Why the Cold War Still Matters with John Lewis Gaddis | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution

约翰·刘易斯·加迪斯谈冷战为何依然重要 | 彼得·罗宾逊 | 休厄尔研究所

Uncommon Knowledge

2025-11-20

1 小时 7 分钟
PDF

单集简介 ...

Peter Robinson sits down at Yale University with the “dean of Cold War historians,” John Lewis Gaddis—Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer of Long Telegram author George F. Kennan and one of America’s most influential thinkers on grand strategy. From the origins of the Cold War to the nuclear age, from Vietnam to détente, and from Ronald Reagan to Mikhail Gorbachev, Gaddis offers a masterclass in how nations think, plan, and learn from history. Gaddis explains why students today often have little grasp of the Cold War, how the atomic bomb reshaped global politics, why George Kennan predicted the Soviet collapse decades before it happened, and why détente faltered in the 1970s. He revisits the debates around Vietnam, assesses Ronald Reagan’s strategic instincts, and reflects on how the Cold War ultimately ended. The discussion then turns forward: the future of American grand strategy, the challenges posed by China and Russia today, the tension between promoting democracy and maintaining global stability, and why understanding the past is essential for navigating the 21st century. Along the way, Gaddis shares stories of teaching grand strategy, the influence of the classics, his unexpected path from small-town Texas to Yale, and why he remains optimistic about the humanities—and about America. Subscribe to Uncommon Knowledge at hoover.org/uk
更多

单集文稿 ...

  • The New York Times calls him the Dean of Cold War Historians.

  • John Lewis Gaddis,

  • one of the most accomplished and revered professors of history in the country on Uncommon Knowledge,

  • now.

  • Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge.

  • On the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, I'm Peter Robinson.

  • A native of the little town of Catulla, Texas, and will return to Catulla,

  • John Lewis Gaddis became one of the most accomplished historians in the country,

  • the man the New York Times called the Dean of Cold War Historians.

  • Professor Gaddis received his BA, MA, and Doctorate, all from the University of Texas.

  • He has taught since 1997 here at Yale,

  • where he serves as the Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History.

  • Professor Gaddis' many books, this is only a partial stack,

  • include Strategies of Containment, published in 1982, The Cold War, A New History,

  • published in 2005, the Pulitzer Prize-winning George Kennan and American Life,

  • published in 2011, and On Grand Strategy, which appeared in 2018.

  • Professor John Lewis Gaddis, thank you for joining us.

  • Yes sir, it's a pleasure to be here.

  • I can't have the Dean of Cold War Historians seated across from me and not ask him to take me through that conflict.

  • Now, this is a filmed conversation.