This book is a historical-demographic study of the indigenous population of the Indonesian archipelago during the period 1880-1942, focusing on geo- graphical diversity. In undertaking such a study, one is faced with a difficult task. On the one hand, much of the statistical data that should form the framework for a demographic study is missing; on the other, it is difficult to interpret the re…
The Cold War has been followed by a decade of regional and ethnic conflicts, massacres, and forced exiles. Should America assume the role of peacekeeper and chief humanitarian in a world of endless wars and human disasters? Eminent foreign correspondent William Shawcross has spent much of his career in war zones and has had unrivaled access to diplomats, peacekeepers, and global policymakers at…
This book offers a historian's reflection on the past and the future of the American experiment. The word 'experiment' is used advisedly. The men who established the United States of America believed that they were trying something new under the sun. The idea that a democratic republic might endure ran against all the teachings of history. The vindication of this idea, said Washington in his fi…
Britain fought in the Second World War to save the world from fascism. But just a few years after the defeat of Hitler came the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya -a mass armed rebellion by the Kikuyu people- demanding the return of their land and freedom. The draconian response of Britain's colonial government was to detain nearly the entire Kikuyu population of one-and-a-half million to hold them in c…
The Christian Arabs, organized in a variety of denominations, constitute today no more than a small minority in the predominantly Muslim Arab World. Yet they have historically enjoyed -and continue to enjoy- an importance out of all proportion to their numbers. With the wave of religious fundamentalism currently sweeping the Muslim world, there has been much speculation about their future. Such…
Set up under the Labour Government in 1948 and clandestinely financed from the Secret Intelligence Service budget, the Information Research Department waged a vigorous covert propaganda campaign against Communism around the world. IRD was a large organization with close links to Ml6 with whom it shared many personnel. Parliament, had it known of the true purpose of IRD's existence, may well hav…
A History of Thailand offers a lively and accessible account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. This book explores how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree peasants was transformed and examines how the monarchy managed the foundation of a new nation-state at the turn of the twentieth century. The authors capture the clashes between various groups in their attempts …
Here for the first time is a complete and objective history of all the branches of the Israeli intelligence community: the Mossad, responsible for foreign operations; Aman, the intelli-gence-gathering arm of the military; and Shin Bet, the agency in charge of internal security, comparable to the FBI. Every Spy a Prince reveals for the first time the existence of two additional intelligence agen…
A compilation written by a former diplomat about three wars that the Netherlands fought in the 20th century, the Second World War, the police actions and New Guinea
The story that emerges is one of endurance and heroism in face of atrocious brutality on the part of the colonialists. But it reveals that it was also one of painful compromises imposed by the conditions of the struggle and the subordination of internal democracy within the liberation movement to the single goal of military and diplomatic victory. The study will be of keen interest to everyone…