Politics, Philosophy & Society Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs an African American cultural anthropologist and CEO of an urban research institute, D.B. Maroon is intimately involved with the nation’s struggle to realize its promises equally for all people. Her work is to put those stories into the big picture of American culture—past, present, and future. Intersectional, personal, and hard-hitting in places, while ultimately centering on truth, love and perseverance, Black Lives, American Love weaves the stories of America’s pursuits with Maroon’s own experiences. The result is a personal biography of America offered from the thoughtful viewpoint of a Black anthropologist. The essays take on some of the country’s fiercest debates and most profound challenges with an unflinching style: from the invention of race and debates about the 1619 project, to the rippling impacts of resurgent White Nationalism, the birth of Black Lives Matter Movement, and the ongoing traumas of police brutality. Yet within its pages is the hopeful continuance of the Black community, the striving for better, the grappling with the hurt in order to soothe it with love, and to heal it with peace.Black Lives, American Love is arelentless truth-telling about America’s failures to its Black population—yet itis also a discussion on how we might all do more to secure America’s still vastlybeautiful possibilities of liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all rather than afew.

Read more less

Book SynopsisYears ago, James V. Schall wrote Another Sort of Learning, a book listing those things you should read but probably were never required to read. It is not a curriculum, except maybe one “for life.” This book you have in your hands is something of a mathematical tribute to Schall’s basic idea and is aptly titled Another Sort of Mathematics. Like Schall’s book, it is not a curriculum. It is, however, a list of some things from mathematics you should experience but probably were never required to experience. The theorems and proofs in this book represent, in a small way, some of the best that has been said within the discipline of mathematics.There is something unique in the human soul that can only be satisfied by wondering about mathematics. And that means, regardless of your background, this book is for you. Reclaim your mathematical inheritance. Embrace the mathematician within you. Choose to wonder.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFunny Stories About White Privilege and Black Identity from a Black Nerd’s PerspectiveAuthor and Ebony Magazine podcaster Ron Dawson lends his wit and comical social commentary to tell the story of how one of the “whitest” and nerdiest of black men finally woke up, found his blackness, and lost all inhibitions at dropping the f-bomb.A coming-of-age story of black identity. In the suburbs of Atlanta, Ron was a black nerd (aka “blerd”) living very comfortably in his white world. He loved his white wife, worked well with his white workmates, and worshiped at a white church. On November 8, 2016, everything changed when Trump became POTUS. Ron began a journey of self-discovery that made him question everything—from faith to friendships.Part social commentary and part fantastical narrative. This book goes where no blerd has gone before. In a psychedelic way, Ron is guided by a guardian “angel” in the guise of Samuel L. Jackson’s character from Pulp Fiction. Sam is there to help Ron, well, be more black. Ron confronts his black “sins” and wrestles with black identity, systemic racism, and what it means to be “black” in America. Uncomfortable conversations. Throughout this book, you’ll learn lessons from a man who deconstructs his faith and confronts personal demons of racial identity. Gain new perspectives through these funny stories that will reshape your current views on black identity.Inside, you’ll find: The funniest social commentary on white privilege and black identity Political satire wrapped in funny stories of a man’s journey to confront the systemic racism and Christian hypocrisy around him Comical if not uncomfortable conversations about what it means to be black in America If you liked You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, Things That Make White People Uncomfortable, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, or I’m Judging You, you’ll love Dungeons ‘n’ Durags. Trade Review“My first encounter with Dungeons ‘n’ Durags was with the podcast Ron produces for Ebony's Podcast Network. It's funny, clever, and full of surprises. But nothing prepared me for what he had in store in the book. Ron does a masterful job at tackling provocative topics in a way that often feels uncomfortably raw. It’s a hilarious and biting commentary on not only white supremacy ideology, but also points a mirror at Black culture.”—Lavaille Lavette, president and publisher at Ebony magazine “As someone who grew up in a blended family that was wall-to-wall identity struggle (my own included), I tend to love stories about reckoning with who we think we should be. Ron’s profound and hilarious journey is like if Conversations with God had a baby with Hollywood Shuffle. And his love for cinema and popular culture makes it a great read for any cinephile and nerds everywhere. But Ron’s voice is wholly his own, and fantastically entertaining, endearing, and truthful. This book is tailor-made for anyone who wants to spend a few hours with a really great storyteller.”—Mishna Wolf, author of I’m Down: A Memoir “It’s so important that we tell our stories, and Ron does a masterful job telling his. The same kind of passion and biting wit he’s brought to An Injustice!, he expresses all throughout Dungeons ‘n’ Durags. He strikes a good balance of biting commentary on white supremacy ideology, as well as some aspects of the Black community, all while lacing it with a self-effacing humor that most people would find unable to share publicly.”—Zuva Seven, founder/editor-in-chief of An Injustice! Medium Publication “It’s not often you see Black men, or people in general, get this personal when sharing their stories. I appreciated the authenticity and vulnerability Ron shares in his experiences as a black man and how a white-dominated world influenced him, as well as his complicated faith journey. Lastly, as a fan of film trivia, how could I not love all the hilarious cinematic homages?”—Nichelle Protho, SVP Loud Sis Productions “Dungeons ‘n’ Durags is a hilarious, masterfully written love letter to us ‘Blerds’ and so-called ‘Oreos.’ Dawson uses humor to seamlessly highlight and unpack his personal experiences and insights as a Black man in America. This book will make you laugh out loud and think deeply about racial identity and what it means to be Black.”—Brandee Blocker Anderson, CEO and founder of The Antiracism Academy “Funny. Smart. Provocative. A hilarious page-turner that pulls no punches at addressing issues of white privilege and hypocrisy in the evangelical church.”—Talicia Raggs, writer/producer The Equalizer, NCIS: New Orleans, and The Originals “I love everything about this book. The way Ron uses popular culture, his excruciating honesty, his humor, and especially the confessions (there’s nothing an ex-Catholic likes more than a good confession). It’s a timely work!”—Peter Crowe, writer and editor of the humor and satirical collection Dishonour the Right Thing “Witty, sarcastic, hilarious, and, well, blerd-y, this must-read story affirms the diversity within the Black diaspora and reminds us there is room for Durags, D&D, and even, maybe, Ron.”—Chrysta Wilson, racial justice and equity consultant, author of the award-winning cookbook Kiss My Bundt “What is truly GREAT and sets Ron apart is his sincere and ongoing willingness and pursuit of self-examination and laying bare what some might deem his shortcomings, honestly to himself and for all to witness. That pursuit is always aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the truths of his own humanity and behaving and interacting with others in accordance with that truth. If only there were more like him walking around in the world, it’d be a better place. But the book isn’t just about Ron taking his medicine. It’s actually spectacularly relatable and entertaining. In fact, as a producer, I know gold when I see it. I’m bound and determined to make it a hit TV show.”—Yolanda T. Cochran, Film & TV Producer/Academy member“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are Trump supporters reading this book who are gonna think, ‘How the hell did this mutherf*cker get me to read this thing?’ Ron Dawson is Black Magic.”—Chris Spencer, handsome comedian, writer, director, producerTable of ContentsForeword Part 1Chapter 1: Bro Log: A “Perfect Beginning”Chapter 2: Blackness is my “Super Suit”Chapter 3: Wypipo Trigger WarningChapter 5: Stupid Shit Trump Supporters SayChapter 6: All I Need Are Dreadlocks and a SwordChapter 6: Wonder Woman Was BlackChapter 7: To All the White Girls on TV I’ve Loved BeforeChapter 8: Origin of a Blaxistential CrisisChapter 9: My First Times All Have One Thing in CommonChapter 10: The Second Most Embarrassing Confession in this BookChapter 11: Black People Aren’t a MonolithChapter 12: Babysitters, Bad Words, and F-BombsChapter 13: The First Time My Blackness Earned Me a Standing Ovatoin at My Predominately White High School Part 2Chapter 14: Break Dancing and BreakthroughsChapter 15: A Faker’s DozensChapter 16: My George Costanza MomentChapter 17: Newsflash—America Was/Is Still RacistChapter 18: My Relationship with Facebook is . . . ComplicatedChapter 19: Positive RonChapter 20: Waxing PhilosophicalChapter 21: There and Black AgainChapter 22: “Mine” Yo’ BiznessChapter 23: Skool’d, Dazed, and ConfusedChapter 24: Spike JonesingChapter 25: Hit ‘em Up—Politics and Evangelical EditionChapter 26: In the Dogg HouseChapter 27: He was a Fifth Grade and Grown-up, Nerdy Negro People PleaserChapter 28: When Pigs Sigh Part 3Chapter 29: “Dude, where’s my church?” ~ JesusChapter 30: Letters to a Trump Supporting ChristianChapter 31: Wonder and . . . Awww!Chapter 32: My Last ConfessionChapter 33: Reunited (and it don’t feel too good”Chapter 34: Raith, Evolution, and the Unforgivable SinChapter 35: The Other Unforgivable SinChapter 36: Can I Get a WitnessChapter 37: A Surprise ConfessionChapter 38: Closing ArgumentsChapter 39: RevelationsChapter 40: The Verdict Epilogue: A Brand New Day

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn his anticipated second poetry collection, Doppelgangbanger, Cortney Lamar Charleston examines the performance of Black masculinity in the U.S., and its relationship to family, love and community. With the wit and musicality fitting of a 90s baby raised during the Golden age of hip-hop, Cortney Lamar Charleston grapples with the landscapes of Chicago’s South Side and surrounding suburbs, and the tensions that impact a Black boy’s struggle through self-destructive definitions of manhood. While the language in these poems is playful, Charleston’s vulnerability invites readers to intimately witness the speaker’s journey from adopted persona to an authentic self that defies traditional molds.Trade ReviewWith stunning knowledge and sharp vulnerability, Cortney Lamar Charleston has rendered a classical epic of love, war, and self-discovery, in the tradition of Milton, Homer, and Virgil if they were Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. —Morgan Parker, author of Magical Negro “Cortney Lamar Charleston burns his signature into these stanzas. With an unrelenting intimacy, he dares us into a narrative we think we know—Black boy vs. the scheming wiles of the city vs. the rest of his life—then backhand slaps us toward a singular experience marked by choices that can only guide the life of one man.” —Patricia Smith, author of Incendiary Art “Cortney Lamar Charleston is one of our most necessary observers of Black boyhood in all its beauty and difficulty. These poems sing to us of us.” —Nate Marshall, author of Finna

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlfred Sohn-Rethel’s Intellectual and Manual Labour is one of the major texts of post-war Marxist theory. A tremendous influence on the central figures of the Frankfurt School, with ongoing relevance to current debates about value, abstraction, and domination, Sohn-Rethel’s ideas are here presented at their fullest scope and with their greatest theoretical clarity. Out of print for many years, this Historical Materialism edition contains a new introduction by Chris O’Kane, an afterword by Chris Arthur, and a compilation of the responses to Intellectual and Manual Labour published in the Italian journal Lotta Continua, including a substantial article by Antonio Negri.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSpeaking Out of Place helps us find value and inspiration in others who have made change in the world where such things were not supposed to be possible. From protests in sports arenas to sonic transgressions of racist boundaries, to protest camps and covert collaborations with imprisoned people, and environmental activism based on Indigenous notions of justice. We learn how to “re-place” education, circumvent pundits, and recall judges. And we learn to defend our home—the planet. Speaking Out of Place asks us to reconceptualize both what we think “politics” is, and our relationship to it. Especially at this historical moment, when it is all too possible we will move from Trump’s fascistic regime to Biden’s anti-progressive centrism, we need ways to build off the tremendous growth we have seen in democratic socialism, and to gather strength and courage for the challenges, and opportunities that lie ahead.Trade Review"Months after the most historic protests in our lifetimes, we continue to confront the same stubborn inequities, crises and catastrophes. This stubborn continuity compels us to reevaluate our common assumptions about the nature of the problem. It compels us to renew our political commitments to change but not necessarily in the same ways that we have before. Most of all, the ongoing suffering and despair in our societies compel us to think anew and creatively for effective, sometimes new and sometimes drawing on the historical ways that ordinary people have confronted the powerful. It compels us to be radical by grabbing hold at the root of our problem—a neoliberal, capitalist world order built on human suffering and abject inequality. David Palumbo-Liu’s Speaking Out of Place is a deeply moral and utterly human meditation on the nature of our despair but the means by which it can be transformed. Most of all, he argues that what is missing is our sense of place, belonging and mutuality that, when intact, showcases our connection and potential for solidarity in our shared struggle for a humane and just world. Is the exact book we need for the troubled historical moment through which we are living." —Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation "In the face of accelerating fascism and a planet on fire, David Palumbo-Liu provides a road map for finding our political voices by speaking “out of place.” This is an urgent call to seize the moment before it’s too late." —Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of Not “A Nation of Immigrants,” Settler-Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion It’s not enough to be against the rising tide of authoritarianism and climate chaos. David Palumbo-Liu examines how only through “a positive obsession with justice” and a collective willingness to learn to speak a new language and remake the places do we have a chance at saving the planet and building the world we all need.” —Nick Estes, author of Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance "David Palumbo-Liu’s Speaking Out of Place is a wake-up call to the twin dangers of fascism and a no-less cruel and ecocidal neoliberalism. Brilliant, clear-eyed, wide-ranging and erudite without being esoteric, this book is a vital assault on the repressive amnesia that obliterates the memory of even our most recent struggles. Palumbo-Liu reminds us that we already have all that we need to reimagine our societies and ourselves, to re-forge the solidarity necessary to get us through such catastrophic times, to make this planet a place where voices clamor outside of the violent control of capital, loudly and freely, alive." —Ben Ehrenreich, author of Desert Notebooks: A Roadmap for the End of Time and The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine "Speaking Out of Place is a radical and original reassessment of democratic deliberation and political transformation. Instead of treating “free speech” in simplistic terms, Palumbo-Liu examines the triad of voice, place, and space. This holistic analysis helps us understand who gets heard, where, and why. True democracy, Palumbo-Liu shows, is a raucous polyphony, a chorus emanating from specific communities and contexts and struggles that reverberates widely, unsettling and challenging those accustomed to controlling the terms of the debate." —Astra Taylor, author of Remake the World "David Palumbo-Liu's most recent work is a clarion call, an incisive commentary on our times, and an impressive work of passion and moral clarity. Focusing on forms of contemporary oppression and new social movements, Palumbo-Liu insists upon the centrality of voice and place to the most pressing issues of our time. His writing draws on social and political theory, poetry, activist writing, to show us that the ideologies that still clutch us have as their primary concern "the individual" as economic actor, and "the market" and its profit-driven values as a poor way to define the public sphere. In contrast, he allies with those who are generating the value of human and humane interdependence, of commonly shared goods, and ideals of social and economic equality so often brutally dismissed as fairy tales. But in this work we see how every critical analysis of homelessness, displacement, internment, violence, and exploitation is countered by emergent and intensifying social movements that move beyond national borders to the ideal of a planetary alliance. As an activist and a scholar, Palumbo-Liu shows us what vigilance means in these times. This book takes us through the wretched landscape of our world to the ideals of social transformation, calling for a place, the planet, where collective passions can bring about a true and radical democracy." —Judith Butler "Fearless, timely, and necessary. In this bracing, multivalent analysis of our troubled political culture, David Palumbo-Liu offers us a clarion call to action. Reading it, I feel emboldened, encouraged, and powerfully amplified." —Ruth Ozeki, author of Booker Finalist novel, A Tale for the Time Being “In Speaking out of Place David Palumbo-Liu has brought to the fore the type of text that is rare in our current culture. There is a sort of transversal vector in play that brings with it the unexpected and at the same time the familiar. It is a gem. I loved reading it.” —Saskia Sassen, author of Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy "David Palumbo-Liu gives us hope for a world on fire. Digging deep into our common humanity, he urges us to speak, to organize and to fight for justice wherever we live, and to stand down reaction wherever it resides. From Palestine to the Amazon, Palumbo-Liu reminds us to take back the planet that belongs to us, to love ourselves, and each other." —Bill V. Mullen "David Palumbo-Liu masterfully paints a global picture of the daunting challenges to our very survival. Rather than use the weight of that challenge to terrify us into action or to crush our hope, he pieces together the most quotidian stories of courage and resistances to show us that revolution is latent within us and that the technologies of our salvation are ones that we have long known and fiercely protected. Speaking Out of a Place is profoundly humane, self-aware in its humility, and generous in its thoughtful offerings. Palumbo-Liu reminds us that the horizon before us is not an end but an opportunity for new beginnings." —Noura Erakat, author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine "The historical and contemporary stories in Speaking Out of Place are as instructive as they are inspiring. Palumbo-Liu gives us a global landscape of many dimensions, pulling us into the infinite number of spaces we can disrupt, reshape, and build when we find the courage to insert our "unauthorized" voices,. The activists in this book, both well known and not, speak in words, in dance, in pictures, in food and even in silence. Read this, and raise your voice." —Rinku Sen

