Political control and freedoms Books

Book SynopsisWe are here to remember what happened and to declare solemnly that 'they' must never do it again. But who are 'they'?HOW TO SPOT A FASCIST is a selection of three thought-provoking essays on freedom and fascism, censorship and tolerance - including Eco's iconic essay 'Ur-Fascism', which lists the fourteen essential characteristics of fascism, and draws on his own personal experiences growing up in the shadow of Mussolini. Umberto Eco remains one of the greatest writers and cultural commentators of the last century. In these pertinent pieces, he warns against prejudice and abuses of power and proves a wise and insightful guide for our times. If we strive to learn from our collective history and come together in challenging times, we can hope for a peaceful and tolerant future. Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: 'Do not forget.''He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco's irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling' GuardianTrade ReviewHe brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco’s irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling * Guardian *

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE ONDAATJE PRIZE''The best book I read last year by a mile. . . so beautifully written that anyone would be hooked'' Laura Hackett, Sunday Times, Best Summer Books''Wonderfully funny and poignant. . . a tale of family secrets and political awakening amid a crumbling regime'' Luke Harding, Observer''We never lose our inner freedom; the freedom to do what is right''Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope.Then, in December 1990, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation''s aspirations became another''s disillusionment, and as her own family''s secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant.Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history.THE SUNDAY TIMES MEMOIR OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZESHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZECHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, TLS, DAILY MAIL, NEW STATESMAN AND SPECTATORTrade ReviewIf you read one memoir this year, let it be this * Sunday Times, Books of the Year *A magical, timeless and important account of what life was really like under communism. Free brims with diamond-studded details, it lays bare the compromises, fear and betrayals of a secret police state, but is also an uplifting and humorous reminder of how much the human spirit can endure -- Alec Russell * Financial Times *Lea Ypi's Free is the first book since Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend that I have pressed on family, friends and colleagues, insisting they read it. . . a truly riveting memoir and a profound meditation on what it means to be free -- Ruth Scurr * Spectator, Books of the Year *Enthralling. . . a classic in the making -- David Abulafia * TLS, Books of the Year *Ypi's deliciously smart memoir of her Albanian girlhood at the end of the Cold War is a brilliant disquisition on the meanings of freedom - its lures, false hopes, disappointments and possibilities - in our time -- Lyndsey Stonebridge * New Statesman, Books of the Year *A tart and tender childhood memoir. But also a work of social criticism, and a meditation on how to live with purpose. . . A quick read, but like Marx's spectre haunting Europe, it stays with you * The New Yorker, Best Books of 2021 *An absorbing memoir of Ypi's Albanian childhood and its ideological delusions. The freedom she discovers is far more complex than we might expect -- Terri Apter * TLS, Books of the Year *A strange world and its legacy is now stunningly brought to life. Lea Ypi offers a moving and compelling memoir of growing up in turbulent times, as well as a frank questioning of what it really means to be "free" -- Frederick Studemann * Financial Times, Books of the Year *Lea Ypi's Free: Coming of Age at the End of History is a beautifully written account of life under a crumbling Stalinist system in Albania and the shock and chaos of what came next. In telling her story and examining the political systems in which she was raised, the author and LSE professor asks tough questions about the nature of freedom * Guardian, Books of the Year *An astonishing and deeply resonant memoir about growing up in the last days of the last Stalinist outpost of the 20th century. . . What makes it so unforgettable is that we see this world, one about which we know so little, through the eyes of a child.. . It is more fundamentally about humanity, and about the confusions and wonders of childhood. Ypi weaves magic in this book: I was entranced from beginning to end -- Laura Hackett * Sunday Times *Utterly engrossing . . . Ypi's memoir is brilliantly observed, politically nuanced and - best of all - funny. An essential book, just as much for Britons as Albanians -- Stuart Jeffries * Guardian *Riveting. . . A wonderfully funny and poignant portrait of a small nation in a state of collapse. . . gloriously readable. . . One of the nonfiction titles of the year, it is destined for literary accolades and popular success -- Luke Harding * Observer *Gripping. A book of political reality as lived from day to day by a young girl coming of age. It shows what can arrive all too easily in the void left by a suddenly discarded political system. Unforgettable * Daily Mail *A wonderful memoir. . . a uniquely engaging and illuminating account of a young life during a period of intense turmoil. So readable, yet Ypi does not sacrifice profound observations about politics and culture. Detailing the absurdities of the regime from a child's perspective, she pulls off the remarkable feat of emphasizing their cruelty with a light and often humorous touch -- Misha Glenny * TLS *Fantastically engaging. . . A breakout book. . . Such an engrossing story that it is (almost) unsurprising that it is already being translated into eleven languages. If a film follows, don't be surprised -- Tim Judah * Financial Times *Five stars. . . deserves to be added to the history curriculum * Daily Telegraph *Lea Ypi's experiences inspire a moving and profound reflection on the nature of freedom that avoids either liberal triumphalism or Stalinist nostalgia. She is most concerned with the futures that were lost in between -- George Eaton, * The New Statesman *With its delicious sour-sweet comedy and pages of precise observation, Free opens a window on to one of the most bleakly isolationist regimes in human history -- Ian Thomson, * Spectator *Free is a rare and nuanced glimpse into the history of Albania, offering the personal perspective of a childhood spent in the shadow of an oppressive regime, and the long and turbulent transition that came after * Geographical, Books of the Year *A really fascinating and wonderful book, and beautifully written too. Not many writers could have pulled this off with such grace and elegance. You won't regret buying this one, for sure -- Nigel Warburton * Five Books, Best Philosophy Books of 2021 *Ypi excels at describing the fall and aftermath of Albanian communism from the perspective of her childhood . . . rich and remarkable * Literary Review *Essential reading. Lea Ypi's gorgeously written text - part memoir, part bildungsroman - tells a very personal story of socialism and postsocialism. Poignant and timely -- Kristen Ghodsee * Jacobin *Vital . . . an extraordinary memoir of social upheaval and historical change in 1990s Albania * Huck *A powerful and thought provoking memoir . . . wonderfully human, it is a story of missed opportunities, disillusionment and hope that ultimately invites readers to ask themselves what it means to be free -- Katja Hoyer * History Today *This vivid rendering of life amid cultural collapse is nothing short of a masterpiece * Publishers Weekly *Remarkable and highly original . . . Both an affecting coming-of-age story and a first-hand meditation on the politics of freedom -- Caroline Sanderson * Editor’s Choice, Bookseller *A probing personal history, poignant and moving. A young life unfolding amidst great historical change - ideology, war, loss, uncertainty. This is history brought memorably and powerfully to life -- Tara Westover, author of EducatedUnique, insightful, and often hilarious. . . Albania on the cusp of change, chaos and civil war is the setting for the best memoir to emerge from the Balkans in decades -- Craig Turp-Balazs * Emerging Europe *A lyrical memoir, of deep and affecting power, of the sweet smell of humanity mingled with flesh, blood and hope -- Philippe Sands, author of East West StreetFree is astonishing. Lea Ypi has a natural gift for storytelling. It brims with life, warmth, and texture, as well as her keen intelligence. A gripping, often hilarious, poignant, psychologically acute masterpiece and the best book I've read so far this year -- Olivia Sudjic, author of Asylum RoadLea Ypi's teenage journey through the endtimes of Albanian communism tells a universal story: ours is an age of collapsed illusions for many generations. Written by one of Europe's foremost left-wing thinkers, this is an unmissable book for anyone engaged in the politics of resistance -- Paul Mason, author of PostcapitalismThis extraordinary coming-of-age story is like an Albanian Educated but it is so much more than that. It beautifully brings together the personal and the political to create an unforgettable account of oppression, freedom and what it means to acquire knowledge about the world. Funny, moving but also deadly serious, this book will be read for years to come -- David Runciman, author of How Democracy EndsA new classic that bursts out of the global silence of Albania to tell us human truths about the politics of the past hundred years. . . It unfolds with revelation after revelation - both familial and national - as if written by a master novelist. As if it were, say, a novella by Tolstoy. That this very serious book is so much fun to read is a compliment to its graceful, witty, honest writer. A literary triumph -- Amy Wilentz, author of Farewell, Fred VoodooIlluminating and subversive, Free asks us to consider what happens to our ideals when they come into contact with imperfect places and people and what can be salvaged from the wreckage of the past -- Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in TehranA young girl grows up in a repressive Communist state, where public certainties are happily accepted and private truths are hidden; as that world falls away, she has to make her own sense of life, based on conflicting advice, fragments of information and, above all, her own stubborn curiosity. Thought-provoking, deliciously funny, poignant, sharply observed and beautifully written, this is a childhood memoir like very few others -- a really marvellous book -- Noel Malcolm, author of Agents of EmpireFree is one of those very rare books that shows how history shapes people's lives and their politics. Lea Ypi is such a brilliant, powerful writer that her story becomes your story -- Ivan Krastev, author of The Light that FailedLea Ypi is a pathbreaking philosopher who is also becoming one of the most important public thinkers of our time. Here she draws on her unique historical experience to shed new light on the questions of freedom that matter to all of us. This extraordinary book is both personally moving and politically revolutionary. If we take its lessons to heart, it can help to set us free -- Martin Hägglund, author of This LifeI haven't in many years read a memoir from this part of the world as warmly inviting as this one. Written by an intellectual with story-telling gifts, Free makes life on the ground in Albania vivid and immediate -- Vivian Gornick, author of Unfinished BusinessLea Ypi has a wonderful gift for showing and not telling. In Free she demonstrates with humour, humanity and a sometimes painful honesty, how political communities without human rights will always end in cruelty. True freedom must be from both oppression and neglect -- Shami Chakrabarti, author of On LibertyA funny and fascinating memoir * White Review, Books of the Year *A rightly acclaimed account of loss of innocence in Albania from a master of subtext . . . Precise, acute, often funny and always accessible * The Irish Times *A remarkable story, stunningly told -- Emma Duncan * The Times *A vivid portrayal of how it felt to live through the transition from socialism to capitalism, Ypi's book will interest readers wishing to learn more about Albania during this tumultuous historical period, but also anyone interested in questioning the taken-for-granted ideological assumptions that underpin all societies and shape quotidian experiences in often imperceptible ways -- Hannah Proctor * Red Pepper *A classic, moving coming-of-age story. . . Ypi is a beautiful writer and a serious political thinker, and in just a couple hundred readable pages, she takes turns between being bitingly, if darkly, funny (she skewers Stalinism and the World Bank with equal deadpan) and truly profound * New York Times *Beguiling. . . the most probing memoir yet produced of the undefined 'transition' period after European communism. More profoundly a primer on how to live when old verities turn to dust. Ypi has written a brilliant personal history of disorientation, of what happens when the guardrails of everyday life suddenly fall away. . . Reading Free today is not so much a flashback to the Cold War as a glimpse of every society's possible pathway, a postcard from the future -- Charles King * Washington Post *

Read more less

Book Synopsis''People can only be free in relation to one another.''Three exhilarating and inspiring essays in which the great twentieth-century political philosopher argues that there can be no freedom without politics, and no politics without freedom.One of twenty new books in the bestselling Penguin Great Ideas series. This new selection showcases a diverse list of thinkers who have helped shape our world today, from anarchists to stoics, feminists to prophets, satirists to Zen Buddhists.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"This slip of a book can be quickly read, but puts forth important concepts. Its ideas will stay with readers a long time." * Publishers Weekly *"[A] dazzling little book." * Times Higher Education *"A tiny, commuter-friendly pamphlet between hard covers. . . . On Freedom economically and elegantly takes apart the accusation that nudges undermine liberty."---Julian Baggini, Financial Times"This book is a very clear and by construction concise case for nudges as freedom."---Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist"Sunstein’s examples and his breakdown of what can be done are illuminating."---Siddharth Singh, Open Magazine"The argument is clearly articulated and raises important ethical and economic issues." * Paradigm Explorer *"An engaging discussion of the relationships between individual freedom, welfare, and paternalism. . . . I highly recommend Sunstein’s book to anyone interested in a readable and well-argued study of the relationships between freedom, welfare, and the law."---Guido Pincione, Law & Liberty

