Social classes Books

Book SynopsisImpeccably researched and skillfully articulated, Silva''s work is a timely primer on the current state of blue-collar Millennials. --Publishers Weekly[A] brief yet devastating book that blends academic analysis and oral history to put a new face on well-documented trends that are more usually described in the abstract. --Boston GlobeSilva has made a major contribution to understanding where young adults are coming from, what influences them, and what they consider to be common sense. --The American ConservativeFascinating --Feministing.com[A]n enjoyable read and raises important issues that we generally overlook. --Washington Independent Review of BooksComing Up Short is a brief, but powerful, update of the status, difficulties, behaviors and distresses that characterize the lives of young working class adults.... highly recommended for sociologists and social welfare students and academics alike. It informs in telling detail the difficult circumstances and self-perceptions of a significant portion of the American population. It is also a window into how the ''helping professions'' have influenced the thinking of young adults and suggests that those professions need to help their clients see their troubles in broader terms than they apparently currently do. --Journal of Sociology & Social WelfareWhat does it mean to grow up today as working-class young adults? How does the economic and social instability left in the wake of neoliberalism shape their identities, their understandings of the American Dream, and their futures?Coming Up Short illuminates the transition to adulthood for working-class men and women. Moving away from easy labels such as the Peter Pan generation, Jennifer Silva reveals the far bleaker picture of how the erosion of traditional markers of adulthood-marriage, a steady job, a house of one''s own-has changed what it means to grow up as part of the post-industrial working class. Based on one hundred interviews with working-class people in two towns-Lowell, Massachusetts, and Richmond, Virginia-Silva sheds light on their experience of heightened economic insecurity, deepening inequality, and uncertainty about marriage and family. Silva argues that, for these men and women, coming of age means coming to terms with the absence of choice. As possibilities and hope contract, moving into adulthood has been re-defined as a process of personal struggle-an adult is no longer someone with a small home and a reliable car, but someone who has faced and overcome personal demons to reconstruct a transformed self. Indeed, rather than turn to politics to restore the traditional working class, this generation builds meaning and dignity through the struggle to exorcise the demons of familial abuse, mental health problems, addiction, or betrayal in past relationships. This dramatic and largely unnoticed shift reduces becoming an adult to solitary suffering, self-blame, and an endless seeking for signs of progress. This powerfully written book focuses on those who are most vulnerable-young, working-class people, including African-Americans, women, and single parents-and reveals what, in very real terms, the demise of the social safety net means to their fragile hold on the American Dream.Trade ReviewImpeccably researched and skillfully articulated, Silva's work is a timely primer on the current state of blue-collar Millennials. * Publishers Weekly *Table of Contents1. Coming of Age in a Risk Society ; 2. Prisoners of the Present ; 3. Insecure Intimacies ; 4. Hardened Selves ; 5. Coming of Age in the "Mood Economy" ; Conclusion: The Hidden Injuries of Risk ; Notes ; References ; Index

