Biography: historical, political and military Books

Book SynopsisFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Romanovs—and one of our pre-eminent historians—comes “a meticulously researched, authoritative biography” (The New York Times), the companion volume to the prize-winning Stalin, and essential reading for anyone interested in Russian history. This revelatory account unveils how Stalin became Stalin, examining his shadowy journey from obscurity to power—from master historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. Based on ten years of research, Young Stalin is a brilliant prehistory of the USSR, a chronicle of the Revolution, and an intimate biography.  Montefiore tells the story of a charismatic, darkly turbulent boy born into poverty, scarred by his upbringing but possessed of unusual talents. Admired as a romantic poet and trained as a priest, he found his true mission as a murderous revolutionary. Here is the dramatic story of his friendships and hatreds, his many love affairs, his complicated relationship with the Tsarist secret police, and how he became the merciless politician who shaped the Soviet Empire in his own brutal image.

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Book SynopsisBurlingame interprets Lincoln's private life, discussing his marriage to Mary Todd, the untimely death of his son Willie to disease in 1862, and his recurrent anguish over the enormous human costs of the war.Table of Contents19. "The Man Does Not Live Who Is More Devoted to Peace Than I Am, But It May Be Necessary to Put the Foot Down Firmly": From Springfield to Washington (February 11–22, 1861)20. "I Am Now Going to Be Master": Inauguration (February 23–March 4, 1861)21. "A Man So Busy Letting Rooms in One End of His House, That He Can't Stop to Put Out the Fire That Is Burning in the Other": Distributing Patronage (March–April 1861)22. "You Can Have No Conf lict Without Being Yourselves the Aggressors": The Fort Sumter Crisis (March–April 1861) 23. "I Intend to Give Blows": The Hundred Days (April–July 1861)24. Sitzkrieg: The Phony War (August 1861–January 1862) 25 "This Damned Old House": The Lincoln Family in the Executive Mansion26. "I Expect to Maintain This Contest Until Successful, or Till I Die, or Am Conquered, or My Term Expires, or Congress or the Country Forsakes Me": From the Slough of Despond to the Gates of Richmond (January–July 1862)27. "The Hour Comes for Dealing with Slavery": Playing the Last Trump Card (January–July 1862) 28. "Would You Prosecute the War with Elder- Stalk Squirts, Charged with Rose Water?": The Soft War Turns Hard (July–September 1862)29. "I Am Not a Bold Man, But I Have the Knack of Sticking to My Promises!": The Emancipation Proclamation (September– December 1862)30. "Go Forward, and Give Us Victories": From the Mud March to Gettysburg (January–July 1863)31. "The Signs Look Better": Victory at the Polls and in the Field (July–November 1863)32. "I Hope to Stand Firm Enough to Not Go Backward, and Yet Not Go Forward Fast Enough to Wreck the Country's Cause": Reconstruction and Renomination (November 1863–June 1864) 33. "Hold On with a Bulldog Grip and Chew and Choke as Much as Possible": The Grand Offensive (May–August 1864)34. "The Wisest Radical of All": Reelection (September–November 1864) 35. "Let the Thing Be Pressed": Victory at Last (November 1864– April 1865) 36. "I Feel a Presentiment That I Shall Not Outlast the Rebellion. When It Is Over, My Work Will Be Done.": The Final Days (April 9–15, 1865) Acknowledgments Note on Sources Notes Index

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Book SynopsisBilly, Alfred, and General Motors is the tale not just of the two extraordinary men of its title but also of the formative decades of twentieth-century America, through two world wars and sea changes in business, industry, politics, and culture. The book includes vivid portraits of the legends of the golden age of the automobile.

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Book SynopsisA biography of James Madison, fourth president of the United States, who was elected in 1809. Ketchman provides an analysis of his political theory and of the way in which he sought to apply it to the establishment of constitutional government.Trade ReviewMadison's personality comes alive in these pages, his strengths and weaknesses of mind and character clearly outlined. His great services in the Constitutional Convention of 1787 are graphically portrayed. The analysis of his political theory, and of the way in which he sought to apply it to the establishment of of government under the Constitution, is excellent. The depiction of Jeffersonian and Madisonian foreign policy up to the outbreak of the War of 1812 is clear and succinct. This is an excellent biography." —American Historical Review"Utilizing the vast amount of source material made available in the last 30 years, Ketcham has captured the essential man in his times and in doing so has made him understandable for us in our own day." —Los Angeles Times"This single volume has provided a penetrating and highly readable biography which merits distinction as the best one-volume life of Madison yet written." —Virginia Magazine of History and Biography"Ketcham's long-standing familiarity with Madison's life and times is evident in this accessible work...Ketcham has written an enjoyable and scholarly narrative that will no doubt be considered of great value to Montpelier's more serious visitors, as well as students, scholars, and general readers with an interest in the founding couple." —Kellie Strickland, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Historical Review

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Book SynopsisHow do you solve a problem like James Madison? The fourth president is one of the most confounding figures in early American history -- his political trajectory seems almost intentionally inconsistent. He was both for and against a strong federal government. He wrote about the dangers of political parties in the Federalist papers and then helped to found the Republican party just a few years later. And though he has frequently been celebrated as the "father of the constitution," his contributions to our founding document were subtler than many have supposed. This so-called "Madison problem" has occupied scholars for ages.Previous biographies have made sense of Madison's mixed record by breaking his life into discrete periods. But this approach falls short. Madison was, of course, a single person -- a brilliant thinker whose life's work was to forge a stronger Union around principles of limited government, individual rights, and above all, justice. As Jay Cost argues in this incisive new biography, we cannot comprehend Madison's legacy without understanding him as a working politician. We tend to focus on his accomplishments as a statesman and theorist -- but the same ideals that guided his thinking in these arenas shaped his practice of politics, where they were arguably more influential. Indeed, Madison was the original American politician. Whereas other founders split their time between politics and other vocations, Madison dedicated himself singularly to the work of politics and ultimately developed it into a distinctly American idiom.Bringing together the full range of his intellectual life, Cost shows us Madison as we've never seen him before: not as a man with uncertain opinions and inconstant views -- but as a coherent and unified thinker, a skilled strategist, and a key contributor to the ideals that have shaped our history. He was, in short, the first American politician.

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Book SynopsisLike many heroes of World War II, General Albert C. Wedemeyer's career has been largely overshadowed by such well-known figures as Marshall, Patton, Montgomery and Bradley. Wedemeyer's legacy as the main planner of the D-Day invasion is almost completely forgotten today, eclipsed by politics and the capriciousness of human nature.In the late 1930s Wedemeyer had the unique experience of being an exchange student at the German Kriegsakademia, the Nazis'equivalent of Fort Leavenworth's Command and General Staff School. As the only American to attend, he was thus the only ranking officer in the US who recognised the revolutionary tactics of Blitzkrieg once they were unleashed, and he knew how to respond.As US involvement in the European conflagration approached, Wedemeyer was taken under the wing of George C. Marshall in Washington, but although he conceived the plans for US mobilisation, to his great disappointment he was not appointed to field command once the invasion commenced; further, he had run afoul of Winston Churchill due to the latter's insistence on emphasising the Mediterranean theatre in 1943.Perhaps because of Churchill's animosity, Wedemeyer was transferred to the Burma-China theatre, where a year later he would replace General Stilwell. Ultimately, Wedemeyer's service in the Asian theatre became far more significant, though less known. Had the US political establishment listened to Wedemeyer on China during the years 1943-48, it is possible China would not have been lost to the Communists and would have been a functioning US ally from the start, thus eliminating the likelihood of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.Trade ReviewMcLaughlin’s biography of Wedemeyer describes his importance as a visionary strategist and principal author of the America’s Victory Program. * ARMOR Magazine 21/12/2022 *

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Book SynopsisThe thrilling and previously untold true story of Suzanne Spaak, who abandoned her life of opulence to save the Jewish children of Occupied Paris during the Second World War.Suzanne Spaak was born into an affluent Belgian Catholic family and married into the country's leading political dynasty. Her brother-in-law was the prime minister while her husband Claude was a playwright and patron of the painter René Magritte. In occupied Paris she was part of the cultural elite and a neighbour of Colette and Jean Cocteau. But Suzanne was living a double life.Her friendship with a Polish Jewish refugee led her to her life's purpose. When France fell and the Nazis occupied Paris, she joined the Resistance. She used her fortune and social status to enlist allies among wealthy Parisians and church groups. Under the eyes of the Gestapo, Suzanne and women from the Jewish and Christian resistance groups 'kidnapped' hundreds of Jewish children to save them from the gas chambers. Codename Suzette is a masterpiece of research and narrative, bringing to life a truly remarkable woman and painting a vivid and unforgettable picture of wartime Paris.Trade ReviewVividly dramatises the stakes of acting morally in a time of brutality * Wall Street Journal *This heartfelt story is almost a model for how popular history should be written; it will satisfy lovers of history, Jewish history in particular. * Library Journal *A riveting book about a truly heroic woman in a Paris of resignation and shame. A must-read! * Diane von Furstenberg *Anne Nelson has written an extraordinary book that finally does justice to Spaak's story of heroism and sacrifice. -- Andrew Nagorski * Author of THE NAZI HUNTERS *Anne Nelson tells the story of Suzanne Spaak, an elegant Belgian aristocrat who risked her life to save Jewish children in Nazi-occupied France. Her conscience told her someone had to do something. But, as Nelson's gripping book shows, doing the right thing can also come at a price. -- Alan Riding * Author of AND THE SHOW WENT ON: CULTURAL LIFE IN NAZI-OCCUPIED PARIS *Superbly researched and sharply written. * Alan Furst on Red Orchestra *[A] haunting account of a long-neglected network... Experiences inform the deep sympathy and unsentimental compassion of Red Orchestra. * New York Times on Red Orchestra *

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Book SynopsisA spirited biography of the prophetic and sympathetic philosopher who, along with Voltaire and Rousseau, helped build the foundations of the modern world.

