My expectations were not high when I first started to read Aristide R. Zolberg’s “One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast.” Princeton University Press published the book in 1969. Every book I have ever read about Africa—or any subject—that an Ivy League university published during decolonization and the Cold War has been a disappointment. However, theContinue reading “Review: “One-Party Government in the Ivory Coast” – Aristide R. Zolberg”
Tag Archives: France
Review: “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution” – Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy
“Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution” by Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy is a masterpiece of history, international law, and the failure of UN conflict resolution. Zunes and Mundy identify and methodically examine the sources of the almost five-decade-long dispute and its intractability, including the Moroccan regime’s need for legitimacy leading to manifest destiny-likeContinue reading “Review: “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution” – Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy”
Review: “History in the Making: Memoirs of WWII Diplomacy” – Valentin Berezhkov
In this book published by Progress Publishers, Valentin Berezhkov describes in incredible detail high-level diplomatic meetings between representatives of the USSR and representatives from Nazi Germany, Britain, and the U.S., as part of a comprehensive analysis of the politics of WWII. An engineer by profession, Berezhkov was transferred first to the Soviet embassy in BerlinContinue reading “Review: “History in the Making: Memoirs of WWII Diplomacy” – Valentin Berezhkov”
Review: “Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific” – David Robie
David Robie’s “Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific” is a comprehensive and outstanding work on the struggles of the peoples of the South Pacific against colonialism and for the right to self-determination. No other work on the South Pacific compares in the amount detail and information contained in Robie’s book, notContinue reading “Review: “Blood on their Banner: Nationalist Struggles in the South Pacific” – David Robie”
“General De Gaulle: His Life and Work” – Nikolai Molchanov
“General de Gaulle: His Life and Work” by Nikolai Molchanov is one of the BEST biographies I have ever read. Molchanov, a Soviet scholar, offers a Marxist-Leninist analysis of one of France’s most important leaders, General Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free France forces against Vichy France and Nazi Germany in WWII, ChairmanContinue reading ““General De Gaulle: His Life and Work” – Nikolai Molchanov”
Review: “France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa” – Nathaniel K. Powell
In “France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa,” Nathaniel K. Powell meticulously examines France’s multiple military interventions in Chad between Chadian independence in 1960 and Hissène Habré’s seizure of power in 1982. Powell argues that France’s military interventions in Chad, its support to competing armed factions and ruthless dictatorial regimes, not onlyContinue reading “Review: “France’s Wars in Chad: Military Intervention and Decolonization in Africa” – Nathaniel K. Powell”
Review: “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” – Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor’s “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” is both a memoir/autobiography and a scholarly legal analysis of the International Military Tribunal. The book begins with some details about Taylor and international law as it existed at the time of WWII. Taylor had served in the American Army intelligence in Europe duringContinue reading “Review: “The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir” – Telford Taylor”
(OLDIE!) Review: “A History of Niger, 1850-1960” – Finn Fuglestad
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) A better title for Finn Fuglestad’s “A History of Niger: 1850-1960” would be “Niger: The French Weren’t That Bad,” since the Fuglestad’s seems intent on whitewashing French colonialism in Africa. An example of this pro-FrenchContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “A History of Niger, 1850-1960” – Finn Fuglestad”
(OLDIE!) Review: “The Trial of Hissène Habré: How the People of Chad Brought a Tyrant to Justice” – Celeste Hicks
(This is an OLDIE – an old review from years ago! My views and opinions might have changed since then.) In 2016, the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) found Chad’s former warlord dictator, Hissene Habre, who seized power in 1982 with the support of the U.S. and France, guilty of war crimes, crimes against humanity andContinue reading “(OLDIE!) Review: “The Trial of Hissène Habré: How the People of Chad Brought a Tyrant to Justice” – Celeste Hicks”
Attack on Paris a Direct Consequence of Western Imperialism
(Photo: A French solider in Mali. Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2267033/Mali-French-soldier-pictured-wearing-Call-Duty-grinning-skeleton-mask.html) The tragic shooting in Paris of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in 2011, that left 12 people dead is a direct consequence of Western imperialism’s interventions in the Middle East. The U.S. and its Western imperialist allies have continuously violated the nationalContinue reading “Attack on Paris a Direct Consequence of Western Imperialism”
T. J. Petrowski 