Read more less

Book SynopsisEdward S. Herman is Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Among his books are Corporate Control, Corporate Power; The Real Terror Network: Terrorism in Fact and Propaganda; Demonstration Elections: U. S.-Staged Elections in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam and El Salvador (with Frank Brodhead) and The Rise and Fall of the Bulgarian Connection (with Frank Brodhead).Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston. A member of the American Academy of Science, he has published widely in both linguistics and current affairs. His previous books include At War with Asia, American Power and the New Mandarins, For Reasons of State, Peace in the Middle East?, Towards a New Cold War, Fateful Triangle: The U. S., Israel and the Palestinians, Pirates and Emperors, The Culture of Terrorism, and Necessary Illusions.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn modern Britain, the working class has become an object of fear and ridicule. From Little Britain's Vicky Pollard to the demonization of Jade Goody, media and politicians alike dismiss as feckless, criminalized and ignorant a vast, underprivileged swathe of society whose members have become stereotyped by one, hate-filled word: chavs.In this acclaimed investigation, Owen Jones explores how the working class has gone from "salt of the earth" to "scum of the earth." Exposing the ignorance and prejudice at the heart of the chav caricature, he portrays a far more complex reality. The chav stereotype, he argues, is used by governments as a convenient figleaf to avoid genuine engagement with social and economic problems and to justify widening inequality. Based on a wealth of original research, Chavs is a damning indictment of the media and political establishment and an illuminating, disturbing portrait of inequality and class hatred in modern Britain. This updated edition includes a new chapter exploring the causes and consequences of the UK riots in the summer of 2011.Trade Review“A passionate and well-documented denunciation of the upper-class contempt for the proles that has recently become so visible in the British class system.”—Eric Hobsbawm, Guardian“A work of passion, sympathy and moral grace.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times“A bold attempt to rewind political orthodoxies; to reintroduce class as a political variable ... It moves in and out of postwar British history with great agility, weaving together complex questions of class, culture and identity with a lightness of touch. Jones torches the political class to great effect.”—Jon Cruddas, Book of the Week, Independent“It is a timely book. The white working class seems to be the one group in society that it is still acceptable to sneer at, ridicule, even incite hatred against ... Forensically ... Jones seeks to explain how, thanks to politics, the working class has shifted from being regarded as ‘the salt of the earth to the scum of the earth.’”—Carol Midgley, Book of the Week, Times“Superb and angry.”—Polly Toynbee, Guardian“Seen in the light of the riots and the worldwide Occupy protests, his lucid analysis of a divided society appears uncannily prescient.”—Matthew Higgs, Artforum“As with all the best polemics, a luminous anger backlights his prose.”—Economist“Chavs is persuasively argued, and packed full of good reporting and useful information ... [Jones] makes an important contribution to a revivified debate about class.”—Lynsey Hanley, Guardian“A lively, well-reasoned and informative counterblast to the notion that Britain is now more or less a classless society.”—Sean O'Hagan, Observer“A trenchant exposure of our new class hatred and what lies behind it.”—John Carey, author of The Intellectuals and the Masses“The stereotyping and hatred of the working class in Britain, documented so clearly by Owen Jones in this important book, should cause all to flinch. Reflecting our high levels of inequality, the stigmatization of the working class is a serious barrier to social justice and progressive change.”—Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson, authors of The Spirit Level“Eloquent and impassioned.”—Andrew Neather, Evening Standard“Jones’s analysis of the condition of the working class is very astute ... A book like this is very much needed for the American scene, where the illusion is similarly perpetuated by the Democrats that the middle-class is all that matters, that everyone can aspire to join the middle-class or is already part of it .”—Anis Shivani, Huffington Post“Everybody knows what a chav is, it seems, but no one is a chav. But then it’s a word unlike any other in current usage ... A new book, Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class, by first-time author Owen Jones ... has thrown the word into the spotlight all over again.”—Carole Cadwalladr, Observer“A blinding read.”—Suzanne Moore, Guardian“[A] thought-provoking examination of a relatively new yet widespread derogatory characterization of the working class in Britain ... edifying and disquieting in equal measure.”—Publishers Weekly“A fiery reminder of how the system has failed the poor.”—Peter Hoskin, Daily Beast“Mr. Jones’s book is a cleareyed examination of the British class system, and it poses this brutal question: ‘How has hatred of working-class people become so socially acceptable?’ His timely answers combine wit, left-wing politics and outrage.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisEmpowering and inspirational poems from an Instagram sensation.Trade ReviewThis woman's visual poetry will make you feel things you've never felt - Popsugar

Read more less

Book SynopsisJudith Butler's new book shows how an ethic of nonviolence must be connected to a broader political struggle for social equality. Further, it argues that nonviolence is often misunderstood as a passive practice that emanates from a calm region of the soul, or as an individualist ethical relation to existing forms of power. But, in fact, nonviolence is an ethical position found in the midst of the political field. An aggressive form of nonviolence accepts that hostility is part of our psychic constitution, but values ambivalence as a way of checking the conversion of aggression into violence. One contemporary challenge to a politics of nonviolence points out that there is a difference of opinion on what counts as violence and nonviolence. The distinction between them can be mobilised in the service of ratifying the state's monopoly on violence.Considering nonviolence as an ethical problem within a political philosophy requires a critique of individualism as well as an understanding of the psychosocial dimensions of violence. Butler draws upon Foucault, Fanon, Freud, and Benjamin to consider how the interdiction against violence fails to include lives regarded as ungrievable. By considering how 'racial phantasms' inform justifications of state and administrative violence, Butler tracks how violence is often attributed to those who are most severely exposed to its lethal effects. The struggle for nonviolence is found in movements for social transformation that reframe the grievability of lives in light of social equality and whose ethical claims follow from an insight into the interdependency of life as the basis of social and political equality.Trade ReviewPraise for Frames of War:A trenchant and brilliant book. -- Mike Rowe * Utne Reader *Praise for Frames of War:It's clear that its author is still interested in stirring up trouble-academic, political and otherwise. * Bookforum *Praise for Frames of War:Judith Butler is quite simply one of the most probing, challenging, and influential thinkers of our time. -- J. M. BernsteinPraise for Frames of War:Judith Butler is the most creative and courageous social theorist writing today. Frames of War is an intellectual masterpiece that weds a new understanding of being, immersed in history, to a novel Left politics that focuses on State violence, war and resistance. -- Cornel WestPraise for Frames of War:An impressive and challenging book from one of the leading intellectuals of our time. * Diva *Praise for Precarious Life:A book that shines with the splendor of engaged thought. * Brooklyn Rail *Praise for Precarious Life:Here is a unique voice of courage and conceptual ambition that addresses public life from the perspective of psychic reality, encouraging us to acknowledge the solidarity and the suffering through which we emerge as subjects of freedom. -- Homi K. BhabhaButler's philosophical inquiry argues that it is in fact a shrewd and even aggressive collective political tactic. * New York Times *Perhaps the most influential and widely travelled feminist in the Western academy...[Butler] carefully, with assertive toughness, combats the hatred, fear and rage of those who respond violently to her continuous commitment to confronting normative patterns of coercion with calls for concerted actions of resistance. -- Lynne Segal * Times Higher Education *Judith Butler lucidly enumerates the obstacles nonviolence faces in a time when it is sorely needed. Drawing on works from Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, and Sigmund Freud, she makes a fresh new case for what a destructive obstacle our pervasive individualism is to nonviolent action - and the change possible with it. -- John Freeman * The Boston Globe *Featured in The New Yorker * The New Yorker *A text with a vision for another kind of world, one that refuses to take refuge in the comfort of moral platitudes. * Australian Book Review *Presents a hopeful philosophical position for evolving architecture competent in responding to society's issues, all the while being intertwined within it. * Architectural Review *Invaluable -- Henrietta Cullinan * Peace News *Butler's argument both builds on and contributes to a wider feminist literature concerned with developing ways of social and political living that stem from a relational understanding of the self. -- Alister Wedderburn * Radical Philosophy *

Read more less

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 *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat can freedom really mean?'One of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation' OLIVIA LAINGIn this invigorating, essential book, Maggie Nelson explores how we might think, experience or talk about freedom. Drawing on pop culture, theory and real life, she follows freedom - with all its complexities - through four realms: art, sex, drugs and climate. On Freedom offers a bold new perspective on the challenging times in which we live.'Tremendously energising' Guardian'This provocative meditation...shows Nelson at her most original and brilliant' New York Times'Nelson is such a friend to her reader, such brilliant company... Exhilarating' Literary Review* A New York Times Notable Book *Trade ReviewWith insight and intellectual rigour Nelson wrestles the concept of "freedom" away from its contemporary political misuses and explores what it means in the context of art, sex, drugs and climate. * Guardian *Part of what makes [Nelson's] writing so compelling is a comfort with uncertainty... It is a delight to spend time with Nelson's erudite mind. * Times Literary Supplement *Nelson is such a friend to her reader, such brilliant company. Her book is a nuanced, exhilarating rallying cry for all those who are tired of the drab norms of our tech-topia and who long for another conversation * Literary Review *[Nelson's] books vary between an academic or lyrical register, but all revel in the recognition that feeling and thought aren't fixed... They encourage a slowing down, an absorbing... [and a] willingness for intellectual and linguistic exploration. * Financial Times *This account soars in its ability to find nuance in considering questions of enormous importance... Once again, Nelson proves herself a masterful thinker and an unparalleled prose stylist. * Starred Publishers Weekly Review *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA vivid account of the Irish slave trade: the previously untold story of over 50,000 Irish men, women and children who were transported to Barbados and Virginia.Trade ReviewThis group [the Red Legs], made up of the descendants of 50,000 Irish men and women who were sold into the white slave trade between 1652 and 1659, have been largely ignored, apart from in Seán O’Callaghan’s wonderful To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland -- Manchán Magan * Irish Times *Essential reading * Irish Examiner *A fascinating read * The Sunday Tribune *As the 17th century showed, being a slave under a Christian master was every bit as brutal an experience as it had been for those who lived and died in their countless and nameless millions under the yoke of Roman or Greek slave owners. "To Hell or Barbados" manages to put a few names and faces on those otherwise anonymous victims * Irish Echo *

Read more less

Book SynopsisUnderstand the practical and emotional impact of your symptoms and learn to organise every step of your health management. If you’re dealing with a range of complicated and confusing health problems following a Covid vaccination, this guide is for you. An adverse reaction to a Covid vaccination can be a deeply distressing experience. It may leave you mystified as you attempt to deal with a range of physical, cognitive, and psychological symptoms that few seem able to explain, diagnose, treat, or even acknowledge. The Covid Vaccine Adverse Reaction Survival Guide is here to help, taking you through this stressful experience in a way that will help you feel more in control of your life. The CVARS Guide addresses key areas of recovery to maximise your healing potential. It is also essential reading for anyone providing personal or professional support to someone who is dealing with an adverse reaction. Packed with recipes, worksheets, symptom charts, appointment records, and diary pages, the CVARS Guide demystifies nutrition plans and advice and includes ways of keeping track of symptoms so that you can tackle them without feeling overwhelmed, while you develop your own unique recovery plan.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom New York Times bestselling author Naomi Wolf, Facing the Beast is a devastating, detailed account of wrongthink, deplatforming, and an unexpected political, personal, and spiritual transformation that followed during one of the most divisive times in American history. In this uncompromising investigation into today’s most urgent issues, Naomi Wolf uses her own wildly politicized pilgrimage—from New York Times bestselling author and high-level Democratic consultant to a journalist cast out from the elite political and social circles she once moved through—as a stunning narrative framework that is both chilling and incisive. Wolf’s sin? Doing the job that good journalists once prided themselves on: asking questions, challenging authority, and, during one of the most politically divisive moments in modern history, exposing the many failures of the public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic by chronicling the dangerous descent of our democracy into tyranny, censorship, and totalitarianism. Unable to remain silent in the shadows and unwilling to collude with the mainstream, Wolf bravely covers topics that few other writers dare to address critically for fear of being deplatformed. Facing the Beast explores reproductive rights, medical freedom, the uncurious thought-policing of the “progressive” left, the Second Amendment, the criminal relationship between the FDA and Pfizer—Wolf’s clear writing repeatedly shines light in the dark corners of our fractured society. A decades-long champion of free speech, freedom of the press, and the Constitution, Wolf found herself not only in the midst of a political rebirth but a spiritual transformation as well—one in which the events of the day could only be described in terms of good, evil, and a metaphysical quest on the nature of reality. For readers of Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and Bari Weiss, Facing the Beast is a fearless indictment of legacy media and the political class, as well as a brutal reminder that searching for and defending the truth can be dangerous. “Naomi Wolf is one of the bravest, clearest-thinking people I know. The reason you hear the forces of repression so desperately trying to dismiss her is because she is right.”—Tucker CarlsonTrade Review“When Western leaders abandoned reason and embraced the ideology of force several years ago, Naomi Wolf was one of few who understood instantly what was happening. She decided to tell the full truth about it all the time, no matter what. The result has been a thrilling inspiration to those of us who’ve followed it, and for the first time is collected here in one place. Read Facing the Beast to understand what bravery looks like.”—Tucker Carlson“In the crisis of our lives and of everything we call civilization, Naomi Wolf has been a prescient observer, a keen analyst, and brave fighter for truth and freedom. Everything in her life and career prepared her for this moment. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for what she has done and continues to do for the great cause. Like her last book, Facing the Beast stands as a testament to truth in times gone mad.”—Jeffrey Tucker, president, Brownstone Institute“Today’s world has been constructed to divide us. Naomi Wolf has seen through the lies and deception. In her personal journey, described in Facing the Beast, she unequivocally came to understand the universal principle—that all of humanity is connected. Dr. Wolf fights for our God-given rights and freedoms. I am honored to call her friend.”—Edward Dowd, author of Cause Unknown

Read more less

Book SynopsisFROM THE AUTHOR OF NOTHING IS TRUE AND EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE''History at its most urgent.'' BEN JUDAH''Esential reading for the new dark age of disinformation.'' JONATHAN FREEDLANDSummer 1941, Hitler and his allies rule Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. But inside Germany, there is a notable voice of dissent, Der Chef, whose radio broadcasts skilfully question Nazi doctrine. What listeners don't know is that Der Chef is a fiction, a character created by the British propagandist Sefton Delmer.As Peter Pomerantsev uncovers Delmer's fascinating lost story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the global response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.From one of our leading experts on disinformation, the incredible true story of the complex and largely forgotten WWII propagandist Sefton Delmer - and what we can learn from him today.

Read more less

Book Synopsis**The New York Times and Sunday Times Bestseller**''An ordinary person''s guide to hope. Read this book'' Arundhati Roy''As accessible as it is brilliant'' Owen Jones''A genuine page turner'' Michelle Alexander Naomi Klein - award-winning journalist, bestselling author of No Logo, The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything, scourge of brand bullies and corporate liars - gives us the toolkit we need to survive our surreal, shocking age.''This is a look at how we arrived at this surreal political moment, how to keep it from getting a lot worse, and how, if we keep our heads, we can flip the script.'' Remember when love was supposed to Trump hate? Remember when the oil companies and bankers seemed to be running scared? What the hell happened? And what can we do about it? Naomi Klein shows us how we got here, and how we can make things better. No Is Not Enough revealTrade ReviewNaomi Klein's new study in shock politics is a warning of the enormous toxic potential of the Trump presidency and a call to oppose it. Refusal needs to turn into resistance -- Hari Kunzru * Guardian *A rare thing in political writing: both rousing and profoundly sensible -- Laurie Penny * New Statesman *Naomi Klein anatomises the roots of Trump in the already dystopian world of corporate-ruled America and predicts the "end run around democracy". A clear and readable guide to action -- Paul Mason * Guardian *Klein moves beyond mere outrage and hand-wringing to offer a practical manifesto for opposition * Financial Times *As accessible as it is brilliant, No is Not Enough is an essential blueprint for a worldwide counterattack -- Owen JonesAn ordinary person's guide to hope. Read this book -- Arundhati RoyNaomi Klein's new book incites us brilliantly to interweave our No with a programmatic Yes. A manual for emancipation -- Yanis VaroufakisLike so many of my generation, I've been a reader of Naomi Klein's since the late 90s, always finding something to learn from her rigorous reporting and thoughtful analysis -- Ada Colau, mayor of BarcelonaMagnificent ... a courageous coruscating counterspell -- Junot DíazUrgent, timely, and necessary -- Noam ChomskyWho better than Naomi to make sense of this madness, and help us find a way out? A top-of-the-stack must read -- Michael StipeNaomi is like a great doctor - she can diagnose problems nobody else sees -- Alfonso CuarónNaomi Klein constructs a common story that allows us to sustain the effects of being shocked. We can act upon that, with intelligence and happiness, to recover our world -- Gael García BernalIf you're wondering how Naomi Klein has managed to produce an essential and gripping book so early in the Trump presidency, it's because she's spent her whole intellectual life preparing for just this moment. Trump is the ultimate logo. Every day we watch him try to exploit yet another shock to the system. So this is the book to read - not just the first word on Trump, but in powerful ways the last word as well -- Bill McKibben, author of RADIO FREE VERMONTA genuine page-turner - highly engaging and provocative - and provides a fascinating lens through which we can view our current moment. Klein is not preaching to the choir, but framing the moment, connecting necessary dots, and outlining the challenge that lies ahead in clear terms that anyone can understand -- Michelle Alexander, author of THE NEW JIM CROWNo Is Not Enough is the accumulation of years of brilliant and layered analysis applied with lightning precision to an understanding of how we got to Trump, and how we can use this moment to bring about another system and world -- Eve Ensler, author of IN THE BODY OF THE WORLDNaomi Klein has written a compelling book that we all need to read and act on. No Is Not Enough is an essential handbook for all people, especially young people, who want to understand the economic, social, and political forces that produced the current crisis we are facing - and how we can effectively organize to win a better world -- Danny Glover, actor

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn her first book since the widely acclaimed Strangers in Their Own Land, National Book Award finalist and bestselling author Arlie Russell Hochschild now ventures to Appalachia, uncovering the "pride paradox" that has given the right''s appeals such resonance.For all the attempts to understand the state of American politics and the blue/red divide, we''ve ignored what economic and cultural loss can do to pride. What happens, Arlie Russell Hochschild asks, when a proud people in a hard-hit region suffer the deep loss of pride and are confronted with a powerful political appeal that makes it feel "stolen"?Hochschild''s research drew her to Pikeville, Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia, within the whitest and second-poorest congressional district in the nation, where the city was reeling: coal jobs had left, crushing poverty persisted, and a deadly drug crisis struck the region. Although Pikeville was in the political center thirty

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWinner of the 2016 PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers "Provides valuable insights into an important and timely subject."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times Book Review "[T]he book crackles with brilliant insights and erudition, while also managing to explain the arcane preoccupations of analytic philosophy in a way that's accessible to a wider audience."---Bookforum "How Propaganda Works deserves huge praise and should be read by anyone who cares about politics and language. Its trove of tools and insights is impossible to completely summarise here."--The National "As with other books that expose hidden patterns in American political life from a great height (those that come to mind are Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent and Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow), the lofty perspective of How Propaganda Works challenges researchers to fill in gaps with more detailed, particular explanations of how and why."--Stephen Siff, Journalism & Mass Communications Quarterly "Rich and thoughtful... The best way to fight propaganda is to become savvier about how it manipulates, how it actually works, as Stanley does in his work."--Desmog Canada "Brilliant and incisive."--Survival: Global Politics and Strategy "[A] timely and important work that contributes a good deal of theoretical understanding to a crucial yet relatively neglected topic of inquiry."--Spinwatch "A book uniquely suited to its time... An example of political philosophy at its finest."--Voegelinview "Stanley tracks propaganda's history across continents and through decades, illuminating its power to make people vote against their own best interests. And what he has found is [that] the words being used may be as important as the politics behind them."--Nick Osbourne, Boston Globe "Citing examples ranging from historical racism in America to Citizens United, Stanley's critique of propaganda and ideology will only prove more influential as public and political opinion is further polarized... [A] useful examination of propaganda's pervasiveness."--Kirkus Reviews "Stanley has produced a highly stimulating book that brings the issue of propaganda to the attention of political philosophers and draws on an impressive range of philosophical and social scientific sources to illustrate his analysis and provide support for his claims. It is bound to be widely discussed and debated."--Jonathan Wolff, Analysis "A searching, eclectic, lively and personal book."--Matthew Festenstein, Political TheoryTable of ContentsPreface IX Introduction: The Problem of Propaganda 1 1 Propaganda in the History of Political Thought 27 2 Propaganda Defined 39 3 Propaganda in Liberal Democracy 81 4 Language as a Mechanism of Control 125 5 Ideology 178 6 Political Ideologies 223 7 The Ideology of Elites: A Case Study 269 Conclusion 292 Acknowledgments 295 Notes 305 Bibliography 335 Index 347

Read more less

Book SynopsisBorders harm all of us: they must be abolished.Borders divide workers and families, fuel racial division, and reinforce global disparities. They encourage the expansion of technologies of surveillance and control, which impact migrants and citizens both.Bradley and de Noronha tell what should by now be a simple truth: borders are not only at the edges of national territory, in airports, or at border walls. Borders are everyday and everywhere; they follow people around and get between us, and disrupt our collective safety, freedom and flourishing. is a passionate manifesto for border abolition, arguing that we must transform society and our relationships to one another, and build a world in which everyone has the freedom to move and to stay.Trade ReviewAgainst Borders demonstrates the clarifying power of applying abolitionist politics to the issue of borders. In doing so, it achieves a rare unity of theory and practice, combining profound analysis with pointers to radical action. -- Arun KundnaniThe arguments in this elegant and powerful book are entirely reasonable and pragmatic and yet utterly revolutionary, proposing an abolitionist political imagination and a horizon of liberation. -- Michael HardtA book that invites us to dream of a reconfigured world where the borders between nation states no longer control and define us. -- Stella DadzieA refreshing, well-argued and moving proposal for 'non-reformist reforms' that would demolish one of the cruellest components of the capitalist state, written with a non-sectarian openness and a utopian imagination -- Owen HatherleyAn accessible, detailed examination of how borders function. A must read for anyone who wants to get to grips with the case for border abolition. -- Maya Goodfellow, author of Hostile EnvironmentAn incisive exploration of how borders operate in the 21st century. -- Emily Kenway * openDemocracy *Against Borders: The Case for Abolition is a compelling and much-needed primer on abolishing borders. By de-bunking common myths, presenting historical analysis, and guiding readers through contemporary social movements, Gracie Mae Bradley and Luke de Noronha passionately and accessibly lay out the vision and necessity for a world without borders. -- Harsha Walia, author Border and Rule & Undoing Border Imperialism

Read more less

Book SynopsisA radical and thought-provoking polemic which examines the foundational myths at the centre of current culture warsTrade ReviewAn acute and nuanced interrogator of contemporary prejudices, Nesrine Malik writes with immense moral courage and intellectual power -- PANKAJ MISHRANesrine Malik writes with urgent eloquence about the world we live in, applying her brilliant mind to some of the most important debates of our age. She's right: we do need new stories. Most of all though, we need this book -- ELIZABETH DAYWe live in confusing and chaotic times - an age where the values many took for granted are being questioned, where universal rights are being casually denied. WE NEED NEW STORIES is the first book I've read that makes sense of where we are, and of what we will lose if we don't wake up. An urgent, totally essential book -- SATHNAM SANGHERANesrine Malik's new book stares into the heart of our current seething political volcano and gives it a cool hosing down. With careful analysis and a great historian's expertise for synthesising a huge amount of information into a clear arc, she engages in a powerful and persuasive debunking exercise * OBSERVER *WE NEED NEW STORIES is a plea for greater diversity and essential reading, at a time when politics is so divisive, for anyone with an interest in current or social affairs -- Lucy Whetman * THE i NEWSPAPER *A rigorous study of our predicament . . . An expansive, structural interrogation of the status quo that draws on a wealth of research and interviews -- Helen Charman * GUARDIAN *Malik has important things to say . . . her arguments echoed powerfully in my mind long after I had put the book down -- Melissa Benn * FINANCIAL TIMES *[Malik] presents her case persuasively, with admirable clarity, and in doing so cuts through a lot of the messy, often befuddling noise. Clear, accessible . . . well-researched and thorough -- Rachel Andrews * IRISH TIMES *

