Best Selling Books by James M. Scott

Finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History "Like Lauren Hillebrand''s Unbroken…Target Tokyo brings to life an indelible era." —Ben Cosgrove, The Daily Beast On April 18, 1942, sixteen U.S. Army bombers under the command of daredevil pilot Jimmy Doolittle lifted off from the deck of the USS Hornet on a one-way mission to pummel Japan’s factories, refineries, and dockyards in retaliation for their attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid buoyed America’s morale, and prompted an ill-fated Japanese attempt to seize Midway that turned the tide of the war. But it came at a horrific cost: an estimated 250,000 Chinese died in retaliation by the Japanese. Deeply researched and brilliantly written, Target Tokyo has been hailed as the definitive account of one of America’s most daring military operations.

Using a comparative case study method, Scott examines the historical, intellectual, and ideological origins of the Reagan Doctrine as it was applied to Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. Scott draws on many previously unavailable government documents and a wide range of primary material to show both how this policy in particular, and American foreign policy in general, emerges from the complex, shifting interactions between the White House, Congress, bureaucratic agencies, and groups and individuals from the private sector."--

“Illuminating.… An eloquent testament to a doomed city and its people.” —The Wall Street Journal In early 1945, General Douglas MacArthur prepared to reclaim Manila, America’s Pearl of the Orient, which had been seized by the Japanese in 1942. Convinced the Japanese would abandon the city, he planned a victory parade down Dewey Boulevard—but the enemy had other plans. The Japanese were determined to fight to the death. The battle to liberate Manila resulted in the catastrophic destruction of the city and a rampage by Japanese forces that brutalized the civilian population, resulting in a massacre as horrific as the Rape of Nanking. Drawing from war-crimes testimony, after-action reports, and survivor interviews, Rampage recounts one of the most heartbreaking chapters of Pacific War history.

From reviews: Scott offers us a new way to resolve an old problem. Instead of viewing Paul''s geographical understanding of the world from a merely Greco-Roman perspective, he suggests that we begin with Paul''s distinctly Jewish perspective of the world''s geography: the table of the nations. Here Scott makes a compelling case and opens new vistas for understanding Paul as the apostle of the nations.Frank J. Matera in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly No. 59 (1997) 398-399.

James M. Scott examines a denarius minted in Rome in 55 bce which is visually fascinating but conceptually enigmatic. On its obverse, around the head of a female figure with turreted crown, appears the name A. Plautius, who held the office of aedilis curulis in that year; on its reverse is a camel, in front of which a male figure kneels on his right leg, holding the camel''s reins in his left hand and extending a branch in his right hand; the legend reads: BACCHIVS IVDAEVS.Scott''s study argues that the oft-suggested connection between Aristobulus'' gift of the golden vine (from the Temple) and the Bacchius Iudaeus denarius does seem to merit further investigation. To that end,he examines, first, Pompey''s own agenda in having the coin minted. It is shown that the year the denarius appeared, 55 bce, was the same year in which Pompey dedicated his spectacular theater-temple in Rome, and, furthermore, that these very public displays are related as expressions of Pompey''s Dionysian pretensions. Second, Scott examines each element of the denarius in question, looking for clues as to the meaning of Bacchius Iudaeus. It is shown that the Latin inscription refers first and foremost to the god Bacchus/Dionysus via an interpretatio Romana. Finally, he explores the possible implications of his investigation for the precise date of the fall of Jerusalem in 63 bce. Scott''s study delves deeply into Judaism at the beginning of the Roman era, using the Roman coin to highlight the complex interface between Greco-Roman and Jewish religiocultural institutions of the period.

"Riveting.…This book is required reading for anyone with even a passing interest in World War II and the Pacific Theater." —Bob Carden, Boston Globe Seven minutes past midnight on March 10, 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a firestorm that reached up to 2,800 degrees, liquefying asphalt and vaporizing thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women, and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: “If we lose the war, we’ll be tried as war criminals.” James M. Scott reconstructs in granular detail that horrific night, and describes the development of the B-29, the capture of the Marianas for use as airfields, and the change in strategy from high-altitude daylight “precision” bombing to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing. Most importantly, the raid represented a significant moral shift for America, marking the first time commanders deliberately targeted civilians which helped pave the way for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. Drawing on first-person interviews with American pilots and bombardiers and Japanese survivors, air force archives, and oral histories never before published in English, Scott delivers a harrowing and gripping account, and his most important and compelling work to date.

