Corruption in politics, government and society Books

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Book SynopsisThe explosive debut from political commentator Ash Sarkar, Minority Rule breaks down how the power of ordinary people is under attack by an elite minority and how we can redirect our energy to the real problem at hand.

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Book SynopsisWhy do some prime ministers manage to get things done, while others miserably fail? What is a ''special adviser'' and how did they take over British political life? And why is the House of Lords more functional than most people think?Most of us have a sense that our political system doesn''t seem to work, but struggle to articulate exactly why. And for good reason: our political and financial institutions are cloaked in secrecy, archaic terminology, ancient custom and impenetrable jargon. Now, expert political journalist Ian Dunt is lifting the lid on British politics to expose every aspect of the setup in a way that can be understood and challenged. From Downing Street to Whitehall, the Commons to the Lords, this book is an indispensable guide to our political system - and how we might begin to fix it.

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Book SynopsisExplore freedom, power, and the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century with two extraordinary thinkersTwo world-renowned figures of contemporary politics come together to debate alternatives for the future: José “Pepe” Mujica, former President of Uruguay and an ex-guerrilla who acquired an international following for his message of sustainability and common sense, and Noam Chomsky, who revolutionized linguistics and has become a beacon for radical thinking around the world. From the meeting of these peerless figures emerge reflections on the major global issues of our time: climate change, corruption, populism, the crisis of capitalism, and the logic of the market economy, among many others. Speaking especially to younger generations who inherited an unstable world, Chomsky and Mujica emphasize the values required to survive the challenges of the twenty-first century and to build a new world: democracy, freedom, humility, and friendship. Brought together by Mexican activist Saúl Alvídrez, Chomsky and Mujica offer a wise and passionate guide to salvaging the future.

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Book SynopsisA true-life thriller, as Putin's most-feared adversary risks it all to hunt down the source of the Russian president's vast wealthTrade Review'I was hooked from the first paragraph. More explosive, compulsive and gasp-inducingly, spine-tinglingly, mouth-dryingly, heart-poundingly thrilling than any fiction I have read for years, Freezing Order has a stunning plot – international conspiracy, malign and hidden rings of power and corruption, a dark threat to any hope of world order – but with this stunning twist: it is all true... Browder – with incredible courage, resilience and grace, and always at great risk to his personal safety and freedom – continues to chase after Putin and his henchmen... This is real heroism, and what a cracking good read it makes for.' -- Stephen Fry'Mind-blowing. Bill Browder takes us down the rabbit hole of Kremlin lawfare where down is up and wrong is right, and powerful Russian interests are trying to upend our legal and political systems. This personal account of Browder's battle for justice is at times terrifying, at times deeply touching - and leads inexorably to a vast money-laundering scheme the Kremlin will seemingly stop at nothing to cover up.' -- Catherine Belton'[Freezing Order] tells the story of Browder’s quest to establish a global regime for sanctioning Russians involved in corruption and criminality. But it reads like an international spy thriller. If its subject matter weren’t so grave, the book could be said to have all the elements of a high-octane drama. Murder. Conspiracy. Piles of dirty money. Sexual intrigue. Freezing Order shudders with the constant threat of assassination, abduction or sudden, extreme violence. It is a tense and gripping read. -- Jamie Susskind * The Times *'Freezing Order is a gripping tale of assassinations, legal battles and billions in cash. It would be entertaining fiction, but as a true story it’s a warning and a roadmap for fighting back against the waves of crime and corruption emanating from Putin’s Russia and other dictatorships. Bill Browder has shown that one man with courage can make a difference, and that even the most powerful regimes have weak spots. It’s an inspiring message we should all heed, and with urgency.' -- Garry Kasparov'This tale is full of villains - not just the Russians...but also the politicians, lawyers and judges in the West who carry out the Kremlin's dirty work. Despite the complexity of the affair, Browder has made his story into a real page turner. Amid the horrors being reported every day from Ukraine, it also provides a highly readable insight into the true nature of the regime that is responsible for them..' -- Peter Conradi * Sunday Times *'Browder’s account of how he stood up to Putin in the face of danger, arrest warrants, and bullying is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to understand the tactics of modern autocracy.' -- Anne Applebaum'[A] zesty new book about the theft, extortion, intimidation, lies and murder that are the Russian state’s daily levers of power...a breakneck financial thriller compelling breathless attention...splendidly readable... One of the most sobering aspects of Browder’s rollicking, dangerous adventure [is] that late-period Putin has found it so easy to manipulate our western democracies from the inside.' -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *'Absolutely gripping. Bill Browder’s new book on the Magnitsky affair follows the money all the way to the top of Russia’s murderous kleptocracy. Freezing Order ought to be compulsory reading. Luckily it reads like a thriller.' -- Tom Stoppard'It’s an incredible story, told with pace and panache, that reads like a thriller. There’s something deeply offending to our sense of justice about an innocent man framed by powerful forces...but what is most troubling here is how acquiescent the western establishment has been to Russian crimes and lies.' -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *'Bill Browder's thrilling new book digs deeper into the kleptocratic world enabled and supported by the Russian state, for the benefit of the most powerful and well-connected crooks in Russia and beyond. This exploration of the dark heart of corruption asks the question of what one person can do in the face of such insidious corruption, and makes us ask what we can find in ourselves to stand up and resist those forces that would steal, decieve and murder for their own gain.' -- Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat'The author has been trying to get the west to take the threat from Putin's Russia seriously for many years. In return, the Putin regime has pursued him around the world. Browder's new book recounts this struggle and is part thriller, part policy prescription. In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine it has deservedly become a bestseller.' -- Gideon Rachman * Financial Times Best Summer Reads *'An essential work by someone who understood long before the rest of the world did just how far corrupt Russian officials and businesspeople will go to defend their ill-gotten wealth, and how foreign lawyers, lobbyists and public relations firms enable them... He expertly walks us through the ins and outs of various legal strategies and developments that include enough high drama, plot twists and colourful characters for a movie. Browder’s Freezing Order is not just a cracking good read - it is a reminder of the urgency of addressing the global plague of money laundering.' -- Timothy Frye * Washington Post *'Could not be more timely in illustrating why the support of Russia’s super-rich and their funds have become crucial to Putin’s powerbase.' * Independent *'Fast paced and engaging, Browder’s book reads like a spy novel, but it also makes a powerful and remarkably prescient case for the need to use all the legal and financial tools available to separate Putin’s financiers from their foreign-held bank accounts and luxury yachts.' -- Katie Stallard * New Statesman *'Gripping reading... there is no question that Browder’s dogged persistence against a backdrop of undoubted stress and personal courage have made an important contribution in highlighting the failures of contemporary Russia and the west alike, and offered new tools with potential to try to redress them.' -- Andrew Jack * Financial Times *'A must-read for fans of Red Notice... Revealing and damning, exposing Putin and his minions as little more than greedy international criminals. A timely book combining mystifying financial shenanigans with a fast-paced crime saga.' * Kirkus Reviews *'Riveting...An eye-opening exposé of the lengths Putin’s cronies will go to hide their crimes and punish their accusers.' * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisJulian Flanders is an experienced editor and author. He has edited and contributed to a number of books on a variety of subjects, including sport and politics. His has written several books, including Political Hacks and The Hitler Youth. He lives in Kent in the UK.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERAn outstanding exposé of Putin and his criminal pals [A] long-awaited, must read book' SUNDAY TIMESBooks about modern Russia abound Belton has surpassed them all. Her much-awaited book is the best and most important on modern Russia' THE TIMESA chilling and revelatory expose of the KGB's renaissance, Putin's rise to power, and how Russian black cash is subverting the world.In Putin's People, former Moscow correspondent and investigative journalist Catherine Belton reveals the untold story of how Vladimir Putin and his entourage of KGB men seized power in Russia and built a new league of oligarchs.Through exclusive interviews with key inside players, Belton tells how Putin's people conducted their relentless seizure of private companies, took over the economy, siphoned billions, blurred the lines between organised crime and political powers, shut down opponents, and then used their riches and power to extend influence in the West.In a story that ranges from Trade Review‘This is the most remarkable account so far of Putin’s rise … Groundbreaking … several hair-raising revelations … Relentless and convincing. There are gobsmacking moments … This is a superb book’OBSERVER ‘A fearless, fascinating account … Reads at times like a John le Carré novel… A groundbreaking and meticulously researched anatomy of the Putin regime, Belton’s book shines a light on the pernicious threats Russian money and influence now pose to the west’GUARDIAN ‘Modern Russia in full, horrifying technicolour … this riveting, immaculately researched book is arguably the best single volume written about Putin, the people around him and perhaps even about contemporary Russia itself in the past three decades’PETER FRANKOPAN, FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Books about modern Russia abound … Belton has surpassed them all. Her much-awaited book is the best and most important on modern Russia. It benefits from a meticulous compilation of open sources, but also from the accounts of disillusioned Kremlin insiders, former business cronies and some remarkably candid people still high up in the system. The result is hair-raising.’THE TIMES ‘An outstanding exposé of Putin and his criminal pals … [A] long-awaited, must read book’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘Arguably the biggest story of the 21st century so far. In forensically unravelling it, journalist Catherine Belton has done a great service, producing a book that western experts on modern Russia acknowledge as vital to our understanding of the Putin phenomenon’DAILY MAIL, BOOK OF THE WEEK ‘A serious, absolutely timely warning. No book has documented the Russian president’s leadership so indefatigably and compellingly’DAILY TELEGRAPH ‘Meticulously researched and superbly written; terrifying in its scope and utterly convincing in its argument … The Putin book that we've been waiting for’OLIVER BULLOUGH ‘An extraordinarily important book’CHRIS PATTEN

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Book SynopsisAround the world in Britain, the United States, Asia and the Middle East, there are people with power who are cashing in on chaos; exploiting bloodshed and catastrophe to brutally remake our world in their image. They are the shock doctors. This is the tale of how a few are making a killing while more are getting killed.Trade ReviewImpassioned, hugely informative, wonderfully controversial, and scary as hell * John le Carré *Packed with thinking dynamite … a book to be read everywhere * John Berger *If you read only one non-fiction book this year, make it this one -- , Books of the Year * Metro *There are few books that really help us understand the present. The Shock Doctrine is one of those books -- John Gray * Guardian *Lucid, calm, impeccably researched, gorgeously readable -- , Books of the Year * Observer *A brilliant, brave and terrifying book * Arundhati Roy *Powerful … epic … dramatic * Daily Telegraph *A brilliant book written with a perfectly distilled anger, channelled through hard fact. She has indeed surpassed No Logo * Independent *Excoriating … passionate and informed … Her prose packs a punch * Scotsman *Packed with thinking dynamite … a book to be read everywhere * John Berger *