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Book SynopsisMention female spies, and most people think of Mata Hari. But during the Roaring Twenties, Marguerite Harrison and Stan Harding were the cause celebre: two beautiful, accomplished women whose names were splashed across newspapers around the world. Almost a century later, it is easy to understand the fascination with these two remarkable women. Marguerite was a highly respectable and recently widowed American journalist and socialite from Baltimore; Stan was a runaway, a bohemian artist and dancer of British heritage who left her wealthy, religious family to make a life for herself in the expatriate community in Florence. The two women were very different, yet both were strong-willed, independent and highly ambitious women unafraid of taking risks. And both, as the Great War ended and Central Europe dissolved into violent chaos, were looking for adventure. Their paths first crossed in war-ravaged Berlin during the Armistice and the the Spartacist Uprising in 1919. Fellow travellers, they became friends and, the evidence suggests, lovers. Dodging bullets and interviewing colourful characters in war-torn Europe led these intrepid women, separately, to Bolshevik Russia, a country closed to outsiders since the October Revolution of 1917. Their fateful meeting had repercussions that spanned three decades, involving heads of state and politicians in Britain, the United States and Soviet Russia. The Lady is a Spy tells their forgotten story: that of two women who, far in advance of their time, worked as foreign correspondents, who operated as spies in dangerous shadowlands of international politics, and who were both imprisoned in Lubyanka, one of the most desperate places on earth. Their lives are reconstructed through numerous primary sources, not only the poems, diaries and letters of their friends and lovers, but also government documents (including newly declassified US State Department papers) that reveal the truth about their espionage careers and - in one case - evidence of a shocking betrayal.Table of ContentsPrologue - Lubyanka, October 1920 - Part One – 1879-1919 - Chapter One - Born for Trouble - Chapter Two - Agent `B’ - Chapter Three - The Beauty and the Beast - Chapter Four - Mrs Harding, I Presume? - Chapter Five - The Convergence of the Twain - Chapter Six - Agent `B’ Redux – Part Two – 1920 - Chapter Seven - An Unkindness of Ravens - Chapter Eight - With a Gleam in her Eye - Chapter Nine - The Death Ship - Chapter Ten - A Completely Crazy Plan - Chapter Eleven - The House of Suspicion - Chapter Twelve - A Dust Heap of Lies - Chapter Thirteen - Prisoner 3041 - Chapter Fourteen - Freedom – Part Three – 1921-1924 - Chapter Fifteen - Probably Undesirable to Call Attention to Her - Chapter Sixteen - America Will Protect Its Agent - Chapter Seventeen - The Bane of Our Lives - Chapter Eighteen - Back in the USSR - Chapter Nineteen - Very Definite Proof of her Real Character - Chapter Twenty - The Bugbear of the Foreign Office - Chapter Twenty-One - I am a Nuisance – Part Four – 1925-1967 - Chapter Twenty-Two - The Underworld of State - Chapter Twenty-Three - Life’s Ugly Gestures - Chapter Twenty-Four - The Lonely Trench - Chapter Twenty-Five - Hope Thou Not Much, Fear Not at All – 231 - Appendix - Acknowledgements - Dramatis Personae - Glossary - Endnotes - Bibliography – 263 - Index

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Book SynopsisHe is a most unlikely revolutionary: a middle-aged, middle-class former grammar schoolboy who honed his radicalism on the mean streets of rural Shropshire. Last summer, this little-known outsider rode a wave of popular enthusiasm to win the Labour Party leadership by a landslide, with a greater mandate than any British political leader before him. This new edition of the critically acclaimed biography brings the Jeremy Corbyn story fully up to date, setting out how this very British iconoclast managed to snatch the leadership of a party he spent forty years rebelling against and, despite rebellion from within his own ranks, managed to galvanise millions to vote for him in the 2017 general election. Engaging, clear-sighted and above all revealing, Comrade Corbyn explores the extraordinary story of the most unexpected leader in modern British politics.

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Book SynopsisPlutarch (ca. AD 45–120) wrote on many subjects. His forty-six Parallel Lives are biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs, one Greek figure and one similar Roman, though the last four lives are single. They not only record careers and illustrious deeds but also offer rounded portraits of statesmen, orators, and military leaders.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Sensible and useful. . . . [Vivanti] sets forth the greatness of Machiavelli, not as a figure of his time, the Renaissance, but as a founder of modernity."—Harvey C. Mansfield, Wall Street Journal"A fascinating, concise guide to Machiavelli's life and work."—Joanna Kavenna, The Spectator"[A] learned intellectual biography."—Michael Ignatieff, The Atlantic"Excellent, and accessible to anyone interested in finding out more about Machiavelli."—Jonathan Powell, Prospect"Informative and . . . level-headed."—Keith Miller, The Telegraph

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Book SynopsisSir Walter Ralegh was the favourite of Queen Elizabeth, who showered him estates, jewels, monopolies, and political appointments earning him the reputation of "the most hated man in England." A man of many talents, he helped convince Elizabeth she should be empress of a great empire, on the condition that he be the one to shape her realm from the first. In Walter Ralegh, eminent historian Alan Gallay tells the fascinating story of how Ralegh helped create the largest empire the world has ever seen.A courtier, buccaneer, soldier, explorer, and statesman -- as well as a poet, historian, naval strategist, and scientist -- Ralegh is best known in the US for trying, and failing, to found Roanoke, the first English colony in America. But that event does not even begin to suggest the world-historical import of his adventures. Inspired by the mystical religious philosophy of hermeticism, Ralegh (popularly, and mistakenly, spelt "Raleigh") believed that England could build an empire without the conquest of native peoples, an empire in which English settlers and American Indians would live together, or, alternatively, where natives became allies and England would not interfere with their way of life. Playing a lead role in England's simultaneous attempt to colonise North America, South America, and Ireland, Ralegh shaped the English Empire at its birth, motivated by the wild idealism that the answer to English fears of national decline resided in the Americas, where natives blessed by God would reveal the mysteries of the universe.In the end, colonialism left a legacy of brutal exploitation far different from Ralegh's idealisations. Examining Ralegh's life, Gallay reveals that Elizabethans had complex and often contrary views on colonisation, seeing it as a means of achieving transcendence or, just as often, of achieving wealth and glory through war and subjugation. From Ralegh's introduction of the potato to Ireland to his creation of the most famous medicine of seventeenth-century England, from his failed colonial experiment on Roanoke island to his search for El Dorado, Gallay chronicles Ralegh's legendary life and offers a new origin story for the English Empire.

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Book SynopsisRaymond Geist was sent to Berlin as a consul in 1929. He was not from the right social class to become an ambassador - a role reserved for men of means in the 1920s - and in his duties as a consul he primarily handled visas for emigrants intending to move to the US. Once Hitler's government began to oppress certain categories of German and Austrian citizens as well as foreigners, the consular office became vitally important. It was Geist who expedited the exits of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, and Geist who understood best the urgency of the situation in Germany and the potential catastrophe that awaited the persecuted groups.Geist was a constant presence in Berlin while US ambassadors and consul generals cycled in and out. Despite a secret homosexual relationship with a German that posed a threat to his career-and to his lover's life-Geist fearlessly challenged the police state whenever it abused Americans in Germany or threatened US interests. He balanced his diplomatic discretion with the imperative to save lives: he secured visas for hundreds of refugees and unaccompanied children while he maintained a working relationship with the most important Nazi officials, including Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich and Hermann Göring. As relations between the US and Nazi Germany deteriorated, Geist remained the most knowledgeable, capable and valuable analyst and problem solver in Berlin. He was the first American official to advise his government that what lay ahead for Germany's Jews was what would later become known as the Holocaust.

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Book SynopsisIn this second volume of his major work on Bunin, the neglected master of Russian letters, Thomas Marullo recreates his life in exile, chiefly in Paris, after escaping from his newly bolshevized country in 1920. Drawing from Bunin's correspondence, his diaries, and his stories, and translating most of these materials into English for the first time, Mr. Marullo gives us a vivid picture of a man suddenly and agonizingly without a country. Bunin's life and art, which depended so heavily on traditional Russian values, seemed to be overthrown in a moment, and the writer found himself marooned amidst Western culture, clinging to his old ideals. Through his writings we are also provided a window on the lively but despairing and often fractious community of Russian emigrés in Paris in the twenties, which included Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff Chafiapin, Prokofiev, Chagall, Kandinsky, Pavlova, Diaghilev, and Zamyatin. The volume ends in 1933, when Bunin became the first Russian to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. Mr. Marullo's first volume, Ivan Bunin: Russian Requiem, was widely acclaimed. Gary Saul Morson of Northwestern wrote: "It engages the reader from the first page ...Marullo has an eye for the perfect quotation." Ruth Rischin, in the Russian Review, described the book as "elegantly crafted... a serious achievement."Trade ReviewElegantly crafted and handsomely produced...a serious achievement. -- Ruth Rischin * The Russian Review *A highly skillful and scholarly compilation. -- John Bayley * The New York Review *A scintillating and insightful mosaic panorama...Marullo recreates the total atmosphere of Bunin's private life as well as the Èmigre milieu in which he lived. -- Marc Raeff, distinguished Russian historian and professor emeritus, Columbia University * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisThe story of Lady Anne Clifford is one of feminine victory in a man's world, the men including King James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell and two husbands: the Earl of Dorset, gambler, womaniser and waster, and the Earl of Pembroke, also gambler, womaniser etc. Lady Anne was the third child of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, Elizabeth I’s Royal Champion. Henry VIII was Anne's great-great uncle. From the age of ten, Anne was a highly regarded figure at Elizabeth's Court. Her two brothers died in infancy, leaving her sole heiress, but when father died in 1605 his illegal will left all to his younger brother. Lady Anne (aged 15) objected to the will and, rightfully, claimed the estates herself. Kings, archbishops and husbands spent years trying to persuade her that she, a mere female, should think of the greater good of society as God and men had ordered it, give up her claim, and let the men have what was properly theirs. By shrewd moves, sheer determination and faith, Lady Anne outlasted and defeated the lot of them, restored her castles and became the grande dame of the north.Table of ContentsAuthor’s Note; 1 Mother and Father; 2 To be a Clifford; 3 The Highs and Lows of Youth; 4 A Death and a Match; 5 Talk of Suitors, and a Journey North; 6 Another Suitor, a Masque, and a Match; 7 Married Life, with Disagreements and Childbirth; 8 Persecution and Defiance; 9 Torture, Death, Tricks, and a Small Victory; 10 A Northern Interlude; 11 The Greatest Challenge Yet; 12 The Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery; Obituary.

