In and Out of the Ivory Tower: The Autobiography of William L. Langer

In and Out of the Ivory Tower: The Autobiography of William L. Langer PDF Author: William L. Langer
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
“Straightforward, relaxed memoirs by the prodigiously industrious and learned Harvard diplomatic historian and head of the Research and Analysis Section of OSS... Fine reading for anyone interested in academic life and in the connections between scholarship and policy in foreign affairs.” — Gaddis Smith, Foreign Affairs “William L. Langer intended this autobiography as an exemplary tale of how a poor boy from an immigrant family made good in America... Langer’s autobiography provides clues to his patriotic identification with the establishment and to the prodigious energy and intelligence that produced his historical works.” — Dorothy Ross, The American Historical Review “[T]his informal, modest, and understated volume will please and inform both those who knew the author personally and those who knew him only through his publications... As a historian, Langer defies categorization... he explored new areas and new techniques for research — regional studies, demography, disease, and psychoanalysis. His autobiography is neither a full description nor critical appraisal of the profession, but it should convey to a younger generation the historian’s search for truth, his pride in craftsmanship, and his sense of social responsibility.” — Richard W. Leopold, The Journal of American History

In and Out of the Ivory Tower: The Autobiography of William L. Langer

In and Out of the Ivory Tower: The Autobiography of William L. Langer PDF Author: William L. Langer
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
“Straightforward, relaxed memoirs by the prodigiously industrious and learned Harvard diplomatic historian and head of the Research and Analysis Section of OSS... Fine reading for anyone interested in academic life and in the connections between scholarship and policy in foreign affairs.” — Gaddis Smith, Foreign Affairs “William L. Langer intended this autobiography as an exemplary tale of how a poor boy from an immigrant family made good in America... Langer’s autobiography provides clues to his patriotic identification with the establishment and to the prodigious energy and intelligence that produced his historical works.” — Dorothy Ross, The American Historical Review “[T]his informal, modest, and understated volume will please and inform both those who knew the author personally and those who knew him only through his publications... As a historian, Langer defies categorization... he explored new areas and new techniques for research — regional studies, demography, disease, and psychoanalysis. His autobiography is neither a full description nor critical appraisal of the profession, but it should convey to a younger generation the historian’s search for truth, his pride in craftsmanship, and his sense of social responsibility.” — Richard W. Leopold, The Journal of American History

Truth to Power

Truth to Power PDF Author: Robert L. Hutchings
Publisher:
ISBN: 019094000X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Truth to Power, the first-ever history of the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC), is told through the reflections of its eight Chairs in the period from the end of the Cold War until 2017. Co-editors Robert Hutchings and Gregory Treverton add a substantial introduction placing the NIC in its historical context going all the way back to the Board of National Estimates in the 1940s, as well as a concluding chapter that highlights key themes and judgments. This historic mission of this remarkable but little-known organization, now forty years old, is strategic intelligence assessment in service of senior American foreign policymakers. Its signature inside products, National Intelligence Estimates, are now accompanied by the NIC's every-four-years Global Trends. Unclassified, Global Trends has become a noted NIC brand, its release awaited by officials, academics and private sector managers around the world. Truth to Power tracks the NIC's role in providing strategic analysis on every major foreign policy issue confronting the United States during this consequential period. Chapters provide insider insights on the Balkan wars of the 1990s, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, the nuclear weapons programs in Iran and North Korea, upheaval in the Middle East including the rise and fall of the Islamic State, the rise of China, and the Russia's turn toward aggression under Vladimir Putin. The book also assesses the NIC's newly expanded role in direct support to meetings of the National Security Council as well as its longstanding role in producing longer-range strategic intelligence.

George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947-1950

George F. Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy, 1947-1950 PDF Author: Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691227993
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
When George C. Marshall became Secretary of State in January of 1947, he faced not only a staggering array of serious foreign policy questions but also a State Department rendered ineffective by neglect, maladministration, and low morale. Soon after his arrival Marshall asked George F. Kennan to head a new component in the department's structure--the Policy Planning Staff. Here Wilson Miscamble scrutinizes Kennan's subsequent influence over foreign policymaking during the crucial years from 1947 to 1950.