Read more less

Book SynopsisA revolutionary collaboration about the world we're living in now, between two of our most important contemporary thinkers, writers and activists.When much of the world entered pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, Robyn Maynard, influential author of Policing Black Lives, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, award-winning author of several books, including the recent novel Noopiming, began writing each other letters—a gesture sparked by friendship and solidarity, and by a desire for kinship and connection in a world shattering under the intersecting crises of pandemic, police killings, and climate catastrophe. Their letters soon grew into a powerful exchange on the subject of where we go from here. Rehearsals is a captivating book, part debate, part dialogue, part lively and detailed familial correspondence between two razor-sharp writers convening on what it means to get free as the world spins into some new orbit. In a genre-defying exchange, the authors collectively envision the possibilities for more liberatory futures during a historic year of Indigenous land defense, prison strikes, and global-Black-led rebellions against policing. By articulating to each other Black and Indigenous perspectives on our unprecedented here and now, and the long-disavowed histories of slavery and colonization that have brought us to this moment in the first place, Maynard and Simpson create something new: a vital demand for a different way forward, and a poetic call to dream up new ways of ordering earthly life.Trade Review“What a pleasure and honor it is to read two such probing and principled minds in conversation and collaboration. Maynard and Simpson dare to confront the most wrenching challenges of our omnicidal times, while finding joy and love along the way. A beacon of a book."—Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not Enough“Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson embody and express how practice makes different. This necessary book is a model—through the shared process of two brilliant thinkers it gifts us clarity to see rehearsals otherwise and elsewhere.”—Ruth Wilson Gilmore, from the foreword“We have been, and will continue to be, flooded with big books and little books and reports and documentary films all showing us how capitalism, racism, prisons, patriarchy, walls, and war are killing the planet. But this book is different. How Maynard and Simpson came to understand the world we must abolish and the world we need to build is through communing—with each other, comrades, friends and family, and the movements to which they make themselves accountable. They dance together, sing together, meditate, worship, and study together through letters, by sharing, by making themselves vulnerable to one another and to all of us reading these pages. Rehearsals for Living is a work of profound humility that honors the ancestors, the land, the children, and the struggles that enabled every generation to survive. They braid the histories and collective memories of Black and Indigenous struggles to establish a basis for solidarity, to find answers, and to reveal and share valuable lessons for our movements.”—Robin D. G. Kelley, from the afterword“Rehearsals for Living is a profound and sublime work of memory, witnessing, refusal, dreaming. In the trenchant tradition of Black and Indigenous feminisms, this brilliant book moves us away from the language of crisis or victimhood to the precise and intimate encounters of kinship and liberation. The letters between Maynard and Simpson magnificently shapeshift and engage on multiple levels, and in doing so, rigorously demand an accounting for horrific violences while illuminating lives and worlds anew. A masterclass in literary form, ethical orientations, and collective futures.”—Harsha Walia, author of Border and Rule, Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism“As we collectively and unevenly live through sedimented colonialities, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard draw out a political vision that emerges from epistolary connections—letters, animated by stories, that seek out, engage, imagine, and narrate different kinds and types of liberation. Accentuated by entangled black-indigenous histories and geographies, Rehearsals for Living actualizes friendship as correspondence, modeling a mode of togetherness that we can practice, learn from, and revise.”—Katherine McKittrick, author of Demonic Grounds and Dear Science and Other Stories“The beautifully named Rehearsals for Living is a gift conjured by a pair of brilliant scholars during the dark days and months of the pandemic, lit by a powerful resistance movement, fueled and rendered magical by a profound and challenging dialogue that offers ways to collectively think and be and act in a chaotic world.”—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States“This book must be read for its future vocabularies, its political intimacies, its careful assemblage of the materials of our activisms, and its generous and fulsome thinking.”—Dionne Brand, poet, novelist, and essayist“Not all apocalypses are unwelcome. The profound anticipation for a world otherwise bubbled to the surface the summer of 2020. Collective rage and love shattered the sense of inviolability surrounding white supremacy putting forward an alternative vision, one already existing and always in the making. Rehearsals for Living is an epistolary that captures that urgent project of what it means to be human and imagine freedom in times of terrible danger. Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson tap into Black and Indigenous ways of knowing and world-making that require a fundamental disordering of the forces of destruction and the re-ordering of life and the beautiful struggle to get free.”—Nick Estes, author of Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance“Across the pandemic-imposed distance, Leanne and Robyn begin a new iteration of the practices they’ve enacted in their labors and loves for years—this origin rises in letters, in which they take account of (and consequently bear the physical, emotional, and intellectual burdens of that accounting) the intimate and public violences committed by our governments upon our peoples, lands, waters and non-human relatives. In these letters, Leanne and Robyn constellate our brightest wounds and scars, but refuse to waste their energies of love and imagination on fixing or salvaging the Nation/State. Instead, they reorganize the trajectories and shapes of those constellations—retelling stories again and anew, of who we have been and might yet be again.”—Natalie Diaz, author of Postcolonial Love Poem“Using the age-old practice of letter writing and the land itself as a palimpsest, Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson find common ground to challenge the moral legitimacy of the settler nation state, and reinscribe new ways of what it means to be beings who are human in the forensic landscapes of Canada. In Rehearsals for Living, two women, one Indigenous, the other Black and African-descended confront their shared yet different experiences of colonialism, provide new and subversive meanings to the colonial trope of being landed, the mechanism by which the land was (un)settled. Unflinchingly, and in long-overdue and profoundly-needed “reasonings” that reverberate with shared breath, Simpson and Maynard weave their ideas, thoughts and reflections and their deep caring for community and society through the network of issues that impact us today—the pandemic and the differentials in treatment for Black and Indigenous people, the role of BLM, abolition, the necessity of Nibi and homespace for the Nishnaabeg, the joys of living on the land, and parenting in the face of ecological and racial disasters are but a few of the challenges they grapple with. Rehearsals for Living is fundamental to understanding the interlocking, founding crimes of the Americas; necessary for remembering the many erased histories of the on-going struggle for justice, and altogether indispensable to those wanting to create possible solutions.”—M. NourbeSe Philip, author of Zong!“Rehearsals for Living is an intellectually fierce dialogue about our colonial present by two of the most renowned scholar-activists working today. In a time of incredible uncertainty, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard show that the shared and divergent histories of Black and Indigenous communities are foundational to the building of a better world for all.”—Glen Coulthard, author of Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition“Lyrical, visionary, and transcendent, Rehearsals for Living creates a literary maroon space deeply rooted in unique and overlapping histories and presents in which to dream abolition, home, love, land, liberatory forms of governance, life itself. While chronicling the continuing unfolding calamities of settler colonialism and racial capitalism with care and razor sharp clarity, Simpson and Maynard point readers to portals to different futures through the infinite possibilities of Black-Indigenous resistance. Give yourself the gift of allowing your heart and mind to overflow with the beauty and promise of Rehearsals' visions.”—Andrea J. Ritchie, author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color and co-author of No More Police: A Case for Abolition“The end of the world, or the end of capitalism, colonialism, heteropatriarchy, white supremacy? This astonishing work of literature and theory enables us to imagine the end of them all, and to call into being, to rehearse, a world anew. If pandemics opened portals, Rehearsals for Living reveals the places of Indigenous and Black freedom to which they might lead. At a time when we need it most, Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s letters generously invite us all to a future in which relations of liberation, not exploitation and oppression, constitute living on this planet together.”—John Munro, author of The Anticolonial Front: The African American Freedom Movement and Global Decolonization, 1945–1960“In their inspired act of ‘writing together, walking together, witnessing these times together,’ Robyn Maynard and Leanne Simpson illuminate in essential ways the entwined lives of Black and Indigenous peoples. Rehearsals for Living honours legacies of courageous revolt against the ongoing histories of dispossession, incarceration, and violence. It is a book of relation, radical generosity, and care – a book, too, of running children, and the colour of the sky, and of ‘holding within [ourselves] that nascent shimmering of possibility.’ Above all, it is a book that poses and answers these most urgent questions: ‘how are we going to live and how are we going to live together?’”—David Chariandy, author of Brother"As the year continued, both Maynard and Simpson joined the swelling, unprecedented Black Lives Matter and Indigenous land-defense movements, and their writing collaboratively imagined a society with, for example, no police and abundant shared resources. As they reflect on the many ways that the state has harmed their respective communities—including overpolicing and neglectful public-health responses to the pandemic—the letters contemplate what the future could look like, and writing becomes a form of coalition-building."—Tajja Isen, The Atlantic

