Matthew Connelly Popular Books
Matthew Connelly Biography & Facts
Matthew James Connelly (born November 25, 1967) is an American professor of international and global history at Columbia University. His areas of expertise include the global Cold War, official secrecy, population control, decolonization, and methods to predict catastrophic threats. He is the author of Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population, A Diplomatic Revolution: Algeria's Fight for Independence and the Origins of the Post-Cold War Era, The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets, and articles on international and domestic politics for The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The National Interest, and Le Monde. Connelly is also the founder and principal investigator of History Lab. Career Matthew Connelly earned his BA in history from Columbia University in 1990, before earning his doctorate from Yale University in 1997. His dissertation, “The Algerian War for Independence: An International History”, written under the supervision of Gaddis Smith, Paul Kennedy, and William Quandt, formed the basis for A Diplomatic Revolution. Prior to his appointment at Columbia University, he taught in the Department of History and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He has also been a visiting professor at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), the University of Oslo, the University of Sydney, the London School of Economics, and the Fundação Getulio Vargas. He is also the co-director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at Columbia. Academic work Connelly's research predominantly focuses on the history of the 20th century. His work employs novel and innovative approaches to historical study, including examining the past through a global or transnational lens, and applying data-mining techniques to historical research. A Diplomatic Revolution Connelly's first book, A Diplomatic Revolution: Algeria's Fight for Independence and the Origins of the Post-Cold War Era (2002, Oxford U. Pr.), examines the international diplomacy of Algerian independence. It is a revisionist account that analyzes the transnational networks through which Algerian statesman struggled for liberation, rather than adopting a traditional focus on the national aspects of the movement. Foreign Affairs magazine observes that "Connelly weaves into his story the changing roles of the United States, Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia; the ebb and flow of FLN relations with the soviet bloc; and much more". A Diplomatic Revolution is notable in locating fundamental shifts in international society as occurring during the Algerian independence movement, arguing that "population growth, environmental scarcities, international institutions, new media, and, not least, the conscious agency of colonized peoples were already combining to cause radical change— of a recognizably new kind— when some might assume the international system was frozen into an ideological contest between East and West". The book has also been revised and translated into French as L'arme secrète du FLN: Comment de Gaulle a Perdu la Guerre d'Algérie. Fatal Misconception Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control World Population (2008, Harvard U. Pr.) charts the history of global efforts to control population growth. The book documents the diverse and often disturbing methods used by countries, foundations, and organizations to control populations, particularly in the Global South. Helen Epstein of the New York Review of Books notes that "Though painful to read, [Fatal Misconception] contain[s] many valuable lessons for anyone who cares about making development programs work, both technically and politically.” Some reviewers express concern that the book's arguments might be appropriated by contemporary anti-abortion advocates. Nicholas Kristof, in a review for the New York Times, argues that "the family planning movement has corrected itself, and today it saves the lives of women in poor countries and is central to efforts to reduce poverty worldwide. If we allow that past to tarnish today’s efforts by family planning organizations, women in poor countries will be doubly hurt by." Connelly emphasizes the importance of freedom of choice and individual rights in how we justify family planning. In an interview documented in Salon, he asserts that: "it’s important that we make our stand on reproductive rights when we’re arguing for family planning services, and for safe and legal access to abortion." Mahmood Mamdani, a professor of Government at the School of International and Public Affairs, says of Fatal Misconception, “Connelly raises the most profound political, social, and moral questions. His history reveals that the difference between population control and birth control is indeed that between coercion and choice.” The Declassification Engine The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets (2023, Pantheon) documents multiple concerns with official secrets in the U.S. These include, "Three major lessons from Pearl Harbor": Secrets are often kept to hide incompetence. [C]atastrophic attacks almost never come out of nowhere. ... [L]eaders prefer to pretend they had no warning. In fact, claiming that an attack is completely unexpected can help legitimate more espionage, domestic surveillance, and military spending. [O]ur leaders think we can’t handle the truth and wouldn’t support their plans if we knew what they were. Connelly documents that the Franklin Roosevelt administration wanted to get into the war in Europe before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the U.S. Congress refused to support it. The Tripartite Pact of 27 September 1940 strengthened the Axis alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The U.S. responded by embargoing first scrap iron and eventually oil exports to Japan. Roosevelt hoped he could "maneuver them into the position of firing the first shot without allowing too much danger to ourselves". Part of the problem with the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and many other national security issues is that the "need to know" requirement of the U.S. system of classified information makes it relatively easy for military and civil servants to be less than forthright and even deceptive with their superiors, including the President. He also says that the "need to know" requirement often makes it hard for intelligence analysts to get the information they need, and ultimately, "a lot of secret intelligence is not actually secret, and what is secret is often not intelligent". Connelly also claims, "There is nothing more dangerous—both to itself, and to others—than a nuclear-armed superpower that is not even answerable to its own people." He further says, "In some cases, the U.S. military itself has prepared to launch nuclear weapons based on false warnings. We still live in fear of surprise attacks, as shown by the panic created in Hawaii in.... Discover the Matthew Connelly popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Matthew Connelly books.
