The Partition of Europe, a Textbook of European History, 1715-1815

Chris Scarre, Toby A. Wilkinson

Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome

These portraits of the emperors form the building blocks of an invaluable and highly readable popular history of Imperial Rome, brought to life using the colorful testimony of contemporary authors.

John M., III Jones, Robert C. Rowland

Reagan at Westminster: Foreshadowing the End of the Cold War

President Ronald Reagan's famous address to the Houses of Parliament is now considered--in its spirit if not in its actual words--to be the initial enunciation of his "Evil Empire" stance. In this important volume by two experienced rhetorical scholars, Robert C. Rowland and John M. Jones offer a historical-descriptive treatment that includes both rhetorical analysis and a narrative of the drafting of the speech. They consider Reagan's focus on "ultimate definition," "dialectical engagement," and other rhetorical tools in crafting and presenting the momentous address. They also note the irony of Reagan's use of Leon Trotsky's phrase "ash-heap of history" to predict the demise of Communism.Rowland and Jones present three reasons for the importance of this speech. First, it offers new insights into President Reagan himself, through a view of his role in the drafting of the speech as well as the ideas it contains. Second, the speech is an act of rhetorical history, and its analysis helps recover a significant rhetorical artifact. Finally, the address ultimately expresses a rhetorical framework for the Cold War that systematically subverted the narrative, ideology, and values of ...

Nicholas Schmidle

To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan

A fascinating account of [Schmidle's] years in Pakistan . . . The story of two Pakistans the author discovered: one beautiful and friendly, the other frightening and deadly.-- Booklist Nicholas Schmidle beat the Pakistani army into Taliban country. In October 2007, just weeks before thousands of troops, backed by helicopters and artillery fire, marched into the Swat valley to battle the gang of Talibs who had taken over the region, Schmidle rode into the town of Mingora on a public bus. He drove through Taliban-manned checkpoints and took a zipline into a militant camp. Schmidle had spent the previous two years traveling throughout Pakistan, living off a small fellowship which required only that he stay in the country, learn Urdu, and write about what he witnessed. Schmidle's telling of his gripping adventures, aided by his own deep knowledge of Pakistan's history, explains to readers the many reasons why Pakistan has grabbed the world's headlines. To Live or to Perish Forever is an eye-opening and exciting read about this essential place.