Praeger Politics and International Affairs, 2004-2008

Praeger Publishers has been around since 1949. I worked there as the politics editor when it was an imprint of the Greenwood Publishing Group in Westport, CT. (It was acquired by ABC-CLIO in 2008.)

In 2003 we made the switch from primarily targeting the academic library market to emphasizing the public library market; “trade” in content, just not in distribution. We lowered our prices, sought high-profile foreword writers and endorsers, cultivated reviewing media, and sold our books to the general public via Amazon. The strategy worked; our sales increased and we made great strides in general interest publishing with a scholarly backbone.

Around 2005 we launched Praeger Security International to distinguish our international affairs titles. The selected titles below were published during the Westport years.

Categories:

American History

American Government and Politics

Current Affairs and Hot-Button Issues

Energy and the Environment

International Relations

Journalism

Technology

War and Peace

American History

Manifest Destiny, as a term for westward expansion, was not used until the 1840s. Its predecessor was the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal tradition by which Europeans and Americans laid legal claim to the land of the indigenous people that they discovered. In the United States, the British colonists who had recently become Americans were competing with the English, French, and Spanish for control of lands west of the Mississippi. Who would be the discoverers of the Indians and their lands, the United States or the European countries? We know the answer, of course, but in this book, Miller explains for the first time exactly how the United States achieved victory, not only on the ground, but also in the developing legal thought of the day.

The American effort began with Thomas Jefferson’s authorization of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which set out in 1803 to lay claim to the West. Lewis and Clark had several charges, among them the discovery of a Northwest Passage—a land route across the continent—in order to establish an American fur trade with China. In addition, the Corps of Northwestern Discovery, as the expedition was called, cataloged new plant and animal life, and performed detailed ethnographic research on the Indians they encountered. This fascinating book lays out how that ethnographic research became the legal basis for Indian removal practices implemented decades later, explaining how the Doctrine of Discovery became part of American law, as it still is today.

Reviews

“In rationales for the invasion of the Americas, one legal instrument stands out in high relief: Europe’s so-called Doctrine of Discovery. In the first third of the 19th century, it morphed into the purely US doctrine of Manifest Destiny. Modern US historians know this much, but nearly none know the legal complexity or sweep of these ideas. When they are laid shockingly bare, as in Miller’s important book, they are quickly seen to have been both idiotic and revered. Americans easily grasped the Doctrine of Discovery’s ten legalisms for land seizure and incidental genocide before the 20th century, with the later Manifest Destiny dashing even the pretense of Native rights. Miller walks readers through deep, consistent evidence that Thomas Jefferson patterned his Louisiana expansionism upon the legal pretexts of discovery, setting up removal in the process. Miller carefully traces the racist, greedy religiosity of Manifest Destiny next used to seize Indian land, especially in Oregon, showing it also as the basis for laws applied to Native Americans that appallingly continue in effect into the present. A must read. Essential. All libraries serving students of any period of US history.”—Choice, May 1, 2007

“This is an easy-to-read, informative, and well-researched book. Miller manages to describe a complex international doctrine in layman terms and keep the readers’ interest along the way. It will be enjoyed by those studying legal, U.S. or Native American history.”—Tribal College Journal, June 1, 2008

“This history has been examined thoroughly by previous scholars; what Miller adds to the discussion is a thorough study of Jefferson’s infatuation with the principle and a determination to link doctrine of discovery to the emergence of the American belief in Manifest Destiny….Miller’s thoroughly researched and determined argument is significant for at least three other reasons. First, he points out that the doctrine of discovery was not only the foundation of American territorial and political hegemony over our nation’s indigenous peoples, but that it is a living, breathing principle that courses through contemporary American Indian law and political calculations. Second, the book complements an important and expanding historiography on the ideology and cant of Euro-American conquest. Finally, Miller does not simply lament the tragedies wrought by the doctrine of discovery; he offers the United States an honorable way out of the legal miasma produced by two centuries of adherence to the doctrine”—Oregon Historical Quarterly, September 1, 2007

“[T]akes a fresh approach in placing the discovery doctrine at the center of analysis of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and he proves an interesting discussion of the explorers’ use of rituals and symbols that echoed earlier European practices….[M]iller’s legal insights provide a useful contribution to scholarship on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, the Louisiana Purchase, the Pacific Northwest, American expansionism, and U.S. Indian policy.”—American Historical Review, June 1, 2007

“[P]ersuasive in making his case that a central legal ideology played a crucial role in justifying American assertions of jurisdiction over western territory and Native peoples. Miller convincingly demonstrates that Jefferson understood and applied elements of the doctrine of discovery in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries….[M]iller’s legal insights provide a useful contribution to scholarship on Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, the Louisiana Purchase, the Pacific Northwest, American expansionism, and U.S. Indian policy.”—American Historical Review, June 1, 2007

“Robert Miller, in his voluminous work Native America, Discovered and Conquered, very ably and methodically deconstructs the winking inexorableness that permeates narrative history of the American West. In a wholly new and focused voice, Miller traces the Doctrine of Discovery from its European roots through to its present-day ramifications on the land tenure of Native American tribes and resource scarcity issues in the West….What makes Miller’s Native America such a compelling read is not only his unique style but also his commitment to original scholarly legal research….To say this book is required reading for those wishing to understand American history is an understatement. Robert Miller has provided an opportunity for readers with varying interests….[t]o gain valuable insight into the interconnected web of religion, conquest, human rights, land and equity….This is an important time for this book to be published, and one can hope that it will be well read.”—We Proceeded On, January 1, 2007

“To say this book is required reading for those wishing to understand American history is an understatement. Miller has provided an opportunity for readers with varying interests from Constitutional law professor to tribal advocate to public lands users of all types to gain valuable insight into the interconnected web of religion, conquest, human rights, land and equity. One comes away from reading Miller’s Native America with a meaningful sense of how irresponsible, and illusory, a folly it is to allow a sense of Providence to blindly guide such things as constitutionally protected rights, domestic and foreign policy with other nations and the relationship and dominion over Nature and other nonbelievers. This is an important time for this book to be published, and one can hope that it will be well read.”—Journalstar.com (Lincoln, NE), October 3, 2006

“Former Oregon Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse introduces the shocking neglect of Indian issues and laws by members of Congress and the education system. As a member of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe and Chief Justice, Court of Appeals, Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde Community of Oregon, Miller, notes the book’s conception out of ambivalence over the bicentennial anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He traces how the Doctrine of Discovery still continues to limit Native rights and calls for its end.”—Reference & Research Book News, February 1, 2007

“In recent decades, scholars have reshaped our understanding of conquest, and as a result the idea of conquest is an unsettling one. Robert J. Miller’s original and important work should launch a similar transformation for the idea of discovery. . . . Whether or not historians agree with Miller’s analysis of westward expansion, they must now address the Doctrine of Discovery and reckon with his aggressive arguments and compelling conclusions.”—Great Plains Quarterly, March 1, 2009

