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A Dictionary of the Sacred Language of All Scriptures and Myths (Routledge Revivals)
by G GaskellG. A. Gaskell’s Dictionary of the Sacred Language of All Scriptures and Myths, first published in 1923, examines several different aspects of religion, including examples from Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology to modern-day Christianity, providing explanations of gods, events, and symbols in alphabetical order. This is a perfect reference book for students of theology or the history of religion.
A Difference of Opinion: My Political Journey
by Jim SillarsJim Sillars, among the last of his generation’s working-class politicians, has had a prominent role in Scottish public life for more than six decades, during which he moved from being a Unionist Labour MP to becoming deputy leader of the SNP and now a sharp critic of the party’s cult of personality. In this candid memoir, he records a controversial political life from local councillor to Westminster MP, during which he had dealings with many prominent politicians of the day. But he also reflects on what moulded him in his early years, the added influences of his service in the Royal Navy, his time in Hong Kong, his trade union activity and his non-political business engagements in the Middle East and Asia. Bringing the book up to date to address contemporary issues, he offers views on Brexit, Russia, the Middle East, climate change, the Alex Salmond trial and the consequences of the 2021 Holyrood election. He and Margo MacDonald, to whom he was married for thirty-three years, were a formidable political partnership until her death in 2014. He pays a heartfelt tribute to her in this book.
A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan
by Michael K. DeaverThe New York Times bestselling memoir of Ronald Reagan by his longtime aide and friend"These are memories of a friend and they span over the 35 years that I have known and loved Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Primarily anecdotal, there will be no footnotes, simply my best efforts to reconstruct these years and what they have meant to me."--Michael DeaverRONALD REAGAN AND ME will be comprised of six parts:The Early Years: Deaver and his first meeting with Reagan during his campaign for governor of California in 1966. His first impressions of Reagan's his management style, media savvy and incredible ability to communicate.Reagan: The Man: A look at the traits that make the man: perfectionist, competitor, unwavering discipline, and a deep sense of purpose and destiny.Sincerely, Ronald Reagan: Never-before-published excerpts from letters Reagan wrote to people of various backgrounds.The Campaigner: On the stump during the presidential campaigns.Mr. President: Reagan in action in the Oval Office. How he changed after he was shot, and his battles with Congress and Communism.The Long Goodbye: With Nancy's cooperation, a look at the Reagans' struggle with Alzheimers and the impact it has had on their marriage and the family.
A Different Face: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
by Emily W. SunsteinMary Wollstonecraft, author of the eighteenth-century classic, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, is a fascinating subject for biography. She did not march through life toward specific goals of feminism, but fought her way to personal independence with a passionate, stubborn intensity at a time when women--presumed inferior--were narrowly circumscribed by law, custom and religious belief. She demanded also a ration of happiness and sexual fulfillment, refusing to conform to the model of a submissive, decorative, domestically useful woman. Possessed of great intellectual ambitions, and largely self-educated, Mary Wollstonecraft rebelled against injustice everywhere she perceived it, and gradually became a political radical. Without money or family support, she yet refused to marry for security. In 1787 she went to live in London, where she supported herself by her writing, at thirty-three composing her great work and finding herself a famous and controversial figure. In private life she had never been able to find satisfaction, however; she desperately sought affection. After two disastrous infatuations, an illegitimate child, and two attempts at suicide, she fell in love with William Godwin, finally securing the domestic tranquillity and love she yearned for, tragically dying in childbirth a few months after her marriage. The question Mary Wollstonecraft's life poses is one of great interest today: What kind of life should a woman ask for herself? Mary Wollstonecraft wanted it all--career and family, independence and attachment, intellectual achievement and love. In A Different Face the complexities and contradictions of a remarkable woman are examined as the author, drawing extensively from Mary Wollstonecraft's own writings, endows the biography with the living voice of Mary Wollstonecraft herself. Excellently researched, it is a dramatic and readable biography, consistently fair to the courageous, exasperating and vivid personality of one of England's most extraordinary women.
