With WWII at an end, the world soon faced a new challenge widely known as the Cold War. In 24 episodes, this series chronicles this war of ideologies, from its inception in the late '40s until the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. some 40 years later. With Europe and Japan absorbed in rebuilding their cities and economies, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the world's superpowers and standard bearers for incompatible political philosophies. Capitalism or Communism: The line was drawn in the sand. This episode follows the Cold War into outer space, as the Soviets shocked America and the world by first launching Sputnik, and then an astronaut, into space. President John F. Kennedy vowed that America would be first in the "New Frontier," thereby giving birth to the "Space Race." ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide