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Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900
A noted World War I scholar examines the critical decisions and
events that led to Germany's defeat, arguing that the German loss
was caused by collapse at home as well as on the front. Much has
been written about the causes for the outbreak of World War I and
the ways in which the war was fought, but few historians have
tackled the reasons why the Germans, who appeared on the surface to
be winning for most of the war, ultimately lost. This book, in
contrast, presents an in-depth examination of the complex interplay
of factors-social, cultural, military, economic, and
diplomatic-that led to Germany's defeat. The highly readable work
begins with an examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the
two coalitions and points out how the balance of forces was clearly
on the side of the Entente in a long and drawn-out war. The work
then probes the German plan to win the war quickly and the
resulting campaigns of August and September 1914 that culminated in
the devastating defeat in the First Battle of the Marne. Subsequent
chapters discuss the critical factors and decisions that led to
Germany's loss, including the British naval blockade, the role of
economic factors in maintaining a consensus for war, and the social
impact of material deprivation. Starts a new and fuller discussion
of Germany's defeat that goes beyond the battlefields of the
Western Front Argues that Germany's defeat was caused by a complex
interplay of domestic, social, and economic forces as well as by
military and diplomatic factors Integrates the internal problems
the German people experienced with Germany's defeats at sea and on
land Highlights the critical role played by Britain and the United
States in bringing about Germany's defeat Discusses the failures of
German military planning and the failure of the nation's political
leaders and military leaders to understand that war is the
continuation of diplomacy by other means
From Cabinda in Angola to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, 4 Reconnaissance Regiment conducted numerous clandestine seaborne raids during the Border War. They attacked strategic targets such as oil facilities, transport infrastructure and even Russian ships. All the while 4 Recce’s existence and capability was largely kept
secret, even within the South African Defence Force.
With unparalleled access to previously top secret documents, 50 operations undertaken by 4 Recce, other Special Forces units and the South African Navy are described here in Iron Fist From The Sea. The daunting Operation Kerslig (1981), in which an operator died in a raid on a Luanda oil refinery and others were injured, is retold in spine-tingling detail. The book reveals the versatility and effectiveness of this elite unit and also tells of both the successes and failures of its actions. Sometimes missions go wrong, as in Operation Argon (1985) when Captain Wynand Du Toit was captured. This fascinating work will enthrall anyone with an interest in Special Forces operations.
Iron Fist From The Sea takes you right to the raging surf, to the adrenalin and fear that is seaborne raiding.
The notorious Parr family manipulated local politics in South Texas
for decades. Archie Parr, his son George, and his grandson Archer
relied on violence and corruption to deliver the votes that
propelled their chosen candidates to office. The influence of the
Parr political machine peaked during the 1948 senatorial primary,
when election officials found the infamous Ballot Box 13 six days
after the polls closed. That box provided a slim eighty-seven-vote
lead to Lyndon B. Johnson, initiating the national political career
of the future U.S. president. Dukes of Duval County begins with
Archie Parr's organization of the Mexican American electorate into
a potent voting bloc, which marked the beginning of his
three-decade campaign for control of every political office in
Duval County and the surrounding area. Archie's son George, who
expanded the Parrs' dominion to include jobs, welfare payments, and
public works, became a county judge thanks to his father's
influence - but when George was arrested and imprisoned for
accepting payoffs, only a presidential pardon advocated by
then-congressman Lyndon Johnson allowed George to take office once
more. Further legal misadventures haunted George and his successor,
Archer, but in the end it took the combined force of local, state,
and federal governments and the courageous efforts of private
citizens to overthrow the Parr family. In this first comprehensive
study of the Parr family's political activities, Anthony R.
Carrozza reveals the innermost workings of the Parr dynasty, a
political machine that drove South Texas politics for more than
seventy years and critically influenced the course of the nation.
Recent years have seen a disturbing advance in populist and
authoritarian styles of rule and, in response, a rise in popular
activism. Strongmen, especially since the advent of fascism, have
formed their base of power in popular acclaim. But what power do
the people have in checking the rise of tyranny? In this book an
international team of experts representing several academic
disciplines examines the power relationship between peoples and
their rulers. It is among the first to study this globally as a
problem of nation states. From populism in 19th-century Latin
America to eastern Europe since the collapse of communism, to the
Arab Spring and contemporary Russia and China, the cases in this
book span five continents and twelve nations. Taken together, they
reveal how different forms of popular opposition have succeeded or
failed in unseating authoritarian regimes and expose the tactics
and strategies used by regimes to repress people power and create
an image of popular support. Analysing the causes and consequence
of the global advance of authoritarianism, The Power of Populism
and the People offers a historical comparison of popular protest,
opposition and crises over the last century to the recent rise of
populist leaders.
Bearing the Torch stands as a comprehensive history of the
University of Tennessee, replete with anecdotes and vignettes of
interest to anyone interested in UT, from the administrators and
chancellors to students and alums, and even to the Vols fans whose
familiarity with the school comes mainly from the sports page. It
is also a biography of a school whose history reflects that of its
state and its nation. The institution that began as Blount College
in 1794 in a frontier village called Knoxville exemplifies the
relationship between education and American history. This is the
first scholarly history of UT since 1984. T. R. C. Hutton not only
provides a much-needed update, but also seeks to present a social
history of the university, fully integrating historical context and
showing how the volume's central "character"-the university
itself-reflects historical themes and concerns. For example, Hutton
shows how the school's development was hampered in the early
nineteenth century by stingy state funding (a theme that also
appears in subsequent decades) and Jacksonian fears that publicly
funded higher education equaled elite privilege. The institution
nearly disappeared as the Civil War raged in a divided region, but
then it flourished thanks to policies that never could have
happened without the war. In the twentieth century, students
embraced dramatic social changes as the university wrestled with
race, gender, and other important issues. In the Cold War era, UT
became a successful research institution and entered into a deep
partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratories that persists to
this day. All the while UT athletics experienced the highs of
national championships and the lows of lawsuits and losing seasons.
UT is a university with a universe of historical experiences. The
University of Tennessee's story has always been defined by
inclusion and exclusion, and the school has triumphed when it
practiced the former and failed when it took part in the latter.
Bearing the Torch traces that ongoing process, richly detailing the
University's contributions to what one president, Joseph Estabrook,
called the "diffusion of knowledge among the people."
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