Losing the Peace

Losing the Peace
Author: William Leisner
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 387
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1439123411

Continuing the events detailed in Star Trek: Destiny: With the displacement and devastation wrought by the Borg, can the Federation survive? Fortune has smiled on Lieutenant Jasminder Choudhury, chief of security on the U.S.S Enterprise.™ She has survived. But her homeworld, Deneva, one of the planets targeted in the massive Borg invasion, has not. The entire surface has been wiped clean of everything, killing anyone who did not evacuate and rendering the planet uninhabitable. Choudhury is left to wonder whether her family was one of the displaced. Or are they all gone forever? The Enterprise is just one ship, and Jasminder Choudhury is just one officer, yet her story is being repeated over and over across the galaxy. Hundreds of thousands of displaced persons haunt the space ways, seeking comfort, looking for someplace safe, somewhere, anywhere to find solace. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is ordered to do everything he can to rescue and if need be to recover the lost souls from the Borg invasion. For the first time in generations, citizens of the Federation know want, uncertainty, and fear. Bloodied yet unbowed, the Federation now stands on the edge of a precipice. The captain of the Enterprise finds himself in the unenviable position of wondering whether it is true that those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace.

Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace

Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace
Author: Michael Krepon
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2021-10-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1503629619

The definitive guide to the history of nuclear arms control by a wise eavesdropper and masterful storyteller, Michael Krepon. The greatest unacknowledged diplomatic achievement of the Cold War was the absence of mushroom clouds. Deterrence alone was too dangerous to succeed; it needed arms control to prevent nuclear warfare. So, U.S. and Soviet leaders ventured into the unknown to devise guardrails for nuclear arms control and to treat the Bomb differently than other weapons. Against the odds, they succeeded. Nuclear weapons have not been used in warfare for three quarters of a century. This book is the first in-depth history of how the nuclear peace was won by complementing deterrence with reassurance, and then jeopardized by discarding arms control after the Cold War ended. Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace tells a remarkable story of high-wire acts of diplomacy, close calls, dogged persistence, and extraordinary success. Michael Krepon brings to life the pitched battles between arms controllers and advocates of nuclear deterrence, the ironic twists and unexpected outcomes from Truman to Trump. What began with a ban on atmospheric testing and a nonproliferation treaty reached its apogee with treaties that mandated deep cuts and corralled "loose nukes" after the Soviet Union imploded. After the Cold War ended, much of this diplomatic accomplishment was cast aside in favor of freedom of action. The nuclear peace is now imperiled by no less than four nuclear-armed rivalries. Arms control needs to be revived and reimagined for Russia and China to prevent nuclear warfare. New guardrails have to be erected. Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace is an engaging account of how the practice of arms control was built from scratch, how it was torn down, and how it can be rebuilt.

The Occupation of Iraq

The Occupation of Iraq
Author: Ali A. Allawi
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 544
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300135378

Involved for over thirty years in the politics of Iraq, Ali A. Allawi was a long-time opposition leader against the Baathist regime. In the post-Saddam years he has held important government positions and participated in crucial national decisions and events. In this book, the former Minister of Defense and Finance draws on his unique personal experience, extensive relationships with members of the main political groups and parties in Iraq, and deep understanding of the history and society of his country to answer the baffling questions that persist about its current crises. What really led the United States to invade Iraq, and why have events failed to unfold as planned? The Occupation of Iraq examines what the United States did and didn't know at the time of the invasion, the reasons for the confused and contradictory policies that were enacted, and the emergence of the Iraqi political class during the difficult transition process. The book tracks the growth of the insurgency and illuminates the complex relationships among Sunnis, Shias, and Kurds. Bringing the discussion forward to the reconfiguration of political forces in 2006, Allawi provides in these pages the clearest view to date of the modern history of Iraq and the invasion that changed its course in unpredicted ways.

