Cold War: Biographies

Cold War: Biographies (two volumes) presents biographies of fifty men and women who participated in or were affected by the Cold War, the period in history from 1945 until 1991 that was dominated by the rivalry between the world's superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. This set profiles a diverse mix of personalities from the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Great Britain, and other regions touched by the Cold War. Detailed biographies of major Cold War figures, such as Fidel Castro, Mikhail Gorbachev, John F. Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Joseph R. McCarthy are included. But Cold War: Biographies also provides biographical information on lesser-known but nonetheless important and fascinating men and women of that era. Examples include nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, the developer of the Soviet atomic bomb; Kim Il Sung, the communist dictator of North Korea throughout the Cold War; and Condoleezza Rice, the top U.S. advisor on the Soviet Union when the Cold War ended in November 1990. Nearly 130 black-and-white photographs help illustrate the set. Numerous sidebars highlight interesting individuals and fascinating facts. Cold War: Biographies also includes cross-references, a timeline, sources for further reading, and an index. Book jacket.