Norman Stone. The Atlantic and its Enemies: A History of the Cold War. London: Penguin Books, 2011. After often picking up Gaddis' The Cold War and then putting it down due to its obvious ideological biases, I bought this on a whim -- not that Stone has ever hidden his own politics! Probably should get some Judt or something for balance.
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George Shaner
Glad to see another person who finds Gaddis a bit grating; it's the post Cold War triumphalism. I'm still going to read his bio of Kennan at some point though.
Brett Holman
Post authorYou're not the first person who has said that to me! (Well, okay, you're only the second though.) Yes, it's the triumphalism. Apart from not lending itself to objectivity it seems rather misplaced given trends in international relations this last decade or so. I did see that his Kennan biography won the Pulitzer this year, so I suppose it can't be all bad.
George Shaner
As Andrew Bacevich might say: How's that empire thing working out for you?