In the tradition of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Leebaert tells the stories of small forces that have triumphed over vastly larger ones and changed the course of history—from the Trojan Horse to Al Qaeda.To Dare and to Conquer offers a theory of war and politics, recounting the stories of small forces that have triumphed over vastly larger ones and changed the course of history, and illuminating why some giants fall and others do not."[An] in-depth and insightfu...

"Masterful.” —The Guardian"Propulsive." —The Wall Street Journal"Leebaert has done the near impossible—crafted a fresh and challenging portrait of the man and his inner circle.”— Richard Norton Smith, author of An Uncommon Man, former director of the Hoover, Eisenhower, Reagan, and Ford presidential libraries.“A fascinating and absorbing analysis o...

A new understanding of the postwar power struggle between the fading British Empire and the rising American superpower—with insights for today: "Riveting." — The Wall Street JournalAn enduring myth of the twentieth century is that the United States rapidly became a superpower in the years after World War II, when the British Empire—the greatest in history—was too wounded to maintain a global presence. In fact, Derek Leebaert argues in Grand Improvisatio...

This book demonstrates that under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan and through the mechanism of his National Security Council staff, the United States developed and executed a comprehensive grand strategy, involving the coordinated use of the diplomatic, informational, military, and economic instruments of national power, and that grand strategy led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In doing so, it refutes three orthodoxies: that Reagan and his administration deserve little cre...

AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ are the latest in a string of blunders that includes Vietnam and an unintended war with China from 1950 to ’53, those four fiascoes being just the worst moments in nearly a lifetime of false urgencies, intelligence failures, grandiose designs, and stereotyping of enemies and allies alike. America brought down the Soviet empire at the cold war’s most dangerous juncture, but even that victory was surrounded by myths, such as the conviction that we can ea...

The vital debates on government today are concerned with its social role, its participation in the economy, and its redistributive responsibilities. These functions, not defined in the Constitution, reflect the evolution of society and its values and the powerful but jerky hand of the political process.

This book, first published in 1981, examines the influences affecting Soviet military thinking planning and theory in the later Cold War. It offers for the first time an insight into the range of premises and calculations surrounding the Soviet conception of power, and makes the connection between Soviet studies and military strategy, a link often missed in the West. It discusses comparative doctrines, cultural differences, arms control and specific security challenges between East and Wes...

Drawing on new materials, Unlikely Heroes constructs an entirely fresh understanding of FDR and his presidency by spotlighting the powerful, equally wounded figures whom he raised up to confront the Depression, then to beat the Axis.Only four people served at the top echelon of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Administration from the frightening early months of spring 1933 until he died in April 1945, on the cusp of wartime victory. These lieutenants compose...

A new understanding of the post World War II era, showing what occurred when the British Empire wouldn't step aside for the rising American superpower—with global insights for today.An enduring myth of the twentieth century is that the United States rapidly became a superpower in the years after World War II, when the British Empire—the greatest in history—was too wounded to maintain a global presence. In fact, Derek Leebaert argues in Grand Improvisation,...

An eye-opening introduction to the timelessly relevant ideas of Noam Chomsky, "arguably the most important intellectual alive" (The New York Times), this book is a penetrating, illusion-shattering look at how things really workOffering something not found anywhere else, How the World Works is pure Chomsky, but tailored for those who are new to his work. The book is made up of meticulously edited speeches and interviews, and every dazzling idea and...

A single day in the heat of armed conflict can shape the future of the world. Throughout history, individual battles have inspired the birth of nations, the devastation of cultures and the triumph of revolutions. Yet while some battles rise up as the cornerstones of history, others fade in our cultural memory, forgotten as minor skirmishes. Why is this so? What makes a battle "important"?Celebrated veteran and military expert Michael Lee Lanning offers a provocative response with T...

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Chris Hedges makes a forceful case that liberal institutions have failed Americans by ceding power to self-serving and elitist corporations**“Uncompromising. . . . Hedges indicts the press, the Church, the arts, labor unions, universities, and the Democratic Party for failing to protect the middle and lower classes.” —**The New YorkerHistory has shown time and time again that when the liberal class...