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brings together prominent scholars in an ambitious and innovative comparative study. The six case studies -the United States in Vietnam, the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Syria in Lebanon, Israel in Lebanon, South Africa and Cuba in Angola, and India in Sri Lanka- constitute a diverse set, involving superpowers and regional powers, democracies and non-democracies, neighboring states and distant states, and incumbent regimes and insurgent movements. ... Read more

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Abegunrin examines Nigerian foreign policy during the 33 years of military rule punctuated by the quadrennial civilian government. He critically analyzes the major developments during this period at the regional, continental, and global levels, focusing on the activities of the key figures. ... Read more

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This book is an effort to condense the totality of Nigeria's externalrelations and foreign policy, activities, accomplishments andshortcomings, during the thirty years of military rule 1966 to 1999 into asingle volume. It intends to close a gap in the literature on this period;in which writers tended to concentrate on individual regimes and events,ignoring or glossing over the bigger picture. The work is organisedchronologically. It begins with a section on the foundation, principles ndpurposes of Nigerian foreign policy. It then discusses the Yakubu Gownperiod1966-1975 in the context of domestic instability civil war andforeign policy. Chapters follow on the period of Murtala Muhammed1975-1976, Obasanjo 1976-1979, and Nigeria as a new African power; Buhari,xenophobia and the beginning of isolation; the Babangida period and thenew optimism; and the return to the dark times and international isolationwith Sani Abacha. The final chapters consider the new civil beginnings inNigeria since 1999, and offer an overall evaluation of the outcomes ofmilitary rule. The author is a specialist in international relations basedat University of Ife, Nigeria. ... Read more

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From the Quasi War with France and the opening of Japan, to the numerous interventions of the 1990s, these events have been situated at the heart of US foreign policy.There are four different explanations as to why the US, throughout its history, has used military force just short of war.Some scholars have suggested that nations use military force on behalf of security objectives.Others have maintained that economic self-interest has motivated many military interventions.Recently many researchers have explored the extent to which the US has used force to promote democracy and human rights, and still more scholars have argued that presidents use limited force for domestic political purposes.

Assessing the utility of each of these explanations throughout US history, Meernik employs both historical narrative and statistical techniques to provide a comprehensive account of these important foreign policy events.This engaging, highly informative volume is particularly suited to scholars and students in the fields of international relations, foreign policy, military affairs and history. ... Read more

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A sweeping military space opera told in the grand satirical tradition of Catch-22...

One more roll – that’s all habitual gambler Joey Czerinski needs to get himself off Old Earth and away from the bad-ass loan shark hunting him down like a mongrel to be euthanized. But a sneaky ATM looking to fill its Foreign Legion new recruits quota has something else in mind for Mr. ‘Big Spender’ Czerinski. When he agrees out of desperation to take a loan from the crazy ATM, all bets are off.

War is hell, and hell comes knocking when it’s time for Czerinski to pay up. Forced into the Legion by the tricky ATM and an unscrupulous lawyer, Czerinski finds himself deeper in trouble than he’d ever imagined. But what’s one more roll for a perennial rule-bender? If Czerinski can survive what’s thrown at him amid galactic war against a spider-like enemy that could spell doom for the human race, maybe ... just maybe ... he’ll manage to come out alive in this grisly game of shoot-’em-up – if his luck holds out.
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Customer Reviews (14)

surprisingly funny
Imaginative, clever, and just entertaining. I would recommend it to a friend. Wild Evolution, book I of the Wild Series

Cleverly, amusing, and absurd
Very amusing and easy read, clever writing, bordering on (and reaching into) the absurd.I read a lot of SciFi and I haven't read anything quite like the Galactic Foreign Legion series.If you don't have sense of humor, pass on this one.For something different, have at it!

An Easy Read
The satirical aspects of this book make for an interesting and unique adventure filled with uncomplicated humor and thigh-slapping laughs.

Very poor
Full of re-used stereotypes and ripped of ideas (Starship Troopers) but without the same narrative mastery and no real story beneath, just a staccato dialog driven narrative. I could not finish it.

a terrific new series!
If you're looking for a terrific and hilarious new scifi series, look no further.I love scifi that uses our own world as a stepping off point. Terry Pratchett does it really well and so does Knight.Silly, biting, action-packed. A+ ... Read more

