In a book that is at once a major contribution to modern European history and a cautionary tale for today, Isabel V. Hull argues that the routines and practices of the Imperial German Army, unchecked by effective civilian institutions, increasingly sought the absolute destruction of its enemies as the only guarantee of the nation's security. So deeply embedded were the assumptions and procedures of this distinctively German military culture that the Army, in its drive to annihilate the enemy military, did not shrink from the utter destruction of civilian property and lives. Carried to its extreme, the logic of "military necessity" found real security only in extremities of destruction, in the "silence of the graveyard."Hull begins with a dramatic account, based on fresh archival work, of the German Army's slide from administrative murder to genocide in German Southwest Africa (1904–7). The author then moves back to 1870 and the war that inaugurated the Imperial era in German history, and analyzes the genesis and nature of this specifically German military culture and its operations in colonial warfare. In the First World War the routines perfected in the colonies were visited upon European populations. Hull focuses on one set of cases (Belgium and northern France) in which the transition to total destruction was checked (if barely) and on another (Armenia) in which "military necessity" caused Germany to accept its ally's genocidal policies even after these became militarily counterproductive. She then turns to the Endkampf (1918), the German General Staff's plan to achieve victory in the Great War even if the homeland were destroyed in the process—a seemingly insane campaign that completes the logic of this deeply institutionalized set of military routines and practices. Hull concludes by speculating on the role of this distinctive military culture in National Socialism's military and racial policies.Absolute Destruction has serious implications for the nature of warmaking in any modern power. At its heart is a warning about the blindness of bureaucratic routines, especially when those bureaucracies command the instruments of mass death.

Almost as old as the idea of the library is the urge to destroy it. Author Lucien X. Polastron traces the history of this destruction, examining the causes for these disasters, the treasures that have been lost, and where the surviving books, if any, have ended up. Books on Fire received the 2004 Societe des Gens de Lettres Prize for Nonfiction/History in Paris.

In A Scrap of Paper, Isabel V. Hull compares wartime decision making in Germany, Great Britain, and France, weighing the impact of legal considerations in each. She demonstrates how differences in state structures and legal traditions shaped the way the three belligerents fought the war. Hull focuses on seven cases: Belgian neutrality, the land war in the west, the occupation of enemy territory, the blockade, unrestricted submarine warfare, the introduction of new weaponry, and reprisals. A Scrap of Paper reconstructs the debates over military decision-making and clarifies the role law played—where it constrained action, where it was manipulated, where it was ignored, and how it developed in combat—in each case. A Scrap of Paper is a passionate defense of the role that the law must play to govern interstate relations in both peace and war.

Absolute Despotism is a controversial look at the history of the power elite in and around the George W. Bush administration that extends back over three decades. Much of this information has been dismissed as aconspiracy theorya or apartisan rhetoric.a However, using the words of the most powerful people in the government, found in declassified documents, memos they have written, reports they have commissioned, and speeches they have given, Cooper challenges this conventional wisdom in an attempt to preserve the historical record in a time of disinformation and propaganda. Absolute Despotism does more than document awhata the Bush administration has done and answers the awhy.a It is a case study of one of the most anti-democratic presidencies in history and will transcend the term of the forty-third president by providing the tools to recognize those who share the same ideology and worldview, and who will undoubtedly follow in the future.

It's no longer good enough to build a company to last; today it's about building a company to ignite change. The Power of Positive Destruction reveals how to start a new business, disrupt an industry, and adapt to changing environments by leveraging technology and a new mindset. Serial entrepreneur Seth Merrin has built businesses by seeing issues with the status quo and introducing positive changes that have disrupted—and revolutionized—industries. In this book, he breaks down his process step-by-step to show you what you need to know to successfully start a company and transform an industry. Merrin's incredible story, coupled with real, actionable advice, will resonate with anyone who wants to be a catalyst of change. With this book, readers will learn to see the inefficiencies, ineptitudes, and everyday problems that others dismiss as the cost of doing business and create "unfair competitive advantages" to stack the deck—and win. You'll see how problems in current business models are really opportunities of which to take advantage and learn what you need to know and do to seize those opportunities —no matter where you work. Seth Merrin saw Wall Street as it was, then built a company to turn it into what it could be—safer and more efficient for investors. This book shows you how he did it, and how you can too, with the power of positive destruction. Discover how to turn status quo into disruption Understand how to stack the deck in your favor to achieve the best possible chances of success Learn how to build and run a company and design a culture for constant change Acquire new skills to create strategy, sell your disruptive product or service, and negotiate effectively Technology and innovation can disrupt or transform any industry. It's happening faster and more broadly now than ever, creating myriad opportunities for everyone. But winning in this new world is not easy. The incumbents will fight mightily against it and even those who would benefit from change may first express fear. This book reveals the techniques from identifying the opportunities to designing and executing the strategy you'll need to succeed. With The Power of Positive Destruction you can to tap into your inner change agent and transform your company, your industry, and the world.

This skillfully researched book focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread. "Control the food and you control the people." This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. Engdahl takes the reader inside the corridors of power, into the backrooms of the science labs, behind closed doors in the corporate boardrooms. The author cogently reveals a diabolical World of profit-driven political intrigue, government corruption and coercion, where genetic manipulation and the patenting of life forms are used to gain worldwide control over food production. Engdahl's carefully argued critique goes far beyond the familiar controversies surrounding the practice of genetic modification as a scientific technique. The book is an eye-opener, a must-read for all those committed to the causes of social justice and World peace.

Ultimately this would lead to the sinister 'adjusting' of the ratio between what were perceived as 'productive' and 'unproductive' population groups.".

In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.

Presented here is the fullest account to date of Derrida's unconventional understanding of literature and its importance to the development of a poststructural ethics. Kronick explains why Derrida has had such a great impact upon literary studies, and at the same time, he demonstrates how different Derrida's conception of literature is from the literary critic's. Focusing on such key topics as singularity, justice, law, aporia, and the event, this book explores the unexpected ways literature appears in Derrida's works and is tied to his major concepts.

‘Who is the enemy?’ This is the question most asked in modern warfare; gone are the set-piece conventional battles of the past. Once seen as secondary to more traditional conflicts, irregular warfare (as modified and refashioned since the 1990s) now presents a major challenge to the state and the bureaucratic institutions which have dominated the twentieth century, and to the politicians and civil servants who formulate policy.Twenty-first-century conflict is dominated by counterinsurgency operations, where the enemy is almost indistinguishable from innocent civilians. Battles are gunfights in jungles, deserts and streets; winning ‘hearts and minds’ is as important as holding territory. From struggles in South Africa, the Philippines and Ireland to operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya, this book covers the strategy and doctrine of counterinsurgency, and the factors which ensure whether such operations are successful or not. Recent ignorance of central principles and the emergence of social media, which has shifted the odds in favour of the insurgent, have too often resulted in failure, leaving governments and their security forces embedded in a hostile population, immersed in costly and dangerous nation-building.