Read more less

Book SynopsisA meditation on freedom making in the academy for women scholars of color. Weaving personal narrative with political analysis, Community as Rebellion offers a meditation on creating liberatory spaces for students and faculty of color within academia. Much like other women scholars of color, Lorgia García Peña has struggled against the colonizing, racializing, classist, and unequal structures that perpetuate systemic violence within universities. Through personal experiences and analytical reflections, the author invites readers—in particular Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian women—to engage in liberatory practices of boycott, abolition, and radical community-building to combat the academic world’s tokenizing and exploitative structures.García Peña argues that the classroom is key to freedom-making in the university, urging teachers to consider activism and social justice as central to what she calls “teaching in freedom”: a progressive form of collective learning that prioritizes the subjugated knowledge, silenced histories, and epistemologies from the Global South and Indigenous, Black, and brown communities. By teaching in and for freedom, we not only acknowledge the harm that the university has inflicted on our persons and our ways of knowing since its inception, but also create alternative ways to be, create, live, and succeed through our work.Trade Review"A life-saving and life-affirming text, Community as Rebellion offers us the trenchant analysis and fearless strategy radical scholar-activists have long needed. But Lorgia García Peña’s intervention is especially valuable at this moment, as we collectively consider how our most important social institutions might be reimagined beyond the strongholds of white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and racial capitalism more broadly."—Angela Y. Davis, author of Freedom is a Constant Struggle“Community as Rebellion is a must read for anyone serious about confronting institutional racism, sexism, and elitism. Lorgia García Peña, one of her generation's most brilliant scholar-activists, challenges us to confront academia as a ‘colonial and colonizing’ space as the first step toward resistance and transformation. Her own experiences undergird her analysis and serve as a powerful call to action.” —Barbara Ransby, author of Eslanda“Lorgia García Peña is one of the few courageous and brilliant intellectuals grounded in rigorous and visionary grassroots education. This pedagogical guide for genuine freedom struggles is so badly needed in our neo-fascist times!”—Cornel West, Union Theological Seminary“Some key words that I think of when I think of Lorgia García Peña and her work: brilliant, courageous, loving, stubborn, ferocious, truth-teller. Community as Rebellion combines piercing diagnosis with an invitation to think about how we organize resistance and mobilize communities…. Generative and powerful.”—Ruha Benjamin, Princeton University“Unflinching, brilliant, and absolutely necessary. In these pages, Lorgia García Peña shares her experiences—and others’—to reflect on what it means to be ‘the stranger’ in academia: that sole symbol for diversity that still remains an outsider. Unwavering in its clarity and compassion, this powerful book reminds us that true belonging comes from actively building communities unafraid to center care and rebellion. Everyone should read this.” —Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King"‘What does it mean to teach for freedom?’ Dr. García Peña asks and boldly beckons us toward its practice across the policed borders of discipline, nation, theoretical traditions, and entrenched racial categories. A capacious thinker, rigorous researcher, brilliant activist, and path-breaking scholar, Dr. García Peña calls on us not simply, as she writes, to ‘mind the historical gaps’ for long-subjugated stories but alerts us to the ways these gaps have been historically mined in extractive ways in the service of colonial projects and neoliberal calls for diversity. Her astonishing work gathers us under its broad canopy to plot and persevere toward communal rebellion and renewal.” —Deborah Paredez, Columbia University“With characteristic clarity, courage, and conviction, Lorgia García Peña draws on her remarkable history as an engaged scholar and committed activist to demonstrate the necessity of living in community and accompanying others as keys to both personal liberation and social transformation.” —George Lipsitz, author, The Possessive Investment in Whiteness“Community as Rebellion is partly an incisive and deeply personal expose of the neoliberal university and its racializing and patriarchal practices of denigrating women of color scholars while extracting their intellectual, administrative, and emotional labor. But it is, above all, a mandate to transform higher education that begins with recognizing our mutual obligations to each other and to the world we study, extending 'community' beyond the ivory tower, and co-creating with our students new, autonomous intellectual spaces. Lorgia García Peña wrote this book not from a dream or an abstract theory but from building rebel communities for over a decade. She knows that there can be no free education without freedom.”—Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination"Community as Rebellion is a powerhouse of a manifesto that tells the truth about structural violence in academia and invites us to do the hard work of dismantling white supremacy as we learn, teach and labor within oppressive institutions. By breaking the code of silence that upholds the university’s racism, colonialism, elitism and sexism, Lorgia Garcìa Peña creates much needed space for marginalized communities to disrupt and transform the politics and praxis of knowledge production. A love letter to ethnic studies and a roadmap for enacting change, this is the book so many of us have been waiting for."— Crystal M. Fleming, Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies, SUNY Stony BrookTable of ContentsTable of Contents:1. On being “the One”: The first chapter relates the challenges of being tokenized within the academy as a women of color scholar. The chapter provides personal examples and posits a proposition to contrast the individualistic model of success with one of community.2. Complicity: This chapter lays out what the author considers a structure of complicity that sustains unequal labor practices that systematically affect women of color. Based on a series of interviews and autoethnographic interventions, the chapter takes on tenure, labor appropriation, mentoring as some of the main sites of complicity. 3. Freedom: This chapter proposes teaching as an act of freedom making and offers practical examples of how to teach in/for freedom, how to create communities that promote collective learning and engage in justice-making practices in the classroom that can lead to long-term positive changes in our society.4. Ethnic Studies as Rebellion: This final chapter meditates on ethnic studies as a critical site from which to fight against the hegemonic practices of exclusion that uphold Eurocentric and Euro-American knowledge as the only way to see the world while relegating knowledge that comes from everywhere else to the periphery. The chapter is an invitation to rebel through centering subjugated knowledge and the epistemologies of oppressed peoples.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Constructing Change, Ezgi B. Unsal provides a political economy of electricity and housing provision in Turkey. By using the case studies of electricity and housing in Turkey, the book explores how social provision is increasingly commodified across the globe as a defining feature of financialisation. Distinguishing this trend from macroeconomic definitions of financialisation, the book offers a contextual narrative of economic change in Turkey, with undetermined macroeconomic outcomes. It contributes to the literature on the financialisation of social provision and the political economy of Turkey, by confirming the increasing influence of finance on social provision sectors, making them prone to volatility while contributing to their growth at the same time.Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgementsList of Illustrations1 What Is This Book about? General Introduction and Methodology 1 Objectives and Contribution 2 Methodology and the Structure of Analysis  2.1  Systematic Dialectics and Hegelian Heritage  2.2  Marx’s Materialism and the Incorporation of Empirical Material into Theory  2.3  Essence and the Process of Change  2.4  Levels of Abstraction: Tendencies and Countertendencies  2.5  The Value of Labour Power  2.6  The Systems of Provision (sop) Approach to Social Reproduction 3 Conclusion2 A Literature Survey on Financialisation 1 Introduction 2 Financialisation as an Object of Study: The Rise of Finance and Its Impacts on the Economy  2.1  Cambridge Theories of Distribution  2.2  How Do the Cambridge Theories of Distribution Relate to Financialisation?  2.3  Empirical Analyses on Firm-level: Decreasing Real Investment, Slowing Down of Accumulation  2.4  Empirical Analysis on Aggregate Level: The Impacts of Worsening Income Distribution, Determination of Different Accumulation Regimes  2.5  Emphasis upon Increasing Levels of Debt and Securitisation  2.6  Asset Price Inflation Approach and ‘Forced’ Indebtedness  2.7  Conclusion 3 Financialisation as a Reference Point for Periodisation  3.1  Annales School and Recurrent Financialisation  3.2  Financialisation as Coupon Pool: Social Accountancy and Cultural Economy Approach  3.3  Finance-led Accumulation Regime as an Alternative to Fordist Regime: French Regulation School  3.4  Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) Approach  3.5  Tri-partite Class Regime and the Crisis of Neoliberalism: Duménil and Lévy  3.6  Financial Expropriation Approach: Lapavitsas and Dos Santos  3.7  The Increasing Presence of Interest-bearing Capital 4 Conclusion3 Financialisation in Developing and Emerging Economies 1 Introduction 2 Historical Development of Financialisation in Developing Countries  2.1  Reserve Accumulation Strategy and the Narrowing Down of the Policy Scope  2.2  Crowding-out of Investment and Changes in Firm and Institutional Behaviour 3 Conclusion4 The Political Economy of Turkey Since 1980  Towards Differentiated Global Integration 1 Introduction 2 1980s and 1990s: Capital Account Liberalisation, Export Boom and Public Indebtedness 3 Political Economy of Transition: The Differentiated Impacts of the 2001 Crisis 4 After 2001: Restructuring of the Banking Sector 5 After 2001: Household Indebtedness 6 After 2001: Capital Restructuring? 7 Conclusion5 The Political Economy of Electricity Provision in Turkey 1 Introduction 2 Privatisation of Electricity Provision: Rhetoric and Experiences around the World  2.1  Scholarship on Privatisation of Electricity Provision: How and What to Regulate? 3 Energy Sector Outlook in Turkey 4 Historical Background and Institutional Framework for Electricity Provision in Turkey  4.1  Privatisation Process i: Policy Design and Price Regulation  4.2  Privatisation Process ii: Addressing Losses and Theft and Other Problems in Implementation 5 The Case of Hydroelectric Power Plants (HEBB s) in Turkey: How They Are Built and Financed  5.1  Ilisu Dam: A HEBB Project  5.2  Coruh Development Plan 6 What Role to the Finance?  6.1  Firm Financing: An Investigation of Corporate Balance Sheets in the Electricity Industry 7 Conclusion6 The Political Economy of Housing Provision in Turkey 1 Introduction 2 Production Matters in a Comparative Context: Housing Provision in Britain 3 Production upon Landed Property: Marx’s Agricultural Rent Theory  3.1  Rent in Urban Settings 4 The Dynamics of Housing Production in Turkey: A Construction Boom Facilitated through State Institutions  4.1  A History of Housing Provision in Turkey within the Context of Urbanisation  4.2  The Rise of a State Institution in the Transition towards Market-based Provision: toki (Housing Development Administration) 5 An Empirical Investigation of the Construction Sector Firms’ Financial Statements 6 The Dynamics of Housing Consumption in Turkey  6.1  Housing Consumption: Who Consumes How Much? 7 Conclusion7 Conclusion 1 Introduction 2 Main Findings and Contribution 3 Further Issues and Concluding RemarksBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Towards a Productive Aesthetics: Contemporary and Historical Interventions in Blake and Brecht, Keith O'Regan mobilises a constellative approach to compare the political-aesthetic strategies of William Blake (1757-1827) and Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956). O'Regan traces two similar trajectories in each author's work: an exploration of how capitalist domination defines conjunctures, and an investigation of how historical figures, themes, and terrains illustrate past failures or losses that can be cleaved open for radical possibilities in the present. Brecht and Blake posit an "oppositional aesthetics of the now" that articulates a theory of experience under capitalism, while counter-posing an oppositional form of existence.Table of ContentsA Acknowledgments1 Introduction2 Brecht and the Now 1  Mann ist Mann: The Right Question and the Precision of Time 2  The Knowing Johanna 3  Kuhle Wampe and the Good Answer 4  Concluding Brecht to 19333 Blake, Opposition, and the Now 1  Blake and Romanticism 2  Expect Poison, Demand Movement 3  Innocence’s Opposition to Experience 4  Conclusion: The Future in the Present4 Brecht, History and the Productive Past 1  And the Cart Rolls On … Mutter Courage and Learning from Those Who Don’t 2  The Religion of the Now: Galileo and the Knowing Science 3  The Chalk Lines of History: Der Kaukasische Kreidekreis, Productivity and the Past 4  Concluding the Historical Brecht5 Blake, Milton, and Historical Redemption 1  Blake Contra Newton 2  The Importance of What Is Missing 3  Filling in That Which Is Missing 4  Milton’s Entrance 5  Blake Labouring in History 6  Brecht, Blake and the Uses of History6 ConclusionBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Co-operative Struggles, Denise Kasparian expands the theoretical horizons regarding labour unrest by proposing new categories to make visible and conceptualize conflicts in the new worker co-operativism of the twenty-first century.After the depletion of neoliberal reforms at the dawn of the twenty-first century in Argentina, co-operativism gained momentum, mainly due to the recuperation of enterprises by their workers and state promotion of co-operatives through social policies. These new co-operatives became actors not just in production but in social struggle. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that they shape a socio-productive form not structured by wage relations: workers are at the same time owners of the firms. Why, how, and by what cleavages and groupings do these co-operative workers without bosses come into conflict?Table of ContentsForeword The Democratisation of ConflictAcknowledgementsList of Figures, Tables and ImagesIntroduction 1 The Question of Work Conflicts in New Co-operatives 2 Dimensions of New Social Conflicts in Co-operative Socio-productive Contexts 3 The Challenge of Comparing Paradigmatic but Non-equivalent Experiences: Studying a Whole That Acts as a Whole 4 The Structure of the Book1  Co-operatives ‘Made in Argentina’ The Process of Enterprise Recuperation by Their Workers 1 The Socio-genesis of the Processes of Enterprise Recuperation 1.1  When Worker Resistance Becomes an Offensive Movement 1.2  The Widespread Crisis of 2001–2002, or Adding Fuel to the Fire 1.3  The Movement of the Flames 2 The Evolution of Enterprise Recuperation Processes 2.1  The Fuel of the Growing Economy Keeps the Flames of Production Moving 2.2  The Moral Economy of Work in the Continued Presence of Enterprise Recuperations 2.3  “Argentina Is One Big, Recuperated Factory”: Public Policies for Recuperated Enterprises 2.4  The Movement’s Fragmentation, Co-operative Convergence and Union Rapprochement2  Incubated Co-operatives Co-operative Formation under the Argentina Works Programme 1 Social Schemes with Work Requirement: From Workfare to the Argentina Works Programme 2 The Mediation of Unemployed Workers’ Organisations: Civil Associations, Productive Units and Co-operatives 3 The Dual Logic of the Argentina Works Programme’s Socio-genesis: Creating Jobs and Co-ordinating Local Politics 4 Induced Co-operatives? The Struggle of Unemployed Workers’ Organisations 4.1  The Evolution of the Argentina Works Programme 4.2  The Intensity and Dynamics of Contentious Action 4.3  The Demands and Forms of Contentious Action3  Keeping and Having a Job A Milestone in Constitutive Conflicts 1 ‘Occupy, Resist, Produce’ … and Have! 2 From ‘Induction’ to the ‘Co-operative without Brokers’ 3 A Comparative Lens on Constitutive Conflicts4  The Recuperated Enterprise and Social Power in Production 1 Recuperators, Activists and the ‘Born and Bred’ 2 Property Relations: Social Possession and Differential Appropriation of the Fruits of Labour 3 The Logic of Production and the Issue of Sustainability in Recuperated Enterprises 4 The Political Dimension: Between Self-management and Delegation 5 Social Groupings and Potential Antagonisms: Opportunity Hoarding, Enterprise Projects and Work Generations5  The Argentina Works Co-operative and State Power in Production 1 The Labour and Socio-spatial Precarity of Argentina Works Programme Workers 2 Property Relations: Social Possession and Autonomy 3 The Logic of Production: Between Subsistence and Political Accumulation 4 The Political Dimension: State Power and Co-management 5 Social Groupings and Potential Antagonisms: State Officials, Co-operative Members and Activists6  The Production of Co-operative Conflict 1 Board Removals: Conflicts over the Running and Expansion of the Productive Process 2 Regulations, Sanctions and Exclusions: From ‘Founder Members’ to ‘ Founderer Members’ 3 “We Fought over the River Module”: The Conflict over Autonomous Work 4 Between Subsistence Consumption and Political Accumulation in the Social Organisation 5 A Comparative Lens7  Conclusions 1 The New Twenty-First-Century Co-Operativism and Its Struggles Around Work 2 What Patterns of Conflicts are There without Bosses? Towards a Theory of Unrest in Worker Co-operatives 3 From Prelude to Present: A Toolbox for New Research QuestionsBibliographyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe neoliberal policy response to the crisis in Ghana did not succeed in reversing the economic decline in either the medium or long term. In fact, quite the opposite: rather than undoing the economic decline, Francis Boateng Frimpong argues that these policy prescriptions further weakened the country’s ability to develop. This is because the policies intentionally and unintentionally encouraged factors that destabilised the possibility of the real productive assets earning commensurate returns that could facilitate the flow of capital to the real sectors and thus failed to ensure the survival of industrial enterprises. Rising profit in the financial sector incentivised financial capitalists to divert capital into financial assets at the expense of productive investment, further decelerating the pace of real capital accumulation in the country, thereby exacerbating the crisis.Trade Review"Financial inclusion policy as a way of empowering the poor makes poverty a financial problem in Ghana – the financialisation of poverty. Francis Boateng Frimpong tackles this question with theoretical sophistication and vivid empirical detail. This is an original addition to our understanding of how-and-why neoliberal restructuring and its financialisation dimension work in a low middle-income country, the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 1, which is the target of halving extreme poverty. Frimpong has authoritatively produced this important political economy contribution about the impact of the exponential growth of finance on poverty alleviation in Ghana. Highly recommended." —Bülent Gökay, Professor of International Relations, Keele University"This book provides original theoretically sophisticated, historically sensitive and empirically grounded analysis. The political economy history of Ghana is narrated in a way that makes the reader understand what the country went through, and where it is headed. The author has done justice in his narration." —Abraham Adu, University of Aberdeen"The book offers a comprehensive assessment of the nature and distinctive features of financialisation in the periphery, with a focus on Ghana. This book provides academics, professionals and policy makers with the understanding of policy response towards the alleviation of the overarching poverty in Ghana. Crucially, espousing an indispensable hypothetical approach to financialisation, the uniqueness of Ghana and its common features with the core. It is a must-read for supporters of both Keynesian and Marxism."—Emmanuel Affum-Osei, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology"All aspects of this book are fascinating to read. However, the one that fascinated me the most was the in-depth analysis on baking the unbanked, specifically the use of mobile money and how it still benefits the capitalists despite promises of relieving the poor. Frimpong’s analyses throughout are a very interesting read for researchers, students, and even Marx and Keynes enthusiasts. It is a must read." —Leah Mwainyekule, University of Hull"A book on this historically specific geographical setting contributes theoretically to studies on financialisation in general, helping to determine its prominent features better. It is a good source of information for researchers who want to explore the history of the political economy of Sub-Saharan Africa, and in particular, Ghana." —Mato Magobe, The Open University of TanzaniaTable of ContentsForewordAcknowledgementsList of Figures and TablesAbbreviationsAbout Financialisation and Poverty Alleviation in Ghana1  Introduction 1 The Historical Background of Finance and Growth 2 Scope and Limitations of the Book 3 Structure of the Book2  Neoliberalisation and Financialisation The Debate 1 Introduction 2 The Rise of Neoliberal Capitalism 3 Theoretical Debates and Historical Precedents of Financialisation 4 From Stagnation to Financialisation 5 French Regulation School Theory of Financialisation 6 Post-Keynesianism and Financialisation 7 Trans-nationalisation and Liberalisation of Finance 8 Financialisation and Poverty Alleviation: Banking the Unbanked 9 Conclusion3  Finance-Growth-Nexus Theoretical and Empirical Literature 1 Introduction 2 The Rise of Finance and the Financialisation of Everything 3 The Financial Profit Conundrum – Profit in Marxist Economics 4 Real Commodity Accumulation and Fictitious Accumulation 5 Contemporary Heterodox Perspectives on Finance-led Growth Debate 5.1  Banks, Financial Markets and Economic Growth: The Dilemma 6 Economic Functions of Financial Intermediaries 6.1  Empirical Evidence on Finance and Growth 6.2  Cross-country Studies of the Finance-Growth Nexus 6.3  Contemporary Literature on Econometric Models for Ghana 7 Dynamics of Financial Development, Income Distribution, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in Ghana 8 Poverty and the Pandemic: The Case of Ghana 8.1  The Economics of It All 9 Conclusion4  The Case of Ghana 1 Introduction 2 Country Profile and Overview of Recent Economic Performance 3 The Political Economy of Ghana: From State-led Accumulation to Neoliberalism 3.1  Political and Economic Developments from Independence (1957) to 1982 3.2  Political and EconomicDevelopments 1983–2019 4 Neoliberalism in Ghana 4.1  Neoliberalism and Housing Provision in Ghana 5 Financial Sector Reforms in Ghana – A Historical Perspective 5.1  Pre-structural Adjustment Financial Reforms 1957–1982 5.2  Post-liberalised Reforms 5.3  Relaxation of Bank Entry Restrictions, and Abolishment of Secondary Reserve Requirements 2005–2006 5.4  Recapitalising Banks 6 Financialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Accounting for the Ghanaian Paradox 6.1  Under-financed 6.2  … Yet Financialising 6.3  Reverse of Net Capital Flows – A Subordinate/Inferior Financialisation 7 Conclusion5  Dimensions of Capital Structure and Liquidity Management in Ghana 1 Introduction 2 Theories of Capital Structure 2.1  Capital Structure: Traditionalists’ View 2.2  Value-irrelevance Theory by Modigliani-Miller 2.3  Capital Structure: Trade-off Theory 2.4  Capital Structure: Pecking-order Theory 3 Financialisation and Capital Structure Accumulation in Ghana 4 Classification of Capital Accumulation Process in Ghana 5 Contradictions in Political-Economic Arrangements in Ghana 5.1  Financing Challenges 5.2  Government Policies 5.2.1 Corruption 5.2.2 State of Infrastructural Development 6 Conclusion6  The Issue of Poverty 1 Introduction 2 Poverty Measurement Conundrum 3 Absolute Poverty 3.1  Poverty in Administrative Regions 4 Relative Poverty 4.1  Using Non-monetary Deprivation 5 The Paradox of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Middle Class 5.1  The Two Competing Narratives on Africa 6 Neoliberal Globalisation and Poverty 7 Conclusion7  Financialisation and Households From Theory to the Context of Ghana 1 Introduction 2 Theory of Consumption Function: Household Debt and the Life Cycle and Permanent Income Hypotheses 3 The Political Economy of Household Finance 4 Payment Systems in Ghana: A Route towards Financialisation 4.1  Background-Mobile Money Services in Ghana 4.2  The Role of Mobile Money in Financial Inclusion in Ghana 5 Financialisation, Financial Inclusion and Mobile Money 6 Conclusion8  Conclusion 1 Summing Up the Argument 2 The Content of Financialisation in Ghana 2.1  Banking Sector 2.2  Industrial Enterprises 2.3  Households 3 Policy RecommendationsReferencesIndex 