A Different Kind Of Cell: The Story Of A Murderer Who Became A Monk
by W. JonesThe gripping story of one man s remarkable spiritual journey A "most dangerous" criminal, convicted of five violent murders, Clayton Anthony Fountain was condemned in 1974 to live out his days in solitary confinement at the highest-security prison in the U.S. Without ever again emerging from his cell, however, Fountain underwent a profound spiritual transformation. Father W. Paul Jones, who served as Fountain s spiritual adviser for six years until Fountain's sudden death in 2004, shares his amazing story with candor and compassion in these pages.
A Different Kind Of Weather: A Memoir
by William Waldegrave'Why did you go into politics in the first place?'A question that former Cabinet minister has found himself asked, and indeed asking himself, over the years, Lord Waldegrave's is a life lived through politics.The youngest of seven children, and the son of an earl, Waldegrave's quintessentially English upbringing would go on to shape the course of his life, instilling in him a sense of independence and self-discipline needed to steel one for a successful career in government. Formative years spent at Eton, Oxford and Harvard fortified his resolve to enter the political establishment, and by the early seventies he finally achieved his greatest ambition.As an fearless young Conservative politician in the seventies and eighties, one who witnessed the fall of Heath and the triumph and eventual decline of Thatcher, Waldegrave was firmly at the heart of one of the most exciting and tumultuous periods of modern British history. However just as his star was in the ascent, Waldegrave became embroiled in a scandal which tarnished his reputation, but could not dampen his voracious enthusiasm for the political game. An unembroidered account of the narcotic effect of politics from one of the most fiercely intellectual governmental figures of the modern age, A Different Kind of Weather is a beautifully weighted memoir of political success and failure, and the passing of an era.A Spectator Book of the Year - 'refreshingly and engagingly candid' (Jane Ridley)
A Different Kind Of Weather: A Memoir
by William Waldegrave'Why did you go into politics in the first place?'A question that former Cabinet minister has found himself asked, and indeed asking himself, over the years, Lord Waldegrave's is a life lived through politics.The youngest of seven children, and the son of an earl, Waldegrave's quintessentially English upbringing would go on to shape the course of his life, instilling in him a sense of independence and self-discipline needed to steel one for a successful career in government. Formative years spent at Eton, Oxford and Harvard fortified his resolve to enter the political establishment, and by the early seventies he finally achieved his greatest ambition.As an fearless young Conservative politician in the seventies and eighties, one who witnessed the fall of Heath and the triumph and eventual decline of Thatcher, Waldegrave was firmly at the heart of one of the most exciting and tumultuous periods of modern British history. However just as his star was in the ascent, Waldegrave became embroiled in a scandal which tarnished his reputation, but could not dampen his voracious enthusiasm for the political game. An unembroidered account of the narcotic effect of politics from one of the most fiercely intellectual governmental figures of the modern age, A Different Kind of Weather is a beautifully weighted memoir of political success and failure, and the passing of an era.A Spectator Book of the Year - 'refreshingly and engagingly candid' (Jane Ridley)
A Different Kind of Daughter: The Girl Who Hid from the Taliban in Plain Sight
by Maria Toorpakai Katharine Holstein"Maria Toorpakai is a true inspiration, a pioneer for millions of other women struggling to pave their own paths to autonomy, fulfillment, and genuine personhood." --Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains EchoedMaria Toorpakai hails from Pakistan's violently oppressive northwest tribal region, where the idea of women playing sports is considered haram-un-Islamic-forbidden-and girls rarely leave their homes. But she did, passing as a boy in order to play the sports she loved, thus becoming a lightning rod of freedom in her country's fierce battle over women's rights. A DIFFERENT KIND OF DAUGHTER tell of Maria's harrowing journey to play the sport she knew was her destiny, first living as a boy and roaming the violent back alleys of the frontier city of Peshawar, rising to become the number one female squash player in Pakistan. For Maria, squash was more than liberation-it was salvation. But it was also a death sentence, thrusting her into the national spotlight and the crosshairs of the Taliban, who wanted Maria and her family dead. Maria knew her only chance of survival was to flee the country. Enter Jonathon Power, the first North American to earn the title of top squash player in the world, and the only person to heed Maria's plea for help. Recognizing her determination and talent, Jonathon invited Maria to train and compete internationally in Canada. After years of living on the run from the Taliban, Maria packed up and left the only place she had ever known to move halfway across the globe and pursue her dream. Now Maria is well on the way to becoming a world champion as she continues to be a voice for oppressed women everywhere.
