December 2023 MBR The World History Shelf

The World History Shelf

Diplomats & Admirals
Dale A. Jenkins
Aubrey Pubishing
9798986562612, $32.50, HC, 402pp

https://www.amazon.com/Diplomats-Admirals-Negotiations-Misjudgments-Powerful/dp/B0BNPL8YTW

Synopsis: It's November 1941 and Japan and the US are teetering on a knife-edge as leaders on both sides of the Pacific strive to prevent war between them. But failed diplomacy, foiled negotiations, and possible duplicity in the Roosevelt administration thwart their attempts.

Drawing on now-declassified original documents, "Diplomats & Admirals: From Failed Negotiations and Tragic Misjudgments to Powerful Leaders and Heroic Deeds, the Untold Story of the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway" by Dale A. Jenkins reveals the inside story of one fateful year.

"Diplomats & Admirals" reveals: How the hidden agendas of powerful civilian and military leaders pushed the two nations toward war; The miscommunications, misjudgments, and blunders that doomed efforts at peace; China's role in the US ultimatum that triggered the attack on Pearl Harbor; Why the carrier-to-carrier showdown at Coral Sea proved a fatal mistake for Japan; How courageous US navy pilots snatched victory from defeat at the Battle of Midway.

The defining events of WWII in the Pacific could have ended very differently. Combining perspectives from both military and civilian leaders, "Diplomats & Admirals" uncovers new insights into the Pacific naval battles that shaped the world-and the men behind them.

Critique: A seminal and groundbreaking work of detailed research, "Diplomats & Admirals: From Failed Negotiations and Tragic Misjudgments to Powerful Leaders and Heroic Deeds, the Untold Story of the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway" is a fascinating, informative, exceptional contribution to the growing body of World War II historical analysis. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library World War II Naval History/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, military buffs, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Diplomats & Admirals" is also available in a paperback edition (9798986562605, $19.50) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99).

Editorial Note: Dale A. Jenkins (https://daleajenkins.com) has had a lifelong interest in the Navy and international affairs. He is a former US Navy officer who served on a destroyer in the Pacific and for a time was home-ported in Yokosuka, Japan. Pacific Fleet commitments took him to the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. While on active duty, he was awarded the Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal. His business career was primarily in international banking, and he was also a staff director at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Dale currently serves on the Samuel Eliot Morison Committee of the Naval Order of the United Sates, New York, and as a Regional Director of the Naval War College Foundation. As a result of his active-duty experience and new revelations, Dale provides insight into the diplomacy and strategies of the Pacific region. He has degrees in history and business from Harvard and Columbia.

Lost Cities of the Ancient World
Philip Matyszak
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
9780500025659, $34.95, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/Cities-Ancient-World-Philip-Matyszak/dp/0500025657

Synopsis: The ruins of ancient Athens, Luxor, and Rome are all familiar cornerstones of world history, visited by travelers from across the globe. But what about the cities that have dropped off the map? That have been submerged under water, or swallowed up by the sands of time? Where are they, and what can they tell us about our past?

"Lost Cities of the Ancient World" is compendium of forgotten cities wherein historian Philip Matyszak explores the trials, tribulations, and triumphs these cities faced, revealing how people have embarked on the shared endeavor of living together since we first settled down twelve thousand years ago.

Illustrated throughout with important artifacts, ruins, and maps, "Lost Cities of the Ancient World" brings to life the sites and settlements across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond that time forgot and ranging from the sunken city of Pavlopetri in the Mediterranean to the deep cave dwellings of Derinkuyu in Turkey. Four thousand years of human history are covered in this history, offering unique insights into forgotten cities and ways of life.

With the publication of "Lost Cities of the Ancient World, Matyszak also reveals a dynamic network of peoples and cultures who fought and traded between themselves, exchanging inventions, ideas, and philosophies, with the result that people as far apart as Catalhoyukin Turkey and Skara Brae in Scotland's Orkney Islands shared a common heritage. By examining the motivations that first drew populations to gather and settle together, as well as the challenges that led to their cities' abandonment, this visually striking and often surprising book offers us a fresh perspective on our urban origins.

Critique: Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of 192 color illustrations, an informative Introduction (Ghosts of the Past), an eleven page bibliography of Further Readings, a two page listing of Sources of Illustrations, and a four page Index, "Lost Cities of the Ancient World" will prove of immense value for readers with an interest in ancient history and civilizations. Thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Lost Cities of the Ancient World" is also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99), "Lost Cities of the Ancient World" will prove to be a welcome and highly prized edition to community and college/university library Ancient History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Philip Matyszak (https://www.matyszakbooks.com) has a doctorate in Roman history from St John's College, Oxford. He is the author of numerous books on the ancient world, including Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World, The Greek and Roman Myths, The Gods and Goddesses of Greece and Rome, and Ancient Magic.

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