Read more less

Book SynopsisControversies about History, Development and Revolution in Brazil is a critical exploration of the history of Brazilian economic thought in light of the country's own historical and political development. Editors Maria Malta, Jaime León, Carla Curty and Bruno Borja present an analytical interpretation of the facts, which reveals the power of debates constructing a genuinely Brazilian contribution to world economic thought on development, democracy, history, dependency, and revolution.Resulting from 10 years of collective research, this book incorporates a new methodological proposal stemming from the strength and resilience of public research financed by the Brazilian people in quest of their own formative interpretation.Contributors are: Bruno Borja, Carla Curty, Filipe Leite, Jaime León, Maria Malta, Larissa Mazolli, Alfredo Saad-Filho, and Wilson Vieira.Table of ContentsForeword  List of TablesNotes on ContributorsIntroduction and Warning to the Reader   Bruno Borja, Carla Curty, Jaime León and Maria Maltapart 1How to Tell the History – Method, Thought and Versions in Dispute1 Methodological Elements for the Organization of the History of Brazilian Economic Thought The Approach Of Controversies   Carla Curty and Maria Malta2 Interpreters of Brazil Influences on the Origin of Brazilian Economic Thought   Carla Curty, Maria Malta and Bruno Borja3 Controversy on the Economic History of Brazil Roberto Simonsen, Caio Prado Jr. and Celso Furtado   Bruno Borjapart 2Revolution, Development and Democracy: The Story of a Brazil That Could Have Been4 Revisiting the Origins of the Controversy on the Brazilian Revolution A Debate between Octavio Brandão, Mario Pedrosa and Lívio Xavier   Filipe Leite Pinheiro5 Visions of the Brazilian Revolution Nelson Werneck Sodré, Caio Prado Jr and Florestan Fernandes   Bruno Borja, Carla Curty and Jaime León6 Underdevelopment and Dependency An Analysis of Celso Furtado’s Thought and Its Approach to Dependency Theory   Wilson Vieira7 Seeds of Brazilian Underdevelopment A Controversy on Property, Labor Force and Production   Larissa Mazolli Veiga and Maria Malta8 Restricted Democracy, Mass Democracy and the Crisis of the New Republic   Jaime León and Maria MaltaIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Law of Value and Theories of Value, Tiago Camarinha Lopes presents the genesis of Karl Marx's understanding of the law of value by showing that the labor theory of value of utopian socialists and the utility theory of value of the Marginalist Revolution are subject to equal criticism by Marx's Critique of Political Economy. Following Marx's distinction between classical and vulgar political economy, Camarinha explains the difference between a reactionary and a progressive strand in the world of non-Marxian economics. Commonly portrayed as a dated work targeting the general framework of economic thought of the 19th century, Das Kapital appears here as the blueprint for the ongoing construction of economic science of the working class in any period of History.Table of ContentsAcknowledgement List of Figures Introduction 1 The Independence of the Science of Value 2 The Law of Value in Classical Political Economy  1 The Law of Value as the Invisible Hand  2 The Law of Value as Exchange of Equivalents  3 The Law of Value as Contradiction between Value and Price 3 The End of Classical Political Economy Value or Price? 4 Value The Naturalization of the Labor Theory of Value in Utopian Socialism  1 Appropriation of Political Economy by the Labor Movement  2 The Laborer's Theory of Value of Utopian Socialists  3 The Right to the Full Results of Labor  4 The Naturalization of the Labor Theory of Value  5 Desideratum of Utopian Socialism: Simple Commodity Production 5 Price The Naturalization of the Utility Theory of Value in the Marginalist Revolution  1 Seizure of Political Economy by Capital  2 The Consumer's Theory of Value in Jevons, Menger and Walras  3 Output as a Relation between Human and Nature  4 The Naturalization of the Utility Value Theory  5 Desideratum of the Marginalist Revolution: Simple Commodity Production 6 Marx's Path to Political Economy 7 The Law of Value in Marx's Critique of Political Economy  1 Marx's Theory of the Commodity  1 The Law of Value as Unity of Value and Price  2 The Law of Value as Lack of Control over Economic Reproduction  3 The Law of Value as an Objective Phenomenon 8 The Law of Value under the Rule of Capitalist Economic Planning  1 Capitalist Economic Planning  2 The Aim of Capital Final Remarks References Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisDiamond Sharp’s Super Sad Black Girl is a love letter to her hometown of Chicago, where the speaker finds solace and community with her literary idols in hopes of answering the question: What does it look like when Black women are free? Lorraine Hansberry and Gwendolyn Brooks appear throughout these poems, counseling the speaker as she navigates her own depression and exploratory questions about the “Other Side,” as do Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd, and other Black women who have been murdered by police. Sharp’s poetry is self-assured, playful, and imaginative, reminiscent of Langston Hughes with its precision and brevity. The book explores purgatorial, in-between spaces that the speaker occupies as she struggles to find a place and time where she can live safely and freely. With her skillful use of repetition, particularly in her series of concrete poems, lines and voices echo across the book so the reader, too, feels suspended within Sharp’s lyric moments. Super Sad Black Girl is a compassionate and ethereal depiction of mental illness from a promising and powerful poet.Trade Review“I’ve never read a collection of writing—poetry or otherwise—that spoke so clearly to what it feels like to live with a bipolar brain. Diamond Sharp has done what has often felt like the impossible: she has translated what so many of us have experienced into something so jaw droppingly familiar and achingly beautiful that you can’t escape the truth of it. More than just merely “feeling seen,” this collection made me feel heard and held and understood. Sharp is a master of her craft and this book is a testimony and a song.” —Bassey Ikpi, author of I’m Telling the Truth but I’m Lying “Deeply interior, alarmingly vivid, and full of dreamlike lyricism, this singular debut invites a reclamation of confessionalism for Black girls living—trying to live—today. Armed with Gwendolyn’s deceptive simplicity and some Henny and anchored by Sharp’s musical, crystalline voice and the subtle comedy of truth, Super Sad Black Girl is a wholly original collection that begs to be read, felt, and read again.” —Morgan Parker, author of Magical Negro “Diamond Sharp’s debut work offers the dazzling, taut simplicity of Lucille Clifton with a voice all her own. Here, the poet mines the interiority of a Black woman perpetually in flight while living with bipolar disorder, flitting smartly between mania, psychosis, stability, social exile and belonging. With Sharp’s stunningly controlled meditation on Black women’s abiding fugitivity while in conversation with Chicago luminaries Hansberry, Brooks, and Walker, as well as Black women slain at the hands of police, Super Sad Black Girl offers the notion that maybe the freest place for Black women is not a definitive physical plane but in the company of one another.” —Erika Dickerson-Despenza, playwright, educator, and organizer “Although Sharp has an extensive background in music criticism, there’s little doubt that poetry is her raison d’être. Her poems are funny, unpretentious, and profoundly self- accepting.” —M.T. Richards, Chicago Magazine

Read more less

Book Synopsis“Black women writers and critics are acting on the old adage that one must speak for oneself if one wishes to be heard.” —Claudia Tate, from the introductionLong out of print, Black Women Writers at Work is a vital contribution to Black literature in the 20th century. Through candid interviews with Maya Angelou, Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alexis De Veaux, Nikki Giovanni, Kristin Hunter, Gayl Jones, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Margaret Walker, and Sherley Anne Williams, the book highlights the practices and critical linkages between the work and lived experiences of Black women writers whose work laid the foundation for many who have come after.Responding to questions about why and for whom they write, and how they perceive their responsibility to their work, to others, and to society, the featured playwrights, poets, novelists, and essayists provide a window into the connections between their lives and their art.Finally available for a new generation, this classic work has an urgent message for readers and writers today.Trade Review“Black Women Writers at Work features conversations with 14 Black writers from across the bounds of literary form. Tate pulls together Black women playwrights, novels, poets, and essayists to compile one of the most textured collections in the 20th century. Writers like Maya Angelou, Sonia Sanchez, and Toni Morrison share space under one cover thanks to Tate’s editorial creativity. Black Women Writers at Work joins works like The Black Woman, Homegirls, and But Some of Us Are Brave as a landmark Black feminist text featuring the words of some of the most notable literary figures in the tradition.” —Baltimore Beat“When this classic collection was published in 1984, the writers Claudia Tate interviewed were engaged in the creative work that produced new Black feminist terrains. Today Black Women Writers at Work serves as a much-needed reminder that the imagination always blazes trails that lead us toward more habitable futures.”—Angela Y. Davis, author of Freedom is a Constant Struggle”This is a gorgeous and essential collection of writings from a group of the most important Black women writers. I have turned to repeatedly over the past thirty years and I'm thrilled that Haymarket has republished it for another generation to treasure.”—Imani Perry, author of Looking for Lorraine”[A] rare, rich source books for writers, readers, teachers, students—all who care about literature and the creation of it... This collection transcends its genre. It becomes a harbinger book, a book of revelation, of haunting challenge, opening on to central concerns not only of writing, but of life, of living, today.” —Tillie Olson, from the Foreword “Tate’s probing, provocative and insightful questions set a new standard for the interview as a genre.”—Valerie Smith, Princeton University

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe border regimes of imperialist states have brutally oppressed migrants throughout the world. To enforce their borders, these states have constructed a new digital fortress with far-reaching and ever-evolving new technologies. This pathbreaking volume exposes these insidious means of surveillance, control, and violence.In the name of “smart” borders, the U.S. and Europe have turned to private companies to develop a neocolonial laboratory now deployed against the Global South, borderlands, and routes of migration. They have established immigrant databases, digital IDs, electronic tracking systems, facial recognition software, data fusion centers, and more, all to more “efficiently” categorize and control human beings and their movement.These technologies rarely capture widespread public attention or outrage, but they are quietly remaking our world, scaling up colonial efforts of times past to divide desirables from undesirables, rich from poor, expat from migrant, and citizen from undocumented. The essays and case studies in Resisting Borders and Technologies of Violence shed light on this threat, offering analyses of how the high-tech system of borders developed and inspiring stories of resistance to it.The organizers, journalists, and scholars in these pages are charting a new path forward, employing creative tools to subvert the status quo, organize globally against high-tech border imperialism, and help us imagine a world without borders. Contributors: Nasma Ahmed, Khalid Alexander, Sara Baker, Lea Beckmann, Wafa Ben-Hassine, Ruha Benjamin, Maike Bohn, Gracie Mae Bradley, Margaret Cheesman, J. Carlos Lara Gálvez, Timmy Châu, Arely Cruz-Santiago, Ida Danewid, Nick Estes, Rafael Evangelista, Katy Fallon, Marwa Fatafta, Ryan Gerety, Ben Green, Jeff Helper, Nisha Kapoor, Lilly Irani, Brian Jordan Jefferson, Lara Kiswani, Arun Kundnani, Jenna M. Loyd, Rodjé Malcolm, Matthew McNaughton, Todd Miller, Petra Molnar, Mariah Montgomery, Joseph Nevins, Conor O’Reilly, Chai Patel, Tawana Petty, Ernesto Schwartz-Marin, Paromita Shah, Silky Shah, Koen Stoop, Miriam Ticktin, Harsha Walia Trade Review"This volume... holds a mirror up to the everyday violence of borders that rarely capture widespread public attention, much less outrage. The essays and case studies that follow draw our attention to the policies and technologies that governments and companies are deploying quietly and viciously, tearing into people’s lives, ripping families apart, and hunting down the most vulnerable, one computer bit at a time." —Ruha Benjamin, from the Foreword"Resisting Borders and Technologies of Violence is a welcome moment of pause and reflection in the work of tech abolitionism. This weighty collection of writings challenges readers to find points of intersection and allied movement against racialized surveillance, carceral and border technologies, and criminalization of minoritized and marginalized groups. The volume identifies the roots of these struggles and asks us to grow and go further." —Seeta Peña Gangadharan, author, Our Data Bodies"The essays in Resisting Borders and Technologies of Violence are all excellent, but collectively add up to more than their parts, a keyhole look into the future, where new repressive technologies will be met by new forms of creative resistance. Mizue Aizeki, Matt Mahmoudi, and Coline Schupfer have put together a vital collection of essays that help us imagine escaping what they have in store for us." —Greg Grandin"In a world awash with violent borders, this book serves as a beacon of hope guiding us towards a more just future." —Reece Jones, author of Nobody Is Protected: How the Border Patrol Became the Most Dangerous Police Force in the United States"A valuable resource for those trying to dismantle technologized regimes of state terror around the world and create something life-giving in their place." —Ben Tarnoff, author of Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future "Resisting Borders and Technologies of Violence is an essential book for the difficult times we find ourselves in. This collection provides vital insight and nuance about the political, social, and technological dynamics of borders and technologies of coercion. Far more than just lines on a map, this book illuminates how modern borders are more fluid and complex than ever, but perhaps most importantly, how we can organise against them. Through compelling case studies and meticulous research, readers will find the book to be an essential resource for building movements that can fight back against technological authoritarianism in various forms." —Lizzie O'Shea, author, Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us About Digital Technology"This brilliantly curated collection brings a much needed understanding of how technology, geopolitics, and imperial domination by the United States and Europe are fragmenting the world through borders reinforced by surveillance drones, myriad tracking devices, and massive databases that use our own biometrics to undermine our freedom. But far more than a chronicle of oppression, Resisting Borders offers analysis and case studies of resistance fighters outsmarting the 'smart’ borders to inspire us to continue the fight to save the planet and our humanity."—James Kilgore, author, Understanding Mass Incarceration and Understanding E-CarcerationTable of ContentsFOREWORD: Borders & Bits: From Obvious to Insidious Violence by Ruha BenjaminIntroduction: Resisting Technologies of Violence and Control By Mizue Aizeki, Matt Mahmoudi, and Coline SchupferSECTION 1: Ideologies of Exclusion:Title? By Harsha WaliaMultiplying State Violence in the Name of Homeland Security by Mizue AizekiEmpire’s Walls, Global Apartheid’s Infrastructure by Joseph Nevins and Todd MillerFortress Europe’s Proliferating Borders by Miriam TicktinFrontex and Fortress Europe’s Technological Experiments by Katy Fallon and Petra MolnarAbolish Migration Deterrence by Jenna M. LoydCruel Fictions in the Black Mediterranean by Ida Danewid, The Black Mediterranean CollectiveCASE STUDY: Why We Need Local Campaigns to End Immigration DetentionCASE STUDY: Why We Took the U.K. to Court for their Discriminatory Visa Streaming AlgorithmSECTION 2: Conjuring the Perfect Threat: Techno-Securitization and Domestic PolicingBuilding the #NoTechforICE Campaign: An Interview with Jacinta GonzalezBig Tech, Borders and Biosecurity: Securitization in Britain after Covid-19 by Nisha KapoorTargeting Muslim communities in NYC: Interview with Fahd AhmedGlobal Palestine: Exporting Israel’s Regime of Population Control by Jeff HalperChicago’s Gang Database Targeting People of Color: Interview with Xanat Sobrevilla and Alyx GoodwinBuilding Community Power in Unequal Cities: Interview with Hamid KhanCASE STUDY: Why We Are Suing Clearview AI In California State CourtCASE STUDY: How We Fight Against (Tech-Facilitated) Persecution of Uyghurs in China and AbroadCASE STUDY: Stop Urban Shield: How We Fought DHS’ Militarized Police TrainingsSECTION 3: Digital IDs: The Body as a BorderDigital ID: A Primer by Sara Baker, The Engine RoomIDs and the Citizen: Technologically Determined Identity in India by Usha RamanathanThe cost of recognition by the state: IDs card as coercion: Interview with Rodjé Malcolm and Matthew McNaughtonThe UK’s Production of Tech-enabled Precarity: An Interview with Gracie Mae BradleyOn Donkeys and Blockchains: A Conversation with Margie CheesmanCASE STUDY: How We Mobilized Civil Society to Fight Tunisia’s Proposed Digital ID SystemCASE STUDY: Why We Must Fight for Alternatives to the UK’s Digital-Only ID SystemSECTION 4: Bordering Everyday CitiesApartheid Tech: The Use and Expansion of Biometric Identification and Surveillance Technologies in the Occupied West Bank by Marwa FartaftaThe Encroachment of Smart Cities by Ben GreenCONTROL-X: Communication, Control, & Exclusion by Brian JeffersonData Justice in Mexico: How Big Data is Reshaping the Struggle for Rights and Political Freedoms by Arely Cruz-Santiago, Ernesto Schwartz-Marín, and Conor O’ReillyCorporate Tech and The Legible City by Ryan Gerety, Mariah Montgomery, Mizue Aizeki and Nasma AhmedSeeing the Watched: Mass Surveillance in Detroit By Tawana PettyNecropolitics and Neoliberalism Are Driving Brazil’s Surveillance Infrastructure By Rafael EvangelistaCASE STUDY: Why We Must Fight Against COVID-19 Surveillance and TechnosolutionismCASE STUDY: How We Challenged the German Migration Office’s Surveillance TechnologyCASE STUDY: Fighting San Diego’s Smart Streetlights Super Surveillance SystemSECTION 5: Looking ForwardAbolish National Security by Arun KundnaniThe First Step is Finding Each Other by Timmy ChâuThe Red Deal: Indigenous Liberation and The Fight to Save the Planet by Nick EstesTrying Harder to Build a World Where Life is Precious: An Interview with Ruth Wilson GilmoreEditors and ContributorsAcknowledgments

