by James M. Youngdale (1975)
"Populism, according to Dr. James Youngsdale, was a pivotal force in the watershed separating nineteenth-century petty capitalism and laissez-faire liberalism from twentieth-century progressivism. It was not, Youngsdale asserts, "merely a heightened expression of middle-class disillusionment and rebelliousness," as Richard Hofstadter contends; nor was it "a glorious chapter in the struggle for human rights," as Norman Pollack idealizes it. Youngsdale's own view of populism as reflecting a shift in social and economic attitudes is in the vein of William Appleman Williams' interpretation of American history. Extending from the Civil War through the 1930s, Dr. Youngsdale's study focuses on the developments in the upper midwestern states, particularly the rise of the Minnesota Farmer Labor Party, "the most significant and successful attempt" to organize a populist third party movement in the United States. But this book is more than a forceful and thoroughgoing study of populism. It is equally an exposition of the author's theory of history as a process of "overlapping paradigms." From a synthesis of Thomas Kuhn's concept of paradigm revolutions and Alfred Adler's goal-oriented psychology, Dr. Youngdale proposes a new version of psychohistory that sees people striving for psychic homeostasis in a world of competing paradigms. Capable of a broad application, this model is offered particularly as a needed methodology for the field of American studies."--Book jacket.
Graham Smith
The aim of this book is to provide a systematic analysis of the Soviet Union's major nationalities in light of the new developments under perestroika. It deals in detail with 20 of the 140 nationalities, and looks at how they have been affected by, and responded to glasnost.
Norman Solomon, Reese Erlich
The acclaimed political analyst offers an examination of the arguments for and against war with Iraq, and exposes the alliance between the news media and the Bush administration.
Andrei Lankov
"Andrei Lankov has gone where few outsiders have ever been. A native of the former Soviet Union, he lived as an exchange student in North Korea in the 1980s. He has studied it for his entire career, using his fluency in Korean and personal contacts to build a rich, nuanced understanding. In The Real North Korea, Lankov substitutes cold, clear analysis for the overheated rhetoric surrounding this opaque police state. After providing an accessible history of the nation, he turns his focus to what North Korea is, what its leadership thinks, and how its people cope with living in such an oppressive and poor place. He argues that North Korea is not irrational, and nothing shows this better than its continuing survival against all odds. A living political fossil, it clings to existence in the face of limited resources and a zombie economy, manipulating great powers despite its weakness. Its leaders are not ideological zealots or madmen, but perhaps the best practitioners of Machiavellian politics that can be found in the modern world. Even though they preside over a failed state, they have successfully used diplomacy-including nuclear threats-to extract support from other nations. But while the people in charge have been ruthless and successful in holding on to power, Lankov goes on to argue that this cannot continue forever, since the old system is slowly falling apart. In the long run, with or without reform, the regime is unsustainable. Lankov contends that reforms, if attempted, will trigger a dramatic implosion of the regime. They will not prolong its existence. Based on vast expertise, this book reveals how average North Koreans live, how their leaders rule, and how both survive"--
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.