I thought it would be helpful to create a page listing all the reading material suggested by the Department of State if you are attempting to pass the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). This is a great resource listed by the State Department, but there were some things missing.

To help them out, I’ve included the Amazon book description for each material listed, a link so you can find it on Amazon, and a picture of the cover. I know they say don’t judge a book by its cover, but covers definitely help! I recommend you take the time to review some of this material, especially where you know you can improve your understanding. Remember, these are suggestions by the State Department and you should definitely review the comments on Amazon, and check out similar material. As the Department of State updates their suggested reading list, I will make sure to do the same here.

If you want to jump to a particular section feel free to use the buttons below. Enjoy!

1. English Usage
2. United States (culture, foreign policy, history, politics)
3. World History and Geography
4. Area Studies
5. Consular and Immigration
6. Economics and Public Policy
7. Management and Human Behavior
8. Public Affairs and the Media
9. Computer Applications

 

English Usage

Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers by University of Chicago Press Staff

While digital technologies have revolutionized the publishing world in the twenty-first century, one thing still remains true: The Chicago Manual of Style is the authoritative, trusted source that writers, editors, and publishers turn to for guidance on style and process. For the sixteenth edition, every aspect of coverage has been reconsidered to reflect how publishing professionals work today. Though processes may change, the Manual continues to offer the clear, well-considered style and usage advice it has for more than a century.The sixteenth edition offers expanded information on producing electronic publications, including web-based content and e-books. An updated appendix on production and digital technology demystifies the process of electronic workflow and offers a primer on the use of XML markup, and a revised glossary includes a host of terms associated with electronic as well as print publishing. The Chicago system of documentation has been streamlined and adapted for a variety of online and digital sources. Figures and tables are updated throughout the book—including a return to the Manual’s popular hyphenation table and new, comprehensive listings of Unicode numbers for special characters.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B White

You know the authors’ names. You recognize the title. You’ve probably used this book yourself. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. A new Foreword by Roger Angell reminds readers that the advice of Strunk & White is as valuable today as when it was first offered. This book’s unique tone, wit and charm have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. Use the fourth edition of “the little book” to make a big impact with writing.

United States (culture, foreign policy, history, politics)

Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938 by Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley

Since it first appeared in 1971, Rise to Globalism has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. The ninth edition of this classic survey, now updated through the administration of George W. Bush, offers a concise and informative overview of the evolution of American foreign policy from 1938 to the present, focusing on such pivotal events as World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and 9/11. Examining everything from the Iran-Contra scandal to the rise of international terrorism, the authors analyze-in light of the enormous global power of the United States-how American economic aggressiveness, racism, and fear of Communism have shaped the nation’s evolving foreign policy.

Nation of Nations: A Narrative History of the American Republic by James West Davidson, Brian DeLay, Christine Leigh Heyrman, Mark Lytle, and Michael Stoff

Known for its friendly narrative style and careful blending of political and social history, Nation of Nations offers a balanced approach to teaching the American history survey course. The story presented by the authors reflects their belief that the American past can only be fully understood when linked to events worldwide. As a result of this view, Nation of Nations has become the leader in the integration of global material, done in a sensible and thoughtful way. This sixth edition features expanded coverage of environmental and pre-colonial history by new coauthor Brian DeLay, as well as a completely redesigned map program, additional After the Fact content, and a new online version of the popular Primary Source Investigator.

Racial and Ethnic Relations by Joe. R. Feagin and Clairece Booher Feagin

A theoretically informed and empirical exploration of the diversity, depth, and significance of racial and ethnic relations in the U.S., this book is organized by racial-ethnic groups rather then by issues. Drawing heavily on a broad range of research sources — that dig deep into the “what,” “why,” and “how” of racial and ethnic oppression and conflict — it examines 15 major racial and ethnic groups with regard to their incorporation, economic circumstances, political development, and experience with exploitation — with special reference to the assimilation and power conflict (theoretical) perspectives. Covers a comprehensive new theory of racial oppression; increasing demographic concentration of people of color; racism; issues of racial change; and housing discrimination & segregation.

International Relations by Joshuah Goldstein and Jon Pevehouse

The bestselling text in its field, International Relations is praised for being the most current and comprehensive introduction to international relations theory as well as security, economic, and global issues. From war and trade to human rights and the environment, this survey explores relations among states and the influence of transnational actors and events.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy by E.D. Hirsch, Joseph Kett, and James Trefil

In this fast-paced information age, how can Americans know what’s really important and what’s just a passing fashion? Now more than ever, we need a source that concisely sums up the knowledge that matters to Americans — the people, places, ideas, and events that shape our cultural conversation. With more than six thousand entries,The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy is that invaluable source.Wireless technology. Gene therapy. NAFTA. In addition to the thousands of terms described in the original Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, here are more than five hundred new entries to bring Americans’ bank of essential knowledge up to date. The original entries have been fully revised to reflect recent changes in world history and politics, American literature, and, especially, science and technology. Cultural icons that have stood the test of time (Odysseus, Leaves of Grass, Cleopatra, the Taj Mahal, D-Day) appear alongside entries on such varied concerns as cryptography, the digital divide, the European Union, Kwanzaa, pheromones, SPAM, Type A and Type B personalities, Web browsers, and much, much more.As our world becomes more global and interconnected, it grows smaller through the terms and touchstones that unite us. As E. D. Hirsch writes in the preface, “Community is built up of shared knowledge and values — the same shared knowledge that is taken for granted when we read a book or newspaper, and that is also taken for granted as part of the fabric that connects us to one another.” A delicious concoction of information for anyone who wants to be in the know, The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy brilliantly confirms once again that it is “an excellent piece of work . . . stimulating and enlightening” (New York Times) — the most definitive and comprehensive family sourcebook of its kind.

