It is the most controversial mystery of the Reagan-Bush era: Did the Republican Party, desperate in 1980 to reclaim the White House, interfere with President Carter's frantic efforts to free the 52 American hostages held in Tehran and thwart an "October Surprise"? Was there a Republican-Iranian deal that bordered on treason? Or was this stunning allegation a bizarre trick played by a loose-knit band of arms brokers and intelligence operatives? For much of the 1980s, suspicions of Republican wrongdoing bubbled beneath the surface, only bursting into public view after the Iran-contra scandal exposed the secret policies and subterranean levels of Reagan-Bush operations. Almost ten years after the events, the Public Broadcasting System's Frontline documentary program asked award-winning investigative reporter Robert Parry to examine the accusations. Parry had been the first reporter to expose Oliver North's Iran-contra operations and had broken many of that scandal's chief stories. Over the next two and a half years, Parry pursued leads in a world-wide odyssey for an elusive - and sometimes dangerous - truth. From Washington to Tehran, from Paris to Jerusalem, from London to Tunis, it was a journey into a wilderness of mirrors where few could be trusted and nothing was as it seemed. The investigation was hampered, too, by a relentless assault from the White House and its powerful allies, who feared the story could destroy the legitimacy of 12 years of Republican rule. In the end, Parry the pursuer became Parry the pursued. But beyond the political mystery, this book lays bare an era during which deception evolved into a high art form and the nation's traditional constitutional safeguardswere no match for the lies. And finally, it is up to you to judge: Was the October Surprise story a trick played on the media and the American public? Or was it treason committed at the highest levels of the U.S. political system, a historic perversion of American democracy?

Did the United States know more than it acknowledges about growing unrest under the Shah in mid-1970s Iran? Have historians of American-Iranian relations focused too narrowly on prevailing historical theory and personal recollection? In a period of escalating tension between the United States and Iran, what can the two nations' history of conflict tell us about their diplomatic future? Covering Carter's policy from the end of the Shah's reign to the revolution under Ayatollah Khomeini, Babak Ganji explores the nature of their perpetually antagonistic relations and the mistrust and misunderstanding that fuels it. Politics of Confrontation is a penetrating critique of international relations theory within the historical framework of US-Iranian relations, as well as a thorough examination of American policy towards Iran. It is the first in-depth look at documents seized by revolutionary students from the American Embassy during the infamous hostage crisis, and debunks the myth that US officials were unaware of the nature of opposition to the Shah or of Soviet influence on senior clerics. These findings are an essential addition to the discourse of foreign policy theorists and invaluable for historians of the US, Iran and the Cold War.

“Important . . . [a] landmark presidential biography . . . Bird is able to build a persuasive case that the Carter presidency deserves this new look.”—The New York Times Book Review An essential re-evaluation of the complex triumphs and tragedies of Jimmy Carter’s presidential legacy—from the expert biographer and Pulitzer Prize–winning co-author of American Prometheus Four decades after Ronald Reagan’s landslide win in 1980, Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency is often labeled a failure; indeed, many Americans view Carter as the only ex-president to have used the White House as a stepping-stone to greater achievements. But in retrospect the Carter political odyssey is a rich and human story, marked by both formidable accomplishments and painful political adversity. In this deeply researched, brilliantly written account, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer Kai Bird deftly unfolds the Carter saga as a tragic tipping point in American history. As president, Carter was not merely an outsider; he was an outlier. He was the only president in a century to grow up in the heart of the Deep South, and his born-again Christianity made him the most openly religious president in memory. This outlier brought to the White House a rare mix of humility, candor, and unnerving self-confidence that neither Washington nor America was ready to embrace. Decades before today’s public reckoning with the vast gulf between America’s ethos and its actions, Carter looked out on a nation torn by race and demoralized by Watergate and Vietnam and prescribed a radical self-examination from which voters recoiled. The cost of his unshakable belief in doing the right thing would be losing his re-election bid—and witnessing the ascendance of Reagan. In these remarkable pages, Bird traces the arc of Carter’s administration, from his aggressive domestic agenda to his controversial foreign policy record, taking readers inside the Oval Office and through Carter’s battles with both a political establishment and a Washington press corps that proved as adversarial as any foreign power. Bird shows how issues still hotly debated today—from national health care to growing inequality and racism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—burned at the heart of Carter’s America, and consumed a president who found a moral duty in solving them. Drawing on interviews with Carter and members of his administration and recently declassified documents, Bird delivers a profound, clear-eyed evaluation of a leader whose legacy has been deeply misunderstood. The Outlier is the definitive account of an enigmatic presidency—both as it really happened and as it is remembered in the American consciousness.

Reveals evidence of a Watergate style conspiracy by British appeasers against Churchill masterminded by ex-MI5 officer and Conservative Party fixer Sir Joseph Ball, funded by murdered Bahamas Tax Exile Gold Magnate Sir Harry Oakes and British Pro-Nazis. Ball's friends included Cambridge Spy Guy Burgess and James Bond Author Ian Fleming. Events culminate in the mysterious stopping of Big Ben & the arrival of Rudolf Hess in Scotland. 11 years of research reveal how close Churchill came to losing his seat in parliament ,selling his beloved Chartwell, the dirty tricks used against him and how close England came to joining the Axis.

Tracing investigative leads back through three decades, Secrecy & Privilege explores the mystery of how the two George Bushes rose to the pinnacle of American political power -- and what the rise of their dynasty has meant to the nation's democratic principles. [book cover].

One of the most recognizable and most requested Christmas songs of all time is brought to life in this fun holiday book and CD set featuring Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Full color.

FIRST STATEMENT TO THE AUDIENCE I stand naked in front of you. I can't lie to you for one second. This is my story you will see. I see it as one of redemption, Justice. But how you will see it, my thousand eyes transfixing this darkness, I do not know, and I cannot say. I only know that you have entered it, my story. You will feel it in my blood as I feel it. I do not accept that any distance can exist between us. Not any distance in space. Not any distance in culture. Not any distance in time. Not any distance in language. Not in blood. Not in hope. You are me, in this. Who you will be afterward even you do not know. I stand naked in front of you. I can't lie to you for one second. Oh, my thousand eyes, my thousand eyes... from ULTRA