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
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.
Niall Ferguson is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History atHarvard University, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College,Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution,Stanford University. The bestselling author of Paper andIron , The House of Rothschild , The Pity of War , The Cash Nexus , Empire , and Colossus , he alsowrites regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world.Since 2003 he has written and presented three highly successfultelevision documentary series for British television: Empire , American Colossus , and, most recently, TheWar of the World .
In his inspiring new book, You Don’t Need a Title to Be aLeader , Mark Sanborn, the author of the national bestseller The Fred Factor , shows how each of us can be a leader in ourdaily lives and make a positive difference, whatever our title orposition. Through the stories of a number of unsung heroes, Sanbornreveals the keys each one of us can use to improve ourorganizations and enhance our careers. Genuine leadership – leadership with a “little l ”, as heputs it, is not conferred by a title, or limited to the executivesuite. Rather, it is shown through our everyday actions and the waywe influence the lives of those around us. Among the qualities thatgenuine leaders share: ? Acting with purpose rather than getting bogged down by mindlessactivity ? Caring about and listening to others ? Looking for ways to encourage the contributions and developmentof others rather than focusing solely on personalachievements ? Creating a legacy of accomplishment and contribution ineverything they do As reade
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
“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
In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmonbrings to light one of the most shameful chapters in Americanhistory—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath ofthe Civil War through the dawn of World War II.Using a vast recordof original documents and personal narratives, Douglas A. Blackmonunearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants whojourneyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and thenback into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter.By turns moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented accountreveals the stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against there-emergence of human labor trafficking, the companies thatprofited most from neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racismthat reverberates today.
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,
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.
1 On Interpretation: Literature as a Socially Symbolic Act 2 Magical Narratives: On the Dialectical Use of'Genre Criticism 3 Realism and Desire: Balzac and the Problem of the Subject 4 Authentic Resscntiment: Generic Discontinuities and Ideologemes in the "Experimental" Novels of George Gissing 5 Romance and Reification: Plot Construction and Ideological Closure in Joseph Conrad 6 Conclusion: The Dialectic of"Utopia and Ideology INDEX
A compelling and deeply felt exploration and defense ofliberalism: what it actually is, why it is relevant today, and howit can help our society chart a forward course. The Future of Liberalism represents the culmination of fourdecades of thinking and writing about contemporary politics by AlanWolfe, one of America’s leading scholars, hailed by one critic as“one of liberalism’s last and most loyal sons.” Wolfe mines thebedrock of the liberal tradition, explaining how Immanuel Kant,John Stuart Mill, John Dewey, and other celebrated minds helpedshape liberalism’s central philosophy. Wolfe also examines thosewho have challenged liberalism since its inception, fromJean-Jacques Rousseau to modern conservatives, religiousfundamentalists, and evolutionary theorists such as RichardDawkins. Drawing on both the inspiration and insights of seminal workssuch as John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, Adam Smith’sTheory of Moral Sentiments, Kant’s essay “What is Enlightenment?,”and Mil
"Jefferson aspired beyond the ambition of a nationality, and embraced in his view the whole future of man." --Henry Adams
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
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.
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.
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.
The most important, acclaimed, and galvanizing politicalbiography of our era--which began with The Path to Power--continuesin this national bestseller. In Means of Ascent Lyndon Johnson'salmost mythic personality is seen at its most nakedly ambitious.The culminating drama--the explosive heart of the book--is Caro'sillumination of one of the great political mysteries of thecentury, the "87 votes that changed history."
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.
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.
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 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.
An impassioned firsthand account of the RussianRevolution An American journalist and revolutionary writer, John Reed becamea close friend of Lenin and was an eyewitness to the 1917revolution in Russia. Ten Days That Shook the World is Reed'sextraordinary record of that event. Writing in the first flush ofrevolutionary enthusiasm, he gives a gripping account of the eventsin Petrograd in November 1917, when Lenin and the Bolsheviksfinally seized power. Containing verbatim reports both of speechesby leaders and of the chance comments of bystanders, and setagainst an idealized backdrop of soldiers, sailors, peasants, andthe proletariat uniting to throw off oppression, Reed's account isthe product of passionate involvement and remains an unsurpassedclassic of reporting.