“Ever since the spectacular success of Chang’s Wild Swans we have waited impatiently for her to complete with her husband this monumental study of China’s most notorious modern leader. The expectation has been that she would rewrite modern Chinese history. The wait has been worthwhile and the expectation justified. This is a bombshell of a book.”
–Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, in The Times (London)
Based on a decade of research and on interviews with many of Mao’s close circle in China who have never talked before–and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him–this is the most authoritative life of Mao ever written. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; and he schemed, poisoned and blackmailed to get his way. After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history. In all, well over 70 million Chinese perished under Mao’s rule–in peacetime.
Combining meticulous research with the story-telling style of Wild Swans, this biography offers a harrowing portrait of Mao’s ruthless accumulation of power through the exercise of terror: his first victims were the peasants, then the intellectuals and, finally, the inner circle of his own advisors. The reader enters the shadowy chambers of Mao’s court and eavesdrops on the drama in its hidden recesses. Mao’s character and the enormity of his behavior toward his wives, mistresses and children are unveiled for the first time.
This is an entirely fresh look at Mao in both content and approach. It will astonish historians and the general reader alike.
Informed by unparalleled access to still–secret documents, interviews with top field commanders, and a review of the military’s own internal after–action reports, Cobra II is the definitive chronicle of America’s invasion and occupation of Iraq—a conflict that could not be lost but one that the United States failed to win decisively. From the Pentagon to the White House to the American command centers in the field, the book reveals the inside story of how the war was actually planned and fought. Drawing on classified United States government intelligence, it also provides a unique account of how Saddam Hussein and his high command developed and prosecuted their war strategy.
Written by Michael R. Gordon, the chief military correspondent for The New York Times, who spent the war with the Allied land command, and Bernard E. Trainor, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general and former director of the National Security Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cobra II traces the interactions among the generals, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush. It dramatically reconstructs the principal battles from interviews with those who fought them, providing reliable accounts of the clashes waged by conventional and Special Operations forces. It documents with precision the failures of American intelligence and the mistakes in administering postwar Iraq.
Unimpeachably sourced, Cobra II describes how the American rush to Baghdad provided the opportunity for the virulent insurgency that followed. The brutal aftermath in Iraq was not inevitable and was a surprise to the generals on both sides; Cobra II provides the first authoritative account as to why. It is a book of enduring importance and incisive analysis—a comprehensive account of the most reported yet least understood war in American history.
Informed by unparalleled access to still–secret documents, interviews with top field commanders, and a review of the military’s own internal after–action reports, Cobra II is the definitive chronicle of America’s invasion and occupation of Iraq—a conflict that could not be lost but one that the United States failed to win decisively. From the Pentagon to the White House to the American command centers in the field, the book reveals the inside story of how the war was actually planned and fought. Drawing on classified United States government intelligence, it also provides a unique account of how Saddam Hussein and his high command developed and prosecuted their war strategy.
Unimpeachably sourced, Cobra II describes how the American rush to Baghdad provided the opportunity for the virulent insurgency that followed. The brutal aftermath in Iraq was not inevitable and was a surprise to the generals on both sides; Cobra II provides the first authoritative account as to why. It is a book of enduring importance and incisive analysis—a comprehensive account of the most reported yet least understood war in American history.
New York Times best-selling author Richard Miniter is an award-winning investigative journalist whose insights have shed light on many of todays most vital issues. With Disinformation he takes the popular media to task for the myths they spread about the War on Terror. Miniter has spoken to high-profile sources, sifted through countless information, and traveled the globe to learn that 22 of the most common beliefs about the War on Terror are nothing more than urban legends. If you believe there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that terrorists are likely to cross the Mexican border into America, that racial profiling of terrorists works, or that Iraq is another Vietnam, then you believe mistruths. Miniter debunks these and other myths put forth by both the liberal and conservative media in this provocative and important work.
Thailand, Laos and Burma have been known as the "Golden Triangle" because of their historically prominent role in the drug trade. For centuries, these countries have produced the opium that has attracted traders from Europe and elsewhere. Economics, religion, and politics combine to make this area not only important but also (to the western mind) exotic.
In 1783, America emerged from a long and bitter war for Independence. The 13 colonies were now 13 sovereign states, bound together by the Articles of Confederation. After years of war, men like Thomas Jefferson saw the possibility of something new under the sun. . .a government which derived its just power from the consent of those governed. But America was in crisis. The Continental Congress was bankrupt and could not pay off its huge war debts. Many of the 13 states refused to contribute money, or to cooperate with each other. What was the solution? Should the United States become a league of sovereign states, or one country under a national government? In May, 1787, delegates gathered in Philadelphia to attend a convention. The delegates read like an honor roll of American history. After more than three months of passionate debate, conflict and compromise, the United States Constitution was passed, establishing a national government. But to become the law of the land, the Constitution had to be independently ratified by at least 9 of the 13 states.
The Constitution of the United States created a nation with a strong centralized government. In 1791, the Constitution was amended to include ten amendments, commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights. These were guarantees of individual liberty upon which critics of the Constitution had insisted.
Changing times raise changing questions. What of black rights-the right of former slaves to vote? And do women not share in that privilege? How many terms should a president serve? These and other issues were resolved through additional amendments to the Constitution. Throughout America's history, the Constitution has remained a living document. Here, each of the twenty-six amendments is presented in the unique historical context that gave it birth.
The Constitution of the United States created a nation with a strong centralized government. In 1791, the Constitution was amended to include ten amendments, commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights. These were guarantees of individual liberty upon which critics of the Constitution had insisted.
Changing times raise changing questions. What of black rights-the right of former slaves to vote? And do women not share in that privilege? How many terms should a president serve? These and other issues were resolved through additional amendments to the Constitution. Throughout America's history, the Constitution has remained a living document. Here, each of the twenty-six amendments is presented in the unique historical context that gave it birth.
Most of us have been educated from birth to compete, judge, demand, diagnose and to think and communicate in terms of “right” and “wrong” – all of which can generate needless conflict. Rosenberg has developed a form of communication that provides a peaceful alternative to the violence that underlies most of our communication.
Someday soon, you might wake up to the call to prayer from a muezzin. Europeans already are. While liberals will say diversity is our strength, the Taliban will burn books and barber shops in Greenwich Village and the Supreme Court will uphold sharia law. If you think this can't happen, you haven't been paying attention, says Steyn.
No one knows more about Osama bin Laden than Peter Bergen. In 1997, well before the West suddenly became aware of the world's most sought-after terrorist, Bergen met with him and has followed his activities ever since. Today, years after President Bush swore to get him dead or alive and despite haunting the popular imagination since September 11, 2001, bin Laden remains shrouded in mystery and obscured by a barrage of facts, details and myths. With numerous never-before-published interviews, The Osama Bin Laden I Know provides unprecedented insight into bin Laden's life and character drawing on the experiences of his most intimate acquaintances. This timely and important work gives readers their first true, enduring look at the man who has declared the West his greatest enemy.
1972. The Munich Olympics. Members of the Palestinian group Black September murder eleven Israeli athletes. Prime Minister Golda Meir vows to track down those responsible. Thus begins the Israeli response, a mission that unfolds over decades. No one has known the real story, until now.