Read more less

Book SynopsisImagine being physically denied access to your office, business or livelihood. Imagine being refused entry to a shop or being told who you can or cannot sit with at a restaurant. Imagine being barred from a hospital room when you or your family member needs critical care. Unthinkable? Today, these scenarios and worse are happening in ‘democracies’ all over the world, and could be our collective future – orchestrated by AI, Big Tech and state-sponsored apps – all in the name of ‘protecting’ public health with vaccine passports. The stakes could not be higher. If you do not have a vaccine passport, you will be prevented from accessing basic services, from earning a living or travelling within your own country. Even if you do have one, you will be exposed to unprecedented levels of government and corporate surveillance, data mining and behavioural control. In Scanned, investigative journalist Nick Corbishley examines and exposes the lies and overreach that underpin the wholesale erosion of personal freedoms that is happening at an alarming rate. In clear language supported by rigorous research, Corbishley uncovers how the rollout of vaccine passports not only represents an unprecedented violation of privacy and bodily autonomy, but how it perpetuates the idea that a ‘small’ collective sacrifice will allow us to return to normality. If things continue on the current path, Corbishley makes clear, getting back to ‘normal’ is never happening. Put simply, instead of a return to normality, we will see the creation of a starkly different form of existence in which most of us will have virtually no agency over our own lives. Inside Scanned, you’ll also find: The massive implications of a tech-enabled digital ID, social credit systems and biometric tracking How basic freedoms and privacy are being handed over to the state and private companies without our knowledge or consent How government programmes and increased surveillance will facilitate discrimination, segregation and stigmas for huge segments of the population Few people want to be seen as outliers, especially if it means feeling responsible or being blamed for the suffering and deaths of others. ‘But there is a fundamental flaw in applying the “greater good” argument to vaccine passports,’ Corbishley writes, ‘because the passports themselves offer precious little in the way of potential good – and a huge amount in the way of potential harm.’ This is not a liberal or conservative debate. This is not a vaccinated or unvaccinated debate. This is about freedom, global democracy and how much we are willing to give up. This is about deciding when it is time to say, ‘enough!’Trade Review“Nick Corbishley exposes the intricate web spun by global predators using the principles of mass formation psychosis in order to drive an agenda of worldwide injection of biologically active substances. People entranced in fear and confusion feel their entire existence depends on periodic receipt of grossly unsafe and ineffective products—all to live the day-by-day existence they had grown to expect. Corbishley unwinds this madness into an understandable framework with chilling insights about the loss of medical freedom that is inextricably linked to loss of social and economic freedoms. This book is an emergency read.”—Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH; chief medical advisor, Truth for Health Foundation“Scanned by Nick Corbishley is essential reading; this book explains in an incontrovertible way how ‘vaccine passports’ have already closed off basic human liberties in many parts of the formerly free world, and shines a light on the mounting layers of dystopia and control for which they form the foundation. No one should risk missing the information in this book.”—Naomi Wolf, New York Times best-selling author of The End of America and Outrages“‘Show me your papers’ is a phrase that should send chills down the spine of any thinking person. The idea that we would bar free citizens from access to public life because they have chosen to say, ‘No, thank you’ to a pharmaceutical intervention for religious, medical, or philosophical reasons is breathtakingly wrong. Nick Corbishley’s outstanding new book, Scanned, explains why. Anyone who cares about public health and personal freedom needs this book.”—Jennifer Margulis, PhD, award-winning science journalist and best-selling author“The rollout of ‘vaccine passports’ and the broader pseudo-medical social-segregation system they are part of is among the most sinister and alarming threats we have faced in our lifetimes. Under the pretense of ‘keeping us safe and healthy,’ governments, supranational governing entities, and tech corporations have colluded to impose unprecedented restrictions and surveillance on people all around the world. Scanned unpacks the logical insanity of the official ‘vaccine passport’ narrative and describes how mass COVID hysteria has been instrumentalized to consolidate not only wealth and power, but biometric control over ordinary citizens.”—C. J. Hopkins, award-winning playwright, novelist, and political satirist

Read more less

Book SynopsisFew things are more precious in a democratic society than individual freedom, and few things are easier to take for granted. In this timely, provocative essay, Philip Slayton argues that Canada, in ways large and small, is frittering away the liberties on which a free and open society depends.We give too much power to our politicians and unelected judges. We paper over our divisions and stifle voices that challenge conventional wisdom. We tolerate inaction on the most pressing issues of the day. It is time, writes Slayton, for Canadians to throw off their self-imposed chains, to stand up and fight for what we believe in before we lose our ability to do soa prospect, he warns, that is far more likely than we realize.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn informative, illustrated history of a unique area of HastingsTrade ReviewA "beautifully produced and illustrated book.""A new book by author Steve Peak has revealed the fascinating history of a unique area of Hastings.""This book documents the history thoroughly, in an engaging and accessible style. It is well-illustrated with historical maps and photographs of the area and there are appendices dedicated to the people who lived in the America Ground, the houses that were moved stone by stone to St Leonards, and later history of the area including the Rock Fair.""Peak’s long-awaited book on the America Ground has been published with the support of Historic England as part of the Trinity Triangle Heritage Action Zone initiative.""Steve Peak, curator of Hastings Fishermen's Museum, has written an absorbing and well-illustrated account.""Fascinating look into past of the town."

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has played an integral role in developing India-China trade partnerships over the years. It believes that the mutual cooperation of two of the biggest economies in the world would be key to the progress of the two countries on their respective development paths.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Astonishing, powerful, so important at this time'' - Margaret Atwood (on Twitter)''Riveting . . . intricate and surprising'' - The New York Times''Reading it will change you, perhaps forever'' - San Francisco ChronicleAn electrifying memoir set in the Salvadoran Civil War:the true story of a young poet who becomes an activist through a trial by fireCarolyn Forché, an American poet, is 27 when a mysterious stranger called Leonel appears on her doorstep, having driven direct from El Salvador. Her friend has heard rumours about who he might be - a communist, a CIA operative, a sharpshooter, a motorcycle racer, a revolutionary, a small coffee farmer - but nobody seems to know for certain. Captivated for reasons she doesn''t fully understand, she accepts his invitation to visit and learn about his country, and so becomes enmeshed in the early stages of a brutal civil conflict which will ultimately see the SalvTrade ReviewOnce Forché's story gathers momentum, it's hard to let the narrative go . . . Riveting . . . intricate and surprising * The New York Times *Indispensable . . . unflinching . . . Forché offers up a vast human landscape of terror, desperation and perseverance that stretches far beyond mere borders. It's more documentary than self-portrait, more camera than mirror. Reading it will change you, perhaps forever * San Francisco Chronicle *Gripping . . . 'I could just as well write my poetry from the quiet of my own study,' Forché writes, 'but I had known since childhood that human suffering demanded a response, everywhere and always.' A portrait of the artist as political and poetic ingenue, What You Have Heard Is True is just such a response, a riveting account of how she made good on that conviction. It bears eloquent witness to injustice and atrocity and to how observing them shaped a fearless poet * The Washington Post *Extraordinary . . . Written with a thriller writer's knack for narrative tension and a poet's gorgeous sentences and empathy . . . Though it took Forché half a lifetime to fully share what she saw - this time is also more cryptically recalled in her second book of poems, The Country Between Us (1982) - now is precisely when we need to see it * NPR *Her memoir traces her journey from political innocence to experience, and, in doing so, offers a model to others who might take the same journey . . . She remembers as much as possible, and the resulting memoir, once read, is difficult to forget * The Atlantic *Forché looks with a poet's acute grasp of sensory detail ... She meets priests, poets, campesinos, retired generals ... She runs from death squads, acknowledges American complicity in Salvadoran military's tactics, searches for the bodies of friends dumped on the black sand beaches. One can imagine this memoir being made into a film in the mould of The Killing Fields ... Written with great care, this clear-eyed memoir and its evocative black-and-white photos bear powerful witness to the atrocities committed by a government to repress its own impoverished citizens * Daily Telegraph *Forché ... writes with a startling, visceral clarity about grotesque events ... With her poems, and now with this exceptionally well-written and engrossing memoir, [Forché] has borne witness, remembered, tried to see. She has spent many years of her life telling the stories of El Salvador ... What You Have Heard Is True paints a stark, tangible and unforgettable picture of a nation descending into civil war and raises fascinating questions about the role of the observer ... Her writing has a way of scratching images into the memory * Daily Telegraph *

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘Heavily sourced, crisply written and deeply alarming.’ The Times ‘This is a remarkable book with a chilling message.’ Guardian The Chinese Communist Party is determined to reshape the world in its image. Its decades-long infiltration of the West threatens democracy, human rights, privacy, security and free speech. Throughout North America and Europe, political and business elites, Wall Street, Hollywood, think tanks, universities and the Chinese diaspora are being manipulated with money, pressure and privilege. Hidden Hand reveals the myriad ways the CCP is fulfilling its dream of undermining liberal values and controlling the world.Trade Review‘A remarkable book with a chilling message… The book’s convincing message is plain… Everyone must stay on their guard.’ -- Will Hutton, Guardian‘Revelatory… A detailed and necessary examination.’ * Sunday Times *‘Hidden Hand is heavily sourced, crisply written and deeply alarming.’ * The Times *'Hidden Hand should be required reading for our diplomats, intelligence analysts, military officers and businesspeople.' * The Australian *'An in-depth explanation of how China conducts its operations to gain important knowledge – ranging from tech secrets to financial information.' * International Business Times *'It takes courage to prod somnolent liberal democracies out of their complacent and dangerous incomprehension of the CCP. We are in Hamilton’s and Ohlberg’s debt.' -- Journal of Democracy'[Hidden Hand] should be required reading for anyone working in government and policy, the private sector, or media — really, for anyone with a stake in resisting the shadowy machinations of a totalitarian regime that seeks to exert its will on free societies.' * National Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisExam board: International BaccalaureateLevel: IB DiplomaSubject: HistoryFirst teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2017Reinforce knowledge and develop exam skills with revision of key historical content, exam-focussed activities and guidance from experts as part of the Access to History Series. · Take control of revision with helpful revision tools and techniques, and content broken into easy-to-revise chunks.· Revise key historical content and practise exam technique in context with related exam-focussed activities. · Build exam skills with Exam Focus at the end of each chapter, containing exam questions with sample answers and examiner commentary, to show you what is required in the exam.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis vivid and fascinating collection of propaganda spans over a century a visual feast illustrating how persuasion, manipulation and fear were used to influence populations around the world. Do you know what propaganda looks like? A mural showing Saddam Hussein on horseback. A colossal cut-out of Benito Mussolini mounted on Milan Cathedral. A film of North Korea's Kim Jong Un parading an intercontinental ballistic missile. A Pakistani newspaper advertisement calling for Jehad' (sic). A soldier firing condoms from his gun in a Ugandan AIDS awareness and prevention campaign. A traditional Azerbaijani rug celebrating the achievements of Soviet space travel, with portraits of Gagarin, Tereshkova (and of course Lenin). Juxtaposing material from conflicting ideologies, Propagadopolis presents the broadest range of shocking, unusual and visually arresting images, encompassing all regions and eras of the modern age to demonstrate how propaganda has been wielded to evoke emotions,

