Born in the wake of World War II, RAND quickly became thecreator of America’s anti-Soviet nuclear strategy. A magnet for thebest and the brightest, its ranks included Cold War luminaries suchas Albert Wohlstetter, Bernard Brodie, and Herman Kahn, whoarguably saved us from nuclear annihilation and unquestionablycreated Eisenhower’s "military-industrial complex." In the Kennedyera, RAND analysts and their theories of rational warfare steeredour conduct in Vietnam. Those same theories drove our invasion ofIraq forty-five years later, championed by RAND affiliated actorssuch as Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Zalmay Khalilzad. ButRAND’s greatest contribution might be its least known: rationalchoice theory, a model explaining all human behavior throughself-interest. Through it RAND sparked the Reagan-ledtransformation of our social and economic system but also unleasheda resurgence of precisely the forces whose existence it denied --religion, patriotism, tribalism. With Soldiers of Reason, Alex Abella
In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte, only twenty-eight, set sail forEgypt with 335 ships, 40,000 soldiers, and a collection ofscholars, artists, and scientists to establish an eastern empire.He saw himself as a liberator, freeing the Egyptians fromoppression. But Napoleon wasn’t the first—nor the last—whotragically misunderstood Muslim culture. Marching across seeminglyendless deserts in the shadow of the pyramids, pushed to the limitsof human endurance, his men would be plagued by mirages, suicides,and the constant threat of ambush. A crusade begun in honor woulddegenerate into chaos. And yet his grand failure also yielded atreasure trove of knowledge that paved the way for modernEgyptology—and it tempered the complex leader who believed himselfdestined to conquer the world.
《利玛窦》是一个人的传奇，更是一个时代的剪影。十六世纪地理大发现之后.中西文化交流进入了一个全新的时代。一五八三年.意大利传教士利玛窦运用“文化适应”的传教策略，成功地进入了中国内地，从而揭开了明末清初中西文化交流的高潮。《利玛窦》讲述的就是这位传奇人物为了实现他在晚明中国传教的梦想，不断认识、不断适应中国文化的故事。 面对当今中西文化交流的诸多困惑，把眼光放长一点，回到利玛窦时代，来重新认识与思考中西文化的异同.这可以让我们用一种历史的、客观的眼光来给传统文化定位，用开放的、发展的眼光来看待文化交流与冲突。
John Keegan, widely considered the greatest military historianof our time and the author of acclaimed volumes on ancient andmodern warfare--including, most recently, The First World War, anational bestseller--distills what he knows about the why’s andhow’s of armed conflict into a series of brilliantly conciseessays. Is war a natural condition of humankind? What are the origins ofwar? Is the modern state dependent on warfare? How does war affectthe individual, combatant or noncombatant? Can there be an end towar? Keegan addresses these questions with a breathtaking knowledgeof history and the many other disciplines that have attempted toexplain the phenomenon. The themes Keegan concentrates on in thisshort volume are essential to our understanding of why war remainsthe single greatest affliction of humanity in the twenty-firstcentury, surpassing famine and disease, its traditionalcompanions.
This book explains why the "good old days" were only good fora priviledged few and why they were unrelentingly hard for most.Sobering, actually. Check it out.
This streamlined revision of the breakthrough bestseller byrenowned child-development expert Dr. Harvey Karp will do even moreto help busy parents survive the “terrible twos” andbeyond.... In one of the most revolutionary advances in parenting of thepast twenty-five years, Dr. Karp revealed that toddlers often actlike uncivilized little cavemen, with a primitive way of thinkingand communicating that is all their own. In this revised edition ofhis parenting classic, Dr. Karp has made his innovative approacheasier to learn—and put into action—than ever before. Combining his trademark tools of Toddler-ese and the Fast-FoodRule with a highly effective new green light/yellow light/red lightmethod for molding toddler behavior, Dr. Karp provides fastsolutions for today’s busy and stressed parents. As you discoverways to boost your child’s good (green light) behavior, curb hisannoying (yellow light) behavior, and immediately stop hisunacceptable (red light) behavior you will learn how t
One of the greatest figures of his age, Thomas BabingtonMacaulay (1800-59) was widely admired throughout his life for hisprose, poetry, political acumen and oratorical skills. Among themost successful and enthralling histories ever written, his"History of England" won instantaneous success following thepublication of its first volumes in 1849, and was rapidlytranslated into most European languages. Beginning with theGlorious Revolution of 1688 and concluding at the end of the reignof William III in 1702, it illuminates a time of deep strugglethroughout Britain and Ireland in vivid and compelling prose. Butwhile Macaulay offers a gripping narrative, and draws on a widerange of sources including historical accounts and creativeliterature, his enduring success also owes a great deal to hisastonishing ability to grasp, and explain, the political realitythat has always underpinned social change.
