The level of vitriol in American politics has been rising with no end in sight. Terms like "evildoer," "war on terror," and "axis of evil" have become commonplace in our discussion of international politics. What ever happened to civil debate? Where has all this moralizing come from? And what harm has this new level of attack caused to democracy in America?

In this compelling and cogent account, Tom De Luca and John Buell chart the rise of what they rightly label as the "demonization" of American politics, showing how political campaigns often neglect debates over policy in favor of fights over the private character and personal lives of politicians. Political interests are still served by this style of politics, but democracy, the authors contend, is the loser. Covering everything from the Clinton impeachment to the war on terrorism to the 2004 presidential campaign, the authors show the distinctly American qualities of demonization and how their frequency and intensity has grown in the last four decades.

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Tom De Luca, John Buell - Liars Cheaters Evildoers , Demonization and the End of Civil Debate in Amer ican Politics (2005).pdf

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Mark Dow - American Gulag, Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons (2005).jpg

Before September 11, 2001, few Americans had heard of immigration detention, but in fact a secret and repressive prison system run by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has existed in this country for more than two decades. In American Gulag, prisoners, jailers, and whistle-blowing federal officials come forward to describe the frightening reality inside these INS facilities. Journalist Mark Dow's on-the-ground reporting brings to light documented cases of illegal beatings and psychological torment, prolonged detention, racism, and inhumane conditions. Intelligent, impassioned, and unlike anything that has been written on the topic, this gripping work of investigative journalism should be read by all Americans. It is a book that will change the way we see our country.
American Gulag takes us inside prisons such as the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami, the Corrections Corporation of America's Houston Processing Center, and county jails around the country that profit from contracts to hold INS prisoners. It contains disturbing in-depth profiles of detainees, including Emmy Kutesa, a defector from the Ugandan army who was tortured and then escaped to the United States, where he was imprisoned in Queens, and then undertook a hunger strike in protest. To provide a framework for understanding stories like these, Dow gives a brief history of immigration laws and practices in the United States--including the repercussions of September 11 and present-day policies. His book reveals that current immigration detentions are best understood not as a well-intentioned response to terrorism but rather as part of the larger context of INS secrecy and excessive authority.
American Gulag exposes the full story of a cruel prison system that is operating today with an astonishing lack of accountability.

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Mark Dow - American Gulag, Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons (2005).pdf

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Bruce Levine - Confederate Emancipation, Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War (2005).jpg

USA Books1 - Bruce Levine - Confederate Emancipation, Southern Plan...lans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War 2005.jpg

In early 1864, as the Confederate Army of Tennessee licked its wounds after being routed at the Battle of Chattanooga, Major-General Patrick Cleburne (the "Stonewall of the West") proposed that "the most courageous of our slaves" be trained as soldiers and that "every slave in the South who shall remain true to the Confederacy in this war" be freed.
In Confederate Emancipation, Bruce Levine looks closely at such Confederate plans to arm and free slaves. He shows that within a year of Cleburne's proposal, which was initially rejected out of hand, Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Benjamin, and Robert E. Lee had all reached the same conclusions. At that point, the idea was debated widely in newspapers and drawing rooms across the South, as more and more slaves fled to Union lines and fought in the ranks of the Union army. Eventually, the soldiers of Lee's army voted on the proposal, and the Confederate government actually enacted a version of it in March. The Army issued the necessary orders just two weeks before Appomattox, too late to affect the course of the war. Throughout the book, Levine captures the voices of blacks and whites, wealthy planters and poor farmers, soldiers and officers, and newspaper editors and politicians from all across the South. In the process, he sheds light on such hot-button topics as what the Confederacy was fighting for, whether black southerners were willing to fight in large numbers in defense of the South, and what this episode foretold about life and politics in the post-war South.
Confederate Emancipation offers an engaging and illuminating account of a fascinating and politically charged idea, setting it firmly and vividly in the context of the Civil War and the part played in it by the issue of slavery and the actions of the slaves themselves.

