Political leaders and leadership Books

Book SynopsisTo solve its multiple challenges post-2024, America must act with intelligence and wisdom, which can only come from an active and well-informed citizenry. The issues that confront us post-2024 are profound: climate change, inequality, artificial intelligence, an unstable geopolitical global order, existential threats from unfriendly nations, just to name a few. A democracy needs an educated citizenry. And an educated citizenry needs not just information, but knowledge and understanding.As the dust settles from the 2024 presidential election, the issues that affect us are profound, ranging from Artificial Intelligence to an existential threat from unfriendly nations. How we act post-2024 will affect our America and our children's America. Our future depends on the proactive action that we take now, which is influenced by how much we understand today's issues. This is a book about today's America.

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Book SynopsisJourney through Winston Churchillâs life, filtered through landscapes he encountered in a career almost unimaginable today: Kaiser's Germany days before the Great War; New York the day of the Wall Street Crash; curdled delights of Crimea during Yalta Conference 1945; & French Riviera of post-war years. All left their mark on him, as he did on them.

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Book SynopsisFirst modern biography of Rome's eponymous founder.

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Book SynopsisThis highly topical book looks at how assassinations and attempted assassinations since the death of JFK, and even the fear of assassination, has changed the course of American history.

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Book SynopsisThe story of Winston Churchill's role as Secretary of State for the Home Office.

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisA handy and accessible guide to the colourful and not so colourful characters who have held Britain's top job.

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Book SynopsisIn this “story of hope—an affirmation of the promise, the potential, and the reality of the American Dream,” (Nancy Pelosi), the first Muslim to be elected to Congress speaks out about what divides Americans—and what can bring us together.As a Black, Latino, and former Catholic who converted to Islam, Keith Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress—from a district with fewer than 1 percent Muslims and 11 percent Blacks. With his unique perspective on uniting a disparate community and speaking to a common goal, Ellison takes a provocative look at America and what needs to change to accommodate different races and beliefs. Filled with anecdotes, statistics, and social commentary, Ellison touches on everything from the Tea Party to Obama, from race to the immigration debate and more. He also draws some very clear distinctions between parties and shows why the deep polarization is unhealthy for America. Deeply patriotic, with My

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisSet on the eve of the financial crash of 2008, Barcelona Dreaming is made up of three stories that are linked by time and place, and also by the moving, unexpected interactions of a rich cast of characters.Trade ReviewElegant and electrifying. Thomson's prose is sparse, yet so highly charged that I couldn't stop reading. I love all his novels - but this one is my new favourite. * Andrea Wulf *I don't know how Rupert Thomson does it. Each novel he writes is a new vision of a new world; he's the least predictable, the most surprising of writers. Barcelona Dreaming is set in that city, and it seems as if Thomson knows every corner of it, and every kind of human being who might live there. My astonishment is only surpassed by my admiration. * Philip Pullman, author of the bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy *The three stories in Barcelona Dreaming are connected by ingeniously created threads, but also by a tone that is ironic, observant, alert to the complexity of the characters' motives and desires. The book is set in the modern city of Barcelona, its atmosphere invoked with intimate knowledge and a matchless sense of place. * Colm Tóibín, New York Times bestselling author of Brooklyn and The Master *I wonder if I've ever sat so intimately alongside characters in a story. Rupert Thomson has so brought this writing to life I can literally feel it on my skin. Save yourself the airfare: your new friends in Barcelona live right here * DBC Pierre *What a haunting book. I didn't want to finish it...The stories have stayed with me as if they are actually memories...Extraordinary * Kitty Aldridge *Thomson is at his full powers in this 13th captivating novel. He reaffirms his gift for writing on place, bringing Barcelona vividly and complexly to life for a travel-starved pandemic audience. His confident , spellbinding prose is jewelled with uncanny details, gliding along in language that strikes, unsettles, and reawakens at every turn. This is a brilliant book. * Maya C. Popa *Barcelona Dreaming is a wonderful book, a phantasmal hymn to a city and a lost way of life * Alex Preston, New York Times *The supremely sensuous rendering of Barcelona itself is superb * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisIf you want to be the best, you have to have the right skillset. From decision making and motivating people to vision and inspiration, THE ULTIMATE LEADERSHIP BOOK is a dynamic collection of tools, techniques, and strategies for success. Discover the main themes and key ideas, and bring it all together with practical exercises.This is your complete course in leadership. ABOUT THE SERIESULTIMATE books are for managers, leaders, and business executives who want to succeed at work. From marketing and sales to management and finance, each title gives comprehensive coverage of the essential business skills you need to get ahead in your career. Written in straightforward English, each book is designed to help you quickly master the subject, with fun quizzes embedded so that you can check how you''re doing.

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Book SynopsisThe only full-length, English biography devoted to Zeno.

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Book SynopsisHarold Wilson is the only post-war leader of any party to serve as Britain''s Prime Minister on two separate occasions. In total he won four General Elections, spending nearly eight years in Downing Street. Half a century later, he is still unbeaten, Labour''s greatest ever election winner. How did he do it - and at what cost?Critics then and now have painted him as an opportunistic political calculator, even as a Soviet secret agent. In this powerful new portrait, drawing on previously unavailable sources and first-hand parliamentary insight, acclaimed biographer Nick Thomas-Symonds reveals a more complex figure. Wilson was a new kind of politician but, in his own way, this media-savvy harbinger of modernity was also a deeply traditional man, whose actions often suggest nothing less than a spiritual mission.In an intriguing paradox, Wilson, influenced by the distinctively democratic faith of his Yorkshire boyhood, united a fractured Labour Party, ushering in the culTrade ReviewThis comprehensive, carefully researched and very readable biography aims to establish Wilson's place in history - not as the neurotic schemer often reported during his sad last years, which were blighted by dementia, nor even as the supreme political fixer portrayed by Pimlott, but as a decent, honourable man, as well as a very clever one, who was in politics to do something, not just to be someone. He was, Thomas-Symonds concludes, one of our greatest prime ministers, who, given the political circumstances, had a remarkable record of solid achievement. -- Francis Beckett * THE SPECTATOR *Wilson was one of the most remarkable British political figures of the 20th century ... Nick Thomas-Symonds, in his entertaining and assured biography, paints a portrait of a man who embodied all the contradictions of the movement he led -- Daniel Finkelstein * THE TIMES *Very well written ... Wilson, as Thomas-Symonds says, was an underestimated social reformer who expanded higher education and the social services, and made Britain a more pleasant place to live in through such measures as outlawing race and sex discrimination, equal pay for women, maternity leave, safety at work and, above all, the Open University, of which he was particularly proud -- Vernon Bogdanor * DAILY TELEGRAPH *A well-researched, fair-minded and enjoyable read -- Dominic Sandbrook * THE SUNDAY TIMES *Excellent -- Andrew Marr * NEW STATESMAN *A timely new biography -- Andrew Pierce * DAILY MAIL *In the past there would be weighty figures all over the place who wrote books...Roy Jenkins, Michael Foot...Tony Crosland... [Nick Thomas-Symonds] carries that mantle ..in a way Wilson is his most interesting subject so far -- Steve Richards * ROCK & ROLL POLITICS *With political biographies it is easy to praise and criticise with the benefit of hindsight. Nick Thomas-Symonds avoid this by also understanding the political mood at the time - and, in having access to new material is able to take a broader view. I'd make it compulsory reading! -- Baroness Angela Smith * HOUSE MAGAZINE *In this account, Wilson's concern for the poor, his disgust at racial intolerance and his belief that the prosperity of Britain would best be protected in a European Common Market are the enduring aims of his political life. The Harold Wilson of these pages is not just a dry winner. He is a man animated by passions...Along the way, the reader has a lot to enjoy. The author has a keen eye for the telling story that has not been wearied by repetition...Thomas-Symonds also has a crisp way with vital issues. -- Philip Collins * FINANCIAL TIMES *The Labour frontbencher Nick Thomas-Symonds - a rare parliamentarian who can write - offers an unashamedly revisionist and readable account of the man who led Labour to four election victories. So often derided as a shameless opportunist, Wilson here shines through as a quick-witted, silver-tongued master strategist -- Patrick Maguire * THE TIMES 'Books of the Year' *In this riveting and very readable biography, Thomas-Symonds con­firms that Wilson's governments created a kinder, fairer, and forward-thinking Britain. Above all, as any­one on Scilly would agree, Wilson was a man of the people -- Canon Anthony Phillips * CHURCH TIMES *[Wilson] is the subject of a superb new biography by the distinguished historian and Labour frontbencher Nick Thomas-Symonds. It is a book that has all the more resonance because so many of the problems that confronted Wilson are the same ones that the present Government faces... This compelling...excellent biography shows that Wilson was a much bigger figure than the traditional negative caricature suggests... As Thomas-Symonds argues, Britain under him became a more free, equal, tolerant and open society -- Leo McKinstry * DAILY EXPRESS *I would heartily recommend The Winner to anyone interested in postwar British politics. Mixing anecdote and fact, Thomas-Symonds paints a vivid picture of the era that is hard to find elsewhere -- Victoria Honeyman * HISTORY TODAY *This comprehensive, carefully researched and very readable biography aims to establish Wilson's place in history - not as the neurotic schemer often reported during his sad last years, which were blighted by dementia, nor even as the supreme political fixer portrayed by Pimlott, but as a decent, honourable man, as well as a very clever one, who was in politics to do something, not just to be someone. He was, Thomas-Symonds concludes, one of our greatest prime ministers, who, given the political circumstances, had a remarkable record of solid achievement. -- Francis Beckett * Spectator *Well-researched, fair-minded and enjoyable -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *Nick Thomas-Symonds' excellent new biography puts Harold Wilson in his rightful place as a crucial figure in Labour Party history, winning four General Elections and introducing important reforms that have endured. It deserves to be widely read not only as a fine work of history but also for its lessons in how Labour wins -- Keir StarmerEntertaining and assured....makes a convincing case that Wilson had a solid record of achievement. -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *

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Book Synopsis‘I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.’ Long Walk to FreedomIn 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of democratic South Africa. Five years later, he stood down. In that time, he and his government wrought the most extraordinary transformation, turning a nation riven by centuries of colonialism and apartheid into a fully functioning democracy in which all South Africa’s citizens, black and white, were equal before the law. Dare Not Linger is the story of Mandela’s presidential years, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to finish his term of office, but was unable to finish. Now, the acclaimed South African writer Mandla Langa has completed the task using Mandela’s unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding and a wealth of previously unseen archival material. With a prologue by Mandela's widow, Graça Machel, the result is a vivid and inspirational account of Mandela’s presidency, a country in flux and the creation of a new democracy. It tells the extraordinary story of the transition from decades of apartheid rule and the challenges Mandela overcame to make a reality of his cherished vision for a liberated South Africa.Trade ReviewReveals the struggles, setbacks and frustrations that to this very day thwart the progress of Africa. -- Gordon Brown * Guardian Best Books of 2017 *Reveals why Mandela was irreplaceable . . . he was so unique and he made it look so easy. -- Gillian Slovo * Observer *Underneath the history that has been made, there is a human being who chose hope over fear – progress over the prisons of the past . . . Even as he became a legend, to know the man – Nelson Mandela – is to respect him even more. -- Barack ObamaA rare human being who, in freeing himself of his demons, also became free to give his extraordinary leadership to his country and the world. -- Bill Clinton