Read more less

Book SynopsisConsider the Rooster serves as an ode to a rooster’s crow, a catalyst for awakening, both literally and figuratively. Amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic, the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder by police, and the resulting upsurge in reactionary right-wing militia violence, a neighbor in Kalamazoo, Michigan threatens to call the police after discovering the author’s pet rooster. The rooster sounds the alarm and our author wakes to revolutionary transformation. An ecological consciousness embedded in these verses invites readers to acknowledge their place in a web of relations. Oliver Baez Bendorf’s voice resounds through liminal spaces, at dusk and dawn, across personal meditations and wider cultural awakenings to form a collection overflowing with freedom, rebellion, mischief, and song.

Read more less

Book Synopsis*A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice Pick* *A Newsweek & Refinery29 Most Anticipated Book of 2021*“Timely and urgent.” —The New York Times“Moving and powerful.” —Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author Discover the truth behind the discounts. In 2012, an Oregon mother named Julie Keith opened up a package of Halloween decorations. The cheap foam headstones had been five dollars at Kmart, too good a deal to pass up. But when she opened the box, something shocking fell out: an SOS letter, handwritten in broken English. “Sir: If you occassionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization. Thousands people here who are under the persicuton of the Chinese Communist Party Government will thank and remember you forever.” The note’s author, Sun Yi, was a mild-mannered Chinese engineer turned political prisoner, forced into grueling labor as punishment for campaigning for the freedom to join a forbidden meditation movement. He was imprisoned alongside petty criminals, civil rights activists, and tens of thousands of others the Chinese government had decided to “reeducate,” carving foam gravestones and stitching clothing for more than fifteen hours a day. In Made in China, investigative journalist Amelia Pang pulls back the curtain on Sun’s story and the stories of others like him, including the persecuted Uyghur minority group, whose abuse and exploitation is rapidly gathering steam. What she reveals is a closely guarded network of laogai—forced labor camps—that power the rapid pace of American consumerism. Through extensive interviews and firsthand reportage, Pang shows us the true cost of America’s cheap goods and shares what is ultimately a call to action—urging us to ask more questions and demand more answers from the companies we patronize.Trade Review"A moving and powerful look at the brutal slave labor camps in China that mass produce our consumer products. Amelia Pang, who puts a human face on the Chinese laborers who work in bondage, makes clear our complicity in this inhuman system. She forces us, like the abolitionists who battled slavery in the 19th century, to place the sanctity of human life before the maximization of profit. It is hard not to finish this book and not be outraged, not only at the Chinese government but the American corporations that knowingly collaborate with and profit from this modern slave trade." --Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author "Amelia Pang has written a powerful new book that traces what we buy back to those who made it, often under truly torturous conditions." --Scott Simon, host of NPR / Weekend Edition Saturday "Amelia Pang exposes the shadow economy of forced labor in Made in China. Pang adroitly situates readers to Chinese culture and society... [and] sounds an uplifting note of agency and empowerment about the prospective impact of reforming Western consumption." --San Francisco Chronicle "The result of Pang's investigation is this powerful, illuminating book, which serves as a reminder that not only is nothing in life actually free, but it should also never be inexplicably cheap--someone, somewhere, is always paying the price." --Refinery29 "Journalist Pang debuts with a vivid and powerful report on Chinese forced labor camps and their connections to the American marketplace. Cinematic . . . Engrossing and deeply reported, this impressive expose will make readers think twice about their next purchase." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "With clarity and sensitivity, [Pang] exposes the human cost of the global demand for cut-rate products, and provides clear calls to action for individuals, corporations and governments to stem these abuses. Any reader with half a heart will be hard-pressed not to re-examine their own buying habits after reading this incredible, moving account." --Shelf Awareness "A powerful call to action and advice for conscientious consumption . . . Spanning biography, business, and sociology, this well-reported and well-researched account of labor practices shows the impact of the demand for global goods." --Library Journal "A powerful argument for heightened awareness of the high price of Chinese-made products." --Kirkus Reviews "Readers will be drawn into this thoroughly researched narrative and will be awakened by the author's pleas for consumers to be more vigilant about the origin of their goods." --Booklist "The book is an excellent entry-level explanation of Chinese religious and political history, and how human rights abuses intersect with billion-dollar businesses. Pang connects the dots between globalization, Western consumption, and sustainability to create a clear, cohesive picture of the problem, as well as of potential solutions." --BookPage "A cinematic approach to a vital topic, which should be as close to our hearts as cheap goods are to our wallets. Amelia Pang provides close-ups of the individual stories behind labor camps, and wide-angle views of their context and history." --Alec Ash, author of Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China "Sun's story shows the inhuman nature of the authoritarian Chinese government. The narrative consists of many people's untold stories. After reading this book, anyone with a conscience will realize it is time to take action for those who are persecuted by the Chinese dictatorship." --Chen Guangcheng, author of The Barefoot Lawyer: A Blind Man's Fight for Justice and Freedom in China "The problem of illegal prison labor being used in the People's Republic of China to manufacture goods for global markets is a longstanding one that keeps resurfacing in new guises. Now with this well-researched and reported book that reads like a detective story, investigative journalist Amelia Pang has opened a new porthole on this pernicious practice." --Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at the Asia Society

Read more less

Book SynopsisRenowned journalist Malaika Jabali debunks myths, centres forgotten socialists of colour who have shaped our world, and shows us socialism is not all Marx and Bernie Bros-it can be pretty sexy.We've all dated someone who took control of the relationship-you know, someone who makes you feel like you're unhappy because you're just not putting in the work, or it's all in your head. But when you think about trying to meet new people, it feels terrifying. Like, have you looked at Tinder recently? It's rough out there! Your tough-love new best friend, award-winning journalist, policy attorney, and life-long socialist Malaika Jabali is here to say: we are all in a generations-long toxic relationship with Capitalism, and it is time to get the h*ll out of there and move ALONG. She gives you everything you need to know about what a healthy relationship could actually look like, issue by issue-from healthcare and housing to the whole concept of American democracy-with our new boo: Socialism. And no, Socialism isn't the boring, grey, authoritarian, Cold-War-era monster that you've heard about. With accessible explanations and illustrations, often surprising graphs and stats, and some Drake memes, this book will show you that we NEED to build a world that's safer, kinder, cleaner, healthier, and more equal. And that this isn't a utopian dream - it's within our grasp, if we collectively decide to call out Capitalism for what it really is and wake up to a better future. Fun, smart, and inspiring, It's Not You It's Capitalism is the hottest new relationship in your life!

Read more less

Book Synopsis• Examines animal intelligences within a greater evolutionary context, detailing in particular the remarkable intelligence of crows and octopuses • Looks at the Australian Aborigine Dreamtime as an attempt to understand the combined geological and geomantic landscape • Investigates a range of ideas as they relate to the intersections of consciousness and reality, including reincarnation, past-life memories, ghosts, and UFOs From the origins of the cosmos to the microbiome, COVID-19 pandemic, UFOs, and the shapeshifting of octopuses and language of crows, Richard Grossinger traverses the mysteries and enigmas that defi ne our universe and personal reality.Beginning his narrative with the Big Bang, origin of the Milky Way, and birth of our solar system, Grossinger o ers a chronology of Earth’s geological, climatological, biological, and sociological evolution, leading to the current environmental and psychospiritual crisis. He explores the origin of cell life, RNA-DNA, and larger biomes, detailing in particular the remarkable intelligence of crows and octopuses. He uses the Australian Aborigine Dreamtime to understand landscapes as thoughtforms. He then o ers reimaginings, from the perspective of “dreamings,” of a wide variety of animals, including tardigrades, llamas, sea turtles, pigeons, bees, and coyotes. Examining the scientifi c dilemmas and paradoxes of consciousness, time, and quantum entanglement, Grossinger carries these into the range of issues around reincarnation, past-life memories, messages from the afterlife, and ghosts. Sharing exercises from his personal practice, Grossinger makes a distinction between the Buddhist description of reality and how Buddhist practitioners create an operating manual for the universe and an assured path of salvation. The author then examines UFOs and their connections to elementals, fairies, and cryptids in terms of psychoids, Jung’s term for transconscious processes that enter our world as autonomous entities. Taking the reader on a journey through the seen and unseen universe, from the Big Bang to the imaginal landscape of Dreamtime, Grossinger shows that matter is infused with spirit from its very beginning.Trade Review“Richard Grossinger’s great gift is his ability to explicitly state what many of us merely feel. This is a magnificent talent and also a rare blessing for humanity.” * Larry Dossey, M.D., author of One Mind and Space, Time, and Medicine *“Grossinger hurls his mastery of esoteric wisdom, a profound understanding of the cosmos, and his exquisite poetic expression at the reader like the bright light of an asteroid whizzing past Earth’s orbit. A breathtaking read!” * Patricia Cori, author, screenwriter, and former host of Beyond the Matrix *“We live in a wild cosmos, a multidimensional multiverse teeming with all sorts of intelligences and mysteries. Dreamtimes and Thoughtforms is an invitation into a bigger cosmological story that makes room for all the beauty and paradox we are enveloped in by (in)visible worlds. In these pages, Grossinger performs his trademark meta-integration magic--weaving together animal intelligence, UFOs, ghosts, and esoteric cosmologies into a wonderfully wild song of ourselves and the worlds around us, containing multitudes.” * Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, Ph.D., dean of integral education at California Institute for Human Scien *“Dreamtimes and Thoughtforms examines the inner and external landscapes of consciousness. Exploring the primordial universe and/or multiverse, primitive biological life, physics, psi, dreams, philosophy, anthropology, and ancient writings, Grossinger goes beyond surface-level discussions and embraces deep contemplation and open-mindedness. Recognizing that consciousness is the builder of all we experience, the author realizes that one may survey the greater reality more effectively through inner vision than a set of eyes. When looking out to observe the external world, we, in some way, see a reflection of ourselves.” * Mark Ireland, author of Soul Shift *“Dreamtimes and Thoughtforms takes forward, with new inputs, the project Alfred Jarry undertook in his Faustroll writings at the end of the nineteenth century. Like Jarry, Grossinger reads science through an esoteric lens and esoteric thinking through the lens of science, thus enriching our sensibilities, unmooring our imaginations. In his own terminology, perhaps Jarry was a preincarnation of Grossinger.” * Fred D’Agostino, Ph.D., retired professor of humanities at the University of Queensland *“From the Big Bang to bacteria to the microbiomes, the Cambrian explosion, and catastrophic events, Richard Grossinger outlines the universe and the limitations of materialistic science in explaining ‘all that is,’ for there is more to life than math, chemistry, and physics. A great read; highly recommended.” * John A. Rush, Ph.D., N.D., author of Jesus, Mushrooms, and the Origin of Christianity *“In Dreamtimes and Thoughtforms, the reader will learn about the spiritual concepts that date back to the Big Bang and how they relate to reincarnation, pastlife memories, ghosts, and even to the intelligence of crows and octopuses. This is a sensational investigation into how beliefs and thoughtforms create reality.” * David Barreto, author of Spiritual Evolution in the Animal Kingdom *“Like his masterpiece Deep Pool of Light, the meanings flow from the pages to our souls, creating a new language of the sacred. Richard’s work is best seen perhaps as the scripture of an expanding cosmos written for a distant age beyond our present vision. It’s as though he can observe and celebrate from a distant galaxy our own Milky Way, nucleus to nova, or slide down a cosmic wormhole and document the journey!” * Albert J. LaChance, author of Cultural Addiction and coauthor of The Third Covenant *“When I read Richard’s words I am uplifted and encouraged to fully envelop my mind in the psychospiritual, metaphysical spaces he makes so accessible. Dreamtimes and Thoughtforms is a profound treatise on the vanguard of how we cognize and ingest the super mundane and come to know the full expression of the living cosmos, all around and within.” * Joshua Reichmann, filmmaker and musician *“Reminds me of a Bob Dylan song.” * John Friedlander, author of Recentering Seth *Table of ContentsForeword by Sophie StrandAcknowledgmentsPREFACE Reading Gateway Cards ONE PlanetBig Bang Ice Climate TWO Genome Cells Microbiomes THREE Dreamings Butterfly DreamingAboriginal DreamingsOctopus and Crow DreamingsCOVID Dream Animals FOURMeta-Sciences Fields Quantum Mechanics Life Among Stars FIVE Unidentified GuidesUFOs Meeting David Wilcock at NonilandPsychoidsSIXIncarnationsAfterlives Ghosts The Scam of the Being of LightReincarnations Time SEVEN Practices Phenomena and PhenomenologyBuddhism ExercisesInitiation EPILOGUE Camouflage Cosmoses, Callings, and Codes Technocracy The God Code Bandwidths Notes Biblioraphy Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisBecoming a master in a particular area is not tied solely to innate ability or talent, nor to years of rote practice. As martial arts master and consciousness explorer Peter Ralston explains, the secret to mastery lies in accurate perceptive awareness and effective interaction. In this detailed guide to what it takes to master something, Ralston examines the powerful dynamics behind the art of mastery. He explores in depth the foundational skills and operating principles that empower mastery, including the principle of effective interaction, the mind-body alignment principle, and creative intelligence. Examining “reaction” versus “response,” he looks at how to control your mind and transform your perceptive awareness so what you are experiencing aligns with what’s actually occurring, the first step toward reaching your objectives and taking the appropriate actions to produce your desired results. Sharing methods to overcome the major obstacles to mastery, he presents a step-by-step breakdown of the principle of effective interaction and explains how to adapt when the people or objects you’re interacting with are not aligned with your objectives or when they are working contrary to your goals, including in sports, business, warfare, politics, or any arena in which you’ve committed to pursuing mastery. Revealing the elements that lead to masterful interactive skills, this guide shows how to do the work of personal transformation necessary to access mastery as a real, functional experience, as well as providing an opportunity for deeper insights into yourself and life.Trade Review“Ralston provides both a real definition of mastery and a very detailed process to achieve it. The book highlights a path to mastery that applies to any chosen field. It provides specific principles and practices and points out potential pitfalls along the way. It is both encouraging and rigorous. There are no participation trophies in this book. One of its best features is guidance on how to benefit from the inevitable mistakes and failures along the path to mastering any activity. If you spend time and effort with this book, you will greatly benefit from the investment.” * Bob Noha, Aikido 6th dan and chief instructor at Aikido of Petaluma *“I so highly value the years I studied with Peter. In our work together, he immediately made me a better fighter and markedly so. Yet more importantly, he brought something else out: an internal energy, a state of being indescribable or undefinable, a power that I feel in every aspect of my life. He’s not only a master in his art but a master teacher. That generous creative flow of universal light that he has allowed and brought forth in his own experience sets fire to everyone who studies with him.” * Richard Moon, Aikido sensei/instructor 6th dan, facilitator in international peace-building, executi *Table of ContentsOn the Opportunity of Mastery Chapter OneCommitting to the Pursuit of Mastery Chapter Two Mastery—The Short Version A Brief Overview MASTERY The Principles of Skill and Effective Interaction The Long Version Chapter Three On the Nature of Mastery What Is Mastery? Why Should You Pursue Mastery?Knowledge Useful for Mastery Chapter Four The Principle of Effective Interaction Isolating the Principle of Effective InteractionDissecting the Principle of Effective InteractionTailoring Your Actions to Your Objective Chapter FiveTransforming Your Perceptive-Experience Making Distinctions Objective Distinctions Non-Objective DistinctionsSeven Non-Objective Components Feeling Translation Reaction versus Response Rethinking Relationship Rethinking Learning Chapter Six Principles and States That Empower Mastery A Couple Actions Useful for Effective Interaction A Few Essential Principles Chapter Seven Powerful Operating Principles for Mastery Foundation Skills for Powerful Operating Principles Powerful Interactive Operating Principles Even More Advanced PrinciplesA World of Operating Principles Conclusion Cutting Up an Ox Addendum The Art of War By Peter RalstonIndex About the Author