The War for Muslim Minds

The War for Muslim Minds
Author: Gilles Kepel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2004-09-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780674015753

The events of September 11, 2001, forever changed the world as we knew it. In their wake, the quest for international order has prompted a reshuffling of global aims and priorities. In a fresh approach, Gilles Kepel focuses on the Middle East as a nexus of international disorder and decodes the complex language of war, propaganda, and terrorism that holds the region in its thrall. The breakdown of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in 2000 was the first turn in a downward spiral of violence and retribution. Meanwhile, a neo-conservative revolution in Washington unsettled U.S. Mideast policy, which traditionally rested on the twin pillars of Israeli security and access to Gulf oil. In Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, a transformation of the radical Islamist doctrine of Bin Laden and Zawahiri relocated the arena of terrorist action from Muslim lands to the West; Islamist radicals proclaimed jihad against their enemies worldwide. Kepel examines the impact of global terrorism and the ensuing military operations to stem its tide. He questions the United States' ability to address the Middle East challenge with Cold War rhetoric, while revealing the fault lines in terrorist ideology and tactics. Finally, he proposes the way out of the Middle East quagmire that triangulates the interests of Islamists, the West, and the Arab and Muslim ruling elites. Kepel delineates the conditions for the acceptance of Israel, for the democratization of Islamist and Arab societies, and for winning the minds and hearts of Muslims in the West.

Losing My Religion

Losing My Religion
Author: William Lobdell
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2009-03-06
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0061877336

William Lobdell's journey of faith—and doubt—may be the most compelling spiritual memoir of our time. Lobdell became a born-again Christian in his late 20s when personal problems—including a failed marriage—drove him to his knees in prayer. As a newly minted evangelical, Lobdell—a veteran journalist—noticed that religion wasn't covered well in the mainstream media, and he prayed for the Lord to put him on the religion beat at a major newspaper. In 1998, his prayers were answered when the Los Angeles Times asked him to write about faith. Yet what happened over the next eight years was a roller-coaster of inspiration, confusion, doubt, and soul-searching as his reporting and experiences slowly chipped away at his faith. While reporting on hundreds of stories, he witnessed a disturbing gap between the tenets of various religions and the behaviors of the faithful and their leaders. He investigated religious institutions that acted less ethically than corrupt Wall St. firms. He found few differences between the morals of Christians and atheists. As this evidence piled up, he started to fear that God didn't exist. He explored every doubt, every question—until, finally, his faith collapsed. After the paper agreed to reassign him, he wrote a personal essay in the summer of 2007 that became an international sensation for its honest exploration of doubt. Losing My Religion is a book about life's deepest questions that speaks to everyone: Lobdell understands the longings and satisfactions of the faithful, as well as the unrelenting power of doubt. How he faced that power, and wrestled with it, is must reading for people of faith and nonbelievers alike.

Making Peace with the Things in Your Life

Making Peace with the Things in Your Life
Author: Cindy Glovinsky
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2002-05-03
Genre: House & Home
ISBN: 9780312284886

Do you spend much of your time struggling against the growing ranks of papers, books, clothes, housewares, mementos, and other possessions that seem to multiply when you're not looking? Do these inanimate objects, the hallmarks of busy modern life, conspire to fill up every inch of your space, no matter how hard you try to get rid of some of them and organize the rest? Do you feel frustrated, thwarted, and powerless in the face of this ever-renewing mountain of stuff? Help is on the way. Cindy Glovinsky, practicing psychotherapist and personal organizer, is uniquely qualified to explain this nagging, even debilitating problem -- and to provide solutions that really work. Writing in a supportive, nonjudmental tone, Glovinsky uses humorous examples, questionnaires, and exercises to shed light on the real reasons why we feel so overwhelmed by papers and possessions and offers individualized suggestions tailored to specific organizing problems. Whether you're drowning in clutter or just looking for a new way to deal with the perennial challenge of organizing and managing material things, this fresh and reassuring approach is sure to help. Making Peace with the Things in Your Life will help you cut down on your clutter and cut down on your stress!