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Book Synopsis____________________THE EXPLOSIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER''A bombshell.'' Daily Mail''Damning, terrifying and enraging.'' The Spectator____________________House of Trump, House of Putin offers the first comprehensive investigation into the decades-long relationship among Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian Mafia that ultimately helped win Trump the White House. It is a chilling story that begins in the 1970s, when Trump made his first splash in the booming, money-drenched world of New York real estate, and ends with Trump's inauguration as president of the United States. That moment was the culmination of Vladimir Putin's long mission to undermine Western democracy, a mission that he and his hand-selected group of oligarchs and associates had ensnared Trump in over more than two decades of shady business associations. As Unger traces Donald TruTrade ReviewA bombshell. * Daily Mail *Damning in its accumulation of detail, terrifying in its depiction of the pure evil of those Trump chose to do business with, and enraging in that — if Unger is right — Trump acted with impunity for decades to get filthy rich laundering the mob’s blood money. * The Spectator *There is a volcano's worth of smoke in House of Trump, House of Putin. * USA Today *The story Unger weaves with his original reporting is fresh, illuminating and more alarming than the intelligence channel described in the Steele dossier. * The Washington Post *Unger's contention is that a web of Trumpian connections to Russia explain the darkness at the heart of the Trump presidency. The crisp account of the rise of the Russian mafia and its expansion into the US is chilling. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'' BEST BOOKS OF 2023ONE OF THE ECONOMIST''S BEST BOOKS OF 2023ONE OF THE NEW YORKER''S BEST BOOKS OF 2023ONE OF BARACK OBAMA''S BEST BOOKS OF 2023TIME MAGAZINE''S #1 NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR''A journalistic masterpiece'' David Remnick, New YorkerMy job is to go to places where people die. I pack my bags, talk to the survivors, write my stories, then go home to wait for the next catastrophe. I don''t wait very long.Journalist Patricia Evangelista came of age in the aftermath of a street revolution that forged a new future for the Philippines. Three decades later, in the face of mounting inequality, the nation discovered the fragility of its democratic institutions under the regime of strongman Rodrigo Duterte.Some People Need Killing is Evangelista''s meticulously reported and deeply human chronicle of the Philippines'' drug war. For six years, Evangelista chronicled the killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of Duterte''s war on drugs - a war that has led to the slaughter of thousands - immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of fear created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others.The book takes its title from a vigilante whose words seemed to reflect the psychological accommodation that most of the country had made: ''I''m really not a bad guy,'' he said. ''I''m not all bad. Some people need killing.''A profound act of witness and a tour de force of literary journalism, Some People Need Killing is also a brilliant dissection of the grammar of violence and an important investigation of the human impulses to dominate and resist.

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Book SynopsisA vivid, brilliant, darkly humorous and horrifying history of some of the strangest dictators that Europe has ever seen. 'A witty and page-turning narrative full of grotesque characters' Misha Glenny 'Will leave you astonished, exhausted and curious... An unapologetic page turner' Spectator 'Essential reading for anyone interested in Romania past and present' John Simpson 'An engaging introduction to the rich history [of Romania]' New Statesman Balanced precariously on the shifting fault line between East and West, Romania's past is one of the great untold stories of modern Europe. The country that gave us Vlad Dracula, and whose citizens consider themselves descendants of ancient Rome, has traditionally preferred the status of enigmatic outsider. But it has experienced some of the most disastrous leaderships of the last century. After a relatively benign period led by a dutiful King and his vivacious British-born Queen, the country oscillated wildly. Its interwar rulers form a gallery of bizarre characters: the corrupt and mentally unbalanced King Carol; the fascist death cult led by Corneliu Codreanu; the vain General Ion Antonescu. After 1945 power was handed to Romania's tiny communist party, under which it experienced severe repression, purges and collectivisation. Then in 1965, Nicolae Ceau?escu came to power. And thus began the strangest dictatorship of all.Trade ReviewKenyon relates all this with verve [and] humour... He patiently untangles the complicated webs of loyalty and enmity, that crisscrossed the royal court, the military camarilla and the politburo alike' * Literary Review *A witty and page-turning narrative full of grotesque characters -- Misha GlennyPaul Kenyon sweeps away the myths of romance and horror that cling to this fascinating and mysterious country -- Allan LittleAbsolutely essential reading for anyone interested in Romania past and present -- John SimpsonThis is a book that will leave you astonished, exhausted and curious... An unapologetic page turner' * Spectator *Witty and fluid, Kenyon's prose is readable without being superficial. His book is an engaging introduction to the rich history of a country that is often stereotyped and misunderstood * New Statesman *Paul Kenyon's book delves into this history, bringing to life a rogues' gallery of characters * BBC History Magazine *This is an extraordinary book... It is deeply researched and richly documented... Thanks to this book [Romania] is infinitely better understood' * The Critic *

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Book Synopsis'Please please please read Mindf*ck' - Richard Dawkins What if you could peer into the minds of an entire population? What if you could target the weakest with rumours that only they saw? In 2016, an obscure British military contractor turned the world upside down. Funded by a billionaire on a crusade to start his own far-right insurgency, Cambridge Analytica combined psychological research with private Facebook data to make an invisible weapon with the power to change what voters perceived as real. The firm was created to launch the then unknown Steve Bannon's ideological assault on America. But as it honed its dark arts in elections from Trinidad to Nigeria, 24-year-old research director Christopher Wylie began to see what he and his colleagues were unleashing. He had heard the disturbing visions of the investors. He saw what CEO Alexander Nix did behind closed doors. When Britain shocked the world by voting to leave the EU, Wylie realised it was time to expose his old associates. The political crime of the century had just taken place - the weapon had been tested - and nobody knew.Trade ReviewAn invaluable primer on psychological warfare and behaviour modification ... Given that Wylie was at the heart of this work, and that he displayed real sociological understanding of what the data was revealing, his account provides a useful, crystal-clear exposition of the power of psychographic profiling when it's done right. * The Observer *Fascinating and hugely readable ... valuable and revelatory * Sunday Times *Freewheeling and profane ... Wylie covers plenty of ground, explaining in illuminating and often scary detail how Cambridge Analytica exploited the data to create Facebook pages that would needle "neurotic, conspiratorial citizens," propagating an outraged solidarity. * New York Times *If you want to understand the darker side of the digital revolution - and what a threat to democracy it is - you must read this book. As we watch our own democracy wavering in a blizzard of online dirty tricks I can think of nothing more relevant right now. In this astonishing insider story Wylie explains how the 'Trump revolution' and the 'Brexit Shock' were achieved by often-illegal manipulation - and proposes a series of safeguards of the digital commons for the future. I hope every citizen reads this.MindF*ck demonstrates how digital influence operations, when they converged with the nasty business of politics, managed to hollow out democracies... And his personal story, woven into the book's narrative, illustrates the confusion of our current political era as well as the challenge to Wylie's fellow members of the social media generation as they seek identities real and imagined, physical and virtual. * Washington Post *Merits close attention, as it goes a long way to making sense of the current political landscape ... a devastating indictment of a political culture out of control * The Herald *

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Book SynopsisThe Power Broker by Robert A. Caro is 'simply one of the best non-fiction books in English of the last forty years' (Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times): a riveting and timeless account of power, politics and the city of New York by ‘the greatest political biographer of our times’ (Sunday Times); chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of All Time and by the Modern Library as one of the 100 Greatest Books of the Twentieth Century; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize; a Sunday Times Bestseller; 'An outright masterpiece' (Evening Standard)The Power Broker tells the story of Robert Moses, the single most powerful man in New York for almost half a century and the greatest builder America (and probably the world) has ever known. Without ever once being elected to office, he created for himself a position of supreme and untouchable authority, allowing him to utterly reshape the city of New York, turning it into the city we know today, while at the same time blighting the lives of millions and remaining accountable to no one.First published in the USA in 1974, this monumental classic was a Sunday Times bestseller when published in the UK in 2015 and is now widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest books of its kind.Trade ReviewSimply one of the best non-fiction books in English of the past 40 years ... There has probably never been a better dissection of political power ... From the first page ... you know that you are in the hands of a master ... riveting ... superb ... not just a stunning portrait of perhaps the most influential builder in world history ... but an object lesson in the dangers of power -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *One of the great biographies of all time ... [by] one of the great reporters of our time ... and probably the greatest biographer. He is also an extraordinary writer. After reading page 136 of his book The Power Broker, I gasped and read it again, then again. This, I thought, is how it should be done ... said to be one of the greatest nonfiction works ever written ... Every MP, wonk and would-be wonk in Westminster has read [Robert Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson], because they think it is the greatest insight into power ever written. They’re nearly right: it’s the second greatest after The Power Broker -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *I think about Robert Caro and reading The Power Broker back when I was 22 years old and just being mesmerized, and I'm sure it helped to shape how I think about politics -- Barack ObamaThis is irresistibly readable, an outright masterpiece and unparalleled insight into how power works and perhaps the greatest portrait ever of a world city -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *A stupendous achievement ... Caro's style is gripping, indeed hypnotic, and he squeezes every ounce of drama from his remarkable story … Can a democracy combine visionary leadership with effective checks and balances to contain the misuse of power? No book illustrates this fundamental dilemma of democracy better than The Power Broker ... Indeed, no student of government can regard his education as complete until he has read it -- Vernon Bogdanor * Independent *Remarkable … we learn as much about the intoxication and addiction of power as we do about the bureaucratic titan whose imprint on New York bears comparison with his only modern equivalent, the smasher and rebuilder of Paris, Baron Haussmann … [with] his detailed reporting and rhythmic prose, his great acuity for understanding and describing the nuances of politics and power … [Robert Caro] has no contemporary rivals -- John R MacArthur * Spectator *Monumental … extraordinary … The writing never flags. The detail is never irrelevant. The sheer relentlessness has a mesmeric quality. The character sketches … are wonderful … the way in which he shows how power is attained and how it can corrupt [is] fascinating … This book has helped change the way history is written -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *An epic, meticulously detailed study of power in general: how it’s acquired, how it’s used to change history, how it ultimately corrupts those who get it ... Masterfully, Caro shows how Moses transformed New York in ways both progressive and backward, benign and cruel ... as an account of how power and ambition shape the urban environment, The Power Broker has yet to be beaten -- Oliver Burkeman * Guardian *The story of how Robert Moses made and broke people and places is astonishing. It comes so highly recommended that it is unignorable -- Jeremy Paxman * Observer *A truly exceptional achievement … Important, awesome, compelling … extraordinary on many levels and certain to endure * Washington Post *One of the most exciting, un-put-downable books I have ever read. This is definitive biography, urban history, and investigative journalism. This is a study of the corruption which power exerts on those who wield it to set beside Tacitus and his emperors, Shakespeare and his kings * Baltimore Evening Sun *Surely the greatest book ever written about a city -- David HalberstamIrresistible reading. It is like one of the great Russian novels, overflowing with characters and incidents that all fit into a vast mosaic of plot and counterplot. Only this is no novel. This is a college education in power corruption * St. Louis Post-Dispatch *The most absorbing, detailed, instructive, provocative book ever published about the making and raping of modern New York City and environs and the man who did it, about the hidden plumbing of New York City and State politics over the last half-century, about the force of personality and the nature of political power in a democracy. A monumental work, a political biography and political history of the first magnitude * New York *A triumph, brilliant and totally fascinating. A majestic, even Shakespearean, drama about the interplay of power and personality -- Justin KaplanCaro has written one of the finest, best-researched and most analytically informative descriptions of our political and governmental processes to appear in a generation * Washington Post *Caro’s achievement is staggering … A milestone in literary and publishing history * Houston Post *An extraordinary study of the workings of power, individually, institutionally, politically, and economically * Wall Street Journal *A masterpiece of American reporting. It’s more than the story of a tragic figure or the exploration of the unknown politics of our time. It’s an elegantly written and enthralling work of art -- Theodore H. WhiteIn the future, the scholar who writes the history of American cities in the twentieth century will doubtless begin with this extraordinary effort * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisThis explosive exposé reveals the shocking truth about Mohamed Al-Fayed's controversial 25-year reign at Harrods.