American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century by Bruce Jentleson

Written by one of the leading scholars in the field, American Foreign Policy focuses on foreign policy strategy as well as foreign policy politics. The heavily revised Fifth Edition offers greater emphasis on the role that domestic politics and institutions (both formal and informal) play in shaping American foreign policy. A consistent strategic framework (the four Ps: Power, Peace, Prosperity, and Principles) keeps students thinking analytically about policy decisions. And new chapters on key geopolitical regions apply the core concepts from both spheres to the issues that are most relevant today, including the rise of China, the consequences of the euro crisis, and the recent wars in the Middle East.

American Diplomats: The Foreign Service at Work by William Morgan and Charles Stuart Kennedy (Editors)

What do the men and women of America’s diplomatic corps do? William D. Morgan and Charles Stuart Kennedy, themselves career diplomats, culled over 1400 oral interviews with their Foreign Service peers to present forty excerpts covering events from the 1920s to the 1990s. Insiders recount what happens when a consul spies on Nazi Germany, Mao Tse-Tung drops by for a chat, the Cold War begins with the Berlin blockade, the Marshall Plan rescues Europe, Sukarno moves Indonesia into the communist camp, Khrushchev calls President Kennedy an SOB, and our ambassador is murdered in Kabul.”You are there” accounts deepen readers’ understanding, as diplomatic and consular officers talk about the beginnings of Kremlinology, predicting a coup in Ecuador, Hemingway and the embassy in Havana, the secret formulation of the NATO treaty, Jerusalem after the British and the US recognition of Israel, fighting in the Congo over Katangan secession, dealing with an alcoholic foreign president, human rights work in Paraguay, the U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, helping families of the Pan Am 103 victims, Greece and Turkey at odds over a tiny island, embassy roles in Riyadh and Tel Aviv during Desert Storm, and many more.

A People and A Nation: A History of the United States by Mary Beth Norton, Jane Kamensky, Carol Sheriff, David Blight, and Howard Chudacoff

A People and A Nation is a best-selling text offering a spirited narrative that tells the stories of all people in the United States. The authors’ attention to race and racial identity and their inclusion of everyday people and popular culture brings history to life, engaging readers and encouraging them to imagine what life was really like in the past.

American Foreign Relations: A History, Volume 2: Since 1895 by Thomas Paterson, J. Garry Clifford, Robert Brigham, Michael Donoghue, and Kenneth Hagan

This best-selling text presents the best synthesis of current scholarship available to emphasize the theme of expansionism and its manifestations. Volume 2 includes recently declassified documents, and provides the opportunity to consider new perspectives on topics such as the American intervention in the Bolshevik Revolution, the origins of the Cold War and the Korean War, and the Cuban missile crisis.

The Politics of United States Foreign Policy by Jerel Rosati and James Scott

A definitive work on U.S. foreign policymaking, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy uses three levels of analysis to demonstrate how government, society, and the historical-global environment all impact policymaking. Focusing more on the process of creating policy than the history, this comprehensive text blends substance, history, and theory in a lively narrative that is engaging, accessible, and informative. Streamlined and up to date, the Sixth Edition presents theory in the context of the most current coverage available, including the 2012 elections, the new Congress, the global economic crisis, updates on the wars and crises abroad, the Obama administration’s foreign policy, and more.

Women and the American Experience by Nancy Woloch

This comprehensive synthesis of women’s history from the 17th century to the present draws on the past four decades of scholarship in the field. The book’s unique dual-chapter format pairs a narrative “episode” that vividly evokes a particular individual or event with a synthesis chapter that places each episode carefully within its broader historical context. This pairing of the concrete and specific with the general and historic creates a richly compelling reading experience.

World History and Geography

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence?Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories.Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including:- China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? – Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? – What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions?Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

Atlas of the World by Oxford University Press

The only world atlas updated annually, guaranteeing that users will find the most current geographic information, Oxford’s Atlas of the World is the most authoritative atlas on the market. Full of crisp, clear cartography of urban areas and virtually uninhabited landscapes around the globe, the Atlas is filled with maps of cities and regions at carefully selected scales that give a striking view of the Earth’s surface. Opening with world statistics and a colorful, instructive 48-page Introduction to World Geography–beautifully illustrated with tables and graphs–this acclaimed resource provides details on numerous topics of geographic significance, such as climate change, food and water supply, biodiversity, energy, global conflict, and landforms.Providing the finest global coverage available, the Atlas of the World is not only the best-selling volume of its size and price, but also the benchmark by which all other atlases are measured.

International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond by Anthony Best, Jussi Hanhimaki, Joseph A. Maiolo, and Kirsten E. Schulze

This major global history of the twentieth century is written by four prominent international historians for first-year undergraduate level and upward. Using their thematic and regional expertise, the authors cover events in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas from the last century and beyond. Among the areas this book covers are:- The decline of European hegemony over the international order – The diffusion of power to the two superpowers – The rise of newly independent states in Asia and Africa – The course and consequences of the major global conflicts of the twentieth century.This second edition is thoroughly updated, and includes extended coverage of European integration, the rise of supra-governmental organizations, and the ‘global War on Terror’.