Read more less

Book SynopsisIf you had a trillion dollars and a year to spend it for the good of the world and the advancement of science, what would you do? It's an unimaginably large sum, yet it's only around one per cent of world GDP, and about the valuation of Google, Microsoft or Amazon. It's a much smaller sum than the world found to bail out its banks in 2008 or deal with Covid-19. But what could you achieve with $1 trillion? You could solve the problem of the pandemic, for one, and eradicate malaria, and maybe cure all disease. You could end global poverty. You could settle on the Moon and explore the solar system. You could build a massive particle collider to probe the nature of reality like never before. You could build quantum computers, develop artificial intelligence, or increase human lifespan. You could even create a new life form. Or how about transitioning the world to clean energy? Or preserving the rainforests, or saving all endangered species? Maybe you could refreeze the melting Arctic, launch a new sustainable agricultural revolution, and reverse climate change? How to Spend a Trillion Dollars is the ultimate thought experiment but it is also a call to arms: these are all things we could do, if we put our minds to it - and our money.Trade ReviewHow To Spend a Trillion Dollars is both original and ingenious. Rowan Hooper looks at the problems facing the world today - all the big ones - and presents solutions that are realistic and workable, if governments can wring the money out of giant corporations - and billionaires - that don't like paying tax. Hooper writes with great vivacity and persuasiveness and his book is an exhilarating, encouraging, and hopeful reminder that the solutions are there if we have the will to find them. I hope it sells a trillion. -- Philip PullmanWill someone iust give Rowan Hooper a mere trillion dollars and let him, very sensibly, save the world? -- Caitlin Moranln a world of doom-scrolling, trembling on the brink of causing a mass extinction event that will devastate civilisation, it's crucially important to point out that we already have the abilities needed not only to avoid catastrophe, but to thrive. That's what Hooper does in fascinating and exciting detail. -- Kim Stanley RobinsonAt a moment when science is proving it can solve the most urgent of problems - given the right funding - Rowan Hooper asks a very interesting question. How much would it cost to solve all the world's other problems? ... Like any good game, this is deadly serious. What starts off seeming absurd ends up feeling obvious. Why would we not invest in our future? As Hooper says, "The world is full of extraordinary opportunities, and the vast majority are never undertaken" -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *Brimming with exciting possibilities for a future in which the health and safety of the whole population becomes their responsibility -- Delia SmithWhat would you do with a trillion dollars? In this hopeful and very readable book, Rowan Hooper shows us how a thoughtful investment of financial capital could be used to solve the great challenges we face. None is more near and dire than the climate crisis, and Hooper provides reason for optimism here. The solutions-green energy chief among them-already exist. It's simply a matter of us investing in them. And a trillion dollars spent on climate solutions would payback several times over in avoided damage and destruction and new jobs. Read this book and be inspired to change the world. -- Michael MannI've never before read a book which made me aspire to be a tax collector. But if I was, and if I could just get all the money which the greedy mega-Corps dodge paying, what Hooper so elegantly yet pragmatically shows is that we could so easily "save the world" and have so much fun too. I'll get my suit on! -- Chris PackhamIn a world in which everything seems to be going wrong, this is a refreshingly optimistic book about what real solutions to the world's biggest problems could look like - and cost. Beautifully positive, lucid and accessible. -- Angela Saini, author of SuperiorBy assessing what it would take to tackle the world's biggest problems, Hooper finds that even huge investments pay for themselves many times over. In that sense, his book is like a new version of Brewster's Millions: spend now, win later, with more jobs, better health and, crucially, a better functioning biosphere. * New Scientist *Rowan Hooper shows that the world's most intractable problems might not actually be intractable, if we just devoted the resources to solving them. How to Spend a Trillion Dollars is a fascinating, thought-provoking work. -- Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Sixth ExtinctionFull of lucid and transformative ideas -- George Monbiot

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe world's great fables, sagas and legends dramatically retold.Myths are the greatest stories ever told. Passed down over millennia, they are the templates for all our stories, with their eternal themes of creation and destruction, fate and cunning, heroism and cruelty, sensuality and war. Retold here are nearly 200 myths - from Prometheus defying Zeus to create man to the destruction of Troy; and from valiant battles against Frost Giants and Cyclopes to the heroic quests for the Golden Fleece and Holy Grail - including a commentary on their origins, common themes and meanings. Compellingly written, concise and with each myth illustrated with an iconic image, Myths in Minutes is the perfect way to understand and enjoy the world's major fables. Includes the great Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian legends: The Labours of Heracles; The Gods of Olympus; Zeus defeats the Titans; Hades and the Underworld; Theseus and the Minotaur; The Gorgons; Perseus and Andromeda; Oedipus and the Sphinx; The Judgment of Paris; The Trojan Horse; The Odyssey; Jason and The Golden Fleece; Romulus, Remus and the Founding of Rome; Mars, the God of War; The Eye of Ra; The Murder and Resurrection of Osiris; and more.The best of Celtic, Norse, Eastern, American, Oceanic and African myths: Gilgamesh and the Great Flood; Odin's Great Sacrifice; Thor's Adventures in the Land of the Giants; The Treachery of Loki; Ragnarok - The Last Battle; The Eight Immortals; The War Between the Sun and the Stars; Quetzalcoatl, The Plumed Serpent; Ganesh, the Elephant-headed; Ananse and the Sky God; King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table; the age-old stories of the Aboriginal Dreaming; and many; many more.

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘A hugely enjoyable, eccentric account of clerical heroism in the face of evil.’ Observer ‘Comedy and tragedy run side by side… Bracing and lively.’ The Times ‘An admiring study of priests and ministers who have put their lives on the line.’ BBC History Magazine Who says you can't fight fascism in a cassock? Wherever fascism has taken root, it has met with resistance. From taking a bullet for a frightened schoolgirl in Alabama to saving Greek Jews from extermination by way of fake IDs, each of the fifteen hard-drinking, chain-smoking clerics featured in this book were willing to risk their lives for what they believed.Trade Review‘Fascinating…full of stories you may not know but which need to be heard’ -- Spectator, BOOKS OF THE YEAR‘This winter’s best title is Fergus Butler-Gallie’s work on wartime heroics by the clergy.’ -- Patrick Kidd, The Times‘A timely and uplifting book… An hugely enjoyable if slightly eccentric account of clerical heroism in the face of evil… [Butler-Gallie] achieves an inspiring effect through the sheer cumulative impact of so many brave decisions.’ -- Julian Coman, Observer‘… this book is a gripping story of bravery, derring-do and cunning in the face of Fascism… vividly told tales of 15 people who became caught up in the struggles against Fascism in Europe in the 1930s’ * Tablet *’15 short, engaging essays… The reverend is a good writer with a light touch, and a natural storyteller.’ -- New Statesman‘… it is refreshing to read an unashamedly admiring study of priests and ministers who have put their lives on the line… readable and moving.' -- BBC History Magazine‘Here the Reverend Butler-Gallie wittily profiles 15 “loose cannons” who stood up against fascism’. -- Strong Words‘Butler-Gallie serves them and their stories well with background information, a fluent narrative style, and a fine eye for the quirky and telling personal or historical detail.’ -- Church Times'As entertaining as it is erudite, this enthralling anthology presents a cornucopia of quirky, courageous Fascist-fighting clerics.' -- LoveReading‘A field guide to 20th-century priests, monks and nuns from all over the world who were prepared to die for their faith and to die saving others... He proves it true that comedy and tragedy run side by side, and that some of the most unlikely people turn out to be saints and martyrs... Bracing and lively.’ * The Times *‘Deserves a wide readership. It could be argued that it took allegiance to a higher power than secular Messiahs to support resistance to the most hateful regimes of the 20th Century.’ * Church of England Newspaper *5* review: ‘a joyful and funny book, about some fascinating, brave and at times eccentric characters, who did what was right because it was right, regardless of the potential personal cost… I was left wanting to know more about all of them.’ -- Sorted‘The history of Christianity during World War II is not pretty, as many leading Church figures collaborated with the Nazis and gave succour to anti-Semitism. A handful of religious people stood tall and met the challenge – the little-known men and women vividly described in these fascinating pages opposed both fascism and religious authority to fight the true good fight. If only there had been more like them!’ -- Matthew Cobb, author of The ResistancePraise for A Field Guide to the English Clergy: ‘A group biography of ecclesiastical nuttiness… All gloriously mad.' The Times, Books of the Year 2018 ‘Eye-popping tales of lunacy, debauchery and depravity…Butler-Gallie knows whereof he writes, being a curate himself, and he has done a splendid job presenting a smorgasbord of most peculiar parsons.' Sebastian Shakespeare, Daily Mail ‘We have…always kept a special haven for oddballs in the Church of England, as Fergus Butler-Gallie demonstrates in this entertaining compendium…Their foibles cover all bases from absentmindedness to epic drunkenness…I'm glad I read this one. It's a lot of fun.' The Times ‘Entertainingly erudite…But it is also a surprisingly profound work…For all its mischief, Butler-Gallie's work of lightly worn erudition is a paean to a great English institution, finely tuned to the temper of its representatives, good, bad and indifferent. We should treasure it more.' Literary Review ‘A humorous compendium of some of the oddball clergy who have served the Church over the centuries...These thumbnail portraits reveal a very broad church indeed.' New Statesman ‘The Church of England has produced some real oddballs in its time, and this is an entertaining gallop through several centuries' worth of them…Butler-Gallie has done his homework, digging out some rare gems…This is the story not just of eccentrics, but also of a leisured age that is no more.' Harry Mount, Spectator ‘Wonderfully entertaining…A hilarious yet thoughtful reminder that the Christian faith wasn't always thought incompatible with a sense of humour or a healthy bolshiness.' Sunday Times ‘It may have the makings of a modern classic…Butler-Gallie chronicles not just Anglican follies, but also human weaknesses which we all share and with which we can perhaps sympathise.' The Catholic Herald ‘This is a ridiculously enjoyable book: funny, compassionate, and wonderfully well-written.' Tom Holland ‘A delightful, sympathetic, humorous and earthed cocktail of quirky English clergy.' The Rt Revd David Wilbourne

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Captivating, a John le Carre-esque yarn' Telegraph'A thoroughly good read' Michael Portillo, author of Portillo's Hidden History of Britain and presenter of Great British Railway Journeys'A compelling story of courage, determination and skill' Terry Waite CBE, author of Taken on TrustThe true story of a retired British army officer's private Somali-hostage rescue missionDuring the peak of the Somali piracy crisis, three ships - from Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan - were hijacked and then abandoned to their fate by their employers, who lacked the money to pay ransoms. All would still be there, were it not for Colonel John Steed, a retired British military attaché, who launched his own private mission to free them. At 65, Colonel Steed was hardly an ideal saviour. With no experience in hostage negotiations and no money behind him, he had to raise the ransom cash from scratch, running the operation from his spare room and ferrying million-dollar ransom payments around in the boot of his car. Drawing on first-hand interviews, former chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph, Colin Freeman, who has himself spent time held hostage by Somali pirates, takes readers on an inside track into the world of hostage negotiation and one man's heroic rescue mission.Trade ReviewFreeman draws from extensive first-hand interviews with survivors to paint a vivid picture of this shadowy world with the clarity and panache of a seasoned reporter ... the story is captivating, a John le Carre-esque yarn. * Telegraph *A compelling story of courage, determination and skill. If any book shows that hostage negotiation is not for the faint hearted this is it. -- Terry Waite CBE, author of Taken on TrustA raw, gripping and profoundly moving book. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea tells the extraordinary story of Somalia's forgotten hostages, the pirates who tortured them for years, and the quietly heroic Britons who refused to give up on them. -- Andrew Harding, author of These Are Not Gentle People and The Mayor of MogadishuA thoroughly good read. -- Michael Portillo, author of Portillo's Hidden History of Britain and presenter of Great British Railway JourneyJohn Steed has led an exemplary retirement as a uniquely skilled volunteer, helping to free the seafarer hostages of Somali pirates who some governments wanted to forget. Colin Freeman's book about him is both wonderful and long overdue. -- Michael Scott Moore, author of The Desert and the Sea'A MUST READ book ... 5 stars, highly recommended!' -- Jordan Wylie, adventurer and author of Citadel: The true story of one man's war against the pirates of SomaliaTruly thrilling and fast moving ... a must read for those who seek to understand the complex history and environment in which piracy exploded in Somalia from 2008 to 2012. * Hiiraan Online *

