Politics, Philosophy & Society Books

Book SynopsisThom Hartmann, the most popular progressive radio host in America and a New York Times bestselling author, looks at the history of the battle against oligarchy in America?and how we can win the latest round.Billionaire oligarchs want to own our republic, and they''re nearly there thanks to legislation and Supreme Court decisions that they have essentially bought. They put Trump and his political allies into office and support a vast network of think tanks, publications, and social media that every day push our nation closer and closer to police-state tyranny.The United States was born in a struggle against the oligarchs of the British aristocracy, and ever since then the history of America has been one of dynamic tension between democracy and oligarchy. And much like the shock of the 1929 crash woke America up to glaring inequality and the ongoing theft of democracy by that generation''s oligarchs, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has laid bare how extensively oligarchs have looted our nation''s economic system, gutted governmental institutions, and stolen the wealth of the former middle class.Thom Hartmann traces the history of this struggle against oligarchy from America''s founding to the United States'' war with the feudal Confederacy to President Franklin Roosevelt''s struggle against "economic royalists," who wanted to block the New Deal. In each of those cases, the oligarchs lost the battle. But with increasing right-wing control of the media, unlimited campaign contributions, and a conservative takeover of the judicial system, we''re at a crisis point.Now is the time for action, before we flip into tyranny. We''ve beaten the oligarchs before, and we can do it again. Hartmann lays out practical measures we can take to break up media monopolies, limit the influence of money in politics, reclaim the wealth stolen over decades by the oligarchy, and build a movement that will return control of America to We the People.

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Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. It’s time to celebrate boys. Against the backdrop of a growing national conversation about how to raise sons to become good people, Kate T. Parker is leading the way by turning her lens on boys. Author of the bestselling book about girls Strong Is the New Pretty, she now shows the true heart of a boy in 200 compelling photographs. Boys can be wild. But they can also be gentle. Bursting with confidence, but not afraid to be vulnerable. Ready to run fearlessly downfield—or reach out to a friend in need. In this empowering, deeply felt celebration of boys being—and believing in—themselves, see the unguarded joy of a little brother hugging his big brother. The inquisitive look of a young scientist examining a bug. The fearless self-expression in a ballet dancer’s poise. There are guitarists, fencers, wrestlers, stargazers, a pilot. Boys who aspire to be president, and boys whose lives are full of overwhelming challenges, yet who bravely face each day as it comes. With inspiring and joyful quotes from the boys themselves, this book spreads a heartfelt, uplifting message of openness, self-confidence, and warmth. “Kate T. Parker’s incredible Strong Is the New Pretty helped us reimagine girlhood as silly, messy, spirited, and fun. Now she turns her perceptive lens on the other sex to expand our definition of what it means to be a boy . . . and presents something desperately needed in our well-meaning cultural conversation about boys—she shows us their enormous, wonderful hearts.”—Michael Ian Black, actor and writer “Silly, serious, nerdy, athletic, creative, bold—the adjectives describing boys could go on for pages. But if boys are to grow up to be admirable men, the one thing they must be is kind. Kate T. Parker’s book helps clear the way for a time when everyone understands that.” — R. J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder “Every parent who picks up this book will be grateful for the impact it will have on their family.” —Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crushing It!Trade Review“[A] vibrant catalog of portraits devoted to boys. The Heart of a Boy is full of smile-inducing photographs that give readers a deep appreciation of boys in all their variety, bursting the tired stereotype that they need to be “tough,” not vulnerable.” —New York Times Book Review "…the photos speak for themselves, as do the boys, whose self-aware thoughts accompany their beautifully realized portraits (“I want to be President because I am helpful, kind and nice”). Finally, this beautifully designed book is a feast for browsers. And that’s no small matter."—Booklist “A beautiful, joy-filled celebration of boyhood and its many facets.”—The New York Post “Silly, serious, nerdy, athletic, creative, bold—the adjectives describing boys could go on for pages. But if boys are to grow up to be admirable men, the one thing they must be is kind. Kate Parker’s book helps clear the way for a time when everyone understands that.”—R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder “Every parent who picks up this book will be grateful for the impact it will have on their family.”—Gary Vaynerchuk “Kate T. Parker's incredible photographic series Strong Is the New Pretty helped us reimagine girlhood. Now she turns her perceptive lens on the other sex to expand our definition of what it means to be a boy. In The Heart of a Boy, Kate shows us that, just like girls, boys are silly, messy, spirited, and fun. But they are also tender and vulnerable and sometimes sad. Kate’s photos present something desperately needed in our well-meaning cultural conversation about boys—she shows us their enormous, wonderful hearts.”—Michael Ian Black2019 Nautilus Book Award—Nautilus Book Award

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Book SynopsisA common sense field guide to understanding, surviving, and thriving in our time of complex chaos and crises.From Covid-19 to runaway technology to climate change, we are currently living in an apocalyptic state. And it''s nothing new: As a species we''ve been surviving-and evolving from-apocalypses for as long as we''ve walked the Earth. So, we''re capable of dealing with them, surviving them, and yes, thriving through them. In How to Make Friends and Win the Apocalypse, evolutionary psychologist and zombie enthusiast Athena Aktipis has assembled a lively, unexpected field guide to help readers mentally and practically prepare for current and future apocalyptic events. She begins by teaching readers to overcome the main obstacle in surviving an apocalypse: fear. And then trains them on how to make smart decisions based on historic precedent, human psychology, and brain science. Illustrated with 2-color illustrations throughout that both teach and entertain, th

