Military history: post-WW2 conflicts Books
University of Alabama Press The Naval Air War in Korea
Book Synopsis“In The Naval Air War in Korea, Dr. Hallion has captured the fact, feeling, and fancy of a very important conflict in aviation history, including the highly significant facets of the transition from piston to jet-propelled combat aircraft.”—Norman Polmar, author of Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 18th Edition
£26.96
Duke University Press Americas Miracle Man in Vietnam
Book SynopsisArgues that American cultural conceptions of religion and race during the 1950s played a crucial role in framing an ideology through which U.S. policymakers understood their options in Vietnam.Trade Review“Seth Jacobs makes a seminal contribution to the study of the origins of American involvement in Vietnam. Combining prodigious research in a rich variety of primary sources, a sophisticated conceptual framework that illuminates the intersection of high politics and popular culture, and an especially engaging writing style, Jacobs fundamentally recasts how we view this critical period in the history of the Vietnam wars and the Cold War.”—Mark Bradley, author of Imagining Vietnam and America: The Making of Postcolonial Vietnam, 1919–1950“Seth Jacobs’s interesting and provocative argument adds a new interpretation to the massive literature on the United States and the path toward full deployment in Vietnam. Jacobs writes with a lively, punchy style that makes his work both entertaining and instructive.”—Michael Latham, author of Modernization as Ideology: American Social Science and ‘Nation Building’ in the Kennedy EraTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. "Colonialism, Communism, or Catholicism?": Mr. Diem Goes to Washington 25 2. "Our System Demands the Supreme Being": America's Third Great Awakening 60 3. "These People Aren't Complicated": America's "Asia" at Midcentury 88 4. "Christ Crucified in Indo-China": Tom Dooley and the North Vietnamese Refugees 127 5. "The Sects and the Gangs Mean to Get Rid of the Saint": "Lightning Joe" Collins and the Battle for Saigon 172 6. "This God-Fearing Anti-Communist": The Vietnam Lobby and the Selling of Ngo Dinh Diem 217 Conclusion 263 Notes 277 Bibliography 339 Index 367
£85.50
Duke University Press Americas Miracle Man in Vietnam
Book SynopsisArgues that American cultural conceptions of religion and race during the 1950s played a crucial role in framing an ideology through which U.S. policymakers understood their options in Vietnam.Trade Review“Seth Jacobs makes a seminal contribution to the study of the origins of American involvement in Vietnam. Combining prodigious research in a rich variety of primary sources, a sophisticated conceptual framework that illuminates the intersection of high politics and popular culture, and an especially engaging writing style, Jacobs fundamentally recasts how we view this critical period in the history of the Vietnam wars and the Cold War.”—Mark Bradley, author of Imagining Vietnam and America: The Making of Postcolonial Vietnam, 1919–1950“Seth Jacobs’s interesting and provocative argument adds a new interpretation to the massive literature on the United States and the path toward full deployment in Vietnam. Jacobs writes with a lively, punchy style that makes his work both entertaining and instructive.”—Michael Latham, author of Modernization as Ideology: American Social Science and ‘Nation Building’ in the Kennedy EraTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. "Colonialism, Communism, or Catholicism?": Mr. Diem Goes to Washington 25 2. "Our System Demands the Supreme Being": America's Third Great Awakening 60 3. "These People Aren't Complicated": America's "Asia" at Midcentury 88 4. "Christ Crucified in Indo-China": Tom Dooley and the North Vietnamese Refugees 127 5. "The Sects and the Gangs Mean to Get Rid of the Saint": "Lightning Joe" Collins and the Battle for Saigon 172 6. "This God-Fearing Anti-Communist": The Vietnam Lobby and the Selling of Ngo Dinh Diem 217 Conclusion 263 Notes 277 Bibliography 339 Index 367
£27.90
Duke University Press Tours of Vietnam
Book SynopsisIn Tours of Vietnam, Scott Laderman demonstrates how tourist literature has shaped Americans’ understanding of Vietnam and projections of United States power since the mid-twentieth century. Laderman analyzes portrayals of Vietnam’s land, history, culture, economy, and people in travel narratives, U.S. military guides, and tourist guidebooks, pamphlets, and brochures. Whether implying that Vietnamese women were in need of saving by “manly” American military power or celebrating the neoliberal reforms Vietnam implemented in the 1980s, ostensibly neutral guides have repeatedly represented events, particularly those related to the Vietnam War, in ways that favor the global ambitions of the United States.Tracing a history of ideological assertions embedded in travel discourse, Laderman analyzes the use of tourism in the Republic of Vietnam as a form of Cold War cultural diplomacy by a fledgling state that, according to one pamphlet published by thTrade Review“. . .Tours of Vietnam makes a powerful intervention into the on-going scholarly reassessment of the Vietnam wars and their memories along with providing new insight into the ways in which the practices of tourism and the employment of American power did, and do, go hand-in-hand.” - Mark Philip Bradley, H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews“Laderman succeeds in connecting the strands of diplomatic and public history in an elegantly written, approachable work.” - Kristin L. Ahlberg, The Public Historian“Tours of Vietnam is a book that overflows with good and useful questions.” - Peter Siegenthaler, Pacific Historical Review“With its extensive analysis of historical and contemporary tourism discourses and practices, this text will be of interest to a broad and interdisciplinary readership that is also concerned with the enduring exercise of US power. Laderman’s work can be situated in a longer tradition of scholarship on US memory of the ‘Vietnam War,’ though it notably ventures to the ‘other side’ to also examine Vietnamese practices of memory. . . . Tours of Vietnam is a powerful text and an unsettling reminder of how the entanglements of war, empire, and tourism continue to inform US-Vietnamese relations today.” - Christina Schwenkel, Journal of Tourism History“Tours of Vietnam is a valuable addition to the scholarship on the larger questions around the US foreign policy and the unexpectedly substantial role that presumably apolitical cultural products play in shaping national memory and global imaginations.” - Lana Lin, Left History“[T]his is an excellent revisionist interpretation of Western involvement in Southeast Asia that belongs in all library collections. Highly recommended.” - D. R. Jamieson, Choice“In this rich and nuanced work, Scott Laderman shows us how tourism and the making of empire have been inextricably linked during and after the American war in Vietnam. Whether exploring the curious efforts of the former South Vietnamese state and the American military to promote tourism as the war unfolded or interrogating how that ubiquitous traveling bible of the backpack set, the Lonely Planet guide, obscures more than it reveals about the Vietnamese past and present, Tours of Vietnam offers a powerful model for writing a new transnational history of the United States and its engagement in the wider world.”—Mark Bradley, University of Chicago“Not a rehash of old arguments, Tours of Vietnam is a stunningly original and truly twenty-first-century exploration of America’s war in Vietnam. Combining vast research, profound insights, and lucid prose, Scott Laderman gives us a multilayered, nuanced, and brilliant vision of interrelations among history, memory, foreign policy, and culture.”—H. Bruce Franklin, author of War Stars: The Superweapon and the American Imagination“Tours of Vietnam makes a powerful intervention into the on-going scholarly reassessment of the Vietnam wars and their memories along with providing new insight into the ways in which the practices of tourism and the employment of American power did, and do, go hand-in-hand.” -- Mark Philip Bradley * H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews *“Tours of Vietnam is a book that overflows with good and useful questions.” -- Peter Siegenthaler * Pacific Historical Review *“Tours of Vietnam is a valuable addition to the scholarship on the larger questions around the US foreign policy and the unexpectedly substantial role that presumably apolitical cultural products play in shaping national memory and global imaginations.” -- Lana Lin * Left History *“[T]his is an excellent revisionist interpretation of Western involvement in Southeast Asia that belongs in all library collections. Highly recommended.” -- D. R. Jamieson * Choice *“Laderman succeeds in connecting the strands of diplomatic and public history in an elegantly written, approachable work.” -- Kristin L. Ahlberg * The Public Historian *“With its extensive analysis of historical and contemporary tourism discourses and practices, this text will be of interest to a broad and interdisciplinary readership that is also concerned with the enduring exercise of US power. Laderman’s work can be situated in a longer tradition of scholarship on US memory of the ‘Vietnam War,’ though it notably ventures to the ‘other side’ to also examine Vietnamese practices of memory. . . . Tours of Vietnam is a powerful text and an unsettling reminder of how the entanglements of war, empire, and tourism continue to inform US-Vietnamese relations today.” -- Christina Schwenkel * Journal of Tourism History *Table of ContentsPrefatory Note: The Nomenclature of the Vietnam War ix Acknowledgments xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms xvii Introduction: History, Tourism, and the Question of Empire 1 1. Tourism and State Legitimacy in the Republic of Vietnam 15 2. Educating Private Ryan: Tourism and the United States Military in Postcolonial Vietnam 47 3. "They Set About Revenging Themselves on the Population": The "Hue Massacre" and the Shaping of Historical Consciousness 87 4. The New Modernizers: Naturalizing Capitalism in Doi Moi Vietnam 123 5. "The Other Side of the War": Memory and Meaning at the War Remnants Museum 151 Epilogue: Tourism and the Martial Fascination 183 Notes 189 References 249 Index 271
£25.19
Duke University Press Four Decades On
Book SynopsisHistorians, anthropologists, and literary critics examine the legacies of the Second Indochina War, or what most Americans call the Vietnam War, nearly forty years after the United States finally left Vietnam.Trade Review"Four Decades On meets the clear scholarly need for a volume that explores the aftermath of the Vietnam War in Vietnam and the United States. This strong collection of essays demonstrates that the war continued to shape critical dimensions of Vietnamese and American history after 1975 and that these postwar developments must be conceived in a transnational frame."—Mark Philip Bradley, author of Vietnam at War"Four Decades On is a most valuable collection of essays analyzing the legacies of the Second Indochina War from inside Vietnam and the United States and, in some essays, from broader transnational perspectives. Addressing film, literature, politics, memory, Agent Orange, the environment, trade, and reconciliation and its absence, this collection would make an excellent concluding assignment to any course on the Vietnam War."—Marilyn B. Young, coeditor of Bombing Civilians: A Twentieth-Century History“Libraries seeking materials involving the history of memory will not go wrong by adding this excellent book to their collections. Highly recommended.” -- C. C. Lovett * Choice *“In summary, there are a lot of good bits in Four Decades On… [T]hose seriously interested in plumbing where Vietnam is headed or where the United States has been will want to have it on a handy shelf.” -- David Brown * Contemporary Southeast Asia *“Four Decades On is a rich collection that provides insight into the complex legacies of the Viet Nam War, which manifest themselves in local, national, and global contexts. The anthology reminds us of the need for multi-lingual, multi-shore, and interdisciplinary methodologies to more fully grapple with the meaning of war.” -- Judy Tzu-Chun Wu * Journal of Military History *“Given that this volume speaks to emerging trends in the historiography of the Vietnam War and Vietnamese studies, I would highly recommend Four Decades On to academics in these respective fields, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. . . . .These scholars also remind us that past narratives of the Vietnam War have obscured or omitted the voices and actions of the Vietnamese. Future histories must place Vietnamese and American voices in meaningful conversation, and the international lens adopted in the essays outlined above can remedy that lacunae.” -- Joshua Akers * H-War, H-Net Reviews *" . . . this collection deserves close attention from anyone seeking a better and more complete understanding of the Second Indochina War and its legacies." -- Andrew L. Johns * Journal of American History *"This outstanding collection of eleven essays . . . merit study by every citizen." -- Moss Roberts * Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: National Amnesia, Transnational Memory, and the Legacies of the Second Indochina War / Scott Laderman and Edwin A. Martini 1 1. Legacies Foretold: Excavating the Roots of Postwar Viet Nam / Ngo Vinh Long 16 2. Viet Nam and "Vietnam" in American History and Memory / Walter L. Hixson 44 3. "The Mainspring in This Country Has Been Broken": America's Battered Sense of Self and the Emergence of the Vietnam Syndrome / Alexander Bloom 58 4. Cold War in a Vietnamese Community / Heonik Kwon 84 5. The Ambivalence of Reconciliation in Contemporary Vietnamese Memoryscapes / Christina Schwenkel 103 6. Remembering War, Dreaming Peace: On Cosmopolitanism, Compassion, and Literature / Viet Thanh Nguyen 132 7. Viêt Nam's Growing Pains: Postsocialist Cinema Development and Transnational Politics / Mariam B. Lam 155 8. A Fishy Affair: Vietnamese Seafood and the Confrontation with U.S. Neoliberalism / Scott Laderman 183 9. Agent Orange: Coming to Terms with a Transnational Legacy / Diane Niblack Fox 207 10. Refuge to Refuse: Seeking Balance in the Vietnamese Environmental Imagination / Charles Waugh 242 11. Missing in Action in the Twenty-First Century / H. Bruce Franklin 259 Bibliography 297 About the Contributors 313 Index 315
£98.60
Duke University Press Four Decades On
Book SynopsisHistorians, anthropologists, and literary critics examine the legacies of the Second Indochina War, or what most Americans call the Vietnam War, nearly forty years after the United States finally left Vietnam.Trade Review"Four Decades On meets the clear scholarly need for a volume that explores the aftermath of the Vietnam War in Vietnam and the United States. This strong collection of essays demonstrates that the war continued to shape critical dimensions of Vietnamese and American history after 1975 and that these postwar developments must be conceived in a transnational frame."—Mark Philip Bradley, author of Vietnam at War"Four Decades On is a most valuable collection of essays analyzing the legacies of the Second Indochina War from inside Vietnam and the United States and, in some essays, from broader transnational perspectives. Addressing film, literature, politics, memory, Agent Orange, the environment, trade, and reconciliation and its absence, this collection would make an excellent concluding assignment to any course on the Vietnam War."—Marilyn B. Young, coeditor of Bombing Civilians: A Twentieth-Century History“Libraries seeking materials involving the history of memory will not go wrong by adding this excellent book to their collections. Highly recommended.” -- C. C. Lovett * Choice *“In summary, there are a lot of good bits in Four Decades On… [T]hose seriously interested in plumbing where Vietnam is headed or where the United States has been will want to have it on a handy shelf.” -- David Brown * Contemporary Southeast Asia *“Four Decades On is a rich collection that provides insight into the complex legacies of the Viet Nam War, which manifest themselves in local, national, and global contexts. The anthology reminds us of the need for multi-lingual, multi-shore, and interdisciplinary methodologies to more fully grapple with the meaning of war.” -- Judy Tzu-Chun Wu * Journal of Military History *“Given that this volume speaks to emerging trends in the historiography of the Vietnam War and Vietnamese studies, I would highly recommend Four Decades On to academics in these respective fields, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. . . . .These scholars also remind us that past narratives of the Vietnam War have obscured or omitted the voices and actions of the Vietnamese. Future histories must place Vietnamese and American voices in meaningful conversation, and the international lens adopted in the essays outlined above can remedy that lacunae.” -- Joshua Akers * H-War, H-Net Reviews *" . . . this collection deserves close attention from anyone seeking a better and more complete understanding of the Second Indochina War and its legacies." -- Andrew L. Johns * Journal of American History *"This outstanding collection of eleven essays . . . merit study by every citizen." -- Moss Roberts * Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: National Amnesia, Transnational Memory, and the Legacies of the Second Indochina War / Scott Laderman and Edwin A. Martini 1 1. Legacies Foretold: Excavating the Roots of Postwar Viet Nam / Ngo Vinh Long 16 2. Viet Nam and "Vietnam" in American History and Memory / Walter L. Hixson 44 3. "The Mainspring in This Country Has Been Broken": America's Battered Sense of Self and the Emergence of the Vietnam Syndrome / Alexander Bloom 58 4. Cold War in a Vietnamese Community / Heonik Kwon 84 5. The Ambivalence of Reconciliation in Contemporary Vietnamese Memoryscapes / Christina Schwenkel 103 6. Remembering War, Dreaming Peace: On Cosmopolitanism, Compassion, and Literature / Viet Thanh Nguyen 132 7. Viêt Nam's Growing Pains: Postsocialist Cinema Development and Transnational Politics / Mariam B. Lam 155 8. A Fishy Affair: Vietnamese Seafood and the Confrontation with U.S. Neoliberalism / Scott Laderman 183 9. Agent Orange: Coming to Terms with a Transnational Legacy / Diane Niblack Fox 207 10. Refuge to Refuse: Seeking Balance in the Vietnamese Environmental Imagination / Charles Waugh 242 11. Missing in Action in the Twenty-First Century / H. Bruce Franklin 259 Bibliography 297 About the Contributors 313 Index 315
£25.19
University of Hawai'i Press In Buddhas Company Thai Soldiers in the Vietnam
Book SynopsisExplores a previously neglected aspect of the Vietnam War: the experiences of the Thai troops who served there and the attitudes and beliefs that motivated them to volunteer. It examines the experiences of Thai volunteers in their encounters with American allies, South Vietnamese civilians, and Viet Cong enemies, and demonstrates how the Thais were transformed by living amongst the modern goods and war machinery of the Americans, and by traversing the jungles and plantations haunted by indigenous spirits.
