Biography: general Books
Atria Books Strays
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£14.44
Atria Books Wild and Precious Life
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£13.60
Simon & Schuster Stolen Beauty
Book SynopsisSynopsis coming soon.......Trade Review“Epic.” * Cosmopolitan *"Albanese artfully weaves Adele’s story with Maria’s harrowing life under the Nazis, and reflections on marriage and fidelity. But it’s hard to read Stolen Beauty without seeing ugly echoes in today’s headlines, with the clarion call of 'America first' and immigrants singled out as 'the problem.' Seven decades after World War II, have we learned nothing?" * USA Today *"This sensual and mesmerizing novel brings to vivid life Gustav Klimt and his greatest muse and model, Adele Bloch-Bauer. For fans of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and Paula McLain's Circling the Sun, Stolen Beauty is a must-read. I tore through the pages." -- Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train“Albanese has written a gripping historical novel that revolves around the lives of two extraordinary women who live in extraordinary times… The well-paced stories of both women, told in alternating chapters, are presented in clear, crisp language, beautifully described settings, and credible dialogue that moves each woman’s story forward, compelling readers to keep the pages turning, as do the historical elements of the novel…With all the elements of a good novel—love, sex, tense relationships, events spiraling out of control, family dynamics, personal conflict as well as war—coupled with real people and true history, this accessible novel of strong women, self-discovery, evolving social mores, artistic challenges, and a rapidly changing world makes for satisfying reading, whether one’s interest is primarily women, history, art, or life in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities in the time of Freud and free love.” * New York Journal of Books *“Readers will be swept away by the depth of feeling and sensuous writing; whether depicting the salons of Vienna or its slums, the ballroom dances of debutantes or the takeover of a textile factory by German troops, Klimt fervently sketching, or the relaxed atmosphere of a coffee house, Albanese’s prose brings the people and the times to life. This novel is a bonanza of information about art history, philosophy, feminism, war, and love.” * Historical Novel Society, Editor's Pick *“With her opening sentence, Albanese draws readers into a world of glamour, art, intrigue, power and fear…In this complex yet utterly readable novel, historical characters are brought to life against the setting of a city on the verge of artistic greatness and societal collapse. Albanese treats thorny moral issues with clarity and depth. Fans of Philippa Gregory, Tracy Chevalier, and those who enjoyed the film Woman in Gold won’t be able to put it down.” * Library Journal, starred review *"Laurie Lico Albanese has given us a powerful and important tale of love and war, art and family. Filled with lush prose and vivid historical detail, Stolen Beauty is a work simultaneously intimate and sweeping in its scope. I was transported; I loved being swept up into the glorious, golden era of fin de siecle Vienna." -- Allison Pataki, New York Times Bestselling Author of SISI: EMPRESS ON HER OWN"With Stolen Beauty Laurie Lico Albanese has effected a perfect marriage between the Vienna of the early years of the 20th century and the Vienna of the Anschluss and the Nazi Occupation. This is particularly remarkable because the mood and tone of the alternating chapters are so different. One wants to dwell or linger on the rich pleasures of the earlier period; one is held in frozen horror by the author's realization of Nazi brutality...Ms. Albanese understands and powerfully shows how people can be comfortably blind to the realities of others' resentment and hatred...you cannot read this book without being made aware of the recurring, perhaps never wholly absent, corrupting power of greed, envy and hatred, a deforming hatred which allows us to see others as objects, not people. Stolen Beauty is a work of art itself--one that is simultaneously alarming and comforting." * Wall Street Journal *"Stolen Beauty is painfully topical, reminding us in excruciating detail what happens when prejudice wins… an irresistible story, we're taken from the refined worlds of classical music, exquisite gowns and sumptuously appointed homes to the hate-fueled politics that ravaged Austria … Too often when books alternate between different characters and different times the result is jarring and tiresome. Though each woman is nuanced enough to support an independent novel, the intertwining makes for a stronger, more compelling story.” * NJ Star Ledger *“Satisfying…Fans of romantic suspense with an art historical bent will appreciate the vigor of Albanese's reimagining of the family saga behind the masterpiece long regarded as Vienna's Mona Lisa.” * Kirkus Reviews *"Incredibly delicious to read...[Stolen Beauty] uniquely delivers intelligent plot, literary substance, and emotional impact...Albanese’s dazzling descriptions depict each moment’s contemporary arts movements and real-life artists of the time, following these characters into the new center of Western culture...Stolen Beauty colors and enhances the true drama of the life of Adele Bloch-Bauer, known to the world as the Lady in Gold." * Jewish Book Council *“Impeccably researched.” * The Jewish Voice *"Albanese’s novel will appeal to readers interested in such themes as love, self-discovery, and women’s empowerment and to fans of the historical, art-based fiction of Susan Vreeland and Tracy Chevalier." * Booklist *“Powerful, dynamic storytelling.” * RT Magazine *“Courage and beauty are the banners waving over the double heroines of this truth-telling novel. Adele's suspenseful story and the terrifying narrative of her niece, Maria, capture both fin-de-siècle Vienna and the rise of Nazism. Like the paintings of Klimt, Stolen Beauty both glitters and darkens in its presentation of vibrant life and dreadful death.” -- Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife; Abundance, a Novel of Marie Antoinette; and The Fountain of St. James Court, or, Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman“Stolen Beauty is the most stunning depiction of the creation of a work of art—situating it in personal and political history—that I've read since Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy. Albanese's portrait of the brutality of the Nazi occupation of Austria and its seizure of art is unmatched.” -- Louise DeSalvo, author of The Art of Slow Writing“Stolen Beauty is one of those rare, captivating novels that flies us through time, transports us across continents and oceans and challenges us to imagine the unimaginable, to reckon with the cruel forces of history and to marvel at the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of it.” -- David Anthony Durham, author of Pride of Carthage
£15.29
Scribner Book Company The Kid
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£15.30
Simon & Schuster Dorothy Day The World Will Be Saved by Beauty
Book Synopsis“An intimate, revealing and sometimes wrenching family memoir of the journalist and social advocate who is now being considered for canonization” (The New York Times), told with illuminating detail by her granddaughter.Dorothy Day (1897-1980) was a prominent Catholic, writer, social activist, and co-founder of a movement dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. Her life has been documented through her own writings as well as the work of historians, theologians, and academics. What has been missing until now is a more personal account from the point of view of someone who knew her well. Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty is a frank and reflective, heartfelt and humorous portrayal written by her granddaughter, Kate Hennessy. Dorothy Day, writes Hennessy, is an unusual candidate for sainthood. Before her conversion, she lived what she called a “disorderly life,” during which she had an abortion and then gave birth to a child out of wedlock. After her conversion, she was both an obedient servant and a rigorous challenger of the Church. She was a prolific writer whose books are still in print and widely read. Although compassionate, Hennessy shows Day to be driven, dogmatic, loving, as well as judgmental, in particular with her only daughter, Tamar. She was also full of humor and laughter and could light up any room she entered. An undisputed radical heroine, called “a saint for the occupy era” by The New Yorker, Day’s story unfolds against a backdrop of New York City from the 1910s to the 1980s and world events spanning from World War I to Vietnam. This thoroughly researched and intimate biography provides a valuable and nuanced portrait of an undersung and provocative American woman. “Frankly,” says actor and activist Martin Sheen, “it is a must-read.”Trade Review"[I]ntensely interesting ... the images are kaleidoscopic." —The Atlantic"[A]n intimate, revealing and sometimes wrenching family memoir." —The New York Times"Hennessy’s biography unspools slowly, though not leisurely or even comfortably, as it is genuinely questing after personal and familial enlightenment, and tests of willpower, of facing the human weaknesses, blind errors, and hurtfulnesses of one you love, are the bitter of honesty. Her biography is also embracing – a cinematic documentary – so there is much to admire in this pilgrim’s progress." —The Christian Science Monitor"[A] deeply intimate and highly credible account ... Hennessy explores themes of integrity, vocation, and community, portraying Dorothy Day honestly in her gifts and faults. But the most powerful thread is raw beauty that links together the author to her grandmother, strangers to one another, and people to God." —Sojourners"[T]he striking story of this remarkable, but complicated woman." —Relevant Magazine"Like her grandmother, Hennessy is a writer of great skill, blending interviews, family letters, writings by Dorothy and other members of the Worker, and her own memories into a coherent whole ... Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty is a work of love, not greed or pride, and that's what gives it much of its beauty." —Chicago Reader"[B]eautifully written ... searingly honest." —America Magazine"This biography vividly conveys the vision and the adventure of this extraordinary woman who deserves to be called a saint." —Spirituality and Practice"Fascinating, well-told, candid, and tender." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review"Dorothy Day comes to life, here, but [her daughter] Tamar also lives on the page, engaged with her mother in an absorbing family drama that Hennessy depicts with warmth, poignancy, and not a little poetry." —Booklist, starred review"Hennessy has created an amazing tapestry of Day's life and the memories she left with her loved ones." —Publishers Weekly“Kate Hennessy’s The World Will Be Saved By Beauty lives in my heart, my mind, and my soul. With a great granddaughters’ great love, compassionate understanding, and often painful truth, Dorothy Day, her family, and the history of the Catholic Worker movement are newly remembered for a new generation by a brilliant writer and family archivist. Frankly, it is a must-read.” —Martin Sheen, actor and activist "What a gift! The World Will Be Saved By Beauty is revelatory and compulsively readable. Dorothy Day’s letters and diaries are marvelous, but they raise almost as many questions as they answer, particularly about Day’s relationship with her daughter Tamar. Granddaughter to the one, daughter to the other, Kate Hennessy grew up inside that relationship – breathed it in like air. It nourished and sustained her, and I suspect it still does, but it was immensely complicated, for the two women were in so many ways worlds apart, and Hennessy doesn’t pretend they weren’t. She writes with absolute candor, immense tenderness, and the kind of artistry – much like her grandmother’s – that works small miracles without ever calling attention to itself." —Carol Flinders, author of Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women MysticsKate Hennessy's superb new biography of her grandmother, Dorothy Day, is an absolutely fascinating, deeply personal and beautifully written story of one of the most important women—Catholic or otherwise—of our time. Part biography, part detective story, part spiritual memoir, Hennessy brings vividly alive the brilliant, charismatic and faith-filled apostle of social justice who will one day be known as St. Dorothy Day." —James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and My Life with the Saints.“Many years from now, when, presumably, Dorothy Day has been added to the canon of saints, readers will look to Kate Hennessy’s stunning work to be reminded that holy people are actual human beings. Through Day’s relationship with her daughter Tamar, she emerges in her full complex humanity, struggling like any parent, astonishingly insightful one moment, oblivious the next. Ultimately, Kate Hennessy’s book tells the universal story of how hard it is fully to know the people we love the most, of the struggle to find forgiveness and healing, of the many forms of conversion, and of the many aspects of that beauty—as Dostoevsky wrote—that will save the world.” —Robert Ellsberg, editor of The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day