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Book SynopsisTaking us from the beginning of our story to the present day, A Cold Spell examines how ice has shaped our thoughts, actions and societies – and what it means for us that it is rapidly disappearing from our planet 'A warm-hearted tale of the bizarre, something to cuddle up with in the bleak midwinter . . . Astonishing' THE TIMES 'Bracingly original . . . As the earth warms threateningly, there could hardly be a more pertinent time for a story like this’ MICHAEL PALIN 'A book of limitless fascinations' OLIVIA LAING 'Brightly written, nimbly researched and really quite delightful' LITERARY REVIEW Ice has confounded, delighted and fascinated us since the first sparks of art and culture in Europe and it now underpins the modern world. Without ice, we would not feed ourselves or heal our sick as we do, and our towns and cities, countryside and oceans would look very different. Science would not have progressed along the avenues it did and our galleries and libraries would be missing many masterpieces. A Cold Spell uses this vital link to understanding our past to tell a surprising story of obsession, invention and adventure – how we have lived and dreamed, celebrated and traded, innovated, loved and fought over thousands of years. It brings together a sacrificial Incan mummy, Winston Churchill’s secret plans for unusual aircraft carriers, strange bones that shook Victorian beliefs about the world and a macabre journey into the depths of the human body. It is an original and unique way of looking at something that is literally all around us, whose loss confronts us daily in the news, but whose impact on our lives has never been fully explored. [An] extraordinary, complete and utter history of the human experience of the cold stuff' JOHN LEWIS-STEMPEL, COUNTRY LIFE ‘A thought-provoking chronicle of humanity . . . Leonard consistently frames ice in surprising and insightful ways, and in doing so lends it a magical quality’ GEOGRAPHICALTrade ReviewCharming and quirky . . . This is a warm-hearted tale of the bizarre, something to cuddle up with in the bleak midwinter . . . It’s astonishing how Leonard has managed to cram so much into such a relatively short volume -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *A fascinating exploration of how ice has shaped human existence . . . Ranging from the last ice age to the Anthropocene, Max Leonard’s beguiling history considers the nature of ice as well as its place in “the popular imagination” -- William Atkins * Guardian *[An] extraordinary, complete and utter history of the human experience of the cold stuff . . . Max Leonard is the most assiduous researcher and has scratched down to the very base of the ice-berg -- John Lewis-Stempel * Country Life *‘A Cold Spell appears when even the most boneheaded climate sceptics are conceding that something is up. Max Leonard, naturally, engages with this. Climate change provides a political dimension, but the book is about far more than that . . . Brightly written, nimbly researched and really quite delightful . . . A Cold Spell brims with such colourful stories -- Peter Moore * Literary Review *A thought-provoking chronicle of humanity through an icy lens. From its hand in shaping the birth and birthplace of the human race to its modern status as a metaphor for civilisation, Leonard charts the role ice has played, and continues to play, in our lives with great curiosity. The book’s success is rooted in Leonard’s ability to weave something so ubiquitous into a journey of twists and turns. Traversing history, culture, language, science and human nature via evocative tangents, he consistently frames ice in surprising and insightful ways, and in doing so lends it a magical quality. Nowhere is this truer than in stories of icy obsession – adventurers sacrificing their lives to navigate its polar domains, scientists dedicating theirs to unravelling the secrets it holds * Geographical *Leonard’s charting of the history of humanity’s interactions with ice is a brisk and fascinating piece of work, encompassing the last hours of Ötzi the Iceman, polar tourism, George Mallory’s Everest camera, and the man who almost two centuries ago came up with the wheeze of exporting ice from America to India. Climate change obviously thrums through the narrative but this is not a didactic read, rather a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing one * New European *Despite its single subject, this is a book that thinks big – or at least, widely and in unexpected places . . . An unusually wide-ranging cultural and intellectual journey . . . Max Leonard’s writing is engaging and well-paced, and he breezily summarises the fruits of voluminous research with a deft touch . . . [A book] of striking revelations, intriguing connections and thought-provoking questions about how the human relationship with ice might yet develop -- Jonathan Dore * TLS *As this entertaining tale reveals, ice has the power to grind mountains to dust, destroy ships – and even swallow up a secret American nuclear bunker . . . This is a book about the marvel of nature and our intrepid, frequently crazy efforts to understand and harness that marvel -- Simeon House * Mail on Sunday *In a bracingly original book, Max Leonard makes something we all take for granted into an absorbing pathway into history, geography and science . . . A highly readable feast of insights and surprises . . . As the earth warms threateningly, there could hardly be a more pertinent time for a story like this -- Michael PalinA book of limitless fascinations, an elegant and subtle accounting of how ice has shaped and changed human life, and how in turn humans have imperilled the existence of icy places -- Olivia LaingA brilliant and surprising book on unexpected ways ice has influenced not just Western thought but the way we live now. Come for the research, stay for the unexpected cameos -- Jennifer Lucy AllanA pleasure on every page. It's packed with fascinating stories and unexpected connections. What you’ve done so successfully is to give the reader the chance to care for ice and to understand the role it’s had in our lives, real and imaginary. Everybody who reads your book will be captivated each time ice chinks and bobs in a glass. Ice is now our destiny. By melting en masse, it is bringing chaos to Earth systems -- Nicholas CraneBeautiful, thoughtful and utterly fascinating on everything from cave paintings to Captain Birdseye – the kind of book you feel compelled to share bits from as you’re reading -- Felicity CloakePut everything on ice and read this book - a wonderful history of ingenuity, wanderlust, preservation and exploitation. Max Leonard has written an original chronicle of human nature, and you’ll skate through it with enduring insight and pleasure -- Simon GarfieldFrom Otzi the Iceman to Alpine adventurers, the invention of the cold chain to cloud seeding, A Cold Spell fills the cryosphere with stories to reconnect us to this all-too-fragile, frozen world. Europeans may have sought mastery over ice for hundreds of years, but Leonard shows how ice has shaped us too: in his deft hands it becomes a mirror revealing "the extraordinary in the ordinary", bringing home both the awe and the unease of the Anthropocene -- Jay Owen

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ‘A sweeping and brilliant portrait’ GUARDIAN ‘A reportorial tour de force … Heart-rending, appalling and hard to put down’ JANE MAYER ‘Visionary in scope, compassionate in procedure … Definitive’ AYAD AKHTAR Evan Osnos moved to Washington, DC, in 2013 after a decade away from the United States. While abroad, he often found himself making a case for America, urging the citizens of Egypt, Iraq or China to trust that even though America had made grave mistakes throughout its history, it aspired to some foundational moral commitments – the rule of law, the power of truth, the right of equal opportunity for all. But when he returned to the United States, he found each of these principles under assault. In search of an explanation for the crisis, he focused on three places he knew firsthand: Greenwich, Connecticut; Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Chicago, Illinois. Reported over the course of six years, Wildland follows ordinary individuals as they navigate the varied landscapes of twenty-first-century America. Through their powerful, often poignant stories, Osnos traces the sources of America’s political dissolution. He finds answers in the rightward shift of the financial elite in Greenwich; in the collapse of social infrastructure and possibility in Clarksburg; and in the compounded effects of segregation and violence in Chicago. The truth about the state of the nation may be found not in the slogans of political leaders but in the intricate details of individual lives, and in the hidden connections between them. A dramatic, prescient examination of seismic changes in American politics and culture, Wildland is the story of a crucible, a period bounded by two shocks to America’s psyche, two assaults on the country’s sense of itself: the attacks of September 11 in 2001 and the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Following the lives of everyday Americans in three cities across two decades, Osnos illuminates the country in a startling light, revealing how it lost the moral confidence to see itself as larger than the sum of its parts.Trade ReviewA sweeping and brilliant portrait of a people subjected to fifty years of rightwing aggression . . . The most personal and the most powerful description yet . . . My hope is that everyone who reads this great book will be enraged enough to redouble their efforts to undo the damage the greedy have wrought, and to take back America for its decent citizens, once and for all * Guardian *Stellar reporting . . . As an overview of a fractious ideological landscape, this skillful treatment is hard to beat. An elegant survey of the causes and effects of polarization in America * Kirkus (starred review) *Incisive . . . An engrossing and revealing look at how deeply connected yet far apart Americans are * Publisher's Weekly *A reportorial tour de force . . . Osnos paints an indelible picture that is heart-rending, appalling and hard to put down -- ’ Jane Mayer, chief Washington correspondent for the New Yorker and author of DARK MONEYVisionary in scope, compassionate in procedure, Wildland brilliantly transmutes our national chaos into absorbing narrative order. Evan Osnos has penned a definitive portrait of what we have allowed ourselves to become: a nation reaping the harvest that long negligence has sown -- Ayad Akhtar, author of HOMELAND ELEGIESIn this richly reported, beautifully written book, Evan Osnos chronicles two decades of American anger, fury, and political dysfunction . . . A riveting tale of dark times, told with a pathos and humanity that prompts hope of something better -- Michael J. Sandel, author of THE TYRANNY OF MERIT

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Book SynopsisAcceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) offers a promising, empirically validated approach to the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma related problems. In this volume, you'll find a complete theoretical and practical guide to making this revolutionary new model work in your practice.After a quick overview of PTSD, the first part of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Problems explains the problem of experiential avoidance as it relates to trauma and explores the verbal nature of post-traumatic stress. You'll learn the importance of mindfulness and acceptance in the ACT model, find out how to structure sessions with your clients, and examine the problem of control. The section concludes by introducing you to the idea of creative hopelessness as the starting point for creating a new, workable life after trauma.The book's second section offers a practical, step-by-step clinical guide to the six core ACT components in chronological order:* Creative hopelessness* The problem of control* Willingness and defusion* Self-as-context* Valued living* Committed actionEach chapter explains how to introduce these topics to clients suffering from PTSD, illustrates each with case examples, and offers homework for your clients to use between sessions.

