Modern warfare Books
Indiana University Press The Polish Catholic Church under German Occupati
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewJonathan Huener, professor of history at the University of Vermont, has produced a definitive study of the Catholic Church in western Poland under German occupation -- Kevin P Spicer, C.S.C., Stonehill College * Contemporary Church History Quarterly *Jonathan Huener's careful examination of the fate of the Catholic Church in western Poland—the Nazi German "Warthegau"—during World War II triangulates an impressive variety of sources in German and Polish to assess Nazi religious policy and the experience of Polish Catholics victimized by it. . . . This is essential reading for those interested in Nazi empire, Polish nationalism, or the history of the Catholic Church. -- Jadwiga Biskupska * H-Poland *Huener's book is an impressive new contribution to scholarship on Nazi church policies and occupation policies and will be essential reading for all those working in these fields. Nicely complementing Catherine Epstein's biography of Arthur Greiser, it provides a meticulously researched and judicious account of Nazi rule in this pivotal German-Polish borderland. -- Jim Bjork * Central European History *This impeccably researched study proffers an invaluable analysis and a first Anglophone synthesis of Polish, German, and Catholic sources, while it also assimilates an important secondary literature in Polish and German, including the recent, ground-breaking Polish historiography on the Holocaust. -- Monika Rice * Journal of Church and State *The Polish Catholic Church under German Occupation by Jonathan Huener is an engaging study that asks important questions about the Nazi attitude towards the Catholic Church in general, and the Polish Catholic Church in particular. Interestingly, as Huener emphasizes, the Nazi policy towards the Catholic Church was neither consistent throughout the war nor uniform in all the Nazi-occupied territories. . . . The book is a fascinating addition to what we know about the way the Nazi regime operated. It is great work that will be beneficial to historians of Poland, the Second World Word, and Nazism. But it is also a great book for both undergraduate and graduate students. -- Anna Mller * Church History *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsList of Geographic TermsList of IllustrationsList of MapsGuide to Polish PronunciationIntroduction1. Tannenberg: The Einsatzgruppen and the Polish Clergy, Fall 19392. Größte Härte: The Invasion of Poland: Ideology and Execution3. Hetzkaplan: The Polish Church and the "Agitator Priest" in Nazi Ideology4. Mustergau: The Reichsgau Wartheland as "Model Gau"5. Dominselaktion: The "Cathedral Island Action"6. Deportacja: The Deportation and Incarceration of the Clergy7. Kult: Restrictions on Public Religious Life8. Profanacja: Profanation and Plunder9. Nationalitätenprinzip: National Segregation in Church Life10. Dreizehn Punkte: From the "Thirteen Points" to the "September Decree"11. Zerschlagung: The "Action for the Destruction of the Polish Clergy"12. Dachau: Polish Clergy in the Concentration Camp Dachau13. Nonnenlager: Women Religious in the Bojanowo Labor Camp14. Späne: Kirchenpolitik in the Warthegau, 1942-194415. Parafia: Parish Life16. Konspiracja: Resistance and Conspiracy17. "Et papa tacet"? Pius XII and the Church in the Warthegau18. Kurswechsel: A Change in CourseConclusionBibliography
£62.90
Indiana University Press The Polish Catholic Church under German
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewJonathan Huener, professor of history at the University of Vermont, has produced a definitive study of the Catholic Church in western Poland under German occupation -- Kevin P Spicer, C.S.C., Stonehill College * Contemporary Church History Quarterly *Jonathan Huener's careful examination of the fate of the Catholic Church in western Poland—the Nazi German "Warthegau"—during World War II triangulates an impressive variety of sources in German and Polish to assess Nazi religious policy and the experience of Polish Catholics victimized by it. . . . This is essential reading for those interested in Nazi empire, Polish nationalism, or the history of the Catholic Church. -- Jadwiga Biskupska * H-Poland *Huener's book is an impressive new contribution to scholarship on Nazi church policies and occupation policies and will be essential reading for all those working in these fields. Nicely complementing Catherine Epstein's biography of Arthur Greiser, it provides a meticulously researched and judicious account of Nazi rule in this pivotal German-Polish borderland. -- Jim Bjork * Central European History *This impeccably researched study proffers an invaluable analysis and a first Anglophone synthesis of Polish, German, and Catholic sources, while it also assimilates an important secondary literature in Polish and German, including the recent, ground-breaking Polish historiography on the Holocaust. -- Monika Rice * Journal of Church and State *The Polish Catholic Church under German Occupation by Jonathan Huener is an engaging study that asks important questions about the Nazi attitude towards the Catholic Church in general, and the Polish Catholic Church in particular. Interestingly, as Huener emphasizes, the Nazi policy towards the Catholic Church was neither consistent throughout the war nor uniform in all the Nazi-occupied territories. . . . The book is a fascinating addition to what we know about the way the Nazi regime operated. It is great work that will be beneficial to historians of Poland, the Second World Word, and Nazism. But it is also a great book for both undergraduate and graduate students. -- Anna Mller * Church History *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsList of Geographic TermsList of IllustrationsList of MapsGuide to Polish PronunciationIntroduction1. Tannenberg: The Einsatzgruppen and the Polish Clergy, Fall 19392. Größte Härte: The Invasion of Poland: Ideology and Execution3. Hetzkaplan: The Polish Church and the "Agitator Priest" in Nazi Ideology4. Mustergau: The Reichsgau Wartheland as "Model Gau"5. Dominselaktion: The "Cathedral Island Action"6. Deportacja: The Deportation and Incarceration of the Clergy7. Kult: Restrictions on Public Religious Life8. Profanacja: Profanation and Plunder9. Nationalitätenprinzip: National Segregation in Church Life10. Dreizehn Punkte: From the "Thirteen Points" to the "September Decree"11. Zerschlagung: The "Action for the Destruction of the Polish Clergy"12. Dachau: Polish Clergy in the Concentration Camp Dachau13. Nonnenlager: Women Religious in the Bojanowo Labor Camp14. Späne: Kirchenpolitik in the Warthegau, 1942-194415. Parafia: Parish Life16. Konspiracja: Resistance and Conspiracy17. "Et papa tacet"? Pius XII and the Church in the Warthegau18. Kurswechsel: A Change in CourseConclusionBibliography
£29.70
MP-WIS Uni of Wisconsin An Uncompromising Generation The Nazi Leadership
Book SynopsisFollows the journey of a strikingly homogenous group of young academics - who came from the educated, bourgeois stratum of society - as they started to identify with the Nazi concept of Volksgemeinschaft, which labeled Jews as enemies of the people and justified their murder.Trade Review"Michael Wildt's examination of the leadership corps of Himmler's 'Reich Security Main Office'... is a major work in every sense." - Richard Bessel, The Times Literary Supplement "Wildt's exceptionally well-written book is easily accessible." - Alexander Arndt, Jewish Political Studies Review "Michael Wildt has undoubtedly written an authoritative study of the RSHA, that will, for years to come, be a great aid for historical research concerning National Socialist Germany." - Saul Friedlander, author of When Memory Comes"
£27.86
MP-WIS Uni of Wisconsin Through the Day through the Night A Flemish
Book Synopsis
£21.56
MP-WIS Uni of Wisconsin J. D. Salinger and the Nazis
Book Synopsis
£21.21
Yale University Press Mozart and the Nazis How the Third Reich Abused
Book SynopsisDespite the apparent incompatibility between Mozart's humanitarian and cosmopolitan outlook and Nazi ideology, the Third Reich tenaciously promoted the great composer's music to further the goals of the fascist regime. This book provides a fresh understanding of how the Nazis shamelessly manipulated Mozart for their own political advantage.Trade Review"The story is complicated and many-faceted, yet Levi provides the detail and the context necessary for a convincing narrative. The tone, journalistic and anti-sensational throughout, could scarcely be more effective. . . . This intriguing study comprehends a range of vital topics, and seems oddly pertinent to the present day. Highly recommended."—B.J. Murray, Choice -- B.J. Murray * Choice *"Mozart and the Nazis is a well-researched, detailed account of perceptions about Mozart, his music, and his legacy in the Third Reich and beyond. . . . The rich detail provided in Mozart and the Nazis gives readers a wealth of material for gaining a deeper understanding of how such an important musical figure can be mythologized and exploited to serve both universalist and exclusionary political philosophies."—Pamela Potter, H-Judaic -- Pamela Potter * H-Judaic *
£27.50
Yale University Press Stalins Wars From World War to Cold War 19391953
Book SynopsisFeatures Stalin's leadership from the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 to his death in 1953. This book challenges a long list of standard perceptions of Stalin: his qualities as a leader; his relationships with his own generals and with other great world leaders; his foreign policy; and his role in instigating the Cold War.Trade Review"'... an astonishing defence of the Soviet dictator... This will provoke lively debate and is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Stalin and his times.' BBC History Magazine 'There have been many books on Stalin in recent years, a few good, some not so bad and the rest pretty poor. This is one of the best, and one of the most useful. Why? Because for the first time we now have a balanced overall account of the great dictator's foreign policy in crucial years.' Paul Dukes, History Today"
£48.24
Yale University Press The First Day of the Blitz
Book SynopsisOn September 7, 1940, the Blitz began. The strategic bombing of London, by over one thousand planes on that night alone, was recognised at the time as being a direct measure to break the country's resistance, 'softening' Britain's shores for the planned Operation Sealion. This book describes the impact that this terror had on the British people.Trade Review"'Stansky makes well-judged use of eyewitness accounts to highlight the reality behind the myth. Nick Rennison, The Sunday Times 'He offers a vivid account of how Londoners withstood attack. Recent events have shown how that resilient spirit lives into our own day. William Hay, Literary Review 'There is no shortage of books about the Blitz, but Peter Stansky's is up there with the best.' John O'Connell, Time Out"
£15.79
Yale University Press France 1940
Book SynopsisA new perspective on the calamitous fall of France in 1940 and why blame has been misplaced ever sinceTrade Review"A well thought-out and well-presented book on a thorny problem of European history: why was France defeated in 1940?"—Robert Gildea, author of Marianne in Chains -- Robert Gildea
£18.99
Yale University Press The First Victory
Book SynopsisA riveting new account of the long-overlooked achievement of British-led forces who, against all odds, scored the first major Allied victory of the Second World WarTrade Review“A riveting new account of the long-overlooked achievement of British-led forces who, against all odds, scored the major Allied victory of the Second World War… draws on an array of previously unseen documents to provide both a detailed campaign history and a fresh appreciation of the first significant Allied success of the war.”—Andrew Stewart, Army Rumour Service“Stewart’s engagingly written narrative goes far towards correcting the obscurity that has lingered over this important theatre of the Second World War. Communicated in lively prose and rich in anecdotes, the book will surely reach a wide audience both within the academy and beyond. . . [it] will be welcome as a comprehensive introduction to the East Africa campaign, and will certainly be useful to historians of the British, Italian, Indian and African militaries.”—Dr Oliver Coates, Journal of Military History 'Exciting and multilayered, this is a comprehensive account of an overlooked campaign in which an outnumbered imperial army destroyed Mussolini’s dream of a new Roman Empire. Fighting over vast distances and inhospitable terrain, forces from the Congo, Ethiopia and across the British Empire recorded the Allies' first major triumph. With its mastery of archival sources, The First Victory displays Andrew Stewart’s skill as an historian of Second World War campaigns and their political and strategic context. An exhilarating read.'—Ashley Jackson, author of Churchill‘This is a highly readable account of a little-known military campaign and an important addition to our understanding of the Second World War. The author is to be congratulated on penning an authoritative and well-written book.'—Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC, author of Victoria Cross Heroes
£30.00
Yale University Press Strange Bird The Albatross Press and the Third
Book SynopsisThe first book about Albatross Press, a Penguin precursor that entered into an uneasy relationship with the Nazi regime to keep Anglo-American literature alive under fascismTrade Review“For one who has, since boyhood, regarded the second-hand bookshop as a paradise of total immersion, it is quite shocking to discover Albatross…Troy’s account is a painstaking act of exhumation… she sticks tenaciously to her unique dig, presenting us with a remarkable reconstruction.”—Duncan Fallowell, Spectator“Strange Bird is intensely researched and eminently readable--there’s even a harrowing escape story at its center. The lingering mystery of our principal, German-born Englishman John Holroyd-Reece, who may have been a spy, adds an element of intrigue as well. Troy’s book is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in publishing history, World War II, or modern Anglo-American literature.” —Stephen Darori, Israel Book Review “A cuckoo in the literary Nazi nest… Strange Bird is a story of art and business, but, given its ominous setting in Auden’s ‘low dishonest decade’ it is a story of war and politics too.”—Robert Eaglestone, THES“Beautifully written, more like a novel in places, but the story the author has uncovered is almost too implausible for the plot of the novel . . . This is part history, part biography, part novel, part academic treatise, part detective story, part bibliographical research, but above all it’s a thoroughly enjoyable read.”—Paperback Revolution“Troy narrates their stories with verve and considerable literary skill, practising narrative history in the literal sense, borrowing tropes and strategies from detective fiction.”— Anna Katharina Schaffner, TLS“Strange Bird reads like a highbrow thriller, where editors are double agents and all the great modern authors put in cameo appearances. That, along with Michele Troy’s engaging and personal style of writing, makes this book a page-turner.”—Jonathan Rose, author of The Literary Churchill"Strange Bird, a scholarly book that reads like an engrossing spy novel, vividly re-creates the strangeness of the book trade during the Third Reich and is one of the most original books on the publishing industry that's appeared in years."—Greg Barnhisel, Duquesne University"Thoroughly researched and compellingly written, this fascinating microhistory of a German-based English-language publisher adds depth and subtlety to our understanding of the cultural policy of the Third Reich."—Alan E. Steinweis, University of Vermont"A wonderfully fine-grained narrative history of publishers, books, and readers across and within borders amid the constraint and chaos of Nazi-occupied Europe. Troy has dug deeply into the archives and the historical literature to document the cynical policy of Goebbels not only to censor but to demonstrate 'civilized' German 'tolerance' to the world."—Geoffrey Cocks, Albion College"This beautifully crafted book is a detective novel and psychological portrait rolled into one. Troy's in-depth archival research reveals her protagonists' aspirations, and the web of political intrigues and economic imperatives in which they became entangled."—Adriaan van der Weel, Universiteit Leiden