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Book SynopsisKen Clarke needs no introduction. One of the genuine 'Big Beasts' of the political scene, during his forty-six years as the Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire he has been at the very heart of government under three prime ministers. He is a political obsessive with a personal hinterland, as well known as a Tory Wet with Europhile views as for his love of cricket, Nottingham Forest Football Club and jazz. In Kind of Blue, Clarke charts his remarkable progress from working-class scholarship boy in Nottinghamshire to high political office and the upper echelons of both his party and of government. But Clarke is not a straightforward Conservative politician. His position on the left of the party often led Margaret Thatcher to question his true blue credentials and his passionate commitment to the European project has led many fellow Conservatives to regard him with suspicion – and cost him the leadership on no less than three occasions.Clarke has had a ringside seat in British politics for four decades and his trenchant observations and candid account of life both in and out of government will enthral readers of all political persuasions. Vivid, witty and forthright, and taking its title not only from his politics but from his beloved Miles Davis, Kind of Blue is political memoir at its very best.Trade ReviewLike a fine old wine, this book is to be savoured. -- Iain Dale

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Whitbread Biography of the Year.William Gladstone was, with Tennyson, Newman, Dickens, Carlyle, and Darwin, one of the stars of nineteenth-century British life. He spent sixty-three of his eighty-nine years in the House of Commons and was prime minister four times, a unique accomplishment. From his critical role in the formation of the Liberal Party to his preoccupation with the cause of Irish Home Rule, he was a commanding politician and statesman nonpareil. But Gladstone the man was much more: a classical scholar, a wide-ranging author, a vociferous participant in all the great theological debates of the day, a voracious reader, and an avid walker who chopped down trees for recreation. He was also a man obsessed with the idea of his own sinfulness, prone to self-flagellation and persistent in the practice of accosting prostitutes on the street and attempting to persuade them of the errors of their ways.Gladstone, by historian and eminent politician Roy Jenkins, is a full and deep portrait of a complicated man, offering a sweeping picture of a tumultuous century in British history, and is also a brilliant example of the biographer's art.Trade ReviewA splendid biography, which deals justly and fairly with all the controversies of Gladstone’s life … It is a notable achievement and will not be easily superseded. * The Times *Roy Jenkins has written many good books. This is his best. It is beyond praise. -- Vernon Bogdanor * Evening Standard *Inspired by affection for his tremendous subject, the author has scaled the heights with panache … [Jenkins’s] evident delight in the man and his story carry the reader along as though on the crest of a wave. -- Claire Tomalin * Independent on Sunday *Jenkins is a master of irony … This helps to make the book enormous fun to read, while it is also enlightening in any number of ways. -- John Grigg * Sunday Telegraph *Deliciously spiced with mordant wit, Gladstone can be read for sheer pleasure. But it is the wisdom as well as the wit that ensures this biography will live on. * Guardian *This biography matches one of Gladstone’s own towering performances. * Sunday Times *The combination of author and subject makes Roy Jenkins’s Gladstone irrestistible … His biography is all you need to know about Gladstone including the things you never dared ask. * Independent *Roy Jenkins has written the definitive biography of William Ewart Gladstone, the 'Grand Old Man' of Victorian politics. Jenkins is a consummate biographer … Gladstone is his chef-d’oeuvre. * Daily Express *As befits the heroic grandeur of its subject, this is an admirable proportioned and beautifully written book, by turns enthralling, moving and (sometimes) very funny . . . It is the best single volume biography of a Victorian statesman since Robert Blake's like of Disraeli. What higher praise can there be? -- David Cannadine * Observer *

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Book SynopsisIn the summer of 2022, the little-known leader of a small union became a ‘working-class hero’. Facing down media pundits who thought they could walk all over him, he offered a robust critique of the government and provided workers with an authentic voice. At a time when the Labour Party was unable to articulate a credible alternative to the Tories, Mick Lynch spoke for the working class. Where did Lynch come from? How did he develop the skills and traits that make him such an effective spokesperson and leader? This book, the first biography of Lynch, explores his family and social background and his rise to the top of the RMT union, which culminated in election as General Secretary in 2021. Considering his persona and politics, this book asks what quality singles out Lynch as a working-class hero compared to other union leaders and, more broadly, what leadership means for working people and for the left.If we want better leaders at every level, the case of Mick Lynch holds the key.Trade Review‘Few union general secretaries master the news media, but Mick Lynch succeeded in withstanding – and exploiting – hostile questioning from television interviewers. Gregor Gall’s insightful account breaks new ground in showing how Lynch built up his public profile, having bypassed – and even thrived on – the union bashing of the tabloid press.’Nicholas Jones, former BBC industrial correspondent and author of Strikes and the Media'This is a compelling account of a charismatic union leader who emerged in summer 2022 as an articulate public spokesperson with a sharp sense of humour and a vision of social justice for workers that propelled him to national prominence.'John Kelly, Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations, Birkbeck'Mapping Mick Lynch's personal and political trajectory, this book is a serious and engaging attempt to dig deeper into the new forms of radical leadership that have been evolving within the labour movement.'Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio, Work and Equalities Institute, The University of Manchester 'During the "hot summer" of 2022, Mick Lynch became the face and voice of mass protest against cuts to earnings, condition and services. Lynch's direct, wry voice spoke to us all, and for us all. This brilliant biography tells us how Lynch became a working-class hero, seemingly from nowhere.'Alan McKinlay, author of Jimmy Reid: A Clyde-Built Man'A fascinating study of the relationship between trade union struggles and the struggle for socialism.'Will Podmore, Morning Star'Packed with fascinating insight'Patrick Maguire, The Times'Has insights for those of us who see rank and file organisation at the base of the unions as the key to success.'Charlie Kimber, Socialist Worker 'Workers on the rail and beyond need to evaluate the strike wave. Gall’s book will be a useful aid for that.'Workers' Liberty 'Lessons of what methods work to create power over the bosses, what sort of leadership is effective in using those methods and others will need to be drawn out of the experience of this struggle, as part of the rearming of the working class as a whole. For trade unionists and socialists, this book is a useful contribution to that process.'Connor Rosoman, International Socialist Alternative -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Approaching Lynch: the framework2 What is a ‘working-class hero’? 3 Sparks fly! Boyhood and blacklisted but back again 4 Working for the union5 Becoming General Secretary6 A ‘working-class hero’ is made7 Power and participation8 Social democracy and socialism: reform and revolutionConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisScandals and high political office regularly coincide. Over the last five decades, with the world watching the American president as its preeminent international figure, scandals affecting the president have had both international origins and international consequences. Every president from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump has faced scandal but only a handful have faced a scandal so large that it threatened impeachment or even the political system itself. Hence, this is a study of five scandals or in the case of Clinton and Trump, scandalous presidencies that produced impeachments Nixon and Watergate Reagan and Iran-Contra Clinton and Impeachment Bush and the 2000 election/Trump and the 2016 election Trump and ImpeachmentsAlong the way, several trends have shaped the course of presidential scandals. One set has been political. Scandal operates in tandem with partisanship. The intensity of party divisions was obviously a factor in creating the context for all the scandals discussed. Scanda

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Book SynopsisWhen Winston Churchill accepted the position of Prime Minister in May 1940, he insisted in also becoming Minister of Defence. He was not going to play the chairman's role, adjudicating between the competing claims of the ministers below him. He was going to get his hands dirty and take direct personal control of the day to day running of military policy. This, though, meant that he alone would be responsible for the success or failure of Britain's war effort. It also meant that he would be faced with many monumental challenges and utterly crucial decisions upon which the fate of Britain and the free world rested. One of his first agonising decisions was how to respond to the collapse of France, and the danger posed to Britain's survival should the powerful French fleet fall into German hands. When he ordered Admiral Sommerville to sink the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, he knew that France might be turned against Britain, but that act demonstrated to the world that he was determined to wage war �whatever the cost may be'. With the limited resources available to the UK, Churchill had to decided where his country's priorities lay. Should he concentrate on the defence of the realm or take the war to the enemy - and where should any offensive action be focused? Did Egypt and the war in North Africa take precedence over Singapore and the UK's empire in the East? How much support should be offered to the Soviet Union? How much of the direction of the war could he allow to be dictated by the United States? In this insightful investigation into Churchill's conduct during the Second World War, Allen Packwood, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, enables the reader to share the agonies and uncertainties faced by Churchill at each crucial stage of the war. How Churchill responded to each challenge is analysed in great detail and the conclusions the author draws are as uncompromising as those made by Britain's wartime leader as he negotiated his country through its darkest days.

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Book Synopsis**AN ECONOMIST AND THE TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR**'Essential and definitive' CATHERINE BELTON, author of PUTIN'S PEOPLEWe are in a new era.From Trump, Putin and Bolsonaro to Erdogan, Xi and Modi, self-styled strongmen have become a central feature of global politics. At home, they claim to be standing up for ordinary people against 'globalist' elites; abroad, they posture as the embodiment of their nation. And everywhere they go, they encourage a cult of personality.How and why did this new style of authoritarian leadership arrive? How likely is it to lead the world into war and economic collapse? And what liberal forces are in place, not only to keep these strongmen in check but to reverse the trend? The Age of the Strongman explores these essential questions and offers a bold new portrait of our world.'TIMELY, LASER-SHARP... A MUST-READ' PETER FRANKOPAN'FORCEFUL... A BOOK WHOSE SIGNIFICANCE IS ENHANCED BY UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS' MISHA GLENNY'WIDE-RANGING AND ASTUTE' THE ECONOMISTTrade ReviewEssential reading... Recent events in eastern Europe and beyond make it all the more timely * The Times, *Books of the Year* *Solidly constructed, engaging and factually sound... A penetrating distillation of the essential ingredients of the strongman * Financial Times *Timing is everything. Gideon Rachman has got his spot on with The Age Of The Strongman * Daily Mail *Timely...Rachman... has a journalist's eye for the telling quote combined with a sharp analysis of the factors that enabled them to achieve power and hold on to it * Sunday Times *This is a brilliant, unsettling portrait of our era -- Rana Mitter, author of China’s Good WarWhen it comes to making sense of today's world, Gideon Rachman is in a league of his own. He is sharp, original and unsentimental. -- Ivan Krastev, co-author of The Light that FailedEssential and definitive... To understand the chilling stakes of the global Great Game defining this century - the battle between autocracies and democracies - you need only turn to Rachman's magisterial and deftly written book -- Catherine Belton, author of Putin’s PeopleTimely, laser-sharp and unsettling. In telling us about strongmen who dominate politics around the world, Gideon Rachman paints a picture that is at turns illuminating and terrifying. A must read -- Peter Frankopan, author of The New Silk RoadsA searing analysis... A superb and scintillating portrait, indispensable for understanding our crisis-riven age -- Shruti Kapila, author of Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global AgeIn a chaotic world where old definitions of left and right no longer hold, Rachman expertly and artfully surfaces the underlying political, economic and cultural patterns behind the new authoritarianism across the world -- Peter Pomserantsev, author of This Is Not PropagandaA carefully written analysis of strongman leaders all over the world and the threat they pose to liberal democracy... Rachman illuminates the common instincts, tactics and behaviour that link leaders as diverse as Trump, Putin, Xi and Modi -- Anne ApplebaumThis readable book does an admirable job of providing the lay of the land and highlighting the importance of the battle of ideas for the future of our institutions and norms * Daron Acemoglu, coauthor of Why Nations Fail and The Narrow Corridor *Brilliant and profoundly alarming... a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency * Scotsman *Rachman... always prompt[s] deeper thought about how the West should be dealing with the challenge [of the strongman]... [a] lucid, well-argued book -- Roger Boyes * The Times *Fascinating...Rachman uncovers a source of contemporary authoritarian thinking in many places * Literary Review *Wide-ranging and astute... Rachman's most powerful point concerns not the strongmen themselves, but Western politicians' and commentators' wishful thinking about them * Economist *This is a book whose significance is enhanced by unpredictable events... [A] pithy and forceful book -- Misha Glenny * Observer *A series of fluent, well-informed essays about the global rise of authoritarianism -- Simon Tisdall * Guardian *This brilliant and profoundly alarming book...offers a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency * Scotsman, *Summer Reads of 2022* *[A] brilliant and profoundly alarming book... Gideon Rachman offers a comprehensive survey, written with pace, clarity, and a superb, page-turning narrative fluency -- Joyce McMillan * Yorkshire Post *

