000			02485nam a22002297a 4500
001			47531
020			_a9781035405763 (pbk.)
082			_a355.031 APP
100			_aAPPS Peter _eauthor
245			_aDeterring armageddon: _ba biography of NATO/ _cby Peter Apps
260			_aLondon: _bWildfire, _c2024
300			_a606 pages: _billustrations; _c24 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aThe history of the world's most successful military alliance, from the wrecked Europe of 1945 to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. As they signed NATO into being after World War II, its founders fervently believed that only if the West's democracies banded permanently together could they avoid a catastrophic global atomic conflict. Over the 75 years since, the alliance has indeed avoided war with Russia, also becoming a major political, strategic and diplomatic player well beyond its borders. It has survived disagreements between leaders from Eisenhower, Churchill and de Gaulle to Trump, Stoltenberg and Merkel, faced down Kremlin foes from Stalin to Putin and endured unending questions and debate over what new nations might be allowed to join. Deterring Armageddon takes the reader from backroom deals that led to NATO's creation, through the Cold War, the Balkans and Afghanistan to the current confrontation with the Kremlin following the invasion of Ukraine. It examines the tightrope walked by alliance leaders between a powerful United States sometimes flirting with isolationism and European nations with their ever-evolving wishes for autonomy and influence. Having spent much of its life preparing for conflicts that might never come, NATO has sometimes found itself in wars that few had predicted - and with its members now again planning for a potential major European conflict. It is a tale of tension, danger, rivalry, conflict, big personalities and high-stakes military and diplomatic posturing - as well as espionage, politics and protest. From the Korean War to the pandemic, the Berlin and Cuba crises to the chaotic evacuation from Kabul, Deterring Armageddon tells how the alliance has shaped and been shaped by history - and looks ahead to what might be the most dangerous era it has ever faced.
650			_aNATO
650			_aNATIONAL SECURITY
650			_a20TH CENTURY HISTORY
650			_aMILITARY HISTORY
650			_aINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
650			_aNATIONAL SECURITY _zEUROPE
942			_2ddc _cBOOK _n0
999			_c47531 _d47531