Mason provides concise coverage of the entire Cold War, paying particular attention to the Soviet-American dimension. This pamphlet: * Analyzes the origins of the conflict * Examines how the existence of nuclear weapons gives a unique character to the period * Discusses the involvement of other nations and regions, particularly China * Explains how and why the cold war ended * Draws on recent research of revisionist scholars.

Preface, List of abbreviations, Chronology 1 The origins of the cold war in Europe, 1945-9 2 Communist China and the cold war in Asia, 1945-53 3 Peaceful co-existence and nuclear confrontation, 1953-64 4 The United States and Indochina, 1945-75 5 China between the superpowers, 1949-80 6 The rise and fall of détente in the 1970s 7 Reagan, Gorbachev and the end of the cold war, 1981-91; Conclusion