The Chinese empire spanned more than two thousand years, providing the world with many important inventions and influential philosophies. Through thoughtful narrative supported by fully documented quotes, this title begins with A Brief History of Ancient China and then examines these questions: How Important Was the Great Wall in the Development of Ancient Chinese Civilization? What Effect Did Confucianism Have on the Chinese Moral and Political Outlook?...

Offers a brief history of the Cold War and discusses the McCarthy hearings, the Cuban missile crisis, and the American military buildup of the 1980s.

"Many historians mark the beginnings of the collapse as December 1979, when thousands of Soviet troops invaded neighboring Afghanistan. It was the first time the Soviets had intervened in a country outside its Eastern bloc of subject nations. The Soviet invasion brought worldwide condemnation. A decade of detente, or easing of tensions, with the United States and the West quickly fell to a new era of Cold War confrontation. Gorbachev's reforms at...

"Vaccinations have long been a part of routine health care in the United States and most nations around the world. Focus on drug company profits often leads to political disputes. Observers worry that vaccines are provided first to nations that can pay for them, leaving poorer countries unprotected. Vaccines of all kinds have become one of the mainstays of health care in an interconnected world. Because they are so important, vaccines like those for...

Allen uses his knowledge of world affairs and religious insight to investigate the troubling worldwide persecution of Christians. In the early 21st century, they are the world's most persecuted religious group. According to the secular International Society for Human Rights, 80 percent of violations of religious freedom in the world today are directed against Christians. Underlying the global war on Christians is the demographic reality that more...

After winning a grant, Omar Razaghi travels to the estate of the late Uruguayan author Jules Gund in order to convince his three executors to let him write an authorized biography.