Read more less

Book SynopsisMurdered in Mongolia in 1935 aged only 29, the Welsh investigative journalist Gareth Jones is a national hero in Ukraine for being the first reporter to reveal the truth about the Holodomor - the 1932-33 genocide inflicted on Ukraine by the Soviet Union which killed over four million people. A graduate of Aberystwyth and Cambridge universities, Jones - fluent in Welsh, English, Russian, French and German - was talented, well-connected and determined to discover the truth behind the momentous political events of the post-war period. He travelled widely to report on Mussolini's Italy, the fledgling Irish Free State, the Depression-ravaged United States, and was the first foreign journalist to travel with Hitler after the Nazis had taken power in Germany. Jones' quest for truth also drew him to the Soviet Union where his reporting of the Holodomor incurred the wrath of Stalin who, in 1933, banned Jones from ever returning. In August 1935, on the eve of his 30th birthday, Jones was killed by bandits in Manchukuo - Japanese-occupied Inner Mongolia - while on a 'Round-the-World Fact-Finding Tour'. Suspicions surrounding his death remain to this day, heightened by the close involvement of individuals with known links to the NKVD, the Soviet Union's secret police. Drawing upon Jones' articles, notebooks and private correspondence, Martin Shipton, the respected political journalist at Jones' former newspaper, the Western Mail, reveals the remarkable yet tragically short life of this fascinating and determined Welshman who pioneered the role of investigative journalism.Trade Review'Martin Shipton's biography is a much needed and welcome contribution to our understanding of Jones' experiences and his life' Mick Antoniw MSTable of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgements Foreword Part 1 1. The Young Mr Jones - The Talented Linguist from Barry 2. European Visits - The Well-Travelled Student 3. Westminster - Working For Lloyd George 4. United States of America - Ivy Lee and the Art of Public Relations 5. Foreign Affairs Advisor - Reunited with Lloyd George 6. Weimar Germany - The Rise of the Nazis 7. Soviet Union - Eyewitness to Famine in Ukraine 8. Making Headlines - Breaking News of the Holodomor 9. Betrayal - The Denigration of Gareth Jones 10. Nazi Germany - The Horrors of Fascism 11. Wales and Ireland - Contrasting Celtic Nationalisms 12. The Round the World Trip - The Final Journey 13. Mongolia - Death and Intrigue 14. Barry - A Town in Mourning Part 2 15. A Flawed Hero? - Anti-Semitism and Accusations of Nazi Sympathies 16. Jones' Journalistic Legacy - The Ongoing Battle for Truth Part 3 - Appendices Appendix 1: The Holodomor - Did Stalin Target Ukraine Appendix 2: Walter Duranty - The Betrayal of Journalism Appendix 3: Animal Farm - George Orwell's Mr Jones? Appendic 4: Mr Jones - Interview with Agnieszka Holland Index Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisWe face radical new threats to our freedom of thought – here’s how to retain controlTrade Review'Excellent and beyond timely... [McCarthy-Jones] has identified a great challenge for our time - clarifying and asserting this right - and issued a clarion call to meet it.' —A. C. Grayling‘Impressive… wide-ranging… McCarthy-Jones offers a utopian vision of a "deep enlightenment" in which society is restructured, from its streets to its libraries, to improve conditions for free thought.’ —Literary Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisAcademic freedom is under siege, as our universities become the sites of increasingly fraught battles over freedom of speech. While much of the public debate has focussed on ‘no platforming’ by students, this overlooks the far graver threat posed by concerted efforts to silence the critical voices of both academics and students, through the use of bureaucracy, legal threats and online harassment. Such tactics have conspicuously been used, with particularly virulent effect, in an attempt to silence academic criticism of Israel. This collection uses the controversies surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a means of exploring the limits placed on academic freedom in a variety of different national contexts. It looks at how the increased neoliberalisation of higher education has shaped the current climate, and considers how academics and their universities should respond to these new threats. Bringing together new and established scholars from Palestine and the wider Middle East as well as the US and Europe, Enforcing Silence shows us how we can and must defend our universities as places for critical thinking and free expression.Trade ReviewEnforcing Silence is a much-needed intervention in debates that have long raged about academic freedom in relation to the Palestine question and academic boycott. It provides a thoughtful critique of the usefulness of a liberal notion of academic freedom from a variety of disciplinary and geographic locations ... a thoughtfully curated and insightful collection of essays that will give scholars, students, and activists important lines of analysis to counter enforced silence. * Journal of Palestine Studies *This collection of essays deserves the attention of political theorists and civil liberties lawyers as well as Middle East area experts. Its arguments may also be of interest to a wider public in the wake of America’s long, hot summer of protests by Black Lives Matter. * The Middle East Journal *As global support for Palestinian justice grows steadily, the silencing of criticism of Israel takes new aggressive forms. To understand why this is the case, and how the politics of Israel-Palestine has become indelibly connected to academic freedom, read this valuable and wide-ranging collection. * Bashir Abu-Manneh, University of Kent *Criticism of Israel has become the litmus test of “academic freedom”. Anyone believing that this is, at bottom, a straightforward and unquestionable notion will change their mind after reading this very stimulating and useful book. * Gilbert Achcar, School of Oriental and African Studies *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction, Palestine and Academic Freedom Part I: Universities and Academic Governance 1. Whose University? Academic Freedom, Neoliberalism and the Rise of ‘Israel Studies’ 2. Disciplinarity and the Boycott 3. “The Academic Field must be Defended”: Excluding Criticism of Israel from Campuses. 4. Lebanese and American Law at the American University of Beirut: A Case of Legal Liminality in Neoliberal Times 5. Precarious Work in Higher Education, Academic Freedom and the Academic Boycott of Israel in Ireland Part II: Colonial Erasure in Higher Education 6. Colonial Apologism and the Politics of Academic Freedom 7. The Academic Boycott and Beyond: Towards an Epistemological Strategy of Liberation and Decolonization 8. Colonial Academic Control in Palestine and Israel: Blueprint for Repression? Part III: Interrogating Academic Freedom 9. Lawfare against Academics and the Potential of Legal Mobilization as Counterpower 10. Rethinking Academic Palestine Advocacy and Activism: Academic Freedom, Human Rights, and the Universality of the Emancipatory Struggle 11. Against Academic Freedom: “Terrorism,” Settler Colonialism, and Palestinian Liberation 12 Privilege, Platforms, and Power: Uses and Abuses of Academic Freedom