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Book SynopsisTHE NO. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A blockbuster . . . Essential reading' GUARDIAN 'Packed with hair-raising revelations' OBSERVER The definitive behind-the-scenes story of Trump's final year in office, by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, the Pulitzer Prize winning reporters and authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller, A Very Stable Genius The true story of what took place in Donald Trump’s White House during a disastrous 2020 has never before been told in full. Focused on Trump and the key players around him, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig provide a forensic account of the most devastating year in a presidency like no other. With unparalleled access, they reveal exactly who enabled and who foiled Trump as he sought desperately to cling to power.Trade ReviewA blockbuster follow-up to A Very Stable Genius . . . I Alone Can Fix It pulls back the curtain on the handling of Covid-19, the re-election bid and its chaotic and violent aftermath . . . [Leonnig and Rucker's] book is essential reading. They have receipts, which they lay out for all to see * Guardian *[An] incisive, dramatic and masterful account of former US president Donald Trump's last year in office * Spectrum *

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Book Synopsis‘A well-written and thought-provoking account of the current crisis of globalization. Not everyone will agree with Eyal’s interpretation, but few will remain indifferent.’ – Yuval Noah Harari, author of SapiensRevolt is an eloquent and provocative challenge to the prevailing wisdom about the rise of nationalism and populism today. With a vibrant and informed voice, Nadav Eyal illustrates how modern globalization is unsustainable. He contends that the collapse of the current world order is not so much about the imbalance between technological advances and social progress, or the breakdown of liberal democracy, as it is about a passion to upend and destroy power structures that have become hollow, corrupt, or simply unresponsive to urgent needs. Eyal illuminates the forces both benign and malignant that have so rapidly transformed our economic, political, and cultural realities, shedding light not only on the globalized revolution that has come to define our time but also on the counterrevolution waged by those who globalization has marginalized and exploited.With a mixture of journalistic narrative, penetrating vignettes, and original analysis, Revolt shows that within the mainstream the left and right have much in common. Teasing out the connections among distressed Pennsylvania coal miners, anarchists in communes on the outskirts of Athens, neo-Nazis in Germany, and Syrian refugee families whom he accompanied from the shores of Greece to their destination in Germany, Eyal shows how their stories feed our current state of unrest. More than just an analysis of the present, though, Revolt also takes a hard look at lessons from the past, from the Opium Wars in China to colonialist Haiti to the Marshall Plan. With these historical ties, Eyal shows that the roots of revolt have always been deep and strong. The current uprisings are no passing phenomenon – revolt is the new status quo.Trade ReviewWe need to redefine the terms of our interdependence - to minimize the dangers, spread the benefits more broadly, and build a global community capable of confronting our collective challenges together. -- President Bill ClintonA well-written and thought-provoking account of the current crisis of globalization. Not everyone will agree with Eyal's interpretation, but few will remain indifferent. -- Yuval Noah Harari

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Book SynopsisMental health and chemical dependency clinicians are in a unique position to improve the lives of their clients, but find it difficult to provide clients with life-changing psychological tools they need within each time-limited appointment. Brief Interventions for Radical Behaviour Change makes it easy for these busy clinicians to integrate important mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based therapeutic work in their interactions with clients.In just fifteen to thirty minutes, clinicians can identify core issues clients struggle with, apply acceptance interventions to help clients eliminate self-defeating thinking and behaviour, and help clients engage in committed, values-based actions to change their lives for the better. The goal is to emphasize small, positive changes that cumulatively lead to radical changes in clients' lives. These acceptance and commitment therapy-based interventions require minimal time and few follow-up visits, and are capable of catalysing dramatic changes in clients. Brief interventions have been proven to have a significant clinical impact in helping clients overcome substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. A must-have resource for every clinician seeking to hasten his or her clients' recovery using cutting-edge techniques from mindfulness and acceptance therapy.

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Book SynopsisHow are borders built in the modern world? What does Brexit mean for Ireland's border? And what would happen if Elon Musk declared himself president of the Moon?In Border Wars, Professor Klaus Dodds takes us on a journey into the geopolitical conflict of tomorrow in an eye-opening tour of the world's best-known, most dangerous and most unexpected border conflicts from the Gaza Strip to the space race.Along the way, we'll discover just what border truly mean in the modern world: how are they built; what do they mean for citizens and governments; how do they help understand our political past and, most importantly, our diplomatic future?

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Book SynopsisA New York Times bestseller The Great Deformation is a searing look at Washington's craven response to the recent myriad of financial crises and fiscal cliffs. It counters conventional wisdom with an eighty-year revisionist history of how the American state,especially the Federal Reserve,has fallen prey to the politics of crony capitalism and the ideologies of fiscal stimulus, monetary central planning, and financial bailouts. These forces have left the public sector teetering on the edge of political dysfunction and fiscal collapse and have caused America's private enterprise foundation to morph into a speculative casino that swindles the masses and enriches the few.Defying right- and left-wing boxes, David Stockman provides a catalogueue of corrupters and defenders of sound money, fiscal rectitude, and free markets. The former includes Franklin Roosevelt, who fathered crony capitalism Richard Nixon, who destroyed national financial discipline and the Bretton Woods gold-backed dollar Fed chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke, who fostered our present scourge of bubble finance and addiction to debt and speculation George W. Bush, who repudiated fiscal rectitude and ballooned the warfare state via senseless wars and Barack Obama, who revived failed Keynesian borrow and spend" policies that have driven the national debt to perilous heights. By contrast, the book also traces a parade of statesmen who championed balanced budgets and financial market discipline including Carter Glass, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Simon, Paul Volcker, Bill Clinton, and Sheila Bair.Stockman's analysis skewers Keynesian spenders and GOP tax-cutters alike, showing how they converged to bloat the welfare state, perpetuate the military-industrial complex, and deplete the revenue base,even as the Fed's massive money printing allowed politicians to enjoy deficits without tears." But these policies have also fueled new financial bubbles and favoured Wall Street with cheap money and rigged stock and bond markets, while crushing Main Street savers and punishing family budgets with soaring food and energy costs. The Great Deformation explains how we got here and why these warped, crony capitalist policies are an epochal threat to free market prosperity and American political democracy.