“Through its focus on the Doctrine of Discovery, Miller’s book offers fascinating new insights into Jefferson’s Indian policy, the significance of the Lewis & Clark expedition, and the origins of Manifest Destiny ideology in 19th- century America. Miller forces readers to confront the raw assertion of colonial power embodied in the Doctrine of Discovery, and its consistent deployment by the United States in the guise of law.”—Carole Goldberg, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, Law School, co-author of American Indian Law: Native Nations and the Federal System

“Written by lawyer and law professor Robert Miller, this is revisionist history in the very best sense of that tradition. Miller reviews historic documents and oft-told stories in a new and original light. This important study gives Native Americans and their role in United States history a richer and deeper meaning through Miller’s thoughtful interpretation of the Doctrine of Discovery in the context of its historical, law-related, political principles.”—Rennard Strickland, Knight Professor of Law, University of Oregon

“Miller’s book represents the most comprehensive and thoughtful analysis of the American version of the Doctrine of Discovery to date, its role in the voyages of Lewis & Clark, and its continuing importance in the field of federal Indian Law today.”—Alexander Tallchief Skibine, Professor, University of Utah Law School

“Professor Miller’s treatment of the Doctrine of Discovery shows us that we still have much to learn about how we came to legitimize our jurisdiction over this continent. He illustrates the dense interlacing of law, ideology, and politics at work in the making of the New World. Everyone who is interested in Indian Law and the West will have to read this book.”—Gerald Torres, Bryant Smith Chair, University of Texas Law School

“In rationales for the invasion of the Americas, one legal instrument stands out in high relief: Europe’s so-called Doctrine of Discovery. In the first third of the 19th century, it morphed into the purely US doctrine of Manifest Destiny. Modern US historians know this much, but nearly none know the legal complexity or sweep of these ideas. When they are laid shockingly bare, as in Miller’s important book, they are quickly seen to have been both idiotic and revered. Americans easily grasped the Doctrine of Discovery’s ten legalisms for land seizure and incidental genocide before the 20th century, with the later Manifest Destiny dashing even the pretense of Native rights. Miller walks readers through deep, consistent evidence that Thomas Jefferson patterned his Louisiana expansionism upon the legal pretexts of discovery, setting up removal in the process. Miller carefully traces the racist, greedy religiosity of Manifest Destiny next used to seize Indian land, especially in Oregon, showing it also as the basis for laws applied to Native Americans that appallingly continue in effect into the present. A must read. Essential. All libraries serving students of any period of US history.”—Choice

“This book has much to recommend in it, both to the specialist and the general historian. Its focus on the purely legal aspects of Reconstruction gives it a unique perspective….Ranney offers worthwhile insight into the role of Southern lawmakers, and the judiciary in particular, in the outcome of what Eric Foner calls the unfinished revolution. The most important insight Ranney offers is in the complexity of the judicial process that was far from a simple North versus South or Radical versus Redeemer contest.”

—H-Net Reviews

American Government and Politics

Mudslingers: The Top 25 Negative Political Campaigns of All Time (2005), by Kerwin Swint

“You wouldn’t think there would be positive news in a book about negative campaigning. But Kerwin Swint has found some. Ranking the most vicious American election contests in their proper order, he found that only one race in the top 10 — Bush vs. Dukakis, in 1988–is less than 20 years old. In short: Things are bad now but not nearly as bad as they used to be…. Negative campaigns are not especially pretty, and they are not always edifying, but we should be glad when they are all we have to worry about. Many democracies around the world would take a little of our vitriol for an end to the thievery and bribery that ruin their elections.”—Wall Street Journal

Elephant’s Edge: The Republicans as a Ruling Party (2005), by Andrew Taylor. Foreword by Norman Ornstein.

“This is a nuanced and quite convincing approach to the realities of modern American politics. The tendency of journalists and analysts is to reach for the grand theory and big conclusion about change. Yet life, including politics, is lived not in black and white but in the gray zone. Taylor’s book is a welcome antidote to the screeds of left and right that thunder certainty for an uncertain future.”

—Larry J. Sabato, Director, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“This book is the latest entry in a growing field devoted to deciphering the success of the Republican Party in national politics….[a] sturdy survey of the far-ranging efforts of the Republican Party, whether in rigging the tax code or exploiting the Terri Schiavo case, to cement its majority status.”—The New York Times

Campaign Craft: The Strategies, Tactics, and the Art of Political Campaigning (2006), by Daniel M. Shea and Michael John Burton

Liberties Lost: The Endangered Legacy of the ACLU (2006), by Woody Klein. Foreword by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Introduction by Robert C. Byrd. Afterword by Anthony Lewis.

“Roger Baldwin once told me, ‘No civil liberties battle is ever finally won.’ We continue to learn this in Woody Klein’s illuminating book on not only the past embattled history of the Bill of Rights–but also now on its grave peril.”—Nat Hentoff, columnist, Village Voice

“No single person today has had the impact that Roger Baldwin had on civil liberties. He invented the idea of civil liberties as an issue. He made a major contribution through his key writings–published in Woody Klein’s book–which are relevant today more than ever.”—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delegate to the House of Representatives from Washington, D.C.

The Strange Death of Liberal America (2006), by Ralph Brauer

“The corporate and political powers have led us astray, into an alien sphere of plutocracy and autocracy. For our country to find its way home back to our democratic ideals we must have pathblazers. Ralph Brauer’s book gives us a map for returning to America’s founding values of fairness, justice, and opportunity for all.”

—Jim Hightower, National Radio Commentator, Writer, Public Speaker, Bestselling author of Thieves in High Places

Leaving America: The New Expatriate Generation (2007), by Jack R. Wennersten

Leaving America is an important reexamination of one of the most central stories in the history of American culture—the story of the immigrant coming to the Promised Land. While millions still come to America and millions more still wish to do so, there is an important counterflow of emigration from America to distant parts of the planet. This book focuses on modern American expatriates as a significant and heretofore largely ignored counterpoint phenomenon every bit as central to understanding modern America as is the image of a nation of immigrants. The greatest irony in America today may well be that while argument and discord prevail in the edifice of American democracy about diversity, economic justice, equality, and the Iraq War, many of the most thoughtful citizens have already left the building.

Barack Obama: The New Face of American Politics (2007), by Martin Dupuis and Keith Boeckelman, and (2009) as Barack Obama: The New Face of America.

To my knowledge this was the first serious adult biography, not children’s or instant celebrity fluff, ever published about Obama. That it did not get reviewed in the major newspapers shows how much the media believed that Hillary Clinton’s election was inevitable back in 2007. But I had a strong feeling he was going to run—and win—so I pushed hard for this book when I proposed it in 2005 or 2006. It sold out its first printing in a week.