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Book Synopsis''A shocking, enraging, sometimes hilarious exposé of a tax system that lives down to all our worst fears of further enriching the wealthy at the expense of the little guys.'' - Piers Morgan''Very funny (and furious)... This is not some crazed figure on the extreme left hoping to bring down the establishment. The book is written by an accountant who has spent his career coming up with the very tax avoidance schemes the super-wealthy use to evade the clutches of HMRC.'' - The Telegraph''Funny, clever and really quite brilliant. Taxtopia will make you furiously angry and possibly even filthy rich.'' - Tom Peck, The Independent''If you want to know how skewed the system is and how the rich always get richer and stay that way, while you don''t, then read this book. Then get angry.'' - Patrick Alley, Co-founder of Global Witness and author of Very Bad People''A hilarious and deeply troubling expose about

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Book SynopsisTHE REVEALING, DEFINING ACCOUNT OF THE DARK NETWORK THAT BROKE OUR COUNTRY.''An exceptional broadcaster'' - Guardian ''Consistently, forensically, brilliant'' - Emily MaitlisSomething has gone really wrong in Britain.Our economy has tanked, our freedoms are shrinking, and social divisions are growing. Our politicians seem most interested in their own careers, and much of the media only make things worse. We are living in a country almost unrecognisable from the one that existed a decade ago. But whose fault is it really? Who broke Britain and how did they do it?Bold and incisive as ever, James O''Brien reveals the shady network of influence that has created a broken Britain of strikes, shortages and scandals. He maps the web connecting dark think tanks to Downing Street, the journalists involved in selling it to the public and the media bosses pushing their own agendas. Over ten chapters, each focusing on a particular person complicit in thTrade ReviewHow They Broke Britain made me so angry I had to stop listening to it while driving. Superb work -- The Secret BarristerA damning account of how the country ended up in the current mess . . . O’Brien’s scathing voice provides a thorough record of the self-serving actions and pronouncements of those who have held power in Britain -- Tim Jonze * Guardian *The most important political book of the year and a fascinating must-read for anyone who cares about Britain. Eye-opening, jaw-dropping, heart-breaking -- Carol VordermanO'Brien is a punchy and compelling writer. The book is fluent, engaging and thoroughly researched . . . O'Brien eviscerates all of his targets * Times Literary Supplement *A compelling, thought-provoking and illuminating read. O’Brien doesn’t hold any punches . . . It is a book that will make you gasp in shock, shake your head in bewilderment and wonder how any of this was allowed to take place in 21st-century Britain * Herald *[A] brilliant exposé of those who deliberately turned a once admired country into an economically poorer, lamentable parody of its former self: the Brexiteer neoliberal right, their Tory MPs, journalists and think tanks who inflicted such massive self-harm -- Peter HainO'Brien's new book confirms that not only are our politicians and their backers as corrupt and incompetent as you suspected they were, it's actually worse than that. And it's packed full of facts about Brexit, Think Tanks and Tory sleaze that will help you win argument after argument with your irritating relatives -- Stewart LeeExcoriating -- Jon SopelIt’s essential. It should make you angry. Fuming * Adam Rutherford *Intelligent, forensic, devastating and shocking – How They broke Britain is as terrifying as it is brilliant -- Peter Stefanovic

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER PRESENTER OF THE BBC RADIO 4 SERIES 'HOW TO STEAL A TRILLION' SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2019 SUNDAY TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AN ECONOMIST POLITICS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY MAIL AND TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'You cannot understand power, wealth and poverty without knowing about Moneyland.' Simon Kuper, New Statesman 2019: democracy is eating itself, inequality is skyrocketing, the system is breaking apart. Why? Because in 1962, some bankers in London had an idea that changed the world. That idea was called 'offshore'. It meant that, for the first time, thieves could dream big. They could take everything. Join investigative journalist Oliver Bullough on a journey into the hidden world of the new global kleptocrats. See the poor countries where public money is stolen and the rich ones where it is laundered and invested. Watch the crooks at work and at play, and meet their respectable, white-collar enablers. Learn how the new system works and begin to see how we can tackle it.Trade ReviewEye-opening and essential ... Bullough has provided a model for how to tell a gripping and comprehensible story about a complex and crucial subject. You cannot understand power, wealth and poverty without knowing about Moneyland. -- Simon Kuper * New Statesman *If you want to know why international crooks and their eminently respectable financial advisors walk tall and only the little people pay taxes, this is the ideal book for you. Every politician and moneyman on the planet should read it, but they won't because it's actually about them. -- John le Carré, author of A Legacy of SpiesCorruption undermines democracy, weakens institutions and erodes trust, it destroys lives and impoverishes millions. Moneyland starts from that truth and tells London's part of that story ... This important book shows clearly that foreign policy isn't about foreigners, it's about us. -- Tom Tugendhat, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select CommitteeA concise, confident book ... pacy, clever and entertaining ... if you still have any illusions about the wonders of liberated capitalism, Moneyland will probably cure you. -- Andy Beckett * Guardian *A darkly fascinating ride. -- John Arlidge * Sunday Times *There are few people who know the world of illicit finance and money laundering like Oliver Bullough. He takes us on a journey through the maze of complicity and criminality that will upend all your confidence in the institutions that should be protecting us. -- Bill Browder, author of Red Notice: How I became Putin's No. 1 EnemyYou cannot understand power, wealth and poverty without knowing about Moneyland. -- Simon Kuper * New Statesman *This is meticulously researched and engagingly told, and reveals the horror and scale of dirty money flowing around the world. The central role played by the UK and jurisdictions associated with the British family mean that every person concerned about corruption and fairness in the UK should read this book - and then campaign and act. -- Margaret Hodge, MPA great guide to a country you can't afford to visit but which is all around you. -- Richard Brooks, author of Bean CountersUnputdownable. Funny, tragic and explains the world. I hope it helps change it, too. -- Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing Is True and Everything is PossibleJaw-dropping and deeply unsettling. Oliver Bullough provides a sobering and brilliant account of how piracy on an epic-scale is alive and well in the 21st century. A must-read. Simple as that. -- Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk RoadsPraise for Let Our Fame Be Great: With this impassioned volume [Bullough] has struck a blow for the glory of the Caucasus and helped to give a voice to the voiceless. -- Justin Marozzi * Financial Times *Praise for The Last Man in Russia: The Last Man in Russia might be compared to Colin Thubron's Among the Russians - perhaps the last book in English to come so close to pinning down the Russianness of Russia. -- Mary Dejevsky * Independent *The Last Man in Russia is distinguished by the excellence of its writing and its lucid, unsparing gaze. * Daily Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis**A TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022**An explosive exposé of a firm whose work has made your world more unequal, more corrupt and more dangerous.McKinsey & Company have earned billions consulting for almost every major corporation in the world - and countless governments, including yours. Shielded by NDAs, their practices have remained hidden - until now.In this propulsive investigation, prize-winning journalists Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe reveal the disturbing reality. McKinsey's work includes ruthless cuts to the NHS, troubleshooting for Big Oil, incentivising the prescription of opioids, executing Trump's immigration policies (the ones that put children in cages) as well as advising some of the world's most unsavoury despots.'A story of secrecy, delusion and untold harm' OBSERVER'Makes you so angry...the evidence the authors winkle out is astonishing' SUNDAY TIMES 'Panoramic, meticulously reported and ultimately devastating' PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE'A harrowing account of decades of dishonourable exploits' ECONOMISTTrade ReviewHard-hitting ... damning ... If you think what management consultants do is to dress up common sense in jargon and flog it as vision to credulous executives, you are, according to [Bogdanich and Forsythe], greatly underestimating their impact * The Times *A masterful work of investigative journalism ... to unearth conflicts of interest, corruption, hypocrisy and strategic blunders that read like a prosecutor's indictment ... The fact that neither regulators, the public, nor most of McKinsey's employees knew about these sordid episodes ... is a testament to the authors' prowess as investigative reporters ... superb * Washington Post *Deeply reported ... The portrait this book creates is one of a company chasing profits, spreading the gospel of downsizing and offshoring, its leaders virtually unmoored from any guiding principles or moral code ... a clear and devastating picture of the management philosophy that helped drive the decline of a stable ... middle class over the last 50 years' * The New York Times *Hypocrisy, avarice, ridiculous PowerPoints, aiding and abetting the world's polluters and drug companies. Every page made my blood boil as I read about McKinsey's flawed reasoning and the vast profits made from ethically dubious work for governments, polluting companies and big pharma -- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate, author of The Price of Inequality'A lengthy and damning charge sheet ... makes you so angry you want to chuck rocks at its offices ... the evidence the authors winkle out is astonishing ... What sustains you are the authors' eye for detail and killer quotes. If you want to know why top pay for US executives has risen to a record 350 times that of the average worker, look to McKinsey * Sunday Times *A highly informed, fascinating read * The Guardian *A harrowing account of decades of dishonourable exploits * Economist *New York Times reporters Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe's devastating investigation into the consulting firm uncovers a story of secrecy, delusion and untold harm. ... The book's scrutiny - and measured sense of outrage - is overdue and, you hope, only the beginning * Observer *With McKinsey's deep reach into business and government around the world, it is inevitably and correctly a focus for discussion on what modern corporations are for ... That this internal turmoil has come to light is testament to the depth of sourcing of journalists Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe [whose] reporting of these and other controversies has intensified questions over the firm's ethics ... The debate ... is intensely uncomfortable for McKinsey's leadership' * Financial Times *In government and the private sector, the influence of McKinsey is difficult to overstate. Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe penetrate the firm's vaunted culture of secrecy to expose the malign ways in which McKinsey's 'scientific management' ends up impacting all of our lives. Panoramic, meticulously reported and ultimately devastating, this is an important book -- Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of PainTwo of the finest investigative reporters in the business got behind the wall of secrecy erected by one the world's most influential companies. A revelatory - and disturbing - portrait of a powerful firm whose vaunted reputation is belied by its actions -- Jane Mayer, author of The Dark SideAfter the publication of When McKinsey Comes to Town, the secretive consulting firm is going to need its own management consultant to address the damage. A tour de force of investigative reporting -- James B. Stewart, author of Den of ThievesCan you trust those clever folk at the consulting firm McKinsey? ... This book shows that McKinsey & Company has a darker side. * The Times, *Best Business Books of 2022* *Timely * The Week *Excellent investigative work ... Every chapter of When McKinsey Comes to Town lays out another disturbing case in which McKinsey worked against the public interest * Literary Review *An investigative tour de force [that] strip[s] away the aura of respectability that has surrounded the profession for more than a century * Prospect *[An] account...based on exhaustive research... [which] makes for compelling reading * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book SynopsisWHAT CAN SEE WATCHES, WHAT CAN HEAR LISTENS - the gripping first instalment of the Kanha and Colbey Thriller series. When Chief Whip Esme Kanha learns of the sudden death of the Minister for Personal Information, she bitterly regrets missing his desperate calls the previous evening. Unconvinced by the verdict of suicide, and suspicious that corrupt colleagues played some part in the man's death, she decides to investigate - but she must tread carefully in a near-future world dominated by technology, where 'what can see watches, what can hear listens, and what can be followed is tracked'. Meanwhile, Big Tech executive Henri Lauvaux arrives in London. His mission: to ensure the new minister, Harry Colbey, will not prove as problematic as the last. As the West inexorably slides towards an Orwellian 'Big Brother' future, Harry Colbey and Esme Kanha join forces in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against political corruption - at great cost to themselves.Trade Review'I love books that show me behind the closed doors of the corridors of power. And this book does it brilliantly. Read and enjoy!' -Her Honour Wendy Joseph KC, author of 'Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey'; 'From a stunning opening, through twists and turns of political and commercial intrigue, the page turning tension of this chilling near-future thriller never lets up' -G.D Sanders, author of 'The Taken Girls'; 'Dirty Geese is a taut thriller for our times. In a backstabbing Westminster, chief whip Esme Kanha and new minister Harry Colbey must pick their way through a political landscape mined by AI and patrolled by a wolfish, dissolute PM. Lou Gilmond expertly conjures up a shiny, fake tech future that is becoming more jarringly real by the day' -Martin Hickman, author of 'Dial M for Murdoch'; 'This book grabbed me from the very start. A tense, clever, suspenseful page-turner with characters that jump off the page, and a chilling and plausible contemporary premise' -Aliya Ali-Afzal, author of 'Would I Lie To You?'

