once-isolationist nation to pursue the war against communism to the most remote places on Earth.  By the time Eisenhower left office, the United States was fighting communism by backing dictators from Iran to South Vietnam, from Latin America to the Middle East--while engaging in covert operations the world over.  Brands offers no apologies for communist behavior, but he deftly illustrates the strained thinking that led Washington to commit gravely disproportionate resources (including tens of thousands of lives in Korea and Vietnam) to questionable causes.  He keenly analyzes the changing policies of each administration, from Nixon's juggling (SALT talks with Moscow, new relations with Ccmmunist China, and bombing North Vietnam) to Carter's confusion to Reagan's laserrattling.  Equally important is his incisive, often amusing look at how the anti-Soviet struggle was exploited by politicians, industrialists, and government agencies.  He weaves in deft sketches of figures like Barry Goldwater and Henry Jackson (who won a Senate seat with the promise, &quot;Many plants will be converting from peace time to all-out defense production&quot;).  We see John F. Kennedy deliver an eloquent speech in 1957 defending the rising forces of nationalism in Algeria and Vietnam; we also see him in the White House a few years later, ordering a massive increase in America's troop commitment to Saigon.  The book ranges through the economics and psychology of the Cold War, demonstrating how the confrontation created its own constituencies in private industry and public life.       In the end, Americans claimed victory in the Cold War, but Brands's account gives us reason to tone down the celebrations.  &quot;Most perversely,&quot; he writes, &quot;the call to arms against communism caused American leaders to subvert the principles that constituted their country's best argument against communism.&quot;  This far-reaching history makes clear that the Cold War was simultaneously far more, and far less, than we ever imagined at the time.]]>
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  <published>1993</published>
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    <body><![CDATA[A brief but good summation of the cause of the Cold War and its perpetuation. Very balanced. Brands notes the impact of the Cold War not only on foreign relations and the military, but on the economy and civil rights.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44516767]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the late 1950s, Washington was driven by its fear of communist subversion: it saw the hand of Kremlin behind developments at home and across the globe.  The FBI was obsessed with the threat posed by American communist party--yet party membership had sunk so low, writes H.W. Brands, that it could have fit &quot;inside a high-school gymnasium,&quot; and it was so heavily infiltrated that J. Edgar Hoover actually contemplated using his informers as a voting bloc to take over the party.  Abroad, the preoccupation with communism drove the White House to help overthrow democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Iran, and replace them with dictatorships. But by then the Cold War had long since blinded Americans to the ironies of their battle against communism.       In The Devil We Knew, Brands provides a witty, perceptive history of the American experience of the Cold War, from Truman's creation of the CIA to Ronald Reagan's creation of SDI.  Brands has written a number of highly regarded works on America in the twentieth century; here he puts his experience to work in a volume of impeccable scholarship and exceptional verve.  He turns a critical eye to the strategic conceptions (and misconceptions) that led a once-isolationist nation to pursue the war against communism to the most remote places on Earth.  By the time Eisenhower left office, the United States was fighting communism by backing dictators from Iran to South Vietnam, from Latin America to the Middle East--while engaging in covert operations the world over.  Brands offers no apologies for communist behavior, but he deftly illustrates the strained thinking that led Washington to commit gravely disproportionate resources (including tens of thousands of lives in Korea and Vietnam) to questionable causes.  He keenly analyzes the changing policies of each administration, from Nixon's juggling (SALT talks with Moscow, new relations with Ccmmunist China, and bombing North Vietnam) to Carter's confusion to Reagan's laserrattling.  Equally important is his incisive, often amusing look at how the anti-Soviet struggle was exploited by politicians, industrialists, and government agencies.  He weaves in deft sketches of figures like Barry Goldwater and Henry Jackson (who won a Senate seat with the promise, &quot;Many plants will be converting from peace time to all-out defense production&quot;).  We see John F. Kennedy deliver an eloquent speech in 1957 defending the rising forces of nationalism in Algeria and Vietnam; we also see him in the White House a few years later, ordering a massive increase in America's troop commitment to Saigon.  The book ranges through the economics and psychology of the Cold War, demonstrating how the confrontation created its own constituencies in private industry and public life.       In the end, Americans claimed victory in the Cold War, but Brands's account gives us reason to tone down the celebrations.  &quot;Most perversely,&quot; he writes, &quot;the call to arms against communism caused American leaders to subvert the principles that constituted their country's best argument against communism.&quot;  This far-reaching history makes clear that the Cold War was simultaneously far more, and far less, than we ever imagined at the time.]]>
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  <published>1993</published>
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    <body><![CDATA[This is a lucid and engaging account of American history during the Cold War period.  Brands writes with a great deal of wit and jam-packs a ton of info into a relatively short volume.  While the density of the text made it a little slower going than usual for me, it was entirely worth it.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79348347]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the late 1950s, Washington was driven by its fear of communist subversion: it saw the hand of Kremlin behind developments at home and across the globe.  The FBI was obsessed with the threat posed by American communist party--yet party membership had sunk so low, writes H.W. Brands, that it could have fit &quot;inside a high-school gymnasium,&quot; and it was so heavily infiltrated that J. Edgar Hoover actually contemplated using his informers as a voting bloc to take over the party.  Abroad, the preoccupation with communism drove the White House to help overthrow democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Iran, and replace them with dictatorships. But by then the Cold War had long since blinded Americans to the ironies of their battle against communism.       