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Uncertain Empire : American History and the Idea of the Cold War by Duncan Bell (2012, Trade Paperback)

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Yet scholars in the rapidly expanding field of Cold War studies have seldom paused to consider the conceptual and chronological foundations of the idea of the Cold War itself.

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100199826145

ISBN-139780199826148

eBay Product ID (ePID)113253483

Product Key Features

Number of Pages288 Pages

Publication NameUncertain Empire : American History and the Idea of the Cold War

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2012

SubjectUnited States / 20th Century, World / General, Popular Culture, International Relations / General, United States / General

TypeTextbook

AuthorDuncan Bell

Subject AreaPolitical Science, Social Science, History

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight14.6 Oz

Item Length6.1 in

Item Width9.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2012-003132

Dewey Edition23

Reviews"Uncertain Empireis that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself." --Marilyn Young, New York University, Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself., "A model for an edited volume. Joel Isaac and Duncan Bell, the volume's editors, aim not to criticize existing Cold War scholarship, but rather to open new avenues of inquiry and perhaps reinvigorate what is already a very large and rich field. That is because, while there is no shortage of writing on the topic, there is a surprising lack of attention to its meaning."--Gretchen Heefner, Reviews in American History"Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself."--Marilyn Young, New York University "These are stimulating think pieces from a multidisciplinary perspective."--CHOICE"Thought-provoking. An impressively wide-ranging and exceptionally coherent collection that simultaneously clarifies, problematizes, and advances our understanding of the United States and the Cold War."--Hugh Wilford, Journal of American History"This edited collection has no small ambition: to encourage a reconceptualization of the Cold War in American history. The coeditors have achieved great success in encouraging authors to contend with the book's 'metahistorical themes'. Uncertain Empire demonstrates the vitality of historical scholarship on the Cold War in American life while at the same time identifying new themes and new approaches to an important topic. It will serve as an ideal introduction for graduate students interested in the state of the field, and to scholars continuing to rethink the American experience of its decades-long conflict with the Soviet Union."--David Engerman, American Historical Review, A model for an edited volume. Joel Isaac and Duncan Bell, the volume's editors, aim not to criticize existing Cold War scholarship, but rather to open new avenues of inquiry and perhaps reinvigorate what is already a very large and rich field. That is because, while there is no shortage of writing on the topic, there is a surprising lack of attention to its meaning., "Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself." --Marilyn Young, New York University "These are stimulating think pieces from a multidisciplinary perspective." --CHOICE "Thought-provoking . An impressively wide-ranging and exceptionally coherent collection that simultaneously clarifies, problematizes, and advances our understanding of the United States and the Cold War." --Hugh Wilford, Journal of American History, "A model for an edited volume. Joel Isaac and Duncan Bell, the volume's editors, aim not to criticize existing Cold War scholarship, but rather to open new avenues of inquiry and perhaps reinvigorate what is already a very large and rich field. That is because, while there is no shortage of writing on the topic, there is a surprising lack of attention to its meaning."--Gretchen Heefner, Reviews in American History "Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself."--Marilyn Young, New York University "These are stimulating think pieces from a multidisciplinary perspective."--CHOICE "Thought-provoking. An impressively wide-ranging and exceptionally coherent collection that simultaneously clarifies, problematizes, and advances our understanding of the United States and the Cold War."--Hugh Wilford, Journal of American History "This edited collection has no small ambition: to encourage a reconceptualization of the Cold War in American history. The coeditors have achieved great success in encouraging authors to contend with the book's 'metahistorical themes'. Uncertain Empire demonstrates the vitality of historical scholarship on the Cold War in American life while at the same time identifying new themes and new approaches to an important topic. It will serve as an ideal introduction for graduate students interested in the state of the field, and to scholars continuing to rethink the American experience of its decades-long conflict with the Soviet Union."--David Engerman, American Historical Review, Thought-provoking. An impressively wide-ranging and exceptionally coherent collection that simultaneously clarifies, problematizes, and advances our understanding of the United States and the Cold War., "Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself." --Marilyn Young, New York University "These are stimulating think pieces from a multidisciplinary perspective." --CHOICE, "A model for an edited volume. Joel Isaac and Duncan Bell, the volume's editors, aim not to criticize existing Cold War scholarship, but rather to open new avenues of inquiry and perhaps reinvigorate what is already a very large and rich field. That is because, while there is no shortage of writing on the topic, there is a surprising lack of attention to its meaning."--Gretchen Heefner, Reviews in American History "Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself." --Marilyn Young, New York University "These are stimulating think pieces from a multidisciplinary perspective." --CHOICE "Thought-provoking . An impressively wide-ranging and exceptionally coherent collection that simultaneously clarifies, problematizes, and advances our understanding of the United States and the Cold War." --Hugh Wilford, Journal of American History, "A model for an edited volume. Joel Isaac and Duncan Bell, the volume's editors, aim not to criticize existing Cold War scholarship, but rather to open new avenues of inquiry and perhaps reinvigorate what is already a very large and rich field. That is because, while there is no shortage of writing on the topic, there is a surprising lack of attention to its meaning."--Gretchen Heefner, Reviews in American History"Uncertain Empire is that rarity: a collection of essays that works as seamlessly and to as great effect as a single-authored work. From its comprehensive introduction through the incisive analyses by some of the most interesting historians of the Cold War, Isaac and Bell have assembled a rich and multi-faceted exploration of their subject. In their hands, the Cold War becomes a lens through which to examine American history itself."--Marilyn Young,New York University"These are stimulating think pieces from a multidisciplinary perspective."--CHOICE"Thought-provoking. An impressively wide-ranging and exceptionally coherent collection that simultaneously clarifies, problematizes, and advances our understanding of the United States and the Cold War."--Hugh Wilford, Journal of American History"This edited collection has no small ambition: to encourage a reconceptualization of the Cold War in American history. The coeditors have achieved great success in encouraging authors to contend with the book's 'metahistorical themes'. Uncertain Empire demonstrates the vitality of historical scholarship on the Cold War in American life while at the same time identifying new themes and new approaches to an important topic. It will serve as an idealintroduction for graduate students interested in the state of the field, and to scholars continuing to rethink the American experience of its decades-long conflict with the Soviet Union."--David Engerman, AmericanHistorical Review

