Political science and theory Books

Book SynopsisTHE MILLION COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'If power is your ultimate goal, this is the book you need' The Times Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distils three thousand years of the history of power into forty-eight well-explicated laws. As attention-grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. Some laws require prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), some stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and some the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"), but like it or not, all have applications in real-life situations. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissenger, P T Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded - or been victimised by - power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing or defending against ultimate control.

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Book Synopsis''The feeling that the very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world ... this prospect frightens me much more than bombs''On the 70th anniversary of George Orwell''s death, a new collection of his brilliant essays written during the Second World WarFascism and Democracy collects five brilliant examples of Orwell''s writing during the darkest days of World War Two. Grappling with the principles of democracy and the potential of reform, the meaning of literature and free speech in times of violence, and the sustainability of objective truth, Orwell offers a compelling portrayal of a nation where norms and ideals can no longer be taken for granted. Like the best of Orwell''s writing, these essays also serve as timeless reminders of the fragility of freedom.

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Book Synopsis''The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.''Marx and Engels''s revolutionary summons to the working classes - one of the most important and influential political theories ever formulated.Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin''s 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions.Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). Marx''s works available in Penguin Classics are Capital, Dispatches for the New York Tribune, Early Writings, Grundrisse, The Portable Karl Marx and Revolution and War.

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Book Synopsis''The general uncertainty as to what is really happening makes it easier to cling to lunatic beliefs''Biting and timeless reflections on patriotism, prejudice and power, from the man who wrote about his nation better than anyone. Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York''s underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

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Book SynopsisIn 1965, the U.S. government helped the Indonesian military kill approximately one million innocent civilians. This was one of the most important turning points of the twentieth century, eliminating the largest communist party outside China and the Soviet Union and inspiring copycat terror programs in faraway countries like Brazil and Chile. But these events remain widely overlooked, precisely because the CIA's secret interventions were so successful.In this bold and comprehensive new history, Vincent Bevins builds on his incisive reporting for the Washington Post, using recently declassified documents, archival research and eye-witness testimony collected across twelve countries to reveal a shocking legacy that spans the globe. For decades, it's been believed that parts of the developing world passed peacefully into the U.S.-led capitalist system. The Jakarta Method demonstrates that the brutal extermination of unarmed leftists was a fundamental part of Washington's final triumph in the Cold War.

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Derek Matravers. In The Social Contract Rousseau (1712-1778) argues for the preservation of individual freedom in political society. An individual can only be free under the law, he says, by voluntarily embracing that law as his own. Hence, being free in society requires each of us to subjugate our desires to the interests of all, the general will. Some have seen in this the promise of a free and equal relationship between society and the individual, while others have seen it as nothing less than a blueprint for totalitarianism. The Social Contract is not only one of the great defences of civil society, it is also unflinching in its study of the darker side of political systems.

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Book SynopsisPresented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, this book is an enquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. It addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as 'guardians' of the people.

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Book SynopsisFrom Hannah Arendt, the author of The Origins of Totalitarianism, her influential essay examining the relationship between violence, power, war and politics''Violence can destroy power; it is utterly incapable of creating it''Why has violence played such a significant role in human history? Written in 1970, with the Holocaust and Hiroshima still fresh in recent memory, war in Vietnam raging and the streets of Europe and America exploding into student protest, Hannah Arendt''s seminal work dissects violence in the twentieth century: its nature and causes, its relationship with politics and war, its role in the modern age. Arendt warns against the glamorization of violence by revolutionary causes, and argues that true, lasting power can never grow ''out of the barrel of a gun''.''Incisive, deeply probing, written with clarity and grace, it provides an ideal framework for understanding the turbulence of our times'' The NationWTrade ReviewIncisive, deeply probing, written with clarity and grace, it provides an ideal framework for understanding the turbulence of our times * The Nation *

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Book SynopsisA FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020''The most important non-fiction book of the year'' David HareIn the years just before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, people from across the political spectrum in Europe and America celebrated a great achievement, felt a common purpose and, very often, forged personal friendships. Yet over the following decades the euphoria evaporated, the common purpose and centre ground gradually disappeared, extremism rose once more and eventually - as this book compellingly relates - the relationships soured too.Anne Applebaum traces this history in an unfamiliar way, looking at the trajectories of individuals caught up in the public events of the last three decades. When politics becomes polarized, which side do you back? If you are a journalist, an intellectual, a civic leader, how do you deal with the re-emergence of authoritarian or nationalist ideas in your country? When your leaders appropriate history, or pedal conspiracies, or eviscerate the media and the judiciary, do you go along with it?Twilight of Democracy is an essay that combines the personal and the political in an original way and brings a fresh understanding to the dynamics of public life in Europe and America, both now and in the recent past.Trade ReviewApplebaum's reflections on the anti-democratic pandemic sweeping our world offer an extraordinary mix of personal witness and dispassionate historical analysis.... It's unlikely that anyone will ever give us more sensitive or revealing insights on this question -- John Connelly * New Statesman *Heretics make the best writers. ... Applebaum can bring a candle into the darkness of the populist right ... her writing is an arsenal that stores the sharpest weapons to hand. -- Nick Cohen * Observer *Applebaum's progress ...has yielded an enviable supply of raw material for her narrative. She mines her sources doggedly....Twilight of Democracy is a rather penetrating work of ethnography -- Trevor Phillips * The Times *Advancing her arguments with eloquence and personal testimony, Applebaum passionately decries the corrosion of liberal, open-society values in the last three decades. -- Chris Patten * Project Syndicate *written with deep insight, experience and wisdom. Definitely a very important book for understanding our troubled times and the fragility of our democracies -- Elif Shafak * Daily Mail *Anne Applebaum's Twilight of Democracy is the most important non-fiction book of the year because it asks the most urgent question: why is the right wing in the West moving so far to the right? Why is it, at this point in history, so drawn to authoritarianism? Why has it given up on democracy?' -- David Hare * New Statesman Books of the Year *this engrossing account ... is a political book; it is also intensely personal, and the more powerful for it. -- John Kampfner * Guardian *Applebaum, long an authority on the abuses of Communist and post-Communist Eastern Europe, in her new book Twilight of Democracy is unsparing in exposing the moral bankruptcy of Trumpian Republicanism. Her sharp pen is as persuasive as any in presenting the idea of the "west" as a morally serious project-and one whose loss we may come to mourn. -- The world’s top 50 thinkers 2020 * Prospect *A brilliant writer who sheds light on the most disturbing political phenomenon of our era: the rise of rightwing authoritarianism around the world... a cry of alarm and a call to arms.... We have been warned. -- Martin Wolf * Financial Times *readable, eloquent and passionate ... Applebaum knows what the enemy looks like from the inside, and how it thinks. This book may only be a start. We should cherish her. I think she has a lot more she can tell us. -- Francis Beckett * The New European *This richly informed book enlarges her account of the enormous peril in which the democracy we took so casually for granted now stands. -- Philip Pullman * New Statesman Books of the Year *Applebaum's book asks why conservatives in the West have so willingly embraced deceipt, corruption and authoritarianism. She has answers, too. -- David Hare * The Week *From Brexit Britain and Donald Trump's America to the cynical politics of Poland and Hungary, she feels beset by a new chauvinist right that has no regard for rules, truth or institutions. Ms Applebaum evokes an acute sense of betrayal as people she trusted turn against her, quicker than she thought possible. Her personal story is a parable of what can happen to alliances in the absence of a common adversary, and when the hardships such enemies inflicted fade from memory. * Economist *This is an illuminating political memoir about the break-up of the political tribe that won the Cold War. -- David Goodhart * Literary Review *Equal parts memoir, reportage, and history, this sobering account of the roots and forms of today's authoritarianism, by one of its most accomplished observers, is meant as a warning to everyone. ... critically important for its muscular, oppositionist attack on the new right from within conservative ranks-and for the well-documented warning it embodies. The author's views are especially welcome because she is a deliberate thinker and astute observer rather than just the latest pundit or politico. In the spirit of Julien Benda, Hannah Arendt, and Theodor Adorno, Applebaum seeks to understand what makes the new right "more Bolshevik than Burkean."... A knowledgeable, rational, necessarily dark take on dark realities. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisNiccolò Machiavelli''s brutally uncompromising manual of statecraft, The Prince is translated and edited with an introduction by Tim Parks in Penguin Classics.As a diplomat in turbulent fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli knew how quickly political fortunes could rise and fall. The Prince, his tough-minded, pragmatic handbook on how power really works, made his name notorious and has remained controversial ever since. How can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? Examining regimes and their rulers the world over and throughout history, from Roman Emperors to renaissance Popes, from Hannibal to Cesare di Borgia, Machievalli answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons for today. Tim Parks''s acclaimed contemporary translation renders Machiavelli''s no-nonsense original as alarming and enlightening as when it was first written. His introduction discusses Machiavelli''s life and reputation, and explores the historical background to the work.Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.If you enjoyed The Prince, you might like Plato''s Republic, also available in Penguin Classics.''A gripping work, and a gripping translation''Nicholas Lezard, Guardian''Tim Parks''s swift and supple new translation brings out all its chilling modernity'' Boyd Tonkin, IndependentTrade Review“[Machiavelli] can still engage our attention with remarkable immediacy, and this cannot be explained solely by the appeal of his ironic observations on human behaviour. Perhaps the most important thing is the way he can compel us to reflect on our own priorities and the reasoning behind them; it is this intrusion into our own defenses that makes reading him an intriguing experience. As a scientific exponent of the political art Machiavelli may have had few followers; it is as a provocative rhetorician that he has had his real impact on history.” –from the Introduction by Dominic Baker-Smith