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Book SynopsisIntegrates research in political philosophy with current sociological debate to offer a unique analysis which will deepen understanding of what constitutes children’s wellbeing, the duties of parents to promote children’s wellbeing, and the obligations of the state and society to ensure that children’s best interests are promoted.Table of ContentsPART I: Children and Moral Theory 1 The Aims of a Moral Theory 2 What is a Child? PART II: A Distributive Theory for Children 3 The Currency of Children’s Justice 4 Welfare across the Lifespan 5 Priority, Not Equality, of Welfare PART III: Perfectionism and Upbringing 6 The Case against Neutrality 7 Understanding Perfectionism 8 The Implications of Perfectionism PART IV: The Rights and Duties of Parents 9 The Project View of Parenting 10 Distributing Parental Duties 11 Perfectionism and Parenting 12 Beyond Parents: Collective Duties to Children PART V: Distributive Implications 13 Children’s Distributive Outcomes: Equality of Opportunity? 14 Paying for Childcare Conclusion

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Book SynopsisCan the criminal justice system achieve justice based on its ability to determine the truth? Drawing on a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, this book investigates the concept of truth – its complexities and nuances – and scrutinizes how well the criminal justice process facilitates truth-finding. From allegation to sentencing, the chapters take the reader on a journey through the criminal justice system, exposing the marginalization of truth-finding in favour of other jurisprudential or systemic values, such as expediency, procedural fairness and the presumption of innocence. This important work bridges the gap between what people expect from the criminal justice system and what it can legitimately deliver.Table of ContentsThe Criminal Process and the Pursuit of Truth Allegations Confessions Witness Testimony Truth and the Probity of Evidence-Gathering Decisions and Narratives: Factfinding and Case Construction Truth and the Criminal Trial: Competing Stories Truth, Sentencing and Punishment Restoration, Reconciliation and Reconceptualizing Justice The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth: The Truth of Who Is to Blame

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Book SynopsisHow does your personality shape your life , and what, if anything, can you do about it?Are you hardwired for happiness, or born to brood? Do you think you're in charge of your future, or do you surf the waves of unknowable fate? Would you be happier, or just less socially adept, if you were less concerned about what other people thought of you? And what about your Type A" spouse: is he or she destined to have a heart attack, or just drive you to drink?In the past few decades, new scientific research has transformed old ideas about the nature of human personality. Neuroscientists, biologists, and psychological scientists have reexamined the theories of Freud and Jung as well as the humanistic psychologies of the 1960s, upending the simplistic categorizations of personality types," and developing new tools and methods for exploring who we are. Renowned professor and pioneering research psychologist Brian R. Little has been at the leading edge of this new science. In this wise and witty book he shares a wealth of new data and provocative insights about who we are, why we act the way we do, what we can,and can't,change, and how we can best thrive in light of our nature." Me, Myself, and Us explores questions that are rooted in the origins of human consciousness but are as commonplace as yesterday's breakfast conversation, such as whether our personality traits are set" by age thirty or whether our brains and selves are more plastic. He considers what our personalities portend for our health and success, and the extent to which our well-being depends on the personal projects we pursue.Through stories, studies, personal experiences, and entertaining interactive assessments, Me, Myself, and Us provides a lively, thought-provoking, and ultimately optimistic look at the possibilities and perils of being uniquely ourselves, while illuminating the selves of the familiar strangers we encounter, work with, and love.

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Book SynopsisThe rise of authoritarian movements presents an increasing illiberal trend in international affairs. A rapidly modernizing China is at the vanguard of this phenomenon. Does this signal the demise of Western democracy and the dawn of an authoritarian era in world politics? In this book, Chris Ogden argues that the world is on the verge of a capitulation to China’s preferred authoritarian order. As other world powers adopt such values, they are facilitating the normalization of this authoritarianism into a dominant global phenomenon. This shift, he says, will transform global institutions, human rights and political systems, and herald an authoritarian century.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Whose International Order? 1. Controlled Politics 2. China’s Worldview 3. Economic Ascent 4. Competing Institutions 5. Asian Behemoth 6. The Global Stage Conclusion: Realities and Eventualities

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Book SynopsisBrings together a wide range of feminist research focused on women’s lived experiences and centred on their own narratives. Drawing on expertise in contemporary fields of study, using cutting-edge participatory, inclusive and narrative methodologies, the book updates Carlen’s pioneering work for current times.Table of ContentsForeword – Pat Carlen Introduction – Sharon Grace, Maggie O’Neill, Tammi Walker, Hannah King, Lucy Baldwin, Alison Jobe, Orla Lynch, Fiona Measham, Kate O’Brien and Vicky Seaman 1. Hearing the Voices of Women Involved in Drugs and Crime – Sharon Grace 2. Knifing Off? The Inadequacies of Desistance Frameworks for Women in the Criminal Justice System in Ireland – Vicky Seaman and Orla Lynch 3. Sex Work, Criminalisation and Stigma: Towards a Feminist Criminological Imagination – Maggie O’Neill and Alison Jobe 4. Criminal Women in Prison Who Self-harm: What Can We Learn from Their Experiences? – Tammi Walker 5. Criminal Mothers: The Persisting Pains of Maternal Imprisonment – Lucy Baldwin, with Mary Elwood and Cassie Brown 6. ‘The World Split Open’: Writing, Teaching and Learning with Women in Prison – Hannah King, Kate O’Brien and Fiona Measham, with Verity-Fee, Phoenix, Iris and Angel 7. Women’s Biographies through Prison – Verity-Fee, Phoenix, Iris and Angel, with Hannah King, Kate O’Brien and Fiona Measham Afterword – Loraine Gelsthorpe

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Book SynopsisThe most prestigious and influential book on strategy and dealing with conflict, beautifully translated for clear, accessible reading.In the words of Sun Tzu, "To win without fighting is best." This timeless Chinese classic captures the essence of military strategy used in ancient East Asia, with lessons on how to handle conflict confidently, efficiently, and successfully. The techniques and instructions discussed in The Art of War apply to competition and conflict on every level, from the interpersonal to the international. Its aim is invincibility, victory without battle, and unassailable strength through an understanding of the physics, politics, and psychology of conflict. Thomas Cleary''s translation is a breakthrough achievement that has been a gold standard among translations for three decades, offering the complete text in eminently readable prose with short commentaries by other ancient Chinese strategists and philosophers interwoven throughout.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a critical history of Western criminological thought from the Enlightenment to the development of modern criminological theories, mainly in the United States, over the last hundred years. It explores a variety of approaches including the classical school, the various currents of positivist criminology, and the managerial movement. Mehozay contends that Western criminological thought can be seen as an ideological project based on ‘otherness’, justifying social hierarchies and sustaining the control of some people over others. He demonstrates how ideologies of otherness, such as the non-rational other, the pathological other and more, validate projects of control, exclusion, modernization, and care.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Criminology as Otherness? 2. The Classical School: Otherness as an Ideology of an Imaginary Bourgeois Society 3. The Early Days of Positivist Criminology: An Ideology of Universalism and Otherness 4. Two Versions of Otherness: Between Eugenics and Modernization Theory 5. Otherness as Subculture 6. Managing the Other: Otherness in Practice 7. Conclusion: A Science of Otherness?

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Book SynopsisWestern culture has ‘faith’ in the labour market as a test of the worth of each individual. For those who are out of work, welfare is now less of a support than a means of purification and redemption. Continuously reformed by the left and right in politics, the contemporary welfare state attempts to transform the unemployed into active jobseekers, punishing non-compliance. Drawing on ideas from economic theology, this provocative book uncovers deep-rooted religious concepts and shows how they continue to influence contemporary views of work and unemployment: Jobcentres resemble purgatory where the unemployed attempt to redeem themselves, jobseeking is a form of pilgrimage in hope of salvation, and the economy appears as providence, whereby trials and tribulations test each individual. This book will be essential reading for those interested in the sociology and anthropology of modern economic life. Chapters 1 and 3 are available Open Access via OAPEN under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Paradoxes of Welfare Archaic Anthropology: The Presence of the Past in the Present Reform: Policies and the Polity Vocation: Doing God’s Work Purgatory: The Ideal of Purifying Suffering Pilgrimage: The Interminable Ritual of Jobseeking Curriculum Vitae: Confessions of Faith in the Labour Market Conclusion: Parables of Welfare

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Book SynopsisFor many younger and lower-income people, housing affordability continues to worsen. Based on the academic research of two distinguished housing economists – and stimulated by working with governments across the world - this wide-ranging book sets out clear theoretical and empirical frameworks to tackle one of today’s most important socio-economic issues. Housing unaffordability arises from complex forces and a prerequisite to effective policy is understanding the causes of rising house prices and rents and the interactions between housing, housing finance and the macroeconomy. The authors challenge many of the conventional wisdoms in housing policy and offer innovative recommendations to improve affordability.Table of ContentsCrisis, What Crisis? Is Housing Really Unaffordable? What Factors Determine Changes in House Prices and Rents? Influences on Household Formation and Tenure Rental Affordability What Determines the Number of New Homes Built? Housing Demand, Financial Markets and Taxation Housing, Affordability and the Macroeconomy Planning and the Assessment of Housing Need and Demand Raising the Level of Provate Housing Construction Subsidizing the Supply of Rental Housing Subsidizing the Housing Costs of Lower-Income Tenants Increasing Home Ownership Where Do We Go from Here?