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Book Synopsis'The Quiet Before is a fascinating and important exploration of how ideas that change the world incubate and spread.' Steven Pinker'Filled with insightful analysis and colourful storytelling... Rarely does a book give you a new way of looking at social change. This one does.' Walter IsaacsonWhy do some radical ideas make history?We tend to think of revolutions as loud: frustrations and demands shouted in the streets. But the ideas fuelling them have traditionally been conceived in much quieter spaces, in the small, secluded corners where a vanguard can imagine alternate realities. This extraordinary book is a search for those spaces, over centuries and across continents, and a warning that they might soon go extinct.The Quiet Before is a grand panorama, stretching from the seventeenth-century correspondence that jump-started the scientific revolution to the encrypted apps used by epidemiologists fighting the pandemic in the shadow of an inept administration. Beckerman shows that defining social movements - from decolonization to feminism - thrive when they are given the time and space to gestate.Today, we are replacing these productive, private spaces with monolithic platforms. Why did the Arab Spring fall apart and Occupy Wall Street never gain traction? Has Black Lives Matter lived up to its full potential? Beckerman reveals what this new social media ecosystem still needs - from patience to focus - and offers a recipe for growing radical ideas again.Lyrical and profound, The Quiet Before looks to the past to help us imagine a different future.Trade ReviewHow does true social change occur? In this brilliant book filled with insightful analysis and colourful storytelling, Gal Beckerman shows that new ideas need to incubate through thoughtful discussions in order to create sustained movements. Today's social media hothouses, unfortunately, tend to produce flash mobs that flame out. We need to regain intimate forms of communication if we want to nurture real transformation. Rarely does a book give you a new way of looking at social change. This one does. -- Walter Isaacson, author of The Code BreakersNothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, but how do ideas ever get to the point where their time has come? Ideas have to be conceived, improved, and accepted by people, and we know little about how this happens. The Quiet Before is a fascinating and important exploration of how ideas that change the world incubate and spread. -- Steven Pinker, author of RationalityThe Quiet Before is that rare book: arresting in its premise, supported by historical examples, and relevant to right now. Beckerman takes a close look at the media that led to the 'changed minds' of past revolutions, then challenges us to approach today's media with new eyes. How can we make it serve our urgent human purposes-among these the rethinking of human equality and the possibility of democracy? I loved it. -- Sherry Turkle, author of The Empathy DiariesBoth deep and urgent, Beckerman revisits past revolutions from the perspective of the communication tools that enabled them, providing insight into how we can better navigate the promise and peril of the technologies shaping our current moment. -- Cal Newport, author of Digital MinimalismThe Quiet Before is a remarkable, engrossing account of the subterranean routes by which historical change takes place, from the adoption of universal (male) suffrage to #MeToo, and an examination of the limitations of social media in achieving real social transformation. Gal Beckerman writes with lucidity and grace, folding a formidable amount of research and original reflection into a compulsively readable narrative. This is a riveting and timely book, one that should provoke heated Zoom conversations nationwide. -- Daphne Merkin, author of 22 Minutes of Unconditional Love

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Book SynopsisBringing together eminent International Relations (IR) scholars from China and the West, this book examines moral realism from a range of different perspectives. Through its analyses, it verifies the robustness of moral realism in IR theory. The first section of the book is written by Chinese scholars and dedicated to debates about how moral realism relates to traditional schools of IR theory. The latter portion, provided by Western contributors, critically investigates both the universal and practical values of moral realism. Finally, Yan Xuetong concludes by responding constructively to all criticisms and further exploring the nature and characteristics of interstate leadership in moral realism.Table of Contents1. Interstate Leadership, Moral Realism, and Its Critiques - Yan Xuetong and Fang Yuanyuan 2. IR Moral Realism as A Universal Theory - Yan Xuetong 3. Moral Realism as An Alternative Approach to Agent-Structure Problem - Fang Yuanyuan 4. Prospects, Promise, and Limitations of Moral Realism - Wang Qingxin 5. Ideal Morality and Realist Interest of Moral Realism - Kai He 6. The Conception of Morality in Moral Realism - Feng Zhang 7. Moral Realism and Hegemonic Transition - Athanasios Platias and Vasilis Trigkas 8. Innovation of Moral Realism and Dialogue with It - Mario Telò 9. Moral Realism and Sino-American Relations - Deborah Welch Larson 10. Moral Realism on Interstate Leadership in Response to Critics - Yan Xuetong Appendix 1: Pen Discussion Between Rajesh Rajagopalan and Yan Xuetong Appendix 2: “Chinese School” as An Inappropriate Title

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Book SynopsisPolitics Home: Parliamentarians' Top Books for Christmas 2021'A must read for political geeks' - Saqib BhattiThere was a huge upsurge of global interest in US politics during the Trump presidency, culminating in the November 2020 election, the victory of the Democrat candidate Joe Biden and the subsequent, horrifying response in the storming of the US capitol. American politics is likely to remain deeply divided during the coming years, and also the focus of global attention - with Trump mobilising his base for 2024. But the transatlantic fascination with the role and office of the US President isn't new at all, and in fact reaches all the way back to the birth of the United States itself.The Presidents features essays, written by a range of academics, historians, political journalists and serving politicians, on all 46 American Presidents who have held the office over the last 230 years - from George Washington to Joe Biden. Each contributor has been carefully chosen based on expert knowledge of their subjects and personal connections, providing analysis of their subject's successes, failures and influence. Any hagiographical writing is shunned in favour of a 'warts and all' perspective on each President and the impact they've had on US politics - past, present and future.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Shakespeare understood power: what it is, how it works, how it is gained, and how it is lost. In The Hollow Crown, Eliot A. Cohen reveals how the battling princes of Henry IV and scheming senators of Julius Caesar can teach us to better understand power and politics today. The White House, after all, is a court-with intrigue and conflict rivalling those on the Globe's stage-as is an army, a business, or a university. And each court is full of driven characters, in all their ambition, cruelty, and humanity. Henry V's inspiring speeches reframe John F. Kennedy's appeal, Richard III's wantonness illuminates Vladimir Putin's brutality, and The Tempest's grace offers a window into the presidency of George Washington. An original and incisive perspective, The Hollow Crown shows how Shakespeare's works transform our understanding of the leaders who, for good or ill, make and rule our world.

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Book SynopsisIn The Case for Trump, acclaimed historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson explains how a celebrity businessman with no political or military experience triumphed over sixteen well-qualified Republican rivals, a Democrat with a quarter-billion-dollar war chest, and a hostile media and Washington establishment to become President of the United States--and an extremely successful president at that. Hanson sets Trump in his broad political and social context to explain Trump's and ongoing political appeal to a broad swath of American voters. Growing anger at globalization, a stalled economy, immigration, costly and unfruitful overseas interventions, perceived poor trade deals, and political correctness meant by 2016 that if there were not a loud Trump outsider, he would likely have had to be invented. Trump and Trump alone saw a political opening in defending the forgotten working classes of the interior, who were alienated not only by Democrats but by elite republican candidates. (In 2012, one Republican taxi driver explained his decision to sit out the election altogether: "Geez, Romney came to Michigan wearing his wing-tips with starched jeans!")And despite the apocalyptic imaginings of both the Left and the Never Trump Right, one year into his presidency Trump boasts an impressive record of achievement of a kind rarely attained by an incoming president. Trump has realized economic and foreign policy results not seen in a generation, cutting through stasis and dismantling a corrupt old order.Hanson is not naïve about Trump's self-destructive behavior (the relentless tweeting, the threats to fire Mueller and so on) but ultimately sees him as a kind of tragic political hero, something out a Sophocles play or an American Western. His accomplishments are a direct result of his personal excesses--the fact that he is not traditionally presidential has enabled him to bring long-overdue changes in foreign and domestic policy. We could not survive a series of presidencies as volatile as Trump's, Hanson acknowledges. But "given the direction of the country over the last 16 years, half the population, the proverbial townspeople of the western, wanted some outsider, even with a dubious past, to ride in and do things that most normal politicians not only would not but could not do -- before exiting stage left or riding off into the sunset."Trade ReviewAs a great historian, Victor Davis Hanson makes the case for President Trump with unique insights and historic understanding and clarity.

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Book SynopsisWhen Emmanuel Macron won the presidency of France he was a political novice with a brand new party who had swept all traditional political forces aside. He quickly emerged as the strongest voice on behalf of the EU, especially once Angela Merkel announced her forthcoming retirement as Chancellor of Germany, and became a domestic radical, facing down the unions, imposing reforms and bracing France to become globally competitive.In The Last President of Europe, William Drozdiak delivers the inside story of the daunting challenges Macron has faced as the last staunch defender of Europe -- including Trump's attacks on NATO and the international order, Merkel's weakness, Italy's government of nihilists and satirists, the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) protesters, the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and the endless turmoil of Brexit. His success or failure will determine the fate of a continent and the world at large, and Drozdiak brings the drama of these consequential times vividly and compellingly to life.