£12.34
Simon & Schuster Parental Discretion Is Advised
Book SynopsisTrade Review“An incredibly vivid look at one of music’s most iconic groups.” (Associated Press)"Kennedy pieces together N.W.A’s downfall with an informed precision.” (Los Angeles Times)“A nonstop, can't-put-it down ride.” (Library Journal)"An apt consideration of a raunchy yet vital cultural moment." (Kirkus)“In-depth portrait of a seminal group.” (Booklist) “An entertaining account.” (Kirkus Reviews)
£15.30
Atria Books Junk Gypsy
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£20.80
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster The Moth and the Mountain A True Story of Love
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£22.40
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster The Moth and the Mountain
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£17.09
Threshold Editions Broken But Unbowed The Fight to Fix a Broken
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£13.60
Simon & Schuster Freedom
Book SynopsisIn the follow-up to her #1 bestselling memoir, A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard tells the story of her first experiences after years in captivity: the joys that accompanied her newfound freedom and the challenges of adjusting to life on her own.When Jaycee Dugard was eleven years old, she was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. She was missing for more than eighteen years, held captive by Philip and Nancy Garrido, and gave birth to two daughters during her imprisonment. In A Stolen Life Jaycee told the story of her life from her abduction in 1991 through her reappearance in 2009. Freedom: My Book of Firsts is about everything that happened next. “How do you rebuild a life?” Jaycee asks. In these pages, she describes the life she never thought she would live to see: from her first sight of her mother to her first time meeting her grownup sister, her first trip to the dentist
£15.19
Atria Books The Education of Will
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£15.30
Scribner Book Company The Reckonings
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£16.14
Gallery Books Crossing the Horizon
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£16.99
Simon & Schuster The Education of a Coroner
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Riveting and complex… the cases [Bateson] meticulously describes vividly represent Holmes' long-standing tenure as a forensic professional…Throughout the book, the author spotlights each gory detail with macabre precision…These factual narratives magnify the work and the resolve necessary to bring closure to violent, unjust, suspicious, or unresolved deaths. They also make for supremely entertaining reading material for anyone with a dark curiosity in forensic science. A fascinating and wildly informative dive into the mysterious world of death and decay.” —Kirkus Reviews“Entertaining, if morbid, reading, especially for those with an interest in forensics and homicide investigations.” —Booklist“Bateson is a masterful storyteller, making for captivating reading…. Highly recommended for those interested in forensics or memoirs.” —Seattle Book Review
£16.20
Simon & Schuster The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY BOOK AWARD In Cara Robertson’s “enthralling new book,” The Trial of Lizzie Borden, “the reader is to serve as judge and jury” (The New York Times). Based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence, this true crime and legal history is the “definitive account to date of one of America’s most notorious and enduring murder mysteries” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple’s younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her murder trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Everyone—rich and poor, suf
£16.14
Scribner Book Company Amateur
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£13.60
Atria Books Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol
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£21.00
Atria Books Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol
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£14.45
Simon & Schuster The Book of Gutsy Women
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£34.58
Simon & Schuster August Wilson
Book SynopsisThe first authoritative biography of August Wilson, the most important and successful American playwright of the late 20th century, by a theater critic who knew him.August Wilson wrote a series of ten plays celebrating African American life in the 20th century, one play for each decade. No other American playwright has completed such an ambitious oeuvre. Two of the plays became successful films, Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis; and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Fences and The Piano Lesson won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Fences won the Tony Award for Best Play, and years after Wilson’s death in 2005, Jitney earned a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Through his brilliant use of vernacular speech, Wilson developed unforgettable characters who epitomized the trials and triumphs of the African American experience. He said that he didn’t researc
£26.00
37 Ink Standing Our Ground A Mothers Story
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£14.45
Simon & Schuster The Chancellor
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£24.00
Simon & Schuster The Chancellor
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£16.14
Atria Books She Begat This
Book SynopsisA stirring and eye-opening celebration of the enduring legacy of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill—released in 1998 and named Best Album of All Time by Apple Music.Lauryn Hill’s first solo album is often cited by music critics as one of the most important recordings in modern history. From being chosen by the Library of Congress for the National Recording Registry to influencing subsequent generations of artists such as Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Janelle Monáe, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill has remained a cultural landmark. Award-winning feminist author and journalist Joan Morgan delivers an expansive and heartfelt exploration of the seminal album, its enduring place in pop culture, and the pioneering woman behind it. Featuring exclusive interviews and in-depth research, She Begat This is both an indelible portrait of a magical moment when a young, fierce, and determined singer-rapper-songwriter made music history and a
£12.91
Atria Books The American Duchess The Real Wallis Simpson
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£15.30
Gallery Books Code Name Lise
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£17.09
Scribner Book Company The Hunt for History
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£22.50
Scribner Book Company The Hunt for History On the Trail of the Worlds
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£15.20
Simon & Schuster A Bookshop in Berlin
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£14.45
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc At the Risk of Thinking
Book SynopsisA Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the YearFinalist for the 2021 Prose Awards (Biography & Autobiography category)At the Risk of Thinking is the first biography of Julia Kristeva--one of the most celebrated intellectuals in the world. Alice Jardine brings Kristeva''s work to a broader readership by connecting Kristeva's personal journey, from her childhood in Communist Bulgaria to her adult life as an international public intellectual based in Paris, with the history of her ideas. Informed by extensive interviews with Kristeva herself, this telling of a remarkable woman's life story also draws out the complexities of Kristeva's writing, emphasizing her call for an urgent revival of bold interdisciplinary thinking in order to understand--and to act in--today's world.Trade ReviewJardine conveys the joys, pains, and struggles of this supremely creative life, animating for the reader a compassionate, brilliant woman, in her own words "an energetic pessimist." This book is a great read, most illuminating for anyone interested in this outstanding and fascinating woman and her formidable contributions. * CHOICE *Remarkable new work … The text is significant and embodies several stand out features, which make it indispensable to Kristeva scholars and researchers … Jardine’s biography introduces the life and writings of Kristeva in substantive ways, and all researchers and graduate students dealing with the thought of Kristeva will greatly benefit from it. * Symposium *[A]n impressive example of life writing ... At the Risk of Thinking is among the best of anglophone responses to her work marked by their roots in an important wave of feminist writing on psychoanalysis. Jardine’s book has the reader engage with both the controversial reception to Kristeva’s life and psychoanalytic writing over the years and the ways we might receive her today. A reading of the biography is fully capable of empowering a resistance to globalization and populist governments, dangerous developments in 2020 to say the least. * Symploke *There is no doubt that this is a book for our time in that it implicitly lays bare, not a call for the renewal of community, but for a life exemplary of the way one can, as Kristeva says, ‘share singularity’. * Thesis Eleven *Jardine says her book is not a hagiography, and it isn't. But she does see Kristeva as offering a model of 'how to live a thinking life' in the second half of the 20th century and after. An important part of Jardine's case is that Kristeva understands and repeatedly makes clear that 'we cannot change the world without changing the way it is imagined and spoken,' and that if her works 'do not all focus on women and maternity ... the question of the vulnerable, cognitively unusual subject is always there. * London Review of Books *An authoritative voice narrates Kristeva’s life: Alice Jardine knows her subject extremely well, perhaps better than anyone writing in English. She was Kristeva’s research assistant as a graduate student at Columbia in 1976 when Kristeva first went to teach there; she has conducted many interviews over a period of years and even visited Bulgaria with her. She calls her subject ‘an important personal friend.’ And I call this an important book ... What I admire most about At the Risk of Thinking is the author’s finely nuanced, perfectly clear analyses of Kristeva’s theories, concepts, and positions. -- Armine Kotin Mortimer * L’Esprit Créateur *Jardine’s text succeeds in several key ways. First, it offers a biographical contextualization to all of Kristeva’s major works, and while other such treatments of Kristeva’s life exist, none are so comprehensive. Second, Jardine’s use of language is a stark contrast to that of Kristeva’s in that Jardine writes in an accessible tone ... It is because of Jardine’s clarity that I would recommend this text as a starting point for anyone interested in Kristeva or her ideas about semiotics, psychoanalysis, public intellectual life, feminism, and/or secular humanism. * Philosophical Inquiry in Education *I would fully recommend this work without reservation. * Nuova Biblioteca Europea *Jardine demonstrates both the gift of a novelist when she shares the key moments of Kristeva's childhood, or the mythical arrival in Paris of this young penniless Bulgarian in 1965, and of a theoretician when she introduces its key concepts, such as semiotics or reliance. (Bloomsbury Translation) * French Studies *Biographer Jardine brings Kristeva to the fore as a writer to show how she shines analytical light on even the most uncomfortable aspects of the human with unparalleled productivity and how she is not afraid to articulate the unspeakable ... Jardine has succinctly explained to what extent Kristeva lived up to this during her career as a journalist – first in theory, then in psychoanalytic practice, and finally also in political intervention. (Bloomsbury Translation) * Jungle World *Alice Jardine's intellectual biography of Julia Kristeva is breathtaking. Exploring the relationship between Kristeva's life and her writings, Jardine reflects not only on the powerful influences on Kristeva's thinking and the importance of Kristeva's work for contemporary culture, but also on what it means to write a biography. Beautifully written and full of insight, Jardine's biography is a must read for anyone interested in French Theory