Fifty years in a nation's life is a small period of time. However, it is quite likely that collective memory will have faded about several events...and so it is with the 1965 war that India was dragged into by Pakistan's chronic insecurities and territorial ambitions. This time in the form of a forcible attempt to annex Kashmir. Today, the details of the war that came between the tragedy of 1962 and the triumph of 1971 are hazy in the memory of the country. But it is a story that needs to be retold. Caught by surprise at the Pakistani offensive, India, then struggling as a nation, responded with extraordinary zeal and turned the tide in a war Pakistan thought it would win because of its superior weapons and tactics. But as the outcome of the 1965 war tells us, Pakistan not only failed to achieve any of its strategic objectives but had to suffer a massive setback, thanks to a combination of resolute political leadership, the brave Indian soldiers and determined citizens. This then is the account of the war that India has largely forgotten. In this meticulously researched and fast paced book, journalist and national security analyst Nitin A. Gokhale, has produced a formidable and comprehensive evaluation of the events and aftermath of the ferocious Indo-Pak war of 1965.
Turning the Tide is an institutional and cultural history of a dramatic decade of change at the University of Alabama set against the backdrop of desegregation, the continuing civil rights struggle, and the growing antiwar movement. This book documents the period when a handful of University of Alabama student activists formed an alliance with President Frank A. Rose, his staff, and a small group of progressive-minded professors in order to transform the university during a time of social and political turmoil. Together they engaged in a struggle against Governor George Wallace and a state legislature that reflected the worst aspects of racism in a state where the passage of civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965 did little to reduce segregation and much to inflame the fears and passions of many white Alabamians. Earl H. Tilford details the origins of the student movement from within the Student Government Association, whose leaders included Ralph Knowles and future governor Don Siegelman, among others; the participation of key members of “The Machine,” the political faction made up of the powerful fraternities and sororities on campus; and the efforts of more radical non-Greek students like Jack Drake, Ed Still, and Sondra Nesmith. Tilford also details the political maneuverings that drove the cause of social change through multiple administrations at the university. Turning the Tide highlights the contributions of university presidents Frank A. Rose and David Mathews, as well as administrators like the dean of men John L. Blackburn, who supported the student leaders but also encouraged them to work within the system rather than against it. Based on archival research, interviews with many of the principal participants, and the author’s personal experiences, Tilford’s Turning the Tide is a compelling portrait of a university in transition during the turbulence surrounding the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Paul Kennedy, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and one of today’s most renowned historians, now provides a new and unique look at how World War II was won. Engineers of Victory is a fascinating nuts-and-bolts account of the strategic factors that led to Allied victory. Kennedy reveals how the leaders’ grand strategy was carried out by the ordinary soldiers, scientists, engineers, and businessmen responsible for realizing their commanders’ visions of success. In January 1943, FDR and Churchill convened in Casablanca and established the Allied objectives for the war: to defeat the Nazi blitzkrieg; to control the Atlantic sea lanes and the air over western and central Europe; to take the fight to the European mainland; and to end Japan’s imperialism. Astonishingly, a little over a year later, these ambitious goals had nearly all been accomplished. With riveting, tactical detail, Engineers of Victory reveals how. Kennedy recounts the inside stories of the invention of the cavity magnetron, a miniature radar “as small as a soup plate,” and the Hedgehog, a multi-headed grenade launcher that allowed the Allies to overcome the threat to their convoys crossing the Atlantic; the critical decision by engineers to install a super-charged Rolls-Royce engine in the P-51 Mustang, creating a fighter plane more powerful than the Luftwaffe’s; and the innovative use of pontoon bridges (made from rafts strung together) to help Russian troops cross rivers and elude the Nazi blitzkrieg. He takes readers behind the scenes, unveiling exactly how thousands of individual Allied planes and fighting ships were choreographed to collectively pull off the invasion of Normandy, and illuminating how crew chiefs perfected the high-flying and inaccessible B-29 Superfortress that would drop the atomic bombs on Japan. The story of World War II is often told as a grand narrative, as if it were fought by supermen or decided by fate. Here Kennedy uncovers the real heroes of the war, highlighting for the first time the creative strategies, tactics, and organizational decisions that made the lofty Allied objectives into a successful reality. In an even more significant way, Engineers of Victory has another claim to our attention, for it restores “the middle level of war” to its rightful place in history. Praise for Engineers of Victory “Superbly written and carefully documented . . . indispensable reading for anyone who seeks to understand how and why the Allies won.”—The Christian Science Monitor “An important contribution to our understanding of World War II . . . Like an engineer who pries open a pocket watch to reveal its inner mechanics, [Paul] Kennedy tells how little-known men and women at lower levels helped win the war.”—Michael Beschloss, The New York Times Book Review “Histories of World War II tend to concentrate on the leaders and generals at the top who make the big strategic decisions and on the lowly grunts at the bottom. . . . [Engineers of Victory] seeks to fill this gap in the historiography of World War II and does so triumphantly. . . . This book is a fine tribute.”—The Wall Street Journal “[Kennedy] colorfully and convincingly illustrates the ingenuity and persistence of a few men who made all the difference.”—The Washington Post “This superb book is Kennedy’s best.”—Foreign Affairs
