This book is about the demise of Communism in the USSR and a new Russia emerging to succeed the ailing Communist regime. It discusses a Russian national (or multinational) alternative to the virtually defunct ideology of Marxism-Leninism and an unstoppable withering away of the Communist state.

The first bibliography of its kind, Demography and Empire offers a comprehensive survey of recent literature in Spanish and in English pertaining to the population history of colonial Central America.

Vladislav Krasnov's book comes at the right moment to give American readers help in understanding the momentous changes taking place in the Russian heartland of the Soviet Union. What do they portend? When Western eyes were fiXed by the media on the Gorbachev phenomenon and the perestroika slogan, Dr. Krasnov was drawing our attention instead to the rapid coming of the "future beyond Gorbachev." His timely analysis looked past the vain attempt of this last of the Soviet Marxian princes at salvaging Communism and on to the new world being born today in the ancestral lands of Russia.

Research on the Central American colonial experience-long overshadowed by the scholarly focus on Mexico and Peru-has begun to blossom, greatly expanding our knowledge of land and life in the region under Spanish rule. The first bibliography of its kind, Demography and Empire offers a comprehensive survey of recent literature in Spanish and i

The conquest of Guatemala was brutal, prolonged and complex, fraught with intrigue and deception, and not at all clear-cut. Yet views persist of it as an armed confrontation whose stakes were evident and whose outcomes were decisive, especially in favor of the Spaniards. A critical reappraisal is long overdue, one that calls for us to reconsider events and circumstances in the light of not only new evidence but also keener awareness of indigenous roles in the drama. While acknowledging the prominent role played by Pedro de Alvarado (1485-1541), Strike Fear in the Land reexamines the conquest to give us a greater appreciation of indigenous involvement in it, and sustained opposition to it. Authors W. George Lovell, Christopher H. Lutz, and Wendy Kramer develop a fresh perspective on Alvarado as well as the alliances forged with native groups that facilitated Spanish objectives. The book reveals, for instance, that during the years most crucial to the conquest, Alvarado was absent from Guatemala more often than he was present; he relied on his brother, Jorge de Alvarado, to act in his stead. A pact with the Kaqchikel Maya was also not nearly as solid or long-lived as previously thought, as Alvarado's erstwhile allies soon turned against the Spaniards, fomenting a prolonged rebellion. Even the story of the K'iche' leader Tecun Uman, hailed in Guatemala as a national hero who fronted native resistance, undergoes significant revision. Strike Fear in the Land is an arresting saga of personalities and controversies, conveying as never before the turmoil of this pivotal period in Mesoamerican history.

"Mary George offers a lively, succinct, and readable introduction to the work involved in planning a library research project. The book does an excellent job demonstrating that thought and creativity are required at every stage--from formulating questions and finding texts, to writing critically about them."--Joseph Harris, Writing Program, Duke University

"This book is based on the simple premise that college-level research need not be anxiety-inducing. Mary George does a good job explaining that the student can control the research process with practice and thoughtful reflection."--Emily J. Horning, Yale University Library

"This handbook is an important addition to the field of research guides. Librarians and those with research instruction responsibilities will certainly use it, and college students will benefit immensely from it. This resource will be useful to anyone who needs or wants to understand the intellectual underpinnings of the research process."--Denise M. Shorey, Main Library, Northwestern University

"This book is unique--in its brevity, its basis in our best understanding of the research process, and its focus on the thought processes associated with information gathering and synthesizing. This guide does a creditable job pulling together various veins of thought and presenting the content in a way that is consistent with current pedagogy on the research process."--Thomas G. Kirk, Lilly Library, Earlham College

"I have been trying to locate just such a book, so that students can begin their academic career with an easy to use, short guide to the research process. This will be an indispensable addition to both high school and college-level research."--PaulaClancy, Bunn Library, The Lawrenceville School

