Starred Review。 Some failures lead to phenomenal successes，andthis American nurse’s unsuccessful attempt to climb K2，the world’ssecond tallest mountain，is one of them。Dangerously ill when hefinished his climb in 1993，Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeksby the small Pakistani village of Korphe； in return， he promised tobuild the impoverished town’s first school， a project that grewinto the Central Asia Institute， which has since constructed morethan 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan。 CoauthorRelin recounts Mortenson’s efforts in fascinating detail，presenting compelling portraits of the village elders，con artists，philanthropists，mujahideen， Taliban officials，ambitious schoolgirls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way。As the bookmoves into the post-9/11 world， Mortenson and Relin argue that theUnited States must fight Islamic extremism in the region throughcollaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access toeducation，
In this the first book ever written about the CIA's Office of Technical Service, former director Robert Wallace (a real-life Q, straight out of the James Bond films) and internationally renowned intelligence historian H. Keith Melton offer an unprecedented look at the CIA's most secretive operations and the devices that made them possible. Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions- including the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the current War on Terror-the authors show how the CIA carries out its missions employing amazingly inventive tools. Illustrated with images never before seen by the public-and featuring everything from micro cameras to wired kitties to exploding pancakes-Spycraft is both a fantastic encyclopedia of gadgetry and a revealing primer on the fundamentals of high-tech espionage.
The achievements of cryptography--the art of writing anddeciphering coded messages--have become a part of everyday life,especially in our age of electronic banking and the Internet. Inthis provocative work, Rudolf Kippenhahn offers readers both anexciting chronicle of cryptography and a lively exploration of thecryptographer's craft. Rich with vivid anecdotes from a history ofcoding and decoding, Code Breaking brings the often abstruse art ofdeciphering coded messages to the general reader and reveals therelevance of codes to our everyday high-tech society. A stylishlywritten, meticulously researched adventure, it will enthralleveryone who wants to know more about the ways in whichcommunication can be obscured and, like magic, made clearagain. A Selection of Doubleday's Library of Science Book Club A Choice Academic Book of the Year
On the South Branch of the Raritan River in New Jersey, BillPlummer casts his line in the hope that fly-fishing will fortifyhim in the face of a failed marriage, his father's death, and afaltering career. With the discovery of his father's fly-fishingdiary, Bill has set his mind to understanding his father's devotionto the sport and fathoming the depths of what he thought was adistant and enigmatic man. He comes to delight in the peculiarpleasures of the pastime, finding in it points of tangency to hisown son, while developing the strength for a second marriage. Wishing My Father Well is a moving intergenerational memoirwhich will remind readers of James Prosek's Joe and Me, JamesDodson's Faithful Travelers, and Mitch Albom's Tuesdays WithMorrie.
In House of War, New York Times best-selling author JamesCarroll argues and then proves a radical thesis: the Pentagon has,since its founding, operated beyond the control of any force ingovernment or society. It is the ultimate loose cannon in Americanhistory, and no institution has changed this country more since theend of World War II. From its "birth" on September 11, 1941,through the nuclear buildup of the cold war and the eventual "shockand awe" of Iraq, Carroll recounts how "the Building" and itsdenizens achieved what Eisenhower called "a disastrous rise ofmisplaced power." This is not faded history. Carroll shows how theconsequences of the American response to September 11,2001-including two wars and an ignited Middle East-form one end ofan arc that stretches from Donald Rumsfeld back to James Forrestal,the first man to occupy the office of secretary of defense in thePentagon. House of War confronts this dark past so we mayunderstand the current war and forestall the next.
In a collision with a steamship, City of Rome, on the night ofSeptember 25, 1925, the U.S. Navy Submarine S-51 sank in 132 feetof water, taking 33 sailors to the ocean floor. This is the storyof the men charged with doing the impossible-raising the thousandton sub from the bottom of the sea. Added to this modern classic oftrue adventure are a foreword and afterword giving specifics of theaccident and the aftermath, additional photographs, a publisher'spreface, and appendices.
The Coming of the New Deal, 1933-1935, volume two of PulitzerPrize-winning historian and biographer Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr."sAge of Roosevelt series, describes Franklin Delano Roosevelt'sfirst tumultuous years in the White House. Coming into office atthe bottom of the Great Depression, FDR told the American peoplethat they have nothing to fear but fear itself. The conventionalwisdom having failed, he tried unorthodox remedies to averteconomic collapse. His first hundred days restored national morale,and his New Dealers filled Washington with new approaches torecovery and reform. Combining idealistic ends with realisticmeans, Roosevelt proposed to humanize, redeem, and rescuecapitalism. The Coming of the New Deal, written with Schlesinger'scustomary verve, is a gripping account of critical years in thehistory of the republic.
