The Atlantic & its Enemies" is Norman Stone's personal uncompromising & provocative history of how the West 'won' the Cold War. For decades after the end of the Second World War most of the globe either laboured under Communist rule or else was lost in a violent stagnancy that seemed doomed to permanence. For every Atlantic success there seemed to be a dozen Communist or Third World successes as the USSR & its proxies whether in Berlin Cuba Vietnam or China crushed dissent & humiliated the United States on both military & cultural grounds. Then suddenly the Atlantic won
- economically ideologically militarily
- with astonishing speed & comprehensiveness. With wit & brio Norman Stone's " The Atlantic & its Enemies" offers a unique perspective on events from Vietnam to glasnost & draws on his own experiences
- such as his time in a Slovak prison
- to show both the tragedy & the absurdity of the struggle that divided the world for over forty years. " Opinionated mischievous enthralling...an exhilarating read". (Boyd Tonkin " Independent"). " Lively idiosyncratic rollicking". (Geoffrey Wheatcroft " Observer"). " Masterly...the one book that anyone who wants to understand the Cold War must read". (John Gray " New Statesman"). "A swashbuckling survey of the cold war". (Mark Mazower " Financial Times"). "[ Stone] has a terrific eye for detail bringing to life everything from the ruins of Germany to Ronald Reagan's White House with a wonderfully waspish turn of phrase". (" Economist"). Norman Stone is one of Britain's most celebrated historians. He is the author of " The Eastern Front 1914-1917" " Hitler: An Introduction" " Europe Transformed" & " World War One: A Short History"."