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An engaging and original historical portrait of eight of the most influential political figures of the twentieth century: Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Hitler, Churchill, FDR, Gandhi, David Ben-Gurion, and Mao.The Titans of the Twentieth Century addresses an age-old question: what is the impact of individuals on history? The first half of the twentieth century offered political leaders enormous scope for changing the world. This book consists of essays about eight who, for better and for worse, did just that.Woodrow Wilson had a vision for a cooperative world order that failed after the First World War but gained in influence after the Second.Vladimir Ilich Lenin founded the totalitarian communist political system that controlled a large part of the planet for much of the twentieth century.Adolf Hitler started history's worst war and presided over history's worst atrocity, the Holocaust.Winston Churchill provided inspiring leadership to Great Britain, which made it possible to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II.Franklin D. Roosevelt steered the United States through the Great Depression and the Second World War.Mohandas Gandhi led the movement, and developed the philosophy of non-violence, that ended British rule in South Asia, paving the way for the end of empires throughout Asia and Africa.David Ben-Gurion led the miraculous restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land.Mao Zedong, imposed totalitarian communist rule on China and became history's most egregious mass murderer.Individually, each chapter offers fresh and often surprising portraits of the twentieth century's titans. Collectively, the essays present a vivid and revealing portrait of a turbulent half-century that shaped the world of today

Michael Mandelbaum's 'The Titans of the Twentieth Century' provides a unique window into the political forces that shaped the twentieth century and laid the groundwork for the twenty-first. Written by one of the most eminent international relations scholars, it offers mini-biographies of eight of the most influential political figures and details their impact on world history.

Michael Mandelbaum's 'The Titans of the Twentieth Century' provides a unique window into the political forces that shaped the twentieth century and laid the groundwork for the twenty-first. Written by one of the most eminent international relations scholars, it offers mini-biographies of eight of the most influential political figures and details their impact on world history.

"Terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, launched the United States into three wars: a global war on terror; a war in Afghanistan; and a war against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. In both Afghanistan and Iraq American efforts to install stable, democratic, friendly governments encountered opposition, and the United States found itself fighting against insurgencies in both places. In 2008, a severe financial crisis struck America, which led to a prolonged global recession. By the end of this period, Russia, China, and Iran had begun to mount serious challenges to American interests in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East respectively. This brought an end to the fourth age of American foreign policy"--

In the twenty-five years after 1989, the world enjoyed the deepest peace in history. In The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth, the eminent foreign policy scholar Michael Mandelbaum examines that remarkable quarter century, describing how and why the peace was established and then fell apart. To be sure, wars took place in this era, but less frequently and on a far smaller scale than in previous periods. Mandelbaum argues that the widespread peace endedbecause three major countries - Vladimir Putin's Russia in Europe, Xi Jinping's China in East Asia, and the Shia clerics' Iran in the Middle East - put an end to it with aggressive nationalist policies aimed at overturning the prevailing political arrangements in their respective regions. The three had a commonmotive: their need to survive in a democratic age with their countries' prospects for economic growth uncertain. Mandelbaum further argues that the key to the return of peace lies in the advent of genuine democracy, including free elections and the protection of religious, economic, and political liberty. Yet, since recent history has shown that democracy cannot be imposed from the outside, The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth has a dual message: while the world has a formula for peace, there is no way to ensure that all countries will embrace it.

"In Mission Failure, Mandelbaum argues that, in the past 25 years, U.S. foreign policy has undergone a significant shift. Historically, U.S. foreign policy was oriented primarily toward threat reduction, but the U.S. military has turned in recent years to missions that are largely humanitarian and socio-political. Mandelbaum argues that ideologically-driven foreign policy--that which seeks to reconstruct societies along Western lines--generally leads to mission failure"--

"In Mission Failure, Mandelbaum argues that, in the past 25 years, U.S. foreign policy has undergone a significant shift. Historically, U.S. foreign policy was oriented primarily toward threat reduction, but the U.S. military has turned in recent years to missions that are largely humanitarian and socio-political. Mandelbaum argues that ideologically-driven foreign policy--that which seeks to reconstruct societies along Western lines--generally leads to mission failure"--

The tyranny of numbers -- A new era -- Entitlements -- Foreign policy limits -- Two the novelty of scarcity -- The arc of American foreign policy -- The limits of American decline -- The world's government -- Adaptation to scarcity -- The seat belt effect -- The end of intervention -- The limits of cooperation -- The return of great-power politics? -- The global security order -- China -- Russia -- The heart of geopolitics -- The Middle East -- Oil -- The new containment