"Nickel On The Grass" is a series of vignettes that capture the life of an extraordinary aviator, fighter pilot and leader, Colonel Phil Handley. In a career that spanned 26 years "Hands" earned a reputation as an exceptional pilot and leader in war and peace. I do not know anybody who served with him who does not admire him for his dedication, integrity and courage. The central theme of the stories he relates is that the fraternity of true fighter pilots is made up of men who share a love of adventure, have exceptional flying skills, are willing to risk all rather than admit defeat and believe earning the respect of their peers is their greatest accomplishment. The really good ones possess a sixth sense about people and machines that gives them an edge over mere mortals in the air and on the ground. This is a book about a man who lived most of the stories and counts among his friends and acquaintances the central characters in the others. It has been my privilege to have been his friend and fellow fighter pilot for the past 30 years. General Ron Fogleman, USAF, Ret. Chief of Staff, USAF, 1994-1997

This book looks into the role played by mediated communication, particularly new and social media, in shaping various forms of struggles around power, identity and religion at a time when the Arab world is going through an unprecedented period of turmoil and upheaval. The book provides unique and multifocal perspectives on how new forms of communication remain at the centre of historical transformations in the region. The key focus of this book is not to ascertain the extent to which new communication technologies have generated the Arab spring or led to its aftermaths, but instead question how we can better understand many types of articulations between communication technologies, on the one hand, and forms of resistance, collective action, and modes of expression that have contributed to the recent uprisings and continue to shape the social and political upheavals in the region on the other. The book presents original perspectives and rigorous analysis by specialists and academics from around the world that will certainly enrich the debate around major issues raised by recent historical events.

A comprehensive look at how the 'establishment' responded to the Italian student revolt of 1968. Using oral interviews, media analysis and archival evidence, the book explores the reactions of those who became the frequent targets of student protests - professors, police, activists' parents, the clergy, journalists, lawyers and auto workers.

This 1995 book is a general study of politics and society in the Fourth Republic and is founded on extensive primary research. It approaches the period in terms of successful conservatism rather than thwarted reform, maintaining that conservatism in France was a more subtle, dynamic force than has previously been appreciated. Not the preserve of any one single party, conservative ideas were often defended by institutions outside the realm of explicit politics altogether, such as business associations, civil service departments and the law courts. It is proposed that conservatives did not simply return to French politics in 1945 untouched by the events of the previous five years. The experiences of Vichy, the occupation and the purges produced new kinds of political synthesis, making conservatives more dynamic and receptive to change than their 'progressive' opponents.

Drawing on recently declassified government files, private papers and interviews, this book argues that through a combination of preventative diplomacy and robust defence planning, the Labour government of 1974-79 succeeded in maintaining peace, avoiding the fate of its Tory successors.

This book reproduces the original 1937 founding pamphlet of Mass-Observation - the compelling social research project that ran for decades in the mid-20th century - with expert commentary throughout. It also features brand new supporting essays by and informative interviews with prominent scholars of Mass-Observation which reflect on the organisation, its origins and its influence on multiple academic disciplines, including history, sociology and anthropology. An introductory essay by the editor synthesizes the arguments of this material, as well as contributing vital historical context and suggestions for ways in which other disciplines might benefit from the use of Mass-Observation approaches and archival material. There is also a chronology of Mass-Observation, its publications and major figures associated with it. Mass-Observation offers an unparalleled wealth of insights into the lived experiences of Britons in the 20th century and this volume provides the best introduction to it available, familiarizing you with both the original Mass-Observation aims and what value this fascinating material carries for us today.

In Rwanda's Genocide , Kingsley Moghalu provides an engrossing account and analysis of the international political brinkmanship embedded in the quest for international justice for Rwanda's genocide. He takes us behind the scenes to the political and strategic factors that shaped a path-breaking war crimes tribunal and demonstrates why the trials at Arusha, like Nuremberg, Tokyo, and the Hague, are more than just prosecutions of culprits, but also politics by other means. This is the first serious book on the politics of justice for Rwanda's genocide. Moghalu tells this gripping story with the authority of an insider, elegant and engaging writing, and intellectual mastery of the subject matter.