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Bruce Levine - Confederate Emancipation, Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War (2005).pdf

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Christop Kinsey - Corporate Soldiers and Internati onal Security, The Rise of Private Military Compan ies (2006).jpg

Corporate Soldiers and International Security traces the history of private military companies, with a special focus on UK private forces.
Christopher Kinsey examines the mercenary companies that filled the ranks of many European armies right up to the 1850s, the organizations that operated in Africa in the 1960s and early 1970s, the rise of legally established private military companies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and today's private and important actors in international security and post-conflict reconstruction.
He shows how and why the change from the mercenary organizations of the 1960s and 1970s came about, as the increasing newness of private military companies came to be recognized. It then examines how PMCs have been able to impact upon international security. Finally, Kinsey looks at the type of problems and advantages that can arise for organizations that decide to use private military companies and how they can make an unique contribution to international security.
This book will be of great interest to all students of international politics, security studies and war studies.

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Christop Kinsey - Corporate Soldiers and Internati onal Security, The Rise of Private Military Compan ies (2006).pdf

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Jerome A. Kroth - Conspiracy in Camelot, The Compl ete History of the Assassination of John Fitzgeral d Kennedy (2003).jpg

USA Books1 - Jerome A. Kroth - Conspiracy in Camelot, The Complete ... of the Assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy 2003.jpg

Those not already deeply immersed in recondite Kennedy assassination lore will find this offering by Kroth-an associate professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University, and a contributor to CounterPunch, a biweekly "muckraking newsletter"-well over the top. Advertised as an "objective" look at the myriad conspiracy theories that surround the assassination, this instead offers overwrought writing, an author fixated on Kennedy's sexual conduct, and very subjective opinions.

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Jerome A. Kroth - Conspiracy in Camelot, The Compl ete History of the Assassination of John Fitzgeral d Kennedy (2003).pdf

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Guido Giacomo Preparata - Conjuring Hitler, How Br itain And America Made the Third Reich (2005).jpg

Nazism is usually depicted as the outcome of political blunders and unique economic factors: we are told that it could not be prevented, and that it will never be repeated. In this explosive book, Guido Giacomo Preparata shows that the truth is very different: using meticulous economic analysis, he demonstrates that Hitler's extraordinary rise to power was in fact facilitated -- and eventually financed -- by the British and American political classes during the decade following World War I. Through a close analysis of events in the Third Reich, Preparata unveils a startling history of Anglo-American geopolitical interests in the early twentieth century. He explains that Britain, still clinging to its empire, was terrified of an alliance forming between Germany and Russia. He shows how the UK, through the Bank of England, came to exercise control over Weimar Germany and how Anglo-American financial support for Hitler enabled the Nazis to seize power.

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Guido Giacomo Preparata - Conjuring Hitler, How Br itain And America Made the Third Reich (2005).pdf

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David Ryan - Vietnam in Iraq, Lessons, Legacies an d Ghosts (2006).jpg

The Vietnam War has exerted a considerable influence over US foreign policy, its method of engagement, and its sense of credibility, military tactics and overall strategic initiatives since 1969. The Bush administration's intervention in Iraq 2003 departed significantly from the accumulated lessons acquired since the 1970's. Though Vietnam has been a frequent point of reference in regional conflict, various facets of that war have returned with even more frequency and persistence both within the United States, Iraq and elsewhere. This book aims:
-To examine the impact of the Vietnam analogy on the war in Iraq
-To assess the military tactical lessons that were learned from the Vietnam War
-To examine the broader strategic lessons and the US concern with their credibility in fighting 'ground wars'.
-To examine the influence and persistence of Vietnam's legacy in US politics, culture and diplomacy and its ability to continue to exert influence on Washington's tactics.
-To examine the impact of US foreign policy on both Vietnam and Iraq.

