Resistance and Rebellion: Lessons from Eastern Europe explains how ordinary people become involved in resistance and rebellion against powerful regimes. The book provides a detailed theoretical treatment of the process that pushes and pulls individuals into risk-laden roles. It also reconstructs Lithuanian social networks of the 1940s; through extensive interviews; to illustrate and test the argument. The work conducts comparisons with several other Eastern European nations to show the breadth and depth of the approach. The book contributes to both the general literature on political violence; as well as the theoretical literature on collective action.
#2055675 in Books 2015-03-13Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .70 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0520282906237 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. A short book on a surprising topic--pirates of the Caribbean relocating to Madagascar.By lyndonbrechtThis is a difficult book to rate because it promises a lot; provides some fascinating information and stories; but ultimately shows the need for a lot more research. The core of the book is that pirates; backed by merchants often from colonial New York; engaged in piracy and slave trading in the Indian Ocean; from bases in Madagascar.McDonald makes the point that "pirate" was a flexible and open category. A privateer in the Atlantic; with official letters of marque; might turn pirate once out of Atlantic waters; or the pirates might be simply pirates. Insofar as the prey was shipping owned by non-Europeans there seems to have been no objection; to robbing Moors. The Portuguese had been there for generations before these pirates (the book covers roughly 1660-1720) but they seem to not have been of much importance in this story. The pirate bases required supply. and Euroamericans (of British and Dutch background) were happy to oblige; because slaves were cheap and made the very long voyage worthwhile. I had not been aware of the number of Malagasy slaves brought to the Americas; including apparently some hundreds to New York and other colonies. The total of pirates was about a thousand; says McDonald; which seems a small number to base a contention of historical significance on. His point I think is more the interconnections than the overall significance.There are stories aplenty in this short book (125 pages or so of text). In one instance pirates were unhappy with the division of spoils; so they formed two teams on the beach to fight to the death. The last two pirates alive divided the loot; to their satisfaction. There were mixed-race people who became of some consequence in Madagascar's later history; some of them born of American pirate fathers; and there's a footnote to history!