and Kristeva's definitive role in its development. * Kelly Oliver, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University, USA *People, cities, vibrant seminar rooms, intellectual and amorous encounters: following the thread of Kristeva's books, Alice Jardine takes us on a journey across shifting social and political landscapes in her passionate biographical account of one of the most important thinkers of our epoch. * Miglena Nikolchina, Professor of Literary Theory, University of Sofia, Bulgaria *With a light and magical touch, Alice Jardine narrates the story of Julia Kristeva's journey from the Black Sea to the Atlantic to the expanse of human singularity. In her intimate account, Jardine shows how Kristeva became one of the most extraordinary intellectuals of our era. Scholars will be delighted with new biographical nuggets, such as why it was that Lacan didn’t make it to that trip to China. But more, for every reader, here is is a story that will inspire us all to think more deeply, to revolt against preconceptions, and--instead of being shaped by the Big Other--to become our own force in creating the meaning of our lives. * Noëlle McAfee, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Psychoanalytic Studies Program, Emory University, USA *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Author’s Note Introduction: At the Risk of Thinking The Question of the Intellectual—Again In the Face of Resistance My Coup de Foudre Why Now? The Contestatory Intellectual Notes on the Biography Part I Bulgaria, My Suffering (1941–1965) A Production of History Stoyan Kristev All My Childhood Was Bathed in This Kristina Kristeva One Spoonful at a Time I Didn’t Want to Take Care of All That The Journalist Pure Oxygen The Writer Sputnik or the New Novel Endings, Beginnings Part II The Crazy Truth of It (1965–1979) Early Exile The Lost Territory Tzvetan Stoyanov Mentors and a Doctorate Philippe Sollers Tel Quel Resurrections Sit Down! Sit Down! Dominique Rolin Multiverses Beneath the Paving Stones Semiotike (1969) Language, the Unknown (1969) Émile Benveniste The Text of the Novel (1970) Ilse Barande Revolution in Poetic Language (1974) The Pedagogical Imperative The Desire for China About Chinese Women (1974) The Intimate Acts of the Modern Personality David Compartmentalizing Reliance: An Ethic of Care The Crossing of Signs (1975) New York City The Dissident Polylogue (1977) Crazy Truth (1979) Part III Becoming Julia Kristeva (1980–TODAY) A Vertical Present Yes, Yes, of Course, But What Shall We Do Now? Death, That Strange Voice . . . 1 The 1980s: Strangers to Ourselves and Others Ça continue: Work, Family, the Île de Ré Whatever Happens to Me, That’s What I Write About Questions of Civilization Cannot Be Managed by Politics Powers of Horror (1980) Tales of Love (1983) In the Beginning Was Love (1985) Black Sun (1987) Strangers to Ourselves (1988) And Yet, It’s up to Women . . . If You Could Just Die . . . 2 The 1990s: Revolt, She Said Accolades and Accusations New Directions: Fiction and Revolt Thinking Through the Novel The Samurai (1990) The Old Man and the Wolves (1991) Possessions (1996) Time and Sense (1994) Revolt After the Revolution New Maladies of the Soul (1993) The Sense and Non-Sense of Revolt (1996) Intimate Revolt (1997) The Future of Revolt (1998) Nations Without Nationalism (1990) Revolt, She Said (1998) The Severed Head (1998) Transcend yourself! The Feminine and the Sacred (1998) Hannah Arendt (1999) I Cannot See Any Light . . . 3 The 2000s: An Intellectual Who Works on the Invisible Against Cynicism I Can Only Rely On My Own Strengths Psychoanalysis Is a Humanism Singular Universalism and Human Rights Crisis of the Subject (2000) At the Risk of Thought (2001) Micropolitic (2001) Chronicles of a Sensitive Time (2003) Open Letter to the President (2003) Their Look Pierces Our Shadows (2011) Murder in Byzantium (2004) Hatred and Forgiveness (2005) Alone, a Woman (2007) Melanie Klein (2000) Colette (2002) Teresa, My Love (2008) This Incredible Need to Believe (2007) Reinventing Secular Humanism The "French Death of God Theologian" The Crisis of Ideality Teresa, Our Contemporary Representing the Atheists of the World 4 The 2010s: Traveling Through Myself No One Owns the Truth The Why Rather than the How No One Pays Attention to the Political Until It Feels Spiritual Perpetual Motion Beauvoir Presents/In the Present (2016) Passions of Our Time (2013) The Enchanted Clock (2015) It’s a True Nightmare or a Pitiful Farce, I’m Not Sure Which . . . Who’s Afraid of Julia Kristeva? A Violence That Reaches the Heart It’s Just Not My Life Appendix 1: Document #10 of the “Sabina” File Appendix 2: A Chronological List of Kristeva’s Books in French Notes Index
£21.84
Cornell University Press The Judges of the Second Circuit
Book SynopsisWith the enactment in 1891 of the Evarts Act, a court of appeals was created in each of the nation''s nine circuits. What is now called the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit began as a three-judge court covering New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, expanding over time to thirteen active judges. Over the past 125 years, the Second Circuit has adjudicated thousands upon thousands of cases, and with its tradition of oral argument, it is open to litigants regardless of status, economic or otherwise. Planned as part of the celebration of the Second Circuit''s 125th anniversary, this volume contains biographies of all 74 judges who have sat on the Second Circuit, from Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff (18091875), who presided over the pre-Evarts Circuit Courts, to Sonia Sotomayor, who left the Second Circuit in 2009 to serve as a Justice on the Supreme Court. Also included are essays on the life and career of William Maxwell Evarts Act and on the story of the Second Circuit itself.
£46.75
Cornell University Press The Anxiety of Freedom
Book SynopsisThe enduring appeal of liberalism lies in its commitment to the idea that human beings have a natural potential to live as free and equal individuals. The realization of this potential, however, is not a matter of nature, but requires that people be molded by a complex constellation of political and educational institutions. In this eloquent and provocative book, Uday Singh Mehta investigates in the major writings of John Locke the implications of this tension between individuals and the institutions that mold them. The process of molding, he demonstrates, involves an external conformity and an internal self-restraint that severely limit the scope of individuality.Mehta explores the centrality of the human imagination in Locke's thought, focusing on his obsession with the potential dangers of the cognitive realm. Underlying Locke's fears regarding the excesses of the imagination is a political anxiety concerning how to limit their potential effects. In light of Locke's views o
£15.99
Xlibris Confessions of a Soup Nazi
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£18.62
Stanford University Press Defending the Public's Enemy: The Life and Legacy
Book SynopsisWhat led a former United States Attorney General to become one of the world's most notorious defenders of the despised? Defending the Public's Enemy examines Clark's enigmatic life and career in a quest to answer this perplexing question. The culmination of ten years of research and interviews, Lonnie T. Brown, Jr. explores how Clark evolved from our government's chief lawyer to a strident advocate for some of America's most vilified enemies. Clark's early career was enmeshed with seminally important people and events of the 1960s: Martin Luther King, Jr., Watts Riots, Selma-to-Montgomery March, Black Panthers, Vietnam. As a government insider, he worked to secure the civil rights of black Americans, resisting persistent, racist calls for more law and order. However, upon entering the private sector, Clark seemingly changed, morphing into the government's adversary by aligning with a mystifying array of demonized clients—among them, alleged terrorists, reputed Nazi war criminals, and brutal dictators, including Saddam Hussein. Is Clark a man of character and integrity, committed to ensuring his government's adherence to the ideals of justice and fairness, or is he a professional antagonist, anti-American and reflexively contrarian to the core? The provocative life chronicled in Defending the Public's Enemy is emblematic of the contradictions at the heart of American political history, and society's ambivalent relationship with dissenters and outliers, as well as those who defend them.Trade Review"Lonnie T. Brown Jr.'s biography of the remarkable Ramsey Clark is careful, thorough, and insightful. It is an important contribution to the history of American lawyering." -- Randall Kennedy * Harvard Law School *"In this captivating biography, Lonnie T. Brown offers an intimate window into Ramsey Clark's controversial career as it intersected and shaped twentieth-century political and legal history, and challenges how we understand the role of lawyers in a democratic society." -- Anthony Romero, Executive Director * ACLU *"Ramsey Clark is at once an important participant in the major events of the past 60-plus years of American and world history, particularly relating to civil and human rights, and a lawyer whose professional career is among the most interesting and impactful. Brown's book is both a fascinating account of the man and lawyer and a captivating lens through which to see a connection among important events in contemporary history." -- Bruce Green * Fordham University School of Law *"In this biography of Clark, author Lonnie T. Brown skillfully leads us through his subject's life and career, giving us clues as to why Clark turned into such an unyielding critic of his country." -- Rebecca Roiphe * JOTWELL *"Ramsey Clark is an unsung hero of the civil rights movement. Through extensive interviews with Clark, Lonnie T. Brown, Jr. deepens the portrait of one of the most complex figures in twentieth-century American history. Spanning Clark's career as a lawyer and public servant from the 1960's civil rights and anti-war protests through the trial of Saddam Hussein, this fascinating book reveals a 'sophisticated yet shadowy Forrest Gump' indeed." -- W. Bradley Wendel * Cornell Law School *"Evolving from one of the most accomplished public lawyers of his time to perhaps the most vilified, Ramsey Clark has been an important and controversial participant in nearly every important American public debate, from civil rights to the post-9/11 world. In this sympathetic, personal account, Lonnie T. Brown, Jr. strikes a balance between Clark's defenders and his critics. Clark will continue to inspire passionate disagreement, but this is the best account we have of the career of this important public figure." -- Kenneth W. Mack * author of Representing the Race: The Creation of the Civil Rights Lawyer *Table of ContentsContents and AbstractsPrologue chapter abstractThe Prologue recounts the origins of my interest in Ramsey Clark, including two inauspicious early encounters during which I had virtually no idea who he was. As the years passed, I became ever-more intrigued with Clark, spawned largely by a case that I covered in my civil -procedure class in which he served as lead counsel—Saltany v. Reagan, as in President Ronald Reagan, one of the defendants that Clark sued on behalf of Libyan residents. When he volunteered to represent former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, I had to figure out why a former U.S. attorney general would do such a thing, among many other things. I wrote a law review article examining the Hussein representation, and with a nudge from a former colleague and friend of Clark's, I shared it with my subject and soon thereafter embarked on my quest to tell his life story. Introduction: A Puzzling Journey chapter abstractThis Introduction sets the stage for the book, posing the conundrum that is Ramsey Clark, an enormously important figure in American history who is largely unknown by most. It provides an overview in terms of his immeasurable contributions to society through his service within the Department of Justice during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, highlighting some of the most significant events in which he played pivotal roles, especially in the area of civil rights. The Introduction also notes the seemingly dramatic change that he underwent in his post-DOJ life, taking on causes and clients that almost inevitably appeared to be adverse to the country that he had so loyally served for eight years. Many have sought to understand and explain what happened to Ramsey Clark, if anything, and here I introduce some of the theories proffered by friends, colleagues, and other observers. 