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Book SynopsisOffers an original contribution to the field by focusing on epistemic tensions in socio-technical systems.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Tense Thinking and the Myths of an Algorithmic New Life 2. The Pursuit of Posthuman Security 3. Overstepping and the Navigation of the Perceived Limits of Algorithmic Thinking 4. (Dreaming of) Super Cognizers and the Stretching of the Known 5. The Presences of Nonknowledge 6. Conclusion: Algorithmic Thinking and the Will to Automate

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Book SynopsisThe gallant stand of the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne has long become part of historical and media legend. But how many students of the war realize there was already a U.S. unit holding the town when they arrived? And this unit—the 10th Armored Division—continued to play a major role in its defense throughout the German onslaught.Trade ReviewThis book vividly portrays the battle with a series of interviews, medal citations and after action reviews. These are well attributed in the end notes, together with some brief statistics and a list of staff roles. The style should appeal to the general reader as well as military readers and there are good maps and illustrations...Most of the books on their role are out of print so this book is a useful addition on the subject. * Army Rumour Service *The maps are very good to support the text and the photographs are full of atmosphere and convey how troops maintained their morale throughout the fighting. A great book to add another chapter to the famous battle. * Gun Mart *Collins and King uncover and reveal some surprising secrets relating to the battle of Bastogne. These accounts of bravery above and beyond the call of duty are the stuff of legend - you would think that there were no such stories left to tell, but you'd be wrong. Amazing. * Books Monthly *

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Book SynopsisThis collection explores leading values and concepts in global child-based research through the lens of reflexivity. The book considers issues such as the identities and roles of researchers, as well as the burdens, boundaries, and ethical frameworks which govern their activities. Using empirical examples from Israel, India, Thailand, and England, expert contributors discuss a range of topics including online safety, disabilities, gang membership, safeguarding, sexting, and child prostitution. This book guides childhood research towards a more reflexive debate that critically challenges conventions, and highlights plurality of voice.Table of ContentsIntroduction - Sarah Richards and Sarah Coombs 1. Do No Online Harm: Balancing Safeguarding with Researchers and Participants in Online Research with Sensitive Populations - Michelle Lyttle Storrod 2. The Ethical Challenges of Researching Sexting with Children and Adolescents - Tsameret Ricon and Michal Dolev-Cohen 3. Responding Reflexively, Relationally and Reciprocally to Unequal Childhoods - Pallawi Sinha 4. Researching Children’s Experiences in a Conflict Zone and a Red-light Area: Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork in India and Kashmir - Ayushi Rawat 5. Capturing Narratives: Adopting a Reflexive Approach to Research with Disabled Young People - Marianna Stella and Allison Boggis 6. Youth Social Action: Shaping Communities, Driving Change - Katie Tyrrell 7. A New Panorama of Child Voice in the Child Protection Context - Samia Michail 8. A Bump on the Head in the Graveyard: Palimpsests of Death, Selves, Care, and Touch - Sarah Coombs and Sarah Richards 9. Owning Our Mistakes: Confessions of an Unethical Researcher - Heather Montgomery

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Book SynopsisGerman army deficiencies are often cited as the reason for the failure of the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes region of France, Belgium and Luxembourg in December of 1944 to January 1945 which the Germans called Operation Wacht am Rhein, the Allies named the Ardennes Counteroffensive, and was also commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge. It is certainly true that the three German armies regrouped for the offensive were in differing states; only the 5th Panzer Army was in something resembling good condition, with the 6th and the 7th mediocre at best. The divisions were also often not mobile enough because of the lack of automotive equipment and were short on tanks and artillery. But these cannot be considered as the only reasons for the German failure: it was also the speed of the Allied reaction, and especially the conduct of the Americans, who experienced the some of the fiercest combat of the war, and suffered over 100,000 casualties.This volume in the Casemate Illustrated series, with over 100 photographs and 24 color profiles describes in detail the different events that caused the German defeat, from the beginning of the offensive on December 16, 1944 to the retreat behind the Siegfried Line. It looks at several topics in particular: the American resistance at St. Vith; the resistance of the 101st Airborne in Bastogne; German obstinacy in persisting with the siege at Bastogne; the airlift and the intervention of the 9th US Air Force; the rapid regrouping of the 3rd US Army; Patton's counterattack; the British counterattack, and finally how the Allies failed to transform the German withdrawal into rout, missing an opportunity to cross the Siegfried line and the Rhine on the heels of the Germans, leading to an incomplete victory.Trade ReviewIn my opinion today's book will make a nice addition to modeler's library… * DetailScaleView *A very useful one-stop reference to the ‘Battle of the Bulge’. Recommended. * Scale Military Modelling International Magazine 19/12/2018 *I found this another great title from Yves Buffetaut that covers a specific element of World War 2 * Armorama 17/12/2018 *…is informative and interspersed with colour plates of vehicles, accounts of war crimes, and commander profiles. The range of photographs accompanying the text is the highlight of the book. * Wargames Illustrated 12/04/2021 *As with all the numerous titles by this author in the series, his well-written text and superb quality photographs – plus eight full-colour pages of three vehicles apiece – make this a highly attractive volume. * Miniature Wargames 14/01/2019 *

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Book SynopsisExamines the political and economic factors that determine how climate change is portrayed and perceived, and frames environmental problems in a social and behavioural context.Table of ContentsPart 1: The State of the World 1. Setting the Context 2. The State of the World 3. Implications of COVID-19 Part 2: The Process of Change 4. Preparing for Change 5. Effective Government Intervention 6. The Energy Transition 7. Moving Away from Growth and Profit 8. Factors Critical to Successful Change 9. Barriers to Change 10. Perceptions and Reality Part 3: The Call to Action 11. The Great Transition 12. Action Plans for Governments 13. Personal Accountability 14. A New Political Movement 15. Can We Make It?