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Book SynopsisNow with a new chapter on the end of the chumocracy era - and Oxford's upcoming elite for 2050. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 A TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BEST BOOK OF 2023 Power. Privilege. Parties. It's a very small world at the top. 'Brilliant ... traces Brexit back to the debating chambers of the Oxford Union in the 1980s' James O'Brien 'A searing onslaught on the smirking Oxford insinuation that politics is all just a game. It isn't. It matters' Matthew Parris 'A sparkling firework of a book' Lynn Barber, Spectator 'Exquisite and depressing in equal measure' Matthew Syed, Sunday Times Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, David Cameron, George Osborne, Theresa May, Dominic Cummings, Daniel Hannan, Jacob Rees-Mogg: Whitehall is swarming with old Oxonians. They debated each other in tutorials, ran against each other in student elections, and attended the same balls and black tie dinners. They aren't just colleagues - they are peers, rivals, friends. And, when they walked out of the world of student debates onto the national stage, they brought their university politics with them. Thirteen of the seventeen postwar British prime ministers went to Oxford University. In Chums, Simon Kuper traces how the rarefied and privileged atmosphere of this narrowest of talent pools - and the friendships and worldviews it created - shaped modern Britain. A damning look at the university clique-turned-Commons majority that will blow the doors of Westminster wide open and change the way you look at our democracy forever.Trade ReviewA searing onslaught on the smirking Oxford insinuation that politics is all just a game. It isn't. It matters -- Matthew ParrisA devastating portrait of the arrogant rogues and chancers who have spent the past thirteen years playing at politics instead of governing -- Andrew Scull, 'Best Books of 2023' * TLS *A gripping read ... exquisite and depressing in equal measure -- Matthew Syed * Sunday Times *A sparkling firework of a book -- Lynn Barber * Spectator *Incisive, insightful and timely -- Richard Beard * New Statesman *Fascinating ... The picture Kuper draws is of a nation with a decadent and deeply unprofessional ruling class, a diagnosis with which it is impossible to disagree -- Hugo Rifkind * The Times *Immensely entertaining ... a tremendous romp jam-packed with delicious indiscretions -- Tim Luckhurst * Daily Mail *A brilliant book -- John Harris * Guardian Weekly Politics podcast *A penetrating analysis of the connections that enabled an incestuous university network to dominate Westminster and give birth to Brexit ... perceptive and full of surprises -- Tim Adams * Observer *Johnson, Cameron, Rees-Mogg, Gove and Cummings all feature in this look at the hidden depths of our current political establishment and its inextricable link to Eton and, in particular, Oxford University -- 50 Best Books for Summer 2022 * Sunday Times *Shows how the culture of Oxford decisively influenced the tone of British politics and led to Brexit. Brilliantly written, it gripped me -- Paschal Donohoe * Irish Times *Kuper is alert to the deficiencies of the Oxford Union style, the tendency to substitute some glib debating point for hard-headed analysis ... Engagingly brief with delightful details -- Andrew Gimson * Conservative Home *Intellectually bracing ... a deep dive into the culture of the upper-crust public schools and university that produced ten of the UK's 15 post-war prime ministers -- Andrew Lynch * Business Post *Elegant, witty, economical ... it is absurd how much influence this tiny, moneyed circle has been able to wield, and deeply depressing -- Zoe Williams * TLS *Chums is not just about the smallness of Britain's privileged elite or the early advantages it enjoys. Simon Kuper goes further ... to critique a system that attaches more importance to winning debates than shaping policy -- Mike Phipps * Labour Hub *The best ever written dissection of the formation for what passes as the modern Tory Party's leadership * Philosophy Football *A snapshot of a time gone by, bringing alive 1980s Oxford in vivid detail ... a thrilling read -- Daniel Dipper * Higher Education Policy Institute *Engaging and detailed ... [This] may be the last generation of such Oxford Tories, yet their policies may well influence the United Kingdom for generations -- Andrew Moravcsik * Foreign Affairs *[A] highly entertaining, and often infuriating examination of the clique of Oxford Tories that gave us Brexit * Irish Times *Praise for The Happy Traitor: Kuper provides a different and valuable perspective, humane and informative -- John Le CarréTruly enthralling ... a deeply human read, wonderfully written, on the foibles of a fascinating, flawed, treacherous and sort of likeable character -- Philippe SandsThe most comprehensive and insightful biography to date -- Ben MacintyreReaders who prefer their politics polemical (and Britain in Europe) need look no further than Simon Kuper * Times Best Political and Current Affairs Books of 2022 *

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Book Synopsis''Kwajo''s voice is leading the call for change on behalf of a generation who have been seriously failed by Westminster.'' Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester''A brilliant thinker and doer. Kwajo for Mayor of London!'' Kelechi Okafor''Vital and urgent'' Vicky Spratt, author of TENANTSThis may be the most important book you read this year.On 14 June 2017, Grenfell went up in flames and seventy-two people lost their lives. Three years later, two-year-old Awaab Ishak would die from a respiratory condition caused by mould. And in 2023, it was reported that we are seeing record levels of children experiencing homelessness. This is twenty-first century Britain, where millions are trying to build their lives on crumbling foundations.Britain''s in a housing emergency.Campaigner and activist, Kwajo Tweneboa has been on the frontline of this housing crisis, highlighting the shocking conditions so many are forced to live with. He knows better than anyone the brutal realities the UK is facing, from the decimation of our welfare services to the rising poverty rates as the cost-of-living crisis continues.This is how we rebuild.Our Country in Crisis looks back at decades of poor decisions and highlights the modern-day the impact of the loss of social housing as a safety net. This housing emergency cuts across generations, class and education, and is devastating our health, destroying communities and ruining lives.But it is not irreversible. Radical action is possible and Kwajo Tweneboa and his urgent, ground-breaking book are leading the way. For readers of manifestos for change such as It''s Not That Radical by Mikaela Loach, Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey and Tenants by Vicky Spratt, this is the fresh new voice and perspective we need.

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Book Synopsis'Superb... authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure', The Secret Barrister'Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and work of major importance', James O'Brien0n 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In eleven pages it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus.You may have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The emergency was supposed to be short but lasted for 763 days, allowing ministers to bring in, by decree over 100 new laws restricting freedoms more than any in history - laws that were almost never debated, changed at a whim and increasingly confused the public. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street, officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.This book tells the startling story of the state of emergency that brought about an Emergency State. A wake-up call from one of the UK's leading human rights barristers, Emergency State shows us why we must never take our rights for granted.'A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State - all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt - take over again', Lady Hale, former President of the UK Supreme Court'Clear-eyed, forensic and compelling, Wagner sets out what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic - and the lessons we need to learn', Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape ArtistTrade ReviewSuperb... authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure * The Secret Barrister *A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State - all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt - take over again * Lady Hale, former President of the UK Supreme Court *A wake-up call for citizens to be more alert to measures ... that seek to undermine democracy * The Times, *Best Law Books of 2022* *A vital contribution to a debate we need to have * Financial Times *Piercing and profoundly troubling, this is a journey to the heart of the pandemic and the great British struggle to balance the well-being of the individual and the group. A tale of rights and misdemeanours, told with a passion of power and forensic precision * Philippe Sands, author of East West Street *Absolutely invaluable. Adam Wagner has been an indispensable guide and this is a gripping, important, definitive book * Dr Xand van Tulleken *Emergency State demonstrates why Adam Wagner rapidly became the indispensable authority on the unprecedented restrictions on liberty that accompanied the Covid-19 pandemic. Clear-eyed, forensic and compelling, it sets out what happened - and the urgent lessons we need to learn * Jonathan Freedland, author of The Escape Artist *At times, Emergency State reads like a dystopian novel with a dramatic plot twist - those who wrote these draconian laws failed to follow them. The law expert who kept the receipts, Adam Wagner has written the definitive account of a unique moment in legal history * Susanna Reid *Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and a work of major importance * James O'Brien *Fascinating. An invaluable service to historians of the pandemic, and a passionate and compelling argument for the rule of law * Baron Danny Finkelstein *A brilliant analysis of law and politics over the two years in which Britain became a virtual police state * Geoffrey Robertson QC *The service Adam did for the country and continues to do on these pages shows the brilliant nuance and proportionate review of our right to life versus the Public Health Act and some of the outrageous overreaches of power committed by the police and the sitting government. It is as gripping as a Michael Crichton novel; but more disturbing because we collectively survived the events discussed with only some of our core human rights left intact. * Jamie Klingler, co-founder of #ReclaimTheseStreets *This book is the definitive legal guide to the law of the pandemic and will serve as an important historical account of this dark and challenging period in our history * Law Society's Gazette *Adam Wagner is a masterly guide to the interaction of law, politics and culture. Anyone with an interest in freedom - and what is happening to it - should read this truly brilliant account of the pandemic and its long term consequences * Matthew d'Ancona *A book that needed to be written - and nobody could have done it better * Joshua Rozenberg *[An] invaluable new book * Jewish Chronicle *[Wagner's] rare learning is skilfully deployed in this book * Literary Review *A brilliant and necessary book about the legal mechanism and human rights hangover of lockdown * Financial Times *Interesting and important ... Wagner is a fierce and effective critic * Jonathan Sumption, Daily Telegraph *Anyone with an interest in the maintenance of good governance in a time of emergency will find much to ponder * Prospect *Here, barrister Adam Wagner's emphasis is on the drastic impact lockdown had on our personal liberty and I hope some of his conclusion will be considered by government in the awful event of another such crisis occurring * Jewish Chronicle, *Non-Fiction of the Year* *'A pithy survey and review for non-lawyers of the two-year period when - but for the brief hiatus coming out of the first lockdown - virtually every aspect of the public's behaviour was indeed the subject of the criminal law ... Emergency State is a stress test for liberal democracy and human rights' * Counsel *An informative and important opening step towards what must become a global debate as to how th eworld should respond to future pandemics of the internet age * Charles Holland, Counsel *A brilliant analysis... Emergency State is a wake-up call that reaches far beyond Covid. It identifies the toxic mix of factors that are eroding liberty in Britain as we speak * Morning Star *A brillliant analysis of how Covid was used to erode civil liberaties and sideline Parliament ... Emergency State is a wake-up call that reaches far beyond Covid. It identifies the toxic mix of factors that are eroding liberty in Britain as we speak. * Morning Star *

