San Antonio College Library

"From World War II until the 1980s, the United States reigned supreme as both the economic and the military leader of the world. The major shifts in global politics that came about with the dismantling of the Eastern bloc have left the United States unchallenged as the preeminent military power, but American economic might has declined drastically in the face of competition, first from Germany and Japan ad more recently from newly prosperous countries...

After World War II, a powerful conviction took hold among American intellectuals and policymakers: that the United States could profoundly accelerate and ultimately direct the development of the decolonizing world, serving as a modernizing force around the globe. By accelerating economic growth, promoting agricultural expansion, and encouraging the rise of enlightened elites, they hoped to link development with security, preventing revolutions and...

"After the 9/11 attack on the United States, the brief moment of global sympathy for America soon began giving way to blame. Angered by these assaults on a nation he knows and admires, the distinguished French intellectual Jean-Francois Revel has come to America's defense in Anti-Americanism, a book that (paradoxically, given his country's especially vehement attacks on the U.S. and its policies) spent several weeks late last year on top of France's...

This book integrates the study of presidential politics and foreign policy-making from the Vietnam aftermath to the events following September 11 and the Iraqi War.

"In this book, policy expert Colin S. Gray presents a clear and sophisticated argument that the United States is - and should continue to be - the world's guardian. The Sheriff: America's Defense of the New World Order sets forth a strategic analysis with nine basic themes as guides to where, when, and how America should be involved in international security affairs. Gray's constructive critique of recent trends in national security is comprehensive,...

Former President Bush and his national security advisor, Brent Scowcroft, tell the story of tumultuous years. Here are behind-the-scenes accounts of critical meetings in the White House and of summit conferences in Europe and the United States, interspersed with excerpts from Mr. Bush's diary. We are given fresh and intriguing views of world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Margaret Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and Francois Mitterrand -...