The good and the bad – well, the fine and the slightly less than that – are evident really early on here, in this pictorial history narrative. I knew the visuals would be well-researched and -presented, with the Amber Books name attached to this. I had a good inkling the storytelling would be decent at least as well. And even in the early 1940s I was learning things about the world I had no idea of, from a brief mention of the Greek wars, to the fact some thought East and West Germany might only be a temporary split, to calm things down post-war. Of course the Iron Curtain remained unflappable.

The big issue here is that the layout smacks of budget business, and of things slightly underthought. You get a chunk of text, then pages and pages of the visuals – all with their own captions, that as typical don't make a small part of the pages up – and then there's the last paragraph of the subject you thought you'd been reading about. It's not egregious widow-making, if that's the term to borrow, but it really can interrupt the flow of things – especially if, unlike me, you'd not learnt to leave the visuals and captions for a second pass. And I don't think it was something unavoidable, either, given the wide blank header on each text page.

So this could easily come across as a bitty, fractured story, when to all intents and purposes it's a very easily read, flowing narrative that takes us from Cuba and many other places in that corner of the world, through Angola, to Vietnam and Korea and of course all the ins and outs to be had from Washington, Moscow and Beijing bullying off against each other. I can't see this being a failure with any student, GCSE level or above – as much as the subject is or is not studied these days, this deserves a place as a primer on the topic to many, or text book back-up for young academics everywhere. It really was a quick purview that managed to pack a heck of a lot in, and for a general browse kind of book was superbly informative.

This book provides a history of the Cold War from the 1940s until the 1990s. Although largely a book of photographs, there is also abundant text to provide historical context, explanations and commentary. The book succeeds in that the photographs are interesting and well selected. Some are well known, others less so. Some subjects are well known people and events; other are of more unknown people, living through turbulent times.

The book is divided into decades; an arbitrary division, but it seems to make sense given the events and how we remember them today. For anyone looking for an overview of the Cold War, this book is a success. It presents a global picture, including all the main events and many smaller events. Implications of events and outcomes are presented in a largely objective manner. As well as military aspects of the Cold War, the book covers the politics, cultures, economics, arts, entertainment, sport and other aspects related to the times.

I was impressed with this book. I expected it to be a book of photographs. It is so much more. The text provides excellent context, commentary and explanations. A fine albeit brief summary of the Cold War. The book capture the famous as well as the lesser known or unknown people caught up in local events which had echos around the world and over the decades since the Second World War. These events resonate with us today and the world faces somewhat similar challenges.

The Cold War by Michael Kerrigan will peak your interest in this crucial time period in history— or if you lived during this time, will remind you of key events and fill in learning gaps left by secondary school textbooks. I especially enjoyed the pictorial presentation, mixing key figures, events, maps, and timelines to clarify the straightforward text. I will promote this title as a solid choice for a personal or home reference library. Thank you to Amber books through NetGalley for providing a digital preview copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was great! I loved all the photographs. It’s a nice book for an overview of the Col War. I would like to read this book in a physical copy because I think it would be better in that format.

Although World War II seemed to settle many things once and for all, this was just the grim start to another longer battle not only for Europe but also across the entire world. “The Cold War” by Michael Kerrigan captures the images of this time as the USSR and the USA competed for global domination and/or survival against each other. Through pictures and commentary, we learn how these WWII allies quickly turned on each other, how they competed not only in military terms but also economics, science, sports, and many other areas, how they fought proxy wars in Asia and central America to show the dominance of their respective ideologies. And finally how all of this came to a crashing end in the late 1980s/early 1990s as the communist system could no longer handle its people.

This is my fourth title (or so) that I’ve reviewed from Amber Books, and the one consistent theme is that they let the pictures tell the story, the captions and verbiage is just to help you understand the photos. And what wonderful pictures they are! Black and white, posed and sudden snapshots, deep moments of history and everyday life. Some we have seen a thousand times, but they yet can give us a chill… the one lone man stopping a column of Chinese tanks will forever be a portrait of courage.

My only (minor) complaint is that many, many of these pictures have been seen elsewhere, several are actually quite iconic. It is nice to have them all gathered together in one volume, but it would have been nice to see more relatively unknown photos. But for those who don’t understand or haven’t lived through the cold war, this is a great peek into how the world lived for almost 50 years.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Amber Books Ltd, Amber Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

A collection of photographs and text detailing the major events of the Cold War divided into a chapter for each decade. I didn’t feel that there was blame for starting the Cold War or credit given for ending it. A refreshing change from popular Cold War memories that blame Stalin and give all the credit to Reagan. The photographs are top notch. An enjoyable work.