Multiculturalism or To End A War

Multiculturalism

Author: Charles Taylor

A new edition of the highly acclaimed book Multiculturalism and "The Politics of Recognition," this paperback brings together an even wider range of leading philosophers and social scientists to probe the political controversy surrounding multiculturalism. Charles Taylor's initial inquiry, which considers whether the institutions of liberal democratic government make room--or should make room--for recognizing the worth of distinctive cultural traditions, remains the centerpiece of this discussion. It is now joined by Jürgen Habermas's extensive essay on the issues of recognition and the democratic constitutional state and by K. Anthony Appiah's commentary on the tensions between personal and collective identities, such as those shaped by religion, gender, ethnicity, race, and sexuality, and on the dangerous tendency of multicultural politics to gloss over such tensions. These contributions are joined by those of other well-known thinkers, who further relate the demand for recognition to issues of multicultural education, feminism, and cultural separatism.

Praise for the previous edition:

Table of Contents:

Preface (1994) ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xiii
PART ONE 1 Introduction Amy Gutmann 3
The Politics of Recognition Charles Taylor 25
Comment Susan Wolf 75
Comment Steven C. Rockefeller 87
Comment Michael Walzer 99
PART TWO 105
Struggles for Recognition in the Democratic Constitutional State Jurgen Habermas Translated by Shierry Weber Nicholsen 107
Identity, Authenticity, Survival: Multicultural Societies and Social Reproduction K. Anthony Appiah 149
Contributors 165
Index 169

Books about: San Luis Obispo County Wineries or Meat Club Cookbook

To End A War

Author: Richard Holbrook

When President Clinton sent Richard Holbrooke to Bosnia as America's chief negotiator in late 1995, he took a gamble that would eventually redefine his presidency. But there was no saying then, at the height of the war, that Holbrooke's mission would succeed. The odds were strongly against it. This book is Holbrooke's gripping inside account of his mission, of the decisive months when, belatedly and reluctantly but ultimately decisively, the United States reasserted its moral authority and leadership and ended Europe's worst war in over half a century. To End a War reveals many important new details of how America made this historic decision.

Chris Hedges

Holbrooke's To End a War is an engaging, witty and dramatic account....More than that, it is an impassioned plea for Washington to use the military might at its disposal to intervene when societies break down, to take a leadership role in the world and to reject the notion that putting an end to gross human rights abuses is a goal that must inevitably differ from pragmatic, self-interested foreign policy....The strength of the book is its wealth of anecdotes and detail, which instill life into the characters who wander on and off the stage.-- New York Times Book Review

The New York Times Book Review - Chris Hedges

The strength of the book is its wealth of anecdotes and detail, which instill life into the characters who wander on and off the stage.

Thomas E. Ricks

...[S]hould be read by anyone who still believes that the relationship between the U.S. military and its political overseers is healthy.... —The Washington Monthly

Publishers Weekly

American negotiator Holbrooke offers a fast-paced, first-person account of the American-led diplomatic initiative that ended the bloodshed of ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia in 1995. A veteran of the Vietnam peace talks, one-time ambassador to Germany and assistant secretary of state, Holbrooke guides readers through "fourteen weeks... filled with conflict, confusion, and tragedy before... success." This is a penetrating portrait of modern diplomacywhat the author describes as "something like a combination of chess and mountain climbing." Spurred on by the deaths of three colleagues on his negotiating team (their armored personnel carrier toppled over a cliff on a treacherous approach to Sarajevo), Holbrooke hammers out a cease-fire in an intensive shuttle among the three Balkan presidents, and then presides over the three-week cloistered peace conference in Dayton, Ohio. He covers the elements of crafting effective foreign policy: coordination among various agencies and personalities in Washington; dealing with European allies; ensuring that military and diplomatic efforts work in concert; negotiating with ethnic nationalist leaders; "spinning" the press; and selling the peace plan to a skeptical Congress and public. While he provides scant background into the historical roots of the Balkan conflict, Holbrooke details the various stages of the negotiating process and vividly describes the Balkan leaders: the arrogant Tudjman, the sly Milosevic and the bickering and disorganized Bosnian Muslims. Although often self-justifying, Holbrooke acknowledges several errors, such as allowing the Bosnian Serb entity to retain the "blood-soaked name" of Republika Srpska. Still, his achievement in forging peace in Bosnia is beyond question, and his account of that process is essential for understanding how American power can be brought to bear on the course of history. (June)

Library Journal

The chief U.S. negotiator of the Dayton accords gives the inside story.