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Book SynopsisHow can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? In this book, the author answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons.

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Book SynopsisIn recent years the modern world has developed a brave new concept: ''soft power''. It is the power of friendly persuasion rather than command, and it invites nations to compete (as they did in the nineteenth century) to expand their ''sphere of influence'' as brands in a global marketplace. In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration, and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power he reveals the ways in which modern states are asserting themselves not through traditional realpolitik but through alternative means: business, language, culture, ideas, sport, education, music, even food - the texture and values of history and daily life. Moving from West to East, the book tells the story of soft power by exploring the varied ways in which it operates - from an American sheriff in Poland to an English garden in Ravello, a French vineyard in Australia, an Asian restauTrade ReviewWinder is a highly knowledgeable guide to this slippery subject. His book is also beautifully written in an enviably easystyle. There is not a redundant sentence in it and the details are expertly chosen and revealing * Literary Review *The book reflects its author's intelligence and wide reading -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Stimulating . . . fascinating * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisTranslated by C.E.Detmold. With an Introduction by Lucille Margaret Kekewich.Written in 1513 for the Medici, following their return to power in Florence, The Prince is a handbook on ruling and the exercise of power. It remains as relevant today as it was in the sixteenth century. Widely quoted in the Press and in academic publications, The Prince has direct relevance to the issues of business and corporate governance confronting global corporations as they enter a new millennium. Much of what Machiavelli wrote has become the common currency of realpolitik, yet still his ideas retain the power to shock and annoy. In the words of Norman Stone, The Prince is 'a manual of man-management that would suit a great many parts of the modern world'.

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Book SynopsisAt a time when political, environmental and social gloom can seem overpowering, this remarkable book offers a lucid, affirmative and well-argued case for hope. This exquisite work traces a history of activism and social change over the past five decades - from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the worldwide marches against the war in Iraq. Hope in the Dark is a paean to optimism in the uncertainty of the twenty-first century. Tracing the footsteps of the last century's thinkers - including Woolf, Gandhi, Borges, Benjamin and Havel - Solnit conjures a timeless vision of cause and effect that will light our way through the dark, and lead us to profound and effective political engagement.Trade ReviewA short, elegant, passionate polemic on the history and future of progressive political engagement -- Robert MacfarlaneTime and again Solnit comes running towards you with a bunch of hopes she has found and picked in the undergrowth of the times we are living in. And you remember that hope is not a guarantee for tomorrow but a detonator of energy for action today -- John BergerAn intensely personal account, a meditation on activism and hope * * Guardian * *[Solnit] writes with poetic succinctness . . . Her capable way of converting the activism of the past into a blueprint to inspire political engagement in the future is as relevant today as when first published * * Sunday Mail * *Fascinating, inspiring and beautifully written -- George MonbiotLike Simon Schama, Solnit is a cultural historian in the desert-mystic mode, trailing ideas like swarms of butterflies * * Harper's * *Hope in the Dark is great. The powerful in this world seem to want to frighten us into following their orders unquestioningly and this book offers us the key to liberation - and that key is hope -- Tony BennThis is a book to be cherished, something to keep close at hand for those dark moments when you wonder whether the world really is a better place than it was 50 years ago * * Independent on Sunday * *A jewel of a book. Solnit reveals where we were, where we are, and the step-by-step advances that have been made in human rights, as we stubbornly stumble out of the darkness -- Studs TerkelHer passionate defence of direct action is a refreshingly corrective, while, crucially, her celebration of people power is proactive rather than complacent * * Metro * *In this extraordinary book, Rebecca Solnit's prose grows poetic wings that enable her to soar to a visionary height. The good news that she brings back is that our struggles-with persistence and courage-are indeed the seeds of kindness -- Mike DavisA slim, potent book penned in the wake of the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq; a book that has grown only more relevant and poignant in the decade since -- Maria PopovaRebecca Solnit is a national literary treasure: a passionate, close-to-the-ground reporter with the soul and voice of a philosopher-poet. And, unlike so many who write about the great injustices of this world, she is an optimist, whose faith is deeply grounded in a knowledge of history. This is a book to give you not just hope but zest for the battles ahead -- Adam HoschschildHope In the Dark changed my life. During a period of pervasive cynicism and political despair, the first edition of this book provided me with a model for activist engagement that I have held dear ever since. Today, as movements for climate, racial, and economic justice sweep the globe, its message is more relevant than ever -- Astra TaylorNo writer has better understood the mix of fear and possibility, peril and exuberance that's marked this new millennium. Rebecca Solnit writes as independently as Orwell; she's a great muralist, a Diego Rivera of words. Literary and progressive America is in a Solnit moment, which given her endless talent should last a very long time -- Bill McKibben

