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Personal History
An autobiography of William R. Polk. Born in Texas at the beginning of the Great Depression and spending much of his youth on a ranch, William Polk considers himself to be one of the most fortunate men of our time. His travels have taken him throughout Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia and have thrown him together with many of the people who shaped our world. As he relates his experiences, he puts them into the context of the great events of our time. He was intimately involved at the center of the Cuban Missile Crisis, helped to negotiate two cease-fires in major wars, planned important aspects of American foreign policy, worked on nuclear problems with the Russians, and many other major isssues. During an active and wide ranging life, he dealt with such world leaders as the Shah of Iran, the President of Turkey, the Chancellor of Germany, the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Egypt in addition to a wide variety of other "movers and shakers." In intimate detail, he shares these experiences in this moving and dramatic but personal history of our times
Polk's Folly
The grand saga of American history told through the story of one remarkable family--a chronicle of pioneers and generals, presidents and scoundrels, cowboys and killers, Southern belles and civil rights heroes. In 1680, a Scots-Irish mercenary named Robert Pollok fled war-torn Ireland with his family, in search of safe haven and a better life in the New World. When Robert (now using the name "Polk") arrived in Maryland, the only land available was a wretched piece of swampfront the locals derisively dubbed "Polk's Folly." From this desperate and hardscrabble beginning, the Polk clan would flourish, and generate some of the most fascinating and colorful characters in American history. When Wi...
Crusade and Jihad
Encompasses the entire history of the catastrophic encounter between the Global North--China, Russia, Europe, Britain, and America--and Muslim societies from Central Asia to West Africa, explaining the deep hostilities between them and how they grew over the centuries. --Adapted from publisher description.
Understanding Iraq
The Dramatic History of Iraq in One Concise Volume The destinies of Iraq and America will be tightly intertwined into the foreseeable future due to the U.S. incursion into this complex, perplexing desert nation -- the latest in a long history of violent outside interventions. A country sitting atop the world's largest supply of crude oil, Iraq will continue to play an essential role in global economics and in Middle Eastern politics for many decades to come. Therefore, it is more important than ever for Westerners to have a clear understanding of the volatile, enigmatic "Land of Two Rivers" -- its turbulent past and its looming possibilities. In this acutely penetrating and endlessly fascinating study, acknowledged Middle East authority William R. Polk presents a comprehensive history of the tumultuous events that shaped modern Iraq, while offering well-reasoned judgments on what we can expect there in the years to come.
The Birth of America
In this provocative account of colonial America, William R. Polk explores the key events, individuals, and themes of this critical period. With vivid descriptions of the societies that people from Europe came from and with an emphasis on what they believed they were going to, Polk introduces the native Indians encountered in the New World and the black Africans who were brought across the Atlantic. With insightful analysis, he also discusses the dual truths of colonial societies' "growing up" and "growing apart." As John Adams would point out to Thomas Jefferson, the long years that witnessed the formation of our national character and the growth of our spirit of independence were indeed the...
Understanding Iraq
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Passing Brave
Two Americans cross the great Arabian desert on camel-back - a daring journey in search of the last Bedouin tribes.
Violent Politics
In the current Middle East, insurgency tactics are used with frequency and increasing success. But guerrilla war-fare is not just the tool of modern-day terrorists. Its roots stretch back to our very own revolution. In Violent Politics, William Polk takes us on a concise, brilliant tour of insurgencies throughout history, starting with the American struggle for independence, when fighters had to battle against both the British and the loyalists, those colonists who sided with the monarchy. Instinctively, in a way they probably wouldn't have described as a coherent strategy, the rebel groups employed the tactics of insurgency. From there, Polk explores the role of insurgency in several other notable conflicts, including the Spanish guerrilla war against Napoleon, the Irish struggle for independence, the Algerian War of National Independence, and Vietnam. He eventually lands at the present day, where the lessons of this history are needed more than ever as Americans engage in ongoing campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq—and beyond.
Out of Iraq
Former senator George McGovern and William R. Polk, a leading authority on the Middle East, offer a detailed plan for a speedy troop withdrawal from Iraq. During the phased withdrawal, to begin on December 31, 2006, and to be completed by June 30, 2007, they recommend that the Iraq government engage the temporary services of an international stabilization force to police the country. Other elements in the withdrawal plan include an independent accounting of American expenditures of Iraqi funds, reparations to Iraqi civilians for lives lost and property destroyed, immediate release of all prisoners of war, the closing of American detention centers, and offering to void all contracts for petroleum exploration, development, and marketing made during the American occupation.
