This is a scholarly assessment of broad-ranging research on the Vietnam War over the last seventeen years by the editor of the prize-winning Dictionary of the Vietnam War. James Olson and his contributors offer fascinating insights as they evaluate the significant literature, films, and TV programs, offering different perspectives on the historical background; strategy and conduct of the war; the perspectives of Americans, the Indochinese, women, minorities, and veterans; the impact of the war on the homefront; and major problems and issues in the aftermath of the war.

This one-volume major reference covers all genres of literature, primary and secondary sources, personal narratives and oral histories, fiction and non-fiction, popular accounts, expert studies of military strategy and operations, Indochinese studies, books about the involvement and role of women and blacks, and discussions about Indochinese refugees, prisoners of war, those missing in action, veterans and post-traumatic shock. Films, TV programs, comic books and studies pointing to the effect of the war on the homefront and on others make up an important part of the book. A full index makes the volume easily accessible to students, scholars, and professionals in military studies, American and world history, American studies and popular culture, political science and international relations--an important acquisition for libraries of all kind.

Perhaps the twentieth century's most revered presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan could not seem more different as standard-bearers of liberal and conservative revolutions. But, as John Sloan demonstrates, they were more similar than most people suppose.

One rising out of the Great Depression and the self-defeating efforts of Herbert Hoover, the other out of the malaise of the 1970s and the failings of Jimmy Carter, both these presidents entered office with a mandate for change and oversaw a quantum shift in the national psyche. And while everyone takes their clashing visions for granted, Sloan demonstrates that these two very different presidents shared an ability to replace exhausted old leadership with a genuinely new vision.

FDR and Reagan is a study of how old regimes unravel, how new ones are constructed, and how the political system is rejuvenated. Adapting noted presidential scholar Stephen Skowronek's framework, Sloan analyzes how two iconic "reconstructive" presidents redefined the country's fundamental philosophy, priorities, and policies as he weighs their similarities, differences, and impacts. He compares their lives, core policies, and leadership traits and shows that today's politics and policies are still heavily influenced by these key presidencies.

Each of these men transformed the way Americans thought about the legitimate role of government, whether providing more security for citizens or stepping back from federal regulation. But, as Sloan reminds us, the new order never totally destroys the old-reconstructive presidents never completely eradicate the ideas and programs associated with the regime they replaced. Big business survived the New Deal, just as the welfare state weathered the Reagan Revolution.

As with other transformative presidents before them, the words and deeds of FDR and Reagan have taken on nearly mythical significance; yet Americans remain torn between the economic security offered by one and the economic freedom championed by the other. Sloan's book helps readers see through this contradiction and better understand the decisive role of presidents in promoting national progress.

In the spring of 1989, millions of citizens across China took to the streets in a nationwide uprising against government corruption and authoritarian rule. What began with widespread hope for political reform ended with the People's Liberation Army firing on unarmed citizens in the capital city of Beijing, and those leaders who survived the crackdown became wanted criminals overnight. Among the witnesses to this unprecedented popular movement was Rowena Xiaoqing He, who would later join former student leaders and other exiles in North America, where she has worked tirelessly for over a decade to keep the memory of the Tiananmen Movement alive. This moving oral history interweaves He's own experiences with the accounts of three student leaders exiled from China. Here, in their own words, they describe their childhoods during Mao's Cultural Revolution, their political activism, the bitter disappointments of 1989, and the profound contradictions and challenges they face as exiles. Variously labeled as heroes, victims, and traitors in the years after Tiananmen, these individuals tell difficult stories of thwarted ideals and disconnection, but that nonetheless embody the hope for a freer China and a more just world.

The Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited is a comprehensive overview of the great cornucopia of new materials recently released by the Soviet Union, United States, and Cuba. The authors, some of whom were participants in the crisis, have all had a major role in bringing to light either significant reevaluations of the crisis, or in some cases, truly startling revelations of the extant wisdom surrounding much of the crisis. The collection, edited by a long-time student of the crisis, is a coherent, original, and up-to-date work that bears on a moment when the world, for good cause, held its breath in fear that the morning might bring the apocalypse.

