For nearly five decades, the Cold War held the entire world in a state of tension and fear, yet some of its key events are not as well understood today as they once were. Illustrated throughout, this brisk guide explains such incidents as the Berlin Airlift, the launch of Sputnik, the McCarthy trials, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Taking stock of some larger than life personalities, Norman Friedman also surveys the contributions of Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill, Josip Broz Tito, George Marshall, and Ronald Reagan.