A Brief History of the Cold War cover art

A Brief History of the Cold War

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A Brief History of the Cold War

By: John Hughes-Wilson
Narrated by: Philip Franks
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About this listen

The Cold War was an undeclared war, fought silently and carefully between ideological opponents armed with the most fearsome weapons mankind has ever seen. Hughes-Wilson takes a cool look at this war, from the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the dissolution of the USSR thereafter.

He examines the suspicion and paranoia - on both sides - of the greatest stand-off in history. Written by one of Britain's leading, popular, military historians, this book makes accessible for the first time one of the key periods to shape our world.

©2006 John Hughes-Wilson (P)2014 Audible Ltd 20th Century Military Modern World War Thought-Provoking

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Fantastic account of the last 100 years and how it has shaped our history, our geography, politics and our beliefs....as a species we are so ego minded , neurotic, insecure and everything else in between that created the cold war ...so glad I've read this book ...highly recommended

Wow , what a wonderful history lesson

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This is and excellently put together telling of the Cold War which is read by a first class narrator. Absolutely loved every minute of it.

Excellent

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Some stuff that I didn't know. Fir example related to John F Kennedy and later with regard Gorbachev.

Some surprising revelations

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The narrator's voice is engaging, and the history comes alive with dry wit and deep insights. The appendices on how the weapons work is an added bonus, don't skip it if you like the technical details of these doomsday devices

Fascinating tour de force

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I was wanting to tie up my pre and post-war history understanding and this seemed like a good title to cover it. Although not hugely in-depth, it covers all the key moments and background stories of the cold war. I now have a much better understanding. It was a pretty enjoyable read too.

Pretty comprehensive

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Really interesting and fantastically read. Some dark things went on back then, if you like a spy film or novel this is a must, the best spy story ever, and it's real life.

Cold times

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Much of this story is well known anyway, but we learn a lot more detail from this book, as well as being reminded of the main events of the Cold War.

The thing that stuck me was the insecurity of Russia. They were often depicted as being in the thrall of the USA. The lack of trust between the two superpowers was also a prominent theme. It is a great shame that more was not made of the improved relations of the Reagan, Gorbachev era, but ultimately, the arms manufacturers won the day and got rich as a result.

Fascinating insight

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Loved it! Yes, the author has a viewpoint, certainly not over-expressed, up to the listener to use their own critical thinking. The narrator's performance was excellent. His failure to capture Thatcher's voice, like Mike Yarwood, proved the excellence of 99.9% of his narration. Superb book, beautifully read.

Fascinating romp through 20th century history

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Enjoyable historical page turner from the Russian revolution until the fall of the Wall. The story nevers slackens, it may not be an academic treatise but it is a great listen. The narration is excellent with intonation, punctuation and diligence of pronunciation- perfect.
The author gives his views without ever allowing doubt that he is just giving his (well informed) take on events. Thus JFK assassination is dismantled and the guilty people named. The author is clearly a supporter of the West and hates Communism. He is clear that being a Socialist, a Liberal or worst of all Liberal Academic are all beneath contempt. I was amused that he replaces Russia or China by "workers paradise" in many chapters after describing how how Stalin or Mao etc have repressed or murdered millions.
He takes care to let us know that this character is a homosexual spy or a Jewish traitor etc. His very punchy, outspoken style does make this a splendid read but just maybe overlaid with a strong bias.

Enjoyable listen from an author with an agenda.

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Very insightful and well told account of the Cold War, including its origins in the Russian Revolution. On the downside, the narrator, strangely, seemed to stumble when pronouncing dates or numbers, as if he tried to pronounce them too quickly. He also had some irritating ways of pronouncing certain words, eg Soviet beamce

Very worthwhile, if you can stand the narrator

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