The historic myths of a people/nation usually play an important role in the creation and consolidation of the basic concepts from which the self-image of that nation derives. These concepts include not only images of the nation itself, but also images of other peoples. Although the construction of ethnic stereotypes during the "long" nineteenth century initially had other functions than simply the homogenization of the particular culture and the exclusion of "others" from the public sphere, the evaluation of peoples according to criteria that included "level of civilization" yielded "rankings" of ethnic groups within the Habsburg Monarchy. That provided the basis for later, more divisive ethnic characterizations of exclusive nationalism, as addressed in this volume that examines the roots and results of ethnic, nationalist, and racial conflict in the region from a variety of historical and theoretical perspectives.

This book aims to fill some of the gaps in historical narrative about labor unions, Nigerian leftists, and decolonization during the twentieth century. It emphasizes the significance of labor union education in British decolonization, labor unionism, and British efforts at modernizing the human resources of Nigeria.

In keeping with the tenets of socialist internationalism, the political culture of the German Democratic Republic strongly emphasized solidarity with the non-white world: children sent telegrams to Angela Davis in prison, workers made contributions from their wages to relief efforts in Vietnam and Angola, and the deaths of Patrice Lumumba, Ho Chi Minh, and Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired public memorials. Despite their prominence, however, scholars have rarely examined such displays in detail. Through a series of illuminating historical investigations, this volume deploys archival research, ethnography, and a variety of other interdisciplinary tools to explore the rhetoric and reality of East German internationalism.

Japan is one of the world's most important societies, yet remains one of the least understood. This book is designed to fill the gap for a concise but thought-provoking introduction to all aspects of the country's political, economic and social life set in a clear historical context. The author's starting-point is that the study of Japan is 'contested territory' where even such apparently simple questions such as 'Who is in charge?' spark considerable disagreement and controversy among experts. To understand contemporary Japan, Duncan McCargo argues, it is necessary to get to grips with a range of different perspectives on Japanese political and social structures. Integrating contrasting perspectives throughout, the core chapters of the book focus on the changing economy, government and politics, society and culture, and Japan's place in the wider world. The new third edition of this popular text has been fully revised and updated throughout to cover key developments such as the historic end of LDP rule in 2009. This accessible and lively book will be essential reading both for students and general readers who want to know more about this important country.

This offers an alternative to the colonialist and nationalist explanations of the Mau Mau revolt, examining a widely studied period of Kenyan history from a new perspective.

This volume brings together essays written over three decades on Bolivian history and politics. The book opens with a contemporary survey of the new government of the MAS headed by Evo Morales. Subsequent chapters review the neoliberal experiments of the 1980s and 1990s, the strategic and intellectual failures of Che Guevaras guerrilla foco; the origins of the Revolution of 1952; explanations for the dominance of the caudillos of the 19th century; and the extraordinary story of Francisco Burdett OConnor, whose life combined liberation struggles on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Vietnam War marked the first time in history that the United States did not achieve its central goal in going to war. This analysis of the causes, events, and legacy of the war in Vietnam is designed for high school and college student research into a war whose economic, political, and social consequences are still being felt today. Students today cannot understand Americans' present cynicism about government, loss of faith in political officials, and reluctance to become involved militarily in distant areas of the world without understanding the causes and legacy of the war that changed Americans' perception of their country and its role in the world.

Written by an expert on the Vietnam War, this book features an introductory narrative overview of the war incorporating the most recent scholarship and seven topical essays. Ready-reference features include a chronology of events, lengthy biographical profiles of twenty-one major players, the text of twenty-four primary documents, including first-person accounts, poems, speeches, and government reports, a glossary of selected terms, and an annotated bibliography of recommended books, electronic resources, and feature and documentary films. This resource will help students gain a deeper understanding of the reasons for American involvement, the dramatic events of the war in which more than 58,000 Americans lost their lives, and the war's continuing legacy.

