Soviet Spy Swap
Gerald Brooke’s time in a Soviet prison was a pivotal moment in Cold War espionage.
Cold War
Yugoslavia’s Very Secret Service
The UDBA is probably the least known major espionage agency of the Cold War. It remains influential, despite the break-up of the country it was formed to defend.
The Iron Curtain Torn By Israel
The Six Day War of 1967, in which Israel devastated its Arab neighbours, also struck a blow against the military prowess of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact satellites.
Looking Back on Mao’s Great Leap Forward
The gradual opening of Chinese archives has revealed the appalling truth about Chairman Mao’s genocidal Great Leap Forward.
The BBC Book of War
What role was the BBC to play if the cold war became hot? For the first time, the corporation has given detailed access to its plans for a Wartime Broadcasting Service following a nuclear attack. Paul Reynolds reveals its secrets.
Sikkim and the Himalayan Chess Game
When India and Pakistan gained independence from Britain in 1947, the region’s Princely States – including tiny Sikkim – became pawns in South Asia’s great power politics.
Isaiah Berlin: The Undercover Egghead
One of the most brilliant intellectuals of his age, Isaiah Berlin voiced impeccably liberal views. Yet were his political beliefs compromised by some unsavoury associations?
France in Rhodesia: A Secret History of African Decolonisation
Rhodesia’s white minority declared unilateral independence from the UK in 1965, gaining covert support from France, Britain’s colonial rival in Africa.
Starting the Cold War
Geoffrey Roberts explains when and why the Cold War began.
The US-Cuba Embargo Beyond the Cold War
Predating Castro’s Communist Revolution, the unequal US-Cuban power relationship stretches back to the turn of the 20th century.