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ''Few books are as urgent as Shon Faye''s debut ... Faye has hope for the future - and maybe so should we'' Independent ''Unsparing, important and weighty ... a vitally needed antidote'' Observer ''A moving and impressively comprehensive overview of trans life'' Vogue Trans people in Britain today have become a culture war ''issue''. Despite making up less than one per cent of the country''s population, they are the subjects of a toxic and increasingly polarized ''debate'' which generates reliable controversy for newspapers and talk shows. This media frenzy conceals a simple fact: that we are having the wrong conversation, a conversation in which trans people themselves are reduced to a talking point and denied a meaningful voice. In this powerful new book, Shon Faye reclaims the idea of the ''transgender issue'' to uncover the reality of what it means to be trans in a transphobic society. In doing so, she provides a compelling, wide-ranging analysis of trans lives from youth to old age, exploring work, family, housing, healthcare, the prison system and trans participation in the LGBTQ+ and feminist communities, in contemporary Britain and beyond. The Transgender Issue is a landmark work that signals the beginning of a new, healthier conversation about trans life. It is a manifesto for change, and a call for justice and solidarity between all marginalized people and minorities. Trans liberation, as Faye sees it, goes to the root of what our society is and what it could be; it offers the possibility of a more just, free and joyful world for all of us. ''Fundamentally not a culture-war book. It operates outside the narrow coverage of trans people in the mainstream, and lays bare the inarguable facts'' New Statesman ''Monumental and utterly convincing - crystal clear in its understanding of how the world should be'' Judith ButlerTrade ReviewFew books are as urgent as Shon Faye's debut ... The analysis is thorough and heartbreaking ... it's a highly fact-based book backed up with statistics and case studies, but she manages to write it in a hugely emotive and powerful way ... Faye has hope for the future - and maybe so should we. -- Prudence Wade * Independent *Faye puts forward a powerful case not of what separates us but what brings us together. Above all, her book is a cry for compassion for an embattled community and a plea to be treated with dignity and fairness. It is, surely, the very least anyone can do. -- Fiona Sturges * The Guardian *I am profoundly grateful that [this book] exists ... A book such as this one, in which a trans person has the opportunity to speak clearly and compellingly on their own terms, is a vitally needed antidote ... One book cannot, of course, outweigh such a continual outpouring of animosity. Nevertheless, as drops in the bucket go, this book is an important and weighty one. -- Felix Moore * The Observer *Enter Shon Faye. The journalist and former lawyer might have gathered a following on Twitter for her wry humor, but her first book offers a cold, hard, and, most importantly, convincing look into the facts surrounding trans rights both past and present, as well as a moving and impressively comprehensive overview of trans life in Britain today. Leavened by Faye's sharp, sparkling writing style ... The Transgender Issue is a vital resource for readers outside of the U.K. to understand just what is happening there in terms of trans rights - and how to bring about a long-overdue change to the conversation. * Vogue *A detailed overview of the systemic violence and discrimination trans people face in Britain today ... [Faye is] sanguine, relaxed, and funny while eloquently delivering complex philosophical arguments which, as she explains them, sound so obvious that you wonder why you've never thought of them before ... The Transgender Issue is fundamentally not a culture-war book. It operates outside the narrow coverage of trans people in the mainstream, and lays bare the inarguable facts of being trans: that's it's rare, that it's misunderstood, that society makes it dangerous. -- Sarah Manavis * New Statesman *A welcome contribution to the trans debate ... Faye has written a clear and concise analysis of the presenting issues for trans people today. -- Stella O'Malley * Evening Standard *Faye's language is precise and the arguments well evidenced. This will be a challenging book for those lulled by the nonsense that sometimes passes for journalism about trans lives ... I don't recall a work like Shon Faye's that takes the status quo by the lapels and gives it such a shaking. -- Christine Burns * Times Literary Supplement *Draws on wide-ranging research to make her arguments ... Faye is highly intelligent and writes with compassion and clarity about marginalised groups that suffer a lot. -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times *Sets the record straight on a lot of subjects, many of which are hard to misrepresent with the facts in front of you ... Once picked up, the book was hard to set down ... The book isn't just about highlighting problems - there are plenty of solutions offered, many of them radical. -- Lee Hurley * Vice *The Transgender Issue, argues this [feminist] inheritance with energy and clarity ... Faye writes well. -- Mary Harrington * UnHerd *Incisive and illuminating in addressing myriad aspects of trans life in the UK, without ever being dogmatic. -- Robin Craig * Huck *An important work of non-fiction that should change the tired conversation we've been having about trans people. Not only that, it's a book for anyone who cares about building a fairer and more just society. -- Vic Parsons * Refinery29 *A passionately reasoned defence ... If you know what you think about all this, she - Faye - might move you to think again. -- James McConnachie * The Times Books of the Year 2021 *Shon Faye has written a book that models clarity in its writing and its moral vision. Focused on the UK, this book will doubtless have a strong and lasting impact in the world. One learns here how to distinguish between arguments that merit a response and those which should be refused because they are either cruel or stupid. This is a monumental work and utterly convincing - crystal clear in its understanding of how the world should be. -- Judith Butler, Professor, University of California BerkeleyThe Transgender Issue is an urgent interrogation of the manufactured moral panic which scapegoats and marginalises trans people. With precision, wit, and clarity, Shon Faye exposes how cultural and institutional discrimination against transgender people makes all of us less free. If you're sick of seeing people's humanity reduced to cannon fodder for the culture war, read this book. -- Ash SarkarThis book feels like a moment. In clear and eloquent writing, Shon Faye expands the discussion around trans history and experience, the huge impact on BAME trans people, and how economic and political inequalities intersect with trans experience. It's heartfelt but analytical, in-depth and utterly humane. Faye, with calm intelligence, unpacks so many of the problematic ways trans people are marginalised and discriminated against, with so many acts of violence perpetrated on trans bodies. I learned a lot from this book and it adds hugely to a wider conversation around inclusion of and support for our trans sisters and brothers. A landmark piece of work. -- Sinéad GleesonA clear, intelligent, experience-based explanation of why the scapegoating of trans people must stop, while enthusiastically encouraging more trans people to join feminist, anti-racist movements for economic and social change. -- Sarah SchulmanThere is a full-blown moral panic under way in Britain about trans people, and The Transgender Issue is the wake-up call we need. It is an inspiring call for coalition, across the divides of class, race, sexual identity and gender. Shon Faye shows with courage and clarity that the struggle of trans people is the struggle of us all. This book is a game-changer. -- Owen JonesFrom the very first words of The Transgender Issue, it is clear the reader is in the hands of someone with absolute clarity about the world we live in, and the one we deserve. ... Refusing to water down the radicalism and urgency of her demands, Shon's argument for justice is both a heartfelt outcry against injustice, and an utterly convincing vision for change rooted in analysis and research. -- Florence WelchWriting with astonishing patience, clarity, and ethical force, Shon Faye has gifted us an essential primer for our times. The Transgender Issue calls us into a much-needed solidarity, and makes the project of constructing and inhabiting a more free and just world for everyone feel urgent, possible, and exhilarating. -- Maggie Nelson, author of ON FREEDOMWith clarity, precision and great humanity, Faye definitively draws to a close the harmful debate on trans lives, supporting her findings with iron-clad evidence. Truly the final word on the matter, this is a book for anyone who wants our society to be a kinder, fairer, more inclusive one. -- Juno DawsonWith extraordinary clarity and intellectual vigour, Shon Faye cuts through the concern-trolling, the sly bigotry, and the unserious moral panics that so often characterise the discourse surrounding transgender lives. Though she writes out of the authority of experience, her work transcends the personal, making a plain and impassioned case for solidarity and human rights. The result is an invigorating and deeply researched polemic, and a necessary addition to the evolving conversation on civil rights in the twenty-first century. -- Mark O'ConnellAn extraordinary achievement. A smart, academic and yet totally accessible and patient analysis of what it is to be trans in the UK today and a convincing argument for how we can and must improve ... I urge everyone to read it. -- Joe LycettAn utterly monumental work. A bullet proof text that places trans people at the centre of the conversation, and puts forth a vision of the world that can liberate us all. A truly exhilarating book. -- Amrou Al-KadhiAn important, thorough and excellently written book by the legendary Shon Faye. Buy it. Share it. Support her work. She is a fearless leader in this conversation. -- Jameela JamilEveryone should read this. -- Little MixI recommend everyone reads The Transgender Issue, which is a great starting point to learn about what it's like to be a trans person in Britain at the moment. At the end of the day, we simply can't do this work on our own. -- Vic Parsons * Elle *A forward-thinking analysis of how capitalist and patriarchal systems backseat trans liberation ... a vital read that clearly communicates the extent of how deeply anti-transness is embedded in our society and how much work is to be done to achieve trans liberation. * Gay Times Book of the Year 2021 *This vital, lucid book is so much more than an argument for justice on behalf of transgender people; it's a clarion call for gender liberation, a tonic for our politically reactionary times. -- Susan Stryker, author of TRANSGENDER HISTORYShon Faye's work [has] so informed me and made me feel hopeful and human ... do read The Transgender Issue if you want someone to clearly and calmly explain UK trans politics in a voice that's both wry and kind. -- Alexandra Heminsley, author of SOME BODY TO LOVEShon Faye makes a compelling case that transgender issues are inexorably linked with other social justice causes. The result is a bold and pragmatic guide for challenging societal transphobia comprehensively and intersectionally. -- Julia Serano, author of SEXED UPIt's a manifesto for change, a call for healthier conversations about being trans, and a clear-sighted, landmark book that explains how a more compassionate society benefits us all. -- Charlie Carroll * Exeter Living *