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Book SynopsisFrom Reconstruction to Lyndon Johnson and beyond, Jill Quadagno reveals how American social policy has continuously foundered on issues of race. She draws on extensive primary research to show how social programmes became entwined with the civil rights movement and subsequently suffered by association at the hands of a white backlash.Trade Review"Important....A major contribution."--Frances Fox Piven, co-author of Why Americans Don't Vote and Regulating the Poor "A sweeping and detailed account of the U.S. health insurance system's development during the 20th century. ...One Nation Uninsured is a clearly written, informative book that would be of interest to academics studying health care, politics, policy or U.S. history, and members of the lay public who want a better understanding of why the United States does not have universal health insurance. It would also be accessible to students, particularly those in advanced undergraduate courses or graduate seminars."--Social Forces "Outstanding and thought provoking."--Free Press "What distinguishes Quadagno's depiction is its forceful interjection of racial issues into the heart of welfare policy analysis. The result is a suggestive and informative reconsideration....Written in limpid, unpretentious prose, The Color of Welfare contains numerous gems of policy analysis."--American Journal of Sociology "What distinguishes Quadagno's depiction is its forceful interjection of racial issues into the heart of welfare policy analysis. The result is a suggestive and informative reconsideration....Written in limpid, unpretentious prose, The Color of Welfare contains numerous gems of policy analysis (including fresh treatments of employment, housing, and day care policy and, best of all, of President Mixon's ill-fated Family Assistance Plan [FAP])."--American Journal of Sociology "Quadagno demonstrates convincingly that race, class, and gender are essential analytical categories for those who hope to understand the nation's past and to design public hope to understand the nation's past and to design public policies for its future. [A] timely, well-researched study."--Booklist "This important book provides a lucid and perceptive analysis of the War on Poverty and the turbulent race politics which surrounded and ultimately engulfed it. More than that, by placing racial inequality at the very center of her analysis, Jill Quadagno makes a major contribution to our understanding of the distinctive development of the American welfare state."--Frances Fox Piven, co-author of Why Americans Don't Vote and Regulating the Poor "A leading authority on the American welfare state, Jill Quadagno makes a compelling case for her thesis that racism has done more than any other fact to limit generous and dignified public social provision in the United States. Scholars, students, and policy-makers all have much to learn from this important book."--Theda Skocpol, author of Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States "A telling analysis of race as the key faultline of American social policy."--Joel Blau, author of The Visible Poor: Homelessness in the U.S. "The graceful prose of Jill Quadagno's new book conceals a hard-hitting argument about the critical importance of racism in shaping the American welfare state. Based on exhaustive research in primary sources, she tells a story which has not been told before. Even child care programs, not to mention family assistance, job training, and housing programs have been decisively shaped by the politics of race. Theoretically, her argument challenges the claim that America's 'liberal values' have been a main barrier to the expansion of the American welfare state."--Robert R. Alford, author of Health Care Politics "A sweeping and detailed account of the U.S. health insurance system's development during the 20th century. ...One Nation Uninsured is a clearly written, informative book that would be of interest to academics studying health care, politics, policy or U.S. history, and members of the lay public who want a better understanding of why the United States does not have universal health insurance. It would also be accessible to students, particularly those in advanced undergraduate courses or graduate seminars."--Social Forces

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Book SynopsisSince its publication in 1984, Chants Democratic has endured as a classic narrative on labor and the rise of American democracy. In it, Sean Wilentz explores the dramatic social and intellectual changes that accompanied early industrialization in New York. He provides a panoramic chronicle of New York City''s labor strife, social movements, and political turmoil in the eras of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Twenty years after its initial publication, Wilentz has added a new preface that takes stock of his own thinking, then and now, about New York City and the rise of the American working class.Trade Review"Certainly the best book yet written about the emergence of New York City's working class and a major contribution to American working-class history."--The New Republic"[Chants Democratic] is nothing less than a scholarly epic...it has no equal in breadth of subject, grace of style or acuity of interpretation."--The Nation"A great leap forward in both American social and American political history....Wilentz has written the statement on Jacksonian New York."--Journal of American History"Chants Democratic is a remarkable book that will quickly establish itself in the historiography and exert a powerful influence on the future direction of social, labor, and political history."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History"Gives the student of the Jacksonian Era an insider's look at the developing labor system of the northern industrialization process. In my 'Voices of the Union' course I use Chants to contrast the young republic's divergent and conflicting concepts of the Union, including its ideologic, economic, political, religious, and historical identities."--Wayne Cutler, University of Tennessee"A brilliant book."--U. Scharff, University of New Mexico"Wilentz's Chants Democratic gives the student of the JACKSONIAN ERA an insider's look at the developing labor system of the northern industrialization process. In my "Voices of Union" course, I use hants to contrast the young Republic's divergent and conflicting concepts of the Union, inclusing its ieologic, economic, political, religious, and historical identities."--Professor Wayne Cutler, University of Tennessee

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Book SynopsisMagraw examines how the 19-century French bourgeoisie struggled and succeeded in consolidating the gains it made in 1789. Incorporating research on religion and anticlericalism, the devolopment of the economy, the role of women in society and the educational system, he defends the view that the French revolution was indeed a "bourgeois revolution".Trade Review"A fine, thoughtful, and intellectually courageous book--bold in its interpretations and measured in its assessments."--Jane Clement Bond, Baruch College, City University of New York"Magraw writes in a compact, clear style."--History: Review of New Books"A successful synthesis of the historical literature that has emerged in the last 20 years."--Raymond Jonas, University of Washington

