Instant History

A very enjoyable and educative book indeed. -Bibek Debroy Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister An unusual book. -Professor S. Irfan Habib Former Maulana Azad Chair, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi The book is simply 'unputdownable'. -Rasheed Kidwai Visiting Fellow, ORF Congress leader Arjun Singh was aware of the imminent appointment of Dr Manmohan Singh as the prime minister. What did he do to sway the decision in his favour? Did Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar help the religious leader Chandraswami escape the dragnet of the Enforcement Directorate? What prompted the editor of Hindustan Times to publish an article titled 'National Shame' on the front page of the newspaper? How did a typo in a copy received by All India Radio lead to an inquiry by the Pakistani authorities regarding a 'mole' in their midst? Instant History is a brilliant insight into our recent history. A treasure trove for all those who believe that journalists write the first draft of history, this is an honest perspective on various issues in the context of many geographical complexities, political realities and social dichotomies. Narrated through short pieces and snippets, it unveils several incidents and exposes ground realities that afflict politics, bureaucracy and even journalism. Moreover, serving a slice of history, it documents changes India has witnessed across the last quarter of the preceding century, providing insights into the history of public administration. Anecdotal, humorous and often caustic, Instant History is a fabulous work on Indian journalism and politics recounted by a senior journalist with an insider view of affairs.

Key thinkers, theories, discoveries, and concepts each explained on a single page! Instant History pulls together pivotal moments from history into one concise volume. Each page contains a distinct “cheat sheet,” which tells you the most important facts in bite-size chunks, so you can feel like an expert in minutes! From second-wave feminism to Stalinism, the invention of the car to the Battle of the Somme, and the Russian Revolution to the Industrial Revolution, every key event, character, or turning point is expressed in succinct and lively text and graphics. Perfect for the knowledge-hungry and time-poor, this collection of graphics-led lessons makes history interesting and accessible. Everything you need to know—and more!—packed into one convenient volume.

This Guide to the Study and Use of Military History is designed to foster an appreciation of the value of military history and explain its uses and the resources available for its study. It is not a work to be read and lightly tossed aside, but one the career soldier should read again or use as a reference at those times during his career when necessity or leisure turns him to the contemplation of the military past.

A history of Russophobia and its living legacy in world affairs With proof of election-meddling and the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin an ongoing conundrum, little wonder many Americans are experiencing what historian Mark B. Smith calls "the Russia Anxiety." This is no new phenomenon. Time and time again, the West has judged Russia on assumptions of its inherent cunning, malevolence, and brutality. Yet for much of its history, Russia functioned no differently-or at least no more dysfunctionally-than other absolutist, war-mongering European states. So what is it about this country that so often provokes such excessive responses? And why is this so dangerous? Russian history can indeed be viewed as a catalog of brutal violence, in which a rotation of secret police-from Ivan the Terrible's Oprichina to Andropov's KGB and Putin's FSB-hold absolute sway. However, as Smith shows, there are nevertheless deeper political and cultural factors that could lead to democratic outcomes. Violence is not an innate element of Russian culture, and Russia is not unknowable. From foreign interference and cyber-attacks to mega-corruption and nuclear weapons, Smith uses Russia's sprawling history to throw light on contemporary concerns. Smith reveals how the past has created today's Russia and how this past offers hints about its future place in the world-one that reaches beyond crisis and confrontation.

In Hijacking History, Liane Tanguay unravels the ideology behind an American enterprise unprecedented in scope, ambition, and brazen claim to global supremacy: the War on Terror. She argues that the fears, anxieties, and even the hopes encoded in American popular culture account for the public's passive acceptance of the Bush administration's wars overseas and violation of many of the rights, privileges, and freedoms they claimed to defend. In her analysis, Tanguay critically examines the neoconservative contention that the current system of liberal-democratic capitalism represents the peak of human evolution - a claim that creates the impression of a "post-historical" age. Establishing a continuity between the "post-historical" imaginary and the attacks of 9/11, the book examines the links between shifting justifications for the war, renewed militarism, and capitalist globalization. Reviewing a wide range of media including Hollywood films, network television, and presidential rhetoric, Tanguay calls for a revival of politics in popular culture and rejects the politics of fear as disseminated by mass media. A timely retrospective on the War on Terror, Hijacking History examines popular representations of US military action and dissects both the logic and the aesthetics by which the dominant discourses strive to justify war, while revealing how some of those forces can ultimately contribute to an ideology of resistance.

There is a tradition of “participant history” among historians of the Pacific Islands, unafraid to show their hands on issues of public importance and risking controversy to make their voices heard. This book explores the theme of the participant historian by delving into the lives of J.C. Beaglehole, J.W. Davidson, Richard Gilson, Harry Maude and Brij V. Lal. They lived at the interface of scholarship and practical engagement in such capacities as constitutional advisers, defenders of civil liberties, or upholders of the principles of academic freedom. As well as writing history, they “made” history, and their excursions beyond the ivory tower informed their scholarship. Doug Munro’s sympathetic engagement with these five historians is likewise informed by his own long-term involvement with the sub-discipline of Pacific History.