Review by Choice Review
As an ideological war lasting for more than 40 years, the Cold War dug very deeply into the American psyche and was evident in almost every aspect of American life from 1945 to 1991. It was also a worldwide phenomenon, affecting how almost every nation on the planet defined itself. Van Dijk's encyclopedia is an ambitious work of scholarship that includes 424 entries by 192 contributors, and an incredibly detailed index in the back of both volumes. Entries are well written and authoritative. Each is followed by a "further reading" section and generous cross-references. A helpful "Thematic List of Entries" presents entries by overall themes, such as "Intellectual and artistic phenomena," "Diplomacy," and "Military history and espionage." Coverage is sparse on the weapons systems and technology that played such a visible role in the diplomacy of the time (e.g., MX Missile, Backfire Bomber, B-2), but very rich in other areas (e.g., "Interstate Highway System," "Consumerism," "Evil Empire Speech"). Volumes are very Spartan (no photos or illustrations), yet at the same time pricey; for a similar price, The Encyclopedia of the Cold War, ed. by S. Tucker (CH, Mar'08, 45-3554), appears to offer more content (five volumes; 1,290 entries by 200-plus contributors, including full text primary source documents and maps). Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. J. A. Knapp Penn State Altoona
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
This encyclopedia presents new cold war research that takes a holistic view of a complex era in world history. With access to Soviet Union and other archives, historians are now able to look at the era with new eyes and views that are not predicated on a U.S. foreign-policy focus. The introduction to this work describes it as multi-archival, cultural, and global. Contributed by 191 scholars, the 424 entries are alphabetically arranged, two columns per page. Entries range from one column to several pages in length, and most include see also references to other entries as well as short further-reading lists. The index, repeated at the back of each volume, is impressive in scope and an ideal finding aid for someone interested in particular key topics that may be interspersed through the work. The content is impressive. The expected topics, which include key players, countries, organizations, conflicts, concepts, and treaties, are well documented and described. Entries are expanded beyond the usual cold war countries to include those that were either tangentially or directly affected by cold war activities. Most of the Middle East countries have entries, as do Asian and African nations, such as Ethiopia, Syria, and Zanzibar. The impact of the cold war on culture is of particular note, and entries such as Cinema, Literature, Music, Radio, and Television show how the tools of culture were used for propaganda as well as protest. All entries are meant to illuminate the complex web of personal involvement, national ambition, ideological motivations, cultural manifestations, economic conditions, and geopolitical strategies that make up the Cold War. The Encyclopedia of the Cold War: A Political, Social, and Military History (ABC-CLIO, 2007), the first reference source to take advantage of newly declassified material, has many more entries along with 350 illustrations and 171 documents, which may make it more appealing to public library patrons and undergraduate students. (A smaller version, Cold War: A Student Encyclopedia, is designed for high-schoolers.) Encyclopedia of the Cold War is a well-researched and documented work that is recommended for large public and academic libraries.--Tomchyshyn, Terri Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