America's Information Wars

America's Information Wars PDF Author: Colin B. Burke
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538112469
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
This book narrates the development of science, sci/tech, and intelligence information systems and technologies in the United States from the beginning of World War II to the second decade of our century. The story ranges from a description of the information systems and machines of the 1940s created at Wild Bill Donovan’s predecessors of the Central Intelligence Agency, to the rise of a huge international science information industry, and to the 1990’s Open Access-Open Culture reformers’ reactions to the commercialization of science information. Necessarily, there is much about the people, cultures, and politics that shaped the methods, systems, machines and protests. The reason for that is simple: The histories of technologies and methods are human histories. Science information’s many lives were shaped by idiosyncrasies and chance, as well as by social, economic, political and technical ‘forces’. The varied motives, personalities and beliefs of unique and extraordinary people fashioned science information’s past. The important players ranged from a gentleman scholar who led the Office of Strategic Services’ information work, to an ill-fated Hollywood movie director, to life-mavericks like the science information legend Eugene Garfield, to international financial wheeler-dealers such as Robert Maxwell, and to youthful ultra-liberal ideologically-driven Silicon Valley internet millionaires. However, although there are no determining laws of information history, social, political, legal and economic factors were important. After 1940, science information’s tools and policies, as well as America’s universities, were being molded by the nation’s wealth, its role in international affairs, the stand-off between left and right politics, and by the intensifying conflict between Soviet and Western interests.

The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind

The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind PDF Author: Daniel Pick
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199678510
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The remarkable story of how the Allies used psychoanalysis to delve into the motivations of the Nazi leadership and to explore the mass psychology of fascism.

How Nations Negotiate

How Nations Negotiate PDF Author: Fred Charles Iklé
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
“During the period in which How Nations Negotiate germinated, Iklé was associated with three of the leading American groups concerned with research on international relations — at the RAND Corporation; at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs, under whose auspices the book was written; and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is now a professor. All three groups must have been greatly invigorated by this fresh attack on a neglected field of inquiry.” — Science “[A] praiseworthy attempt to bring some sort of order and cultivation into what might previously have been described as a briar patch rather than a field... The method of the book... illustrates how far we are from anything that might truly be called a ‘science’ of international systems... an excellent work, well written and entertaining, and even those who hope for better things can read it with profit.” — American Journal of Sociology “It is a most welcome occurrence that Fred C. Iklé has explored the risky ground of international negotiation, has skillfully handled historical materials, memoirs, and reports of negotiations, and has speculated about attitudes, expectations, intentions, and perceptions without disguising uncertainties.” — World Politics “By concentrating on the process, or processes, of negotiation, Iklé shows in considerable detail how much more complex the tasks of diplomats — or negotiators — have become in a revolutionary age of nuclear struggle, ideological conflict, competing and confused conceptions of nationalism, domestic pressure groups, and so on... The author illustrates with a wealth of detail from contemporary diplomatic history especially and has benefited from interviews with more than fifty diplomats in major capital cities of the West. One is happy to recommend this closely-knit analytical work.” — The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science “Diplomacy is still more of an art than a science, but perhaps, in the nuclear age, a systematic analysis of one of its prominent techniques, namely negotiation, may be useful as a supplement to the standard works on diplomatic practice and the memoirs of practicing diplomats. Such an analysis might well be undertaken by a scholar trained in behavioral research, rather than by a professional diplomat. The volume under review admirably meets these specifications. Professor Iklé has effectively combined research in the records of diplomacy in recent years, interviews with persons who have had extensive experience in negotiation (mostly Americans and Europeans), and clinical analysis.” — The American Political Science Review “Iklé has written a systematic and thorough study of inter-nation-state negotiations... How Nations Negotiate will doubtlessly receive greatest circulation among students of diplomacy and international relations. But the insights provided by Iklé’s book should prove stimulating as well for those interested in labor-management relations.” — ILR Review