A comprehensive and engaging look at the players, processes, and politics that drive U.S. decisions and involvement in foreign policy.

Shedding new light on how U.S. foreign policy is made, Ralph G. Carter and James M. Scott focus on “congressional foreign policy entrepreneurs,” the often unrecognized representatives and senators who take action on foreign policy matters rather than waiting for the executive branch to do so. These proactive members of Congress have undertaken many initiatives, including reaching out to Franco’s Spain, promoting détente with the Soviet Union, proposing the return of the Panama Canal, seeking to ban military aid to Pinochet’s regime in Chile, pushing for military intervention in Haiti, and championing the recognition of Vietnam. In Choosing to Lead, Carter and Scott examine the characteristics, activities, and impact of foreign policy entrepreneurs since the end of the Second World War. In so doing, they show not only that individual members of Congress have long influenced the U.S. foreign policy-making process, but also that the number of foreign policy entrepreneurs has grown over time. Carter and Scott combine extensive quantitative analysis, interviews with members of Congress and their staff, and case studies of key foreign policy entrepreneurs, including Frank Church, William Fulbright, Jesse Helms, Edward Kennedy, Pat McCarran, and Curt Weldon. Drawing on their empirical data, the authors identify the key variables in foreign policy entrepreneurship, including membership in the Senate or House, seniority and committee assignments, majority or minority party status, choice of foreign policy issues, and the means used to influence policy. By illuminating the roles and impact of individual members of Congress, Carter and Scott contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the broader U.S. foreign policy-making process.

This volume argues essentially that for the Book of Jubilees, a Jewish apocalyptic writing of the mid-second century BCE, the consummation of the ages will effect the restoration of sacred space and sacred time, so that all things correspond to God''s original will for the creation on earth as in heaven.

AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY is the market leader for the American foreign policy course. Guiding students through 21st century American foreign policy by placing contemporary issues, debates, challenges, and opportunities in their historic context, this text helps students understand and assess the forces underlying continuity and change. This Sixth Edition retains the book''s effective analytical framework. Harnessing the conceptual, theoretical, and historical components that facilitate analysis of American foreign policy, the text maintains that five sources--international, societal, governmental, role, and individual--collectively influence decisions about foreign policy goals and the means chosen to realize them. Readers will come away from this text with knowledge of how the enduring principles, values and interests of the United States (peace and prosperity, stability and security, democracy and defense) define and reinforce the ability of policymakers to respond to changes in the international environment.

The first in a new in-depth nonfiction series examining the devastating terrorist attacks that changed the course of history from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr and Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott, beginning with the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut. 1983: the United States Marine Corps experiences its greatest single-day loss of life since the Battle of Iwo Jima, when a truck packed with explosives crashes into their headquarters and barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. This horrifying terrorist attack, which killed 241 servicemen, continues to influence US foreign policy and haunts the Marine Corps to this day. Now, the full story is revealed as never before by Jack Carr and historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist James M. Scott. Based on comprehensive interviews with survivors, extensive military records, as well as personal letters, diaries and photographs, this is the authoritative account of the deadly attack.

This introduction to a biblical theology of the New Testament seeks to revitalize our engagement with the Scriptures for the twenty-first century by showing not only how the assemblage of ancient writings consisting of both Old and New Testaments is intrinsically relevant, but also how we can remain faithful to Jesus Christ, the organizing principle of those writings, in the process. The book is an invitation to all people of goodwill--believers and unbelievers, liberals and conservatives--to put aside their differences in order to cooperate in the revolution that Jesus inaugurated, the creation of a new and better world in the here and now as an anticipation of the eschatological finale. In an age in which many people are overwhelmed by life and looking for ways to cope, this book offers fresh perspectives and penetrating insights that are grounded in solid biblical scholarship with the aid of contemporary philosophical concepts.

