Terrorism, armed struggle Books

Book SynopsisThe cold-blooded murder of revolutionary icons Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in the pitched political battles of post-WWI Germany marks one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. No other political assassination inflamed popular passions and transformed Germany's political climate as that killing in the night of 15-16 January 1919 in front of the luxurious Hotel Eden. It not only cut short the lives of two of the country's most brilliant political leaders, but also inaugurated a series of further political assassinations designed to snuff out the revolutionary flame and, ultimately, pave the way for the ultra-reactionary forces that would take power in 1933. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of their untimely deaths, Klaus Gietinger has carefully reconstructed the events on that fateful night, digging deep into the archives to identify who exactly was responsible for the murder, and what forces in high-placed positions had a hand in facilitating it and protecting the culprits.Trade ReviewThe Murder of Rosa Luxemburgis the most painstaking account of the events, drawing on meticulous archival research and interviews with some of the last surviving participants in the events. * rs21 *History repeats itself "first as tragedy and then as farce", as Marx said, and Gietinger is good at bringing out the absurdity of the farce that followed the murder. * The Guardian *[Gietinger] tells a gripping if unsavoury tale of collusion, duplicity and mendacity. * Morning Star *Gietinger's book serves as a powerful historical document; a meta-narrative that seeks to right the wrongs of the past. * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisJohn Chambers was brought up on Belfast's notorious Loyalist Glencairn estate, during the height of the Troubles. From an early age he witnessed violence, hatred and horror as Northern Ireland tore itself apart in civil strife. Kneecapping, brutal murders, and even public tarring-and-feathering were simply a fact of life for the children on the estate. He thought he knew which side he was on, but although raised as a Loyalist, he was hiding a troubling secret: that his disappeared mother - whom he'd always been told was dead - was a Roman Catholic, 'the enemy'. In a memoir of rare power, John explores the dark heart of Northern Irish sectarianism in the seventies and eighties. With searing honesty and native Belfast wit, he describes the light and darkness of his unique childhood, and his teenage journey through mod culture and ultra-Loyalism, before an escape from Belfast to London - where, still haunted by the shadow of his fractured family history - he began a turbulent and hedonistic adulthood.A Belfast Child is a tale of divided loyalties, dark secrets and the scars left by hatred and violence on a proud city - but also a story of hope, healing and ultimate redemption for a family caught in the rising tide of the Troubles.

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Book SynopsisBehind one of the greatest tragedies in UK policing history lies an incredible political scandal ‘An important book, especially now’ Lee Child ‘Espionage, betrayal, terrorism, corruption and murder. All the ingredients of a Le Carré novel, only it’s real’ Matthew Hall ‘A powerful and timely account’ John Sutherland ‘Very well written and deeply researched . . . an account of a relentless search for justice. It has pride of place in my library' John Grieve CBE QPM former DAC MPS and former National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorist Investigations 'Well-written, brilliantly researched, uplifting and yet, a truly shocking read. The story of one man's heroic fight against the odds and against the establishment. John Murray, you are indeed a hero' DCI Colin Sutton (ret'd) Senior Investigating Officer, the Millie Dowler enquiry On 17 April 1984, as demonstrators gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London, two gunmen lay in wait inside. At 10.18 a.m. automatic gunfire rained down on the protestors and WPC Yvonne Fletcher fell, mortally wounded. As his friend lay dying, PC John Murray made her a promise that he would not rest until those responsible had been brought to justice. Thirty-seven years would pass before he was able to fulfil that undertaking. While researching this moving account of one man’s dogged pursuit of justice for a murdered colleague, Matt Johnson uncovered secret-service deals and government duplicity, all part of a plan to force an end to the National Union of Mineworkers’ strike. He discovered the real reason Yvonne’s killers were allowed to go free and how events that day led to thirty years of growing political control of policing, resulting in the disarray increasingly evident today. This compelling account pulls seemingly unconnected threads into a coherent – and shocking – whole. It provides startling insights into how decisions taken by our politicians and the actions of our intelligence agencies, supposedly in our best interests, may be anything but.Trade Review‘An important book, especially now – both an intensely personal story, and a sober analysis of a political scandal’ -- Lee Child‘Espionage, betrayal, terrorism, corruption and murder. All the ingredients of a Le Carré novel, only it’s real’ -- Matthew Hall‘A powerful and timely account of one of the darkest chapters in British policing history’ -- John Sutherland'The best book I've ever read. Breathtakingly brilliant.' * Jackie Malton, former Detective, author of The Real Prime Suspect. *'A story I was really struck by… Uplifting… An important read.' * Crime Time / Paul Burke *‘Highly recommended. Hard-hitting, packed with raw emotion and a story that deserves to live long in the memory. If you only read one non-fiction book this year, make sure it is this one.’ * Jen Med's Book Reviews *'A literary masterpiece. Captivating, it is a must-read for those seeking profound insights into the hidden truths of our society.' * The Deeping *‘Very well written and deeply researched . . . an account of a relentless search for justice. It has pride of place in my library.' * John Grieve CBE QPM former DAC MPS and former National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorist Investigations *'Heart-wrenching saga of courage, betrayal, and the undying spirit of justice.' * Emergency Services News *'Well-written, brilliantly researched, uplifting and yet, a truly shocking read. The story of one man's heroic fight against the odds and against the establishment. John Murray, you are indeed a hero.' * DCI Colin Sutton (ret'd) Senior Investigating Officer, the Millie Dowler enquiry *

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Book Synopsis'A luminous study' Luke Harding, Guardian 'Courageous and shocking' Katy Guest, Books of the Year, Independent on Sunday How did a small-minded, low-level KGB operative come to control the world's largest country and, in an astonishingly short time, destroy years of progress, making Russia once more a threat to her own people and to the world? Masha Gessen shows that when Vladimir Putin, an unimportant, low-level KGB operative, was rushed to power by a group of Oligarchs in 1999, he was a man without a history. Yet within a few brief years, he had dismantled Russia's media, wrested control and wealth from the country's burgeoning business class, and decimated the fragile mechanisms of democracy. Virtually every opposing voice was silenced, with political rivals and critics driven into exile or to the grave. Drawing on information and sources no other writer has tapped, Masha Gessen's fearless account charts Putin's rise from the boy who had scrapped his way through post-war Leningrad schoolyards. Now the 'faceless' man who manoeuvred his way into absolute - and absolutely corrupt - power, has become a threat to the stability of the world, and this important book is more relevant than ever. Now with a new preface by the author. 'A clear, brave book... Gessen offers intriguing details of the scratching, biting, hair-tearing, undersized, brawling boy Putin, refusing to be bullied in the grubby back yards of Leningrad' James Meek, Observer 'Gessen's engaging prose combines a native's passion with a mordant wit and caustic understatement that are characteristically Russian' AD Miller, Daily TelegraphTrade ReviewA luminous study -- Luke Harding * Guardian *Courageous and shocking -- Katy Guest, Books of the Year * Independent on Sunday *Gessen fearlessly tells the story of the unlikely rise of Vladimir Putin * Big Issue in the North *A clear, brave book... Gessen offers intriguing details of the scratching, biting, hair-tearing, undersized, brawling boy Putin, refusing to be bullied in the grubby back yards of Leningrad -- James Meek * Observer *Gessen's engaging prose combines a native's passion with a mordant wit and caustic understatement that are characteristically Russian -- AD Miller * Daily Telegraph *Bold, detailed, and eloquent -- David Evans, Books of the Year * Independent on Sunday *Gessen conveys the atmosphere - whether of the last months of the Soviet Union, the chaotic years of Yeltsin, the strange transfer of the presidency to Putin or the disappointments of his period - more accurately than any recent chronicler of the period -- Mary Dejevsky * Independent *[A] courageous, enlightening account... Despite the suppression of the media and the murder of critics and political rivals, brave voices like Gessen's, and those before [them], have helped shed some much needed light on Putin's "criminal tyranny" -- Lucy Popescu * Independent on Sunday *A rivetingly combative biography... utterly chilling * Sunday Telepgraph *A compelling and exhaustive portrait * Telegraph *Brilliant -- Edward Lucas * Daily Mail *Gessen is a talented and versatile journalist -- John Lloyd * Financial Times *Gessen has written a brave book, demolishing the numerous myths and legends that have accumulated around [their] subject -- Luke Harding * Guardian *[A] fiercely critical biography -- Anita Singh * Telegraph *An astonishingly brave and eloquent book -- David Evans * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisIn his third book, David Kilcullen takes us out of the mountains: away from the remote, rural guerrilla warfare of Afghanistan, and into the marginalised slums and complex security threats of the world's coastal cities, where almost 75 per cent of us will be living by mid-century. Scrutinising major environmental trends - population growth, coastal urbanisation - and increasing digital connectivity he projects a future of feral cities, urban systems under stress, and increasing overlaps between crime and war, internal and external threats, and the real and virtual worlds. Informed by Kilcullen's own fieldwork in the Caribbean, Somalia, the Middle East and Afghanistan, and that of his field research teams in cities in Central America and Africa, Out of the Mountains presents detailed, on-the-ground accounts of the new faces of modern conflict - - from the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, to transnational drug networks, local street gangs, and the uprisings of the Arab Spring.Trade Review'The foundation of "Out of the Mountains" is Mr. Kilcullen's "theory of competitive control," which zooms in on the insurgent networks that other theories glance at from a bird's-eye perspective. The theory suggests that "populations respond to a predictable, ordered, normative system, which tells them exactly what they need to do, and not do, in order to be safe." Remove that normative system, and chaos could easily ensue - The answers to the questions Mr. Kilcullen poses will evolve over time. But his insistence that it is "time to drag ourselves - body and mind - out of the mountains" serves as a reminder that complacency remains one of the most serious threats to U.S. national security.' * Wall Street Journal *'Kilcullen is a natural storyteller with a sharp and sympathetic mind. His first-hand experiences in Somalia, Afghanistan and elsewhere carry added credibility given his track record as a senior adviser to David Petraeus, the star US general in Iraq, and later to Nato in Afghanistan. Thankfully, he does not limit himself to dire warnings. He broaches solutions. It would be a start, he contends, if policymakers and security strategists approached the world's mega-cities as living entities to be analysed in their own right, not fixed locations, or part of a nation state. We have to keep up with the pace of their transformation.' * The Daily Telegraph *'A wide-ranging, astute and squirm-inducing evaluation of the future of military operations. - Kilcullen delivers a lucid, important study that American leaders should read.' * Kirkus Reviews *'Kilcullen has a rare ability to combine serious theory with the insight of an experienced practitioner - [and] brings his narrative to life by using contemporary examples, including the recent revolts in Libya and Syria and the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.' * Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs *'This is the mature work of someone who's thought long and hard about conflict. Out on the Mountains deserves to be read (and argued about) by anyone who is interested in the war or the shape of the modern world [and] every officer needs to be familiar with its arguments.' * Sydney Morning Herald *'This is a brilliant book by the most unfettered and analytically acute mind in the military intelligentsia. Kilcullen unflinchingly confronts the nightmare of endless warfare in the slums of the world.' * Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums *'At a time when many Western militaries are slashing defence budgets while increasing investments in high-tech weapons, Kilcullen's book provides an argument for reassessing defence priorities - This is an important book. ' * H.R. McMaster, Survival *'Soldiers and scholars both listen to Kilcullen - and now the development community should as well - He comes out of the mountains and plunges head first into the teeming megacities of the developing world. It is well worth following him there.' * International Affairs *'David Kilcullen brilliantly illuminates a coming dystopian urban world, part Blade Runner and part Minority Report. He cogently argues that we must rapidly find a way to build our own security networks to prepare for the coming age of urban guerrillas. Out of the Mountains crystallizes this sadly probable future in vivid and practical terms.' * Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), Former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and Dean, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University *'Out of the Mountains is a wide-ranging, thought-provoking book that draws on and synthesises concepts and arguments from geography, ecology, political science, sociology and military strategy - it will spawn ideas, and pull our attention to the emerging megacities of the world and their assorted urban guerrillas.' * Shashank Joshi, Global: The International Briefing *'Drawing on a lifetime's practical and theoretical expertise in counter-insurgency and irregular warfare, David Kilcullen considers the security problems likely to be posed by the growth of littoral megacities where governments will find their authority challenged by a range of non-state armed groups. As this book eloquently argues, dealing with the insecurities that will inevitably arise from such situations will require militaries to adopt very different approaches and to work within a framework in which many different civilian skills are brought to bear. Anyone who has responsibilities for international security or who cares about the future of governance in an increasingly over-crowded and resource-stressed world needs to read this book.' * Nigel Inkster, former director of operations and intelligence for the British Secret Intelligence Service *'There is no better guide to the future of warfare than David Kilcullen. Surveying the scene from Mumbai to Mogadishu, and Syria to San Pedro Sula, Kilcullen persuasively argues that conflict will increasingly be in "crowded, coastal, and connected cities." This is a gripping and essential read.' * Theo Farrell, Head of War Studies, King's College London *'David Kilcullen has given us a definitive analysis of the characteristics of much recent conflict with its overlapping mix of terrorism and insurgency, gangsterism and racketeering, legitimate and criminal business, tribal and gang rivalries and perverse economic incentives. He draws striking lessons from the difficulties of providing security and governance in those circumstances and projects them into the ever more crowded slums of the mega-cities now sprawling along the coastlines of the developing world. His sombre conclusions should be essential reading.' * Sir David Omand, former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator *

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Book SynopsisWar in the post-9/11 world is far different from what we expected it be. Counterinsurgency and protracted guerrilla warfare, not shock and awe, are the order of the day. David Kilcullen is the world's foremost expert on this way of war, and in The Accidental Guerrilla, the Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor to General David Petraeus in Iraq surveys war as it is actually fought in the contemporary world. Colouring his account with gripping battlefield experiences that range from the jungles and highlands of South and Southeast Asia to the mountains of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to the dusty towns of the Middle East and the horn of Africa, The Accidental Guerrilla will, quite simply, change the way we think about war. While conventional warfare has obvious limits, Kilcullen also stresses that neither counterterrorism nor traditional counterinsurgency is the appropriate framework to fight the enemy we now face. Certainly, traditional counterinsurgency is more effective than counterterrorism when it comes to entities like Al Qaeda, but as Kilcullen contends, our current focus is far too narrow, for it tends to emphasize one geographical region and one state. The current war presents a much different situation: stateless insurgents and terrorists operating across large number of countries and only loosely affiliated with each other.Trade Review'For a wider perspective on the lessons drawn over the past seven years of the 'war on terror', the reader can do no better than turn to Mr Kilcullen's excellent book. The Accidental Guerrilla has an anthropologist's sense of social dynamics and a reporter's eye for telling detail.'--The Economist; 'At the heart of this significant book is the author's declaration that terrorism cannot be addressed by military means alone: that for American or British soldiers merely to kill insurgents is meaningless. He urges policies based upon securing and succouring populations, not on enemy body counts... Kilcullen is an influential man. A former Australian army officer, he became a key adviser to General David Petraeus and then Condoleezza Rice's principal counter-terrorist strategist at the State Department. His book synthesises lessons that America has learnt by bitter experience and that, hopefully, will continue to influence its politics in the Obama era... Almost everything the author says makes sense. His work reflects wisdom purchased by eight years of western military and political folly.' -- Max Hastings, The Sunday Times; 'This book is essential... Kilcullen skillfully interprets the future of counterinsurgency, the proper use of military force and what we must learn from our losses and mistakes. After reading The Accidental Guerrilla, one is left to wonder why the pentagon did not listen to his sage advice back in 2003.' -- New York Times Book Review; 'As a former Australian army officer, Mr. Kilcullen may seem to have an odd background for this task, since Australia is hardly a central player in the global war on terrorism. Yet the Aussies have a long, distinguished history of involvement in guerrilla wars, from Vietnam to Indonesia...While he writes that 'there is no such thing as a 'standard' counterinsurgency,' there are some standard texts on the subject. The Accidental Guerrilla is sure to become one.'--Wall Street Journal

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Book SynopsisThe two most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia — a Malaysian and a Singaporean — are on the run in the Philippines, but they manage to keep their friends and family updated on Facebook. Filipinos connect with al-Qaeda-linked groups in Somalia and Yemen. The black flag — embedded in al-Qaeda lore — pops up on websites and Facebook pages from around the world, including the Philippines, Indonesia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Australia, and North Africa. The black flag is believed to herald an apocalypse that brings Islam's triumph. These are a few of the signs that define terrorism's new battleground: the Internet and social media.In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, Maria Ressa traces the spread of terrorism from the training camps of Afghanistan to Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Through research done at the International Center for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore and sociograms created by the CORE Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School, the book examines the social networks which spread the virulent ideology that powered terrorist attacks in the past 10 years.Many of the stories here have never been told before, including details about the 10 days during which Ressa led the crisis team in the Ces Drilon kidnapping case by the Abu Sayyaf in 2008. The book forms the powerful narrative that glues together the social networks — both physical and virtual — which spread the jihadi virus from bin Laden to Facebook.Table of ContentsKidnapped; Crisis; Roots; A Piece of the Action; The Virus; Deadline; Ultimatum; Double-Cross; Breakdown; Homecoming.

