United States Foreign Policy 1945-1968

There are many studies of the Cold War, but none has sought to understand the period in the broader context of human history as this one does. Michael Wayne Santos examines the interplay of the long-standing limits on human decision-making, our propensity for story-telling, and need for certitude in a period of chaos and confusion.

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Between 1945 and 1968, the possibility of Mutual Assured Destruction led to a host of odd realities, including the creation of an affable cartoon turtle named Bert who taught millions of school children that nuclear war was survivable if they simply learned how to “duck and cover.” Meanwhile, fear of Communism played out against the backdrop of potential Armageddon to provide justification for a variety of covert operations involving regime change, political assassination, and sometimes bizarre plot twists. United States Foreign Policy 1945-1968: The Bomb, Spies, Stories, and Lies takes a fresh look at this complex, often confusing, and frequently farcical period in American and world history.