£19.16
University of Hawai'i Press Republican Vietnam 19631975
Book SynopsisEnglish-language scholarship all too often dismisses South Vietnam as an American creation, a product of US imperialism. Republican Vietnam boldly upends this depiction, exposing a diverse and dynamic portrait of the Second Republic.
£51.00
University of Missouri Press The First Infantry Division and the U.S. Army
Book SynopsisExplains the history of the 1st infantry Division from 1970 to 1991. In doing so, Gregory Fontenot’s fast-paced narrative includes elements to expand the knowledge of non-military readers. These elements include a glossary, a key to abbreviations, maps, nearly two dozen photographs, and thorough bibliography.Trade ReviewA fine and comprehensive portrait of a division in combat during the last American war of the 20th century."" - Rick Atkinson, author of The Guns in Last Light Table of Contents The First infantry Division and the U.S. Army Transformed Maps Note to the Reader Foreword Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Coming Home Chapter 2: Victory in the Cold War Chapter 3: Saddam Hussein Moves South Chapter 4: Getting There: Planes, Trains, and the Jolly Rubino Chapter 5: Heading For the Badlands Chapter 6: Alarums and Excursions: First Contact with the Enemy Chapter 7: Cue the Curtain: First Battles and Battlefield Preparation Chapter 8: Once More into the Breach Chapter 9: The March Up Country Chapter 10: Fright Night: The Attack on Objective Norfolk Chapter 11: Go for the Blue: The Way Home Chapter 12: Safwan and Home Abbreviations and Acronyms Glossary Bibliography
£40.80
Cornell University Press Vietnam and the West
Book SynopsisThis sound interpretation of Vietnamese cultural attitudes contends that a major reason for American difficulties in Viet-Nam has been the failure to appreciate how wide the gulf is between Viet-Nam and the West. Professor Smith first describes Vietnamese political and social traditions and shows how they were challenged by the West after 1858. He examines Viet-Nam''s search for independence and modernization in the first half of this century, contrasts the two governments of the partitioned country during the years 1954-1963, and stresses the critical need to reassess attitudes toward Viet-Nam. His sophisticated, ambitious survey of Viet-Nam history will have a lasting value that sets it apart from the scores of ephemeral books on this country.Trade ReviewVietnam and the West is a smart, ambitious... collection.... [that] manages to unearth nuanced historical nuggets complicating the internal/external binaries and domestic/foreign relationship perceptions of nearly all previous Vietnamese historical scholarship. * South East Asian Research *
£97.20
Briscoe Center for American History A War Remembered
Book Synopsis
£32.40
Johns Hopkins University Press Leaving without Losing
Book SynopsisAnyone concerned with the future of the War on Terror will find Katz's argument highly thought provoking.Trade ReviewAs the U.S. searches for a way forward, Katz's largely objective and thoughtful analysis offers much to consider. Publishers Weekly A fine pick for any military or political science holding. Midwest Book Review Katz offers a strong, cogent argument. Choice A model of its kind. -- Anthony Smith New Zealand International Review This slender volume is packed with many insights. A collection of short chapters, some not much longer than op-eds, reveals author Mark Katz's wisdom and prudence when it comes to the use of military power, and the need for patience and persistence when pursuing long-term objectives... His straightforward prose engages the reader in what often feels like a quiet one-on-one conversation... The book is suffused with a tone of welcome optimism, but not naivete. -- Christopher Preble Middle East Policy A well-written and well-organized presentation of possibilities and angles that counterterrorism policy makers and analysts should consider. World Future ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrologue: The Beginning of the End of the War on Terror?The War on Terror in PerspectiveThe Second Decade of the War on TerrorWhat Exactly Is the War on Terror?Understanding What Went Wrong in the First DecadeAssessing the Bush StrategyWhy Couldn't the United States Foster Democracy in Iraq?Why Couldn't the United States Foster Democracy in Afghanistan?Democratization and the Legacy of History in the Muslim WorldAssessing the Obama StrategyOpportunities after WithdrawalConsequences of Withdrawing from Iraq and AfghanistanRegional OppositionRadical RepressionRifts among the RadicalsWithdrawal Need Not Be DefeatBeyond Iraq and AfghanistanRegional and Local Conflicts in the War on TerrorThe Israeli-Palestinian ConflictIranYemenPakistanDecoupling Regional and Local Conflicts from the War on TerrorNew Factors and Broader ContextsThe Death of Osama bin LadenThe Arab SpringThe Geopolitical ContextThe Historical ContextThe Bush and Obama LegaciesWorks CitedIndex
£19.00
Johns Hopkins University Press Leaving without Losing
Book SynopsisAnyone concerned with the future of the War on Terror will find Katz's argument highly thought provoking.Trade ReviewAs the U.S. searches for a way forward, Katz's largely objective and thoughtful analysis offers much to consider. Publishers Weekly A fine pick for any military or political science holding. Midwest Book Review Katz offers a strong, cogent argument. Choice A model of its kind. -- Anthony Smith New Zealand International Review This slender volume is packed with many insights. A collection of short chapters, some not much longer than op-eds, reveals author Mark Katz's wisdom and prudence when it comes to the use of military power, and the need for patience and persistence when pursuing long-term objectives... His straightforward prose engages the reader in what often feels like a quiet one-on-one conversation... The book is suffused with a tone of welcome optimism, but not naivete. -- Christopher Preble Middle East Policy A well-written and well-organized presentation of possibilities and angles that counterterrorism policy makers and analysts should consider. World Future ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrologue: The Beginning of the End of the War on Terror?The War on Terror in PerspectiveThe Second Decade of the War on TerrorWhat Exactly Is the War on Terror?Understanding What Went Wrong in the First DecadeAssessing the Bush StrategyWhy Couldn't the United States Foster Democracy in Iraq?Why Couldn't the United States Foster Democracy in Afghanistan?Democratization and the Legacy of History in the Muslim WorldAssessing the Obama StrategyOpportunities after WithdrawalConsequences of Withdrawing from Iraq and AfghanistanRegional OppositionRadical RepressionRifts among the RadicalsWithdrawal Need Not Be DefeatBeyond Iraq and AfghanistanRegional and Local Conflicts in the War on TerrorThe Israeli-Palestinian ConflictIranYemenPakistanDecoupling Regional and Local Conflicts from the War on TerrorNew Factors and Broader ContextsThe Death of Osama bin LadenThe Arab SpringThe Geopolitical ContextThe Historical ContextThe Bush and Obama LegaciesWorks CitedIndex
£21.85
Johns Hopkins University Press Light It Up
Book SynopsisAn essential study for readers interested in modern warfare, policy makers, and historians of technology, war, and visual and military culture.Trade ReviewExamines how [video game] technologies have affected the training and actual fighting of U.S. marines... Pettegrew's book is filled with interesting and thought-provoking material. Foreign Affairs This book does two things: it addresses a worthwhile subject, and it makes us think. Journal of America's Military PastTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction. Force Projection and the Marine Eye for Battle1. Shock and Awe and Air PowerNetwork-Centric Warfare, Sensors, and Total Situational AwarenessAchieving Rapid Dominance in IraqKill Boxes, LITENING Pods, and the Third Marine Aircraft Wing"Keep Your Eyes Out," Fair Fighting, and Memories of Killing2. Of War Porn and Pleasure in KillingPornography Is the Theory, and Killing the PracticeClassic Hollywood Combat FilmsMarine Moto on YouTubeThe Iraq War on Television3. Fallujah, First to Fight, and LudologyEnder's Game and the Rise of Simulation in Military Training, 1995–2005From Combat Films to Video GamesThe Value Added to Military TrainingFighting in the Digitized Streets of Beirut4. Counterinsurgency and "Turning Off the Killing Switch"Empathy, General Mattis, and the Profound Paradox of Marine HumanitarianismHaditha, Acute Stress, and the Excesses of Occupying ForceUSMC Literary Culture and Warrior Ethos"Which Way Would You Run?"5. Posthuman WarfightingMarines in Science Fiction and in SpaceThe Postmasculinist Marines and New Optics of CombatThe Gladiator Robot and the Critique of Remote Warfare6. Synthetic Visions of WarBiopolitics and the Costs of WarDigital Culture and the Computational MarineSubjectivity Lives and DiesNotesEssay on Primary SourcesIndex
£27.45
Johns Hopkins University Press On Nixons Madness
Book SynopsisWas Richard Nixon actually a madman, or did he just play one?When Richard Nixon battled for the presidency in 1968, he did so with the knowledge that, should he win, he would face the looming question of how to extract the United States from its disastrous war in Vietnam. It was on a beach that summer that Nixon disclosed to his chief aide, H. R. Haldeman, one of his most notorious, risky gambits: the madman theory. In On Nixon''s Madness, Zachary Jonathan Jacobson examines the enigmatic president through this theory of Nixon''s own invention. With strategic force and nuclear bluffing, Nixon attempted to coerce his foreign adversaries through sheer unpredictability. As his national security advisor Henry Kissinger noted, Nixon''s strategy resembled a poker game in which he push[ed] so many chips into the pot that the United States'' foes would think the president had gone crazy. From Vietnam, Pakistan, and India to the greater Middle East, Nixon apTrade ReviewBrilliant, insightful, beautifully written . . . the audacious originality of On Nixon's Madness is a truly impressive feat.—Times Literary SupplementJacobson is an astute observer and a graceful writer. This brings one of America's most enigmatic presidents into sharper focus.—Publishers WeeklyTable of ContentsIntroductionPART ONE: ON ACTING1. The Acting Life of Richard Nixon2. The Sentimental Life of Richard NixonInterlude3. The Working Life of Richard NixonPART TWO: ON MADNESS4. The Madness in the Act: The First CampaignInterlude5. The Madness in the Mind: Rage and Conspiracism in the PresidentInterlude6. The Madness in Play: The Use of the "Madman Theory" in Foreign PolicyThe Madness in Control: To China and the "Indefinite Shore"Conclusion
£22.50
Temple University Press,U.S. Reencounters
Book Synopsis In Reencounters,Crystal Mun-hye Baik examines what it means to live with and remember an ongoing war when its manifestations—hypervisible and deeply sensed—become everyday formations delinked from militarization. Contemplating beyond notions of inherited trauma and post memory, Baik offers the concept of reencounters to better track the Korean War’s illegible entanglements through an interdisciplinary archive of diasporic memory works that includes oral history projects, performances, and video installations rarely examined by Asian American studies scholars. Baik shows how Korean refugee migrations are repackaged into celebrated immigration narratives, how transnational adoptees are reclaimed by the South Korean state as welcomed “returnees,” and how militarized colonial outposts such as Jeju Island are recalibrated into desirable tourist destinations. Baik argues that as the works by Korean and Korean/American artists depict t
£69.70
Temple University Press,U.S. Reencounters
Book Synopsis In Reencounters,Crystal Mun-hye Baik examines what it means to live with and remember an ongoing war when its manifestations—hypervisible and deeply sensed—become everyday formations delinked from militarization. Contemplating beyond notions of inherited trauma and post memory, Baik offers the concept of reencounters to better track the Korean War’s illegible entanglements through an interdisciplinary archive of diasporic memory works that includes oral history projects, performances, and video installations rarely examined by Asian American studies scholars. Baik shows how Korean refugee migrations are repackaged into celebrated immigration narratives, how transnational adoptees are reclaimed by the South Korean state as welcomed “returnees,” and how militarized colonial outposts such as Jeju Island are recalibrated into desirable tourist destinations. Baik argues that as the works by Korean and Korean/American artists depict t
£25.19
The University of North Carolina Press Monuments and MemoryMaking
Book SynopsisImmerses students in the conversations and controversies that emerged as the US grappled with how best to memorialize what was at the time the longest military conflict in its history. As students engage in the process of memory-making, they will work to reconcile the varied and often contradictory voices that rose up after the fall of Saigon.
