Winner of the Royal United Services Institute Westminster Medal for Military Literature

`To read a comprehensive history of the technical, military and political aspects of the Cold War, based on documents from the two super powers, written by a scholar who is free of bias, is something I never thought I would be able to do. But in The Fifty-Year War I can. . . For the men and women who are going to lead the world in the first generation of the twenty-first century, this account of how the Cold War was fought and won is indispensable. For those of us who lived through it . . . Friedman's account is enthralling. Having spent much of my life reading about, studying, worrying about, participating in the Cold War, I thought there was nothing new for me to learn about it. Boy was I wrong. Read The Fifty-Year War and see why.
- Stephen Ambrose

For fifty years the Cold War shaped our lives and divided our world. Other authors have portrayed the period as an uneasy peace, enforced by the possibility of mutual destruction through atomic and nuclear weapons. However, Norman Friedman has synthesized a vast array of information from a diverse spectrum of sources on both sides of the iron curtain to produce some extraordinary new conclusions.

The renowned defence analyst has challenged conventional thinking on the subject. The Fifty-Year War is an essential book for those who wish to make sense of one of the most complex and fascinating epochs of world history.

About the Author
Norman Friedman is a defence analyst specializing in strategic and technical issues and a frequent television commentator. A resident of New York City, he is the author of many Naval Institute books and a columnist for Proceedings magazine.