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Book SynopsisIn his controversial 1973 book, Is God a White Racist?, William R. Jones sharply criticized black theologians for their agnostic approach to black suffering, noting that the doctrine of an ominibenevolent God poses very significant problems for a perennially oppressed community. He proposed a humanocentric theism which denies God''s sovereignty over human history and imputes autonomous agency to humans. By rendering humans alone responsible for moral evil, Jones''s theology freed blacks to revolt against the evil of oppression without revolting against God. Sherman Jackson now places Jones''s argument in conversation with the classical schools of Islamic theology. The problem confronting the black community is not simply proving that God exists, says Jackson. The problem, rather, is establishing that God cares. No religious expression that fails to tackle the problem of black suffering can hope to enjoy a durable tenure in the black community. For the Muslim, therefore, it is essentialTrade ReviewJackson's work has added a thought-provoking response by Islamic studies and is long overdue in the debate of Black theodicy. * Black Diaspora Review *It goes without saying that any theological discussion is bound to be academic, yet this is an excellent book and a fascinating read. * ARNet *Jackson's book is a work of theology, and in this dimension it is a skillfully argued plea for Islam as a religion capable of meeting the challenge of black suffering as well as a clear explication of Islamic theodicy. It remarkably succeeds in both the academic register and as a sustained personal plea. * The Azanian Sea *Jackson is a welcome addition to the writings of American Islamic scholars, most of whom are non-idigenous Muslims; such thinkers are not qualified to write from an Islamic-centric perspective about the numourous social, political, and economical ills that plague Muslim African Americans. * Yusef Sala, BEACON *Islam and the Problem of Black Suffering warrants high praise for it's scholarship and deserves the attention of Islamic jurists, imams, religious scholars, and coverts. * Latif A. Tarik, Aerican Public University *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; William R. Jones and Challenge of Black Theodicy ; The Perduring Problem of Blackness: Beyond Ontological Suffering ; Chapter One: The Formative Development of Classical Muslim Theology ; The Arabians and Atheological "Peripheral Vision" ; Muhammad b. Idris al-Shafi'i and the Arabian Versus Arab Regime of Sense ; Traditionalism and Rationalism: The Rhetoric of Transcendence and the False Detente ; Chapter Two: Mu'tazilism and Black Theodicy ; Early Development and Basic Contours of Mu'tazilite Theology ; Relevant Details of Mu'tazilite Theology ; Mu'tazilism and Jones ; Chapter Three: Ash'arism and Black Theodicy ; Early Development and Basic Contours of Ash'arite Theology ; Relevant Details of Ash'arite Theology ; Ash'arism and Jones ; Chapter Four: Maturidism and Black Theodicy ; Early Development and Basic Contours of Maturidite Theology ; Relevant Details of Maturidite Theology ; Maturidism and Jones ; Chapter Five: Traditionalism and Black Theodicy ; Early Development and Basic Contours of Traditionalism ; Relevant Details of Tradtionalist Theology ; Traditionalism and Jones ; Conclusion ; Notes ; Bibliography

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Book SynopsisBringing together leading scholars to investigate trends in contemporary social life, this book examines the current patterning of identities based on class and community, gender and generation, 'race', faith and ethnicity, and derived from popular culture, exploring debates about social change, individualization and the re-making of social class.Trade Review'This important collection of original essays, using state-of-the-art quantitative and qualitative methods, offers fascinating insights into the complex ways that power relations inscribe contemporary social identities.' - Professor Mike Savage, the University of Manchester, UK 'This is an important book on multicultural Britain. It grounds theoretical debates in richly textured empirical analyses, and parts of the book read like a good novel, with real lives and histories unfolding in front of our eyes. Students and professional academics interested in the changing dynamics of social identities in contemporary societies especially culturally diverse societies such as the U.S, Brazil, South Africa, or India - should read this book. Humanists in particular will find this work done by their colleagues in the social sciences very illuminating, and it will suggest ways that humanists and social scientists can work together to explore topics of common interest. Social identity, the focus of this volume, is clearly one such topic.' - Satya P. Mohanty Professor of English, Cornell University, and Director of the International Future of Minority Studies (FMS) Summer Institute (www.fmsproject.cornell.edu), USA '...this edited collection delivers the greatest beneficial impact when read in themed sections; however, it is certainly flexible if the reader only wishes to focus on a specific research project. An essential read for all those interested in contemporary formations of identity in the 21st century.' - Michelle Addison, Newcastle University UK, SociologyTable of ContentsIntroduction - Negotiating Liveable Lives: Intelligibility and Identity in Contemporary Britain; M.Wetherell Part I: CLASS AND COMMUNITY Individualisation and the Decline of Class Identity; A.Heath, J.Curtice & G.Elgenius 'I Don't Want to be Classed, But We Are All Classed': Making Liveable Lives Across Generations; B.Rogaly & B.Taylor Steel, Identity, Community: Regenerating Identities in a South Wales Town; V.Walkerdine White Middle-Class Identity Work Through 'Against the Grain' School Choices; D.James, D.Reay, G.Crozier, F.Jamieson, P.Beedell, S.Hollingworth & K.Williams Part II: ETHNICITIES AND ENCOUNTERS Ethnicities Without Guarantees: An Empirical Approach; R.Harris & B.Rampton 'Con-Viviality' and Beyond: Identity Dynamics in a Young Men's Prison; R.Earle & C.Phillips Imagining the 'Other'/Figuring Encounter: White English Middle-Class and Working-Class Identifications; S.Clarke, S.Garner & R.Gilmour The Subjectivities of Young Somali: The Impact of Processes of Disidentification and Disavowal; G.Valentine & D.Sporton Living London: Women Negotiating Identities in a Post-Colonial City; R.Cox, S.Jackson, M.Khatwa & D.Kiwan Part III: Popular Culture and Relationality The Making of Modern Motherhoods: Storying an Emergent Identity; R.Thomson, M.J.Kehily, L.Hadfield & S.Sharpe The Allure of Belonging: Young People's Drinking Practices and Collective Identification; C.Griffin, A.Bengry-Howell, C.Hackley, W.Mistral & I.Szmigin The Transformation of Intimacy: Classed Identities in the Moral Economy of Reality Television; B.Skeggs & H.Wood

