Most Popular Books by Paul Kennedy

About national and international power in the "modern" or Post Renaissance period. Explains how the various powers have risen and fallen over the 5 centuries since the formation of the "new monarchies" in W. Europe.

Paul Kennedy''s classic naval history, now updated with a new introduction by the author This acclaimed book traces Britain''s rise and fall as a sea power from the Tudors to the present day. Challenging the traditional view that the British are natural ''sons of the waves'', he suggests instead that the country''s fortunes as a significant maritime force have always been bound up with its economic growth. In doing so, he contributes significantly to the centuries-long debate between ''continental'' and ''maritime'' schools of strategy over Britain''s policy in times of war. Setting British naval history within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategic considerations, he offers a fresh approach to one of the central questions in British history. A new introduction extends his analysis into the twenty-first century and reflects on current American and Chinese ambitions for naval mastery. ''Excellent and stimulating'' Correlli Barnett ''The first scholar to have set the sweep of British Naval history against the background of economic history'' Michael Howard, Sunday Times ''By far the best study that has ever been done on the subject ... a sparkling and apt quotation on practically every page'' Daniel A. Baugh, International History Review ''The best single-volume study of Britain and her naval past now available to us'' Jon Sumida, Journal of Modern History

The Parliament of Man is the first definitive history of the United Nations, from one of America''s greatest living historians.Distinguished scholar Paul Kennedy, author of the bestselling The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, gives us a thorough and timely account that explains the UN''s roots and functions while also casting an objective eye on its effectiveness and its prospects for success in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. Kennedy shows the UN for what it is: fallible, human-based, often dependent on the whims of powerful national governments or the foibles of individual administrators—yet also utterly indispensable. With his insightful grasp of six decades of global history, Kennedy convincingly argues that "it is difficult to imagine how much more riven and ruinous our world of six billion people would be if there had been no UN."

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Paul Kennedy, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and one of today’s most renowned historians, now provides a new and unique look at how World War II was won. Engineers of Victory is a fascinating nuts-and-bolts account of the strategic factors that led to Allied victory. Kennedy reveals how the leaders’ grand strategy was carried out by the ordinary soldiers, scientists, engineers, and businessmen responsible for realizing their commanders’ visions of success. In January 1943, FDR and Churchill convened in Casablanca and established the Allied objectives for the war: to defeat the Nazi blitzkrieg; to control the Atlantic sea lanes and the air over western and central Europe; to take the fight to the European mainland; and to end Japan’s imperialism. Astonishingly, a little over a year later, these ambitious goals had nearly all been accomplished. With riveting, tactical detail, Engineers of Victory reveals how. Kennedy recounts the inside stories of the invention of the cavity magnetron, a miniature radar “as small as a soup plate,” and the Hedgehog, a multi-headed grenade launcher that allowed the Allies to overcome the threat to their convoys crossing the Atlantic; the critical decision by engineers to install a super-charged Rolls-Royce engine in the P-51 Mustang, creating a fighter plane more powerful than the Luftwaffe’s; and the innovative use of pontoon bridges (made from rafts strung together) to help Russian troops cross rivers and elude the Nazi blitzkrieg. He takes readers behind the scenes, unveiling exactly how thousands of individual Allied planes and fighting ships were choreographed to collectively pull off the invasion of Normandy, and illuminating how crew chiefs perfected the high-flying and inaccessible B-29 Superfortress that would drop the atomic bombs on Japan. The story of World War II is often told as a grand narrative, as if it were fought by supermen or decided by fate. Here Kennedy uncovers the real heroes of the war, highlighting for the first time the creative strategies, tactics, and organizational decisions that made the lofty Allied objectives into a successful reality. In an even more significant way, Engineers of Victory has another claim to our attention, for it restores “the middle level of war” to its rightful place in history. Praise for Engineers of Victory “Superbly written and carefully documented . . . indispensable reading for anyone who seeks to understand how and why the Allies won.”—The Christian Science Monitor “An important contribution to our understanding of World War II . . . Like an engineer who pries open a pocket watch to reveal its inner mechanics, [Paul] Kennedy tells how little-known men and women at lower levels helped win the war.”—Michael Beschloss, The New York Times Book Review “Histories of World War II tend to concentrate on the leaders and generals at the top who make the big strategic decisions and on the lowly grunts at the bottom. . . . [Engineers of Victory] seeks to fill this gap in the historiography of World War II and does so triumphantly. . . . This book is a fine tribute.”—The Wall Street Journal “[Kennedy] colorfully and convincingly illustrates the ingenuity and persistence of a few men who made all the difference.”—The Washington Post “This superb book is Kennedy’s best.”—Foreign Affairs