The Heritage of World Civilizations: Combined Volume by Albert Craig, William Graham, Donald Kagan, Steven Ozment, and Frank Turner

Written by leading scholars in their respective fields, The Heritage of World Civilizations offers compelling and thorough coverage of the unique heritage of Asian, African, Middle Eastern, European, and American civilizations, while highlighting the role of the world’s great religious and philosophical traditions.

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared M. Diamond

In this “artful, informative, and delightful” (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion –as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war –and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California’s Gold Medal.

The Sprit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World by Author

“Meticulous . . . [Diamond] gleaned that . . . the fate of democracy was not driven by events but by the passion of individual people.”—The New York Times Book ReviewIn 1974, nearly three-quarters of all countries were dictatorships; today, more than half are democracies. Yet recent efforts to promote democracy have stumbled, and many democratic governments are faltering.In this sweeping vision for advancing freedom around the world, renowned social scientist Larry Diamond examines how and why democracy progresses. He demonstrates that the desire for democracy runs deep, even in very poor countries, and that seemingly entrenched regimes like Iran and China could become democracies within a generation. He also dissects the causes of the “democratic recession” in critical states, including the crime-infested oligarchy in Russia and the strong-armed populism of Venezuela.To spur a renewed democratic boom Diamond urges the United States to vigorously support good governance and free civic organizations. Only then will the spirit of democracy be secured.

Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson

Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuriesHow did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors.Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization: The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.

A History of the Twentieth Century: The Concise Edition of the Acclaimed World History by Martin Gilbert

Martin Gilbert, author of the multivolume biography of Winston Churchill and other brilliant works of history, chronicles world events year by year, from the dawn of aviation to the flourishing technology age, taking us through World War I to the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt as president of the United States and Hider as chancellor of Germany. He continues on to document wars in South Africa, China, Ethiopia, Spain, Korea, Vietnam, and Bosnia, as well as apartheid, the arms race, the moon landing, and the beginnings of the computer age, while interspersing the influence of art, literature, music, and religion throughout this vivid work.A rich, textured look at war, celebration, suffering, life, death, and renewal in the century gone by, this volume is nothing less than extraordinary.

From the Ruins of Empire: The Revolt Against the West and the Remaking of Asia by Pankaj Mishra

A Financial Times and The Economist Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice.A surprising, gripping narrative depicting the thinkers whose ideas shaped contemporary China, India, and the Muslim world.A little more than a century ago, independent thinkers across Asia sought to frame a distinct intellectual tradition that would inspire the continent’s rise to dominance. Yet this did not come to pass, and today those thinkers—Tagore, Gandhi, and later Nehru in India; Liang Qichao and Sun Yat-sen in China; Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Abdurreshi al Ibrahim of the Ottoman Empire—are seen as outsiders within the main anticolonial tradition. But as Pankaj Mishra demonstrates in this enthralling portrait of like minds, Asia’s revolt against the West is not the one led by faith-fired terrorists and thwarted peasants; rather, it is rooted in the ideas of these once renowned intellectuals. Now, when the ascendency of Asia seems possible as never before, From the Ruins of Empire is as necessary as it is timely—a book indispensable to our understanding of the world and our place in it.

Area Studies

Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy by Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal

Drawing on the newest and most sophisticated historical research and scholarship in the field, Modern South Asia provides a challenging insight for those with an intellectual curiosity about the region. After sketching the pre-modern history of the subcontinent, the book concentrates on the last three centuries. Jointly authored by two leading Indian and Pakistani historians, it offers a rare depth of historical understanding of the politics, cultures, and economies that shape the lives of more than a fifth of humanity.In this comprehensive study, the authors interpret and debate the striking developments in contemporary South Asian history and historical writing, covering the entire spectrum of the region’s modern history – social, economic and political. The book provides new insights into the structure and ideology of the British raj, the meaning of subaltern resistance, the refashioning of social relations along the lines of caste, class, community and gender, the different strands of anti-colonial nationalism and the dynamics of decolonization.This third edition brings the debate up to the present day, taking account of recent historical research and covering the closer integration of South Asia with the global economy, the impact of developments in Afghanistan on the region as a whole, and the fresh challenges to South Asia’s nation-states.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll

From the managing editor of the Washington Post, a news-breaking account of the CIA’s involvement in the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and gave rise to bin Laden’s al Qaeda.For nearly the past quarter century, while most Americans were unaware, Afghanistan has been the playing field for intense covert operations by U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies-invisible wars which sowed the seeds of the September 11 attacks and which provide its context. From the Soviet invasion in 1979 through the summer of 2001, the CIA, KGB, Pakistan’s ISI, and Saudi Arabia’s General Intelligence Department all operated directly and secretly in Afghanistan. They primed Afghan factions with cash and weapons, secretly trained guerrilla forces, funded propaganda, and manipulated politics. In the midst of these struggles bin Laden conceived and then built his global organization.Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll tells the secret history of the CIA’s role in Afghanistan, from its covert program against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989, to the rise of the Taliban and the emergence of bin Laden, to the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998. Based on extensive firsthand accounts, Ghost Warsok is the inside story that goes well beyond anything previously published on U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. It chronicles the roles of midlevel CIA officers, their Afghan allies, and top spy masters such as Bill Casey, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki al Faisal, and George Tenet. And it describes heated debates within the American government and the often poisonous, mistrustful relations between the CIA and foreign intelligence agencies.Ghost Wars answers the questions so many have asked since the horrors of September 11: To what extent did America’s best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail?