An original collection of the most influential documents inAmerican history, from the bestselling author of A Patriot'sHistory of the United States. Since 2005, A Patriot's History of the United States has become amodern classic for its defense of America as a unique countryfounded on principles of justice, equality, and freedom forall. The Patriot's History Reader continues this tradition by goingback to the original sources-the documents, speeches, and legaldecisions that shaped our country into what it is today. The authors explore both oft-cited documents-the Declaration ofIndependence, Emancipation Proclamation, and Roe v. Wade--as wellas those that are less famous. Among these are George Washington'sletter to Alexander Hamilton, which essentially outline America'smilitary strategy for the next 150 years, and Herbert Hoover'sspeech on business ethics, which examines the government's role inregulating private enterprise. By helping readers explore history at its source, this
The former editor in chief of the Economist returns to theterritory of his bestselling book The Sun Also Sets to lay out anentirely fresh analysis of the growing rivalry between China,India, and Japan and what it will mean for America, the globaleconomy, and the twenty-first-century world. Though books such asThe World Is Flat and China Shakes the World consider them only asindividual actors, Emmott argues that these three political andeconomic giants are closely intertwined by their fierce competitionfor influence, markets, resources, and strategic advantage. Rivalsexplains and explores the ways in which this sometimes bitterrivalry will play out over the next decade—in business, globalpolitics, military competition, and the environment—and reveals theefforts of the United States to manipulate and benefit from thisrivalry. Identifying the biggest risks born of these struggles,Rivals also outlines the ways these risks can and should be managedby all of us.
Offers a first look at the all-Arab news network and itscontroversial role in the Arab world. Al-Jazeera, the independent,all-Arab television news network based in Qatar, emerged asambassador to the Arab world in the events following September 11,2001. Arabic for "the island," Al-Jazeera has "scooped" the westernmedia conglomerates many times. With its exclusive access to OsamaBin Laden and members of the Taliban, its reputation was burnishedquickly through its exposure on CNN. During the 2003 war in Iraq,Al-Jazeera seemed to be everywhere, reporting dramatic stories andimages, even as it strived to maintain its independence as aninternational free press news network. Al-Jazeera sheds light onthe background of the network: how it operates, the programs itbroadcasts, its effects on Arab viewers, the reactions of the Westand Arab states, the implications for the future of newsbroadcasting in the Middle East, and its struggle for a free pressand public opinion in the Arab world.
Reinaldo Arenas was born in Cuba in 1943. In 1980, he was oneof 120,000 Cubans who arrived in the United States on the Marielboatlift. Arenas settled in New York where he lived until hisdeath from AIDS ten years later. Andrew Hurley is a translator of numerous works of literature,criticism, history, and memoir. He is professor emeritus at theUniversity of Puerto Rico. Thomas Colchie is an acclaimed translator, editor, and literaryagent for international authors. He is the editor of A HammockBeneath the Mangoes. He has written for the Village Voice and TheWashington Post. His translations include Manuel Puig's Kiss of theSpider Woman and (with Elizabeth Bishop, Gregory Rabassa, and MarkStrand) Carlos Drummond de Andrade's Travelling in the Family.
A revelatory look at a momentous undertaking-from theworkers' point of view The Panama Canal has long been celebrated as atriumph of American engineering and ingenuity. In The CanalBuilders , Julie Greene reveals that this emphasis has obscureda far more remarkable element of the historic enterprise: the tensof thousands of workingmen and workingwomen who traveled from allaround the world to build it. Greene looks past the mythologysurrounding the canal to expose the difficult working conditionsand discriminatory policies involved in its construction. Drawingextensively on letters, memoirs, and government documents, the bookchronicles both the struggles and the triumphs of the workers andtheir fami?lies. Prodigiously researched and vividly told, TheCanal Builders explores the human dimensions of one of theworld's greatest labor mobilizations, and reveals how it launchedAmerica's twentieth-century empire.
Through a bravura tour of American political leaders and theirappeals to the electorate, Drew Westen shows that Americans don'tvote with their heads but with their hearts--and that Democraticpoliticians had better wise up in their approach. The PoliticalBrain is a serious and groundbreaking investigation into the roleof emotion in deciding the outcome of elections. It looks at dataacross several presidential elections from the 1950s through 2000,examines the evidence for the role of emotion in driving votingbehavior, and provides a "clinical" view of a number of campaignads, debate lines, and personal profiles of the candidates who havesought to win our hearts.
Tying into the official theme for the 2009 Inauguration, “A NewBirth of Freedom” from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Penguinpresents a keepsake edition commemorating the inauguration ofPresident-elect Barack Obama with words of the two great thinkersand writers who have helped shape him politically, philosophically,and personally: Abraham Lincoln and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Having Lincoln and Emerson’s most influential, memorable, andeloquent words along with Obama’s much-anticipated historicalinaugural address will be a gift of inspiration for every Americanand a keepsake for generations. Includes: * Barack Obama, Inaugural Address, 2009 * Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865 * Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863 * Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, 1861 * Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance, 1841
Queen Elizabeth I and England’s First Spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham’s official title was principal secretaryto Queen Elizabeth I, but in fact this pious, tight-lipped Puritanwas England’s first spymaster. A ruthless, fiercely loyal civilservant, Walsingham worked brilliantly behind the scenes to foilElizabeth’s rival Mary Queen of Scots and outwit Catholic Spain andFrance, which had arrayed their forces behind her. Though he cut anincongruous figure in Elizabeth’s worldly court, Walsingham managedto win the trust of key players like William Cecil and the Earl ofLeicester before launching his own secret campaign against thequeen’s enemies. Covert operations were Walsingham’s genius; hepioneered techniques for exploiting double agents, spreadingdisinformation, and deciphering codes with the latest code-breakingscience that remain staples of international espionage.