The Iran-Iraq War was personified by the determination and ambition of the key leaders, Saddam Hussein and Ayatollah Khomeini, and characterised by mass casualties, the repression of the civilian populations and chemical warfare. Fought with lucrative oil money, it left the belligerents with crippling debts.
In this important reappraisal, Rob Johnson explores the major issues surrounding the war, offers a fresh analysis of the military aspects and assesses the far-reaching consequences for the wider world. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the ensuing conflicts in the reqion, including the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

On September 30, 1965, six of Indonesia's highest ranking generals were killed in an effort by President Sukarno to crush an alleged coup. The events of that were part of a rapidly growing power struggle pro and anti-Communist factions. The elimination of the generals, however, did little to increase and preserve Sukarno's power, though, and he was stripped of the presidency in 1967. Hunt's work is a unique and original examination of the events that culminated on that night in September, 1965. It is the first detailed account of the Indonesian Coup that reveals the previously unknown workings of the PKI's ultra-secret Special Bureau, a clandestine organization within the Communist Party that may be the prototype of other similar entities that flourished around the world in the mid-50's and 60s. No such expose of secret communist organizations committed to covert killings of the top military or political leaders of the country has ever been published. She establishes beyond any doubt that the PKI, under Chairman Aidit's direction, using the capabilities of a secret organization within the PKI that only Aidit and a handful of trusted high-level members of the Communist Party even knew about, and, most importantly, acting with President Sukarno's full knowledge and approval, planned and then-dramatically-failed to execute a bold plan to kill the top leadership of the Army and proclaim a new socialist state under President Sukarno's leadership with PKI Chairman Aidit as his proclaimed successor. At the time of the coup, government analysts as well as non-government scholars were of two minds. Some, like the group at Cornell University, were convinced that the PKI (Indonesian CommunistParty) had not been involved, that the coup was the action mid-level army officers against the top leadership. That was the official line at the time. Others were convinced that the PKI alone had planned and executed the coup in its long-held desire to remove the pro-U.S. army leadership. No one at the time saw the hand of Indonesia's world-famous President Sukarno in the affair.

At midnight on October 2, 1990, the West German armed forces took over the approximately 90,000 men comprising the National People's (East German) Army (NVA) and assumed control of its substantial arsenal. This study is an analysis of that unification from its beginning in July 1990 to the end of summer of 1993 when all applications for future service of former NVA officers and non-commissioned officers had been processed. Using numerous un-published sources and interviews, the author addresses the following areas: the organization used by the Bundeswehr and the political control exerted in the Takeover, the key decisions reached and the explanation of these decisions, the relationship of the Takeover to the new Army Structure 5 being implemented at the time, and the effect of the Takeover on the Bundeswehr's operational readiness, especially its ability to perform its "new tasks" identified in the spring 1991. The first scholarly study of the Takeover, this study focuses on 11 key decisions, made not only for military reasons, but also for political, economic, social, and psychological purposes. Overall, the Takeover was a success in light of the numerous goals it achieved while avoiding the outbreak of violence. The Bundeswehr achieved this success mainly because it relied on liberal democratic principles, including those comprising the unique German concept of Innere Fuhrung (civic education and moral leadership). This book also provides an overall evaluation of the Takeover and contributes to theory-building on army amalgamations.

Scholarship on the history of West Germany's educational system has traditionally portrayed the postwar period of Allied occupation as a failure and the following decades as a time of pedagogical stagnation. Two decades after World War II, however, the Federal Republic had become a stable democracy, a member of NATO, and a close ally of the West. Had the schools really failed to contribute to this remarkable transformation of German society and political culture? This study persuasively argues that long before the protest movements of the late 1960s, the West German educational system was undergoing meaningful reform from within. Although politicians and intellectual elites paid little attention to education after 1945, administrators, teachers, and pupils initiated significant changes in schools at the local level. The work of these actors resulted in an array of democratic reforms that signaled a departure from the authoritarian and nationalistic legacies of the past. The establishment of exchange programs between the United States and West Germany, the formation of student government organizations and student newspapers, the publication of revised history and civics textbooks, the expansion of teacher training programs, and the creation of a Social Studies curriculum all contributed to the advent of a new German educational system following World War II. The subtle, incremental reforms inaugurated during the first two postwar decades prepared a new generation of young Germans for their responsibilities as citizens of a democratic state.