The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know by James L. Gelvin

Beginning in December 2010 popular revolt swept through the Middle East, shocking the world and ushering in a period of unprecedented unrest. Protestors took to the streets to demand greater freedom, democracy, human rights, social justice, and regime change. What caused these uprisings? What is their significance? And what are their likely consequences?In an engaging question-and-answer format, The Arab Uprisings: What Everyone Needs to Know explores all aspects of the revolutionary protests that have rocked the Middle East. Historian James Gelvin begins with an overview–What sparked the Arab uprisings? Where did the demands for democracy and human rights come from? How appropriate is the phrase “Arab Spring”?–before turning to specific countries around the region. He looks at such topics as the role of youth, labor, and religious groups in Tunisia and Egypt and discusses why the military turned against rulers in both countries. Exploring the uprisings in Libya and Yemen, Gelvin explains why these two states are considered “weak,” why that status is important for understanding the upheavals there, and why outside powers intervened in Libya but not in Yemen. Next, Gelvin compares two cases that defied expectations: Algeria, which experts assumed would experience a major upheaval after Egypt’s, and Syria, which experts failed to foresee. He then looks at the monarchies of Morocco, Jordan, and the Gulf, exploring the commonalities and differences of protest movements in each. The final chapter discusses the implications of the uprisings. What do they mean for the United States? For Iran? Has al-Qaeda been strengthened or weakened? What effects have the uprisings had on the Israel-Palestine conflict? What conclusions might we draw from the uprisings so far?For anyone wishing to understand the dramatic events in the Middle East, The Arab Uprisings is the place to turn.

Understanding Contemporary Africa by April A. Gordon and Donald L. Gordon (Editors)

This new edition of Understanding Contemporary Africa has been thoroughly revised to reflect the many significant events and trends of the past six years seismic political changes, the impact of the new information technology, the strong presence of China and other foreign powers, and much more.The authors provide current analyses not only of history, politics, and economics, but also geography, environmental concerns, population shifts, and social and cultural issues. Each topic is covered in an accessible style, but with reference to the latest scholarship. Maps, photographs, and a table of basic political data enhance the text, which has made its place as the best available introduction to this diverse and complex continent.

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt

Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world’s most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy. – Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize – Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award – One of the New York Times’ Ten Best Books of the Year

The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus by Charles King

The Caucasus mountains rise at the intersection of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. A land of astonishing natural beauty and a dizzying array of ancient cultures, the Caucasus for most of the twentieth century lay inside the Soviet Union, before movements of national liberation created newly independent countries and sparked the devastating war in Chechnya.Combining riveting storytelling with insightful analysis, The Ghost of Freedom is the first general history of the modern Caucasus, stretching from the beginning of Russian imperial expansion up to the rise of new countries after the Soviet Union’s collapse. In evocative and accessible prose, Charles King reveals how tsars, highlanders, revolutionaries, and adventurers have contributed to the fascinating history of this borderland, providing an indispensable guide to the complicated histories, politics, and cultures of this intriguing frontier. Based on new research in multiple languages, the book shows how the struggle for freedom in the mountains, hills, and plains of the Caucasus has been a perennial theme over the last two hundred years–a struggle which has led to liberation as well as to new forms of captivity. The book sheds valuable light on the origins of modern disputes, including the ongoing war in Chechnya, conflicts in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and debates over oil from the Caspian Sea and its impact on world markets.Ranging from the salons of Russian writers to the circus sideshows of America, from the offices of European diplomats to the villages of Muslim mountaineers, The Ghost of Freedom paints a rich portrait of one of the world’s most turbulent and least understood regions.

Russia Since 1980 (The World Since 1980) by Steven Rosefielde and Stefan Hedlund

Russia since 1980 recounts the epochal political, economic, and social changes that destroyed the Soviet Union, ushering in a perplexing new order. Two decades after Mikhail Gorbachev initiated his regime-wrecking radical reforms, Russia has reemerged as a superpower. It has survived a hyperdepression, modernized, restored private property and business, adopted a liberal democratic persona, and asserted claims to global leadership. Many in the West perceive these developments as proof of a better globalized tomorrow, while others foresee a new cold war. Globalizers contend that Russia is speedily democratizing, marketizing, and humanizing, creating a regime based on the rule of law and respect for civil rights. Opponents counterclaim that Russia before and during the Soviet period was similarly misportrayed and insist that Medvedev’s Russia is just another variation of an authoritarian “Muscovite” model that has prevailed for more than five centuries. The cases for both positions are explored while chronicling events since 1980, and a verdict is rendered in favor of Muscovite continuity. Russia will continue challenging the West until it breaks with its cultural legacy.

