Rockets Before the Space Race: From World War II to the Cold War Before Sputnik beeped above the Earth and before astronauts dreamed of walking on the Moon, the technology that would carry humanity into space was being developed for a much darker purpose. During World War II, scientists and engineers made enormous advances in rocketry as nations searched for new weapons capable of striking enemies from great distances. When the war ended in 1945, the United States and Soviet

My Name is Ernest Bevin: From a Working Boy to Britain's Foreign Secretary I became Britain's Foreign Secretary at a moment when victory in one terrible war was giving way to the dangers of another kind of struggle. I was never born to privilege, nor trained in the drawing rooms where diplomats traditionally learned their trade. I came from the working people of Britain. I knew what it meant to earn one's bread, to organize men, to argue across a table, and to stand firm when

Why NATO Was Created: Western Europe Searches for Security (1948–1949) In 1948, Western Europe was free from World War II—but it did not feel secure. Two devastating world wars had torn through the continent within a single generation, leaving cities damaged, economies weakened, and millions dead or displaced. Nazi Germany had been defeated, but another powerful force now dominated much of Eastern Europe: the Soviet Union. Soviet troops remained stationed across the East, Com

My Name is Joseph McCarthy: The Senator Who Gave His Name to McCarthyism I was born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, in 1908. I grew up on a farm in a large Catholic family, and I learned early that advancement depended upon determination. I left school as a young man, returned to finish my education at an accelerated pace, attended Marquette University, earned a law degree, and entered politics. I became a Wisconsin circuit judge while still in my twenties. When America entered Wo

The Soviet Union, once an ally against Nazi Germany, had become America's greatest international rival, communist governments were spreading across Eastern Europe, and fears grew that communism might also be gaining influence inside the United States. By the late 1940s, Americans were entering an era in which political beliefs, friendships, employment, and even entertainment could become matters of suspicion. From Wartime Ally to Communist Rival During World War II, the Unite

My Name is Elizabeth Bentley: Soviet Courier Turned American Informant I was born in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1908, and nothing about my childhood suggested that I would someday carry secrets for Soviet intelligence. I was educated at Vassar College and later studied languages in Europe and at Columbia University. I was intelligent, ambitious, and searching for something larger than myself. During the Great Depression, capitalism appeared to many Americans to be failing.

The Birth of the CIA and KGB: Building the Cold War’s Secret Armies When World War II ended in 1945, American and Soviet soldiers could look back on a war in which their nations had fought the same enemy. But beneath the celebrations, another struggle was already beginning. The United States and Soviet Union had dramatically different political systems and competing visions for the postwar world. As Soviet influence expanded across Eastern Europe and tensions increased over G

My Name is Nikita Khrushchev: Leader of the Soviet Union I was born in 1894 in the village of Kalinovka, near the borderlands of Russia and Ukraine. I did not come from palaces, universities, or wealthy families. My father was a laborer, and I worked as a shepherd boy before becoming a metalworker and mechanic. I knew what it meant to work with my hands and live among ordinary people. When revolution swept through Russia, I saw the Bolsheviks as men who promised to overturn t

The Soviet Atomic Bomb: America Loses Its Nuclear Monopoly (1949) For four years after World War II, the United States possessed something no other nation on Earth was known to have: the atomic bomb. American leaders understood that the Soviet Union was trying to build one, but many believed it would take years before the Soviets succeeded. Then, on August 29, 1949, deep within Soviet-controlled Kazakhstan, a brilliant flash erupted over the Semipalatinsk Test Site. The Sovie

My Name is Syngman Rhee: President of South Korea I was born in 1875 in a Korea very different from the nation the world knows today. The Joseon Dynasty still ruled, but Korea was increasingly surrounded by powerful nations seeking influence over our land. China, Japan, and Russia competed around us while many Koreans debated how our country could survive. As a young man, I became convinced that Korea needed political reform, education, national strength, and independence. I