Read more less

Book SynopsisA SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 'I can't stop talking about this book' Jamie Klingler, co-founder #ReclaimTheseStreets 'What a gem. ... Makes you look at the world, and yourself, afresh.' Minna Salami, author of Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone 'A generous combination of passion and practicality that is not easily resisted. A rare book that might actually change our minds' Daniel Hahn OBE 'A book at once vigorous and generous, pleasurable and galvanising' Sophie Hughes, International Booker Prize-shortlisted translator What does it really mean to speak freely? A wise, beautifully written book that explores the way language shapes our lives and how we see the world - and what happens when we learn new words, and new ways of speaking to each other. Language opens up our world, and in the same instant, limits it. What does it mean to exist in a language that was never meant for you to speak? Why are we missing certain words? How can we talk about our communal problems without fuelling them? What does it actually mean to speak freely? As a writer and activist fighting for equality, Kübra Gümüsay has been thinking about these questions for many years. In this book she explores how language shapes our thinking and determines our politics. She shows how people become invisible as individuals when they are always seen as part of a group, and the way those in the minority often have to expend energy cleaning up the messy thinking of others. But she also points to how we might shape conversations to allow for greater ambiguity and individuality, how arguments might happen in a space of learning and vulnerability without sacrificing principles - how we might all be able to speak freely.Trade ReviewI can't stop talking about this book. There is so much here that is so relevant to our fight for equality, and I really appreciated her arguments about language, gender and race. Really made me think -- Jamie Klingler, co-founder #ReclaimTheseStreetsFrom the very first lines of Speaking and Being, Kübra Gümüsay shows herself to be a master storyteller. Her stories are about language - the ways in which it shapes the very essence of our being, and its power to define how we perceive others and how we are perceived. It is a book at once vigorous and generous, pleasurable and galvanising. -- Sophie Hughes, International Booker Prize-shortlisted translatorWhat a gem. This book reminded me that reading a book means spending time with the intimate thoughts of an author, and so we typically enjoy books by authors whose company we imagine enjoying. Kübra Gümüsay makes you look at the world, and yourself, afresh. Read it anytime, but especially read it if you're feeling alone and/or alienated, or if you're at a loss for language to describe the world and its complex sociocultural and psychological existence. Her wisdom inspires you to 'speak and be'. -- Minna Salami, author of 'Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone'Speaking and Being is as important a book as its title suggests. With an impressive array of trenchant examples, it reminds us how language shapes our world views and encourages us to question and alter them for the better. Kübra Gümüsay's is a rare voice that combines challenge and compassion in equal measure, and her message is all the more compelling for it. -- Chris Young, Head of the School of Arts and Humanities, University of CambridgeThought-provoking ... well researched, grounded in and citing the conversations and contexts it emerges out of. ... Timely and important -- Annie Rutherford * Goethe Institute Blog *An act of liberation - and a clever essay of literary quality and political strength. * NZZ am Sonntag *Precise, clever and extremely readable ... an important, thought-provoking commentary. Gümüsay's passionate plea for a new, free language and a new, free way of thinking questions the status quo. * Aachener Nachrichten *A polemical plea for a new use of language in public discourse. A polemic, however, that counteracts the battle cries with a personal tone and an inviting gesture to start a dialogue. * Deutschlandfunk *A reckoning with our linguistic habits * Zeit *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Russia’s tampering with the US election to the WannaCry hack that temporarily crippled the NHS, cyber has become the weapon of choice for democracies, dictators, and terrorists. Cheap to acquire, easily deniable, and used for a variety of malicious purposes — from crippling infrastructure to sowing discord and doubt — cyberweapons are re-writing the rules of warfare. In less than a decade, they have displaced terrorism and nuclear missiles as the biggest immediate threat to international security and to democracy. Here, New York Times correspondent David E. Sanger takes us from the White House Situation Room to the dens of Chinese government hackers and the boardrooms of Silicon Valley, piecing together a remarkable picture of a world now coming face-to-face with the most sophisticated — and arguably most dangerous — weapon ever invented. The Perfect Weapon is the dramatic story of a new era of constant sabotage, misinformation, and fear, in which everyone is a target. Trade Review‘This encyclopedic account by a Times correspondent traces the rapid rise of cyberwarfare capabilities and warns that ideas about how to control them are only beginning to emerge.’ * The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice) *‘[Sanger] writes with persuasiveness and authority.’ * The Telegraph *‘In a chilling new book, The Perfect Weapon, David Sanger details how more than 30 nations have developed effective cyber forces.’ * Financial Times *‘An encyclopedic account of policy-relevant happenings in the cyberworld … the most comprehensive, readable source of information and insight about the policy quandaries that modern information technology and its destructive potential have spawned.’ -- Paul R. Pillar * The New York Times *‘[The Perfect Weapon is] an important – and deeply sobering – new book about cyberwarfare.’ -- Nicholas Kristof * The New York Times *‘A reader finishes this book fully understanding why cyberwar has moved rapidly to the top of America’s official list of national security threats.’ -- David von Drehle * The Washington Post *‘In his new book, The Perfect Weapon, Sanger offers a panoramic view of the rapidly evolving world of cyber-conflict. He covers incidents from the covert U.S. cyber-campaign to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program (a story we know about largely because of Sanger’s diligent reporting) to Edward Snowden’s epic heist of National Security Agency data. And yes, there’s also plenty of background on Russia’s active measures during the 2016 campaign. But there’s also a wealth of gripping material on stories that have probably been missed by the broader public … It all adds up to a persuasive argument for the truth of the book’s title.’ -- Christian Caryl * The Washington Post *‘Anyone who doubts cyber’s unintended consequences should read David Sanger’s new book The Perfect Weapon. Sanger, a reporter for The New York Times, has been a dogged and diligent observer of cybersecurity issues for years. His book is a readable account of what went wrong.’ -- Robert Samuelson * The Washington Post *‘Computer and cyber warfare is a burgeoning mode of conflict that poses serious threats to the United States, Pulitzer-winning New York Times correspondent Sanger (Confront and Conceal) argues in this perhaps overly worried investigation. Sanger gives a lucid account of national programs for digital espionage and warfare, but it’s not always clear that the various technologies described hold much danger; for example, he doesn’t make a strong case that Russian spoofing of social media accounts really undermines American democracy. Readers could use a more thorough exploration of the limitations of supposedly perfect digital weapons.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘You may not have realised it but we are at war. A world war. And it’s not clear who’s winning or who will ultimately win, but the battleground is vast — cyberspace … David E. Sanger sums up where we are and where we could be heading.’ -- Jon Wise * Weekend Sport *‘[A] sobering new book.’ -- John Naughton * The Guardian *‘The book’s greatest strength is in how Sanger captures the complexities of cyber weapons and cyber operations to illustrate the internal dynamics of the Obama administration as it grappled with these emerging capabilities … Where he falls a bit short is on the other side of the equation, where those principles fell somewhat short. Apple for all of its stances on privacy and protecting consumer information bent over backwards to accommodate the Chinese government … It is well reported, well sourced, and his access provides insights into what many of the key players were thinking at the time and in the years since their tenure ended … For lay readers, The Perfect Weapon is a great one-volume precis on recent cyber war.’ * Joshua Huminski, The Diplomatic Courier *‘The Perfect Weapon may be one of the most important, if chilling, books you’ll read this year.’ * The Saturday Age *‘Sanger, The New York Times’ security correspondent, has catalogued the recent history of cyber warfare, how it needs to be confronted and the intensely complex policy issues that arise. This is the last word in the modern world of cyber warfare – until artificial intelligence takes over.’ * Mercury *‘Sanger, The New York Times’ security correspondent, has catalogued the recent history of how cyber warfare has developed, how it needs to be confronted, and the intensely complex policy issues that arise.’ * Courier Mail *‘The greatest virtue of Sanger’s writing is that it is clear-headed and morally grounded, not in any way breathless or apocalyptic.’ -- Paul Monk * Weekend Australian *‘For the rest of the lay public, this very accessible book by New York Times journalist David Sanger is an outstanding volume to fill in the gaps.’ -- Anthony Smith * NZ International Review *Praise for The Inheritance:‘[Sanger is] a shrewd and insightful strategic thinker.’ -- Gary J. Bass * The New York Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis'' Charles Dunst''s deeply researched, timely and powerful book offers a blueprint for how democracies should fight back.'' - Sir Kim Darroch''Remarkable. A thoughtful and perceptive book.'' - Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt, MPThe world is currently experiencing the lowest levels of democracy we have seen in over thirty years. Autocracy is on the rise, and while the cost of autocracy seems evident, it nevertheless remains an attractive option to many.While leaders like Viktor Orbán disrupt democratic foundations from within, autocrats like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin do so from abroad, eroding democratic institutions and values and imperilling democracies that appear increasingly fragile. There are even those who, disillusioned with the current institutions in place, increasingly think authoritarianism can deliver them a better life than democracy has or could.They''re wrong. Autocracy is not the solution - better democracy is. But we havTrade Review'6 January 2021 was an alarm bell for democracies everywhere. In this age of disorder, no value is beyond challenge, no rule is unbreakable, and no system is indestructible, no matter how rich and powerful the country concerned. Charles Dunst's deeply researched, timely and powerful book offers a blueprint for how democracies should fight back.' -- Sir Kim Darroch, UK National Security Adviser (2012-2015) and UK Ambassador to the US (2016-2019)'Remarkable. A thoughtful and perceptive book.' -- Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt'This lively and thoughtful book provides a welcome and much-needed shot in the arm for supporters of democracy everywhere. No matter how much some may envy the power wielded by authoritarians, no matter the results they appear to achieve, Dunst reminds us that humanity will always flourish most when granted its deepest desire: freedom.' -- Josh Glancy, Special Correspondent for The Sunday Times'A smart, sweeping, and well-written book that makes the case for rebuilding democracy at home and defeating authoritarianism abroad. It is an important contribution and an urgent call-to-action for democracies everywhere.' -- Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, former US Deputy National Security Advisor and Alternate Representative to the United Nations'Defeating the Dictators is a rare book: a deeply-researched and engaging work that both details the challenges democracies face, and offers us clear and persuasive solutions. Dunst's writing is as sharp as his argument is necessary. Anyone who believes in democracy - in the United States or anywhere else - should read his book.' -- Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Chair of the US Senate Ethics Committee and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee'This is an important and timely book which needs to be widely read. Charles Dunst makes a compelling case that democracy and individual freedom are no longer seen in many countries as the surest route to success. Crucially, he also gives us a plan of action to restore the tarnished reputation of the democratic model and to show that, when combined with effective governance, this still offers a far better future for humanity than any alternative.' -- Peter Ricketts, Former UK National Security Advisor, Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and UK Ambassador to France'America's Founders understood that our republic would require constant nurturing. Charles Dunst's excellent book tells us how we can defeat the dictators, strengthen democracies, and build a better future for generations to come. People everywhere who care about freedom should read this book and implement what the author recommends.' -- Lt General H R McMaster (ret.), NYT bestselling author and former US National Security Advisor'The central question of our global political age is the increasingly poor health of democracy worldwide. This is no less urgent than the struggle for freedom during the Cold War or the fight against fascism in the mid-twentieth century. Charles Dunst addresses this challenge head-on with lively on-the-ground reportage and an inspiring call to action. This is an essential book for our times.' -- Arthur Snell, author of How Britain Broke the World and presenter of the Doomsday Watch podcast, former UK High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago'At a time when democracy is under attack, Charles Dunst helps us understand the nature, scale and scope of the power grabs that are changing the world. Dunst also offers an insightful review of the options we have to restore, protect and strengthen democracy at home and abroad. A must read.' -- Moisés Naím, Distinguished Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of The Revenge of Power'Timely, thoughtful, and thought-provoking, Defeating the Dictators reminds us that freedom and democracy cannot be taken for granted - they need to be nurtured and nourished every day of our lives.' -- Azar Nafisi, New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran'In Defeating the Dictators, Dunst convincingly shows that preserving and advancing liberalism abroad is possible only if democracies get their own houses in order. He marshals practical evidence from across the globe to offer a clear roadmap for fixing key challenges at home and abroad. In this turbulent era of rising strongmen, what could be more important?' -- Admiral James Stavridis (ret.), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and NYT bestselling author'No one knows the world like Dunst. He's lived the good and bad in other nations, and knows how to get our democracies back on track. His how-to manual on fighting autocracy and strengthening democracy is indispensable reading.' -- Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee)'A decade ago, democracies were confident that we could prevail against autocratic challengers simply by being democracies. But as Charles Dunst argues in his powerful new book, this confidence is a dangerous illusion. Democracies can stand up to autocracy only if we are ready to face our own vulnerabilities and the strength of our opponents. Defeating the Dictators is a great place to start - essential reading.' -- Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Bulgaria and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna'At a time in world history when too many countries veer towards autocracy, it is heartening to read that democracies still produce the happiest, most creative, and longest-living citizens. Not only must Americans and democrats everywhere make this case abroad, but we must be confident that our messy democracies will yield the best possible future for our own citizens. In Defeating the Dictators, Dunst gives us a clear and incisive roadmap for securing ever-expanding self-governance for humankind. It gave me hope for the future of democracy, and will do the same for you, too.' -- Congressman Don Beyer (D-Virginia), Chairman of the US Congress Joint Economic Committee and former US Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein'In Defeating the Dictators, Charles Dunst explains the threat posed by the rising popularity of authoritarians around the world. He makes the compelling case that our own national security - and the very concept of democracy - are at risk as they wield their successes at home to shape the international order in their favor.' -- Barbara McQuade, Professor from Practice at the University of Michigan Law School and former US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan'Defeating the Dictators is an extraordinary, compelling, and pragmatic analysis of the authoritarianism versus democracy debate that builds its case by drawing on a wide range of illustrations from around the globe and throughout history. In this well-written, swiftly-moving book, Charles Dunst clearly lays out the dangers of rising authoritarianism, and the steps that must be taken by democracies to rebuild trust, restore accountability, and deliver on their fundamental promise - all necessary if we are to prevail against the creation of a world-order based on brute power, one that would supplant the rule of law, values-based order built in the wake of the Second World War. A necessary and thought-provoking read for policymakers, journalists, and civil society leaders alike.' -- Ambassador John Emerson, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Chairman of the American Council on Germany'Like Benjamin Franklin's cultivation of thirteen virtues in his quest for moral perfection, Charles Dunst breaks down political perfection into eight key democratic virtues, with best practices drawn from around the world for each. Dunst's analysis functions as a much-needed self-help guide for democracy in an age of rising authoritarianism. We would be wise to put his prescriptions into practice.' -- Asha Rangappa, Senior Lecturer at the Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and former FBI Special Agent'A compelling and urgent case for why halting autocracy's spread first requires strengthening democracy where it already exists. A smart and timely read.' -- Yasmeen Serhan, Staff Writer at TIME'Everybody knows that democracy is in trouble, both in the United States and in liberal societies abroad. With Defeating the Dictators, Dunst has provided a clear-eyed, deeply researched, and accessible roadmap for fixing what ails us. His book could not be more timely, or more important. A must-read.' -- Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), former US Senate Majority Leader and co-chair of President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign'Charles Dunst has presented a timely warning for democracies everywhere. Drawing on examples in Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere, he has highlighted advanced autocracies' ability to achieve stability by satisfying the desires of their populations - and democracies' troubling inability to do the same. I was the US Ambassador in one of the countries he examines, the United Arab Emirates, whose ruling family has navigated the challenges of succession without elections by generously providing for its citizenry. Dunst piercingly points out that democracies, on the other hand, are not adequately offering their own citizens a path to the good life. Our continued failure poses a grave threat for democracy.' -- Ambassador Edward Walker, former US Ambassador to Israel, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, former US Assistant Secretary of State'In an era focused on the West's strategic competition with authoritarian states, much ink is spilled complaining about authoritarian misdeeds. But not enough attention is given to how to keep democracies vibrant, coherent and successful. Dunst leads us through some sharp and honest retrospection for today's democracies.' -- Ambassador Kurt Tong, Managing Partner at The Asia Group'Charles Dunst's Defeating the Dictators offers a brutally honest and incisive account of the contemporary challenge posed by autocracy to democracy today, the dangers of complacency, and how democracies can reverse the illiberal tide. The prescriptions in this book should serve as a wake-up call for all those who care about the shape of political affairs, individual rights, and global security in the 21st century.' -- Ambassador Derek Mitchell, President of the National Democratic Institute and former US Ambassador to Myanmar'In Defeating the Dictators, Dunst makes a compelling case that the best way to push back against rising authoritarianism is to strengthen democracy at home. But more than that, Dunst examines some of the specific ills afflicting modern-day democratic governance and pulls ideas from around the world to offer practical recommendations on what democracies can do to once again serve as beacons for those across the globe. This eloquent book offers sound analysis and advice not for foreign policy experts, but also for those who care about preserving democracy at home.' -- Ambassador Scot Marciel, Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Resesarch Center, former US Ambassador to Indonesia, Myanmar, and ASEAN'A big thinker, Charles Dunst takes his reader on a sweeping intellectual journey, drawing on vivid examples from around the world to explain the current crisis of faith in democracy - and offer an aspirational roadmap to fix it. Defeating the Dictators is a hopeful, story-filled book that will help democracies beat autocracies at their own game: not by becoming more authoritarian, but by improving our own governance.' -- Ambassador Ted Osius, former US Ambassador to Vietnam, President & CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council'A timely and important book.' -- Frida Ghitis, contributing columnist to the Washington Post and former CNN correspondent'Defeating the Dictators provides the framing and motivation to move democracies back to the high ground, starting now. Renewing the conversation we all need to be having with ourselves and each other, this book is a call to action for all generations. Dunst is clear and compelling - this cannot wait.' -- Bill Purcell, former Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee and Director of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School'Doom has a certain aesthetic allure, claims the novelist Martin Amis. There is plenty to be pessimistic about if you are wedded to the democratic ideal. While not making light of the challenges to the democratic model, Dunst also offers reasons to be optimistic that the model will survive. He has written a book that makes clear how much is at stake for the world's leading democracies and the opportunities they still have to shape the future.' -- Dr Christopher Coker, Director of LSE IDEAS, author of WHY WAR?'At a time when liberal politics is under threat from without and within, Charles Dunst's Defeating the Dictators is a refreshing antidote to despair. He not only tells us why defeating authoritarianism is so important but, more importantly, how to do it. Could not be more timely.' -- Dr Ashley J Tellis, Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former Senior Advisor to the US Ambassador to India and Special Assistant to President George W Bush'Charles Dunst has written a timely handbook for people who believe in the ideals of democracy. Not a moment too soon.' -- Gerald Butts, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Vice Chairman at Eurasia Group'In a moment when authoritarianism, led by the Chinese model, is gaining appeal, this carefully-written book provides valuable perspective on a worrisome global trend. Dunst offers a much-needed survey on what ails democracies today and solutions on how to regain our place as the world's model. His sharp and engaging analysis is essential to understanding our crisis-riven age and how to navigate it.' -- Ana Palacio, former Foreign Minister of Spain and member of the European Parliament'Charles Dunst invites the reader for a long journey in space and in time: the book takes you to new places but also to cities and countries you think you know rather well - and it is fascinating to read the observations and comments of a younger traveler. A good read but the book makes you think hard about institutions, old and new, familiar and exotic, efficient and rigid, as well as about merits and meritocracy, democrats and democracy, about leaders in high jobs who may or may not be up to the standards of their office. There is no happy ending here, the journey never ends - but co-travelers may accept Charles's guarded optimism.' -- Péter Ákos Bod, former Governor of the Hungarian National Bank and Hungarian Minister of Industry and Trade'A thoughtful intervention in an era the U.S. president has described as one of democracy vs. autocracy.' * Newsweek *'Bursting with statistics and lots of common sense.' * Guardian *'Full of true claims, common sense, and a needed dose of optimism.' * Tyler Cowen *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFollowing a remarkable epoch of greater dispersion of wealth and opportunity, we are inexorably returning towards a more feudal era marked by greater concentration of wealth and property, reduced upward mobility, demographic stagnation, and increased dogmatism. If the last seventy years saw a massive expansion of the middle class, not only in America but in much of the developed world, today that class is declining and a new, more hierarchical society is emerging. The new class structure resembles that of Medieval times. At the apex of the new order are two classes—a reborn clerical elite, the clerisy, which dominates the upper part of the professional ranks, universities, media and culture, and a new aristocracy led by tech oligarchs with unprecedented wealth and growing control of information. These two classes correspond to the old French First and Second Estates. Below these two classes lies what was once called the Third Estate. This includes the yeomanry, which is made up largely of small businesspeople, minor property owners, skilled workers and private-sector oriented professionals. Ascendant for much of modern history, this class is in decline while those below them, the new Serfs, grow in numbers—a vast, expanding property-less population. The trends are mounting, but we can still reverse them—if people understand what is actually occurring and have the capability to oppose them.Trade Review“The social and economic divide which Kotkin has identified is certainly real, and very easy for those who have spent all their time on one side to overlook.… Kotkin’s warning in this timely, compelling, and well-written book should be heeded.”—Quillette “Kotkin rightfully places his finger on a phalanx of attitudes, beliefs, and practices of our recently ascendant economic elite and their apologists and allies in the symbol-mongering institutions.”—Richard M. Reinsch, Law & Liberty “Among the books that could end up defining the times in which we find ourselves here in the United States and throughout the world—from South America to Italy to the South China Sea—Kotkin’s work is not as widely read and discussed. But it ought to be.”—John Loftus, National Review “The alarm Kotkin sounds is all the more courageous and credible coming from an old-school progressive like him, and shows that the left’s realignment around the interests of tech oligarchs and the gospel of wokeism won’t go without internal pushback.”—The American Conservative “Kotkin marshals a host of arresting economic data to demonstrate the widening gulf between the feudal lords and everyone else.”—The Russell Kirk Center “A triumph.”—Front Porch Republic

