The World Since 1945

by T.E. Vadney

The world since 1945 has witnessed fundamental changes, notably the increasing influence of the West—particularly the United States—in a variety of spheres, the emergence and collapse of the USSR, the end of colonial empires in Asia and Africa, and the escalation of wars and other conflicts in the Third World. In this brilliantly incisive and highly readable third edition to his survey, T. E. Vadney examines the key events—in Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and elsewhere—without ever neglecting the underlying global trends. Vadney explores the rapid changes in the Middle East, the end of apartheid in South Africa, and the aims of American foreign policy, concluding with a new Epilogue in which he examines the direction of post-1945 history as the world enters the twenty-first century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics

605 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Leonids · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay. It provides a decent starting point for understanding the period, particularly in the third world as the author defines it, but the information is closely packed, making it difficult to recall which events happened where if you otherwise had no other knowledge of the period in the country.

I also felt that there was a lack of focus on Europe and Oceania, both of which barely gained more than a handful of references. The book also focused more on description rather than judgements despite a proclamation of attempting to understand the period - any conclusions were mostly to be made by the reader, not within the text.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to main events/wars, focussing more on the 3rd world.

[Simon Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE REAL COLD WAR (NEARLY!)

T.E.Vadneys "The World Since 1945" is an accessible, and generally excellent, overview of the world's historical experience between 1945 and roughly 1985. The book is comprehensive in its coverage of not only key (or apparently key) events in world history, but also for the particular focus Vadney brings to the experiences of the third world.

Vadneys writes from a tradition that can be broadly described as left of centre. It is certainly not dogmatic, for example the standards he holds the United States to are the same as those that he brings to his coverage of the Soviet Union, but it is one that gives the book an internationalist flavour and a tangible concern for those who live in the third world or under oppressive situations of whatever kind. Another strength of the book is that Vadney doesn't let himself become chained to the standard cold war narrative, and the fruits of his freedom from this are excellent accounts of post-war Latin American, Asian (especially Indo China) and African history that deal with external factors in a rational and reasoned manner. This is particularly important given that at the time these countries were struggling for economic and political independence, which Vadney rightly regards as the key theme of the period. He is also excellent at summarising the pre-1945 histories in a way that gives the reader an insight into the historical context within which the developments and events he describes occurred, and also pays serious attention to events internal to nations, as well as those between nations. The generally good coverage of third world countries in the book doesn't preclude Vadney from coherently accounting for events in Europe, North America and within Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately the book is by no means perfect, there are a few noticeable bloopers (e.g. he states that the Shiites are a minority in Iraq), and in the vast array of events and developments he writes on it is easy to make a case for problems of selection, emphasis, and (less frequently) accuracy. This is most systematic in his coverage of the confrontation in the Middle East between Israel and the Arabs. Vadney, and it was not uncommon amongst apparent lefties at that time and since, follows a line that is sympathetic to the official Israeli discourse to a degree that ought to be a major embarrassment to anyone serious about narrating and explaining historical reality,

In general I find that books of this nature that synthesis a large amount of material in a relatively short space can form an excellent introduction to a subject. In this case the subject is the post-WW2 world, and Vadney not only stimulates a curiosity to discover more about particular developments from third world de-colonisation and economic development, to nuclear weapons and neo-colonialism, but also provides a basic framework for understanding them on a global basis. With the exception of the material that pertains to the Middle East, "The World Since 1945" provides an excellent and intelligent summary of world history for the period that is well worth reading.

[Alexandra]

Again, I really picked and chose what I read here, as with many of the history books of the last 12 months - I'm cherry picking the bits I'll have to teach OR that interest me most. With time a precious commodity I'm afraid I don't find myself overly enamoured of the Allende years in Chile... anyway, I was reading this mostly for its take on the Cold War, and it certainly fall towards the blaming-America side of things not entirely, but enough to make for interesting reading. The thesis is that America needed to keep expanding its market in order to keep its domestic economy booming, so it was well within its interests to expand its sphere of influence.

Useful for dates etc as well as useful for one perspective on the events.

[Ben Sweezy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The makings of modern me. This was my high school "Honors Contemporary World History" class textbook. Our teacher loved it because (a) it's Canadian and (b) it gives a much more thorough exploration of the themes of international conflict in the 20th century than any of the standard public school "must fit everything into the narrative of the rise of the USA" text books.

I agree.

[Eamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic survey of world history since the end of WWII. If you're feeling undereducated about the world you live in, this book is the easiest way to feel better pretty painlessly.

[Dana Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never understood modern politics until I understood modern history, and this book really helped.

[Sham Al-Ghazali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me SUCH a long time to finish but it was a fantastic read, and what initially got me interested in reading further into Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East.

[Curtis Gozaydin]

Found an old copy of this used in a bookstore in Connecticut. Tends to emphasize the main things that have happened since World War II ended. I think relatively balanced. Pretty good reading, I think I have read parts of it twice.