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Book SynopsisLessons from the groundbreaking grassroots campaign that helped launch a new political revolution Rules for Revolutionaries is a bold challenge to the political establishment and the “rules” that govern campaign strategy. It tells the story of a breakthrough experiment conducted on the fringes of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign: A technology-driven team empowered volunteers to build and manage the infrastructure to make seventy-five million calls, launch eight million text messages, and hold more than one-hundred thousand public meetings—in an effort to put Bernie Sanders’s insurgent campaign over the top. Bond and Exley, digital iconoclasts who have been reshaping the way politics is practiced in America for two decades, have identified twenty-two rules of “Big Organizing” that can be used to drive social change movements of any kind. And they tell the inside story of one of the most amazing grassroots political campaigns ever run. Fast-paced, provocative, and profound, Rules for Revolutionaries stands as a liberating challenge to the low expectations and small thinking that dominates too many advocacy, non-profit, and campaigning organizations—and points the way forward to a future where political revolution is truly possible.Trade ReviewPublishers Weekly- "Bond and Exley, senior advisors on the Sanders presidential campaign and the primary architects of the campaign’s national grassroots efforts, distill the organizing techniques they employed during the hard-fought Sanders-Clinton Democratic presidential primary. Bond and Exley argue convincingly that the old-school organizing techniques embodied in Saul Alinsky’s classic Rules for Radicals fall short in the 21st-century age of social media. They divide their commentary into 22 rules, illustrated by examples from the campaign. They cover basics like fund-raising, phone banking, and intraorganization communication, but the heart of their theory is 'big organizing.' The idea is that people will organize around issues that are fundamental and speak to “big target universes,” such as making public college free, or providing universal health care. Along with identifying issues that matter to lots of people, the new rules embrace a structure that gives power to volunteers. Bond and Exley also argue that good management is not counter-revolutionary and note the dangers of management by consensus. The successes of the Sanders campaign gives credibility to this new organizing paradigm, and Bond and Exley’s valuable and pragmatic road map will appeal to those interested in social change, whether they’re organizing presidential campaigns or neighborhood efforts.”“Bernie Sanders’s presidential run was a spectacular wake-up call, revealing the huge number of Americans willing to fight for radical change. That includes a great many who didn’t sign up for the political revolution this time around, which is good news: Our movements can learn how to go even bigger and broader. We can win—but only if we continue to develop the kinds of tactics, tools, and vision laid out in this vitally important book, perhaps the first to explore how to organize at the true scale of the crises we face.”--Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything and The Shock Doctrine“Rules for Revolutionaries is a lamppost for those who are committed to causes of community uplift, grassroots empowerment, and organizing for good. Insurgents get ready, this is the book for you.”--Nina Turner, assistant professor of African American history, Cuyahoga Community College; national surrogate, Bernie Sanders campaign; former Ohio state senator “Here’s a guide from the heart of Bernie’s grassroots movement that mobilized hundreds of thousands of volunteers. Rules for Revolutionaries is a playbook for ‘big organizing’—a melding of grassroots movement tactics with new technology. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to take back our economy from the moneyed interests.”--Robert B. Reich, author of Saving Capitalism“If you want to change the world and the status quo, read this book. An alternate title would appropriately be: How to Make the Impossible, Possible. Prepare to be inspired.”--Assemblywoman Lucy Flores“Climate activists around the world watched Bernie’s vibrant volunteer network with envy and wondered whether we, too, could build that level of engagement absent a candidate and national election. Bond and Exley answer that question: Yes, we can! Everyone who wants to solve climate change—or any other big issue—should read this book and get started.”--Annie Leonard, Greenpeace USA“This must-read book lays down 22 ‘rules’ designed to put power in the hands of people who want to make radical social change. Becky Bond and Zack Exley have walked the walk—and they know what organizing looks like when you begin with a big, transformative demand and challenge the establishment. You win big when you ask big—and whoever wins in November, we’ll need to push for revolutionary change from Day One. Becky and Zack’s book is a vital contribution to that project!”--Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher, The Nation “If you want to understand Bernie's remarkable campaign—and more importantly, if you want to understand how to organize big, world-shaking campaigns of all kinds in the future—this is the book for you. The authors bring enormous credibility and enormous insight to a crucial task; what they describe in electoral politics goes just as much for battles like the one around the Keystone pipeline.”--Bill McKibben, New York Times bestselling author; cofounder, 350.org“Two of our generation’s most accomplished organizers share the creative tactics and technology they used to lead hundreds of thousands of people to volunteer their time to change the course of history—and how you can, too. This page-turner belongs in the hands of new and veteran organizers alike and will set the standard for how to make change in the twenty-first century.”--David Broockman, assistant professor of political economy, Stanford University“For populists who want to continue Bernie Sanders’s political revolution and win radical change, this is a book for you. In their Rules for Revolutionaries, Becky Bond and Zack Exley lay down a new marker for what mass volunteer organizing makes possible by combining emerging consumer technology and radical trust with some tried and true ‘old organizing’ tactics.”--Jim Hightower, author of Swim Against the Current“Crucial, important, strategic, urgent.”--Naomi Wolf, New York Times bestselling author of The End of America“Becky and Zack’s rules are as refreshing as Bernie’s candidacy itself. Their rules are specific enough to get started right now and flexible enough to last for the long haul of the revolution we so desperately need."--Tim DeChristopher, Bidder 70; cofounder, Climate Disobedience CenterKirkus Reviews- "Senior advisers to the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign leadership offer pointers on how to start the next movement—or perhaps continue the one they started. By some lights, Sanders should have won the Democratic Party nomination in 2016. By any measure, his ‘revolution' was an extraordinary success, taking a little-known, admitted socialist from a small New England state and propelling him to the national spotlight—and, though a half-century's age difference prevailed, capturing the hearts of countless millennials. Bond and Exley, members of a team of 'go-for-broke irregulars,' did much to propel the Sanders movement in their daily work, much of which hinged on old-fashioned principles of campaigning. As they note, 'when you look at the actual campaign results, the gold standard for moving voters in elections is a volunteer having a conversation with a voter on the doorstep or on the telephone.' How do you get volunteers inspired? How do you organize them, especially when they're working for an out-of-the-mainstream candidate and may incline to the anarchic? How do you keep the bossy ones from cowing the more sheepish among the crew? Bond and Exley, alternating chapters and anecdotes, have plenty of answers: don't ask who wants to be the leader but instead ask 'who wants to get to work.' Make everyone feel welcome. Above all, make everyone feel as if they're taking part in a historic moment, in something big. That said, the authors note, there are some necessary evils, including hiring professionals once an electoral movement gets to a cer tain momentum and courting wealthy donors. Again, they have answers: 'Puritanism is a bad thing!' they admonish, meaning there's not much room in practical politics for purity of procedure—to which they add, helpfully, that the path to change means being 'willing to throw out old practices.' A lively update of and rejoinder to Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, which, as this book very well may do, has long offered guidance to the right as well as the left."

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Book Synopsis"We will make America strong again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again. Greater than ever before!” — President Donald J. TrumpThe ultimate collection of President Donald J. Trump's most important speeches and words to the Nation.The Greatest Speeches of President Donald J. Trump is edited by New York Times bestselling author and President Reagan biographer Craig Shirley who also wrote the introduction. This beautiful book will include historical photographs throughout and is the perfect gift for anyone who wants to know the history of how President Trump made America great again. The collection includes speeches from many pivotal and powerful moments in President Trump’s time in office and his presidential campaigns: Trump’s campaign announcement at Trump Tower His surprise Presidential Victory Speech His speech to the People of Poland in Warsaw The Salute to America at Mount Rushmore His Farewell Address to the People of the United States and the World The President's own strong and inspiring words from his final speech to the Nation from Washington D.C. while in office as the 45th President of the United States of America:"We must never forget that while Americans will always have our disagreements, we are a nation of incredible, decent, faithful, and peace-loving citizens who all want our country to thrive and flourish and be very, very successful and good. We are a truly magnificent nation...As long as the American people hold in their hearts deep and devoted love of country, then there is nothing that this nation cannot achieve. Our communities will flourish. Our people will be prosperous. Our traditions will be cherished. Our faith will be strong. And our future will be brighter than ever before.I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart, an optimistic spirit, and a supreme confidence that for our country and for our children, the best is yet to come.Thank you, and farewell. God bless you. God bless the United States of America."Table of ContentsTable of Contents of THE GREATEST SPEECHES OF PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP by President Donald J. Trump and Edited by Craig Shirley June 16, 2015 Campaign announcement at Trump Towerhttps://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/ November 9, 2016 Trump Victory Speechhttps://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/donald-trump-victory-speech/index.html January 20, 2017Inaugural Address https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/full-text-donald-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript-233907 February 24, 2017 Remarks at CPAC https://time.com/4682023/cpac-donald-trump-speech-transcript/ June 29, 2017Speech at the Unleashing American Energy Eventhttps://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-unleashing-american-energy-event/ July 24, 2017Speech at the Boy Scout Jamboreehttps://time.com/4872118/trump-boy-scout-jamboree-speech-transcript/ September 19, 2017Address to the United Nationshttps://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/19/trump-un-speech-2017-full-text-transcript-242879 December 18, 2017Remarks on National Security Strategyhttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-trumps-full-speech-outlining-his-national-security-strategy January 26, 2018Address at the World Economic Forumhttps://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/26/full-text-trump-davos-speech-transcript-370861 January 30, 2018State of the Union Addresshttps://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/politics/2018-state-of-the-union-transcript February 1, 2018Remarks at the House and Senate Republican Member Congresshttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/february-1-2018-remarks-house-and-senate-republican-member February 15, 2018Statement on the School Shooting in Parkland, Floridahttps://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/transcript-trump-parkland-shooting February 23, 2018Remarks at the Conservatives Political Action Conference (CPAC)https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/23/17044760/transcript-trump-cpac-speech-snake-mccain March 19,2018Remarks on Combating the Opioid Crisishttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-19-2018-remarks-combating-opioid-crisis July 24, 2018 Speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Conventionhttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/july-24-2018-speech-veterans-foreign-wars-national-convention September 25, 2018Address at the 73rd Session of the United National General Assemblyhttps://ee.usembassy.gov/remarks-president-unga2018/ January 19, 2019Remarks About the US Southern Borderhttps://www.cnn.com/2019/01/19/politics/trump-address-immigration-shutdown February 5, 2019State of the Union Addresshttps://time.com/5521860/2019-state-of-the-union-trump-transcript/ February 15, 2019Speech Declaring a National Emergencyhttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/trumps-declaration-national-emergency-full-text/582928/ September 24, 2019Remarks at the United Nations General Assemblyhttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/september-24-2019-remarks-united-nations-general-assembly September 25, 2019Press Conferencehttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/september-25-2019-press-conference October 27, 2019Statement on the Death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadihttps://www.npr.org/2019/10/27/773842999/read-trump-statement-on-baghdadis-death January 3, 2020Remarks on the Death of Qasem Soleimanihttps://ge.usembassy.gov/remarks-by-president-trump-on-the-killing-of-qasem-soleimani-january-3/ January 8, 2020Statement on Iranhttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/us/politics/trump-address.html January 24, 2020Speech at March for Lifehttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-24-2020-speech-march-life February 4, 2020State of the Union Addresshttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/politics/state-of-union-transcript.html February 6, 2020Remarks after His Acquittal in First Impeachment Trialhttps://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/politics/trump-acquittal-remarks-transcript/index.html March 11, 2020Statement on the Coronavirushttps://www.cpr.org/2020/03/11/transcript-video-president-donald-trump-addresses-the-nation-on-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ March 13, 2020Press Conference about the Coronavirushttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-13-2020-press-conference-about-coronavirus April 13, 2020Coronavirus Task Force Briefinghttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/april-13-2020-coronavirus-task-force-briefing April 15, 2020Press Briefing with the Coronavirus Task Forcehttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/april-15-2020-press-briefing-coronavirus-task-force April 23, 2020Task Force Briefing on the Coronavirus Pandemichttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/april-23-2020-task-force-briefing-coronavirus-pandemic June 1, 2020Statement on Protests Against Police Brutalityhttps://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-trump-mobilize-federal-resources-stop-violence-restore/story?id=71008802 June 13, 2020Address at West Point Graduationhttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/june-13-2020-address-west-point-graduation June 20, 2020 Campaign Rally in Tulsa, Oklahomahttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/june-20-2020-campaign-rally-tulsa-oklahoma July 4, 2020Remarks at Salute to America (Mt. Rushmore) https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/july-4-2020-remarks-salute-america August 8, 2020Press Conference on Executive Ordershttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/august-8-2020-press-conference-executive-orders September 7, 2020Labor Day Press Conferencehttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/september-7-2020-labor-day-press-conference September 26, 2020Announcing His Nominee the Honorable Amy Coney Barrettfor the US Supreme Courthttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/september-26-2020-announcing-his-nominee-us-supreme-court October 26, 2020Swearing in Ceremony of the Honorable Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Courthttps://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/amy-coney-barrett-swearing-in-ceremony-transcript November 5, 2020Remarks on the 2020 Electionhttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/november-5-2020-remarks-2020-election January 6, 2021Speech Urging Supporters to Go Homehttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-6-2021-speech-urging-supporters-go-home January 7, 2021Message After US Capitol Protestshttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-7-2021-message-after-pro-trump-mob-overruns-us-capitol January 13, 2021Statement about the Violence at the Capitolhttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-13-2021-statement-about-violence-capitol January 19, 2021Farewell Address to the Nationhttps://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-19-2021-farewell-address