£25.46
New York University Press The Intimacies of Conflict
Book SynopsisWinner, 2020 Peter C Rollins Prize, given by the Northeast Popular & American Culture AssociationEnables a reckoning with the legacy of the Forgotten War through literary and cinematic works of cultural memoryThough often considered the forgotten war, lost between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, the Korean War was, as Daniel Y. Kim argues, a watershed event that fundamentally reshaped both domestic conceptions of race and the interracial dimensions of the global empire that the United States would go on to establish. He uncovers a trail of cultural artefacts that speaks to the trauma experienced by civilians during the conflict but also evokes an expansive web of complicity in the suffering that they endured. Taking up a range of American popular media from the 1950s, Kim offers a portrait of the Korean War as it looked to Americans while they were experiencing it in real time. Kim expands this archive to read a robust host of fiction from US writers like SusanTrade ReviewThe Korean War is often dubbed the Forgotten War, as it took place between the two larger conflicts of World War II and the Vietnam War. Kim. Kim provides an interpretation of how this 'forgotten war' was remembered through a variety of mediums, including motion pictures and novels ... Highly recommended. * Library Journal *A learned, eloquent, and necessary account of the significance of the Korean War for race relations in the U.S. The study is remarkable for the depth and wealth of knowledge it exhibits on the cultures of this conflict, from the period of its unfolding to the present – all rendered with nuance and in Daniel Kim’s masterful style. * Josephine Park, author of Cold War Friendships: Korea, Vietnam, and Asian American Literature *Daniel Kim’s The Intimacies of Conflict provides a new approach to our understanding of the Korean War, which has been poorly remembered outside of Korea despite its devastating human losses. Working with consummate skill through novels, films, and photos, Kim approaches the war through the perspectives of Koreans, Asian Americans, and people of color, asserting throughout that the cultural memories of war belong to more than just generals, soldiers, and white men. The Intimacies of Conflict is a crucial new work in our understanding of how the Korean War continues to reverberate through history, memory, and feeling. * Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer *The book will become a must-read for all serious scholars of the Korean War. Kim’s thoughtful analysis and fluid writing help him skillfully weave together a diverse set of literary and cinematic works. With its emphasis on previously unexplored aspects of the war’s cultural legacy, The Intimacies of Conflict enables us to better understand just how profoundly the conflict reshaped the individuals and nations that fought in it. * The Journal of Asian Studies *Part of an increasingly robust turn toward the cold war in American studies, Intimacies of Conflict denies that compulsion to forget and ambitiously recuperates the importance of the Korean War in a squarely US and Asian American studies context. Woven together with muscular readings of texts, films, and memorial sites, Intimacies makes the case for rethinking the Korean War’s centrality in US racial and geopolitical projects and in Asian American postmemorial reconstitution. -- ALH Online Review * ALH Online Review *
£62.90
New York University Press The Intimacies of Conflict
Book SynopsisWinner, 2020 Peter C Rollins Prize, given by the Northeast Popular & American Culture AssociationEnables a reckoning with the legacy of the Forgotten War through literary and cinematic works of cultural memoryThough often considered the forgotten war, lost between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, the Korean War was, as Daniel Y. Kim argues, a watershed event that fundamentally reshaped both domestic conceptions of race and the interracial dimensions of the global empire that the United States would go on to establish. He uncovers a trail of cultural artefacts that speaks to the trauma experienced by civilians during the conflict but also evokes an expansive web of complicity in the suffering that they endured. Taking up a range of American popular media from the 1950s, Kim offers a portrait of the Korean War as it looked to Americans while they were experiencing it in real time. Kim expands this archive to read a robust host of fiction from US writers like SusanTrade Review"The Korean War is often dubbed the Forgotten War, as it took place between the two larger conflicts of World War II and the Vietnam War. Kim. Kim provides an interpretation of how this 'forgotten war' was remembered through a variety of mediums, including motion pictures and novels ... Highly recommended." * Library Journal *"A learned, eloquent, and necessary account of the significance of the Korean War for race relations in the U.S. The study is remarkable for the depth and wealth of knowledge it exhibits on the cultures of this conflict, from the period of its unfolding to the present – all rendered with nuance and in Daniel Kim’s masterful style." * Josephine Park, author of Cold War Friendships: Korea, Vietnam, and Asian American Literature *"Daniel Kim’s The Intimacies of Conflict provides a new approach to our understanding of the Korean War, which has been poorly remembered outside of Korea despite its devastating human losses. Working with consummate skill through novels, films, and photos, Kim approaches the war through the perspectives of Koreans, Asian Americans, and people of color, asserting throughout that the cultural memories of war belong to more than just generals, soldiers, and white men. The Intimacies of Conflict is a crucial new work in our understanding of how the Korean War continues to reverberate through history, memory, and feeling." * Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of The Sympathizer *"The book will become a must-read for all serious scholars of the Korean War. Kim’s thoughtful analysis and fluid writing help him skillfully weave together a diverse set of literary and cinematic works. With its emphasis on previously unexplored aspects of the war’s cultural legacy, The Intimacies of Conflict enables us to better understand just how profoundly the conflict reshaped the individuals and nations that fought in it." * The Journal of Asian Studies *"Part of an increasingly robust turn toward the cold war in American studies, Intimacies of Conflict denies that compulsion to forget and ambitiously recuperates the importance of the Korean War in a squarely US and Asian American studies context. Woven together with muscular readings of texts, films, and memorial sites, Intimacies makes the case for rethinking the Korean War’s centrality in US racial and geopolitical projects and in Asian American postmemorial reconstitution. " -- ALH Online Review * ALH Online Review *
£23.74
New York University Press In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation
Book SynopsisLargely overshadowed by World War II's greatest generation and the more vocal veterans of the Vietnam era, Korean War veterans remain relatively invisible in the narratives of both war and its aftermath. This book deals with this war.Trade Review"[I]t is an excellent piece of work that tells an important story. Pash's book is a narrative history. She tells the story of the men and women who sacrificed for the greater good in Korea, while the rest of the Americans went about their everyday lives, and when the war was over quickly forgot about those who served. She tells the story of what citizenship used to mean in America." -- Adrian R. Lewis * Register of the Kentucky Historical Society *"I highly recommend this book to those interested in the soldiers' experience and to the general reader who might wish to learn about the harsh war that their parents or grandparents experienced.-," -- Peter S. Kindsvatter * American Historical Review *"This book is the best, but also about the first, comprehensive study of American veterans of the Korean War. It is deeply researched in primary sources . . . Clear and concise writing, sharp exposition, and keen sensitivity to issues of race, gender and class will make this book useful in the classroom." -- Bruce Cummings * The Journal of American History *"No one ever referred to our Korean War soldiers as part of the Greatest Generation; yet, their war began just five years after V-J Day, and more than 36,000 of them died in service to their country. These were truly forgotten combatants of a forgotten war, but Melinda Pash has done a brilliant job of recounting the experiences of these ordinary men and women who spent three years fighting and dying on a peninsula that most Americans could not locate on a world map and soon forgot." -- Lewis H. Carlson,author of Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War"Through obviously superb scholarship and imaginative analysis Melinda Pash has managed to capture the essential essence of that largely unheralded generation that fought the Korean War." -- Paul M. Edwards, Executive Director, The Center for the Study of the Korean War"Through prodigious research in archives and oral histories, Melinda Pash has given voice to the American veterans of the Korean War, men and women she calls the 'silent generation' of the 'forgotten war.' Her absorbing narrative and analytical account is filled with fascinating details about their growing up in the shadow of the World War Two Generation, their hasty mobilization and training, and tortuous combat against North Korean and Chinese forces, as well as the disappointing neglect most of them confronted upon their return home. In highly readable, flowing prose, Pash provides the authentic voices of the veterans as they recall and apprize their experiences, and with masterly skill, she imbeds their stories within historical scholarship on the Korean War and current understanding of the physical and emotional impact of war upon those who fight it." -- John Whiteclay Chambers II,editor-in-chief, The Oxford Companion to American Military History"The book is recommended to anyone who seeks further information on Korea and the lot of the American soldier. Thanks to Pash, Korean War veterans have finally been given a long-delayed acknowledgement for their sacrifices." * H-Net *"[Melinda Pash] presents fine descriptive analysis that's especially strong when discussing veterans' experiences during and after the war. Recommended for those with an interest in the war and its human dimensions, or for those new to the subject." * Library Journal *"Pashs focus on the individuals on the ground is illuminating; she is particularly effective at highlighting the important role of women in the war, as well as the successful battlefield-driven process of racial integration." * Publishers Weekly *"Dr. Pash delves deeply into the background and experiences of the Americans men and women who served during the Korean War, a much neglected subject[This book] is an essential read for those interested specifically in the Korean War or generally in how the nation goes to war." * New York Military Affairs Review *"[P]rovides a wealth of source material for future historians." * Kirkus Reviews *Table of Contents1. Timing Is Everything2. Mustering In3. You're in the Army (or Navy, Marines, or Air Force) Now!4. In Country in Korea: A War Like Any Other?5. Behind Enemy Lines6. Our Fight? Gender, Race, and the War Zone7. Coming Home8. More Than Ever a Veteran
£22.79
New York University Press Returns of War
Book SynopsisThe legacy and memory of wartime South Vietnam through the eyes of Vietnamese refugees In 1975, South Vietnam fell to communism, marking a stunning conclusion to the Vietnam War. Although this former ally of the United States has vanished from the world map, Long T. Bui maintains that its memory endures for refugees with a strong attachment to this ghost country. Blending ethnography with oral history, archival research, and cultural analysis, Returns of War considersReturns of War argues that Vietnamization--as Richard Nixon termed it in 1969--and the end of South Vietnam signals more than an example of flawed American military strategy, but a larger allegory of power, providing cover for U.S. imperial losses while denoting the inability of the (South) Vietnamese and other colonized nations to become independent, modern liberal subjects. Bui argues that the collapse of South Vietnam under Vietnamization complicates the already difficult memory of the Vietnam War, pushing for a criticaTrade ReviewErudite and edgy, it is just as certain to animate academic seminars on the legacy of wars, won or lost, for the kinds of nation-building ventures that the United States continues to pursue -- The Journal of American HistoryIn an original and important interdisciplinary feat, Long T. Bui reads the & returns of warhistories of violence that do not stand still, but instead impose debt into the present and futureof the U.S. wars in Southeast Asia through the figure of the South Vietnamese refugee. Tracing the impact of Nixons & Vietnamization throughout the period, and its resonance in the histories that follow, Bui re-centers the war away from American foreign policies and onto the refugees who carry war with them, across oceans and generations. In doing so, Bui considers the absent presence of & South Vietnam as a lost country, a failed state, a haunted archive, and an enduring object of intense attachment, with which both the United States and this refugee have yet to reckon. -- Mimi Thi Nguyen,author of The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt and Other Refugee PassagesProvocative and ambitious, this book examines the multifaceted and complex ways in which the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) is remembered (and ‘disremembered’) in the United States. * Journal of American Ethnic History *
£23.74
University of Toronto Press Unbound in War