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor years we've been told that traditional foods are unhealthy because of their saturated fat content. In place of grass-fed meat, grass-fed dairy products, and eggs from hens running on pasture, we now mostly eat grain-fed meat and processed factory foods - and we've witnessed an epidemic of disease, from type-2 diabetes to heart disease and cancer.Modern agriculture has locked us into an unhealthy, vicious circle, with degraded foods pouring from an overstretched, impoverished landscape.There's a simple remedy: the grass-fed movement. We can make sure that the meat, dairy foods and eggs we buy come from animals grazing on or running in pasture, as they always used to. This will also put life back into our soils and wildlife back onto our farmland.Graham Harvey, agricultural advisor to BBC Radio 4's The Archers, lays out all the arguments for grass-fed food - why it's good for us, and why it's good for the planet.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Moving and rich...overflowing with warmth and humanity' The Times In this pioneering work of life-writing and reportage, Anthony DePalma reconstructs the interwoven stories of five ordinary citizens and their families to bring the true story of the Cuban people to the world. From Castro's heyday, through the devastation of post-Soviet collapse, to the false dawn of recent years, we witness the hardships of life across six decades of socialist state control - where even today the government decides what work you can do and where you live; where food is rationed, and basic medicines are unavailable. The Cubans maps a country where the revolution that once inspired its people has since tested their faith with tragedy and disillusionment, revealing the daily acts of heroism and the endlessly adaptive resilience that are required of them to survive.'Page-turning...revealing and unputdownable' Claire Boobbyer, Cuba travel expert 'A deeply reported...account of Cuba's bittersweet realities' Financial TimesTrade ReviewVibrant and hugely enjoyable ... DePalma is a terrific reporter, with a novelist's eye for detail. He uses the extraordinary trust he has gained from his subjects to paint a vivid, deeply sympathetic picture of Cuban life, and the quiet fortitude of its people * Telegraph *An immersive and compelling read ... DePalma wanted to 'reach beyond the myths, to show the real Cuba and the real Cubans who live there' ... In this, he has succeeded brilliantly * Literary Review *A moving and rich account ... DePalma's book is overflowing with warmth and humanity - much like the Cuban people * The Times *Remarkably revealing ... [DePalma] renders a Cuba few tourists will ever see ... You won't forget these people soon, and you are bound to emerge from DePalma's bighearted account with a deeper understanding of a storied island * The New York Times *Think of this as an anti-Fidel corrective to the scores of volumes fixated on the ruler-for-life-force-of-nature-movie-star dictator * Washington Post Sunday *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe captivating story of WWII Airman Frank Murphy, who features in new TV miniseries Masters of the Air. THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “In the pursuit of authenticity, of accurate history and undeniable courage, no words matter more than, ‘I was there.’ Read Luck of the Draw and the life of Frank Murphy and ponder this: how did those boys do such things?” Tom Hanks The epic true story of an American hero who flew during WWII, featured in the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks TV Series, Masters of the Air. Beginning on August 17, 1942, American heavy bomber crews of the Eighth Air Force took off for combat in the hostile skies over occupied Europe. The final price was staggering. 4,300 B-17s and B-24s failed to return; nearly 28,000 men were taken prisoner or interned in a neutral country, and a further 26,000 made the ultimate sacrifice. Luck of the Draw is more than a war story. It’s the incredible, inspiring story of Frank Murphy, one of the few survivors from the 100th Bombardment Group, who cheated death for months in a German POW camp after being shot out of his B-17 Flying Fortress. Now with a new foreword written by his granddaughter Chloe Melas, of NBC, and daughter Elizabeth Murphy.Trade Review“In the pursuit of authenticity, of accurate history and undeniable courage, no words matter more than, ‘I was there.’ Read Luck of the Draw and the life of Frank Murphy and ponder this: how did those boys do such things?” Tom Hanks "Navigator Frank Murphy’s propulsive account of the American bomber war against Nazi Germany is also a powerful and poignant memoir of survival in a German POW compound. The book’s heart-stopping account of the brutal Winter March of the captured Allied airmen across the heart of Hitler’s dying Reich places it with Twelve O’Clock High as a classic of World War II literature." Donald L. Miller, author of Masters of the Air: The American Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany "Murphy describes some of the bloodiest air battles of the war as only a person who was actually there can. Luck of the Draw is a riveting and often harrowing must-read for anyone interested in military aviation, the second world war, or just plain real-life adventure." John Orloff, writer, Band of Brothers (HBO) and Masters of the Air (Apple TV+) "Originally published in 2001, this finely wrought memoir captures the fortitude and resilience of the "greatest generation"...Students of military history will appreciate Murphy’s detailed accounts of the Army Air Corp’s training program and a B-17 navigator’s responsibilities, while more casual readers will savor Murphy’s heartfelt tributes to comrades in arms. The result is a winning WWII story." Publishers Weekly "We should be grateful to have this book again, with or without a TV tie-in. A lot of cliches have been spilled about the Greatest Generation, but without ever being the least bit boastful Frank Murphy embodies it...Ultimately, Murphy remembered just about everything, augmented by excellent research." New York Journal of Books“A gripping, inspirational account of incredible bravery, resilience, and sheer will to survive. Frank Murphy was a true American hero who served courageously in the skies over Europe during WWII and who then demonstrated extraordinary fortitude and determination in the face of unimaginable challenges as a prisoner of war. A truly extraordinary story!" General David Petraeus, US Army (Ret.), former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and NATO and US Forces in Afghanistan, and former Director of the CIA “Ever wonder if you had what it took to stare death in the face and push it aside and go forth into the unknown? That is what these young airmen of the 8th Army Air Force accomplished every time they loaded up for another mission. Frank Murphy has eloquently described the harrowing experiences of a B-17 crew from the loss of crewmembers, confronting his own mortality and ultimately the trauma of incarceration as a prisoner of war. This account is partly to honor his noble brothers of the air but also a reminder to future generations of the heroic young men of the Bomber Command.” Rick Perry, son of B-17 tail gunner 95th BG, 14th Governor of Texas, and 7th Secretary of Energy “Every generation needs a spokesman for its endeavors. In this respect Murphy does the young men of VIII Bomber Command proud.” Roger A. Freeman, author and Eighth Air Force historian “I urge you to read Frank Murphy’s truly memorable story.” Ian L. Hawkins, author and World War II historian

Read more less

Book SynopsisDavid Mearns has discovered some of the world's most fascinating and elusive shipwrecks. From the mighty battlecruiser HMS Hood to the crumbling wooden skeletons of Vasco da Gama's 16th century fleet, David has searched for and found dozens of sunken vessels in every ocean of the world.The Shipwreck Hunter is an account of David's most intriguing and fascinating finds. It details both the meticulous research and the mid-ocean stamina and courage required to find a wreck miles beneath the sea, as well as the moving human stories that lie behind each of these oceanic tragedies.Combining the derring-do of Indiana Jones with the precision of a surgeon, in The Shipwreck Hunter David Mearns opens a porthole into the shadowy depths of the ocean.Trade ReviewThe underwater worlds of past and present collide in the depths of the ocean in this gripping and suspenseful narrative by David Mearns, a true expert on mysteries of the deep sea. * Clive Cussler *For [Mearns], setting world records and recovering centuries-old treasures is just another day at the office-or ocean, rather. * National Geographic *In 1915 Ernest Shackleton's ship SY Endurance sank into the icy depths of the Weddell Sea, never to be seen again. Her loss marked the start of what is arguably the greatest rescue in history and the ship remains a potent symbol of courage and survival. David Mearns has long wanted to pay tribute to Shackleton by finding his ship. Given David's amazing track record and outstanding abilities, I am quite sure that one day I will be able to see images of my grandfather's Endurance, no longer lost. * Alexandra Shackleton *Fascinating * Nautilus Telegraph *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA beautifully illustrated, celebratory anthology exploring sadness—and the transformative power of tears.When was the last time you cried? Was it because you were sad? Or happy? Overwhelmed, or frustrated? Maybe from relief or from pride? Was it in public or in private? Did you feel better afterwards, or worse? The reasons that we cry—and the circumstances in which we shed a tear—are often surprising and beautiful. Sad Happens is a collective, multi-faceted archive of tears that captures the complexity and variety of these circumstances. We hear from Mike Birbiglia on the role that grief and pain have in comedy; Jia Tolentino on how motherhood made her cry in both hormonal joy and fervent rage; and Hanif Abdurraqib on the intimacy of crying on planes. We hear from Phoebe Bridgers on poignant moments of departure and JP Brammer on the strange disappointments of success; Matt Berninger on becoming a crybaby in his adulthood and Hua Hsu on crying during a moment of public uncertainty. We also hear from everyday people in a range of professions: an actor on the tips she learned from drag queens about preserving a full face of makeup while crying; a zookeeper on mourning the animals who have died during her tenure; a bartender on crying in the walk-in; and a TV critic on the shows that have moved her. Brimming with humanity, this anthology is confirmation that sad happens—but so does joy, love, a sense of community, and a host of other emotions. By turns moving and affirming, Sad Happens is an emotional balm and visual delight.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom Icelandic author Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir comes a heart-wrenching thriller about a woman’s desperate quest to save the people she loves from a natural disaster. After an eight-hundred-year slumber, the volcanoes in Iceland’s most populated region are showing signs of life. Earthquakes dominate the headlines. Echoes of the devastating eruptions in the past stir unease in the people. Volcanologist Anna Arnardóttir has spent her entire life studying the volcanic powers under the earth’s crust, but even she cannot fathom the catastrophe at hand. As a series of eruptions threaten most of Iceland’s population, she’s caught off her rational guard by the most terrible natural disaster of all—love. The world as she knows it is about to fall apart, and so is her heart. Caught between the safety of a nation and her feelings for her children, her lover, and her past, Anna embarks on a dangerous journey to save the lives of the people she loves—and her soul.Trade Review“This fiercely wrought thriller from Björnsdóttir perfectly balances science and psychology…Björnsdóttir smoothly integrates geological and historical information about Iceland’s volcanos into the action. This explosive tale of adulterous passion is not just for Scandi noir fans.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “[Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir] weaves together the hearts of men and the hearts of the earth and the magma of the earth and does it so wonderfully. The Fires is a huge success. Such a profound, well-thought-out, romantic thriller.” —Kiljan, Iceland’s foremost literary TV program “A shocking love story as well as an existential speculation about the role of the mother, but first and foremost it is an extremely accomplished thriller.” —Víðsjá “The Fires is a thriller, a love story, and a tragedy. It is absolutely fantastic, though one cannot help but hope that Reykjanes will not start to shake and tremble with as much force as in the book…The Fires is a must read. Except maybe for those who are very terrified of earthquakes.” —Morgunblaðið (5 stars)

Read more less

Book SynopsisYour teenage years are some of the most stressful of your life. With pressure about grades at school, parents who just don't seem to get it, dating, and friends who drive you crazy, it's no wonder. But here's the good news! If you learn a few strategies for getting stress under control now, you'll have the skills you need to deal with problems and difficult feelings that life sends your way - in high school and beyond.The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens is a collection of simple workbook activities that will teach you to reduce your worries using a technique called mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way to be aware of your thoughts and feelings in the present moment. You can use mindfulness when you start to feel as though things are spinning out of control, so you can stop worrying about what might happen and focus instead on what's happening now.If you're like many people, you find it easy to look at your negative qualities or feel there is no way to fix your problems or stress. This book is about building on the resources, skills, and positive qualities that you might not even realize you have. It is a way to move from "I'm powerless" thinking to "I can do it!" thinking.Hundreds of teens in mindfulness-based stress reduction classes have used activities like the ones in this book, and here is what some of them have said:"I have learned to let things go and move on from bad experiences.""I felt that the coping skills learned are easy enough and effective enough to be used when I need. I now feel at the very least that I have the ability to reduce my stress.""I learned new and different ways to stay relaxed and how to deal with stress and now I don't worry much."If they can do it, so can you! By practicing the skills outlined in this workbook, you'll be well on your way to developing lasting resilience and a new kind of strength - one that comes from within. Why not get started today?

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking anthology addresses the history and challenges of using “antisemitism” and related terms as tools for historical analysis and public discourse. Drawing together seventeen chapters by prominent scholars from Europe, Israel, and the United States, the volume encourages readers to rethink assumptions regarding the nature and meaning of Jewish history and the history of relations between Jews and non-Jews.The book begins with a revised and updated version of David Engel’s seminal essay “Away from a Definition of Antisemitism.” Subsequent contributions by renowned specialists in ancient, medieval, and modern history, religious studies, and other fields explore the various and changing definitions and uses of the term “antisemitism” in a range of contexts, including ancient Rome and Greece, the Byzantine Empire, medieval Europe, early modern and modern Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom. The volume also includes a section that focuses on the Second World War, including the Holocaust and its memory. Engel offers a contemporary response to conclude the book.First published in Hebrew in 2020 as a special issue of the journal Zion: A Quarterly for Research in Jewish History in cooperation with the Zalman Shazar Center in Jerusalem, this compelling collection has already had an impact on the study of antisemitism in Israel. It is certain to become a critical resource for scholars, policymakers, and journalists researching antisemitism, Holocaust studies, and related fields.Trade Review“Ury and Miron’s volume makes a stimulating and fair-minded contribution to historiographical, theoretical, and contemporary political discussions and debates about antisemitism as a historical phenomenon and analytical category. Each essay is illuminating in its own right and as part of the whole. A rare achievement!” -- Alexandra Garbarini, Williams College“What’s in a name? This volume analyzes and deconstructs the numerous meanings of the portmanteau ‘antisemitism,’ from adjective to tool, from history to political anthropology, since antiquity through the Holocaust to present-day America. The writers challenge our use of language and concepts as way of understanding the difficulties of connecting the word to concrete historical events.” -- Sylvie Anne Goldberg, L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales“A timely debate about meaning and intention in the application of a loaded term and an insightful reflection on the connection between historical events, feelings, and discourse.” -- Orit Rozin, Tel Aviv University“Antisemitism and the Politics of History probes key ethical, political, methodological, and intellectual issues surrounding the study of antisemitism with chronological and disciplinary breadth. It seeks to answer thought-provoking questions and features established, prominent scholars alongside a new generation of researchers, thus offering a variety of voices grappling with fundamental assumptions concerning antisemitism as a concept and a historical phenomenon.” -- Magda Teter, Fordham University“Antisemitism and the Politics of History makes an essential contribution to rethinking ‘antisemitism.’ Launched by David Engel’s prod to scholars to avoid using the term ‘antisemitism’ since it often obscures more than it reveals, this set of essays interrogates the truisms, assumptions, and conventions widespread in both the academic study and popular understanding of antisemitism. Ranging across empirical analyses from the ancient world to the present, discussed alongside cutting-edge theory, a host of assumptions are interrogated so that readers are treated to new insights and new possibilities in how to think about how we think about ‘antisemitism.’” -- Jonathan Judaken, Washington University in St. LouisTable of ContentsPart I: INTRODUCTORY CONSIDERATIONS 1) Scott Ury and Guy Miron: Antisemitism: On the Meanings and Uses of a Contested Term 2) David Engel: Thinking about “Antisemitism” Part II: METHODOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS 3) Amos Morris-Reich: History and Noise 4) Susannah Heschel: Erotohistoriography: Sensory and Emotional Dimensions of Antisemitism 5) Stefanie Schüler-Springorum: Toward Entanglement Part III: PREMODERN CONTEXTUALIZATIONS 6) Adi Ophir and Ishay Rosen-Zvi: Separatism, Judeophobia, and the Birth of the Goy: On the Chickens and the Egg 7) Youval Rotman: Antisemitism and Islamophobia: A Medieval Comparison 8) Tzafrir Barzilay: The Term “Antisemitism” as a Category for the Study of Medieval Jewish History Part IV: MODERN CONTESTATIONS 9) Ofri Ilany: Feverish Preference: Philosemitism, Anti-antisemitism and Their Critics 10) Gershon Bacon: Cautious Use of the Term “Antisemitism” for Lack of an Alternative: Interwar Poland as a Case Study 11) Eli Lederhendler: America and the Keyword Battle Over “Antisemitism” 12) Arie M. Dubnov: “Fog in Channel – Continent Cut Off” Remarks on Antisemitism, Pride, and Prejudice in Britain 13) David Feldman: A Retreat from Universalism: Opposing and Defining Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Britain, ca. 1990–2018 Part V: POST-HOLOCAUST RUMINATIONS 14) Havi Dreifuss: In Defense of the Concept of “Antisemitism” in Holocaust Studies 15) Amos Goldberg and Raz Segal: “Antisemitism” as a Question in Holocaust Studies 16) Karma Ben-Johanan: Is Christian Antisemitism Possible? A History of an Intra-Catholic Debate (1965–2000) VI: CONCLUDING EXPLANATIONS 17) David Engel, Can the Circle Be Broken?

