The 2007–08 subprime financial crisis is the jumping-off point for Smick's (Johnson Smick International) examination of current threats to global prosperity. He explains that although the subprime losses are small in the context of world financial markets, a lack of transparency has diminished investor confidence, dried up financial liquidity, and threatened the very foundations of our world financial system. He says that the growth of global financial markets has made it more difficult for central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve to intercede effectively in times of crisis. Smick compares the subprime crisis to past events like the UK's forced devaluation of the pound in 1992 and Japan's economic stagnation in the 1990s. He warns of pending dangers like an overheating of the Chinese development juggernaut and the present calls for protectionism by U.S. politicians. He favors a global financial system built on transparency and trust. Smick's role for some 30 years as an economic adviser to central banker

THIS UNIQUE TIMECHART CELEB RATES THE 100 YEAR LEGEND OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES 11-foot foldout chronological Timechart showing a full color illustrated history of Harley-Davidson.

Rome’s famed historian illuminates the twilight of the oldRoman Republic from 157 to 43 BC in succinct accounts of thegreatest politicians and statesmen of the classical period.

The Great Pyramid's eerily precise architecture has forcenturies both astounded and puzzled archaeologists and has givenrise to numerous modern fantasies concerning the so-called 'Mysteryof the Pyramids'. Sweeping away centuries of myth and confusion,John Romer describes for the first time exactly how the GreatPyramid was designed and built. He argues that the pyramid makersworked from a single plan whose existence has long been doubted andeven denied by scholars. Moreover, the Great Pyramid's uniquearchitecture is integral to the way it was built, and for itsbuilders the tasks of construction and design were not separate asthey are now. By placing this awesome monument in its genuinecontemporary context, this book underlines the extraordinarytalents and the originality of the ancient Egyptians at the time ofKing Khufu. Describes for the first time exactly how the Great Pyramid wasdesigned and built ? A product of the most recent research anddecades of personal study by an author who is very well

Indispensible biographies of major figures in Romanhistory. A mathematician and philosopher, Plutarch was also an acclaimedbiographer and historian. Bringing together nine biographies fromhis Parallel Lives series, Rome in Crisis examines the lives ofsome of the most important people in the roman empire- TiberiusGracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Lucullus, Younger Cato,Brutus, Antony, Galba, and Otho, a reckless young noble whoconsorted with the tyrannical, debauched emperor Nero beforebriefly becoming emperor himself. Each biography is preceded by aninsightful introduction by the distinguished historian ChristopherPelling. Taken together, these portraits provide a wonderfullycompelling picture of the ancient world.

Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome (27 BC AD 14),brought peace and prosperity to his city after decades of savagecivil war. This selection from Cassius Dio's Roman History givesthe fullest de*ion of that long struggle and ultimate triumphdetailing the brutal battles and political feuds that led to thecollapse of Rome's 400-year-old republic, and Augustus' subsequentreign as emperor. Included are accounts of military campaigns fromEthiopia to Yugoslavia, and of long conflict with Antony andCleopatra. With skill and artistry, Dio brings to life manyspeeches from the era among them Augustus' damning indictment ofAntony's passion for the Egyptian queen and provides a fascinatingaccount of the debate between the great general Agrippa andMaecenas on the virtues of republicanism and monarchy.

For the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, The Library ofAmerica re-issues the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant and WilliamTecumseh Sherman in a handsome, newly designed case. An ailingGrant wrote his Personal Memoirs to secure his family'sfuture. In doing so, the Civil War's greatest general won himself aunique place in American letters. John Keegan has called it"perhaps the most revelatory autobiography of high command to existin any language." The Library of America's edition of Grant's Memoirs includes 175 of his letters to Lincoln, Sherman, andhis wife, Julia, among others. Hailed as a prophet of modern warand condemned as a harbinger of modern barbarism, William T.Sherman is the most controversial general of the Civil War. "War iscruelty, and you cannot refine it," he wrote in fury to theConfederate mayor of Atlanta, and his memoir is filled with dozensof such wartime exchanges and a fascinating account of the famousmarch through Georgia and the Carolinas.

An entertaining, anecdotal look at the origins of language and ideas in the USA. Bryson explains why two bicycle repairmen from Ohio succeeded in mastering manned flight, why the assassination of President Garfield led to the invention of air conditioning, and many other improbable but true facts.