“Presidential candidate Obama is the only African American in the U.S. Senate. Here, Dupuis and Boeckelman show how his stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, his policy recommendations, and his charismatic style have put him in the national spotlight.”—Library Journal

A Liberal Tool Kit: Progressive Responses to Conservative Arguments

July 2007

David Coates

This book brings together in one place the liberal and conservative arguments that face the Republican and Democratic parties in the run-up to the 2008 election. In each chapter, David Coates lays out the popular conservative case and then presents a point-by-point liberal response. Each chapter challenges right-wing ways of framing the issue and pulls discussion back into the civilized center of American politics. The sources and evidence sustaining both conservative and liberal arguments are listed in endnotes and developed more fully on an associated blog site.

A Liberal Tool Kit helps to redress the conservative bias in the way news and arguments are generally reported. Coates argues that conservative media outlets are currently more powerful and numerous than liberal ones, contending that conservative arguments tend to be presented more clearly than their less simplistic, more nuanced liberal alternatives. In this book, he presents the complexities of the conservative arguments while at the same time clarifying liberal positions in straightforward, everyday language, so leveling the playing field.

Reviews

“David Coates has graced us by distilling a lifetime of hard thinking about politics into this fighter’s manual for a revived Liberalism. Happily, he doesn’t shrink from that word, nor does he back away from the genuine liberal spirit which, as he argues, acknowledges the need for clarity, for a sense of complexity, for intellectual honesty and for attention to evidence. Conservatives need to worry about this book because Coates takes them seriously. In doing so, he provides liberals with strong and innovative arguments. This thoughtful book is another welcome sign that liberalism is coming back to life.”—E. J. Dionne Jr., Syndicated columnist, Professor, Georgetown University

“Coates seeks to provide liberal activists with sound policy arguments on eight issues: trickle-down economics, welfare, social security reform, health care, immigration, religion, the war in Iraq, and economic prosperity. A distinctive feature of the book is that each chapter opens with a summary of the conservative arguments the author seeks to refute. These summaries are well documented, and Coates makes an effort to state his opponents’ views accurately, although he does tend to showcase the far Right rather than a more moderate conservative position. He then replies to these arguments with a thoroughly researched presentation of a liberal view. As the title suggests, the aim is to help liberals argue successfully, rather than to win over moderates or conservatives. Consequently, Coates is able to avoid a polemical tone and present his evidence objectively. While the primary audience will be liberal activists, the volume would also be useful for courses where an instructor would like an example of liberal views. Given its thorough notes, it would also be a useful reference for those wishing to study any of the issues more deeply. Recommended. General readers, all undergraduates, and practitioners.”—Choice, March 1, 2008

“[R]efreshingly frank.”—Winston-Salem Journal, November 18, 2007

Netroots Rising: How a Citizen Army of Bloggers and Online Activists Is Changing American Politics (2008), by Lowell Feld and Nate Wilcox

“These two Democratic political consultants offer a rich, even gripping narrative, well sourced, of our century’s transformation in political engagement by means of netroots. The Deaniacs, the draft Clark effort, the campaign against Tom DeLay, and Jim Webb’s unlikely victory (Feld coordinated Webb’s online fundraising) are among the stories told here. Feld and Wilcox are not sure what the future holds for the netroots phenomenon, but their book has long-term value for large public and undergraduate libraries.”

—Library Journal, Starred Review

Current Affairs and Hot-Button Issues

Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics (2004), by Rudolph J. Gerber

“This volume is well written and documented. It comes as a breath of fresh air amid a policy issue that is so often dealt with in an emotional and irrational way—a sane counterpoint to the emotional venting of the pharmaceutical Calvinists. Highly recommended. All levels.”—Choice

Why the Poor Pay More: How to Stop Predatory Lending (2004), edited by Gregory D. Squires. Foreword by Clarence Page. About three or four years ahead of its time.

“A successful and creative mix of research, personal stories, policy prescriptions, and an agenda for change about people who are caught in the merciless trap of predatory mortgage loans. These loans, characterized by exorbitant interest rates and fees and grossly dishonest marketing, are robbing average citizens of the key American asset building tool, homeownership, and exposing some of them to financial ruin. Editor Greg Squires has assembled a stellar cast of national researchers and activists to probe the problem. The book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the dimensions of this crippling practice and how to stop the predatory financial companies that rob honest, hard-working homeowners.”—Malcolm Bush, President, the Woodstock Institute

Opposing Hate Speech (2005), by Anthony Cortese

“Cortese traverses the tense terrain between the First and Fourteenth Amendments with skill and precision. His discussion takes the seem between freedom of expression and equal protection apart thread by thread, uncovering bias in the application of First Amendment Rights we, as a society, should do well to acknowledge and rectify. Cortese’s intervention is a significant contribution to our understanding of hate speech and the undemocratic structures that support it under the guise of free speech. Truly a must-read for anyone concerned with creating democratic–tolerant and unbiased–spaces, from homes to schools at every level and beyond.’—Gabriela Sandoval, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Cruz

The Global Gun Epidemic: From Saturday Night Specials to AK-47s (2005), by Wendy Cukier and Victor Sidel

Who Decides? The Abortion Rights of Teens (2006), by J. Shoshanna Ehrlich

The Promise and Politics of Stem Cell Research (2006), by Pam Solo and Gail Pressberg, Civil Society Institute. Foreword by Mary Tyler Moore.

“[This book] makes it clear that the promise of stem cell treatment lies not in the halls of politics, but in the hearts of people. No government can stand in the way of hope.”—Patti Davis, author of The Long Goodbye, a book about her father’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and the care that her mother, Nancy Reagan, provided during the various stages of this horrific disease.

The Strange Career of the Black Athlete: African Americans and Sports (2006), by Russell T. Wigginton

“The strange career of the black athlete is no stranger than the African American experience in general. There is racism; there are African Americans, like Joe Louis, who have been accepted by the white majority at least in part because their demeanor was nonthreatening; and there are those, like Jack Johnson, who have been rejected because they rocked the racial boat a bit too much. Wigginton’s short book concentrates on two or three African American athletes from three different eras spanning the years 1892 to the present. He also includes chapters devoted to African American participation in traditionally white sports (e.g., hockey, golf, tennis) and African American women athletes….[a] thoughtful study and should be a valuable purchase for large public and academic libraries.”—Library Journal

Drugs into Bodies: Global AIDS Treatment Activism (2006), by Raymond A. Smith and Patricia D. Siplon

Unions in Crisis? The Future of Organized Labor in America (2007), by Michael Schiavone

An Easy Out: Corporate America’s Addiction to Outsourcing (2007), by Jack Buffington

“A brutally honest, well-researched, and comprehensive look into the horrors of modern-day slavery and trafficking in human beings which has become embedded into the fabric of today’s society.”