Afghanistan from the Cold War Through the War on Terror by Barnett R. Rubin

One of our foremost authorities on modern Afghanistan, Barnett R. Rubin has dedicated much of his career to the study of this remote mountain country. He served as a special advisor to the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke during his final mission to the region and still serves the Obama administration under Holbrooke’s successor, Ambassador Marc Grossman.Now Rubin distills his unmatched knowledge of Afghanistan in this invaluable book. He shows how the Taliban arose in resistance to warlords some of whom who were raping and plundering with impunity in the vacuum of authority left by the collapse of the Afghan state after the Soviet withdrawal. The Taliban built on a centuries-old tradition of local leadership by students and teachers at independent, rural madrasas–networks that had been marginalized by the state-building royal regime that was itself destroyed by the Soviets and radicalized by the resistance to the invasion. He examines the arrival of Arab Islamists, the missed opportunities after the American-led intervention, the role of Pakistan, and the challenges of reconstruction. Rubin provides first-hand accounts of the bargaining at both the Bonn Talks of 2001 and the Afghan Constitutional Loya Jirga of 2003-2004, in both of which he participated as a UN advisor. Throughout, he discusses the significance of ethnic rivalries, the drug trade, human rights, state-building, US strategic choices, and international organizations, analyzing the missteps in these areas taken by the international community since 2001. The book covers events till the start of the Obama administration, and the final chapters provide an inside look at some of the thinking that is shaping today’s policy debates inside the administration.Authoritative, nuanced, and sweeping in scope, Afghanistan in the Post-Cold War Era provides deep insight into the greatest foreign policy challenge facing America today.

Central Asia: The Challenges of Independence by Boris Z. Rumer and Stanislav Zhukov (Editors)

The economic, political, and international profile of Central Asia has been the subject of much speculation since the region emerged from under the Soviet banner. This book offers systematic, informed analysis of developments in the newest of emerging market regions by a team of international experts, including leading in-country specialists. After an astute survey of political regimes by Umirserik Kasenov, Boris Rumer and Stanislav Zhukov present a comprehensive analysis of economic development and integrated issues. In the final four chapters, focused attention is devoted to foreign investment and trade questions and the most critical challenges confronting the two largest states, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First Century by Orville Schell and John Delury

Through a series of lively and absorbing portraits of iconic modern Chinese leaders and thinkers, two of today’s foremost specialists on China provide a panoramic narrative of this country’s rise to preeminence that is at once analytical and personal. How did a nation, after a long and painful period of dynastic decline, intellectual upheaval, foreign occupation, civil war, and revolution, manage to burst forth onto the world stage with such an impressive run of hyperdevelopment and wealth creation—culminating in the extraordinary dynamism of China today?Wealth and Power answers this question by examining the lives of eleven influential officials, writers, activists, and leaders whose contributions helped create modern China. This fascinating survey begins in the lead-up to the first Opium War with Wei Yuan, the nineteenth-century scholar and reformer who was one of the first to urge China to borrow ideas from the West. It concludes in our time with human-rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, an outspoken opponent of single-party rule. Along the way, we meet such titans of Chinese history as the Empress Dowager Cixi, public intellectuals Feng Guifen, Liang Qichao, and Chen Duxiu, Nationalist stalwarts Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek, and Communist Party leaders Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Zhu Rongji.The common goal that unites all of these disparate figures is their determined pursuit of fuqiang, “wealth and power.” This abiding quest for a restoration of national greatness in the face of a “century of humiliation” at the hands of the Great Powers came to define the modern Chinese character. It’s what drove both Mao and Deng to embark on root-and-branch transformations of Chinese society, first by means of Marxism-Leninism, then by authoritarian capitalism. And this determined quest remains the key to understanding many of China’s actions today.By unwrapping the intellectual antecedents of today’s resurgent China, Orville Schell and John Delury supply much-needed insight into the country’s tortured progression from nineteenth-century decline to twenty-first-century boom. By looking backward into the past to understand forces at work for hundreds of years, they help us understand China today and the future that this singular country is helping shape for all of us.

China Goes Global: The Partial Power by David Shambaugh

Most global citizens are well aware of the explosive growth of the Chinese economy. Indeed, China has famously become the “workshop of the world.” Yet, while China watchers have shed much light on the country’s internal dynamics–China’s politics, its vast social changes, and its economic development–few have focused on how this increasingly powerful nation has become more active and assertive throughout the world.In China Goes Global, eminent China scholar David Shambaugh delivers the book that many have been waiting for–a sweeping account of China’s growing prominence on the international stage. Thirty years ago, China’s role in global affairs beyond its immediate East Asian periphery was decidedly minor and it had little geostrategic power. Today however, China’s expanding economic power has allowed it to extend its reach virtually everywhere–from mineral mines in Africa, to currency markets in the West, to oilfields in the Middle East, to agribusiness in Latin America, to the factories of East Asia. Shambaugh offers an enlightening look into the manifestations of China’s global presence: its extensive commercial footprint, its growing military power, its increasing cultural influence or “soft power,” its diplomatic activity, and its new prominence in global governance institutions.But Shambaugh is no alarmist. In this balanced and well-researched volume, he argues that China’s global presence is more broad than deep and that China still lacks the influence befitting a major world power–what he terms a “partial power.” He draws on his decades of China-watching and his deep knowledge of the subject, and exploits a wide variety of previously untapped sources, to shed valuable light on China’s current and future roles in world affairs.

The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Yergin

A master storyteller as well as a leading energy expert, Daniel Yergin continues the riveting story begun in his Pulitzer Prize–winning book, The Prize. In The Quest, Yergin shows us how energy is an engine of global political and economic change and conflict, in a story that spans the energies on which our civilization has been built and the new energies that are competing to replace them.The Quest tells the inside stories, tackles the tough questions, and reveals surprising insights about coal, electricity, and natural gas. He explains how climate change became a great issue and leads readers through the rebirth of renewable energies, energy independence, and the return of the electric car. Epic in scope and never more timely, The Quest vividly reveals the decisions, technologies, and individuals that are shaping our future.

