Conflict and chaos in eastern Europe

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Ian Kershaw

The climax and conclusion of one of the best-selling biographies of our time. In this volume, Ian Kershaw introduces Adolf Hitler at the apex of his power, idolized by millions of Germans for bringing the nation out of economic catastrophe. The Nazi party, the armed forces, the industrial cartels, and the civil servants are all "working towards the Führer." Meanwhile, Hitler is poised to realize his Mephistophelean vision : the subjugation of Europe under the Thousand Year Reich and, in the process, the annihilation of the Jews. For three years, Hitler and his relentless armies pluge the European continent into a bloodbath, as German soldiers, accompanied by fanatical SS units, slaughter conquered troops and civilians alike. Then, as Allied might prevails, Kershaw reveals a Hitler transformed from invincible warlord to desperate gambler, ultimately bringing destruction to his country and ending his life in a bunker under the ruins of Berlin. This book is based on immense research, including the use of many previously untapped sources. - Publisher.

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William B. Saxbe with Peter D. Franklin

"In this memoir, William B. Saxbe narrates his life's journey from his youth in a small Ohio town to his military career during World War II and Korea and through his career as a public servant in Ohio, in Washington, D.C., and overseas. He regales readers with stories about hopping a freight train when he was in the sixth grade, insights on being elected to the United States Senate, commentary on serving as Nixon's attorney general at the height of the Watergate scandal, and descriptions of life as the U.S. ambassador to India.". "This autobiography will delight the scholar and the casual reader. Readers of all disciplines and interests will find fascinating Saxbe's firsthand account of the demise of the Nixon presidency and will appreciate his candid, often earthy, prose."--BOOK JACKET.

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Jeff Shesol

In the years before World War II, Franklin Roosevelt's fiercest, most unyielding opponent was neither a foreign power nor "fear itself." It was the U.S. Supreme Court. Beginning in 1935, in a series of devastating decisions, the Supreme Court's conservative majority left much of FDR's agenda in ruins. The pillars of the New Deal fell in short succession. It was not just the New Deal, but democracy itself, that stood on trial. In February 1937, Roosevelt struck back with an audacious plan to expand the Court to fifteen justices -- and to "pack" the new seats with liberals who shared his belief in a "living" Constitution. The ensuing fight was a firestorm that engulfed the White House, the Court, Congress, and the nation. The final verdict was a shock. It dealt FDR the biggest setback of his political life, split the Democratic party, and set the stage for a future era of Republican dominance. Yet the battle also transformed America's political and constitutional landscape, hastening the nation's march into the modern world. - Jacket flap.

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Mushirul Hasan

This book is about the 'destiny of India's Muslims', more than 110 million of them. It covers, in the early chapters, the origins of Muslim separatism under the British, the making of the partition of India and its meaning for a host of Muslim communities, families and individuals. Chapter 5 examines the establishment of the 'Nehruvian consensus' in the 1940s and 1950s with its secular vision for India's future, and Chapter 6 attempts to delineate secular identities and the Muslim organisations that ran counter to this process. Chapter 7 illustrates the role of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia as the bearers of the 'beacon lights' of modern and secular understandings of the Muslim future in India. The following chapter examines the breakup of the Nehruvian consensus from the 1960s through to the 1990s, looking in particular at the reasons for the growth of communal activity and the retreat of both Muslims and Hindus into communal political camps. The final section of the book surveys the state of India's Muslims in the period after 6 December 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished. The argument is that Muslim religious and political leaders have failed. There still exists a secular platform, if somewhat narrowed; secular Indian Muslim intellectuals must stand up and be counted on that platform, and take a lead. The author speaks with a moderate and secular voice, and his distinctive contribution needs to be widely heard both inside and outside India.