by Francis Pike (2010)
"As the major geopolitical power bloc, Asia - with 4 billion people, two-thirds of the world's population, a huge land-mass and the fastest-growing economies - has shifted the global political balance. "Empires at War" gives a dramatic narrative account of how 'Modern Asia' came into being. Ranging over the whole of Asia, from Japan to Pakistan, the modern history of this important region is placed in the context of the struggle between America and the Soviet Union. Francis Pike shows that America's domination of post-war Asia was a continuation of a 100-year competition for power in the region. He also argues cogently that, contrary to the largely 'Western-centric' viewpoint, Asian nations were not simply the passive and biddable entities of the superpowers, but had a political development which was both separate and unique, with a dynamic that was largely independent of the superpower conflict. And, in conclusion, the book traces the unwinding of American influence and the end of its Empire - a crucial development in international history which is already having repercussions throughout the world."--Bloomsbury publishing.
Juan M. del Aguila
Provides new material on the impact of the collapse of communism and the loss of economic assistance from the socialist countries, which has left the Revolution more vulnerable than ever. The Communist party, the armed forces, key elites & institutions are analyzed in light of deepening economic, political dificulties.
William I. Robinson
A penetrating analysis of the controversial U.S. role in the 1990 Nicaraguan elections - the most closely monitored in history - this book exposes the intervention in the electoral process of a sovereign nation by the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of State, the National Endowment for Democracy, and private U.S.-based organizations. Robinson begins by tracing the evolution of U.S. foreign policy in recent decades and reviewing U.S.-Nicaraguan relations since the Carter administration. He then describes specific aspects of the "electoral intervention project," bringing to light the clandestine activities of U.S. officials. Finally, he examines the implications of such an undertaking for U.S. foreign policy and for social change in the Third World in the post-cold war era, arguing that it is a dangerous harbinger of a new interventionism conducted under the pretext of promoting democracy. Drawing on an extensive array of confidential documents and on interviews with representatives from U.S. and foreign government agencies, private organizations, and anti-Sandinista groups in Nicaragua, the author offers a chilling account of a foreign policy venture that was at the very least duplicitous and quite possibly illegal as well.
Robert Goldston
Details world politics from the armistice ending World War I to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Ann Louise Bardach
An eye-opening account of the last chapter in the life of Fidel Castro: his near death, his enemies and their fifty-year failed battle to eliminate him, and the carefully planned succession and early reign of his brother Raul.