Max Hoffmann was the unsung hero who devised the brilliant German battle plan to crush the invading Russians in East Prussia in the opening weeks of the Great War. Two huge Russian armies, led by Generals Samsonov and Rennenkampf, who were divided by mutual hatred as well as space - invaded the ancient German lands much earlier than expected and found themselves up against weak opposition, with most German troops on the western front. After defeating the Germans under von Prittwitz at Gumbinnen it seemed that nothing could stop the Germans. It was then that Hoffmann, a Russian specialist, devised his plan to encircle and defeat the two Russian armies piecemeal after they outreached themselves and overstretched their supplies and communications. When Hindenburg and Ludendorff arrived to take charge, all they had to do was implement Hoffmann's plan - and gain the huge credit for the subsequent crushing victories at Tannenburg and the Masurian Lakes. Prussia was saved, and the Russians never recovered from the blow. Hoffmann remained on the Eastern Front and in these fascinating memoirs tells the full story of this forgotten war, a German triumph, from the victories of 1914 down to the Russian revolution and the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk. These memoirs betray Hoffmnn's justified bitterness over the fact that Hindenburg and Ludendorff had got the credit for the victory which he had devised.

The basic logic of preventive diplomacy is unassailable. Act early to prevent disputes from escalating; reduce tensions that could lead to war; deal with today's conflicts before they become tomorrow's crises. Yet as we look at the record of these first years of the post-Cold War era, it is quite mixed. There have been some preventive diplomacy successes and opportunities that have been seized by major powers and international organizations to help preserve and protect the peace. But there also have been other opportunities that have been missed, with some of the century's most deadly conflicts the result. This study examines ten major post-Cold War cases including Croatia-Bosnia, Rwanda, the Baltics, Russia-Ukraine, Macedonia, and North Korea_to assess the key factors contributing to both the success and failure of preventive diplomacy. The method of case study analysis employed is based on the work of Alexander L. George. Authors include both leading academics and prominent policy officials with first-hand knowledge.

One of the finest books to emerge from the Vietnam experience, The Living and the Dead presents a brilliant study of Robert McNamara, his decision-making during the war, and the way his decisions affected his own life and the lives of five individuals. A monumental work about power, its abuse, and its victims, this meticulously researched, beautifully written, explosive, and passionate book is often in conflict with McNamara's version of events. First serial in the Washington Post. 8 photos.