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Book SynopsisSayyid Qutb (1906-1966) was an influential Egyptian ideologue credited with establishing the theoretical basis for radical Islamism in the post colonial Sunni Muslim world. Lacking a pure understanding of the leader's life and work, the popular media has conflated Qutb's moral purpose with the aims of bin Laden and al-Qaeda. He is often portrayed as a terrorist, Islamo-Fascist, and advocate of murder. This book rescues Qutb from misrepresentation, tracing the evolution of his thought within the context of his time. An expert on social protest and political resistance in the modern Middle East, as well as Egyptian nationalism, John Calvert recounts Qutb's life from the small village in which he was raised to his execution at the behest of Abd al-Nasser's regime. His study remains sensitive to the cultural, political, social, and economic circumstances that shaped Qutb's thought-major developments that composed one of the most eventful periods in Egyptian history. These years witnessed the full flush of Britain's tutelary regime, the advent of Egyptian nationalism, and the political hegemony of the Free Officers. Qutb rubbed shoulders with Taha Husayn, Naguib Mahfouz, and Abd al-Nasser himself, though his Islamism originally had little to do with religion. Only in response to his harrowing experience in prison did Qutb come to regard Islam and kufr (infidelity) as oppositional, antithetical, and therefore mutually exclusive. Calvert shows how Qutb repackaged and reformulated the Islamic heritage to pose a challenge to authority, including those who claimed (falsely, he believed) to be Muslim.Trade Review'This rich and carefully researched biography sets Qutb for the first time in his Egyptian context, rescuing him from caricature without whitewashing his radicalism. It is no small achievement.' * The Economist *'Hefty and impressively researched … insightful.' * New York Review of Books *'The best biographies balance the person, the person's achievements, and the environment in which that person worked. This one of Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), considered by both friends and foes to be a founding father of radical Sunni Islamic thought, does just that. Calvert presents a portrait of Qutb worthy of a psychobiography, without the excesses of the genre.' * Foreign Affairs *'In one of the first serious English-language biographices of Qutb, Calvert puts this often misunderstood figure into his historical context, situating Qutb within the turbulent intellectual and political flow of Egyptian and Arab history. He expertly shows the development of Qutb's thinking, from literary critic to Islamist, and powerfully details the impact of the repression and torture carried out by the regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser on his turn towards the stark, radical doctrines which have shaped generations of Islamist radicals. Fascinating details emerge in this book. . . . The Qutb which emerges from Calvert's even-handed history is far more complex and interesting than the caricature of him which dominates popular understanding. Anyone interested in the evolution of Islamism in the 20th century should read it.' * Atlantic Monthly *'Given that Qutb is taught in a large (and increasing) number of campuses, and given that he has already been introduced to the general public in bestselling books such as Lawrence Wright's The Looming Tower, the very publication of a Qutb biography is likely to attract considerable interest. The book not only constitutes what is likely to remain the definitive biography of Sayyid Qutb, it also offers crucial new insights on the post-1954 history of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, another gaping hole in the literature. We are dealing here with a rare book that is likely to become a classic in the field of political Islam.' * An outstanding volume.' Thomas Hegghammer, Harvard University *'Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Islamic Radicalsm will become the standard intellectual biography of the most influential Muslim thinker of the twentieth century. Demonstrating a deep engagement with contemporary history, religious thought, and social theory, Calvert eschews the sensationalism that too often posits Qutb as the ideological 'godfather' of global jihad. An erudite and engaging writer, Calvert situates Qutb in time and place, tracing his political evolution, and exploring the power of his words, personality, and, ultimately, his divergent legacies. Neither hagiography, nor expose, Qutb finally gets his due'. * Joel Gordon, author of Nasser: Hero of the Arab Nation *'Calvert … has produced a biography that is lively, sensitive, and methodical, and represents a landmark study of serious value to students, academics, and general readers alike. … Calvert's study is as much a political history of modern Egypt through the prism of Sayyid Qutb as it is a biography of the man and a study of his thought.' * Middle East Quarterly *'Calvert's book is a substantial contribution to the scholarship on radical Islamism and contemporary Muslim thought. It is a must read for academics, students, and those in the general public who want a more in-depth understanding of one of the most influential, controversial, and enigmatic Muslim personalities in modern Arab and Islamic history.' * The Muslim World Book Review *'An exquisite intellectual biography of Sayyid Qutb … This is the deepest exploration of Qutb I have seen in the English language and a recommended read for those in counter-terrorism, and understanding what aspects of radical ideologues al-Qaida chooses to ignore.' * Youssef Aboul-Enein, Small Wars Journal *'An extremely thoroughly researched, sober, and careful book that seeks to cover all of Qutb's life, activities, and writings and situate them in their Egyptian context. In many ways, Calvert's book shows what scholarship can do at its best. For those who already know something about the subject, there is an account rich in context, new details, and deeper interpretations. For a broader audience, there is an accessible and fair treatment of Qutb and his ideas that should replace some recent rather puzzling accounts that view Qutb through a particular and narrow lens.' * Review of Middle East Studies *

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Book SynopsisA leading expert reexamines history to offer a stunningly original portrait of Hitler as a competent military commander and strategistTrade ReviewSelected by Choice as an Outstanding Academic Title of 2019“Perhaps the best account we have to date of Hitler’s military leadership. It shows a scrupulous and imaginative historian at work and will cement Fritz’s reputation as one of the leading historians of the military conflicts generated by Hitler’s Germany.”—Richard Overy, author of The Bombing War“Magnificent. Hitler emerges as a complex and nuanced military leader who cannot simply be dismissed as the dogmatic ideologue or the corporal in command. Original, insightful and authoritative Fritz’s latest work is something I will return to again and again.”—David Stahel, author of The Battle for Moscow“Cuts a swathe through the reconstituted arguments of countless other books about Hitler. Meticulously researched and adopting a thoroughly readable style, Fritz offers profound new insights about Hitler as commander. This is a volume which should serve as a warning to strategic leaders who become blinkered by ideology, self-absorbed and neglect the requirements of successful leadership.”—Lloyd Clark, author of Blitzkrieg

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Book SynopsisTo maintain the pace at which he worked as a parliamentarian, cabinet minister, war leader, writer and painter, Churchill required a vast female staff of secretaries, typists and others. For these women Churchill was an intimidating boss; he was a man of prodigious energy, who imposed unusual and demanding schedules on those around him, and who combined a callous-seeming disregard with sincere solicitude for their well-being. Churchill was no ordinary employer: he did not live by the clock on the office wall. He expected those who worked with and for him to live by that timetable. Despite these often unreasonable demands, Churchill inspired an enduring loyalty and affection amongst the women who worked for him. Drawing on the wealth of oral testimonies of Churchill's many secretaries held in the Churchill Archive in Cambridge, Cita Stelzer – author of Dinner with Churchill – brings to life the experiences of a legion of women whose stories have hitherto remained unpublished in journals and letters. In recapturing their memories of working for and with Churchill – of famous people met, of travels abroad, of taking dictation in non-air-conditioned aeroplanes, of working though whisky-fuelled nights – she paints an original and memorable biographical portrait of one of the twentieth century's iconic statesmen.Trade Review[A] glorious new book... Fascinating' * Daily Mail *[A] fascinating book... Working with Winston is a wonderful tour behind the scenes of history and its vignettes portray a very human and attractive man' * The Times *Many thousands of books about Churchill have already been published since his death. Stelzer proves though, that it is still possible to produce one that is both original and highly entertaining * Sunday Times *[Cita Stelzer] creates a wonderfully rich picture... The result is a remarkable blend of everyday life for these remarkable people, through to bearing witness to some of the most extraordinary events in twentieth-century history... Excellent, offering unique insights, a fresh new approach and does so in a way where you quite simply cannot put this book down' * International Churchill Society *The story of the small army of secretaries and typists at the great man's right hand * The Times *A book to read now, appropriately, is Cita Stelzer's Working with Winston. It's published by Head of Zeus and is described as a portrait of Churchill through the eyes of his personal secretaries * Lynn News *

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Book SynopsisThe best-selling author of Dead Wake draws on personal diaries, archival documents and declassified intelligence in a portrait of Winston Churchill that explores his day-to-day experiences during the Blitz and his role in uniting England. Maps.

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Book SynopsisBlood on the Thistle is an examination of the life and times of a remarkable Scottish family, the Cranstons of Haddington, East Lothian. It focuses on a period from about 1880, when the young, hard-working parents, Alec and Lizzie Cranston, arrived in Haddington, through to 1920, when the family they had produced, torn apart by the Great War, broke up as its surviving members pursued separate lives around the globe. Of seven sons who served in the First World War, four died and two more were horrifically wounded; only one, the youngest, returned home physically unscathed. This book explores the effects of this extreme sacrifi ce on the sons themselves as well as the loved ones they left behind, particularly their mother, Lizzie, who mourned them for the rest of her days. This is the tale of how a once proud and aspirational Scottish family was devastated by war, and how the effects continued to ripple through time and generations. Until, a century later, the threads of this remarkable family are finally drawn together again, in a book that is at once a superb documentary account and a moving tribute to a generation.Trade Review'An impossibly sad story' - THE SCOTSMAN 'A movingly re-imagined history' - FAMILY TREE

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Book Synopsis'Fascinating . . . O'Driscoll's research is impressive' Ben Macintyre, The Times_____The astonishing story of the English heiress who devoted her life to the IRAShe grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate.She was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958.She trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor (who was on the rebound from Iris Murdoch).At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor.In 1972, the deadliest year of the Northern Irish Troubles, she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA.Sean O'Driscoll's Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale, who went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA's bomb-making operation during its deadly final spasms in the 1990s. Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber is both the page-turning biography of a remarkable woman and a groundbreaking account of the inner workings of a terrorist organization._____'It would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read' Sunday Independent'Superb . . . an even-handed and thrilling gallop through [Dugdale's] improbable life' Daily Telegraph'Possibly the most extraordinary book you'll read this year' Irish Examiner'Jaw-dropping' Joe Duffy'Well-researched' Irish TimesTrade ReviewFascinating . . . O'Driscoll's research is impressive -- Ben Macintyre * The Times *Riveting -- Roy Foster * TLS *Generous and well researched -- Rosa Lyster * LRB *An absorbing, well-researched and extremely well-written account of a life that almost defies belief -- David McCullagh * RTÉ *Superb . . . an even-handed and thrilling gallop through [Dugdale's] improbable life * Daily Telegraph *Possibly the most extraordinary book you'll read this year * Irish Examiner *Unputdownable . . . jaw-dropping -- Joe DuffyIt would be hard to overstate how good this book is . . . a fantastic read -- Eilis O'Hanlon * Sunday Independent *[A] pacey, well-researched book -- Frank Coughlin * Irish Independent *Well-researched . . . balanced -- Charles Lysaght * Irish Times *Sean O'Driscoll's fair-minded examination of her extraordinary, often violent life . . . acknowledges her humanity and viciousness * Observer *

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisA New York Times bestseller and an “enriching…brilliant” (David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass) examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democracy.The Declaration of Independence identified “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, the president of the National Constitution Center, profiles six of the most influential founders—Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton—to show what pursuing happiness meant in their lives, and to give us the “best and most readable introduction to the ideas of the Founders that we have” (Gordon Wood, author of Power and Liberty). By reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen shows us how they understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good—the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery. They believed that political self-government required personal self-government. For all six Founders, the pursuit of virtue was incompatible with enslavement of African Americans, although the Virginians betrayed their own principles. “Immensely readable and thoughtful” (Ken Burns), The Pursuit of Happiness is more than an elucidation of the Declaration’s famous phrase; it is a revelatory journey into the minds of the Founders, and a deep, rich, and fresh understanding of the foundation of our democracy.

