The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West. When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, a remarkable era in world history ended. In this volume, Crowley give...[More]

The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West. When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, a remarkable era in world history ended. In this volume, Crowley gives a complete and compelling account of the Holy War for Constantinople and the clash of Islam and the West that gave rise to today's jihad.[Less]

For over a millennium, the Islamic empires were ahead of the West in learning, technology, and medicine, and were militarily far more powerful. It took another three hundred years for the West to catc...[More]

For over a millennium, the Islamic empires were ahead of the West in learning, technology, and medicine, and were militarily far more powerful. It took another three hundred years for the West to catch up and overtake the Middle East. In this fully updated and revised edition, historian Christopher Catherwood brings the account up to the present day and places in context the continuing friction between Israel and Palestine, the aftermath of the Iraq conflict, and the rising threat of Iran.

Author:
Christopher Catherwood is a historian and terrorism specialist who appears regularly on CNN and the BBC. He is also the author of several books including "Churchill's Folly" and "Merchants of Fear." He lives in Cambridge, England.[Less]

A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide. Former Congressman and Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Mark D. Siljander takes us on an eye-opening journey of personal, rel...[More]

A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide. Former Congressman and Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Mark D. Siljander takes us on an eye-opening journey of personal, religious, and political discovery. In the 1980s, Siljander was a newly minted Reagan Republican from Michigan who joined Congress in the same generation as Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay, ready to remake the world. A staunch member of the Religious Right, he once walked out of the National Prayer Breakfast when a speaker quoted from the Qur'an.

But after losing reelection, Siljander dove into the Bible to look for the passage in which the Bible says it is our job as Christians to convert others in order to save them from eternal damnation. He couldn't find it; in fact, he couldn't even find a passage saying that Jesus set out to form a new religion. This discovery was the first step on a spiritual and political journey that started with an in-depth linguistic study of the Bible and led to the discovery that Christianity and Islam share many base words and concepts. In his role as ambassador to the United Nations Siljander began sharing his insights on the connections between Islam and Christianity, with surprising results.

"A Deadly Misunderstanding" recounts Siljander's amazing discoveries as he travels to some of the most remote and hostile places in the world--deep into Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, and India--forging deep ties with both heads of state and religious leaders. What he has learned could radically shift the contemporary religious landscape and help heal the rift between Islam and the West. No Christian or Muslim will be unaffected after reading this book.

A friend of mine in Washington recommended this book to me as a must read. I have to say that I do not think that I have read a more important book in the last few years that has serious implications for all peoples of faith, government and civil servants and diplomats. This book is about "a deadly misunderstanding dividing our world today that need not do so tomorrow." It is about common ground that we all share that will be key to our future of living together. -- Steve Good YWAM Mercy Ministries[Less]

The history of the world's two largest religious communities, Islam and Christianity, has been a torturous one. The balance of power has periodically shifted, and there were also times of peaceful and...[More]

The history of the world's two largest religious communities, Islam and Christianity, has been a torturous one. The balance of power has periodically shifted, and there were also times of peaceful and civil coexistence.[Less]

Encyclopedic and panoramic in its scope, this fascinating work chronicles the rich spiritual, political, and cultural institutions of Arab history through 13 centuries.

The author delivers a brilliant and comprehensive one-volume survey covering 4,000 years of Jewish history. His book is a forceful and sustained analysis of Jewish emergence and an interpretation of h...[More]

The author delivers a brilliant and comprehensive one-volume survey covering 4,000 years of Jewish history. His book is a forceful and sustained analysis of Jewish emergence and an interpretation of how Jewish history, philosophy, ethics, and social and political notions interplay with world history.[Less]

The compelling and insightful account of a "New York Times" reporter's abduction by the Taliban, and his wife's struggle to free him. Invited to an interview by a Taliban commander, "New York Times" r...[More]

The compelling and insightful account of a "New York Times" reporter's abduction by the Taliban, and his wife's struggle to free him. Invited to an interview by a Taliban commander, "New York Times" reporter David Rohde and two Afghan colleagues were kidnapped in November 2008 and spirited to the tribal areas of Pakistan. For the next seven months, they lived in an alternate reality, ruled by jihadists, in which paranoia, conspiracy theories, and shifting alliances abounded. Held in bustling towns, they found that Pakistan's powerful military turned a blind eye to a sprawling Taliban mini-state that trained suicide bombers, plotted terrorist attacks, and helped shelter Osama bin Laden.

