Nearly 50 years after Japan's attack, this text takes a fresh look at the air raid that plunged America into World War II. Michael Slackman scrutinizes the decisions and attitudes that prompted the attack and left the US unprepared to mount a successful defence.

In the 1950s the Australian government agreed to let the British government test atomic bombs in South Australia's deserts. Prime Minister Menzies was flattered to be needed by "the mother country" and the rise of the science of physics and the power of atomic weapons was irresistible. The Australian public was assured that there was no risk from radioactive fallout, but one man wasn't satisfied. Biochemist Hedley Marston believed himself the only person qualified to assess the risk to biological organisms from radioactive fallout. His experiments proved that the government's Safety Committee were telling lies. Fallout is the story of a government desperate for prestige and one man willing to risk everything to expose the danger of radioactive fallout.

When Margaret Mead first studied the Manus Islanders of New Guinea in 1928, they were living with a Stone Age technology. Economically vulnerable and burdened by a complex moral code, the Manus seemed ill-equipped to handle the massive impact that World War II had on their secluded world. But a unique set of circumstances allowed the Manus to adapt swiftly to the twentieth century, and their experience led Mead to develop a revolutionary theory of cultural transformation, one that favors rapid, over piecemeal, change. As relevanttoday as it was a half-century ago, New Lives for Old is an optimistic examination of one society that chose to change, offering hope and a valuablemodel for today's developing societies.

This edition, prepared for the centennial of Mead's birth, features introductions by Stewart Brand and Mead's daughter, Mary Catherine Bateson.

A widely praised Pacific War historian--and author of The Liberation of Guam--draws on his extensive knowledge and new scholarship to shape this detailed treatment of the war against Japan, carefully examining the close interaction between naval, air, and land forces in every military operation. Photos.