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Book SynopsisBeautifully written yet highly controversial, An Image of Africa asserts Achebe''s belief in Joseph Conrad as a ''bloody racist'' and his conviction that Conrad''s novel Heart of Darkness only serves to perpetuate damaging stereotypes of black people. Also included is The Trouble with Nigeria, Achebe''s searing outpouring of his frustrations with his country. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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Book SynopsisThe corruption of public officials in the United States and its corrosive impact on public policy, political stability and democratic institutions, earns it a spot among the most critical public crises of the last decade. There have been scandals involving elected officials across the political spectrum from local elected officials up to the White House, involving conflicts of interest, campaign fundraising and political elections. At the heart of many scandals is the discretionary power of public officials to make decisions based on personal interest, often leading to corruption. Understanding the nature and etiology of corruption is important to drafting controls on discretion and rules for accountability. While strict regulation and oversight mechanisms have previously been designed to encourage ethical decision-making and punish violators, it is the media and citizens that have increasingly become modern mechanisms of accountability. Corruption of public governance not only undermines the effectiveness of the political system; it also results in corrupt public policymaking on the most pressing issues facing Americans today. This timely and insightful book provides the key elements needed to understand the nature and prevalence of corruption in public governance, as well as the devastating public policy consequences. The chapters explore the implications of public governance corruption on political stability, public trust, and policymaking, as well as recommendations for how to establish controls on discretion and strict regulation to increase accountability and corruption control in public governance.Trade ReviewPolitical science, criminal justice, and other scholars from the US present 12 chapters on the nature and prevalence of corruption of public officials in the US and the impact on public policy, political stability, and public trust, and as well as how to establish controls on discretion and stricter regulations to increase accountability and corruption control. They consider the measurement of public corruption and how scandal in Congress influences congressional disapproval and the eroding of trust in the national government; the influence of corruption, discretion, and accountability on public governance at different levels, in the legislative system in terms of the Jack Abramoff scandal, campaign finance and the Citizens United decision, contributions to judicial campaigns in Illinois, and the effects of media coverage of corruption in terms of the 2016 presidential election; issues involving the role of crime, politics, and media imagery in the making of criminal justice policy, mayors’ and citizen attitudes towards sexual harassment in police agencies, and contractor corruption in leadership in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and recommendations for oversight and accountability, including accountability after Citizens United, judicial review, and national security whistleblowers and journalists. -- Annotation ©2017 * (protoview.com) *Table of ContentsPart One: Etiology 1. Transparency International's "Corruption Perceptions Index"; April K. Clark 2. The Price of Corruption in Congress; Michael J. Pomante Ii and Scot Schraufnagel Part Two: Permeation of Corruption in Governance 3. Legislative Scandals in the United States; Kerri Milita and Jaclyn Bunch 4. Campaign Contributions and Vote Buying; Renee Prunty and Mandy Swartzendruber 5. Do Contributions to Judicial Campaigns Create the Appearance of Corruption?; Thomas E. Mcclure 6. Media Coverage of Corruption and Scandal in the 2016 Presidential Election: Fantasy Themes of Crooked Hillary and Corrupt Businessman Trump; John P. McHale Part Three: Policy Issues 7. Crime, Injustice and Politics; Cara E. Rabe-Hemp, Philip Mulvey and Morgan Foster 8. Mayors’ and Citizen Attitudes Toward Sexual Harassment in Police Departments; Eric E. Otenyo and Earlene A. Smith 9. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: Contractor Corruption and Election Campaigns; Eric E. Otenyo and Parwez Besmel Part Four: Oversight and Accountability 10. Citizens United and Political Accountability; Benjamin Bricker 11. Judicial Review; Elizabeth Erin Wheat 12. National Security Whistleblowers and the Journalists who tell their Stories: A Dangerous Policy Dance of Truth-Finding, Truth-Telling, And Consequence; Maria A. Moore, John Huxford, and Jennifer B. Bethmann

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022 – THE YOUNGEST EVER BOOKER NOMINEE THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER _______________ ‘Mottley attempts to do for Oakland something of what The Wire did for Baltimore' THE TIMES 'A soul-searching portrait of survival and hope' OPRAH WINFREY _______________ We’ll laugh because we can, until the sun disintegrates and nighttime threatens to set us free just to capture us again, back into the things we can’t escape. Kiara does not know what it is to live as a normal seventeen-year-old. With her mother in a halfway house, she fends for herself – and for nine-year-old Trevor, whose own mother disappears for days at a time. But as the pressures of rent to pay and mouths to feed increase, Kiara finds herself walking the streets after dark, determined to survive in a world that refuses to protect her. Nightcrawling is an unforgettable novel about young people navigating the darkest corners of an adult world, told with a humanity that is at once agonising and utterly mesmerising. _______________ 'UNFORGETTABLE' GUARDIAN 'A MAGNIFICENT DEBUT' RUTH OZEKI, winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022 _______________ READERS CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF NIGHTCRAWLING 'Nightcrawling is a lyrical masterpiece' ***** 'This book ripped my heart out' ***** 'Unputdownable . . . From the first page I was hooked' ***** 'This is a heart-achingly necessary book which will carve a hole in your soul and stay with you forever' ***** 'It is rare to read a first novel so perfectly crafted' ***** 'This is an absolute must-read. Five stars out of five' ***** 'Completely gripping . . . This is going to be a huge bestseller' *****Trade ReviewUncompromising yet exhilaratingly charged by Mottley’s deep feeling and stylistic flair * Daily Mail, Books of the Year *Nineteen-year-old poet Leila Mottley has been hailed as the ‘voice of a generation’, a claim that seems less hyperbolic the more you read of her assured, moving and powerful fiction debut . . . Freighted with sentences of tough lyricism, it feels like an immense achievement * Daily Mail *A rare and compelling meditation on the powerless . . . Not only a fearless investigation of justice, guilt and prejudice, but an allegory of the potential power of speech, narrative and fiction itself . . . Nightcrawling marks the dazzling arrival of a young writer with a voice and vision you won’t easily get out of your head * Guardian *She whips through the plot, packing poetic punch after punch . . . Now that Mottley has found her own voice, America – and readers in the UK – will be watching * i paper *Both a searing depiction of sexual exploitation and a gripping account of a struggle for survival… Grimly captivating … Rich and inventive * Economist *An uncommonly assured debut . . . Nightcrawling is written with a poet’s ear and a novelist’s sense of character, structure and ambience * Observer *Mottley’s fluid, instinctive writing soars . . . This feels like a remarkable debut, one that holds an illuminating if unflattering mirror to modern America. It is exciting to wonder what might lie ahead for this writer * Sunday Times *Kiara is as virtuous and put-upon as any heroine in Dickens. But she is always a lively presence on the page even at her most downtrodden, thanks to her expressive narrative voice … the risks she takes generally pay off so well that one finishes the book grumbling: nobody who has just turned twenty has any business writing this well * Sunday Telegraph *Leila Mottley has a poet’s delicate touch when she tells us the most brutal, heart-crushing truths. This is an electrifying debut -- Dave EggersThis book proves its author is a literary star in the making * Elle *Unflinching, poetic and deeply resonant, this stunning debut from Oakland teen Leila Mottley marks the arrival of an extraordinary new voice * Woman's Own *With its powerful poetry and courageous, unsparing vision, Nightcrawling is more than just a magnificent debut novel. It is a bid, by this prodigiously gifted young writer, to heal a broken world -- Ruth Ozeki, Women's Prize-winning author of THE BOOK OF FORM AND EMPTINESSThe writing in Leila Mottley's Nightcrawling erupts and flows like lava, makes hot bright an Oakland that runs the city's uncontrollable brilliance, its destructive and generative veins the same, Mottley's energetic writing here too, bursts at the seams of every page, pushing you deeper into a story you can't help but continue swallowing, stay thirsty for, while it swallows you whole -- Tommy Orange, finalist for the Pulitzer PrizeLeila Mottley has an extraordinary gift. She writes with the humility and sparkle of a child, but with the skill and deft touch of a wizened, seasoned storyteller -- James McBrideLeila Mottley’s commanding debut, inspired by the life events of one woman’s struggle for body and soul against crushing exploitation, is fierce and devastating, rendered with electrifying urgency by this colossal young talent -- Ayana MathisNightcrawling is a scorching, incredibly readable book that takes seriously the task of readerly provocation on every page. Get ready. Or don’t. It doesn’t matter. Leila Mottley is here -- Kiese Laymon, author of HEAVYA blistering exploration of power * Stylist Loves *