China's dramatic economic transformation can only be understood in relation to her modern history. David Pyle reviews the post-1978 reform process in the context of two centuries of Chinese economic, social and political history. Agricultural, industrial and financial reforms and the attraction of foreign trade and direct investment are analysed in detail. The conclusion compares China's gradualist approach with the 'big bang' of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, examining China's prospects and the lessons to be learnt elsewhere. 4

The question of the Italian colonies played an important part in the breakdown of Allied cooperation after the Second World War. Britain and the United States were closely involved in this question, yet their respective roles have not received the detailed historical attention which they merit. Based on extensive research in British and American archives, this book will analyze British and US policy on this question within its Cold War context.

"The Pragmatic Entente" is the first comprehensive work on the long standing yet ever changing relationship between Israel and Iran. Sohrab Sobhani draws on the experience and first hand accounts of those individuals involved in Israeli-Iranian relations before and after the 1979 arrival of Khomeini in Tehran. He studies this relationship against the complex background of Middle East politics. Sobhani interviews many former Iranian officials and reveals much new information explaining why Iran and Israel act the way they do and why their interests have converged over the last forty years. The book traces the principle trends in the emergence of the relationship between the two countries and identifies the main factors leading to both continuity and change in their relations. Organized in chronological order, The Pragmatic Entente concludes with a discussion of future Israeli-Iranian relations, examining the reasons why the Tehran-Tel Aviv axis will continue to be an enduring feature of the Middle Eastern power configuration.

The book begins with a discussion of the origins of Israeli-Iranian relations which existed at first in order to aid Iraqi Jews in relocation to Israel. Sobhani goes on to discuss how Iran's religious right used the issue of Israel's recognition by Iran as a political weapon against the central government. Further chapters examine in depth: the Israeli-Iranian alliance against radical Arab states; support of Kurdish rebels inside Iraq; the implications of the 1973 Yom Kippur War; British withdrawal from the Persian Gulf; an Israeli-Iranian plan to develop missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Policymakers as well as students and scholars of Middle Eastern politics will find "The Pragmatic Entente" stimulating reading.

How did a top American diplomat's contrarian views on United States Cold War foreign policy remain largely ignored over the course of four administrations? Dauer provides an in-depth analysis of the role of dissent in the formulation of American foreign policy in this examination of the diplomatic career of Chester Bowles, under secretary of state during the Kennedy administration and twice ambassador to India. Based on extensive research in Bowles's personal papers, the National Archives, and presidential libraries, the book evaluates Bowles's views and why the foreign policy establishment largely disregarded them. Based on the private papers of Chester Bowles, as well as government sources, this book examines the worldview of Chester Bowles, a businessman, governor, congressman, and ambassador who participated in the making of U.S. Cold War foreign policy for nearly two decades. After acquiring a personal during the Great Depression and entering public service for one reform term as governor of Connecticut, Bowles became President Harry Truman's ambassador to India from 1951 to 1953. Named by President John F. Kennedy to be under secretary of state in December 1960, he subsequently sought to moderate the hard-line Cold War positions of the presidential administrations he served. He opposed the nuclear arms race, sympathized with LDC neutralism, argued against U.S. participation in the Vietnam War as early as the mid-1950s, voiced vigorous opposition to the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion, and consistently sought more economic aid for India. Bowles's failure to attract much support for his advice was the product of his own personality defects, his curious unwillingness to engage inbureaucratic infighting, his refusal to see the world as merely a stage for the conflict between international communism and American democratic-capitalism, and presidential administrations either unwilling or unable to consider new approaches to the Cold War. Although Bowles was in many ways a "Cold Warrior," his sensitivity to the concerns of neutralism, especially in Asia, and "moral compass" largely missing from the calculations of the administrations he served, made him a voice that should have been considered more seriously by the administrations he served. Students of the problems of dissent and formulation of American foreign policy will find this book invaluable.

With full color maps and illustrations. Center of Military History publication 59-2-1. Global War on Terrorism Series. This first in-depth study of counterinsurgency operations in Iraq during the troop surge examines the war in the Multi-National Division-Center, an area of operations established in the spring of 2007 to focus on the insurgent sanctuaries and supply lines south of the Iraqi capital. It provides a valuable perspective for the ongoing counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This book demonstrates how the two adversaries of the Cold War, West Germany and East Germany, endeavored to create two distinct and unique German identities. This proved to be a complicated process whereby two newly created German states chose myths from another country located in another hemisphere to come to terms with their own recent past and articulate a vision for a better future. Amidst the Cold War rivalry and in facing the troubling Nazi past, Karl May Westerns became the quintessence of the German Western tradition and provided essential understanding of German-Indian relations. Furthermore, the production of Karl May films instantaneously triggered the production of Westerns in East Germany which proved tremendously popular. In their endeavor to claim legitimacy, the German cinematic representation of the American West became an important cultural weapon of mass dissemination during the Cold War. While attempting to portray what it meant to be German, the competition between the two German states resulted in the creation of transnational productions, with transnational heroes, in a transnational setting, eagerly embraced on both sides of the Iron Curtain as their own.

