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The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century
by Tim Weiner"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has, and The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer." —The GuardianA masterpiece of reporting based on-the-record interviews with six former CIA directors, the top spymaster, thirteen station chiefs, and scores of top operations officers: The Mission is a gripping and revelatory history of the modern CIA, reaching from 9/11 through its covert operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to today’s secret battles with Russia and China, concluding with the Agency's own fight for survival under the current president of the United States Tim Weiner's epic successor to Legacy of Ashes, his National Book Award–winning classic about the CIA's first sixty yearsAt the turn of the century, the Central Intelligence Agency was in crisis. The end of the Cold War had robbed the agency of its mission. More than thirty overseas stations and bases had been shuttered, and scores that remained had been severely cut back. Many countries where surveillance was once deemed crucial went uncovered. Essential intelligence wasn’t being collected. At the dawn of the information age, the CIA’s officers and analysts worked with outmoded technology, struggling to distinguish the clear signals of significant facts from the cacophony of background noise.Then came September 11th, 2001. After the attacks, the CIA transformed itself into a lethal paramilitary force, running secret prisons and brutal interrogations, mounting deadly drone attacks, and all but abandoning its core missions of espionage and counterespionage. The consequences were grave: the deaths of scores of its recruited foreign agents, the theft of its personnel files by Chinese spies, the penetration of its computer networks by Russian intelligence and American hackers, and the tragedies of Afghanistan and Iraq. A new generation of spies now must fight the hardest targets—Moscow, Beijing, Tehran—while confronting a president who has attacked the CIA as a subversive force. From Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner, The Mission tells the gripping, high-stakes story of the CIA through the first quarter of the twenty-first century, revealing how the agency fought to rebuild the espionage powers it lost during the war on terror—and finally succeeded in penetrating the Kremlin. The struggle has life-and-death consequences for America and its allies. The CIA must reclaim its original mission: know thy enemies. The fate of the free world hangs in the balance. A masterpiece of reporting, The Mission includes exclusive on-the-record interviews with six former CIA directors, the top spymaster, thirteen station chiefs, and scores of top operations officers who served undercover for decades and have never spoken to a journalist before.
The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace With America's Military
by Dana PriestCritical of our statesmanship.
The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith
by Andrew F. WallsThis book brings together lectures and articles by the renowned historian of world Christianity, making them available, many for the first time, to scholars and students of world mission. While examining the many aspects that have characterized mission, indigenous Christianity, and colonialism in modern Africa, The Missionary Movement in Christian History has a far broader reach. Essays such as "The Gospel as the Prisoner and Liberator of Culture" reveal the paradoxes of the Christian movement as a whole in discussing how different primitive Mediterranean Christianity is from early Catholicism, from Celtic monasticism, from Reformation Protestantism, and from Nigerian Spirit Christianity. Andrew Walls shows how the central question for Christianity has always been one of identity in many different forms, a phenomenon revealed at each stage of its history by the missionary movement. What this means for theology, however, has hardly been explored. This is the subtext of Walls' work, providing extraordinary insights and successful counters to secular critiques of world Christianity.
The Missionary and the Libertine
by Ian BurumaFrom Naipaul's India to the last days of Hong Kong, and from the ghosts of Pearl Harbor to Benazir Bhutto, Buruma delivers an engaging and incisive look at the ways East and West understand-and misunderstand-each other. At home in both worlds, Buruma traverses the realms of journalism, literary criticism, and political analysis, to examine the dialogue of fact and fantasy that affects our perception of far-away lands. Whether deconstructing the films of Satyajit Ray or the novels of Yoshimoto Banana, Buruma offers a splendid counterbalance to fashionable theories of clashing civilizations and uniquely Asian values. In twenty-five illuminating, often humorous essays, The Missionary and the Libertine shows us why Buruma's reputation for writing the most compelling commentary on the faultlines of the East-West divide is so secure.