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Book SynopsisAntonio Gramsci''s Prison Notebooks, written between 1929 and 1935, are the work of one of the most original thinkers in twentieth century Europe. Gramsci has had a profound influence on debates about the relationship between politics and culture. His complex and fruitful approach to questions of ideology, power and change remains crucial for critical theory. This volume was the first selection published from the Notebooks to be made available in Britain, and was originally published in the early 1970s. It contains the most important of Gramsci''s notebooks, including the texts of The Modern Prince, and Americanism and Fordism, and extensive notes on the state and civil society, Italian history and the role of intellectuals. ''Far the best informative apparatus available to any foreign language readership of Gramsci.'' Perry Anderson, New Left Review ''A model of scholarship'' New Statesman

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Dr Richard Serjeantson, Trinity College, CambridgeSince its first publication in 1651, Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan has been recognised as one of the most compelling, and most controversial, works of political philosophy written in English. Forged in the crucible of the civil and religious warfare of the mid-seventeenth century, it proposes a political theory that combines an unequivocal commitment to natural human liberty with the conviction that the sovereign power of government must be exercised absolutely. Leviathan begins from some shockingly naturalistic starting-points: an analysis of human nature as being motivated by vain-glory and pride, and a vision of religion as simply the fear of invisible powers made up by the mind. Yet from these deliberately unpromising elements, Hobbes constructs with unparalleled forcefulness an elaborate, systematic, and comprehensive account of how political society ought to be: ordered, law-bound, peaceful. In Leviathan, Hobbes presents us with a portrait of politics which depicts how a state that is made up of the unified body of all its citizens will be powerful, fruitful, protective of each of its members, and — above all — free from internal violence.

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

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Book SynopsisEssentials of US Politics and Government is the latest book in the Essentials of series for A-Level Politics, which maps on to the Edexcel specification. It covers all the knowledge required to tackle paper 3 of the A level; United States politics, as well as Comparative US-UK politics. Author Andrew Colclough is head of politics at an independent school in Oxford and a Team Leader examiner at Edexcel, so brings a wealth of experience in supporting both students and teachers. All of the core chapters in the book are organized around the series' signature Key Debates' feature, which explain the vital arguments, with supporting evidence, clearly and concisely. These aid students in constructing persuasive arguments in their essays. Summary tables at the end of each debate ideal both to gain a quick overview of the topic and as a tool for revision. The book also offers:- An abundance of contemporary political examples and case studies - A un

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Book SynopsisThe forgotten second volume of Capital, Marx''s world-shaking analysis of economics, politics, and history, contains the vital discussion of commodity, the cornerstone to Marx''s theories.Table of ContentsCapital Volume 2 IntroductionTranslator's PrefacePreface (Frederick Engels)Preface to the Second Edition (Frederick Engels)Book II: The Process of Circulation of CapitalPart One: The Metamorphoses of Capital and their CircuitChapter 1: The Circuit of Money Capital1. First Stage. M-C2. Second Stage. The Function of Productive Capital3. Third Stage. C'-M'4. The Circuit as a WholeChapter 2: The Circuit of Productive Capital1. Simple Reproduction2. Accumulation and Reproduction on an Expanded Scale3. Accumulation of Money4. The Reserve FundChapter 3: The Circuit of Commodity CapitalChapter 4: The Three Figures of the Circuit(Natural Economy, Money Economy and Credit Economy)(The Matching of Demand and Supply)Chapter 5: Circulation TimeChapter 6: The Costs of Circulation1. Pure Circulation Costs(a) Buying and Selling Time(b) Book-keeping(c) Money2. Costs of Storage(a) Stock Formation in General(b) The Commodity Stock Proper3. Transport CostsPart Two: The Turnover of CapitalChapter 7: Turnover Time and Number of TurnoversChapter 8: Fixed Capital and Circulating Capital1. The Formal Distinctions2. Components, Replacement, Repairs and Accumulation of the Fixed CapitalChapter 9: The Overall Turnover of the Capital Advanced. Turnover CyclesChapter 10: Theories of Fixed and Circulating Capital. The Physiocrats and Adam SmithChapter 11: Theories of Fixed and Circulating Capital. RicardoChapter 12: The Working PeriodChapter 13: Production TimeChapter 14: Circulation TimeChapter 15: Effect of Circulation Time on the Magnitude of the Capital Advanced1. Working Period and Circulation Period Equal2. Working Period Longer than Circulation Period3. Working Period Shorter than Circulation Period4. Results5. Effect of Changes in PriceChapter 16: The Turnover of Variable Capital1. The Annual Rate of Surplus-Value2. The Turnover of an Individual Variable Capital3. The Turnover of Variable Capital Considered from the Social Point of ViewChapter 17: The Circulation of Surplus-Value1. Simple Reproduction2. Accumulation and Expanded ReproductionPart Three: The Reproduction and Circulation of the Total Social CapitalChapter 18: Introduction1. The Object of the Inquiry2. The Role of Money CapitalChapter 19: Former Presentations of the Subject1. The Physiocrats2. Adam Smith(a) Smith's General Perspectives(b) Smith's Resolution of Exchange-Value into v+s(c) The Constant Capital Component(d) Capital and Revenue in Adam Smith(e) Summary3. Later WritersChapter 20: Simple Reproduction1. Formulation of the Problem2. The Two Departments of Social Production3. Exchange Between the Two Departments: I against II4. Exchange Within Department II. Necessary Means of Subsistence and Luxury Items5. The Mediation of the Exchanges by Monetary Circulation6. The Constant Capital in Department I7. Variable Capital and Surplus-Value in the Two Departments8. The Constant Capital in Both Departments9. A Look Back at Adam Smith, Storch and Ramsay10. Capital and Revenue: Variable Capital and Wages11. Replacement of the Fixed Capital(a) Replacement of the Depreciation Component in the Money Form(b) Replacement of the Fixed Capital in Kind(c) Results12. The Reproduction of the Money Material13. Destutt de Tracy's Theory of ReproductionChapter 21: Accumulation and Reproduction on an Expanded Scale1. Accumulation in Department I(a) Hoard Formation(b) The Additional Constant Capital(c) The Additional Variable Capital2. Accumulation in Department II3. Schematic Presentation of Accumulation(a) First Example(b) Second Example(c) The Exchange of II in the Case of Accumulation4. Supplementary RemarksQuotations in Languages Other than English and GermanIndex of Authorities QuotedGeneral IndexNote on Previous Editions of the Works of Marx and EngelsChronology of Works by Marx and Engels

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Book SynopsisIn the fight for freedom, we must not only understand how tyrants rise - but how they fall.