As a nominally neutral power during the Second World War, Sweden in the early postwar era has received comparatively little attention from historians. Nonetheless, as this definitive study shows, the war-and particularly the specter of Nazism-changed Swedish society profoundly. Prior to 1939, many Swedes shared an unmistakable affinity for German culture, and even after the outbreak of hostilities there remained prominent apologists for the Third Reich. After the Allied victory, however, Swedish intellectuals reframed Nazism as a discredited, distinctively German phenomenon rooted in militarism and Romanticism. Accordingly, Swedes' self-conception underwent a dramatic reformulation. From this interplay of suppressed traditions and bright dreams for the future, postwar Sweden emerged.

The United States in the Long Twentieth Century explores the nature of American politics and society in the period from 1900 to the present day, illuminating both the changes and the continuities. This was a period largely characterized by exceptional growth and international power, though one also assailed by the crises and divisions that Michael Heale carefully examines. A strength of the book is its integration of political with social history, and it thus explores a range of social, demographic and economic phenomena that have been central to American history in the long twentieth century, such as immigration and ethnicity, the labour, civil rights and environmental movements, and the role and achievements of women. This new and fully revised edition of the seminal student textbook Twentieth-Century America has been updated throughout to take recent scholarship in the field into account and also includes a number of important new features, including: - a brand new chapter on the years from 2000 onwards, covering 9/11, the financial crisis, and the rise of Barack Obama; - substantial revisions to Part III, covering 1969 to the present day, and in particular to the material on Reagan, Clinton, African Americans, immigrants, the growth of the financial sector and (de)regulation and global warming; one theme is the limits of conservatism and the resilience of liberalism; - greater emphasis on the United States in a transnational world and within the context of the rise of globalization. The United States in the Long Twentieth Century is a detailed guide to American political and social history since 1900 and an essential text for all students interested in the modern history of the United States of America.

This book explores Czechoslovakia's diplomatic relations with African states and places them within a wider Cold War historiography, providing contextual background information on the evolution of communist Czechoslovakia's pro-Soviet foreign policy orientation. This shift in Soviet foreign policy made Africa a priority for the Soviet bloc.

"Stalinist Reconstruction and the Conformation of a New Elite" looks at the postwar Stalin era through the eyes of industrial supervisors and offers a picture of the technical intelligentsia's transformation into the Soviet Union's social and political elite. Drawing from archives, newspapers, memoirs, and an array of secondary sources, the book reveals new aspects of the Stalin phenomenon and concludes that, contrary to prior assumptions, the late-Stalin years marked the Soviet Union's passage from the convulsion and disorder of revolution to the routinized professionalization common to most industrial societies.

Two years ago, when she was thirty years old, Anne Nivat decided to see first-hand what war was all about. Russia had just launched its second brutal campaign against Chechnya. And though the Russians strictly forbade Westerners from covering the war, the aspiring French journalist decided she would go.
There are two very real dangers in Chechnya: being arrested by the Russians and being kidnapped by the Chechens. Nivat strapped her satellite phone to her belly, disguised herself in the garb of a Chechen peasant, and sneaked across the border. She found a young guide, Islam, to lead her illegally through the war zone. For six months they followed the war, travelling with underground rebels and sleeping with Chechen families or in abandoned buildings. Anne trembled through air raids; walked through abandoned killing fields; and helped in the halls of bloody hospitals. She interviewed rebel leaders, government officials, young widows, and angry fighters, and she reported everything back to France. Her reports in "Liberation" led to antiwar demonstrations outside the Russian embassy in Paris.
Anne's words move. They are not florid, but terse, cool, dramatic. More than just a war correspondent's report, Chienne de Guerre is a moving story of struggle and self-discovery--the adventures of one young woman who repeatedly tests her own physical and psychological limits in the extremely dangerous and stressful environment of war.

In this innovative and original collection, people are seen as active agents in the development of new ways of understanding the past and creating histories for the present. Chapters explore forms of public history in which people's experience and understanding of their personal, national and local pasts are part of their current lives.