With almost a quarter of the world's migrants, Europe has beenattempting to regulate migration and harmonize immigration policyat the European level. The central dilemma exposed is how liberaldemocracies can reconcile the need to control the movement ofpeople with the desire to promote open borders, free markets andliberal standards. Gallya Lahav's book traces ten years of publicopinion and elite attitudes toward immigration cross-nationally toshow how and why increasing EU integration may not necessarily leadto more open immigration outcomes. Empirical evidence reveals thatsupport from both elite and public opinion has led to the adoptionof restrictive immigration policies despite the requirements ofopen borders. Unique in bringing together original data on Europeanlegislators and national elites, longitudinal data on publicopinion and institutional and policy analyses, this study providesan important insight into the processes of European integration,and globalization more broadly.

From Solon to Socrates is a magisterial narrativeintroduction to what is generally regarded as the most importantperiod of Greek history. Stressing the unity of Greek history andthe centrality of Athens, Victor Ehrenberg covers a rich anddiverse range of political, economic, military and cultural issuesin the Greek world, from the early history of the Greeks, includingearly Sparta and the wars with Persia, to the ascendancy of Athensand the Peloponnesian War.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the beginning of theAmerican Civil War. This well-rounded selection of Abraham Lincoln's finest speechescombines the classic and obscure, the lyrical and historical, andthe inspirational and intellectual to present a historical arcmarking periods of the Civil War-crisis, outbreak, escalation,victory, and Reconstruction. Addressing the conflict's multipleaspects-the issue of slavery, state versus federal power, themeaning of the Constitution, civic duty, death, and freedom-thiselegant keepsake collection will make a wonderful inspirationalgift for professed Lincoln fans, Civil War buffs, and lovers ofrhetorical genius.

Lawyer, philosopher, statesman and defender of Rome'sRepublic, Cicero was a master of eloquence, and his pure literaryand oratorical style and strict sense of morality have been apowerful influence on European literature and thought for over twothousand years in matters of politics, philosophy, and faith. Thisselection demonstrates the diversity of his writings, and includesletters to friends and statesmen on Roman life and politics; thevitriolic Second Philippic Against Antony; and, his two most famousphilosophical treatises, "On Duties" and "On Old Age" - acelebration of his own declining years. Written at a time of brutalpolitical and social change, Cicero's lucid ethical writings formedthe foundation of the Western liberal tradition in political andmoral thought that continues to this day.

Case one: A little girl goes missing in the night. Case two: A beautiful young office worker falls victim to amaniac's apparently random attack. Case three: A new mother finds herself trapped in a hell of herown making - with a very needy baby and a very demanding husband -until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape. Thirty years after the first incident, as private investigatorJackson Brodie begins investigating all three cases, startlingconnections and discoveries emerge . . .

As a young boy he re-enacted historic battles with toysoldiers, as a soldier he saw action on three continents, and asthe Prime Minister only a direct edict from King George VI couldkeep him from joining the troops on D-Day. Churchill's War Lab reveals how Churchill's passion for militaryhistory, his unique leadership style, and his patronization ofradical new ideas would lead to new technology and new tactics thatwould save lives and enable an Allied victory. No war generatedmore incredible theories, more technical advances, more scientificleaps, or more pioneering work that lay the foundation for thepost-war computer revolution. And it was Churchill's doggeddetermination and enthusiasm for revolutionary ideas that fuelledthis extraordinary outpouring of British genius. From the coauthorof Cold War comes an exciting new take on Churchill's warleadership and the story of a complex, powerful and inventive warleader.

The smog beast wafted into downtown Los Angeles on July 26,1943. Nobody knew what it was. Secretaries rubbed their eyes.Traffic cops seemed to disappear in the mysterious haze. WereJapanese saboteurs responsible? A reckless factory? The truth wasmuch worse--it came from within, from Southern California'sburgeoning car-addicted, suburban lifestyle. Smogtown is the story of pollution, progress, and how anoptimistic people confronted the epic struggle against airbornepoisons barraging their hometowns. With wit, verve, and a freshlook at history, California based journalists Chip Jacobs andWilliam J. Kelly highlight the bold personalities involved, thecorporate- tainted science, the terrifying health costs, theattempts at cleanup, and how the smog battle helped mold themodern-day culture of Los Angeles. There are scofflaws aplenty anddirty deals, plus murders, suicides, spiritual despair, and anever-present paranoia about mass disaster. Brimming with historic photographs, forgotten anecdotes, a