"This book has the advantage of being widely applicable and generally useful for many fields. Mary George points out that research is not just to learn old knowledge but to generate new knowledge, understandings, and perspectives."--Kendall Hobbs, Olin Library, Wesleyan University

Pedro de Alvarado is best known as the right-hand man of Hernando Cortes in the conquest of Mexico (1519-21) and the ruthless conqueror of Guatemala some years later. Far less known is his intent to intrude in the conquest of Peru and lay claim to Quito, a wealthy domain in the far north of the Inca Empire. To this end, Alvarado constructed a massive fleet, which sailed south from Central America to what is now Ecuador, making landfall on 25 February 1534. Engaging both the European and Indigenous contexts in which Alvarado operated, George Lovell illuminates this gap in the record, narrating a dramatic story of greed and hubris. Upon reaching Ecuador, Alvarado's formidable entourage - some five hundred Spanish combatants and two thousand Indigenous conscripts - marched from the Pacific coast to the Andean sierra. Though Quito was his intended destination, he never made it. During a treacherous transit across the mountains, Alvarado's party was engulfed by heavy snowfall and numbing cold, which proved the expedition's undoing. Those who survived the ordeal discovered that other Spaniards - Diego de Almagro and Sebastian de BeLalcazar, acting in allegiance with Francisco Pizarro - had reached Quito before them, thereby claiming first right of conquest. Believing he had no option, if strife between rival sides was to be avoided, Alvarado sold his costly machinery of war - men, horses, weaponry, and ships - to those who had beaten him to the prize. All but ruined, he returned humiliated to Central America. Death in the Snow brings to light the delusions of one headstrong conquistador and mourns the loss of untold Indigenous lives, casualties of Alvarado's lust for fame and fortune.

Leadership Bloopers and Blunders is a common-sense book on what not to do as a leader. The book is divided into six distinct chapters that help to identify common leadership mistakes that can lead to disaster for teachers and school leaders. This book shares real-life stories based on actual events. Some stories are based on court cases or events that made the news, while others were compiled from events shared by colleagues. Each story is followed by discussion questions to facilitate discussion to enhance leadership development. The chapters highlight legal and good-sense commentary on how to avoid leadership mishaps from those who have seen it all.

What is it about Japan that so beguiles foreigners? It is a small country and yet an economic powerhouse, a land of great natural beauty — from green-cloaked mountains to glistening rice paddies — a place of intricate arts and crafts and amazing cuisine, and home to a people whose kindness and sensitivity surprise westerners at each turn. It is no wonder that Japan simultaneously astonishes, delights, and frustrates travelers, and the diverse tales in this book reveal the nation in all its contradictions: a place of tranquil temples and high-tech toilets, exquisite ancient inns and lurid love hotels, where electric baths sit beside indoor ski slopes, and cherry blossoms fall on kindly grandmothers, cynical salarymen, wise monks, and wild lovers alike. Gathered in this collection are pieces by several notable authors, each offering anecdotes that tell of encounters to be had or avoided, each with uncommon insight to enrich the traveler's experience.

Venantius Fortunatus, writing in the latter half of the sixth century, was not only a major Latin poet, but also an important historical figure. Born in the north of Italy and given a classical education in Ravenna, he travelled as a young man to seek patronage in the courts of Merovingian Gaul, writing both formal and informal poetry for three of the royal brothers, Sigibert, Charibert and Chilperic, and for many influential figures in ecclesiastical and secular life. He settled eventually in Poitiers, as the close friend of the ex-queen Radegund, of Agnes, abbess of the community Radegund had founded, and the major historian of the period, Gregory of Tours. In the period of cultural transition, he played an important part in adapting and developing literary traditions, influencing not only his contemporaries but also succeeding generations. He also played a personal role in events of national and international significance; his poems allow us vivid glimpses of the individual lives and characters of his patrons, painting a picture of a literary, not merely literate, culture, which complement's Gregory's canvas of bloodthirsty dynastic feuding.