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Aristotle A. Kallis

Fascist Ideology is a comparative study of the expansionist foreign policies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany from 1922 to 1945. It provides an overview of the ideological motivations behinfd fascist expasionism and their impact on fascist policies, and explores the two main issues which have dominated the historiographical debates on the nature of fascist expansionism: whether Italy's and Germany's particular expansionist tendencies can be attributed to a set of generic fascist values, or were shaped by the long-term, uniquely national ambitions and developments since unification; whether the pursuit of expansion was opportunistic or followed a grand design in each case.This book is a fascinating study of the expansionist visions of Hitler and Mussolini and it enlightens our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of the fascist policies of Italy and Germany to the end of the Second World War.

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A.E. Elmore

"While it has long been determined that Abraham Lincoln's writings were influenced by the King James Bible. until now no full-length study has shown the precise ways in which the Gettysburg Address uses its specific language. Refuting the view that the address was crafted with traditional classical references, this revealing investigation provides a new way to think about the speech and the man who wrote it. A.E. Elmore offers chapter-andverse evidence from the Bible, as well as specific examples from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, to illustrate how Lincoln borrowed from these sources to imbue his speech with meanings that would resonate with his listeners. He cites every significant word and phrase - conceived, brought forth, struggled, remaining, consecrate, dedicate, hallow, devotion, new birth, to name a few - borrowed by Lincoln from these two religious texts for use in his dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery." "Elmore demonstrates how Lincoln transformed the lovely old language of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into something as close to perfection as any public speech has ever achieved. He further reveals how Lincoln used and transformed the language of his political enemies to promote his antislavery agenda and to advance the gospel of equality, borrowing for example his controversial "proposition that all men are created equal" in nearly equal parts from John C. Calhoun and the Declaration of Independence." "Lincoln's Gettysburg Address focuses on a number of overlooked themes and ideas, such as the importance of literary allusion and the general public's knowledge of the Bible in the age of Lincoln. It provides fresh answers to old questions and poses new ones. No one who reads this highly engaging study will ever think about Lincoln or the Gettysburg Address in the same way again."--Jacket.

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Bruce Tap

The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War generated controversy throughout the war, and its legacy sparks debate even today over whether it invigorated or hampered the Union war effort. In the wake of both critical and sympathetic appraisals, Bruce Tap now offers the first history of the committee's activities, focusing on the nature of its power and influence on military policy in order to show conclusively what the ultimate impact really was. Tap presents solid evidence, including examples of contact between Congress and the military, to show that the committee produced little good and no small amount of harm. As Tap demonstrates, it was in many ways a serious impediment to the war effort, due not to its fanaticism or vindictiveness, as some historians have suggested, but rather to its members' total ignorance of military matters.

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Harold J. Laski

Beginning with the new worlds of the Renaissance and the Reformation, this book traces the growth of liberal doctrine through the advent of the French Revolution. It shows the relationship of liberalism to the emerging economic system of capitalism, and the impact of this relationship upon science, philosophy, and literature. Laski explains how the same causes which produced the socially active aspect of liberalism also inspired the growth of socialism. The contributions of men like Machiavelli, Locke, and Voltaire, the influence of the voyages of discovery, and the effect of the Puritan Rebellion are among the special topics discussed. The Rise of European Liberalism is a historical survey of the development of liberal thought, from its earliest whispers in early Protestantism to its significance in the "Red Decade" of the 1930s. Laski argues that liberalism as a philosophy came into existence with the rise of capitalism and thus functions primarily as an ideological defense of private property in a business civilization. Hence, liberalism's progressive side is doomed to defeat because, throughout its history, the bourgeois nature of the ideology has always prevailed. In the new introduction, John Stanley traces the history and influences of Laski's thought and provides a detailed analysis of Laski's work. The essay provides a coherent study in itself of why Laski is better remembered than widely read. The Rise of European Liberalism is a classic text that deserves rediscovery for historians, philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists of the present day.