Warfighting is an authentic American philosophy ofaction that will thrill the millions of fans of SunTzu's The Artof War and Musashi's T he Book of Five Rings . Thismodern classic of strategy and philosophy is the quintessentialguide to prevailing in competitive situations, be it war, work,play, or daily living. Sometimes life is war and sometimes business is war andsometimes you need to call in the Marines. Over the past twohundred years, the Marines have developed a reputation for gettingthe job done-fearlessly, boldly, and taking no prisoners. Whatbetter role model for the hidden warriors in ourselves? What betteradvice to call on when the stakes are high and sensitivity justisn't going to work? Written in 1989 as a philosophical andstrategic guide-book for the US. Marine Corps, Warfighting is a worthy successor to SunTzu's The Art Of War . Withclarity, brevity, and wisdom, it describes the basic forces at workin every competitive situation whether on the field of battle, inthe boardro
In his final book, completed just before his death, Edward W.Said offers impassioned pleas for the beleaguered Palestinian causefrom one of its most eloquent spokesmen. These essays, whichoriginally appeared in Cairo’s Al-Ahram Weekly, London’s Al-Hayat,and the London Review of Books, take us from the Oslo Accordsthrough the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, and present information andperspectives too rarely visible in America. Said is unyielding in his call for truth and justice. He insistson truth about Israel's role as occupier and its treatment of thePalestinians. He pleads for new avenues of communication betweenprogressive elements in Israel and Palestine. And he is equallyforceful in his condemnation of Arab failures and the need for realleadership in the Arab world.
Drawing upon dozens of other "declarations of independence"written to protest the repression of the colonies by King GeorgeIII, as well as carefully analyzing the drafts of the Declarationsigned on July 4, 1776, Maier reveals the extent to whichJefferson's words and ideas were indebted to popular politicalbeliefs.
As the world's largest democracy and a rising internationaleconomic power, India has long been heralded for its great stridesin technology and trade. Yet it is also plagued by poverty,illiteracy, unemployment, and a vast array of other social andeconomic issues. Here, noted journalist and former Financial TimesSouth Asia bureau chief Edward Luce travels throughout India's manyregions, cultures, and religious circles, investigating its fragilebalance between tradition and modernity. From meetings with keypolitical figures to fascinating encounters with religious pundits,economic gurus, and village laborers, In Spite of the Gods is afascinating blend of analysis and reportage that comprehensivelydepicts the nuances of India's complex situation and its place inthe world.
Reagan’s War is the story of Ronald Reagan’s personaland political journey as an anti-communist, from his early days asan actor to his years in the White House. Challenging popularmisconceptions of Reagan as an empty suit who played only a passiverole in the demise of the Soviet Union, Peter Schweizer detailsReagan’s decades-long battle against communism. Bringing to light previously secret information obtained fromarchives in the United States, Germany, Poland, Hungary, andRussia—including Reagan’s KGB file—Schweizer offers a compellingcase that Reagan personally mapped out and directed his war againstcommunism, often disagreeing with experts and advisers. Anessential book for understanding the Cold War, Reagan’s War should be read by open-minded readers across the politicalspectrum.
The most up-to-date, incisive, and accessible reference on theAmerican presidency, with essays by the nation's leadinghistorians. An indispensable resource for the curious reader andthe serious historian alike, The American Presidency showcases someof the most provocative interpretive history being written today.This rich narrative history sheds light on the hubris, struggles,and brilliance of our nation's leaders. Coupling vivid writing withunparalleled scholarship, these insightful essays from well-knownhistorians cover every presidency from the first through theforty-third.
Coming of age duringWorld War I and attaining their finest hour in World War II and theCold War, these men -- FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Marshall, MacArthur-- transformed America from an isolated frontier nation into aglobal superpower. As he tells their stories, Fromkin, author of A Peace to End All Peace , shows how this generation not onlymade America great but largely succeeded in making it a force forgood.