£33.25
Yale University Press When Britain Saved the West
Book Synopsis
£13.99
John Wiley & Sons Inc Sisters in the Resistance
Book SynopsisCritical acclaim for Sisters in the Resistance Often moving . . . always fascinating . . . women in the FrenchResistance is a key subject. Margaret Weitz has gathered personaltestimonies . . . and set them in an intelligible context thathelps us understand how all French people--men andwomen--experienced the Nazi occupation. --Robert Paxton, MellonProfessor of Social Sciences, Columbia University, and author ofVichy France: Old Guard and New Order, 1940-1944. Compulsive reading . . . a valuable book which vividly portraysthe intricacies of resistance within France, written in an easy butserious style. --Times Literary Supplement (London). An absolutely stunning and compelling chronicle of dauntlesscourage and unflagging patriotism. --Booklist. [Margaret Collins Weitz''s] well-researched, thoughtful study. . .has filled a gap in the history of World War II. --PublishersWeekly. Balancing absorbing narrative and astute analysis, MargaretCollinsTable of ContentsWomen and the War-within-a-War. France under German Occupation. French Women under the Vichy Regime. Organizing Resistance in France. Resistance: A Family Affair. Young and Alone. War Is a Man's Affair. Support Services: Women's Eternal Vocation. Dangerous Liaisons. Room and Board: Critical Concerns. Choosing Roles. Collaboration. Conclusion: Women and the Legacy of the Resistance. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index.
£17.10
The University of Michigan Press Classical Spies
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Classical Spies will be a lasting contribution to the discipline and will stimulate further research. Susan Heuck Allen presents to a wide readership a topic of interest that is important and has been neglected.”- William M. Calder III, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
£22.75
LUP - University of Michigan Press The War in Their Minds
Book SynopsisHistorians are increasingly looking at the sacrifices Germans had to make during World War II. In this context, Svenja Goltermann has taken up a particularly delicate topic, German soldiers' experience of violence during the war, and repercussions of this experience after their return home.
£27.50
LUP - University of Michigan Press Documents on the Rape of Nanking
Book SynopsisNewly revised resources for understanding the Rape of Nanking
£20.85
LUP - University of Michigan Press The War in Their Minds
Book Synopsis
£69.30
University of California Press To Know Where He Lies
Book SynopsisIn the aftermath of the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, the discovery of unmarked mass graves revealed Europe's worst atrocity since World War II: the genocide in the UN safe area of Srebrenica. This title provides an account of the genetic technology developed to identify the eight thousand Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) men and boys found in those graves.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Note on Pronunciation Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina Introduction 1. The Fall of Srebrenica 2. The People and Place of Postwar Srebrenica 3. A Technological Innovation 4. Memory at Work 5. Where Memory and Imagination Meet 6. Return to Potocari 7. "That you see, that you know, that you remember" 8. Technology of Repair Epilogue Notes References Index
£27.00
University of California Press War Comes to Long An Updated and Expanded
Book SynopsisA study of the Vietnamese conflict, examined through the lens of the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary movements in the rural province of Long An up until American intervention in the area.Trade Review"Timeless." Asia Times "The work's success in bringing clarity to its analysis of that attack owes much to its long neglected social science, to Jeffrey Race." New Mandala; Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Group "I've gotten more out of re-reading War Comes to Long An ... than just about anything other than Robert Warburton's classic memoir, Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879-98 (1900)." The American Interest
£27.00
University of California Press Race for Empire Koreans as Japanese and Japanese
Book SynopsisOffers a challenging reinterpretation of nationalism, racism, and wartime mobilization during the Asia-Pacific war. This title examines the US and Japanese empires as they struggled to manage racialized populations while waging total war.Trade Review"[A] monumental history... This magisterial book will be indispensable reading for historians of the United States, Japan, and Korea." -- Kornel S. Chang, Rutgers University Jrnl Of American History "[This book] is very important and should be read and studied by all serious students of Asian studies, Japanese American studies, and the Pacific War... Highly recommended." Choice "Truly impressive archival work and rigorous conceptualization... Provides compelling narratives and analyses of Japanese colonialism in Korea." -- Henry Em, Yonsei University Cross Currents: East Asian History & Cultural Review "This is a masterful study... An important and brave contribution to the fields of Japanese, Korean, Japanese American, and transnational histories." -- Emily Anderson Asian Studies Review "Outstanding ... Meticulously researched and brilliantly written." -- Daniel Lachapelle Lemire Pacific AffairsTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface and Acknowledgments Note on Romanization and Naming Commonly Used Acronyms Introduction: Ethnic and Colonial Soldiers and the Politics of Disavowal Part One: From Vulgar to Polite Racism 1. Right to Kill, Right to Make Live: Koreans as Japanese 2. "Very Useful and Very Dangerous": The Global Politics of Life, Death, and Race Part Two: Japanese as Americans 3. Subject to Choice, Labyrinth of (Un)freedom 4. Reasoning, Counterreasonings, and Counter-conduct 5. Go for Broke, the Movie: The Transwar Making of American Heroes Part Three: Koreans as Japanese 6. National Mobilization 7. Nation, Blood, and Self-Determination 8. The Colonial and National Politics of Gender, Sex, and Family Epilogue: "Four Volunteer Soldiers" Notes Selected Bibliography Index
£56.80
University of California Press Breaking Ranks
Book SynopsisOffers a personal perspective to the war in Iraq by looking into the lives of six veterans who turned against the war they helped to fight. Based on interviews with each of the six, this book relates why they enlisted, their experiences in training and in early missions, their tours of combat, and what has happened to them since returning home.Trade Review"The book is noteworthy for capturing the multifaceted nature of veterans' experiences and performs a valuable service by providing a vehicle for the circulation of dissenting voices within the military." -- JoonHyun Michael Choi * American Anthropologist *Table of ContentsContents Introduction A Different Kind of War Story Part I Innocence 1 Recruiting Volunteers 2 Training 3 First Missions Part II War's Crucible 4 Inside Iraq, on the Outskirts of Reality 5 Face to Face with Iraqi Civilians 6 Awakenings Part III Aftermath and Activism 7 Homecoming Traumas 8 Speaking Out Conclusion Six Soldiers Acknowledgments Notes Glossary
£27.00
University of California Press Hanois Road to the Vietnam War 19541965
Book SynopsisIn agreeing to the accords, Ho Chi Minh and other leaders of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam anticipated a new period of peace leading to national reunification under their rule; they never imagined that within a decade they would be engaged in an even bigger feud with the United States. This title explores the communist path to war.Trade Review"Highly recommended." CHOICE "Excellent new [work] on the Vietnam War." -- Geoffrey C. Stewart Cross-Currents "Outstanding... Illuminating." Proceedings "A valuable contribution to any discussion of North Vietnam's road to war, and the origins of the American stage in the Vietnam War." -- Tal Tovy H-Net "Asselin's excellent study ... will remain an indispensible source for students of Vietnam, the Cold War, and twentieth-century world history for many years to come." -- Jessica Elkind The Journal of American History "This authoritative and compelling book fills a long-felt need for a scholarly treatment of policy making in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. Pierre Asselin has conducted careful and exhaustive research into available Vietnamese and Western archival sources and consulted widely secondary writings on his topic. The result is a meticulously researched, lucidly written, and highly revealing volume on a previously obscure aspect of the Indochina conflict... Asselin pushes the frontier of our knowledge about Hanoi's strategic thinking and diplomatic maneuver during the Indochina conflict further than anyone else." Journal of American-East Asian RelationsTable of ContentsForeword by the series editors Acknowledgments Glossary of Terms and Acronyms Introduction 1. Choosing Peace, 1954--1956 2. Changing Course, 1957--1959 3. Treading Cautiously, 1960 4. Buying Time, 1961 5. Exploring Neutralization, 1962 6. Choosing War, 1963 7. Waging War, 1964 Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index
£39.10
University of California Press Soldiering through Empire
Book SynopsisIn the decades after World War II, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilian contractors across Asia and the Pacific found work through the U.S. military. Recently liberated from colonial rule, these workers were drawn to the opportunities the military offered and became active participants of the U.S. empire, most centrally during the U.S. war in Vietnam. Simeon Man uncovers the little-known histories of Filipinos, South Koreans, and Asian Americans who fought in Vietnam, revealing how U.S. empire was sustained through overlapping projects of colonialism and race making. Through their military deployments, Man argues, these soldiers took part in the making of a new Pacific world-a decolonizing Pacific-in which the imperatives of U.S. empire collided with insurgent calls for decolonization, producing often surprising political alliances, imperial tactics of suppression, and new visions of radical democracy.Trade Review"Offering an alternative view of the war, Man shifts the story’s center to the Pacific world, broadening the context so that the Vietnam War is not a discrete event, but a link in a U.S. capitalist-imperialist chain shackling East Asia." * Journal of American-East Asian Relations *"Soldiering Through Empire is an absolutely essential text for diagnosing, understanding, and resisting the ongoing race war that lies at the very heart of the (neo)liberal capitalist project. From this perspective, radical geographers would be remiss not to read Soldiering Through Empire alongside the work of an emerging cohort of junior scholars in ethnic and American studies that are all, in their own ways, sketching out intellectual and political pathways for confronting and defeating the pernicious forces of racial liberalism." * Society & Space *“Innovative. . . . In a present defined by the militarization of national borders, Man’s work can help us see the seeds of dissent sprouting below the barbed wire.” * Public Books *"This is a wide-ranging, analytically rich and insightful book which does not lose sight of the ‘big picture.’" * Connections *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1 • Securing Asia for Asians: Making the U.S. Transnational Security State 2 • Colonial Intimacies and Counterinsurgency: The Philippines, South Vietnam, and the United States 3 • Race War in Paradise: Hawai‘i’s Vietnam War 4 • Working the Subempire: Philippine and South Korean Military Labor in Vietnam 5 • Fighting “Gooks”: Asian Americans and the Vietnam War 6 • A World Becoming: The GI Movement and the Decolonizing Pacific Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
£22.50
University of California Press Contesting Indochina
Book SynopsisFor the French in Indochina, the stunning defeat at Dien Bien Phu ushered in the violent process of decolonization and a fraught reckoning with a colonial past. This is an in-depth study of the competing and intertwined narratives of the Indochina War.Trade Review"There is little to criticize in this well-researched and carefully worded monograph... an insightful and important addition to the growing field of history and memory." H Net
£27.00
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Occupied France
Book SynopsisThis concise history of France from the occupation in 1940 to liberation in 1944 focuses on the struggle between those who favoured collaboration with the occupying Germans and those who opted to resist. Roderick Kedward shows how ordinary people experienced the occupation; he examines the politics and ideology of the Victory regime, and he discusses the many different forms of resistance launched from inside and outside France. He particularly emphasizes the changing nature of both collaboration and resistance as the pressure of the occupatoin intensified, and asks whether France was involved in a civil war by 1944.Trade Review"A splendid book. It provides an admirably concise narrative of the major events and personalities that shaped the experience of collaboration and resistance in France between 1940 and 1944 with many new insights drawn from recent research." Teaching History "A tour de force. To write a history of Vichy, collaboration, resistance and liberation in only 80 pages ... is a feat only as skilled and scholarly a historian such as Mr. Kedward could have carried out." Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary FranceTable of Contents1. Occupation. 2. Victory. 3. Collaboration. 4. Resistance. 5. Liberation. Guide to Further Reading. References. Index.
