Drawing on material from many sources, including official and semi-official records, contemporary historical writing and reliable journals, this volume illustrates why John F. Kennedy's Presidency was one of the most eventful and significant in American history. Through this volume the student can learn how to read and asess historical documents and learn to discriminate among a number of sources and weigh evidence.

"Compulsively readable laugh out loud history." Mary Roach Bomb-carrying bats. Poisoned flower arrangements. Cigars laced with mind-altering drugs. Listening devices implanted into specially-trained cats. A torpedo-proof aircraft carrier made out of ice and sawdust. And a CIA plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the moon ... just because. In Nuking the Moon, Vince Houghton, Historian and Curator at the International Spy Museum, collects the most inspired, implausible and downright bizarre military intelligence schemes that never quite made it off the drawing board. From the grandly ambitious to the truly devious, they illuminate a new side of warfare, revealing how a combination of desperation and innovation led not only to daring missions and brilliant technological advances, but to countless plans and experiments that failed spectacularly. Alternatively terrifying and hilarious, and combining archival research with newly-conducted interviews, these twenty-six chapters reveal not only what might have happened, but also what each one tells us about the history and people around it. If 'military intelligence' makes you think of James Bond and ingenious exploding gadgets ... get ready for the true story.

This edited volume examines the complexities of the Cold War in Southern Africa and uses a range of archives to develop a more detailed understanding of the impact of the Cold War environment upon the processes of political change.

In the aftermath of European decolonization, the struggle between white minority governments and black liberation movements encouraged both sides to appeal for external support from the two superpower blocs. Cold War in Southern Africa highlights the importance of the global ideological environment on the perceptions and consequent behaviour of the white minority regimes, the Black Nationalist movements, and the newly independent African nationalist governments. Together, they underline the variety of archival sources on the history of Southern Africa in the Cold War and its growing importance in Cold War Studies.

This volume brings together a series of essays by leading scholars based on a wide range of sources in the United States, Russia, Cuba, Britain, Zambia and South Africa. By focussing on a range of independent actors, these essays highlight the complexity of the conflict in Southern Africa: a battle of power blocs, of systems and ideas, which intersected with notions and practices of race and class

This book will appeal to students of cold war studies, US foreign policy, African politics and International History.

Sue Onslow has taught at the London School of Economics since 1994. She is currently a Cold War Studies Fellow in the Cold War Studies Centre/IDEAS

To understand political change in contemporary China it is crucial to understand the position of intellectuals in that society and their often troubled relation to the state. This book explores the ideas of prominent Chinese intellectuals, their relationship to the pro-democracy movements and the changing relationship between intellectuals and the Chinese state. It is a sociological study of the ideological formation of Chinese intellectuals, and their place in the social structure and their role in influencing and effecting social and political change. It will make an important contribution in our understanding of political development in China.

At the dawn of the nuclear age, strategist Bernard Brodie recognized our predicament when he said, "Nuclear weapons exist and they are incredibly destructive." Despite the end of the Cold War, thousands of nuclear weapons remain on hair-trigger alert on both sides of the Atlantic. Plans to develop, deploy, and detonate nuclear weapons (for purposes of war prevention or war fighting) are informed by the ambiguous notion that nuclear war can be avoided by maintaining a balance of power. Policy-makers and decision-makers believe that once the balance of power is destroyed, a crisis will ensue, and if this crisis cannot be resolved with words, it is somehow necessary to use weapons. This idea is held as an historic inevitability, but the nuclear subculture is unaware of the highly problematic nature of their fundamental assumptions. Hirschbein entertains the possibility that the theory and practice of these policy-makers and decision-makers are informed by concepts at once ancient and metaphorical. He analyzes the primary and secondary metaphors invoked to conceptualize and manage nuclear weaponry. Hirschbein draws a striking parallel between dramatic changes in the ancient Greek account of conflict and the American conceptualization of nuclear weapons. Facing harrowing times, Thucydides avoided supernatural, Homeric imagery in favor of naturalistic metaphors to account for conflict--an account regarded as "eternal wisdom" by today's realist. Likewise, facing the Soviet challenge, American strategists abandoned supernatural Judeo-Christian accounts of nuclear weapons in favor of Thucydides' naturalistic tropes.

This is the story of that small band of women who wore U.S. Marine uniforms during the Korean War. These women are a "lost generation" of women Marines who stepped into the breach between two wars and preserved the opportunity to be a Marine for those who were as yet unborn. They were, in fact, a "thin green line"--and they stood fast, just like Marines are taught to do.