Finding Peace Without All the Pieces

Finding Peace Without All the Pieces
Author: LaRita Archibald
Publisher:
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2012-03-01
Genre: Bereavement
ISBN: 9780615611860

Launched with a powerful narrative thrust of the suicide of her son in 1978, LaRita Archibald leads the reader from the initial trauma of violent death, through the ragged, brutal and unknown psychological and emotional landscape that must be traversed to find eventual peace. Using lessons learned from decades of work with suicide bereaved LaRita helps survivors of suicide loss have a framework for understanding the complexities of suicide grief and the reassurance that what they are experiencing is normal for what they have experienced. She gives names to the unsettling experiences of 'phantom pain' and 'flashbacks' and validates feelings of anger, responsibility, frustration, even relief, as well as the need to search for answers, reasons and cause. By addressing the concept of 'choice' and the impact of relligious beliefs, misconceptions and age-old bias, LaRita helps uncover layers of cultural influence that often create barriers to healling. She shares anecdotes of military suicide loss, the compounded tragedy of murder/suicide and multiple suicide loss and how those left behind gained the strength to work through the extreme circumstance of their tragedies. She offers practical advice for protecting the parents marriage after a child's suicide, for meeting needs of bereaved children and for taking care of one's physical, emotional and spiritual self during acute grief. She acknowledges the evolvement of a 'new normal; the adjustment to the physical and social environment suicide grievers must make to live beyond the death of their loved one and, as well, to live with the fact of suicide as the cause of the death. LaRita offers the reader suggestions for moving from being a victim to a survivor, and eventually, a "thriver." In her book, Finding Peace Without All The Pieces, LaRita Archibald helps the reader place the pieces of their own loss into a mosaic that brings hope and healing just by reading it. She extends the promise that the overwhelming anguish of today will eventually subside into manageable sorrow, that the suicide of one dealy loved IS survivable and there is healing and peace waiting in the future. She takes the hand of suicide bereaved, lending the strength of her own healing, as she helps them cross crevasses of deep suffering and tread the rugged paths through mountains of grief toward a plateau of peace. All the while she comforts and encourages, telling them. "Follow me, dear survivor. I've made this bitter journey. I will show you the way."

Securing the Peace

Securing the Peace
Author: Monica Duffy Toft
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2009-10-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1400831997

Timely and pathbreaking, Securing the Peace is the first book to explore the complete spectrum of civil war terminations, including negotiated settlements, military victories by governments and rebels, and stalemates and ceasefires. Examining the outcomes of all civil war terminations since 1940, Monica Toft develops a general theory of postwar stability, showing how third-party guarantees may not be the best option. She demonstrates that thorough security-sector reform plays a critical role in establishing peace over the long term. Much of the thinking in this area has centered on third parties presiding over the maintenance of negotiated settlements, but the problem with this focus is that fewer than a quarter of recent civil wars have ended this way. Furthermore, these settlements have been precarious, often resulting in a recurrence of war. Toft finds that military victory, especially victory by rebels, lends itself to a more durable peace. She argues for the importance of the security sector--the police and military--and explains that victories are more stable when governments can maintain order. Toft presents statistical evaluations and in-depth case studies that include El Salvador, Sudan, and Uganda to reveal that where the security sector remains robust, stability and democracy are likely to follow. An original and thoughtful reassessment of civil war terminations, Securing the Peace will interest all those concerned about resolving our world's most pressing conflicts.

Finding Peace When Your Heart Is In Pieces

Finding Peace When Your Heart Is In Pieces
Author: Paul Coleman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2014-10-03
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1440573395

A sensitive approach to overcoming loss! Behind every tragedy and loss lies a tranquil reality just waiting to be found. Finding Peace When Your Heart Is in Pieces shows you how to use the Four Paths of Transformation--acceptance, inspiration, release, and compassion--to move past your suffering and discover inner peace. Author Paul Coleman, PsyD, guides you through every chapter with powerful exercises that help you evaluate your current emotional state and how the hardship has impacted your life. With his guidance and insight, you will learn how to transform your pain into positive thinking, find perspective through charitable acts, and hone in on what you need to do to step into a brighter future. Whether mourning the loss of a romance, health, a loved one, or coping with any of life's upheavals, Finding Peace When Your Heart Is in Pieces will help you overcome your pain and finally find peace within yourself.