Consular and Immigration

Immigrants and the Right to Stay by Joseph H. Carens

The Obama administration promises to take on comprehensive immigration reform in 2010, setting policymakers to work on legislation that might give the approximately eleven million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States a path to legalization of status. Commentators have been quick to observe that any such proposal will face intense opposition. Few issues have so divided the country in recent years as immigration. Immigrants and the Right to Stay brings the debate into the realm of public reason. Political theorist Joseph Carens argues that although states have a right to control their borders, the right to deport those who violate immigration laws is not absolute. With time, immigrants develop a moral claim to stay. Emphasizing the moral importance of social membership, and drawing on principles widely recognized in liberal democracies, Carens calls for a rolling amnesty that gives unauthorized migrants a path to regularize their status once they have been settled for a significant period of time.After Carens makes his case, six experts from across the political spectrum respond. Some protest that he goes too far; others say he does not go far enough in protecting the rights of migrants. Several raise competing moral claims and others help us understand how the immigration problem became so large. Carens agrees that no moral claim is absolute, and that, on any complex public issue, principled debate involves weighing competing concerns. But for him the balance falls clearly on the side of amnesty.

Citizenship and Immigration by Christian Joppke

This incisive book provides a succinct overview of the new academic field of citizenship and immigration, as well as presenting a fresh and original argument about changing citizenship in our contemporary human rights era.Instead of being nationally resilient or in “postnational” decline, citizenship in Western states has continued to evolve, converging on a liberal model of inclusive citizenship with diminished rights implications and increasingly universalistic identities. This convergence is demonstrated through a sustained comparison of developments in North America, Western Europe and Australia. Topics covered in the book include: recent trends in nationality laws; what ethnic diversity does to the welfare state; the decline of multiculturalism accompanied by the continuing rise of antidiscrimination policies; and the new state campaigns to “upgrade” citizenship in the post-2001 period.Sophisticated and informative, and written in a lively and accessible style, this book will appeal to upper-level students and scholars in sociology, political science, and immigration and citizenship studies.

Deportation Nation: Outsiders in American History by Daniel Kanstroom

The danger of deportation hangs over the head of virtually every noncitizen in the United States. In the complexities and inconsistencies of immigration law, one can find a reason to deport almost any noncitizen at almost any time. In recent years, the system has been used with unprecedented vigor against millions of deportees.We are a nation of immigrants–but which ones do we want, and what do we do with those that we don’t? These questions have troubled American law and politics since colonial times.Deportation Nation is a chilling history of communal self-idealization and self-protection. The post-Revolutionary Alien and Sedition Laws, the Fugitive Slave laws, the Indian “removals,” the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Palmer Raids, the internment of the Japanese Americans–all sought to remove those whose origins suggested they could never become “true” Americans. And for more than a century, millions of Mexicans have conveniently served as cheap labor, crossing a border that was not official until the early twentieth century and being sent back across it when they became a burden.By illuminating the shadowy corners of American history, Daniel Kanstroom shows that deportation has long been a legal tool to control immigrants’ lives and is used with increasing crudeness in a globalized but xenophobic world.

Immigration Stories by David R. Martin and Peter H. Schuck

Immigration Stories brings together highly readable accounts, written by distinguished legal scholars, of 13 canonical cases that illustrate how immigration law is actually made. The authors illuminate the law’s development by emphasizing the choices made (and foregone) before and during each of the litigations, including choices by immigrants and advocacy groups, private and government lawyers, Congress, the executive branch, and judges. These accounts are concerned less with legal doctrine than with the human dramas and tactical decisions that surround and give shape to that doctrine. Designed to bring the law to vivid life, this book is highly recommended as a supplement to the traditional immigration law casebook.

Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States by Hiroshi Motomura

Although America is unquestionably a nation of immigrants, its immigration policies have inspired more questions than consensus on who should be admitted and what the path to citizenship should be. In Americans in Waiting, Hiroshi Motomura looks to a forgotten part of our past to show how, for over 150 years, immigration was assumed to be a transition to citizenship, with immigrants essentially being treated as future citizens–Americans in waiting. Challenging current conceptions, the author deftly uncovers how this view, once so central to law and policy, has all but vanished. Motomura explains how America could create a more unified society by recovering this lost history and by giving immigrants more, but at the same time asking more of them. A timely, panoramic chronicle of immigration and citizenship in the United States, Americans in Waiting offers new ideas and a fresh perspective on current debates.

A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki

Upon its first publication, A Different Mirror was hailed by critics and academics everywhere as a dramatic new retelling of our nation’s past. Beginning with the colonization of the New World, it recounted the history of America in the voice of the non-Anglo peoples of the United States–Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others–groups who helped create this country’s rich mosaic culture.Now, Ronald Takaki has revised his landmark work and made it even more relevant and important. Among the new additions to the book are:–The role of black soldiers in preserving the Union –The history of Chinese Americans from 1900-1941 –An investigation into the hot-button issue of “illegal” immigrants from Mexico –A look at the sudden visibility of Muslim refugees from Afghanistan.This new edition of A Different Mirror is a remarkable achievement that grapples with the raw truth of American history and examines the ultimate question of what it means to be an American.

Economics and Public Policy

Macroeconomics: Economic Growth, Fluctuations, and Policy by Robert E. Hall and David H. Papell

The Sixth Edition incorporates the most current data and theory into the text’s signature single-model approach, clearly demonstrating the real-world applications of macroeconomic theory. Additionally, the Sixth Edition has been revised to include updated and expanded coverage of long-run economic growth, the Taylor Rule, and international economics. A revised study guide and a new online edition of Macrosolve, the innovative multimedia learning resource, are fully integrated with the text.