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Uyghur poet''s piercing memoir of life under the most coercive surveillance regime in history''Essential reading''AI WEIWEI, author of 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows''Deserves to be read widely''FINANCIAL TIMESAs his friends disappeared one by one, it became clear to Tahir Hamut Izgil that fleeing his home in Xinjiang was his family's only hope.In this unforgettable story of courage and survival, Tahir charts the Chinese government's ongoing destruction of the Uyghur community and way of life in spare, gripping, finely tuned prose.Waiting to Be Arrested at Night is an urgent call for the world to awaken to a humanitarian catastrophe, and a moving tribute to those Uyghurs whose voices have been silenced.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe problem with expertise?and the dark side of the equation ?knowledge = power.?Experts are not infallible. Treating them as such has done us all a grave disservice and, as The Weaponization of Expertise makes painfully clear, given rise to the very populism that all-knowing experts and their elite coterie decry. Jacob Hale Russell and Dennis Patterson use the devastating example of the COVID-19 pandemic to illustrate their case, revealing how the hubris of all-too-human experts undermined?perhaps irreparably?public faith in elite policymaking. Paradoxically, by turning science into dogmatism, the overweening elite response has also proved deeply corrosive to expertise itself?in effect, doing exactly what elite policymakers accuse their critics of doing.A much-needed corrective to a dangerous blind faith in expertise, The Weaponization of Expertise identifies a cluster of pathologies that have enveloped many institutions meant to help referee expert knowledge, in particular a disavowal of the doubt, uncertainty, and counterarguments that are crucial to the accumulation of knowledge. At a time when trust in expertise and faith in institutions are most needed and most lacking, this work issues a stark reminder that a crisis of misinformation may well begin at the top.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"With a mixture of sober social science analysis and engaging personal travelogue, Lieberman defends the country’s record, particularly its ability to sustain for several decades a dynamic democracy with free and fair elections, a vibrant press, and an independent judiciary. He also ably documents South Africa’s achievements in improving education, housing, and public health, showing that, over the last 25 years, the country has mostly matched or surpassed the accomplishments of comparable upper-middle-income countries. . . . He writes lucidly about the economic and political shortcomings on which other accounts focus, but he makes an eloquent case for the remarkable progress South Africa has made in the wake of apartheid’s brutal legacy."---Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs"Lieberman’s analysis evaluates South Africa as a country, not as a miracle. Rather than being the bearer of the promise of democracy, the world can evaluate South Africa, Lieberman says, on its record of government performance, which has much to laud. . . . Important."---Carolyn Holmes, Washington Post

Read more less

Book SynopsisTells the history of the US post-World War II gun boom through the dynamics of consumer capitalism and Cold War ideology, the combination of which resulted in a vast number of Americans arming themselves to the teeth and centering their political identity on their guns.Trade ReviewIlluminating, timely . . . . an original way of understanding a stunning and enduring increase in gun ownership in the US . . . . McKevitt offers a compelling argument about where the extremity of America's permissiveness toward deadly weaponry originated and how debates on the Second Amendment's meaning have evolved in response to shifting cultural preoccupations. He also makes a persuasive appeal for how the human costs of mass gun ownership could be mitigated."—Kirkus Reviews

Read more less

Book SynopsisImpressive Fascinating' Sunday TimesAn authoritative history' Financial TimesGripping and richly researched' Rana MitterA superb new history of the rise of China and the fall of Hong Kong to authoritarian rule.The rise of China and the fall of Hong Kong to authoritarian rule are told with unique insight in this new history by Michael Sheridan, drawing on eyewitness reporting over three decades, interviews with key figures and documents from archives in China and the West.The story sweeps the reader from the earliest days of trade through the Opium Wars of the 19th century to the age of globalisation and the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. It ends with the battle for democracy on the city's streets and the ultimate victory of the Chinese Communist Party.How did it come to this? We learn from private papers that Margaret Thatcher anguished over the fate of Hong Kong, sought secret American briefings on how to handle China and put her trust in an adviser who was torn betweenTrade Review‘You can understand a lot about China’s relations with the rest of the world … by looking at how the leadership in Beijing has dealt with Hong Kong …The Gate to China meticulously details why this is so … in this very readable book Sheridantakes the reader through the tortuous Sino-British negotiations that led to the handover … impressive … fascinating’Sunday Times ‘Highly readable … Sheridan covers the Sino-British negotiations over Hong Kong’s future in engaging detail…he adds colour to existing accounts … provides a welcome contrast to many of the existing histories of the period’Literary Review ‘An authoritative history of Hong Kong and its relations with the UK and China … even-handed … Analyses with a wealth of documentary evidence the motivations of Chinese leaders in seeking to reverse historical humiliation’Financial Times ‘Sheridan’s gripping and richly researched history sheds a highly critical light on those British officials of the Thatcher era who seemed to favour Beijing’s autocracy over the promotion of liberal values and movingly recounts the brief hopes of Hong Kong’s reformers whose democratic enlightenment has turned to darkness’Rana Mitter, BBC History Magazine ‘Authoritative … Hong Kong’s story is full of drama, politics and personalities and Sheridan tells it well, drawing from a wide variety of Chinese and British sources’Observer ‘Sheridan’s account testifies to the Western dreams about China and to the ways they are shattered … The Gate to China details the regime’s use of its cyber-capabilities to monitor dissent, block communications and even interfere with efforts to measure public sentiment in Hong Kong’Washington Post ‘A delightful piece of writing and research’Jasper Becker ‘Deeply researched and beautifully written … Essential reading for anyone interested in the saga of a city whose fate has dominated the headlines’Mike Chinoy

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Number One BestsellerIt's time we get back to common sense.It's time to cancel the cancel culture.It's time to Wake Up.If, like me, you're sick and tired of being told how to think, speak, eat and behave, then this book is for you.If, like me, you think the world's going absolutely nuts, then this book is for you.If, like me, you think NHS heroes and Captain Tom are the real stars of our society, not self-obsessed tone-deaf celebrities (and royal renegades!), then this book is for you. If, like me, you're sickened by the cancel culture bullies destroying people's careers and lives, then this book is for you. From feminism to masculinity, racism to gender, body image to veganism, mental health to competitiveness at school, the right to free speech and expressing an honestly held opinion is being crushed at the altar of woke' political correctness. In 2020, the world faced its biggest crisis in a generation: a global pandemic. In the UK, it exposed deep divisions within society and laid bare a toxic culture war that had been raging beneath the surface. From the outset, Piers Morgan urged the nation to come to its senses, once and for all, and held the Government to often ferocious account over its handling of the crisis.COVID-19 shed shocking light on the problems that plague our country. Stockpilers and lockdown-cheats revealed our grotesque levels of self-interest and the virtue-signalling woke brigade continued their furious assault on free speech, shutting down debate on important issues like gender, racism and feminism. Yet just as coronavirus exposed our flaws, it also showcased our strengths. We saw selfless bravery in the heroic efforts of our healthcare staff. A greater appreciation of migrant workers. A return of local community spirit. And inspiring, noble acts from members of the public such as Captain Sir Tom Moore.Wake Up is Piers' rallying cry for a united future in which we reconsider what really matters in life. It is a plea for the return of true liberalism, where freedom of speech is king. Most of all, it is a powerful account of how the world finally started to wake up, and why it mustn't go back to sleep again.Trade Review‘A fast, entertaining read’ The Guardian ‘A very timely trumpet blast’ Saga

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe epic, disturbing story of how the FBI is America''s real secret service''Such creatures of passion, disloyalty, and anarchy must be crushed out. The hand of our power should close over them at once'' President Woodrow Wilson, 1919The United States is a country founded on the ideals of democracy and freedom, yet throughout the last century it has used secret and lawless methods to destroy its enemies. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the most powerful of these forces. Following his award-winning history of the C.I.A., Legacy of Ashes, Tim Weiner has now written the first full history of the F.B.I. as a secret intellligence service. Drawn entirely from firsthand materials in the F.B.I.''s own files, Enemies brilliantly brings to life the entire story, from the cracking of anarchist cells to the prosecution of the ''war on terror''. It is the story of America''s war against spies, subversives and saboteurs - and the self-infTrade ReviewTruly impressive ... [Enemies] could have been put together only by a journalist of Weiner's stature -- Keith Lowe * Sunday Telegraph *A history that moves at the pace of a James Ellroy novel. But Weiner's truth is wilder even than Ellroy's fiction. Weiner sets the record straight on the FBI's first 100 years using only the Bureau's documents and oral testimony, most of which has never been seen -- David Blackburn * Spectator *An outstanding piece of work, even-handed, exhaustively researched, smoothly written and thematically timely ... This is certainly the most complete book we are likely to see about the F.B.I.'s intelligence-gathering operations, from Emma Goldman to Osama bin Laden -- Bryan Burrough * New York Times *Extensively researched, admirably understated, yet terrifically entertaining * Boston Globe *Important and disturbing ... Weiner lays bare a record of embarrassing, even stunning failure, in which the bureau's lawlessness was matched only by its incompetence ... [he] has done prodigious research, yet tells this depressing story with all the verve and coherence of a good spy thriller * New York Times Book Review *A fascinating account of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's counterespionage snooping over the past century ... A very good read * Wall Street Journal *An authoritative and often frightening history of what has been, in effect, America's secret police ... A sober, monumental and unflinchingly critical account of a problematic institution * Kirkus Reviews *An important, judicious account of the tension between national security and civil liberties * Publishers Weekly *Fascinating ... an important and biting inquiry into an agency that protects Americans in a dangerous world while straining against the limitations we rightly impose upon it * San Francisco Chronicle *[A] masterpiece ... reads like a thriller, but don't let the heart-pumping prose fool you ... a scholarly tour de force that will be an instant classic for any serious student of American national security -- Amy Zegart (author of Spying Blind: The CIA, the FBI and the Origins of 9/11)Fast-paced, fair-minded and fascinating ... turns the long history of the FBI into a story that is as compelling, and important, as today's headlines -- Jeffrey Toobin (author of The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court)Riveting ... goes so deep into the agency's skullduggery, readers feel they are tapping the phones along with J. Edgar Hoover. This is a book that every American who cares about civil liberties should read -- Jane Mayer (author of The Dark Side)The most comprehensive history of the FBI as an intelligence agency we have ever had ... essential reading for anyone concerned about American civil liberties -- Robert Dallek (author of John F. Kennedy)

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe first theory of legitimate opposition in fifty yearsTrade Review“Legitimate opposition—an essential political practice aimed at concentrated power—has been hiding in plain sight. Now, at this critical moment, Kirshner brings it forcefully into focus.”—Nancy L. Rosenblum, coauthor of A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy“In this brilliant book, Alexander S. Kirshner reminds us that representative democracy can hardly be conceived without permanent legitimate opposition and the practice of disagreement and political conflict.”—Nadia Urbinati, author of Me the People“Alex Kirshner offers the definitive account of how we should understand the ‘legitimate opposition’—one that is realistic, skeptical, and yet preserves the most demanding aspirations for democracy.”—Russell Muirhead, coauthor of A Lot of People Are Saying“Alexander Kirshner’s Legitimate Opposition offers a subtle, systematic and powerful way to analyze one crucial vulnerability in democracy: opposition by some to democracy itself.”—Corey Brettschneider, author of The Oath and the Office

