Turmoil in the Middle East has escalated to unprecedented levels in the twenty-first century. Opposing cultural, religious, and political forces have resumed old conflicts and spawned new ones, fighting with words and images as well as bombs and bullets. The path toward peace and reconciliation seems further away and less clear than ever. Stephen Eric Bronner's Peace Out of Reach is both a deeply personal account and a careful analysis of the crises currently threatening the cradle of civilization. Bronner's insights into Middle Eastern tensions are significantly enhanced by his extensive travels in the region. Equally informed by scholarly research and conscientious engagement, Bronner critically evaluates the motivations and actions of the powerful players on the Middle Eastern stage. Peace Out of Reach challenges policymakers to build bridges, recognize common interests, foster genuine diplomacy, and seek realistically navigable roads to lasting peace, rather than resort to propaganda, threats, and military actions.

Using recently released archival materials, Replacing France explains how and why the United States came to assume control as the dominant western power in Vietnam during the 1950s. Kathryn C. Statler examines diplomatic maneuvers in Paris, Washington, London, and Saigon to detail how Western alliance members failed to work together against the Communist threat. Motivated by a deep belief in the inherent superiority of their own cultures, both the United States and France sought to transform South Vietnam into a modern, westernized, and democratic ally. Although the United States ultimately replaced France, efforts to build South Vietnam into a nation failed. Instead, the Eisenhower administration created a dependent client state that was unable to withstand increasing Communist aggression from the north. Replacing France is a fundamental reassessment of the origins of U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

In The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, an impressive cast of contributors explores the complex themes and philosophical underpinnings of Martin Scorsese's films. One of the most significant filmmakers in the history of American cinema, Scorsese is the creative force behind films such as GoodFellas, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Aviator, and The Age of Innocence. The contributing authors use Scorsese's films as vehicles for exploration of philosophical concepts such as friendship and egoism, vigilantism, libertarianism, Buddhist ethics, desire and self-restraint, madness, the criminal mind, beatitude and unhappiness, and the absurd.

With a Foreword by Jeffry D. Wert During the Civil War, Confederate John Singleton Mosby led the Forty-third Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, better known as Mosby's Rangers, in many bold and daring operations behind Union lines. Following the war, Mosby stayed in touch with several of his closest confidants, one of whom was former captain and Baptist minister Samuel Forrer Chapman. Take Sides with the Truth is a collection of more than eighty letters written by Mosby to Chapman. Published for the first time in their entirety, they reveal Mosby's innermost thoughts on many subjects, such as his severe criticism of General Robert E. Lee's staff officers and his decades-long crusade to clear the name of his friend and mentor J. E. B. Stuart in the Gettysburg campaign.

November 1943: American flyer George Watt parachutes out of his burning warplane and lands in rural Nazi-occupied Belgium. Escape from Hitler's Europe is the incredible story of his getaway--how brave villagers spirited him to Brussels to connect with the Comet Line, a rescue arm of the Belgian resistance. This was a gravely dangerous mission, especially for a Jewish soldier who had fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Watt recounts dodging the Gestapo, entering Paris via the underground, and finally, crossing the treacherous Pyrenees into Spain. In 1985, he returned to Belgium and discovered an astonishing postscript to his wartime experiences.

Healing Appalachia is the first book to apply "appropriate technology," or the simplest level of technology that can effectively achieve the desired result, specifically to the Appalachian region. The authors examine thirty low-cost, people-friendly, and environmentally benign appropriate technologies that are concerned with such issues as food preservation, land use, shelter, and transportation. They pay close attention to the practicality of each technique according to affordability, ease of use, and ecological soundness. Details on construction and maintenance and resources for locating further information are included, making this an essential volume for everyone who cares about the future of Appalachia.