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David Ryan - Vietnam in Iraq, Lessons, Legacies an d Ghosts (2006).pdf

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Paul H. Silverstone - Civil War Navies, 1855-1883 (2006).jpg

Civil War Warships, 1855-1883 is the second in the five-volume US Navy Warships encyclopedia set. This valuable reference lists the ships of the U.S. Navy and Confederate Navy during the Civil War and the years immediately following - a significant period in the evolution of warships, the use of steam propulsion, and the development of ordnance. Civil War Warships provides a wealth and variety of material not found in other books on the subject and will save the reader the effort needed to track down information in multiple sources.
Each ship's size and time and place of construction are listed along with particulars of naval service. The author provides historical details that include actions fought, damage sustained, prizes taken, ships sunk, and dates in and out of commission as well as information about when the ship left the Navy, names used in other services, and its ultimate fate. 140 photographs, including one of the Confederate cruiser Alabama recently uncovered by the author further contribute to this indispensable volume. This definitive record of Civil War ships updates the author's previous work and will find a lasting place among naval reference works.

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Paul H. Silverstone - Civil War Navies, 1855-1883 (2006).pdf

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Carolyn Podruchny - Making the Voyageur World, Tra velers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade (2006).jpg

USA Books1 - Carolyn Podruchny - Making the Voyageur World, Travel...lers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade 2006.jpg

French Canadian workers who paddled canoes, transported goods, and staffed the interior posts of the northern North American fur trade became popularly known as voyageurs. Scholars and public historians alike have cast them in the romantic role of rugged and merry heroes who paved the way for European civilization in the wild Northwest. Carolyn Podruchny looks beyond the stereotypes and reveals the contours of voyageurs’ lives, world views, and values.Making the Voyageur World shows that the voyageurs created distinct identities shaped by their French-Canadian peasant roots, the Aboriginal peoples they met in the Northwest, and the nature of their employment as indentured servants in diverse environments. Voyageurs’ identities were also shaped by their constant travels and by their own masculine ideals that emphasized strength, endurance, and daring. Although voyageurs left few conventional traces of their own voices in the documentary record, an astonishing amount of information can be found in descriptions of them by their masters, explorers, and other travelers. By examining their lives in conjunction with the metaphor of the voyage, Podruchny not only reveals the everyday lives of her subjects—what they ate, their cosmology and rituals of celebration, their families, and, above all, their work—but also underscores their impact on the social and cultural landscape of North America.

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Carolyn Podruchny - Making the Voyageur World, Tra velers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade (2006).pdf

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Vassilis K. Fouskas - Zones Of Conflict, US Foreig n Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle Eas t (2003).jpg

USA Books1 - Vassilis K. Fouskas - Zones Of Conflict, US Foreign Po...olicy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle East 2003.jpg

The US has several major interests in the Balkans, the Greater Middle East and the wide Eurasian zone, which determine its political and military strategies in the region. What are these interests, and what strategies are used to ensure that they are maintained? Examining the balance of power between the US, the EU and key EU states in the region, Vassilis Fouskas offers a critique of US foreign policy and its underlying motivations. He argues that the major US objectives include control over gas and oil producing zones; safe transportation of energy to Western markets at stable prices; and the elimination, but not destruction, of America's Eurasian competitors. He asserts that US foreign policy is therefore driven by the desire to maintain a strategic partnership with key EU states, while preventing the emergence of an alternative coalition in Eurasia capable of challenging US supremacy. Has US foreign policy undergone a dramatic U-turn after the end of the Cold War or, for that matter, after September 11th? This book tackles such questions and argues that the emergence of a social democratic administration in Eurasia is a feasible alternative to American unilateralism.

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Vassilis K. Fouskas - Zones Of Conflict, US Foreig n Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle Eas t (2003).pdf

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Daniel R. Mandell - King Philip's War, The Conflic t Over New England (2007).jpg

Between 1675 and 1676, King Philip's War shattered native tribes and devastated the new English colonies in one of the most significant American wars of the 17th century. The conflict that triggered this terrible war developed over 50 years, as Indians found their lands shrinking and their resources threatened by the colonists. The powerful Pequot and Narragansett tribes were subjugated, and Wampanoag leader King Philip (Metacom) saw his lands taken and his counselors executed. In July 1675, his warriors started an uprising that gained the support of other tribes and sent refugees streaming into Boston. "King Philip's War" is a penetrating account of this decisive confrontation, which ultimately led to the end of native independence in the area.