Book SynopsisThis book tells the story of how two of America's closest allies, Canada and Britain, have sought to reconcile their security concerns with their legal obligations during two of the most significant international conflicts since the Second World War.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 1. Introduction Introduction Organization of the book 2. Existing Literature, Research Design and Case Selection International law and the use of force Research design, method, and premises Case selection a) Why focus on Britain and Canada? b) Why focus on the Korean War and Afghanistan Conflict? 3. Theoretical Framework Introduction How should we conceive of international law – as rules or process? International law in the study of international relations a) Realist approaches b) Neo-liberal institutionalism c) Constructivist perspectives The “interactional” approach Positing the four roles of international law in the use of force by states 4. Britain and the Korean War Introduction Brief background to the Korean War Why Britain participated in the Korean War The four roles of international law in Britain’s use of force in Korea a) Constitutive b) Regulative c) Permissive and legitimating d) Structuring the development of new rules The understanding of international law in Britain’s use of force in Korea a) Britain’s interpretation of the Security Council resolutions on the Korean crisis b) Britain’s interpretation of Article 118 of the Geneva Convention on POWs Key findings 5. Canada and the Korean War Introduction Why Canada participated in the Korean War The four roles of international law in Canada’s use of force in Korea a) Constitutive b) Regulative c) Permissive and legitimating d) Structuring the development of new rules The understanding of international law in Canada’s use of force in Korea a) Canada’s interpretation of the Security Council resolutions on the Korean crisis b) Canada’s interpretation of Article 118 of the Geneva Convention on POWs Key findings 6. Britain and the Afghanistan Conflict Introduction Brief background to the Afghanistan Conflict The three phases of Britain’s military participation in the Afghanistan Conflict Why Britain participated in the Afghanistan Conflict The four roles of international law in Britain’s use of force in Afghanistan a) Constitutive b) Regulative c) Permissive and legitimating d) Structuring the development of new rules The understanding of international law in Britain’s use of force in Afghanistan a) Britain’s understanding of the UN Charter and NATO treaty b) Britain’s interpretation of international human rights law Key findings 7. Canada and the Afghanistan Conflict Introduction The three phases of Canada’s military participation in the Afghanistan Conflict Why Canada participated in the Afghanistan Conflict The four roles of international law in Canada’s use of force in Afghanistan a) Constitutive b) Regulative c) Permissive and legitimating d) Structuring the development of new rules The understanding of international law in Canada’s use of force in Afghanistan a) Canada’s understanding of the NATO treaty and UN Charter b) Canada’s interpretation of the Geneva Convention on POWs Key findings 8. Conclusion Summary of findings Significance of findings for theory and future research Bibliography Index
£40.50
University of Toronto Press War and Enlightenment in Russia
Book SynopsisFeaturing rare letters of recommendation and military manuals, this is the first book to explore the intersection of the European Enlightenment and the military in Russia.Trade Review"War and Enlightenment challenges the dictum about Russian backwardness. Miakinkov helps explain why and how the Russian army won repeatedly in the late eighteenth century. More broadly, the book enhances our appreciation of the cosmopolitan and variegated nature of the Enlightenment." -- Lucien Frary, Rider University * The Journal of Military History *"Serious students of Russian history, the Military Enlightenment, and the influence of Enlightenment thought will find Eugene Miakinkov's new book deserving of their careful reflection. It is a highly instructive contribution to the English-language literature on the army that stymied Frederick the Great and helped defeat Napoleon Bonaparte." -- James McIntyre, Moraine Valley Community College * Michigan War Studies Review *“Provides a much-needed revision to our understanding of the eighteenth-century Russian military.” -- Tyler Mazda, Ohio State University * H-Net Reviews: H-War *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Between Patronage and Education: The Enlightenment and the Military Pre-Intelligentsia in Catherine’s Russia 2. Favourites and Professionals: Merit, Seniority, and Advancement in Catherine’s Military 3. “We must distinguish the military establishment from other callings”: Writers and Ideas of the Russian Military Enlightenment 4. “Always remember that he is not a peasant, but a soldier”: The Enlightenment and the Shaping of Russian Soldiers 5. “Fantastic forms of folly”: Individualism and the Performance of Military Culture 6. “The gutters of the town were dyed with blood”: The Siege of Izmail, Russian Military Culture, and the Limits of the Enlightenment at War 7. “His Majesty recommends to gentlemen-officers to dress better and not to stutter”: Paul I and the Military Enlightenment Conclusion: The Legacy of the Enlightenment in Russian Military Culture Bibliography
£46.75
University of Toronto Press The Crimean War and Cultural Memory
Book SynopsisExploring the Crimean War through literature, theatre, spectacle, and visual arts, this book reveals how and why a major war was forgotten.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. À la Recherche de la guerre gagnée: Crimea, the Invisible War 3. Spectacles of War 4. Crimea: The Visible War 5. À la Recherche de la guerre oubliée: Crimea, the Forgotten War Bibliography
£41.40
University of Nebraska Press The Korean War Remembered
Book SynopsisMichael J. Devine provides a fresh, wide-ranging, and international perspective on the contested memory of the 1950–1953 conflict that left the Korean Peninsula divided along a heavily fortified demilitarized zone. His work examines “theaters of memory,” including literature, popular culture, public education efforts, monuments, and museums in the United States, China, and the two Koreas, to explain how contested memories have evolved over decades and how they continue to shape the domestic and foreign policies of the countries still involved in this unresolved struggle for dominance and legitimacy. The Korean War Remembered also engages with the revisionist school of historians who, influenced by America’s long nightmare in Vietnam, consider the Korean War an unwise U.S. interference in a civil war that should have been left to the Koreans to decide for themselves. As a former Peace Corps volunteer to Korea, a two-time senior Fulbright lecturTrade Review"Devine's book is an important piece of the history of the Korean War, East Asia and American involvement on the world stage. . . . A worthwhile consideration for reading in the coming year."—Steven L. Shields, Korea Times"Devine sheds new light on memorialization's unintended, often polarizing consequences."—J. Daley, Choice“Highly engaging. Perhaps most impressive about The Korean War Remembered is the extent of the coverage, not just over time but also geographically, with insightful sections on the People’s Republic of China and the two Koreas. Michael Devine shows an equally impressive grasp of how, say, Hollywood portrayed the war in the 1950s versus how various states, as well as the National Mall, have memorialized the conflict in recent decades.”—Steven Casey, author of Selling the Korean War: Propaganda, Politics, and Public Opinion, 1950–1953“The strength of this study is the author’s effort to take a broad chronological overview that underscores change over time. While focused on the American memory of the Korean War, Michael Devine also places it in an international context.”—G. Kurt Piehler, author of A Religious History of the American GI in World War IITable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. The “Police Action” 2. Forging Memories 3. Lessons Learned 4. Memorializing across America 5. The Korean War Veterans Memorial 6. Conflicted Memories of Allies and Foes 7. Memory, Truth, and Reconciliation Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£48.60
Cornell University Press The Dictators Army
Book SynopsisIn The Dictator's Army, Caitlin Talmadge presents a compelling new argument to help us understand why authoritarian militaries sometimes fight very welland sometimes very poorly. Talmadge's framework for understanding battlefield effectiveness focuses on four key sets of military organizational practices: promotion patterns, training regimens, command arrangements, and information management. Different regimes face different domestic and international threat environments, leading their militaries to adopt different policies in these key areas of organizational behavior. Authoritarian regimes facing significant coup threats are likely to adopt practices that squander the state's military power, while regimes lacking such threats and possessing ambitious foreign policy goals are likely to adopt the effective practices often associated with democracies. Talmadge shows the importance of threat conditions and military organizational practices for battlefield performance in Trade Review"The Dictator's Army is a landmark book that greatly deepens our understanding of how dictators fight wars. Students, scholars, and policymakers will all benefit from reading this important work." -- Dan Reiter, Samuel Candler Dobbs Chair of Political Science, Emory University"Through superb case comparisons Caitlin Talmadge shows carefully how military effectiveness varies, why it depends on far more than the technical factors normally considered, and especially the differences due to political and social characteristics of regimes. She takes analysis of the subject to a new level." -- Richard K. Betts, Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University"Understanding the military behavior of autocracies is an important topic for both policymakers and political scientists. Combining new theory with in-depth research, The Dictator's Army persuasively demonstrates how fear of domestic turmoil influences both the military organizational choices of autocrats and the success of their militaries on the battlefield. This book is a fascinating read, one that makes a significant contribution to our scholarship on military effectiveness and security studies more generally." -- Michael C. Horowitz, University of Pennsylvania"Why are some nondemocracies more effective than others on the battlefield? This question is really important for U.S. policy. In this highly original book, Caitlin Talmadge shows how the measures taken by authoritarian regimes to protect against coups makes their militaries less able to fight conventional wars." -- Theo Farrell, Head of the Department of War Studies, King's College LondonTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Puzzle of Battlefield Effectiveness1. A Framework for Explaining Battlefield Effectiveness2. Threats and Military Organizational Practices in North and South Vietnam3. Battlefield Effectiveness in North and South Vietnam4. Threats and Military Organizational Practices in Iraq and Iran5. Battlefield Effectiveness in Iraq and IranConclusion: Threats, Military Organizational Practices, and the Battlefields of the FutureNotes Index
£22.39
Cornell University Press The Statebuilders Dilemma
Book SynopsisThe central task of all statebuilding is to create a state that is regarded as legitimate by the people over whom it exercises authority. This is a necessary condition for stable, effective governance. States sufficiently motivated to bear the costs of building a state in some distant land are likely to have interests in the future policies of that country, and will therefore seek to promote loyal leaders who are sympathetic to their interests and willing to implement their preferred policies. In The Statebuilder''s Dilemma, David A. Lake addresses the key tradeoff between legitimacy and loyalty common to all international statebuilding attempts. Except in rare cases where the policy preferences of the statebuilder and the population of the country whose state is to be built coincide, as in the famous success cases of West Germany and Japan after 1945, promoting a leader who will remain loyal to the statebuilder undermines that leader's legitimacy at home.In Iraq, thrust intoTrade ReviewExplores key trade-offs between legitimacy and loyalty in state building, explaining how promoting a leader loyal to the state builder undermines that leader's legitimacy at home, and investigates armed or militarized state building through in-depth case studies of Iraq and Somalia. * JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC LITERATURE *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Building Legitimate States 2. Problems of Sovereignty 3. Legitimacy and Loyalty 4. Statebuilding in Iraq 5. Statebuilding in Somalia Conclusion
£81.00
Cornell University Press Brutality in an Age of Human Rights
Book SynopsisIn Brutality in an Age of Human Rights, Brian Drohan demonstrates that British officials' choices concerning counterinsurgency methods have long been deeply influenced or even redirected by the work of human rights activists. To reveal how that influence was manifested by military policies and practices, Drohan examines three British counterinsurgency campaignsCyprus (19551959), Aden (19631967), and the peak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland (19691976). This book is enriched by Drohan's use of a newly available collection of 1.2 million colonial-era files, International Committee of the Red Cross files, the extensive Troubles collection at Linen Hall Library in Belfast, and many other sources.Drohan argues that when faced with human rights activism, British officials sought to evade, discredit, and deflect public criticism of their actions to avoid drawing attention to brutal counterinsurgency practices such as the use of torture during interrogation. Some of tTrade ReviewDrohan’s book provides an excellent understanding of the rhetoric and practice of counterinsurgency and a firm foundation for understanding the universe of euphemism and defensiveness that surrounds such efforts even today. * H-DIPLO *Drohan addresses many legal and moral issues about the challenges of maintaining order and securing human rights in a revolutionary context, [and] the book’s major contribution is its detailed historical account of three insurgencies. The book is recommended for all readership levels. * Choice *Brian Drohan's book is a vital empirical study informing both humanitarianism and human rights historiographies. It opens pointedly with the diverse legal justifications provided by the British and American governments for their decision to invade Iraq in 2003. * Twentieth Century British History *Brutality in an Age of Human Rights is an important book, one that recalls the significant political damage to Britain's reputation and interests caused by the adoption of brutal methods of counterinsurgency. It is also a valuable historical reminder how easily the 'rule of law' can be effectively manipulated to enable abuse. * English Historical Review *In the context of the current debate over colonial-era reparations and compensation claims for alleged human rights abuses, Brian Drohan's timely and salutary addition to the literature will be of critical interest to legal practitioners, historians, and political scientists. * Michigan War Studies Review *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Maps Introduction 1. A Lawyers’ War 2. The Shadow of Strasbourg 3. "Hunger War" 4. "This Unhappy Affair" 5. "A More Talkative Place" Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£38.70
Cornell University Press The Last Card