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn the night of November 9, 1989, massive crowds surged toward the Berlin Wall, drawn by an announcement that caught the world by surprise: East Germans could now move freely to the West. The Wall,infamous symbol of divided Cold War Europe,seemed to be falling. But the opening of the gates that night was not planned by the East German ruling regime,nor was it the result of a bargain between either Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.It was an accident.In The Collapse , Prize-winning historian Mary Elise Sarotte reveals how a perfect storm of decisions made by daring underground revolutionaries, disgruntled Stasi officers, and dictatorial party bosses sparked an unexpected series of events culminating in the chaotic fall of the Wall. With a novelist''s eye for character and detail, she brings to vivid life a story that sweeps across Budapest, Prague, Dresden, and Leipzig and up to the armed checkpoints in Berlin.We meet the revolutionaries Roland Jahn, Aram Radomski, and Siggi Schefke, risking it all to smuggle the truth across the Iron Curtain the hapless Politburo member Günter Schabowski, mistakenly suggesting that the Wall is open to a press conference full of foreign journalists, including NBC''s Tom Brokaw and Stasi officer Harald Jäger, holding the fort at the crucial border crossing that night. Soon, Brokaw starts broadcasting live from Berlin''s Brandenburg Gate, where the crowds are exulting in the euphoria of newfound freedom,and the dictators are plotting to restore control.Drawing on new archival sources and dozens of interviews, The Collapse offers the definitive account of the night that brought down the Berlin Wall.Trade ReviewFareed Zakaria GPS Book of the Week "This is easily the best book on the fall of the Berlin Wall. It reads like a thriller, it's deeply researched and smoothly written. It will remind you how unlikely it was that the Soviet empire would collapse until one day it did." Economist "[This] story has not previously been told...so vividly and comprehensively. [Sarotte] brings those dramatic days to life... The events she describes are at times so unlikely and unfold so quickly that her plot would probably have been rejected in Tinseltown had she offered it during the Cold War." Financial Times Best History Books of 2014 "An authoritative and fast-moving account of the events that led up to the collapse of East Germany." Washington Post "Sarotte is a superb historian. She's ferociously intelligent, but what really separates her from her colleagues is her acute sensitivity to human drama." Foreign Affairs "Sarotte's lively and engaging book scrupulously details the events of November 9, 1989, when the world watched in shock as the Berlin Wall came down." Guardian, UK "Sarotte has produced a skillful, scrupulously documented, nuanced reconstruction of how a series of mistakes by East German leaders and officials...turned what was meant to be a carefully managed process of controlled opening...into the world's most celebrated festival of popular liberation." Telegraph, UK "A fast-paced, fascinating account of the final weeks, days and hours of the wall." Winnipeg Free Press, CAN "Brief, intense, and gripping... Sarotte's effort is magnificent... This is history at its best." Washington Post's Post Everything Blog "The book that will haunt Vladimir Putin as long as he's in power." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "The most definitive account to date of the events that led to the demise of the German Democratic Republic, the reunification of Germany and the end of the Cold War... It is a scholarly work of considerable accomplishment, painstakingly researched, fastidiously documented... This book is well-written, even fluid. Ultimately, it rewards the patient reader, who emerges with a deeper and richer understanding of one of the most astonishing and memorable events of the past quarter century." H-Diplo "Sarotte's wonderfully written book--backed up with reams of research and interviews--explains the factors that led to one of the most important moments in the twentieth century." Booklist, starred review "An inspiring and often thrilling account." Publishers Weekly "This gripping, important account of a long-misinterpreted event is one of the most surprising books about the Cold War." Kirkus "A rigorous sifting of evidence surrounding the final toppling of the sclerotic East German state. With extensive use of Stasi files, Sarotte finds that accident, rather than planning, caused the collapse of the Berlin Wall... [T]his account amply conveys the universal amazement and excitement of the time." Library Journal "[Sarotte] utilizes international reactions, publications, and interviews to highlight or offset her main narrative and in doing so creates a cohesive picture of a tumultuous nation whose oppressed yet hopeful citizenry sought the freedom they had been denied. Amply researched and emotive, this work shares the full narrative of events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in a way that both academics and lay readers will appreciate." Economist Best Books of 2014 "A blow-by-blow account of the birth of modern Germany on November 9th 1989, when, at an otherwise dull press conference in East Berlin, a government spokesman said that a new law permitting East Germans more freedom to travel would go into effect immediately. It changed Europe for ever." BBC History Magazine 2014 Books of the Year "This is history writing at its very best, full of drama and pathos, yet immaculately researched and elegantly written." Zocalo Public Square 10 Best Books of 2014 "The Collapse challenges our narrative of the Soviet Union's collapse, 25 years after the Wall's fall. Sarotte deftly balances individual human agency and contingency with larger political forces to show that the Berlin Wall coming down was neither inevitable nor the result of global power shifts alone." Wall Street Journal "Sarotte runs a fine-tooth comb through the archives and gathers an impressive range of stories from the ordinary people at the heart of these extraordinary events. She is keen to dispel the kind of convenient 'hindsight bias' which claims that the peaceful fall of the Wall was inevitable or engineered by bigger forces than human beings who wanted a different life." Angela Stent, author of The Limits of Partnership: US-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century "In her compelling and fast-paced narrative, Mary Elise Sarotte reminds us that the end of the Cold War was not foreordained, but that courageous acts by East German dissidents, offhand comments by GDR officials, and the actions of one perplexed border-guard changed the course of twentieth-century history. This is essential reading for those who want to understand the role of contingency and human agency in the unexpected opening of the Berlin Wall." Serhii Plokhy, author of The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union "Meticulously researched, judiciously argued, and exceptionally well written, The Collapse describes the fall of the Berlin Wall from an unprecedented perspective. Mary Elise Sarotte weaves together numerous German, American, and Soviet accounts, allowing the reader to crisscross the Berlin Wall on the eve and in the course of its collapse. It will come as a surprise to many that that this climactic event in Cold War history resulted not from agreements reached in Washington, Berlin, Moscow, or Bonn, but from the uncoordinated actions of people on both sides of the Berlin divide. The Collapse makes it possible for those who made history in 1989 to speak in their own voices." O.A. Westad, author of Restless Empire: China and the World since 1750 "History the way it should be written: world historical change, seen through the eyes of the people who lived through it, and a top historian who can tell us what it all meant. Highly recommended for everyone with an interest in global affairs." Fredrik Logevall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam "It's one of the most astonishing events in contemporary world history: the sudden fall of the Berlin Wall one autumn day in 1989. Mary Elise Sarotte tells the story with verve and insight, drawing on a wide array of previously untapped sources. The outcome, her gripping narrative suggests, was in no way inevitable, but resulted from a series of high-pressure decisions by individuals--many of them hitherto unknown--who might easily have chosen differently. A splendid book." Rick Atkinson, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Guns at Last Light "A lucid, compelling account that illuminates the most astonishing event of the late twentieth century. With verve and impeccable scholarship, Mary Elise Sarotte tells a tale no novelist could have invented--the decline and fall of the Berlin Wall." General Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Adviser "In The Collapse, Mary Elise Sarotte provides a needed (and highly readable) reminder that the peaceful culmination to 1989's dramatic developments was in no way inevitable." Tom Brokaw "The Collapse is a riveting and important account of the political chaos in East Germany that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mary Elise Sarotte is a distinguished historian with a playwright's eye who gives us fresh insights and telling anecdotes about one of the most important nights of the late twentieth century." Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and author of The Future of Power "The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the landmark events of the twentieth century, but this great change involved accidental and non-violent causes. In wonderfully readable prose, Mary Elise Sarotte tells a compelling story of how history works its surprises."

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat should be done after the end of a repressive regime or a civil war? How can bitter divisions be resolved in a way that combines reconciliation with accountability? In this book, Michael Newman accessibly introduces these debates, outlining the key ideas and giving an overview of the vast literature by reference to case studies in such places as South Africa, Cambodia and Sierra Leone. While recognising that every situation is different, he argues that is vital to contend fully with the past and address the fundamental causes of mass human rights abuses. A readable overview for those coming to the subject of transitional justice for the first time, and food for thought for those already familiar with it, this book is invaluable in areas ranging from politics and international relations to peace and conflict studies, law, human rights and philosophy.Trade Review‘A highly readable rendering of the current state of the field of transitional justice; ecumenical and comprehensive, it embraces the project of how to reckon with the past.’Ruti Teitel, New York Law School, author of Globalizing Transitional Justice ‘This book masterfully contextualises the dizzying array of theoretical work in transitional justice while doing full service to disagreements. Reflective, critical and persuasive, it is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate study.’Padraig McAuliffe, University of Liverpool ‘Michael Newman provides an excellent and up-to-date summary of the literature and approaches to transitional justice that will be invaluable for students, scholars and practitioners, as well as making important interventions of his own on topics as diverse as gender, culture and climate change.’Rachel Kerr, King’s College London‘An excellent introduction to and critique of this ever-growing field.’Social and Legal StudiesTable of Contents Contents Acknowledgements Preface Chapter One Introducing Transitional Justice Origins and Development Defining and Conceptualising Transitional Justice Chapter Two Mechanisms and Approaches Introduction Prosecutions and Trials Purges, Vetting and Lustration Amnesties Truth Commissions Reparations and Redress a) Material Reparations b) Symbolic Reparations Traditional Informal Justice Concluding Remark Chapter Three Does it Work? Evaluating Transitional Justice Empirical Evaluations of the Impact of TJ Truth Commissions International and ‘Internationalised’ Criminal Justice Concluding Remarks Chapter Four Specific Perspectives on Transitional Justice Victim Perspectives Feminist and Gendered Perspectives Concluding Remarks Chapter Five Transitional Justice Today and Tomorrow Debates and Critiques New Challenges a) The Cultural Sphere b) Climate Change and the Environment c) Transitional Justice in Established Liberal- Democracies Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA sharp condemnation of Trump's counterterrorism policy as a dangerous failure. Donald Trump promised to defeat terrorism, but there is no easy way to make sense of his war on terror. Is it a genuine strategic shift from previous administrations? Or is it all bluster, a way to score points with his base? Hamstrung by his administration's weakness, Trump hasn't actually changed much about counterterrorism. What is different is the ideological agenda—excessively militaristic and short-sighted. Foreign alliances have deteriorated, right-wing extremists feel emboldened, and the US no longer seems like a multi-cultural haven. So what is it all for? Peter Neumann compellingly argues that Trump's war on terror looks strong and powerful in the short term, but will cause damage over time. His self-serving approach has failed on its own terms, made the world less safe, and undermined the US' greatest asset—the very idea of America.Trade Review'A sharp chronicle of the [Trump] administration’s cynical and disorganised counter-terrorism programme.’ -- Survival'This calm and accessible book from a noted academic gives a well-organised account of Trump's damaging approach. I warmly commend it for its structured and well-argued analysis.' -- Methodist Recorder‘''Bluster'' is meticulously researched, concisely organised and easy to read … an admirable review of the Trump administration’s counterterrorism strategy.’ -- LSE Review of Books'Refreshingly forthright. ... [Bluster is] a devastating attack on US President Donald Trump and his new friend, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman'. -- Middle East Eye'Lots of angry instincts, no coherent strategy — that is Peter Neumann's damning verdict on a Trump administration that has shamed America while making us all less safe against the very real threat of terrorism.' -- David Frum, columnist for Atlantic, former White House speechwriter, and author of 'Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic''Neumann is one of the world's top terrorism experts. 'Bluster' is an excellent assessment of how American counterterrorism has changed under Trump, and perhaps more importantly, how it has not.' -- Daniel Byman, Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and author of 'A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism''In this cool and careful analysis, Neumann explores the tangible difference that Trump's inflammatory and blustering rhetoric has made to American efforts to counter-terrorism.' -- Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London and author of 'The Future of War: A History''An impressively well-reasoned and well-documented critique of the rhetoric and reality of the Trump Administration's approach to counterterrorism at home and abroad. Trump vociferously rejected his predecessors, but much has remained the same — and what has changed has made Americans less safe.' -- Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Emerita, Stanford University, and Professor of Government, Emerita, at Wesleyan University'In this important book, Neumann argues that Donald Trump has undermined counterterrorism efforts by conflating terrorism with immigration and emboldening the far right at home while torching the United States' soft power around the world. A timely, persuasive, and utterly devastating critique of Trump’s role in America’s longest war.' -- — Erica Chenoweth, Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvard University

Read more less