1Baby Bubba chapter abstractWith the disclaimer that the book will not go into excruciating, chronological detail concerning Ramsey Clark's family tree and personal history, this chapter proceeds to cover the beginning of Clark's journey, broadly depicting his childhood and early adult years, including service in World War II, college, marriage, law school, children, and law practice in Dallas, Texas. The chapter also examines some defining episodes during those years that foreshadow the direction that his life would take, such as the death of his 6-year-old brother, his father Tom's oversight of the World War II-related internment of Japanese Americans, and Ramsey's perplexing acquisition of a large bust of Adolf Hitler while serving as a Marine courier. 2The Preacher chapter abstractThis chapter chronicles Ramsey Clark's transition from private to public life. With the election of President John F. Kennedy, Clark was moved to seek an appointment within the Justice Department. Some strong family-related connections, including with Vice President Lyndon Johnson, helped him secure an appointment as assistant attorney general for the Lands Division. While his noteworthy Lands Division work is touched upon in the chapter, the concentration is on Clark's dedicated involvement in emerging civil rights issues. He acted as a DOJ surrogate throughout the South, ensuring the enforcement of the Supreme Court's desegregation mandate. Clark became known within the DOJ for his willingness to speak his mind, garnering him the nickname "the Preacher." The chapter concludes with the devastating impact upon Clark of the tragic assassination of President Kennedy and his subsequent increased role within the new Johnson administration. 3"Language of the Unheard" chapter abstractThis chapter examines the significant role that Ramsey Clark played in pivotal aspects of the civil rights movement, beginning with his crafting of a memo to Bobby Kennedy that provided much of the initial inspiration and framework for what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He wrote this on the heels of his involvement with the historic admission of James Meredith as the first African American at the University of Mississippi. In addition, the chapter canvasses Clark's important work on behalf of black citizens as the deputy attorney general, including his oversight of the third Selma to Montgomery civil rights march and his extensive involvement in the passage of the Voting Rights Act. 4Taking Poor Black People Seriously chapter abstractThis chapter delves deeply into Clark's transformative role as chair of the President's task force that investigated the Watts riots, which were triggered by a combative police arrest in the black community. As the chapter's title conveys, Clark took the rioters seriously, and he compassionately sought to understand what had led to the dramatic civil unrest. By listening, Clark came to profoundly comprehend the frustrations and hopelessness felt by African Americans, and he communicated this in a hard-hitting report to the president—so unashamedly truthful, in fact, that it was not released to the public. The chapter reveals that this was a defining experience for Clark, one that likely colored virtually everything Clark did thereafter. In addition, the chapter recounts his elevation to attorney general, a role in which he would controversially continue to deal with urban rioting in the same empathetic way. 5"I Am a Man" chapter abstractThis chapter examines the profound influence that Martin Luther King, Jr. had on Ramsey Clark. The focus is on the labor strike by black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, inspired by the slavelike treatment they received as employees of the city. Dr. King had already announced his Poor People's Campaign, which was designed to shed a revealing light on the intense poverty problem in America. The Memphis strike—with its simple, but unforgettable slogan "I Am a Man"—embodied the poverty issue. It captured Dr. King's attention. Unfortunately, his involvement provided the setting for King's assassination on April 4, 1968. Attorney General Clark was the first federal official on the scene and led the international manhunt to capture King's assassin. The chapter demonstrates how Dr. King's example helped shape Clark's views on society. In many respects, he would subsequently carry the mantle that Dr. King hoisted throughout his life. 6"Hell No, We Won't Go!" chapter abstractThis chapter focuses on the widespread protests that emerged in opposition to America's involvement in the Vietnam War, particularly in the form of draft-eligible men refusing induction into the military, either on their own accord or at the urging of others. President Johnson was obsessed with the war, believing that defeat would forever tarnish his noteworthy civil rights legacy. As such, he took great offense to those who actively opposed the war effort, and he placed intense pressure on Clark to put an end to the draft-dodging and related demonstrations through criminal prosecution. The chapter examines and seeks to explain two instances of Clark's actions in response that were perplexingly inconsistent: his refusal to indict Black Power activist Stokely Carmichael and, in contrast, his decision to prosecute antiwar proponent and noted pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and the other members of the so-called Boston Five. 7Battling on the Inside chapter abstractThis chapter reveals the palpable tension between President Johnson and his independent attorney general. Clark was so committed to his values that he was willing to defy the president if he thought that was the right thing to do. The chapter examines significant examples of this dynamic, including Clark's stalling of a controversial judicial appointment that upset the close relationship between Johnson and Georgia Senator Richard Russell. The chapter also recounts Clark's defiance of President Johnson and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in connection with the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Clark was intent on protecting the anti–Vietnam War protesters, much to Johnson and Daley's dismay. The chapter recounts the intense police–protester clash that ensued and the resulting criminal prosecution of the so-called Chicago Seven. It also notes Clark's principle-based filing of various lawsuits, notwithstanding Johnson's directive that no new, long-term projects be undertaken after Nixon's election. 8Taking the Battle to the Outside chapter abstractThis chapter picks up with Clark's departure from the Justice Department and chronicles his developing penchant for undertaking seemingly anti-American causes. Most notably, the chapter details Clark's opposition to the Vietnam War, which, besides promoting complete amnesty for draft evaders, also included a controversial visit to North Vietnam to test firsthand the accuracy of his government's positive portrayal of its war effort. Clark determined the "truth" to be otherwise, and he publicly revealed what he witnessed and demanded an end to the "unjust" war. Related to this, the chapter likewise examines Clark's representation of various antiwar advocates and his growing stature as a leader in the international antiwar movement. Furthermore, the chapter recounts Clark's unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaigns, plus his representations of Frank Serpico and one of the Attica Brothers. 9Black Is Beautiful chapter abstractThis chapter observes that Ramsey Clark was involved in a number of highly notable matters following his departure from the DOJ and tells the story of one of his most intriguing cases, the defense of Ruchell Magee. The prosecution of Magee, who is African American, emanated from an armed courtroom seizure of hostages and resulting shooting deaths of various individuals, including a trial judge. The controversial racial component of the case, combined with the unjust nature of the justice system that shackled Magee throughout virtually his entire life, are used to highlight Clark's concern for and appreciation of black people. In a similar vein, the chapter recounts Clark's oversight of the investigation into the police-sanctioned murders of Black Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, and it elaborates on Clark's unique predisposition to view the black race as beautiful. 10Anti-Semite? chapter abstractThis chapter explores the theory of some Clark critics that he is anti-Semitic. It delves into his controversial representations of reputed Nazi war criminals Karl Linnas and Jack Reimer, as well as his longstanding association with and representation of the PLO, including his defense of the organization in the infamous lawsuit stemming from the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled American Jew, by Palestinian terrorists. Apart from Clark's participation in these matters, he has also taken some controversial supportive positions that seem to go beyond what one would expect in a pure attorney–client relationship. The chapter analyzes and questions the claims of anti-Semitism after discussing details of some of Clark's contentious associations. In this regard, it casts doubt on the pejorative label by examining parallels between similar affiliations, such as his representation of the Branch Davidians and his involvement with other demonized individuals and groups. 11Saddam Hussein chapter abstractThis chapter centers around what has to be Clark's most controversial representation—that of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The chapter examines why Clark would choose to defend Hussein and tests the widely held view that this particular client choice confirms that Clark is simply unpatriotic and anti-American. As the chapter reveals, Clark has represented a number of international clients and causes that could be characterized as siding with America's enemy, including inserting himself into the 1980 Iran hostage crisis and suing President Ronald Reagan, among others, on behalf of a number of Libyan residents in the aftermath of the U.S.-led bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi. Most notably, Clark installed himself as counsel for notorious Rwandan Pastor Elizaphan Ntakirutimana and Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic. The chapter suggests that Clark's motivations for representing these individuals are far more complex than most believe. 12Cold Pizza chapter abstractThis chapter delves more deeply into Ramsey Clark's personal qualities, especially his unassuming nature and utter lack of concern with the accumulation of wealth. It begins by exploring the extraordinarily close relationship between Clark and his wife Georgia, and it emphasizes the enormous contribution that she made in her own right, as well as to her husband's ambitions. She was a remarkable woman, and without her, much of what Clark accomplished would not have been possible. The chapter also recounts a very revealing episode regarding Clark's law school classmate and dear friend George Anastaplo. Most importantly, the chapter examines Clark's relationship with his daughter Ronda and the pivotal effect that she undeniably has had upon her father. His empathy for and love of people who are less fortunate most assuredly was inspired, at least in part, by lessons that Clark learned from his daughter. 13Like Father, Like Son chapter abstractThis chapter compares and contrasts Ramsey Clark with his equally famous father Tom Clark. Tom and Ramsey are the only father and son to have held the post of U.S. attorney general, which turns out to be but one of a number of telling similarities between the two men. Tom, who would culminate his career in public service as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, was viewed as politically conservative. As such, most would presume that he could not have been more different than his ultra-liberal son. The chapter reveals the fallacy of this assumption by chronicling examples where their social views coincided—most significantly, in the area of civil rights. To be sure, Tom and Ramsey were different in many respects, and the chapter addresses these distinctions. It also explores the nature of their somewhat complex father–son relationship, as well as the internal dynamics of their respective families. Conclusion: "Carry On . . . and Kick Up Some Dust" chapter abstractThe Conclusion reflects on the entirety of Ramsey Clark's life journey, focusing on his 90th birthday celebration and the screening of a documentary about him by filmmaker Joseph Stillman titled "Citizen Clark . . . A Life of Principle." The chapter emphasizes the enormous complexity and contradictory nature of Clark's life, which have led some to view him as heroic and unfailingly goodhearted and others to conclude that he is unpatriotic and evil. Most, however, are completely unfamiliar with him, oblivious to the critical role he played in countless historical episodes. He is a true enigma—a nonviolent, fearless, self-deprecating defender of those whom society has been conditioned to recognize as enemies. There is simply no way to reconcile all of the incongruities in his life journey, and this is what makes Clark so fascinating and why it is essential for the world to know his story.
