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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > International relations > Espionage & secret services
A survivor of the Holocaust and a distinguished scholar of
Jewish history, Lucien Lazare presents a compelling defense of the
Jewish resistance movement in France during World War II, arguing
that rescue was a genuine and significant way of fighting back.
In this compelling new study, Louise Edwards explores the lives of
some of China's most famous women warriors and wartime spies
through history. Focusing on key figures including Hua Mulan, Zheng
Pingru and Liu Hulan, this book examines the ways in which these
extraordinary women have been commemorated through a range of
cultural mediums including film, theatre, museums and textbooks.
Whether perceived as heroes or anti-heroes, Edwards shows that both
the popular and official presentation of these women and their
accomplishments has evolved in line with China's shifting political
values and circumstances over the past one hundred years. Written
in a lively and accessible style with illustrations throughout,
this book sheds new light on the relationship between gender and
militarisation and the ways that women have been exploited to
glamorise war both historically in the past and in China today.
We are living in an age of conspiracy theories, whether it's
enduring, widely held beliefs such as government involvement in the
Kennedy assassination or alien activity at Roswell, fears of a
powerful infiltrating group such as the Illuminati, Jews,
Catholics, or communists, or modern fringe movements of varying
popularity such as birtherism and trutherism. What is it in
American culture that makes conspiracy theories proliferate? Who is
targeted, and why? Are we in the heyday of the conspiracy theory,
or is it in decline?
Though there is significant scholarly literature on the topic in
psychology, sociology, philosophy, and more, American Conspiracy
Theories is the first to use broad, long-term empirical data to
analyze this popular American tendency. Joseph E. Uscinski and
Joseph M. Parent draw on three sources of original data: 120,000
letters to the editor of the New York Times and Chicago Tribune
from between 1890 and 2010; a two-wave survey from before and after
the 2012 presidential election; and discussions of conspiracy
theories culled from online news sources, blogs, and other Web
sites, also from before and after the election. Through these
sources, they are able to address crucial questions, such as
similarities and differences in the nature of conspiracy theories
over time, the role of the Internet and communications technologies
in spreading modern conspiracy theories, and whether politics,
economics, media, war, or other factors are most important in
popularizing conspiratorial beliefs. Ultimately, they conclude that
power asymmetries, both foreign and domestic, are the main drivers
behind conspiracy theories, and that those at the bottom of power
hierarchies have a strategic interest in blaming those at the
top-in other words, "conspiracy theories are for losers." But these
"losers" can end up having tremendous influence on the course of
history, and American Conspiracy Theories is an unprecedented
examination of one of the defining features of American political
life.
THE INSIDE ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS DOCUMENTED IN LAURA POITRAS'S
CITIZENFOUR Glenn Greenwald's No Place to Hide is the story of one
of the greatest national security leaks in US history. In June
2013, reporter and political commentator Glenn Greenwald published
a series of reports in the Guardian which rocked the world. The
reports revealed shocking truths about the extent to which the
National Security Agency had been gathering information about US
citizens and intercepting communication worldwide, and were based
on documents leaked by former National Security Agency employee
Edward Snowden to Greenwald. Including new revelations from
documents entrusted to Greenwald by Snowden, this essential book
tells the story of Snowden and the NSA and examines the
far-reaching consequences of the government's surveillance program,
both in the US and abroad. 'The first thing I do when I turn on the
computer in the morning is go to Glenn Greenwald's blog. He is
truly one of our greatest writers right now' Michael Moore 'The
most important voice to have entered the political discourse in
years' Bill Moyers Glenn Greenwald is the author of several US
bestsellers, including How Would A Patriot Act?, and A Tragic
Legacy. Acclaimed as one of the twenty-five most influential
political commentators by The Atlantic, Greenwald is a former
constitutional law and civil rights attorney. He has been a
columnist for the Guardian since August 2012 and his work has
appeared in numerous newspapers and political news magazines,
including The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
"Towne's narrative is a fascinating whodunit, with its vivid
portrayal of Union commanders hiring questionable detectives in an
effort to stymie the Knights of the Golden Circle, a loose
collection of Confederate sympathizers in the Old Northwest. A
valuable addition to any library seeking to upgrade its collection
with a regional slant to the US Civil War. Summing Up: Highly
recommended." -CHOICEA History Book Club Reading
SelectionSurveillance and Spies in the Civil War represents
pathbreaking research on the rise of U.S. Army intelligence
operations in the Midwest during the American Civil War and
counters long-standing assumptions about Northern politics and
society. At the beginning of the rebellion, state governors in
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois cooperated with federal law enforcement
officials in various attempts-all failed-to investigate reports of
secret groups and individuals who opposed the Union war effort.
Starting in 1862, army commanders took it upon themselves to
initiate investigations of antiwar sentiment in those states. By
1863, several of them had established intelligence operations
staffed by hired civilian detectives and by soldiers detailed from
their units to chase down deserters and draft dodgers, to maintain
surveillance on suspected persons and groups, and to investigate
organized resistance to the draft. By 1864, these spies had
infiltrated secret organizations that, sometimes in collaboration
with Confederate rebels, aimed to subvert the war effort. Stephen
E. Towne is the first to thoroughly explore the role and impact of
Union spies against Confederate plots in the North. This new
analysis invites historians to delve more deeply into the fabric of
the Northern wartime experience and reinterpret the period based on
broader archival evidence.
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