THE LABYRINTH WE WALKED

An attorney and amateur historian offers a brief history of the many political issues that contributed to the Cold War.

As Jensen explains in his introduction, “The fall of Soviet Communism [in 1991] was as much a surprise to US intelligence as to the general public.” This led him to wonder: “Why did the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies fall so suddenly and surprisingly?” As he pondered his initial query, he says, it led him to more questions, which he explores in these pages. Overall, the book offers a sort of capsule overview of the Cold War. It touches on expected topics, such as the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation, and CIA covert projects, as well as others that may seem more tangential, including the Civil Rights Movement and the legacy of Mao Zedong. Jensen notes the many common misconceptions Americans have about the Cold War: “Most of us in the US had at best a partial view of the issues, exacerbated by a lack of curiosity and some willful ignorance.” In these pages, he skillfully leads this target audience past these barriers, using his skills as a longtime business litigation attorney who’s accustomed to analyzing facts and historical precedent. His voluminous bibliography draws on solid volumes on various topics by such luminaries as David Halberstam, Joan Didion, and Louis Menand, but his greatest skill is synthesizing the complexities of historical developments to make them more accessible, while mixing in a liberal dose of pop culture. As with any collection, some essays are more effective than others and will depend on individual readers’ preference. “Decade of Reckoning: Two Takes on the US Experience of the 1970s,” for instance, will speak most effectively to a latter-day baby boomer, like the author himself, and “Marx’s Crafty Nemesis: The Evolutions of Capitalism,” as straightforward as it is, will appeal mostly to those with some prior knowledge of economics. Still, Jensen’s slim but analysis-packed book offers plenty of substance, even for those who may be too young to remember the Cold War era.

An informative treatise that swiftly limns a period of worldwide tension.