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Book SynopsisToday The Prince is still seen as the Bible of realpolitik, read by strategists, businessmen and political animals everywhere as the ultimate guide to gaining and maintaining power in a dangerous world.

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Book SynopsisA concise argument for the enduring importance of the feminist movement today by one of the world's leading feminist writersTable of ContentsIntroduction Come Closer to Feminism 1. Feminist Politics. Where We Stand 2. Consciousness-raising. A Constant Change of Heart 3. Sisterhood is Still Powerful 4. Our Bodies Ourselves. Reproductive Rights 5. Beauty Within and Without 6. Women at Work 7. Feminist Education for Critical Consciousness 8. Race and Gender 9. Ending Violence 10. Feminist Parenting 11. Feminist Sexual Politic 12. Feminist Parenting 13. A Feminist Sexual Politic 14. Liberating Marriage and Partnership 15. To Love Again. The Heart of Feminism 16. Feminism Class Struggle 17. Feminist Spirituality 18. Global Feminism 19. Visionary Feminism Index

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Book SynopsisWritten in Paris in the early 1950s, this book created instant controversy in its analysis of modern society that had allowed itself to be hypnotized by socio-political doctrines, and to accept totalitarian terror on the strength of a hypothetical future.Table of ContentsThe pill of the Murti-Bing; looking to the West; Ketman; Alpha, the moralist; Beta, the disappointed lover; Gamma, the slave of history; Delta, the troubadour; man, his enemy; the lessons of the Baltics.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*Updated with a new Preface*An essential blueprint for a better future, from the leading economist and Labour rising starNo one has done more to re-inject sanity into our national policy' Emily MaitlisRefreshingly optimistic' The TimesStellar: brilliant, incredibly pragmatic' Rory StewartThere are few who are better placed to investigate Britain's plight than Torsten Bell, Labour MP for Swansea West and former Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. In Great Britain? he offers both a clear-eyed diagnosis of the problems facing our country a uniquely toxic combination of huge inequality and stagnant economic growth and a bold vision for the alternative. In his treasure trove of enlightening and original analysis, Torsten Bell argues that our era of chaos and cynicism needs neither utopianism nor nostalgia, but a practical patriotism to raise living standards and create a more equal country. This is a book bursting with ideas and infectious hope: Bell passionately points us towards a Britain that we can actually build a future worth fighting for. A roadmap to the new normal' Observer'Pretty cool' Alastair CampbellA dose of Torstenomics is the only thing that can give us hope' Amol RajanSpiced with wit, masterful, fact-packed' Polly Toynbee

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Book SynopsisThe pace of modern life is undoubtedly speeding up, yet this acceleration does not seem to have made us any happier or more content. If acceleration is the problem, then the solution, argues Hartmut Rosa in this major new work, lies in “resonance.” The quality of a human life cannot be measured simply in terms of resources, options, and moments of happiness; instead, we must consider our relationship to, or resonance with, the world. Applying his theory of resonance to many domains of human activity, Rosa describes the full spectrum of ways in which we establish our relationship to the world, from the act of breathing to the adoption of culturally distinct worldviews. He then turns to the realms of concrete experience and action – family and politics, work and sports, religion and art – in which we as late modern subjects seek out resonance. This task is proving ever more difficult as modernity’s logic of escalation is both cause and consequence of a distorted relationship to the world, at individual and collective levels. As Rosa shows, all the great crises of modern society – the environmental crisis, the crisis of democracy, the psychological crisis – can also be understood and analyzed in terms of resonance and our broken relationship to the world around us. Building on his now classic work on acceleration, Rosa’s new book is a major new contribution to the theory of modernity, showing how our problematic relation to the world is at the crux of some of the most pressing issues we face today. This bold renewal of critical theory for our times will be of great interest to students and scholars across the social sciences and humanities.Trade Review"If in the rush to increase production and wealth, we ever pause to consider what a good life would be like, and whether we’re missing something essential, Rosa’s book Resonance would be a good place to start. This remarkable work combines systematic theory with a host of valuable insights into human fulfillments that we too easily forgo."—Charles Taylor, McGill University "Affirmation of ordinary life is a key feature of modernity, but alienation from the world is a persistent experience of modern men and women. In Resonance, Rosa offers sketches of an alternative relation to the world and thereby a foundation for a sociology of the good life. A very important text and highly recommended."—Miroslav Volf, Yale University "Hartmut Rosa is one of the leading and most distinctive voices in contemporary social theory. In Resonance he continues the important analysis of the very nature of modernity laid out in Social Acceleration, and offers a new approach to basic human relationships, both to other people and to the world. This is a truly important book."—Craig Calhoun, Arizona State UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments xii In Lieu of a Foreword: Sociology and the Story of Anna and Hannah 1 I Introduction 17 PART ONE: THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD II Bodily Relationships to the world 47 III Appropriating World and Experiencing World 83 IV Emotional, Evaluative, abd Cognitive Relationships to the World 110 V Resonance and Alienation as Basic Categories of a Theory of Our Relationship to the World 145 PART TWO: SPHERES AND AXES OF RESONANCE VI Introduction: Spheres of Resonance, Recognition, and the Axes of Our Relationship to the World 195 VII Horizontal Axes of Resonance 202 VIII Diagonal Axes of Resonance 226 IX Vertical Axes of Resonance 258 PART THREE: FEAR OF THE MUTING OF THE WORLD: A RECONSTRUCTION OF MODERNITY IN TERMS OF RESONANCE THEORY X Modernity as the History of Catastrophe of Resonance 307 XI Modernity as the History of Increasing Sensitivity to Resonance 357 XII Deserts and Oases of Life: Modern Everyday Practices in Terms of Resonance Theory 367 PART FOUR: A CRITICAL THEORY OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD XIII Social Conditions of Successful and Unsuccessful Relationships to the World 381 XIV Dynamic Stabilization: The Escalatory Logic of Modernity and Its Consequences 404 XV Late Modern Crises of Resonance and the Contours of a Post-Growth Society 425 In Lieu of an Afterword: Defending Resonance Theory against Its Critice -- and Optimism agaibst Skeptics 444 Notes 460 References 504 Index 529

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Book SynopsisHow to Lose a Country is a warning to the world that populism and nationalism don''t march fully-formed into government; they creep.Award-winning author and journalist Ece Temelkuran identifies the early warning signs of this phenomenon, sprouting up across the world from Eastern Europe to South America, in order to arm the reader with the tools to recognise it and take action.Weaving memoir, history and clear-sighted argument, Temelkuran proposes alternative answers to the pressing - and too often paralysing - political questions of our time. How to Lose A Country is an exploration of the insidious ideas at the core of these movements and an urgent, eloquent defence of democracy. This 2024 edition includes a new foreword by the author.