Tom Gjelten

Unavoidably, his behind-the-scenes story of the negotiations is a self-promoting account. To End a War is also one of the most important and readable diplomatic memoirs of recent times. Holbrooke writes vividly of his dramatic encounters with the Balkan leaders. -- The Washington Post Book World

Richard Bernstein

To End a War is, in sum, an important book containing many lessons about the possibilities and limitations of diplomacy.... He has written a straightforward account of a historic achievement that was largely his own, telling frankly and precisely and with a minimum of throat-clearing exactly how that achievement came about. -- The New York Times

Thomas E. Ricks

...[S]hould be read by anyone who still believes that the relationship between the U.S. military and its political overseers is healthy.... -- The Washington Monthly

Chris Hedges

The strength of the book is its wealth of anecdotes and detail, which instill life into the characters who wander on and off the stage. -- The New York Times Book Review

Time

A compelling accountof life-and-death negotiation—the personal dynamics, the theatrical gestures, the unexpected snags, the leaks...A classic exercise in lock-up, great power diplomacy...A riveting book.

The Economist

Richard Holbrooke is the Quentin Tarrantino of diplomacy...peppered with amusing anecdotes and shrewd insights.

Kirkus Reviews

A riveting and forthright insider account of the Dayton accords and their aftermath, by their primary architect. For Holbrooke, a proponent of the use of force to end the Bosnian crisis, the assignment as assistant secretary of state during Clintonþs first administration (1994þ96) offered an opportunity to implement changes he had long advocated. The core of Holbrooke's report, and by far the most vibrant and disarming, is his candid account of the Dayton accords that ended the war. "The negotiations," he writes, "were simultaneously cerebral and physical, abstract and personal something like a combination of chess and mountain climbing." To End a War captures this mood precisely; Holbrooke offers gripping tales of marathon 24-hour sessions, scenes of the Balkan leaders screaming at one another and at the Americans, and offers unforgettable portraits of Milosevic, Izetbegovic, and Tudjman. The place seethes with frustration. When Anthony Lake comments that this is "the craziest zoo I've ever seen," Holbrooke feels satisfied that he has "understood the special weirdness of Dayton." The consummate diplomat and team member, Holbrooke tells not only of his own fiercely dedicated work but graciously praises and documents the efforts of negotiators, diplomats, politicians, and humanitarian workers who continue to take part in making and implementing policy. While not exactly literary, Holbrooke's memoir is both highly literate and informed, as well as notably readable. Quotations appear from W.H. Auden, Kierkegaard, and Melville, among others. Itþs also steeped in the tradition of diplomatic memoirs by eminent diplomat/authors such as Henry Kissinger and Harold Nicolson.While limiting his discussion to the Balkans and the Dayton accords, Holbrooke always has an eye to the broader picture, drawing frequent historical comparisons. A diplomatic memoir of uncommon honesty and insight and a sobering tale for those who dismiss the Dayton accords as an unjust peace. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Author tour)

What People Are Saying

Arthur Schlesinger
"This brilliant and remarkable book is both an absorbing firsthand narrative of the Balkan Conflict and an invaluable contribution to the history of our time."

Fritz Stern
"Written with sagacity and wisdom, To End a War tellsus about politics in the Balkans and in Washington, about our European allies, and about the intricacies of diplomatic negotiations."

Henry Kissinger
"Whether one agrees with him or not on Bosnia, Richard Holbrooke's book is must reading."

George F. Kennan
"What Richard Holbrook has given us in this impressive diplomatic memoir is a vivid and well-written account of the heroic efforts put forward by the author himself and the small team he headed to spare the troubled Balkan region further bloodshed and horror, and to bring the endanged peoples of Bosnia hope, security, and normalcy of life."

Leslie Gelb
"A real-life diplomatic thriller: the inside story of how peace came to Bosnia. An indispensable guide for future peacemakers."

Leslie Stahl
"A riveting, unpudownable account of how Holbrooke and his team cajoled the leaders of the various factions in Bosnia into signing a peace accord. This is not a book about dry policy prescriptions or march-along history. It is an adventure involving physical danger, moral quandaries, psychological gamesmanship, and high drama. Richard Holbrooke is a spirited, generous writer and a master storyteller."