Read more less

Book Synopsis"A fascinating and funny guide to history's favorite genius-and why he still matters." -A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling authorA fascinating look into how Einstein's genius and science continues to show up in so many facets of our everyday lives and his enduring legacy as an unlikely pop culture icon.Albert Einstein was the first modern-day celebrity and, decades after his death, still has the world's most recognizable face. His influence is seen in much of the technology we use every day: GPS, remote controls, weather forecasts, even toothpaste. But it's not just Einstein's scientific discoveries that continue to shape our world. His legacy underpins the search for aliens, the rescue of refugees, the invention of time machines, and the debunking of fake news. He appears in new books, TV shows, and movies all the time-and fans are paying millions for Einstein relics at auction.Award-winning author and journalist Benyamin Cohen has a bizarre side hustle as the manager of Einstein's official social media accounts, which have 20 million followers-more than most living celebrities. In The Einstein Effect, Cohen embarks on a global quest to unearth Einstein's ongoing relevance today. Along the way, he meets scientists and celebrities, speaks to dozens with the last name Einstein (including two rabbis), and even tracks down the brain of Einstein, stolen from his body during the autopsy. Cohen shows us the myriad ways the Nobel Prize winner's influence is still with us, giving an in-depth-and often hilarious-look at the world's favorite genius like you've never seen him before.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPsst, want a whole new approach to puberty? Puberty Girl is here to help!Whether or not you've started seeing the signs of your body changing, this fab book will bring new meaning and understanding to a young girl's tween years. Yes, it can be a confusing and emotional time - but with Puberty Girl by your side, you won't need to go through puberty alone.Puberty Girl is smart, intelligent, fun, colourful and factual and TELLS IT LIKE IT IS. It talks about the big M, the V word (yep - Vagina!), the period costume, PMS, puberty power and even the B word - breasts! This beautifully illustrated book lets you know what to expect, physically and emotionally, as you tread the path to becoming a woman.Table of ContentsCHAPTER 1 Why a book on puberty? CHAPTER 2 Ooh, La La what's happening to me?CHAPTER 3 The Big M CHAPTER 4 The Period Costume CHAPTER 5 Your Body means Business CHAPTER 6 Puberty Power CHAPTER 7 I'm the boss of my Body CHAPTER 8 Work it out Girlfriend! CHAPTER 9 Puberty Girl takes on the World Glossary

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat makes a soldier? What makes a business mind? What makes a philanthropist? In this rich memoir, Canadian icon of mining finance and public service Terry Salman reflects on his remarkable life, offering inspiration and mentorship for others seeking to build their own legacies. Salman traces his journey from his modest beginnings in Montreal as the son of a Turkish immigrant father and Quebec-born mother, to the traumas of the Vietnam War, to his rise up the Canadian business world, and the growing dedication to service that earned him the Order of Canada. He recounts the moments that shaped him: the brotherhood of the U.S. Marines and the lifelong duty of loyalty and community they instilled in him; the traumas he endured as a young sergeant in Vietnam; his return to Canada and the mentors who helped guide his success; and his many roles in helping others. As he climbs the corporate ladder, his deep-seated faith and commitment to social responsibility grows. He takes on leadership roles, including chairman of the Vancouver Public Library Foundation and the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation — where he helped fund a hospice for AIDS patients — and Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Singapore. Offering an inside view at the Canadian business, political, and philanthropic landscape, What We Give is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how some are driven to succeed, and to give back

Read more less

Book SynopsisNOW WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY W. STANLEY MOSS'S DAUGHTER GABRIELLA BULLOCK AND AN AFTERWORD BY PATRICK LEIGH FERMORIll Met By Moonlight is the true story of one of the most hazardous missions of the Second World War. W. Stanley Moss is a young British officer who, along with Major Patrick Leigh Fermor, sets out in Nazi-occupied Crete to kidnap General Kreipe, Commander of the Sevastopool Division, and narrowly escaping the German manhunt, bring him off the island - a vital prisoner for British intelligence.As an account of derring-do and wartime adventure, made into a classic film starring Dirk Bogarde, Ill Met By Moonlight is one of the most brilliantly written, exciting and compelling stories to come out of the Second World War.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe computer was born to spy, and now computers are transforming espionage. But who are the spies and who is being spied on in today's interconnected world? This is the exhilarating secret history of the melding of technology and espionage. Gordon Corera's compelling narrative, rich with historical details and characters, takes us from the Second World War to the internet age, revealing the astonishing extent of cyberespionage carried out today. Drawing on unique access to intelligence agencies, heads of state, hackers and spies of all stripes, INTERCEPT is a ground-breaking exploration of the new space in which the worlds of espionage, geopolitics, diplomacy, international business, science and technology collide. Together, computers and spies are shaping the future. What was once the preserve of a few intelligence agencies now matters for us all.Trade ReviewRiveting ... Making use of excellent sources, Corera, the BBC's security correspondent, has produced a highly relevant read that addresses the key debate in intelligence gathering - the balance between privacy and security -- Stephen Dorril * THE SUNDAY TIMES *If you are looking for a clear and comprehensive guide to how communications have been intercepted, from cable-cutting in the First World War to bulk data collection exposed by Ed Snowden, this is it ... A most readable account of how computers and the internet have transformed spying -- Richard Norton-Taylor * GUARDIAN *What good timing for [this] book ... Gordon Corera's book takes us through the labyrinth of cyber-espionage ... It concerns a psychosis of control, whereby the digitisation of spying infests every cranny of our lives -- Ed Vulliamy * OBSERVER *Bleakly entertaining ... The lesson of INTERCEPT is that secret information is power, and that there is no end to the struggle to capture it and control it -- Richard Walker * CapX *Gordon Corera, best known as the security correspondent for BBC News, somehow finds time to write authoritative, well-researched and readable books on intelligence. Here he explores the evolution of computers from what used to be called signals intelligence to their transforming role in today's intelligence world. The result is an informative, balanced and revealing survey of the field in which, I suspect, most experts will find something new -- Alan Judd * SPECTATOR *Never mind all those cold-war thrillers set in 1970s Berlin. The true golden age of spying and surveillance - whether carried out by states or, increasingly, by companies - is now * ECONOMIST *

Read more less

Book SynopsisPilsners, blonde ales, India pale ales, lagers, porters, stouts: the varieties and styles of beer are endless. But as diverse as the drink is, its appeal is universal - beer is the most-consumed alcoholic beverage in the world. From pubs and inns to restaurants, bars and microbreweries, beer has made itself a staple drink around the globe. Celebrating the heritage of the world's favourite tipple, Gavin D. Smith traces beer from its earliest days to its contemporary consumption. After exploring the evolution of brewing technology, the book travels from Mexico to Milwaukee, Beijing, Bruges and beyond, demonstrating the dazzling variety of beer styles and brewing processes to be found around the world. Once brewed in monasteries to be consumed as 'liquid bread' on fast days, beer is now the drink of choice at festivals and celebrations worldwide. Containing a wealth of detail in its concise, wonderfully illustrated pages, Beer will appeal to connoisseurs and casual fans alike.Trade Review'Embellished with clever illustrations and a nice selection of historical and contemporary recipes ... [an] outstanding series of food volumes.' - Wall Street Journal 'The Edible Series contains some of the most delicious nuggets of food and drink history ever. Every volume is such a fascinating and succinct read that I had to devour each in just a single sitting ... food writing at its best!' - Ken Hom, chef and author

Read more less

Book SynopsisGilles Deleuze, the person and philosopher, was both singular and multifaceted. Frida Beckman traces Deleuze's remarkable intellectual journey, mapping the encounters from which his life and work emerged. She considers how his life and philosophical developments resonate with historical, political and philosophical events, from the Second World War to the student uprisings in the 1960s, the opening of the experimental University of Paris VIII and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although less of a public figure than many of his contemporaries, Deleuze's life and philosophy are bound up with his numerous friendships, collaborations and disputes with several of the period's most influential thinkers, as well as his connections with writers, artists and film scholars. Beckman considers the events, moods and intensities that were generated by this multiplicity of encounters throughout his life. The book follows Deleuze from the salons to which he was invited as a young student through his popularity as a young teacher to the development of the rich phases of his philosophical work.While resisting the idea of 'Deleuzians', the book also reviews a post-Deleuzian legacy and the influence of this extraordinary thinker on contemporary philosophy.Trade Review'Beckman draws from a stunning array of primary and secondary texts, interviews, and letters to offer a skillful and faithful study.' - Charles W. Stivale, Distinguished Professor of French at Wayne State University 'Beckman skillfully weaves together a narrative that moves between Deleuze's life and what he called "a life". Along the way, many of Deleuze's most important concepts are clarified and critically analyzed in a way that will make this Critical Life both a valuable resource for scholars and an excellent introduction to his life and work.' - Alan D. Schrift, F. Wendell Miller Professor of Philosophy, Grinnell College

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1945, John Randall was the first Allied officer to enter Bergen-Belsen – the concentration camp that would reveal the horrors of the Holocaust to the world. Randall was one of that league of extraordinary gentlemen handpicked for suicidally dangerous missions behind enemy lines in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany throughout the Second World War. He was a man of his class and of his times. He hated the Germans, liked the French and was unimpressed by the Americans and the Arabs. He was an outrageous flirt, as might be expected of a man who served in Phantom alongside film stars David Niven and Hugh Williams. He played rugby with Paddy Mayne, the larger-than-life colonel of the SAS and winner of four DSOs. He pushed Randolph Churchill, son of the Prime Minister, out of an aeroplane. He wined and dined in nightclubs as part of the generation that lived for each day because they might not see another.This extraordinary true story, partly based on previously unpublished diaries, presents a different slant on that mighty war through the eyes of a restless young man eager for action and adventure.Trade Review‘The man who stumbled on HELL: His place in history has never been revealed. His memoir recounts how he uncovered the horrors of Belsen’ * Daily Mail *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe chief prosecution witness in the Moors Murders trial gives his account of the case after more than four decades of silenceDespite standing as chief prosecution witness in the Moors Murders trial, David Smith was vilified by the public due to the accusations thrown at him by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady about his involvement in their crimes. Hindley's later confession that she and Brady had lied in an attempt to reduce their sentences did little to diminish the slurs against his name. For over four decades, Smith was asked by writers and film-makers to tell his story. Apart from a handful of brief interviews, he always refused. Carol Ann Lee met Smith during her research for One of Your Own, her critically acclaimed biography of Hindley, following which he finally agreed to reveal all. In Evil Relations (previously published as Witness), interviews, archival research and, most significantly, David Smith's own vivid memoir are fused to create an unforgettable, often harrowing account of his life before, during and after the Moors Murders.David Smith lived in rural Ireland with his wife prior to his death in May 2012. He is survived by four children and several grandchildren. Carol Ann Lee is an acclaimed biographer and has written extensively on the Holocaust. Her most recent publication, One of Your Own, focused on the life and death of Myra Hindley.Trade ReviewIf you thought nothing more could possibly be written about the harrowing Moors Murders, you were wrong. David Smith was there and his story is both chilling and sad * Manchester Evening News *Deeply affecting (****) * Daily Express *

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Inspirational" - The Daily Mail"Sarah Sands has written about stillness with an eloquence that fizzes with vitality and wit. This wonderful book charts a journey to some of the most beautiful and tranquil places on earth, and introduces us to people whose inner peace is a balm for our troubled times. I loved every page of it." - Nicholas HytnerSuffering from information overload, unable to sleep, Sarah Sands, former editor of the BBC's Today programme, has tried many different strategies to de-stress... only to reject them because, as she says, all too often they threaten to become an exercise in self-absorption.Inspired by the ruins of an ancient Cistercian abbey at the bottom of her Norfolk garden, she begins to research the lives of the monks who once resided there, and realises how much we may have to learn from monasticism.Renouncing the world, monks and nuns have acquired a hidden knowledge of how to live: they labour, they learn and they acquire 'the interior silence'. This book is a quest for that hidden knowledge - a pilgrimage to ten monasteries round the world.From a Coptic desert community in Egypt to a retreat in the Japanese mountains, we follow Sands as she identifies the common characteristics of monastic life and the wisdoms to be learned from them; and as she discovers, behind the cloistered walls, a clarity of mind and an unexpected capacity for solitude which enable her, after years of insomnia, to experience that elusive, dreamless sleep.Trade Review'Inspirational' * Daily Mail *'Sarah Sands has written about stillness with an eloquence that fizzes with vitality and wit. This wonderful book charts a journey to some of the most beautiful and tranquil places on earth, and introduces us to people whose inner peace is a balm for our troubled times. I loved every page of it.' * Nicholas Hytner *'This book shows that tranquillity of spirit is worth searching for.' * John Humphrys *'This is a book which goes beyond history to the needs of human nature. It is a balm for our times.' * Elizabeth Adenkule, Archdeacon of Hackney *'In tumultuous times, monasteries are the ideal place for believers and non-believers alike to seek peace and reflection. Sarah Sands is the perfect guide to these sites of solace, a Patrick Leigh Fermor for the soul.' * Matt d’Ancona *'A fascinating journey, from the cauldron of the newsroom to the peace of monasteries.' * Alice Thomson *'Magical... Bright... Captivating.' -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *'I loved the mix of far-off destinations and the spiritual journey. This is a brilliant book and an antidote to our 24/7 culture.' * Melanie Mcdonagh *'Gripping... Witty... Poignant, and a fable of our times.' -- Dan Hitchens * UnHerd *'A charming and quirky homage to A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor... The pulling of [Sands'] natural twinkling merriment against her genuine desire to explore spirituality and silence is what makes this book so lovable.' -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * The Spectator *'An engaging and satisfying book challenging us to consider the priorities each of us have chosen, and inviting us to consider how best we can find the interior silence by which we can know ourselves and the world around us better.' -- Reverend Marcus Walker * The Times *'A beautifully written, self-deprecating, self-doubting, and fortunately timed book.' -- William Cash * Catholic Herald *

Read more less