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Book SynopsisWhen you see your nation's flag fluttering in the breeze, what do you feel?; For thousands of years flags have represented our hopes and dreams. We wave them. Burn them. March under their colours. And still, in the 21st century, we die for them. Flags fly at the UN, on the Arab street, from front porches in Texas. They represent the politics of high power as well as the politics of the mob.; From the renewed sense of nationalism in China, to troubled identities in Europe and the USA, to the terrifying rise of Islamic State, the world is a confusing place right now and we need to understand the symbols, old and new, that people are rallying round.; In nine chapters (covering the USA, UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, international flags and flags of terror), Tim Marshall draws on more than twenty-five years of global reporting experience to reveal the histories, the power and the politics of the symbols that unite us - and divide us.Trade Review"Full of sharp analysis and a very entertaining read" --Andrew Neil; "A fascinating tour of the world's ensigns, their histories and meanings … a sobering lesson in just how silly we human beings can be" --Daily Mail; “Timely … explores how the threads of history and legend are woven into the fabric of a country’s banner” – Times Literary Supplement; “Entertaining … bristling with historical trivia and commentary on current events … these fluttering symbols of collective identity continue to both unite groups and divide the world” – The New Yorker; “This might be the comprehensive flag volume we’ve all been waiting for – a slick yet detailed and well-researched journey through some of the world’s most infamous and interesting flags … Marshall guides us through this myriad of stories admirably” – Geographical magazine; "Insightful and entertaining ... a truly fascinating book that feels all the more considered and urgent in today's world of Brexit, Trump, China and ISIS"--Dan Lewis, Wanderlust magazine; "Marshall points out that we often forget the aggressive symbolism of established flags ... [they] are a quick, visual way of communicating loyalties, power and ideas"--Robbie Millen, The Times; "An engagingly written, veritable page-turner. Whether the topic is ethnic identity, Japanese imperialism, Panamanian shipping law or the defeat of Nazism, flags speak volumes about our human condition" -- Lawrence Joffe, Jewish Chronicle; "In today's globalised and media savvy environment, the role of state and non-state symbols has become more important and in many cases more dangerous and evocative. This witty book brings to our attention this power, alongside the reality that we must not underestimate or misunderstand how the flags of our world came to be. A must read for anyone wishing to grasp the meanings behind today's international affairs." --Human Security Centre; “[A] brisk, entertaining read … an informative survey of these highly visible symbols of national or international pride” – Publishers Weekly; “An excellent book with deep meaning” -- evilcyclist.wordpress.com; “Energetic … fascinating … contains some interesting surprises. It is worth grasping that these rectangles of silk can move individuals and communities to remarkable efforts, for good or ill” – Tribune magazine; “A fast paced, often witty look at the stories behind the flags … I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is not just interested in flags but in the modern world and how we identify with our countries. I always find it difficult to recommend non-fiction to book groups, but if a group was brave enough to take it on, then I think they would be rewarded.” – Nudge-book.com

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERHorrified by the current financial crisis? Want to learn how we might get out of it? This is a pivotal moment in our economy. With the markets in free-fall, financial challenges are growing for us all. A winter of inflation and spiralling energy costs looms. But it doesn't have to be this way. As former Governor for the Bank of England Mark Carney said to the BBC: The message from the financial markets is there's a limit to unfunded spending and unfunded tax cuts in this environment.'His book is essential reading for today's economic crisis and provides answers to your questions as well as solutions for the future.In Value(s), Carney offers a roadmap out of this chaos and towards a better, fairer society. This moment could be an opportunity for change, for overhaul. We cannot go on as we have, something must change. Drawing on a truly international perspective, this book offers a blueprint for how we can channel the dynamism of the market to transform intractTrade Review Winner of the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian ‘This assault on the modern free market is a landmark achievement. It will help arm the best in business, finance and government and disarm the worst’WILL HUTTON, OBSERVER ‘A remarkably good read’Gillian Tett, FINANCIAL TIMES ‘A sweeping intellect … This is an important book’EVENING STANDARD ‘A stimulating read … offering hope that we can build a post-pandemic economy based on solid values’DAILY MAIL ‘This is an important book, deserving of a wide audience. We know things need to change and that we are in big trouble if we don’t’IRISH TIMES ‘A radical book that speaks out accessibly as to how we get everyone involved in solving our problems’BONO ‘Mark Carney’s indispensable new book asks how we can go from knowing the price of everything to understanding its true value … this is the essential handbook for 21st century leaders, policymakers and everyone who wants to build a fair and sustainable world’CHRISTINE LAGARDE ‘A roadmap to a fairer and more responsible, resilient world … This book is irradiated with the inspiring and critical conviction that money can be transformed into a tool of collective good’ANTONY GORMLEY ‘A fantastic read for anyone interested in the most pressing issues facing us. The need for a world of profit with better purpose is explained in such a clear and persuasive style. I hope it gets read by many people ‘JIM O’NEILL ‘Thought-provoking and readable… As societies struggle to rebuild solidarity in the post-Covid world, it will be an essential guide’RAGHU RAJAN ‘Mark Carney draws on his unique experience of running two central banks to offer original and thought provoking solutions to the world’s biggest challenges – from Covid to climate change’GORDON BROWN

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Book SynopsisDuring the Cold War, writers and artists were faced with a huge challenge. In the Soviet world, they were expected to turn out works that glorified militancy, struggle and relentless optimism. In the West, freedom of expression was vaunted as liberal democracy's most cherished possession. But such freedom could carry a cost. This book documents the extraordinary energy of a secret campaign in which some of the most vocal exponents of intellectual freedom in the West became instruments - whether they knew it or not, whether they liked it or not - of America's secret service.

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Book SynopsisThe humane yet devastating critique of how modern society is organized with the brutal few clinging onto their wealth and privileges at the expense of the manyPeter Kropotkin's anarchist texts had a fundamental impact on 19th and 20th century radicals of all kinds. These essays from The Conquest of Bread are bravura examples of his optimistic and angry vision of a world in which the just actions of the many can destroy the grip of the few.Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives--and upended them. Now Penguin brings you a new set of the acclaimed Great Ideas, a curated library of selections from the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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Book SynopsisIn The Security Principle, French philosopher Frédéric Gros takes a historical approach to the concept of "security", looking at its evolution from the Stoics to the social network. With lucidity and rigour, Gros's approach is fourfold, looking at security as a mental state, as developed by the Greeks; as an objective situation and absence of all danger, as prevailed in the Middle Ages; as guaranteed by the nation state and its trio of judiciary, police and military; and finally "biosecurity", control, regulation and protection in the flux of contemporary society. In this deeply thought-provoking account, Gros's exploration of security shines a light both on its past meanings as well as its present uses, exposing the contemporary abuses of security and the pervasiveness of it in everyday life in the Global North.Trade ReviewPraise for A Philosophy of Walking: A passionate affirmation of the simple life, and joy in simple things. And it's beautifully written: clear, simple, precise. -- Carole Cadwalladr * Observer *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Poignant life-stories ... are interspersed with the author's own meditations on walking... In the way a landscape is gradually absorbed by the long-distance rambler they steadily build into an insistent exhortation: get up, get out and walk! -- James Attlee * Independent *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Life-affirming stuff. * National Geographic Traveler *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Impressive. -- Tom Payne * Daily Telegraph *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Philosopher Gros ponders walking, that most mundane mode of transportation or exercise, elevating it to its rightful place in inspiring creativity, evoking freedom, and quieting a troubled soul. * Booklist *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: This elegant book inspires consideration of an oft-overlooked subject. * Publisher's Weekly *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: An admirable little book which will delight even the most sedentary. * Le Monde *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: An unclassifiable book in which ideas are illuminated by the bright light of the morning. * L'Express *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Resolving to take more walks in the new year might sound like promising to take more naps - choosing idleness over work. But a lot of clever people don't see it that way [...] Frédéric Gros asks why so many of our most productive writers and philosophers - Rousseau, Kant, Rimbaud, Robert Louis Stevenson, Nietzsche, Jack Kerouac - have also been indefatigable walkers. -- Christopher Caldwell * Financial times *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: This short, simple and profound book... will be read and re-read. -- Laurence Coupe * Times Higher Education *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Unpretentious and refreshing. -- Jonathon Sturgeon * Flavorwire *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: A long walk, Gros suggests, allows us to commune with the sublime. -- Lauren Elkin * New York Times *Praise for A Philosophy of Walking: Celebrates the liberation of the mind that comes with walking, especially in natural areas: I hike, therefore, I am. -- Matt JaffePraise for A Philosophy of Walking: A Philosophy of Walking moved me to think in greater depth about my walks. The book, written with great clarity, conveys Gros' thoughts about walking, and a discussion of various thinkers (Thoreau, Kant, Rousseau) for whom walking was essentially a contemplative act. -- Leonard QuartFrédéric Gros's genealogy of security is an outstanding study in political thought. Security Principle covers a lot of ground, from Ancient Greece to contemporary biopolitics, illuminating key transformations in the meaning of the concept of security. Written in a lucid and accessible way, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in how we have come to be so insecure about security. -- Sergei Prozorov, University of JyväskyläIn this veritable tour de force, Gros offers an erudite and engaging journey in the history of Western philosophy. He shows how different meanings of security have been sedimented, layer by layer, across thinkers and traditions and the ways in which these meanings are reconfigured in our present. Ultimately, Gros alerts us to the silent siren of security that dangerously allures us while it muffles the promise of politics: the possibility and the hope of changing the world. -- Banu Bargu, University of California, Santa Cruz

