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      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2012

        Defending the realm?

        The politics of Britain’s small wars since 1945

        by Aaron Edwards

        Britain is often revered for its extensive experience of waging 'small wars'. Its long imperial history is littered with high profile counter-insurgency campaigns, thus marking it out as the world's most seasoned practitioner of this type of warfare. This is the first book to detail the tactical and operational dynamics of Britain's small wars, arguing that the military's use of force was more heavily constrained by wider strategic and political considerations than previously admitted. Outlining the civil-military strategy followed by the British in Palestine, Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus, Aden, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, Defending the realm? argues that Britain's small wars since 1945 were fought against the backdrop of an irrevocable decline in British power. Written from a theoretically-informed perspective, grounded in rich archival sources, oral testimonies and a revisionist reading of the literature on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism, this is the definitive account of the politics of Britain's small wars. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2018

        Defending the realm?

        The politics of Britain’s small wars since 1945

        by Aaron Edwards

        Britain is often revered for its extensive experience of waging 'small wars'. Its long imperial history is littered with high profile counter-insurgency campaigns, thus marking it out as the world's most seasoned practitioner of this type of warfare. This is the first book to detail the tactical and operational dynamics of Britain's small wars, arguing that the military's use of force was more heavily constrained by wider strategic and political considerations than previously admitted. Outlining the civil-military strategy followed by the British in Palestine, Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus, Aden, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, Defending the realm? argues that Britain's small wars since 1945 were fought against the backdrop of an irrevocable decline in British power. Written from a theoretically-informed perspective, grounded in rich archival sources, oral testimonies and a revisionist reading of the literature on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism, this is the definitive account of the politics of Britain's small wars.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2018

        The Korean War in Britain

        Citizenship, selfhood and forgetting

        by Grace Huxford, Penny Summerfield

        The Korean War in Britain explores the social and cultural impact of the Korean War (1950-53) on Britain. Coming just five years after the ravages of the Second World War, Korea was a deeply unsettling moment in post-war British history. From allegations about American use of 'germ' warfare to anxiety over Communist use of 'brainwashing' and treachery at home, the Korean War precipitated a series of short-lived panics in 1950s Britain. But by the time of its uneasy ceasefire in 1953, the war was becoming increasingly forgotten. Using Mass Observation surveys, letters, diaries and a wide range of under-explored contemporary material, this book charts the war's changing position in British popular imagination and asks how it became known as the 'Forgotten War'. It explores the war in a variety of viewpoints - conscript, POW, protester and veteran - and is essential reading for anyone interested in Britain's Cold War past.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2018

        The Korean War in Britain

        Citizenship, selfhood and forgetting

        by Grace Huxford, Penny Summerfield

        The Korean War in Britain explores the social and cultural impact of the Korean War (1950-53) on Britain. Coming just five years after the ravages of the Second World War, Korea was a deeply unsettling moment in post-war British history. From allegations about American use of 'germ' warfare to anxiety over Communist use of 'brainwashing' and treachery at home, the Korean War precipitated a series of short-lived panics in 1950s Britain. But by the time of its uneasy ceasefire in 1953, the war was becoming increasingly forgotten. Using Mass Observation surveys, letters, diaries and a wide range of under-explored contemporary material, this book charts the war's changing position in British popular imagination and asks how it became known as the 'Forgotten War'. It explores the war in a variety of viewpoints - conscript, POW, protester and veteran - and is essential reading for anyone interested in Britain's Cold War past.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2018

        The Korean War in Britain

        Citizenship, selfhood and forgetting

        by Grace Huxford, Penny Summerfield

        The Korean War in Britain explores the social and cultural impact of the Korean War (1950-53) on Britain. Coming just five years after the ravages of the Second World War, Korea was a deeply unsettling moment in post-war British history. From allegations about American use of 'germ' warfare to anxiety over Communist use of 'brainwashing' and treachery at home, the Korean War precipitated a series of short-lived panics in 1950s Britain. But by the time of its uneasy ceasefire in 1953, the war was becoming increasingly forgotten. Using Mass Observation surveys, letters, diaries and a wide range of under-explored contemporary material, this book charts the war's changing position in British popular imagination and asks how it became known as the 'Forgotten War'. It explores the war in a variety of viewpoints - conscript, POW, protester and veteran - and is essential reading for anyone interested in Britain's Cold War past.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        January 2019