A Different Kind of Normal: My Real-Life COMPLETELY True Story About Being Unique
by Abigail BalfeIn this joyfully illustrated memoir, author-illustrator Abigail Balferecounts her journey growing up autistic and the challenges ofnavigating the "normal" world around her."Hi! My name is Abigail, and I'm autistic. But I didn't know I was autistic until I was a (kind of) adult. This is my true story of growing up in the confusing 'normal' world, all the while missing some Very Important Information about myself. "There'll be scary moments involving toilets and crowded trains,heart-warming tales of cats and pianos, and funny memories including my dad and a mysterious tub of ice cream. Along the way you'll also find some Very Crucial Information about autism." Important, funny, and completely unique, this book is for anyone who has ever felt different.
A Different Kind of Normal: My Real-Life COMPLETELY True Story About Being Unique
by Abigail BalfeIn this joyfully illustrated memoir, author-illustrator Abigail Balfe recounts her journey growing up autistic and the challenges of navigating the "normal" world around her.Hi! My name is Abigail, and I'm autistic. But I didn't know I was autistic until I was (kind of) an adult. This is my true story of growing up in the confusing "normal" world, all the while missing some Very Important Information about myself. There'll be scary moments involving toilets and crowded trains, heartwarming tales of cats and pianos, and funny memories including my dad and a mysterious tub of ice cream. Along the way, you'll also find some Very Crucial Information about autism. Important, funny, and completely unique, this book is for anyone who has ever felt different.
A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir
by Jacinda ArdernFrom the former prime minister of New Zealand, then the world’s youngest female head of government and just the second to give birth in office, comes a deeply personal memoir chronicling her extraordinary rise and offering inspiration to a new generation of leaders. <P> “Ardern’s insightful and inspiring memoir challenges old definitions of strength and power by emphasizing the urgency of compassion and kindness.”—Melinda French Gates, author of The Moment of Lift. <P> What if we could redefine leadership? What if kindness came first? Jacinda Ardern grew up the daughter of a police officer in small-town New Zealand, but as the 40th Prime Minister of her country, she commanded global respect for her empathetic leadership that put people first. This is the remarkable story of how a Mormon girl plagued by self-doubt made political history and changed our assumptions of what a global leader can be. <P> When Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister at age thirty-seven, the world took notice. But it was her compassionate yet powerful response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks, resulting in swift and sweeping gun control laws, that demonstrated her remarkable leadership. <P> She guided her country through unprecedented challenges—a volcanic eruption, a major biosecurity breach, and a global pandemic—while advancing visionary new policies to address climate change, reduce child poverty, and secure historic international trade deals. She did all this while juggling first-time motherhood in the public eye. <P> Ardern exemplifies a new kind of leadership—proving that leaders can be caring, empathetic, and effective. She has become a global icon, and now she is ready to share her story, from the struggles to the surprises, including for the first time the full details of her decision to step down during her sixth year as Prime Minister. Through her personal experiences and reflections, Jacinda is a model for anyone who has ever doubted themselves, or has aspired to lead with compassion, conviction, and courage. A Different Kind of Power is more than a political memoir; it’s an insight into how it feels to lead, ultimately asking: What if you, too, are capable of more than you ever imagined? <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
A Different Kind of Same: A Memoir
by Kelley ClinkTwo weeks before his college graduation, Kelley Clink&’s younger brother died by suicide. Though he&’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager and had attempted suicide once before, the news came as a shock—and it sent Kelley into a spiral of guilt and grief.After Matt&’s death, a chasm opened between the brother Kelley had known and the brother she&’d buried. She kept telling herself she couldn&’t understand why he&’d done it—but the truth was, she could. Several years before he&’d been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she&’d been diagnosed with depression. Several years before he first attempted suicide by overdose, she had attempted suicide by overdose. She&’d blazed the trail he&’d followed. If he couldn&’t make it, what hope was there for her?A Different Kind of Same traces Kelley&’s journey through grief, her investigation into the role her own depression played in her brother&’s death, and, ultimately, her path toward acceptance, forgiveness, resilience, and love.