—Laura D. Jones, President, Soroptimist International/

SIA/SAR/Mid-Atlantic Online

Energy and Environment

The Politics of the Global Oil Industry: An Introduction (2005) by Toyin Falola and Ann Genova

The Age of Oil: The Mythology, History, and Future of the World’s Most Controversial Resource (2006) by Leonardo Maugeri, VP of ENI, the Italian oil firm. This was my top selling Praeger book.

CHOICE 2007 Outstanding Academic Title

“Leonardo Maugeri provides a lively and insightful history of oil, the world’s most controversial commodity, and an informed perspective on key questions for the future, including the hot topic of whether the world really is running out. He also brings his wisdom and experience to bear in making sense of the not-so-secret secret of oil– its critical role in the world economy and global politics.”—Daniel Yergin author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

“Leonardo Maugeri is a contrarian, dissenting from much of the conventional wisdom about the future of oil. He has written a fascinating history of the politics and economics of petroleum, from John D. Rockefeller to the present, that places today’s discussions about energy in a broader context. Agree or disagree with his conclusions, Maugeri is always interesting and insightful and this book is essential reading.”—Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International

“This informative book is really two in one: a concise treatment of the checkered but fascinating history of the oil industry, from Edwin Drake’s first successful well and John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust to post-Saddam Iraq, and an extended nontechnical essay on the myths and misconceptions that have come to surround this important commodity. As senior vice president of Eni, the Italian oil firm, the author is an industry insider, but he draws on a wide range of scholarship and writes persuasively and well.”

—Foreign Affairs

“Are we running low on oil? After a slew of books by pessimists, here is a convincing counterargument by an oil company analyst. Maugeri explains that the industry has been scarred by recurrent periods of over-production. The major players’ resulting cautiousness probably makes current estimates of reserves very conservative., if prices continue at today’s levels we can expect aggressive investments in exploration and technology to yield enormous extra supply.”—Harvard Business Review

Killing Our Oceans: Dealing with the Mass Extinction of Marine Life (2006), by John Charles Kunich

“Offers both a valuable perspective on what humans are doing to the oceans and what can be done to help change the devastating course on which we are presently set. Bravo for lending another eloquent voice to the cause every human being should be dedicated to.”—Jean-Michel Cousteau, President, Ocean Futures Society

“Kunich argues that the earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of species and that the extinction is perhaps hitting the world’s oceans the hardest. Further, the legions of domestic and international laws that are supposed to ensure the health of the oceans have done nothing to address the problem and instead act merely as a dangerous placebo. After detailing this situation, he proposes a new legal paradigm for safeguarding marine life; one that is based on an incentives-based statutory approach similar to the US Congress’s Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998.”—SciTech Book News

When Nature Strikes: Weather Disasters and the Law (2007), by Marsha L. Baum

Ignoring the Apocalypse: Why Planning to Prevent Environmental Catastrophe Goes Astray (2007), by David Howard Davis

“Davis provides a critical assessment of how Americans go about understanding environmental catastrophes, including the formulation of plans for averting or mitigating the expected outcomes. He examines the reason why Americans often ignore impending dangers, even apocalyptic ones based on rigorous scientific and mathematical analysis, and why government solutions and policies often fail to deal realistically with their potential consequences for future generations of people and ecosystems….This is an important book to read in order to learn how people, Americans in particular, go about framing or avoiding issues that have dire consequences for the quality of human life. Recommended.”—Choice

The Climate Change Challenge and the Failure of Democracy (2007), by David Shearman and Joseph Wayne Smith

“Warnings of a pending environmental crisis are no longer the prerogative of solitary prophets. They now reflect the consensus of the scientific establishment. But how radical a change in established political thinking do they require of us? This volume makes a powerful case for the view that taking environmental crisis seriously implies a radical critique of democracy itself, and a willingness to accept government by qualified expertise rather than popular election. If political thinking at its best makes the pressing questions of the day an occasion to revisit cherished fundamentals, then this book qualifies.”—Gordon Graham, Henry Luce III Professor of Philosophy and the Arts at Princeton Theological Seminar

Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof, and Lethal: The Hidden Dangers of C8 (2007), by Callie Lyons

2006 Associated Press of Ohio Best Business Writer Uncovering the Truth Award

“Callie Lyons details the slippery history of a Teflon toxin.”—Mother Jones

“She’s a warrior against environmental pollution and a fighter for public health.”—Ohio News Network

International Relations

The “Great Satan” vs. the “Mad Mullahs”: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other (2005), by William O. Beeman

“Beeman is a good writer, who eschews the scholarly jargon that frequently makes academic books and articles unintelligible to all but specialists in a specific field. He is writing for the non-specialist, and he is more interested in informing the reader than in impressing his peers. The other strength of the book lies in the author’s knowledge of Iranian history and culture. Beeman’s discussion of economic development under the Pahlavi monarchy and how Americans in the country lived at the time is informative, and his observation that Iranians hate being told what to do by people with whom they have no relationship should be taken under advisement by everybody.”—Middle East Journal

American Encounters with Arabs: The “Soft Power” of U.S. Public Diplomacy (2005), by William A. Rugh

“In an information age, success depends not merely upon whose army wins, but also on whose story wins. Winning hearts and minds in the Arab world is crucial to our future, and Ambassador Rugh’s careful account of our successes and failures there is essential reading on this important subject.”—Joseph Nye, Author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics

“The book is a badly needed account of how the US has managed, and mismanaged, its public diplomacy with the Middle East, especially the Arab world. Rugh, a 31-year career officer with the US Information Agency (USIA), does an excellent job of illustrating the relationship between the tools of public diplomacy and the problems of interfacing with foreign audiences. … Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates through practitioners.”—Choice

Collision Course: NATO, Russia, and Kosovo (2005), by John Norris. Foreword by Strobe Talbott.

“No one has pulled the war’s tale together quite as Norris has–teaching even those who had central roles, such as the Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, things they id not know. Becuase NATO allies also often did not agree, and even the U.S. commander in Europe fought with the U.S. secretary of defense, it makes for a saga as tempestuous as it was crucial.”—Foreign Affairs

Understanding China and India: Security Implications for the United States and the World (2006), by Rollie Lal

Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice: Foreign Policy, Race, and the New American Century, (2006), by Clarence Lusane

America and Europe after 9/11 and Iraq: The Great Divide (2006), by Sarwar A. Kashmeri

“More than ever, the transatlantic alliance is key to the prosperity and security of the world, yet its health is being undermined by misguided voices of political division. Kashmeri warns against further disengagement and makes a compelling case for rebuilding the relationship based on new global rules that are tailored to the challenges of the 21st century.”—James F. Hoge, Jr., Editor, Foreign Affairs magazine