This book examines a key period in the formation of modern Egypt, the early years of military rule following the coup of 1952. The Free Officers, a secret organization of junior officers, overthrew Egypt's parliamentary regime in July 1952 and over the next few years consolidated their rule, brutally suppressing alternative political movements. Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the young officers, emerged as the leader of the military junta and launched an ambitious program for economic development, making Egypt a leader in Arab, African, and non-aligned politics, as well as a model for political mobilization and national development throughout the Third World. Focusing on the goals, programs, successes, and failures of the young regime, Gordon provides the most comprehensive account of the Egyptian revolution to date. Besides bringing to light newly opened American and British sources on the period, Gordon's book is also informed by interviews he conducted with a number of actors and observers of the events.

In this fascinating study, Carolyn Kitching examines the role which Britain played at the Geneva Disarmament Conference, an event which marked a watershed in inter-war international relations. Failure to reach agreement in Geneva hastened the collapse of the Treaty of Versailles, and gave the green light for German re-armament. Britain was arguably the only Power capable of mediating between conflicting French and German demands over the Treaty's disarmament clauses, and this analysis reveals that the traditional interpretation of British policy at the conference needs to be drastically revised.

The American Woman is an established, widely respected series on the status of American women, prepared biennially by the Women’s Research and Education Institute (WREI). The purpose of the series is to provide an important, convenient, and timely source of “user-friendly” information on American women to the media, students and scholars, advocates for women’s equity, and policymakers. Each edition of the series focuses on a particular theme, and the ninth edition addresses the status of young women between the ages of 25 and 35. Contributors – all experts in their fields – explore the opportunities and challenges confronting the young women who are the daughters of the baby boom generation. The focus on young women brings into sharp relief how much has changed since the 1970s. The volume also contains a comprehensive statistical portrait of women of all ages, including user-friendly tables and figures that provide readers with the hard numbers underlying the trends shaping the experiences of women of all ages.

The 1960s were a time of explosive religious change. In the Christian churches, it was a time of innovation, from the "new theology" and "new morality" of Bishop Robinson to the evangelicalism of the Charismatic Movement, and of charismatic leaders such as Pope John XXIII and Martin Luther King. But it was also a time of rapid social and cultural change when Christianity faced challenges from Eastern religions, from Marxism and feminism, and above all from new "affluent" lifestyles. Hugh McLeod tells in detail, using oral history, how these movements and conflicts were experienced in England, but because the Sixties were an international phenomenon, he looks at other countries as well, especially the U.S. and France. McLeod explains what happened to religion in the 1960s, why it happened, and how the events of that decade shaped the rest of the 20th century.

Performance offers a distinct way to assess how the young come into consciousness of their social identities and how they may reformulate their relationships based on ethical values rather than ethical associations. This book focuses on community reformation in post-war Bosnia through devised theater and theatrical facilitation in Israel/Palestine.

The nuclear disarmament movement of the late '50s and early '60s was one of the largest and arguably one of the most significant, extra-parliamentary movements ever seen in modern Britain. A whole new style and conception of politics was born through this first anti-nuclear movement, and the subsequent radicalism of the '60s and '70s has its roots here. The movement was extraordinarily diverse and rich in its constituencies of support and complex in its ideological make-up. Thus anarchists, communists, and Trotskyists rubbed shoulders with Christians, liberals, members of the Labour party, and 'ordinary apolitical people', most of whom found in the movement a means by which they could articulate their growing fear and anxiety about the seemingly inexorable arms race, and the horror of nuclear war. Dr Taylor analyses the perceptions of these groups in detail and explains how and why they differed. This is the first comprehensive study of the movement to make use of a wide range of contemporary material, and the first to present in detail the previously unrecorded views and analyses of more than twenty of the leading figures of the movement some twenty-five years on. Although he provides a wealth of historical detail, Dr Taylor's approach is primarily political and analytical, and his examination of this first mass movement of its kind will be relevant to all those concerned about nuclear proliferation, as well as to courses in politics, sociology, modern history and peace studies.

