PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewTim Weiner’s The Folly and the Glory provides a sweeping, lively survey of the worldwide competition between the Soviet Union (and later, Russia) and the United States since the end of World War II ... The odds of doing justice, in a relatively short book, to such multitudinous and tangled events over 75 years are slim. Occasionally, Weiner slows his speedy stride through history for deeper probes into particular episodes, but one wonders why those, rather than others, merit case studies ... Weiner skillfully shows that subversion, the dissemination of disinformation and military interventions were standard fare in the competition between Moscow and Washington, and he enlivens his story with vivid portraits of the main characters. Readers looking for a quick overview of the Cold War will find The Folly and the Glory informative and entertaining. Nonetheless, some of Weiner’s claims are unpersuasive ... Sometimes, history and politics are more complicated than Weiner seems willing to allow.
