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“Who Dares Wins”. The world’s most legendary special forces unit - and a history of action you will barely believe. This is the extraordinary, secretive story of how the SAS evolved from an unconventional handful of soldiers, operating behind enemy lines in North Africa in 1941, into the world’s most disciplined and respected professionals, up to their daring and dangerous exploits in the Iranian Embassy siege and the Falkland Islands. We see them during the latter years of the Second World War, in the numerous post-war security campaigns in the Middle and Far East, and in the difficult circumstances of urban terrorism. Above all, we see how the regiment’s founder David Stirling’s emphasis on The Man has not changed at all. Here indeed are men who dare to excel - and in General Strawson they have a worthy chronicler of their remarkable activities both in wartime and in the “savage wars of peace”. In the first history of the SAS ever published, we see their unique courage on full display - a courage that changed the British Army, and the world.
Could Napoleon have won the battle of Waterloo? And what would have happened if he had? Or suppose Nelson had not destroyed the French fleet at Aboukir, would Napoleon have conquered India and become Emperor of the East? What if Hitler had not halted his panzer forces before Dunkirk and had entrapped the entire British Expeditionary Force? How would Churchill have then denied the Wehrmacht? If by chance Hitler had been assassinated in 1944 and the German General Staff taken control, would there have been a totally different kind of surrender? In examining these and other contingencies, Major General Strawson brings his experience of command in war and his skill as a military historian to present us with an enthralling catalogue of chance and speculation, while emphasising how profoundly the character of commanders influenced events and how events affected their character.
Following the events of September 11, a new legal order is emerging in which the 'terrorist threat' has been used as justification to marginalise human rights. This collection of themed essays offers an emphatic defence to the threats confronting our human rights culture. In analysing the role of the United Nations, the conduct of the Afghan war, domestic anti-terrorist legislation and the new debate about Islamic law, Law after Ground Zero demonstrates the future challenges that law will face within our global society. It also offers accounts of how events have impacted on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Iraq and Afghanistan itself, as well as debates about international law, human rights and women's rights. This unique work will interest those studying or researching in the areas of international law, human rights and humanitarian law, international relations, politics, critical legal studies, Islamic law, culture and socio-legal studies.
The moment Britain fought back. It was in North Africa that the tide turned; that Britain began its long fightback against Nazi dominance. The distinguished military historian Major General John Strawson's vivid, unputdownable book describes how the balance of power in North Africa see-sawed between the Italians, the British and the Germans through the years 1940 to 1943, and how ultimate victory was won by the Allies. In following the nail-biting course of battles during this three-year desert campaign, Strawson brings together the strategic considerations, the changing tactics and the searing impressions of those who did the actual fighting. His exciting narrative is brought to life with numerous eye-witness accounts, from German officers to Gurkhas and British tank crews and Americans. Essential and unforgettable reading for anyone interested in either the Second World War or its epic battle in the desert, this is perfect for fans of Ben Macintyre's SAS: Rogue Heroes.
John Locke's theory of personal identity underlies all modern discussion of the nature of persons and selves—yet it is widely thought to be wrong. In this book, Galen Strawson argues that in fact it is Locke’s critics who are wrong, and that the famous objections to his theory are invalid. Indeed, far from refuting Locke, they illustrate his fundamental point. Strawson argues that the root error is to take Locke’s use of the word "person" as merely a term for a standard persisting thing, like "human being." In actuality, Locke uses "person" primarily as a forensic or legal term geared specifically to questions about praise and blame, punishment and reward. This point is familiar to some philosophers, but its full consequences have not been worked out, partly because of a further error about what Locke means by the word "conscious." When Locke claims that your personal identity is a matter of the actions that you are conscious of, he means the actions that you experience as your own in some fundamental and immediate manner. Clearly and vigorously argued, this is an important contribution both to the history of philosophy and to the contemporary philosophy of personal identity.
Was Hitler 'the greatest strategic genius of all time' as Nazi propaganda had it, or just an amateur? Why was the startling success of his campaigns in Poland and France followed by the blundering mistakes in Russia, North Africa and France? Might Germany even have won the war without Hitler's continual and disastrous interference? In this extraordinary history, John Strawson answers these and other questions by showing how Hitler's insatiable preoccupation with war and conquest was translated into reality. While the power of a revitalized German army came from Hitler, Strawson examines the Fuhrer's eccentric use of the most formidable war machine the world had ever seen. This lucid story of fire and incompetence is brought alive by the accounts of those who served Hitler both on his staff and as field commanders. Perfect for readers of Ian Kershaw and Anthony Beevor.
The lively essays collected here explore colonial history, culture, and thought as it intersects with Jewish studies. Connecting the Jewish experience with colonialism to mobility and exchange, diaspora, internationalism, racial discrimination, and Zionism, the volume presents the work of Jewish historians who recognize the challenge that colonialism brings to their work and sheds light on the diverse topics that reflect the myriad ways that Jews engaged with empire in modern times. Taken together, these essays reveal the interpretive power of the "Imperial Turn" and present a rethinking of the history of Jews in colonial societies in light of postcolonial critiques and destabilized categories of analysis. A provocative discussion forum about Zionism as colonialism is also included.
Offering dual biographies of the two great World War II leaders, the author follows both as they are shaped by personal, social, and historical events into the men they became. Reprint.
Festschrift honoring P.F. Strawson; includes contributed articles on his contributions in logic and on logic.
The Rebirth of Antisemitism in the 21st Century is about the rise of antizionism and antisemitism in the first two decades of the 21st century, with a focus on the UK. It is written by the activist-intellectuals, both Jewish and not, who led the opposition to the campaign for an academic boycott of Israel. Their experiences convinced them that the boycott movement, and the antizionism upon which it was based, was fuelled by, and in turn fuelled, antisemitism. The book shows how the level of hostility towards Israel exceeded the hostility which is levelled against other states. And it shows how the quality of that hostility tended to resonate with antisemitic tropes, images and emotions. Antizionism positioned Israel as symbolic of everything that good people oppose, it made Palestinians into an abstract symbol of the oppressed, and it positioned most Jews as saboteurs of social ‘progress’. The book shows how antisemitism broke into mainstream politics and how it contaminated the Labour Party as it made a bid for Downing Street. This book will be of interest to scholars and students researching antizionism, antisemitism and the Labour Party in the UK.