Between 1946 and 1991, America's rivalry with the Soviet Union spurred the longest continuous wartime mobilization—or state of military readiness—in U.S. history. Over the course of four decades of U.S. resolve to "contain" Communism abroad, Americans spent nearly $13 trillion on defense. Military readiness touched all aspects of American society and culture.

Previous wartime mobilizations entailed domestic deprivations in order to maximize war output. Civilian companies retooled their production lines to churn out military hardware. Americans contributed to the World War II effort, for instance, by planting "victory gardens," collecting scrap metal, rationing food, and postponing the acquisition of nonessential luxuries such as automobiles or home appliances. These effects, however, were relatively short-lived: full U.S. mobilization for the Second World War began in early 1942 and ended shortly after the Japanese surrender in August 1945.

Not so with the Cold War, which lasted more...