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Book SynopsisThe Maze Prison shows how an establishment built to hold those involved in terrorism, atrocities, murder and allied crimes became a pawn in the partisan conflict that was Northern Ireland. There followed a breakdown of norms, values and control as the last of these shifted from Governors to Ministers, outside officials and even prisoners. This led to the (often random) killing of prison officers and countless allegations, denials and obfuscations, as Prison Rules came into conflict with claims to be treated as prisoners-of-war or be given Special Category status. A social document par excellence, this stark slant on The Troubles and Peace Process cuts through the propaganda and base politics to reveal the truth about the H-Blocks, hunger-strikes, escapes and power struggles. Based on actual records and personal accounts, it challenges myths and legends to warn how easily a community can descend into what the author calls anomie. An invaluable record of `one of the most dangerous prisons in the world'.Trade Review'A must read for those interested in the legacy of our troubled past—Tom Murtagh restores the balance, exposes the truth and gives a unique insight into the mind-set of the terrorist godfathers incarcerated in the Maze'-- The Rt Hon Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP; 'I can well recall many of the examples of blatant concessions that Tom mentions. This was at a time in a prison where the abnormal became normal. The author exposes the myth that The Maze Prison was just an operational problem, rather than a political problem set in an operational environment'-- Alan Longwell, former Governor, Northern Ireland Prison Service; 'Gives an accurate account of events as I recall them... I commend the book'-- John Semple, Former Deputy Director of Operations, Northern Ireland Prison Service; 'This is an important book not only for those who want to understand how The Troubles impacted on Northern Ireland's largest prison but also for those interested in learning how little politicians care about the operational impact of their decisions and how adept they can be in avoiding political accountability for their mistakes. It is meticulously researched, describing life in The Maze Prison, which was on the front line of the terrorist campaigns of both Republican and Loyalist terrorists. A fascinating story of escapes, riots, murders, dirty protests and hunger strikes which fed a propaganda war, alongside an equally riveting account of the political and operational response to this most extreme situation'-- Phillip Wheatley, former Director, National Offender Management Service.Table of ContentsForeword by Phillip Wheatley; Map of the Maze; Preface; 1.A Historical Backdrop; 2.Long Kesh; 3.HMP The Maze: Special Category Status; 4.A Changing Control Dynamic; 5.Murder, Escapes and Direct Political Intervention; 6.Riot and Inferno; 7.The Gardiner Report; 8.H-Blocks and the Blanket Protest; 9.The Dirty Protest; 10.Cardinal Tomas O'Fiaich; 11.The First Hunger-strike (1980); 12.The Second Hunger-strike (1981); 13.Defeat Snatched from the Jaws of Victory; 14.The 1983 Mass Escape and the Hennessy Report; 15.Erosion of Staff Control in Segregated Wings; 16.Schism; 17.Corruption and Murder; 18.Descent into Chaos; 19.Anomie; 20.The Averill Escape; 21.Anarchy; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisThe astonishing, gripping and long-awaited inside story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary spy.After years of living in semi-isolation, David Rupert speaks for the first time about how a trucker from New York ended up being recruited to the FBI and MI5 at one of the most crucial moments in British political history.Including shock revelations about Rupert's discoveries working within the Real IRA - such as sending plastic explosives and detonators, hidden inside toys, to a primary school in Donegal. Author Sean O'Driscoll tells the incredible story of David, 'The Big Yank', a 6ft7 American tourist who found himself at the centre of a chilling campaign of terror that targeted civilians, the forces and Prime Minister Tony Blair.Countless lives have been saved by David Rupert's decision to risk his neck working for years within one of the most brutal and ruthless terrorist organisations in the world - an organisation whose language of violence left women and children amongst the dead in the Omagh atrocity.An unprecedented bombing campaign was planned to destroy any hopes of a peace agreement. In a trial that rested entirely on the evidence of the 'Big Yank', those plans for ongoing bloodshed and an end to the Good Friday Agreement were brought to a halt.

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Book SynopsisThis textbook provides an accessible and interdisciplinary introduction to genocide with an emphasis on the criminal aspect of genocide. It draws on sociological, political, and historical concepts to discuss how they contribute to our understanding of genocide as an international crime. It walks students through the evolution of genocide as a criminal act and the legal responses available using case studies to demonstrate how concepts work in action. It combines Criminology and Law, arguing that Criminology can help explain the ‘why and how’ while Law can explain the responses to crime. This textbook includes a chapter on genocide denial as well as discussion questions at the end of the chapters, boxed examples, and further reading. It speaks to students in Criminology, Law, Socio-Legal Studies, and beyond, as well as to practitioners in the criminal justice field.Table of Contents1. Chapter 1 What is genocide? 1.1 Pre-Genocide 1.2 Genocide according to Lemkin 1.3 Genocide according to the United Nations 1.4 Other definitions of genocide 1.5 Genocide as a crime 2. Chapter 2 How can we understand genocide? 2.1 Law 2.2 Psychology 2.3 Political Science 2.4 Sociology 2.5 Criminology 3. Chapter 3 Why does genocide occur? 3.1 Agency-oriented Theories 3.2 Structural Theories 3.3 Victim-group Construction Theories 3.4 Biological Theories 3.5 Criminological Theories 4. Chapter 4 Who commits genocide? 4.1 State Crime 4.2 Organizational Crime 4.3 The State as an Organization 4.4 Collective Violence 4.5 Individual Genocidaires 4.6 The Browning-Goldhagen Debate 4.7 Organizational Genocidaires5. Chapter 5 When and where does genocide occur? 5.1 Genocide prior to 1948 5.1.1 Herero Genocide 5.1.2 Armenian Genocide 5.2 Genocide after 1948 5.2.1 Bangladesh Genocide 5.2.2 East Timor Genocide 5.2.3 Kurdish Genocide 5.2.4 Rwandan Genocide 5.2.5 Bosnian Genocide 5.2.6 Darfur Genocide 5.2.7 Rohingya Genocide 6. Chapter 6 How do we respond to genocide?6.1 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 6.2 The Responsibility to Protect 6.3 International Criminal Tribunals 6.4 The International Criminal Court 6.5 National Courts 6.6 Gacaca Courts 6.7 What Can You Do7. Chapter 7 What happens when genocide is denied? 7.1 Holocaust Awareness 7.2 Denying History 7.3 Genocide Denial Legislation 7.3.1 Denying 7.3.2 Public v. Private Denial 7.3.3 Good Uses of Denial Laws(?) 7.3.4 Bad Uses of Denial Laws(?) 7.4 Denial Legislation Goals

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Book SynopsisWhat changes have the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001 and the subsequent attacks in Europe brought to Western societies? In what ways have these events and their aftermath impacted on the relationships between Muslim communities and Western societies? This book explores the remaking of the relationship between Islam and Islamism, on the one hand, and security and securitization, on the other hand, by arguing that 9/11 and its aftermath have led to the opening of a new phase in Western and European history and have remade the relationship between Islam and governmental and societal approaches to security. The authors utilize case studies across the Western world to understand this relationship.Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisThis textbook provides students across Social Sciences, Humanities, Politics, and International Studies with an in-depth understanding of the issues, policies, and strategies for addressing the symptoms and root causes of violence against women (VAW) in sub-Saharan Africa. This text uses the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security in Eastern and Southern Africa as a framework to present the causes and impacts of VAW and to trace the journey of sub-Saharan African countries toward gender equality. It also provides an overview of the policy and legislative frameworks that underpin the progress, challenges, and achievements of addressing VAW based on four key pillars: prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery. Chapters provide a wealth of knowledge, as the book draws on academic literature; national, regional, and international legislations; and data collected from field research, and makes use of end-of-chapter discussion questions and quick study guides. Students will come away equipped with the tools, resources, and knowledge necessary to address and fix VAW in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.Table of ContentsSECTION I: FOUNDATIONS OF WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Born Equal Theory of Change Chapter 3: Women in Contemporary Developmental Thought Chapter 4: Gender Perspectives in Peace and Conflict Chapter 5: Global and Regional Peace and Security Frameworks SECTION II: WOMEN, VIOLENCE AND SOCIETY: CHALLENGES AND ISSUES Chapter 6: Women, Politics and Violence Chapter 7: Masculinity in Congolese Society Chapter 8: Women and Violent Extremism Chapter 9: Implementation of the UNSCR 1325: Critical Reflections SECTION III: STRATEGIES for COMBATING VIOLENCE Chapter 10: Prevention of Violence Against Women Chapter 11: Women’s Participation in Peace Making Processes Chapter 12: Protection of Women from Violence Chapter 13: Gender-Responsive Budgeting as A Strategy Against Violence Chapter 14: Conclusion-What the Future Holds Appendices Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThe moment in the sun for special operations sometimes appears to have passed, seemingly eclipsed by preparations for potential conflict under the guise of great power' competition, combined with failure in Afghanistan. Yet the war in Ukraine serves as a reminder that special operations play an even greater role todaybefore, during and presumably after conflict. The challenge remains dealing with current irregular and hybrid threats, at the same time as preparing for an uncertain future, as threats and technologies evolve at a dizzying pace.Focusing too much on the future of conventional warfare creates a void in national security discussions related to special operations. This book seeks to fill that gap, drawing on the expertise of scholars and practitioners in the field, from the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the United States, to answer what, if anything, special operations can or should seek to do, and how. The contributors explore such topics as proxies, non-state special fo

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Book Synopsis THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Incredibly evocative and compelling." - The Washington Post"The most moving and chilling oral history you will read." - The Times"Astonishing book about an astonishing, terrifying atrocity, relived in real time by those who were there. I read it in one sitting & was utterly gripped from start to finish." - Piers Morgan"The most vivid portrait of 9/11 I've ever read."- Mike Morell, former deputy director of the CIA** Updated 20th Anniversary edition with additional content **The Only Plane in the Sky is the first comprehensive oral history of 9/11, deftly woven and told in the voices of ordinary people grappling with extraordinary events.It begins predawn, where we meet airport staff who unknowingly usher terrorists onto their flights. From a secret bunker beneath the White House, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice watch for incoming planes on radar. At the Pentagon, officials feel a violent tremor as they come under attack. We hear the stories of the father and son working on separate floors in the North Tower; the firefighter who rushes there to search for his wife; the phone operator who keeps her promise to share a passenger's last words with his family; the chaplain who stays on the scene to perform last rites, losing his own life when the Twin Towers collapse.In New York, first responders confront a scene of unimaginable chaos. At the Pentagon generals break down and weep when they are barred from rushing into the burning building to try and rescue their colleagues.Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, declassified documents and interviews from nearly five hundred people, award-winning historian Garrett Graff skilfully tells the story of the day that changed all of our lives - as it was lived.The Only Plane in the Sky is a unique, profound, and searing exploration of humanity on a day that changed the course of history, and all of our lives, 20 years ago.