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The new campaign in Afghanistan, the Gulf war, and the NATO bombardment of Kosovo show clearly how advances in information technology are driving a high-tech revolution in military affairs (RMA) and transforming the nature of modern warfare. Elinor Sloan outlines the major elements of the RMA and examines the efforts of the United States, its NATO allies, and others to transform their military forces from the large, industrial-age forces of the Cold War to the smaller, more rapidly deployable yet highly lethal forces of the future. By detailing the diverse dimensions of the RMA, including its appropriateness in anti-terrorist campaigns and its relevance to peace support operations, The Revolution in Military Affairs looks at whether and to what extent the RMA is applicable to future military missions. Although the RMA has been the subject of much discussion in the United States for over a decade, it has not received the same level of analytic attention in Canada and other NATO and allied countries. Sloan examines the RMA in the context of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in addition to assessing the transformation efforts of the United States Military.She concludes that small and medium military powers such as Canada must, at a minimum, take selected, concrete measures to maximise their military capabilities through the RMA if they are to avoid operational and political marginalisation in the promotion of international peace and security. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Academic Survey of RMA and NATO
Elinor Sloan's book is a solid academic text that provides an overview of the RMA and its implications for NATO countries. The book is an excellent primer for all students of international policy and serving members. The author clearly and convincingly makes the argument that the NATO allies need to play catch-up to the US. Without committed and dedicated funding efforts, the USA will remain a hyper-power for some time. Without showing any political predilection, Elinor Sloan outlines what political leaders in NATO countries need to decide when it comes to foreign policy. The author is Canadian and she provides an outstanding synoposis of the Canadian situation vis-a-vis the RMA. ... Read more

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Penniless, divorced and AWOL from the British forces, Bill Parris volunteered for the French Foreign Legion in the early 1980s. Unlike many British volunteers to the Legion, Bill did not desert. He endured a horrendous training regime and, despite a fear of heights (!) joined the elite Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment. This is more than a war story - it is a personal journey too, as Bill comes to terms with his own inner demons. His five years' service included brutal combat in Rwanda and Chad, events that still trigger nightmares. But he emerged as a man at peace with himself, and with a story to tell. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A good read
I had a watched some video's online about the French Foreign Legion (FFL), and that sparked my interest, but I was left with wanting more. I decided I would purchase a book written by someone who was actually there, and Bill Parris does a fantastic job recalling his life in the FFL. The only gripe I do have with the book is that 80% of it covers his training, while the action he saw only gets briefly touched upon; however, the author is so detailed that one feels like they are right there with him throughout his experience in FFL. All and all, this book sums up to a great and easy going read.

Great FFLstory
An excellent story that is written quite well.Easy to understand and the author is very unpretentious in the way he relays his time in the French Foreign Legion (FFL). I've read four books on the legion and this one is pretty good.He is even-handed in his treatment of the legion's glory and foibles and that is what best conveys the author's time in the French Foreign Legion.A very good book.

Excellent memoir of a proud legionnaire
I have been fascinated by the French Foreign Legion for the past year and have read several Legion memoirs and this is my favorite. The author, Bill Parris joined the FFL back in the 80's to escape the recent heartache of a troubled marriage (he doesn't explain much about this) and threw himself into becomming a proud Legionnaire.

Parris writes about the difficult training and later combat with a sense of humility and humbleness that made me really like the guy and cheer for him. I like the contrast in this book compared with another great Legionnaire memoir, Tony Sloane's "The Naked Soldier". Sloane's book is more gritty and less introspective.

Not A Quitter When Things Got Rough
I enjoyed this book because the author Bill Parris served his five year tour with honor and without deserting.Unlike Christian Jennings "Mouthful of Rocks" who spent most of his time whining and bitching and who later on deserted.Or in Jaimie Salazar's "Legion of the Lost"when the author does not have the intestinal fortitude to honor his contract.Not so with Bill Parris who went into the Legion with a "can do" and never quit attitude.This attitude helped him through training at the "Farm" and later on in the 2nd REP when he became a paratrooper.
Parris was brutally honest on training and his own fears especially about heights and making it through jump school.Parris recognizes his shortcomings and does an outstanding job in overcoming these obstacles.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in reading about the FFL.At the begining he alludes to a stomach illness that will eventually kill him.I wish him a long and happy life with his wife and sons.My maroon beret is off to you Mr. Parris for a good book.

Great Read
Very well written book.It took me less than a week to get through it.I hope the author and ex-Legionnaire is doing well these days.I highly recommend this publication. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Useless book for the serious collector
Save your money and buy a current book with current pricing. This historial document shows how rapidly prices and information changes, and provides a sobering look at the need for collectors to keep up to date.... ... Read more

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The U.S. presidency is the most powerful office in the world, claiming a prerogative to exercise force in foreign affairs that, according to Harry S. Truman, would have made Caesar or Genghis Khan envious.This book offers a historical account of how presidents from George Washington to Bill Clinton have asserted their privilege as commander in chief, examining their penchant for using military might unilaterally and their reasons for doing so.It asks why a democracy allows presidents to exercise such immense power virtually as a personal right.