Uranium occurs naturally in theearth s crust-yet holds the power to end all life on theplanet. This is its fundamental paradox, and its story is afascinating window into the valor, greed, genius, and folly ofhumanity. A problem for miners in the Middle Ages, an inspirationto novelists and a boon to medicine, a devastat?ing weapon at theend of World War II, and eventually a polluter, killer, excuse forwar with Iraq, potential deliverer of Armageddon and a possiblelast defense against global warming- Uranium is the rivetingstory of the most powerful element on earth, and one which willshape our future, for better or worse.
Cooper Ramo is Managing Director and a partner at Kissinger Associates, one of the world's leading strategic advisory firms. Prior to joining Kissinger Associates, he was Assistant Managing Editor of Time and worked in the advisory and banking business in China.
The first full reckoning of what actually happened atAbu Ghraib prison-"one of the most devastating of the many books onIraq" ( The New York Times Book Review ) Arelentlesly surprising and perceptive account of the front lines ofthe war on terror, Standard Operating Procedure is a warstory that takes its place among the classics. Acclaimed authorPhilip Gourevitch presents the story behind a defining moment inthe war, and a defining moment in our understanding of ourselves-the infamous Abu Ghraib photographs of prisoner abuse. Drawing onAcademy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris's astonishinginterviews with the Americans who took and appeared in thepictures, Standard Operating Procedure is an utterlyoriginal book that stands to endure as essential reading long afterthe current war in Iraq passes from the headlines.
As a former star reporter for NPR, Sarah Chayes developed adevoted listenership for her on-site reports on conflicts aroundthe world. In The Punishment of Virtue , she reveals themisguided U.S. policy in Afghanistan in the wake of the defeat ofthe Taliban, which has severely undermined the effort to builddemocracy and allowed corrupt tribal warlords back into positionsof power and the Taliban to re-infiltrate the country. This is aneyeopening chronicle that highlights the often infuriatingrealities of a vital front in the war on terror, exposing deeper,fundamental problems with current U.S. strategy.
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What foreign country has the power to send America crashinginto a recession? Why is the USA still dangerously dependent onoil, when viable energy alternatives have existed for decades? Whomade the call that we should return to nuclear energy-and then tooka high-paying position with a nuclear company? Which youth groupwas a spawning ground for many contemporary power mongers? Whatlobbyists and special-interest groups are running the show onCapitol Hill-and exactly what tools of persuasion are theyusing? Melissa Rossi answers these questions and more in this timely andtopical guide to who's pulling the strings behind the scenes ofAmerican politics. This latest edition of Rossi's popular WhatEvery American Should Know. . . shows Americans what is going onbehind the scenes and how they can counterbalance the influence ofa small, powerful elite to put the power back where it should be-inthe hands of the people.
One of the most celebrated units in the military for more thana century, by 1990, New York City's Fighting 69th Infantry Regimentof the Army National Guard was scarcely fit for duty. Its equipmentwas derelict, its discipline nonexistent, many of its leadersinept, and its ranks filled with kids barely out of high school whohad little intention of serving their country for any longer thanit took to get their paycheck, college credit, or job training.Then came the attacks of September 11 and the invasion of Iraq. InThe Fighting 69th, Sean Michael Flynn, himself a member of theunit, chronicles the extraordinary transformation of this band ofamateur soldiers into a battle-hardened troop at one of the mostlethal sites of war.
The "dean of Cold War historians" ( The New York Times )now presents the definitive account of the global confrontationthat dominated the last half of the twentieth century. Drawing onnewly opened archives and the reminiscences of the major players,John Lewis Gaddis explains not just what happened but why —from the months in 1945 when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.went from alliance to antagonism to the barely averted holocaust ofthe Cuban Missile Crisis to the maneuvers of Nixon and Mao, Reaganand Gorbachev. Brilliant, accessible, almost Shakespearean in itsdrama, The Cold War stands as a triumphant summation of theera that, more than any other, shaped our own.
Describes and assesses the activities of the National SecurityAgency, the nation's most secret government agency--established insecrecy, many times larger than the CIA, and in control of a hugebudget and a vast technology.
Welcome to a top-level clearance world that doesn'texist...Now with updated material for the paperback edition. This is the adventurous, insightful, and often chilling story ofa road trip through a shadow nation of state secrets, clandestinemilitary bases, black sites, hidden laboratories, and top-secretagencies that make up what insiders call the "black world." Here, geographer and provocateur Trevor Paglen knocks on thedoors of CIA prisons, stakes out a covert air base in Nevada from amountaintop 30 miles away, dissects the Defense Department'smultibillion dollar "black" budget, and interviews those who liveon the edges of these blank spots. Whether Paglen reports from a hotel room in Vegas, a secretprison in Kabul, or a trailer in Shoshone Indian territory, he isimpassioned, rigorous, relentless-and delivers eye-openingdetails.
