In the heady days of the Cold War, when the Bomb loomed large in the ruminations of Washington's wise men, policy intellectuals flocked to the home of Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter to discuss deterrence and doomsday. The Cold World They Made takes a fresh look at the original power couple of strategic studies. Seeking to unravel the complex tapestry of the Wohlstetters' world and worldview, Ron Robin reveals fascinating insights into an unlikely husband-and-wife pair who, at the height of the most dangerous military standoff in history, gained access to the deepest corridors of American power. The author of such classic Cold War treatises as "The Delicate Balance of Terror," Albert Wohlstetter is remembered for advocating an aggressive brinksmanship that stood in stark contrast with what he saw as weak and indecisive policies of Soviet containment. Yet Albert's ideas built crucially on insights gleaned from his wife. Robin makes a strong case for the Wohlstetters as a team of intellectual equals, showing how Roberta's scholarship was foundational to what became known as the Wohlstetter Doctrine. Together at RAND Corporation, Albert and Roberta crafted a mesmerizing vision of the Soviet threat, theorizing ways for the United States to emerge victorious in a thermonuclear exchange. Far from dwindling into irrelevance after the Cold War, the torch of the Wohlstetters' intellectual legacy was kept alive by well-placed disciples in George W. Bush's administration. Through their ideological heirs, the Wohlstetters' signature combination of brilliance and hubris continues to shape American policies.

Originally published in 1990, Signs of Change assess the people of San Francisco according to their own demonstrative standards through the visual symbols. Special attention is devoted to the visual perceptions of immigrants, those whose senses were not smothered by over-familiarity or protracted compliance with American mores. Immigration history is often studied in the concentrate exclusively on narrow connections between newcomers and their urban surroundings. The city has served as a data-base for the study of specific immigrant communities; frequently it has provided mere background for cloistered studies of immigrant life.

Originally published in 1990, Signs of Change assess the people of San Francisco according to their own demonstrative standards through the visual symbols. Special attention is devoted to the visual perceptions of immigrants, those whose senses were not smothered by over-familiarity or protracted compliance with American mores. Immigration history is often studied in the concentrate exclusively on narrow connections between newcomers and their urban surroundings. The city has served as a data-base for the study of specific immigrant communities; frequently it has provided mere background for cloistered studies of immigrant life.

"Ron Robin's "Scandals and Scoundrels is a clever provocation but more: It opens into a fascinating tour through treacherous postmodern territories, culminating in an economical explanation for what he calls 'the inflation in deviancy spectacles, ' all in stylish prose, no mystification added."--Todd Gitlin, author of "Letters to a Young Activist

"An engrossing and convincing account of how the academic professions have lost much of their jurisdiction for disputes about scholarly integrity to popular media that prefer contentious litigation to patient, reasoned deliberation."--David A. Hollinger, author of "Postethnic America: Beyond Multiculturalism

"Robin proposes a new way of thinking about the radically shifting nature of academic disciplines by using a set of recent controversies to explore the current state of society itself. Wonderfully readable, this is a book which should have a large and appreciative audience."--Marilyn Young, author of "The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990

"Robin presents a rather distressing picture of the academy as its boundaries have become more and more blurred and its standards indistinguishable from those of the rest of society. Cases of intellectual dishonesty and lack of professional integrity have often become sensational news, conveying a picture of academic corruption to the wider world, even as the latter has induced scholars to commodify their research and writing to suit its tastes. It is a fascinating story that says as much about contemporary society and culture as about the academic disciplines."--Akira Iriye, author of "Global Community