Book SynopsisThis is the real story of how George W. Bush came to double-down on Iraq in the highest stakes gamble of his entire presidency. Drawing on extensive interviews with nearly thirty senior officials, including President Bush himself, The Last Card offers an unprecedented look into the process by which Bush overruled much of the military leadership and many of his trusted advisors, and authorized the deployment of roughly 30,000 additional troops to the warzone in a bid to save Iraq from collapse in 2007.The adoption of a new counterinsurgency strategy and surge of new troops into Iraq altered the American posture in the Middle East for a decade to come. In The Last Card we have access to the deliberations among the decision-makers on Bush''s national security team as they embarked on that course. In their own words, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, White House Chief Trade ReviewThis is a fascinating contribution to the history of the war. * Foreign Affairs *An expertly researched and written oral and narrative history, The Last Card examines the excruciatingly complex process of American decision making in the run-up to the 2007 surge against al Qaeda in Iraq... This precious narrative history shows the complexities of war planning and is a most welcome addition to modern American war studies, though it is best intended for advanced readers. * Choice *It is essential to learn the right lessons from the Iraq War, and The Last Card is an important first step in what one hopes will be a much longer journey of discovery. * Survival *The Last Card is an excellent resource for scholars. It provides important and authoritative insights into one of the seminal events in American history. * The US Army War College Quarterly *The Last Card makes an invaluable contribution to the emerging literature on the subsequent course of the war, bringing scholars and policy-makers together to explore how and why the surge came to be. * International Affairs *The Last Card is unique in that the book looks to make primary and secondary contributions simultaneously. Without a doubt, the work adds to narratives regarding the Bush administration and its handling of the war in Iraq. It provides insight on a thematically complex subject, offering immediate value to scholars in several fields. * Presidential Studies Quarterly *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The American Occupation of Iraq by 2006 and the Search for a New Strategy 1. America's War in Iraq: 2003–2005 2. This Strategy Is Not Working: January–June 2006 3. Together Forward? June–August 2006 4. Silos and Stovepipes: September–October 2006 5. Setting the Stage: Early November 2006 6. A Sweeping Internal Review: Mid–Late November 2006 7. Choosing to Surge: December 2006 8. What Kind of Surge? Late December 2006–January 2007 9. How the "Surge" Came to Be 10. Iraq, Vietnam, and the Meaningof Victory 11. Decisions and Politics 12. Blood, Treasure, and Time: Strategy-Making for the Surge 13. Strategy and the Surge 14. Civil-Military Relations and the 2006 Iraq Surge 15. The Bush Administration's Decision to Surge in Iraq: A Long and Winding Road 16. The President as Policy Entrepreneur: George W. Bush and the 2006 Iraq Strategy Review
£25.19
Cornell University Press The Republic of Vietnam 19551975
Book SynopsisThrough the voices of senior officials, teachers, soldiers, journalists, and artists, The Republic of Vietnam, 19551975, presents us with an interpretation of South Vietnam as a passionately imagined nation in the minds of ordinary Vietnamese, rather than merely as an expeditious political construct of the United States government.The moving and honest memoirs collected, translated, and edited here by Tuong Vu and Sean Fear describe the experiences of war, politics, and everyday life for people from many walks of life during the fraught years of Vietnam''s Second Republic, leading up to and encompassing what Americans generally call the Vietnam War. The voices gift the reader a sense of the authors'' experiences in the Republic and their ideas about the nation during that time. The light and careful editing hand of Vu and Fear reveals that far from a Cold War proxy struggle, the conflict in Vietnam featured a true ideological divide between the communist North and the Trade ReviewThe Republic of Vietnam is a primer and a demand for a more comprehensive, Vietnamese-written works of history...Thanks to Tuong Vu and Sean Fear's efforts, the thoughts, impressions, and words of these pivotal individuals in South Vietnamese history have been preserved. * Diacritics *Overall, the volume paints an authentic if rosy picture of South Vietnamese efforts to forge an enduring state and society for themselves. The volume should provide excellent teaching materials for undergraduateand graduate-level courses on Vietnamese history. * Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsIntroduction, by Tuong Vu and Sean Fear 1. Coping with Changes and War, Building a Foundation for Growth, by Nguyn Đc Cýng 2. The Birth of Central Banking, 1955–1956, by Vũ Quc Thúc 3. Reform or Collapse: Economic Challenges during Vietnamization, by Phạm Kim Ngc 4. Land Reform and Agricultural Development, 1968–1975, by Cao Văn Thân 5. Striving for a Lasting Peace: The Paris Accords and Aftermath, by Hoàng Đc Nhã 6. Public Security and the National Police, by Trn Minh Công 7. Reflections of a Frontline Soldier, by Bùi Quyn 8. The Philosophies and Development of a Free Education, by Nguyn Hu Phýc 9. Personal Reflections on the Educational System, by Võ Kim Sõn 10. Life and Work of a Journalist, by Phạm Trn 11. The Vietnam War in the Eyes of a Vietnamese War Correspondent, by Vũ Thanh Thy 12. Sóng Thn's Campaign for Press Freedom, by Trùng Dýõng 13. Writers of the Republic of Vietnam, by Nhã Ca and Trùng Dýõng 14. The Cinema Industry, by Kiu Chinh 15. The Neglect of the Republic of Vietnam in the American Historical Memory, by Nu-Anh Tran 16. Political, Military, and Cultural Memoirs in Vietnamese, by Tuan Hoang About the Editors Index
£97.20
Cornell University Press Khmer Nationalist
Book SynopsisKhmer Nationalist is a political history of Cambodia from World War II until 1975, examining the central role of Sõn Ng?c Thành. It is a story of nationalistic independence movements, political intrigue, coup attempts, war, and American intelligence. The rise of Cambodian nationalism, the brief period of Japanese dominance, the fight for independence from France, and the establishment of ties with the United States that kept Sihanouk on edge until his downfallin all of these, as Matthew Jagel shows, Thành was fundamental.Khmer Nationalist reveals how Cambodian nationalism grew during the twilight of French colonialism and faced new geopolitical challenges during the Cold War. Thành''s story brings greater understanding to the end of French colonialism in Cambodia, nationalism in post-colonial societies, Cold War realities for countries caught between competing powers, and how the United States responded while the Vietnam War intensified.
£22.79
Cornell University Press A Slow Reckoning
Book SynopsisA Slow Reckoning examines the Soviet Union's and the Afghan communists' views of and policies toward Islam and Islamism during the Soviet-Afghan War (19791989). As Vassily Klimentov demonstrates, the Soviet and communist Afghan disregard for Islam was telling of the overall communist approach to reforming Afghanistan and helps explain the failure of their modernization project. A Slow Reckoning reveals how during most of the conflict Babrak Karmal, the ruler installed by the Soviets, instrumentalized Islam in support of his rule while retaining a Marxist-Leninist platform. Similarly, the Soviets at all levels failed to give Islam its due importance as communist ideology and military considerations dominated their decision making. This approach to Islam only changed after Mikhail Gorbachev replaced Karmal by Mohammad Najibullah and prepared to withdraw Soviet forces. Discarding Marxism-Leninism for Islam proved the correct approach, but it came too late to salvage the Soviet nation-building project. A Slow Reckoning also shows how Soviet leaders only started seriously paying attention to an Islamist threat from Afghanistan to Central Asia after 1986. While the Soviets had concerns related to Islamism in 1979, only the KGB believed the threat to be potent. The Soviet elites never fully conceptualized Islamism, continuing to see it as an ideology the United States, Iran, or Pakistan could instrumentalize at will. They believed the Islamists had little agency and that their retrograde ideology could not find massive appeal among progressive Soviet Muslims. In this, they were only partly right.
£40.50
Stanford University Press The Hijacked War: The Story of Chinese POWs in
Book SynopsisThe Korean War lasted for three years, one month, and two days, but armistice talks occupied more than two of those years, as more than 14,000 Chinese prisoners of war refused to return to Communist China and demanded to go to Nationalist Taiwan, effectively hijacking the negotiations and thwarting the designs of world leaders at a pivotal moment in Cold War history. In The Hijacked War, David Cheng Chang vividly portrays the experiences of Chinese prisoners in the dark, cold, and damp tents of Koje and Cheju Islands in Korea and how their decisions derailed the high politics being conducted in the corridors of power in Washington, Moscow, and Beijing. Chang demonstrates how the Truman-Acheson administration's policies of voluntary repatriation and prisoner reindoctrination for psychological warfare purposes—the first overt and the second covert—had unintended consequences. The "success" of the reindoctrination program backfired when anti-Communist Chinese prisoners persuaded and coerced fellow POWs to renounce their homeland. Drawing on newly declassified archival materials from China, Taiwan, and the United States, and interviews with more than 80 surviving Chinese and North Korean prisoners of war, Chang depicts the struggle over prisoner repatriation that dominated the second half of the Korean War, from early 1952 to July 1953, in the prisoners' own words.Trade Review"This book represents a giant step forward in our understanding of the prisoner-of-war issue in the Korean War. The research on the Chinese prisoners is extraordinary, the stories of individuals compelling, and the analysis of the context in which they made choices balanced and persuasive." -- William Stueck * author of The Korean War: An International History *"David Cheng Chang's superlative research reveals the use of Chinese POWs as pawns in the larger Cold War standoff between the US and China during the Korean War. His cogent analysis encourages us to think about the aftermath of the war and the lives of those who made the 'voluntary choice' to join or who faced 'forced conformity.'" -- Barak Kushner * author of Men to Devils, Devils to Men: Japanese War Crimes and Chinese Justice *"The Hijacked War provides a most provocative look at the political and ethical consequences of the Korean War. Through the untold story of Chinese POWs' deportation, David Cheng Chang describes how, against the backdrop of the battle between democracy and communism, the Korean War's stakes implicated power games, historical contingencies, and human rights. His meticulous study brings to light a poignant lesson of the war—that freedom may generate violence, and democracy may beget betrayal. The book offers the long-missing piece to the jigsaw of the Cold War narrative on the East Asian front. And importantly, it compels us to ponder the price we pay for the war and peace of our own time." -- David Der-wei Wang * author ofThe Monster That Is History: History, Violence, and Fictional Writing in Twentieth-Century China *"Chang's exceptionally vivid prisoner's-eye account, based on camp archives and interviews with ex-POWS, leads him to condemn the key U.S. policymakers, including President Harry Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson, for their 'arrogance, ignorance, and negligence.'" -- Andrew J. Nathan * Foreign Affairs *"David Cheng Chang fills a void in the literature on the Korean War with this important book describing the experiences of Chinese prisoners of war (POWs) during the conflict and assessing the impact of their incarceration and release... Chang delivers on his pledge to answer the questions of who these POWs were, why they chose to return home or not, and whether their choice was voluntary." -- James I. Matray * Journal of Cold War Studies *"The winner of the Korean War, ironically, turns out to be Chiang Kai-shek...The Hijacked War tells the violent and tragic story of Chiang's unacknowledged victory in Korea." -- John Delury * Global Asia *"The Hijacked War is a welcome and important intervention into Korean War historiography. Chang's focus on the lived experiences of those involved in POW discussions and camps suggests the ways that local stories can reorient our understanding of events, particularly a conflict that is often told in terms of high politics and military strategy." -- Gretchen Heefner * The Journal of Asian Studies *"Besides being thus far the most in-depth exploration of Chinese POWs, The Hijacked War will be valuable to scholars studying the Korean War frontline and infiltration campaigns....Based on solid scholarship, Chang's POW biographies offer unique perspectives." -- Liu Zhaokun * Journal of American-East Asian Relations *"An ambitious China-centric work that nonetheless wonderfully captures the ambiguity and confusion associated with the breakup of the Japanese Empire and the related uncertainty of the two Koreas, The Hijacked War holds interest for a range of fields, reaching out to scholars of Northeast Asia, along with more nation-oriented subdisciplines of East Asian studies." -- John P. DiMoia * Cross-Currents *"David Cheng Chang offers an intriguing alternative explanation for the skewed anti-repatriation decision on the part of Chinese POWs and its impact on the Korean War....Hijacked War is no doubt an excellent contribution to Korean War POW studies. Those interested in the Korean War and POWs will find it very inspiring and worth reading." -- Son Daekwon * Pacific Affairs *"This well-written book poses some tough questions regarding the Chinese prisoner repatriation issue in the Korean War, a topic deserving of further scholarly examination." -- Esther T. Hu * Journal of Chinese Military History *"By moving beyond diplomatic history, Chang closes a major gap in the historiography on Chinese intervention in Korea by painstakingly unpacking the complex psyches of the Chinese POWs."With Chang's historical account, we can finally understand the myriad factors that led to Chinese POWs defecting from China to Taiwan at a two-to-one ratio (a stunning ratio compared to 7,826 non-repatriates and 75,823 repatriates among the North Korean POWs). In this twinned flipping of the script, Chang recasts Chinese POWs as the central actors of the Korean War to argue that 'the brightest minds of the mightiest power on earth [United States] were taken captive by the [Chinese] captives' (12)." -- Sandra H. Park * Journal of Korean Studies *"In telling the stories of Chinese POWs, Chang's stress on social history points to other topics in Chinese military history, such as recruitment, indoctrination, political control, awards and punishments, and other aspects of prisoner policy. Personal stories bring fresh insights into Communist POWs' motivations and perceptions. In their own words, they provide compelling firsthand accounts of their war experiences in Korea as well as their family lives before and after the war. Their stories deepen our understanding of the war." -- Xiaobing Li * Michigan War Studies Review *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsIntroduction chapter abstractThe Introduction establishes the centrality of the Chinese prisoners in the second half of the war and suggests a new periodization highlighting the war over prisoners. The Korean War was in fact two wars: the first was fought over territory from June 1950 to June 1951; the second was fought over prisoners from late 1951 to July 1953. While the first war restored the territorial status quo ante bellum, the second war's only visible outcome was the "defection" of some fourteen thousand Chinese prisoners to Taiwan and seven thousand North Korean prisoners to South Korea—nearly doubling the length of the war and inflicting numerous casualties on all sides, including 12,300 American deaths in the last two years. The war was hijacked by misguided US policies and a core of Chinese anti-Communist prisoners. This chapter suggests that this surprise outcome was one reason the war became America's "forgotten war." 1Fleeing or Embracing the Communists in the Chinese Civil War chapter abstractThis chapter traces the divergent Civil War experiences of several future POWs: a Nationalist paratrooper, a Nationalist-turned-Communist doctor, three Taiwanese teenagers who joined the Nationalist army and fought on the mainland, a Tsinghua University student-turned-Communist underground agent, two Whampoa Military Academy cadets fleeing Manchuria, a forcibly conscripted Sichuanese turned a proud PLA soldier, and several idealistic students. While the Communists' ruthless persecution of the rich horrified some young people, their vastly superior discipline, vigor, and purposefulness—in contrast to the Nationalists—held powerful political and emotional appeal, especially for young people who had been neglected or oppressed under the Nationalist regime. 