Dewey Decimal973.91

Table Of ContentIntroductionPart I: Prisms1. Cold War Degree Zero2. Exploring the Histories of the Cold War: A Pluralist Approach3. A History Best Served Cold4. Inventing Other Realities: What the Cold War Means for Literary StudiesPart II: Vistas5. The Geopolitical Vision: The Myth of an Outmatched U.S.A.6. War Envy and Amnesia: American Cold War Rewrites of Russia's War7. The Spirit of Democracy: Religious Liberty and American Anti-Communism during the Cold War8. God, the Bomb, and the Cold War: The Religious and Ethical Debate Over Nuclear Weapons, 1945-19609. Blues Under Siege: Ralph Ellison, Albert Murray, and the Idea of America10. Cold War Culture and the Lingering Myth of Sacco and Vanzetti11. Deconstructing "Cold War Anthropology"12. Cognitive and Perceptual Training in the Cold War Man-Machine SystemIndex

SynopsisHistorians have long understood that the notion of "the cold war" is richly metaphorical, if not paradoxical. The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union was a war that fell ambiguously short of war, an armed truce that produced considerable bloodshed. Yet scholars in the rapidly expanding field of Cold War studies have seldom paused to consider the conceptual and chronological foundations of the idea of the Cold War itself. In Uncertain Empire , a group of leading scholars takes up the challenge of making sense of the idea of the Cold War and its application to the writing of American history. They interrogate the concept from a wide range of disciplinary vantage points--diplomatic history, the history of science, literary criticism, cultural history, and the history of religion--highlighting the diversity of methods and approaches in contemporary Cold War studies. Animating the volume as a whole is a question about the extent to which the Cold War was an American invention. Uncertain Empire brings debates over national, global, and transnational history into focus and offers students of the Cold War a new framework for considering recent developments in the field., Historians have long understood that the notion of "the cold war" is richly metaphorical, if not paradoxical. The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union was a war that fell ambiguously short of war, an armed truce that produced considerable bloodshed. Yet scholars in the rapidly expanding field of Cold War studies have seldom paused to consider the conceptual and chronological foundations of the idea of the Cold War itself. This stands in contrast to the study of other historical epochs that are governed by grand but ambivalent rubrics: the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, or the Industrial Revolution. In Uncertain Empire, a group of leading scholars takes up the challenge of making sense of the idea of the Cold War and its application to the writing of American history. They interrogate the concept from a wide range of disciplinary vantage points; the scope of these different positions illustrates the diversity of methods and approaches in contemporary Cold War studies. Among the disciplines on which the book draws are diplomatic history, the history of science, literary criticism, cultural history, and the history of religion.Animating the volume as a whole is a question about the extent to which the Cold War was an American invention. Essays look at the Cold War as in need of a rigorous re-centering, after a decade in which historians have introduced expansive global and transnational perspectives on the conflict; as a uniquely American ideological project designed to legitimize the pursuit of an ambitious geopolitical agenda; as a geopolitical and transnational phenomenon; and other approaches. Uncertain Empire brings these debates into focus, and offers students of the Cold War a new framework for considering recent developments in the scholarship., Uncertain Empire examines the idea of the Cold War and its application to the writing of American history.

LC Classification NumberE169.12.U478 2012