£28.90
Stanford University Press Bernie Madoff and the Crisis: The Public Trial of
Book SynopsisBernie Madoff's arrest could not have come at a more darkly poetic moment. Economic upheaval had plunged America into a horrid recession. Then, on December 11, 2008, Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme came to light. A father turned in by his sons; a son who took his own life; another son dying and estranged from his father; a woman at the center of a storm—Madoff's story was a media magnet, voraciously consumed by a justice-seeking public. Bernie Madoff and the Crisis goes beyond purely investigative accounts to examine how and why Madoff became the epicenter of public fury and titillation. Rooting her argument in critical sociology, Colleen P. Eren analyzes media coverage of this landmark case alongside original interviews with dozens of journalists and editors involved in the reportage, the SEC Director of Public Affairs, and Bernie Madoff himself. Turning the mirror back onto society, Eren locates Madoff within a broader reckoning about free market capitalism. She argues that our ideological and cultural tendencies to attribute blame to individuals—be they regulators, victims, or "monsters" like Madoff—distracts us from more systemic critiques. Bernie Madoff and the Crisis offers fresh insight into the 2008 crisis, whether we have come to terms with it, and what we have yet to gain from the case of the century.Trade Review"Eren crafts a narrative of Bernie Madoff's crimes as a sweeping comment on our society at large, which created and upheld the kill-or-be-killed finance ethos, and thereby produced the twenty-first century version of a Wall Street serial killer."—Erin Arvedlund, author of Too Good to Be True: The Rise and Fall of Bernie Madoff"There is important primary data here and a creative analysis. Eren makes a notable contribution to the literature on financial crime, as well as our understanding of the role that the Madoff case played during an unfolding financial crisis."—Kitty Calavita, University of California, Irvine, author of Big Money Crime"Eren uses massive amounts of media commentary and interviews—with journalists and Madoff himself—to reveal salient points about the contemporary economy, society, and its demonology. An easy read, and an informative one as we continue to sift through the ashes of the financial crisis and our societal stance on white collar crime."—Michael Levi, Cardiff University and author of The Phantom Capitalists and Regulating Fraud"Eren provides the first investigation of why the crimes of Wall Street and Madoff—though economically and legally dissimilar—were culturally inseparable to the public. Steeped in the voices of reporters, regulators, and Bernie himself, this book is a major contribution to the study of white-collar crime."—Gregg Barak, Eastern Michigan University, author of Theft of a Nation: Wall Street Looting and Federal Regulatory Colluding"Bernie Madoff and the Crisis<\i> is an engaging, insightful and thought-provoking book. Its theoretical lens and empirical design should inspire future research on social reactions to white-collar crime, also of the more mundane kind. The book will be appealing to a wide readership."—Aleksandra Jordanoska, British Journal of Criminology<\i>"Bernie Madoff and the Crisis is a brief, engaging book that reminds readers about the complexity of social and economic problems and the mistake in simplifying them and thinking that criminal law alone can resolve them."—David Schultz, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice BooksTable of Contents1. A Crisis in Search of a Villain 2. Out of the Business Section, Into the Front Pages 3. Sleeping Watchdogs: Blaming the Regulators 4. It's How You're Rich That Matters: Narratives of the Haves, the Have Nots, and Have Lots 5. Boil Him in Oil: Cracking Down on Wall Street through Madoff 6. The More Things Change, the More They Remain the Same?
£23.79
Stanford University Press The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual
Book SynopsisAn innovative reassessment of the last writings and final years of Karl Marx. In the last years of his life, Karl Marx expanded his research in new directions—studying recent anthropological discoveries, analyzing communal forms of ownership in precapitalist societies, supporting the populist movement in Russia, and expressing critiques of colonial oppression in India, Ireland, Algeria, and Egypt. Between 1881 and 1883, he also traveled beyond Europe for the first and only time. Focusing on these last years of Marx's life, this book dispels two key misrepresentations of his work: that Marx ceased to write late in life, and that he was a Eurocentric and economic thinker fixated on class conflict alone. With The Last Years of Karl Marx, Marcello Musto claims a renewed relevance for the late work of Marx, highlighting unpublished or previously neglected writings, many of which remain unavailable in English. Readers are invited to reconsider Marx's critique of European colonialism, his ideas on non-Western societies, and his theories on the possibility of revolution in noncapitalist countries. From Marx's late manuscripts, notebooks, and letters emerge an author markedly different from the one represented by many of his contemporary critics and followers alike. As Marx currently experiences a significant rediscovery, this volume fills a gap in the popularly accepted biography and suggests an innovative reassessment of some of his key concepts.Trade Review"Marcello Musto, arguably the greatest connoisseur of Marx's life, offers us one revelation after another. Whereas many have understood the period after the Paris Commune as a time of divulgation and implementation of his already established political doctrine, Musto instead brilliantly demonstrates that Marx spent these years opening new and important theoretical horizons upon which we must meditate in order not to remain 'Marxists' against Marx himself!"—Étienne Balibar, author of The Philosophy of Marx"Marcello Musto's work is essential for his analysis of Marx's life and thought. In this book, Musto focuses on Marx's inquiries in his final years. The anthropological manuscripts, the studies on the transformation of property, and the criticism of colonialism written in this period are striking. Musto takes us by the hand and invites us to discover a new Marx."—Antonio Negri, author of Marx beyond Marx"This volume is a major contribution to the study of Marx and revolutionary thought. Beautifully written, constructed through an insightful examination of thousands of pages of Marx's unpublished writings and notes, this book represents a timely contribution to the contemporary Marx revival. It is a gift to the many who still look to Marx for political inspiration."—Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation"[A] study that breaks new ground in our understanding of Marx between 1881 and 1883....Musto gives us a portrait of a thinker in his last years that challenges the representations others have imposed upon him."—Daniel Whittall, Review 31"Musto masterfully weaves together rich biographical detail and a sophisticated engagement with Marx's mature, oftentimes self-questioning writing."—Nicolas Allen, Jacobin"Marcello Musto is undoubtedly the rising star on the "marxological" firmament. The Last Years of Karl Marx is an innovative book that helps us, in a magisterial way, to discover Marx's intellectualactivity during the period 1881-1883."—Aktief"There has been a gaping hole in studies of Karl Marx leaving out the last few years before his death in March 1883. Despite the recent revival of Marx studies, this 'forgotten chapter' of his life has remained in the shadows, until now with Marcello Musto's informative and well-crafted book, The Last Years of Karl Marx."—Robert Ware, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books"Musto's book presents an overview of Marx's studies, debates, correspondence, affectionate relationships, diseases, sorrows, and journeys during the last years of his life. Pages cataloguing Marx's readings are very useful and informative... Such pages are... followed by stories of Marx's family life, correspondence regarding politics, and Marx's personal relations with his comrades. This rhythm of the prose leads the reader through the pages of this book, which is packed with detailed information."—Paula Rauhala, Socialism and Democracy"Musto clears up the many misunderstandings of Marx, conveying, for example, that Marx did not believe that interpretive frameworks based on Western European history should be slavishly applied to other contexts, and that he was not an economic determinist...Highly recommended."—M. J. Wert, CHOICE"Marcello Musto's combination of personal biography and intellectual appraisal makes for inspiring reading. He argues very well that Marx's ideas cannot be limited to a simplistic formula, but are living and dynamic."—Barry Healy, Green Left"Musto...makes a strength of what is usually claimed to be a liability of Marx's theory: that he does not sketch the communist future. Just as capitalism permeates different historical and geographical environments differently and at a different pace, albeit with some common features, Marx's nimble historical understanding means that we are more likely to confront communist futures rather than a single monolith."—Amy E. Wendling, The Review of Politics"Musto's study makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Marx in his last years, offering an angle from which to consider him that departs from the more usual focus on either the young Marx orCapital.(...)As it stands, this study by Musto fills a huge gap in our understanding of Marx."—Kevin B. Anderson, New Politics: Journal of Socialist Thought"By stitching together the unfinished work in progress and the whole range of disciplines Marx was preoccupied with in his last years, Marcello Mustopresents a systematically connected bold socio-political reading of Marx."—Arkayan Ganguly, Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory"Marcello Musto's The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual Biography provides an illuminating glance at the work and life of Karl Marx during the most unexamined period of his life. Musto's oscillation between Marx's work and life provides readers with both an intellectual allurement towards research in Marx's later years and with a warm image of Marx's intimate life sure to guarantee both laughs and tears."—Carlos L. Garrido, Midwestern Marx"In The Last Years of Karl Marx, Marcello Musto provides an affectionate and careful journey through the final two years of Marx's life."—William Clare Roberts, Political Science QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. New Research Horizons 2. Controversy over the Development of Capitalism in Russia 3. The Travails of "Old Nick" 4. The Moor's Last Journey
£72.00
Stanford University Press The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual
