Europe, nations, and modernity

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Leslie Derfler

Charles de Gaulle of France, Juan Per̤n of Argentina, and Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada all achieved the pinnacle of political power, fell from or relinquished power, and then, after a period in the political wilderness, regained their power. By placing greater emphasis than that customarily accorded by biographers on the interment that followed their fall and preceded their resurrection, Derfler describes what they did, the lessons they learned, and the mistakes made by their successors that facilitated their reentry.

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András Gerő

This lively collection of essays is a fine blend of political, social and cultural history, setting Hungary's development within the context of Central Europe as a whole and thus providing an important comparison with the development of other countries in the region. At the same time, through his exploration of historical trends, Professor Gero sheds valuable light on the processes of contemporary political and social thought.

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Nicholas Atkin and Frank Tallett

"This revised and updated work shows how the resurgence of the French Far Right has a long pedigree and has entered into all areas of political, social, cultural and religious life, flourishing on concepts of race and nationhood. While the French Right, like most political movements and sets of ideas, may not have a coherent, consistent and dogmatic structure with a single ideology, there are powerful connecting links throughout modern French history. These stretch from Legitimatist support for the Bourbon monarchy, a nostalgia for imperialism, the occasional craving for a 'man of order', to the kind of rabid anti-semitism that produced the Dreyfus affair, and support for Petain's pro Nazi Vichy regime or the right-wing zealotry over Algeria which challenged de Gaulle. Le Pen's Front National is just the latest incarnation of a familiar demon. The Right in France is vital reading for anyone concerned with its re-emergence."--BOOK JACKET.

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Avner Cohen

Cohen focuses on a two-decade period from about 1950 until 1970, during which David Ben-Gurion's vision of making Israel a nuclear-weapon state was realized. He weaves together the story of the formative years of Israel's nuclear program, from the founding of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission in 1952, to the alliance with France that gave Israel the sophisticated technology it needed, to the failure of American intelligence to identify the Dimona Project for what it was, to the negotiations between President Nixon and Prime Minister Meir that led to the current policy of secrecy. Cohen also analyzes the complex reasons Israel concealed its nuclear program - from concerns over the Arab reaction and the negative effect of the debate at home to consideration of America's commitment to nonproliferation.