This book explores the impact of the nativist movement on public library usage among Latino and Asian immigrants. The activism of concerned librarians within the California Library Association to defend the rights of immigrant library users after the passage of Proposition 187 is documented. In addition, four original research studies suggest that public libraries that provided relevant multilingual collections and services, multilingual staff, and strong public services have remained vibrant and well-used institutions despite widespread anti-immigrant sentiments and heightened anxiety among library users.

The extensive qualitative studies that are reported in this volume are unique to the field of library science. Three of the studies focus on the heavily Mexican/Latino immigrant city of Santa Ana, CA, which is located in Orange County, home to the most virulent anti-immigrant forces, including the Save Our State organizers who initiated the Proposition 187 legislation. Two articles deal specifically with Asian American communities, one ascertaining the negative effects of the elimination of affirmative action policies in public library hiring and promotion, the other recounting the political nature and practice that characterizes dynamic community services to Asian immigrant communities.

In the last weeks of the 1960 presidential race, Louis Martin pulled off a minor miracle. With two days to go before the election, this passionate civil rights advocate and Democratic activists put two million pamphlets into the hands of black voters across America, informing them of Senator John F. Kennedy's sympathetic phone call to Martin Luther King, Jr., then languishing in a Georgia prison. The center of gravity in black partisan support shifted, and Kennedy won by a hair. This is just one example of the remarkable influence Louis Martin had on national politics for more than four decades. Now, for the first time, the story of Louis Martin's life is told. Walking with Presidents traces the career of an African American who rose from crusading journalist to preeminent presidential advisor and civil rights liason in the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter administrations. Martin was the consummate insider, unconcerned about who got credit for his work so long as he could advance his mission bringing African Americans into the political mainstream.

Ideal for high school and college-level readers as well as students attending military academies and general audiences, this encyclopedia covers the details of the Persian Gulf War as well as the long-term consequences and historical lessons learned from this important 20th-century conflict. This encyclopedia provides a rich historical account of the Persian Gulf War, examining the conflict from a holistic perspective that addresses the details of the military operations as well as the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of the war. The alphabetically arranged entries chart the events of the war, provide cross references and sources for additional study, and identify the most important individuals and groups associated with the conflict. In addition, it includes primary source documents that will provide readers with valuable insights and foster their critical thinking and historical reasoning skills. The Persian Gulf War served as the first live-combat test of much of the United States' then-new high-tech weaponry. The war also held many lessons about the play of national interests, the process of coalition building, the need for effective communication and coordination, and the role of individuals in shaping history. This book addresses all key battles, the nations involved, strategies employed by both sides, weapon systems used, the role of the media, the role played by women, and environmental and medical issues associated with the conflict. Provides a thorough analysis of the Gulf War that explains its causes, course, strategy and tactics, and significance Includes insightful biographies of the key individuals involved that identify the factors behind their decisions Presents a chronology that clearly outlines events and helps students determine the cause-and-effect relationship between them Supplies a variety of images and maps that engage readers and serve as powerful tools for visual/spatial learners

The decade 1945-1955 is indisputably one of the most important in modern German (as well as European) history. What is less clear, however, given what we now know about Germany in the wake of its reunification, is the degree to which the United States and the other Allied victors shaped the institutions, policies, and culture of the Federal Republic of Germany in this crucial period. To what extent were, "Americanization," "modernization," and "normalization "congruent?
This work focuses on the role of the United States and of Americans, in both official and unofficial capacities, in shaping the political culture and early foundations of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1945-1955. It draws together the work of well-known scholars, both German and American, along with the reflective accounts of actual participants in and witnesses to this period.

This critical examination of American-Israeli relations from the last year of the Kennedy administration to the last year of Bill Clinton's tenure in office is a companion volume to Herbert Druks' previous book "The Uncertain Friendship: The U.S. and Israel from Roosevelt to Kennedy." Based upon extensive research of archival sources and interviews of those who made this history happen, such as Harry S. Truman, Averell Harriman, Yitzhak Rabin, and Yitzhak Shamir, this study provides a challenging examination of key events and issues during the last three decades, including JFK and Israel's nuclear research, Johnson and the Six Day War, Kissinger-Nixon and the Yom Kippur War, the rescue at Entebbe, Begin's decision to liberate Lebanon from the PLO, Bush and Iraq, and the Land for Peace formula.