The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIA (Book One)

The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIA (Book One) PDF Author: John Ranelagh
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Book Description
In 2000 the Washington Post listed The Agency as one of the ten best books on Intelligence in the twentieth century, calling it “An encyclopedic and fair-minded overview of the agency into the 1980s.” A history of the CIA from its intrepid early days to becoming a mature bureaucracy riddled with scandal and scrutiny. During World War II “Wild Bill” Donovan started the Office of Special Services (OSS) and gave the CIA its original image: dashing, Ivy League, and Eastern Establishment. Successive CIA Directors covered in the book were Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby and William Casey. “The Agency is the first comprehensive history of the CIA, a book designed, in its author’s words, to get away from ‘contemporary demonology’ and to place the CIA firmly within the context of its time... a dazzling, panoramic overview of the CIA’s history. [Ranelagh] mixes keen insights into the organization and the people who ran it with superb accounts of specific crises and operations. This brilliant book is so rich both in detail and generalization that even a reader unfamiliar with the history of the CIA will find it hard to put down... the book pursues many... themes, such as organizational changes within the agency and shifts in its sense of mission, its relationship with presidents and their advisers and other intelligence agencies, the history of specific projects and operations, and the general mood within both the CIA and the government and nation at large. The result is a complex tapestry, full of new information and fresh generalizations.” — Reviews in American History “A massive history of the CIA... Ranelagh... has a good feel for the murky world of intelligence, and has constructed quite a readable work... [he] conducted scores of interviews with insiders and studied more than 7,000 pages of classified and formerly classified documents... Great reading and a valuable reference for students of government bureaucracy and intelligence work.” — Kirkus “Ranelagh... provides here a major overview of the Central Intelligence Agency from its founding in 1947 to [1987]. Based largely on hundreds of interviews, the book examines the personality and policies of each director in the context of the times.” — Publishers Weekly “[A] comprehensive examination of the CIA... Unlike most books on the nearly 40-year-old spy organization, The Agency is not a diary of old war stories or a flashy expose; it is a thoughtful analysis of the CIA from gestation to middle age... An important difference between The Agency and many other scholarly treatments of intelligence gathering is the extensive use of quotes from both on-the-record and unattributed sources, as well as documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.” — The New York Times “A thoughtful analysis of the CIA from its beginnings, arguing that dependence on technology has crippled American intelligence.” — The New York Times “Mr. Ranelagh, a British television producer, has written the best comprehensive history of the CIA. He is in control of the massive secondary literature, has used the Freedom of Information Act effectively, interviewed widely, and mined congressional sources. The tone is critical but detached, devoid of both the muckraking passion of the left and the self-congratulatory approach of the old-boy network. A fine book.” — Foreign Affairs “The Agency is without a doubt the finest, best-documented, and most entertainingly written study of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of which I know. It traces the agency from its first gleam in the eye of Wild Bill Donavan through the first term of William Casey on behalf of President Reagan... a genuine literary and stylistic accomplishment.” — Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Allies in War: Britain and America against the Axis Powers, 1940-1945