£37.95
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The Causes of the Second World War
Book SynopsisThe Second World War was the greatest conflict in history. This book provides an introduction to the causes of the war. It charts the complex route from the failed peace following the First World War through the rise of right-wing radicalism in Italy and Germany, to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, and its subsequent spread to the Pacific.Trade Review"Crozier's book is an important addition to the literature on the deeper causes of the Second World War. Not only does the author present a comprehensive examination of the diplomacy of the European powers during the entire inter-war period, he also gives considerable attention to events in the Far East - a topic that is rarely dealt with in tandem with European developments. But it is his examination of the period in light of the historiography of the subject of the causes of the war that makes his work a significant contribution. Crozier's efforts to place the historical debates in context add to the work's value to the student or casual reader. Scholars of diplomatic history of the inter-war period will find the work thought provoking. The author presents an in-depth reconsideration of British foreign policy and, particularly, of appeasement and all it has come to stand for." Christine A. White, The Pennsylvania State University "This book is first class. It is perfect for those working for A levels, Highers or SYS and for university students at every level." HistoryTable of ContentsConsultant Editor's Preface. Preface & Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. The Powers in 1919 and After. 2. The Making of the Inter-War World, 1919-1923. 3. The Failed Peace, 1919-1933. 4. The Challenge of Fascism and the Democratic Response. 5. The International System Challenged 1933-1936. 6. The Deepening Crisis, 1936-1938. 7. The Outbreak of War in Europe. 8. The Crisis in the Far East. 9. From War to World War. 10. Interpretations and the Changing View. Conclusion. Appendices. Notes. Bibliography. Index.
£37.00
Harvard University Press American Tragedy Kennedy Johnson the Origins of
Book SynopsisIn what will become the classic account, based on newly opened archival sources, David Kaiser rewrites what we know about the Vietnam War. Reviving and expanding a venerable tradition of political, diplomatic, and military history, he shows not only why we entered the war, but also why our efforts were doomed to fail.Trade ReviewKaiser has worked his way through the archives and emerged with an impressive account of what he terms 'the greatest policy miscalculation in the history of American foreign relations.' The book is a detailed narrative of the war-related decisions of the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations, tracing American involvement from the late 1950's to the dispatch of ground troops in 1965. All the familiar elements of the story are here--the early crisis in Laos , the hapless military advisory mission, the choices of 1964-65 that Americanized the war--along with some new tidbits as well, like a transcript of John F. Kennedy's private post-mortem on the 1963 coup against the president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem. -- Gideon Rose * New York Times Book Review *American Tragedy is a superb analysis of the debate within the United States government thirty-five years ago over what we should do about South Vietnam. David Kaiser shows in impressive and meticulous detail how we stumbled into an unnecessary war. -- Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.It's been a long time since we had a 'big' book on the war in Vietnam. American Tragedy is that book. -- Shimshon Arad * Jerusalem Post *As revisionists continue their hallucinatory attempts to re-write Vietnam as another WWII--if only we had had the will to win--careful scholarship is deepening our understanding of very different, painful story, from which wisdom to shape a better future still might come, giving belated meaning and significance to the lives of those who died there for other men's folly. American Tragedy is a landmark of such scholarship, and of the struggle to redeem something of value from the most wantonly destructive episode of our history in the past 50 years. -- Paul Rosenberg * Denver Post *Kaiser's grasp of the broader sweep of the flow of history enables him to analyse how the lessons of the history of the 1930s were misapplied by the G. I. Generation to Vietnam in the 1960s. Moreover, Kaiser's military background leads him to discuss in more detail and with greater authority than in most accounts the military aspects of the conflict. -- Peter Boyle * Times Higher Education Supplement *[Kaiser's] Vietnam book is strongest on the Kennedy period...[He] persuasively argues that Kennedy would have avoided a major American war in Vietnam had he lived. * Foreign Affairs *[Kaiser] presents an excellent, comprehensive chronological accounting of Vietnam War policymaking in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The book's strongest point is Kaiser's extensive use of newly released primary materials. Along with his narrative, the author also offers an opinionated analysis of what he calls 'the greatest policy miscalculation in the history of American foreign relations.' -- Marc Leepson * Dallas Morning News *David Kaiser has written a remarkably thorough, detached, yet sensitive book about the U.S. war in Vietnam. His previous scholarship has ranted over the whole history of modern warfare, and he sets the Vietnam War in that context. -- Ernest R. May, co-author of The Kennedy Tapes (Harvard)With newly declassified cables and high-level memoranda and policy instructions, good supporting research and clear prose, David Kaiser has written a very important book on Vietnam and the movement to disaster. Not before has there been such a compelling account of the pressures to which Presidents Kennedy and Johnson were subject from the military and its civilian acolytes, whose terrifying irresponsibility extended on to the proposed use of nuclear weapons. To repeat: a most important book, still relevant as to warriors advising on war. -- John Kenneth GalbraithIn the vast literature on American intervention in Vietnam, David Kaiser has added an indispensable and revelatory new book. Based on exhaustive research and profound scholarly insight, Kaiser makes clear that the nation's tragic involvement in Vietnam was neither arbitrary nor inevitable. No other study presents a fuller or more persuasive picture of this critical moment in our nation's history. -- Alan Brinkley, author of Liberalism and Its Discontents (Harvard)American Tragedy is a splendid reinterpretation of U. S. Involvement in Vietnam. David Kaiser has unearthed fascinating new archival material which helps us better understand why this remote Asian peninsula was such a contested Cold War prize. You cannot properly comprehend the Vietnam War without reading this first-rate book. -- Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center, University of New OrleansDavid Kaiser's book on the origins of the American tragedy in Vietnam is now the finest study on this much discussed subject. Kaiser's prodigious research and keen analysis gives us persuasive answers to the many questions journalists and historians have been asking for years about the roots of our involvement in the conflict. Kaiser's book will stand as the principal work on this compelling subject for years to come. Every one interested in the recent history of the United States will want to read this book. -- Robert Dallek, author of Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and His TimesIn American Tragedy, David Kaiser examines the origins of the war and the fateful decisions that resulted in issues that haunted the country in subsequent decades. With new evidence from the State and Defense Departments, Kaiser documents Kennedy's wariness of intervention Kaiser writes very good history; he deserves a wide serious audience. -- Stanley I. Kutler * Chicago Tribune *His historiographical argument is sure to antagonize the military establishment, the CIA, surviving key policymakers like William Bundy and McNamara, anti-war critics on the left, defenders of the American commitment to fight Asian communism--and even some of his fellow historians...Kaiser is spectacularly persuasive in placing nuclear weapons at the pregnant center of the Joint Chiefs' assumptions in Vietnam. There were indeed 'wild men waiting in the wings,' as McGeorge Bundy later put it, ready to invade North Vietnam with tactical nuclear weapons. And that would have even been an even greater disaster than what happened. It is in this light that Kaiser's book is an invaluable contribution to the on-going task of peeling back further layers of the history. -- Kai Bird * Washington Post Book World *What Professor Kaiser exposes fully is the early American preparation for nuclear war in Southeast Asia and, if necessary, with China. Skeptics may dismiss this as mere contingency planning, but the Joint Chiefs went beyond preparing for a contingency to advocacy; and Kaiser shows how superiors were willing to go along with them...Kaiser's theme throughout his fascinating but depressing study is that the main actors, defying expert knowledge, could not see that their project was doomed and never defined their ultimate objectives apart from keeping Hanoi from winning. -- Jonathan Mirsky * New York Review of Books *Kaiser, a professor of strategy and policy at the Naval War College, bases his account of Vietnam policy-making not on the abstractions of international relations theory but on an exhaustive examination of the documentary record. The portrait he paints of Cold War liberalism is a frightening one. -- Bill Boisvert * In These Times *The Vietnam war has been studied exhaustively but never, in many minds, satisfactorily...That makes American Tragedy a valuable, even indispensable, addition to the long, groaning shelf of books examining the path the United States took when it stumbled into its most disastrous foreign war. David Kaiser has done prodigious documentary research, studying material that had not been previously available, and has arrived at a thesis that is sure to be controversial and to open, once again, the old and painful wounds. -- Geoffrey Norman * American Way *This masterpiece of governmental history locates the roots of the Vietnam War not in the Johnson era or even Kennedy administration, but back in the military policies of the Eisenhower era...Drawing on a host of documents from recently opened government archives and tape recordings of White House meetings, Kaiser offers voluminous and meticulous evidence that Kennedy repeatedly rejected, deferred or at least modified recommendations for military actions--most notably in Laos...President Johnson, less skilled than Kennedy in foreign affairs, readily reverted to Eisenhower's narrow policy framework, despite the emergence of critics among his advisers whose thinking echoed Kennedy's. Kaiser repeatedly says they ignored problems they couldn't solve and failed to heed clear evidence that their assumptions were flawed, making defeat a foregone conclusion. This is a commanding work that sheds bright light on questions of responsibility for the Vietnam debacle. * Publishers Weekly *An important addition to the sad--and growing--library devoted to the Vietnam war. Kaiser is a longtime professor of strategy and policy at the Naval War College--an important qualification, given the provocative news he brings in his heavily documented tome...Highly useful to scholars, and certain to excite discussion and even controversy, Kaiser's book is a valuable contribution. * Kirkus Reviews *[An] excellent investigation of the roots of the Vietnam War...Having spent nine years researching recently declassified documents, the author describes in exacting detail the evolution of Vietnam policies from 1961 to 1965, the year that Johnson committed the United States to a war it couldn't win...The first-rate research is complemented by an intriguing model of intergenerational policy-making, whereby Kaiser attributes much of the failure to the heavy-handed actions of the 'GI generation,' the successful leaders of World War II. Highly recommended. -- Karl Helicher * Library Journal *Kaiser [attempts] to shift a significant share of the responsibility [for the Vietnam War] to those military and foreign-policy specialists in the Eisenhower administration who believed that Communist 'aggression' has to be resisted everywhere at all times. In Kaiser's scenario, a cautious President Kennedy consistently resisted the entreaties of State and Defense Department professionals (many of them Eisenhower holdovers) to dramatically expand our commitment in Vietnam. Unfortunately, Kaiser asserts, President Johnson was far more willing to accept the advice of those same men. Kaiser, utilizing substantial and newly available source material, deftly organizes a vast amount of data into a provocative and important contribution to the controversy. -- Jay Freeman * Booklist *The question of the [Vietnam] war's nobility will be debated for years, but Kaiser's deeply researched, thoughtful and fresh look at the origin of America's stumble into war sets the standard for all future books. Kaiser invokes 'tragedy' in its classical sense: good men, devoted to a worthy cause, putting in motion actions that would bring unplanned, dreadful consequences. -- Bruce Clayton * Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Eisenhower Administration and Indochina: 1954-1960 2. No War in Laos: January-June 1961 3. A New Effort in Vietnam: January-August 1961 4. War or Peace? September-November 1961 5. Limiting the Commitment: November 1961-November 1962 6. The War in Vietnam: 1962 7. A Gathering Storm: January-July 1963 8. The Buddhist Crisis and the Cable of August 24: 1963 9. The Coup: August-November 1963 10. A Decision for War: November 1963-April 1964 11. To the Tonkin Gulf: April-August 1964 12. Planning for War: September-December 1964 13. Over the Edge: December 1964-March 1965 14. War in Secret: March-June 1965 15. War in Public: June-July 1965 16. Bad History, Wrong War Epilogue: Tragedy and History Dedication Abbreviations Notes Acknowledgments Illustration Credits Index
