Abrams, Bradley F. The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation: Czech Culture and the Rise of Communism. 2004. This intellectual history of postwar Czechoslovak political culture argues that grassroots calls for radical change brought Communists to power and critiques claims that communism was simply imposed from above.
Berstein, Serge. The Republic of de Gaulle, 1958–1969. 2006. An outstanding work on postwar France.
Chamberlain, M. E. Decolonization: The Fall of the European Empires, 2d ed. 1999. A clear, accessible account.
Chin, Rita. The Guest Worker Question in Postwar Germany. 2007. An engaging interpretation of postwar migration patterns in West Germany.
de Grazia, Victoria. Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance Through Twentieth-Century Europe. 2005. A lively, provocative account of the Americanization of Europe from 1900 to the 1950s.
de Senarclens, Pierre. From Yalta to the Iron Curtain: The Great Powers and the Origins of the Cold War. 1995. A valuable work on the Cold War.
Eksteins, Modris. Walking Since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Heart of Our Century. 2000. A powerful, partly autobiographical account of the Baltic countries before, during, and after World War II.
Hitchcock, William I. The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent, 1945 to the Present. 2004. A valuable general study with extensive bibliographies.
Judt, Tony. Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. 2005. A masterful reconsideration, especially strong on smaller countries.
Kertzer, David I., and Marzio Barbagli, eds. Family Life in the Twentieth Century: The History of the European Family, vol. 3. 2003. A distinguished collection of essays by experts.
Lomax, Bill. Hungary 1956. 1976. A gripping and engaged book on the failed Hungarian revolution that explores the actions of ordinary people as well as prominent leaders.
Westad, Odd Arne. The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times. 2007. An up-to-date study of the Cold War’s global impact.
DOCUMENTARIES
Cold War (CNN, 1998). A twenty-four-part miniseries that examines the United States and the Soviet Union’s relationship between World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the Shadow of the Moon (David Sington, 2007). Surviving crew members of NASA’s Apollo missions tell their own stories.
Korean War Stories (PBS, 2001). American war veterans recall their experiences of the Korean War.
Sputnik Mania (David Hoffman, 2007). A documentary looking at the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik and its worldwide effects.
FEATURE FILMS AND TELEVISION
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964). A dark comedy produced during the Cold War that satirizes the fear of a nuclear holocaust.
Gandhi (Richard Attenborough, 1982). Winner of eight Academy Awards, this biographic film traces the life of Mohandas Gandhi, who led nonviolent protests against the British rule in India.
Lumumba (Raoul Peck, 2000). The film portrays Patrice Lumumba as an anticolonial heroic figure who rose to power and then was assassinated because of political and commercial interests of the international community.
WEB SITES
BBC: History: Cold War. A great resource for overviews on the Korean War, Cuban missile crisis, weapons of the Cold War, and the fall of the Soviet Union. www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO’s homepage provides information about its origins and the nature of the organization today. www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm
Nuremberg Trials. Legal resources pertaining to the Nuremberg trials. www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Nuremberg_trials.html
Wilson Center: Cold War International History Project. This Web site offers government documents from all sides of the Cold War. The project seeks to integrate materials and perspectives from the former East and West Blocs. www.wilsoncenter.org/program/cold-war-international-history-project