Best Seller Matthew Connelly Books of 2024
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Near Dark
Brad ThorINSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER“Fastpaced...pulsepounding...supremely entertaining…His best ever.” The Washington Times“This might be the single greate...
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Foreign Influence
Brad ThorNavy SEAL turned covert operative Scot Harvath is called to action once again in this pulsepounding political thriller from #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling...
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Lethal Agent
Vince Flynn & Kyle MillsAn unprecedented and terrifying bioterrorism plot threatens to kill millions in the midst of a divisive presidential election in this “gut punch of a tale that exploits our greates...
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Foreign Agent
Brad Thor“The best thriller of the year...an exciting and entertaining read.” The Washington Times“A topnotch thriller.” Bill O’ReillyFrom #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bests...
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Extreme Measures
Vince Flynn#1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon Vince Flynn delivers a whiteknuckled rollercoaster ride of a novel featuring “the best hero the thriller genre has to offer” (The Real Book...
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Act of War
Brad ThorThe #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor delivers his most frightening and pulsepounding thriller ever!After a CIA agent mysteriously dies over...
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Order to Kill
Vince Flynn & Kyle MillsIn the next thrilling novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series, the antiterrorism operative heads to Pakistan to confront a mortal threat he may not be prepared...
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The Athena Project
Brad ThorFrom #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor, four deadly women from the topsecret Athena Project join Delta Force as they undertake one of the na...
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The Declassification Engine
Matthew ConnellySHORTLISTED FOR THE CUNDHILL HISTORY PRIZE Every day, thousands of new secrets are created by the United States government. What is all this secrecy really for? And whom does it b...
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Pursuit of Honor
Vince FlynnMitch Rappthe “mainstay of the modern technothriller” (New York Journal of Books)returns in this exhilarating political thriller as he fights for the sake of his country and the pu...
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The Apostle
Brad ThorFrom #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Brad Thor, comes the whiteknuckled thriller The Apostle.A new administration and a new approach to dealing wit...
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American Assassin
Vince FlynnIn #1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn’s explosive and “captivating” (Glenn Beck) thriller, witness the young Mitch Rapp as he takes on his first assignment.Mitch Rapp...
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The Last Man
Vince Flynn#1 New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn “has never been better” (The Providence Journal) in this highoctane thriller following Mitch Rapp as he searches for a missing CIA ...
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Executive Power
Vince FlynnThe New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series returns with this “fastpaced spy thriller” (People) following the country’s best assassin as he finds himself in the crossfire of A...
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The First Commandment
Brad ThorFrom #1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor, the explosive international thriller featuring Navy SEAL turned Homeland Security operative Scot Har...
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Takedown
Brad ThorFrom #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and #1 Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Brad Thor, comes Takedown.July 4th weekend, New York City: As thousands of holiday trav...
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Term Limits
Vince FlynnPolitics and riveting suspense collide in this whiteknuckled thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of American Assassinsoon to be a major motion picture.In one blo...