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1885 by Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant’s landmark memoir has been annotated by Elizabeth Samet in this lavish edition. No previous edition combines such a sweep of historical and cultural contexts with the literary authority that Samet, obsessed with Grant for decades, brings to the table. Whether exploring novels Grant read at West Point or presenting majestic images culled from archives, Samet curates a richly annotated edition. Never has Grant’s transformation from tanner’s son to military leader been more insightfully and passionately explained than in this timely edition, appearing on the 150th anniversary of Grant’s 1868 presidential election.

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Book SynopsisTo look at Martin McGuinness' life is to follow Northern Ireland's own transition from conflict to peace. Martin McGuinness: A Life Remembered tells the remarkable story of McGuinness' journey from IRA leader to deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, and features all the milestones in his life - from the darkest days of the Troubles, to the Good Friday Agreement and his roles in the devolved government at Stormont. `Few public figures have made such a journey from violence to peace as Martin McGuinness, and many people will acknowledge the contribution and commitment to the common good which he made in the latter part of his life.' -Frank Sellar, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland `He was a great man in my opinion. ... Martin led the IRA when there was a war but he led the IRA into peace. He genuinely believed in reconciliation even when it made people uncomfortable.' - Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams

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Book Synopsis_____________________________‘If you’ve ever felt like you were out of your element, in over your head or working without a net, you will love this book. Funny, fast-paced, and so emotionally true it hurts.’ Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black_____________________________Guidelines for aspiring stenographers:· Neutral tones set the tone· Be discreet and neat – like a librarian or well-paid prostitute· Breathe quietly or not at all· Above all else, keep the secrets to yourself…In 2012, Beck Dorey-Stein was just scraping by in Washington DC when an unusual job interview landed her in the Oval Office as one of Barack Obama's stenographers. She joined the elite team who accompanied the President wherever he went, recorder and mic in hand. On whirlwind trips across time zones, Beck forged friendships with a tight group of fellow travellers - young men and women who, like her, left their real lives behind to hop aboard Air Force One in service of the President. But as she learned the ropes of protocol, Beck became romantically entangled with a colleague, and suddenly, the political became all too personal. Set against the backdrop of a White House full of glamour, drama and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters and discovering her voice in the process._____________________________Praise for From the Corner of the Oval Office'Who knew the West Wing could be so sexy? Beck’s unparalleled access is obvious on every page, along with her knife-sharp humour... Lots of books claim to give real insider glimpses, but this one actually delivers.'Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada'This memoir is good and gossipy, will make you wish that you got to hang out with Barack and Michelle on a daily basis and is the missing link between The West Wing and Bridget Jones’s Diary.' Red'Set against the backdrop of a White House full of glamour, drama and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters and discovering her voice in the process.' GLAMOUR's Best Books of 2018Trade ReviewWho knew the West Wing could be so sexy? Beck’s unparalleled access is obvious on every page, along with her knife-sharp humour... Lots of books claim to give real insider glimpses, but this one actually delivers. * Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada *If you’ve ever felt like you were out of your element, in over your head, or working without a net, you will love this book. Beck Dorey-Stein offers an endlessly fascinating perspective on power and history in the making. This memoir is funny, fast-paced, and so emotionally true that it hurts. * Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black *Sex, lies and the White House... Dorey-Stein details her extraordinary experiences at the side of the former leader of the free world. Incredible. * Telegraph *Addictively readable... From the Corner of the Oval shatters the genre of the Washington memoir. Dorey-Stein writes with a fine eye for detail and conveys it with freshness, candor and humor. She takes her readers with her on a vertiginous tour of the world [...] and her sparkling, crackling prose had me cheering for her through each adventure. She never loses her starry-eyed optimism, her pinch-me wonderment, her “Working Girl” pluck. Which makes From the Corner of the Oval somehow, against the odds, a story of hope -- Paul Begala * New York Times *A sassy, genuinely hilarious and poignant tale... This marvellously addictive read is worth the cover price for its insider account of Obama's presidency alone. -- Caroline Sanderson * Bookseller *Love and heartbreak, ambition and jealousy, whirlwind travel to exotic locales and more page-turning drama than your favourite addictive novel. Consider yourself warned: this is not your father’s White House memoir. * Camille Perri, author of The Assistants *An entertaining behind-the-scenes memoir of a young Obama White House staffer. -- Lorraine Candy * Sunday Times Style Magazine *As someone who loves The West Wing, From the Corner of the Oval Office spoke to my geeky heart and gives great, sometimes surprising, insights into what it’s like to work for one of the most powerful person on the planet. -- Sarah Shaffi * Stylist *Bright pink and zinging with energy and sparkle...this book beautifully recaptures those vanished days of Obama's gentle wisdom. What makes it stand out among fly-on-the-wall accounts of the White House is Beck's honesty about the roller-coaster love affair she embarks on with a senior staffer, a grade-one, Jilly-Cooper-novel rotter. * Daily Mail *Set against the backdrop of a White House full of glamour, drama and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman making unlikely friendships, getting her heart broken, learning what truly matters and discovering her voice in the process. * Glamour's best books to read in 2018 *This memoir is good and gossipy, will make you wish that you got to hang out with Barack and Michelle on a daily basis and is the missing link between The West Wing and Bridget Jones’s Diary. * Red *An apolitical, fundamentally human story, and one with which many women will identify. * Refinery29 *An entertaining, relatable and refreshingly frank guide to life in the orbit of the President... This lively, entertaining story offers a joyful nostalgia trip back to more hopeful times. * Express *An extraordinary behind-the-scenes glimpse into Obama's White House, from a young woman who stumbles her way almost by chance into a job as a stenographer amongst the inner circle of the West Wing. Dorey-Stein’s memoir navigates intimate liaisons and world history, from hotel gyms to Air Force One. * Vogue *This memoir by a former Oval Office stenographer is equal parts racy, pacy and funny. From barely keeping her head above financial waters in Washington DC to hopping on board Air Force One with Barack Obama and his elite team, Dorey-Stein doesn’t so much dish the dirt as mop up the mess left at her feet by the drama of politics and the heartbreak of romance. * Irish Independent *An incredible story * GQ *Delightful... a bit Legally Blonde. What's most surprising about this isn't the hot pink cover, it's that we haven't had such a book before. Washington DC is famously a city of eager twentysomethings who work and date within the same pool. Where has the workplace relationship comedy been this whole time? * Mail on Sunday *Hilarious . . . [Beck] Dorey-Stein writes with honesty and panache. * Publishers Weekly *If you’re like me and you pour yourself a cocktail and look at pictures of Obama and cry, you will adore From the Corner of the Oval. If you’re a normal person who ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a singularly historic place in time, you will find this book fascinating. Beck Dorey-Stein’s warmth, humor, and keen view made me wistful, happy, hopeful, and only sad when the book ended. * Julie Klam, author of The Stars in Our Eyes *An insider account of Obama's presidency in this fascinating memoir by former White House staffer Beck Dorey-Stein * Good Housekeeping *Intriguing and funny * Prima *A White House story with shades of Bridget Jones... Dorey-Stein is perceptive and has made an unusually interesting contribution to the groaning shelves of presidential history. * Evening Standard *For five years Beck Dorey-Stein was a stenographer in the White House, giving her a front-row seat as US political history was made. * Observer *[This] breezy page turner is essentially Bridget Jones goes to the White House. * New York Times *

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Book Synopsis"Up to the last moment, his overwhelming, despotic authority aroused false hopes and deceived his people and his entourage. Only at the end, when I watched the inglorious collapse and the obstinacy of his final downfall, was I able suddenly to fit together the bits of mosaic I had been amassing for twelve years into a complete picture of his opaque and sphinx-like personality." Otto Dietrich When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf Hitler's press chief, he accepted with the simple, uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and the welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Dietrich sat down to write what he had seen and heard in twelve years of the closest association with Hitler, requesting that it be published after his death. Dietrich's role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, and was a confidant until 1945, and he worked and clashed with Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heart in the Reich makes for compelling reading.