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Heather Lehr Wagner - The Central Intelligence Age ncy (2007).jpg

The headquarters of one of the world's most powerful and secretive intelligence services can be found in Langley, Virginia, about eight miles outside of downtown Washington, D.C. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) serves a critical role in the shaping of American policies by providing foreign intelligence related to national security issues to the U.S. president and senior U.S. policy makers. The process of gathering and analyzing intelligence involves spies and satellites, foreign agents, and researchers working at the CIA's headquarters. While the threats against the United States have changed since the CIA was founded in 1947, its mission remains the same: to provide the information that will keep Americans safe. This thrilling new title takes readers on a journey through the historical corridors of the CIA. From the days of Wild Bill Donovan and the OSS to the war against terrorism, "The Central Intelligence Agency" introduces some of the CIA's key players and reveals how intelligence has been a critical component in America's foreign policy.

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Heather Lehr Wagner - The Central Intelligence Age ncy (2007).pdf

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Robert D. Mccracken - Las Vegas, The Great America n Playground (1996).jpg

This is an expanded edition of McCracken's guide to one of America's favourite holiday destinations. The very name of the city conjures up a collection of images: fun, excitement, escape, or, more concretely, mega-sized hotels and casinos, spectacular showrooms, theme parks, and marquees as large as office buildings lit with the names of the biggest stars. One of the most interesting things about Las Vegas is how quickly it grew from almost nothing to its present size and stature as an entertainment and gaming mecca. What is equally remarkable is that this development took place in the middle of an inhospitable desert. Only 90 years ago, the valley in which Las Vegas sits held a mere handful of small, dusty ranches. Today, a huge city occupies the valley, and a million people call it home. More than 30 million people per year visit this desert paradise. Tbis guide, illustrated with many contemporary and historical photographs, traces the city's history from its first Native American occupants more than 10,000 years ago to its present status as a premier tourist destination.

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Robert D. Mccracken - Las Vegas, The Great America n Playground (1996).pdf

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Stephen L. Moore - Savage Frontier, 1840-1841, Ran gers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas (2007).jpg

This third volume of the Savage Frontier series focuses on the evolution of the Texas Rangers and frontier warfare in Texas during the years 1840 and 1841. Comanche Indians were the leading rival to the pioneers during this period. Peace negotiations in San Antonio collapsed during the Council House Fight, prompting what would become known as the "Great Comanche Raid" in the summer of 1840.
Stephen L. Moore covers the resulting Battle of Plum Creek and other engagements in new detail. Rangers, militiamen, and volunteers made offensive sweeps into West Texas and the Cross Timbers area of present Dallas-Fort Worth. During this time Texas' Frontier Regiment built a great military road, roughly parallel to modern Interstate 35. Moore also shows how the Colt repeating pistol came into use by Texas Rangers. Finally, he sets the record straight on the battles of the legendary Captain Jack Hays.
Through extensive use of primary military documents and first-person accounts, Moore provides a clear view of life as a frontier fighter in the Republic of Texas. The reader will find herein numerous and painstakingly recreated muster rolls, as well as casualty lists and a compilation of 1841 rangers and minutemen. For the exacting historian or genealogist of early Texas, the Savage Frontier series is an indispensable resource on early nineteenth-century Texas frontier warfare

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Stephen L. Moore - Savage Frontier, 1840-1841, Ran gers, Riflemen, and Indian Wars in Texas (2007).pdf

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William Issel, Robert W. Cherny - American Labor a nd the Cold War (2004).jpg

"This book is one of the most outstanding of recent years in all the history of U.S. labor, and nearly alone in tackling the complexities at the cross-section of Left politics and unionism." --Paul Buhle, senior lecturer in American Civilization, Brown University, and co-editor of The Encyclopedia of the American Left

The American labor movement seemed poised on the threshold of unparalleled success at the beginning of the post-World War II era. Fourteen million strong in 1946, unions represented thirty five percent of non-agricultural workers. Why then did the gains made between the 1930s and the end of the war produce so few results by the 1960s?

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