In New York, David's wife of two months, Kristen Mulvihill, his family, and "The New York Times" struggled to navigate the labyrinth of issues that confront the relatives of hostages. Their methodical, Western approach made little impact on the complex mix of cruelty, irrationality, and criminality that characterizes the militant Islam espoused by David's captors.
In the end, a stolen piece of rope and a prayer ended the captivity. The experience tested and strengthened Mulvihill and Rohde's relationship and exposed the failures of American effort in the region. The tale of those seven months is at once a love story and a reflection of the great cultural divide-and challenge-of our time.[Less]

Terrorist attacks, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rise of China, and the decline of Europe have underscored the necessity of understanding the world around us. But how should we approach this cruci...[More]

Terrorist attacks, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rise of China, and the decline of Europe have underscored the necessity of understanding the world around us. But how should we approach this crucial but often misunderstood topic? What do we need to know about the international order and America’s role in it?

A Student’s Guide to International Relations provides a vital introduction to the geography, culture, and politics that make up the global environment. Angelo Codevilla, who has taught international relations at some of America’s most prestigious universities, explains the history of the international system, the dominant schools of American statecraft, the instruments of power, contemporary geopolitics, and more. The content of international relations, he demonstrates, flows from the differences between our global village’s peculiar neighborhoods.

This witty and wise book helps make sense of a complex world.

Angelo M. Codevilla is professor emeritus of international relations at Boston University and has taught political theory and international relations at Princeton and Georgetown. A former Foreign Service officer and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, he is the author of many books, including Advice to War Presidents, The Character of Nations, and a translation of Machiavelli’s The Prince.[Less]

Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It. In the tradition of Ishmael Beah's bestselling "A Long Way Gone" and Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea," this book recounts the thrilling and upli...[More]

Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It. In the tradition of Ishmael Beah's bestselling "A Long Way Gone" and Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea," this book recounts the thrilling and uplifting tale of Rwandan President Kagame, who defied the odds to lift himself and his country out of misery toward a more promising future.

In 1994, the world stood idly by as Rwanda was devastated by the most horrifying genocide since the Holocaust. Now this tiny, land-locked nation stands poised to stun the world again--but in a very different way. Killers and survi-vors have embarked on a breathtaking path toward reconciliation, and Rwanda has become one of the most promising countries in the developing world. How did this happen?

In A "Thousand Hills," bestselling author Stephen Kinzer tells the dramatic story of Paul Kagame, whose rebel army stopped the genocide and whose government has turned Rwanda into a new star of Africa. Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee, shaped one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine warfare, and then emerged as a visionary leader with radical ideas about how poor countries can climb out of their misery. Whether his experiment can succeed is a question that has begun to fascinate people across Africa and beyond.[Less]

How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge. The emergence of India and China as economic powers has shifted the global landscape and called into question the ability of the United...[More]

How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge. The emergence of India and China as economic powers has shifted the global landscape and called into question the ability of the United States to compete. "Advantage" sorts out the challenges the United States faces and focuses on what drives innovation, what constrains it, and what strengths we have to leverage. Entirely recasting the stakes of the debate, Adam Segal makes the compelling case for the crucial role of the software of innovation. By bolstering its politics, social relations, and institutions that move ideas from the lab to the marketplace, the United States can preserve its position as a global power. With up-to-the minute economic and political data, this is a resounding call to tie innovation to larger social goals in an age of global science and technology.[Less]

A Short History of Its People and Politics. Starting with when Arab armies imported the new religion of Islam into a mostly Buddhist country, centuries of invasions, tribal rivalries, and power...[More]

A Short History of Its People and Politics. Starting with when Arab armies imported the new religion of Islam into a mostly Buddhist country, centuries of invasions, tribal rivalries, and powerful dynasties led to the creation of an Afghan empire during the 18th century. Traditions and political stability have over the years slowly been reduced to ruins.[Less]

Published in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the end of the 20th Century's biggest global conflict. A sweeping account of the last eight months of World War II on the European front from one of...[More]

Published in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the end of the 20th Century's biggest global conflict. A sweeping account of the last eight months of World War II on the European front from one of the foremost military historians of our time. In September 1944, the Allies expected that the war would end by Christmas, believing the German army had lost too many of its best soldiers. But a disastrous British airborne landing in Holland, an American defeat in the Hurtgen Forest, and the fierce Battle of the Bulge would all occur before the tide really turned. Max Hastings has scoured the archives of the major combatants and interviewed many survivors to give us an unprecedented understanding of the events themselves and of their impact on ordinary soldiers and citizens. Hastings raises provocative questions: Was the Allied cause compromised by a desire to get the Soviets to do most of the fighting? Why were the Russians and Germans more effective warriors than the Americans and the British? Why was strategic bombing continued until the last weeks of the war? The book also contains vivid portraits of Eisenhower, Roosevelt, Churchill, Montgomery, and the other major figures of this phase of the war: "Armageddon is a rousing and revealing chronicle of the crucial final months of the climax of World WarII.[Less]