£28.76
Harvard University Press The Battle for Children
Book SynopsisThe Battle for Children links two major areas of historical inquiry: crime and delinquency with war and social change. In a study based on impressive archival research, Fishman reveals the impact of the Vichy regime on one of history’s most silent groups—children—and offers enlightening new information about the Vichy administration.Trade ReviewSarah Fishman approaches the subject of juvenile justice in France with admirable breadth, bringing to bear simultaneously a close study of politics, legal texts and institutions, professional interests, intellectual positions, and cultural values. Without minimizing Vichy's ugly aspects, she has emphasized the regime's capacity to mobilize experts and push through changes that turn out to be durable. Her conclusions give a significant new nuance to studies of France under the Vichy regime. -- Robert O. Paxton, Columbia UniversityMakes a contribution to a little-known aspect of Vichy social policy and to the longer-term history of juvenile criminal justice and treatment in France. Sarah Fishman's study is based on important archival work; the materials on internal Vichy debates are exceptionally rich and intelligently utilized. Her prose is absolutely first-rate. -- Robert A. Nye, Oregon State UniversityFishman makes a praiseworthy contribution to the growing body of Foucault-influenced scholarship on criminality in this study of the transformation of the juvenile justice system in 1940s France. She argues that the rise in juvenile crime during the Occupation, which contemporaries attributed to the absence of POW fathers, was in reality the result of economic privation and the rise of a generalized defiance of authority symbolized by the black market and the Resistance...A rare work of historical scholarship with clear contemporary relevance. -- D. A. Harvey * Choice *Loaded with numerous examples and a clear use of language, this book is an asset to research on juvenile courts and related political, social and expert views. -- Ingrid Van Der Bij * The European Legacy *
£65.41
Harvard University Press Technology of Empire Telecommunications and
Book SynopsisThe central argument of this study of the development of a communications network linking the far-flung parts of the Japanese imperium is that modern telecommunications not only served to connect these territories but, more important, made it possible for the Japanese to envision an integrated empire in Asia.Trade ReviewYang carefully examines Japan’s submarine and wireless telegraph and telephone networks and the ways in which the emerging system grew within Japan’s expanding empire, as well as the ways in which the configuration of the system supported the empire and was, in turn, shaped by the demands and complexity of it. Scholars and graduate students interested in modern Japan, comparative empires, and/or technology and society will learn much from this new, important book. -- W. D. Kinzley * Choice *Table of ContentsFigures, Tables, Maps, and Photographs Abbreviations Epigraph Sources Introduction Part I: Genesis, 1853-1931 1. An Emerging Empire in the Age of Submarine Telegraphy 2. Wireless and the Crisis in the Informal Empire Part II: Technology, 1931-1940 3. Toward a New Order on the Continent 4. Inventing Japanese Technology 5. Envisioning Imperial Integration Part III: Control, 1936-1945 6. Negotiating Control at Home 7. Consolidating Control in China 8. Gaining Control in Southeast Asia Part IV: Network, 1939-1945 9. Integrating Systems 10. Operation, Meltdown and Aftermath Conclusion Bibliography Index
£35.66
Harvard University Press Alamein
Book SynopsisIn this compelling account of the decisive World War II battle of El Alamein, Jon Latimer brings to life the harsh desert conflict in North Africa. This is the story of two of the most intriguing commanders of the war and the story of the infantry soldiers who fought in a scorched wilderness.Trade Review[Latimer's] extensive research is evident both in the book's organization and in the endnotes...This well-written and-organized book is highly recommended. -- Lt. Col. Charles M. Minyard * Library Journal *Exhaustively researched and comprehensive...[Latimer's] inclusion of veterans' recollections and memoirs will grab the interest of generalists looking for something more than simple war stories. Latimer's critical but balanced view of Rommel, British general Montgomery and others is welcome; the inclusion of their opinions of, and dealings with, eachother are in keeping with the best professional military history...All aspects of the battle are covered...All well presented in a carefully crafted and exciting style...Painstaking yet gripping, this should be the definitive account of the battle itself for years to come. * Publishers Weekly *Jon Latimer's Alamein is the work of a former British Army officer, a meticulous military history inclusive of accurate and often hitherto unknown details. It is a classic, near-encyclopedic reconstruction. -- John Lukas * Los Angeles Times *Latimer meticulously describes how, after a couple of dispiriting years of desert warfare, British and Commonwealth forces achieved in October 1942 the victory they craved over German and Italian forces at El Alamein in Egypt. -- Lawrence D. Freedman * Foreign Affairs *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Maps Introduction Part I: An Obscure Railway Halt 1. Colonial Rivals 2. Enter Rommel 3. The Fall of Tobruk 4. The Alamein Line 5. Malta 6. Enter Monty 7. Alam Halfa 8. Lightfoot 9. In the Line 10. Final Preparations Part II: The Battle 11. Barrage 12. The Assault 13. The Armour Stalls 14. Crisis Conference 15. Crumbling 16. The Defence of Outpost Snipe 17. Thompson's Post 18. Supercharge 19. The Beginning of the End 20. The End of the Beginning Appendix: Orders of Battle, 23 October 1942 Notes Bibliography Index
£27.86
Harvard University Press To the Maginot Line
Book SynopsisThe decision to fortify northeastern France has usually been considered a tragic mistake, an example of bad planning and missed opportunities. Not so, says Judith M. Hughes, who provides a convincing view of how France’s military and political leaders tried to safeguard their nation and why they failed.Trade Review[A] stimulating and excellently documented book…Individual personalities are particularly well handled. Foch and Pétain, Poincaré and Blum—all emerge with veritable life in them. The trends of French interwar history are deftly carried through onto these pages with an unobtrusive lucidity and persuasiveness. -- Michael Hurst * American Historical Review *[An] admirable little monograph…[Hughes] has demonstrated what can be done to overcome obstacles of official secrecy through resourcefulness in collecting evidence and ingenuity in interpretation. Moreover, instead of working backward from 1940, seeking causes and culprits of collapse in the 1930s, Ms. Hughes has wisely chosen to begin in 1918 and to focus upon the 1920s. This chronology has given her a fresher perspective and a wider scope for sympathy than other commentators of the period. It is the great merit of this book that it passes judgments with compassion and restraint. Indeed, Professor Hughes insists upon viewing French military policy in the broadest possible context of international developments, domestic politics, economic problems, and intellectual moods; from these elements, she weaves a dilemma of tragic dimensions in which the confusions and mistakes of individuals are reviewed with kindness and realism. -- Charles C. Bright * Political Science Quarterly *Dr. Judith Hughes has devised a modest title for her very wide sweep of interbellum French military history. Not content with penetrating analyses of the post war ‘population problem,’ the intricacies of politico–military relations, the unfolding formulation of strategic–tactical concepts in light of 1914–1918, the intermeshing of foreign and military policy, and, on title-target, the political alignments in legislating army reform and frontier organization (Maginot Line), Dr. Hughes offers an epilogue on the implication of the 1920s for the 1930s and even for May–June 1940. If at times Dr. Hughes covers familiar ground, she does so with the same thoroughness and perception she exhibits in more ‘original’ sections of this well-researched book. -- Donald J. Harvey * Military Affairs *
£21.56
Harvard University Press Collaboration
Book SynopsisStudies of collaboration have changed how the history of World War II in Europe is written, but for China and Japan this aspect of wartime conduct has remained largely unacknowledged. In a bold new work, Timothy Brook breaks the silence surrounding the sensitive topic of wartime collaboration between the Chinese and their Japanese occupiers.Trade ReviewA fascinating book that offers a wealth of material on issues and events that are not well known. The prose is informal and engaging, bringing the reader into the problems Brook faced in researching such a sensitive topic. The stories he explores are part both of a distinctive Chinese history and a common (and difficult) history of conquest and rule in the twentieth century. -- R. Bin Wong, Director, UCLA Asia InstituteBrook has written a very rich study, drawing on exceptional primary sources, that brings forward new facts and deals with burning issues. -- Marie-Claire Bergère, author of Sun Yat-senBrook has with great care taken up the sensitive topic of Chinese collaboration with the Japanese conquerors during the Sino-Japanese War--a subject that the Chinese are still hesitant to address. His study concentrates on local collaboration in the Yangtze delta region in Shanghai's hinterland, avoiding the more shocking cases of puppet regimes in north and northeast China and the 'national government' in Nanjing. China, unlike France after World War II, had no chance to work out the moral and psychological issues related to collaboration, and even today outrage at Japanese atrocities obscures questions of Chinese collaboration. Brook builds his thoughtful analysis on Japanese archival documents, Chinese memoirs, and interviews. By concentrating on the local level, he makes vivid the personal relationships between Chinese and Japanese administrators as they dealt with day-to-day problems. He concludes that there was no shortage of Chinese elites ready to work for the Japanese, but that the relationship remained complicated and tense. -- Lucian Pye * Foreign Affairs *[A] finely researched and subtly nuanced study of collaboration in the Lower Yangtze Valley during the initial year of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-45... What is remarkable is that Professor Brook has uncovered from both the Chinese and Japanese sides archival and memoir literature of a quality that allows him to present case studies that illuminate the ambiguities and complexities of collaboration, not to mention the essential mechanics of how it was sought and arranged...This work is not only a major contribution to the history of the Sino-Japanese War and that of modern China; it also makes an invaluable addition to the comparative history of wartime collaboration through recounting the Chinese experience of survival under the occupation state. -- David P. Barrett * Chinese Historical Review *Timothy Brook's superb book is an example of the doing and writing of history at its best...In addition to painting a compelling picture of the multileveled and multidirectional complexity and ambiguity of politics and society under the occupation, Brook's work is studded with notable insights...Brook's writing style is at the same time urbane and engaging. In sum, this is an excellent study and a great read as well. -- R. Keith Schoppa * American Historical Review *Timothy Brook's study of wartime collaboration between Chinese local elites and Japanese army agents is a welcome and necessary part of the new historical thinking about wartime China...Brook's book is a meticulously researched, subtly argued, and courageous study of a still delicate topic. It will be of value to all readers who wish to explore the dynamics of the 1937-45 Sino-Japanese War in more detail, and adds depth and maturity to a field that has sometimes seemed the prisoner of the type of nationalist paradigms that Brook seeks to undermine. -- Rana Mitter * International History Review *Timothy Brook has produced a superb book about the vexed problem of collaboration...Of all the studies of collaboration—or those that touch on it—in East Asian studies, Brook’s provides us with the most interesting perspective. One of the book’s great strengths is the clear and methodical way in which it proceeds through its historical investigation. Brook hews closely to his principal sources and texts, which he both utilizes and interrogates. He cross-examines Chinese and Japanese, collaborative and denunciatory, occupier and resistor texts, often with regard to the same phenomenon, if not the same event or person. Yet Brook is sufficiently a stylist that this procedure rarely lapses into a dry, judicial mode of inquiry. At the same time, the conclusions he draws feel remarkably faithful to his methodology. -- Prasenjit Duara * The China Journal *
