Tragedy and Hope A History of the World in Our Time By Carroll
Quigley Part Nineteen: The New Era: 1957-1964 Chapter 71: The
Growth of Nuclear Stalemate The decade from 1953 to 1963 was the
most critical in modern history. Man's ability to get through it
successfully was a tribute to his good luck and good sense. The
avoidance of nuclear war and the extraordinary burst of economic
prosperity in the advanced industrial nations during that decade
were balanced by the continued growth of acute social
disorganization and the even more acute growth of ideological
confusions. Nevertheless, man survived, and, by 1963, was at the
opening of a new era, based very largely on the relaxation of
the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and
on the opportunities to do something about the lagging social
and intellectual problems provided by the combination of
political relaxation and economic prosperity. The decade as a
whole fell into two parts, divided about 1956. The first three
years were marked by the