A Different Life: Growing Up Learning Disabled and Other Adventures
by Quinn Bradlee Jeff HimmelmanBorn with a hole in his heart that required invasive surgery when he was only three months old, Quinn Bradlee suffered from a battery of illnesses: seizures, migraines, fevers from an early age. But it wasn't until he was fourteen that Bradlee was correctly diagnosed with Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome (VCFS), a widespread, little-understood disorder that is expressed through a wide range of physical ailments and learning disabilities. Ten percent of the population is affected by a learning disability, but few of us understand what being learning disabled (LD) is really like. In this funny, moving, and often irreverent book, Bradlee tells his own inspirational story of growing up as an LD kid and of doing so as the child of larger-than-life, formidably accomplished parents: long-time Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee and bestselling author Sally Quinn. From his difficulties reading social cues, to his cringe-worthy loss of sexual innocence, Bradlee describes the challenges and joys of living "a different life" with disarming candor and humor. By the end of A Different Life he will have become, if not your best friend, one of your favorite people.
A Different Life: Growing Up Learning Disabled and Other Adventures
by Quinn Bradlee Jeff HimmelmanTen percent of the population is affected by a learning disability, but few of us understand what being learning disabled (LD) is really like. When he was fourteen, Bradlee was diagnosed with Velo-Cardio-Facial-Syndrome (VCFS), a wide-spread, little-understood disorder that is expressed through a wide range of physical ailments and learning disabilities. In this funny, moving, and often irreverent book, Bradlee tells his own inspirational story of growing up as an LD kid-and of doing so as the child of larger-than-life, formidably accomplished parents: long-time Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee and bestselling author Sally Quinn. From his difficulties reading social cues, to his cringe-worthy loss of sexual innocence, Bradlee describes the challenges and joys of living "a different life" with disarming candor and humor. By the end of A Different Life he will have become, if not your best friend, one of your favorite people.
A Different Stage: The remarkable and intimate life story of Gary Barlow told through music
by Gary BarlowTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERJoin national treasure Gary Barlow as he opens the curtains on his remarkable life in this stunning autobiography, from his fascinating early life to his star-studded music career'Warm, wise . . . A never-before-seen insight into one of Britain's greatest songwriters' Woman's Own'I just wanted to share my personal journey through the last five decades - the highs and lows, the ups and downs. So in A Different Stage, this is me opening the curtains and sharing moments nobody has heard or seen before . . .'__________In this warm, intimate and humorous book, rich with nostalgia and unexpected intimate detail, Gary Barlow unpacks the people, music, places, things and cultural phenomena that have made him the man that he is.From the working men's club where it all began through to the sold out stadium tours, this is the story of Gary's life told through music.Filled with a mixture of brand new photography from Gary's current one-man show and incredibly personal unseen photos and notebooks, A Different Stage is a beautiful book about the man we've spent our lives listening to.__________'Refreshingly honest . . . Think you know everything there is to know about the Take That megastar? Think again' Woman & Home
A Different Way of Seeing: A Blind Woman's Journey Of Living An Ordinary Life In An Extraordinary Way
by Lois StrachanEndorsed by the South African National Council for the Blind, and the South African Guide-Dogs Association for the Blind. Have you ever wondered how a blind person pours a cup of coffee? Or how they and their guide dog know when it’s safe to cross a busy road? When Lois Strachan lost her sight at the age of 21 years, she had to learn the answers to these and countless other questions of how to live as a blind person in a sighted world. In this delightfully quirky and entertaining book, Lois shares some of the secrets she discovered about how to live an "ordinary" life in an extraordinary way despite her blindness.
A Difficult Par: Robert Trent Jones Sr. and the Making of Modern Golf
by James R. HansenThe definitive account of modern golf's foremost architect from the New York Times bestselling author of First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong Robert Trent Jones was the most prolific and influential golf course architect of the twentieth century and became the archetypical modern golf course designer. Jones spread the gospel of golf by designing courses in forty-two US states and twenty-eight countries. Twenty U.S. Opens, America's national championship, have been contested on Jones-designed courses. New York Times bestselling biographer James R. Hansen, author of First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, recounts how an English immigrant boy arrived in upstate New York in 1912, just as golf was emerging as a popular pastime in America. Jones excelled as a golfer, earning admission to Cornell University, whose faculty consented to a curriculum tailored to teach him the knowledge needed to design golf courses. Cornell provided the springboard for an act of self-invention that propelled Jones from obscurity to worldwide fame. Jones believed that every hole should be "a difficult par but an easy bogey." As gifted as he was at golf design, Jones was equally skilled as a salesman, promoter, and entrepreneur. Golf Digest's annual rankings of the 100 Greatest Golf Courses have regularly featured about fifty Jones designs, paving the path for his two sons, Robert Jr., and Rees, whose work would carry on their father's tradition. Hansen examines Jones's legacy in all its complexity and influence, including the fraternal rivalry of Jones's distinguished sons.