“Sarwar Kashmeri takes head on the difficult issues that challenge the foundations of the transatlantic relationship. Consulting the best minds, he offers policy recommendations that should be weighed by policy makers and the general public alike. Kashmeri’s excellent treatment of current transatlantic relations is must reading.”—Noel V. Lateef, President and CEO, Foreign Policy Association

Borders and Bridges: The History of U.S.-Latin American Relations (2006) by Stewart Brewer

“Borders and Bridges: A History of U.S.-Latin American Relations is required college-level reading for any who would approach the modern dilemmas of border protection armed with a historical approach. Here the changing relationship between the U.S. and Latin America is examined over the decades with an attention to US/Latin American collaboration and changing social and political interrelationships. From competition between differing political systems to changing military approaches, Borders and Bridges is a ‘must’ for any in-depth analysis.”—The Midwest Book Review – The Bookwatch

The Power of Projections: How Maps Reflect Global Politics and History (2006), by Arthur Jay Klinghoffer

“The Earth is spherical: to represent it accurately on a flat surface, e.g., a piece of paper, is not mathematically possible. Approximations via projections are, however, legion. Klinghoffer provides readers with a global survey of cartographic practice established over several centuries, revealing that choice of markers is arbitrary. Parallels of latitude, meridians of longitude, location of the prime meridian, the fact that mapmakers now place north to the top of the map–all owe to cultural choice. All maps are made for a reason. Maps of politicians, salespeople, warmongers, and peacemakers are invariably designed for a cause–buyer, beware! Yet the aphorism one map is worth ten thousand words has so often proved true. Klinghoffer provides innumerable examples of an interdisciplinary nature in this book, revealing the way in which maps and their projections both reflect and determine human destinies. Endnotes and index are especially helpful adjuncts to an interesting book that will hold appeal for an extended readership. Recommended. All levels/libraries.”—Choice

Argentina: What Went Wrong (2006), by Colin M. MacLachlan. Foreword by Douglas Brinkley.

“Life in Argentina presents challenges that not all Argentines are prepared to meet, as they prefer to emigrate rather than resolve the gnarls that distort national life–corrosive social stresses, endemic corruption, and what this author calls the culpable irresponsibility of its leaders. Constructing a coherent narrative from deceptive sources would seem impossible, but distinguished Latin American history professor MacLachlan succeeds brilliantly. Rather than attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable currents that threaten civilized life in Argentina, he presents them in all their splendid irrationality. His first four chapters discuss the events and ideologies that formed contemporary Argentina. Emphasis is on the struggle to define a national identity: countryside versus capital city, modernizers versus traditionalists, supporters versus resisters of authoritarian rulers from Rosas to Peron (Peron) to the Proceso. The book’s second half takes readers through the labyrinth of successive presidencies, from Rivadavia to Menem. Pushing beyond objectivity, MacLachlan disentangles motives, actions, and outcomes that puzzle non-Argentines yet are accepted by natives as the way we do things here. This is a most welcome and useful addition to the author’s earlier volumes on Mexico and Brazil. Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.”—Choice

Twilight in the Kingdom: Understanding the Saudis (2006), by Mark A. Caudill. Foreword by Steve Coll.

“Mark Caudill’s wonderful book Twilight In The Kingdom is proof that the most shocking thing a writer can do is simply tell the truth. His intelligence, patience, and indecent curiosity have given us the most closely observed, behind the scenes look at a culture that used to be obscure but is now shaping much of the world–for better or worse.”

—Peter Theroux, Author, Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia

Turning Point: The Arab World’s Marginalization and International Security after 9/11 (2007), by Dan Tschirgi

“It makes sense to understand the reasoning of those you oppose-even if doing so exposes you to truths about yourself that you do not want to see. Tschirgi rejects simplistic slogans—particularly the idea the Arab world is somehow exceptional, or that 9/11 is a product of an unreasoning hatred of American freedom—and offers a comparative analysis of the conditions underlying asymmetric conflict….The writing is a model of clarity, the arguments are well reasoned, and whatever one thinks of its conclusions, it is a book that deserves a wide audience. Recommended. All readership levels.”—Choice

Engaging Iran: The Rise of a Middle East Powerhouse and America’s Strategic Choice (2007), by Nathan Gonzalez

“This book offers an important new perspective to the debate about U.S.-Iranian relations. Much like Nixon’s strategy of detente during the 1970s, Gonzalez suggests that the time is ripe for a reduction in tension with the Islamic Republic. His arguments for replacing ideological confrontation with strategic engagement are detailed and thought-provoking and should inform foreign policy discussions for many years.”—James J. F. Forest, United States Military Academy

“Nathan Gonzalez knows Iran. His grasp of the country’s culture, religion, and complex political structure is unmatched among American analysts. Engaging Iran is a must read for anyone who wants a fuller, more complete picture of this powerful, problematic, and increasingly influential country. I cannot recommend this book enough.”

—Reza Aslan, Author of No God but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

The Arrow and the Olive Branch: Practical Idealism in U.S. Foreign Policy (2007), by Jack Godwin. Foreword by Leon E. Panetta

The Hidden Power of the American Dream: Why Europe’s Shaken Confidence in the United States Threatens the Future of U.S. Influence (2007), by Giovanna Dell’Orto

“In this well-researched, timely book, Dell’Orto shows how Europe accepted, supported, and adopted the notion that the American dream belongs to everyone who wants to achieve it….Recommended.”—Choice

Reinventing Japan: New Directions in Global Leadership (2018), edited by Martin Fackler and Yoichi Funabashi

“Reinventing Japan describes the Japan of today and its likely future. Unlike those who suppose Japan is still in a ‘lost decade,’ the authors prove with striking examples that Japan is already generating new ideas in all directions that affect the whole world.”—Donald Keene, University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Columbia University

“Martin Fackler, Yoichi Funabashi, and their colleagues lead us through a searching exploration of Japan’s many strengths and accomplishments—often unrecognized—and its lurking potential for future greatness. From basic science to anime and popular culture, together with innovations in human security, sustainable development, and social resiliency, Japan is on the cutting edge. Reinventing Japan provides the most compelling and eloquent statement yet about what Japan has to offer the world—and why, now more than ever, the world needs Japan.”—G. John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

China’s Grand Strategy: Weaving a New Silk Road to Global Primacy (forthcoming 2019), by Sarwar A. Kashmeri. Foreword by Noel Lateef.

A Foreign Policy Association Centennial Book

In this first book to use China’s New Silk Road, formally known as the Belt and Road Initiative, as a point of departure to explain why and how China is about to supersede America with regard to influence in Asia, Sarwar Kashmeri argues that the United States has a narrow window of opportunity to find a way to fit into a world in which the rules of the game are increasingly set by China. U.S. opposition to the Belt and Road Initiative is doomed to failure, so America must find creative ways to engage China strategically, and he warns that the window to do so is closing fast.

