Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know
by John Campbell and Matthew Page
Oxford University Press, July 2018
240 pages
ISBN-13: 978-01906-57987
ISBN-10: 0190657987
As the “Giant of Africa” Nigeria is home to about twenty percent of the population of Sub-Saharan Africa, serves as Africa’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, comprises Africa’s largest economy, and represents the cultural center of African literature, film, and music. Yet the country is plagued by problems that keep it from realizing its potential as a world power. Boko Haram, a radical Islamist insurrection centered in the northeast of the country, is an ongoing security challenge, as is the continuous unrest in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Nigeria’s petroleum wealth. There is also persistent violence associated with land and water use, ethnicity, and religion.
In Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know®, John Campbell and Matthew Page provide a rich contemporary overview of this crucial African country. Delving into Nigeria’s recent history, politics, and culture, this volume tackles essential questions related to widening inequality, the historic 2015 presidential election, the persistent security threat of Boko Haram, rampant government corruption, human rights concerns, and the continual conflicts that arise in a country that is roughly half Christian and half Muslim.
With its continent-wide influence in a host of areas, Nigeria’s success as a democracy is in the fundamental interest of its African neighbors, the United States, and the international community. This book will provide interested readers with an accessible, one-of-a-kind overview of the country.
REVIEW:
“Nigeria” covers the history, economics, religion, politics, security, and future of Africa’s most populated country. The authors also look at Boko Haram, the 2015 presidential election, and more … Succinct, nonpartisan coverage . . .will be helpful prior to business- or education-related travel, or for gaining greater understanding of either area.”
— Library Journal
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
John Campbell is Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, and author of Morning in South Africa and Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink.
Matthew T. Page is a fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja and an advisor with Transparency International’s London-based Defense and Security Program. He is a former International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and previously served the U.S. intelligence community’s top expert on Nigeria.
US Consular Representation in Britain Since 1790
by Nicholas M. Keegan
Anthem Press, March 2018
250 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1783087440
ISBN-10: 1783087447
The book is meticulously researched, drawing mainly on archives in the United States and Britain and includes previously unpublished photographs. It is in three parts: Part I begins with a reminder of the early days of American independence and the formation of the new nation; Part II concentrates on the consulates and the people who served in them in Britain and pre-independence Ireland and is an overview of the American consular presence from 1790 to the present day; and Part III consists of detailed histories of consulates in fifteen towns. The book concludes with a review of how the US consular function has evolved and kept pace with changing demands and needs.
REVIEWS:
‘Nicholas Keegan’s “US Consular Representation in Britain since 1790” is a masterful addition to American diplomatic history. It examines the consular branch of the United States in its most important ally in great detail from the immediate post-revolutionary years to 2017. He also describes the US consular system, its growth and its problems, warts and all.
—Charles Stuart Kennedy, Oral History Director, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, Arlington, Virginia, USA
The book opens the door to forgotten and untold accounts of America’s presence in the United Kingdom – telling stories our early consuls never told about themselves or even dreamed would be of interest to modern readers.’
Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, President of the American Foreign Service Association
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nicholas M. Keegan spent much of his career in the UK civil service in Edinburgh, mainly in the fields of education, home affairs and criminal justice. He was awarded a PhD in politics from Durham University in 2005. He is currently an independent researcher.
Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests
by Peter H. Russell
University of Toronto Press, March 2017
535 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1487502041
ISBN-10: 9781487502041
150 years after Confederation, Canada is known around the world for its social diversity and its commitment to principles of multiculturalism. But the road to contemporary Canada is a winding one, a story of division and conflict as well as union and accommodation.
In Canada’s Odyssey, scholar Peter H. Russell provides an expansive, accessible account of Canadian history from the pre-Confederation period to the present day. By focusing on what he calls the “three pillars” of English Canada, French Canada, and Aboriginal Canada, Russell advances an important view of the country as one founded on and informed by “incomplete conquests”. It is the very incompleteness of these conquests that have made Canada what it is today, not just a multicultural society but a multinational one.
REVIEWS:
“Lucid and lively, Canada’s Odyssey is both a joy to read and also a provocative story about a country that has been and continues to be an unfinished project. The tone is friendly, the prose is free of jargon — but Professor Russell’s hand is firm on the tiller. This is Big History: the distillation of fifty years of scholarship written for a contemporary popular audience. He explains how nothing was inevitable as Canada took shape; successive governments relied on incremental change and accommodation to absorb the complexity and diversity of this country. This has allowed Canadians to develop the institutions and compromises required to become not a homogenous nation but a mutually respectful people who, for the most part, peacefully share the grandeur of our extraordinary land”
—- Charlotte Gray, C.M., adjunct professor at Carleton University and author of ‘The Promise of Canada: People And Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country’
“Canada’s Odyssey is a remarkable achievement. Peter H. Russell weaves together his robust knowledge of Canadian history and government in an accessible and inviting read. Canada’s Odyssey is ideal for those scholars, students, and general readers who long to be better informed about our country.”