Guerrilla insurgencies continue to rage across the globe, fueled by ethnic and religious conflict and the easy availability of weapons. Reflecting the massive global movement of population from the countryside to cities, guerrilla conflict in urban areas, similar to the current violence in Iraq, will become more frequent. In his wide-ranging and richly detailed comparative analysis, Anthony James Joes examines eight key examples of urban guerrilla conflict across half a century and four continents: Warsaw in 1944, Budapest in 1956, Algiers in 1957, Montevideo and Sao Paulo in the 1960s, Saigon in 1968, Northern Ireland from 1970 to 1998, and Grozny from 1994 to 1996. He illustrates the fundamental differences between traditional and urban guerrilla warfare, traces the diverse origins of urban conflicts, and identifies similarities and differences in the methods of counterinsurgent forces. Joes argues persuasively against committing U.S. troops in urban counterinsurgencies but also offers cogent recommendations for the successful conduct of such operations if they must be undertaken. Urban Guerrilla Warfare is a readable, thorough, and convincing exposition of a form of conflict whose dangers will increasingly confront the American people for many years to come.

A History Book Club SelectionA Military History Book Club Selection Virginia emerged from the year 1861 in much the same state of uncertainty and confusion as the rest of the Confederacy. While the North was known to be rebuilding its army, no one could be sure if the northern people and government were willing to continue the war. Virginians' expectations for the coming year did not prepare them for what was about to happen, for in 1862 the war became earnest and real, and the Old Dominion became then and thereafter the major battleground of the war in the East. The landscape and the people of Virginia were a part of the battlefield, and as the contributors to Virginia at War, 1862 attest, no individual and no aspect of life in the Commonwealth could escape the war's impact. William C. Davis is director of programs at the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies.

With a Foreword by Roger W. Moss Although Clay Lancaster (1917-2000) established himself as an expert on New York brownstones and California bungalows, the nationally known architectural historian also spent four decades photographing architecture in his native Kentucky. Lancaster had no flash bulb, no tripod, no close-up or wide-angle lenses, but he had a good eye and a love for his subject, producing photos that are works of art as well as documents of local history. Many of the buildings he photographed have been demolished, while others have been restored. Displaying over 150 starkly beautiful black-and-white images alongside James D. Birchfield's insightful commentary, Clay Lancaster's Kentucky not only reveals the architectural treasures found in the Bluegrass State but also demonstrates the vision of an artist.

"A rich tale of healing, redemption, and social responsibility." -- Publishers Weekly "A compelling, skillfully told story…. Lyon's finest achievement. " -- Lexington Herald-Leader "Lyon gives readers a story rich in precise, gorgeous language that glows like a sword on the forge and cuts as deep…. Tragedies old and new weave a tiny Kentucky town into the center of the universe." -- Booklist (starred review) "Lyon consistently reveals in her work an ability to render the peculiarities of the people and the places she knows best, while at the same time exploring concerns that lend her stories and poems universal appeal. The same is true of With a Hammer for My Heart, a powerful first novel that catapults Lyon into the ranks of other well-respected contemporary novelists." -- Southern Register

In the postwar era, producers and consumers of cinema began to demand more freedom to make and view movies that accurately portrayed the complexities of real life. In Freedom to Offend, Raymond J. Haberski Jr. details the battles, fought largely in New York City, to secure "freedom of the screen" for film audiences. In the libertine 1970s, arguments supporting the right to see challenging films were twisted to provide intellectual cover for movies created solely to lure viewers with outrageous or titillating material. Haberski exposes the unquestioning defense of free expression as an absolutist approach that mirrors the censorial impulse found among the postwar era's restrictive moral guardians.

In 1953, the same year that Elvis Presley cut his first demo, Cash Box magazine named the Hilltoppers the top vocal group of the year. Hits such as "Trying" and "P.S. I Love You" raced up the charts and kept the band in Billboard's Top 40. On weekends the Hilltoppers performed in cities across the country, but on school days they were better known as Western Kentucky State College students Jimmy Sacca, Seymour Spiegelman, Don McGuire, and Billy Vaughn. The Korean War, military drafts, and changing public tastes in music, however, cut short singing careers that should have lasted much longer. Sacca was drafted in 1953, mere months before the end of the war. Vaughn left the group shortly after that for a career at Dot Records and found fame elsewhere with his orchestra. McGuire and Spiegelman were drafted as well, and despite a set of temporary replacement members, the group eventually called it quits. Fifty years later, historian Carlton Jackson revisits the college kids who made it big between classes. He follows the band from their first hit, recorded in Western's Van Meter Auditorium, to their brief 1970s reunion. Their story is a study of celebrity and youth in the early days of rock 'n' roll.