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.We have declared before that it is not only expedient but necessary for a prince to take care his foundations be good, otherwise his fabric will be sure to fail.'Considered one of the first works of modern philosophy, Machiavelli's The Prince is an intense study on the nature of power and the course it should take when ruling a country and expresses the author's strong and unyielding ideals and beliefs on using force rather than law to achieve your aims.Responsible for the widely-used phrase Machiavellian', with all of its negative connotations, his extreme treatise remains a classic text to this day.

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Book SynopsisOn Anarchism is an essential introduction to Noam Chomsky''s political theory.On Anarchism sheds a much needed light on the foundations of Chomsky''s thought, specifically his constant questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. The book gathers his essays and interviews to provide a short, accessible introduction to his distinctively optimistic brand of anarchism. Refuting the notion of anarchism as a fixed idea, and disputing the traditional fault lines between anarchism and socialism, this is a book sure to challenge, provoke and inspire. Profoundly relevant to our times, it is a touchstone for political activists and anyone interested in deepening their understanding of anarchism, or of Chomsky''s thought.''Arguably the most important intellectual alive'' New York Times

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Book SynopsisThe creator of the award-winning podcast series The History of Rome and Revolutions brings to life the bloody battles, political machinations, and human drama that set the stage for the fall of the Roman Republic.The Roman Republic was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of civilization. Beginning as a small city-state in central Italy, Rome gradually expanded into a wider world filled with petty tyrants, barbarian chieftains, and despotic kings. Through the centuries, Rome's model of cooperative and participatory government remained remarkably durable and unmatched in the history of the ancient world.In 146 BC, Rome finally emerged as the strongest power in the Mediterranean. But the very success of the Republic proved to be its undoing. The republican system was unable to cope with the vast empire Rome now ruled: rising economic inequality disrupted traditional ways of life, endemic social and ethnic prejudice led to clashes over citizenship and voting rights, and rampant corruption and ruthless ambition sparked violent political clashes that cracked the once indestructible foundations of the Republic.Chronicling the years 146-78 BC, The Storm Before the Storm dives headlong into the first generation to face this treacherous new political environment. Abandoning the ancient principles of their forbearers, men like Marius, Sulla, and the Gracchi brothers set dangerous new precedents that would start the Republic on the road to destruction and provide a stark warning about what can happen to a civilization that has lost its way.

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

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Book SynopsisStrategy is the craft of a warrior – Miyamoto Musashi Written around 1645, Miyamoto Musashi’s Five Rings is a classic Japanese work on mastery in swordsmanship, leadership and conflict. Musashi was a swordsman, philosopher and strategist, and today his work remains of influence not only in the realm of martial arts but in the business world, too. Musashi’s no-nonsense approach to the martial arts and combat includes eliminating technical flourishes, understanding that technique should simply be understood as defeating your opponent, and appreciating that the same qualities apply in both small- scale and large-scale conflicts. Repeatedly, he stresses the importance of learning through practice, rather than merely reading about them. Produced using beautiful traditional Chinese bookbinding techniques, Five Rings Illustrated is presented in an exquisite illustrated edition with a brand new modern translation.Table of ContentsIntroduction The Book of Earth Both an introduction to all the books, as well as metaphorically discussing martial arts, leadership and training The Book of Water This book describes Musashi’s approach: Ni-ten ichi-ryu –Two Heavens, One Style. It covers basic technique and fundamental principles. The Book of Fire This book looks at action in the heat of battle, and discusses matters such as different types of timing. The Book of Wind This book discusses what Musashi considers to be the failings of various contemporary schools of sword fighting. The Book of the Void An epilogue. Musashi’s probably Zen-influenced thoughts on consciousness and on how to gain and maintain the correct mindset.

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Book SynopsisAn Introduction to Political Philosophy is a concise, lucid, and thought-provoking introduction to the most important questions of political philosophy, organised around the major issues. Wolff provides the structure that beginners need, whilst also introducing some distinctive ideas of his own.Trade ReviewThis is a staple text on any political philosophy reading list. I always recommend it to my students. * Dr Sarah Fine, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge *Jonathan Wolff's An Introduction to Political Philosophy is still the best introduction to the subject that I know. It guides the reader through deep questions in a way that is clear, approachable and thought-provoking. * Professor Michael Rosen, Department of Government, Harvard University, USA *The best introductory text about political philosophy currently available. The contents are easy for the newcomer to the subject of political philosophy to assimilate. The narrative is clear and thought provoking. * Professor Ian Godfrey Finlayson, European School of Economics, UK *The go-to teaching guide for the key themes in political philosophy. * Dr Pete Woodcock, University of Huddersfield, UK *An elegantly written introduction, structured by a topical approach to the field. While introducing canonical authors, the focus is on contemporary problems of political philosophy. * Dr Egbert Klautke, University College London, UK *A useful and accessible tool to get students thinking clearly about the political and philosophical thought that conditions their understanding of the world. * Dr Michael Kyriacou, The University of East Anglia, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: The State of Nature 2: Justifying the State 3: Who Should Rule? 4: The Place of Liberty? 5: The Distribution of Property? 6: Justice for Everyone, Everywhere? Guide to Further Reading

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Book Synopsis''No true Democracy has ever existed, nor ever will exist.''In this selection from The Social Contract, Rousseau asserts that a state''s only legitimate political authority comes from its people.One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics'' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

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Book SynopsisA pioneering treatise on embracing cooperation and reciprocity to usher in a greener and more inclusive world, from the major anarchist thinkerA Penguin ClassicWelcome to the anarchist history of the world. In this lively, provocative work, Peter Kropotkin argues that mutual aid is a natural instinct in all of us, animal and human. Cooperation, reciprocity, support: these, for Kropotkin, are the overlooked foundations of our history. From the earliest days of evolution through to artisanal guilds, indigenous nomads, and even the Royal National Lifeboat Association, it is a pragmatic, mutually beneficial bond to our fellow humans that has allowed us to survive. In this, Kropotkin challenges all the major orthodoxies of his age, from individualism and social Darwinism to Marxist theories of the savior state. Instead, these essays insist that a better life for all of us--and our planet--begins when we reject competition, and embrace the local, the mutual, and the collective.

