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How the NSF became an important yet controversial patron for the social sciences, influencing debates over their scientific status and social relevance.In the early Cold War years, the U.S. government established the National Science Foundation (NSF), a civilian agency that soon became widely known for its dedication to supporting first-rate science. The agency's 1950 enabling legislation made no mention of the social sciences, although it included a vague reference to “other sciences.” Neverthe...

This sharp and authoritative account of American foreign relations analyzes the last fifteen years of foreign policy in relation to the last forty years, since the end of the Cold War. * Provides an overview and understanding of the recent history of U.S. foreign relations from the viewpoint of one of the most respected authorities in the field * Includes suggestions for further reading.

"Print and broadcast journalism in the United States have changed in recent years as a result of millions of people using the Internet and social media for obtaining some or most of the information they desire." So notes professor of journalism Edd Applegate, who, after surveying the decline in circulation and advertising revenues of newspapers and broadcast and radio news stations and the rise of cable news and website journalism, outlines in Journalism in the United States: Concepts and Issues...

In the twentieth century, Americans thought of the United States as a land of opportunity and equality. To what extent and for whom this was true was, of course, a matter of debate, however especially during the Cold War, many Americans clung to the patriotic conviction that America was the land of the free. At the same time, another national ideal emerged that was far less contentious, that arguably came to subsume the ideals of freedom, opportunity, and equality, and that eventually embodied a...

Charles Duelfer is one of the most senior intelligence officers with on-the-ground experience to have worked in Iraq before, during, and after the Gulf War. His 2004 CIA report is widely renowned as the most authoritative account on how the world was led to believe that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction. But until now, Duelfer has never publicly shared his unrivaled expertise on just how the U.S.-Iraq relationship spiraled into a second war, and ultimately into chaos.Hide and Seek is...

In Righteous Gentiles: Religion, Identity, and Myth in John Hagee's Christians United for Israel, Sean Durbin offers a critical analysis of America's largest Pro-Israel organization, Christians United for Israel, along with its critics and collaborators. Although many observers focus on Christian Zionism's influence on American foreign policy, or whether or not Christian Zionism is 'truly' religious, Righteous Gentiles takes a different approach. Through his creative and critical analysis of C...

Lord knows, Reverend Al has had his personal and very public ups and downs, but hes come out bigger and better than ever. Though the host of MSNBCs PoliticsNation is as fiery and outspoken as ever about the events and issues that matter most, hes learned that the only way we can get it right as a nation is by getting it right from within. In this his first book in over a decade, Reverend Al will take you behind the scenes of some unexpected places, from officiating Michael Jacksons funeral, h...

As legalized gambling continues its march across America, governors are in the curious position of managing enterprises that have long been the dominion of gangsters. Until the 1960s, legalized gambling in modern America was limited to Nevada and racetracks, but once governors got a taste of lottery revenue, it set off a stampede for more. Today, every state except for Hawaii and Utah has some form of legal gambling. Gangsters to Governors tells the stories of a constellation of remarkable pers...

Go behind the scenes of NASA's most visible program"NPR journalist Duggins reviews the 25-year saga of the shuttle missions, some of which have been shrouded in mystery, as astronauts took secret military payloads into space; others received worldwide attention and acclaim, as when the Hubble Space Telescope was restored to 20-20 vision. . . . A worthy addition to the recent torrent of books about the American space program."--Publishers Weekly"A story of lost dreams, new hopes, and the ongoing...

Why does Alabama rank so low on many of the indicators of quality of life? Why did some of the most dramatic developments in the civil rights revolution of the 1960s take place in Alabama? Why is it that a few interest groups seem to have the most political power in Alabama? William H. Stewart's Alabama Politics in the Twenty-First Century explores these questions and more, illuminating many of the often misunderstood details of contemporary Alabama politics in this cohesive and comprehensive pu...

A single book might not change the world. But this utterly original meditation on art and war might transform the way you see the world—and that makes all the difference. “How to live in the face of so much suffering? What difference can one person make in this beautiful, imperfect, and imperiled world?” Through a dazzling combination of memoir, history, reporting, visual culture, literature, and theology, Sarah Sentilles offers an impassioned defense of life lived by peace and principle. It...