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Book SynopsisWhat happens when the President of the United States engages in criminal activity? He runs for re-election.Donald Trump's campaign chairman went to jail. So did his personal lawyer. His long-time political consigliere was convicted of serious federal crimes, and his National Security Advisor pleaded guilty to several more. Multiple Russian spies were indicted in absentia. Career intelligence agents and military officers were alarmed enough by his actions as President that they alerted senior government officials and ignited the impeachment process. Yet despite all this, a years-long inquiry led by Robert Mueller, and the third Presidential impeachment trial in American history, Donald Trump survived to run for presidency again. Why?Jeffrey Toobin's highly entertaining, definitive account of the Mueller investigation and the impeachment of the President takes readers behind the scenes of the epic legal and political struggle to call Trump to account for his misdeeds. Toobin recounts the mind-boggling twists and turns in the case – Trump's son met with a Russian operative promising Kremlin support; Trump paid a porn star $130,000 to hush up an affair; Rudy Giuliani and a pair of shady Ukrainian-American businessmen got the Justice Department to look at Russian-created conspiracy theories. Toobin shows how Trump's canny lawyers used Mueller's famous integrity against him, and how Trump's bullying and bluster cowed Republican legislators into ignoring the clear evidence of the impeachment hearings.Based on dozens of interviews with prosecutors in Mueller's office, Trump's legal team, Congressional investigators, White House staffers, and several of the key players, including some who are now in prison, True Crimes and Misdemeanours is a revelatory narrative that makes sense of the seemingly endless chaos of the Trump years. Filled with never-before-reported details of the high-stakes legal battles and political machinations, the book weaves a tale of a rogue President guilty of historic misconduct, and how he got away with it.Trade ReviewToobin's eye for details is entertaining -- Gerard Baker * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2021THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2021A SUNDAY TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEARA dramatic, gripping account of the rise and fall of the notorious business tycoon Robert Maxwell from the acclaimed author of A Very English Scandal.''The best biography yet of the media magnate Robert Maxwell - by turns engrossing, amusing and appalling'' Robert Harris, Sunday Times''Electrifying... the supreme chronicler of modern British scandals'' Mail on SundayRobert Maxwell was a very British success. Born an Orthodox Jew, he escaped the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, fought in the Second World War, and was decorated for his heroism with the Military Cross. He went on to become a Labour MP and an astonishingly successful businessman, owning a number of newspapers and publishing companies. But aTrade Review'This is the best biography yet of the media magnate Robert Maxwell - by turns engrossing, amusing and appalling... it slips down as richly, easily and pleasurably as a tablespoonful of Beluga caviar' -- Robert Harris * Sunday Times *'Electrifying... the supreme chronicler of modern British scandals' * Mail on Sunday *'This is such a richly detailed, well-written, gripping biography I wished it could have been twice as long' -- Lynn Barber * Daily Telegraph *'I have a shelf full of books about frauds, but this one is by far the most enjoyable. By turns self-righteous and revolting, Maxwell makes the perfect villain' -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *'Any good biography of a mountebank depicts not only its subject but also the ambivalent society that accommodated the monster. John Preston's Fall does this with deft understatement ... Preston's A Very English Scandal used an almost novelistic eye to revive a well-worn scandal. Fall is equally satisfying' -- Quentin Letts * The Times *'An absorbing profile of the war hero turned rogue ... Preston comes to his subject with the advantage both of hindsight and his great skill at exposing hypocrisy and subterfuge ... he has an eye for the telling detail and an ear for the revealing quote' * Observer, Book of the Week *'There have been many books written about Robert Maxwell, but surely none as pacy, entertaining and jaw-dropping as this one... yes, this is quite a book' * Daily Mail *'Preston has written a wonderfully ­entertaining book and interviewed almost everyone who crossed ­Maxwell's path in his heyday. He has an eye for comedy and drama and, where he explains his subject's shady and dauntingly complex business dealings, he does so clearly and succinctly' * New Statesman *'Irresistible page-turning pace ... what emerges from Fall is a vividly grotesque picture of the emperor showing off his nonexistent new clothes to an applauding crowd of courtiers - politicians, editors, bankers - who all too willingly suspended any disbelief they may have felt' -- Francis Wheen * Spectator *'John Preston's book Fall, a recounting of the life of one of the most extraordinary figures in British corporate life, is timely ... almost 30 years since Maxwell died at sea in unexplained circumstances, it is possible to look back on his story and the fraud as a great, sweeping whole, a bridge from the second world war to the last years of the media barons before the internet began ... Preston tells the story well ... its strength is in telling the grand sweep of an extraordinary life' * Financial Times *'Vivid ... Preston (has a) gift for the kind of wry comedy that suits English decline' * Guardian, Book of the Day *'John Preston's research for this terrific biography is extensive; he interviewed three of Maxwell's children and his sister. But he also presents a large character at the heart of a gripping novel which happens to be true' * Evening Standard *'Thanks to Preston's fine writing, Fall fizzes along at pace and is engrossing as it charts Maxwell's astonishing life - and how he came to be so widely reviled' * i *'John Preston tells [the story of Maxwell] with great verve and the benefit of extensive interviews with, among others, Maxwell's one-time rival Rupert Murdoch... the portrait that emerges is more subtly drawn than previous ones' * Economist *'John Preston brings the old crook and liar magnificently to life in this sparkling biography... this beautifully written book provides many moments of high and low comedy... Preston's sharp eye for the ridiculous and the piquant conjures up a lost Fleet Street world' * Jewish Chronicle *'Preston is a natural storyteller' -- The TimesDeeply researched, fluently written, and darkly comic, it reads like a thriller -- Ben Macintyre on 'A Very English Scandal'Brilliant, sad, startling -- Jon Ronson on 'A Very English Scandal'A terrific book and brilliantly researched -- Claire Tomalin on 'A Very English Scandal'Very funny and endlessly extraordinary * Guardian on 'A Very English Scandal' *Preston is a natural storyteller * The Times *

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Book SynopsisA Financial Times Book of the Year 'Jaw-dropping' Daily Express 'Grimly fascinating' Financial Times 'Humane, timely, accessible and well-researched' Irish Times The dictator who grew so rich on his country's cocoa crop that he built a 35-storey-high basilica in the jungles of the Ivory Coast. The austere, incorruptible leader who has shut Eritrea off from the world in a permanent state of war and conscripted every adult into the armed forces. In Equatorial Guinea, the paranoid despot who thought Hitler was the saviour of Africa and waged a relentless campaign of terror against his own people. The Libyan army officer who authored a new work of political philosophy, The Green Book, and lived in a tent with a harem of female soldiers, running his country like a mafia family business. And behind these almost incredible stories of fantastic violence and excess lie the dark secrets of Western greed and complicity, the insatiable taste for chocolate, oil, diamonds and gold that has encouraged dictators to rule with an iron hand, siphoning off their share of the action into mansions in Paris and banks in Zurich and keeping their people in dire poverty.Trade ReviewThe stories it tells of dictators such as Robert Mugabe and Muammer Gaddafi are grimly fascinating and leave the reader to ponder why so many of Africa's liberation heroes turned into villains * Financial Times, Books of the Year *A humane, timely, accessible and well-researched book that shines a light on urgent African issues [...] that, when we consider the state of our own societies, can no longer be dismissed as merely somewhere else's problem * Irish Times *Paul Kenyon is a brilliant writer who's been there and tells a story of unparalleled greed and western complicity in vivid detail -- Michael BuerkIt is [the] minute observations that make Mr Kenyon's book so hard to put down * Economist *Mr Kenyon narrates a jaw-dropping tale of greed, corruption and brutality * Daily Express *Well written and sensibly structured... Some of the most revealing passages are based on interviews with retired expatriate executives and diplomats who were witness to the excesses of the early post-colonial years' * Sunday Times *Kenyon's stories of corruption and excess are truly compelling, while his analysis of the West's motivations is astute and illuminating * Culture Trip *A heart-breaking and stomach-churning history but also an utterly absorbing one... Kenyon blends in gripping, authenticating first-hand testimonies from those who were behind the carnage and corruption... This book shines a vital light on how Africa was robbed "in broad daylight"' * UAE National *Highly readable... A chapter on the rise of Félix Houphouët-Boigny is especially vivid' * The Times *A familiar story, but still shocking * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisThe first history of Italian football to be written in English, Calcio' is a mix of serious analysis and comic storytelling, with vivid descriptions of games, goals, dives, missed penalties, riots and scandals in the richest and toughest league in the world.Calcio' tells the story of Italian football from its origins in the 1890's to the present day. It takes us through a history of great players and teams, of style, passion and success, but also of violence, cynicism, catenaccio tactics and corruption.We meet the personalities that have shaped this history from the Italian heroes to the foreigners that failed, the model professionals to the mavericks. Calcio' evokes the triumphs (the 1982 World Cup victory) and the tragedies (Meroni, the ''Italian George Best'', killed by his number one fan), set against a backdrop of paranoia and intrigue, in a country where the referee is seen as corrupt until proven otherwise.Calcio is no longer a game. It is sometimes difficult to define it as a Trade Review‘“Calcio: A History of Italian Football” reveals more about the national character than any dry study of politics or economics ever could. This is a hefty work but there is so much going on that the pace never slackens. Foot is a meticulous and knowledgeable guide to his complex subject and leaves the reader wanting to investigate further.’ Andrew Baker, Daily Telegraph ‘John Foot is head over heels in love with calcio, and his detailed, thematically structured account of its past and present is overwhelming evidence of that.’ Independent, Sport Section Book of the Week 'An excellent chapter on British failures in Serie A but it's the many scandals that one keeps coming back to.' Observer Sport Monthly 'Foot's exemplary history shows how football and Italian society are inextricably intertwined, and is full of fascinating vignettes.' Sunday Times 'Highly readable… “Calcio” has set an impressive benchmark for football histories in general.' Sean O'Connor, Soccerpile.com 'Like a match-winning penalty taken in extra time, this is a book not to be missed.' Oldie

