Best of
History-And-Politics

1986

Bangladesh: A Legacy of Blood


Anthony Mascarenhas - 1986
    The book chronicles the bloody coups and uprisings in the post-independence Bangladesh. The book focuses on the two towering figures of Bangladeshi politics, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman. They are popularly credited as two key architects of modern Bangladesh and the rule of each was ended by assassination. The book is written in an engaging style, and treats the coups/assassinations and their plotters in great detail. A section of black-and-white photographs depict the slain Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the slain General Ziaur Rahman, plotters behind various coups, politicians and some photocopies of documents and an official gazette related to the many coups this South Asian country has suffered. In its jacket, the book promises that it has "revealed" issues like who killed Mujib (the first prime minister of Bangladesh), who was responsible for the jail killings in Bangladesh, and how General Zia was assassinated. Written in 13 chapters and an index, the book also contains a list of officers convicted by General Court Martial and hanged for the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman. In a November 1985 preface to the book, Mascarenhas writes: "This is a true story; in many ways a text book of Third World disenchantment. On the 16th of December, 1971, the state of Bangladesh (population 70,000,000) was born at the end of a nine-month liberation struggle in which more than a million Bengalis of the erstwhile East Pakistan died at the hands of the Pakistan army. But one of the 20th century's great man-made disasters is also among the greatest of its human triumphs in terms of a people's will for self-determination." Mascarenhas describes his own book thus: "This book is the unvarnished story of their (the early leaders of Bangladesh) times, essentially the sad history of the first 10 years of Bangladesh. It is based on my close personal knowledge of the main protagonists; on more than 120 separate interviews with the men and women involved in the dramatic events; and on official archives and documents which I had the privilege to inspect personally. The dialogue, whenever used, is a faithful reproduction of the words which my informants said they actually used during the events in which they were involved." David Taylor, a South Asia expert, praises the book's "attention to detail and narrative" although he suggests that it is short on interpretation and treats certain episodes of lesser importance in "excessive length". Mascarenhas is a veteran journalist, associated with Bangladesh from the start of its freedom struggle. In 1971, he left Pakistan to expose in The Sunday Times the atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army in the region now known as Bangladesh. He continued as a reporter for The Sunday Times for 14 years and subsequently as a freelancer. He was born in Goa, educated in Karachi and worked for many years as a journalist in India, Pakistan and the UK. He died in 1986 at the age of 58.[2] This book was published in 1986 by Hodder and Stoughton, with a coverprice of UKP 4.95 net in the UK. There may be an earlier printing in 1985. It is devoted "to Yvonne and our children -- who have also paid the price". A Bengali language translation of the book was released in the late 1990s in Bangladesh, with the title Bangladesh: Rokter Rin (বাংলাদেশঃ রক্তের ঋণ)

Economics of the Public Sector


Joseph E. Stiglitz - 1986
    Professor Stiglitz builds on the book's classic strengths: an integrated approach to public economics, a readable and inviting style, and careful attention to real-world problems and applications.

The Deal of the Century: The Breakup of AT&T


Steve Coll - 1986
    Over the following decade, an army of lawyers, executives, politicians, and judges spent countless hours clashing over what amounted to the biggest corporate breakup in American history. From boardroom to courtroom, Steve Coll untangles the myriad threads of this complex and critical case and gives readers “an excellent behind-the-scenes look” at the human drama involved in the remaking of an entire industry (The Philadelphia Inquirer).   Hailed by the New York Times Book Review as “rich, intricate and convincing,” The Deal of the Century is the definitive narrative of a momentous turning point in the way America does business.    A New York Times–bestselling author’s “superbly reported” account of the dismantling of the world’s largest corporation (The Washington Post). Written by the two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Ghost Wars and Private Empire, The Deal of the Century chronicles the decade-long war for control of AT&T.

The Burning Forest: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics


Simon Leys - 1986
    

To Win a Nuclear War: The Pentagon's Secret War Plans


Michio Kaku - 1986
    for the past 40 years has not been one of deterrence as publicly stated, but rather has been one of threatening the use of nuclear weapons. This policy has been documented in such book as the New England Regional Office of the American Friends Service Committee's The Deadly Connection (Library Journal 4/15/86) and Barry M. Blechman and Stephen S. Kaplan's Force Without War: U.S. Armed Forces as a Political Instrument (Library Journal 3/1/79). Nonetheless, the authors' thorough analysis of recently released Pentagon documents provides the basis for a description of the nuclear war fighting strategy of the Reagan administration. The authors also outline the attitudes and biases of U.S. nuclear strategists and policymakers. Recommended for public and university libraries.--Dennis Felbel, University of Manitoba Library, WinnipegCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry


Andrew G. Walder - 1986
    Based on official Chinese sources as well as intensive interviews with Hong Kong residents formerly employed in mainland factories, Andrew Walder's neo-traditional image of communist society in China will be of interest not only to those concerned with China and other communist countries, but also to students of industrial relations and comparative social science.

The Tigers Of Trengganu


A. Locke - 1986
    

Aeschylus


John Herington - 1986
    This book by John Herington is designed to introduce all aspects of his majestic achievement to the general reader.Herington begins by sketching the background to Aeschylus’ plays.  He first explains the very ancient mythical conception of our universe in which Aeschylus was brought up and which continued to shape his dramaturgy and poetic expression throughout his career.  Herington next discusses Athens and the momentous transition that it was experiencing during Aeschylus’ later years: the transition from age-old traditional ways of life and thought to the Periclean Enlightenment.  The background material concludes with a description of the contemporary Athenian theater, which also was undergoing a crucial transition from a primarily choral performance toward an art that could be described as drama.In the second half of the book, Herington focuses on the plays of Aeschylus, providing many illustrative quotations that he himself has translated.  There is a chapter on the poetry of the lost plays as they are revealed in ancient quotations and descriptions.  There are then expositions of the seven extant tragedies, all of which were produced in the period between 472 B.C. and Aeschylus’ death in 456.  Each play is presented to the reader not so much in summary as in vivid scenario, with concentration on the climactic points at which Aeschylus orchestrated all his poetic, histrionic, musical, and choreographic resources.  Herington suggests that the sequence of the extant plays as a whole constitutes a commentary by this very great poet on the intellectual, political, and religious upheaval taking place in Athens during his last years, and that therein lies part of the endless fascination of the plays.