Author: David Blanke File Type: pdf This book uses the long and profitable career of Cecil B. DeMille to track the evolution of Classical Hollywood and its influence on emerging mass commercial culture in the US. DeMilles success rested on how well his films presumed a broad consensus in the American publicexpressed through consumer hedonism, faith, and an exceptional national historywhich merged seamlessly with the efficient production methods developed by the largest integrated studios. DeMilles sudden mid-career shift away from spectator perversity to corporate propagandist permanently tarnished the directors historical standing among scholars, yet should not overshadow the profound links between his success and the rise and fall of mid-century mass culture. **About the Author David Blanke is Professor of History at Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi, USA. His previously published works include studies of American car culture and modern mass consumerism. He is currently at work, with Sue Matheson, on a comparative study of Hollywood legends Cecil B. DeMille and John Ford.

Author: Eric A. Posner File Type: pdf The bailouts during the recent financial crisis enraged the public. They felt unfairand counterproductive people who take risks must be allowed to fail. If we reward firms that make irresponsible investments, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, arent we encouraging them to continue to act irresponsibly, setting the stage for future crises? And beyond the ethics of it was the question of whether the government even had the authority to bail out failing firms like Bear Stearns and AIG. The answer, according to Eric A. Posner, is no. The federal government freely and frequently violated the law with the bailoutsbut it did so in the public interest. An understandable lack of sympathy toward Wall Street has obscured the fact that bailouts have happened throughout economic history and are unavoidable in any modern, market-based economy. And theyre actually good. Contrary to popular belief, the financial system cannot operate properly unless the government stands ready to bail out banks and other firms. During the recent crisis, Posner agues, the law didnt give federal agencies sufficient power to rescue the financial system. The legal constraints were damaging, but harm was limited because the agencieswith a few exceptionsviolated or improvised elaborate evasions of the law. Yet the agencies also abused their power. If illegal actions were what it took to advance the public interest, Posner argues, we ought to change the law, but we need to do so in a way that also prevents agencies from misusing their authority. In the aftermath of the crisis, confusion about what agencies did do, should have done, and were allowed to do, has prevented a clear and realistic assessment and may hamper our response to future crises. Taking up the common objections raised by both right and left, Posner argues that future bailouts will occur. Acknowledging that inevitability, we can and must look ahead and carefully assess our policy options before we need them. **Review A hazardous bailout, a meltdown-averting loan of last resort, or both? Posner explains how the administration and the Fed reduced the severity of the Great Financial Crisis by skating near and sometimes beyond the boundaries of their authorities. As usual, he stirs things up! (Darrell Duffie, Stanford University) Posners argument that various government interventions violated the Constitution is provocative and cuts against conventional wisdom. Although there are now bookshelves full of crisis postmortems, this is one of the few that rigorously analyzes the legality of the governments bailout efforts. Posner also outlines the ways we can overhaul the governments powers to improve the legality and effectiveness of its crisis management capabilities. (Erik Gerding, author of Law, Bubbles, and Financial Regulation) Whether legal constraints did or did not constrain the actions of the official sector during the global financial crisis had been insufficiently explored. Posners book brilliantly fills this void and is a must read for anyone interested in the crisis. (Anil Kashyap, University of Chicago Booth School of Business) About the Author Eric A. Posner is the Kirkland and Ellis Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Perils of Global Legalism.

Author: Kathleen Hall Jamieson File Type: pdf The question of how Donald Trump won the 2016 election looms over his presidency. In particular, were the 78,000 voters who gave him an Electoral College victory affected by the Russian trolls and hackers? Trump has denied it. So too has Vladimir Putin. Others cast the answer as unknowable. Drawing on path-breaking work in which she and her colleagues isolated significant communication effects in the 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns, the eminent political communication scholar Kathleen Hall Jamieson marshals the troll posts, unique polling data, analyses of how the press used the hacked content, and a synthesis of half a century of media effects research to argue that, although not certain, it is probable that the Russians helped elect the 45th president of the United States. In the process, Cyberwar tackles questions that include How extensive was the troll messaging? What characteristics of the social media platforms did the Russians exploit? Why did the mainstream press rush the hacked content into the citizenrys newsfeeds? Was Clinton telling the truth when she alleged that the debate moderators distorted what she said in the leaked speeches? Did the Russian influence extend beyond social media and news to alter the behavior of FBI director James Comey? After detailing the ways in which the Russian efforts were abetted by the press, social media platforms, the candidates, party leaders, and a polarized public, Cyberwar closes with a warning the country is ill-prepared to prevent a sequel. **Review In her breakthrough new book Cyberwar, Kathleen Hall Jamieson applies her legendary skills to a forensic examination of the Russian hackers, trolls and bots who reshaped American public opinion through social media platforms, using data analytics to achieve maximum impact. Her masterful study provides a compelling answer to the question of whether Russia likely helped elect an American President. -- Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent MSNBC Anchor Kathleen Hall Jamieson has performed a great service not just for politicians, journalists and curious citizens, but most important, for American democracy, by taking a scholars approach to answering one of the most urgent and gnawing questions of our time how did Russia try to influence the U.S. elections of 2016 and how much difference did that make? This is a must-read for everyone who cares about the future of the American electoral system. -- Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, The PBS NewsHour About the Author Kathleen Hall Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication of the University of Pennsylvania and Director of its Annenberg Public Policy Center. Among her award winning Oxford University Press books are Packaging the Presidency, Eloquence in an Electronic Age, Spiral of Cynicism (with Joseph Cappella), and The Obama Victory (with Kenski and Hardy).