2Reforming Former Nationalists chapter abstractThis chapter examines the thought reform experiences of Nationalist officers, Whampoa cadets, and enlisted men in the Communist army in 1950, some of whom later became defectors and anti-Communist prisoner leaders and activists in Korea. Meticulously planned, thoroughly implemented, and backed by the threat of violence, Communist thought reform combined intense indoctrination with mandatory participation and performance. By the end of 1950, after a year-long indoctrination, or "thought reform," ex-Nationalist personnel—"liberated soldiers"—seemed to have completely surrendered to their captors, physically, emotionally, and sometimes intellectually as well. While the Communist ideology and methods won some converts, others remained unconvinced. To survive, however, these dissenters had to hide their resentment under the guise of complete submission. Thanks to their extensive and painful experiences under the Communists, ex-Nationalists acquired the essential Communist techniques: relentless indoctrination with mandatory participation and performance and iron discipline reinforced by mutual surveillance. 3Desperados and Volunteers chapter abstractThe Chinese People's Volunteer Army (CPV) was a misnomer artfully chosen to camouflage China's strategic intentions and lure the Americans into underestimating China's commitment and strength in Korea. It was made up of PLA units with the same designation; more than 60 to 70 percent of its troops consisted of former Nationalists. New recruits were also added. While some were drafted by local government using hoaxes, others volunteered for the army in a desperate move to escape local persecution during the "Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries"—the "bloody honeymoon" in the first year of the People's Republic. Going to war in Korea gave those disaffected young men their final opportunity to escape Communist China. 4Chiang, MacArthur, Truman, and NSC-81/1 chapter abstractThis chapter first shifts the focus to Taiwan, where Chiang Kai-shek fled and made his final stand, fearing an imminent Communist invasion in spring 1950. With the outbreak of the Korean War, Washington reversed its hands-off policy and committed to deny Taiwan to the Communists. General MacArthur's visit to Taiwan from July 31 to August 1, 1950, gave Chiang's regime a morale boost and opened the door to future intelligence collaboration. President Truman and General MacArthur met on Wake Island on October 15. Crossing the 38th parallel had been a foregone conclusion, as Truman had signed NSC-81/1 four days before the Inchon landing, authorizing a rollback in North Korea. Contrary to the popular belief that they focused on China's possible intervention, their main discussion item was the postwar rehabilitation of the entire Korean peninsula, including the reorientation or reindoctrination of POWs—another mandate of NSC-81/1. 5Defectors and Prisoners in the First Three Chinese Offensives chapter abstractThis chapter covers the first three Chinese offensives from late October 1950 to early January 1951, during which the CPV achieved near complete surprise and decisively defeated the UN Command (UNC) troops in a series of epic battles, including the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Despite the UNC's utter defeat and hasty retreat, 1,245 Chinese prisoners were captured by the end of December 1950. This chapter sketches the experiences of several defectors, who risked their lives to cross the lines to surrender and provided valuable intelligence that might have saved American lives. Some of them later became anti-Communist prisoner leaders in POW camps. 6Ridgway's Turnaround, MacArthur's Exit, and Taiwan's Entry chapter abstractThis chapter studies the critical period from January to April 1951, when General Matthew Ridgway, the new Eighth Army commander, successfully turned around the war in Korea. The UNC repelled the Chinese Fourth Offensive and launched a counteroffensive. During the intense fighting, more Chinese prisoners were captured. Taking great risks, defectors escaped and surrendered to the UNC, including some of the future anti-Communist POW leaders. Even though MacArthur was dismissed by President Truman in April, he left a little-known but highly consequential legacy: the hiring of more than seventy interpreters from Taiwan, some of whom would play an instrumental role in the rise of anti-Communist POWs. In addition, Washington authorized the expansion of the prisoner indoctrination program to include Chinese POWs. 7The Fifth Offensive Debacle chapter abstractThis chapter dissects the Chinese Fifth Offensive (Spring Offensive) debacle, especially the destruction of the CPV 180th Division—one of the most humiliating defeats in Chinese Communist military history. Over three months, 15,510 CPV soldiers were captured—more than 70 percent of the 21,074 Chinese prisoners captured in the entire war. Drawing on both Chinese and American military sources, this chapter reconstructs the Chinese offensive and UNC counteroffensive and siege. It shows Chinese military leadership at all levels—from General Peng Dehuai's general headquarters, to the III Army Group, and to the 60th Army and the 180th Division—was arbitrary, careless, and disorderly. In the final stage of its siege, the 180th Division's commanders made the decision to "disperse and escape"—a code word for abandoning their troops. Using oral history and prisoner interrogation reports, this chapter also traces CPV soldiers' battle experiences and defectors' escapes in intimate detail. 8Civil War in the POW Camps chapter abstractThis chapter investigates the rise of Chinese anti-Communist prisoners in UNC prison camps in Pusan and on Koje Island, where more than 150,000 Chinese and North Korean POWs were held. Unlike the North Korean prisoners, whose military organization remained largely intact, the Chinese Communist officers sought to hide their identities to avoid interrogation by G-2 and persecution by the US Army. Chinese defectors served as trusties, cooperating with G-2 to identify Communist officers for interrogation and helping prison authorities arrest Communist "troublemakers." As mandated by Washington, the Civil Information and Education program began its reindoctrination project in August 1952, relying on educated anti-Communist prisoners as instructors. Chinese anti-Communist POWs combined Communist methods of thought control and mandatory participation with Nationalist methods of physical punishment. They established control over the two largest Chinese compounds, 72 and 86, with a combined population of more than sixteen thousand. 9The Debate over Prisoner Repatriation in Washington, Panmunjom, and Taipei chapter abstractChapter 9 delineates the origin and evolution of Washington's policy on prisoner repatriation, which unexpectedly became the main stumbling block in armistice negotiations in Panmunjom. While Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai took the negotiations extremely seriously and assembled China's first team of negotiators, President Truman and Secretary of State Acheson paid scant attention, leaving the talks in the hands of military officers without assistance from diplomats and China experts. Voluntary repatriation was first introduced as a bargaining position; but once it was publicized, the United States found it impossible to retreat from this moralistic position. As top officials withheld unsavory facts and vexing complexities, Truman made the final decision to uphold voluntary repatriation. "The Chinese have influenced the course of events in Koje-do and at Panmunjom," lamented the US ambassador. 10Screening: "Voluntary Repatriation" Turns Violent chapter abstractIn early April 1952, Communist negotiators acquiesced to the UNC's proposal to screen prisoners in order to determine a "round number" of prisoners wishing to return. While the screening process itself was free, horrific violence had occurred on the eve of the screening. This chapter documents the widespread torture and several cases of murder of pro-Communist prisoners by anti-Communist trusties, who succeeded in intimating fellow prisoners from choosing repatriation. In anti-Communist-controlled Compounds 72 and 86, more than 85 percent of the sixteen thousand prisoners refused repatriation. Just as the armistice line of 1953 changed little from the battle line of summer 1951, it is no exaggeration to say that the final breakdown of repatriation choices had been determined in the months leading up to April 1952. 11General Dodd's Kidnapping and General Boatner's Crackdown chapter abstractThis chapter narrates Koje prison commandant General Francis Dodd's kidnapping by North Korean prisoners and his successor Haydon Boatner's crackdown on North Korean and Chinese Communist prisoners, who had been separated from the anti-Communists. With methodical planning and a firm hand, "Old China Hand" Boatner tamed the newly formed Chinese Communist Compound 602. He also broke up North Korean Compound 76, whose prisoners had kidnapped Dodd, and restored order on Koje Island. But his success was short-lived, as he was soon promoted and headed stateside. 12China Hands on Koje and Cheju chapter abstractThis chapter examines the roles played by several low-ranking "Old China Hands" on Koje and Cheju island. Philip Manhard, a junior Foreign Service officer who began learning Chinese in 1948, was posted on Koje per Acheson's instructions. He authored several reports highly critical of the UNC prison authorities and anti-Communist trusties. The openly anti-Communist Catholic Chaplain Thomas O'Sullivan also served as an interpreter and became involved in the death of a Communist prisoner. MP Captain Joseph Brooks, who claimed that his Chinese wife and child had been killed by the Communists, became increasingly hostile toward Chinese Communist prisoners. Trouble was brewing on Cheju Island. 13October 1 Massacre on Cheju chapter abstractChapter 13 investigates the deadly incident on October 1, 1952, that resulted in the deaths of fifty-six Chinese pro-Communist prisoners. US internal investigation reports and interviews with several Chinese witnesses and an American soldier who fired into the crowd debunk the US official claim of a mass prison break. In the lead-up to the incident, there had been a period of high-octane confrontation and mutual insults. The prison authorities had ordered guards to "shoot to kill" prisoners for any and all aggressive actions. The military police unit was led by the openly hostile Captain Brooks; Communist prisoners were commanded by equally bellicose leaders, who secretly ordered the assassination of Brooks. A clash was all but inevitable. 14Exchanges and "Explanation" chapter abstractChapter 14 examines the repatriation of pro-Communist prisoners in August and September 1953 and the subsequent 90-day "Explanation" for the anti-Communists and their eventual release to Taiwan in January 1954. This chapter also turns to the story of the twelve Chinese and seventy-six Korean prisoners who chose neutral nations and went to India. It highlights the roles played by the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) and the Custodial Forces of India, which administered the anti-Communist prisoners at Panmunjom. The prisoners' experiences are told through oral histories, including those of China- and Taiwan-bound prisoners, and two neutral-nation-bound prisoners, a Chinese and a North Korean, who chose neutral nations and are now living in Argentina. 15Prisoner-Agents of Unit 8240 chapter abstractChapter 15 uncovers the hitherto unknown history of prisoner-turned-agents. Between late 1951 and early 1954, several hundred Chinese prisoners disappeared from prison camps and were declared to have "escaped." They were drafted by a US military intelligence unit—the Far East Command Liaison Detachment (Korea), the 8240th Army Unit. After some crude training, they infiltrated into North Korea by air, by sea, or by land, and had to return to the UNC side on foot. More than half of these prisoner-agents—probably more than two hundred—were killed or captured during missions, and some of the captured were executed by the PRC. The program practically destroyed the best educated and most committed Chinese anti-Communist prisoners. This chapter draws on interviews with several of the seventy survivors who went to Taiwan, detailing their narrow escape from death and the loss of their comrades. 16Aftermath chapter abstractThis chapter sketches prisoners' postwar lives in Taiwan, the PRC, and India, and subsequently Latin America. None of the 7,110 POWs who were repatriated to China between April 1953 and January 1954 went home directly, as they were subjected to a yearlong investigation that resulted in the expulsion of 91.8 percent of the 2,900 Communist members from the CCP, dishonorable discharge of 4,600 repatriates from the PLA counting from the date of their capture, the expulsion of some 700 men from the PLA, and the arrest of a small number of traitors and spy suspects. No one was allowed to rejoin the PLA. What followed was lifetime stigma and persecution. In contrast, few of the 14,000 Taiwan-bound prisoners were allowed to quit the military, where they were closely monitored. While some prisoners became victims of the White Terror, others found opportunities in Taiwan's increasingly free and prosperous society. Conclusion chapter abstractVoluntary repatriation and prisoner reindoctrination, the twin US policies in the second half of the Korean War—the war over the prisoners—were major failures, as they achieved none of their original objectives and denied the rights of the majority of prisoners while protecting only a minority. No one had anticipated the price for paying lip service to fighting the Chinese Communists—with propaganda and psychological warfare—could be so dear. The United States had paid a punishing price for its arrogance toward the Chinese and its ignorance about the Chinese Communists in the Korean War, but few understand why the war was fought for three years instead of one. It is a lesson that remains to be learned.