£26.06
Harvard University Press Normandy
Book SynopsisThe Allied landings on the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944, have assumed legendary status in the annals of World War II. But in overly romanticizing D-day, Wieviorka argues, we have lost sight of the full picture. Normandy offers a balanced, complete account that reveals the successes and weaknesses of the titanic enterprise.Trade ReviewThis remarkable work rests on a series of sharp and convincing analyses worthy of a latter-day Thucydides. There isn't any aspect of the colossal and risky enterprise that Wieviorka has neglected. He is as impressive in interpreting the political calculations and motivations of the leaders as in describing the battles and evaluating the gaps between military plans and achievements. His discussion of the psychological trauma of the Allied soldiers is both moving and essential. On a topic on which so much has been written, Wieviorka has come as close to a definitive treatment as one can expect. -- Stanley Hoffmann, Harvard UniversityAccounts of the Normandy campaign are not in short supply, but this one from a French military historian delivers an energetic, mildly revisionist overview...This is an engrossing history of the Normandy campaign. * Publishers Weekly *This is a useful and provocative book, drawing our attention to the complex relationship between servicemen, civilians, and national authorities in the newly liberated state. -- Richard Holmes * Financial Times *Possibly the best summary of the Normandy campaign I have yet read...[Wieviorka] brings the contradictory, harsh realities out from the margins into the center of the page. -- Roger K. Miller * Chicago Sun-Times *Engaging and well written, French historian Wieviorka's analysis of the Normandy campaign superbly illustrates the political and military complexities of coalition warfare. Perhaps more striking, this cogent narrative of the 1944 Anglo-American amphibious operation and subsequent ground campaign in northwest France powerfully demonstrates the importance of logistics in modern mechanized warfare, the critical role of intelligence and deception in Allied success, and the limitations of airpower in ground operations...Wieviorka's fresh perspective is thoroughly thought-provoking and a welcome addition to the historiography. -- D. R. Snyder * Choice *Table of Contents* List of Abbreviations and Code Names * List of Illustrations * Introduction: Return to France * Allies, Not Friends * Preparing for War * Planning for D-Day * Logistics, Training, Rehearsals * Strategies and Stratagems * The Other Side of the Hill * D-Day, H-Hour * To Win a Battle * Stalemate * Psychoneuroses * From Avranches to Paris * The Battle of France--and France's Battle * Liberators and Liberated * Conclusion: Farewell to Crusades? * Notes * Acknowledgments * Archival Sources * Select Bibliography * Index
£22.46
Harvard University Press The Collaboration
Book SynopsisTo continue doing business in Germany, Hollywood studios agreed not to make films attacking Nazis or condemning persecution of Jews. Ben Urwand reveals this collaboration and the cast of characters it drew in, ranging from Goebbels to Louis B. Mayer. At the center was Hitler himself—obsessed with movies and their power to shape public opinion.Trade ReviewUrwand draws on a wealth of previously uncited documents to argue that Hollywood studios, in an effort to protect the German market for their movies, not only acquiesced to Nazi censorship but also actively and enthusiastically cooperated with that regime’s global propaganda effort. -- Jennifer Schuessler * New York Times *[An] eye-opening study of Hollywood and the Nazi elite… The Collaboration unfolds a story that rather knocks the shine off the golden age of cinema… Urwand has done some energetic digging in the archives, quoting letters, memos and newspaper reports to uncover a shameful policy of compromise and kowtowing on the part of the studio bosses. And what lends the story its peculiar irony is that those bosses who did their utmost to appease the crazed ideology of Nazism were by and large Jews themselves. -- Anthony Quinn * The Guardian *Urwand…sheds new light on the way the studio bosses responded to Nazi pressure, from 1933, when Hitler assumed power, to 1941, when the United States entered the war… Drawing on American and German archival material, the author shows that Hollywood began working with the Nazis in 1933. The collaboration was not passive, but voluntary: part of a strategy necessary in order for the studios to maintain their market in Germany—which had more movie theaters than any other country in Europe… Urwand describes how the Nazis tried to shape the very content of American films—and often succeeded. -- Samuel Blumenfeld * Le Monde *Urwand’s book uncovers important material about the relationship between the American film industry and the Nazi regime… Readers may or may not agree with Urwand’s conclusion about the perils of Jewish self-denial. But in highlighting it, he provides a useful reminder that scholarship on the Nazi era continues to serve as a mirror in which Jews view themselves. -- Gavriel Rosemfeld * Forward *Urwand…presents explosive new evidence about the shocking extent of the partnership between the Nazis and major Hollywood producers… [A] riveting book… As you turn its pages you realize with dismay that collaboration is the only fitting word for the relationship between Hitler and Hollywood in the 1930s. Using new archival discoveries, Urwand alleges that some of the Hollywood studio heads, nearly all of whom were Jewish, cast their lot with Hitler almost from the moment he took power, and that they did so eagerly—not reluctantly. What they wanted was access to German audiences. What Hitler wanted was the ability to shape the content of Hollywood movies—and he got it… What is shocking and new about Urwand’s account is its blow-by-blow description of Hollywood executives tailoring their product to meet the demands of the Nazi regime. -- David Mikics * Tablet Magazine *Hard-hitting… Urwand has dug deep…and come up with some genuine revelations… The story is quite dramatic, and shameful. -- Philip Kemp * Times Higher Education *Urwand’s book about how Hollywood conducted business with and within Germany after Hitler’s ascent to power is a fascinating examination of capitalist amorality in the face of evil. Urwand does a good job of cataloging the ways Hollywood studios—largely headed by immigrant Jewish entrepreneurs—took measures to placate the Nazis so they could continue to show films in Germany throughout the 1930s, until the Nazi invasion of Poland… Urwand has uncovered a very interesting, heretofore unknown, true Hollywood story. -- Philip Martin * Arkansas Democrat-Gazette *[A] provocative book. -- Rosemary Neill * The Australian *The Collaboration expertly dismantles Hollywood’s rose-tinted view of history, proving it wasn’t standing up to fascism as it has claimed, but eagerly appeasing the Nazis so long as the money was coming in. -- Kyle Ryan * A.V. Club *[The] revelations in Ben Urwand’s controversial exposé, The Collaboration, are nothing short of astonishing, going well beyond what was known about Hollywood’s timidity during that era. With damning archival evidence, Urwand argues that the studios, motivated by profits, were reluctant to abandon the German market, where American films were popular and Hitler himself was a fan… Urwand’s finely documented account is even more chilling—in large part because the ‘collaborators’ to whom he points were American, and in many cases also Jewish. -- Julia M. Klein * Boston Globe *[Urwand] has revealed in terrifying detail how Hollywood was at the whim of the Nazis throughout the 1930s—censoring films and dropping others in a sinister collaboration with Hitler. * Daily Mail *Impeccably researched and impressively argued, Ben Urwand’s gripping volume systematically reveals the way major Hollywood studios were willing to protect their financial interests in the German market by appeasing the Nazi regime. Urwand has unearthed remarkable evidence from archives in Germany and America, confirming that the road to hell was paved with a thousand concessions. Hollywood studios went to astonishing lengths not to offend or upset the Nazi regime. What began with minor adjustments to scripts eventually reached a point where projects that were unsympathetic to Germany’s past or critical of the Nazis were simply never made… The studios didn’t just follow a policy of accommodation they became willing partners with the Nazis to reach an understanding of what could be mutually beneficial to both parties. The book is such a revelation because it goes against the grain of commonly held assumptions… Urwand is particularly good at marshalling hard facts and solid evidence that builds into a horrifying indictment of studios that continued to operate in Germany throughout the first eight years of Hitler’s rule… Even as the full horrors of the Nazi regime became apparent to the world, Hollywood continued to offer the hand of collaboration, a fact all the more ironic considering that many of the studio bosses were Jewish… This is a book that challenges every rose-tinted view of Hollywood’s Golden Age. It sheds a piercing light on dark deeds and is an invaluable work of political history that has all the page-turning urgency of a thriller. -- Allan Hunter * Herald (Scotland) *The Collaboration felt genuinely original and eye-opening as Ben Urwand systematically revealed the way major Hollywood studios were willing to protect their financial interest in the German market of the 1930s by appeasing the Nazi regime. The road to hell was paved by a thousand concessions. -- Allan Hunter * Herald (Scotland) *The book is a fascinating take on the shady politics of Hollywood and should be read by anyone interested in going behind the glamour of 1930s cinema. -- Taylor Downing * History Today *Urwand has dug deep in the German archives and found evidence that the Nazis’ business dealings with some of the studios were much closer than previously realized. He also draws attention to the flagrant lobbying of the Nazi emissary to Hollywood. -- J. Hoberman * London Review of Books *Urwand’s investigation of this dark chapter in the history of the American film industry is as intriguing as it is compellingly told. -- Theis Duelund * Los Angeles magazine *Urwand’s book details in sometimes shocking fashion how the Hollywood film industry, including studios run by legendary Jewish film moguls such as Louis B. Mayer, were willing to pre-screen their films for Nazi officials and remove content they found objectionable. -- Andy Goldberg * Military.com *In Urwand’s account of the relationship between the American film industry and the government of Germany in the 1930s, he shows that Hollywood studios put profits ahead of scruples in their dealings with the Nazis. -- Lisa Jarvinen * Philadelphia Inquirer *Urwand is tearing down the popular impression that the 1930s Hollywood community stood united in efforts to combat the Nazi regime. Quite the contrary, says Urwand, whose research reveals a shocking level of collaboration (or Zusammenarbeit, i.e. ‘working together’) between the German government and Tinseltown’s studios—many of which were famously headed by Jews… The Collaboration depicts a studio system in which films were submitted for approval to aggressive German propaganda officials, who demanded cuts and changes to material deemed ‘detrimental to German prestige’—not only to film versions created for the German market, but for the U.S. and countries around the world. -- Lesley M. M. Blume * Vanity Fair online *With great attention to detail, Urwand describes multiple contacts between the studios and German officials, and he apparently breaks some new ground with his descriptions of Georg Gyssling, who became a Hollywood fixture after Hitler came to power in 1933. -- Roger Currie * Winnipeg Free Press *A welcome addition to understanding Hollywood’s response to the rise of Nazism. -- J. Fischel * Choice *Offers a keen, unsettling look at the unholy alliance Hollywood made with the Nazis, which allowed both to keep packing movie theaters in Germany up until the outbreak of war… There was pressure on the studios to censor defense of Jews in certain films and suppress films that portrayed Nazis in an unflattering light (The Mad Dog of Europe). The result of this complicated and slippery relationship, as Urwand depicts with subtlety, was the absolute disappearance from film of Nazis and Jews until the end of the decade. * Kirkus Reviews *This eminently accessible, often riveting account of a little-understood chapter in American cinema history should appeal to a wide general readership. -- Roy Liebman * Library Journal *Urwand keeps the jaw-dropping revelations coming in this damning indictment of the complicity of the major Hollywood studios—and their mostly Jewish heads—in the Nazis’ campaign to exterminate Europe’s Jews… Urwand deserves immense credit for this groundbreaking—and truly unique—take on the WWII era. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *A tremendous piece of work, fully sustained, building momentum charged by thrillingly detailed storytelling, increasing suspense, and a consistent movement from outrages to atrocities, with a stunning conclusion of heroism and tragedy—and it is as well a devastating RIP to what we’ve been told, all down these years, about ‘the genius of the system.’ -- Greil MarcusFull of startling and surprising revelations, presented in exemplary fashion, without any moralizing or sensationalism. The Collaboration shows how Hollywood and especially the big studios went along with German demands to censor movies not only before but especially after the Nazi seizure of power. -- Richard J. Evans