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Book SynopsisBlood Year is an unsparingly honest, self-critical analysis of the collapse of western counterterrorism strategy and the subsequent rise of Islamic State. As a soldier, counterterrorism official, and Chief Strategist in the US State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism, David Kilcullen was one of the original architects of US and allied counterterrorism policy. Kilcullen's frank assessment - that the strategy he helped design has failed, that it has not made us safer, and has contributed to new threats, including Islamic State - makes this short book mandatory reading for anyone interested in how terrorism is confronted. The most startling part of his analysis is that there may be worse dangers than ISIS incubating in various parts of the world.Trade ReviewSuch an important book...What makes Blood Year particularly valuable is that Kilcullen manages to recount the events of 2014 and 2015 without succumbing to the pull of political correctness or the push of conventional wisdom. * The Sunday Times *This is a lucid story, humanely told and utterly chilling, in which the author wears his experience and erudition lightly. It should be read by those who still cling to the debris of the fences they sat on over Iraq and Syria. * Financial Times *Mr Kilcullen gives an unflinching insider's account of how mistakes and missed opportunities led inexorably to the events of 2014 ... a wise and important book. * The Economist *Kilcullen is a legendary figure in the world of counterterrorism . . . his book is a frank and revealing expose of all the military and political missteps that the West has made since 2001. * Literary Review *Kilcullen explains superbly the multiple paths to jihadism, the numerous ways in which terrorists can strike, the plentiful targets urban societies offer, and antediluvian ISIS' savvy use of the Internet and social media to attract and train acolytes. * The New York Times Book Review *Kilcullen's book is a tour de force. With telling details and personal reminiscences, he seeks to make sense of how the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq ultimately fell apart. * Foreign Affairs *'Blood Year' is a scintillating reflection on the rapidly evolving wars in and around the Middle East. Crisply written and forcefully argued, Kilcullen's book challenges all sides in the contentious debate over America's role in the region and the world. -- Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science, George Washington University and author of The New Arab Wars: Uprisings and Anarchy in the Middle EastA dispassionate, discouraging analysis of how the Western counterterrorism effort has gone so terribly wrong. . . . Kilcullen pulls no punches in describing the current security situation. . . . This brief work packs an analytical wallop. . . . Kilcullen's personal familiarity with the territory and many major players adds elements of vivid color to the well-informed discussions of history and policy, and the narrative is refreshingly nonpartisan. . . . Direct, insightful, and frightening, this book will prepare readers to see through the misguided, simplistic solutions to the problems of Middle Eastern policy and Islamic terror so common in this election year. * Kirkus starred review *David Kilcullen is one of the world's leading theorists of counterinsurgency; his comprehensive experience in the field, in Iraq and elsewhere, makes him uniquely qualified to analyse the emergence of ISIS. 'Blood Year' combines elements of memoir, reportage, and trenchant analysis to provide a highly accessible, vividly written account that is a model of both clarity and rigour. -- Peter Bergen, author of 'United States of Jihad', 'Manhunt', and 'The Longest War'David Kilcullen, an Australian military officer and academic, was deeply involved in the US counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. His engrossing book combines personal reminiscence with non-partisan analysis of what went wrong--and warns of the risk of further deterioration. -- Gideon Rachman * Financial Times Summer Reading *A timely primer to the story of countering asymmetric and terrorist threats across much of the world since 2001 - in this it is one of the best, and most accessible, of its kind. -- Robert Fox * The World Today *

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Book SynopsisDrawing on groundbreaking personal interviews as well as decades of research from psychologists and others, John Horgan traces the pathways that lead people into violent extremism and explores what happens to them as their involvement deepens.Trade ReviewA masterful exploration of the question of who becomes a terrorist and why, by the world’s leading expert on the psychology of terrorism. Horgan explains how far our understanding has come since 9/11 and provides a blueprint for future studies. An essential primer about the complex mix of social conditions and psychology that lead individuals to turn to terrorist violence, and why and how they leave terrorism behind. -- Jessica Stern, author of Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants KillBoiling down oceans of research into lucid prose, Terrorist Minds represents a major achievement. Horgan surveys what is already known about the psychology of terrorism, and how in the future we might yet see further and clearer. An inspiring book that wears its immense learning lightly. -- T. K. Wilson, author of Killing Strangers: How Political Violence Became ModernTerrorist Minds is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand how and why people become involved with terrorism—and how and why they sometimes quit. Throughout this book, Horgan, one of the most brilliant minds in our field, offers an engaging, masterful blend of research and insights from talking directly with terrorists. This authoritative masterpiece brings invaluable clarity to a profoundly complex topic. -- Randy Borum, coeditor of Violent Extremism: A Handbook of Risk Assessment and ManagementLike a skilled climber, John Horgan ascends the summits, where the air is thin and few dare to travel. Terrorist Minds is an exploratory journey that identifies hazards and illuminates the new trails that have yet to be blazed within terrorism research. -- Mark Fallon, author of Unjustifiable Means: The Inside Story of How the CIA, Pentagon, and U.S. Government Conspired to TortureTable of ContentsPreface1. What Is Terrorism?2. Who Becomes a Terrorist?3. Motivation4. Mindset5. Reintegration6. Talking to Terrorists7. Chasing StormsAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisJohn F. Kennedy’s fascination with death—particularly his own—and Lee Harvey Oswald’s love of violence and desire for fame made November 22, 1963 practically inevitable.With new details from the very latest documents declassified by the CIA and FBI! The so-called “crime of the century”—the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—was almost preordained to happen. Like all presidents from decades before him, JFK played it loose with security—open cars, Secret Service agents at a distance, and a desire to be seen. Yet conspiracy buffs are certain the security setup on November 22, 1963 was unusual and suspicious. It wasn’t. And what of Lee Harvey Oswald, the drifter, the vicious wife-beating, fame-seeking narcissist? Everything in his background—dating back to his violent, disturbing grade school years, including his stated desire to murder President Dwight Eisenhower—defines the real Lee Oswald. The Oswald that conspiracists rarely talk about—the Oswald who was perched in the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository as JFK drove by—was headed for this moment of infamy years before he pulled the trigger. In Countdown to Dallas, author Paul Brandus tracks the backgrounds of both Kennedy and Oswald, the very different era in which they lived, and the incredible string of circumstances that brought them together for a few fateful moments in Dallas. He reveals: There was indeed a second person on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository in the minutes prior to the assassination—but it’s not what you think. How Oswald REALLY got his job at the Depository. The OTHER president that Oswald previously discussed wanting to kill. What Oswald’s favorite TV show and favorite opera reveal about his personality and his willingness to use violence. The sinking of the Titanic—and how we process it more than a century later—is an example of how we continue to process information about the Kennedy assassination. Trade Review“Paul Brandus has produced a gem of a book, a completely up-to-date look at what led up to President Kennedy’s assassination, a comprehensive tick-tock of Lee Oswald’s dismal life, clarifying timelines of the events that awful day in November 1963, and a careful examination of the conspiracy theories and suspects that have been proposed in the six decades since. Brandus has also incorporated the findings from secret documents released in recent years, so if you think you already know all of the story, think again—and read this well-written, fascinating volume.” -- Dr. Larry J. Sabato, Author, The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy; Director, Center for Politics, University of Virginia“Paul Brandus is a unique storyteller who seeks the truth. In fact, he is driven to illuminate the truth and protect it from being easily dismissed. His ability to detail dramatic, stunning, and emotional stories makes Paul a one-of-a-kind author. His skills are unleashed in a profound way in his new book, Countdown to Dallas.” -- Michael C. DeAloia, Chief Executive Officer, Evergreen Podcasts“Drawing on recently declassified documents, Brandus characterizes Lee Harvey Oswald as a violent, politically extreme, and mentally disturbed man… Brandus relies heavily on FBI surveillance reports and other postassassination investigations to piece together the year leading up to the murder, showing how financial difficulties, turbulence in the marriage, and mental instability pushed Oswald over the edge… He builds a well-supported and well-reasoned case that Oswald acted alone.” -- Publishers Weekly“You may feel as if you’ve read everything there is to read about this subject, but Brandus takes readers on a different path, showing how the lives of JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald ran parallel to one another in many ways. Brandus shows how Oswald leaned toward violence his entire life and was, in fact, on a collision-course with history—although not initially with Kennedy, in an interesting twist of fact-finding. Readers will be astounded at the wealth of new information included in this book and they’ll be left wondering if, at any point, Oswald's horrible act of assassination could have somehow been stopped. This is the perfect choice for historians, speculative nonfiction readers, and for anyone who still holds a great deal of fascination for what is arguably one of the most world-changing events of the twentieth century.” -- Terri Schlichenmeyer, Price County Review