Reimagining American Influence in a New Middle East. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author examines the cardinal failing of Washington's war on terror. This book distills eleven years of expert rep...[More]

Reimagining American Influence in a New Middle East. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author examines the cardinal failing of Washington's war on terror. This book distills eleven years of expert reporting for "The New York Times," Reuters, and "The Atlantic Monthly" into a clarion call for change. An incisive look at the evolving nature of war, Rohde exposes how a dysfunctional Washington squandered billions on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, neglected its true allies in the war on terror and failed to employ its most potent nonmilitary weapons: American consumerism, technology, and investment. Rohde then surveys post-Arab Spring Tunisia, Turkey, and Egypt, and finds a yearning for American technology, trade, and education. He argues that only Muslim moderates, not Americans, can eradicate militancy. For readers of Steve Coll, Tom Ricks, and Ahmed Rashid, "Beyond War" shows how the failed American effort to back moderate Muslims since 9/11 can be salvaged.[Less]

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich. From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Amazing Grace," a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of...[More]

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich. From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Amazing Grace," a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century, the man who stood up to Hitler.

A definitive, deeply moving narrative, "Bonhoeffer" is a story of moral courage in the face of the monstrous evil that was Nazism.

After discovering the fire of true faith in a Harlem church, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and became one of the first to speak out against Hitler. As a double-agent, he joined the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, and was hanged in Flossenberg concentration camp at age 39. Since his death, Bonhoeffer has grown to be one of the most fascinating, complex figures of the 20th century.

"Bonhoeffer" presents a profoundly orthodox Christian theologian whose faith led him to boldly confront the greatest evil of the 20th century, and uncovers never-before-revealed facts, including the story of his passionate romance.[Less]

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich. From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Amazing Grace," a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of...[More]

Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich. From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Amazing Grace," a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century, the man who stood up to Hitler.

A definitive, deeply moving narrative, "Bonhoeffer" is a story of moral courage in the face of the monstrous evil that was Nazism.

After discovering the fire of true faith in a Harlem church, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and became one of the first to speak out against Hitler. As a double-agent, he joined the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, and was hanged in Flossenberg concentration camp at age 39. Since his death, Bonhoeffer has grown to be one of the most fascinating, complex figures of the 20th century.

"Bonhoeffer" presents a profoundly orthodox Christian theologian whose faith led him to boldly confront the greatest evil of the 20th century, and uncovers never-before-revealed facts, including the story of his passionate romance.[Less]

East, Central, and Southern Africa, 1939-64 There are many histories of overseas mission and many histories of the last days of Great Britain's empire in Africa, but there has been no book-leng...[More]

East, Central, and Southern Africa, 1939-64 There are many histories of overseas mission and many histories of the last days of Great Britain's empire in Africa, but there has been no book-length study on the relationship between them until now. In "British Missionaries and the End of Empire," historian John Stuart thoroughly and critically examines British Protestant missionary experiences during the tumultuous years between 1939 and 1964 in east, central, and southern Africa.

Focusing on Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, and Kenya (with an eye for South African influence on mission affairs), Stuart portrays the uneven and evolving relationship between Protestant missionaries, the British empire, and African nationalists. He shows how missionaries sometimes supported empire, sometimes drew comfort from it, sometimes criticized it, yet finally learned to live with its formal demise, continuing their work in the newly formed African independent states even after the end of empire.[Less]

In this new work, written before his election to the Papal throne, Joseph Ratzinger addresses the "crisis of culture" that is evident in Europe today, and the serious problems that have resulted from ...[More]

In this new work, written before his election to the Papal throne, Joseph Ratzinger addresses the "crisis of culture" that is evident in Europe today, and the serious problems that have resulted from that cultural crisis, a crisis that affects not only Europe but the West in general.

Europe's Christian roots and foundation are being replaced by "modern Enlightenment philosophy" says the Pope. Such philosophies recognize only what can be mathematically or scientifically proven, and deny any metaphysical reality. Unable to recognize God's existence or objective truth, morality is consequently reduced to a relative concept, leading to a "confused ideology of freedom that leads to dogmatism" and ultimately "to the self-destruction of freedom," says Pope Benedict. He cited the growing intolerance of the criticism of homosexuality as an example of this phenomenon.

What the Pope offers as an answers to the nihilistic secularism that pervades Europe, and the West, is not politics, but a spiritual renewal based on the powerful example in history of St. Benedict and the amazing cultural impact the Benedictine Order had on a similarly declining Europe in the Middle Ages. Beginning in the 6th century, Benedictine monasteries and spirituality saved Western Europe from a descent into barbarism after the fall of the Roman Empire.[Less]

The West And The Rest. From one of our most renowned historians, "Civilization" is the definitive history of Western civilization's rise to global dominance-and the "killer applications" that m...[More]

The West And The Rest. From one of our most renowned historians, "Civilization" is the definitive history of Western civilization's rise to global dominance-and the "killer applications" that made this improbable ascent possible.