Since it was first published in 1952, Lincoln and HisGenerals has remained one of the definitive accounts ofLincoln’s wartime leadership. In it T. Harry Williams dramatizesLincoln’s long and frustrating search for an effective leader ofthe Union Army and traces his transformation from a politician withlittle military knowledge into a master strategist of the CivilWar. Explored in depth are Lincoln’s often fraught relationshipswith generals such as McClellan, Pope, Burnside, Hooker, Fremont,and of course, Ulysses S. Grant. In this superbly writtennarrative, Williams demonstrates how Lincoln’s persistent“meddling” into military affairs was crucial to the Northern wareffort and utterly transformed the president’s role ascommander-in-chief.
A WATERSHED ACCOUNT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT POLITICAL FRIENDSHIPIN AMERICAN HISTORY In Madison and Jefferson, esteemed historians Andrew Burstein andNancy Isenberg join forces to reveal the crucial partnership of twoextraordinary founders, creating a superb dual biography that is athrilling and unprecedented account of early America. The third and fourth presidents have long been considered properand noble gentlemen, with Thomas Jefferson’s genius overshadowingJames Madison’s judgment and common sense. But in this revelatorybook, both leaders are seen as men of their times, ruthless andhardboiled operatives in a gritty world of primal politics wherethey struggled for supremacy for more than fifty years. In most histories, the elder figure, Jefferson, looms larger. YetMadison is privileged in this book’s title because, as Burstein andIsenberg reveal, he was the senior partner at key moments in theformation of the two-party system. It was Madison who did the mostto initiate George W
Revival is the dramatic inside story of the definingperiod of the Obama White House. It is an epic tale that followsthe president and his inner circle from the crisis of defeat tohistoric success. Over the span of an extraordinary two months inthe life of a young presidency, Obama and his senior aides engagedin a desperate struggle for survival that stands as the measure ofwho they are and how they govern. Bestselling Obama biographer Richard Wolffe draws on unrivaledaccess to the West Wing to write a natural sequel to his criticallyacclaimed book about the president and his campaign. He traces anarc from near death to resurrection that is a repeated pattern forObama, first as a candidate and now as president. Starting at thefirst anniversary of the inauguration, Wolffe paints a portrait ofa White House at work under exceptional strain across a sweepingset of challenges: from health care reform to a struggling economy,from two wars to terrorism. Revival is a road map to understanding the dynamics,cha
This definitive edition of the original "Robert's" presentsrules of order, motions, debate, conduct of business, andadjournment. All problems of conducting a successful meetingsmoothly and fairly are resolved.
A revised edition of the clasic study of American politicsfrom the Founding Fathers to FDR.
A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, agroundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plansand the Western intelligence failures that culminated in theassault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based onfive years of research and hundreds of interviews that he conductedin Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan, England,France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy andinsight by telling the story through the interweaving lives of fourmen: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Aymanal-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; andthe former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turkial-Faisal. As these lives unfold, we see revealed: the crosscurrents ofmodern Islam that helped to radicalize Zawahiri and bin Laden . . .the birth of al-Qaeda and its unsteady development into anorganization capable of the American embassy bombings in Kenya andTanza
“Nearly forty years after I first got involved, I remaincaptivated by the possibilities of politics and public service. Infact, I believe that my chosen profession is a noble calling.That’s why I wanted to be a part of it.” –Joe Biden As a United States senator from Delaware since 1973, Joe Biden hasbeen an intimate witness to the major events of the past fourdecades and a relentless actor in trying to shape recent Americanhistory. He has seen up close the tragic mistake of the VietnamWar, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals, the fall of the BerlinWall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of theSoviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a presidentialimpeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidentialelection decided by the Supreme Court. He’s observed Nixon, Ford,Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and two Bushes wrestling with thepresidency; he’s traveled to war zones in Europe, the Middle East,and Africa and seen firsthand the devastation of genocide. Heplayed a vital role
