Timelines can be helpful in visualizing the progression of events. This timeline, from the Reagan Library, highlights President Reagan's involvement with the Cold War from 1981-1989.
The British Library's Timelines: Sources from History includes images of primary texts.
American Decades - Primary Documents by 
Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms, 2nd ed. by 
Cold War America, 1946 to 1990 by 
Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations by 
The Fifties in America by 
The Sixties in America by 