The Holy Grail, the Lance of Longinus, and the True Cross are some of the most revered artifacts in the world today. These Christian relics are also a source of limitless controversy. They have incited bloodshed and, some say, are a source of miracles. They inspire fear and hope among the faithful, and yet are a perennial target for skeptics, both Christian and secular. To research the authenticity of numerous Christian relics, Joe Nickell employs a scientific approach, using such techniques as radiocarbon dating, polarized-light microscopy, and forensic serology. Examined here are such significant relics as the Shroud of Turin, the multiple heads of John the Baptist, and the "incorruptible" corpses of saints. For each relic, Nickell examines evidence indicating that the item is legitimate, evidence suggesting that it is not, and whether or not the relic and the miracles attributed to it can be recreated. In addition to his own experiments, Nickell presents findings from the world's top scientists and historians regarding these controversial objects of reverence and ire. But he is ultimately guided by the maxim, "extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof." In treating each relic as a mystery to be solved, Nickell seeks only to find the truth.

Every society expresses its fundamental values and hopes in the ways it shapes and inhabits its landscapes. In this literate and wide-ranging exploration, Eric T. Freyfogle raises difficult questions about American culture while illuminating the intellectual origins of urban sprawl, dwindling wildlife habitats, over-engineered rivers, and degraded forests and grasslands. These land-use crises, he contends, arise mostly because of cultural attitudes that once made sense on the American frontier but now threaten our natural resources. To support and sustain healthy communities, profound adjustments will be required. Freyfogle's search leads him down unusual paths. He probes Charles Frazier's novel Cold Mountain for insights on the healing power of nature and tests the wisdom in Wendell Berry's fiction. He challenges journalists writing about environmental and land-use issues to get beyond familiar, misleading dichotomies to explain the true choices that Americans face. Freyfogle concludes the book by bringing together his insights in an imaginary job advertisement for a new kind of environmental leader and issuing a call to the conservation movement to recast its public rhetoric. In all, Agrarianism and the Good Society offers a critical yet hopeful guide for cultural change, essential for anyone interested in the benefits and creative possibilities of responsible land use.

Governments throughout history have struggled to define the boundaries of the right to freedom of speech. Even though the United States explicitly articulates freedom of speech in the First Amendment to the Constitution, the judicial branch frequently reinterprets the amendment by allowing laws to limit that freedom. In Reflections on Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment, noted legal theorist George Anastaplo details the history and intellectual foundations of freedom of speech, using examples from Socrates, Jesus, and Sir Thomas More to demonstrate how freedom of speech has evolved over centuries. Anastaplo pays particular attention to freedom of speech as it relates to the U.S. Constitution, and he describes potential First Amendment issues, such as cases involving the Internet. Anastaplo provides an in-depth look at a controversial issue, and he defines freedom of speech in precise terms for both scholars and those interested in one of our most cherished rights.

From the pioneering Danville surgeon Ephraim McDowell, the first doctor to successfully perform abdominal surgery, and Luke Blackburn, dubbed the "Hero of Hickman" and elected governor in 1879 after his efforts to combat yellow fever, to contemporary Kentucky doctors performing groundbreaking reconstructive surgery and artificial heart implants, Healing Kentucky tells the story of the two-hundred-year struggle to provide good health care to all Kentuckians. Nancy Disher Baird describes Lexington schoolteacher Linda Neville's mission to treat the eye disease trachoma in rural Kentucky, Louise Caudill's efforts to open the first hospital in Morehead, the 1833 cholera epidemic, and many other important episodes in medicine in Kentucky. Written on an upper-elementary school level expressly for adult literacy students and students of English as a second language, Healing Kentucky brings the many heroes of medicine in the Bluegrass State to life.