        The Korean War in Britain

        Citizenship, selfhood and forgetting

        by Grace Huxford, Penny Summerfield

        The Korean War in Britain explores the social and cultural impact of the Korean War (1950-53) on Britain. Coming just five years after the ravages of the Second World War, Korea was a deeply unsettling moment in post-war British history. From allegations about American use of 'germ' warfare to anxiety over Communist use of 'brainwashing' and treachery at home, the Korean War precipitated a series of short-lived panics in 1950s Britain. But by the time of its uneasy ceasefire in 1953, the war was becoming increasingly forgotten. Using Mass Observation surveys, letters, diaries and a wide range of under-explored contemporary material, this book charts the war's changing position in British popular imagination and asks how it became known as the 'Forgotten War'. It explores the war in a variety of viewpoints - conscript, POW, protester and veteran - and is essential reading for anyone interested in Britain's Cold War past.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2019

        The unimagined community

        Imperialism and culture in South Vietnam

        by Duy Lap Nguyen, Bertrand Taithe

        The unimagined community proposes a reexamination of the Vietnam War from a perspective that has been largely excluded from historical accounts of the conflict, that of the South Vietnamese. Challenging the conventional view that the war was a struggle between the Vietnamese people and US imperialism, the study presents a wide-ranging investigation of South Vietnamese culture, from political philosophy and psychological warfare to popular culture and film. Beginning with a genealogy of the concept of a Vietnamese "culture," as the latter emerged during the colonial period, the book concludes with a reflection on the rise of popular culture during the American intervention. Reexamining the war from the South Vietnamese perspective, The unimagined community pursues the provocative thesis that the conflict, in this early stage, was not an anti-communist crusade, but a struggle between two competing versions of anticolonial communism.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2019

        The unimagined community

        Imperialism and culture in South Vietnam

        by Duy Lap Nguyen, Bertrand Taithe

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        December 2019

        The unimagined community

        Imperialism and culture in South Vietnam

        by Duy Lap Nguyen, Bertrand Taithe

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2022

        The unimagined community

        Imperialism and culture in South Vietnam

        by Duy Lap Nguyen, Bertrand Taithe

        The unimagined community proposes a reexamination of the Vietnam War from a perspective that has been largely excluded from historical accounts of the conflict, that of the South Vietnamese. Challenging the conventional view that the war was a struggle between the Vietnamese people and US imperialism, the study presents a wide-ranging investigation of South Vietnamese culture, from political philosophy and psychological warfare to popular culture and film. Beginning with a genealogy of the concept of a Vietnamese "culture," as the latter emerged during the colonial period, the book concludes with a reflection on the rise of popular culture during the American intervention. Reexamining the war from the South Vietnamese perspective, The unimagined community pursues the provocative thesis that the conflict, in this early stage, was not an anti-communist crusade, but a struggle between two competing versions of anticolonial communism.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2020

        The unimagined community

        Imperialism and culture in South Vietnam

        by Duy Lap Nguyen

        The unimagined community proposes a reexamination of the Vietnam War from a perspective that has been largely excluded from historical accounts of the conflict, that of the South Vietnamese. Challenging the conventional view that the war was a struggle between the Vietnamese people and US imperialism, the study presents a wide-ranging investigation of South Vietnamese culture, from political philosophy and psychological warfare to popular culture and film. Beginning with a genealogy of the concept of a Vietnamese "culture," as the latter emerged during the colonial period, the book concludes with a reflection on the rise of popular culture during the American intervention. Reexamining the war from the South Vietnamese perspective, The unimagined community pursues the provocative thesis that the conflict, in this early stage, was not an anti-communist crusade, but a struggle between two competing versions of anticolonial communism.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        March 2025

        Hand of the prince

        How diplomacy writes subjects, territory, time, and norms

        by Pablo de Orellana

        This book is dedicated to how diplomacy makes, develops, and trades in knowledge. It proposes an approach to examine how diplomatic knowledge production describes what diplomats see, how these descriptions develop, and whether they were convincing to one's own policymakers or even those of other actors. These descriptions are vital: actors can be inserted into global categories Communism or Terrorism that beget significant security, relational and policy consequences. Diplomacy and policy constitute the world we inhabit based on what policymakers made of descriptions, assessments, and analysis. Such is the power of knowing who we and the others are.

      • Biography & True Stories

        From That Flame

        A Novelized Account of the Life, Death, and Legacy of Ahmed Shah Massoud

        by MaryAnn T. Beverly

        FROM THAT FLAME follows journalist Michelle Garrett as she interviews the legendary Commander Ahmed Shah Massoud – the “Lion of Panjshir” – in Afghanistan’s rugged Hindu Kush Mountains. Without warning, an attack by Taliban and al-Qaeda troops propels Michelle into a wartime adventure with Commander Massoud and his Mujahidin, one in which a friendship between the journalist and Massoud grows, giving her a unique perspective into the man the Wall Street Journal credited as being “the Afghan who ended the Cold War.”

