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Books > History > World history > From 1900
Chris Hughes, the "Daily Mirror's" defence correspondent, was the
first western reporter into Iraq after 9/11, the first into
Saddam's secret bunker and the only one to visit Osama bin Laden's
mountain lair. He was also the only western journalist present when
American Marines killed and wounded unarmed demonstrators in
Fallujah, sparking the savage insurgency. He's survived carjackings
and missile attacks, watched mothers weep over the skeletons of
sons dragged from mass graves and joined mercenaries flying crates
of guns out of Baghdad. Hughes has been to every major troublespot
in Iraq in a dozen visits, mixing with the SAS, British mercenaries
and ordinary Iraqis; in "Road Trip To Hell", he tells their stories
with wit and irreverence in a very readable style. He admits he's
no expert on the Middle East - 'I wanted to call this book
"Clueless in Gaza",' he writes, 'but George W Bush rarely invades
places with potential for witty literary allusion' - but he has a
fine eye for detail and black humour and gives a unique insight
into a terrible, crazy war.
This book offers a new perspective on the making of Afro-Brazilian,
African-American and African studies through the interrelated
trajectory of E. Franklin Frazier, Lorenzo Dow Turner, Frances and
Melville Herskovits in Brazil. The book compares the style, network
and agenda of these different and yet somehow converging scholars,
and relates them to the Brazilian intellectual context, especially
Bahia, which showed in those days much less density and
organization than the US equivalent. It is therefore a double
comparison: between four Americans and between Americans and
scholars based in Brazil.
The 1960s saw the emergence in the Netherlands of a generation of
avant-garde musicians (including figures such as Louis Andriessen,
Willem Breuker, Reinbert de Leeuw and Misha Mengelberg) who were to
gain international standing and influence as composers, performers
and teachers, and who had a defining impact upon Dutch musical
life. Fundamental to their activities in the sixties was a
pronounced commitment to social and political engagement. The
lively culture of activism and dissent on the streets of Amsterdam
prompted an array of vigorous responses from these musicians,
including collaborations with countercultural and protest groups,
campaigns and direct action against established musical
institutions, new grassroots performing associations, political
concerts, polemicising within musical works, and the advocacy of
new, more 'democratic' relationships with both performers and
audiences. These activities laid the basis for the unique new music
scene that emerged in the Netherlands in the 1970s and which has
been influential upon performers and composers worldwide. This book
is the first sustained scholarly examination of this subject. It
presents the Dutch experience as an exemplary case study in the
complex and conflictual encounter of the musical avant-garde with
the decade's currents of social change. The narrative is structured
around a number of the decade's defining topoi: modernisation and
'the new'; anarchy; participation; politics; self-management; and
popular music. Dutch avant-garde musicians engaged actively with
each of these themes, but in so doing they found themselves faced
with distinct and sometimes intractable challenges, caused by the
chafing of their political and aesthetic commitments. In charting a
broad chronological progress from the commencement of work on Peter
Schat's Labyrint in 1961 to the premiere of Louis Andriessen's
Volkslied in 1971, this book traces the successive attempts of
Dutch avant-garde musicians to reconcile the era's evolving social
agendas with their own adventurous musical practice.
In May 1983, in the wake of her victory in the Falklands, Mrs
Thatcher won the second of her three general election victories.
Liverpool, going not for the first or last time against the grain,
elected a Labour council that vowed to be different. In an
environment of mass unemployment in which Liverpool felt abandoned
by an indifferent government, the council resolved to join others
across the land in refusing to set a budget that would hurt the
poorest. It was at first wildly popular, but the scene soon became
set for a battle between the city and central government that would
shape the future of Liverpool. Published to coincide with the
thirtieth anniversary of the 1983 election, Militant Liverpool: A
City on the Edge sets out an even-handed assessment of events with
oral testimonies from many of the key protagonists. Thirty years
on, Liverpool has to some extent reinvented itself as a visitor
destination, but it is again facing major spending cuts while its
deep seated social problems remain. This book sheds new light on
what is for some a dark period in the city's past, best forgotten,
while for others is a memory of the city that refused to lie down
and die and a continuing inspiration.