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Book SynopsisBoaz Ganor provides an authoritative analysis of Israel’s approach to counterterrorism throughout its existence. The book features revelatory personal testimony from senior Israeli decision makers who have played pivotal roles in counterterrorism strategy.Trade ReviewIsrael's Counterterrorism Policy is an important contribution to counterterrorism and security literature. Through unparalleled access to decision makers, prime ministers, ministers of defense, and heads of security and intelligence services, Boaz Ganor provides a comprehensive overview of Israel’s counterterrorism policy over the years and analyzes the key dilemmas and challenges. A must-read for leaders, security practitioners, students, and journalists alike. -- Shabtai Shavit, former head of Mossad, 1989–1996In Israel's Counterterrorism Strategy, Boaz Ganor provides a unique viewpoint on Israel’s most critical counterterrorism challenges. Through interviews with the people in charge of devising and implementing Israel’s counterterrorism policy, he presents a remarkable account of the threats that Israel has faced since its independence and how its decision makers have responded. -- Yaakov Perry, former director of the Israeli Security Agency; former minister and member of ParliamentThis book is a tour de force. Boaz Ganor expertly traces the history of Israel’s efforts to protect itself against successive waves of terrorism while seeking to uphold its liberal democratic values. -- Ambassador Nathan Sales, former U.S. undersecretary of state (acting) and coordinator for counterterrorismIn Israel’s Counterterrorism Policy, the scholar-practitioner Boaz Ganor provides a balanced, considered, and meticulous master course on the history of Israeli counterterrorism and the lessons learned. He offers a much-needed strategic perspective on a tactical challenge, making a strong contribution to counterterrorism studies. -- Matthew Levitt, author of Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of GodIsrael’s Counterterrorism Strategy, by the preeminent authority Boaz Ganor, will be viewed as the definitive history of the country’s long and varied experience with a mode of conflict that became the challenge of our age. The revelations of its leaders are fascinating. To understand the policy and ethical complexities of counterterrorism, start here. -- Brian Michael Jenkins, author of Paths to Destruction: A Group Portrait of America’s Jihadists―Comparing Jihadist Travelers with Domestic PlottersGanor’s book will likely become a worthwhile component of the syllabi of courses related to the Arab–Israeli conflict and the peace process. * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsChronology: Prime Ministers of Israel and Timeline of Major Events, 1948–2018Introduction1. The Israeli Counterterrorism Strategy and Decision-Making Process Conceptual Models2. The “Fedayeen Phenomenon”: The David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Sharett Administrations, 1948–633. Palestinian National Terrorism After the Six-Day War: The Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir Administrations, 1963–734. Cross-Border Terrorism After the Yom Kippur War: The Yitzhak Rabin Administration, 1974–765. Terrorism Against the Backdrop of the Lebanon War: The Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, and Shimon Peres Administrations, 1977–866. The First Intifada and Activities of the Palestinian Islamist Organizations: The Yitzhak Shamir Administration, 1987–917. Countering Terrorism During the Peace Process: The Yitzhak Rabin Administration, 1992–968. A Prime Minister’s Assassination and Shifting Counterterrorism Strategies: The Benjamin Netanyahu Administration, 1996–999. Confronting the al-Aqsa Intifada: The Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon Administrations, 1999–200410. Disengagement from Gaza and Its Ramifications: The End of the Sharon Administration and the Ehud Olmert Administration, 2005–200811. Changes in the Greater Middle East: The Netanyahu Administration, 2009–201812. Israel's Counterterrorism Policy from the Perspective of Israeli Decision MakersConclusion: The Art of Israeli CounterterrorismAppendix: List of Interviewees and Selected NewspapersNotesSelected BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe first major book on ISIS to be published since the group exploded on the international stage in summer 2014.Drawing on their unusual access to intelligence sources and material, law enforcement, and groundbreaking research into open source intelligence, Stern and Berger outline the origins of ISIS as the formidable terrorist group it has quickly become.State of Terror' delves into the ghoulish pornography' of pro-jihadi videos, the seductive appeal of jihadi chic' and the startling effectiveness of the Islamic State's use of social media as a means of luring and recruiting citizens from countries such as the United States, Great Britain, and Franceusing recent examples such as Douglas McCain, the American citizen from Minnesota who joined ISIS and died in combat fighting on the side of the Islamic State.Although the picture Stern and Berger paint is bleak, State of Terror' also offers well-informed thoughts on potential government responses to ISIS most importantly, emphasizing thTrade Review‘A valuable, rigorous and perceptive guide … Stern and Berger draw on internet-based sources, big-brained research on political violence and some of the most acute thinking about the insurgency that is around today’ Literary Review ‘One of this year’s most useful books on the phenomenon, which showed how the terrorist movement emerged from the mind of a Jordanian criminal, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year ‘Clear and succinct … The book’s achievement is to demonstrate how Isis fits within the spectrum of blood-soaked jihadists’ Daily Telegraph ‘By far the most important contribution yet to our understanding of an organization that remains cloaked in mystery and misunderstanding. Stern and Berger are two of the world’s leading experts on violent extremism and, in this book, they have combined their years of knowledge and expertise into a brisk, readable, and eye opening account of ISIS’s past, present, and future’ Reza Aslan, author of ‘No god but God’ and ‘Zealot’ ‘One can only conclude, with the clarity of recent hindsight, that we should have seen it coming – at least when seen through the lens of ‘ISIS’ … a timely and important history of a movement that now defines the 21st century’ Evening Standard ‘The first serious book to analyse the rise of ISIS, arguably one of history's most successful terrorist groups. Stern and Berger write clearly and persuasively and marshal impressive primary research from ISIS's prodigious propaganda to help explain how ISIS became the dominant jihadi group today. It's a terrific and important read’ Peter Bergen, author of ‘Manhunt’ ‘From two of the world’s leading terrorism experts, this timely and urgent book is absolutely essential reading for analysts and policy makers alike. In what is already a cornerstone contribution, Stern and Berger offer the kind of cold-blooded analysis so desperately needed on the poorly understood phenomenon’ John Horgan, author of ‘The Psychology of Terrorism’

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Book SynopsisThe Ethics of Collecting Trauma offers an interdisciplinary dialogue on the ethics of contemporary museums that are involved in collecting moments of collective trauma.Including a range of international contributions, the volume explores the ethics of collecting material that documents contemporary traumatic events. The case studies focus on four categories of such events: forced migration; terrorism attacks; major natural disasters; and cultural traumas, such as the ongoing legacy of colonization. Contributors consider whether cultural institutions have a right to collect materials about these events and what kind of materials they should focus on, if so; who is being memorialized, who should hold the power to decide what is collected, and what the critical timeline for such initiatives is. The volume also considers what the larger purpose of such collecting is and how to deal with past collecting practices, arguing that museums need to consider, in a careful and deli

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a new model for measuring the success and impact of counterterrorism strategies, using four comparative historical case studies.The effectiveness of counterterrorism measures is hard to assess, especially since the social impact of terrorist attacks is a fundamental and complex issue. This book focuses on the impact of counterterrorist measures by introducing the concept of the performative power of counterterrorism: the extent to which governments mobilize public and political support - thereby sometimes even unwittingly assisting terrorists in creating social drama. The concept is applied to counterterrorism in the Netherlands, Italy, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States in the 1970s. Based on in-depth case study research using new primary sources and interviews with counterterrorist officials and radicals, a correlation is established between a low level of performative power and a decline of terrorist incidents. This Trade Review"An innovative approach to assess effectiveness in governmental counterterrorism measures through what the author terms "the concept of the performative power of counterterrorism," which is "the extent to which governments succeed in mobilizing public and political support in favor of their policies, thereby weakening terrorists’ ability to create their "social drama." - Joshua Sinai, ‘Terrorism Bookshelf: Top 150 Books on Terrorism and Counterterrorism’, Perspectives on Terrorism, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2012)Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. The Dutch Approach’: Restrained and fragmented 3. The Federal Republic of Germany: Democracy Under Fire 4. Counterterrorism in the United States: Countering Subversives, Revolutionaries and Communists 5. Counterterrorism in Italy: Deception or Mismanagement? 6. The performative Power of Counterterrorism 7. Police Practice as Signifier 8. Intelligence Signifiers 9. Terrorists on Trial: The Courtroom as Stage 10. The ‘Performance’ of Counterterrorism Policy

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Book SynopsisAspirations, desires, opportunism and exploitation are seldom considered as fundamental elements of donor-driven development as it impacts on the lives of people in poor countries. Yet, alongside structural interventions, emotional or affective engagements are central to processes of social change and the making of selves for those caught up in developmentâs slipstream. Intimate Economies of Development lays bare the ways that culture, sexuality and health are inevitably and inseparably linked to material economies within trajectories of modernization in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. As migration expands and opportunities proliferate throughout Asia, different cultural groups increasingly interact as a result of targeted interventions and globalising economic formations; but they do so with different capabilities and expectations. This book uniquely grounds its arguments in interlocking details of people's everyday lives and aspirations in developing Asia, while also engaginTrade ReviewA highly original and sometimes heartrending book. Lyttleton reconsiders the ways development projects and the global market are changing people’s lives in remote corners of Southeast Asia through the lens of intimacy and desire. In the context of development and migration, sex and affect are usually treated as epiphenomena of health, economics, or crime. Lyttleton places them at the centre, showing that intimate entanglements between strangers are crucial to understanding how contemporary globalisation actually works, not just in "global cities" but also along rural byways. Based on a deep understanding of the subject and written with palpable empathy, this is anthropology at its full potential.–Pál Nyiri, Professor of Global History from an Anthropological Perspective, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Simply outstanding. A real wakeup call demonstrating the energy, enthusiasm and creativity of poor people in Southeast Asia searching for a better life–Peter Aggleton, Professor in Education and Health, University of New South Wales, An original, provocative account of how individuals' desires and aspirations map onto and shape global circuits of value, development and modernization projects. Based on intensive, long-term fieldwork in places as diverse as rubber plantations to massage parlors located throughout the Greater Mekong sub-region, this "emotional" economy of development, where the material and the intimate intersect, provides rich theoretical insights and innovative methodological models for understanding the production and consumption of "progress." –Peggy Levitt , Professor of Sociology, Wellesley College and Harvard UniversityThis book offers fresh insight from the author’s long years of field research in Southeast Asia. The path-breaking connections between material and affective aspects of development allow us to probe deeper than is customary to understand the ‘side effects’ of development and clearly explain why many good projects failed miserably.–Yos Santasombat, Professor of Anthropology, Chiang Mai UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Ethnicity, Captical and the Architecture of Mobile Hopes and Dreams 2. Frontiers and Embodied Ambitions 3. Special Zones - Anomalous Spaces 4. Intimate Safeguards and Affective Politics of the Precariat 5. Poiesis of the Intimate Encounter: Dormitory Exchanges and Bed-sit Affairs 6. First do no Harm

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Book SynopsisAs a concept, deterrence has launched a thousand books and articles. It has dominated Western strategic thinking for more than four decades. In this important and groundbreaking new book, Lawrence Freedman develops a distinctive approach to the evaluation of deterrence as both a state of mind and a strategic option.Table of Contents1. The rise and fall of deterrence 6 2. The meaning of deterrence 26 3. Deterrence in practice 43 4. Norms and criminality 60 5. After the Cold War 75 6. From deterrence to pre-emption 84 7. Strategic coercion 109 8. The future of deterrence 116

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Book SynopsisIn 1900, Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister, was assassinated in a Peking street. By 4pm the first shots were fired and a siege by Boxers and imperial troops had begun. Among the besieged were 148 women from around the world and Maud, the Baron's widow. This book tells their story.