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Book SynopsisFor nine hundred years the British aristocracy has considered itself ideally qualified to rule others, make laws and guide the fortunes of the nation. Tracing the history of this remarkable supremacy, ARISTOCRATS is a story of wars, intrigue, chicanery and extremes of both selflessness and greed. James also illuminates how the aristocracy''s infatuation with classical art has forged our heritage, how its love of sport has shaped our pastimes and values - and how its scandals have entertained the public. Impeccably researched, balanced and brilliantly entertaining, ARISTOCRATS is an enthralling history of power, influence and an extraordinary knack for survival.Trade Review** 'An accessible history of the last 900 years through the perspective of the aristocracy . . . Well-written . . . Admire the range, drive and verve of James's study * BBC History Magazine *** 'Entertaining * Daily Telegraph *** 'A thousand years of privilege is not easily maintained . . . Lawrence James shows exactly how the process has worked in Britain * The Times *** 'James's sprightly study is rich in anecdote and detail * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisExtraordinarily creative . . . an important and engrossing contribution to a complex and elusive subject.-Newsweek

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Book Synopsis"This is cultural history of the first order, and it is liberal and humane history at its very best."—David CannadineTrade Review"Through Gay's eyes we can get a warmer, more vivid and more accurate sense of the 'bourgeois experience' than has ever been available before." Sunday Telegraph "Schnitzler's Century is really a love story. [Gay's] latest book allows him to show off in a field he has made his own. [He] takes his chance elegantly and always interestingly." Andrew Lycett, Literary Review "Gay's own psychoanalytical approach is shown to brilliant and convincing effect... Schnitzler's Century [is] told with wisdom, wit and sensitivity." Financial Times

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Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color. WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ms. magazine, BookRiot, Library Journal “This is the book I’ve been waiting for.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist Look for the author’s podcast, The Sum of Us, based on this book!Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis of 2008 to rising student

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Book SynopsisThe telegraph, telephone, and television, not to mention the Internet and mobile telephony, are all forms of communication that move information faster than the speed at which objects move. Both labor and capital and armies and commodities once moved at the same speed as the information organizing them.Trade Review"An accessible, provocative vision of class politics for a world where the speed of information seems more important than solidity of material objects." Media International Australia "From Sydney to New York, the real to the virtual, the theoretical to the practical and back again, McKenzie Wark charts the vectors of a new space that is neither here nor there and yet is transforming society and the economy in unprecedented ways. By exposing what is hiding in plain sight, Telesthesia challenges us to fashion a new politics of creative disruption. This book is provocative, insightful and timely." Mark C. Taylor, Columbia University "Telesthesia continues McKenzie Wark’s sharp observations on recent media life. Well-informed on both cultural-political theory and media practices, Wark’s studies are highly recommended for students of all levels. And he writes with incredible grace." Mark Poster, University of California, IrvineTable of ContentsHow to Occupy an AbstractionFresh Maimed BabiesNeither Here Nor ThereSpeaking TrajectoriesCruising Virilio's Overexposed CityArchitectronics of the MultitudeWeird Global Media Event and Vectoral UnconsciousSecuring SecurityGame and Play in Everyday LifeThe Gift Shop at the End of HistoryFrom Intellectual Persona to Hacker InterfaceDisco Marxism vs Techno MarxismThe Vectoral Class and its AntipodesFrom Disco Marxism to Praxis (Object Oriented)Considerations on A Hacker ManifestoAfter Politics: To the Vector the SpoilsThe Little Sisters Are Watching YouShit is Fucked Up and BullshitLast Words and Key WordsAcknowledgementsNotes

