Showing results by author "Ralph Raico"

Germany is historically one of the most important of all nations. Since emerging from its days as a Roman province, Germany (including Prussia) has had a central role in European affairs. It has reached the heights in art, music, literature, and political power, yet it's also reached the depths in humiliating military defeat and partition. This presentation reviews the broad sweep of German history.

On April 25th, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain. Less than seven months later, a victorious America claimed the former Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands. To the American diplomat John Hay, the Spanish-American War was "a splendid little war". It had been popular, brief, and inexpensive, especially in terms of casualties. But the Spanish-American War marked a change in America's international role.

By early August 1914, the world was convulsed by the first world war, which engulfed Europe. On the western front, there was constant carnage, but little movement. Soldiers bled and died to win a stretch of dirt, which was quickly lost again. Europe seemed to be deadlocked in a bloodletting frenzy. As the nation-states battled, they awaited the response of the greatest of the neutral powers: the United States.

Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, captured the essence of nineteenth-century America in his penetrating work, Democracy in America. The democratic concept of equality was emerging as a political reality in America, and it threatened the aristocracy of Europe; it produced a society of individualists hungry for self improvement. In this classic treatise, Tocqueville weighed the advantages of democracy against its dangers.

Communist Manifesto examines the theory and goals expounded by Karl Marx. Marx argues that history flows inevitably toward a social revolution, which will result in a society without economic classes. The influence on Marx of Hegel, Feuerbach, and other philosophers is examined, as is his friendship and collaboration with Engels.

Recent events have made it clear that the Soviet Union is not a monolith; it's a collection of nationalities, many with serious objections to union. The demise of communism holds great promise and great danger not only for the Soviets, but for the world. This audiobook examines how the region's long history led to modern reality.

When World War I erupted, Americans fiercely debated US involvement; the nation had a deep tradition of avoiding foreign wars. But while the Spanish-American War had challenged this tradition, the First World War would shatter it.