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Book SynopsisThis book challenges and enriches existing knowledge about law, human rights, and childhood, in and beyond the Israel/Palestine context. It is indispensable for scholars and practitioners interested in human rights, international and comparative law, socio-legal studies, childhood studies, military and terrorism studies, and Israel/Palestine.Trade Review'Outstandingly original in its conceptual and methodological claims, this book exposes how international and national law collude with norms, myths, and narratives of globalized childhood to pathologize protest and promote the regulation, disciplining, and incarceration of Palestinians. Hedi Viterbo provides a key lesson for theorists and practitioners on how and why claims to and about childhood do particular legal and institutional work in the perpetuation of disempowerment.' Erica Burman, Professor of Education, University of Manchester'Hedi Viterbo presents a startlingly novel and deeply researched challenge to taken-for-granted distinctions between 'children' and 'adults.' By laying bare how each category can have deleterious consequences for Palestinians on both sides of this fetishized age divide or even be weaponized to further Israeli state violence, this book demands and directs a rethinking of juridical and human rights conceptions of child law as a protective shield for the young.' Lisa Hajjar, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara'In this groundbreaking book, Hedi Viterbo offers a powerful account of the legal construction of childhood in Israel/Palestine. Drawing on a rich array of previously unexamined sources, and subjecting them to an imaginative interdisciplinary analysis, he sheds new and piercing light on the broader political significance of childhood policy and practice, calling into question many of the dominant assumptions underpinning academic debates both in and beyond Israel/Palestine.' Nicola Lacey, School Professor of Law, Gender, and Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science'In this monumental study, ... Viterbo uses Palestine ... as a place to make theory from, in order to understand how colonial and imperial methods of control, such as the construction of childhood, and with it the depoliticization of Palestinian resistance, are embedded into the racialized practices of liberal counterinsurgency. Viterbo's unique method ... is a rigorous reading of archives of the state (many revealed for the first time) against and through reports of human rights organizations and international bodies. ... Viterbo [lays bare] how the category of childhood is constructed through the mutual interests of the Israeli legal system and human rights organizations. This is a major contribution of the book, not only for the case of Palestine, but for understanding the mechanisms that create the co-dependence and mutuality between human rights organizations and states.' Yael Berda, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem'Hedi Viterbo's book ... is interdisciplinary in the deepest sense of the word. ... Viterbo's critique is anchored in rich and varied empirical research based on hundreds of previously unstudied documents. ... The book's central contribution, apart from problematizing ... children's rights, is ... its critique of the human rights discourse and international human rights law, which the Israeli authorities employ to depict certain practices as humanitarian when in fact they reinforce violence. ... This contribution extends beyond the Israeli/Palestinian context and is relevant to other Global South contexts.' Rawia Aburabia, Assistant Professor of Law, Sapir College'Hedi Viterbo's Problematizing Law, Rights, and Childhood in Israel/Palestine is both a fascinating book and an outstanding scholarly accomplishment. In it, Viterbo deconstructs childhood, the law, court rulings, and the work of human rights organizations in order to expose how childhood has become a form of governmentality. ... Using Israel/Palestine as his case study, ... Viterbo [brings to light how] the law and human rights are profoundly implicated in the social production of childhood ... and how ... childhood is ... an instrument of management and control that can be used to repress the young people it claims to represent. ... Viterbo's arrows are not only directed against [Israeli authorities] ...; he also ... [exposes how] human rights organizations ... affirm in their reports the provisions [of] ... human rights conventions even when the children ... they 'represent' reject these provisions and tell the human rights defenders that they prefer not to be governed by them.' Neve Gordon, Professor of Law, Queen Mary University of London'[The book] equally scrutinizes the state for its violence as well as the human rights community for its advocacy. ... In addition to offering a damning critique of hyper legality, [the book] ... also disrupts legal distinctions between children/adults, ... thus making radical claims among legal advocates and human rights communities, ... for whom these distinctions constitute a foundation of their critique, and more broadly, their world view.' Noura Erakat, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, Rutgers University'Problematizing Law, Rights, and Childhood in Israel/Palestine breaks important new ground in bringing legal scholars into the social constructionism debate on childhood, while at the same time exposing Israel's misuse of international law to justify and get away with children's rights abuses against Palestinians … [It] is a highly organized and coherent book which is meticulously footnoted and based on over a decade of research, much of it in the never looked at Israeli military courts. Hedi Viterbo makes law accessible and relevant to scholars of all disciplines … Many of the issues addressed in the book have international comparisons from modern history, such as armed conflict, young people's rights, and mistreatment of colonized people, racialized minorities and non-citizens.' Heidi Morrison, University of Wisconsin La Cross, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family'The book offers both breadth and depth of context and analysis, [and] it is highly original, insightful, and thought-provoking in its deconstruction and critique of law, rights, and childhood … Combining critiques on the international and local levels, it scrutinizes both universalist discourses of childhood, victimhood, and trauma, and localized ideologies of nationalism and nativism, with nuance and cultural richness. The various political uses of childhood by the privileged and the underprivileged are thoroughly fleshed out.' Smadar Ben-Natan, University of Washington, Law & Society Review'Hedi Viterbo's book … poses a challenge to dominant narratives about law, human rights, and childhood, not just in the context of Israel/Palestine but also well beyond that space. … The book is impressively interdisciplinary, … conceptually groundbreaking, … [and] incredibly important.' Aoife Daly, University College Cork Ireland, International Journal of Children's Rights'Hedi Viterbo's remarkable and innovative new book … makes readers think profoundly about some of the pillars of liberal thought, exposing their dark implications for Palestinians at the receiving end of Israel's … settler colonialism … The book unfolds through eight chapters covering a vast range of themes … [This] is an impressive book that must be reckoned with, not only by scholars, but also by activists and advocates … Viterbo's brilliant book offers a timely analysis.' Pietro Stefanini, University of Edinburgh, Critical Studies on Terrorism'Hedi Viterbo's book is … important, … provocative, … astute … and valuable … The book extends work in critical legal and human rights studies, settler colonial studies and child/youth studies that challenge the liberal turn to rights and the strategies of regimes that dominate through instrumentalizing liberal or progressive concepts.' Sunaina Maira, Children & Society'Problematizing Law, Rights, and Childhood in Israel/Palestine offers a compelling and insightful account of the relationship between law, childhood, and state violence. Using Israel/Palestine as a case study, the book reveals the ways in which law and children's rights discourses operate as a means of domination … … The book's theoretical framework … is unique in that it combines an understanding of both law's indeterminacy, with insights into interdisciplinary studies on childhood … This analytical framework … provides strong grounds for challenging key pillars of child law, ones that are uncritically employed within the child's rights movement, in Israel/Palestine and beyond. … The empirical methodology that the book adopts is no less valuable … Problematizing Law, Rights, and Childhood in Israel/Palestine … presents a compelling argument … [and] succeeds in provoking a wide range of difficult questions.' Lama Karamé, Palestine Yearbook of International Law'The book is highly original. Viterbo's analysis has the rare quality of both documenting … [previously unknown] realities … and providing eye opening and oftentimes surprising insights … His methodology is a hybrid of empirical, philosophical, and socio-legal approaches, and it is in and of itself an impressive achievement … Terms such as 'childhood' and 'children's rights,' as Viterbo persuasively argues, can be weaponised against children … Despite the focus on Israel/Palestine, this book also makes a unique and highly original contribution to the field of childhood studies in general, and especially to socio-legal studies … [This book] is an exceptional work of academic scholarship.' Zvi Triger, Child and Family Law QuarterlyTable of Contents1. Conceptual and theoretical foundations; 2. Casting the first stone: the Israeli legal system, its human rights critics, and their approaches to young Palestinians; 3. The age of governing: young age as a means of control; 4. Boundary governance: amending childhood and separating Palestinians; 5. Stolen childhood: voice, loss, and trauma in human rights reports; 6. Sights of violence: childhood in the visual battlefield; 7. Infantilization and militarism: soldiers as children, children as soldiers; 8. Unsettling children: Israeli law and settlers' childhood.