A reappraisal of Sir Anthony Eden's conduct of foreign relations during the Suez crisis of 1956, This book challenges previous assumptions and demonstrates that Eden was not as bellicose as has been alleged. It traces his conduct of crisis management, from July until his decision to use force on 14 October, focusing on the Prime Minister's personality and influences. It details the confusion and failed attempts at negotiation that eventually culminated in the reluctant gamble.

This study demonstrates that Syria's role in the Middle East has been, since 1974, an unabated terrorist war against all attempts to resolve peacefully the Arab-Israeli conflict. Marius Deeb provides evidence that Syria's role in Lebanon, since 1975, has been to perpetuate the conflict among the various Lebanese communities in order to keep its domination of Lebanon

This is the only available book on the Congo war, the most important current conflict in Africa. Two chapters situate the war in its historical and theoretical context, while others survey the interests of the Congolese government, of the rebel groups, and of intervening states in the war. These chapters reveal the underlying sources of the war and explain the strategies of the various combatants. Other chapters examine the impact of the war on neighboring countries, individual citizens, refugees, and other non-state actors in the zone of conflict and beyond.

This is a biography of Sir Humphrey Gibbs, an upper-class Englishman who settled in Southern Rhodesia soon after it became a self-governing colony. He was a leading farmer and churchman, an MP, and eventually Governor of the country. In 1964 the Rhodesian Front declared UDI, but he remained at his post in Government House for a further five years, and was a conduit for negotiations between the British Government and the rebel regime.

many studies have examined John Foster Dulles' role as secretary of state during the Eisenhower Administration, few works have concentrated on his involvement with international organization. This book examines the evolution of Dulles' thought on international organization and his actual involvement with international organization from 1919 until his death in 1959. It reveals that Dulles' earlier experiences played an important role in shaping his policymaking, but that in the mid-1940s his conception of the international system underwent a major change that affected his later thought on international organization.

This book provides a study of the war by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to create a separate state in Sri Lanka. It examines the ways in which this war should, in principle, have invoked 'Responsibility to Protect' principles, as well as the political, legal and practical problems involved and, ultimately, why the international community failed to act. Over the years there have been several events, including those in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Darfur, and Kosovo, that have led the international community to accept a responsibility to protect. However, despite its overwhelming preliminary endorsement, the principles of this concept are still not universally sanctioned and there are some strong international opponents, including some countries that were initial signatories of the convention. By considering the example of Sri Lanka, the text focuses on what conditions could satisfy or demand the application of responsibility to protect. It further presents a case as to why this conflict was, and may still be, the normative responsibility of the international community. Sri Lanka and the Responsibility to Protect will be of great interest to students of South-East Asian politics, human rights, international law, ethnic conflict, security studies and IR in general.

This book presents a provocative reinterpretation of recent political history. In this pioneering exploration of the interplay between liberalism and black nationalism, Devin Fergus returns to the tumultuous era of Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Helms and challenges us to see familiar political developments through a new lens. What if the liberal coalition, instead of being torn apart by the demands of Black Power, actually engaged in a productive relationship with radical upstarts, absorbing black separatists into the political mainstream and keeping them from a more violent path? What if the New Right arose not only in response to Great Society Democrats but, as significantly, in reaction to Republican moderates who sought compromise with black nationalists through conduits like the Blacks for Nixon movement? Focusing especially on North Carolina, a progressive southern state and a national center of Black Power activism, Fergus reveals how liberal engagement helped to bring a radical civic ideology back from the brink of political violence and social nihilism. He covers Malcolm X Liberation University and Soul Town, two largely forgotten, federally funded black nationalist experiments; the political scene in Winston-Salem, where Black Panthers were elected to office in surprising numbers; and the liberal-nationalist coalition that formed in 1974 to defend Joan Little, a black prisoner who killed a guard she accused of raping her. Throughout, Fergus charts new territory in the study of America's recent past, taking up largely unexplored topics such as the expanding political role of institutions like the ACLU and the Ford Foundation and the emergence of sexual violence as a political issue. He also urges American historians to think globally by drawing comparisons between black nationalism in the United States and other separatist movements around the world. By 1980, Fergus writes, black radicals and their offspring were 'more likely to petition Congress than blow it up.' That liberals engaged black radicalism at all, however, was enough for New Right insurgents to paint liberalism as an effete, anti-American ideology - a sentiment that has had lasting appeal to significant numbers of voters.