For 1,400 years, France has been in contact with Islam and Muslim populations. This study explores their long relationship and history, examining in particular the expansion and contraction of France's Islamic Empire throughout the 20th century. This modern empire essentially consisted of conquered territories inhabited by Muslims and administered by Frenchmen. Thus far, France has avoided a September 11-type terrorist attack despite the intra-country presence of Muslim terrorist groups like the Roubaix gang and Bin Laden's al-Qa'ida. Other Western countries can learn a great deal from France's long and varied experiences.Watson addresses the origins of Franco-Muslim contact and details early cases of French expansion into the Islamic world. The bulk of the book, however, focuses on the creation of the modern French Empire in Saharan and Sudannic Africa, as well as in Syria and the Lebanese Mandates, during the New Imperialism of the 19th and 20th centuries. Features include a selection of pertinent documents that illustrate the extent of French involvement with the Islamic world.

Tricolor and Crescent: France and the Islamic World

History

Watson, William E.

Europe

Praeger

In 1832, 57 Irish Catholic workers were brought to the United States to lay one of the most difficult miles of American railway, Duffy's Cut of the Pennsylvania Railroad. These men were chosen because, in the eyes of the railroad company that hired them, they were expendable. Deaths were common during the building of the railway but this stretch was worse than most. When cholera swept the camp basic medical attention and community support was denied to them. In the end all 57 men―the entire work crew―died and were buried in a mass unmarked grave. Their families in Ireland were never notified about what happened to them. The company did its best to cover up the incident, which was certainly one of the worst labor tragedies in U.S. history. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly industrializing America, this book tells the story of these men, the sacrifices they made, and the mistreatment that claimed their lives.
The saga of Duffy's Cut focuses particularly on the Irish laborers who built the railroads. Who were these men? Who hired them? Why did they come? Perhaps most important, why did they die? Based on archaeological digs at the site and meticulous historical research, the authors argue that the annihilation of the work crew came about because of the extreme conditions of their employment, the prejudice of the surrounding community, and the vigilante violence that kept them isolated. In shedding light on this tragic chapter in American labor history, The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut also illuminates a dark side of America's rise to greatness.

The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut: The Irish Who Died Building America's Most Dangerous Stretch of Railroad

Watson, J. Francis

Ahtes, John H.

III, Earl H. Schandelmeier

Americas

Designed for student research, this one-stop resource contains a wealth of information, reference material, and analysis of the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union. Combining narrative description, analytical essays, lengthy biographical profiles, and the text of key primary documents, Watson examines the reasons for the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and its ruling Communist party in 1991. Five essays provide a historical overview of the rise and fall of the Soviet brand of communism; the evolution of Gorbachev's perestroika reform policies; the costly Soviet imperial legacy and the ten-year Afghan war; nationalism and the dissolution of Soviet unity; and post-Soviet Russia under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin. Ready-reference features include: a timeline of key events; biographical profiles of 15 leaders involved in the decline and fall of Soviet communism; the text of 22 documents including writings by Gorbachev, Yeltsin and other key figures; a glossary of terms; and an annotated bibliography of print and video materials. Photos and maps complement the text.
Five essays examine how costly internal and external imperial policies, a poorly functioning economy, and rising nationalism among subject populations contributed to the demise of the Soviet empire. Watson shows that Gorbachev's perestroika reforms, intended to reform the party and the nation, ironically hastened the end, and that the August 1991 coup attempt sealed the fate of Soviet communism. The documents illustrate the reform attempt by Gorbachev and his trail-blazing economic advisors; party opposition to his reforms; the August 1991 coup attempt; the subsequent collapse of the party and the Soviet Union; and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The biographies explain the careers of individuals involved in the decline and fall of Soviet communism, including the last four Soviet leaders, whose policies inadvertently led to the demise of the system; the principal opponents of the reform; the leaders of the August 1991 coup attempt; the first post-Soviet leader of Russia, Boris Yeltsin; and the first post-Soviet Communist party leader in Russia, Gennady Zyuganov. This comprehensive resource is ideal for student research.

The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union

Greenwood

Designed for student research, this one-stop resource contains a wealth of information, reference material, and analysis of the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union. Combining narrative description, analytical essays, lengthy biographical profiles, and the text of key primary documents, Watson examines the reasons for the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and its ruling Communist party in 1991. Five essays provide a historical overview of the rise and fall of the Soviet brand of communism; the evolution of Gorbachev's perestroika reform policies; the costly Soviet imperial legacy and the ten-year Afghan war; nationalism and the dissolution of Soviet unity; and post-Soviet Russia under the leadership of Boris Yeltsin. Ready-reference features include: a timeline of key events; biographical profiles of 15 leaders involved in the decline and fall of Soviet communism; the text of 22 documents including writings by Gorbachev, Yeltsin and other key figures; a glossary of terms; and an annotated bibliography of print and video materials. Photos and maps complement the text.

The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union:

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

GEM Online

This book provides a thorough coverage of advanced topics in heating, ventilating and air conditioning necessary for the building services engineering. It is relevant to a wide ranging undergraduate readership concerned with the building services industry.

Mechanical Services for Buildings

Science & Math

Eastop, T.D.

Technology

Longman Sc & Tech

Book by Riasanovsky, Alexander V., Watson, William E.

Readings in Russian History

Riasanovsky, Alexander V.

Russia

Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co.

Watson's Compound Interest and Annuity, Loan and Valuation Tables [microform]: for the Use of Building Societies, Brokers, and Others, Requiring to ... Mortgages, Bonds, Debentures or Annuities

Business & Money

Economics

Legare Street Press

Fifty-seven Irish immigrant laborers arrived in the port of Philadelphia in June 1832 to work on Pennsylvania's Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad. Contractor Philip Duffy soon hired them to work a stretch of track in rural Chester County known as Duffy's Cut. They all perished within six weeks. For more than 180 years, the railroad maintained that cholera was to blame and kept the historical record under lock and key. In a harrowing modern-day excavation of their mass grave, a group of academics and volunteers found evidence some of the laborers were murdered. Authors and research leaders Dr. William E. Watson and Dr. J. Francis Watson reveal the tragedy, mystery and discovery of what really happened at Duffy's Cut.

Massacre at Duffy's Cut: Tragedy and Conspiracy on the Pennsylvania Railroad (True Crime)

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

The History Press

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Books by Watson, William E.