The Culture of the Cold War

by Stephen J. Whitfield

Book Overview

Without the Cold War, what's the point of being an American? As if in answer to this poignant question from John Updike's Rabbit at Rest, Stephen Whitfield examines the impact of the Cold War--and its dramatic ending--on American culture in an updated version of his highly acclaimed study. In a new epilogue to this second edition, he extends his analysis from the McCarthyism of the 1950s, including its effects on the American and European...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801851955
• ISBN13: 9780801851957
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Solid overview of US cultural history from 1946-1962

Whitfield's book serves as a succinct overview of American Cold War culture, which he defines as ending in the early 1960s (a questionable decision but one made by many scholars who employ the "Cold War Culture" rubric). What sets apart this book from other entries in the literature is Whitfield's recognition of the importance of religion to Cold War America and his willingness to grapple with the Cold War's full range of moral implications (an element lacking in most academic studies of the domestic side of the Cold War, which tend to fixate endlessly on McCarthy, who is used to tar and discredit all variants of American anti-Communism). This is not to suggest that Whitfield is an apologist for McCarthy, not at all, but to commend Whitfield for understanding that, to paraphrase Arthur Koestler, the Cold War was the story of the United States fighting for a half-truth against a total lie.

Culture of Cold War -- Whitfield

Whitfield's book is extremely informative. The connections he makes are fascinating. The book made me want to go out to the library and Blockbuster and look at the popular books and movies he talks about for a second time in a fresh light.