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Book SynopsisNamed a Best Book of 2023 by Financial Times and Kirkus ReviewsThe #1 Sunday Times bestseller, published in the UK as Politics on the Edge.“One of the best books on politics our era will see . . . A book of astonishing literary quality.” —Matthew Parris, The TLS“[Rory Stewart] walked across Asia, served in British Parliament, and ran against Boris Johnson. Now he gives us his view of what’s wrong with politics, and how we can make it right.” —Adam Grant, “The 12 New Fall Books to Enrich Your Thinking”From a great writer—legendary for his expeditions into some of the world’s most forbidding places—a wise, honest, and sometimes absurdist memoir of a most remarkable journey through British politics at the breaking pointRory Stewart was an unlikely politician. He was best known for his two

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Book Synopsis?A fierce, scholarly tour-de-force. . . .Hunting the Falconbrilliantly shows how time, circumstance and politics combined to accelerate Anne?s triumph and tragedy.?Tina Brown, New York Times Book Review?A sumptuous drama of lust, intrigue, and betrayal, underpinned by the harsh reality of politics.??Amanda Foreman, author of Georgiana: Duchess of DevonshireA groundbreaking, freshly-researched examination of one of the most dramatic and consequential marriages in history: Henry VIII?s long courtship, short union, and brutal execution of Anne Boleyn.Hunting the Falconis the story of how Henry VIII?s obsessive desire for Anne Boleyn changed him and his country forever. John Guy and Julia Fox, two of the most acclaimed and distinguished historians of this period, have joined forces to present Anne and Henry in startlingly new ways. By closely examining the most recent archival discoveries, and peeling back layers of historical myth and misinterpretation and distortion, Guy and Fox are able to set Anne and Henry?s tragic relationship against the major international events of the time, and integrate and reinterpret sources hidden in plain sight or simply misunderstood. Among other things, they dispel lingering and latently misogynistic assumptions about Anne which anachronistically presumed that a sixteenth-century woman, even a queen, could exert little to no influence on the politics and beliefs of a patriarchal society. They reveal how, in fact, Anne was a shrewd, if ruthless, politician in her own right, a woman who steered Henry and his policies, often against the advice he received from his male advisers?and whom Henry seriously contemplated making joint sovereign.Hunting the Falconsets the facts?and some completely new finds?into a far wider frame,providing an appreciation of this misunderstood and underestimated woman. It explores how Anne organized her ?side? of the royal court on novel and (in male eyes) subversive lines compared to her queenly predecessors, adopting instead French protocol by which the sexes mingled freely in her private chambers. Men could share in the women?s often sexually charged courtly ?pastimes? and had liberal access to Anne, and she to them?encounters from which she gained much of her political intelligence and extended her authority, and which also sowed the seeds of her own downfall.An exhilarating feat of historical research and analysis,Hunting the Falconis also a thrilling and tragic story of a marriage that has proved of enduring fascination over the centuries. But in the hands of John Guy and Julia Fox, even the most knowledgeable reader will encounter this story as if for the first time.

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Book SynopsisThe veteran journalist Sandy Gall reported from Afghanistan at length through the 1980s and â90s, spending months with Massoud and his forces.

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Book SynopsisTHE #2 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLERBased on a career of making high-stakes, split-second decisions as a U.S. fighter pilot, The Art of Clear Thinking teaches readers to apply Hasard Lee''s combat-tested techniques in everyday life.The training to become a fighter pilot is among the most competitive and difficult in the world with fewer than one in a thousand succeeding. Pushing a cutting-edge jet to its limits at over 1,000 mph means that every split-second decision can have catastrophic consequences. This extreme environment has forged a group of warriors who for the last fifty years have been considered at the apex of decision-making theory and practice.In The Art of Clear Thinking, Hasard Lee distills what he's learned during his career flying some of the Air Force's most advanced aircraft. With gripping firsthand accounts from his time as a fighter pilot and fascinating turning points throughout history, Hasard reveals

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Book SynopsisGrappling with centuries-old feuds, defeating a shrewd insurgency, and navigating the sometimes paralyzing bureaucracy of the U.S. military are issues that prompt sleepless nights for both policymakers in Washington, DC and soldiers at war, albeit for different reasons. Few, however, have dealt with these issues in the White House situation room and on the front line. Michael G. Waltz has done just that, working as a policy advisor to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and also serving in the mountains of Afghanistan as a Green Beret, directly implementing strategy in the field that he helped devise in Washington. In Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan, Waltz shares his unique firsthand experiences, revealing the sights, sounds, emotions, and complexities involved in the war in Afghanistan. Waltz highlights the policy issues that plagued the war effort, from the drug trade to civilian casualties, to a lack of resources in comparison to Iraq, to the overall coalition strategy. He points out that stabilizing Afghanistan and the region remains crucial to national security and that a long-term commitment to Afghanistan is imperative if the United States is to remain secure.Trade Review"Waltz, a lieutenant colonel in the Army reserves, commanded a Special Forces company in Afghanistan and held high counterterrorism positions at the Pentagon and White House. Combining what he saw on the ground with what he gleaned in Washington, Waltz offers his thoughts on the U.S. military and government’s management of the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. . . . Waltz succeeds in his goal of explaining how the war in Afghanistan has been executed, making a case that the continuing chaos that nation endures is "directly connected" to the U.S. national interest."—Publishers Weekly"Warrior Diplomat [is] a memoir of unique insight into the hope and tragedy of America’s war in Afghanistan. . . . There is an almost surreal quality in the memoir of a man who briefed and wrote policy proposals for the powerful Vice-President one month, and in the next, shared meals with Afghan farmers or scrambled over walls in the dark of night to grab a Taliban commander, visiting relatives. . . . A must read book to understand how America’s war in Afghanistan was fought so hard, for so long to so few measurable results."—Mark Safranski, Pragati"Few people in Washington must execute the policies they help craft. Warrior Diplomat is a must-read, firsthand examination of the Afghan war through the experiences of a practitioner at both ends of the spear."—Robert M. Gates, former U.S. secretary of defense"Michael Waltz distills the hard-earned wisdom of more than a decade of deep involvement in America’s Afghan campaign. Unlike most other participants, however, Waltz served as a Special Forces officer on the ground and as a senior policy maker in Washington. One can only wish that more of our decision-makers possessed his breadth of vision and experience."—Nathaniel C. Fick, author of One Bullet Away"Using his singular set of experiences as a U.S. Army Special Forces operator and Washington policy insider, Mike Waltz captures the policy ambivalences, implementation challenges, and individual heroics that have made the U.S. effort in Afghanistan such a conundrum for presidents, generals, and the American people. But Waltz never loses sight of the human side of the equation and never gives in to defeatism or fatalism. His wise advice for the future should be heeded by U.S. leaders, now and in the future."—David Sedney, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia"Warrior Diplomat is an important book that provides an unparalleled, firsthand account of America's role in Afghanistan. Michael Waltz brings us into the inner sanctums of the White House and the Pentagon, where the war was being planned and debated, and then leads us onto the battlefields of Afghanistan."—Seth G. Jones, author of In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan"Mike Waltz's important new book deftly charts 'what might have been' over the course of a long, largely indecisive war. NATO's largely unseen failures in Afghanistan are perhaps better charted here than in any other recent account—and it is a story that needs to be told as we think about future coalition operations. Mike stitches together the long thirteen-year arc of this story as few others could, from front line to the conference tables of policy makers in Washington and Europe. This is a book that needs to be read to understand what really happened over the last decade-plus in Afghanistan—and why."—Lieutenant General (Ret.) Dave Barno, former commander, Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan"Sometimes the right book comes along at just the right time—such is the case with Michael G. Waltz's new book, Warrior Diplomat released this week. The title describes Waltz well—he served as a Green Beret in Afghanistan and returned to Washington to work for the National Security Council at the White House."—Dana Perino, former spokeswoman for President George W. Bush and co-host of "The Five" on Fox NewsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Maps Foreword by Peter Bergen Preface Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: A Little Girl in Ghazni 1. State of the War: Office of the Secretary of Defense 2. Arabs, Afghans, and Americans: The War of Ideas 3. The Tagab Valley: Patrolling to Ambush 4. The Clinic in Achin: Development Dilemmas 5. The Road to Musa Qala: The Taliban Are Back 6. The French in Maruf: A Pawn in a Diplomatic Game 7. Operation Perth: War by Consensus 8. Back to Washington: The Pentagon and the White House 9. The Mangal Tribe: Protecting People We Can’t Access 10. The Elder in Khost: Risk Aversion and the Cost of Inaction 11. Night Raid: The Catch-and-Release Detention System 12. Blackbeard Rising: The Afghan National Army Commandos 13. On the Border with Pakistan: The Rocket’s Red Glare 14. The Tribes of Chamkani: The Community Defense Initiative 15. Washington Again: Wishing the Problem Away Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis In this New York Times bestseller, ayoung and successful entrepreneur makes the case that politics has no place in business, and sets out a new vision for the future of American capitalism. There?s a new invisible force at work in our economic and cultural lives. It affects every advertisement we see and every product we buy, from our morning coffee to a new pair of shoes. ?Stakeholder capitalism? makes rosy promises of a better, more diverse, environmentally-friendly world, but in reality this ideology championed by America?s business and political leaders robs us of our money, our voice, and our identity. Vivek Ramaswamy is a traitor to his class. He?s founded multibillion-dollar enterprises, led a biotech company as CEO, he became a hedge fund partner in his 20s, trained as a scientist at Harvard and a lawyer at Yale, and grew up the child of immigrants in a small town in Ohio. Now he takes us behind the scenes into corporate boardrooms and five-star conferences, into Ivy League classrooms and secretive nonprofits, to reveal the defining scam of our century. The modern woke-industrial complex divides us as a people. By mixing morality with consumerism, America?s elites prey on our innermost insecurities about who we really are. They sell us cheap social causes and skin-deep identities to satisfy our hunger for a cause and our search for meaning, at a moment when we as Americans lack both. This book not only rips back the curtain on the new corporatist agenda, it offers a better way forward. America?s elites may want to sort us into demographic boxes, but we don?t have to stay there. Woke, Inc.begins as a critique of stakeholder capitalism and ends with an exploration of what it means to be an American today?a journey that begins with cynicism and ends with hope.