Dazzling in its originality, witty and perceptive inunearthing patterns of behavior that history has erased, RITES OFSPRING probes the origins, the impact, and the aftermath of WorldWar I -- from the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet The Rite ofSpring in 1913 to the death of Hitler in 1945. "The Great War," asModris Eksteins writes, "was the psychological turning point . . .for modernism as a whole. The urge to create and the urge todestroy had changed places." In this "bold and fertile book"(Atlantic Monthly), Eksteins goes on to chart the seismic shifts inhuman consciousness brought about by this great cataclysm throughthe lives and words of ordinary people, works of literature, andsuch events as Lindbergh's transatlantic flight and the publicationof the first modern bestseller, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.RITES OF SPRING is a remarkable and rare work, a cultural historythat redefines the way we look at our past and toward ourfuture.

A visually stunning collection that brings the soldiers'experience to vivid photographic life- includes a DVD. The Aviation Photographic Unit was a military unit unlike anyother in World War II. Founded and led by legendary photographerEdward Steichen, the photographers in this unit gave Americans onthe home front memorable and dramatic images of the people fightingthe Navy's battles in the Pacific theater. Beginning with just halfa dozen intrepid shutterbugs and expanding to ten battle-seasonedphotographers, the unit covered everything from early aircraftraids to amphibious landings to the surrender in Tokyo Bay. With anestimated 14,000 images in the collection of the National Archives,the work of this talented photographic unit is historicallysignificant not only as a visual record of the war, but also forits influence on generations of postwar photographers. Faces of Waris a tribute to the vision of Edward Steichen, as well as the menwho served under him, and most importantly to their subjects

Have you ever realized how much of your daily life isinfluenced by the contributions of the Romans? Satire, taxshelters, interstate highways, sports stadiums, health clubs andothers are just a few of the influences we can recognize today. Buthow much do you really know about the origins and history of theRoman Empire? In The Complete Idiot's GuideA (R) to the RomanEmpire you'll learn how the Romans conquered the world, ade*ion of every day life, an in-depth look at Roman society,politics and architecture and an inside look at the famous (andinfamous) Roman emperors.

On 8 March 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. The ships, some nearly five hundred feet long, were under the command of Emperor Zhu Di’s loyal eunuch admirals. Their orders were ‘to proceed all the way to the end of the earth’. The voyage would last for two years and by the time the fleet returned, China was beginning its long, self-imposed isolation from the world it had so recently embraced. And so the great ships were left to rot, and the records of their journey destroyed. And with them, the knowledge that the Chinese had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan, reached America seventy years before Columbus, and Australia three hundred and fifty years before Cook. The result of fifteen years research, 1421 is Gavin Menzies’ enthralling account of this remarkable journey, of his discoveries and persuasive evidence to support them: ancient maps, precise navigational knowledge, astronomy, surviving accounts of Chinese explorers and later Europ

In recent years,more and more foreing personnel are showing a concern about Tibet.In order to meet their needs,we have compiled this book based on the academic monorgraph Comments on the Historical Status of Tibet published in 1995 by the Nationalities Press. Comments on the Historical Staqtus of Tibet expounds upon the close relations between the region fo Tibet and ancient China making use of rich and accurate historical materials,especially those showing that Tiber has been a part of Chinese territory since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).It forcefully denies the entire ideological system of "Tibetan independence"and,for the first time,systematically answers the theories put forward by the Dalai clique.The Chinese edition of this work has attracted great attention in China and was granted the 1996 Excellent Book Award in China.

Taken from Appian's Roman History, the five books collectedhere form the sole surviving continuous historical narrative of theera between 133-35 BC - a time of anarchy and instability for theRoman Empire. A masterly account of a turbulent epoch, theydescribe the Catiline conspiracy; the rise and fall of the FirstTriumvirate; the murder of Julius Caesar; the formation of theSecond Triumvirate by Antonius, Octavian, and Lepidus; and brutalcivil war. A compelling depiction of the decline of the Roman stateinto brutality and violence, The Civil Wars portrays politicaldiscontent, selfishness and the struggle for power - a strugglethat was to culminate in a titanic battle for mastery over theRoman Empire, and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian in31 BC