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Book SynopsisA graphic portrayal of the sharecropper's plight. This book documents the living conditions of the sharecroppers, America's poor rural underclass. Supported by commentary, the poor tell how the tenant system exploited whites and blacks alike and fostered animosity between them.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the structures and texture of rural social relationships, using one type of document found in abundance over all the four component parts of Britain and Ireland: petitions from tenants to their landlords. The book offers unexpected angles on many aspects of society and economy on estates in the 17th and 18th centuries.Trade Review“This is an innovative book. It draws on a neglected body of documents to shed light on rural society in parts of Britain which are too often seen as peripheral to its economic and social development. It offers a great deal of food for thought that future historians would be wise to build upon.” (Jane Whittle, English Historical Review, Vol. 131 (551), August, 2016)Table of ContentsPART I: INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING THE RURAL SOCIETIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES 1. 'Unimportant Minorities': The Landholding Peasantry of Britain and Ireland, C.1600-1850 2. People Above and Below: 'Landlordism', 'Estate Studies', and Relationships Between Owners and Workers of Land 3. Methodologies: The Practice and Theory of Petitions, and the Choice Of Estates PART II: LANDED ESTATES: PERSONNEL, ORGANISATION, DOCUMENTATION, AND ELEMENTS OF VARIANCE 4. Stewards and Other Estate Officials 5. The Estates and the Petitions 6. Petitions and the Rhythms of Estate Life 7. Empty Spaces: The Missing Estate Petitions of Eighteenth- and Early-Nineteenth-Century Wales PART III: AUTHORSHIP, PHYSICAL FORM, AND WRITTEN STYLE OF PETITIONS 8. Authenticity and Authorship 9. Physical Form 10. Address 11. Ending 12. Delivery and Receipt PART IV: THE CONTENT OF PETITIONS 13. The North of Ireland, C.1750-1850 14. North-West England, c.1600-1800 15. The Highland Margin of Scotland, C.1770-1860 V. LAND, PSYCHOLOGY, AND THE 'HARD SURFACES OF LIFE': ASKING FOR POOR RELIEF ON LANDED ESTATES 16. Poverty and Self-Help in North-West England and Wales 17. Petitioning For Relief on Breadalbane: Estate Policy, Family Life, and Strategies for Care 18. Poverty and its Relief in the North of Ireland: The Place of the Estate 19. Psychology and Necessity: Attachment to the Land in Parts of Scotland and Ireland PART VI: CONCLUSION: THE LANDLORDS AND TENANTS OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND 20. Paternalism and Deference 21. Oppressions, Freedoms, and their Politico-Legal Context 22. The Texture of Rural Society In Parts Of Britain And Ireland

