Publisher's Synopsis
This collection challenges conventional views of the cold war as a purely bipolar affair, involving only the United States and the Soviet Union. It shows that Britain tool a lead and continued to play an active part in a drive to contain communism; and that she tried to keep her own position as a great world power.;Making extensive use of new official material, it throws fresh light on many questions surrounding Britain's postwar foreign policy and the cold war. How and when did fear of Soviet power develop in Britain? Why did Britain opt for an independent nuclear force? How seriously did she treat the UN? What role did she play in Iran, the Middle East, South East Asia and Germany during the critical early postwar years? "Britain and the First Cold War" makes an important contribution to the continuing international debate on these important issues.