The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and the Kennedy Administration, 1960-1964: A History in Documents
by James P. MarshallIn the early 1960s, civil rights activists and the Kennedy administration engaged in parallel, though not always complementary, efforts to overcome Mississippi’s extreme opposition to racial desegregation. In The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and the Kennedy Administration, 1960–1964, James P. Marshall uncovers this history through primary source documents that explore the legal and political strategies of the federal government, follows the administration’s changing and sometimes contentious relationship with civil rights organizations, and reveals the tactics used by local and state entities in Mississippi to stem the advancement of racial equality.A historian and longtime civil rights activist, Marshall collects a vast array of documents from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and excerpts from his own 1960s interviews with leading figures in the movement for racial justice. This volume tracks early forms of resistance to racial parity adopted by the White Citizens’ Councils and chapters of the Ku Klux Klan at the local level as well as by Mississippi congressmen and other elected officials who used both legal obstructionism and extra-legal actions to block efforts meant to promote integration. Quoting from interviews and correspondence among the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee members, government officials, and other constituents of the Democratic Party, Marshall also explores decisions about voter registration drives and freedom rides as well as formal efforts by the Kennedy administration—including everything from minority hiring initiatives to federal litigation and party platform changes—to exert pressure on Mississippi to end segregation.Through a carefully curated selection of letters, interviews, government records, and legal documents, The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and the Kennedy Administration, 1960–1964 sheds new light on the struggle to advance racial justice for African Americans living in the Magnolia State.
The Mississippi Governor's Mansion: Memories of the People's Home
by Phil BryantWelcoming its first executive in 1842, the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion is the second-oldest continuously occupied governor’s residence in the United States. The Mansion is both a public building open for tours and the private residence of the governor and his family. In this unique book, readers are invited to explore the entirety of the building, from the attic to the garage and everything in between. The Mississippi Governor’s Mansion: Memories of the People’s Home is the first book of its kind dedicated to images and stories about the Governor’s Mansion. The volume reveals Governor Phil Bryant’s profound respect for the office he holds and his deep appreciation for the National Historic Landmark in which he resides. Through his personal, often touching reflections, Governor Bryant pays tribute to former governors, their families, and the many public servants who have dedicated their lives to taking care of this beautiful Greek Revival masterpiece. More than sixty elegant watercolor paintings by noted Mississippi artist Bill Wilson accompany the governor’s stories. Wilson captures the beauty and majesty of the home, its furnishings, and the restored historic grounds. The volume also features a personal foreword by First Lady Deborah Bryant inviting readers into her home, an artist’s statement by Wilson, and a brief historical essay written by Mansion curator Megan Bankston.
The Mississippi Secession Convention: Delegates and Deliberations in Politics and War, 1861-1865
by Timothy B. SmithThe Mississippi Secession Convention is the first full treatment of any secession convention to date. Studying the Mississippi convention of 1861 offers insight into how and why southern states seceded and the effects of such a breech. Based largely on primary sources, this book provides a unique insight into the broader secession movement.There was more to the secession convention than the mere act of leaving the Union, which was done only three days into the deliberations. The rest of the three-week January 1861 meeting as well as an additional week in March saw the delegates debate and pass a number of important ordinances that for a time governed the state. As seen through the eyes of the delegates themselves, with rich research into each member, this book provides a compelling overview of the entire proceeding.The effects of the convention gain the most analysis in this study, including the political processes that, after the momentous vote, morphed into unlikely alliances. Those on opposite ends of the secession question quickly formed new political allegiances in a predominantly Confederate-minded convention. These new political factions formed largely over the issues of central versus local authority, which quickly played into Confederate versus state issues during the Civil War. In addition, author Timothy B. Smith considers the lasting consequences of defeat, looking into the effect secession and war had on the delegates themselves and, by extension, their state, Mississippi.
