As the cold war took shape during the late 1940s, policymakers in the United States and Great Britain displayed a marked tendency to regard international communism as a "monolithic" conspiratorial movement. The image of a "communist monolith" distilled the messy realities of international relations into a neat, comprehensible formula. Its lesson was that all communists, regardless of their native land or political program, were essentially tools of the Kremlin.

Marc Selverstone recreates the manner in which the "monolith" emerged as a perpetual framework on both sides of the...

A Companion to John F. Kennedy presents a comprehensive collection of historiographical essays addressing the life and administration of the nation's 35th president.

• Features original contributions from leading Kennedy scholars
• Reassesses Kennedy, his administration, and the era of the New Frontier
• Reconsiders relevant Kennedy scholarship and points to new avenues of research
• Considers the major crises faced by Kennedy, along with domestic issues including women's issues and civil rights