Book SynopsisAn innovative reassessment of the last writings and final years of Karl Marx. In the last years of his life, Karl Marx expanded his research in new directions—studying recent anthropological discoveries, analyzing communal forms of ownership in precapitalist societies, supporting the populist movement in Russia, and expressing critiques of colonial oppression in India, Ireland, Algeria, and Egypt. Between 1881 and 1883, he also traveled beyond Europe for the first and only time. Focusing on these last years of Marx's life, this book dispels two key misrepresentations of his work: that Marx ceased to write late in life, and that he was a Eurocentric and economic thinker fixated on class conflict alone. With The Last Years of Karl Marx, Marcello Musto claims a renewed relevance for the late work of Marx, highlighting unpublished or previously neglected writings, many of which remain unavailable in English. Readers are invited to reconsider Marx's critique of European colonialism, his ideas on non-Western societies, and his theories on the possibility of revolution in noncapitalist countries. From Marx's late manuscripts, notebooks, and letters emerge an author markedly different from the one represented by many of his contemporary critics and followers alike. As Marx currently experiences a significant rediscovery, this volume fills a gap in the popularly accepted biography and suggests an innovative reassessment of some of his key concepts.Trade Review"Marcello Musto, arguably the greatest connoisseur of Marx's life, offers us one revelation after another. Whereas many have understood the period after the Paris Commune as a time of divulgation and implementation of his already established political doctrine, Musto instead brilliantly demonstrates that Marx spent these years opening new and important theoretical horizons upon which we must meditate in order not to remain 'Marxists' against Marx himself!"—Étienne Balibar, author of The Philosophy of Marx"Marcello Musto's work is essential for his analysis of Marx's life and thought. In this book, Musto focuses on Marx's inquiries in his final years. The anthropological manuscripts, the studies on the transformation of property, and the criticism of colonialism written in this period are striking. Musto takes us by the hand and invites us to discover a new Marx."—Antonio Negri, author of Marx beyond Marx"This volume is a major contribution to the study of Marx and revolutionary thought. Beautifully written, constructed through an insightful examination of thousands of pages of Marx's unpublished writings and notes, this book represents a timely contribution to the contemporary Marx revival. It is a gift to the many who still look to Marx for political inspiration."—Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation"[A] study that breaks new ground in our understanding of Marx between 1881 and 1883....Musto gives us a portrait of a thinker in his last years that challenges the representations others have imposed upon him."—Daniel Whittall, Review 31"Musto masterfully weaves together rich biographical detail and a sophisticated engagement with Marx's mature, oftentimes self-questioning writing."—Nicolas Allen, Jacobin"Marcello Musto is undoubtedly the rising star on the "marxological" firmament. The Last Years of Karl Marx is an innovative book that helps us, in a magisterial way, to discover Marx's intellectualactivity during the period 1881-1883."—Aktief"There has been a gaping hole in studies of Karl Marx leaving out the last few years before his death in March 1883. Despite the recent revival of Marx studies, this 'forgotten chapter' of his life has remained in the shadows, until now with Marcello Musto's informative and well-crafted book, The Last Years of Karl Marx."—Robert Ware, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books"Musto's book presents an overview of Marx's studies, debates, correspondence, affectionate relationships, diseases, sorrows, and journeys during the last years of his life. Pages cataloguing Marx's readings are very useful and informative... Such pages are... followed by stories of Marx's family life, correspondence regarding politics, and Marx's personal relations with his comrades. This rhythm of the prose leads the reader through the pages of this book, which is packed with detailed information."—Paula Rauhala, Socialism and Democracy"Musto clears up the many misunderstandings of Marx, conveying, for example, that Marx did not believe that interpretive frameworks based on Western European history should be slavishly applied to other contexts, and that he was not an economic determinist...Highly recommended."—M. J. Wert, CHOICE"Marcello Musto's combination of personal biography and intellectual appraisal makes for inspiring reading. He argues very well that Marx's ideas cannot be limited to a simplistic formula, but are living and dynamic."—Barry Healy, Green Left"Musto...makes a strength of what is usually claimed to be a liability of Marx's theory: that he does not sketch the communist future. Just as capitalism permeates different historical and geographical environments differently and at a different pace, albeit with some common features, Marx's nimble historical understanding means that we are more likely to confront communist futures rather than a single monolith."—Amy E. Wendling, The Review of Politics"Musto's study makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Marx in his last years, offering an angle from which to consider him that departs from the more usual focus on either the young Marx orCapital.(...)As it stands, this study by Musto fills a huge gap in our understanding of Marx."—Kevin B. Anderson, New Politics: Journal of Socialist Thought"By stitching together the unfinished work in progress and the whole range of disciplines Marx was preoccupied with in his last years, Marcello Mustopresents a systematically connected bold socio-political reading of Marx."—Arkayan Ganguly, Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory"Marcello Musto's The Last Years of Karl Marx: An Intellectual Biography provides an illuminating glance at the work and life of Karl Marx during the most unexamined period of his life. Musto's oscillation between Marx's work and life provides readers with both an intellectual allurement towards research in Marx's later years and with a warm image of Marx's intimate life sure to guarantee both laughs and tears."—Carlos L. Garrido, Midwestern Marx"In The Last Years of Karl Marx, Marcello Musto provides an affectionate and careful journey through the final two years of Marx's life."—William Clare Roberts, Political Science QuarterlyTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. New Research Horizons 2. Controversy over the Development of Capitalism in Russia 3. The Travails of "Old Nick" 4. The Moor's Last Journey
£19.79
Stanford University Press The Optimist: A Social Biography of Tawfiq Zayyad
Book SynopsisTawfiq Zayyad (1929–94) was a renowned Palestinian poet and a committed communist activist. For four decades, he was a dominant figure in political life in Israel, as a local council member, mayor of Nazareth, and member of the Israeli parliament. Zayyad personified the collective struggle of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, challenging the military government following the creation of the state of Israel, leading the 1976 nationwide strike against land confiscation, and tirelessly protesting Israeli military occupation after 1967. With this book, Tamir Sorek offers the first biography of this charismatic figure. Zayyad's life was one of balance and contradiction—between his revolutionary writings as Palestinian patriotic poet and his pragmatic political work in the Israeli public sphere. He was uncompromising in his protest of injustices against the Palestinian people, but always committed to a universalist vision of Arab-Jewish brotherhood. It was this combination of traits that made Zayyad an exceptional leader—and makes his biography larger than the man himself to offer a compelling story about Palestinians and the state of Israel.Trade Review"With nuance, precision, and admiration, Tamir Sorek tells the story of Tawfiq Zayyad's complicated and heroic life, and with it, the story of an ongoing catastrophe and the Palestinian people's unceasing battle for survival and dignity. The Optimist pays homage to resistance, radical politics, and the struggle for social mobility, all of which typified Zayyad's long career. A bold and important achievement."—Orit Bashkin, University of Chicago, author of Impossible Exodus: Iraqi Jews in Israel"Tamir Sorek provides a richly detailed excursion into the life and work of an eminent 'organic intellectual,' who found in language a means for recovery after Israel's colonial erasure of Palestine. The Optimist is valuable to anyone interested in encountering fusions between Marxism and Messianism, Jewishness and Arabness, Christianity and Islam, childhood and adulthood, the prosaic and the poetic, the political and the personal."—Khaled Furani, Tel Aviv University, author of Silencing the Sea: Secular Rhythms in Palestinian Poetry"The Optimist is a deftly written biography that will fascinate readers already familiar with the broad contours of Tawfiq Zayyad's life as well as those encountering him for the first time. Tamir Sorek provides fresh insight into how someone can maintain hope in a region too often characterized as hopeless."—Maha Nassar, author of Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World"[Tamir Sorek] presents an unprecedented, in-depth exploration of the life and work of Tawfiq Zayyad....The Optimist is a must read."—Naim Mousa, Mondoweiss"This sympathetic and informative biography is a welcome celebration of [Tawfiq Zayyad's] memory as well as a valuable contribution to our understanding of Palestinian history."—John Green, Morning Star Online"Tamir Sorek has written a superb biography of Tawfiq Zayyad... The imperative for Zayyad, as Sorek shows, was (and, presumably, would be) to organize and mobilize against conditions and policies of oppression by taking advantage of every non-violent opportunity for struggle."—Ian S. Lustick, International Journal of Middle East Studies"The Optimist is more than an excellent biography of Zayyad. It offers a comprehensive account of the ICP, from its early formations to its conceptions, contested ideology, and hierarchal structure. The book is also highly recommended for its insightful political history of Palestinian citizens of Israel under the enduring communist leadership throughout the second half of the twentieth century."—Nadeem Karkabi, Journal of Palestine Studies"In chapter after chapter, Sorek reveals deep strata of Zayyad's personality as a political leader and his motivations in persisting in fighting for Palestinian rights."—Sheren Falah Saab, HaaretzTable of ContentsPrologue 1. Communism and Anticolonialism 2. Steadfastness 3. Badges of Modernity 4. In the Crossfire 5. Municipal Struggles 6. National Leadership 7. Children in the Battlefield 8. A Secular Holy Warrior 9. A Spoke in the Wheel of History 10. Oslo: The Sky Is the Limit
£23.39
Stanford University Press The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for
Book SynopsisGrowing up, Reid was confused and disturbed by the radically different opportunities his best friend received. After a childhood spent together, Jamie and Reid found themselves on opposite sides of a high school hallway that separated kids based on a misunderstanding of their supposed "potential." The gap between the two friends widened as Reid's classes enabled him to pursue an elite college degree across the country studying educational opportunity and teaching. Then, Reid became a teacher at an under-resourced South Carolina high school where efforts to serve the incredible students were stymied by internal segregation and administrative ambivalence. He was disabused of the Hollywood myth that a good teacher could simply save the day, when each false start with his students forced him to reckon with how much he didn't know. After Reid assigned students a project to create a positive change, they pushed him to figure out how he, too, could make a bigger difference. While an individual's efforts are no match against entrenched systems, Reid learned firsthand that a community of people powered by data can effect change. This lesson motivated him to found Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS), a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to finding the students who were overlooked, discouraged, or otherwise missing from higher-level classes. As EOS became more successful, partnering with major philanthropies, universities, and even the White House, Reid grappled with his role as a leader. Only through the efforts of, first, his students in South Carolina, and later his team at EOS, would he come to understand, and begin to overcome, the limitations of his vision. Informed by extensive new data on educational opportunity in America, The Kid Across the Hall is a powerful story of learning and unlearning; of leading and learning to follow.Trade Review"It's great to know that my father's work is continuing in classes all around the country. It's reflected in The Kid Across the Hall. I encourage you to read it." —Jaime Escalante, Jr."If you're concerned about the future of our schools and children, The Kid Across the Hall will be well worth your time. As an expert and a practitioner, Reid is an incredibly thoughtful educator who models learning, engaging difference, and collaborating through challenge." —John King, Jr., Tenth United States Secretary of Education"This is a masterful blend of scholarship, autobiography, policy, and passion. It's nearly impossible to write a serious book about a crucial topic—here it's America's fumbling treatment of schooling, opportunity, and equity—while vividly incorporating one's own remarkable saga. Reid poured himself into solving the problems that he agonizes over, made major contributions to their solution, and what he learned along the way is gripping. Keep an eye on him!" —Chester Finn, Fordham Institute; Former Assistant U.S. Secretary of Education"Reid's story made me think deeply about the best ways to address challenges in the education system. His book also made me reflect on how the social sector can better live out its espoused values of compassion and integrity. His narrative challenges all of us to see the best in others, and bring out the best in ourselves." —Shawon Jackson, Founder & CEO, Vocal Justice"There is a broadening awareness of how important a sense of belonging is to a person's education. But this book makes a special contribution. It brings this process to life as it exists on the ground, in the lives of real students and educators. It is a must-read for anyone dedicated to seeing our schools fulfill their democratic mission." —Claude Steele, author of Whistling Vivaldi"A brilliant and effective blending of personal memoir with educational reformation experience The Kid Across the Hall: The Fight for Opportunity in Our Schools by educator Reid Saaris will have immense value for readers with an interest in the educational ramification of income inequality and the role that nonprofit organizations and collective 'front line' leadership can accomplish."—Midwest Book Review