A Dip in the Ocean: Rowing Solo Across the Indian
by Sarah OutenPowered by the grief of the sudden loss of her father and the determination to live life to the full, in 2009 Sarah became the first woman and the youngest person to row solo across the Indian Ocean. Life-affirming, funny and poignant, Sarah’s salty tale of courage and endurance will inspire the taste of adventure in everyone.
A Diplomat in Japan
by Ernest SatowA fascinating inside account of the epic clash between the Japanese in the West in its earliest days.Sir Ernest Satow entered the British diplomatic service in 1861, a fresh graduate of London University, shortly arriving in Yokohama as the pressure of the Western powers heightened to force Japan from her self-imposed seclusion. This illustrated work, written between 1885 and 1921, offers his intriguing firsthand account of the critical years which led to the final overthrow of the Shogunate, the restoration of direct rule to the ancient line of emperors and, indeed, to the birth of modern Japan. It was a period of momentous importance for Japan, and of crucial significance in global history.Based on diary notes kept without interruption during twenty years of service in Japan, Satow reconstructs the strange and occasionally hazardous world confronting foreigners in those early days. Combining astute personal insight with a direct knowledge of the details of treaties and the circumstances of their negotiation, he provides a unique and authentic inner history of the events which finally brought Japan onto the international scene.
A Diplomat in Japan
by Ernest SatowA fascinating inside account of the epic clash between the Japanese in the West in its earliest days.Sir Ernest Satow entered the British diplomatic service in 1861, a fresh graduate of London University, shortly arriving in Yokohama as the pressure of the Western powers heightened to force Japan from her self-imposed seclusion. This illustrated work, written between 1885 and 1921, offers his intriguing firsthand account of the critical years which led to the final overthrow of the Shogunate, the restoration of direct rule to the ancient line of emperors and, indeed, to the birth of modern Japan. It was a period of momentous importance for Japan, and of crucial significance in global history.Based on diary notes kept without interruption during twenty years of service in Japan, Satow reconstructs the strange and occasionally hazardous world confronting foreigners in those early days. Combining astute personal insight with a direct knowledge of the details of treaties and the circumstances of their negotiation, he provides a unique and authentic inner history of the events which finally brought Japan onto the international scene.
A Disappearance in Damascus: A Story of Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War
by Deborah CampbellIn the midst of an unfolding international crisis, the renowned journalist Deborah Campbell finds herself swept up in the mysterious disappearance of Ahlam, her guide and friend. Her frank, personal account of a journey through fear, and the triumph of friendship and courage, is as riveting as it is illuminating. The story begins in 2007 when Deborah Campbell travels undercover to Damascus to report on the exodus of Iraqis into Syria following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There she meets and hires Ahlam, a refugee working as a "fixer"--providing Western media with trustworthy information and contacts to help get the news out. Ahlam, who fled her home in Iraq after being kidnapped while running a humanitarian centre, not only supports her husband and two children through her work with foreign journalists but is setting up a makeshift school for displaced girls. She has become a charismatic, unofficial leader of the refugee community in Damascus, and Campbell is inspired by her determination to create something good amid so much suffering. Ahlam soon becomes her friend as well as her guide. But one morning Ahlam is seized from her home in front of Campbell's eyes. Haunted by the prospect that their work together has led to her friend's arrest, Campbell spends the months that follow desperately trying to find her--all the while fearing she could be next. Through its compelling story of two women caught up in the shadowy politics behind today's conflict, A Disappearance in Damascus reminds us of the courage of those who risk their lives to bring us the world's news.From the Hardcover edition.