Principles of Microeconomics by N. Gregory Mankiw

With its clear and engaging writing style, PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS, Seventh Edition, continues to be one of the most popular books on economics available today. Mankiw emphasizes material that you are likely to find interesting about the economy (particularly if you are studying economics for the first time), including real-life scenarios, useful facts, and the many ways economic concepts play a role in the decisions you make every day.

The Shaping of Grand Strategy: Policy, Diplomacy, and War by Williamson Murray, Richard Hart Sinnreich, and James Lacey (Editors)

Within a variety of historical contexts, The Shaping of Grand Strategy addresses the most important tasks states have confronted: namely, how to protect their citizens against the short-range as well as long-range dangers their polities confront in the present and may confront in the future. To be successful, grand strategy demands that governments and leaders chart a course that involves more than simply reacting to immediate events. Above all, it demands they adapt to sudden and major changes in the international environment, which more often than not involves the outbreak of great conflicts but at times demands recognition of major economic, political, or diplomatic changes. This collection of essays explores the successes as well as failures of great states attempting to create grand strategies that work and aims at achieving an understanding of some of the extraordinary difficulties involved in casting, evolving, and adapting grand strategy to the realities of the world.

Public Policy in the United States: At the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century by Mark E. Rushefsky

This text uses the policy process (problem identification – adoption and implementation – evaluation – policy succession) as a framework for examining all the major policy making realms. Each chapter includes a case study of a major policy issue (e.g., the 1996 welfare reform; school choice), as well as a list of key concepts and questions for reflection and discussion.

Economic Policy Beyond the Headlines by George P Shultz and Kenneth W. Dam

Drawing from their experience as government insiders, George P. Shultz and Kenneth W. Dam show how economic policy is shaped at the highest levels of government. They reveal the interconnections between economic, social, and international policy, covering issues such as the advocacy system and the role of the individual in shaping policy. A new chapter, ‘A Changed World,’ explores the various influences of our increasingly global economy on economic strategy. With rare candor, authority and breadth of vision, Shultz and Dam have produced a brilliant introduction to economic policy, its principles, and practice.

Management and Human Behavior

Psychology and Life by Richard J. Gerrig

Psychology and Life, 20th edition provides the perfect balance of science and accessibility so that students can understand research and its application to daily life.Richarg Gerrig combines classic and cutting-edge research studies with an engaging and student friendly writing style. When paired with the new Pearson Experiments Tool and MyPsychLab, this new edition truly brings psychological research to life.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

In his landmark bestseller The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within.Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant-in the blink of an eye-that actually aren’t as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work-in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of “blink”: the election of Warren Harding; “New Coke”; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police.Blink reveals that great decision makers aren’t those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of “thin-slicing”-filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.

Psychology by Henry Gleitman, James Gross, and Daniel Reisberg

The most intelligent book ever written for the course, reinvented for today’s students.The Eighth Edition has been reorganized and streamlined to mirror the organization of today’s courses, updated to include extensive coverage of the latest discoveries and research, and reimagined with new pedagogy, figures, and technology.James Gross, co-author of the text and Director of the Psychology One Teaching Program at Stanford University, believes in an integrated approach that looks at multiple perspectives to understand the larger complexities of the field. In the Eighth Edition, the authors present psychology as a central discipline that connects to the humanities as well as the exciting advances in neuroscience.

Fundamentals of Management by Ricky W. Griffin

Prepare for success in management today with this brief, streamlined approach from leading management author Ricky Griffin. Fundamentals of Management, 7E offers a strong theoretical and functional framework clearly organized around the functions of management with a concise presentation that offers the flexibility to add cases, exercises or projects. The book’s proven balance of theory and practice incorporates numerous, engaging learning features to help readers develop and strengthen today’s most important management skills. Opening vignettes immediately emphasize the relevance of each chapter’s content, while skill applications and new cases keep readers focused and actively engaged. New features reflect today’s emerging management challenges, including the economic crisis and energy crisis. With Fundamentals of Management, 7E, readers quickly find themselves equipped with the confidence of a management professional.

Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations by Ricky W. Griffin and Gregory Moorhead

Prepare today to become a strong, effective manager tomorrow with the powerful insights, solid concepts, and reader-friendly approach in Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations, Eleventh Edition. This text equips readers with the skills and practical understanding to meet the management challenges of a new century. Readers delve into the fundamentals of human behavior in today’s organizations as the book balances classic management ideas with thorough coverage of the most recent OB developments and contemporary trends. Memorable examples from instantly recognizable organization are woven throughout the book and work with fresh new cases and proven boxed features that focus on pressing issues and reinforce the book’s practical perspective. Readers find themselves well equipped and energized for the most exciting task of tomorrow: managing people effectively within competitive organizations.

Managing Across Cultures by Susan C. Schneider and Jean-Louis Barsoux

This very accessible book draws upon a broad and growing literature on culture and management to discover national differences in management practice. It clearly relates cultural differences to daily business practice by using many and varied examples. Diverse range of topics covered, from structure and strategy to social responsibility and ethics.