£24.26
Harvard University Press The War Within
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSynthesize[s] dozens of accounts to powerful and illuminating effect…A fascinating, insightful, and nuanced work that incorporates much fresh research. Particularly rewarding is the close attention Peri pays to language. -- Anna Reid * Times Literary Supplement *[A] fascinating and perceptive book. -- Antony Beevor * New York Review of Books *A remarkable record of 125 unpublished diaries written by the blokadniki who endured the 872-day siege of Leningrad from 1941–44… Much has been written about Leningrad’s heroic resistance. But the remarkable aspect of the Boston University professor’s book is that she tells a very different story: recounting the internal struggles of ordinary people desperately trying to survive and make sense of their fate. -- John Thornhill * Financial Times *Stand aside, Homer. I doubt whether even the author of the Iliad could have matched Alexis Peri’s account of the 872-day siege which Leningrad endured after Hitler’s army encircled the city in September 1941…[A] magnificent narrative. -- Jonathan Mirsky * The Spectator *The battle for Leningrad lasted 1,127 days; the city was under siege for 900 of them. Between 1.6 million and two million Soviet citizens died, 800,000 of them civilians—40 percent of the city’s prewar population. (As Peri points out, the overall death toll approximates the total number of members of the U.S. military who died in war between 1776 and 1975.) Leningrad residents of all types—from factory foremen to teachers, party workers to professional writers—kept diaries during the ordeal. Peri searches through 125 of them to capture how the nightmare deconstructed the writers’ prior realities and altered their sense of humanity. Her portrait is a sensitive, at times almost poetic examination of their emotions and disordered mental states. It both contrasts with and complements the equally accurate official Soviet portrait of a stalwart population standing firm in the face of evil and in defense of Soviet ideals. Peri makes plain that even though the diarists endured the total transformation of their fundamental sense of reality, their social relationships, and the nature of their social order, most of them did not become alienated from the values and basic outlook of the Soviet system. -- Robert Legvold * Foreign Affairs *A powerful book…In a groundbreaking history, Alexis Peri has sifted through scores of previously unpublished diaries that have lain largely forgotten for decades in Russian archives. As a result, we now have a far fuller picture of the siege. It may make disturbing reading, but these journals personalize the catastrophe far better than any conventional history. -- Guy Walters * Daily Mail *[An] important new book…Peri’s book is not a tale; it is arranged thematically rather than chronologically, and it does not reprint any diary in full. But oh, these voices from a frozen world of starvation and fear! They will haunt you. It is time they were heard. -- Laurie Hertzel * Star Tribune *In devastating intimacy, the diaries [written during the siege of Leningrad] disclose the private struggles of individuals to extract meaning from unimaginably dire circumstances, as well as the philosophical and psychological approaches they brought to bear on their suddenly unrecognizable lives and their own disappearing bodies…This is a People’s History of the siege, realized at last, and as such should be added to the short list of essential reading on the subject. -- Debra Dean * Washington Independent Review of Books *In this fascinating analysis of the experience of average Soviet citizens during the Siege of Leningrad, Peri investigates the everyday experiences of the blokadniki, those who survived for over 900 days during the German blockade of the city during WW II. Using 125 unpublished diaries, [Peri] provides a unique perspective on those who lived inside the ‘ring’ created by the German siege. -- R. W. Lemmons * Choice *From 1941 until 1944, the city of Leningrad was under siege from Germany and Finland for a total of 872 days; almost one million citizens perished during that time. Peri takes readers on a terrifying journey of the turmoil faced by the residents of Leningrad via reviewing and synthesizing 125 unpublished diaries from those imprisoned in the city, the Blokadnik or Siege of Leningrad survivors…Readers interested in the effects of a military siege on individuals will find much to digest here. Moreover, history buffs will learn new information about the people of Leningrad during this terrible time. -- Jason L. Steagall * Library Journal *Vivid, true, and magnificently crafted. Peri has peeled away layer after layer of the human record to its core—physical, mental, spiritual. -- Nina Tumarkin, author of Lenin Lives!By mining an extraordinarily rich treasure trove of unpublished diaries, Peri moves beyond relating what happened during the blockade and instead explains how Leningraders made sense of it. Sophisticated, nuanced, and extremely well written, The War Within is a major contribution to our understanding of the mentality of Leningrad’s civilians during the blockade and the role that diaries played in Soviet history. -- Richard Bidlack, coauthor of The Leningrad Blockade, 1941–1944: A New Documentary History from the Soviet ArchivesDiaries from the Stalin era tend to be analyzed in numbers too small to provide more than a glimpse of everyday life. Here, however, Peri has assembled over a hundred of these rare records, which allows for unprecedented insight into the trials and tribulations that ordinary people experienced during one of their greatest ordeals: the 900-day siege of Leningrad. This is a truly groundbreaking study. -- David Brandenberger, author of Propaganda State in Crisis: Soviet Ideology, Indoctrination, and Terror under Stalin, 1927–1941In the winter of 1941–1942, civilians in blockaded Leningrad lived on the very edge of death. Conveying their life stories and struggles with great sensitivity, Peri draws on more than a hundred largely unpublished diaries to explore how the external crisis provoked an internal crisis that destabilized Leningraders’ fundamental understandings of themselves, the Soviet Union, and the world. -- Lisa A. Kirschenbaum, author of The Legacy of the Siege of Leningrad, 1941–1995: Myth, Memories, and Monuments
£18.86
Harvard University Press The Ambiguity of Virtue
Book SynopsisWorking with the Nazi-appointed Jewish Council in Amsterdam, Gertrude van Tijn helped many Jews escape. But she faced difficult moral choices. Some called her a heroine; others, a collaborator. Bernard Wasserstein’s haunting narrative draws readers into this twilight world, to expose the terrible dilemmas confronting Jews under Nazi occupation.Trade Review[Wasserstein] reconsiders the impossible situation of the ‘Jewish councils’ in Western Europe through a reconstruction of the life of Gertrude van Tijn, a leading member of Amsterdam’s council. As Wasserstein reminds readers, too much of the debate about the Jewish councils has been carried out in the terms proposed by Hannah Arendt, who emphasized complicity and culpability and failed to notice, much less understand, the extraordinary courage and creativity employed by activists like van Tijn. Wasserstein’s textured account recreates the tense and essential interactions with Nazi authorities as well as Allies and potentially friendly enemies; the unbearable daily emotional algorithms of rescue work, including choosing whom to exempt from deportation; and the inevitable rivalries and betrayals. But it also evokes the absolutely vital sustaining power of passionate friendships and loves in cataclysmic times. -- Dagmar Herzog * New York Times Book Review *In the life of Gertrude van Tijn, Bernard Wasserstein has found the perfect subject for examining the appalling options that faced Jewish leaders under Nazi rule… Wasserstein tells van Tijn’s story beautifully, weaving the historical background almost seamlessly into the narrative. While leaning on her unpublished autobiography, he corroborates her activity using documents from numerous archives. His evaluations are judicious and humane. -- David Cesarani * Literary Review *Absorbing… Wasserstein’s book is a powerful indictment, if another were needed, of the world’s failure to respond to the plight of Europe’s Jews in the 1930s and 40s… The Ambiguity of Virtue is a valuable, accessible book. It introduces readers to a fascinating woman, reminds us that the central experience for European Jews in the 1930s and even into the 40s was of being trapped in a nightmarish bureaucracy that made the figure of the refugee sadly central to political life, and allows us to conclude that ambiguity need not undo the possibility of virtue. As thousands of child refugees from Central America arrive at the U.S. border, van Tijn’s example is sadly only too relevant. -- Dorian Stuber * Open Letters Monthly *[A] sober, scholarly and often fascinating book… Partly a biography, partly a history of the destruction of Dutch Jewry… Was van Tijn, who died in the U.S. in 1974, a Nazi dupe or a champion of her people? Wasserstein’s carefully argued, compassionate narrative suggests that at different points in her life she was both. -- Rosemary Neill * The Australian *The story of Gertrude van Tijn is an amazing tale, but as Wasserstein’s magnificent biography shows yet again: in wartime anything was possible. * Het Parool *Wasserstein reexamines [Van Tijn’s] life and weaves her story beautifully into the fabric of Holocaust history… This book is an important contribution to the field of Holocaust studies, as it shows the ethical complications that Jewish leaders faced, especially leaders involved with refugees… Wasserstein eloquently articulates why we should remember Gertrude van Tijn. -- Allison Schottenstein * PopMatters *Whoever thought ‘virtue’ could be ambiguous? But the fraught period during which the book’s protagonist, Gertrude van Tijn, was active ensured that matters were rarely straightforward, as Bernard Wasserstein so adeptly relates. -- Emma Klein * The Tablet *In an attempt to understand her motives and actions, Wasserstein takes a close look at the background and behavior of his subject. He gives readers not just a personal portrait of van Tjin, a bourgeois German Jew who embraced Zionism as a young woman and acquired Dutch nationality upon her marriage in 1920, but also a stark picture of the plight of European Jews before and during World War II… A scholarly, thoroughly documented work that elucidates historical issues and explores moral ones. * Kirkus Reviews *
£32.36
Harvard University Press German Resistance to Hitler
Book SynopsisHoffmann examines the growing recognition by some Germans in the 1930s of the malign nature of the Nazi regime, the ways in which these people became involved in the resistance, and the views of those who staked their lives in the struggle against tyranny and murder.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part One. The Rise of Hitler 1. Path to Dictatorship 2. Consolidation of Power 3. Toward World Conquest Part Two. The Resistance 4. Forces of Opposition 5. Varieties of Thought 6. Military Involvement 7. Failed Conspiracies 8. Contacts Abroad 9. Assassination Attempts Conclusion Selected Bibliography Notes Index
£31.46
Harvard University Press Hitlers World View
Book SynopsisEven the demonic Hitler had a comprehensive philosophy, and Eberhard Jäckel probes deeply into the dictator’s mind to determine how he viewed the world.Trade Review[Jäckel’s] critique of the self-contradictions historical research has brought upon itself by abandoning systematic analysis and relying instead on intuitive judgments and the obiter dicta of ex-Nazis such as Hermann Rauschning is cogent and convincing. So also is his analysis of the development of Hitler’s ideas from the ‘conventional foundations’ with which he began in 1920. -- Geoffrey Barraclough * New York Review of Books *A highly intelligent and very valuable book by one of the ablest writers on Nazism in Germany. Hitler’s world view—the intellectual system which was the dynamic force of his career—is too often omitted from the history of his movement. Jäckel has reconstructed it with great skill and scholarship. His book fills a serious gap: it shows us the human motor which drove that otherwise inexplicable machine of brutal conquest and extermination. -- H. R. Trevor-RoperTable of ContentsForeword by Franklin L. Ford Translator's Foreword Chapter I. The Problem of a National Socialist Weitanschauung II. The Outlines of Foreign Policy Ill. The Elimination of the Jews IV. The State as a Means to an End V. The View of History as a Synthesis VI. From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary Notes
£30.56
Harvard University Press The Holocaust the Historians Paper