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Book SynopsisDo digital networks make a difference to the scope, scale and severity of social harm? Considering four distinct digital affordances for crime (access, concealment, evasion and incitement) this book asks whether they are simply new packaging for old problems, with no greater effect on society overall – or is cyberculture significantly escalating illegality? Matthew David gives fresh insights into online harms and behaviours in the fields of hate, obscenity, corruptions of citizenship and appropriation, offering a comprehensive and integrated approach for those both new and experienced in the field of cybercrime.Table of Contents1. Introduction Part I: Hate 2. Terrorism and Hate Crime: From the Long Fuse to Hate Speech 3. Bullying, Stalking and Trolling Part II: Obscenity 4. Pornography and Violent Video Games 5. Child Abuse Imagery, Abuse and Grooming Part III: Corruptions of Citizenship 6. Privacy, Surveillance, Whistleblowers and Hacktivism 7. Fake News, Echo Chambers and Citizen Journalism Part IV: Appropriation 8. Fraud, Extortion and Identity Theft 9. Sharing Software, Music and Visual Content 10. Conclusions

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Book SynopsisLeft for Dead at Nijmegen recalls the larger-than-life experiences of an American paratrooper, Gene Metcalfe, who served in the 82nd Airborne during WWII. From his recruitment into the military at Camp Grant to his training with the 501st Paratroop Infantry Regiment at Camp Toccoa, it wasn't until D-Day itself that he first arrived in England to join the 508th PIR. Nannini records Gene's memories of being dropped during Operation Market Garden in Nijmegen, Holland. Gene was listed as KIA and left for dead by his patrol, who presumed the worst when they saw his injuries from a shell explosion.In the climax of the story, Gene is captured by German SS soldiers and, with absolutely no protection, found himself standing before a senior officer, whom Gene recognized as Heinrich Himmler himself, behind enemy lines in a 16th century castle. Gene's subsequent interrogation is fully recounted, from the questioning of his mission to the bizarre appearance of sausages, mustard, marmalade and bread for his "dinner." This would be his last proper meal for eight months.The rest of his story is equally gripping, as he became a POW held outside Munich, being moved between various camps ridden with disease and a severely undernourished population. Eventually, after making an escape attempt and being captured within sight of the snow-capped Swiss mountains, his camp was liberated by American troops in April 1945.Gene's story is both remarkable for his highly unusual encounter, and his subsequent experiences.Trade ReviewThis is an important biography worthy of inclusion in World War II themed collections. The book portrays military sacrifices and the reality of the struggle of POW as reported by a survivor. * authorsreading.com 03/05/2019 *The author has researched and studied this subject in great depth, his knowledge and ability to engage and keep the interest of the reader is accomplished and proficient. * Army Rumour Service 20/06/2019 *Left for Dead at Nijmegen: The True Story of an American Paratrooper is an important work, one that exemplifies the sacrifices made by our military and reveals the reality of the POWs’ struggle to survive under the harshest of situations. It’s most highly recommended. * Readers Favorite Book Reviews 22/01/2019 *… an extraordinary and simply riveting memoir. * Midwest Book Review 12/06/2019 *

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Book SynopsisSixty years ago, an upsurge of social movements protested the ecological harms of industrial capitalism. In subsequent decades, environmentalism consolidated into forms of management and business strategy that aimed to tackle ecological degradation while enabling new forms of green economic growth. However, the focus on spaces and species to be protected saw questions of human work and histories of colonialism pushed out of view. This book traces a counter-history of modern environmentalism from the 1960s to the present day. It focuses on claims concerning land, labour and social reproduction arising at important moments in the history of environmentalism made by feminist, anti-colonial, Indigenous, workers’ and agrarian movements. Many of these movements did not consider themselves ‘environmental,’ and yet they offer vital ways forward in the face of escalating ecological damage and social injustice.Table of Contents1. Introduction: Beyond Modern Environmentalism 2. Suburb, Field, Laboratory: Recomposing Geographies of Early Environmentalism First Interlude: Green and White Dreams 3. Revolt Against One-Worldism: Radical Claims on Land and Work Post-1968 Second Interlude: Planetary Icons 4. The Right to Subsist: Transnational Commons Against the Enclosure of Environments and Environmentalism Third Interlude: Witnessing in the Global Resonance Machine 5. Earth Politics: Disagreement and Emergent Indigeneity in the So-Called Anthropocene Fourth Interlude: Making Things Resonate 6. Conclusion: Resonance Beyond Environmentalism Coda: Afterlives

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Book SynopsisBringing together an international team of contributors, this volume draws on international political theory and intellectual history to rethink the problem of a pluralistic world order. Inspired by the work of international political theorist Nicholas Rengger, the book focuses on three main areas of Rengger’s contribution to the political theory of international relations: his Augustine-inspired idea of an ‘Anti-Pelagian Imagination’; his Oakeshottian argument for a pluralist ‘conversation of mankind’; and his ruminations on war as the uncivil condition in world politics. Through a critical engagement with his work, the book illuminates the promises and limitations of civility as a sceptical, non-utopian, anti-perfectionist approach to theorizing world order that transcends both realist pessimism and liberal utopianism.Table of Contents1. Rengger’s anti-Pelagianism: international political theory as civil conversation – Vassilios Paipais Part 1: Anti-Pelagianism and the Civil Condition in World Politics 2. Revisiting Rengger’s Anti-Pelagianism – Noel O’Sullivan and Sophia Dingli 3. Poetics and Politics: Rengger, Weber, and the Virtuosi of Religion – John-Harmen Valk 4. ‘Keep your mind in hell, and despair not’: Gillian Rose’s anti-Pelagianism – Kate Schick Part 2: Challenging the Anti-Pelagian Imagination 5. ‘A Dangerous Place to Be’? Nicholas J. Rengger, the English School, and International Disorder – Ian Hall 6. Rengger’s War on Teleocracy – Chris Brown 7. Conservatism, Civility, and the Challenges of International Political Theory – Michael Williams Part 3: The Uncivil Condition in Word Politics 8. Rengger the Reluctant Rule Follower – Anthony Lang Jr. 9. Rengger and the ‘Business of War’ – Caroline Kennedy-Pipe 10. Just War as Tradition in a Civil International Order – Valerie Morkevičius Afterword 11. Rengger, History, and the Future of International Relations – Richard Whatmore

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Book SynopsisMade famous by her final commanding officer, John F. Kennedy, PT-109 is one of the most celebrated warships in American history. However, a full chronicle of PT-109’s wartime story has heretofore been lacking. Behind the familiar account of the future president and the boat’s violent demise is the little-known record under two previous officers during the swirling battles around Guadalcanal.In these mainly nocturnal fights, when the Japanese navy was at its apex, America’s small, fast-boat flotillas would sally out to probe enemy strength, vying with enemy destroyers, who were similarly roaming the waters and able to blast a PT-boat out of the water if main armament could be brought to bear. It was constant hit-and-run and dodging between searchlights across Iron Bottom Sound, as the PT-boats darted in among the enemy fleet, like a“barroom brawl with the lights turned out.”Bryant Larson and Rollin Westholm preceded Kennedy as commanders of PT-109, and their fights with the brave ship and its crew hold second to none in the chronicles of US Navy daring. As the battles moved on across the Pacific the PT-boat flotillas gained confidence, even as the Japanese, too, learned lessons in how to destroy them.Under its third and final commander, Kennedy, PT-109 came a cropper as a Japanese destroyer suddenly emerged from a dark mist and rammed it in half. Two crewmen were killed immediately but Kennedy, formerly on the swim team at Harvard, was able to shepherd his wounded and others to refuge. His unsurpassed gallantry can not resist retelling, yet the courage of the book’s previous commanders have not till now seen the light of day.This book provides the complete record of PT-109 in the Pacific, as well as a valuable glimpse of how the American Navy’s daring and initiative found its full playing field in World War II.Trade ReviewA useful and comprehensive niche contribution to naval history. * Army Rumour Service 13/03/2019 *

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Book SynopsisDrawing on interviews with Amazon workers and original empirical data, this book explores how different working conditions estrange and alienate workers, and how, despite these, workers find ways to organize and express their agency. This is an important analysis of work on the digital shop floor for the scholars of platform economy.