A Disappearance in Damascus: Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War
by Deborah CampbellWinner of the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for NonfictionWinner of the Freedom to Read AwardWinner of the Hubert Evans PrizeIn the midst of an unfolding international crisis, renowned journalist Deborah Campbell finds herself swept up in the mysterious disappearance of Ahlam, her guide and friend. Campbell’s frank, personal account of a journey through fear and the triumph of friendship and courage is as riveting as it is illuminating.The story begins in 2007, when Deborah Campbell travels undercover to Damascus to report on the exodus of Iraqis into Syria, following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. There she meets and hires Ahlam, a refugee working as a “fixer”—providing Western media with trustworthy information and contacts to help get the news out. Ahlam has fled her home in Iraq after being kidnapped while running a humanitarian center. She supports her husband and two children while working to set up a makeshift school for displaced girls. Strong and charismatic, she has become an unofficial leader of the refugee community.Campbell is inspired by Ahlam’s determination to create something good amid so much suffering, and the two women become close friends. But one morning, Ahlam is seized from her home in front of Campbell’s eyes. Haunted by the prospect that their work together has led to her friend’s arrest, Campbell spends the months that follow desperately trying to find Ahlam—all the while fearing she could be next.The compelling story of two women caught up in the shadowy politics behind today’s most searing conflict, A Disappearance in Damascus reminds us of the courage of those who risk their lives to bring us the world’s news.
A Disposition to Be Rich
by Geoffrey C. WardFerdinand Ward was the greatest swindler of the Gilded Age. Through his unapologetic villainy, he bankrupted Ulysses S. Grant and ran roughshod over the entire world of finance. Now, his compelling, behind-the-scenes story is told--told by his great-grandson, award-winning historian Geoffrey C. Ward.Ward was the Bernie Madoff of his day, a supposed genius at making big money fast on Wall Street who turned out to have been running a giant pyramid scheme--one that ultimately collapsed in one of the greatest financial scandals in American history. The son of a Protestant missionary and small-town pastor with secrets of his own to keep, Ward came to New York at twenty-one and in less than a decade, armed with charm, energy, and a total lack of conscience, made himself the business partner of the former president of the United States and was widely hailed as the "Young Napoleon of Finance." In truth, he turned out to be a complete fraud, his entire life marked by dishonesty, cowardice, and contempt for anything but his own interests.Drawing from thousands of family documents never before examined, Geoffrey C. Ward traces his great-grandfather's rapid rise to riches and fame and his even more dizzying fall from grace. There are mistresses and mansions along the way; fast horses and crooked bankers and corrupt New York officials; courtroom confrontations and six years in Sing Sing; and Ferdinand's desperate scheme to kidnap his own son to get his hands on the estate his late wife had left the boy. Here is a great story about a classic American con artist, told with boundless charm and dry wit by one of our finest historians.
A Dissertation on the Life, Theology, and Times of Dr. Jeremy Taylor
by Ernest Horatio May<p>Although the name of Jeremy Taylor is a household word to thousands, but few pens have been employed upon his life and writings. The reason is not hard to discover. In a busy age like the present, men rarely have either the time or inclination to study the voluminous works which this eminent divine has bequeathed to the world. <p>The following pages are intended to supply a brief digest of Taylor's complete writings. The limits of a dissertation necessarily prevent the analysis from being exhaustive, but it is hoped that it is sufficiently full to escape the dilemma of the Roman of old: "Brevis esse laboro Obscurus fio."</p>
A Distant Front In The Cold War: The USSR In West Africa And The Congo, 1956-1964 (Cold War International History Project Series)
by Sergey MazovA Distant Front in the Cold War reveals West Africa as a significant site of Cold War conflict in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although the region avoided the extreme tensions of the standoff in Eastern Europe or in the Cuban missile crisis, it nevertheless offers a vivid example of political, economic, and propagandistic rivalry between the U.S. and the USSR. For Africa, this was a critical period characterized by decolonization and the formation of African countries' first foreign policies. The United States and the Soviet Union both hoped to win the sympathies of the newly established states, and Sergey Mazov's book is the first account of that competition, which the Soviet Union lost, largely through ignorance of the region. Mazov presents evidence from previously inaccessible or unknown documents in Russian and U.S. archives, as well as an international sampling of recent scholarly works. The rich historical account pays particular attention to the repercussions of Soviet West African experience on future Soviet foreign policy, especially in the Third World.