The twisting path to war -- The war in Europe -- The war in Asia -- The beginnings of the Cold War -- The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan -- Containment tested -- Korea -- Eisenhower, Dulles, and the irreconcilable conflict -- From Hungary and Suez to Cuba -- Kennedy and the new frontiers -- Vietnam : paying the cost of containment -- Nixon, Détente, and the Debacle in Vietnam -- America in the Middle East and Africa -- Carter and human rights -- Reagan and the evil empire -- The end of the Cold War -- Bush and the Gulf War -- Clinton and democratic enlargement -- Clinton and the new post Cold War order -- The tragedy of September 11, 2001 -- After the attack and into Iraq.