Russia

Cold Peace: Russia’s New Imperialism (2004), by Janusz Bugajski. Published in cooperation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“This important and timely book will be a revelatory shock to most readers. It exposes vividly what has been ignored by most U.S. policy makers, from the White House down: namely, that Russia’s policies towards the countries of the former Soviet Bloc are still being influenced by an ominously imperialist nostalgia. I know of no other work which so effectively combines analysis with hitherto unknown and highly sensitive data.”—Zbigniew Brzezinski

The Next Great Clash: China and Russia vs. the United States (2007), by Michael L. Levin

“Levin analyzes one of the most topical subjects of modern world affairs: relationships among the US, Russia, and China. Levin discusses growing Russian-Chinese cooperation aimed at limiting American influence in the world….Levin has spent many years in China and in Russia. Therefore, he has been able to provide insights developed from many years of analytical research, his thorough knowledge of the subject, and valuable personal experience. Recommended.”—Choice

The Consolidation of Dictatorship in Russia: An Inside View of the Demise of Democracy (2007), by Joel Ostrow, George Satarov, and Irina Khakamada. Foreword by Garry Kasparov.

“Coauthors Ostrow (Benedictine Univ.), Satarov (Information for Democracy Foundation, Moscow), and Khakamada (former People’s Deputy, Russian State Duma) are highly critical of the current state of Russian political development. It is no coincidence that Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion who became part of the opposition to the present government in Russia, wrote a foreword to this extremely one-sided, anti-Putin book. One of the major points of this study is that dictatorship in Russia has emerged. The authors argue that the word democracy is irrelevant to what Russia is today. For instance, the volume considers recent Russian elections window dressing. It also emphasizes erosion of press freedom and lack of fair access to mass media for different political groups. The book complains about the regime’s human rights abuses and points to law and order as Putin’s major priority. The book is valuable to researchers and faculty because it contains a comprehensive assessment of modern Russia from a liberal perspective. Recommended.”—Choice

Islam

Modernization, Democracy, and Islam (2004), edited by Huma Malik and Shireen Hunter

“A book with the tripartite title Modernization, Democracy, and Islam may be said to cover all bases, and it does just that. The quality articles treat such diverse subjects as the econometric dimension, the role of the military, comparisons between the Middle East and Latin America, and gender inequality.”—Foreign Affairs

Islam vs. Islamism: The Dilemma of the Muslim World (2006), by Peter Demant. Foreword by Asghar Ali Engineer.

“Peter Demant has written a comprehensive, deep, historical analysis of the important distinctions between the religion of Islam and its modern, politicized outgrowth, Islamism. The phenomenon of Islamism is critical to understanding the Muslim world today from its birth with the Muslim Brotherhood to its most extreme form with the violence of al Qaeda. Demant has written an invaluable guide to that world.”—Peter Bergen, fellow of the New America Foundation, author of The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader

“Demant not only distinguishes between the religion of Islam and the political ideology of Islamism, but furthermore he places both into the needed context. The author understands well that the unhappy encounter of Muslims with modernity is one of the major sources of the arising tensions leading to world political conflicts. Instead of engaging in rhetoric of a clash of civilizations, Peter Demant appreciates the place of the Muslim umma-community in humanity and presents his plea for a dialogue with Islam–without overlooking the conflicts.”—Bassam Tibi, A.D. White Professor-at-Large, Cornell University

The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West (2007), by Christopher Deliso. Foreword by Loretta Napoleoni.

“Christopher Deliso provides critical insight into the hypocrisy of Western policy towards the Balkans, now an epicenter for European heroin distribution and processing and a conduit for illegal arms sales, both of which provide financing that sustains global terrorism. This book should be required reading for all members of the U.S. foreign policy establishment.”—Sibel Edmonds, former FBI translator and founder, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition

The Crescent and the Pen: The Strange Journey of Taslima Nasreen (2006), by Hanifa Deen

“In 1993, Bangladeshi physician, writer, and activist Nasreen was accused of blasphemy, and a fundamentalist group issued a fatwa against her. With a price on her head, she left her home country and now lives in Europe. Her case brought a great deal of attention to Islamic fundamentalism and the persecution of writers, but, as Deen shows, the real story differs in several important ways from the official version, and there are many unanswered questions. For example, why, when writers around the world were coming to Nasreen’s defense, did she receive virtually no support within her own country? It’s a troubling book because it forces us to consider the possibility that Nasreen wasn’t simply a victim of ideological persecution, but it deserves to be read for the author’s informative and thoughtful reappraisal of the case. Timely and extremely relevant in the post-9/11 climate.”—Booklist

Radical State: How Jihad Is Winning Over Democracy in the West (2010), by Abigail R. Esman

“Esman offers a clear and powerfully evocative account of the process whereby Islamist political agitators, violent Muslim criminals, and Muslim terrorist idealogues are, step by step, bring about the demise of a Western democracy.”—Middle East Quarterly

“Her book should be on the nightstand of anyone seeking to understand the world around them and how quickly it is changing. … It is about art and feminism and terrorism and politics and Esman pulls it off brilliantly.”—Forbes

Journalism

Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics (2004), by William Rugh

“This is one of the most important reference books that has ever been published about media in the Middle East. It has been and will continue to be an important resource for all the players in the field and will be used not only by faculty and students but also by media and development professionals in the Middle East.”—Hussein Amin, Ph.D., Chair, Journalism and Mass Communication Department, The American University in Cairo

Shooting the Truth: The Rise of American Political Documentaries (2005), by James McEnteer

“Shooting the Truth highlights the rise of one of the recent louder voices in the marketplace–the political documentary.”—American Journalism

“The rise of political documentaries in the US may be a reaction to the decline of the liberal television network news-gathering operations, which are hemorrhaging viewers to less professional cable news outlets such as the right-turning Fox channel. As television news has become partisan and trivialized, claims McEnteer, viewers hungry for news have turned to nonfiction films; he points out that eight of the ten top-grossing documentaries of all time were released since 2002. Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which grossed $120 million, became the bellwether for anti-Bush, antiwar polemical documentaries. Defining nonfiction film as propaganda, the book concentrates on films that challenge official government narratives and offer competing alternative narratives of their own. McEnteer devotes chapters to such major talents as directors Errol Morris and Barbara Kopple, the more widely known ambush artist Michael Moore, and Robert Greenwald (best known for Outfoxed); Moore remains front and center. This book on the latest permutations of documentary films was as inevitable as it is welcome. Essential. All readers; all levels.”—Choice

Killing the Messenger: Journalists at Risk in Modern Warfare (2006), by Herbert N. Foerstel. Foreword by Danny Schechter.

“As the conventional warfare of the two world wars has evolved to more urban warfare with no clear front lines, war correspondents have gone from observers to collateral casualties to targets. Foerstel, who has written extensively on free press issues, examines the reasons for the changes in warfare, the impact on war reporting, and the corresponding effect on providing perspective on international conflicts….This is an impressive and thoroughly engrossing look at the perils of reporting on modern warfare.”

