The Cold War

Ostriker wrote "His Speed and Strength" during a time when the world was anything but peaceful. Following the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan by the United States at the end of World War II in 1945, several countries quickly rushed to create their own atomic and nuclear arsenals. For the next four decades, this struggle polarized itself in an escalating conflict between the communist Soviet Union and the democratic United States. The resulting tension between these two countries—and between communism and democracy in general— was labeled the Cold War, and for good reason. Although much of the period was technically spent in peacetime, the pervasive feeling of suspicion and paranoia that was generated by this clash of superpowers made many feel that they were fighting a war. This feeling was still strong in 1980 when Ostriker published "His Speed and Strength."

The 1980 Moscow Olympics

The...