"An excellent study of evangelicalism" from the award-winning sociologist and author of Souls in Transition and Soul Searching ( Library Journal). Evangelicalism is one of the strongest religious traditions in America today; twenty million Americans identify themselves with the evangelical movement. Given the modern pluralistic world we live in, why is evangelicalism so popular? Based on a national telephone survey and more than three hundred personal interviews with evangelicals and other churchgoing Protestants, this study provides a detailed analysis of the commitments, beliefs, concerns, and practices of this thriving group. Examining how evangelicals interact with and attempt to influence secular society, this book argues that traditional, orthodox evangelicalism endures not despite, but precisely because of, the challenges and structures of our modern pluralistic environment. This work also looks beyond evangelicalism to explore more broadly the problems of traditional religious belief and practice in the modern world. With its impressive empirical evidence, innovative theory, and substantive conclusions, American Evangelicalism will provoke lively debate over the state of religious practice in contemporary America. "Based on a three-year study of American evangelicals, Smith takes the pulse of contemporary evangelicalism and offers substantial evidence of a strong heartbeat . . . Evangelicalism is thriving, says Smith, not by being countercultural or by retreating into isolation but by engaging culture at the same time that it constructs, maintains and markets its subcultural identity. Although Smith depends heavily on sociological theory, he makes his case in an accessible and persuasive style that will appeal to a broad audience." — Publishers Weekly

The King is back! Collectors and fans will love this handy new reference of everything Elvis, with 300 classic photographs, a complete guide to Elvis collectibles including every record he ever made, and an array of other fascinating information. Designed in a convenient carry-along format, this full-color guide offers collectors up-to-date pricing information for records and other collectibles, as well as information on Elvis'' personal history. No other guide to Elvis collectibles offers this much information in such a convenient size and affordable price!

Kennedy''s groundbreaking book The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers helped to reorder the current priorities of the United States. Now, he synthesizes extensive research on fields ranging from demography to robotics to draw a detailed, persuasive, and often sobering map of the very near future--a bold work that bridges the gap between history, prophecy, and policy.

Globalization is widely accepted as being a defining process of our modern society. But to what extent do individuals think, feel or act in a way that takes account of the whole world? Do globalization processes really affect us in our everyday lives? And, if so, where are the boundaries between local and global society? This book investigates how local and global studies overlap and interact by examining how real, local lives function under global conditions. It begins by unravelling the most important concepts and debates in the field, opening them up to scrutiny and testing their assumptions through recent case studies and empirical material. The book goes on to examine the power of local forces in forming global processes and explores our attachment to local vs global identities, whilst asking if we can build on our local attachments to move towards a world society. From concerns about the international economy and growing global inequalities to worldwide fears of organized crime and terrorism, this insightful book suggests a new way of looking at the interaction of local and global transformations. Local Lives and Global Transformations gives student readers the knowledge and the encouragement to push the boundaries of their understanding of globalization. It is inspiring reading for all those studying and interested in globalization throughout the social sciences.

Coping effectiveness training (CET) aims to improve skills for assessing stress, teaching a range of coping skills that can be used to tackle stress, and provide an opportunity for interaction with others who have similar experiences of spinal cord injury. CET includes the identification of effective and ineffective responses to stress, especially those that are particularly unhelpful, such as disengagement, general avoidance, long term denial, and the expression of extreme emotion. The intervention consists of seven, 60-75 minute sessions run two a week in small groups of six to nine people. By working in small groups, participants are able to share experience and build a community, reducing the sense of isolation that often results from sever injury. A corresponding workbook provides monitoring forms, homework exercises, and other user-friendly techniques to continue the work outside of therapy.

A look at the events leading up to Japan''s surrender in World War II, from the New York Times–bestselling author of Engineers of Victory. By the spring of 1943, Japan had a tight grip on the countries and territories of East Asia and the Western Pacific. But the Allies had won decisive victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, and they were coming for the rest of Japan''s conquests. Now the empire of Japan would be on the defensive. Featuring a new introduction by the author, this book picks up where Pacific Onslaught left off, providing a detailed, step-by-step account of the Allies'' unstoppable rally across territories annexed by the Japanese in a brutal two-pronged attack across New Guinea and the Philippines, and the islands of the central Pacific. Here you''ll find detailed contemporary accounts and strategy, from the epic battles of the Gilberts and Marshalls to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan''s final surrender on the decks of the USS Missouri.