Book SynopsisThe renowned author of The War Against the Jews sets out to solve a historiographical mystery. Why has the mass murder of European Jews been overlooked or trivialized by historians throughout the world? In a forceful, outspoken work, Lucy Dawidowicz looks for explanations.Trade ReviewProfessor Dawidowicz’s work embodies high standards of scholarship. The analysis is shrewd and generally fair, and the comparisons often brilliantly perceptive… A valuable contribution to the literature of the Second World War and the Holocaust. * New York Times Book Review *Ms. Dawidowicz is always incisive, sharp, analytical and honest… Her analysis especially of German historiography is fascinating. * American Jewish History *Marshalling an impressive array of scholarship, [Dawidowicz] takes the reader through a careful examination of the writings about the holocaust in England and the US, Germany, the USSR, and Poland. * Review of Books and Religion *
£26.96
Harvard University Press Evil Men
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewJames Dawes’s commendable new book, Evil Men, reflects, carefully and nervously, on the subject of human cruelty… For anyone interested in the bloody horizons of the human condition, it makes for essential reading. -- Christopher Byrd * Washington Post *Dawes juxtaposes the soldiers’ stories with a discussion of our own approach to contemporary war crimes, and although he doesn’t draw them explicitly, unsettling parallels emerge… As Evil Men eloquently attests, describing atrocities does not make them any more comprehensible. Nor, in trying to understand them, do we make them any more forgivable. -- Andrew Stark * Times Literary Supplement *Dawes approaches the topic in impressive turns as social scientist, psychoanalyst, philosopher, and human rights activist. His process of digging into the subject matter is intensely deliberate, always maintaining an assiduously respectful distance and an unwavering eye on the delicacy inherent in a public discussion about and with the perpetrators of heinous violence… The interviews accost us with their simple horror, and they make Evil Men a difficult book to read. One wants to quickly dash away stark images of children shot or women raped… Dawes has led us down the path of ethical inquiry, but after events like the marathon bombings, experience reminds us how difficult it is to talk about such horror in a way that conveys the full weight of our feelings. Language always falls short. There will never be comprehension; only a noble try. -- Geoffrey Young * Brooklyn Rail *In reading this text, in experiencing these stories, in reveling in these histories as we work our way into the center of them and then attempt to find our way back, our own hands are bloodied too. -- Legacy Russell * Guernica *Ranging across philosophy, literature and social science, Evil Men deploys a variety of sources—Augustine’s account of evil as the privation of good; Thomas Hardy’s poetry on the ‘Vast Imbecility’ that seems to inhere in the nature of things; and sociological studies of police torturers, among others—to produce a careful and sensitive exploration of some of the many different questions, not all answerable, that are posed by the ‘problem of evil.’ -- John Gray * Literary Review *[An] unsettlingly brilliant book. -- Brian Bethune * Maclean’s *Evil Men explores the causes and effects of human wickedness. At its heart is a series of interviews that James Dawes conducted with a group of Japanese war criminals who fought in the Sino–Japanese War of 1937–45… While he attempts to understand people for whom bayonetting civilians was something between an initiation rite and a training exercise, he also fears that understanding will trivialize what happened… It is because Dawes finds no ethical resting place that his relentlessly honest book is a moral act of the highest order. Required reading. -- Raymond Tallis * Prospect *Fascinating, original, and moving… We probably won’t solve the problem of evil by thinking about it. But we certainly won’t solve it by not thinking about it—and that is a good reason to read this remarkable book. -- Douglas Kerr * South China Morning Post *Evil Men is painful to read. Horror and terror are etched into every page. Atrocities are reflected upon—sometimes calmly; other times with cold fury. The book’s author, James Dawes, forces us to think carefully about the ethics of telling stories—true ones—about acts of staggering cruelty. Disturbingly, it is a book about friendship, too. When we are brought face to face with men who raped, tortured and murdered men, women and children, where should we look? Straight into their eyes, he advises… A complex, albeit totally absorbing and brilliant book. -- Joanna Bourke * Times Higher Education *Powerful and unusually told, the book raises questions that resist easy answers. * Publishers Weekly *This extraordinary book is by turns horrifying, enraging, and disturbing. Dawes both brings us into the thought world of criminals against humanity and simultaneously reminds us of the impossibility of entering anyone’s mind with any kind of confidence. Evil Men grapples with the impossible challenge of making meaning of what it sees; but most important, Dawes’s gaze never wavers. -- Noah R. Feldman, Harvard Law SchoolEvil Men lies well outside the boundaries of established academic discourse, and the form of the book is extraordinary in many ways. James Dawes not only probes the depths of the human capacity for atrocity, but also explores in an altogether original and nearly unrepeatable way the human capacity for sympathy or empathy with those whose acts have placed them beyond the pale of civilized society. -- Geoffrey Harpham, National Humanities CenterJames Dawes writes a deep, broad meditation on violence from Arendt to Zimbardo, from atrocity to forgiveness, the paradoxes of representation and the tears of war, sincere and otherwise. These Japanese men tell disturbing stories that will not let one go. While capturing their motives with a social scientist’s eye for causality, Dawes draws out the violent particulars with a novelist’s eye for personal meaning, self-care, and philosophical significance. This is a rare achievement. There are less than one hundred and fifty cases where torturers speak fully in their own words, and none that are written with such literary self-consciousness. -- Darius Rejali, author of Torture and DemocracyA brilliant analysis based on interviews with Japanese war criminals who committed atrocities in the Sino–Japanese War of 1937–45. * Times Higher Education *
£16.16
Harvard University Press Belonging to the Nation
Book SynopsisIn 1939 Nazis identified Polish citizens of German origin and granted them legal status as ethnic Germans of the Reich. After the war Poland did just the opposite: searched out Germans of Polish origin and offered them Polish citizenship. John Kulczycki’s account underscores the processes of inclusion and exclusion that mold national communities.Trade ReviewKulczycki has written a fine examination of the origins of the idea to purify nations and its application during and after the Second World War, a process that resulted in the resettlement of many interwar Polish citizens in Germany. Kulczycki seeks to show how the stories of those who left Poland for West Germany in the 1950s do not easily fit the narrow categories of expulsion or economic migration… Kulczycki has written an engaging and deeply informative account of nationalization policies in the German–Polish borderlands. The book presents many of the findings of German and Polish scholars of the last twenty years in English and will be helpful to advanced students and scholars alike. Judicious and fairly written, the book reminds readers that the need to respect the cultural variety of the region remains relevant to this day. -- Winson Chu * H-Net Reviews *Belonging to the Nation is required reading for anyone wishing to understand the contentious re-engineering of European societies after the Second World War. Kulczycki’s magisterial account is the first systematic treatment in English of the enormously complicated and hotly contested question of how to deal with several million people with connections to Polish language and culture who had nonetheless spent the war classified as ‘ethnic Germans.’ Were they Poles who had been misidentified as Germans or rather Germans now potentially being mistaken for Poles? Kulczycki carefully tracks the fierce arguments and oscillating policies generated by this attempt to pin down national identities, demonstrating that the question of who belonged to the nation was never definitively answered. -- James E. Bjork, author of Neither German nor PoleThe complicated ambiguities and ambivalences in national affiliations—their exigencies, constraints, and sometimes surprising pragmatics—have recently inspired some of the best work on the twentieth-century nationality conflicts of east-central Europe. A wise and seasoned specialist in the Polish experience of German rule, Kulczycki now brings this lens to the Polish-German borderlands under successive regimes of occupation, with characteristically revealing and important results. -- Geoff Eley, author of Nazism as Fascism
£41.61
Harvard University Press Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea
Book SynopsisFor South Koreans, the early 1960s to late 1970s were the best and worst of times—a period of unprecedented economic growth and deepening political oppression. Carter J. Eckert finds the roots of this dramatic socioeconomic transformation in the country’s long history of militarization, personified in South Korea’s paramount leader, Park Chung Hee.Trade ReviewA milestone in the literature of modern East Asia. Through close and careful examination, Eckert shows that Korean military leaders, preeminently Park Chung Hee, learned how warfare and industrial development could go hand-in-hand in the hothouse of 1930s Manchuria. They later used that model in the South to accomplish one of the most rapid developmental surges in world history. This is an enormous contribution to our understanding of modern Korea and East Asia. -- Bruce Cumings, author of Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern HistoryProdigiously researched and fluently written, Eckert’s book throws fascinating light on how Imperial Japan’s harsh colonial rule in Korea and Manchuria bequeathed a legacy of both authoritarianism and economic transformation to South Korea. This is a truly original contribution to our understanding of Japan’s as well as Korea’s modern history. -- John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War IIThis is a profound and important work, the culmination of decades of research and thought by a leader in the field. Timely, deeply researched, and engagingly written, this book occupies a unique place in the scholarship on modern Korea, and addresses a topic whose impact extends well beyond Korean and East Asian history. -- Charles K. Armstrong, author of Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and the World, 1950-1992Eckert, one of our most distinguished historians of Korea, comprehensively details the revealing background to how Park Chung Hee acquired the dedicated spirit to lead Korea’s modernization: spiritual training in Japanese military academies. -- Ezra F. Vogel, author of Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of ChinaA masterly treatment of the pre-1945 origins of militarism that would later become manifest in the programs, leadership style, development philosophy, and political tactics of the Park Chung Hee era. This crucial work will have an enormous impact on the debates surrounding a number of issues in the postwar history of Korea. -- Michael E. Robinson, author of Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey: A Short HistoryThis pathbreaking book contributes to both modern Korean history and Japanese colonial history by exploring the instruction that Park Chung-hee (who went on to lead South Korea from 1961 to 1979) and others of his generation received when they were officer trainees in the Japanese colonial army in the 1940s…The book is not a biography, but it uses Park’s early career as a window onto Japanese militarism, which shaped the ethos of the men who later guided the first decades of an independent South Korea. -- Andrew J. Nathan * Foreign Affairs *Less a standard biography than an analysis, through the figure of Park Chung Hee, of Korea’s authoritarian past…The book is a work of historical ethnography demonstrating how Japan’s militarist ideas helped form modern Korea…Although South Korea has exorcised Park’s military legacy, this biography uncovers strands of modern identity that continue to bedevil the country. -- Robert S. Boynton * Bookforum *Eckert meticulously examines how Japan’s military occupation of Korea (1910–45) and Manchuria (1931–45) shaped the future contours of Korean politics and society to the detriment of individual rights and democracy…Eckert has delivered a robust analysis of the consequences of continuous conflict on the Korean peninsula and the resulting permeation of military values into various echelons of society. By interpreting the history of twentieth-century South Korea as a product of long-term geopolitical factors in both East Asia and the wider world, Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea represents a salient paradigmatic shift in the study of the region and thus richly deserves the highest plaudits from the scholarly community. -- Jeff Roquen * LSE Review of Books *
£32.36
Harvard University Press Escape from Vichy