£21.59
Stanford University Press Years of Glory: Nelly Benatar and the Pursuit of
Book SynopsisThe compelling true story of Nelly Benatar—a hero of the anti-Fascist North African resistance and humanitarian who changed the course of history for the "last million" escaping the Second World War. When France fell to Hitler's armies in June 1940, a flood of refugees fleeing Nazi terror quickly overwhelmed Europe's borders and spilled across the Mediterranean to North Africa, touching off a humanitarian crisis of dizzying proportions. Nelly Benatar, a highly regarded Casablancan Jewish lawyer, quickly claimed a role of rescuer and almost single-handedly organized a sweeping program of wartime refugee relief. But for all her remarkable achievements, Benatar's story has never been told. With this book, Susan Gilson Miller introduces readers to a woman who fought injustice as an anti-Fascist resistant, advocate for refugee rights, liberator of Vichy-run forced labor camps, and legal counselor to hundreds of Holocaust survivors. Miller crafts a gripping biography that spins a tale like a Hollywood thriller, yet finds its truth in archives gathered across Europe, North Africa, Israel, and the United States and from Benatar's personal collection of eighteen thousand documents now housed in the US Holocaust Museum. Years of Glory offers a rich narrative and a deeper understanding of the complex currents that shaped Jewish, North African, and world history over the course of the Second World War. The traumas of genocide, the struggle for anti-colonial liberation, and the eventual Jewish exodus from Arab lands all take on new meaning when reflected through the interstices of Benatar's life. A courageous woman with a deep moral conscience and an iron will, Nelly Benatar helped to lay the groundwork for crucial postwar efforts to build a better world over Europe's ashes.Trade Review"Susan Gilson Miller's Years of Glory illuminates major themes: that period's refugee crisis, resistance in Morocco to the Vichy regime, a talented woman's professional advancement in a traditional society, and the life of a once-vibrant Jewish community in North Africa. An exemplary unearthing of the remarkable legal career of Nelly Benatar." —Robert O. Paxton, author of Vichy France and the Jews and The Anatomy of Fascism"A brilliant work of history, Years of Glory reads like a thriller. Susan Gilson Miller describes the hardships but also the glory of Jewish life in Morocco through the intrepid Nelly Benatar, one of the great heroes of modern Jewish history, whose extraordinary leadership Miller uncovers in this fascinating book." —Susannah Heschel, author of The Aryan Jesus"Susan Gilson Miller's groundbreaking book reveals the life of an unsung Moroccan heroine, Nelly Benatar. Years of Glory is historical detective work at its finest, showing how, in the face of an unprecedented refugee crisis, Benatar's struggle bound Moroccans of all faiths in an enduring sense of duty, love, and compassion." —Hicham Alaoui"Narrating the life of a remarkable woman, Susan Gilson Miller has written a fascinating account of the herculean struggles to obtain justice for the sea of stateless and homeless people. Miller's fine book provides an excellent example of the importance of historical remembering." —Caroline Moorehead, author of A House in the Mountains"Susan Gilson Miller helps readers experience the war from aNorth African perspective, refocusing resistance and Holocaust history away from its usual European setting... This study of Nelly Benatar makes it clear that Morocco was an integral part of the Vichy/Nazi war machine. The issues Benatar raised about meeting the needs of stateless people, and about the role of Israel as aJewish homeland, are as important today as they everwere."—Bettina Berch, Jewish Book Council"Thanks to Susan Gilson Miller's marvelous new biography, Benatar's legacy is finally made legible for readers. More importantly,Years of Glory explores the Maghrib as a central part of the Holocaust and World War II. At the same time, Miller demonstrates just how profoundly the war disrupted the lives of those in Morocco and across French North Africa, soundly refuting historiographies that have tended to see the war as a blip in Maghribi history. And Miller does all this in lucid, beautiful prose that draws readers in: I literally could not put the book down."—Jessica M. Marglin, The Middle East Journal"[Years of Glory] is a beautifully written reconstruction of Benatar's cosmopolitan and peripatetic life of service."—Sasha Goldstein-Sabbah, The Middle GroundTable of Contents1. The Early Years 2. 1939: The Undesirables 3. 1940 Refugees and Resistance 4. 1941: The Casablanca Connection 5. 1942: Stateless in Morocco 6. 1943: Liberating the Camps 7. 1944: The Right to Have Rights 8. 1945: The Shock of Recognition 9. After the War
£23.39
Stanford University Press Paletó and Me: Memories of My Indigenous Father
Book SynopsisWinner of the prestigious Casa de las Américas Prize, this work spins a heartfelt story of an improbable relationship between an anthropologist and her charismatic Indigenous father. When Aparecida Vilaça first traveled down the remote Negro River in Amazonia, she expected to come back with notebooks and tapes full of observations about the Indigenous Wari' people—but not with a new father. In Paletó and Me, Vilaça shares her life with her adoptive Wari' family, and the profound personal transformations involved in becoming kin. Paletó—unfailingly charming, always prepared with a joke—shines with life in Vilaça's account of their unusual father-daughter relationship. Paletó was many things: he was a survivor, who lived through the arrival of violent invaders and diseases. He was a leader, who taught through laughter and care, spoke softly, yet was always ready to jump into the unknown. He could shift seamlessly between the roles of the observer and the observed, and in his visits to Rio de Janeiro, deconstructs urban social conventions with ease and wit. Begun the day after Paletó's death at the age of 85, Paletó and Me is a celebration of life, weaving together the author's own memories of learning the lifeways of Indigenous Amazonia with her father's testimony to Wari' persistence in the face of colonization. Speaking from the heart as both anthropologist and daughter, Vilaça offers an intimate look at Indigenous lives in Brazil over nearly a century.Trade Review"In this extraordinary account, the rich experiences of a seasoned social anthropologist are superbly sustained by novelistic insights. Aparecida Vilaça takes us on a journey into a profoundly alien culture by entering the mind of one man, Paletó. His life spanned, it seemed, an entire history of human civilization. From an upbringing and early adulthood in an uncontacted tribe in the Amazon forest to the explosive, savage intrusions of modernity, his outlook remained deeply humane. Through him, Vilaça holds up a mirror to the unchanging fundamentals of human nature."—Ian McEwan"Simple and profound, this book is a testament to an ethical, moral, and political commitment to the colonized peoples of America."—Casa de las Américas Prize committee"When I read Paletó and Me, I had a wonderful revelation. Our ancestors, with wisdom and magic, foresaw an irrepressible capacity of people to affect worlds and to make families across cultures. And I gained a 'relative' in the talented writer Aparecida Vilaça, whose anthropology is made of affects between worlds."—Ailton Krenak, author of Ideas to Postpone the End of the World"The wonderful draw of Paletó and Me is the courage of one woman immersing herself in another culture and 'making relatives.' Through her acute observations, Aparecida Vilaça conveys a way of being to any reader who may not know how one indigenous community continues to exist." —Linda Hogan, author of The Radiant Lives of Animals"Paletó and Aparecida's unlikely, potent kinship is narrated unforgettably in this book, without the narrator glossing over any of the violence of colonialism across which it happened. Kinship is always a surprise, never to be taken for granted. Paletó and Me shows how such a surprise continues to matter."—Donna Haraway, author of Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene"In this fascinating account, Aparecida Vilaça at times effaces herself—concealed by her friend's lively voice—and at times reemerges in the luminous form of her singular and personal writing. Far from being a conventional anthropological text, Paletó and Me depicts the inebriating journey between identities that reveal themselves to be both ancient and fleeting."—Mia Couto, author of Sleepwalking Land"Written in a conversational tone and guided by memories, Paletó and Me is inspired by questions rather than conclusions and completely forsakes ideology, rendering Aparecida Vilaça's memories into a delightful story."—Paulo Roberto Pires, Época Magazine"Vilaa manages to captivate us by letting her and Paletó's memories speak for themselves. Beautifully written, Paletó and me is not only a joy to read, but should become the model for anthropologists wishing to express the personal aspects of their fieldwork."—Niklas Hartmann, Journal of the Anthropological Society of OxfordTable of Contents1. Death without Cannibalism 2. The Encounter 3. The Peccary Brother 4. The Houses 5. Escaping Death for the First Time 6. The First White and Other Wars 7. The Stone Axe, the Dream of Paris, and the Bachelor House 8. The Jaguar Mother-in-Law 9. The Wives 10. Escaping Death for the Second Time: The Massacre 11. The Bewitched Bride and Poison in the Houses 12. Meeting the Whites 13. Sexy 14. Talking with the Bishop and the Misunderstandings of Contact 15. The Epidemics 16. Guajará-Mirim, Brazil 17. Meeting the Missionaries 18. In the Land of the Priests 19. Becoming a Believer 20. One Coach Station, Two Airports, and a Titanium Leg 21. When the Water Meets the Clouds and the Fish-Men 22. The Animals Who Are People, the Big Rock, and the Bones of the Dead 23. The Slippery People and the Big Television 24. Making Kin 25. The Farewell
£18.89
Stanford University Press Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah: The