From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean is about30 million people scattered across an arc of islands -- Jamaica,Haiti, Barbados, Antigua, Martinique, Trinidad, amongothers-separated by the languages and cultures of their colonizers,but joined together, nevertheless, by a common heritage. Forwhether French, English, Dutch, Spanish, Danish,or-latterly-American, the nationality of their masters has madeonly a notional difference to the peoples of the Caribbean. Thehistory of the Caribbean is dominated by the history of sugar,which is inseparable from the history of slavery; which wasinseparable, until recently, from the systematic degradation oflabor in the region. Here, for the first time, is a definitive workabout a profoundly important but neglected and misrepresented areaof the world.
In 1790, America was in enormous debt, having depleted whatlittle money and supplies the country had during its victoriousfight for independence. Before the nation's greatest asset, theland west of the Ohio River, could be sold it had to be measuredout and mapped. And before that could be done, a uniform set ofmeasurements had to be chosen for the new republic out of themorass of roughly 100,000 different units that were in use in dailylife. Measuring America tells the fascinating story of how weultimately gained the American Customary System-the lasttraditional system in the world-and how one man's surveying chainindelibly imprinted its dimensions on the land, on cities, and onour culture from coast to coast.
In her lauded biography England’s Mistress, Kate Williamspainted a vivid and intimate portrait of Emma Hamilton, the loverof English national hero Lord Horatio Nelson. Now, with the samekeen insight and gift for telling detail, Williams provides agripping account of Queen Victoria’s rise to the throne and herearly years in power—as well as the tragic, little-known story ofthe princess whose demise made it all possible. Toward the end of the eighteenth century,monarchies across Europe found themselves in crisis. With mad KingGeorge III and his delinquent offspring tarnishing the realm, theEnglish pinned their hopes on the only legitimate heir to thethrone: the lovely and prudent Princess Charlotte, daughter of thePrince of Wales and granddaughter of the king. Sadly, those dreamsfaded when, at age twenty-one, she died after a complicatedpregnancy and stillbirth. While a nation grieved, Charlotte’spower-hungry uncles plotted quickly to produce a new heir. Only theDuke of Kent proved successful
Containing over 120 combat photographs- including shots of theflag-raising by other photographers-quotes from survivors,newspapers and magazines, battle reports and Medal of Honorcitations, here is a grunt's eye view of the bloodiest battle inU.S. Marine Corps history. It also recounts "the photograph's"enduring legacy in popular culture, and reveals the fates of theflag raisers- men who became a fixture in their country'shistory.
John Keegan, whose many books, including classic histories ofthe two world wars, have confirmed him as the premier miltaryhistorian of our time, here presents a masterly look at the valueand limitations of intelligence in the conduct of war. Intelligence gathering is an immensely complicated and vulnerableendeavor. And it often fails. Until the invention of the telegraphand radio, information often traveled no faster than a horse couldride, yet intelligence helped defeat Napoleon. In the twentiethcentury, photo analysts didn’t recognize Germany’s V-2 rockets forwhat they were; on the other hand, intelligence helped lead tovictory over the Japanese at Midway. In Intelligence inWar , John Keegan illustrates that only when paired withforce has military intelligence been an effective tool, as it mayone day be in besting al-Qaeda.
"In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, toNormandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the fortieth anniversaryof D-Day, the massive and daring Allied invasion of Europe thatmarked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.There, I underwent a life-changing experience. As I walked thebeaches with the American veterans who had returned for thisanniversary, men in their sixties and seventies, and listened totheir stories, I was deeply moved and profoundly grateful for allthey had done. Ten years later, I returned to Normandy for thefiftieth anniversary of the invasion, and by then I had come tounderstand what this generation of Americans meant to history. Itis, I believe, the greatest generation any society has everproduced." In this superb book, Tom Brokaw goes out into America, to tellthrough the stories of individual men and women the story of ageneration, America's citizen heroes and heroines who came of ageduring the Great Depression and the Second World War and went
In this luminous portrait of Paris, celebrated historianAlistair Horne gives us the history, culture, disasters, andtriumphs of one of the world’s truly great cities. Horne makesplain that while Paris may be many things, it is neverboring. From the rise of Philippe Auguste through the reigns of Henry IVand Louis XIV (who abandoned Paris for Versailles); Napoleon’s riseand fall; Baron Haussmann’s rebuilding of Paris (at the cost ofmuch of the medieval city); the Belle Epoque and the Great War thatbrought it to an end; the Nazi Occupation, the Liberation, and thepostwar period dominated by de Gaulle--Horne brings the city’shighs and lows, savagery and sophistication, and heroes andvillains splendidly to life. With a keen eye for the tellinganecdote and pivotal moment, he portrays an array of vividincidents to show us how Paris endures through each age, is alteredbut always emerges more brilliant and beautiful than ever. TheSeven Ages of Paris is a great historian’s tribute to a city helov
