Ten years ago the Iran-Contra affair swept the headlines as the nation watched an indignant Lt. Col. Oliver North testify before a congressional committee. Although polls showed that most Americans were critical of North's actions and ambivalent toward the man himself, media coverage left the opposite impression, with its broadcasts of "Ollie-for-president" rallies and stories of congressional aides overwhelmed by a torrent of pro-North mail. In this book, public opinion is more than the sum of a pollster's tally; instead, Amy Fried defines it as a political tool, integral to the political process, where vested interests compete to legitimize their interpretation of the public voice. Fried explores the construction, interpretation, and uses of public opinion, raising important questions about the media and the role of special interest groups in determining policy.

Waking up alone, scared, and hurt with no recollection of the last twelve hours could be a sick joke, but this is far worse than some twisted prank. Federal agent Alexis Parker can't remember where she was or how she ended up unconscious outside a parking garage. The evidence found on her body is inconclusive. Was it an accident, or did she pass out drunk after a night of partying? The briefest flashes from her memory and the sudden uneasiness when in close proximity to others are the only indications that something sinister is brewing, but her colleagues won't listen.Just as Alex starts to doubt her conviction that this wasn't an accident, she experiences an intensely vivid dream. Maybe there's a reason she can't remember those twelve hours. Maybe she needs to forget what happened. Afraid of what she knows and even more terrified of what she doesn't, Alex embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind those missing hours, and may the consequences be damned.Retracing her steps, Alex becomes embroiled in the most dangerous investigation of her career. The stakes have never been this high or the fear this overwhelming. While she struggles to carry out her duties and uphold the oath she took when she joined the Office of International Operations, she can't deny that taking the easy way out has never held more appeal, especially when failure certainly means death.The tenth installment of the series revitalizes the very essence of Alexis Parker and demonstrates precisely what makes her tick, promising plenty of action, suspense, and intrigue along the way.

The Iran-Contra scandal rocked the Reagan presidency to its core in late 1986 and 1987. This text examines the efforts of the Reagan administration to recover its public credibility in the 12 months following the exposure of controversial covert operations. Via comparative analysis it explores the impact of scandal upon the presidential office, the problems which confronted President Reagan during Iran-Contra and the centrality of damage-control efforts to the well-being of the modern presidency.

The United States and Cuba share a complex, fractious, interconnected history. Before 1959, the United States was the island nation's largest trading partner. But in swift reaction to Cuba's communist revolution, the United States severed all economic ties between the two nations, initiating the longest trade embargo in modern history, one that continues to the presentday. The Cuban Embargo examines the changing politics of U.S. policy toward Cuba over the more than four decades since the revolution.While the U.S. embargo policy itself has remained relatively stable since its origins during the heart of the Cold War, the dynamics that produce and govern that policy have changed dramatically. Although originally dominated by the executive branch, the president's tight grip over policy has gradually ceded to the influence of interest groups, members of Congress, and specific electoral campaigns and goals. Haney and Vanderbush track the emergence of the powerful Cuban American National Foundation as an ally of the Reagan administration, and they explore the more recent development of an anti-embargo coalition within both civil society and Congress, even as the Helms-Burton Act and the George W. Bush administration have further tightened the embargo. Ultimately they demonstrate how the battles over Cuba policy, as with much U.S. foreign policy, have as much to do with who controls the policy as with the shape of that policy itself.