The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath
by Robert Pierce ForbesRobert Pierce Forbes goes behind the scenes of the crucial Missouri Compromise, the most important sectional crisis before the Civil War, to reveal the high-level deal-making, diplomacy, and deception that defused the crisis, including the central, unexpected role of President James Monroe. Although Missouri was allowed to join the union with slavery, the compromise in fact closed off nearly all remaining federal territories to slavery. When Congressman James Tallmadge of New York proposed barring slavery from the new state of Missouri, he sparked the most candid discussion of slavery ever held in Congress. The southern response quenched the surge of nationalism and confidence following the War of 1812 and inaugurated a new politics of racism and reaction. The South's rigidity on slavery made it an alluring electoral target for master political strategist Martin Van Buren, who emerged as the key architect of a new Democratic Party explicitly designed to mobilize southern unity and neutralize antislavery sentiment. Forbes's analysis reveals a surprising national consensus against slavery a generation before the Civil War, which was fractured by the controversy over Missouri.Robert Pierce Forbes goes behind the scenes of the crucial Missouri Compromise, the most important sectional crisis before the Civil War, to reveal the high-level deal-making, diplomacy, and deception that defused the crisis, including the central, unexpected role of President James Monroe. Although Missouri was allowed to join the union as a slave state, Forbes observes, the compromise in fact closed off nearly all remaining federal territory to slavery. Forbes's analysis reveals a surprising national consensus against slavery a generation before the Civil War, which was fractured by the controversy over Missouri.-->
The Misteaching Of Academic Discourses: The Politics Of Language In The Classroom
by Lilia I BartolomeThis book discusses the significance of teaching working-class linguistic minority students academic discourse styles necessary for success in school and describes one teacher's attempts to do so. It is for all those educators who are faced with issues of language, race, and class.
The Mistresses of George I & II: A Maypole & a Peevish Beast
by Catherine CurzonWhen George I arrived in England he found a kingdom in turmoil. Mistrustful of the new monarch from Hanover, his subjects met his coronation with riots. At George’s side was his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenberg, whilst his ex-wife languished in prison. Known as the Maypole thanks to her eye-catching figure, Melusine was the king’s confidante for decades. She was a mother to his children and a queen without a crown. George II never forgave his father for tearing him from his mother's arms and he was determined to marry for love, not duty. Though his wife, Caroline of Ansbach, proved to be a politically gifted queen, George II turned to another for affection. She was Henrietta Howard, the impoverished Countess of Suffolk, and she was desperate to escape her brutish husband. As the years passed, the royal affair became a powerplay between king and queen and the woman who was mistress to one and servant to another. Melusine and Henrietta's privileged position made them the envy of every courtier. It also made them a target of jealousy, plotting and ambition. In the tumultuous Georgian court, the bedroom and the throne room weren't so far apart.
The Misunderstood History of Gentrification: People, Planning, Preservation, and Urban Renewal, 1915-2020 (Urban Life, Landscape and Policy #84)
by Dennis E. GaleThe origins of gentrification date back to World War I—only it was sometimes known as “remodeling” then. Dennis Gale’s insightful book, TheMisunderstood History of Gentrification, provides a recontextualization of American gentrification, planning, and policymaking. He argues that gentrification must be understood as an urban phenomenon with historical roots in the very early twentieth century. Gale uses solid empirical evidence to trace the embryonic revitalization of Georgetown, Greenwich Village, Beacon Hill, and elsewhere back to 1915. He shows how reinvestment and restoration reversed urban decline and revitalized neighborhoods. The Misunderstood History of Gentrification also explains how federal policies such as the Urban Redevelopment Program (later named Urban Renewal), which first emerged in 1949, razed urban slums and created an “urban crisis” that persisted in the 1960s and ‘70s. This situation soon prompted city gentrifiers and historic preservationists to reuse and rehabilitate existing structures. Within a more expansive historical framework, Gale offers a fresh perspective on and debunks misperceptions about gentrification in America.
The Misunderstood History of Gentrification: People, Planning, Preservation, and Urban Renewal, 1915-2020 (Urban Life, Landscape and Policy #84)
by Dennis E. GaleThe origins of gentrification date back to World War I—only it was sometimes known as “remodeling” then. Dennis Gale’s insightful book, TheMisunderstood History of Gentrification, provides a recontextualization of American gentrification, planning, and policymaking. He argues that gentrification must be understood as an urban phenomenon with historical roots in the very early twentieth century. Gale uses solid empirical evidence to trace the embryonic revitalization of Georgetown, Greenwich Village, Beacon Hill, and elsewhere back to 1915. He shows how reinvestment and restoration reversed urban decline and revitalized neighborhoods. The Misunderstood History of Gentrification also explains how federal policies such as the Urban Redevelopment Program (later named Urban Renewal), which first emerged in 1949, razed urban slums and created an “urban crisis” that persisted in the 1960s and ‘70s. This situation soon prompted city gentrifiers and historic preservationists to reuse and rehabilitate existing structures. Within a more expansive historical framework, Gale offers a fresh perspective on and debunks misperceptions about gentrification in America.
