While the earlier edition of this work only examined the first couple decades of the Cold War, Dockrill (diplomatic history, King's College London, UK) and Hopkins (history, Liverpool Hope U., UK) have not updated their political history to bring the narrative up to the events of 1991. Their discussion of the Cold War is relatively traditional in its approach, concentrating on the decisions and perceptions of political elites in the major powers involved, particularly the United States and the Soviet Union. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)