P. M. H. Bell was formerly Reader in History at the University of Liverpool, UK.Mark Gilbert is Professor of History and International Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, USA.

• List of MapsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionPrologue: A New Era in International Politics1. The Second World War and its consequences2. The beginning of the post-war worldThe Cold War, 1945–19623. The antagonists4. From Potsdam to the Marshall Plan, 1945–475. From the Prague Coup to the North Atlantic Treaty, 1948–496. From Korea to Hungary, 1949–19567. The Berlin and Cuba Crises, 1957–1962Reflection: The Cold War in its early phasesDecolonization and Wars of Succession, 1945–1960s8. The Middle East, 1945–c. 19629. Transformation in Asia, 1945–196210. The New Africa 11. The Bandung Conference, 1955 and Non-alignment12. Latin America Contested, 1945–1973Reflection: The ‘Third World’The Cold War: Détente13. The Cold War and Détente, 1963–196914. The high tide of détente, 1969-197515. The end of détente, 1976–1980Reflection: The essence of détenteThe Changing World Order, 1960s–1990s16. The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1963–198217. The Geopolitics of Oil, 1973-9118. The Rise of Asia, c.1962-1990s19. Turmoil in Africa, c.1962-1990s20. Latin America in World Affairs, 1970s-1990sReflection: Where is Europe?The Ending of the Cold War21. Renewed Cold War, 1980–8522. Gorbachev and Reagan, 1985–8823. Three years that shook the world, 1989–91Reflection: The Cold War in RetrospectAfter the Cold War24. Global Issues25. Nationalism, Political Conflict, and War in Europe 26. The Wounded Hegemon27. Democracy and Human RightsFurther readingIndex

The text is punctuated with pithy judgments about historical actors … Crisp writing of this sort retains the reader’s attention, whether undergraduates or old hands. The text’s broad geographic range also offers unexpected rewards. I, admittedly not an African specialist, was especially struck by the detailed coverage of the Western Sahara dispute between Mauritania and Morocco, as well as Libyan and French involvement in Chad’s civil wars.