      • Weapons & equipment
        February 2022

        Seven Seconds to Die

        An Analysis of Recent Wars and the Future of Warfighting

        by John Antal

        The first full analysis of the second Nagorno-Karabakh War—the first war in history won primarily by unmanned systems.

      • Military history: post WW2 conflicts
        April 2022

        America's War in Syria

        On the Ground with Kurdish Anti-ISIS Forces

        by Till Paasche, John Foxx, Shaun Murray

        A unique assessment of American military involvement in Syria, by three authors who participated in all large Kurdish operations between late 2014 and mid-2016. With America’s War on Terror and the subsequent democracy experiments in Afghanistan and Iraq having turned into geopolitical disasters, the US military campaign in alliance with the Kurdish forces in Syria remains a rare success story. Considering the overwhelming military victory, the functioning Kurdish civilian governing structures that followed the fighting, the extremely light military footprint and the strong link to Kurdish partners, many political analysts, military experts and politicians in Washington, DC, judge the intervention against ISIS in Syria as the nation’s most successful campaign since World War II. However, since neither these experts nor many journalists were on the ground during the fighting, they struggle to explain exactly how this particular operation turned into a just war. The authors, however, were there. Between the three of them, they fought for over two years with the Kurdish forces. They participated in all the large Kurdish operations against the Islamic State between late 2014 and mid-2016. They endured muddy archaic trench warfare, witnessed the first waves of decisive US and British airstrikes against ISIS, and experienced the impact America had on the battlefield. Later, when American, British and French Special Forces were deployed at the front lines, the authors worked closely with those teams when they evacuated hundreds of wounded from the battlefield together. Based on the authors' unique insights, this book analyses America’s war in Syria and structures the intervention into different phases including the secretive build up and the ultimate destruction of the ISIS Caliphate.

      • Military history: post WW2 conflicts

        Spare Not The Brave

        The Special Activities Group in Korea

        by Richard L. Kiper (author)

        The Special Activities Group (SAG) and its subordinate companies have received little attention from historians, despite being an elite combat unit and participating in highly classified and dangerous missions in Korea. Rarely receiving more attention than a footnote, their story usually begins and ends on the night of September 12, 1950, with an amphibious raid near Kunsan. Until their inactivation on March 31, 1951, SAG simply disappears from most Korean War histories. Spare Not the Brave corrects this omission. Spare Not the Brave tells the story of the extraordinary missions carried out by this group of extraordinary soldiers. Recruited primarily from the Far East Command headquarters, these men received six weeks of training and then were thrust into combat in Korea. Boarding rubber boats in the Yellow Sea and paddling to shore far behind enemy lines, they conducted a diversionary landing near Kunsan, then landed at Inchon, and sailed to the Wonsan area of North Korea. There, SAG was augmented with a battalion of South Korean soldiers. Together they conducted counter-guerrilla operations until overwhelming Chinese intervention forced all Allied units to withdraw from the North. Those critical missions continued into the difficult fighting of early 1951. Much of this volume is based upon the words of the participants themselves. Using previously obscure primary sources, oral histories, and official records, author Richard L. Kiper tells this unit’s riveting tale. Wherever possible, first-person accounts have been verified and supplemented with official reports, maps, and documents. Drawing on his twenty-six years of infantry and special forces experience, Kiper brings critical analysis and insight to this previously untold story. Spare Not the Brave fills a gap in the historiography of the Korean War and adds a valuable chapter to the history of U.S. Army special operations.

      • Science: general issues
        June 2012

        Losing Small Wars

        British Military Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan

        by Frank Ledwidge

      • Autobiography: historical, political & military
        June 2022

        Corporal Cannon

        A Female Marine in Afghanistan

        by Savannah Cannon

        A young female Marine in Afghanistan struggles to survive in a hostile environment—both inside and outside the wire. "Not even old enough to drink, Corporal Savannah Cannon is a young enlisted United States Marine deployed to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2010. As a tactical data networking specialist, she is sent away from everyone she knows and attached to a Regimental Combat Team where women are not allowed to repair communications. Her experiences over the next few months shed light on the unique and difficult positions women are placed in when supporting combat roles, while offering a raw look at the painful choices women must sometimes make. Cannon finds herself in a combat zone, ostracized from family, friends, and even her fellow Marines as the men are told to avoid her. The connections she makes are born from trauma and desperation and the choices she makes will echo throughout many lives. Corporal Cannon is not the story of a heroine; it is the hard-hitting account of just one of the flawed individuals who make up the United States’ fighting forces. Mistakes in the battlefield can have dire consequences, personally and professionally. Reflecting on her time in service, the author weaves a story of past and present, and the healing that can come with admitting our mistakes and moving past them."

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