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Book SynopsisPutting forward the argument that the strength of democracies can be measured in how well minorities â especially ethnic and racial minorities â are treated by the majority, Larry Mayâs Ethnic Cleansing maintains that unjust ethnic cleansing is one of the greatest internal challenges to the modern institutions of pluralistic and multicultural states.In order to determine what constitutes the crime of ethnic cleansing, this book details crucial conceptual issues around the topic, such as what ethnicity means, what ethnic cleansing claims to achieve, why these acts are invariably harmful, and the conditions of restitution, reparation, and reconciliation â affirming that ethnic cleansing must be countered by existing institutions such as the International Criminal Court, which is uniquely situated to prosecute ethnic cleansing.The first major study to analyze ethnic cleansing from an explicitly normative and conceptual perspective in the last decade, the increase i

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Book SynopsisViolent Islamic extremism is affecting a growing number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In some, jihadi Salafi organizations have established home bases and turned into permanent security challengers. However, other countries have managed to prevent the formation or curb the spread of homegrown jihadi Salafi organizations. In this book, Sebastian Elischer provides a comparative analysis of how different West and East African states have engaged with fundamentalist Muslim groups between the 1950s and today. In doing so, he establishes a causal link between state-imposed organizational gatekeepers in the Islamic sphere and the absence of homegrown jihadi Salafism. Illustrating that the contemporary manifestation of violent Islamic extremism in sub-Saharan Africa is an outcome of strategic political decisions that are deeply embedded in countries'' autocratic pasts, he challenges conventional notions of statehood on the African continent, and provides new insight into the evolving relTrade Review'Elischer successfully achieves his goal of contributing to the debate surrounding state-society relations in areas of weak statehood … Elischer's work enhances the debate on jihadi Salafi mobilization and demobilization making it essential reading for anyone interested in furthering their knowledge on Salafism.' Michael Schuster, African Studies QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction: Africa's changing security landscape; 1. Cases, concepts and variation; 2. Critical junctures and the formation of state-led national Islamic associations; 3. Missed opportunities and the formation of Islamic federations; 4. The state as demobilizer of activist Salafism; 5. The state as enabler and radicalizer of activist Salafism; 6. From theory generation to theory testing; 7. Autocratic legacies, the state and Salafism in Africa; 8. Conclusion: reviewing state-Islamic relations in Africa; Appendix.

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Book SynopsisThe post-September 11th British anti-war movement brought together Muslim activists, organizations and leftist groups in opposition to the 'War on Terror'. This book offers an analysis of the political conditions through which Muslim and leftist engagement emerges within this movement, highlighting the decisive leadership played by Muslim women.Table of Contents1. Introduction2. Identity politics and social movements3. Background: Muslim political mobilizations in Britain4. The anti-war movement: new alliances, old challenges?5. Opposing movements and Islamophobia in Guardian Comment is Free 6. 'Talking back' to the gendered 'War on Terror'7. Towards an oppositional consciousness?8. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe Republic of Sudan's former Culture Minister and a leading architect in the movement to gain independence for South Sudan, Bona Malwal, provides a factual and personal account of the break up of Sudan. He explores its troubled history post-colonialism and offers a frank account of the many challenges that both nations face in the coming years.Trade Review'Bona Malwal gives us an insider's account of Southern Sudan's struggle for independence, coherence and security. His work is a major contribution not only to our understanding but also to the practical task of bringing his country out of war into peace.' William R. Polk, former Assistant Professor at Harvard and Foreign Policy Adviser to President Kennedy 'The hope for Sudan is in its intellectuals like Bona Malwal, who point to solutions to the problems of that country. Bona's book is a must-read for solutions seekers. I have known Bona Malwal for nearly 50 years of his professional and intellectual career. He speaks and writes straight.' Butrous Butrous Ghali, former Secretary General of the United Nations.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Liberation or Political Realism? 1. South Sudan: The Beginning of The Struggle for Political Emancipation; 1947-2004 2. Northern Sudan and South Sudan: Denying The South Autonomy Led to Independence 3. The Anya-Nya Liberation Movement: 1955-72 4. The Southern Front and Self-Determination: 1964-2005 5. The Nimeiri Regime and the Oil Debate: 1980-83 6. South Sudan And The June 1989 Islamic Revolution in Sudan 7. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement And Army: As Liberators and as Rulers

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Book SynopsisRethinking the Roots of Terrorism seeks to explain why terrorism occurs. This study provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary survey that investigates the motivations, reasons and causes of terrorism at all levels in society, and more specifically in the context of the Middle East.Trade Review'...the book certainly contains many useful insights, e.g., about possible links between terrorism and povery, and inequality and similar socio-economic parameters...' - Bjørn Møller, The Economics of Peace and Security JournalTable of ContentsIntroduction The Root Causes of Terrorism: Orthodox Terrorism Theory Approaches to Conflict: The Root Causes Conflict and Terrorism: A Comparative Analysis Discourses on Conflict and Terrorism: The Palestinian-Israeli Case Rethinking the Roots of Terrorism Summary of Conclusions: Rethinking Terrorism

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Book SynopsisNow in paperback for the first time, Social Movements and their Technologies explores the interplay between social movements and their 'liberated technologies'. It analyzes the rise of low-power radio stations and radical internet projects ('emancipatory communication practices') as a political subject, focusing on the sociological and cultural processes at play. It provides an overview of the relationship between social movements and technology, and investigates what is behind the communication infrastructure that made possible the main protest events of the past fifteen years. In doing so, Stefania Milan illustrates how contemporary social movements organize in order to create autonomous alternatives to communication systems and networks, and how they contribute to change the way people communicate in daily life, as well as try to change communication policy from the grassroots. She situates these efforts in a historical context in order to show the origins of contemporary communicatTrade Review"The book is geared towards an advanced undergraduate audience and offers a comprehensive overview on how activists and organizers have harnessed technology in their struggles for social change. ... Social Movements and Their Technologies is an important contribution to a growing literature focused on the way activists and organizers utilize information and communication technologies in their work." (Todd Wolfson, Mobilization, 2015) "Stefania Milan's study of emancipatory media activism represents a distillation of her considerable research into its many forms over a number of years and in a number of countries, inflected by her own experience as an information activist. She gives full weight to the critical gender dimension of the subject, to a spectrum of technology uses, and the intersections with vital policy issues. Hers is a very substantive contribution to debate around social movement media." - John D.H. Downing, Editor, Sage Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media "Emancipatory communicative practices are at the basis of social movement action. Through innovative ideas and rigorous research, this volume has much to contribute to our understanding of media and political activism." - Donatella della Porta, co-editor, The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements "Stefania Milan's Social Movements and Their Technologies is a comprehensive work on dissent networking and a must read for anyone wishing a thorough understanding of the topic." - Oxblood Ruffin, member of the hacker group, Cult of the Dead Cow 'Social Movements and Their Technologies provides a rich overview of the Internet-enabled social movements that are working from the 'outside-in' to promote Internet openness and rights. Backed up with detailed empirical research, this book is a must-read for those interested in grassroots and alternative forms of political participation in the digital age.' Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab, University of Toronto, Canada, and author of Black Code: Inside the Battle for Cyberspace 'Social Movements and Their Technologies is a highly topical examination of the nature of media justice work in the world today, and Milan convincingly argues that we should take seriously that the media activism she discusses can legitimately be studied as a social movement in its own right.' - Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 2014Table of ContentsForeword.- Preface.- 1.Stealing the Fire: An Introduction to Emancipatory Communication Activism.- 2.Three Decades of Contention: The Roots of Contemporary Activism.- 3.Movement Formation and Identity Building.- 4.Organizational Forms.- 5.Repertories of Action: Mobilizing Inside, Outside and Beyond.- 6.Like a Karst River: A Transnational Movement in the Making?- Epilogue.- Appendix I:Methods and Epistemology of Engaged Research References.- Index.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers original essays on the subject of evil in international relations. It considers questions of moral agency associated with the perpetration of evil acts by individuals and groups in the international sphere, and the range of ethical responses the international community has available to it in the aftermath of large-scale evils.Table of ContentsThe Problem of Evil in International Relations R.Jeffery PART I: AGENCY AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR EVIL IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Individual Agency and Responsibility for Atrocity K.Ainley Collective Evil and the Eradication of Individuality A. J. Vetlesen PART II: ETHICAL RESPONSES TO EVIL IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Evil, Agency and Punishment A.F.Lang Jr Reconciliation: An Ethic for Responding to Evil in Global Politics D.Philpott To Forgive the Unforgivable? Evil and the Ethics of Forgiveness in International Relations R.Jeffery Avenging Evil: A Reconsideration I.Hall Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe interaction of failed states, terrorism and the need for 'nation building' is at the top of the international agenda, with particular focus on Afghanistan and Iraq.Trade Review"It is the unfortunate case that policymakers engaged in nation-building have time and again failed to tap existing knowledge about the countries that are the object of their efforts, and lessons from other nation-building exercises. Beyond Reconstruction in Afghanistan begins to correct this deficit by providing invaluable background to the problem of reconstructing one of the world's most troubled countries." - Francis Fukuyama, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies Johns Hopkins University "This is the best place to start for increasing understanding of the challenges facing those who would engage in 'nation building.' Beyond Reconstruction in Afghanistan provides dispassionate and richly informed analysis of the troubled attempts to reconstruct and restore a devastated land. While every country is unique, the lessons drawn from Afghanistan and other, previous, attempts at nation building clearly have import for Iraq and any other potential cases. And one lesson surely is that caution is wisdom." - Alex Inkeles, Stanford UniversityTable of ContentsPreface: Reconstruction in Afghanistan Introduction; J.D.Montgomery PART I: HOPES BEYOND RECONSTRUCTION International Goals and Strategies for Afghanistan'sDevelopment: Reconstruction and Beyond; D.A.Rondinelli Supporting Postwar Aspirations in an Islamic Society; J.D.Montgomery Between Reconstruction and Restoration: Three Historical Case Studies; J.M.Heffron The Afghan Experience with International Assistance; Y.V.Bossin Lessons from Post-Aid Conflict Experience; R.J.Muscat PART II: TOWARD A STABLE CIVIL SOCIETY The Rule of Law as a Goal in Afghanistan; C.H.Norchi Economic Growth and Development Policy in Afghanistan: Lessons from Experience in Developing Countries; D.A.Rondinelli Ethnic Diversity and the Structure of Government; M.J.Esman Warlordism and Development in Afghanistan; K.N.Abdullaev Health, Human Security, and Social Reconstruction in Afghanistan; P.Gutlove , G.Thompson & J.Hale Russell PART III: REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF RECONSTRUCTION The Afghan Neighborhood and Future Stability: A Regional Approach to Reconstruction and Development; E.Naby & R.N.Frye Reconstruction, Development, and Nation-Building: Prospects for Afghanistan; D.A.Rondinelli & J.D.Montgomery

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Book SynopsisAn Amazon Best Nonfiction Selection.