In addition to this comprehensive narrative account, Druks does not shy away from the tougher questions that plague the history of the two nations. What was the nature of the friendship and alliance that Israel achieved with the United States? Did that friendship and alliance help sustain Israel's independence, or did it merely turn Israel into a vassal state of the American empire? Did Israel have another viable alternative? What may lie in store for the future of American-Israeli relations?

Bringing together an impressive cast of well-respected scholars in the field of modern Russian studies, Russian History through the Senses investigates life in Russia from 1700 to the present day via the senses. It examines past experiences of taste, touch, smell, sight and sound to capture a vivid impression of what it was to have lived in the Russian world, so uniquely placed as it is between East and West, during the last three hundred years. The book discusses the significance of sensory history in relation to modern Russia and covers a range of exciting case studies, rich with primary source material, that provide a stimulating way of understanding modern Russia at a visceral level. Russian History through the Senses is a novel text that is of great value to scholars and students interested in modern Russian studies.

Bringing together the work of scholars from Eastern and Western Europe, this volume re-examines the crucial moments in the five years leading up to the Cold War. With the aid of new evidence from the official records of former Communist countries, this fresh analysis of diplomatic relations, economic imperialism, and cultural influences on great, middle, and small-rank European powers reveals how and why the victors failed to reach an agreement on post-war order in Europe--a failure that resulted in a conflict that shaped the second half of the 20th century.

This book provides a broad, analytical study of Bangladesh's relationship with India and Pakistan between 1975 and 1990. The book reveals the complexity of the relationship between Bangladesh, India and Pakistan and challenges the biased and stereotypical views often encountered regarding Bangladesh's foreign policy. Considerable evidence is interpreted from a variety of perspectives: domestic, regional and extra regional. The evidence is then used to assess the relative significance of these perspectives.

For the first time, the Sunday Times bestseller Austerity Britain is available in one complete paperback volume. Coursing through Austerity Britain is an astonishing variety of voices - vivid, unselfconscious, and unaware of what the future holds. A Chingford housewife endures the tribulations of rationing; a retired schoolteacher observes during a royal visit how well-fed the Queen looks; a pernickety civil servant in Bristol is oblivious to anyone's troubles but his own. An array of working-class witnesses describe how life in post-war Britain is, with little regard for liberal niceties or the feelings of their 'betters'. Many of these voices will stay with the reader in future volumes, jostling alongside well-known figures like John Arlott (here making his first radio broadcast, still in police uniform), Glenda Jackson (taking the 11+) and Doris Lessing, newly arrived from Africa, struck by the levelling poverty of postwar Britain. David Kynaston weaves a sophisticated narrative of how the victorious 1945 Labour government shaped the political, economic and social landscape for the next three decades.Deeply researched, often amusing and always intensely entertaining and readable, the first volume of David Kynaston's ambitious history offers an entirely fresh perspective on Britain during those six momentous years.

This book is an analysis of the dilemmas confronting the communist party after Stalin’s death in 1953. It focuses on how ordinary citizens received and reacted to the policy of the party and the state. It is also the history of people who, driven by disillusion, despair, and anger, either withdrew from the public sphere and thus demonstrated passive resistance to the regime or, on the contrary, chose to demonstrate actively in prisoners’ rebellions and workers’ unrest.

It is only with the benefit of hindsight that the Germans have become acutely aware of how profound and comprehensive was the impact of the United States on their society after 1945.This volume reflect the ubiquitousness of this impact and examines the German responses to it.

Contributions by well-known scholars cover politics, industry, social life and mass culture.

More than forty years on the throne have given King Hussein and the Hashemite Kingdom an aura of security, stability and permanence. In the face of numerous enemies and adversaries, Hussein's resilience has remained constant. From Abdullah to Hussein examines the most turbulent period in the history of Jordan's ruling house, the six years following the assassination of the kingdom's founder, Abdullah, in 1951. Those years witnessed the country's lone episode of weak monarchy, when the king - the novice Hussein or his ill-starred father, Talal - was not the preeminent political actor in the land. Rather, it was during that time that the regime was left in the hands of a mix of Palestinian, Transjordanian, and Circassian royalists who had never before wielded executive authority inside the kingdom. Based on exclusive interviews, including two sessions with King Hussein, and newly released archival resources from the United States, Britain, Israel and Jordan, the book traces the only two royal successions in Jordanian history: the eleven-month reign of the little-known Talal, and the early years of King Hussein. Throughout, it chronicles the relationship between King and "King's men" that saw Jordan pull itself back from the brink of political disaster and permitted young Hussein to restore a ruling coalition of King, Government and Army that has remained the foundation of the regime ever since. The first scholarly examination of the transition from Abdullah to Talal to King Hussein, this book takes an in-depth look at domestic politics inside Jordan, including the kingdom's early efforts at multi-party elections. It will be of great interest to historians, scholars, and students of themodern Arab world.

