PositiveForeign AffairsFor those who see economic sanctions as a relatively mild way of expressing displeasure at a country’s behavior, this book, charting how they first emerged as a potential coercive instrument during the first decades of the twentieth century, will come as something of a revelation. In an original and persuasive analysis, Mulder shows how isolating aggressors from global commerce and finance was seen as an alternative to war that worked precisely because of the pain it imposed on the target society.
Jessica Donati
PositiveForeign AffairsDonati captures the chaos and arbitrariness of the war ... Her vivid, uncompromising reporting presents U.S. politicians and senior military commanders as disconnected from the reality of the war as they flounder in search of a satisfactory way out of it.
Elizabeth Becker
PositiveForeign AffairsAn enthralling biography of three female war correspondents who preceded her in Southeast Asia, reporting on the Vietnam War. ... Becker blends their individual stories with wider history, setting the unfolding tragedy in Vietnam in the background as her protagonists develop doubts about the logic and legitimacy of the war. She provides vivid accounts of their journalistic exploits and tales of how they suffered in their work—their injuries, traumas, excessive drinking, and complicated affairs.
Thomas Rid
PositiveForeign AffairsSoon after the 1917 Russian Revolution, the Bolshevik regime used misinformation to confuse its opponents ... By the time the Cold War ended, such measures had become almost routine. Moscow has revived them in recent years as Russian relations with the West have become more hostile, with the added impetus and reach of social media. Rid concludes this fascinating and well-researched history by warning of the need to take the challenge of misinformation seriously while being careful to not exaggerate its effects.
Steve Vogel
PositiveForeign AffairsIn this riveting and vivid account of the episode, Vogel demonstrates convincingly that a lot of valuable information was in fact obtained from the tunnel, largely because the KGB wanted to protect Blake from exposure and so decided to maintain the fiction that the Soviets were oblivious to the intrusion. At the heart of the book is Blake’s own remarkable story, which Vogel tells with some sympathy, if not approval. It reads like a Hollywood screenplay: a young Dutchman escapes the Nazis; joins the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6; is captured by North Korean forces during the Korean War; and decides, while in captivity, to become a Soviet agent.
Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherman
RaveForeign Affairs...a stunning blockbuster ... The background political context is not fully explored, but this is a small complaint. Bird and Sherwin have undertaken a daunting amount of research, and they do full justice to the complexity of Oppenheimer\'s story.
David Patrikarakos
RaveForeign AffairsPatrikarakos has gone to the frontlines of modern warfare to interview representatives of a species he calls Homo digitalis: individuals whose skill with social media allows them to reshape the conduct of contemporary conflicts ...a highly readable introduction to some big issues in contemporary war. Patrikarakos asks searching questions and never overstates his case. One idea emerges quite clearly, however: it remains difficult to win a narrative battle when losing a physical one.
