The Specter of Communism: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1917-1953 (Critical Issue)
Here is a short survey of the hard and bitter peace that followed the biggest war of all time. It touches upon formative moments in U.S.-USSR animosity. It asserts various reasons for the intractability of issues. These fall into two categories, in Leffler's opinion: the surges of domestic U.S. anti-Communist sentiment, and a conscious reach by U.S. officials for global American hegemony. The Soviet component in events, such as Stalin's rejection of the Marshall Plan and objection to any revitalization of Germany, is seen as cautious reaction, understandable as a "beleaguered" response to events driven by the Americans. The Berlin blockade is so interpreted. As to the expansionist acts of the Stalinist dictatorship, Leffler shunts them off as pretexts seized by Americans for domestic political gain (ignoble Republicans) or for a forward foreign policy (opportunistic Democrats). The geopolitical threat of Stalinism, the author writes, was a bit exaggerated in this country, and so the cold war was consequently a sort of metamisunderstanding. Readers attuned to that conclusion will probably agree with Leffler's outline of the standoff's origins.Gilbert Taylor--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.