£34.00
Stanford University Press Sufi Civilities: Religious Authority and
Book SynopsisDespite its pervasive reputation as a place of religious extremes and war, Afghanistan has a complex and varied religious landscape where elements from a broad spectrum of religious belief vie for a place in society. It is also one of the birthplaces of a widely practiced variant of Islam: Sufism. Contemporary analysts suggest that Sufism is on the decline due to war and the ideological hardening that results from societies in conflict. However, in Sufi Civilities, Annika Schmeding argues that this is far from a truthful depiction. Members of Sufi communities have worked as resistance fighters, aid workers, business people, actors, professors, and daily workers in creative and ingenious ways to keep and renew their networks of community support. Based on long-term ethnographic field research among multiple Sufi communities in different urban areas of Afghanistan, the book examines navigational strategies employed by Sufi leaders over the past four decades to weather periods of instability and persecution, showing how they adapted to changing conditions in novel ways that crafted Sufism as a force in the civil sphere. This book offers a rare on-the-ground view into how Sufi leaders react to moments of transition within a highly insecure environment, and how humanity shines through the darkness during times of turmoil.Trade Review"An engaging, compelling, and beautifully-written ethnography that traverses the heterogeneous Sufi sociosphere of contemporary Afghanistan. Schmeding documents, in arresting detail and acute sensitivity, the dexterity of Sufi adepts in creating and maintaining civil communities amidst violence and ruptures. At once profound, riveting, and timely, the book is a vital contribution to the study of religion and civil society."—Ismail Fajrie Alatas, New York University"Sufi Civilities opens the door to a marvelous world of faith that lies hidden in plain sight. Schmeding's path breaking ethnographic account of diverse Sufi communities in contemporary Afghanistan is both new and exciting. Over the past half century they have outlasted every radical political regime that failed to appreciate just how deeply Sufism is embedded in Afghanistan's Islamic culture."—Thomas Barfield, Boston University"Afghan Sufis have been hidden from view by attention to mujahidin, Taliban, and al-Qaida. Through astute anthropological observation, Annika Schmeding shows how Sufis became important players in the contests for religious authority that emerged from the cultural whirligig of a NATO-supported Islamic Republic. This is a major contribution to the study of modern Afghanistan."—Nile Green, University of California, Los Angeles
£92.80
Wilfrid Laurier University Press Afghanistan: Transition under Threat
Book Synopsis Many have questioned the wisdom of the international intervention in Afghanistan in light of the escalation of violence and instability in the country in the past few years. Particularly uncertain are Canadians, who have been inundated with media coverage of an increasingly dirty war in southern Afghanistan, one in which Canadians are at the frontline and suffering heavy casualties. However, the conflict is only one aspect of Afghanistan's complicated, and incomplete, political, economic, and security transition. In Afghanistan: Transition under Threat, leading Afghanistan scholars and practitioners paint a full picture of the situation in Afghanistan and the impact of international and particularly Canadian assistance. They review the achievements of the reconstruction process and outline future challenges, focusing on key issues like the narcotics trade, the Pakistan - Afghanistan bilateral relationship, the Taliban-led insurgency, and continuing endemic poverty. This collection provides new insight into the nature and state of Afghanistan's post-conflict transition and illustrates the consequences of failure. Co-published with the Centre for International Governance Innovation Trade Review``Though originating in the context of Canadian political debates, the volume's center of gravity is not Canada in Afghanistan, but Afghanistan itself, objectively considered, as a genuine national policy dilemma. For that reason, it is of immediate relevance to decision-making processes presently confronting the United States and those nations whose soldiers and national coffers will provide the means for proceeding in this key theater of 'The Long War.'... Development studies, area studies, South Asian history, international relations, national security studies, post-conflict peace studies, are the principal academic audiences for this text. Many others employed in government, international organizations, NGO's, and the relevant private sector, are also likely beneficiaries. It is important for academics outside of Canada to learn how Canadians, who GDP and armed forces are a small fraction of America's, view the magnitude of the challenges, sacrifices, and dilemmas facing Afghanistan c. 2006. Jargon-free in general, well-edited, with a very satisfactory index, the volume is suitable as a supplemental text for advanced undergraduates and above.'' -- Paul Kamolnick, East Tennessee State University -- Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa, 200912``Straddling the fraught international crossroad of terrorism and drugs, Afghanistan has succeeded in puncturing the hubris of liberal interventionism. It poses a new question to policy-makers: How do you defeat an insurgency in a fragile state? In this comprehensive collection, Hayes and Sedra succeed in bringing together an impressive range of opinion and expertise that adds to our understanding of contemporary Afghanistan and its international significance. This excellent book examines the political, economic, and security considerations underpinning the current search for peace, stability, and nationhood. It provides a sober, penetrating, and, in places, controversial analysis of the missed opportunities, problems, and, indeed, successes of this encounter.'' -- Mark Duffield, Professor of Development Politics, Bristol University -- 200810``Hayes, Sedra, and their colleagues provide the most comprehensive and balanced assessment to date of the international effort in Afghanistan.'' -- Barnett R. Rubin, Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center on International Cooperation, New York University -- 200810Table of Contents Afghanistan: Transition under Threat, edited by Geoffrey Hayes and Mark Sedra Foreword Christopher Alexander Introduction Mark Sedra and Geoffrey Hayes Section I: The Political Transition Looking Back at the Bonn Process William Maley Afghanistan: The Challenge of State Building Ali A. Jalali Poppy, Politics, and State Building Jonathan Goodhand Section II: The Economic Transition Responding to Afghanistan's Development Challenge: An Assessment of Experience and Priorities for the Future William A. Byrd Laying Economic Foundations for a New Afghanistan Seema Patel Section III: The Security Transition The Neo-Taliban Insurgency: From Village Islam to International Jihad Antonio Giustozzi Security Sector Reform and State Building in Afghanistan Mark Sedra Insecurity along the Durand Line Husain Haqqani Section IV: The Canadian Case Peace Building and Development in the Fragile State of Afghanistan: A Practitioner's Perspective Nipa Banerjee Establishing Security in Afghanistan: Strategic and Operational Perspectives M.D. Capstick Canada in Afghanistan: Assessing the Numbers Geoffrey Hayes Contributors Index Contributors' Bios Nipa Banerjee worked for thirty-three years for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), serving both at the headquarters level and in the field. She represented CIDA in Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Afghanistan. Her most recent posting, in Kabul (2003-2006), was as CIDA's head of aid for Afghanistan. In July 2008, she joined the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, where she lectures on international development. Her research interests include development in post-conflict countries and aid coordination and aid effectiveness, with a focus on Afghanistan. William A. Byrd is currently serving in the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, as adviser in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit of the South Asia Region. Until recently he was the bank's senior economic adviser in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he helped to develop the World Bank's strategy for Afghanistan's reconstruction effort. He led the team that produced the first World Bank economic report on Afghanistan in a quarter-century. He has been with the World Bank for more than twenty years, during which time he has worked on China, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. His publications include six books on China and numerous articles, including several on Afghanistan. He has been responsible for reports on Afghanistan's public finance management, economic co-operation in the wider Central Asia region, and Afghanistan's drug industry. Most recently he co-authored a joint report of the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development titled Afghanistan: Economic Incentives and Development Initiatives to Reduce Opium Production. Colonel Mike Capstick retired from the Canadian Armed Forces (Regular) in late 2006 after thirty-two years of service. His final appointment was as Commander of the first deployment of the CF Strategic Advisory Team Afghanistan from August 2005 until August 2006. This unique unit, a mixed military civilian team, provided strategic planning advice and capacity building to development-related agencies of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his leadership of this team and is currently an associate at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary. Antonio Giustozzi is a research fellow at the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics, where he runs a research project on contemporary Afghanistan. He is the author of War, Politics and Society in Afghanistan, 1978-1992 (2000) and Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan (2007) as well as several papers and articles on Afghanistan. Jonathan Goodhand teaches in the development studies department of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. His involvement with Afghanistan dates back to the late 1980s, when he was an aid worker based in Peshawar, Pakistan. Since then he has conducted research and published widely on issues related to civil wars, war economies, international aid, and post-conflict peacebuilding. His most recent publication is Aiding Peace? The Role of NGOs in Armed Conflict (2006). Husain Haqqani is Pakistan's ambassador to the United States. Prior to taking this post he was the Director of Boston University's Center for International Relations and co-chair of the Islam and Democracy Project at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. He has served as an adviser to Pakistani prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto and as Pakistan's ambassador to Sri Lanka. His most recent book is Pakistan between Mosque and Military (2005). Geoffrey Hayes is an associate professor in the department of history at the University of Waterloo and is the associate director of the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, both of which are based in Waterloo, Canada. His work on contemporary defence issues has appeared in such journals as War and Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal and Behind the Headlines. Most recently he co-edited, with Mike Bechthold and Andrew Iarocci, Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007). Ali A. Jalali was the interior minister of Afghanistan from January 2003 to September 2005. He is currently serving as both a distinguished professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies and a researcher at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, both of which are based at the National Defence University in Washington, DC. His areas of interest include reconstruction, stabilization, and peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and regional issues affecting Afghanistan, Central Asia, and South Asia. He has published widely on Afghanistan. William Maley is a professor and the director of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University. He has served as a visiting professor at the Russian Diplomatic Academy, a visiting fellow at the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde, and a visiting research fellow in the refugee-studies program at Oxford University. A regular visitor to Afghanistan, he is the author of numerous books on Afghanistan, including Rescuing Afghanistan (2006) and The Afghanistan Wars (2002). Seema Patel is an independent consultant whose focus is on market-led economic development in fragile environments. She is currently a consultant to the AfghanAmerican chamber of commerce and the Global Development Alliance at USAID. She recently left the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she served as a business development advisor for the project. From 2006 to 2007 she led a comprehensive CSIS field-based study on reconstruction in Afghanistan. The final report for the project was titled Breaking Point: Measuring Progress in Afghanistan. Mark Sedra is a research assistant professor in the department of political science at the University of Waterloo and a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, both of which are based in Waterloo, Canada. He currently leads CIGI's research program on global and human security. He has regularly served as a consultant to governments, intergovernmental organizations, and NGOs on security issues in Afghanistan and has published widely on the country. His most recent publications are: The Search for Security in Post-Taliban Afghanistan (2007), co-authored with Cyrus Hodes, and Afghanistan, Arms, and Conflict Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society (2008), co-authored with Michael Vinay Bhatia.
£33.96
University of Massachusetts Press Vietnam and Other American Fantasies
Book SynopsisThis work is a cultural history of the Vietnam War and its continuing impact upon contemporary American society. The author presents an investigation of how myths about the war evolved and why people depend on them to answer the confusing questions that have become the legacy of the war. Memories change and reconstruct the past, and in this text, the author argues that the American memory of Vietnam has left fact and experience behind so that what remains is myth and denial.Trade ReviewAn all inclusive cultural history of the Vietnam War and its continuing impact upon contemporary American society. - Library Journal ""Coming to terms with the Vietnam War - the war that America lost - has been a long, grueling struggle, mired by historical denial and distortion and, as Franklin so formidably reveals, myths that have become entrapped in American culture. He presents a scholarly, yet personal and lucid investigation of how these myths evolved and why people depend upon them to answer the confusing questions that have become the legacy of the war."" - ForeWord ""Franklin has written on other subjects over the years, but Vietnam has inspired some of his most probing work.... Cogent cultural criticism."" - Booklist ""Memories change and reconstruct the past, and in this provocative study, Rutgers cultural historian Franklin argues that the American memory of Vietnam has left fact and experience behind so that what remains is myth and denial."" - Publishers Weekly memory of the Vietnam War, this book is indispensable,"" - Richard Falk, Princeton University ""What marks this provocative and engaging book is H. Bruce Franklin's steadfast resistance to a society that takes 'plausible deniability' as its first principle. The range of subjects considered, Franklin's clear-headed analysis, and his impressive knowledge all make this an important contribution."" - Marilyn B. Young, author of The Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990
£21.80
University of Massachusetts Press The Other Side of Grief: The Home Front and the
Book SynopsisThis is a wide-ranging critical assessment of the cultural impact of America's longest war.The lingering aftereffects of the Vietnam War resonate to this day throughout American society: in foreign policy, in attitudes about the military and war generally, and in the contemporary lives of members of the so-called baby boom generation who came of age during the 1960s and early 1970s. While the best-known personal accounts of the war tend to center on the experience of combat, Maureen Ryan's ""The Other Side of Grief"" examines the often overlooked narratives - novels, short stories, memoirs, and films - that document the war's impact on the home front.In analyzing the accounts of Vietnam veterans, women as well as men, Ryan focuses on the process of readjustment, on how the war continued to insinuate itself into their lives, their families, and their communities long after they returned home. She looks at the writings of women whose husbands, lovers, brothers, and sons served in Vietnam and whose own lives were transformed as a result. She also appraises the experiences of the POWs who came to be embraced as the war's only heroes; the ordeal of Vietnamese refugees who fled their 'American War' to new lives in the United States; and the influential movement created by those who committed themselves to protesting the war.The end result of Ryan's investigations is a cogent synthesis of the vast narrative literature generated by the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Together those stories powerfully demonstrate how deeply the legacies of the war penetrated American culture and continue to reverberate still.Trade ReviewWhat I especially like about The Other Side of Grief is the way it enlarges what most readers think of as 'Vietnam War literature.' By juxtaposing the canonical veteran novels and memoirs with those of women, former POWs, antiwar activists, and Vietnamese refugees, we gain a much richer and broader understanding of the impact of the war on the entire society. - Christian G. Appy, author of Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides ""This is a book that needed to be written. Maureen Ryan has done it, and she has done it professionally, thoroughly, and completely."" - Philip D. Beidler, author of Re-writing America: Vietnam Authors in Their Generation
£26.31
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Life and Death in the Central Highlands: An
Book SynopsisIn 1968 James T. Gillam was a poorly focused college student at Ohio University who was dismissed and then drafted into the Army. Unlike most African-Americans who entered the Army then, he became a Sergeant and an instructor at the Fort McClellan Alabama School of Infantry. In September 1968 he joined the First Battalion, 22nd Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Within a month he transformed from an uncertain sergeant—who tried to avoid combat—to an aggressive soldier, killing his first enemy and planning and executing successful ambushes in the jungle. Gillam was a regular point man and occasional tunnel rat who fought below ground, an arena that few people knew about until after the war ended. By January 1970 he had earned a Combat Infantry Badge and been promoted to Staff Sergeant. Then Washington’s politics and military strategy took his battalion to the border of Cambodia. Search-and-destroy missions became longer and deadlier. From January to May his unit hunted and killed the enemy in a series of intense firefights, some of them in close combat. In those months Gillam was shot twice and struck by shrapnel twice. He became a savage, strangling a soldier in hand-to-hand combat inside a lightless tunnel. As his mid-summer date to return home approached, Gillam became fiercely determined to come home alive. The ultimate test of that determination came during the Cambodian invasion. On his last night in Cambodia, the enemy got inside the wire of the firebase, and the killing became close range and brutal. Gillam left the Army in June 1970, and within two weeks of his last encounter with death, he was once again a college student and destined to become a university professor. The nightmares and guilt about killing are gone, and so is the callous on his soul. Life and Death in the Central Highlands is a gripping, personal account of one soldier’s war in the Vietnam War.