In The Devil We Knew, Brands provides a witty, perceptive history of the American experience of the Cold War, from Truman's creation of the CIA to Ronald Reagan's creation of SDI.  Brands has written a number of highly regarded works on America in the twentieth century; here he puts his experience to work in a volume of impeccable scholarship and exceptional verve.  He turns a critical eye to the strategic conceptions (and misconceptions) that led a once-isolationist nation to pursue the war against communism to the most remote places on Earth.  By the time Eisenhower left office, the United States was fighting communism by backing dictators from Iran to South Vietnam, from Latin America to the Middle East--while engaging in covert operations the world over.  Brands offers no apologies for communist behavior, but he deftly illustrates the strained thinking that led Washington to commit gravely disproportionate resources (including tens of thousands of lives in Korea and Vietnam) to questionable causes.  He keenly analyzes the changing policies of each administration, from Nixon's juggling (SALT talks with Moscow, new relations with Ccmmunist China, and bombing North Vietnam) to Carter's confusion to Reagan's laserrattling.  Equally important is his incisive, often amusing look at how the anti-Soviet struggle was exploited by politicians, industrialists, and government agencies.  He weaves in deft sketches of figures like Barry Goldwater and Henry Jackson (who won a Senate seat with the promise, &quot;Many plants will be converting from peace time to all-out defense production&quot;).  We see John F. Kennedy deliver an eloquent speech in 1957 defending the rising forces of nationalism in Algeria and Vietnam; we also see him in the White House a few years later, ordering a massive increase in America's troop commitment to Saigon.  The book ranges through the economics and psychology of the Cold War, demonstrating how the confrontation created its own constituencies in private industry and public life.       In the end, Americans claimed victory in the Cold War, but Brands's account gives us reason to tone down the celebrations.  &quot;Most perversely,&quot; he writes, &quot;the call to arms against communism caused American leaders to subvert the principles that constituted their country's best argument against communism.&quot;  This far-reaching history makes clear that the Cold War was simultaneously far more, and far less, than we ever imagined at the time.]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Thu Feb 26 11:31:18 -0800 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Thu Feb 26 11:31:18 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm having to read this class for American Foreign Policy. My professor actually wrote it..]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45134742]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45134742]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Devil We Knew: Americans and the Cold War]]>
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    <![CDATA[In the late 1950s, Washington was driven by its fear of communist subversion: it saw the hand of Kremlin behind developments at home and across the globe.  The FBI was obsessed with the threat posed by American communist party--yet party membership had sunk so low, writes H.W. Brands, that it could have fit &quot;inside a high-school gymnasium,&quot; and it was so heavily infiltrated that J. Edgar Hoover actually contemplated using his informers as a voting bloc to take over the party.  Abroad, the preoccupation with communism drove the White House to help overthrow democratically elected governments in Guatemala and Iran, and replace them with dictatorships. But by then the Cold War had long since blinded Americans to the ironies of their battle against communism.       In The Devil We Knew, Brands provides a witty, perceptive history of the American experience of the Cold War, from Truman's creation of the CIA to Ronald Reagan's creation of SDI.  Brands has written a number of highly regarded works on America in the twentieth century; here he puts his experience to work in a volume of impeccable scholarship and exceptional verve.  He turns a critical eye to the strategic conceptions (and misconceptions) that led a once-isolationist nation to pursue the war against communism to the most remote places on Earth.  By the time Eisenhower left office, the United States was fighting communism by backing dictators from Iran to South Vietnam, from Latin America to the Middle East--while engaging in covert operations the world over.  Brands offers no apologies for communist behavior, but he deftly illustrates the strained thinking that led Washington to commit gravely disproportionate resources (including tens of thousands of lives in Korea and Vietnam) to questionable causes.  He keenly analyzes the changing policies of each administration, from Nixon's juggling (SALT talks with Moscow, new relations with Ccmmunist China, and bombing North Vietnam) to Carter's confusion to Reagan's laserrattling.  Equally important is his incisive, often amusing look at how the anti-Soviet struggle was exploited by politicians, industrialists, and government agencies.  He weaves in deft sketches of figures like Barry Goldwater and Henry Jackson (who won a Senate seat with the promise, &quot;Many plants will be converting from peace time to all-out defense production&quot;).  We see John F. Kennedy deliver an eloquent speech in 1957 defending the rising forces of nationalism in Algeria and Vietnam; we also see him in the White House a few years later, ordering a massive increase in America's troop commitment to Saigon.  The book ranges through the economics and psychology of the Cold War, demonstrating how the confrontation created its own constituencies in private industry and public life.       In the end, Americans claimed victory in the Cold War, but Brands's account gives us reason to tone down the celebrations.  &quot;Most perversely,&quot; he writes, &quot;the call to arms against communism caused American leaders to subvert the principles that constituted their country's best argument against communism.&quot;  This far-reaching history makes clear that the Cold War was simultaneously far more, and far less, than we ever imagined at the time.]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Apr 17 08:54:19 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Apr 17 08:55:01 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Not something I'd read of my own choosing, but it was interesting and informative. Many of the events mentioned in passing by the author I wish he would have explained at least the basics of, like the Iran-contra affair. I simply had no knowledge of them whatsoever, besides maybe hearing the name on...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20378850">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20378850]]></url>
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