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Book SynopsisWilhelm Reich's classic study is a unique contribution to the understanding of one of the crucial phenomena of our times - fascism. Reich firmly repudiates the concept that fascism is the ideology or action of a single individual or nationality, or of any ethnic or political group. He also denies a purely socio-economic explanation as advanced by Marxian ideologists. He understands fascism as the expression of irrational character structure of the average human being whose primary biological needs and impulses have been suppressed for thousands of years.The social function of this suppression and the crucial role played in it by the authoritarian family and the church are carefully analysed. Reich shows how every form of organised mysticism, including fascism, relies on the unsatisfied orgastic longing of the masses.Trade ReviewWritten in 1942 with the terrible reality of Nazism all around, Reich's book is as relevant now as it was then. * New Psychiatry *Reich really strikes to the core of fascism's mass appeal. His analysis of the twentieth century's dangerous inhibition of sexual instincts, and his reasons why... people attach such significance to the concepts of 'law and order' and 'the family' have become important contributions to the study of crowd control and manipulation. It is very easy to see why this book was banned by the Nazis. -- Gongster * The University of Nottingham *

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BEST PHILOSOPHY & IDEAS BOOK OF 2022 A defence of liberalism by the renowned political philosopher 'We need more thinkers as wise as Fukuyama digging their fingers into the soil of our predicament' The New York Times 'A brilliantly acute summary of the way some aspects of liberal thought have consumed themselves' Guardian 'One of the West's most interesting public intellectuals' Times 'Hard to think of a better case for liberal centrism' FT Liberalism - the comparatively mild-mannered sibling to the more ardent camps of nationalism and socialism - has never been so divisive as today. From Putin's populism, the Trump administration and autocratic rulers in democracies the world over, it has both thrived and failed under identity politics, authoritarianism, social media and a weakened free press the world over. Since its inception following the post-Reformation wars, liberalism has come under attack from conservatives and progressives alike, and today is dismissed by many as an 'obsolete doctrine'. In this brilliant and concise exposition, Francis Fukuyama sets out the cases for and against its classical premises: observing the rule of law, independence of judges, means over ends, and most of all, tolerance. Pithy, to the point, and ever pertinent, this is political dissection at its very best.Trade ReviewUrgent and timely . . . A vital strength of this slim, elegant book is that it is crystalline in its definitions, even while acknowledging the complexities of practice . . . A brilliantly acute summary of the way some aspects of liberal thought have consumed themselves -- Andrew Anthony * Guardian *One of the west's most interesting public intellectuals ... he is always worth reading as a writer prepared to recalibrate and develop his thinking -- Iain Martin * Times *Transformative ... Maybe now, as Europe sees its most brutal war since 1945, we are ready to heed what Fukuyama was trying to tell us all along -- Matthew d'Ancona * Evening Standard *Books have poured out lately on liberalism's failings and how democracies break down. Among the diagnosticians, none is more eminent or experienced than Francis Fukuyama ... Hard to think of a better case for liberal centrism -- Edmund Fawcett * FT *Fukuyama succeeds in his explaining his objections to identity politics with great clarity and concreteness -- Iain MacWhirter * Herald *Concise and lucid ... Fukuyama sketches a strategy that classical liberals might adopt in order to shore up the foundations of their favoured form of government -- Oliver Letwin * Tablet *Fukuyama, like many of us, is a chastened liberal. But his argument is more persuasive as a result. He takes seriously the criticisms of liberalism from left and right and is not sparing in his own criticisms of public policy -- Richard V. Reeves * Literary Review *A sober and measured analysis ... in lucid, uncomplicated, prose -- JP O’Malley * Irish Examiner *A rare thing: academic treatise that may actually have influence in the arena of practical politics ... Fukuyama writes with a crystalline rationality -- Joe Klein * New York Times *An urgent case for ... a rejuvenated liberal practice that retains the very essence of classical liberalism -- Shelley Walia * Tribune India *Liberals are challenged by illiberal sentiment on the woke left and the authoritarian right. But Fukuyama is not giving up. This compelling defence of liberalism convincingly parries blows from all sides * Times Best Philosophy & Ideas Books of 2022 *Praise for Identity: As wise as it is compact, travelling at great speed through difficult terrain to a sensible conclusion * The Times *A primer on the big political shift of our times, and an explainer of how we got here * Sunday Times *Sweeping and ambitious * Prospect *A useful primer on an important subject * Literary Review *A short, sharp defence of a doctrine which has come under attack from all sides -- Tom Gatti * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisWhen should we revolt? A life-changing insight into violent political change by one of the world''s greatest political thinkers and author of surprise recent bestseller The Origins of Totalitarianism.''More than any thinker it was Arendt who identified how movements of ideas, racial theories, people and methods ... ultimately disfigured the twentieth century.'' David Olusoga''Arendt''s most profound legacy is in establishing that one has to consider oneself political as part of the human condition. What are your political acts, and what politics do they serve?'' Guardian''How could such a book speak so powerfully to our present moment? The short answer is that we, too, live in dark times.'' Washington Post (on The Origins of Totalitarianism)On Revolution is world-famous political thinker Hannah Arendt''s classic exploration of a phenomenon that has radically res

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Book SynopsisThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

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Book Synopsis''Will set your hair on end'' Telegraph, Top 50 Books of the Year''I forgot to breathe while reading The Fifth Risk'' Michael Hofmann, TLS, Books of the YearThe bestselling, no-holds-barred exposé of the people who are wrecking our democracy, by the master storyteller of our times ''The election happened ... And then there was radio silence.''The morning after Trump was elected president, the people who ran the US Department of Energy - an agency that deals with some of the most powerful risks facing humanity - waited to welcome the incoming administration''s transition team. Nobody appeared. Across the US government, the same thing happened: nothing.People don''t notice when stuff goes right. That is the stuff government does. It manages everything that underpins our lives from funding free school meals, to policing rogue nuclear activity, to predicting extreme weather events. It steps in where private investment fears to tread, innovates and creates knowledge, assesses extreme long-term risk. And now, government is under attack. By its own leaders.In The Fifth Risk, Michael Lewis reveals the combustible cocktail of wilful ignorance and venality that is fuelling the destruction of a country''s fabric. All of this, Lewis shows, exposes America and the world to the biggest risk of all. It is what you never learned that might have saved you.Trade ReviewStranger and more terrifying than fiction ... The characters are riveting, and the drama intense. It's a story so jaw-dropping that at times it's hard to believe it was not invented for film ... It paints a picture of America being not just pulled apart at the political seams, but in the very fabric of the government itself. * Daily Telegraph *A page turner ... Lewis's most ambitious and important book. * The New York Times Book Review *Who will fight for the censuses of this world? Who will defend the research grants, food-voucher programmes and risk management projects that quietly sustain a healthy nation? Step forward Michael Lewis. ... The result is a civics lesson worth taking ... Stunning. His message is powerful ... reminds us why good institutions matter, why skilled public servants are critical and what our government is actually for. * Sunday Times *Jaw-dropping ... genuinely stopped me in my tracks. -- Stefano Hatfield * i newspaper *Michael Lewis has a gift for identifying seemingly inaccessible subjects and spinning them into epic stories with Hollywood appeal. * New Statesman *Lewis's remarkable books tend to tell the stories of underdogs, heroically independent-minded people who zag when the world zigs. * Evening Standard *Risk has been the central theme of Lewis's highly successful career. ... The fifth risk is something impossible to conceive of in advance, or to prepare for directly. What matters is having a well-organised government in place to respond to these contingencies when they hit ­- exactly what the Trump administration has failed to do. * Guardian *Given that we now seem to be inhabiting a somewhat medieval world of plague and portent, I'd like to make the case for the prophetic powers of the US journalist Michael Lewis ... In December the notion [of the fifth risk] seemed wildly far-fetched. Four months on, it seems we will get the chance to find out if he was on the money. -- Tim Adams * Observer *The best part of The Fifth Risk is the evidence Lewis can add to the pile ... Lewis is a master of boiling down complexity into individual stories told by interesting characters. * The Times *Michael Lewis has a knack for making the complex appear simple. Here he uses the inner workings of the US Department of Energy to demonstrate how Trump is dismantling government. * i magazine *

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