Taking in a wide range of sources in diplomatic history and presidential studies, Alexander DeConde shows how the expansion of executive authority began long before the United States became a world power.He explains how it has evolved that U.S. presidents exercise a greater authority and control over foreign affairs and military matters than is granted to most other heads of republican governments.

DeConde attributes much of this pugnacious behavior to "machismo"-the display of virility-on the part of men already attracted to power, concluding that even weak presidents act differently when flexing their military muscle.He reveals how presidential machismo has thrived as modern media and the American people celebrate executive accomplishments in foreign affairs, elevating those who wage successful wars to the status of heroes. ... Read more

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This study presents an in-depth survey of the principal policies and personalities of American diplomacy of the era, together with a discussion of recent historiography in the field. For two decades between the two world wars, America pursued a foreign policy course that was, according to Rhodes, shortsighted and self-centered. Smug moral superiority, a penurious desire to save money, and naivete ultimately led to the neglect of America's armed forces even as potential rivals were arming themselves to the teeth. ... Read more

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Although over six years have passed since the Lebanon intervention ended, American leaders appear to be no closer to an appreciation of what went wrong than they were in 1984. Hallenbeck's authoritative account of the American military disaster in Lebanon fills this significant void. The author's ultimate purpose is to suggest that conclusions derived from the study of the Lebanon intervention may be relevant both to an understanding of the past and to future attempts to achieve limited ends through the measured application of military force. This study goes a long way toward explicating the factors that contributed most to this foreign policy failure. ... Read more

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Analyzing the modern status of military bases and the diplomacy that defines their location and access, this book explores the global basing networks of the world's major military powers--their type, location, and the politics and economics of their acquisition. It provides data on armaments, intelligence, communications, research, and space facilities; tables and maps that display U.S. and Soviet global networks; and the various military roles and nuclear deterrence capabilities for global power projection and support of client states in the Third World. Harkavy also discusses emerging political and technological developments that could alter basing diplomacy. ... Read more

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No other attempt to explain French civil and military leadership during the 1930s has been so gracefully written, so firmly based on archival material, or so sensitive to French conditions and purposes as In Command of France. It combines a detailed survey of French foreign policy during the Nazi period with a careful examination of France's corresponding military planning and preparation. France was under control, the author argues, and credits the civilian and military command with more vision, more determination, more competence than hitherto recognized.

Young introduces the reader to some of the leading personalities of the day--Laval, Bonnet, Weygand, Pétain, Gamelin, Delbos, Cot, Daladier--soldiers and statesmen whose names have come close to fading from our view. He outlines the problems and alternatives that confronted them in the Nazi years--strikes, lockouts, unemployment, inflating prices, devalued currency--and finds that they failed not because of an absence of policy or incompetence but because the problems they faced were insuperable.

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Learning from Foreign Wars' examines how the Russian army interpreted and what lessons it learned from the wars in Europe between 1859 and 1871, and the American Civil War. This was a time marked by rapid change - political, social, economic and technological. By raising the question of learning from foreign wars the author attempts to fill a gap in the historiography of the Russian army. The army was one of the pillars on which the Russian regime built its power, and it was crucial for the survival of the regime both in domestic and foreign affairs. The reactions and thinking of the military at a time of rapid social, political, economic, and technological change, therefore, tell a lot about the regime's ability to adjust, develop, and ultimately survive. Furthermore, the influence of foreign wars on Russian strategic war planning is analysed with the use of the first Russian war plan of 1873 and the proceedings from the strategic conference, chaired by Alexander II, in 1873. The influence of foreign wars on the General Staff officer education is also investigated. This book is largely based on extensive research in Russian archives. Special attention is given to the military attache's and, thus, the author fills a gap in the historiography of the Russian army. It uncovers the development of the military attache' institution with the use of new archival material. The Russian military attache' reports from the European Great Powers 1859-71 and the observer reports from the different theatres of war are also examined. In addition, extensive use has been made of the military press and contemporary military literature with regard to the wars. ... Read more

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Throughout time, major wars have defined historical epochs and charted the rise and decline of great powers. The U.S. global "war on terror," with Iraq as the Bush administration's chosen centerpiece, is almost certainly destined to do the same. Indeed, the Bush doctrine for conducting the war on terror and the Iraqi Freedom campaign are likely to prove benchmarks in U.S. history precisely because of the many orthodoxies and traditions the administration has purposely challenged. At the same time, fundamental flaws have already appeared in many tenets underlying the Bush transformation of foreign and military affairs.

So contends award-winning journalist James Kitfield. As with his critically acclaimed Prodigal Soldiers, the story of how America arrived at this fateful crossroads is a narrative full of drama and personal anecdote, rich in context and detail. War and Destiny is based on interviews with the key players and on Kitfield's personal observation of major events. Like his first book, it may well become the chronicle of a critical period in American history. ... Read more