David Reynolds is Fellow of Christ's College Cambridge. His previous books include The CREATION OF THE ANGLO-AMERICAN ALLIANCE and RICH RELATIONS: THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION OF BRITAIN.

Part 1 The mushroom cloud and the Iron Curtain: the cover story that never was; the war and the superpowers; from cold peace to Cold War; two blocs, two Germanies, two bombs. Part 2 Communist revolutions, Asian style: Japan under US occupation; China and the endgame of civil war; Korea - the Cold War turns hot; consolidating unity and revolution in China; nationalism and communism in Southeast Asia; the limits of "independence". Part 3 Legacies of empire: the partition of India; Palestine - one land, two peoples; the Middle East after Britain and France; Africa and the persistence of imperialism; the "white commonwealth" between Britain and America; Latin America - "our" hemisphere and "their" island. Part 4 Two Europes, two Germanies: the socialist transformation of Eastern Europe; Germany - East and West; Western Europe - capitalism, welfare and integration; the bomb and the wall. Part 5 Cities and consumers: births and deaths; cities and buildings; suburbs and automobiles; the culture of consumption. Part 6 Eyeball to eyeball, shoulder to shoulder: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the space race; Kennedy, Khrushchev and Cuba; De Gaulle and the travails of Western Europe; Dubek and the taming of Eastern Europe. Part 7 Colour, creed and coups: the politics of race in black and white; ethnicity and conflict in black Africa; development and the military in Latin America; Christianity between church and state; Holy War in the Middle East; politics, religion and nationalism in South Asia. Part 8 East wind, west wind: the Great Leap and the Cultural Revolution; Southeast Asia and Indonesia's turning point; America's anguish, Vietnam's tragedy; the Vietnam War and America's allies. Part 9 Cultures and families: the consumption of culture; educational revolutions; women on the move. Part 10 Superpower detente, Communist confrontation: a new strategic triangle - America, Russia, China; West Germany looks east; Western Europe looks north and south; America in retreat, detente in decline; new Indochina wars -Communist against Communist; Afghanistan, the Olympics and the demise of detente. Part 11 Israel, oil and Islam: October 1973 -Arab gamble, superpower crisis; partial peace - Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians; the Gulf state and the oil boom; the Iranian revolution and Islamic resurgence. Part 12 Capitalist revolutions, Asian style: the West and stagflation; the Japanese "miracle"; the Asian tigers; the tiger cubs; the Chinese dragon; the Indian elephant. Part 13 Challenges for the West: Thatcherism, Reaganomics and the crisis of capitalism; Latin America - debt, democracy and revolution; sub-Saharan Africa - the collapse of the state; the "New Cold War" and transatlantic turmoil. Part 14 Chips and genes: science, business and government; telecommunications and the satellite revolution; computers and the electronics revolution; the "information society" and international rivalries; molecular biology and the revolution in genetics; nuclear power and the en