The Mobilities Paradigm: Discourses and Ideologies (Transport and Society)
by Katharina Manderscheid Marcel Endres Christophe MinckeOver the last two decades, the conceptualisation and empirical analysis of mobilities of people, objects and symbols has become an important strand of social science. Yet, the increasing importance of mobilities in all parts of the social does not only happen as observable practices in the material world but also takes place against the background of changing discourses, scientific theories and conceptualisations and knowledge. Within the formation of these mobilities discourses, the social sciences constitute a relevant actor. Focussing on mobility as an object of knowledge from a Foucauldian perspective rather than a given entity within the historical contingency of movement, this book asks: How do discourses and ideologies structure the normative substance, social meanings, and the lived reality of mobilities? What are the real world effects of/on the will and the ability to be mobile? And, how do these lived realities, in turn, invigorate or interfere with certain discourses and ideologies of mobility?
The Mobility Control Apparatus: Getting to the Core of Crimmigration in the Schengen Area (Routledge Studies in Criminal Justice, Borders and Citizenship)
by Maartje van der WoudeThis book critically explores the complexities of intra-Schengen border control and migration dynamics within Europe. It provides a comprehensive analysis of how various actors, including border officials and state apparatuses, interact in managing mobility and enforcing controls. The theoretical foundation draws on Foucault’s concept of the dispositif, examining how borders are enforced through a combination of legal frameworks, discourses, and on-the-ground practices.The book emphasises the importance of discretion in border control, arguing that it plays a pivotal role in shaping decisions at both the organisational and street levels. It delves into the experiences of Dutch border control officers and the wider European context, offering a comparative analysis of Europe’s intra-Schengen borderlands. By drawing on real-world case studies, it showcases the tensions between security and mobility and how migration is managed through both visible and covert policing practices. The work is grounded in rich qualitative data, collected over years of fieldwork, and addresses key debates in migration and criminology studies, particularly the evolving concept of ‘crimmigration’ and its implications for human rights and security policies.This book will be of interest to criminologists, sociologists, legal scholars, and political scientists alike, as well as all those engaged in studies on migration, mobility, and the European Union.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
The Mobility of People and Things in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Art of Travel (Routledge Research in Art History)
by Elisabeth A. FraserFor centuries artists, diplomats, and merchants served as cultural intermediaries in the Mediterranean. Stationed in port cities and other entrepôts of the Mediterranean, these go-betweens forged intercultural connections even as they negotiated and sometimes promoted cultural misunderstandings. They also moved objects of all kinds across time and space. This volume considers how the mobility of art and material culture is intertwined with greater Mediterranean networks from 1580 to 1880. Contributors see the movement of people and objects as transformational, emphasizing the trajectory of objects over single points of origin, multiplicity over unity, and mutability over stasis.
The Mobility-Security Nexus and the Making of Order: An Interdisciplinary and Historicizing Intervention (Routledge New Security Studies)
by Heidi Hein-Kircher Werner DistlerThe book explores the complex, multi-directional connections of the "mobility/security nexus" in the re-ordering of states, empires, and markets in historical perspective. Contributing to a vivid academic debate, the book offers in-depth studies on how mobility and security interplay in the emergence of order beyond the modern state. While mobilities studies, migration studies and critical security studies have focused on particular aspects of this relationship, such as the construction of mobility as a political threat or the role of infrastructure and security, we still lack comprehensive conceptual frameworks to grasp the mobility/security nexus and its role in social, political, and economic orders. With authors drawn from sociology, International Relations, and various historical disciplines, this transdisciplinary volume historicizes the mobility-security nexus for the first time. In answering calls for more studies that are both empirical and have historical depth, the book presents substantial case studies on the nexus, ranging from the late Middle Ages right up to the present-day, with examples from the British Empire, the Russian Empire, the Habsburg Empire, Papua New Guinea, Rome in the 1980s or the European Union today. By doing so, the volume conceptualizes the mobility/security nexus from a new, innovative perspective and, further, highlights it as a prominent driving force for society and state development in history. This book will be of much interest to researchers and students of critical security studies, mobility studies, sociology, history and political science.