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Book SynopsisA prize-winning historian reveals how Stalin—not Hitler—was the animating force of World War II in this major new history.World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with villainous Hitler driving its events. But Hitler was not in power when the conflict erupted in Asia—and he was certainly dead before it ended. His armies did not fight in multiple theaters, his empire did not span the Eurasian continent, and he did not inherit any of the spoils of war. That central role belonged to Joseph Stalin. The Second World War was not Hitler’s war; it was Stalin’s war. Drawing on ambitious new research in Soviet, European, and US archives, Stalin’s War revolutionizes our understanding of this global conflict by moving its epicenter to the east. Hitler’s genocidal ambition may have helped unleash Armageddon, but as McMeekin shows, the war which emerged in Europe in September 1939 was the one Stalin wanted, not Hitler. So, too, did the Pacific war of 1941–1945 fulfill Stalin’s goal of unleashing a devastating war of attrition between Japan and the “Anglo-Saxon” capitalist powers he viewed as his ultimate adversary. McMeekin also reveals the extent to which Soviet Communism was rescued by the US and Britain’s self-defeating strategic moves, beginning with Lend-Lease aid, as American and British supply boards agreed almost blindly to every Soviet demand. Stalin’s war machine, McMeekin shows, was substantially reliant on American materiél from warplanes, tanks, trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, fuel, ammunition, and explosives, to industrial inputs and technology transfer, to the foodstuffs which fed the Red Army. This unreciprocated American generosity gave Stalin’s armies the mobile striking power to conquer most of Eurasia, from Berlin to Beijing, for Communism. A groundbreaking reassessment of the Second World War, Stalin’s War is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the current world order. 

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Book SynopsisJulius Caesar has been the inspiration to countless military commanders over the last two millennia. Born into an aristocratic family, his early military campaigns, part of his progression along the cursus honorum, included campaigning in the east, Spain and in the early Roman civil wars. His participation in the Gallic Wars is known mainly through the commentary on the wars that he wrote and published, along with his incursions into Britain. This concise history details his military life, and how it impacted with his political career, from his youth through the civil wars that resulted in his becoming the dictator of Rome, and his legacy.Trade ReviewI personally enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it wholeheartedly. * Battlefield Magazine *Ideal for the beginner to this subject. * Miniature Wargames *

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Book SynopsisAt a time when the identity of Israel is more uncertain than at any moment since its modern founding, Be Strong and of Good Courage celebrates the defining generation of leaders who took on the task of safeguarding the country's future. David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon were all present at the creation of the new nation, and each faced a threat that directly imperiled the country's existence. The book is a history of those moments when Israel, a country born of existential peril, required extraordinary acts of leadership and strategic judgment to secure its future. The strength its leaders showed, their character and calculation in the most agonizing moments, made them not just the political center of the country but its moral compass too. The leaders were not perfect; sometimes the decisions they made had consequences they could not foresee or control, but they managed to maintain the character of the nation without jeopardizing its survival. Israel is currently more secure than ever in its recent history, but it may be on the verge of sacrificing the essential character that its greatest citizens fought to secure. This is the story of that epic fight.

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Book SynopsisRichard Gregg was a twentieth-century pacificist and social philosopher. He was among the first Americas to study with Mohandas Gandhi in India and later wrote The Power of Non-Violence, the essential guide t to peaceful protest that informed the methods of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the American civil rights movement and inspired many other activisits. Gregg's holistic vision of a peaceful and compassionate world combine nonviolence, environmental sustanibility, and simple living.