—Booklist, Starred Review

No Questions Asked: News Coverage since 9/11 (2006), by Lisa Finnegan

CHOICE 2007 Outstanding Academic Title

“We all tend to trust the news sources we know until we are exposed to others that often have different takes and better reporting. That’s why comparative shopping is as important in following news as in buying toasters. We should all be in debt to Lisa Finnegan who skillfully shows how and why our media is falling down on the job. Her book No Questions Asked poses questions we need to answer.”—Danny Schechter, News Dissector, Editor, Mediachannel.org

“What is the optimal role of U.S. news media in a democratic society under external attack? Veteran journalist Lisa Finnegan combines her sharp eye and crisp pen to offer her insights on dramatic accommodations by journalists following the evil of 9-11-01. Her analysis of media malaise is meticulously documented with primary sources, and unusually well-grounded in behavioral research on concepts relevant to journalist’s current behavior conformity, obedience, and group dynamics. A powerful book for anyone seeking to better understand the dynamics behind journalism in this stressful time.”—Harold Takooshian, PhD, President, Society for General Psychology, American Psychological Association

Centuries of Silence: The Story of Latin American Journalism (2006), by Leonardo Ferreira

The War in Iraq and Why the Media Failed Us (2006), by David Dadge

“Dadge points out that the press has been derelict before—in the Spanish-American War, World War I, and Korea—but he argues that never before has an administration managed to control news on such a scale. The efforts of the Bush ideologues were abetted by the press itself, which was muted by self-inflicted credibility problems and timidity to voice dissent and criticism. The author’s prescription for improvement: the media must adopt a new skepticism for government and return to journalism’s basic tenets, independence and accountability. Otherwise, a growing public apathy will further erode First Amendment rights in the US. Highly recommended.”—Choice

The Media Effect: How News Influences Politics and Government (2007), by Jim Willis

Reimagining Journalism in a Post-Truth World: How Late-Night Comedians, Internet trolls, and Savvy Reporters Are Transforming News (2017), by Ed Madison and Ben DeJarnette. Foreword by Frank Sesno.

2018 IPPY Award Silver Medal in Current Events category — Independent Publisher

“A necessary contribution to a larger conversation our entire society, not just the journalism community, needs to have. The sooner, the better.”

—Robert W. McChesney, Gutgsell Endowed Professor, Department of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Coauthor, The Death and Life of American Journalism

Technology

The Black Digital Elite: African American Leaders of the Information Revolution (2006), by John T. Barber

“Despite talk of a digital divide along lines of race and class, media analyst Barber asserts that African Americans have been actively involved in the development and progress of information technology. He offers profiles of 26 black Americans who have made significant contributions to the advancement of technology….Barber highlights black scientists, policy makers, educators, and entrepreneurs who have advanced technological development in the U.S. Barber also illustrates how many of those he profiles are using information technology to address social issues.”—Booklist

24/7: How Cell Phones and the Internet Change the Way We Live, Work, and Play (2007), by Jarice Hanson

The Triumph of the Flexible Society: The Connectivity Revolution and Resistance to Change (2003), by Manuel Hinds

“Provides the reader with a remarkable analysis of the challenges that the new ‘information-related’ technologies present in today’s world. Manuel Hinds, an eminent Latin American policymaker in his own right, describes the difficulties of our current global environment, enriched by a fascinating historical perspective. Mr. Hinds’s strong belief in the values of democracy and of the market economy is inspiring. Yet, it presents a major challenge to policy and opinion makers alike: how to use the technological revolution to improve society at large, without incurring the tragic mistakes of the past.”—Claudio M. Loser, The Inter-American Dialogue

War and Peace

Libricide: The Regime-Sponsored Destruction of Books and Libraries (2003), by Rebecca Knuth

“Knuth expertly straddles the disciplines of political history, political philosophy, sociology and of course, library and information science, to deliver a piece of work that would be of interest to students and scholars rooted in any of these aforementioned disciplines….[a] truly indispensable resource. Not only is Libricide indispenable, it is seminal.”—Library Review

“Lurking behind the academic prose of this historical survey is a compelling, provocative analysis of ‘libricide,’ the systematic destruction or robbery of books and other cultural artifacts as part of an ideological campaign against a group or nation….Knuth’s argument is powerfully drawn.”—Publishers Weekly

Gandhi and King: The Power of Nonviolent Resistance (2004), by Michael Nojeim

The New American Imperialism: Bush’s War on Terror and Blood for Oil (2005), by Vassilios Fouskas and Bulent Gokay

“This is a brilliant and courageous analysis of the present-day American Empire that we ignore at our own peril.”—Cornel West, Princeton University

The “New” Terrorism: Myths and Reality (2006), by Thomas R. Mockaitis

“The book is a valuable examination of the globalization of terrorism and an important reminder that success in this conflict will result not from purely military solutions but from political and economic reform, closely coordinated by all elements of the United States government-and her friends and allies around the globe. Highly recommended.”

—Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl, Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, author of Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam: Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife

Burning Books and Leveling Libraries: Extremist Violence and Cultural Destruction (2006), by Rebecca Knuth

The Three U.S.-Mexico Border Wars: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland Security (2006; second edition 2016) by Tony Payan

“Tony Payan’s book is an excellent primer on the myriad policy issues facing the United States and Mexico as they grapple with the opportunity and tragedy of their common border. Payan’s lucid prose illuminates past and present on a frontier that has evolved from a collection of unguarded desert outposts, to an urbanized battleground of cultural conflict.”—Hector Tobar, author of Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States

Inside the Red Zone: A Veteran For Peace Reports from Iraq (2006), by Mike Ferner

“At a time when so much of our information from the Iraq war is unreliable, whether from the government or from the major media, it is valuable to have Mike Ferner, a veteran himself, give us his on-the-scene observations, joined to his own passionate reactions to what he saw.”—Howard Zinn, author of People’s History of the United States

“Ferner traveled to Baghdad as a peace activist just before the U.S. invasion in March 2003 and again a year later, as a freelance reporter, to cover the impact of the war on the lives of ordinary Iraqis. He offers a perspective on life in Iraq before and after the war, in the Red Zone, the area outside the protected zone from which most media cover the war….Along with photographs and letters, Ferner offers a compellingly human perspective on the war.”—Booklist

Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East (2006), by Robert G. Rabil

“Although Rabil completed this book in March 2005, he was prescient in analyzing the politics of Syria, Lebanon, and Hezbollah. Rabil suggested conditions could lead to war, which did occur in July-August 2006. He cites reasons for the US government’s growing frustration with Syria’s support for resistance forces in Iraq, Hamas, and Islamic jihad. Rabil contends the Asad regime’s policy of liberalizing the economy is accompanied by even more authoritarian measures to contain dissent. One such policy is to encourage Pan-Arabism as well as Islamist ideologies. The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Refik Hariri in 2005, which resulted in a popular revolt compelling the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, encouraged the author to think that Lebanon might yet be able to foster a viable Lebanese state. But the war between Hezbollah and Israel jeopardized this possibility. Indeed, the war may well result in another prediction of the author’s coming true: Syria is set to clash with the United States over the future of the Middle East….Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through practitioners.”—Choice

Blossoms on the Olive Tree: Israeli and Palestinian Women Working for Peace (2006), by Janet M. Powers. Foreword by Betty Reardon. Introduction by Elise Boulding.