Author: Justin Vaïsse File Type: pdf As National Security Adviser to President Jimmy Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski (19282017) guided U.S. foreign policy at a critical juncture of the Cold War. But his impact on Americas role in the world extends far beyond his years in the White House, and reverberates to this day. His geopolitical vision, scholarly writings, frequent media appearances, and policy advice to decades of presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama made him Americas grand strategist, a mantle only Henry Kissinger could also claim. Both men emigrated from turbulent Europe in 1938 and got their Ph.D.s in the 1950s from Harvard, then the epitome of the Cold War university. With its rise to global responsibilities, the United States needed professionals. Ambitious academics like Brzezinski soon replaced the old establishment figures who had mired the country in Vietnam, and they transformed the way America conducted foreign policy. Justin Vaisse offers the first biography of the successful immigrant who completed a remarkable journey from his native Poland to the White House, interacting with influential world leaders from Gloria Steinem to Deng Xiaoping to John Paul II. This complex intellectual portrait reveals a man who weighed in on all major foreign policy debates since the 1950s, from his hawkish stance on the USSR to his advocacy for the Middle East peace process and his support for a U.S.-China global partnership. Through its examination of Brzezinskis statesmanship and comprehensive vision, Zbigniew Brzezinski raises important questions about the respective roles of ideas and identity in foreign policy. **Review Reading Justin Vaisses impressive new book, Zbigniew Brzezinski Americas Grand Strategist, it is difficult to miss the echoes of our own times in the early 1970sIf the publication of Brzezinski could hardly be timelier, the author could not be more aptThe books achievement is in part corrective. Brzezinski rehabilitates a thinker and actor whom other writers have too often underestimatedVaisses broad panorama achieves important perspective on the Carter yearsReaders will encounter in Brzezinski an eloquent introduction to a major strategic thinker and a thoughtful meditation upon the useful work that ideas and intellectuals can perform in the policy arena.Daniel J. Sargent*, Washington Post*** Vaisse gives Brzezinski high marks. Apart from Kissinger, no adviser so dominated a presidents agenda. His intellect was as sharp as his tongue.Edward Luce*, Financial Times*** Will probably stand for some time as the definitive portrayal of a sharp mind and sometimes sharp tongue that attracted critics and opponents, as well as admirers and such famous proteges and colleagues as Madeleine Albright and Robert Gates What separates the Vaisse book from the pack is a detailed and perceptive study of the rise of an academic complex in the making of U.S. foreign policy.Michael D. Mosettig*, PBS NewsHour*** Vaisses biography of U.S. President Jimmy Carters national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, reminds readers just what an extraordinary phenomenon this Polish outsider was Vaisses evenhanded appraisal of Brzezinskis contributions to U.S. foreign policy willintroduce a new generation of readers to a great American strategist.Walter Russell Mead*, Foreign Affairs*** In his compelling biography of Brzezinski, Justin Vaisse places [him] squarely in the fourth generation of decision-makers who helped turn the United States into a world power.Christopher Coker*, Literary Review*** Brzezinski must have been pleased by what he knew of the work (first published in French shortly before his death). The readers, too, will be pleased. This is a solid account of Brzezinskis absorbing journey.Simon Serfaty*, National Interest*** This man with the unpronounceable name was one of the most influential in the world, but also one of the hardest to categorize A foremost authority on U.S. foreign relations, Justin Vaisse enthusiastically traces the extraordinary career of this son of a Polish consul. A captivating account of a decisive figure who navigated through deep political crosscurrents in order to extend American influence across the globe.LExpress Justin Vaisses life of Zbigniew Brzezinski is remarkable in every way. More than a simple biography, this serious study is an original and meticulous account of the American diplomatic machine.LeLitteraire.com A specialist in American foreign relations, Vaisse offers a voluminous biography of a man he considers one of the most consequential figures of the past century.Le Point This first-rate intellectual biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski fills a longstanding gap in existing work on one of Americas most visible yet undervalued scholar-policymakers of the past fifty years. Nuanced and on the whole convincing, this book provides an excellent overview of the impact Brzezinski had after his relatively brief time in high office.Jussi Hanhimaki, author of *The Flawed Architect Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy* About the Author Justin Vaisse, a French historian of the United States, is Director of Policy Planning at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.