by Stéphane Courtois ... [et al (1999)
""Revolutions, like trees, must be judged by their fruit," Ignazio Silone wrote, and this is the standard the authors apply to the Communist experience - in the China of "the Great Helmsman," Kim Il Sung's Korea, Vietnam under "Uncle Ho" and Cuba under Castro, Ethiopia under Mengistu, Angola under Neto, and Afghanistan under Najibullah. The authors, all distinguished scholars based in Europe, document Communist crimes against humanity, but also crimes against national and universal culture, from Stalin's destruction of hundreds of churches in Moscow to Ceausescu's leveling of the historic heart of Bucharest to the wide-scale devastation visited on Chinese culture by Mao's Red Guards."--BOOK JACKET. "As the death toll mounts - as many as 25 million in the former Soviet Union, 65 million in China, 1.7 million in Cambodia, and on and on - the authors systematically show how and why, wherever the millenarian ideology of Communism was established, it quickly led to crime, terror, and repression."--BOOK JACKET.
John T. Rourke
This concise text provides students and instructors with a comprehensive overview of world politics, inviting them in a straightforward and accessible way to explore international relations and its new challenges.
Myra G. Gutin
"This new look at Barbara Bush draws on recently opened records at the Bush library, the first lady's many speeches, interviews with her staff, and an exclusive interview with Mrs. Bush to impart a new appreciation for this beloved former first lady. And while other biographies - and her own memoir - have hinted at seeming contradictions in the Barbara Bush persona, Myra Gutin looks squarely at her White House years to set the record straight and show that she was more than "Americas Grandmother" in faux pearls." "Gutin argues that Barbara was more politically astute than George - even though she denied any input into policymaking and maintained an apolitical image. In fact, she played an integral role in campaigning, fund-raising, and other activities that often blurred the line between the humanitarian and the political. Piercing through the first lady's public persona, Gutin reveals Barbara's backstage political skills in action - along with her closely held views on social issues like gun control and abortion."--Jacket.
Vincent Lam
Once voted the greatest Canadian of all time, Tommy Douglas was a prairie politician who believed in democratic socialism, the crucial role of civil rights, and the great potential of cooperation for the common good. He is best known as the “Father of Medicare.” Born in 1904, Douglas was a championship boxer and a Baptist minister who later exchanged his pulpit for a political platform. A powerful orator and tireless activist, he sat first as a federal MP and then served for 17 years as premier of Saskatchewan, where he introduced the universal health-insurance system that would eventually be adopted across Canada. As leader of the national NDP, he was a staunch advocate of programs such as the Canada Pension Plan and was often the conscience of Parliament on matters of civil liberties. In the process, he made democratic socialism a part of mainstream Canadian political life. Giller Prize–winning author Vincent Lam, an emergency physician who works on the front lines of the health-care system, brings a novelist's eye to the life of one of Canada's greats.
Meihong Xu and Larry Engelmann
"Meihong Xu grew up during the upheaval of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and was inducted into the People's Liberation Army at the age of seventeen. Selected as one of the country's best and brightest, she became a member of the elite intelligence corps and was asked to spy on visiting professor Larry Engelmann, who had unwittingly drawn the suspicion of the Chinese authorities. But as she got to know him, she realized her old loyalties were gradually being divided. When their friendship was discovered, she was arrested, beaten, interrogated, and imprisoned. Engelmann was accused of raping Meihong Xu, shown her written accusation (forged by her interrogators), and ordered to leave the country or face immediate arrest."--BOOK JACKET. "This is their stunning story."--BOOK JACKET.