This volume offers a new perspective on the political history of
the socialist, communist and alternative political Lefts, focusing
on the role of networks and transnational connections. Embedding
the history of left-wing internationalism into a new political
history approach, it accounts for global and transnational turns in
the study of left-wing politics. The essays in this collection
study a range of examples of international engagement and
transnational cooperation in which left-wing actors were involved,
and explore how these interactions shaped the globalization of
politics throughout the 20th century. In taking a multi-archival
and methodological approach, this book challenges two conventional
views - that the left gradually abandoned its original
international to focus exclusively on the national framework, and
that internationalism survived merely as a rhetorical device.
Instead, this collection highlights how different currents of the
Left developed their own versions of internationalism in order to
adapt to the transformation of politics in the interdependent
20th-century world. Demonstrating the importance of political
convergence, alliance-formation, network construction and knowledge
circulation within and between the socialist and communist
movements, it shows that the influence of internationalism is
central to understanding the foreign policy of various left-wing
parties and movements.
What is fascism? Is it an anomaly in the history of modern Europe?
Or its culmination? In Anti-Colonialism and the Crises of Interwar
Fascism, Michael Ortiz makes the case that fascism should be
understood, in part, as an imperial phenomenon. He contends that
the Age of Appeasement (1935-1939) was not a titanic clash between
rival socio-political systems (fascism and democracy), but rather
an imperial contest between satisfied and unsatisfied empires.
Historians have long debated the extent to which Western
imperialisms served as ideological and intellectual precursors to
European fascisms. To date, this scholarship has largely employed
an "inside-out" methodology that examines the imperial discourses
that pushed fascist regimes outward, into Africa, Asia, and the
Americas. While effective, such approaches tend to ignore the ways
in which these places and their inhabitants understood European
fascisms. Addressing this imbalance, Anti-Colonialism adopts an
"outside-in" approach that analyses fascist expansion from the
perspective of Indian anti-colonialists such as Jawaharlal Nehru,
Subhas Bose, and Mohandas Gandhi. Seen from India, the crises of
Interwar fascism-the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Spanish Civil War,
Second Sino-Japanese War, Munich Agreement, and the outbreak of the
Second World War-were yet another eruption of imperial expansion
analogous (although not identical) to the Scramble for Africa and
the Treaty of Versailles. Whether fascist, democratic, or
imperialist, Europe's great powers collectively negotiated the fate
of smaller nations.
This is beautifully slipcased presented collector' s edition of the
best selling title, The Lost World of Bletchley Park, a
comprehensive illustrated history of this remarkable place, from
its prewar heyday as a country estate, its wartime requisition and
how it became the place where modern computing was invented and the
German Enigma code was cracked, to its post-war dereliction and
then rescue towards the end of the twentieth century as a museum.
Removable memorabilia includes: 1938 recruiting memo with a big
tick against Turing' s name Churchill' s ' Action this day' letter
giving code breakers extra resources Handwritten Turing memos Top
Secret Engima decryptions, about the sinking of the Bismark, German
High Command' s assessment of D-Day threat and the message
announcing Hitler' s suicide A wealth of everyday items such as
call-up papers, security notices and propoganda posters Newly
redesigned interiors with 25% new content, high end slipcase
package featuring removable facsimile documents, this is an
essential purchase for everyone interested and wanting to
experience the place where code-breaking helped to win the war.
A commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 as told through
stories and photographs from The Associated Press--covering
everything from the events of that tragic day to the rebuilding of
the World Trade Center and beyond.This important and comprehensive
book commemorates the 20th anniversary of September 11 as told
through stories and images from the correspondents and
photographers of The Associated Press--breaking news reports,
in-depth investigative pieces, human interest accounts,
approximately 175 dramatic and moving photos, and first-person
recollections. AP's reporting of the world-changing events of 9/11;
the heroic rescue efforts and aftermath; the world's reaction;
Operation Enduring Freedom; the continuing legal proceedings; the
building of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New
York City as a place of remembrance; the rebuilding of downtown NYC
and much more is covered. Also included is a foreword by Robert De
Niro. The book tells the many stories of 9/11--not only of the
unprecedented horror of that September morning, but also of the
inspiring resilience and hope of the human spirit.