Kargil: Turning the Tide, is a gripping account of the operations of 8 Mountain Division, which was tasked to evict the enemy from the Drass-Mushkoh Sector during Op Vijay. Coming from the pen of Lt Gen (then Maj Gen) Mohinder Puri, who led the division during the operations, the book is as authentic an account of the operations as one can hope to have. Written in a racy style, the book vividly captures the emotions and sentiments of a soldier; the apprehensions and fears of the leaders, and finally the joy and ecstasy of a hard won victory. The book, covering a wide spectrum from attacks at platoon level to issues impinging on national security, will be of immense value to all military professionals. Civilian readers will find the accounts of various close quarters, hand to hand battles fought in the extremely challenging and hostile environment of rugged high altitude terrain, inclement weather and an entrenched enemy, very engrossing and moving. A very high casualty count of 268 killed and 818 wounded, coupled with a rich haul of gallantry awards – three Param Vir Chakras, eight Mahavir Chakras, and 42 Vir Chakras – operations of 8 Mountain Division are a saga of fortitude, exceptional bravery, and exemplary junior leadership, which will undoubtedly swell any Indian’s heart with pride.
The renowned activist examines the brutal reality of America’s Cold War era foreign policy across Central America—with a new preface by the author. First published in 1986, Turning the Tide presents Noam Chomsky’s expert analysis of three interrelated questions: What was the aim and impact of the US Central American policy? What factors in US society supported and opposed that policy? And how can concerned citizens affect future policy? Chomsky demonstrates how US Central American policies implemented broader US economic, military, and social aims—while claiming a supposedly positive impact on the lives of people in Central America. A particularly revealing focus of Chomsky's argument is the world of US academia and media, which Chomsky analyzes in detail to explain why the US public is so misinformed about our government's policies.
Argues that 1965, not 1968, was the most transformative year of the 1960s, discussing attacks on civil rights demonstrators, increased African American militancy, the Watts riots, anti-war protests, and a growing national pessimism.
No Wider War is the second volume of a two-part exploration of America's involvement in Indochina from the end of World War II to the Fall of Saigon. Following on from the first volume, In Good Faith, which told the story from the Japanese surrender in 1945 through America's involvement in the French Indochina War and the initial advisory missions that followed, it traces the story of America's involvement in the Vietnam War from the first Marines landing at Da Nang in 1965, through the traumatic Tet Offensive of 1968 and the gradual Vietnamisation of the war that followed, to the withdrawal of American forces and the final loss of the South in 1975. Drawing on the latest research, unavailable to the authors of the classic Vietnam histories, including recently declassified top secret National Security Agency material, Sergio Miller examines in depth both the events and the key figures of the conflict to present a masterful narrative of America's most divisive war.
This work features the history of brand innovation at Procter & Gamble, one of the most successful consumer goods companies in the world. A fascinating history of household brands from Ivory to Crest, and Pringles to Cascade, this book unlocks the secrets of longtime success of dozens of superstar brands that we've grown accustomed to choosing for decades. It offers practical advice. Case study sections offer lessons in: business reinvention, building new markets and capabilities, leadership transformation, brand excellence, and general management.
In 1921 and 1924, the United States passed laws to sharply reduce the influx of immigrants into the country. By allocating only small quotas to the nations of southern and eastern Europe, and banning almost all immigration from Asia, the new laws were supposed to stem the tide of foreigners considered especially inferior and dangerous. However, immigrants continued to come, sailing into the port of New York with fake passports, or from Cuba to Florida, hidden in the holds of boats loaded with contraband liquor. Jews, one of the main targets of the quota laws, figured prominently in the new international underworld of illegal immigration. However, they ultimately managed to escape permanent association with the identity of the “illegal alien” in a way that other groups, such as Mexicans, thus far, have not. In After They Closed the Gates, Libby Garland tells the untold stories of the Jewish migrants and smugglers involved in that underworld, showing how such stories contributed to growing national anxieties about illegal immigration. Garland also helps us understand how Jews were linked to, and then unlinked from, the specter of illegal immigration. By tracing this complex history, Garland offers compelling insights into the contingent nature of citizenship, belonging, and Americanness.
