All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to understand world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements - but if you don't know geography, you'll never have the full picture. To understand Putin's actions, for example, it is essential to consider that, to be a world power, Russia must have a navy. And if its ports freeze for six months each year then it must have...

"The Last Empire is Gore Vidal's ninth collection of essays. As in the previous volumes, Vidal displays unparalleled range and inimitable style as he deals with matters literary, historical, personal, and political."--Jacket.

"A narrative account of the world-changing negotiations of the post-World War II era draws on new archival material and interviews to analyze the influences of discussions surrounding such events as the development of the atomic bomb, Britain's withdrawal from India and the creation of the Israeli state."--NoveList. A revelatory book about the year that would signal the beginning of the Cold War, the end of the British Empire, and the beginning of...

Henry Kissinger offers in World Order a meditation on the roots of international harmony and global disorder. There has never been a true "world order," Kissinger observes. For most of history, civilizations defined their own concepts of order. Each considered itself the center of the world and envisioned its distinct principles as universally relevant. China conceived of a global cultural hierarchy with the Emperor at its pinnacle. In Europe, Rome...

A history of Western civilization's rise to global dominance offers insight into the development of such concepts as competition, modern medicine, and the work ethic, arguing that Western dominance is being lost to cultures who are more productively utilizing Western techniques. "The rise to global predominance of Western civilization is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five hundred years. All over the world, an astonishing...

"Hybrid War, Grey Zone Warfare, Unrestricted War: today, traditional conflict-fought with guns, bombs, and drones-has become too expensive to wage, too unpopular at home, and too difficult to manage. In an age when America threatens Europe with sanctions, and when China spends billions buying influence abroad, the world is heading for a new era of permanent low-level conflict, often unnoticed, undeclared, and unending. Transnational crime expert Mark...

A startling new perspective on the theories and practices that define fascist politics. Replacing myths with research, journalist Goldberg reminds us that the original fascists were really on the left. The Nazis were ardent socialists (hence the term "National socialism"). They believed in free health care and guaranteed jobs. They confiscated inherited wealth and spent vast sums on public education. The Nazis declared war on smoking, supported abortion,...

"Joe Mulhall knows what it's like to stare fascism in the face. For a decade, often undercover at significant personal risk, he has investigated hate groups. He infiltrated a US white supremacist militia, set up a fake Ku Klux Klan branch, has been on countless street marches with violent far-right groups across Europe, and got inside some of the most important 'alt-right' meetings ever held. Brazil, India and the US are still in thrall to authoritarian...

"So much of the literature on the First World War centers on the trench warfare of the Western Front, and these were essential battlegrounds. But the war was in fact truly a global conflict, and by focusing on a sequence of events in 1916 across many continents, historian Keith Jeffery's magisterial work casts new light on the Great War. Starting in January with the end of the catastrophic Gallipoli campaign, Jeffery recounts the massive struggle...

"When evil forces are going unchecked on earth, a principled astronaut makes a spilt-second decision to try and seek justice in the only place she knows how to--the international space station. Walli Beckwith is a model astronaut. She graduated at the top of her class from the naval academy, had a successful career flying fighter jets, and has spent over three hundred days in space. So, when she refuses to leave her post at the international space...