One ofthe most critical battles of the Afghan War is now revealed asnever before. Lions of Kandahar is an inside account from theunique perspective of an active-duty U.S. Army Special Forcescommander, an unparalled warrior with multiple deployments to thetheater who has only recently returned from combatthere. Southern Afghanistan was slipping away.That was clear to then-Captain Rusty Bradley as he began his thirdtour of duty there in 2006. The Taliban and their allies wereinfiltrating everywhere, poised to reclaim Kandahar Province, theirstrategically vital onetime capital. To stop them, the NATOcoalition launched Operation Medusa, the largest offensive in itshistory. The battlefield was the Panjwayi Valley, a densely packedwarren of walled compounds that doubled neatly as enemy bunkers,lush orchards, and towering marijuana stands, all laced withtreacherous irrigation ditches. A mass exodus of civilians heraldedthe carnage to come. Dispatched as a diversionary force insuppo
Remote, forbidding, and volatile, the Caspian Sea longtantalized the world with its vast oil reserves. But outsiders,blocked by the closed Soviet system, couldn't get to it. Then theSoviet Union collapsed, and a wholesale rush into the regionerupted. Along with oilmen, representatives of the world's leadingnations flocked to the Caspian for a share of the thirty billionbarrels of proven oil reserves at stake, and a tense geopoliticalstruggle began. The main players were Moscow and Washington-theformer seeking to retain control of its satellite states, and thelatter intent on dislodging Russia to the benefit of theWest. The Oil and the Glory is the gripping account of this latestphase in the epochal struggle for control of the earth's "blackgold." Steve LeVine, who was based in the region for The WallStreet Journal, The New York Times, and Newsweek, weaves anastonishing tale of high-stakes political gamesmanship, greed, andscandal, set in one of the most opaque corners of the world. InLeVine's tel
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.
John McCain is one of the most admired leaders in the UnitedStates government, but his deeply felt memoir of family and war isnot a political one and ends before his election to Congress. Withcandor and ennobling power, McCain tells a story that, in the wordsof Newsweek, "makes the other presidential candidates look likepygmies." John McCain learned about life and honor from his grandfather andfather, both four-star admirals in the U.S. Navy. This is a memoirabout their lives, their heroism, and the ways that sons are shapedand enriched by their fathers. John McCain's grandfather was a gaunt, hawk-faced man known asSlew by his fellow officers and, affectionately, as Popeye by thesailors who served under him. McCain Sr. played the horses, drankbourbon and water, and rolled his own cigarettes with one hand.More significant, he was one of the navy's greatest commanders, andled the strongest aircraft carrier force of the Third Fleet in keybattles during World War II.
The former president's personal tale of political intrigue andsocial conflict during his first campaign for public office.Iluminates the origins of his commitment to human rights and bearsfurther witness to the accomplishments of an extraordinary man.
"Jefferson aspired beyond the ambition of a nationality, and embraced in his view the whole future of man." --Henry Adams
Now the inspiration for the CBS Television drama, "TheUnit." Delta Force. They are the U.S. Army's most elite top-secretstrike force. They dominate the modern battlefield, but you won'thear about their heroics on CNN. No headlines can reveal theirtop-secret missions, and no book has ever taken readersinside—until now. Here, a founding member of Delta Force takes usbehind the veil of secrecy and into the action-to reveal thenever-before-told story of 1st Special Forces OperationalDetachment-D (Delta Force). Inside Delta Forece The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit He is a master of espionage, trained to take on hijackers,terrorists, hostage takers, and enemy armies. He can deploy byparachute or arrive by commercial aircraft. Survive alone inhostile cities. Speak foreign languages fluently. Strike at enemytargets with stunning swiftness and extraordinary teamwork. He isthe ultimate modern warrior: the Delta Force Operator. In this dramatic behind-the-scenes ch
As a defender of national unity, a leader in war, and theemancipator of slaves, Abraham Lincoln lays ample claim to beingthe greatest of our presidents. But the story of his rise togreatness is as complex as it is compelling. In this superb,prize-winning biography, acclaimed historian Richard Carwardineexamines Lincoln’s dramatic political journey, from his early yearsin the Illinois legislature to his nation-shaping years in theWhite House. Here, Carwardine combines a new perspective with acompelling narrative to deliver a fresh look at one of the pillarsof American politics. He probes the sources of Lincoln’s moral andpolitical philosophy and uses his groundbreaking research to cutthrough the myth and expose the man behind it.