—- Kent McNeil, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
“Russell’s book provides a seminal and deep insight into Canada’s political identity. His magisterial political analysis of how and why ‘compromise’ usurped ‘conquest’ makes this must read book a new and compelling take on the evolution of our nation”
—- The Hon. Hugh Segal, OC, O.Ont, Master, Massey College
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Peter H. Russell is a writer and Professor Emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he taught from 1958 to 1997. He was the Principal of Innis College, at the University of Toronto, from 1973 to 1978.
KISSINGER THE NEGOTIATOR: Lessons From Dealmaking at the Highest Level
by James K. Sebenius, R. Nicholas Burns and Robert H. Mnookin
Harper/HarperCollins Publishers, 2018
411 pp.
ISBN-13: 978-0062694171
ISBN-10: 0062694170
Although American foreign policy often sounds absolutist — “you are with us or against us” — the successful practice of diplomacy requires compromise. In this groundbreaking guide to the art of negotiation, three Harvard professors—all experienced negotiators—offer a comprehensive examination of one of the 20th century’s most successful dealmakers.
Kissinger the Negotiator provides a clear analysis of Kissinger’s overall approach to making deals and resolving conflicts—expertise that holds powerful and enduring lessons. The authors, experts on negotiation in business, law and diplomacy, provide play-by-plays for many of the negotiations and identify 15 lessons from Kissinger’s efforts to understand and manipulate his counterparts. Kissinger the Negotiator mines the long and fruitful career of this elder statesman and shows how his strategies apply not only to contemporary diplomatic challenges but also to other realms of negotiation, including business, public policy, and law.
REVIEWS:
“Henry Kissinger’s acute understanding of all aspects of international negotiations, from his close attention to detail to his uncanny ability to craft effective negotiating strategies, has made him one of the most highly regarded diplomats in American history. Kissinger the Negotiator is a straightforward examination of Kissinger’s finely honed skills in statecraft that offers keen insight for anyone interested or involved in negotiations at any level.”
—- James A. Baker III, sixty-first U.S. secretary of state
“Kissinger was a masterly negotiator with a sense of both tactics and strategy. This book, based on deep interviews and research, shows his strengths and weaknesses as well as, most importantly, the lessons to be learned from his most complex endeavors.”
—- Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo Da Vinci
“Henry Kissinger’s negotiating record is legendary. In this engaging book, the authors were able to get to the root of his tactics and successes, and share practical insights for readers. I would highly recommend Kissinger the Negotiator for anyone facing challenging negotiations in business or diplomacy.”
—- John Chambers, former chairman, CEO, and president, Cisco Systems, Inc.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
James K. Sebenius specializes in analyzing and advising corporations and governments worldwide on their most challenging negotiations. After years in the private sector (Blackstone) and the U.S. government (Commerce and State Departments), he is now the Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he founded the Negotiation unit and teaches advanced negotiation to students and senior executives.
Nicholas Burns is the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Professor Burns served in the United States government for twenty-seven years. As a career Foreign Service Officer, he was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005 to 2008; he was U.S. Ambassador to NATO (2001-2005), Ambassador to Greece (1997-2001) and State Department Spokesman (1995-1997).
Robert H. Mnookin is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, the Chair of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and the Director of the Harvard Negotiation Research Project. A leading scholar in the field of conflict resolution, Professor Mnookin has applied his interdisciplinary approach to negotiation and conflict resolution to a remarkable range of problems; both public and private.
The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies
by Michael V. Hayden
Penguin Press, May 2018
292 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0525558583
ISBN-10: 978-0525558583
. . .North Korea is on the verge of having a nuclear weapon that could reach all of the United States, Russians have mastered a new form of information warfare that undercuts democracy, and the role of China in the global community remains unclear. There will always be value to experience and expertise, devotion to facts, humility in the face of complexity, and a respect for ideas, but in this moment they seem more important, and more endangered, than they’ve ever been. American Intelligence–the ultimate truth teller–has a responsibility in a post-truth world beyond merely warning of external dangers, and in The Assault on Intelligence, General Michael Hayden takes up that urgent work with profound passion, insight and authority.