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Book SynopsisIn The Great Reset: And the War for the World, the most controversial man on earth Alex Jones gives you a full analysis of The Great Reset, the global elite's international conspiracy to enslave humanity and all life on the planet. From central bankers, corporate billionaires, and corrupted government officials, global elites have been organizing a historic war on humanity under a trans-humanist, scientific dictatorship. Alex Jones was the first major figure to expose the World Economic Forum’s agenda. He has dedicated the last 30 years of his life to studying The Great Reset, conducting tens of thousands of interviews with top-level scientists, politicians, and military officials in order to reverse engineer their secrets and help awaken humanity. The Great Reset: And the War for the World chronicles the history of the global elites' rise to power and reveals how they’ve captured the governments of the world and financed The Great Reset to pave the way for The New World Order. Once dubbed a conspiracy theory, but now openly promoted by the most powerful corporations and governments, The Great Reset is a planned attempt to redistribute all the world’s wealth and power into the hands of banks, corporations, billionaires, and The World Economic Forum. If you read one book in a lifetime, this is it. In The Great Reset: And the War for the World, you will discover from the self-appointed controllers of the planet in their own words, their plan for what they call the final revolution, or The Great Reset. The only way this corporate fascist conspiracy can succeed is if the people of the world are not aware of it. And this book lays out their sinister blueprint and how to stop it. While many great books have been written to help awaken people to this sinister agenda, no author has ever spent as much time and research on The Great Reset as Alex Jones. The Great Reset: And the War for the World is the undisputed trailblazer for understanding what’s happening and how to stop it. Trade Review“Alex is right about far more than he is wrong about.... He’s the most misunderstood guy on the planet.”—JOE ROGAN“We are actually at War—a hybrid war of economics, cyber, psychology, and, yes, information. One of the field Commanders is Alex Jones of Austin, Texas—brilliant, irascible, tenacious. Alex has done his countrymen a great service: in one book he has given the structure and dynamics, the history and the processes of a New Order we see evolving daily. The Great Reset: And the War for the World is your battle map for what is ahead. Alex Jones is feared and relentlessly attacked by the very architects of this power structure. That is why he must be read and studied now.”—STEVE BANNON“If Alex Jones is just a crackpot, why are the most powerful people in the country trying to silence him? No one bothers to censor the flat-earthers. Maybe Alex Jones is onto something. Read this book and decide for yourself who’s crazy.”—TUCKER CARLSON“Alex has done an excellent job of bringing the globalists’ plans into the light. When we shine the light on darkness, the darkness can’t hide. It can only retreat.”—DR. MERCOLA, founder of Mercola.com, the most visited natural health site on the internet for the last twenty years“In The Great Reset, Alex Jones boldly showcases the history of engineered global collapse as it is unfolding in the present. No person living today has spent more time dissecting and exposing this anti-human, anti-freedom agenda than Alex Jones, and this book will one day be seen as a critical marker in the history of the fall (and rebuilding) of human civilization.”—MIKE ADAMS, founder, NaturalNews.com and Brighteon.com“Alex Jones may be the most maligned patriot in the country, but virtually every threat to our liberty that he has predicted has come to pass.”—ROGER STONE"[Alex Jones'] reputation is amazing."—DONALD TRUMP

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Book SynopsisA FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024'At a time when democracy feels threatened, Simon Kuper is fighting hard for a better vision of politics - he is brutally honest about our problems but never loses hope that we can build a better democracy' Rory Stewart'An intelligible, compelling and enraging narrative ... how the Good Chaps get away with it' New StatesmanThe 'Good Chaps' theory holds that those who rise to power in the UK can be trusted to follow the rules and do the right thing. They're good chaps, after all. Yet Britain appears to have been taken over by bad chaps, and politics is awash with financial scandals, donors who have practically bought shares in political parties, and a shameless contempt for the rules.Simon Kuper, author of the Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller Chums, exposes how corruption took control of public life, and asks: how can we get politicians to behave like good chaps again?

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER''So boldly different it creates a mini-genre all of its own'' - ANDREW MARRAs Prime Minister for three years and Home Secretary for six years, Theresa May confronted a series of issues in which the abuse of power led to devastating results for individuals and significantly damaged the reputation of, and trust in, public institutions and politicians. From the Hillsborough and Grenfell tragedies, to the Daniel Morgan case and parliamentary scandals, the powerful repeatedly chose to use their power not in the interests of the powerless but to serve themselves or to protect the organisation to which they belonged.The Abuse of Power is a searing exposé of injustice and an impassioned call to exercise power for the greater good. Drawing on examples from domestic and international affairs she was personally involved in at the highest level, including Stop and Search and the Salisbury Poisonings, the formTrade ReviewSo boldly different it creates a mini-genre all of its own . . . This is a pleasant surprise: a genuinely unusual, bold and important book. You can't say that of many political memoirs -- Andrew Marr * The New Statesman *Fascinating and crisply written . . . That May has more seriousness and commitment than the average politician . . . means she has a better chance to fix some of those burning injustices this book shows she is clearly still worried about -- Isabel Hardman * i Newspaper *The book will reinforce the view that May was a politician of conviction and compassion. -- Robert Shrimsley * Financial Times *Very interesting... I strongly agree with the central message of [the] book...that we need a sense of moral compass in politics... Put together it's pretty shocking... Terrifying as an account of what's wrong in the British state * Rory Stewart on The Rest is Politics: Leading *Often political writing focuses on soap opera and personalities. But personalities - as Theresa May knows better than most - come and go. Structures remain. May's account of how public institutions wield their power and avoid accountability is an admirable attempt to draw our focus in the right direction * The Times Best Politics Books of 2023 *A serious-minded study of scandals in which vulnerable people were failed by those in authority * Guardian Best Politics Books of 2023 *

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Book Synopsis‘Packed with insights and details that will both amaze and appal you’ – Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland and Butler to the WorldFrom journalist Chris Blackhurst, Too Big to Jail unveils how HSBC facilitated mass money laundering schemes for brutal drug kingpins and rogue nations – and thereby helped to grow one of the deadliest drugs empires the world has ever seen.While HSBC likes to sell itself as ‘the world’s local bank’ – the friendly face of corporate and personal finance – it was one decade ago hit with a record US fine of $1.9 billion. In pursuit of their goal of becoming the biggest bank in the world, between 2003 and 2010, HSBC allowed El Chapo and the Sinaloa cartel, one of the most notorious and murderous criminal organizations in the world, to turn its ill-gotten money into clean dollars.How did a bank, which boasts ‘we’re committed to helping protect the world’s financial system on which millions of people depend, by only doing business with customers who meet our high standards of transparency’ come to facilitate Mexico’s richest drug baron? And how did a bank that as recently as 2002 had been named ‘one of the best-run organizations in the world’ become so entwined with one of the most barbaric groups of gangsters on the planet?Too Big to Jail is an extraordinary story, brilliantly told by writer, commentator and former editor of The Independent, Chris Blackhurst, that starts in Hong Kong and ranges across London, Washington, the Cayman Islands and Mexico, where HSBC saw the opportunity to become the largest bank in the world, and El Chapo seized the chance to fuel his murderous empire by laundering his drug proceeds through the bank. It brings together an extraordinary cast of politicians, bankers, drug dealers, FBI officers and whistle-blowers, and asks what price does greed have? Whose job is it to police global finance? And why did not a single person go to prison for facilitating the murderous expansion of a global drug empire?Trade ReviewThe sheer hubris, greed and arrogance of bankers is laid bare in shocking, and at times hilarious, detail. Blackhurst takes them on and pricks their bubble of self-congratulatory entitlement -- Andrew Neil, broadcaster and former editor of The Sunday TimesPacked with insights and details that will both amaze and appal you. This is the inside story of how the City of London really operates and if it doesn't make you angry, you need to check your pulse -- Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland and Butler to the WorldFull of extraordinary revelations. Epic story-telling about a shocking scandal. Read this! -- Iain Martin, author of Making It HappenBlackhurst’s tale would make an exciting novel. But alarmingly, this is a true story, carefully researched and told with gusto -- Baroness Patience Wheatcroft, former editor of The Sunday TelegraphBlackhurst’s attention to detail is excellent, as is his lucid analysis * The Australian *Highly entertaining . . . told with pace, gusto, and a strong sense of moral outrage * The Critic Magazine *

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Book SynopsisAnna Politkovskaya turns her steely gaze on President Putin and his early regime in this explosive book.From Putin's tyrannical grip on ordinary citizens to rampant corruption in highest ranks of the government, as well as Mafia dealings, scandals in the provinces and the decline of the intelligentsia, Politkovskaya offers a scathing condemnation of the President and his rule, revealing a shocking state of affairs: soldiers dying from malnutrition, parents requiring to bribes to recover their dead sons' bodies and conscripts are being hired out as slaves.Politkovskaya was an internationally admired, fearless and award-winning journalist who was assassinated in 2006. More relevant and important than ever in today's political landscape, Putin's Russia is both a gripping portrayal of a country in crisis and the testament of an extraordinary reporter.'A searing portrait of a country in disarray and of the man at its helm, from the bravest of journalists' New York Times'Anna Politkovskaya is a heroic journalist' Guardian'We will continue to learn from her for years' Salman RushdieTrade ReviewA hero among hacks * Guardian *If you haven't done so yet, read Politkovskaya's books * Independent *Anna Politkovskaya refused to lie, in her work; her murder is a ghastly act, and an attack on world literature -- Nadine GordimerWe will continue to learn from her for years -- Salman RushdieHer eye for detail was unfailing * Financial Times *

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Book Synopsis‘Joyous … a book that makes other journalists weep with envy’ The Economist 'Provocative, touching, and sensitively written … an eloquent, brilliantly researched account’ Sunday Times One of The Economist’s best books by foreign correspondents. A story of grim comedy amid the apocalypse and a celebration of the sheer indestructibility of the human spirit in a nation run riot: Michela Wrong’s vision of Congo/Zaire during the Mobutu years is incisive, ironic and revelatory. Mr Kurtz, the colonial white master, brought evil to the remote upper reaches of the Congo River. A century after Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness' was first published, Michela Wrong revisits the Congo as the era of Mobutu Sese Seko collapses into absurdity, anarchy and corruption. Hers is a brilliant portrait of the grotesque as confusion takes over: pink lipsticked rebel soldiers mingle with tracksuited secret policemen in hotels where fin de siecle dinner parties are ploughing through hotel wine cellars rather than see bottles lost to the new regime. Congo, Africa’s richest country in terms of its natural resources, has institutionalised kleptomania: everyone is on the take. In a country where the minimum wage has dropped to below $150 a year, the government over twenty-five years spent $250 million providing courtesy cars. Congo has a vanity nuclear reactor built on a subsiding slope and one of its uranium rods is missing… The Mobutu reign, successor to Belgium’s failed imperial experiment in Africa, was fed by World Bank dollars and IMF loans. Having presided over unprecedented looting of the country’s wealth, Mobutu, like Kurtz, retreated deep within the jungle to his absurdly overwrought palace of marble floors and gold taps. A century on, nothing seems to have changed at the heart of Africa: it is lawless, graceless and it slaughters its own.Trade Review‘A brilliant account of Africa’s most extraordinary dictator told with wry wit and delicious irony… this book will become a classic’ The Economist ‘Provocative, touching, and sensitively written … an eloquent, brilliantly researched account and a remarkably sympathetic study of a tragic land’ Sunday Times ‘Michela Wrong made the so-called ‘Heart of Darkness' much less opaque to me when I visited the Congo. She can do the same for you if you read this brave and witty book’ Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great ‘Michela Wrong nimbly balances absurdity and outrage in her portrait of Mobutu Sese Seko and the wreckage he visited – with steady Western sponsorship – on the country he called Zaire. Her book is charged with pity and terror, and with the sort of sustaining humour that she rightly admires in Mobutu’s former subjects’ Philip Gourevitch, author of We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We will be Killed With Our Families