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Book SynopsisThe complex interrelationship between terrorism and American history from the Declaration of Independence onward, placing 9/11 into historical context.

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Book SynopsisApproaching religious identity with an emphasis on agency and contestation, this book offers a historical perspective on the development of Muslim identities in Asia. It examines the contingent politics that influence how Muslims constitute themselves as modern subjects.

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Book SynopsisExplosive account of the intrigue, hit men, and Cuban exiles in the CIA's war to destroy Fidel Castro Antonio Veciana fought on the front lines of the CIA’s decades-long secret war to destroy Fidel Castro, the bearded bogeyman who haunted America’s Cold War dreams. It was a time of swirling intrigue, involving US spies with license to kill, Mafia hit men, ruthless Cuban exiles—and the leaders in the crosshairs of all this dark plotting, Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. Veciana transformed himself from an asthmatic banker to a bomb-making mastermind who headed terrorist attacks in Havana and assassination attempts against Castro, while building one of the era’s most feared paramilitary groups—all under the direction of the CIA. In the end, Veciana became a threat—not just to Castro, but also to his CIA handler. Veciana was the man who knew too much. Suddenly he found himself a target—framed and sent to prison, and later shot in the head and left to die on a Miami street. When he was called before a Congressional committee investigating the Kennedy assassination, Veciana held back, fearful of the consequences. He didn’t reveal the identity of the CIA officer who directed him—the same agent Veciana observed meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas before the killing of JFK. Now, for the first time in paperback, Veciana tells all, detailing his role in the intricate game of thrones that aimed to topple world leaders and change the course of history.Trade Review"A tale with all the twists, turns and action sequences of a ‘Bourne’ film.” —New York Post "Trained to Kill is not another tinfoil hat Kennedy-conspiracy book—declassified CIA cables confirm Veciana’s working relationship with the agency and even his code name, AMSHALE-1. The book is a soldier’s story about what he saw on the front lines of the Cuban-American struggle for power." —Newsweek "Astonishing." —Daily Mail “Trained to Kill is one of those essential books that ‘our free press’ is all too likely to ignore, because of all the awful truth between its covers—especially its shattering confirmation that David Attlee Phillips of the CIA did introduce the author to Lee Harvey Oswald just weeks before the assassination of John Kennedy. While thus exploding the old myth of Oswald as ‘lone gunman,’ this chilling memoir also sheds new light on Che Guevara’s murder, Operation Condor, and the fanatic amorality behind the management of US covert operations.” —Mark Crispin Miller, professor of media, culture, and communication at New York University and author of Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform “Antonio Veciana’s Trained to Kill is one of the most important historical documents to have emerged in the U.S. in the past decade. This inside story of the CIA plots to kill Fidel Castro, President John F. Kennedy and Che Guevara not only makes for riveting reading, it also shines a stark light on the darkest corners of U.S. covert operations in the 1960s and ’70s. In one of the most dramatic episodes in a book filled with them, Veciana confirms that his CIA handler—a smooth and ruthless rising star at the agency named David Atlee Phillips—was also running Lee Harvey Oswald. This is a real history of American power, one that is destined to disturb and enlighten any citizen who can handle the truth.” —David Talbot, founder of Salon and New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government "Antonio Veciana is a witness to history who cannot be ignored. Laconic and lucid, this crafty accountant tells the story of his deadly operations against Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. He details the intimate dealings he had with top CIA officers. And his story culminates in a perilous series of events that exposed a dangerous truth and changed Veciana’s way of thinking: his suave CIA handler, David Phillips, had played a role in the ambush of President Kennedy in Dallas. In telling his story with candor and humility, Veciana demonstrates the courage of a now-peaceful warrior.”—Jefferson Morley, author of The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton "At long last, the primary leader of the CIA-backed, anti-Castro group of Cuban exiles has come forward to shatter the Warren Commission's finding that the assassination of President Kennedy was the work of a 'lone nut.' Antonio Veciana's story should revise the history books." —Dick Russell, New York Times bestselling author of The Man Who Knew Too Much "From Havana to Santiago to New York, Antonio Veciana plotted to kill Castro. This book describes those plots and his other attempts to reverse Cuba’s Marxist revolution. His was a true terrorist campaign before the phrase became a commonplace of journalism. But Veciana planned his acts of murder and mayhem as an agent of the American government, more specifically the CIA. This well-written, candid, and exciting book describes his Agency career and provides a memorable portrait of his recruiter and manager. The legendary David Phillips—the man who likely had a role in the conspiracy to kill JFK—comes alive and inhabits these pages as he does in no other book you will read." —James DiEugenio, author of Reclaiming Parkland “As was once said about him and the words in these pages confirm, Antonio Veciana is one of history’s most important individuals. Whether as the CIA’s point man in Havana in post-revolutionary Cuba, the mastermind behind the legendary anti-Castro exile group Alpha 66, or the unwitting witness to Lee Harvey Oswald’s meeting with his CIA handler at an office building in Dallas days before the JFK assassination, Mr. Veciana’s unflinching and courageous confessional memoir definitively answers so many of the baffling questions raised by CIA’s operations in the twentieth century—and his answers both illuminate and disturb.” —Fernand R. Amandi, Bendixen & Amandi International “Antonio Veciana had a compelling mission in life, to help free his countrymen from a ruthless dictator. His long, painful path towards freedom intersected with my husband’s passion to help solve the mystery of the death of President Kennedy. Veciana’s startling revelation that he saw his CIA mentor, Maurice Bishop, with Lee Harvey Oswald, led my husband on his own mission to identify Bishop.” —Marie Fonzi

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Book Synopsis ***'Thought-provoking, high-octane chase thriller with style' - Financial Times******'Leather once again delivers high-octane thrill-a-minute action that reads like a pitch for a Netflix series' - Irish Independent***The explosive new stand-alone thriller from the author of the Spider Shepherd seriesSally Page is an MI5 'footie', a junior Secret Service Agent who maintains 'legends': fake identities or footprints used by real spies. Her day consists of maintaining flats and houses where the legends allegedly live, doing online shopping, using payment, loyalty and travel cards and going on social media in their names - anything to give the impression to hostile surveillance that the legends are living, breathing individuals.One day she goes out for coffee leaving the safe house from which she and her fellow footies operate. When she comes back they have all been murdered and she barely escapes with her own life. She is on the run: but from whom she has no idea. Worse, her bosses at MI5 seem powerless to help her. To live, she will have to use all the lies and false identities she has so carefully created while discovering the truth . . .Trade ReviewThought-provoking, high-octane chase thriller with style * Financial Times *Entertains and whisks the reader along at a breath-taking pace * Shots Magazine *Leather once again delivers high-octane thrill-a-minute action that reads like a pitch for a Netflix series * Irish Independent *The conclusion is as high-powered and explosive as I've come to expect from Leather, and this is another compelling military-grade thriller with characters both old and new * Crime Review *A cracking Leather standalone . . . It left me breathless! * Peterborough Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisOn 4 November 1979, “student” supporters of the Ayatollah seized the U.S. Embassy with over 60 hostages. Although the Cold War was in full swing, the Iran hostage crisis was a watershed for the United States. The counterterrorism learning curve, both political and military, would be steep and often deadly.Detachment A had been established in Berlin early in the Cold War to harass and delay any Soviet military advance west. This Special unit trained relentlessly for every aspect of unconventional warfare, and was later assigned a second mission of counterterrorism. Due to this mix of skills, Det A would be called upon to undertake additional missions, including providing protection to General Al Haig and General Frederick Kroesen following assassination attempts. When American planners were trying to work out how to rescue hostages being held at two sites in the middle of a hostile country, it became apparent that the unit—the only US military dual-capability unit—would be integral to the effort.The plan for Operation Eagle Claw, as it became known, was extremely complex. The first stage was intelligence gathering—no mean feat as most of the CIA’s capabilities in the country had been eliminated. With operatives trained in intelligence work, fluent in many languages and adept at blending in, Det A took on the advanced recon of the targets. Then, when Delta Force admitted that it could only manage the assault of the Embassy, Det A volunteered to rescue the three Americans at the Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile for security purposes, all existing training and exercise commitments in Berlin would continue with no Teams broken up. This caused some consternation as none of the men wanted to miss out on this mission reminiscent of Son Tay.Veteran and historian James Stejskal details Det A’s unique and integral role in Operation Eagle Claw, based upon firsthand accounts of the operatives involved.Table of ContentsIntroduction A Short History of Detachment “A” Berlin (39th SFD) Part I — Eagle Claw 1. Where it began: Tehran, November 4, 1979 2. Clem & Scotty 3. The Ground Force Prepares 4. The Second Insert 5. From Egypt to Masirah 6. Desert One to Abort 7. Desert Two & Escape 8. Home Again Part II — Storm Cloud 1. The New Plan 2. Berlin’s Plan (Revised) 3. FOG 4. Little Birds 5. Florida 6. It’s All Over but the Shouting Appendices Bibliography Index

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