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Book SynopsisToday Vietnam is one of America’s strongest international partners, with a thriving economy and a population that welcomes American visitors. How that relationship was formed is a twenty-year story of daring diplomacy and a careful thawing of tensions between the two countries after a lengthy war that cost nearly 60,000 American and more than two million Vietnamese lives. Ted Osius, former ambassador during the Obama administration, offers a vivid account, starting in the 1990s, of the various forms of diplomacy that made this reconciliation possible. He considers the leaders who put aside past traumas to work on creating a brighter future, including senators John McCain and John Kerry, two Vietnam veterans and ideological opponents who set aside their differences for a greater cause, and Pete Peterson—the former POW who became the first U.S. ambassador to a new Vietnam. Osius also draws upon his own experiences working first-hand with various Vietnamese leaders and traveling the country on bicycle to spotlight the ordinary Vietnamese people who have helped bring about their nation’s extraordinary renaissance. With a foreword by former Secretary of State John Kerry, Nothing Is Impossible tells an inspiring story of how international diplomacy can create a better world.Trade Review"This is a lot more than a first-rate memoir. It is a brilliantly organized account of a decades-long struggle towards reconciliation, not just on the part of two governments but on the part of two nations bearing the physical and emotional scars of a protracted war. As U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Ted was far more than merely diligent. He was intensely creative in finding ways, both moral and material, to soften bitter memories with new hope. In the process, he served the strategic interests of the United States by stressing common interests and building mutual respect. His work in Vietnam is a reminder of something often overlooked in our country: the extraordinary value of its professional Foreign Service—which I personally saw every day as Vice President, and which is clear as day on the pages of this book." -- Al Gore * Former United States Vice President *"America’s reconciliation with Vietnam is one of the most remarkable diplomatic stories of the past three decades, and Ambassador Ted Osius was at the center of it all. In his new book, Ambassador Osius takes readers behind the scenes of this initiative, helping them understand how two old enemies came together to forge a better future for their people. Nothing Is Impossible is an absorbing memoir from one of America’s finest diplomats." -- Madeleine K. Albright * Former U.S. Secretary of State *“In the great tradition of Dean Acheson’s Present at the Creation, Ambassador Osius has provided us with a thoughtful and gripping diplomatic history of the critical moments in the reconciliation and the rebuilding of relations between the United States and Vietnam. This book provides important historical context but is also deeply personal, reminding us just how valuable diplomacy and the creative diplomats who toil tirelessly, often behind the scenes, just are. This is a must-read not just for those interested in the role of the United States in Asia, but for anyone who seeks to understand what contribution an individual can make to addressing the complexities of international relations.” -- Ambassador Michael Froman * Former U.S. Trade Representative *“The title of this book tells you a lot about Ted Osius, and about the instrumental role he played in building trust and cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. Forty years after a war that caused incalculable suffering and loss for the people of both countries, Ted’s story of how an openly gay American ambassador won the hearts of the Vietnamese people contains priceless lessons for every aspiring diplomat, and for people everywhere who believe in the power of listening and of staying true to one’s convictions in pursuit of a larger goal in a foreign land.” -- Patrick Leahy * U.S. Senator *"Ambassador Ted Osius tells a remarkable story of how the United States and Vietnam overcame the tragedy of war to build an enduring new relationship. My husband John played a part, along with so many Americans, including principled Democrats and Republicans in Congress, successive U.S. presidents of different political parties, and civic leaders—including proud veterans—determined to chart a new course for our peoples that is about the future, not the past. I recommend Ted’s book as both an authoritative history and a colorful account of an ambassador’s life in a country of strategic importance to the United States." -- Cindy McCain * Chair of the Board of Trustees of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University *"This remarkable book is a tribute to the power of reconciliation between former enemies—The United States and Vietnam. It also reveals the power and promise of diplomacy and the extraordinary American Ambassador, Ted Osius, who led the way in building a new peace with the Vietnamese people and government." -- Nicholas Burns * Ambassador (ret.), Harvard University Professor, and former U.S. Under Secretary of State *"From his direct engagement in the establishment of the US embassy to his 2014-2017 ambassadorship in Ha Noi, Ted Osius has demonstrated outstanding commitment and perseverance in the complex and difficult journey towards his stated goal of Viet Nam-US reconciliation. I applaud Ambassador Osius’s remarkable contribution to this worthy cause. His memoir provides us a needed American perspective from a top US diplomat. Let us hope that in the near future there will also be Vietnamese perspectives offered on the topic of Viet Nam-US reconciliation." -- Ton Nu Thi Ninh * Former Ambassador of Viet Nam to the European Union *"Ted’s evocative book, Nothing is Impossible instantly took me down a path of very fond memories. His story is an extremely personal one for me as well; one that brings back countless recollections of people, places, events, hard decisions, some of which evoked forgotten moments when history was made. His lively firsthand account of the timing, the key players, and the complex circumstances leading to the reconciliation and development of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam will keep readers glued to the book’s pages. Anyone interested in an expertly detailed account of American/Vietnam relations will discover that Nothing is Impossible is a gold mine of historical and interesting anecdotal information." -- Pete Peterson * Former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam *“Ted Osius and I started our ambassadorship in each other country’s capital, Hanoi and Washington DC, almost at the same time in late 2014. We committed ourselves to working together and we witnessed remarkable achievements: President Obama visiting Vietnam and Party General Secretary Trong’s first-ever historic visit to the US, among others. Ted has been much appreciated by leaders of both countries for his dedication and wise counseling. And, featured as the title of his new book, Nothing is Impossible has been, not only Ted’s famous remarks, but more uniquely, an attribute to the US-Vietnam relationship.” -- Pham Quang Vinh * former Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States *"Ted Osius has been the tip of the U.S. diplomatic spear in some of the most critical areas around the world. In his more than 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, Ted has successfully navigated the ever changing chessboard of U.S.-Asian relations in a political landscape populated with both fierce U.S. allies and determined opponents. All at a time that has seen the ever-growing influence of China on the world stage. Ted has shown he is a diplomat's diplomat and his story—as riveting and touching as it is detailed—is ultimately one of courage, devotion, and dedication." -- Alan Lowenthal * United States Representative for California's 47th congressional district *"Ted Osius has written a wonderful book about his, and America’s, relationship with Vietnam. He shows vividly how through diplomacy—not just government to government, but people to people and culture to culture—former wartime enemies surmounted differences once thought unbridgeable, and makes the case for pursuing goals still thought impossible, like the advancement of human rights in Vietnam. His story is fascinating, fun to read, and a primer for how America can regain its standing and influence in Vietnam and beyond." -- Thomas Malinowski * Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey’s 7th district *"Ambassador Ted Osius has written an illuminating, engaging and often moving story of the quarter century he has dedicated to helping the United States and Vietnam overcome their painful past. It is a narrative of political, economic, environmental and educational policies, of cultures and traditions, of losses and memories, of the lingering devastation of war and the commitment to work for reconciliation and peace." -- Drew Gilpin Faust * Arthur Kingsley Porter University Professor and President Emerita, Harvard University *"This is a book you cannot put down. Set in the corridors of power, Ted Osius's insider account offers fascinating insights about Vietnamese politics and geo-political relations. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in contemporary Vietnam." -- Maikhoi Donguyen * Vietnamese artist and activist *"This is an outstanding account of a rare transformational moment in history, when two people formerly divided by bitter ideological differences and scarred by warfare, were able to find their ways towards a reconciliation of the spirit, long after the swords were put away. As US ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius was far more than a detached observer and reporter of these events, in the classical manner of diplomats. Without ever losing perspective as an exponent of US policy, he invested heart and soul in furtherance of this process, and, as an unintended consequence of his respect for the values and cultures of the people of Vietnam, and by virtue of the examples he set in the details of his personal life, became in his own right a symbol of the best we have to offer as a nation." -- Leon Fuerth * Formerly, National Security Adviser to the Vice President of the United States, Albert Gore *"Ted Osius expertly weaves the personal and the political into an engaging and insightful story of how Vietnam and the United States have come so far so fast since diplomatic relations were established 25 years ago. 'Dealing honestly with the past…was key to carving out a different future…' he writes, and the most challenging part of that past is Agent Orange. Today the U.S. is giving material assistance to victims of Agent Orange and cleaning up the dioxin residue left behind at former American bases in Vietnam. But reconciliation is not yet complete and these and other measures which address the legacies of war will require continuing American attention and commitment." -- Charles Bailey * former Ford Foundation Representative in Vietnam & co-author, From Enemies to Partners: Vietnam, the U.S. and Agent Orange *"I had the pleasure of spending time with Ted in 2016 while I was filming in Vietnam. He instantly impressed me as a diplomat who not only held a strong commitment to US diplomacy, but more importantly as someone who cared deeply about the people of Vietnam with whom he interacted daily. He later demonstrated great personal integrity and courage by standing up against an unjust and misguided policy that would have abandoned people who had sacrificed greatly for our country. More Americans should follow his example of genuine communication, deeper understanding of others, and courageous living!" -- Samuel L. Jackson * Actor *"How do countries move from war to peace to friendship to cooperation to partnership? The dynamic is exceedingly, and unfortunately, rare. But Ted Osius had the good fortune to be engaged in America's reconciliation with Vietnam from its earliest days. In the finest tradition of diplomatic memoirs, he effortlessly synthesizes grand strategy and humanitarian affairs, tense negotiations and touching bicycle rides, to definitively document the course—and the enormous potential—of one of America's most vital partnerships in Asia." -- Parag Khanna * author of The Future is Asian *"Warriors and prisoners turned diplomats, revolutionaries and political activists turned statesmen, soldiers and draft dodgers turned national leaders: such are the extraordinary people whose unimaginable determination and resilience helped to overcome the impossible aftermath of war— and succeeded at a magnificent act of reconciliation. As brilliantly told by former ambassador Ted Osius, two former deadly enemies become bound into a reflection of one another through a desire for peace. Nothing is Impossible deserves to be read for generations." -- Nguyen Qui Duc * Former National Public Radio journalist and author of Where the Ashes Are: the Odyssey of a Vietnamese Family *"While millions of pages have been written about the terrible war between the United States and Vietnam, the two countries’ fraught and complicated efforts to rebuild diplomatic and economic relations afterward has been understudied and misunderstood. Ted Osius’ Nothing is Impossible beautifully fills this important gap. Told from the perspective of a diplomat on the front lines of the negotiations, the story Osius shares is both deeply personal and revelatory. Readers will learn new facts about the incremental steps toward reconciliation while being introduced to a cast of compelling characters who shaped the process." -- Edmund Malesky * Professor of Political Economy and Director of the Duke Center for International Development *“Nothing Is Impossible reminds me of Vietnam Now by former Los Angeles Times bureau chief, the late David Lamb. Like David, Ted is a great storyteller connecting the people he's met along the way to the pivotal moments in Vietnam's modern history. From lifting the U.S. trade embargo by President Clinton in 1994 to Vietnam's crackdown on civil society leaders during President Obama's visit in 2016, one can sense Ambassador Osius' frustration as well as his jubilation in his dealing with Washington DC or Hanoi where he once called home. Someday he will return with his family to call it home again. For he is an American at birth, but a Vietnamese at heart.” -- Trinh Hoi * Lawyer and TV Host *"Despite a tortured history, America's relationship with Vietnam is now evolving into a strategic partnership as Southeast Asia becomes a testing ground for China's rise and the epicenter of U.S.