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Memorial Day
Vince FlynnWhen the CIA receives word about an upcoming terrorist attack, they immediately look towards their superagent Mitch Rapp to do whatever it takes to protect American lives in this “...
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The Vince Flynn Encyclopedia
Emily Bestler BooksEverything you need to know about Vince Flynn's #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series!Hailed as “the king of highconcept political intrigue” (Dan Brown, #1 New York Times...
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In My Wildest Dreams
Leslie ThomasFrom Barnardo boy to original virgin soldier; from apprentice journalist in London's Fleet Street to famous novelist...At times funny, at times sad, but always honest and utterly c...
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Epilogue II
Brad ThorIf you read and loved the #1 New York Times bestseller Hidden Order, enjoy this free bonus chapter.Experience the suspense and thrills only Brad Thor can write in Epilogue II, a sh...
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Code of Conduct
Brad Thor“Thor tops himself again and again.” Bookreporter “Feels like the TV show 24 on the page.” Associated Press #1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor presents his greatest thr...
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The Survivor
Vince Flynn & Kyle MillsThe #1 New York Times bestselling novel that picks up where the “tight, right, and dynamite” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis) The Last Man left off, The Survivor is a noholdsbarred race...
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Free Fall
Brad ThorThe prelude to Hidden Order, Brad Thor's riveting and pulsepounding Scot Harvath thriller.Experience the suspense and thrills only Brad Thor can write in Free Fall, the shocking pr...
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The Athens Solution
Brad ThorFrom Brad Thor, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Code of Conduct, comes a lightningpaced short story, pitting Scot Harvath against a threat unlike any he’s faced before…...
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State of the Union
Brad Thor“The perfect allAmerican hero” (Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Scot Harvath is on the hunt for a dangerous killer bent on world domination in this whiteknuck...
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Spymaster
Brad ThorScot Harvath must do whatever it takes to prevent the United States from being dragged into a deadly war in this heartpounding thriller that is “timely, raw, and filled with enough...
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Separation of Power
Vince FlynnThe #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Mitch Rapp series “knows how deliver action in his novels” (St. Paul Pioneer Press) and does so again with this thrilli...
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Hidden Order
Brad Thor#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor returns with his hottest and most actionpacked thriller yet!The most secretive organization in America ope...
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Path of the Assassin
Brad ThorThe #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Scot Harvath series and “heir to Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum” (Chicago Tribune) returns with this unputdownable, whiteknuckled thri...
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The Last Patriot
Brad ThorBrad Thor, master of suspense and #1 New York Times bestselling author is back with his highestvoltage thriller to date in which Navy SEAL turned covert Homeland Security operative...
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Blowback
Brad ThorFrom #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and #1 Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Brad Thor, comes Blowback.Scot Harvath’s counterterrorism career has just crashed and b...
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Backlash
Brad Thor“Raw emotion, nonstop action, and relentless pacing makes Backlash another onenight read from Brad Thor.” The Real Book Spy#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling ...
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The Lions of Lucerne
Brad ThorIn his daring and chilling first novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor draws us into a sinister labyrinth of political intrigue and international terrorism, serving...
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Black Ice
Brad ThorINSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“[A]nother instant classic.” The Real Book Spy “The undisputed master of blending geopolitics with spycraft…a thriller aficionado’s dream.” The ...
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Kill Shot
Vince Flynn#1 internationally bestselling author Vince Flynn delivers the young, hungry, and lethal Mitch Rapp at the onset of his career as a CIA superagent.In the year since the CIA trained...
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Full Black
Brad Thor#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor brings his darkest and most intriguing thriller yeta terrifying story of espionage and betrayalbrilliantly...
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Black List
Brad Thor#1 New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Brad Thor returns with his most explosive thriller ever. Somewhere deep inside the United States government is a clo...
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Transfer of Power
Vince FlynnThis “rollercoaster, edgeofyourseat thriller” (StarTribune, Minneapolis) in the #1 New York Times bestselling Mitch Rapp series follows the CIA’s top operative as he must stop a ma...