Book SynopsisEarly in World War II, thousands of refugees traveled from France to Vichy-controlled Martinique, en route to safer shores in North, Central, and South America. While awaiting transfer, the exiles formed influential ties with one another and with local black dissidents. As Eric T. Jennings shows, what began as expulsion became a kind of rescue.Trade ReviewA riveting, heart-wrenching story of exile, intellectual cross-fertilization, and political awakening among refugees from Hitler’s Europe who escaped together to Martinique. Jennings has written a brilliant new chapter in the transatlantic history of negritude, anti-colonialism, and anti-racism. -- Alice L. Conklin, The Ohio State UniversityAn excellent book. Using a wide array of sources, Jennings vividly describes a short-lived but important episode in the refugee experience during World War II—the desperate attempts of those who went to Marseille in order to emigrate to the French Caribbean. He examines the cultural creativity that emerged as a result of the encounter between the refugees, many of whom were Surrealists, and native black artists and intellectuals on Martinique, especially Aimé and Suzanne Césaire, the founders of the ‘negritude’ movement. -- Vicki Caron, Cornell UniversityJennings tells the little-known story of the escape route that took some thousands of Jews, Spanish republicans, and others menaced by Nazi Germany from Marseille to France’s Caribbean colony of Martinique. Many of those saved in this way from the clutches of Nazism were prominent artists and intellectuals, some of whom—Claude Levi-Strauss, André Breton, Wilfredo Lam—enjoyed, or would enjoy, international renown. We learn about Martinique’s complex relations with the United States, which feared that many of the refugees destined for the island were potential fifth columnists eager to attack Americans from within. And it is fascinating to see how the connection between negritude and surrealism played out in Martinique. -- Edward Berenson, New York University[An] eye-opening history of the Martinique ‘refuge’ during World War II. Escape from Vichy provides a rich social history of one of the understudied escape routes of World War II, one fraught with internment camps and Pétainist antisemites, yet one that allowed some five thousand refugees to flee Nazi-ridden Europe. -- Nancy L. Green * Journal of Modern History *
£32.36
Harvard University Press The Girls Next Door
Book SynopsisTo boost soldiers’ morale and remind them of the stakes of victory, the American military formalized a recreation program that sent respectable young women, along with famous entertainers, overseas. This history of the women who talked and listened, danced and sang, adds an intimate chapter to the story of war and its ties to life in peacetime.Trade Review[A] fascinating history. -- Lawrence D. Freedman * Foreign Affairs *[Vuic] expertly illustrates contradictions inherent in the military’s reliance, since WWI, on U.S. women to provide respectable recreational programs and at the same time alluring entertainment for soldiers. * Choice *Besides illuminating women’s significance in military life, [Vuic] chronicles changes in assumptions about gender, sexuality, and race in American culture for the last 100 years…A fresh contribution to women’s history. * Kirkus Reviews *This well-researched and well-written work delves into an aspect of women’s service in wartime that is not often portrayed. * Library Journal *An important and timely book by a first-rate historian who is also a superb storyteller. Vuic richly captures the often contradictory demands made on women who volunteered for overseas troop support programs: to embody home-front domesticity but provide sensual entertainment; to be attractive but not too beautiful; to be friendly but not too close. Yet her book also underscores the women’s deep belief in the work as a genuine contribution to the war effort. -- James Wright, President Emeritus, Dartmouth College, and author of Enduring VietnamWomen were recruited to entertain, distract, and support male soldiers overseas during America’s twentieth-century wars, but their time in the spotlight was fleeting. Vuic returns them to center stage and reveals how utilizing feminine charms to advance military goals inadvertently gave these women opportunities to shape military culture and alter the trajectories of their own lives. A pleasure to read, bold and provocative, The Girls Next Door is a brilliant reinterpretation of the American experience of war. -- Jennifer D. Keene, author of Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of AmericaThe fascinating story of the women who, accompanying soldiers to war, volunteered for a different sort of service to the nation. YMCA Girls, Salvation Army Lassies, Red Cross Donut Dollies, and USO performers were meant to serve as symbols of home, entertaining ‘our boys,’ boosting morale, and channeling men’s sexuality. Vuic’s insightful analysis of military entertainment is also a tale of the changing shape of the U.S. military over course of the twentieth century. -- Beth Bailey, author of America’s ArmyThe Girls Next Door represents a major advancement in our understanding of gender and war. In fluid, vivid prose, Vuic shows the many complex ways in which home fronts and fighting fronts were interconnected through a complicated web of gendered interactions. A must read for anyone interested in war and society. -- Michael Neiberg, author of The Path to WarFilled with real people and real emotion, The Girls Next Door traces the provision of entertainment for American troops from WWI to the 1990s, showing that despite dramatic changes in context, a durable sexualization of women followed them into war zones across the twentieth century. The research, knowledge, and storytelling on display here are all outstanding. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. -- Andrew Huebner, author of Love and Death in the Great WarVuic also examines the changing perceptions about gender roles in America’s social and military institutions, making this a useful read for anyone with an interest in American society over the past century. * NYMAS Review *An outstanding example of the intersections of gender history, the history of sexuality, and military history as well the connections between the home front and the battlefront. Its lucid and engaging style, careful analysis, and thorough documentation will appeal to scholars and lay readers alike. -- Susan M. Hartmann * Home Front Studies *A wonderful example of how scholars of war and society can interrogate the intersections of gender history, the history of sexuality, and military history…[Vuic’s] premise and treatment of the evolution of women military entertainers over time provides invaluable consideration and methodological approaches that can be employed by all scholars of the First World War. -- Nathan K. Finney * First World War Studies *
£22.46
Harvard University Press Eleven Winters of Discontent
Book SynopsisAt the end of World War II, the Soviet Union captured 600,000 Japanese prisoners of war and interned them in Siberian labor camps. Sherzod Muminov details the soldiers’ varied experiences of imprisonment, including their indoctrination in Soviet dogma and the shock and alienation of repatriation to a homeland transformed under US occupation.Trade ReviewUncovering and lightening the stories of individual internees is only one part of the history, exploring the reality of why they were buried in the first place is the greater contribution. Muminov here enlightens the personal histories of individuals who existed in some cases for over a decade without a state, against the backdrop of a human-natural geography of labor and transformation in Russia’s Far East. -- Tristan Kenderdine * Global Asia *Thorough and well-researched. -- Martin Laflamme * Japan Times *Indispensable…I would recommend this book not simply to historians of Japan, of the Cold War, or of Russian forced labor but to anyone who is interested in how our past has built our present, from eastern Europe to Japan. -- Katalin Ferber * H-Net Reviews *An excellent account that enables the reader not only to understand the details of the Siberian internment but to reflect on its significance to the Cold War and the development of postwar Japan…Well-researched and articulately written. -- James D. J. Brown * Monumenta Nipponica *The Siberian Internment is one of the forgotten episodes of the Second World War. In this fascinating account, Muminov exploits Japanese memoirs and Russian archives to tell a complex history, attentive both to individual lived experiences and to structural change, including the waning of the Japanese empire and the emergence of the Cold War. A stimulating challenge to the traditional boundaries of Japanese history! -- Sebastian Conrad, author of What Is Global History?This magnificent work is the first transnational and comprehensive treatment of more than 600,000 Japanese POWs captured in Northeast Asia who were transported to forced labor camps in the Soviet Union, where they languished for many years before a fraught repatriation to Japan. Muminov depicts the POWs with sympathy and compassion, yet examines the history with detachment and objectivity. Eleven Winters of Discontent offers impeccable scholarship, forceful argument, and a gripping narrative. -- Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, author of Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of JapanA fresh, new history of the Siberian Internment that goes beyond hackneyed narratives of victimhood. Using a contextually broader and chronologically longer framework, Muminov moves the internment history beyond a national Japanese experience to a larger transnational story shared by various foreign POWs. At the same time, he reminds us how postwar Japan carefully erased the imperial past by remembering a particular set of hardship narratives while averting its eyes from anything that recalled the empire. An outstanding contribution to our reconsideration of the early postwar and Cold War world. -- Masuda Hajimu, author of Cold War Crucible: The Korean Conflict and the Postwar WorldMuminov renders much-needed complexity and diversity to existing nation-centric narratives of the Siberian internment of over 600,000 Japanese. Giving agency to both Russians and Japanese on the ground, he offers transnational perspectives long called for but rarely achieved. This is a nuanced yet comprehensive treatment of the internment and its sociopolitical life in postwar Japan as well as a riveting read for anyone interested in the global history of war and the making of a postwar nation state. -- Sho Konishi, author of Anarchist Modernity: Cooperatism and Japanese–Russian Intellectual Relations in Modern JapanAn extraordinary achievement that connects the communist world with that of wartime East Asia as well as the Cold War, making contributions to the history of World War II, the Soviet gulags, and the postwar politics of life-writing. Muminov deprovincializes both Japanese and Russian modern history, showing they are incomprehensible without knowing the wartime connections that bound them together. In fields that continue to be dominated by narrow national histories, this kind of multilingual, multi-archival approach is extremely rare, and at the cutting edge of historical research. -- Aaron William Moore, author of Writing War: Soldiers Record the Japanese Empire
£33.11
Princeton University Press The Interrogation Rooms of the Korean War
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award for Outstanding Achievement in History""Winner of the James B. Palais Book Prize, Association for Asian Studies""Winner of the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize for Best First Book, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations""Winner of the Distinguished Book Award in U.S. History, Society for Military History""Shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies""Compelling. . . . A specific, targeted, and nuanced exploration of how the Korean War and Cold War-era battlefield moved inside and became a new ‘struggle of political legitimacy waged within human psyches, souls, and desires.’" * Kirkus *"Breaks interesting new ground."---Julian Ryall, South China Morning Post"Kim’s book opens the door on private battles that make war an intimate encounter."---Sandra Fahy, European Journal of Korean Studies
£999.99
MP-KAN Uni Press of Kansas Prisoners in Paradise
Book SynopsisMany American women were held captive during Japan's military offensive in the South Pacific. This book chronicles their harrowing experiences, with the author focusing on the internment camps to show how the women coped and how the experience changed them.
£37.76
MP-KAN Uni Press of Kansas Secret Weapons and World War II
Book SynopsisBy failing to develop effective programs weapon development, Japan increased the probability that it could not triumph over its more advanced enemies. Walter Grunden underscores the dramatic scientific and technological disparities that left Japan vulnerable and ultimately led to its defeat in World War II..Trade Review“Provides a detailed account of Japanese science-based weapons research and development (R&D) programs in World War II. . . . Grunden writes clearly and presents his evidence well. For someone like me, who is not a specialist on Japan, this is a most useful contribution to the literature on science and technology in World War II, especially because the Japanese experience is examined in comparative perspective.”—Pacific Historical Review“A superb study of how Japan mobilized science and technology to develop advanced weapons during World War II.”—Technology and Culture
£41.36