The Mobilization and Demobilization of Middle-Class Revolt: Comparative Insights from Argentina (Routledge Studies in Latin American Politics)
by Daniel OzarowAdopting Argentina’s popular uprisings against neoliberalism including the 2001-02 rebellion and subsequent mass protests as a case study, The Mobilization and Demobilization of Middle-Class Revolt analyzes two decades of longitudinal research (1995-2018), including World Bank and Latinobarómeter household survey data, along with participant interviews, to explore why nonpolitically active middle-class citizens engage in radical protest movements, and why they eventually demobilize. In particular it asks, how do they become politicized and resist economic and political crises, along with their own hardship? Theoretically informed by Gramsci’s notions of hegemony, ideology and class consciousness, Ozarow posits that to affect profound and lasting social change, multisectoral alliances and sustainable mobilizing vehicles are required to maintain radical progressive movements beyond periods of crisis. With the Argentinian revolt understood to be the ideological forbearer to the autonomist-inspired uprisings which later emerged, comparisons are drawn with experiences in the USA, Spain, Greece UK, Iceland and the Middle East, as well as 1990s contexts in South Africa and Russia. Such a comparative analysis helps understand how contextual factors shape distinctive struggling middle-class citizen responses to external shocks. This book will be of immense value to students, activists and theorists of social change in North America, in Europe and globally.
The Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey
by Banu EligürThe Mobilization of Political Islam in Turkey explains why political Islam, which has been part of Turkish politics since the 1970s but on the rise only since the 1990s, has now achieved governing power. Drawing on social movement theory, the book focuses on the dominant form of Islamist activism in Turkey by analyzing the increasing electoral strength of four successive Islamist political parties: the Welfare Party; its successor, the Virtue Party; and the successors of the Virtue Party: the Felicity Party and the Justice and Development Party. This book, which is based on extensive primary and secondary sources as well as in-depth interviews, provides the most comprehensive analysis currently available of the Islamist political mobilization in Turkey.
The Mobius Man (Pete Brady Mystery)
by Malcolm Shuman M. S. KarlHunting Mexican guerillas, a CIA agent fights to regain his memory and stay aliveDavid doesn&’t remember the bomb going off. In fact, he doesn&’t remember anything at all. He was on a mission in Buenos Aires when the explosion sent a piece of shrapnel into his skull, and it missed killing him by a fraction of an inch. His memory in tatters, he returns to the United States to heal, meeting his wife for what seems like the first time. His memory will return gradually, the doctors say, but for now he feels like half a man—half a man who is about to take on a mission.In Mexico, the CIA has been paying a guerilla organization to keep radical militants at bay. When their liaison with the rebels is found dead, David is sent to discover who killed him and why. Though his memory might never return, as he slips deeper into the shadowy world of Mexican outlaws, David will see things he&’d just as soon forget.
The Model Thinker: What You Need to Know to Make Data Work for You
by Scott E. PageHow anyone can become a data ninja From the stock market to genomics laboratories, census figures to marketing email blasts, we are awash with data. But as anyone who has ever opened up a spreadsheet packed with seemingly infinite lines of data knows, numbers aren't enough: we need to know how to make those numbers talk. In The Model Thinker, social scientist Scott E. Page shows us the mathematical, statistical, and computational models--from linear regression to random walks and far beyond--that can turn anyone into a genius. At the core of the book is Page's "many-model paradigm," which shows the reader how to apply multiple models to organize the data, leading to wiser choices, more accurate predictions, and more robust designs. The Model Thinker provides a toolkit for business people, students, scientists, pollsters, and bloggers to make them better, clearer thinkers, able to leverage data and information to their advantage.
The Modern American Presidency
by Lewis L. Gould"The Modern American Presidency" is a lively, interpretive synthesis of 20th century leaders, filled with intriguing insights into how the presidency has evolved as America rose to prominence on the world stage. Gould traces the decline of the party system and the increasing importance of the media, resulting in the rise of the president as celebrity.
