Freedom’s War: The American Crusade Against the Soviet Union

This book…broadens our understanding of the post-World War II confrontation between the United States and the USSR and serves as a strong stimulus for the study of the contribution to the clash of ideas, using documents from former Communist archives. –Ilya V. Gaiduk, American Historical Review Freedom’s War is the first book to examine comprehensively the American pursuit of the liberation of Eastern Europe from the end of World War II until the failure of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. It shows how the American vision of freedom led to interventions in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and it details the massive propaganda campaign to persuade people at home and abroad of the virtues of U.S. possession of the atomic bomb. Most significantly, Freedom’s War explores in detail the most important legacy of the Cold War: the forging of a network linking government and private groups, from labor unions to women’s organizations to academics in the crusade against Communism. Beginning with the declaration of the Truman Doctrine, Lucas argues that the Cold War was a total war that required the contribution of all sectors of American society. From its groundbreaking study of U.S. efforts to liberate Eastern Europe to its explanation of the ill-fated intervention in Vietnam, Freedom’s War is an essential book for students and general readers alike.