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 proportion of people now work for Western-style companies, study at Western-style universities, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and even work Western hours. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed unlikely to achieve much more than perpetual internecine warfare. It was Ming China or Ottoman Turkey that had the look of world civilizations. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed?

In "Civilization: The West and the Rest," bestselling author Niall Ferguson argues that, beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts that the Rest lacked: competition, science, the rule of law, consumerism, modern medicine, and the work ethic. These were the "killer applications" that allowed the West to leap ahead of the Rest, opening global trade routes, exploiting newly discovered scientific laws, evolving a system of representative government, more than doubling life expectancy, unleashing the Industrial Revolution, and embracing a dynamic work ethic. "Civilization" shows just how fewer than a dozen Western empires came to control more than half of humanity and four fifths of the world economy.

Yet now, Ferguson argues, the days of Western predominance are numbered-not because of clashes with rival civilizations, but simply because the Rest have now downloaded the six killer apps we once monopolized-while the West has literally lost faith in itself.

"Civilization" does more than tell the gripping story of the West's slow rise and sudden demise; it also explains world history with verve, clarity, and wit. Controversial but cogent and compelling, "Civilization" is Ferguson at his very best.

About the Author:
Niall Ferguson is Professor of History at Harvard University, a senior research fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.He is a bestselling author, including The Ascent of Money.[Less]

The West And The Rest. From one of our most renowned historians, "Civilization" is the definitive history of Western civilization's rise to global dominance-and the "killer applications" that m...[More]

The West And The Rest. From one of our most renowned historians, "Civilization" is the definitive history of Western civilization's rise to global dominance-and the "killer applications" that made this improbable ascent possible.

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 proportion of people now work for Western-style companies, study at Western-style universities, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and even work Western hours. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed unlikely to achieve much more than perpetual internecine warfare. It was Ming China or Ottoman Turkey that had the look of world civilizations. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed?

In "Civilization: The West and the Rest," bestselling author Niall Ferguson argues that, beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts that the Rest lacked: competition, science, the rule of law, consumerism, modern medicine, and the work ethic. These were the "killer applications" that allowed the West to leap ahead of the Rest, opening global trade routes, exploiting newly discovered scientific laws, evolving a system of representative government, more than doubling life expectancy, unleashing the Industrial Revolution, and embracing a dynamic work ethic. "Civilization" shows just how fewer than a dozen Western empires came to control more than half of humanity and four fifths of the world economy.

Yet now, Ferguson argues, the days of Western predominance are numbered-not because of clashes with rival civilizations, but simply because the Rest have now downloaded the six killer apps we once monopolized-while the West has literally lost faith in itself.

"Civilization" does more than tell the gripping story of the West's slow rise and sudden demise; it also explains world history with verve, clarity, and wit. Controversial but cogent and compelling, "Civilization" is Ferguson at his very best. (Publisher)[Less]

How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Who has looked on the ancient Maya or classical Mediterranean cities and not wondered why they were abandoned? Or whether they hold a message for us? In...[More]

How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Who has looked on the ancient Maya or classical Mediterranean cities and not wondered why they were abandoned? Or whether they hold a message for us? In this fascinating book, Jared Diamond seeks to understand the fates of past societies that collapsed for ecological reasons, combining one of the most important policy debates of our generation with the romance and mystery of lost worlds.

Citizens of first world societies look around and tend not to see signs of imminent ecological collapse: the supermarkets are full of food; water gushes from our faucets; we live amidst trees and green grass. Actually, though, many past civilizations--with far smaller populations and less potent destructive technologies than those of today--have inadvertently committed ecological suicide: the Polynesian societies on Easter Island and other Pacific islands or the Anasazi civilization, for example.

Ecocide asks why some societies make disastrous decisions, and how can we in the modern world learn better problem solving? Ecocide is an ecological history of human societies that considers why societies in some regions have been more vulnerable than those in other regions, and also compares the trajectories of past civilizations with likely trajectories of our own. Why did Greenland fail where Iceland succeeded? What links Rwanda and Australia? What can contemporary Montana learn from the ancient Mayans and modern Chinese?

"I've set myself the modest task of trying to explain the broad pattern of human history, on all the continents, for the last 13,000 years. Why did history take such different evolutionary courses for peoples of different continents? This problem has fascinated me for a long time, but it's now ripe for a new synthesis because of recent advances in many fields seemingly remote from history, including molecular biology, plant and animal genetics and biogeography, archaeology, and linguistics." Jared Diamond. (Publisher)[Less]