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Book SynopsisHamas is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the EU, the USA and the UN. It has made itself notorious for its violent radicalism and uncompromising rejection of the Jewish state. So after its victory in the 2006 elections the world was watching. How would Hamas govern? Could an Islamist group without any experience of power - and with an unwavering ideology - manage to deal with day-to-day realities on the ground? Bjorn Brenner investigates what happened after the elections and puts the spotlight on the people over whom Hamas rules, rather than on its ideas. Lodging with Palestinian families and experiencing their daily encounters with Hamas, he offers an intimate perspective of the group as seen through local eyes. The book is based on hard-to-secure interviews with a wide range of key political and security figures in the Hamas administration, as well as with military commanders and members of the feared Qassam Brigades. Brenner has also sought out those that Hamas identifies as local trouble makers: the extreme Salafi-Jihadis and members of the now more quiescent mainstream Fatah party led by Mahmoud Abbas. The book provides a new interpretation of one of the most powerful forces in the Israel-Palestine arena, arguing that the Gazan Islamists carry a potential to be much more flexible and pragmatic than anticipated - if they would think they stand to gain from it. Gaza under Hamas investigates the key challenges to Hamas's authority and reveals why and in what ways ideology comes second to power consolidation.Trade ReviewAgainst heaps of reductionist literature and media portrayals that render Hamas as an extremist terrorist group, Bjorn Brenner provides in this book an authoritative and empirical study that debunks such Western, and mainly official, depictions of the movements. Disintersted in either vilifying or glorifying Hamas, this finely structured book is based on four years of direct field research, firsthand observations, and data collection. * Journal of Palestine Studies *What makes Brenner’s account especially valuable is its focus on how Hamas has managed to create a functioning government in Gaza – a subject that is little known – as opposed to Hamas’s behavior towards Israel, which the author explains is not discussed in this book as it has been extensively studied by others [...] This book is recommended for providing other insights into the nature of its [Hamas's] rule which, due to the author’s access to Hamas leaders and operatives, will not be found in other studies. * Perspectives on Terrorism *A useful contribution to the study of Hamas’s exercise of state power. * The Times Literary Supplement *For academic researchers, policy makers, NGOs and broader civil society members interested in Islamist experiences and practices of governance this is a must read. The book not only helps address many misconceived notions about the challenges which Hamas has faced since it was elected in 2006 but it also assists readers in nuancing the particular context in which such a case of Islamist governance actually operates. * Michelle Pace, Professor of Politics and International Studies, Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University; Honorary Professor, University of Birmingham *This is one of the rare books about Hamas that manages to be both balanced and insightful. Based on a broad range of primary sources, this in-depth study of Gaza under Hamas rule provides as full and comprehensive a picture as possible. A must-read for scholars, students, and diplomats alike! * Peter Neumann, Professor of Security Studies at the War Studies Department, King’s College London; Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation *Björn Brenner has contributed invaluable research through his book “Gaza under Hamas: from Islamist democracy to Islamist governance” (2017). Apart from establishing the centrality of Hamas rule to a political solution for Palestine, the book also expounds upon the spectrum of misconceptions, strengths and flaws associated with the movement. This approach provides a detailed assessment of Hamas in relation to Gaza and its unique circumstances, while dispelling mainstream manipulation, to which, as Brenner points out, academia has also contributed. * Israel Book Review *Constitutes a significant contribution to the Hamas-related literature. It departs from the conventional discussion about the group's role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and treats Hamas as an instance of Islamic governance. Moreover, the book is written in a way that renders it useful to both the specialized and the general readership. It contains information that helps one reconstruct the conditions leading to the status quo in the Gaza Strip and also provides the full picture, including the background and aftermath, of incidents that made headlines but soon fell into oblivion. * Middle East Policy *Table of ContentsPreface Foreword by Magnus Ranstorp Glossary of terms 1. Islamists in power by democratic means 9 2. Rising to power and relating to the opposition 24 3. A change in the political order: Taking over Gaza 38 4. Violent radicalisation and the emergence of splinter groups 54 5. De-radicalisation of Islamists by Islamists 64 6. Social order in the midst of political chaos 81 7. The new political order and the judicial system 93 8. Islamist governance Hamas style 109 Notes Select bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDisordered Minds offers a compelling and timely account of the dangers posed by narcissistic leaders, and provides a stark warning that the conditions in which this psychopathy flourishes - extremes of social inequality and a culture of hyper-individualism - are the hallmarks of our present age. 'An excellent account of how malignant narcissism is evident in the lives of the great dictators, and how the conditions in which this psychopathy flourishes have returned to haunt us.' Dr Kieran Keohane, editor of The Social Pathologies of Contemporary Civilization

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Book Synopsis'Adam Plowright's excellent book captures the strangeness of Macron's life' Evening StandardTHE FIRST BIOGRAPHY OF EMMANUEL MACRON IN ENGLISHFrom total unknown to one of Europe's most powerful men in just a few years, at 39, France's youngest leader since Napoleon is intent on conquering the world stage. But what lies beneath the façade of this youthful, ultra-confident and calculating president? How did someone from small-town France assemble -- in just 12 months -- the network, team and finances to win the presidency? Now elected, can he make the French feel better about themselves? Can he rally Europe around him and turn the tide of right-wing nationalism sweeping the continent? Critically, what will his presidency mean for Britain?Featuring never-before printed interviews with key members of Macron's team, his friends, mentors and political detractors, acclaimed Paris-based journalist Adam Plowright asks: can the shine on this brilliant new president last? And for how long?Trade ReviewAdam Plowright's excellent book captures the strangeness of Macron's life -- Richard Vinen * Evening Standard *Eye-catching detail * Financial Times *For real insight into the remarkable rise - and character - of the new French president, Plowright's is the book to read * Financial Times *a highly readable and well-judged portrait of a fascinating character whose emergence on the world stage earlier this year took many outside France entirely by surprise. * The Times *Written in a highly approachable style, the book reveals how a combination of intelligence, charm and good fortune helped Macron get to the top, and also explores the possible pitfalls that lie ahead. * French Property News *

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Book SynopsisJohn Major's prime ministership was an eventful one. Between 1990 and 1997 he presided over Britain's participations in the Gulf War, the start of the Northern Ireland peace process, the Maastricht Treaty negotiations and, of course, Black Wednesday and Britain's exit from the ERM, as well as a surprise fourth consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party. An Unsuccessful Prime Minister? is the first wide-ranging appraisal of John Major's government in nearly two decades. Widely criticised by politicians on the right of the Conservative Party and from the other political parties as well as by journalists, Major's government was living on borrowed time towards the end, beset by splits over Europe and by allegations of sleaze before being crushed by New Labour in the 1997 general election. This book reconsiders the role of John Major as Prime Minister and the policy achievements of his government, and argues that although it was not one of the greatest of governments it did have more success than critics would allow.Trade Review"Twenty years after he left office, John Major's reputation is undergoing an extraordinary recovery. Written with great insight, the essays in this fascinating volume will surely shape the way we think about Major himself, his government and 1990s Britain. Astute, thoughtful and often surprising, they suggest that his government had far more substantial achievements than was often thought at the time, while the man himself emerges as one of our most likeable, pragmatic and effective Prime Ministers. A tremendous book." - Dominic Sandbrook; "As a member of John Major's Cabinet, I saw at first hand the challenges and frustrations as well as successes. It did so much better than its critics recognised at the time. I welcome this appraisal which, though by no means uncritical, offers a better balanced assessment than has previously been available." - Virginia Bottomley; "John Major had a torrid time as Prime Minister, but was a more substantial figure than his critics suggested. This timely reassessment of his record and achievements is an important corrective and should be read by everyone interested in the modern Conservative Party." - Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield

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Book SynopsisIn a period when Western military engagement has unleashed violent sectarianism global terrorism, and become a catalyst for the biggest exodus of migrants since the Second World War, the 1999 Nato intervention in Kosovo remains a unique and shining example of a process that led to a peaceful transition from vicious ethnic war to modern democracy. Less than twenty years ago, a young ethnic Albanian student leader called Hashim Thaci, led a revolution against Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian tyrant with the biggest military force in Europe, and convinced the West to bomb Belgrade out of Kosovo. The aerial bombardment beckoned a period of unrivalled peace in the Balkans which Western leaders who sought to subsequently overturn other tyrannies in foreign lands would view with envy as a rare successful model. Nato intervention in Kosovo, led by Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, resulted in democracy and the rule of law. By contrast, however, attempts by George W.Bush to effect regime change in Iraq and Afghanistan, and by America, Britain and France to do the same in Libya, have left lethal power vacuums filled by Islamist insurgents, and brought about the downfall of Western leaders themselves. This book is the story of the rare success of Western military intervention and the first biography of the new President of Kosovo, the youngest country in Europe.

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Book SynopsisStatesman, pre-eminent leader and founder of the free world’s then largest and most formidable trade union, Ernest Bevin was one of the most rousing figures of the twentieth century. Minister of Labour in the wartime coalition during the Second World War, he was Churchill’s right-hand man, masterminding the home front while the war supremo commanded the battle front. Afterwards, he was Foreign Secretary at one of the most critical moments in international history, responsible for keeping Stalin and communism out of Western Europe, and for creating West Germany, NATO and the transatlantic alliance, all of which underpin European democracy and security to this day. An orphan farm boy from Bristol, Bevin’s astonishing rise to fame and power is unmatched by any leader to this day. In this discerning and wide-ranging biography, Andrew Adonis examines how ‘the working-class John Bull’ grew to a position of such authority, and offers a critical reassessment of his life and influence. Finally exploring Bevin’s powerful legacy and lessons for our own age, Adonis restores this charismatic statesman to his rightful place among the pantheon of Britain’s greatest political leaders.Trade ReviewBook of the year, The Spectator; Political book of the year, The Times; 'A biography brimming with colour and insight that brings both the character of the man and his many achievements vividly to life.' Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer

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Book SynopsisChief Executive Officers (CEOs) have become the cultural icons of the 21st century. Figures like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are held up as role models who epitomise the modern pursuit of innovation, wealth and success. We now live, Bloom and Rhodes argue, in a ‘CEO society’ – a society where corporate leadership has become the model for transforming not just business, but all spheres of life, where everyone from politicians to jobseekers to even those seeking love are expected to imitate the qualities of the lionized corporate executive. But why, in the wake of the failings exposed by the 2008 financial crisis, does the corporate ideal continue to exert such a grip on popular attitudes? In this insightful new book, Bloom and Rhodes examine the rise of the CEO society, and how it has started to transform governments, culture and the economy. This influence, they argue, holds troubling implications for the future of democracy - as evidenced by the disturbing political rise of Donald Trump in the US - and for our society as a whole.Trade ReviewWhy do we pray at the altar of the celebrity CEOs? What are consequences of such disturbing worship? Bloom and Rhodes answer these questions, showing us the ugly side of our contemporary obsession and the price we collectively pay in the CEO society. * Alessia Contu, University of Massachusetts *When the answer to any problem is sending a CEO to the rescue, we are in deep trouble. This smart and insightful book takes a look at the increasing veneration of CEOs, and the damage it is doing to our society. * André Spicer, author of Business Bullshit *In spite of the thorough and still growing critique of the leadership cult, CEOs proliferate in both private and public sectors. Let us hope that Bloom and Rhodes' book will serve as an antidote. * Barbara Czarniawska, author of Cyberfactories: How News Agencies Produce News *Essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the contemporary fetishisation of corporate leadership. Rhodes and Bloom trace the rise of the cult of the CEO, mounting a strong defence of democracy in the face of this celebratory authoritarianism. * Chris Land, Anglia Ruskin University *This unique book sheds light on one of the most tragic paradoxes of contemporary life: Why do we celebrate neoliberalism, through today’s “cult of the CEO”? Bloom and Rhodes explain our deep-seated attachments to ideologies that are not only flawed but also dangerous. * Kate Kenny, Queens University Belfast *Many of today's CEOs purport to serve the public good. They are wealth takers re-branded as wealth creators. This book illuminates the dangers of CEO worship in an age of entrenched austerity. * Linsey McGoey, author of The Unknowers: How Strategic Ignorance Rules the World *In a CEO society, only winners are allowed. In this timely and passionate book, Bloom and Rhodes identify what is at stake as corporate leadership replaces all other models for success. It delivers solace and motivation for anyone who believes that equity and justice should matter in governance. * Melissa Gregg, Research Director at Intel, and author of Work's Intimacy *A fascinating look at how the near deification of corporate executives has corroded culture across the globe, with dire implications for democracy. This is a wake-up call to rethink our values before it is too late to save hard-won and irreplaceable public institutions. * Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America *Bloom and Rhodes skilfully follow the ideology of the CEO into every corner of our society, revealing its sources, its impacts, and the resistance it is generating. Highly recommended for anyone concerned with contemporary capitalism. * Nick Srnicek, co-author of Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Threat and Promise of CEO Salvation 1. Welcome to the CEO Society 2. The Idolisation of the CEO 3. Competing in the Executive Economy 4. The CEO Politician 5. The CEO as a Model for Living 6. The Generous CEO? 7. The Bad Faith of CEO Salvation Afterword: The High Cost of the CEO Society