Public Affairs and the Media

The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition by Joseph Dominick

Well-known for its balanced approach to media industries and professions, Dynamics of Mass Communication offers a lively, thorough, and objective introduction for mass communication majors and non-majors alike. Dynamics of Mass Communication takes a comprehensive and balanced look at the changing world of mass media. Social media, ‘apps’ and the new media Goliaths are new and major themes of the 12th edition. Explore how the traditional mass media are dealing with shrinking audiences, evaporating advertising revenue and increased competition from the Internet. The 12th edition brings students up-to-date on the latest developments in the media world including cyber-bullying; new media business models; e-book readers’ affects on the traditional print publishing industry; online video sites such as YouTube and hulu.com.; the decoupling of advertising from media content, and much more.

Investigative Reporter’s Handbook: A Guide to Documents, Databases, and Techniques by Brant Houston and Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc.

Published with Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE), The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook is the best-selling classroom and newsroom classic. Useful as a textbook in advanced journalism courses and as a reference for professional journalists, this book shows students how to use fundamental news reporting and writing skills like gathering sources, tracking information, and interviewing to pursue investigative stories in a variety of beats — from the government and education to healthcare, the environment and real estate. In addition to discussing the latest techniques and challenges in the profession, the fifth edition is now thoroughly streamlined, making it easier to locate the resources that investigative reporters need to get the story.

News Writing and Reporting for Today’s Media by Bruce Itule and Douglas Anderson

News Writing and Reporting takes students on the beat, into the press box, council chambers, and courthouse, and to a speech and press conference. It introduces them to current issues such as cultural sensitivity, multimedia journalism, and legal and ethical considerations that journalists face every day. Throughout the text, reporters and editors offer their down-to-earth advice, and, whenever possible, professional journalists covering actual stories are used as instructional models. Students are exposed to the work of professionals while gathering the tools to follow in their footsteps.

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway

The most comprehensive and authoritative text of its kind, Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, 2nd Edition is your must have guide to proper international business protocol. With countries such as China and India taking on a more significant role in the global business landscape, you can’t afford not to know the practices, customs, and philosophies of other countries. Now fully revised, updated, and expanded with over sixty country provides, Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, 2nd Edition provides invaluable information on how to handle common business interaction with grace, respect, and an appreciation for different cultures.

Public Speaking: Finding Your Voice by Randall Osborn, Michael Osborn, Suzanne Osborn, Kathleen J. Turner

This top-selling, comprehensive introductory public speaking title highlights and develops the theme of “Finding Your Voice.” It helps students develop as speakers and as people, as they gain presentation skills and confidence, discover causes that interest and engage them, and give them a sense of purpose. This theme reinforces the book’s primary goal of helping students to become better communicators in their classrooms, workplaces and communities.

Intercultural Communication: A Reader by Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel, and Carolyn S. Roy

This new special, anniversary edition of Intercultural Communication: A Reader, celebrates 40 years of publication. In compiling this Fortieth Anniversary Edition, the editors reviewed over 600 articles from the previous 13 editions and selected those essays that educators, both in the United States and abroad, have considered foundational to intercultural communication teaching and research. These essays also illustrate the growth and direction of the field since the early 1970s. This edition offers a series of essays that enables students to gain an appreciation and understanding of intercultural communication. Material is presented in a context that assists students in comprehending and then applying course concepts to their lives.These core readings also demonstrate the historical development and philosophical evolution of the field. As with prior editions, the Reader continues to convey the idea that successful intercultural communication is a matter of highest importance in this globalized, interconnected world. The concluding chapter, “New Perspectives: Prospects for the Future,” contains five new essays by leading intercultural communication scholars. These original works offer insight into new directions for intercultural communication in the coming decades.

Understanding Intercultural Communication by Stella Ting-Toomey and Leeva C. Chung

Written in a conversational style, this book introduces students to the foundations of intercultural communication, a vibrant discipline within the field. Authors Stella Ting-Toomey and Leeva Chung take a multicontextual, inclusive approach that balances international and intercultural communication issues against U.S. domestic diversity issues. In addition to emphasizing a value-oriented perspective on intercultural encounters, the text contains a robust ethical chapter, complete with specific guidelines that will help students become ethical intercultural communicators.By integrating current empirical research with lively intercultural examples, the authors ask thought-provoking questions and pose ethical dilemmas for students to ponder. The text offers a sprawling treatment of such topics as ethnic and cultural identity change, culture shock and intercultural adjustment, romantic relationships and raising bicultural children, global identity challenges, and decision-making choices in intercultural ethics.

Computer Applications

New Perspectives on Computer Concepts 2014 by June Jamrich Parsons and Dan Oja

Go beyond computing basics with the award-winning New Perspectives on Computer Concepts. Designed to get you up-to-speed on essential computer literacy skills, this market leading text goes deeper, providing technical and practical information relevant to everyday life. New Perspectives on Computer Concepts 2014 incorporates significant technology trends that affect computing and everyday life; such as concerns for data security, personal privacy, online safety, controversy over digital rights management, interest in open source software and portable applications, and more. In addition, coverage of Microsoft Windows 8 and Office 2013 will introduce you to the exciting new features of Microsoft’s next generation of software.

The Longman Guide to Style and Writing on the Internet by Martha C. Sammons

The Internet Writer’s Handbook is an easily accessible, vital reference tool for those who want to write and format effective Web documents. Too often, writers attempt to create Web pages by simply using the same techniques they use for print documents. The Internet Writer’s Handbook offers those writers specific advice on writing and designing on-line hypertext documents. The book has been updated to reflect the latest Web writing terms and concepts such as Web page elements, Web page design, and types of Web writing. This dynamic handbook will appeal to anyone who needs help in creating a Web page.