It is a sobering vision. The American intelligence community is more at risk than is commonly understood. . .our democracy’s core structures, processes, and attitudes are under great stress. Many of the premises on which we have based our understanding of governance are now challenged, eroded, or simply gone. . .overwhelming evidence from the intelligence community that the Russians are, by all acceptable standards of cyber conflict, in a state of outright war against us, (are met) not by . . .a strong response, but by shooting the messenger.
There are fundamental changes afoot in the world . . .The Assault on Intelligence shows what they are, reveals how crippled we’ve become in our capacity to address them, and points toward a series of effective responses.
REVIEWS:
“For a longtime spook, Hayden is a breezy and direct writer. He reduces complex issues of cyber and information warfare to essentials, and his polemic is leavened with humor and sympathy. He is at his best, though, when he shifts to a purely analytical tone. He coolly forecasts the direction of America under Trump, explains the intelligence that foreign governments are likely to collect from the president’s Twitter feed and describes the benefits Russia drew from the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Kremlin-connected Russian attorneys and senior Trump campaign officials.” — The New York Times
“The more important, absorbing and disturbing aspect of Hayden’s book is the analysis from his professional perspective of what Trump and Trumpism mean for the intelligence community. It is sober, nuanced and, quite frankly, scary as hell.” – Mark Galeotti, Washington Post
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Michael Hayden is a retired United States Air Force four-star general and former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He is currently a principal at the Chertoff Group, a security consultancy founded by former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Hayden also serves as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and is the founder of the Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security there.
The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age
by David E. Sanger
Crown Press, June 2018
357 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451497895
ISBN-10: 9780451497895
The Perfect Weapon is the startling inside story of how the rise of cyberweapons transformed geopolitics like nothing since the invention of the atomic bomb. Cheap to acquire, easy to deny, and usable for a variety of malicious purposes—from crippling infrastructure to sowing discord and doubt—cyber is now the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists. Two presidents—Bush and Obama—drew first blood with Operation Olympic Games, which used malicious code to blow up Iran’s nuclear centrifuges, and yet America proved remarkably unprepared when its own weapons were stolen from its arsenal and, during President Trump’s first year, turned back on the US and its allies. The government was often paralyzed, unable to threaten the use of cyberweapons because America was so vulnerable to crippling attacks on its own networks of banks, utilities, and government agencies.
Moving from the White House Situation Room to the dens of Chinese government hackers to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger—who broke the story of Olympic Games in his previous book—reveals a world coming face-to-face with the perils of technological revolution. The Perfect Weapon is the dramatic story of how great and small powers alike slipped into a new era of constant sabotage, misinformation, and fear, in which everyone is a target.
REVIEWS:
“[Sanger’s] description of the cyber portion of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election is thorough and convincing. It ought to be required reading for anyone who doubts the extent and seriousness of the Russian effort… The great value of The Perfect Weapon is less in its specific policy prescriptions than in its being the most comprehensive, readable source of information and insight about the policy quandaries that modern information technology and its destructive potential have spawned.”
—THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Timely and bracing… With the deep knowledge and bright clarity that have long characterized his work, Sanger recounts the cunning and dangerous development of cyberspace into the global battlefield of the 21st century… A reader finishes this book fully understanding why cyberwar has moved rapidly to the top of America’s official list of national security threats. And why, for the first time in three generations, this nation’s power in the world is seriously threatened.”
—David Von Drehle, THE WASHINGTON POST
“[The Perfect Weapon] reads like a thriller spy novel, except the stories are true, which makes the book more terrifying… Sanger shows the political, military, and economic impacts of actual hacks, moves made by governments and industry to counter moves and protect against future attacks, and the counter to the counter to the counter, all told at a breathtaking pace. But this is more than just a real-life drama; it also is a cautionary tale of the policy of information power… This book at turns was both fascinating in its detail and access and terrifying in its implications.”
—PROCEEDINGS
“[Sanger] has penned one of the most comprehensive and accessible histories of cyberwar to date… Sanger’s book is more than a history and primer. It also advances a series of arguments, among them that the United States is not ready for the kind of cyberattack to come.”
—BULLETIN OF THE ATOMIC SCIENTISTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David E. Sanger is national security correspondent for the New York Times and bestselling author of The Inheritance and Confront and Conceal. He has been a member of three teams that won the Pulitzer Prize, including in 2017 for international reporting. A regular contributor to CNN, he also teaches national security policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.