Book SynopsisIn 1524, a man named David Reubeni appeared in Venice, claiming to be the ambassador of a powerful Jewish kingdom deep in the heart of Arabia. In this era of fierce rivalry between great powers, voyages of fantastic discovery, and brutal conquest of new lands, people throughout the Mediterranean saw the signs of an impending apocalypse and envisioned a coming war that would end with a decisive Christian or Islamic victory. With his army of hardy desert warriors from lost Israelite tribes, Reubeni pledged to deliver the Jews to the Holy Land by force and restore their pride and autonomy. He would spend a decade shuttling between European rulers in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France, seeking weaponry in exchange for the support of his hitherto unknown but mighty Jewish kingdom. Many, however, believed him to favor the relatively tolerant Ottomans over the persecutorial Christian regimes. Reubeni was hailed as a messiah by many wealthy Jews and Iberia's oppressed conversos, but his grand ambitions were halted in Regensburg when the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, turned him over to the Inquisition and, in 1538, he was likely burned at the stake. Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah is the first English translation of Reubeni's Hebrew-language diary, detailing his travels and personal travails. Written in a Hebrew drawn from everyday speech, entirely unlike other literary works of the period, Reubeni's diary reveals both the dramatic desperation of Renaissance Jewish communities and the struggles of the diplomat, trickster, and dreamer who wanted to save them.Trade Review"Alan Verskin has once again proven himself to be a master translator with this English rendering of the Hebrew diary of the semi-messianic figure, David Reubeni. Verskin is no less a master storyteller who vividly recreates the historical setting of Reubeni's activity in his detailed introduction, which is eminently scholarly yet fully accessible."—Norman A. Stillman, Executive Editor of Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World"A fantastical tale of adventure, political intrigue, and apocalyptic expectation, David Reubeni's diary is surely one of the most fascinating pieces of Jewish writing from the age of exploration. Alan Verskin's elegant and eminently readable translation reveals the exploits of this self-declared messenger of a mythical Jewish kingdom as he pursues his unlikely quest to restore Jews to their ancient homeland."—Matthias B. Lehmann, author of The Baron"There were several ways in which Verskin could have approached this project. The material is so rich that he could have produced an updated English version of Aaron Ze'ev Aescoly's thick, heavily annotated and augmented 1940 Hebrew edition of the diary. But this would have been the work of several decades. On the other hand, he could have given us a bare translation with minimal apparatus. This small, elegant volume, which features Verskin's rich thirty-page introduction and deft, helpful endnotes, seems just right."—Matt Goldish, Jewish Review of Books"Almost everything known about Reubeni derives from his Hebrew diary, which Verskin here translates and presents along with an introduction to Reubeni's life and detailed notes that make the diary accessible. Even as scholars continue to debate Reubeni's origins and biography, this engaging book does a wonderful service by introducing Reubeni through his own telling of his quite remarkable story. Recommended."—A. J. Avery-Peck, CHOICE"Verskin's solid introduction allows the reader to fully appreciate how unique this diary is for the history of modern Jewish history.... Diary of a Jewish Messiah is recommended to all libraries."—Roger S. Kohn, Association of Jewish Libraries ReviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Africa 2. Egypt and the Holy Land 3. Italy 4. Portugal 5. Spain Appendix: Solomon Cohen's Addendum
£60.80
Stanford University Press Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah: The
Book SynopsisIn 1524, a man named David Reubeni appeared in Venice, claiming to be the ambassador of a powerful Jewish kingdom deep in the heart of Arabia. In this era of fierce rivalry between great powers, voyages of fantastic discovery, and brutal conquest of new lands, people throughout the Mediterranean saw the signs of an impending apocalypse and envisioned a coming war that would end with a decisive Christian or Islamic victory. With his army of hardy desert warriors from lost Israelite tribes, Reubeni pledged to deliver the Jews to the Holy Land by force and restore their pride and autonomy. He would spend a decade shuttling between European rulers in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France, seeking weaponry in exchange for the support of his hitherto unknown but mighty Jewish kingdom. Many, however, believed him to favor the relatively tolerant Ottomans over the persecutorial Christian regimes. Reubeni was hailed as a messiah by many wealthy Jews and Iberia's oppressed conversos, but his grand ambitions were halted in Regensburg when the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, turned him over to the Inquisition and, in 1538, he was likely burned at the stake. Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah is the first English translation of Reubeni's Hebrew-language diary, detailing his travels and personal travails. Written in a Hebrew drawn from everyday speech, entirely unlike other literary works of the period, Reubeni's diary reveals both the dramatic desperation of Renaissance Jewish communities and the struggles of the diplomat, trickster, and dreamer who wanted to save them.Trade Review"Alan Verskin has once again proven himself to be a master translator with this English rendering of the Hebrew diary of the semi-messianic figure, David Reubeni. Verskin is no less a master storyteller who vividly recreates the historical setting of Reubeni's activity in his detailed introduction, which is eminently scholarly yet fully accessible."—Norman A. Stillman, Executive Editor of Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World"A fantastical tale of adventure, political intrigue, and apocalyptic expectation, David Reubeni's diary is surely one of the most fascinating pieces of Jewish writing from the age of exploration. Alan Verskin's elegant and eminently readable translation reveals the exploits of this self-declared messenger of a mythical Jewish kingdom as he pursues his unlikely quest to restore Jews to their ancient homeland."—Matthias B. Lehmann, author of The Baron"There were several ways in which Verskin could have approached this project. The material is so rich that he could have produced an updated English version of Aaron Ze'ev Aescoly's thick, heavily annotated and augmented 1940 Hebrew edition of the diary. But this would have been the work of several decades. On the other hand, he could have given us a bare translation with minimal apparatus. This small, elegant volume, which features Verskin's rich thirty-page introduction and deft, helpful endnotes, seems just right."—Matt Goldish, Jewish Review of Books"Almost everything known about Reubeni derives from his Hebrew diary, which Verskin here translates and presents along with an introduction to Reubeni's life and detailed notes that make the diary accessible. Even as scholars continue to debate Reubeni's origins and biography, this engaging book does a wonderful service by introducing Reubeni through his own telling of his quite remarkable story. Recommended."—A. J. Avery-Peck, CHOICE"Verskin's solid introduction allows the reader to fully appreciate how unique this diary is for the history of modern Jewish history.... Diary of a Jewish Messiah is recommended to all libraries."—Roger S. Kohn, Association of Jewish Libraries ReviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Africa 2. Egypt and the Holy Land 3. Italy 4. Portugal 5. Spain Appendix: Solomon Cohen's Addendum
£21.59
Open Road Media The Sewing Circle: Hollywood's Greatest Secret
Book SynopsisGreta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and Barbara Stanwyck—to name a few—maintained their images as glamorous big-screen sex symbols complete with dashing escorts, handsome husbands, and scores of male admirers, thanks to studio publicity departments. But off the set, all three box office divas were involved in “lavender” marriages (marriages of convenience, often to gay men) or remained stoically single. They, and several other Hollywood starlets of the era, were members of a discreet women’s “club” called the Sewing Circle, Hollywood’s underground lesbian society. Madsen takes a candid look at the very complicated dual lives these great stars led and the impact their preference for same-sex relationships had on their movie careers. Trade Review“Quite a revelation . . . Madsen documents his observations convincingly.” —Gay Times
£11.35
Open Road Media Blood Crimes: The Pennsylvania Skinhead Murders
Book SynopsisTwo brothers turn from Jehovah’s Witnesses in Allentown, PA, to neo-Nazi murderers in this true crime investigation from the author of Lobster Boy. Raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses and frustrated with their parents’ repressive rules, Bryan and David Freeman rebelled as teenagers. Encouraged by an acquaintance he met while institutionalized at a reform school, Bryan became a neo-Nazi. Bryan then indoctrinated David, and their flare for defiance took a dark turn. After callously murdering their father, mother, and younger brother, the skinhead brothers took flight across America, with police from three states in hot pursuit. They were eventually captured in Michigan and returned to Pennsylvania for trial. During the trial, author Fred Rosen uncovered evidence that one of the brothers might not have been as culpable as authorities claimed, and divulged the history of a family torn apart by stringent religious beliefs.Trade ReviewPraise for Fred Rosen “The one true crime masterpiece I have read.” —The Guardian on Lobster Boy
£15.26
Open Road Media The Mad Chopper: How the Justice System Let a Mutilator Free, This Time to Kill
Book SynopsisThe author of the true crime “masterpiece” Lobster Boy traces a brutal killer’s history across two decades of slipping past the legal system (The Guardian). When police in Tampa, Florida, arrested Larry Singleton in 1997 for brutally murdering prostitute Roxanne Hayes, they soon realized it wasn’t the man’s first violent attack. Back in 1978 he had gained notoriety as “the Mad Chopper” for raping and cutting off the arms of 15-year-old Mary Vincent on a patch of desolate, sun-scorched land 5 miles off the highway near Modesto, California. When Singleton was let out of prison on supervised parole after serving only 8 years for his crimes, no community in California would accept him. He eventually moved back to his home in Florida, where he killed Hayes nearly 20 years after his original crime. But his first victim, Vincent, had survived, walking nearly a mile to get help after the assault, and testified against him at his trial for murdering Hayes.Trade ReviewPraise for Fred Rosen “The one true crime masterpiece I have read.” —The Guardian on Lobster Boy
£14.20
Open Road Media The Bayou Strangler: Louisiana's Most Gruesome
Book SynopsisThe true story of Louisiana serial killer Ronald Dominique’s ten-year murder spree, the men he slayed, and the detectives who hunted him down. In 1997, the bodies of young African American men began turning up in the cane fields of the quiet suburbs of New Orleans. The victims—many of them transient street hustlers—had been brutally raped and strangled, but police had no leads on the killer’s identity. The murders continued, leaving southeast Louisiana’s gay community rattled and authorities desperate for a break in the case. Then, Detectives Dennis Thornton and Dawn Bergeron came together as task force partners, indefatigable in their decade-long effort to track down the killer. In 2006, DNA evidence finally linked the murders to a suspect: the unassuming Ronald Joseph Dominique, who had lived under the radar for years, working as a pizza deliveryman and meter reader. But who was Ronald Dominique and what led him to commit such heinous crimes? With direct access to the investigation, Dominique’s confession, and all of the killer’s body dump sites in throughout the state, author Fred Rosen enters the warped mind of a murderer and captures a troubled, disturbing, and broken life. As with the many other serial killers he has covered, including Jeffrey Dahmer (the Milwaukee Cannibal) and Dennis Rader (the BTK Killer), Rosen provides a horrifying and fascinating account of the lengths to which a bloodthirsty monster will go to lure and brutalize his victims.Trade Review“Although the FBI once considered him the country’s most significant serial killer—twenty-three victims!—the Bayou Strangler hardly made national news. Fred Rosen takes us to the bars of the French Quarter, the dirt roads of rural Louisiana, and a little-known subculture. The prejudices he uncovers turned reporters away, but not two dedicated detectives, who emerge as heroes. This book makes a fascinating read not only as true crime but also as a biting social commentary.” —Ann Marie Ackermann, author of Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee “How was one of the most prolific serial killers able to operate undetected for nearly a decade? Read The Bayou Strangler for the shocking truth.” —Jim Seeley, “Mr. True Crime” on social mediaPraise for Fred Rosen “The one true crime masterpiece I have read.” —The Guardian on Lobster Boy “A truly unforgettable story, brilliantly written. A true crime classic.” —Dan Zupansky, host of Blog Talk Radio’s True Murder on Flesh Collectors “A fast-moving, satisfying production of popular history.” —Booklist on Gold!
£16.10