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Book SynopsisEleftherios Venizelos (1864–1936) was the outstanding Greek statesman of the first half of the twentieth century. Michael Llewellyn-Smith traces his early years, political apprenticeship in Crete, and energetic role in that island's emancipation from both Ottoman rule and the arbitrary rule of Prince George of Greece. Summoned to Athens in 1910 by a cabal of officers, Venizelos mastered the Greek political scene, sent the military back to barracks, and led the country through a glorious period of constitutional and political reform, ending in a Balkan alliance waging successful war against Ottoman rule in Europe. By 1914, Greece had doubled in territory and population, and was about to face the challenges of European war. Tensions were rising between the king and the prime minister, foreshadowing political schism. This book illuminates Venizelos' political mastery, liberalism and nationalism, and traces his fateful friendship with David Lloyd George. A second volume will complete his story, with the Great War, the post-war peace settlement, Greece's Asia Minor disaster, and Venizelos' late years of renewed prime ministerial office, political polarisation and exile in Paris.Trade Review'[Outlines] Venizelos’s rise to power in superb detail.' -- The Telegraph'A great addition to modern Greek history, 'Venizelos' tackles broad questions of political leadership and nationalism. It fills a major gap and will strongly attract a cadre of international readers. Highly readable, enjoyable and instructive--it’s hard to ask for more.' -- Stathis Kalyvas, Gladstone Professor of Government, University of Oxford'Venizelos is a powerful portrait of an extraordinary man, painting a rich picture of his social and political environment. A masterful analysis of the personal, domestic and international factors at play, it is well-researched, original and vivid.' -- Helen Katsiadakis, Researcher Emerita, the Venizelos Foundation'An impressive work of scholarship, rendering outstanding services to the political history of Modern Greece and the art of political biography. Llewellyn-Smith deserves the gratitude of all those trying to promote knowledge and understanding in these fields of research.' -- Paschalis Kitromilides, Academy of Athens

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Book SynopsisCan you name the creator of the Territorial Army and the British Expeditionary Force? The man who laid the foundation stones of MI5, MI6, the RAF, the LSE, Imperial College, the ‘redbrick’ universities and the Medical Research Council? This book reveals that great figure: Richard Burdon Haldane. As a philosopher-statesman, his groundbreaking proposals on defence, education and government structure were astonishingly ahead of his time—the very building blocks of modern Britain. His networks ranged from Wilde to Einstein, Churchill to Carnegie, King to Kaiser; he pioneered cross-party, cross-sector cooperation. Yet in 1915 Haldane was ejected from the Liberal government, unjustly vilified as a German sympathiser. John Campbell charts these ups and downs, reveals Haldane’s intensely personal side through previously unpublished private correspondence, and shows his enormous relevance in our search for just societies today. Amidst political and national instability, it is time to reinstate Haldane as Britain’s outstanding example of true statesmanship. A Sunday Times Politics and Current Affairs Book of the Year, 2020. A Telegraph Best Book of the Year, 2020.Trade Review'An act of homage to a man for whom [Campbell] asserts lifelong admiration … [This is an] intelligent book.’ -- The Sunday Times'[Campbell] makes a persuasive case for his subject’s importance and, along the way, touches on larger questions of culture and governance … [With a] wealth of detail and insightful character sketches … [this is a] splendid portrait.’ -- The Wall Street JournalA work of real scholarship.’ -- The Telegraph‘Richly informed … [an] engaging biography.’ -- Financial Times‘[A] valuable book … the research has been done superlatively. … Anyone interested in political history who is unacquainted with Haldane will find this book illuminating and informative.’ -- The Spectator‘The author must be congratulated on shaking up the creaking cradle-to-grave style of conventional political biography. … Campbell has succeeded in his aim of writing a biography of Haldane which might serve as a handbook of leadership and statesmanship in this post-Brexit age.’ -- The Literary Review‘Well-researched and well-written.’ -- The Critic‘A noble undertaking that does much to revive the lamentably neglected legacy of one of Britain’s finest statesmen.’ -- The Irish Examiner‘[An] engaging biography … Campbell makes a good case that Haldane was a key catalyst in improving the effectiveness of certain aspects of the British state in the years either side of the first world war.’‘Excellent … [Haldane] is timely, well researched and reminds us what we owe to a great statesman.’ -- Reaction'There is something perennially fascinating about the sensitive polymath. John Campbell has written a magisterial biography of such a figure--an immensely readable account of an extraordinary life. This is, quite simply, a triumph of the art of conveying the texture of human affairs and the events of an era. It is a major and lasting achievement.' -- Alexander McCall Smith'A labour of love. Haldane is rescued from "the condescension of posterity", his achievement in war and peace is finally recognised, and his rightful place in history is secured.' -- Gordon Brown'An outstanding biography that will have Haldane recognised, at long last, as one of our very greatest twentieth-century statesmen.' -- Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former Secretary of State for Defence and Foreign Secretary'This captivating, ground-breaking book firmly re-establishes Lord Haldane in the national consciousness as a remarkable statesman of the early twentieth century. Many of his innovations are still flourishing today, and his thoughts on statecraft have much to teach our leaders.' -- Sir Anthony Seldon, British political biographer'My Grandfather found Haldane to be unfailingly kind and in particular supported him in 1915 when Haldane lost Office. This book brings Haldane marvellously to life, centre stage on the then political map of Britain. It not only remarkably tells Haldane's extraordinary and neglected story, but the exceptional images so cleverly illustrate his life and the turbulent times in which he lived. A must read.' -- The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames'Impressively well-researched, wonderfully written and so obviously relevant to the present day.' -- Brendan Simms, Professor in the History of International Relations, University of Cambridge, and author of 'Britain's Europe: A Thousand Years of Conflict and Cooperation''We should thank John Campbell and we should thank Haldane. Haldane saw what our country needed and he quietly and brilliantly introduced those changes and creations, many of which are still with us. We in intelligence, and many others, are much indebted to Haldane. Mr Campbell tells us why.' -- Sir Colin McColl, former chief of MI6'Most politicians would view themselves as an outstanding success if only one of Haldane's reforms were credited to them. He transformed the British Army, brought into existence many of the great civic universities, and even proposed a Supreme Court 100 ahead of his time. John Campbell brings Haldane to the front of the political stage, where he belongs, and details well his supreme intellect and political method, which has so much to teach for today's politics.' -- The Rt Hon Frank Field DL, former MP'A welcome and enjoyable biography of a towering yet overlooked figure - Haldane was a transforming war minister, a visionary Lord Chancellor, a passionate supporter of education, and much more. Like the best biographies, this book casts revealing light on the times in which he lived.' -- The Rt Hon. The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, former President of the UK Supreme Court'A refreshing and compelling new biography of the leading philosopher-statesman of modern Britain. Haldane has had enormous influence, not least in re-organising the British Army to prevent a quick German victory in 1914, as well as in developing British education, the security services and the machinery of modern government.' -- Martin Pugh, former Professor of History, Newcastle University, and author of 'The Making of Modern British Politics''I wish I could have read this as my guidebook before taking on my Prime Ministerial duties, back in 2009. Now I can only hope that current and future leaders will use their chance to do so.' -- Gordon Bajnai, former Prime Minister of Hungary'An immensely readable, painstakingly researched biography of a little-known polymath statesman to whom Britain is more indebted than it knows. In this Who's Who of early-twentieth-century politics, Campbell delves deep into Haldane's complex and fascinating personality, in so many ways ahead of his time. He makes his hero our hero.' -- Sir Peter Westmacott GCMG LVO, former British Ambassador to Turkey, France and the United States'A meticulously researched life of Haldane which rightly defines him as the ultimate polymath. Haldane's multiple achievements are a lesson to today's politicians: that so much more can be achieved by reaching across party lines when searching for benign change. We have all forgotten how much our military, intelligence services, universities and research communities continue to benefit from Haldane’s impact, a century later. This work sets the record straight.' -- Sir David Cooksey GBE, Chair of the Francis Crick Institute'The debt the United Kingdom owes to Haldane is as great as to any other statesman of the first half of the twentieth century. John Campbell's immensely readable study reminds us of the achievements of this extraordinary public servant. Haldane's instinct to work constructively across the Party divide shows the importance of broad consensus in delivering lasting institutional reform. His search for long-term solutions to our country's needs has never seemed more apposite.' -- Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, former Leader of the House of Lords'A remarkably intimate story of an exceptional man who created the British Army of 1914. These carefully considered reforms, resolutely fought for by Haldane in 1907, saved the nation from defeat.' -- Major-General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter'A truly superb book. Not only is it a remarkable biography of an extraordinary life, it also provides important insights into Haldane's role in laying the foundations of the British university system. It traces how his education in Scotland and Germany moulded his beliefs about the purpose of life and the capacity of universities to inspire minds that contribute to the intellectual advancement and well-being of society. A profoundly humane account of one of Britain’s most enlightened and influential, yet insufficiently recognised, reformers of the twentieth century.' -- Colin Mayer CBE FBA, Peter Moores Professor of Management Studies, Said Business School, University of Oxford'The great sadness is that Richard Haldane was Chancellor of St Andrews, Scotland's first university, for only two months before he died in August 1928. In inviting him to fill this key governing role, St Andrews knew it was appointing one of the most powerful, subtle and encyclopaedic intellects ever devoted to the public service of his country. This great and long overdue book explains why St Andrews was so keen to make him one of its own.' -- Sir Ewan Brown CBE FRSE, former senior governor of the University of St Andrews‘Makes the case splendidly for Haldane’s achievements and his importance to this country … Anyone interested in British political history who is unacquainted with Haldane will find this book both illuminating and informative, a genuine revelation … Truly a lifetime’s dedicated work.’

