Probing the Enigma of Franco


Book Description

This book has been written for the student and general reader to study the Franco regime within an accessible framework. It explores the various views of Franco provided by biographers and historians, and acknowledges that political bias and various moral stances are forever evident. The background of any character is critical and Part One is a brief summary of Spanish history during this period. Part Two examines Franco the person, and Part Three looks at his highly contentious polices during World War Two. The final section explores Franco and postwar Spain as a pariah state gaining a small degree of respectability because of Franco’s attempted manipulation of the Vatican, and his relationship with America during the Cold War. Franco was a long-surviving dictator from the 1930s and highly repressive to the bitter end, despised by many and feared by his countrymen, yet respected by others.




The Times, Life and Moral Dilemma of Beria


Book Description

There are some figures in modern history who stand out not just for their amoral conduct but their cruelty. This book explores the life of the notorious Beria, Stalin’s henchman. The first part provides an outline of the turbulent history of Russia from 1900 to 1953, in order to set the background from which Beria emerged. The second section presents a biography of Beria from his youth, his early education, and his obsequious behaviour towards Stalin to his rise to be the head of the NKVD (KGB) and later to be amongst the most senior leaders of the Communist structure in the USSR. He was responsible for the deaths of millions (and for organising the Katyń massacre), infamous for murdering colleagues, and a sexual predator, and became the most feared man in the USSR next to Stalin. The third and fourth parts move away from history and biography to moral philosophy, in order to understand from where such evil conduct arises. The question of free-will is explored in the light of human insight, and these sections also discuss the most recent scientific claims concerning human behaviour, as well as the factors which influence people in decision making.




The Roots of Nationalism in European History


Book Description

This book challenges the commonly held belief that Nationalism is a recent phenomenon. It surveys European history from the tribal stage to 1989-90, and concludes with a commentary on events between 1990 and the European Elections of May 2019. During this review, it comments on the growth of nations across the European scene and the early signs of the various types of nationalism. Nationalism demands many qualifying adjectives, and this is examined as its variations occur. The study explores humanity’s propensities, especially the sense of alienation towards those who speak another language or have a different ethnicity, customs, or religious belief. In addition, it looks at humanity’s other inclinations to seek territory, wealth, resources, power and influence. These determinants, it is argued, form the basis of Nationalism, whether it is projected by the rulers or emerges from the populace. The book proposes that Nationalism is as “old as the hills”, but became dangerously aggressive in the twentieth century and remains a serious issue.




An Enigma by the Sea


Book Description

Detective crime novel with s̀hades of Agatha Christie' mingled with the spirit of Umberto Eco. A bestseller in Italy and Germany.




Eavesdropping on Hell


Book Description

This official government publication investigates the impact of the Holocaust on the Western powers' intelligence-gathering community. It explains the archival organization of wartime records accumulated by the U.S. Army's Signal Intelligence Service and Britain's Government Code and Cypher School. It also summarizes Holocaust-related information intercepted during the war years.




The Code Book: The Secrets Behind Codebreaking


Book Description

"As gripping as a good thriller." --The Washington Post Unpack the science of secrecy and discover the methods behind cryptography--the encoding and decoding of information--in this clear and easy-to-understand young adult adaptation of the national bestseller that's perfect for this age of WikiLeaks, the Sony hack, and other events that reveal the extent to which our technology is never quite as secure as we want to believe. Coders and codebreakers alike will be fascinated by history's most mesmerizing stories of intrigue and cunning--from Julius Caesar and his Caeser cipher to the Allies' use of the Enigma machine to decode German messages during World War II. Accessible, compelling, and timely, The Code Book is sure to make readers see the past--and the future--in a whole new way. "Singh's power of explaining complex ideas is as dazzling as ever." --The Guardian




The Franco-Algerian War through a Twenty-First Century Lens


Book Description

The Franco-Algerian War (1954–62) remains a powerful international symbol of Third Worldism and the finality of Empire. Through its nuanced analysis of the war's depiction in film, The Franco-Algerian War through a Twenty-First Century Lens locates an international reckoning with history that both condemns and exonerates past generations. Algerian and French production partnerships-such as Hors-la-loi, (Outside the Law, Rachid Bouchareb, 2010) and Loubia Hamra (Bloody Beans, Narimane Mari, 2013)-are one of several ways citizens collaborate to unearth a shared history and its legacy. Nicole Beth Wallenbrock probes cinematic discourse to shed new light on topics including: the media revelation of torture and atomic bomb tests; immigration's role in the evolution of the war's meaning; and the complex relationship of the intertwined film cultures. The first chapter summarizes the Franco-Algerian War in 20th-century film, thus grounding subsequent queries with Algeria's moudjahid or freedom-fighter films and the French new wave's perceived disinterest in the conflict. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to understand cinema's role in re-evaluating war and reconstructing international memory.




Toward Combined Arms Warfare


Book Description




The Impostor


Book Description

MAN BOOKER PRIZE NOMINEE • From the acclaimed author of Outlaws • For decades, Enric Marco was revered as a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, a crusader for justice, and a Holocaust survivor. But in May 2005, at the height of his renown, he was exposed as a fraud. Marco was never in a Nazi concentration camp. And perhaps the rest of his past was fabricated, too, a combination of his delusions of grandeur and his compulsive lying. In this hypnotic narrative, which combines fiction and nonfiction, detective story and war story, biography and autobiography, Javier Cercas sets out to unravel Marco’s enigma. With both profound compassion and lacerating honesty, Cercas probes one man’s gigantic lie to explore the deepest, most flawed parts of our humanity.




Buñuel


Book Description

Traces the life of the controversial Spanish director most famous for "Un Chien Andalou," "Belle de Jour," and "The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisie"