This is an analysis of higher education in the past half century, a period of dramatic change and democratization. But it is more than that. The author has been a participant in the struggle to stem the decline in higher education, as it moved from an emphasis on classical liberal values toward relativism and ideological extremism. This volume reflects an awareness of what has been lost, but sees hope for a revival of traditional values as technological change and awareness of failure forces institutions to examine their premise. Herbert I. London has provided here fuel for fundamental redirection in American college and university affairs. Decline and Revival in Higher Education is uncompromising in its concerns, but points the way toward a future linked to the best of the past. The work follows the personal evolution of the author, while at the same time, describes the devolution of university standards in such institutions as Columbia, Duke, the University of California at Berkeley, and New York University. While seeing optimistic trends in oases of traditional programming that can serve as a counterweight to campus orthodoxies, London argues that the dramatic transformation of the academy cannot be denied. The social sciences and humanities in particular have become isolated from mainstream requirements in the nation. London deals with concrete concerns, such as the collapse of classic book programs in the contemporary curriculum, the decline and even vigilante raids on opposition in campus publications, the collapse of moral judgment in favor of pure relativism, the transformation of many museums into a storage houses of debris, and the confusion of coarse language with democratization. These developments lead the author to write this book, for if the culture wars are over, the American people may be the losers.

On the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970s, New York City has been restored as a center of economic and cultural vitality in the 1980s. But it has also become an increasingly brutal place, where incivility reigns, drugs lace the streets, and crime is so pervasive that most New Yorkers now consider it a permanent fixture, like gray skies and impossible traffic. What is it that continues to draw people to this city of contradictions?Born and educated in New York, Herbert London knows this city of dreams as few do. The Broken Apple is based on his keen observations of New York's social, political, and cultural life over the critical decade of the 1980s. London examines the city's continuing failures, including a city administration unable to meet the most basic citizen needs or to assure safety and security. He sees schools that have become mean-spirited, with teachers unable to teach, administrators unable to maintain order, and students unable to learn. He describes the new slaves of New York as those in search of a place to live, in a city where housing is in shorter supply than in any other major city in the nation. London asks why, despite all this, everything is bigger than life in New York, and finds the answer in New York's role as the nation's communications hub and the measuring rod by which other cities are judged.London writes with knowledgeable affection about this very special place, where the mundane is freely converted into the metaphorical. His book is an excursion, a guide to what is good, what is bad, and what is awful in the city. It is a montage of the years of Mayor Koch, the period many have described as the city's fin de siecle. But it is also a perscriptive book, pointing out what can be done in practical ways to improve life.The Broken Apple will be of interest to urban specialists as well as those for whom New York is an aspiration or a reality. Like the city itself, the book has something for everyone, from visions of political corruption to acts of redemption. Above all, it captures the pulsating rhythm of this unique city

The Transformational Decade shows the transformation that took place in American life from the attack on the World Trade Center to the emergence of the Obama presidency. It is not a strict history, but rather snapshots of a decade that has fundamentally altered perceptions of the United States. In some respects, this book is modeled after Frederick Lewis Allen's Only Yesterday and Since Yesterday, acclaimed books that sought to capture the spirit of the 1920s and '30s. London sees the period from 2001 to 2008 as "post yesterday," a period that broke with the past, challenged the essence of the free market, and contested America's role on the world stage. In an effort to limn these snapshots from recent history, London has written several "decade" books: The Overheated Decade, The Counterfeit Decade, and The Decade of Denial. This book, The Transformational Decade, differs in that it represents a separation from the past. London illuminates a decade that he considers to be a new and more frightful period than any in recent American history.

Diary of a Dean is a memoir of Herbert London's years at New York University. It follows his personal path from professor and ombudsman to dean of a new "experimental" college. The period in question parallels a tumultuous era in higher education. London's experiences placed him in the eye of the academic hurricane. Although there was considerable debate about the content and nature of higher education in this overheated period, London attempted to maintain a balance between a traditional devotion to the canon of western civilization and emerging technologies and innovations that permit a flexible delivery of education. Maintaining this balance, as London's words indicate, was not easy. There were pressures from many quarters including, most significantly, the polarization of the faculty. Serving as a dean in an experimental college and, at the same time, remaining devoted to a Matthew Arnoldian view of the curriculum was not something he anticipated as a youthful professor. But for anyone eager to learn about the evolution of higher education in the last few decades, this book is indispensable reading.

From the day of its founding, Israel has been under attack-with tanks, rockets, and horrific terrorism against civilians. But despite it all, the Jewish State remained unbowed, and its democracy has become stronger as its adversaries have sunk deeper into poverty, political chaos, and totalitarian depravity. In need of new tactics, Israel's foes have opened up a new front: A well-funded, global campaign to demonize Israel as a racist, "Apartheid" state. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has captured the attentions of idealistic youth and dedicated radicals around the world, either unaware or uncaring that they are being cynically manipulated by Islamicists and their sympathizers in the West. An alliance of some of the worst state and non-state actors on the world stage, BDS represents an existential threat to the future of Israel-one that cannot be ignored by her or her allies. This is the first book that exposes the methods, motivations, underlying ideology, and sources of funding for the BDS movement. It is an indispensable guide to understanding how to defeat BDS in the media, on campus, and in public opinion.

The Middle East has long been one of the most volatile regions in the world, but with events of the recent past, it has gone from a slow burn to a dangerous conflagration. The civil war in Syria, the Arab Spring, and the looming threat of Iranian nuclear weapons pose a unique threat to world peace. The three most stable powers in the region--Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia--have long been bulwarks against regional instability and outright war. However, even these nations are feeling the threat of changing times, fueled as much by internal pressures as by U.S. disengagement and increased meddling by Russia and China. These nations represent a Sunni Vanguard, the last bastion of defense against terrorism, expansionism, and Islamic radicalism that, when combined, form the core of the greatest threat to the Middle East in generations. This volume explores the existential threats facing these allies--and evaluates whether they will be able to continue their historic roles as stabilizing forces in the region.