David L. Boren

In the heart of Tuscany stands the city of Arezzo, beckoning those who would know more of the real Italy. A spectacular medieval town of 100,000 residents, Arezzo invites travelers to see its sights and sample its considerable charms. It reserves a special warmth for those who wish to stay a while and truly experience life under the Tuscan sun. In a similar fashion, Buon Giorno, Arezzo invites visitors to make themselves at home. The authors and photographers featured here are kindred spirits - Americans, Europeans, students, and scholars - all touched by Arezzo's magic and eager to share their experience with newcomers.Buon Giorno, Arezzo sketches the city's unique history, from ancient Italy to the present day, with beautifully illustrated forays into its rich tradition of architecture and art - including the masterwork of Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca. Contributors offer insight into Arezzo's language, introducing visitors to speech patterns and accents harking back to the Etruscans, as well as distinct dialects that put the region - the birthplace of Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch), a godfather of the Italian language - at the very ""center of the Italian language universe."" Italians are known internationally for their contributions to music, fashion, film, and wine - and Arezzo's significant influence in each of these areas comes to light and life as the authors explore the city's vibrant modern culture and economy. A congenial companion and knowledgeable guide, steeped in history and replete with photographs of Arezzo's visual delights, Buon Giorno, Arezzo is an essential resource for any traveler hoping to immerse themselves in the daily rhythms and cultural depths of this incomparable Italian city.

Begun in 1927 by University of Oklahoma history professor Edward Everett Dale, the Western History Collections gathers and preserves rare research materials for scholars in anthropology, Native American studies, Oklahoma history, and the history of the American West. This guide has been compiled to make the photographs in the collections more accessible. The second edition adds descriptions of 165 new collections comprising 159,000 photographs.The 826 photograph collections that this guide thus details encompass Native American culture; frontier and pioneer life in Oklahoma and Indian territories; Wild West shows; the range cattle industry; the petroleum industry; and gunfighters, outlaws, and lawmen. New additions include the Lucille Clough Collection of 1,800 prints, postcards, and stereograph cards of American Indians and Alaska Natives, and First Peoples of Canada.

Keeping ahead of terrorists requires innovative, up-to-date training. This follow-up to Stephen Sloan's pioneering 1981 book, Simulating Terrorism, takes stock of twenty-first-century terrorism - then equips readers to effectively counter it. Quickly canvassing the evolution of terrorism - and of counterterrorism efforts - over the past thirty years, co-authors Sloan and Robert J. Bunker draw on examples from the early 2000s, following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, to emphasize the need to prevent or respond quickly to ""active aggressors"" - terrorists who announce their presence and seek credibility through killing. Training for such situations requires realistic simulations - whose effectiveness, the authors show, depends on incorporating red teams; that is, the groups that play the part of active aggressors.In Red Teams and Counterterrorism Training, Sloan and Bunker, developers of simulation-driven counterterrorist training, take readers through the prerequisites for and basic principles of conducting a successful simulation and preparing responders to face threats - whether from teenage shooters or from sophisticated terrorist organizations. The authors clearly explain how to create an effective red team whose members can operate from within the terrorists' mindset. An innovative chapter by theater professional Roberta Sloan demonstrates how to use dramatic techniques to teach red teams believable role-playing.Rounding out this book, a case study of the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood illustrates the cost of failures in intelligence and underscores the still-current need for serious attention to potential threats. First responders - whether civilian or military - will find Red Teams and Counterterrorism Training indispensible as they address and deter terrorism now and in the future.

A powerful wake-up call to all AmericansWith only 6 percent of the world's population, how long will the United States remain a global superpower? The answer, David Boren tells us in A Letter to America, depends on asking ourselves tough questions. A powerful wake-up call to Americans, A Letter to America, forces us to take a bold, objective look at ourselves.In A Letter to America, Boren explains with unsparing clarity why the country is at a crossroads and why decisive action is urgently needed and offers us an ambitious, hopeful plan.What the country needs, Boren asserts, are major reforms to restore the ability of our political system to act responsibly. By relying on our shared values, we can replace cynicism with hope and strengthen our determination to build a better future. We must fashion a post-Cold War foreign policy that fits twenty-first-century realities - including multiple contending superpowers. We must adopt campaign finance reform that curbs the influence of special interests and restores political power to the voters. Universal health care coverage, budget deficit reduction, affordable higher education, and a more progressive tax structure will strengthen the middle class.Boren also describes how we can renew our emphasis on quality primary and secondary education, revitalize our spirit of community, and promote volunteerism. He urges the teaching of more American history and government, for without educated citizens our system cannot function and our rights will not be preserved. Unless we understand how we became great, we will not remain great.The plan Boren puts forward is optimistic and challenges Americans to look into the future, decide what we want to be and where we want to go, and then implement the policies and actions we need to take us there.

What makes young aspiring politicians take the leap and enter the electoral arena? Born to Run tells the stories of nine young politicians from all walks of life who enter races at the state and local levels in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Georgia, Nebraska, and Maine. Across the board, Gaddie finds a great range of motivations, strategies, and success rates among his carefully selected group. He doesn't rely strictly on interviews (although they provide lots of colorful detail), but hit the campaign trail along with his subjects to observe firsthand the pressures and challenges with which a new candidate is faced. Five years of fieldwork are amplified by survey data on candidates, legislators, and activists that bear out in greater numbers what Gaddie discovered on the ground. Working in the tradition of Richard Fenno's esteemed Home Style, Born to Run contributes to developing a more comprehensive model of political ambition that accounts for the origins of aspiration and the uncertainties that accompany every political career, but especially the early ones. Born to Run is irresistible for students of the same age as some of the candidates, invaluable to anyone who has studied campaigns and elections from the top down, and intriguing to anyone who wants insight into some potential rising stars within both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In 1997 and 1999 a very select group of analysts, practitioners, and scholars assembled at the University of Oklahoma to lay the groundwork for a new United States foreign policy that will promote our nation's ideals while protecting its vital interests in the post-cold war era. This carefully edited collection includes major policy statements and round-table discussions by the best minds of our time as they devise criteria for the employment of military force, economic and trade priorities, a broad covert intelligence mission, and the protection of our planet's ecology-all in the context of our pluralistic society and instantaneous global communication.