Pearson Baccalaureate History: The Cold War 2nd edition is a
revised version of the bestselling 1st edition, written by leading
IB practitioners to specifically match the International
Baccalaureate 2015 History curriculum. Covering two new subjects -
Leaders and Nations and Cold War Crises - this book comprehensively
covers the revised Cold War topic. It will equip you with the
knowledge and skills that you need to answer essay questions on
Paper Two and document-based questions on Paper One. This book is
also accompanied by an enhanced eBook containing further
worksheets, quizzes to test knowledge and examination skills, and
enlarged source material. The Cold War includes the following
features: a clear overview and analysis of key events practice in
analysing source material, including photographs, cartoons,
letters, speeches, and other documents support throughout for new
curriculum features, including key concepts and international
mindedness approaches to learning highlighted in each activity
throughout the book focus on the examination requirements, with
'hints for success' throughout, as well as quizzes on the eBook
support with tackling essay-writing, including essay frames an
updated Theory of Knowledge section and questions throughout to
help with wider research and discussion. Other titles in the
Pearson Baccalaureate series include: History: Causes and Effects
of 20th Century Wars History: Authoritarian States History Paper 1:
The Move to Global War Theory of Knowledge
1989 bore witness to a number of seismic events; The fall of the
Berlin Wall, protests at Tiananmen Square, the US invasion of
Panama, and many more. These notable moments inspired an array of
visual, sonic and literary texts that can tell us much about this
watershed moment. This edited collection examines these products of
1989 to explore the sense of transformative immediacy, which
defined this memorable year, and show how the events of 1989 set
the path for the 21st century. Gathering together scholars across a
range of disciplines, Reading the New Global Order examines
specific texts to reveal key transnational issues of that year, and
to highlight fundamental questions about the nature and
significance of 1989 as a global moment. From speeches, manifestos
and novellas, to a pop album, this book raises questions about what
constitutes a 'text' in the study of history and what they can
reveal about their point in time. Taken together, these chapters
highlight 1989 as a cultural, intellectual and political landmark
of the 20th century through the global events it saw and the texts
it produced.
If the United States couldn't catch up to the Soviets in space, how
could it compete with them on Earth? That was the question facing
John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cold War-a perilous time when
the Soviet Union built the wall in Berlin, tested nuclear bombs
more destructive than any in history, and beat the United States to
every major milestone in space. The race to the heavens seemed a
race for survival-and America was losing. On February 20, 1962,
when John Glenn blasted into orbit aboard Friendship 7, his mission
was not only to circle the planet; it was to calm the fears of the
free world and renew America's sense of self-belief. Mercury Rising
re-creates the tension and excitement of a flight that shifted the
momentum of the space race and put the United States on the path to
the moon. Drawing on new archival sources, personal interviews, and
previously unpublished notes by Glenn himself, Mercury Rising
reveals how the astronaut's heroics lifted the nation's hopes in
what Kennedy called the "hour of maximum danger."
To serve the British nation in World War II, the BBC charged itself
with mobilizing popular music in support of Britain's war effort.
Radio music, British broadcasters and administrators argued, could
maintain civilian and military morale, increase industrial
production, and even promote a sense of Anglo-American cooperation.
Because of their widespread popularity, dance music and popular
song were seen as ideal for these tasks; along with jazz, with its
American associations and small but youthful audience, these genres
suddenly gained new legitimacy at the traditionally more
conservative BBC.
In Victory through Harmony, author Christina Baade both tells the
fascinating story of the BBC's musical participation in wartime
events and explores how popular music and jazz broadcasting helped
redefine notions of war, gender, race, class, and nationality in
wartime Britain. Baade looks in particular at the BBC's pioneering
Listener Research Department, which tracked the tastes of select
demographic groups including servicemen stationed overseas and
young female factory workers in order to further the goal of
entertaining, cheering, and even calming the public during wartime.
The book also tells how the wartime BBC programmed popular music to
an unprecedented degree with the goal of building national unity
and morale, promoting new roles for women, virile representations
of masculinity, Anglo-American friendship, and pride in a common
British culture. In the process, though, the BBC came into uneasy
contact with threats of Americanization, sentimentality, and the
creativity of non-white "others," which prompted it to regulate and
even censor popular music and performers.
Rather than provide the soundtrack for a unified "People's War,"
Baade argues, the BBC's broadcasting efforts exposed the divergent
ideologies, tastes, and perspectives of the nation. This
illuminating book will interest all readers in popular music, jazz,
and radio, as well as British cultural history and gender studies.
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