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Book SynopsisHow will protecting our digital infrastructure shape our future? Cybersecurity is one of the key practical and political challenges of our time. It is at the heart of how modern societies survive and thrive, yet public understanding is still rudimentary: media portrayals of hoodie-wearing hackers accessing the Pentagon don’t convey its complexity or significance to contemporary life. This book addresses this gap, showing that the political dimension is as important as the technological one. It accessibly explains the complexities of global information systems, the challenges of providing security to users, societies, states and the international system, and the multitude of competing players and ambitions in this arena. Making the case for understanding it not only as a technical project, but as a crucial political one that links competing visions of what cybersecurity is for, it tackles the ultimate question: how can we do it better?Table of Contents1. Introduction: A 'Wicked Problem' 2. How Did We Get Here? 3. Cybersecurity, Cyber Risk 4. States and Markets 5. International Cybersecurity 6. Cybersecurity and Human Security 7. Conclusion: A Global Conversation

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Book SynopsisThe battle of the Falaise Pocket, in August 1944, was the turning point in the Normandy campaign. By early August the German Army was in turmoil: while it was managing to hold back the Allies, the defense involved resources that could not be replaced, and the Allies ruled the skies above. In late July, American troops broke through the American lines and pushed south and east, while British and Canadian troops pushed south. Although unable to counter these offensives, Hitler refused to permit the commander Army Group B, Field Marshal von Kluge, to withdraw. Instead he was ordered to launch a counteroffensive at Mortain, the result being that the Germans ended up further into the Allied envelopment. On 8 August Montgomery ordered that the Allied armies converge on the Falaise area—by 21 August the Allies had linked up and sealed the pocket, trapping around 50,000 Germans inside. While many soldiers did eventually escape the encirclement, the losses were catastrophic and by the end of the month Army Group B had retreated across the Seine, ending the battle of Normandy. This illustrated account examines the battle from the failed offensive at Mortain, looking at both German and Allied perspectives, using maps, diagrams and profiles to complete the story.Trade ReviewThis is a superb series, primarily for the photos…’ * Miniature Wargames 11/07/2019 *A great read, a great resource, recommended. * Scale Military Modelling International Magazine 29/04/2019 *This glossy, illustrated title features all the leaders, profiles the tanks and vehicles, and mixes the history with copious photos from the area. It’s a handy guide to the end of the Normandy Campaign. * The Armourer 03/06/2019 *

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Book SynopsisDigital media technologies have enabled some LGBTQ+ individuals and communities to successfully organize for basic rights and justice. But these technologies can also present risks, such as online and in-person harassment and assault, and unsettled standards of privacy and consent. Justin Ellis provides new insights on LGBTQ+ identity formation through social media networks and platform biometrics. Drawing on debate over gender, procreation, religion, nationalism and tech-regulation, he considers the effects of surveillance technologies on LGBTQ+ agency. In doing so, he brings an interdisciplinary ‘digiqueer’ perspective to negotiations of LGBTQ+ identity through case studies of digital harms from case law, parliamentary debates, social and mainstream media and LGBTQ-tech advocacy.Trade Review“A must-read not only for academics, media practitioners, and activists, but also for anyone seeking to understand why, despite a range of protections for LGBTQ+ citizens across many jurisdictions, bigotry and hatred against these communities persists and continues to grow.” Crime, Media, CultureTable of Contents1. Information Warfare in Technocratic Times 2. The Digiqueer Fight Against Algorithmic Governance 3. Information Warfare Against Drag Queen Storytime 4. (Mis)Representation of Same-Sex Attraction 5. Digiqueer Activism, Advocacy and Allyship 6. Data Driven Times?

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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.

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Book SynopsisIs the government really acting for the people? Or does this rhetoric simply justify an executive power-grab? For some, Boris Johnson’s premiership epitomised how far the UK’s democracy has been captured by populism and the Prime Minister seemed more concerned about fulfilling the wishes of the British people than with following the rules or listening to Parliament. Events like ‘Partygate’ grabbed the headlines. Criticisms of Boris Johnson’s actions eventually led to his resignation and replacement as leader of his party and Prime Minister. Some feel that this shows that the UK’s constitution is healthy, with checks and balances in place to prevent any possible abuse of power. While these events attracted much media attention, other constitutional changes have been taking place with little public awareness. These have strengthened governmental powers and weakened political and legal checks over governmental actions. Deliberation is being replaced by rhetoric and principles of good government no longer seem to restrain the actions of those in power. Alison Young provides the first consolidated account of these changes, arguing that the UK is currently on a constitutional cliff-edge which endangers democracy and good constitutional government. She argues that more is needed to shore up the UK’s post-Brexit constitution to prevent it collapsing into a system of unchecked power.Table of Contents1. The Post-Brexit Constitution: Standing on a Constitutional Cliff Edge? 2. What Is Populism and Should We Be Worried? 3. Is the Government Getting Too Big for Its Boots? 4. Checks and Balances or Crowing and Bolstering? 5. Constitutional Guardrails or Greasy Poles? 6. Getting Things Done or Putting on a Show? 7. Constitutional Watchdogs: Rottweilers or Lapdogs? 8. Should We Be Afraid and if So What Should We Do about It?

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Book SynopsisGrief sometimes leaves us without words. Yet narrating our feelings, thoughts, and experiences can be so helpful in relating to our inner world. These cards are an invitation to begin that process.From the bestselling author of Bearing the Unbearable, here are 52 cards with prompts for exploring grief and starting conversations about those whom we?ve lost. These cards can be used as part of a contemplative practice, as journaling prompts, by or with therapists, or used in community with family, friends, or with a grief support group. They can be read aloud, alone or with others. You can read one card prior to meditation, or simply take one in and reflect deeply on what arises. However you use these cards, please take the time to really be with each one, dive deeply?and do so with a spirit of love and compassion for all beings, including yourself. Now available as an online course from the Wisdom Academy and as a journal in Bearing the Unbearable: A Guided Journal for Grieving.

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Book SynopsisA buoyant, creative economy can be seen as the saviour of many cities, but behind such ‘urban makeovers’ lie serious problems such as widening inequalities, job precarity, gentrification and environmental issues. In light of the pandemic and climate crisis, how well are city economies, based largely on culture, nightlife and tourism, meeting basic societal needs? Blending lively case studies of alternative cultural practices and spaces with broader theoretical debates, this book explores the opportunities for a more just and sustainable urban future.Table of Contents1. Neoliberalism, Creativity and Cities 2. Urban Entrepreneurialism: The Emergence of the Cultural Economy 3. Critiquing the Neoliberal Creative City: But Long Live Alternative Creative Spaces! 4. Urban Cultural Movements and Anti-Creative Struggles 5. Neoliberal Nightlife and its Alternatives 6. Rethinking the Tourist City: Contestation and Alternative Cultural Tourism 7. Creative Polarization, Division and Exclusion 8. Beyond the Neoliberal Creative City

