To understand contemporary Iraq and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, no book provides a surer guide or more unsettling experience, written as it was for another war, another army, and another time. Gertrude Bell for a fleeting moment was the optimistic progenitor of the Iraq that today is becoming unglued.

Detailing two years in the life of a British political officer charged with establishing and maintaining British rule in the Kurdish district of Arbil in Iraq, this personal account provides a thorough discussion of Kurdish society from the viewpoint of Captain William Rupert Hay.

At the end of the Cold War, a renewed interest in civil society emerged. Today, civil society, trust, democratization, social capital, and volunteerism are a primary focus among the social sciences. The end of the Cold War meant such issues in the social sciences, neglected during many years of military confrontation, came back into prominence. Voluntary groups are being given large roles, and the state is being challenged by them.

The search is on for ways to encourage democracy. Free trade and globalization are part of the equation, but much attention is being focused on the role...

At the end of the Cold War, a renewed interest in civil society emerged. Today, civil society, trust, democratization, social capital, and volunteerism are a primary focus among the social sciences. The end of the Cold War meant such issues in the social sciences, neglected during many years of military confrontation, came back into prominence. Voluntary groups are being given large roles, and the state is being challenged by them.

The search is on for ways to encourage democracy. Free trade and globalization are part of the equation, but much attention is being focused on the role...

Higher education plays a significant role in shaping our cultural identity. Yet, in this ever-changing world, it's important to consider what adjustments American universities are making-or need to make-to meet the dynamic societal requirements.

Change is often challenging for large institutions, and academia is no different. The contributors to this issue of The Annals take a hard look at current changes in higher education and propose further modification for the American university in the coming decades.

The issue opens with a blueprint for change that looks at the...

Higher education plays a significant role in shaping our cultural identity. Yet, in this ever-changing world, it's important to consider what adjustments American universities are making-or need to make-to meet the dynamic societal requirements.

Change is often challenging for large institutions, and academia is no different. The contributors to this issue of The Annals take a hard look at current changes in higher education and propose further modification for the American university in the coming decades.

The issue opens with a blueprint for change that looks at the...

Peter Ditchfield (1854-1930) was a graduate of Oriel College, Oxford, and sometime Inspector of Schools for Diocese Of Oxford. He was Rector of Barkham from 1886 until his death. A leading Freemason, he was Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of England as well as of the Mark Grand Lodge. He was a passionate historian of old England and wrote about English sporting customs, cathedrals, ancient guilds, village folk traditions, and in this volume about the byways of London. The destruction of parts of the old city during World War II makes this a valuable source of architectural history."

Sir Alfred Rawlinson, the son of a famous Orientalist and envoy to Persia, was himself a pioneer aviator, celebrated sportsman, and important British intelligence officer. As a colonel in the British intelligence corps, he played a significant role in the Middle East. His capture, imprisonment, and unhappy deprivations at the hands of the Turks was in its time a celebrated incident. Since the concept of Orientalism was popularized by Edward Said, the notion that views of the Muslim world were colored and slanted by Western prejudices has revised attitudes of the British imperial cadre that...

Charles W. Eliot was the longest tenured Harvard president and one of the founders of the modern American university. He became an iconic figure in American life, called upon for opinions on virtually every subject under the sun. His "five foot shelf" of books that everyone should read became a staple in the American home, and when inscriptions were to be chiseled on the fronts of post offices and libraries, it was to Eliot that an appeal was made for apt words. A dedicated Unitarian whose son, Samuel Eliot, became president of the denomination, he had a pragmatic and common sense approach to...