Allies in War: Britain and America against the Axis Powers, 1940-1945 PDF Author: Mark Stoler
Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
“Some historians are great because they write great books, others because they write books that need to be written. Mark A. Stoler... has done both. Allies in War offers an accessible and gracefully written synthesis of the wealth of new and important scholarship... addressing American and British grand strategy during World War II. Allies in War presents a global overview of Anglo-American cooperation against the Axis powers with a chronological account of the major diplomatic and military events. It begins with a brief summary of World War I and the interwar years, continues through the capitulation of Japan in September 1945, and concludes with a short discussion of the origins of the Cold War... Stoler’s story also covers the world war like a world war... Each chapter covers major developments in every theater... [Stoler] makes particular effort to recognize the critical role of the Soviet Union in winning World War II and its impact on Anglo-American strategy. Allies in War is a versatile work with a lot of uses. Both students and professionals will find rewards. This volume will be an excellent tool for teaching survey and elective history courses. It will also aid in understanding the dynamics that attend coalition warfare.” — The Journal of American History “[A] decided tour de force... Stoler provides an excellent and readable overview on a global scale of the interrelated wartime military, strategic, and diplomatic decisions and contributions of the United States and Great Britain... Stoler’s forte is elegantly concise syntheses of massive outpourings of scholarship in both military and diplomatic history and judicious, balanced, and stimulating assessments of often controversial issues... Lucid, balanced, nuanced, and acute, giving equal space to the wars in both Europe and Asia, Stoler’s interpretive overview is a valuable and welcome addition to its field.” — The Journal of Military History “This is the work of a mature historian, comfortably in command of his material, using his considerable experience to construct a tightly controlled narrative that carries the reader forward with little effort on his or her part; a sure sign of considerable effort on the part of the writer... Stoler’s book is much more than the synthesis it might appear to be... It is a masterly summary of existing scholarship, but one enriched by his own knowledge of the archival and secondary material... this book shines when it comes to grand strategy; the reader wanting a potted (and accurate) evolution of Anglo-American grand strategy will find all he or she will need here.” — The International History Review “Mark Stoler... is supremely well qualified to undertake this volume... Previous studies of Anglo-American relations during the Second World War tend to focus on either the war in Europe or the war in the Pacific. The originality of Stoler’s approach is that he wants to cover both. He seeks as well to incorporate the results of relatively recent publications on the Second World War... The results are impressive... Stoler’s writing is a major strength of this book... Stoler provides admirable surveys of the major historical controversies of the Anglo-American war against the Axis powers, such as the efficacy of the Allied strategic bombing campaign, the utility of the Italian campaign, and the continuing debate over the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Anyone who teaches courses on the history of the Second World War will find this volume a valuable resource.” — The Journal of Modern History “Allies in War is... a solid survey of the war... [an] effective synthesis of the most troublesome aspects of the special [Britain-US] relationship.” — Naval History Magazine “An important new study by one of the leading scholars in the field.” — David Reynolds, University of Cambridge

White World Order, Black Power Politics

White World Order, Black Power Politics PDF Author: Robert Vitalis
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501701878
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Racism and imperialism are the twin forces that propelled the course of the United States in the world in the early twentieth century and in turn affected the way that diplomatic history and international relations were taught and understood in the American academy. Evolutionary theory, social Darwinism, and racial anthropology had been dominant doctrines in international relations from its beginnings; racist attitudes informed research priorities and were embedded in newly formed professional organizations. In White World Order, Black Power Politics, Robert Vitalis recovers the arguments, texts, and institution building of an extraordinary group of professors at Howard University, including Alain Locke, Ralph Bunche, Rayford Logan, Eric Williams, and Merze Tate, who was the first black female professor of political science in the country.Within the rigidly segregated profession, the "Howard School of International Relations" represented the most important center of opposition to racism and the focal point for theorizing feasible alternatives to dependency and domination for Africans and African Americans through the early 1960s. Vitalis pairs the contributions of white and black scholars to reconstitute forgotten historical dialogues and show the critical role played by race in the formation of international relations.

How History Was Used in the Wars of the Twentieth Century

How History Was Used in the Wars of the Twentieth Century PDF Author: Robert J. Norrell
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666941972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
How History Was Used in the Wars of the Twentieth Century: Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace looks at how historical thinking shaped decisions for war and peace in Germany and the United States during the twentieth century. It examines the writing and public careers of the leading historians in each nation. Robert J. Norrell suggests it is useful to analyze where the discipline of history has succeeded and failed to understand war and the many attempts to institute lasting peace. The narrative of this book testifies to the avid commitment of historians, statesmen, and the public to understanding the past and how these lessons and perspectives can influence the present.