Review by Choice Review
The product of a doctoral dissertation, this most recent addition to a series on the Cold War draws on recently released government archives of the US and UK. Unlike other studies that examine the Cold War's military and political aspects, this work investigates international trade policy as one of the instruments used by Western nations in the struggle between East and West. Jackson (De Montfort Univ., UK) uses the information from the archives to investigate how a policy of restricting exports of strategically important goods emerged among Western nations. The UK and US were key partners in developing the policy that evolved throughout the period. Jackson finds that while sharing a common interest in containing expansion of world communism, the two nations' differing economic interests, trading partners, domestic pressure groups, and viewpoints on strategy led to tensions in formulating a viable course of action. Disagreements within the US government, namely, between the State and Commerce Departments and between the Congress and Executive Office, also are covered in detail. Recommended for economic, political science, and history collections serving upper-division undergraduates through faculty. E. L. Whalen Clark College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review