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Book SynopsisIf the American foreign policy establishment is a grand citadel, Henry Kissinger is the specter haunting its dusty hallways. For half a century, he was an omnipresent figure in war rooms and at press briefings, dutifully shepherding the American empire through successive attempts at expansion. For multiple generations of antiwar activists, Kissinger personified the depravity of the US war machine. The Good Die Young assesses a career too frequently applauded in essays from respected scholars and journalists such as Gerald Horne, Carolyn Eisenberg, and Chip Gibbons, with an introduction from Bancroft Prize-winner Greg Grandin.The world Kissinger wrought is one we live in today, where ideal investment conditions are generated from the barrel of a gun. Today, global capitalism and United States hegemony are underwritten by the most powerful military ever devised. Any political vision worth fighting for must promise an end to the cycle of never-ending wars afflicting the world in the twenty-first century. Breaking that cycle means placing the twin evils of capitalism and imperialism in our crosshairs.The book follows Kissinger's fiery trajectory across the globe, covering Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. More than any other public figure, the life and career of this man illustrate the links between capitalism, empire, and the feedback loop of endless conflict that plagues us today.Trade ReviewAmong all this catharsis, no one could surpass the 'unbeatable levels of hater' reached by the lefty publishers Jacobin magazine and Verso Books...[The Good Die Young] features essays by celebrated scholars like Gerald Horne and Carolyn Eisenberg on the wide-spanning breadth of Kissinger's noxious foreign-policy legacy and the areas of the world still hurting thanks to his time in power. -- Nitish Pahwa * Slate *The collection strikes a blackly comic but erudite tone, opening with an introduction by Yale professor Greg Grandin that explores how Kissinger's intellectual and professional trajectory unfolded across presidential administrations and in parallel with American power at large. -- Sophia Nguyen * The Washington Post *Table of ContentsPreface - René Rojas, Bhaskar Sunkara, and Jonah WaltersIntroduction: To Die at the Right Time - Greg GrandinAmericas1. Kissinger and the South American Revolutions - Aldo Marchesi2. Kissinger in Chile - René Rojas3. Kissinger in Argentina - Leandro Morgenfeld4. Kissinger in Central America - Hilary GoodfriendEurope5. Kissinger in Cyprus - Leandros FischerMiddle East and Africa6. Kissinger in Angola - Piero Gleijeses7. Kissinger in South Africa - Gerald Horne8. Kissinger in Western Sahara - Aubrey Bloomfield9. Kissinger in the Gulf - Chip GibbonsAsia10. Kissinger in East Pakistan/Bangladesh - Mukhtar Mirjan11. Kissinger in East Timor - Alex de Jong12. Kissinger in Cambodia - Brett S. Morris13. Kissinger in Vietnam and China - An Interview with Carolyn Eisenberg14. From the War Room to Wall Street - Christy ThorntonAcknowledgmentsAbout the ContributorsNotes

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Book SynopsisLearn how to think like one of history's most iconic cultural figures: Winston Churchill. Follow in his footsteps and discover the essential principles behind his success. Remembered for his leadership during the Second World War, Churchill’s commitment to 'never surrender', along with his stirring speeches and radio broadcasts, helped inspire British resistance to the Nazi threat when Britain stood alone against an occupied Europe. But as well as a hugely successful politician, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a journalist, historian and a writer, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. How to Think Like Churchill reveals the essential principles behind this fascinating leader, exploring the defining moments and enduring speeches that have made him one of the most esteemed figures of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisTwo months after his twenty-first birthday, a young Harvard student arrived to join his father the American Ambassador in London. Jack, as he was known to family, had no idea how his journey to England on the eve of war would come to change and shape his life. Jack’s beloved sister Kick was presented at Court that summer and hailed by the Press as ‘most exciting debutante’ that year. She introduced her brother to a small circle of young aristocrats, all descended from families that had long ruled England. Fascinated by books on Britain’s history and tales from the Court of King Arthur, Jack felt immediately at home. The eager student from Boston was soon sharing tea with a thirteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth, partying at Blenheim Palace and speeding across Europe as the borders were closing. Amongst the last to escape Berlin he would return with a secret Embassy note predicting hostilities ‘within a week’. With sister Kick and brother Joe he raced to Parliament to see Chamberlain declare war and Churchill rise to inspire a nation in its hour of need. Jack was spell-bound. He would forge lifelong bonds of friendship sharing such dramatic times with his young aristocratic circle. This family circle, after Kick’s marriage, would then come to play an astonishing role in shaping Jack’s actions from the Cuba Missile Crisis to Berlin when the free world came close to nuclear Armageddon. In John F. Kennedy: The London Story, the author reveals the extraordinary role Britain came to play in Jack’s life. By looking at his early life, we see how he became the man to lead and inspire the free world. Ideal for any history or politics enthusiasts, or anyone with an interest in how early events shape a life.

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Book SynopsisShinzo Abe entered politics burdened by high expectations: that he would change Japan. In 2007, seemingly overwhelmed, he resigned after only a year as prime minister. Yet, following five years of reinvention, he masterfully regained the premiership in 2012 and, until his resignation in 2020, dominated Japanese democracy as no leader had done before. Abe inspired fierce loyalty among his followers, cowing Japan’s left with his ambitious economic programme and support for the security and armed forces. He staked a leadership role for Japan in a region being rapidly transformed by the rise of China and India, while carefully preserving an ironclad relationship with Trump’s America. The Iconoclast tells the story of Abe’s meteoric rise and stunning fall, his remarkable comeback, and his unlikely emergence as a global statesman who laid the groundwork for Japan’s survival in a turbulent century.Trade Review‘Comprehensive and engaging.’ -- The Economist‘In exhaustive detail, [Harris] describes a career of setbacks, half-successes and frustrated ambitions.’ -- The Times‘The Iconoclast is a definitive, must-read biography of Abe, and will be the standard English-language work on his life and times for years to come.’ -- The Japan Times‘Journalists, scholars – anyone interested in the political evolution of the leading democracy of East Asia – will need to add The Iconoclast to the reading pile.’ -- Asia Times'Offer[s] in non-specialized language accessible to a general reader detailed coverage of Abe’s family ties to politics, entry into politics, rise to the premiership, and style and substance of governing.' -- Pacific Affairs‘Reflecting on the past and speculating the future, the book contains rich insight about Japan under Abe’s government as well as in the coming post-Abe era, which will help us envision Japan’s future.’ -- Nikkei Asian Review‘For more than a decade, Shinzo Abe has been the doorknob of international politics – largely unnoticed but functionally crucial. Throughout a period of tumult, both international and domestic, he has remained a grimly determined steady hand, a conservative force in a world of radical uncertainty. In translucent prose, Tobias Harris is a subtle commentator on Japan and a remarkably sure-footed guide to the inner workings of its longest-serving prime minister in history.' -- David Pilling, Financial Times, author of Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival‘Harris has very skilfully told one of the great political comeback stories of our era – the fall and rise of not just Abe Shinzo, but Japan itself. With colourful anecdotes and insightful analysis, the author shows us how Abe, a political blue-blood, pulled off the most remarkable second act in modern Japanese history by being an iconoclast. Harris tells how Abe challenged taboos and broke the mould to help Japan reclaim its confidence, and its rightful place in the world.’ -- Martin Fackler, former Tokyo bureau chief, New York Times'A superb biography of Abe Shinzo, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, as well as a remarkably detailed political history of Japan, from Abe’s grandfather Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke (1957-60) to Prime Minister Abe. Thoroughly researched, lucidly written. A great achievement.’ -- Ezra Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus, Harvard University‘The Iconoclast is a well written and comprehensive chronicle of the politics and policies of Japan’s longest serving prime minister.’ -- Gerald L. Curtis, Burgess Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Columbia University

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Book SynopsisDespite the boycott Hamas was subjected to since its victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections, it has become a significant player on the international stage. It boasts a territory identifiable by its borders, internationally recognized cease-fire lines and effective authority over a population. This book, a study in international relations, shows how Hamas willingly mobilizes Palestinian internal issues to establish its legitimacy on a global scale, and at the same time, uses its relations with non-Palestinian players to compete against its political rivals on the Palestinian national stage. Leila Seurat reveals that Hamas’s foreign and internal policy are strongly intertwined and centred mainly on Hamas’s quest for recognition. The book then is a comprehensive diplomatic history of Palestine, focused on the political orientations of Hamas towards both Israel and other countries. Its coverage spans the movement’s victory in 2006 up until more recent momentous events, including, Hamas’ response to Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ and Israel’s announcement of the annexation of the Jordan Valley, as well as the proclamation of normalization accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and the impact of Covid19. The book is based on Leila Seurat’s extensive fieldwork and interviews with Hamas’s leading officials across the West Bank, Gaza, Damascus, Geneva and Beirut in addition to recent video-conferences planned by various NGOs and attended by West Bank, Gaza and Diaspora Palestinians.Trade ReviewThe book stands out for its wide use of original source material together with many wide-ranging personal interviews. The approach used is quite fascinating, and allows the author to arrive at a new understanding of Hamas as a player in regional and international politics. -- Helga Baumgarten, Birzeit University, PalestineTable of ContentsIntroduction PART ONE: GENERAL ORENTATIONS OF HAMAS FOREIGN POLICY CHAPTER ONE: Hamas and Israel – Conciliation and Confrontation CHAPTER TWO: Hamas and the rest of the World CHAPTER THREE: Syria, Iran and Egypt PART TWO: THE VARIOUS INTERESTS AT THE BASIS OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF HAMAS CHAPTER FOUR: Outside: Seeking Recognition and Looking for Resources CHAPTER FIVE: Inside: reinforcing itself and competing against its rivals CHAPTER SIX: Ideology and defence of external interests PART THREE: PLACE AND FUNCTION OF IDEOLOGY IN THE FOREIGN POLICY OF HAMAS CHAPTER SEVEN: Ideology and the defence of internal interests PART FOUR: THE IMPACT OF DECISION MAKING ON HAMAS FOREIGN POLICY CHAPTER EIGHT: Collective decisions, unilateral decisions CHAPTER NINE: Causes of dissent Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe definitive inside account of the 2016-20 coalition government.Cabinet minister Shane Ross reveals the bitter internal battles fought with the old Blueshirts, the crises when the coalition came close to collapse and the sometimes fraught personal relationships between the fifteen figures who made up the last government.He recounts how a group of Independents risked everything to form a government that was expected to last for only months but which ran for more than four years, under two Taoisigh with utterly different styles. With great humour and charm, Ross unveils the skulduggery, the secret deals, the drama of how Irish football was rescued and Olympic chief Pat Hickey toppled, showing us what really happens behind the closed doors of Ireland's government.Trade ReviewIn the small anecdotes and pen pictures, he achieves what a most skilled diarist should - subtle illustration of themomentous through the seemingly trivial. And, of course, it is all highly entertaining...As Irish political memoirs go, Ross sets a new high bar here. * Irish Mail on Sunday *[E]ntertaining, honest and truly reflective. Shane Ross has shone a light on many dusty corners of Irish political life, and throughout the pages his humour, his acceptance and his acumen shine through. -- Mary O'Rourke * Galway Advertiser *In his racy and entertaining memoir...Ross blasts open the door into the inner workings of Cabinet * Irish Examiner *...a breezy and engaging account of his four years at the Cabinet table. It covers his failures, successes and multiple slip-ups, and provides laugh-out-loud moments for any reader. -- David Murphy * RTE Culture *In Bed With The Blueshirts may not enhance your confidence in Irish politics, but it will lighten the gloom of the pandemic. -- Pat Rabbitte * Sunday Business Post *This is a well-written book that moves along at a good pace. It is a personal memoir that does not seek to vilify those who opposed Ross, nor to claim infallibility for his own views. He may portray himself as the outsider, but ultimately he shows a great liking for his colleagues of all hues. -- Richard Bruton * Irish Independent *This is a book worth reading...well written and entertaining * The Phoenix *He has written one of the best Irish political memoirs, bulging with casually shared nuggets and indiscretions, chiefly but not exclusively his own. * Village magazine *Table of Contents1: A Big Idea Is Born 2: The Blueshirts Play Hardball 3: A Cabinet at War 4: Pat Hickey's Olympic Downfall 5: Gaffes Galore 6: Pork Barrel Politics 7: Drink Drivers Divide the Dáil 8: Judges Defend Four Courts Fortress 9: Mandarins Rule, OK? 10: Irish Football Pulls Back from the Brink 11: The Covid Cabinet: A Big Win for Leo

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