The Modern British Party System
by Dr Paul D Webb`This is a really excellent book, the best on British parties that I have read in recent years. Paul Webb utilises the latest research and modern analytical techniques to provide a sophisticated study of parties and the party system which is packed with information. It is a major contribution not just to the literature on British politics but also to the comparative literature on political parties' - David Denver, Lancaster University `Paul Webb's new book is likely to remain the standard work on the British party system for years to come' - Peter Mair, University of Leiden `A landmark study. I cannot commend this book too highly to teachers of British politics, students and professional analysts alike' - Ian Budge, University of Essex `An excellent book that will be much quoted by scholars in future years' - Alan Ware, Oxford University `Paul Webb provides the most comprehensive and well-documented analysis of the programmatic and organizational changes in the British party system. His conclusion that British parties remain critically important to the functioning of democracy is strengthened by his comparative approach. This book is a major contribution to the study of British party politics' - Patrick Seyd, University of Sheffield Providing a complete up-to-date overview of the changing nature of contemporary party politics in Britain, this book draws on models of comparative politics and the latest empirical analysis to explain the capacity of British parties to adapt to a changing political environment. A number of broad themes include: the nature and extent of party competition; the internal life and organizational development of parties; the variety of evolving party systems in the United Kingdom; and the links between parties and the wider political system. The current weaknesses of party performance are addressed, and the scope of reform explained and examined. Contrary to claims of 'decline', however, the book demonstrates that party politics remain essentially vibrant and intrinsic to modern British democracy. The Modern British Party System will be an essential text for all students of contemporary British politics, parties and party systems.
The Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence Is Reshaping the World
by Tyler MaroneyA fascinating examination of the world of private investigators by a 21st-century private eye.Today's world is complicated: companies are becoming more powerful than nations, the lines between public and corporate institutions grow murkier, and the internet is shredding our privacy. To combat these onslaughts, people everywhere -- rich and not so rich, in business and in their personal lives -- are turning away from traditional police, lawyers, and government regulators toward a new champion: the private investigator.As a private investigator, Tyler Maroney has traveled the globe, overseeing sensitive investigations and untying complicated cases for a wide array of clients. In his new book, he shows that it's private eyes who today are being called upon to catch corrupt politicians, track down international embezzlers, and mine reams of data to reveal which CEOs are lying. The tools Maroney and other private investigators use are a mix of the traditional and the cutting edge, from old phone records to computer forensics to solid (and often inspired) street-level investigative work. The most useful assets private investigators have, Maroney has found, are their resourcefulness and their creativity.Each of the investigations Maroney explores in this book highlights an individual case and the people involved in it, and in each account he explains how the transgressors were caught and what lessons can be learned from it. Whether the clients are a Middle Eastern billionaire whose employees stole millions from him, the director of a private equity firm wanting a background check on a potential hire (a known convicted felon), or creditors of a wealthy American investor trying to recoup their money after he fled the country to avoid bankruptcy, all of them hired private investigators to solve problems the authorities either can't or won't touch. In an era when it's both easier and more difficult than ever to disappear after a crime is committed, it's the modern detective people are turning to for help, for revenge, and for justice.
The Modern History of Iraq
by Phebe MarrMarr (a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Middle East Institute) has updated her single-volume treatment, aimed at the general reader, of the political, economic, and social history of Iraq so as to cover the momentous events that followed the US invasion and occupation. Her narrative is guided by four key themes: the creation and construction of a modern state and the search for a cultural and national identity capable of bringing together Iraq's various ethnic, religious, and social groups; the process of economic and social development; the development of political institutions and ideologies and their interrelationship with domestic society and the world outside Iraq; and foreign domination and the interaction of Iraq with the West, neighboring countries, and the global environment. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
The Modern History of Iraq
by Phebe MarrNow in its third edition, The Modern History of Iraq places in historical perspective the crises and upheavals that continue to afflict the country. The book focuses on several important themes: the search for national identity in a multiethnic, multireligious state; the struggle to achieve economic development and modernity in a traditional society; and the political dynamics that have led to the current situation. Phebe Marr draws on published sources in Arabic and English, personal interviews, and frequent visits to the country to produce a remarkably lucid and readable account of the emergence of contemporary Iraq. This edition features three new chapters that bring readers up to date on events since the U.S. invasion and give a clearer picture of the political, social, economic, and ideological consequences of the recent upheaval. Marr provides an insightful overview of the current political scene--Iraq's new political elites; emerging figures, parties, constituencies, and support; and foreign influences. Marr also offers a uniquely penetrating analysis of Iraq's current social and economic affairs, including the decline of the middle class, refugee displacement, the economics of oil, the status of women and ethnic groups, and the rise of sectarianism.