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Book SynopsisBob Woodward exposes one of the final pieces of the Richard Nixon puzzle in his new book The Last of the President's Men. Woodward reveals the untold story of Alexander Butterfield, the Nixon aide who disclosed the secret White House taping system that changed history and led to Nixon's resignation. In 46 hours of interviews with Butterfield, supported by thousands of documents, many of them original and not in the presidential archives and libraries, Woodward has uncovered new dimensions of Nixon's secrets, obsessions and deceptions. Butterfield provides the intimate details of what it was like working and living just feet from the most powerful man in the world as he sought to navigate the obligations to his president and the truth of Nixon's obsessions and deceptions.The Last of the President's Men could not be more timely and relevant as the public in America and around the world quest

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Book SynopsisFrom the foremost historian of 20th century Spain, A People Betrayed is the story of the devastating betrayal of Spain by its political class, its military and its Church. This comprehensive history of modern Spain chronicles the fomenting of violent social division throughout the country by institutionalised corruption and startling political incompetence. Most spectacularly during the Primo de Rivera and Franco dictatorships, grotesque and shameless corruption went hand-in-hand with inept policies that prolonged Spain's economic backwardness well into the 1950s.A People Betrayed looks back to the years prior to 1923 when electoral corruption excluded the masses from organized politics and gave them a choice between apathetic acceptance and violent revolution. Bitter social conflict, economic tensions and conflict between centralist nationalism and regional independence movements then exploded into the civil war of 1936-1939.It took the horrors of that war and the dictatorship that foTrade Review Praise for A People Betrayed A Financial Times Best History Book of 2020 ‘For decades, Paul Preston has been one of the English-speaking world’s premier historians of modern Spain. His latest book, dealing with the controversial topic of corruption in Spanish politic, public administration and business, is particularly good on the Franco dictatorship and post-Franco democratic era’Financial Times ‘Fascinating … The depth of the book’s research cannot be faulted and the examples of grand malfeasance and political corruption are extraordinary … Buried in the narrative lies ample treasure … I applauded Preston’s heroic feat.’ Times ‘Tremendously rich and learned … Preston is one of Britain’s finest historians … This book, massively researched … Powerful, persuasive and utterly fascinating – makes for harrowing reading’Sunday Times ‘A magisterial study of [Spain’s] turbulent past, seen through the optic of those apparently ineradicable twins: corruption and political incompetence … Races along in a riveting fashion, replete with eye-catching and often blackly humorous anecdotes …Preston’s narrative combines his gift for cogent, summarising clarity and for telling details …Preston has written an admirable book – a lively, comprehensive history of modern Spain.’Guardian ‘The work of a very great historian who knows all there is to know about his often sanguinary subject and who,beyond that, can impart his knowledge in swift muscular prose. His bias towards the underdog is humane and tonic’ Daily Telegraph ‘The scope of the narrative and the obvious depth of research are impressive. Likely to be the go-to history of modern Spain for many years to come.’Kirkus Reviews

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Book SynopsisMcMafia meets Narcos in a searing true crime tale of the dark side of globalisation set in the US, Italy, Colombia and the Middle East.Trade ReviewGripping... Part geopolitical essay, part toothsome slice of true crime ... [a book with] humour, tension and pathos - Four stars -- Jake Kerridge, The Daily TelegraphJohnson has recreated the most private of criminal moments, including dialogue and even thoughts. He has opened a window on the narco-terror nexus that most observers knew very little about ... Johnson's writing gallops along. -- The GuardianReads like a first-rate thriller. [A] vivid exposé of the murky world of transnational crime ... the overall narrative is so compelling and well-presented. -- Andrew Lycett, SpectatorA page-turner that criss-crosses borders and time zones, told in brisk, episodic, non-linear chapters -- Sunday Irish IndependentRead this powerful book by Miles Johnson right now. It will make you realise that what we call terrorism is actually drug trafficking, what we call politics is organised crime and what we call peace is just a truce between mafias. -- Roberto Saviano, author of GomorrahAs breathless, complex and on-the-edge suspenseful as the finest thriller fiction - but it's all real, which makes it truly extraordinary -- Lee ChildA truly impressive book that takes the reader deep into the dark underbelly of global money laundering where Hezbollah, Russian arms traders, the Italian mafia and Colombian drug lords meet. This McMafia for a new age is vital for understanding the black cash networks that have funded wars and terrorism across the Middle East. -- Catherine Belton, author of Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then took on the WestThis book is like being inserted deep into the secret heart of the global criminal economy, where mafiosi, terrorists and traffickers are all on the same side. It's compelling, visceral and highly readable -- Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of MoneylandA terrific and utterly absorbing account of the murky and lethal connections between transnational organised crime and global politics. Enthrallingly and lucidly written with great authority and expertise, it is a classic of its kind -- William BoydChasing Shadows is a true crime work of international intrigue as gripping and suspenseful as any novel you'll read this year -- Harlan CobenHoly Mackerel, what a story! Miles Johnson exposes the interlocking worlds of terror and drugs with verve and drama in this tale of truck bombs, arms deals, political assassinations, undercover cops and several tonnes of cocaine. Chasing Shadows is an astounding true crime epic that puts us in the room as a Calabrian mob boss whispers to his mistress, a Lebanese militant plots to set the world on fire, and a US agent races to expose it all -- Dan McCrum, author of Money MenThis astonishing and cinematic rollercoaster of a debut will bring Miles Johnson's talent into the brilliant light. Delivered with trademark verve and precision, it achieves that rare and precious thing that is the goal of all great reporting: it reveals the world to itself -- Alex Perry, author of The Good MothersThis is an extraordinary story of improbable but lethal connections across continents. Miles Johnson writes with verve and insight about ruthless men and the terrible consequences of their crimes -- Fergal KeaneChasing Shadows offers a captivating glimpse into the complex world of international intrigue. This skilfully written thriller intertwines the compelling stories of three distinct men whose fates are undeniably linked. With its engaging prose, well-structured plot, and memorable characters, Chasing Shadows provides a thought-provoking look into the darker aspects of humanity and the high-stakes realm of drugs, terrorism, and power. Readers will find themselves fully immersed in this fascinating tale from start to finish. -- Eliot Higgins, author of We Are BellingcatChasing Shadows is a fascinating journey into the intersecting worlds of politics, terrorism and organised crime. Miles Johnson adopts a narrative technique reminiscent of the late John le Carré, while telling a true story. The result is an impeccably researched book, which is also a pleasure to read -- Federico Varese, Professor of Sociology, Sciences Po

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Book Synopsis'A case more important than Profumo' Financial Times  'A riveting read' Literary Review He lived a double-life in the sixtiesFaked his own death in the seventiesAnd retained his cover in the eighties  A period thriller with powerful political and espionage themes, Agent Twister is the remarkable story behind one of the greatest scandals of the 1970s, told in full for the first time. If you think you know the true story of John Stonehouse – think again. It’s November 1974 and John Stonehouse MP, once a star in Harold Wilson’s Labour government, is missing in Miami, presumed drowned. His disappearance exposes the most lurid details of his life, including identity fraud, corporate corruption, a love triangle, blackmail, links with the Mafia and a decade-long career as a Soviet spy. The public are gripped by

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Book SynopsisInspired by the fate of Julia and Winston under the watchful eyes of Big Brother of George Orwell’s 1984, Docteur Cybirdy has compiled an eclectic blend of quotes, briefs and rhapsodies: 84-19 Rhapsodies & Co from I Naming and shaming world leaders, casting light on post-genomic science, and highlighting the main triggers of the inhuman aspect of the Covid era. With courage, Docteur Cybirdy reveals her thoughts and intimate beliefs, prompting an urgent review of the role of post-genomic science in today’s world, while instilling hope for a peaceful and serene future for humanity.

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Book SynopsisThe product of five years of investigative reporting, the subject of intense national controversy, and the source of death threats that forced the National Human Rights Commission to assign two full-time bodyguards to Anabel Hernández, The Lords of el Narco has been a publishing and political sensation in Mexico.The definitive history and anatomy of the drug cartels and the "war on drugs" that has cost more than 50,000 lives in just five years, the book explains in riveting detail how Mexico became a base for the mega-cartels of Latin America and one of the most violent places on the planet. Hernández reveals the complicity of Mexico's government and business elite. At every turn, she names names-not just the narcos and their immediate accomplices, but also the politicians, policemen, functionaries, judges and entrepreneurs who have collaborated with them.Hernández became a journalist after her father was kidnapped and killed and the police refused to investigate without a bribe. She gained national prominence in 2001 with her exposure of pharaonic spending on housekeeping at the presidential palace. All her previous books have also focused on corruption at the summit of power, under presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón.Trade ReviewNarcoland describes a disastrous 'war on drugs' that has led to more than 80,000 deaths in half a dozen years. This is a book that exposes how everything in Mexico is implicated in the 'narco system.' * Roberto Saviano *Anabel Hernández, journalist and author, accuses the Mexican state of complicity with the cartels, and says the 'war on drugs' is a sham. She's had headless animals left at her door and her family have been threatened by gunmen.... Narcoland became, and remains, a bestseller: more than 100,000 copies sold in Mexico. The success is impossible to overstate, a staggering figure for a non-fiction book in a country with indices of income and literacy incomparable to the American-European book-buying market. -- Ed Vulliamy * Observer *The most remarkable feature of Anabel Hernández's brave and invaluable account of Mexico's blood-drenched drug wars is that she survived long enough to write it... We would all be poorer without Hernández's determination to account for a civil conflict that has cost at least 60,000 lives. There could be no greater shame for Mexico should such a fearless and dedicated reporter come to any harm. * Sunday Times *Narcoland, with its explosive descriptions of decades of corruption permeating the upper echelons of government, leaves an extremely bad taste in the reader's mouth about the state of Mexico's perennially corrupt institutions - and begs the question: how much has changed? For Narcoland, Anabel Hernandez spent five years combing police, court and US papers, securing access to informers and sources and pursuing often fruitless requests for official files. The result is a searing indictment of a war on drugs she believes was a sham from the start. -- Jude Webber * Financial Times *The stark truth of a sham 'war'... A product of five years' investigative reporting, Hernández's meticulously researched explanation of the links between the Sinaloa cartel, the world's biggest criminal organisation, and Mexico's leadership makes for jaw-dropping reading. * Independent *In this brave work, the author argues that since the presidency of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964-1970), all of Mexico's rulers have maintained close relations with groups that import, export, and sell illegal drugs. * La Jornada *Indispensable reading for anyone who wants to understand the origins of the violence ... An extraordinary book for making the necessary journey to our heart of darkness. * Letras Libres *

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Book SynopsisWritten by an expert team, the Dictionary of Corruption is a comprehensive resource for students, academics, practitioners and professionals. It establishes a common interpretation of the language and terminology in the field of corruption and anti-corruption studies. From bribery to Watergate, amakudari to zero tolerance and from anti-corruption agencies to whistleblowing, the Dictionary provides explanations of over 300 key terms, events and case studies.Trade ReviewThe go-to resource for anyone in this field. -- Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair, Transparency International

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