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Book SynopsisWhy were the European middle classes ready to acquiesce in neo-liberalism?Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisPatrick O'Meara is Emeritus Professor of Russian and former Master of Van Mildert College, Durham University, where he worked from 2004 to 2011. He taught in the Russian Department at Trinity College Dublin for 30 years and was elected an Honorary Fellow in 2013. He has published extensively on the political history of Alexander I's reign and on the Decembrists in particular.Trade ReviewPatrick O’Meara draws on extensive research to offer a highly informative, richly detailed, and expertly curated history of the Russian nobility during the reign of Alexander I … O’Meara’s thoroughly insightful guide to the Alexandrine period in Russian social and political history is a welcome addition to the library of any scholar interested in the history of Russia in the nineteenth century. * The Russian Review *[In] the course of O’Meara’s excellent analysis of the legal status, education, state service and political struggles of the Russian nobility, as well as their relationship with Alexander I, he gives us a wealth of evidence of this nobility’s diversity by providing rich descriptions of its differing segments and factions. It is an enlightening and engaging piece of scholarship. * European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire *It has been said that 1848 was a turning point when Europe “failed to turn.” Russia reached a similar juncture under Alexander I. For a brief moment, it seemed that the Tsar, supported by a minority of progressive nobles, might free the serfs, issue a constitution, and enable Russia’s successful entry into the modern age. Why this did not happen is the subject of this outstandingly researched and argued book. Weaving together noble society and culture, provincial and imperial politics, and the debates among the Russian elite, Patrick O’Meara provides a masterful interpretation of early 19th century Russia that is both stimulating to the expert and accessible to the novice. * Alexander Martin, Professor of History, University of Notre Dame, US *Based on extensive sources, including memoirs and local archives, this is an authoritative account which explains the role played by nobles in the Russian Empire, the flawed policies of Alexander I, and the subsequent parting of the ways between the Tsar and the educated noble elite by the end of his reign. It will become the standard work on the subject. * Janet Hartley, Professor of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science *A commanding work of synthesis, this volume offers a dispassionate, richly textured portrait of the Russian nobility, this amorphous, hugely diverse and layered, at once supine and self-important estate, whose historical responsibility has divided historians. O’Meara deftly surveys the territory, taking the reader into a lucid and comprehensive analysis of political culture in the age of Alexander I, while also allowing the voices of contemporaries to speak directly to us. This surely will be a lasting work of reference. * Professor Andreas Schonle, Head of the School of Modern Languages, University of Bristol *In this fundamental work all aspects of the history of the Russian nobility of the first quarter of the XIX century are considered. The work is based on extensive documentary material, in particular, archival documents found by the author in the central metropolitan and provincial archives. A great creative success is the author's approach to the presentation of the material: the book combines generalizing conclusions and various cases that demonstrate the diversity of the fates of the nobility. In general, we can say that the book Patrick O’Meara will be a very significant event in the history of the study of the Russian nobility. * Elena Marasinova, Professor at the Higher School of Economics, Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences *This book gives us a persuasive, vivid and extensive exposition of its specified subject. It is an impressive scholarly achievement and will be required reading for those interested in Russia in the early nineteenth century. It is also well written, a good read, and a well-produced volume. * Journal of European Studies *Patrick O’Meara informs us that the aim of his book ‘is to offer its readers a densely textured social and political portrait of the Russian nobility’ during the reign of Alexander I. The work succeeds admirably in this regard. * European History Quarterly *O'Meara's work offers a broad and articulated picture of the nobility ... It is undoubtedly a major advance on previous research and may also be the starting point for future historical and legal studies. * Journal of Constitutional History *In today’s world of seemingly infinite access to information, this is precisely the sort of book that seasoned scholars and advanced students need (and want) to read. Indeed, for anyone beginning a project on the Russian nobility or the age of Alexander I, O’Meara’s study is a productive place to start ... Put simply and unequivocally, O’Meara’s book is a delight to read. * History *The Russian Nobility in the Age of Alexander I is a very well-written scholarly work that paints a political portrait of the Russian nobility during the reign of Alexander I. … This book can be highly recommended to anyone with an interest in any of these topics. * International Journal of Russian Studies *

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Book SynopsisMiddle class executives are the people who've done everything right - gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills and build up impressive resumes - yet they have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster. In Bait and Switch, Ehrenreich enters a shadowy world of Internet job searches, lonely networking events and costly career-coaching sessions, a world in which 'professional' mentors and trainers offer pop-psychology and self-help mantras to desperate would-be employees. Poignant and blackly funny, Bait and Switch delivers a stark warning about the future that faces corporate employees everywhere and calls for collective action to guard against it.

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Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of Listen, Liberal and What’s the Matter with Kansas, a scathing collection of interlocking essays perfect for this political moment. With his trademark sardonic wit and lacerating logic, New York Times–bestselling author Thomas Frank takes us on a tour through present-day America, showing us a society in the late stages of disintegration. Holding nothing back, Frank skewers both the right and left, and rages about the systematic inequality that led, in 2016, to millions of anxious, ordinary people rallying to the presidential campaign of a billionaire who meant them no good. For those who despair of the future of America and of reason itself, Rendezvous with Oblivion is a booster shot of energy, reality, and moral outrage.Trade Review‘Frank’s combination of insightful analysis, moral passion, and keen satirical wit make these essays both entertaining and an important commentary on the times.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘These essays are sharp-tongued snippets of the history of the last seven years, with reference to those that preceded them … Well done, Mr. Frank. May we please have some more?’ * Liz Burton, Portable Soup *‘The collected essays in Rendezvous show Frank’s commentary to not only be insightful, but more importantly eminently readable. He has a distinctive, sardonic style, that somehow makes even the discussion of the calamities of recent times engaging and entertaining.’ * The AU Review *

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