£22.36
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Beyond the Quagmire: New Interpretations of the
Book SynopsisIn Beyond the Quagmire, thirteen scholars from across disciplines provide a series of provocative, important, and timely essays on the politics, combatants, and memory of the Vietnam War. The essays pose new questions, offer new answers, and establish important lines of debate regarding social, political, military, and memory studies. Part 1 contains four chapters by scholars who explore the politics of war in the Vietnam era. In Part 2, five contributors offer chapters on Vietnam combatants with analyses of race, gender, environment, and Chinese intervention. Part 3 provides four innovative and timely essays on Vietnam in history and memory.Trade ReviewThis will be a valuable and significant addition to the historiography of the war."" - James Willbanks, author of Abandoning Vietnam and The Tet Offensive
£23.96
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Phantom in the Sky: A Marine's Back Seat View of
Book SynopsisPhantom in the Sky is the story of a Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) in the back seat of the supersonic Phantom jet during the Vietnam War—a unique, tactical perspective of the ""guy in back,"" or GIB, absent from other published aviation accounts. During the time of Terry L. Thorsen's service from 1966 to 1970, the RIO played an integral part in enemy aircraft interception and ordnance delivery. In Navy and Marine F-4 Phantom jets, the RIO was a second pair of eyes for the pilot, in charge of communications and navigation, and great to have during emergencies. Thorsen endured the tough Platoon Leaders Course at Quantico and barely earned a commission. He underwent aviation and intercept training while suffering airsickness issues—and still earned his wings. Thorsen joined the oldest and most decorated squadron in the Marine Corps, the VMFA-232 Red Devils in southern California, as it prepared for deployment to Vietnam. In combat, Thorsen felt angst when he saw the sky darken around him from anti-aircraft artillery explosions high above the Ho Chi Minh Trail. On his first close air support mission in support of ground troops (the majority of his Marine aviation missions), he witnessed tracers whiz by his canopy. On one harrowing sortie, he and his pilot purposely became the target to save an Army unit battling an enemy just a hundred feet away. On secret missions with secret weapons, they dove at anti-aircraft artillery muzzle flashes and flew as a low as fifty feet off the deck during close air support sorties, ""scraping"" the napalm off their plane. For one mission a friend survived a crash landing, but a training instructor vanished without a trace.
£27.96
University of North Texas Press,U.S. War in the Villages: The U.S. Marine Corps
Book SynopsisMuch of the history written about the Vietnam War overlooks the U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Platoons. These CAPs lived in the Vietnamese villages, with the difficult and dangerous mission of defending the villages from both the National Liberation Front guerrillas and the soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army. The CAPs also worked to improve living conditions by helping the people with projects, such as building schools, bridges, and irrigation systems for their fields. In War in the Villages, Ted Easterling examines how well the CAPs performed as a counterinsurgency method, how the Marines adjusted to life in the Vietnamese villages, and how they worked to accomplish their mission. The CAPs generally performed their counterinsurgency role well, but they were hampered by factors beyond their control. Most important was the conflict between the Army and the Marine Corps over an appropriate strategy for the Vietnam War, along with weakness of the government of the Republic of South Vietnam and the strategic and the tactical ability of the North Vietnamese Army.War in the Villages helps to explain how and why this potential was realized and squandered. Marines who served in the CAPs served honorably in difficult circumstances. Most of these Marines believed they were helping the people of South Vietnam, and they served superbly. The failure to end the war more favorably was no fault of theirs.
£23.96
University of North Texas Press,U.S. Duty to Serve, Duty to Conscience: The Story of
Book SynopsisDespite all that has been written about Vietnam, the story of the 1-A-O conscientious objector, who agreed to put on a uni-form and serve in the field without weapons rather than accept alternative service outside the military, has received scarce atten-tion. This joint memoir by two 1-A-O combat medics, James C. Kearney and William H. Clamurro, represents a unique approach to the subject. It is a blend of their personal narratives—with select Vietnam poems by Clamurro—to illustrate noncombatant objection as a unique and relatively unknown form of Vietnam War protest. Both men initially met during training and then served as frontline medics in separate units “outside the wire” in Vietnam. Clamurro was assigned to a tank company in Tay Ninh province next to the Cambodian border, before reassignment to an aid station with the 1st Air Cavalry. Kearney served first as a medic with an artillery battery in the 1st Infantry Division, then as a convoy medic during the Cambodian invasion with the 25th Infantry Division, and finally as a Medevac medic with the 1st Air Cavalry. In this capacity Kearney was seriously wounded during a “hot hoist” in February 1971 and ended up being treated by his friend Clamurro back at base. Because of their status as “a new breed of conscientious objector”—i.e., more political than religious in their convictions—the authors’ experience of the Vietnam War differed fundamentally from that of their fellow draftees and contrasted even with the great majority of their fellow 1-A-O medics, whose conscientious objector status was largely or entirely faith-based.
£27.96
Texas A & M University Press The Only War We Had: A Platoon Leaders Journal
Book SynopsisIn my year in Vietnam, I walked the booby-trapped rice paddies of the Delta, searching for the elusive Viet Cong, and later macheted my way through the triple-canopy jungle, fighting the North Vietnamese Regulars...I sweated, thirsted, hunted, killed. Somewhere in all my experiences, I overlapped the situations of nearly every infantryman and many others who served. Michael Lee Lanning's journal of his first tour of duty in Vietnam provides an unvarnished daily account of life in the field - the blood, fear, camaraderie, and tedium of combat and maneuver. Fleshed out with narrative and detail years later, the pages of this memorable book, first published in 1987, show an eager young recruit growing before the reader's eyes into a proud but bloodied combat veteran. Subsequent volumes in his ""Vietnam Trilogy"" will detail Lanning's tour as a company commander and his postwar investigation into the mind of the enemy. Through his eyes, readers see the reality of a war that did not always receive glory but was, in his words, ""the only war we had.
£16.96
New Village Press Waging Peace in Vietnam: US Soldiers and Veterans
Book SynopsisHow American soldiers opposed and resisted the war in Vietnam While mainstream narratives of the Vietnam War all but marginalize anti-war activity of soldiers, opposition and resistance from within the three branches of the military made a real difference to the course of America’s engagement in Vietnam. By 1968, every major peace march in the United States was led by active duty GIs and Vietnam War veterans. By 1970, thousands of active duty soldiers and marines were marching in protest in US cities. Hundreds of soldiers and marines in Vietnam were refusing to fight; tens of thousands were deserting to Canada, France and Sweden. Eventually the US Armed Forces were no longer able to sustain large-scale offensive operations and ceased to be effective. Yet this history is largely unknown and has been glossed over in much of the written and visual remembrances produced in recent years. Waging Peace in Vietnam shows how the GI movement unfolded, from the numerous anti-war coffee houses springing up outside military bases, to the hundreds of GI newspapers giving an independent voice to active soldiers, to the stockade revolts and the strikes and near-mutinies on naval vessels and in the air force. The book presents first-hand accounts, oral histories, and a wealth of underground newspapers, posters, flyers, and photographs documenting the actions of GIs and veterans who took part in the resistance. In addition, the book features fourteen original essays by leading scholars and activists. Notable contributors include Vietnam War scholar and author, Christian Appy, and Mme Nguyen Thi Binh, who played a major role in the Paris Peace Accord. The book originates from the exhibition Waging Peace, which has been shown in Vietnam and the University of Notre Dame, and will be touring the eastern United States in conjunction with book launches in Boston, Amherst, and New York.Trade Review"The popular protest and resistance to the US war in Vietnam that developed, most dramatically and effectively, among the soldiers who refused to take part in a criminal war, played a leading role in revealing its horrors. This powerful record of their struggles and achievements is a most welcome contribution, with critical lessons for the future." -- Noam Chomsky"No one did more to bring an end to America's cruel and unjust war in Vietnam than the patriotic GIs and veterans who turned against it. This extraordinary history of their struggle should inspire all of us who seek to end the ongoing and interrelated threats of war, nuclear doomsday, and environmental catastrophe." -- Daniel Ellsberg * Pentagon Papers *"An extraordinary collection of first-hand accounts and unforgettable photos from the rank-and-file soldiers and GI organizers who spearheaded one of the most important yet often overlooked peace movements in U.S. history. Finally, the amazing story is told of how resistance to the Vietnam War from inside the military helped force an end to that tragic imperial conflict." -- Juan González, Richard D. Heffner Professor of Communications and Public Policy, Rutgers University, and co-host * Democracy Now *"Waging Peace is an essential reminder of the collaboration between US soldiers and civilians to oppose the Vietnam War. The essays highlight the diversity of the anti-war movement and the war’s far-reaching impact on American and Vietnamese lives. It is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of what it means to be patriotic in a time of war." -- Heather Marie Stur, author, Beyond Combat: Women and Gender in the Vietnam War Era"This collection of first-person accounts and essays on the GI peace movement is long over-due and much-needed. Active duty military men and women, as well as vets from all branches of the armed forces, marched against the War, reported war crimes or refused deployment to Vietnam, risking court martial and sometimes their lives. 'For decades after the war, a sort of conspiracy of silence or forgetfulness seemed to erase the significance of these events in helping to end the war,' Ron Carver writes. Yet the GI movement was crucial to bringing peace to Vietnam, as this book convincingly shows." -- Sophie Quinn-Judge, author * Ho Chi Minh: The Missing Years *"Waging Peace offers a full and extraordinarily powerful picture of the way that soldiers and veterans provided a much-overlooked but immense contribution to forcing an end to the United States invasion of Vietnam." * The Progressive *"This is a valuable reference book and should be a part of every Vietnam War section in college and public libraries." * The VVA Veteran *
£26.99
Texas A & M University Press A Raid Too Far: Operation Lam Son 719 and
Book SynopsisIn February 1971, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) launched an incursion into Laos in an attempt to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail and destroy North Vietnamese Army (NVA) base areas along the border. This movement would be the first real test of Vietnamization, Pres. Richard Nixon’s program to turn the fighting over to South Vietnamese forces as US combat troops were withdrawn. US ground forces would support the operation from within South Vietnam and would pave the way to the border for ARVN troops, and US air support would cover the South Vietnamese forces once they entered Laos, but the South Vietnamese forces would attack on the ground alone. The operation, dubbed Lam Son 719, went very well for the first few days, but as movement became bogged down the NVA rushed reinforcements to the battle and the ARVN forces found themselves under heavy attack. US airpower wreaked havoc on the North Vietnamese troops, but the South Vietnamese never regained momentum and ultimately began to withdraw back into their own country under heavy enemy pressure. In this first in-depth study of this operation, military historian and Vietnam veteran James H. Willbanks traces the details of battle, analyzes what went wrong, and suggests insights into the difficulties currently being incurred with the training of indigenous forces.
£27.96
Texas A & M University Press The Great Silent Majority: Nixon's 1969 Speech on
Book SynopsisIn his televised and widely watched speech to the nation on November 3, 1969, Pres. Richard M. Nixon introduced a phrase—“silent majority”—and a policy—Vietnamization of the war effort—that echo down to the present day. Nixon’s appearance on this night framed the terms in which much of the subsequent civil conflict and military strategy would be understood.Rhetorical scholar Karlyn Kohrs Campbell analyzes this critically important speech in light of the historical context and its centrality to three other speeches–two earlier and one the following spring, when the announcement of the US invasion of Cambodia brought a far different response. She also sheds light on a discourse that generated much heat in a nation already seriously divided in its support of the war in Vietnam.The first single volume dedicated to this speech, this addition to the distinguished Library of Presidential Rhetoric provides the speech text, a summary of its context, its rhetorical elements, and the disciplinary analyses that have developed.
£27.96
Texas A & M University Press Texas Aggies in Vietnam: War Stories
Book SynopsisFrom its inception, graduates of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now Texas A&M University, have marched off to fight in every conflict in which the United States has been involved. Th e Vietnam War was no different. Th e Corps of Cadets produced more officers for the conflict in Southeast Asia than any institution other than the US service academies. Michael Lee Lanning, Texas A&M University class of 1968, has now gathered over three dozen recollections from those who served.As Lanning points out, “anytime Aggie Vietnam veterans get together—whether it is two or two hundred of them—war stories begin.” Th e tales they relate about the paddies, the jungles, the highlands, the waterways, and the airways provide these veterans with an even greater understanding of the war they survived. They also allow glimpses into the frequent dangers of fi refights, the camaraderie of patrol, and oft en humorous responses to inexplicable situations.These revelations provide insight not only into the realities of war but also speak to the character of the graduates of Texas A&M University. As Lanning concludes, “these war stories are as much a part of service as is that old green duffle bag, a few rows of colorful ribbons, and a pride that does not diminish. In reality, there is only one story about the Vietnam War. We all just tell it differently.”
£26.96