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Book SynopsisA Zen Buddhist priest paints a picture of Zen in Ireland in this collection of short essays.In this personal and enlightening collection of short essays, Irish Soto Zen priest Myozan Ian Kilroy describes how he came to practice Zen, introduces the basics of Zen philosophy, and recalls the challenges of establishing a Zen Buddhist community in Catholic-dominated Ireland. Along the way, he explores the rituals and practices that Zen brings to everyday life, from holidays to weddings to birth ceremonies to funerals. A former journalist, Rev. Myozan?s lucid and entertaining storytelling style paints a clear picture of how Zen has adapted to the culture and traditions of Ireland.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2022______________________________________________________________________________________'an explicitly inclusive, thoughtful, joyful read' - REFINERY 29'This "love letter of sorts" to inclusive queer women's culture is perfect for anyone who's just come out, wants to know what the heck's going on or has yearned for an entire chapter dedicated to the film Carol.' - DIVA 'An introspective dive into the fast-moving world of queer culture, Daisy unpacks some of the 21st century's biggest lesbian and bisexual moments to paint a portrait of what modern-day queerness looks like.' - GAY TIMES'Daisy Jones effortlessly explores queer culture' - COSMOPOLITAN ______________________________________________________________________________________A modern, personal guide to the culture of queer women and everyone in between.All The Things She Said explores the nature of 21st century queerness. Lesbian and bi culture is ever-changing and here, journalist Daisy Jones unpicks outdated stereotypes and shows how, over the past few years, the style and shared language of queer women has slowly infiltrated the mainstream. (Think less hemp sandals, IKEA trips and nut milks and more freedom, expression, community. And Cate Blanchett.)From the dingy basement clubs of east London to the unchartered realms of TikTok, cutting in DIY mullets and christening Meryl Streep 'Daddy', Daisy explores the multifaceted nature of what it means to be lesbian or bi today, while also looking back and celebrating the past. The book shines a light on the never-ending process of coming out, what it's like to date as a queer woman, how physical nightlife spaces have evolved into online communities and the reasons why mental health issues have disproportionately impacted LGBTQ+ people.As someone immersed in the queer culture of women, Daisy brings both the personal perspective and a journalistic one to this changing landscape. Through interviews and lived experience, a cohesive image emerges: one which shows that being lesbian, bi, or anything in between, isn't necessarily always tied to gender, sexual practice or even romantic attraction. With verve, humour and razor-sharp prose, Daisy paints a vital and insightful modern day portrait of what it means to be a queer woman in the 21st century.

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Book Synopsis'Funny, frank and empowering... a vital book for any woman who is at the beginning of her radicalisation journey, looking at her life and finally piecing together the personal and the political.' THE OBSERVER'Sam Baker is rewriting the narrative around menopause' WOMAN & HOME'rollicking read' MAIL ON SUNDAY'I loved it.. blazingly hopeful and beautifully written. This book is meant to be mainlined.' LISA TADDEO'If you're a woman over 40, ever going to be a woman over 40 or you've ever met a woman over 40 you should read this book' JANE FALLON'I NEED this book. We ALL need this book! If menopause happened to men, there would be CELEBRATIONS and parties every time one of them completed their change.' MARIAN KEYES'This gem is a guide to navigating your 40s and 50s and just generally being yourself. ... joyful, positive, and goes to ALL the places. Highly recommended.' JOJO MOYESThe essential manifesto for any woman staring the second half of their lives in the face and wondering, WTF is going on?* Invisible to society now you're past child-bearing age?* Tired of being disregarded, overlooked and underestimated?* Wondering what the hell is happening to your body, mind and internal thermostat?Women over forty are the most ignored demographic in society. And yet this is the time when you are likely to have the most freedom, power, confidence and self knowledge than ever before. Some serious life has been lived: there have been great loves, heartbreaks, births, marriages, careers, betrayals, bereavements and survival. So what now? What happens when the narrative given to you by society - husband, babies, house - runs out and you become storyless? Including chapters on menopause, sex, culture, work, rage and freedom, writer and journalist Sam Baker shares her experiences of life post 40 and shows how women to create their own story. This needn't herald the era of loose clothing and hair dye; or hot flashes and bad sleep (though there is that too). It's time women north of 40 took a leaf out of the millennial handbook and reinvented things our way. Sam hosts a podcast of the same name, now with over 50 thousand downloads. Harness your energy, opinions and power and create a liberating new narrative for the second half of life.'I am so glad The Shift exists. Sam's writing is a wonderful generous mixture of no-bullsh*t and a comforting hug. I'll be passing this book on to many women I know and love.' EMMA GANNON 'brilliant - powerful, brimming with integrity, inspiring, the politics of anger and what it means when we refuse to be invisible. Every woman (whatever her age) should buy, borrow, lend a copy' KATE MOSSE'This is such a painfully beautiful look at the menopause in all its complexity. As honest as it is insightful, this is the first book I've read about later womanhood that exchanges shame and fear for truth and celebration... does for 40-something women what the honest parenting movement did for mothers.' ANNA WHITEHOUSE, founder, Mother Pukka'great pace and feisty content. It will be a great help to women to see their lives mirrored and not feel like they are going mad... bold and funny.' CARYN FRANKLIN'[Sam] tackles the menopause with her customary wit and wisdom' i PAPER'Honest and witter account of life post-40. Makes for essential reading at any age.' - KATE WILLS, FABULOUS MAGAZINE'Insightful, thoughtful, inspirational - impressive work.' - VICTORIA DERBYSHIRE

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Book SynopsisRaised in Alabama, she sent shockwaves through the South when she launched a public broadside against Jim Crow and donated to the NAACP. She used her fame to oppose American intervention in WWI. She spoke out against Hitler the month he took power in 1933 and embraced the anti-fascist cause during the Spanish Civil War. She was one of the first public figures to alert the world to the evils of Apartheid, raising money to defend Nelson Mandela when he faced the death penalty for High Treason, and she lambasted Joseph McCarthy at the height of the Cold War, even as her contemporaries shied away from his notorious witch hunt. But who was this revolutionary figure?She was Helen Keller.From books to movies to Barbie dolls, most mainstream portrayals of Keller focus heavily on her struggles as a deafblind child-portraying her Teacher, Annie Sullivan, as a miracle worker. This narrative-which has often made Keller a secondary character in her own story-has resulted in few people knowing that her greatest accomplishment was not learning to speak, but what she did with her voice when she found it.After the Miracle is a much-needed corrective to this antiquated narrative. In this first major biography of Keller in decades, Max Wallace reveals that the lionization of Sullivan at the expense of her famous pupil was no accident, and calls attention to Keller's efforts as a card-carrying socialist, fierce anti-racist, and progressive disability advocate. Despite being raised in an era when eugenics and discrimination were commonplace, Keller consistently challenged the media for its ableist coverage and was one of the first activists to highlight the links between disability and capitalism, even as she struggled against the expectations and prejudices of those closest to her.Peeling back the curtain that obscured Keller's political crusades in favor of her "inspirational" childhood, After the Miracle chronicles the complete legacy of one of the 20th century's most extraordinary figures.

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Book SynopsisHow did Russia manage to emerge resurgent on the world stage and play a weak hand so effectively? Is it because Putin is a brilliant strategist? Or has Russia stepped into a vacuum created by the West's distraction with its own domestic problems and US ambivalence about whether it still wants to act as a superpower? Putin's World examines the country's turbulent past, how it has influenced Putin, the Russians' understanding of their position on the global stage and their future ambitions -- and their conviction that the West has tried to deny them a seat at the table of great powers since the USSR collapsed.This book looks at Russia's key relationships -- its downward spiral with the United States, Europe, and NATO; its ties to China, Japan, the Middle East; and with its neighbors, particularly the fraught relationship with Ukraine. Putin's World will help Americans understand how and why the post-Cold War era has given way to a new, more dangerous world, one in which Russia poses a challenge to the United States in every corner of the globe -- and one in which Russia has become a toxic and divisive subject in US politics.

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