The Understanding the Bible Commentary Series helps readers navigate the strange and sometimes intimidating literary terrain of the Bible. These accessible volumes break down the barriers between the ancient and modern worlds so that the power and meaning of the biblical texts become transparent to contemporary readers. The contributors tackle the task of interpretation using the full range of critical methodologies and practices, yet they do so as people of faith who hold the text in the highest regard. Pastors, teachers, and lay people alike will cherish the truth found in this commentary series.

One “apocalyptic” reading of Paul’s letter to the Galatians has been attempted before and is now widely accepted, but that reading is not based on a thorough engagement with Jewish apocalyptic traditions of the Second Temple period. In this book, James M. Scott argues that there is an essential continuity between Galatians and Paul’s Jewish past, and that Paul uses the apocalyptic Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 92–105) as a literary model for his own letter. Scott first contextualizes the Epistle of Enoch using the entire Enochic corpus and explores the extensive similarities (and some significant differences) between the Enochic tradition and early Stoicism. Then he turns to deal specifically with Paul’s letter to the Galatians, showing that, despite their obvious differences, the two apocalyptic letters have some remarkable features in common as well. This approach to the interpretation of Galatians fundamentally stands to change the way biblical scholars understand Paul’s letter and the gospel that he preached. Paul is “within Judaism,” if the net for what is included in “Judaism” is wide enough to encompass the Enochic tradition.

Set in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the North Cascades, Image Lake is a stirring hymn to Nature''s grandeur and its unfailing power to awe, sustain, and heal us. The lure of a high-mountain lake surrounded by rugged heights serendipitously brings together four misfits: a beleaguered Indigenous woman for whom Image Lake is sacred; a former backcountry ranger who has tried writing an eco-fiction novel about the area with little success; a New York City lawyer and fixer for a mining company who has broken almost everything and everyone in his path, including himself; and a professor of religious studies who, after thirty-three years of teaching and being the only Black person at every faculty meeting, feels burned out. Together, this unlikely fellowship laments the physical, mental, and spiritual damage that results when we are separated from Nature and from each other. But this unconventional novel is not just unflinchingly pessimistic; it is also resiliently hopeful as it confronts the clash of worldviews, breaks down rigid barriers--the "us vs. them" dichotomy and the "that''s not my backyard" mentality--and refuses to let despair be the final word. Image Lake explores what it means to find deep friendship even when the world is falling apart. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound insight, emotional sensitivity, and a delightful touch of humor. It will leave you with the sense of standing before an impossible task with unexpected energy to take the first step.

James M. Scott focuses on a particular Old Testament pseudepigraphon--The Book of Jubilees. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach based on detailed analysis of primary sources, much of which is seldom considered by New Testament scholars, and explores the neglected topic of ancient geographical conceptions. By studying geographical aspects of the work, Dr. Scott is able to relate Jubilees to both Old and New Testament traditions, bringing important new insights into Christian concepts of annunciation.

Originally presented as the author''s thesis (doctoral)--T''ubingen, 1989.

A definitive work on U.S. foreign policymaking, THE POLITICS OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY: ADVANTAGE SERIES, 6E uses three levels of analysis to demonstrate how government, society, and the historical-global environment all impact policymaking. Focusing more on the process of creating policy than the history, this comprehensive text blends substance, history, and theory in a lively narrative that is engaging, accessible, and informative. Streamlined and up to date, the Sixth Edition presents theory in the context of the most current coverage available, including the 2012 elections, the new Congress, the global economic crisis, updates on the wars and crises abroad, the Obama administration''s foreign policy, and more. Available with InfoTrac Student Collections http://gocengage.com/infotrac. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Every Bible reader wants to learn and remember what they have read. This book will help! All Bible readers will remember more of God''s Word with this book!

"George" the seagull and his mate for life "Georgina" live on the shores of Hood Canal in Washington and have a close relationship with the Scott family. This book combines information about gull habits and life cycle with color photos of George in the wild and interacting with the Scotts.