This book is the first detailed account of Britain's East of Suez decision, which was taken by the Harold Wilson Government in 1967-68. Contrary to received opinion, the author argues that the decision was not taken hastily as a result of the November 1967 devaluation. Nor is there any hard evidence to support the notion that there existed a "Pound-Defense" deal with the US. Despite Washington's pressure to maintain Britain's East of Suez role, the decision was taken by the Labor Government on the basis of a long-term effort to re-examine Britain's world role since 1959, and it marked the end of an era for postwar Britain.

This text offers a concise and accessible coverage of the historical background, the organization and policies of the 15 social democratic parties in the European Union with a focus on the 1945-1990s period. It combines an updated study of the evolution of each party's ideology, sociology and policies, with attention also to the impact of European integration on the fortunes of social democratic forces. The book can be used as a reference text by academics, students and political practitioners and contains contact details and reference information for each party.;The book is aimed at departments of politics (European politics, politics of European Union, comparative politics and government, political ideology), sociology, history, European studies; trade unions, Left political parties in EU; political commentators, journalists, and party research centres.

In the early 1950s, the frail septuagenarian Iranian prime minister shook the world, challenging superpower Britain by nationalizing the British-run oil industries in Iran. His name was Doctor Mohammad Mosaddeq. His subsequent downfall in August 1953 changed the course of Iranian history, and remains a haunting memory for the people of Iran today. The British and American governments collaborated in a plot to remove Mosaddeq but which nonetheless failed to ignite. However, days afterwards, amid violent street disturbances, Mosaddeq's government did indeed fall. So, for half a century the conventional wisdom attributed the events of 19th August 1953 to foul play by the CIA and a myth of CIA power and success was created that has mesmerized opinion ever since and cast a shadow over Iran's continuingly troubled relations with America. This path breaking study unearths new documentary evidence to suggest the truth lies elsewhere and that Mosaddeq's fall actually took Washington and London by complete surprise. The author provides compelling evidence to suggest that the toppling of Mosaddeq was rooted primarily in internal Iranian dynamics and that prominent clerics of the time, notably the grand Shiite Marja of the time, Ayatollah Boroujerdi, played a crucial role.

This book reconsiders the Chinese Cultural Revolution from the perspective of the current economic and political climate. With contributions from leading international scholars, this volume brings together the latest research on explanations for China's revolution and its legacy.

The introduction examines the Russian Federation as a whole, and consists of an essay written by an acknowledged expert focusing on the evolution of the relationship between the central state and the regions, followed by a chronology, demographic and economic statistics, and a review of the Federal Government. The second section comprises territorial surveys, with a chapter on each of Russia's federal subjects, each of which includes a current map. The third and fourth parts comprise a select bibliography of books and indexes, listing the territories alphabetically, with a gazetteer of alternative names, and by both Federal Okrug and Economic Area. Key features: comprehensive overview of the Russian Federation offers an analysis and understanding of the country's regional dimension invaluable directories of important territorial contacts detailed and accurate political, economic and statistical information some eighty-five current maps extensive information from a wide variety of sources, many of which are otherwise unavailable in English.

'...her short analysis of the Iranian armed forces in the 1980s is first-rate, so too is her much more substantial section on women and the state in Iran...As well as offering useful insights into the workings of the Islamic state in Iran, this readable book also provides a warning of the struggles ahead in many other Muslim societies.' - Anoushiravan Ehteshami, Times Higher Education Supplement ;Islam has been the driving force shaping the ideology and the power base of the Iranian revolution. This volume engages critically with the Islamic perspective and promises offered by the revolution. Looking at the rise of the religious institution as a revolutionary force, the author observes their post-revolutionary policies in the domains of politics, economics, education, the armed forces and women's status. In the event, the volume demonstrates that the Iranian government has failed to deliver on most, if not all, of its Islamic pledges.