-China rivalry in the world. This illuminating book by Ted Osius tells the dramatic story — through the people who lived it — of how the two countries transitioned from implacable enemies to cooperative partners on the regional stage. As a central player in this transition, Osius has written the rare volume that is both important diplomatic history and an engrossing and enjoyable read." -- Jonathan Stromseth * Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asian Studies, Brookings Institution, and former member of the Secretary of State’s policy planning staff *"Ted Osius has shared such an important story about how America and Vietnam made the remarkable transition from enemies to friends, and what it means, truly, to come to terms with epic tragedy and loss.” -- Lynn Novick * co-director/producer, The Vietnam War *"The Notorious RBG," by Ted Osius https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/09/19/the-notorious-rbg/ * Washington Blade *“[A] complex and fact-filled book. Osius has succeeded in making the many people involved come very much alive in his book.” * Thomas Bo Pendersen *"The Remonstrating Official," by Ted Osius * The Foreign Service Journal *"Former US ambassador writes on US reconciliation with Vietnam" * Sai Gon Giai Phong English edition online *"Fascinating detail....A reader curious to learn why Washington and Hanoi are now contemplating a 'comprehensive strategic relationship' won't be disappointed by Ted Osius' book. There is lucid discussion, inter alia, of the step-by-step development of 'strategic trusts' between the military establishments of both nations." * Asia Sentinel *"Vice President Kamala Harris’s Visit To Vietnam" By Ted Osius * Tuoi Tre newspaper *Vietnam & The US: Legacy and Partnership with Admiral Scott Swift and Ambassador Ted Osius * The General and the Ambassador *The Remonstrating Official: "Speaking Out" by Ted Osius * The Foreign Service Journal *"Ted Osius, ex-US envoy in Hanoi, to head US-ASEAN Business Council," by Larry Luxner * The Washington Diplomat *"Nothing is Impossible: Diplomacy, Leadership and Acceptance with Ted Osius" * Fifth Dimensional Leadership podcast *"Osius is well positioned to write the book. He served twice at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Hanoi, first as a political officer shortly after normalization, and then as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam almost 20 years later. Osius’ extended engagement with Vietnam, which he summarized as “pursuing diplomacy with Vietnam for twenty-three years – under four presidents and seven secretaries of state,” enabled him to gain a deep understanding of the different contours of bilateral relations. This, in turn, provided him with the necessary ingredients to fill his book with fascinating accounts of how Washington and Hanoi have worked together to promote reconciliation and strengthen their ties." * The Diplomat *"IN OTHER TRUMP NEWS — There’s a new book out next week by TED OSIUS, the former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, recounting his experiences in the job. He tells one story about preparations for Trump’s 2017 trip to Vietnam for an APEC meeting. The planning included an upcoming White House meeting with Vietnamese PM NGUYEN XUAN PHUC. When Trump heard the name, he responded with a racist joke." * POLITICO Playbook *"Ex-Ambassador to Vietnam 'Grieved' Trump Victory, Saw It As Threat to U.S.-Asia Relations," by Jenni Fink * Newsweek *"Trump made a racist joke asking if then-Vietnamese prime minister's name was 'like Fook Yoo,' book says," by Grace Panetta * Business Insider *"Behind the scenes of Donald Trump's very strange White House meeting with Vietnam's prime minister," an excerpt from Nothing Is Impossible by Ted Osius * Salon *"Racist President Told Racist Joke Before Meeting Vietnam’s Prime Minister: New Book," by Peter Wade * Rolling Stone *"In his new book, Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam, Osius serves up a vivid first-hand account of the development of Vietnam-U.S. relations in the last quarter century." * Radio Free Asia *"Ted Osius retired from his post as US Ambassador to Vietnam when asked to implement covertly-devised deportation policies he found morally repugnant and un-American. Hear about his crisis of conscience and also of the heroic service of senators John McCain and John Kerry, Vietnam vets who did the right thing at great political cost." https://americandiplomat.libsyn.com/nothing-is-impossible-with-ted-osius?tdest_id=1754555 * American Diplomat Podcast *"Vietnam: The Long Shadow of War" by Robert Bociago * Asia Media Center *"Retired Vietnam Ambassador Ted Osius: Diplomacy Is about Building Trust and Taking Risks," by Nick Erikson * GW Today *"An inspiring story of how international diplomacy can create a better world." * Foreign Service Journal - In Their Own Write *"Former U.S.-Vietnam ambassador discusses post-war reconciliation," by Jackson Lanzer * The GW Hatchet *Ted Osius interview with Pho Bolsa TV * Pho Bolsa TV *S2#15 Ted Osius, President & CEO US-ASEAN Business Council: Vietnam’s economic prospects after the pandemic * Vietnam Innovators podcast *"How far will the US go in its relationship with Vietnam’s military?" interview with Ted Osius * PRI's "The World" *Modern American Diplomacy: The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) interview with Ted Osius * Modern American Diplomacy podcast *"Why the US's and Vietnam's militaries became unlikely comrades, and how their relationship survived Trump" * Business Insider *"First and foremost, however, Osius’ memoir is an invaluable contribution to understanding the history of U.S.-Vietnam relations, particularly how this process was conducted by officials in Washington and Hanoi. And the book’s intrigue lies in its anecdotes. It isn’t difficult to imagine future works on Vietnam quoting at length the conversations Osius had with Vietnamese or American officials, which are relayed in this book." * Council on Foreign Relations *"Osius demonstrates a deep understanding of Vietnamese culture and history, including its difficult relations with China.... [The] book is a compelling road map of the steps and actions Vietnam and the United States took to normalise and deepen their ties. Clearly it took many people in both countries to push to build trust and take the first halting steps. Nothing Is Impossible could serve as a helpful primer for other countries that may seek rapprochement with Washington down the road." * South China Morning Post *"?129 - Ted Osius - US Ambassador to Vietnam 2014-2017" * "The Vietnamese" podcast with Kenneth Nguyen *Amb. Ted Osius on Shaping U.S. Economic Diplomacy in ASEAN * The Tea Leaves Podcast *Talk Back: Wednesday, Mar 2 - Michael McKinley and Ted Osius * KGVO Talk Back Radio *"OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius’ new book, “Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam” ($29.95), at Nelson Cunningham’s Georgetown home on Wednesday night: John Negroponte (who introduced Osius), Carla Hills, Eric Rubin,Jim Kolbe and Thomas Hubbard." * POLITICO Playbook PM *"Osius delves into a wide range of important issues, including climate change, educational exchange, the East Sea (known as the South China Sea to the rest of the world), energy policy, environmental pollution, LGBT, the Mekong Delta, religion, and war legacies. On another positive note, the book is chock full of insider information about Vietnam-US relations, some of which drew the ire of the Vietnamese government." * Counterpunch *“The book tells an inspiring story of how international diplomacy can create a better world by describing a 20-year journey of daring diplomacy that led not only to the reconciliation between the two former foes, but also the constant improvement in their bilateral ties. The book vividly illustrates how diplomacy—not just government to government, but also people to people and culture to culture—allowed the two countries to overcome seemingly irreconcilable differences.” -- Nugyen Tuan Viet * Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs *"This is a lot more than a first-rate memoir. It is a brilliantly organized account of a decades-long struggle towards reconciliation, not just on the part of two governments but on the part of two nations bearing the physical and emotional scars of a protracted war. As U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, Ted was far more than merely diligent. He was intensely creative in finding ways, both moral and material, to soften bitter memories with new hope. In the process, he served the strategic interests of the United States by stressing common interests and building mutual respect. His work in Vietnam is a reminder of something often overlooked in our country: the extraordinary value of its professional Foreign Service—which I personally saw every day as Vice President, and which is clear as day on the pages of this book." -- Al Gore * Former United States Vice President *"America’s reconciliation with Vietnam is one of the most remarkable diplomatic stories of the past three decades, and Ambassador Ted Osius was at the center of it all. In his new book, Ambassador Osius takes readers behind the scenes of this initiative, helping them understand how two old enemies came together to forge a better future for their people. Nothing Is Impossible is an absorbing memoir from one of America’s finest diplomats." -- Madeleine K. Albright * Former U.S. Secretary of State *“In the great tradition of Dean Acheson’s Present at the Creation, Ambassador Osius has provided us with a thoughtful and gripping diplomatic history of the critical moments in the reconciliation and the rebuilding of relations between the United States and Vietnam. This book provides important historical context but is also deeply personal, reminding us just how valuable diplomacy and the creative diplomats who toil tirelessly, often behind the scenes, just are. This is a must-read not just for those interested in the role of the United States in Asia, but for anyone who seeks to understand what contribution an individual can make to addressing the complexities of international relations.” -- Ambassador Michael Froman * Former U.S. Trade Representative *“The title of this book tells you a lot about Ted Osius, and about the instrumental role he played in building trust and cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. Forty years after a war that caused incalculable suffering and loss for the people of both countries, Ted’s story of how an openly gay American ambassador won the hearts of the Vietnamese people contains priceless lessons for every aspiring diplomat, and for people everywhere who believe in the power of listening and of staying true to one’s convictions in pursuit of a larger goal in a foreign land.” -- Patrick Leahy * U.S. Senator *"Ambassador Ted Osius tells a remarkable story of how the United States and Vietnam overcame the tragedy of war to build an enduring new relationship. My husband John played a part, along with so many Americans, including principled Democrats and Republicans in Congress, successive U.S. presidents of different political parties, and civic leaders—including proud veterans—determined to chart a new course for our peoples that is about the future, not the past. I recommend Ted’s book as both an authoritative history and a colorful account of an ambassador’s life in a country of strategic importance to the United States." -- Cindy McCain * Chair of the Board of Trustees of the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State *"This remarkable book is a tribute to the power of reconciliation between former enemies—The United States and Vietnam. It also reveals the power and promise of diplomacy and the extraordinary American Ambassador, Ted Osius, who led the way in building a new peace with the Vietnamese people and government." -- Nicholas Burns * Ambassador (ret.), Harvard University Professor, and former U.S. Under Secretary of State *"From his direct engagement in the establishment of the US embassy to his 2014-2017 ambassadorship in Ha Noi, Ted Osius has demonstrated outstanding commitment and perseverance in the complex and difficult journey towards his stated goal of Viet Nam-US reconciliation. I applaud Ambassador Osius’s remarkable contribution to this worthy cause. His memoir provides us a needed American perspective from a top US diplomat. Let us hope that in the near future there will also be Vietnamese perspectives offered on the topic of Viet Nam-US reconciliation." -- Ton Nu Thi Ninh * Former Ambassador of Viet Nam to the European Union *"Ted’s evocative book, Nothing is Impossible instantly took me down a path of very fond memories. His story is an extremely personal one for me as well; one that brings back countless recollections of people, places, events, hard decisions, some of which evoked forgotten moments when history was made. His lively firsthand account of the timing, the key players, and the complex circumstances leading to the reconciliation and development of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam will keep readers glued to the book’s pages. Anyone interested in an expertly detailed account of American/Vietnam relations will discover that Nothing is Impossible is a gold mine of historical and interesting anecdotal information." -- Pete Peterson * Former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam *“Ted Osius and I started our ambassadorship in each other country’s capital, Hanoi and Washington DC, almost at the same time in late 2014. We committed ourselves to working together and we witnessed remarkable achievements: President Obama visiting Vietnam and Party General Secretary Trong’s first-ever historic visit to the US, among others. Ted has been much appreciated by leaders of both countries for his dedication and wise counseling. And, featured as the title of his new book, Nothing is Impossible has been, not only Ted’s famous remarks, but more uniquely, an attribute to the US-Vietnam relationship.” -- Pham Quang Vinh * former Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States *"Ted Osius has been the tip of the U.S. diplomatic spear in some of the most critical areas around the world. In his more than 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, Ted has successfully navigated the ever changing chessboard of U.S.-Asian relations in a political landscape populated with both fierce U.S. allies and determined opponents. All at a time that has seen the ever-growing influence of China on the world stage. Ted has shown he is a diplomat's diplomat and his story—as riveting and touching as it is detailed—is ultimately one of courage, devotion, and dedication." -- Alan Lowenthal * United States Representative for California's 47th congressional district *"Ted Osius has written a wonderful book about his, and America’s, relationship with Vietnam. He shows vividly how through diplomacy—not just government to government, but people to people and culture to culture—former wartime enemies surmounted differences once thought unbridgeable, and makes the case for pursuing goals still thought impossible, like the advancement of human rights in Vietnam. His story is fascinating, fun to read, and a primer for how America can regain its standing and influence in Vietnam and beyond." -- Thomas Malinowski * Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey’s 7th district *"Ambassador Ted Osius has written an illuminating, engaging and often moving story of the quarter century he has dedicated to helping the United States and Vietnam overcome their painful past. It is a narrative of political, economic, environmental and educational policies, of cultures and traditions, of losses and memories, of the lingering devastation of war and the commitment to work for reconciliation and peace." -- Drew Gilpin Faust * Arthur Kingsley Porter University Professor and President Emerita, Harvard University *"This is a book you cannot put down. Set in the corridors of power, Ted Osius's insider account offers fascinating insights about Vietnamese politics and geo-political relations. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in contemporary Vietnam." -- Maikhoi Donguyen * Vietnamese artist and activist *"This is an outstanding account of a rare transformational moment in history, when two people formerly divided by bitter ideological differences and scarred by warfare, were able to find their ways towards a reconciliation of the spirit, long after the swords were put away. As US ambassador to Vietnam, Ted Osius was far more than a detached observer and reporter of these events, in the classical manner of diplomats. Without ever losing perspective as an exponent of US policy, he invested heart and soul in furtherance of this process, and, as an unintended consequence of his respect for the values and cultures of the people of Vietnam, and by virtue of the examples he set in the details of his personal life, became in his own right a symbol of the best we have to offer as a nation." -- Leon Fuerth * Formerly, National Security Adviser to the Vice President of the United States, Albert Gore *"Ted Osius expertly weaves the personal and the political into an engaging and insightful story of how Vietnam and the United States have come so far so fast since diplomatic relations were established 25 years ago. 