When prize-winning warcorrespondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia andthe Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains,he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But awakened one morningby the crackle of musket fire, Horwitz starts filing front-linedispatches again this time from a war close to home, and to his ownheart. Propelled by his boy... (展开全部) When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitzleaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for apeaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put warzones behind him. But awakened one morning by the crackle of musketfire, Horwitz starts filing front-line dispatches again this timefrom a war close to home, and to his own heart. Propelled by hisboyhood passion for the Civil War, Horwitz embarks on a search forplaces and people still held in thrall by America's greatestconflict. The result is an adventure into the soul of theunvanquished South, where the ghosts of the Lost Cause ar
姚广孝是元末明初杰出的佛教人物，与姚广孝相关的历史遗迹，如姚广孝墓塔、天宁寺、汇通祠、永乐大钟、《永乐大典》等，多成为北京乃至全国的重要文物。姚广孝在政治、军事、文学、科技诸方面也有巨大成就，尤以参与策划“靖难之役”、辅佐燕王朱棣夺取帝位而名垂史册，后又拜为明两代帝王之师，成为中国历史上著名的“缁衣宰相”。由郑永华编著的《姚广孝史事研究》通过发掘与利用姚广孝的诗文、著述，以及碑刻、实录、文集等各种原始史料，对姚广孝的生平与交往进行了全面研究，就相关史事进行了详细考辨，更正了长期以来的讹误，为研究姚广孝这一重要的宗教与政治历史人物奠定了基础，具有较大的学术价值。又北京还长期流传许多与姚广孝相关的历史与人文传说，深入研究与北京历史有关的人物、弘扬北京历史文化，对建设“人文北京”
Includes a complete copy of the Constitution.Fifty-five menmet in Philadelphia in 1787 to write a document that would create acountry and change a world. Here is a remarkable rendering of thatfateful time, told with humanity and humor. "The best popularhistory of the Constitutional Convention available."--LibraryJournal From the Paperback edition.
The 2003 Iraq war remains among the most mysterious armedconflicts of modernity. In The Iraq War, John Keegan offers a sharpand lucid appraisal of the military campaign, explaining just howthe coalition forces defeated an Iraqi army twice its size andaddressing such questions as whether Saddam Hussein ever possessedweapons of mass destruction and how it is possible to fight a warthat is not, by any conventional measure, a war at all. Drawing on exclusive interviews with Donald Rumsfeld and GeneralTommy Franks, Keegan retraces the steps that led to the showdown inIraq, from the highlights of Hussein’s murderous rule to thediplomatic crossfire that preceded the invasion. His account of thecombat in the desert is unparalleled in its grasp of strategy andtactics. The result is an urgently needed and up-to-date book thatadds immeasurably to our understanding of those twenty-one days ofwar and their long, uncertain aftermath.
In this imaginative book, Maya Jasanoff uncovers theextraordinary stories of collectors who lived on the frontiers ofthe British Empire in India and Egypt, tracing their exploits totell an intimate history of imperialism. Jasanoff delves beneaththe grand narratives of power, exploitation, and resistance to lookat the British Empire through the eyes of the people caught up init. Written and researched on four continents, Edge ofEmpire enters a world where people lived, loved, mingled, andidentified with one another in ways richer and more complex thanprevious accounts have led us to believe were possible. And as thisbook demonstrates, traces of that world remain tangible—andtopical—today. An innovative, persuasive, and provocative work ofhistory.
A memoir by a World War II ordinance officer offers abehind-the-scenes account of his ordnance inspections during theEuropean campaign, detailing his experiences on the front line andhis job coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged Americantanks. Reprint.
In this thrilling real-life account of bravery, greed,obsession, and ultimate betrayal, award- winning writer Joe Jacksonbrings to life the story of fortune hunter Henry Wickham and hiscollaboration with the empire that fueled, then abandoned him. In1876, Wickham smuggled 70,000 rubber tree seeds out of therainforests of Brazil and delivered them to Victorian England'smost prestigious scientists at Kew Gardens. The story of howWickham got his hands on those seeds-and the history-makingconsequences-is the stuff of legend. The Thief at the End of theWorld is an exciting true story of reckless courage andambition that perfectly captures the essential nature of GreatBritain's colonial adventure in South America.
The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globe-trottingtale of unquenchable desire, fanatical religion, raw greed, ficklefashion, and mouthwatering cuisine–in short, the very stuff ofwhich our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening, andanecdote-filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef turned writerand food historian, tells the story of three legendarycities–Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam–and how their single-mindedpursuit of spice helped to make (and remake) the Western diet andset in motion the first great wave of globalization. Sharing mealsand stories with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors, andVenetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore theworld of long ago and sample its many flavors. Along the way, hereveals that the taste for spice of a few wealthy Europeans ledto great crusades, astonishing feats of bravery, and even wholesaleslaughter. As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprisinginsights, The Taste of Conquest offers a compell
