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Books > History > World history > From 1900
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was one of the most inspiring leaders
of the twentieth century, and one of its greatest wits. War
reporter, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Prime Minister, Nobel
Laureate, wordplay enthusiast, he was a powerful man of many words.
Throughout his life, he moved, entertained, and sometimes enraged
people with his notorious wit and razor-sharp tongue. Consequently,
he is one of the most oft-quoted and misquoted leaders in recent
history. Now in paperback, "Churchill by Himself" is the first
fully annotated and attributed collection of Churchill
sayings--edited by longtime Churchill scholar Richard M. Langworth
and authorized by the Churchill estate--that captures Churchill's
wit in its entirety.
A massively destructive and transformative event, the First World
War left in its wake many legacies. Beyond 1917 explores both the
consequences of the war for the United States (and the world) and
American influence on shaping the legacies of the conflict in the
decades after US entry in 1917. From the fields, seas, and airspace
of battle, we live today with the consequences of the Great War's
poison gas, post-traumatic stress disorder, and technological
inventions such as air bombardment of civilians, submarine and tank
warfare, and modern surgical techniques. Conscription, pacifism,
humanitarian campaigns, and socialist movements emerged from the
war to shape politics within countries for decades to come.
Governments learned the value of propaganda, both in print and in
film. Society changed: women were emancipated in some countries and
citizenship was altered in many places, while aristocracy and
monarchies went into decline. European empires were transformed and
in some cases destroyed; in the Middle East, the change was
enormous, beginning with the final collapse of Ottoman hegemony in
the region. Fascism and communism, mass migration, independence,
militarism, an influenza epidemic, the rise of Wall Street and
American economic power, a slowdown in the process of
globalization, and the pursuit of world peace by an organization
based on collective security numbered among the most significant
and lasting legacies of this conflict. Beyond 1917 explores how and
why the war has become an integral milepost for human history,
reflects the importance of the conflict, the forces that led to it,
and the forces it unleashed. On the occasion of the centennial
commemorations, an international group of scholars considers the
long-term policy, political, social, economic, and cultural
consequences of the war for the United States itself and for the
world. In addition to interpretive essays, the volume provides a
comprehensive bibliography and timeline of events.
This thought-provoking collection of essays analyses the complex,
multi-faceted, and even contradictory nature of Stalinism and its
representations. Stalinism was an extraordinarily repressive and
violent political model, and yet it was led by ideologues committed
to a vision of socialism and international harmony. The essays in
this volume stress the complex, multi-faceted, and often
contradictory nature of Stalin, Stalinism, and Stalinist-style
leadership, and. explore the complex picture that emerges. Broadly
speaking, three important areas of debate are examined, united by a
focus on political leadership: * The key controversies surrounding
Stalin's leadership role * A reconsideration of Stalin and the Cold
War * New perspectives on the cult of personality Revisioning
Stalin and Stalinism is a crucial volume for all students and
scholars of Stalin's Russia and Cold War Europe.
In 1965, the U.S. government helped the Indonesian military kill
approximately one million innocent civilians. This was one of the
most important turning points of the twentieth century, eliminating
the largest communist party outside China and the Soviet Union and
inspiring copycat terror programs in faraway countries like Brazil
and Chile. But these events remain widely overlooked, precisely
because the CIA's secret interventions were so successful. In this
bold and comprehensive new history, Vincent Bevins builds on his
incisive reporting for the Washington Post, using recently
declassified documents, archival research and eye-witness testimony
collected across twelve countries to reveal a shocking legacy that
spans the globe. For decades, it's been believed that parts of the
developing world passed peacefully into the U.S.-led capitalist
system. The Jakarta Method demonstrates that the brutal
extermination of unarmed leftists was a fundamental part of
Washington's final triumph in the Cold War.
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