“Blossoms is a story worth telling and the women we meet here are worth knowing. As militarized theocratic chauvinism of many stripes gains ground throughout the Middle East, Janet Powers’s remarkable women appear all the more heroic. They deserve our understanding and support.”—Dr. James J. Zogby, President, Arab American Institute

Why Leaders Choose War: The Psychology of Prevention (2006), by Jonathan Renshon

“A remarkable debut book by a young scholar that augurs for an outstanding academic career. Using a sophisticated comparative case study approach, Why Leaders Choose War adds substantially to our understanding of leaders’ motivations for preventive war.”

—Jerrold M. Post, Professor of Psychiatry, Political Psychology and International Affairs, Director, Political Psychology Program, Elliot School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Global Justice: The Politics of War Crimes Trials, (2006) by Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu. Foreword by Pierre-Richard Prosper.

“Kingsley Moghalu is a sure-footed guide through the thicket of international law and the imbalances among nations–political, economic, and military—that have made it very difficult to achieve true global standards and philosophies of justice for war crimes and atrocities against civilians.”—Barbara Crossette, former New York Times foreign correspondent and New York Times UN bureau chief

The Disaster Gypsies: Humanitarian Workers in the World’s Deadliest Conflicts (2007), by John Norris

“John Norris is the rare individual who has worked on all sides of the front lines. He has done so both as a U.S. government in-house emergency responder and, more recently, as an influential, roving critic of U.S. foreign policy. But what makes Norris truly rare is that he is both a doer–a dispenser of food aid, a demobilizer of soldiers, a negotiator of life-altering deals–and he is a writer. Disaster Gypsies is a highly readable tour of the sights, scares, and moral tradeoffs that Norris encountered in the earth’s most troubled places. With a meticulous eye for detail, he offers a kind of ‘biography of a humanitarian,’ casting insight on democracy promotion and nation building at a time when we desperately need his hard-won wisdom.”

—Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide

The Path to Paradise: The Inner World of Suicide Bombers and Their Dispatchers (2007), by Anat Berko

“The Path to Paradise is an astounding document, an original and authoritative account of the inner worlds of suicide bombers and their dispatchers. Dr. Anat Berko brings to her work a unique combination of academic expertise, and, as the daughter of Jewish refugees from Iraq, genuine cultural understanding of the world of her subjects. The depth of both her professional and personal knowledge of her subject make this book a must-read for anyone interested in the real and complex causes of the suicidal terror that is spreading like wildfire throughout the world, and of which we in the US felt the devastating effects on September 11th, 2001.”—George P. Fletcher, Columbia University, Author of Romantics at War: Glory and Guilt in the Age of Terrorism

“Berko has written an interesting book that departs from many of the typical studies of suicide bombers. Her research involved frequent and extensive conversations with Palestinians jailed by Israel for attempted suicide terrorist attacks; the author recounts, in some cases transcribes, these discussions. Equally interesting is the author’s emphasis on women’s roles in suicide bombing and, more broadly, the role that gender plays in shaping the logic and motivation of terrorism against Israel. As always, the issue of bias in the scholarship on the Arab-Israeli conflict is something to consider here, as the author was previously a career officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. However, that does not undermine the value of her interviews, which flesh out and reflect similar studies of terrorism that emphasize the role of humiliation and gender. The book is a fascinating look at the individuals who carry out suicide attacks, and helps us understand the people, arguments, and emotions that give rise to this form of terrorism. Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates through practitioners.”—Choice

Denial of Sanctuary: Understanding Terrorist Safe Havens (2007), edited by Michael A. Innes. Foreword by Michael F. Scheuer.

“Demonstrates the shortcomings of proposals to attack terrorism at its source when there are so many ways of hiding: in the ungovernable interiors of failed states, in the obscurity of urban London, on the Internet.”—Foreign Affairs

The U.S. Military and Human Rights Promotion: Lessons from Latin America (2007), by Jeffrey A. Laurienti

CHOICE 2009 Outstanding Academic Title

“Laurienti sheds light on an issue that military and human rights scholars have left largely unexplored. He provides a window into how the U.S. armed forces can foster security while playing a central role in human rights promotion. Policymakers and academics looking for practical options to advance a stronger military-human rights relationship will find this study enlightening.”—General Barry R. McCaffrey, USA (Ret.)

Made, Not Born: Why Some Soldiers Are Better Than Others (2007), by Bruce Newsome

“An impressively comprehensive and trenchant investigation of one of the most important but understudied issues in military effectiveness.”—Richard K. Betts, Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University

“Newsome zeroes in on a subject analysts often ignore—how good are a country’s soldiers? When studying warfare, we tend to focus on weaponry and wealth, on generals and statesmen, on battle plans and grand strategies. Yet soldiers matter as much as all the above. At a time when our policies from Iraq and Afghanistan to Congo and Colombia depend on helping other countries develop strong, effective, dependable militaries—which are only attainable if they have good soldiers to fill them out—Newsome’s approach could hardly be more timely.”—Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

 

 

 

Multivolume Sets Commissioned

Community Preparedness and Response to Terrorism, 3 vols., ed. James Johnson, 2005

The Making of a Terrorist, 3 vols., edited by James Forest, West Point, 2005

Homeland Security: Protecting America’s Targets, 3 vols., ed. James Forest, 2006

Defending Same-Sex Marriage, 3 vols., ed. Mark Strasser, 2006

Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21^st Century, 3 vols., ed. James Forest, 2007

Political Parties and Democracy, 5 vols., edited by Kay Lawson, 2008

Bringing Human Rights Home to America, 3 vols., edited by Peter Rosenblum, 2008

The Impact of Globalization on the United States, 3 vols., ed. Beverly Crawford, 2008

Homelessness in America, 3 vols., edited by Robert McNamara, 2008

State Violence and the Right to Peace, 4 vols., ed. Kathleen Malley-Morrison, 2009

Series Initiated

American Subcultures (Bruce Jackson)

American Social and Political Movements (Martha Burk)

Politics and the Environment (P. H. Liotta)

Ethics of American Foreign Policy (David Welch and Robert Patman)

Energy and Security (David Goldwyn)

Women and Minorities in Politics (Melody Rose)

Democracy and the News (Jeffrey Scheuer)