House (military history, US Army Command and General Staff College) offers a welcome and fresh perspective on the early Cold War. This is not a blow-by-blow account of military events. Instead, House takes readers through the policy story, revealing the intensity of decision-making among Soviet and US military and civilian leaders as they stared nuclear war in the face while dealing with unfamiliar postcolonial movements, insurgencies, and other crises. House insightfully details the context of the moment, reminding specialists and general readers alike that what seems so clear looking back was murky at best at the time. The author masterfully discusses the intricacy of civilian-military relations and the complexity of the relationship between national policy and military strategy. In both instances, the one should ideally reign over the other, but during the early Cold War such was not always the case. A must for senior military leaders and graduate students, and accessible for general readers.