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In recent years, Colombia has become the recipient of the third largest amount of U.S. foreign aid - most of it slated for antidrug efforts. Russell Crandall offers a clear and concise analysis of the evolution and present dynamics of U.S. policy toward Colombia, a policy that since 1990 has been driven overwhelmingly by factors related to the "war on drugs" within the United States. Crandall shows how, in pursuing its war-on-drug - driven interventionist agenda, the United States succeeded primarily in weakening the Colombian state at the very time that guerrilla groups and paramilitary forces were gaining strength in rural areas. He also considers the roots of those groups and discusses efforts to bring peace to the country. He concludes by assessing current U.S. policy toward Colombia and suggesting directions for future policy. Driven by Drugs tells a story that is essential for understanding the complexity of the Colombia-U.S. relationship - and that is equally significant as a case study of U.S. foreign policy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

America's multiple addictions
Russell Crandall's "Driven by Drugs" is an excellent guide to understanding the impact of U.S. policies and the current chaotic situation in Colombia. The author provides background on U.S.-Colombian relations and an overview of Colombian society to help the reader contextualize recent events. While violence in Colombia is rooted in that country's stratified social relations, it is America's "War on Drugs" that now might rip apart what little remains of Colombia's civil society.

Professor Crandall teaches Political Science at Davidson College. Crandall writes in a concise and scholarly manner, and his expertise on the subject matter is readily apparent. The author uses solid research; the numerous footnotes include a number of first-person interviews with knowledgeable sources as well as author translations of Spanish-language sources. The author's arguments are convincing and his conclusions are air-tight as they appear to be based on a rational evaluation of the evidence.

Principally, Crandall argues that Colombian-U.S. relations changed from a mutually-agreeable anti-Communist philosophy to a "narcotized" orientation by the mid 1980s. The narcotized state of affairs, Crandall suggests, is driven by America's multiple addictions; this includes of course the widespread consumption of illicit substances among its population and a congress dependent on defense industry dollars. (To this I might also suggest a peculiarly American need to rationalize its foreign policies in a moralistic manner.)

Perhaps not surprisingly, recent Colombian administrations have had mixed reactions to U.S. policies. Crandall writes that in fact our efforts have only succeeded in undermining Colombia's central government at the same moment when narco-trafficers, paramilitary groups, and guerilla fighters have exploited fear and uncertainty among the populace in order to gain strength. One hopes that Crandall's plea for U.S. policy makers to learn "from past mistakes" and instead implement policies that address Colombia's core socio-economic needs is heeded soon.

With so much of today's news reporting obsessed with other regions of the world, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the decades-long war that America has been waging in Colombia.

A Superb Book
Russell Crandall has broken new ground.His dynamic focus on U.S. policy during the Samper Administration (1994-1998) and the Pastrana Administration (1998-2002) provides a powerful insight as to why Colombia is the third largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid in the world after Israel and Egypt.The author also cautions of the many political landmines in the road ahead.Crandall is a tier-one academic and a polished writer.

A straightforward history
Driven By Drugs: U.S. Policy Toward Colombia by Russell Crandall (MacArthur Assistant Professor of Political Science, Davidson College) is a straightforward history of American relations vis-a-vis Colombia with particular emphasis on the last decade. An exhaustively researched, scholarly presentation surveying U.S. drug dependency, and its relationship with the roots of violence and guerilla groups in Colombia, as well as the volatile political situation revolving about who owns the land and what is to be done with it, Driven By Drugs is a fascinating, insightful, revealing, and greatly disturbing account of the troubled interaction between these two nations. Driven By Drugs is an important contribution to academic and community library International Studies supplemental reading lists and reference collections. ... Read more

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Honored as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title by the American Library Association

Clash of Arms examines how the Western Allies learned-on the battlefield-to defeat the Nazi war machine.Beginning with an investigation of the interwar neglect that left the Allied militaries incapable of defeating Nazi aggression at the start of World War II, Russell A. Hart analyzes the methods the Allies used to improve their military effectiveness.He also explores the continuous German adaptation that prolonged the war and increased the price of eventual Allied victory.Central to his comparative study is the complex interplay of personalities, military culture, and wartime realities that determined how accurately the combatants learned the lessons of war and how effectively they enhanced their battle capabilities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent analysis of victory
Every army prepares for and conducts combat differently, in a way that reflects its own particular traditions and culture as well as the characteristics of the society from which it springs.An army's performance depends upon a multitude of factors, many of which are beyond anyone's ability to control or simply impossible to predict before the shooting starts.In large part an army's success comes from its ability to perceive what is happening on the battlefield, learn the correct lessons from the events, develop new techniques, and train its soldiers to the new standard.

Unraveling the complexities of this process is difficult enough when one looks at one single army.Russell Hart has taken on four: the British, Canadian, American and German.In each case he has examined that army's development in the years after the First World War as well as its performance in the Normandy campaign of 1944.His conclusions will surprise some people.For example, the vaunted German Wehrmacht, which authors have lauded over the years as the best fighting force of the war, comes off a poor second to the U.S. Army in its ability to learn and adapt, while the British and Canadians rank lower still.That is not to say that the Germans were weak opponents or that the Americans never made mistakes; any American veteran of the fighting in Normandy would scoff at the idea.But neither is it true, as many German generals maintained after the war, that the Americans fought without skill and won simply because they had vastly more equipment.By the end of the Normandy fighting, the U.S. Army was clearly better than its opponent.

The strength of Hart's book is in his understanding of the issues involved and in the careful research that backs up his conclusions.This is not a book to pick up if you want guts-and-glory descriptions of the battles on the beaches and in the bocage.But if you want to understand why the battles turned out as they did, this is probably the most important book you could read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

How Mexico's democracy can be made to work more effectively
Collaboratively compiled and edited by the team of Russell Crandall (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Davidson College and Adjunct Professor, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University), Guadalupe Paz (Assistant Director of the School of the Johns Hopkins University Advanced International Studies Latin American Studies Program), and Riordan Roett (Sarita and Don Johnson Professor of Political Science and Director of the Latin American Studies Program and Western Hemisphere Studies for the John Hopkins University Advanced International Studies), Mexico's Democracy At Work: Political And Economic Dynamics is an anthology of scholarly essays by a variety of learned authors. Topics covered include Mexico's domestic economy, economic ties with Europe, transformations under NAFTA, and much more. A conclusion draws together threads from the contributors to postulate how Mexico's democracy can be made to work more effectively. Thoroughly researched and documented with statistical figures, Mexico's Democracy At Work is a highly recommended overview to better understand the complex workings of a diverse, proud and historic nation.
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Kurt and Captain Annie is a coming-of-age young adult novel that features one very special girl, Annie. Kurt immediately befriends the new girl in town, Annie, and develops an immediate crush on her. But Annie isn’t interested in crushes, or boys for that matter. She’s an amazing athlete. So amazing that Kurt invites her to try out for the boy’s school baseball team. Well, the boys are in for a rude awakening. Annie is good. So good that she’s better than all of them. So what’s a school to do when their best athlete is a girl? Easy. They make her captain.


Acclaim for Kurt and Captain Annie:

"Kurt and Captain Annie is a wonderful, heart-warming story. Mr. Hargrove is a fabulously talented writer who captures the exuberance of youth and the spirit of adventure. I've set this one aside to read again."
—Elaine Babich, author of You Never Called Me Princess and Relatively Normal

"A book to be enjoyed by the whole family. A fun, fun story. I love this!"
—J.R. Rain, author of Moon Dance and The Body Departed

"What a sweet story! Highly recommended!"
—Lani Bennett, author of False Dichotomy ... Read more