'Dealing honestly with the past…was key to carving out a different future…' he writes, and the most challenging part of that past is Agent Orange. Today the U.S. is giving material assistance to victims of Agent Orange and cleaning up the dioxin residue left behind at former American bases in Vietnam. But reconciliation is not yet complete and these and other measures which address the legacies of war will require continuing American attention and commitment." -- Charles Bailey * former Ford Foundation Representative in Vietnam & co-author, From Enemies to Partners: Vietnam, the *"I had the pleasure of spending time with Ted in 2016 while I was filming in Vietnam. He instantly impressed me as a diplomat who not only held a strong commitment to US diplomacy, but more importantly as someone who cared deeply about the people of Vietnam with whom he interacted daily. He later demonstrated great personal integrity and courage by standing up against an unjust and misguided policy that would have abandoned people who had sacrificed greatly for our country. More Americans should follow his example of genuine communication, deeper understanding of others, and courageous living!" -- Samuel L. Jackson * Actor *"How do countries move from war to peace to friendship to cooperation to partnership? The dynamic is exceedingly, and unfortunately, rare. But Ted Osius had the good fortune to be engaged in America's reconciliation with Vietnam from its earliest days. In the finest tradition of diplomatic memoirs, he effortlessly synthesizes grand strategy and humanitarian affairs, tense negotiations and touching bicycle rides, to definitively document the course—and the enormous potential—of one of America's most vital partnerships in Asia." -- Parag Khanna * author of The Future is Asian *"Warriors and prisoners turned diplomats, revolutionaries and political activists turned statesmen, soldiers and draft dodgers turned national leaders: such are the extraordinary people whose unimaginable determination and resilience helped to overcome the impossible aftermath of war— and succeeded at a magnificent act of reconciliation. As brilliantly told by former ambassador Ted Osius, two former deadly enemies become bound into a reflection of one another through a desire for peace. Nothing is Impossible deserves to be read for generations." -- Nguyen Qui Duc * Former National Public Radio journalist and author of Where the Ashes Are: the Odyssey of a Vietname *"While millions of pages have been written about the terrible war between the United States and Vietnam, the two countries’ fraught and complicated efforts to rebuild diplomatic and economic relations afterward has been understudied and misunderstood. Ted Osius’ Nothing is Impossible beautifully fills this important gap. Told from the perspective of a diplomat on the front lines of the negotiations, the story Osius shares is both deeply personal and revelatory. Readers will learn new facts about the incremental steps toward reconciliation while being introduced to a cast of compelling characters who shaped the process." -- Edmund Malesky * Professor of Political Economy and Director of the Duke Center for International Development *“Nothing Is Impossible reminds me of Vietnam Now by former Los Angeles Times bureau chief, the late David Lamb. Like David, Ted is a great storyteller connecting the people he's met along the way to the pivotal moments in Vietnam's modern history. From lifting the U.S. trade embargo by President Clinton in 1994 to Vietnam's crackdown on civil society leaders during President Obama's visit in 2016, one can sense Ambassador Osius' frustration as well as his jubilation in his dealing with Washington DC or Hanoi where he once called home. Someday he will return with his family to call it home again. For he is an American at birth, but a Vietnamese at heart.” -- Trinh Hoi * Lawyer and TV Host *"Despite a tortured history, America's relationship with Vietnam is now evolving into a strategic partnership as Southeast Asia becomes a testing ground for China's rise and the epicenter of U.S.-China rivalry in the world. This illuminating book by Ted Osius tells the dramatic story — through the people who lived it — of how the two countries transitioned from implacable enemies to cooperative partners on the regional stage. As a central player in this transition, Osius has written the rare volume that is both important diplomatic history and an engrossing and enjoyable read." -- Jonathan Stromseth * Lee Kuan Yew Chair in Southeast Asian Studies, Brookings Institution, and former member of the Secre *"Ted Osius has shared such an important story about how America and Vietnam made the remarkable transition from enemies to friends, and what it means, truly, to come to terms with epic tragedy and loss.” -- Lynn Novick * co-director/producer, The Vietnam War *"The Notorious RBG," by Ted Osius https://www.washingtonblade.com/2020/09/19/the-notorious-rbg/ * Washington Blade *“[A] complex and fact-filled book. Osius has succeeded in making the many people involved come very much alive in his book.” * Thomas Bo Pendersen *"The Remonstrating Official," by Ted Osius * The Foreign Service Journal *"Former US ambassador writes on US reconciliation with Vietnam" * Sai Gon Giai Phong English edition online *"Fascinating detail....A reader curious to learn why Washington and Hanoi are now contemplating a 'comprehensive strategic relationship' won't be disappointed by Ted Osius' book. There is lucid discussion, inter alia, of the step-by-step development of 'strategic trusts' between the military establishments of both nations." * Asia Sentinel *"Vice President Kamala Harris’s Visit To Vietnam" By Ted Osius * Tuoi Tre newspaper *Vietnam The US: Legacy and Partnership with Admiral Scott Swift and Ambassador Ted Osius * The General and the Ambassador *The Remonstrating Official: "Speaking Out" by Ted Osius * The Foreign Service Journal *"Ted Osius, ex-US envoy in Hanoi, to head US-ASEAN Business Council," by Larry Luxner * The Washington Diplomat *"Nothing is Impossible: Diplomacy, Leadership and Acceptance with Ted Osius" * Fifth Dimensional Leadership podcast *"Osius is well positioned to write the book. He served twice at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Hanoi, first as a political officer shortly after normalization, and then as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam almost 20 years later. Osius’ extended engagement with Vietnam, which he summarized as “pursuing diplomacy with Vietnam for twenty-three years – under four presidents and seven secretaries of state,” enabled him to gain a deep understanding of the different contours of bilateral relations. This, in turn, provided him with the necessary ingredients to fill his book with fascinating accounts of how Washington and Hanoi have worked together to promote reconciliation and strengthen their ties." * The Diplomat *"IN OTHER TRUMP NEWS — There’s a new book out next week by TED OSIUS, the former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, recounting his experiences in the job. He tells one story about preparations for Trump’s 2017 trip to Vietnam for an APEC meeting. The planning included an upcoming White House meeting with Vietnamese PM NGUYEN XUAN PHUC. When Trump heard the name, he responded with a racist joke." * POLITICO Playbook *"Ex-Ambassador to Vietnam 'Grieved' Trump Victory, Saw It As Threat to U.S.-Asia Relations," by Jenni Fink * Newsweek *"Trump made a racist joke asking if then-Vietnamese prime minister's name was 'like Fook Yoo,' book says," by Grace Panetta * Business Insider *"Behind the scenes of Donald Trump's very strange White House meeting with Vietnam's prime minister," an excerpt from Nothing Is Impossible by Ted Osius * Salon *"Racist President Told Racist Joke Before Meeting Vietnam’s Prime Minister: New Book," by Peter Wade * Rolling Stone *"In his new book, Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam, Osius serves up a vivid first-hand account of the development of Vietnam-U.S. relations in the last quarter century." * Radio Free Asia *"Ted Osius retired from his post as US Ambassador to Vietnam when asked to implement covertly-devised deportation policies he found morally repugnant and un-American. Hear about his crisis of conscience and also of the heroic service of senators John McCain and John Kerry, Vietnam vets who did the right thing at great political cost." https://americandiplomat.libsyn.com/nothing-is-impossible-with-ted-osius?tdest_id=1754555 * American Diplomat Podcast *"Vietnam: The Long Shadow of War" by Robert Bociago * Asia Media Center *"Retired Vietnam Ambassador Ted Osius: Diplomacy Is about Building Trust and Taking Risks," by Nick Erikson * GW Today *"An inspiring story of how international diplomacy can create a better world." * Foreign Service Journal - In Their Own Write *"Former U.S.-Vietnam ambassador discusses post-war reconciliation," by Jackson Lanzer * The GW Hatchet *Ted Osius interview with Pho Bolsa TV * Pho Bolsa TV *S2#15 Ted Osius, President CEO US-ASEAN Business Council: Vietnam’s economic prospects after the pandemic * Vietnam Innovators podcast *"How far will the US go in its relationship with Vietnam’s military?" interview with Ted Osius * PRI's "The World" *Modern American Diplomacy: The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) interview with Ted Osius * Modern American Diplomacy podcast *"Why the US's and Vietnam's militaries became unlikely comrades, and how their relationship survived Trump" * Business Insider *"First and foremost, however, Osius’ memoir is an invaluable contribution to understanding the history of U.S.-Vietnam relations, particularly how this process was conducted by officials in Washington and Hanoi. And the book’s intrigue lies in its anecdotes. It isn’t difficult to imagine future works on Vietnam quoting at length the conversations Osius had with Vietnamese or American officials, which are relayed in this book." * Council on Foreign Relations *"Osius demonstrates a deep understanding of Vietnamese culture and history, including its difficult relations with China.... [The] book is a compelling road map of the steps and actions Vietnam and the United States took to normalise and deepen their ties. Clearly it took many people in both countries to push to build trust and take the first halting steps. Nothing Is Impossible could serve as a helpful primer for other countries that may seek rapprochement with Washington down the road." * South China Morning Post *"129 - Ted Osius - US Ambassador to Vietnam 2014-2017" * "The Vietnamese" podcast with Kenneth Nguyen *Amb. Ted Osius on Shaping U.S. Economic Diplomacy in ASEAN * The Tea Leaves Podcast *Talk Back: Wednesday, Mar 2 - Michael McKinley and Ted Osius * KGVO Talk Back Radio *"OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius’ new book, “Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam” ($29.95), at Nelson Cunningham’s Georgetown home on Wednesday night: John Negroponte (who introduced Osius), Carla Hills, Eric Rubin,Jim Kolbe and Thomas Hubbard." * POLITICO Playbook PM *"Osius delves into a wide range of important issues, including climate change, educational exchange, the East Sea (known as the South China Sea to the rest of the world), energy policy, environmental pollution, LGBT, the Mekong Delta, religion, and war legacies. On another positive note, the book is chock full of insider information about Vietnam-US relations, some of which drew the ire of the Vietnamese government." * Counterpunch *“The book tells an inspiring story of how international diplomacy can create a better world by describing a 20-year journey of daring diplomacy that led not only to the reconciliation between the two former foes, but also the constant improvement in their bilateral ties. The book vividly illustrates how diplomacy—not just government to government, but also people to people and culture to culture—allowed the two countries to overcome seemingly irreconcilable differences.” -- Nugyen Tuan Viet * Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs *Table of ContentsList of Photographs Foreword by John Kerry Preface: Biên Hòa Cemetery A Note on the Text 1 An Improbable Friendship 2 A Time to Heal and a Time to Build 3 The Story of Pete Peterson 4 David and Goliath 5 The Legacies of War 6 Think Unthinkable Thoughts 7 Diplomacy from a Bicycle Seat 8 Châu, Khiết, and the Students of Vietnam 9 China and the Trans-Pacific Partnership 10 The Communist Party 11 The Notorious RBG 12 A New Journey 13 A New President 14 Ditches and Tree Roots Epilogue: Reconciliation Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1943, Charlotte Delbo and 229 other women were deported to a station with no name, which they later learned was Auschwitz. Arrested for resisting the Nazi occupation of Paris, Delbo was sent to the camps, enduring both Auschwitz and RavensbrÜck for twenty-seven months. There, she, her fellow deportees, and millions of others were subjected to slave labor and nearly succumbed to typhus, dysentery, and hunger. She sustained herself by reciting MoliÈre and resolved to someday write a book about herself and her fellow deportees, a stunning work called None of Us Will Return. After the camps, Delbo devoted her life to the art of writing and the duty of witnessing, fiercely advocating for the power of the arts to testify against despotism and tyranny. Ghislaine Dunant's unforgettable biography of Delbo, La vie retrouvÉe (2016), captivated French readers and was awarded the Prix Femina. Now translated into English for the first time, Charlotte Delbo: A Life Reclaimed depicts Delbo's lifelong battles as a working-class woman, as a survivor, as a leftist who broke from the Communist Party, and most of all, as a writer whose words compelled others to see.Trade Review"Deeply researched and deeply empathetic, this is a spectacular biography.” - CHOICE“This splendid biography brings to life a woman of uncommon courage and intellect who needs to be better known and understood in America, in a fine translation by Kathryn Lachman. Detailed and fully documented, A Life Reclaimed is a gripping narrative told with empathy and deep understanding of the issues and traumas faced by so many in the unhappy history of France in the twentieth century.”- David Bellos, author of Georges Perec: A Life in Words; “Five years after its 2016 publication in French, Ghislaine Dunant’s award-winning biography of Auschwitz and RavensbrÜck survivor and writer Charlotte Delbo has found its voice in English in this lyrical, even musical translation by Kathryn Lachman. Delbo’s life and work have long been regarded as essential reading for all students of the Holocaust era, and now this staggeringly beautifully translation of Dunant’s brilliant biography is no less essential, a must-read for all who ask how art and literature shape and have been shaped by the concentration camp universe.”- James Young, author of The Stages of Memory: Reflections on Memorial Art, Loss, and the Spaces Between; “Charlotte Delbo is one of the most important testimonial writers of the Holocaust, alongside Primo Levi. She is also one of the rare witnesses to have focused on the lives of women in Nazi concentration camps. As the first biography of Delbo to appear in English, A Life Reclaimed is likely to become a reference for anyone seeking context for Delbo’s work. The translation is excellent.”- David Caron, author of The Nearness of Others: Searching for Tact and Contact in the Age of HIV ; “The force and focus of Dunant’s biography is its evocation of the lived experience of its subject. Given the extremity, indeed horror, of the central episode of that life, no one should, would, or could suggest that Dunant’s biography allows its readers to share Delbo’s point of view. What it does do, however, is bring us closer to that perspective, and make unmistakable its importance, not just for understanding (if such a thing is possible) one of the most unspeakable episodes of human history, but for responding to the political exigencies of our own times.”- Jim Hicks, executive editor of the Massachusetts Review

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Book SynopsisOn 30th April 1945 Germany is in chaos...Russian troops have reached Berlin. All over the country, people are on the move - concentration camp survivors, Allied PoWs, escaping Nazis - and the civilian population is fast running out of food. The man who orchestrated this nightmare is in his bunker beneath the capital, saying his farewells.This is the gripping story of Hitler's final hours, as seen through the eyes of those who were with him in the bunker; those fighting in the streets of Germany; and those pacing the corridors of power in Washington, London and Moscow.30th April 1945 was a day that millions had dreamed of, and millions had died for.Trade ReviewBeyond fascinating... this book brings to life a thousand different people in the most dramatic moment of the last century'"Mesmerising". * Daily Mail *"Fascinating". * The Sun *"Compelling". * Radio Times *

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