Search results for ""Cornel West" "Democracy Matters""

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Uncompromising and unconventional . . . Cornel West is an eloquent prophet with attitude.” —Newsweek“West reveals himself as a thinker of dazzling erudition, whose critiques are inevitably balanced by an infectious optimism and magnanimity of spirit.” —The Village VoiceTable of Contents1. Democracy Matters Are Frightening in Our Time2. Nihilism In America3. The Deep Democratic Traditioni in America4. Forging New Jewish and Islamic Democratic Identities5. The Crisis of Christian Identity in America6. The Necessary Engagement with Youth Culture7. Putting On Our Democratic ArmorAcknowledgmentsIndex

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Book SynopsisSilver medalist for the IPPY award for Current Events in 2016!Racial Realities and Post-Racial Dreams is a moral call, a harkening and quickening of the spirit, a demand for recognition for those whose voices are whispered. Julius Bailey straddles the fence of social-science research and philosophy, using empirical data and current affairs to direct his empathy-laced discourse. He turns his eye to President Obama and his critics, racism, income inequality, poverty, and xenophobia, guided by a prophetic thread that calls like-minded visionaries and progressives to action. The book is an honest look at the current state of our professed city on a hill and the destruction left on the darker sides of town.Trade Review“Julius Bailey is a grand prophetic intellectual with deep roots in the Black freedom struggle and genuine routes to new radical democratic possibilities. Racial Realities and Post-Racial Dreams is a courageous and powerful text, indispensable for any serious reflection about the future of America and the world!” — Cornel West, author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters“Julius Bailey has written our generation’s Race Matters. There are many books in the canon of ‘Obama,’ but Bailey seeks to answer questions around moral reasoning and provides a clarion call for change.” — Duchess Harris, Professor and Chair of American Studies, Macalester College“This is Julius Bailey’s most important work to date. The book provides a critical, urgent, and courageous meditation on the current American racial landscape. Drawing from Western philosophy, prophetic criticism, and Black arts and culture, Bailey spotlights the political, economic, and existential challenges confronted by the American body politic. Equally important, he offers a pathway for creating a more humane, loving, safe, and just world.” — Marc Lamont Hill, Distinguished Professor of African American Studies, Morehouse College, and CNN Political Commentator“Dr. Bailey hits the nail on the head … as he perspicaciously confronts and reverses the flawed discourse of success specific to racism in America. As only he can, he sharpens the readers’ thinking with a much-needed cultural candor unique to his profound intellect. Dr. Bailey is masterful here in calling out cowardice and calling for courage.” — Dr. Chandra Gill, CEO, Blackademically Speaking EnterprisesTable of ContentsForeword by Rev. Dr. Michael L. PflegerAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: “I, Too, Sing America”Chapter 1: “I Can’t Breathe!” “So What! F✻✻✻ Your Breath”Chapter 2: Obama and the Myth of a Post-Racial AmericaChapter 3: Racism: The Long March to Freedom and the New Jim CrowChapter 4: Xenophobia: America Inside OutChapter 5: Poverty: A Load Too Heavy to BearChapter 6: Income Inequality: The Unbridgeable GapChapter 7: Repositioning the Moral ArcWorks Cited

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Book SynopsisA contemporary companion to C. Wright Mills' landmark work The Power Elite, Heather Gautney provides a fresh critique of elites for the new millennium and an updated, comprehensive look at the structure of American power and its tethers around the world.Trade ReviewBuilding on the rich legacy of Franz Neumann and C. Wright Mills, Heather Gautney's brilliant and courageous book lays bare the complex dynamics of the corporate, political, military, and cultural elites who vacate public life and common good with vast greed and manipulated fear! This powerful and profound text shows what the road to American fascism looks like if we do not heed her call for radical democratic action! * Cornel West, former Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy, Harvard University, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University, and author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters *In this sweeping historical account, Gautney not only details the increasing concentration of power and wealth in the hands of corporate, political, military, and media elites, but also skillfully analyzes the economic and political structures that facilitate this process. This worthy successor to Mills' classic polemic reveals the enormous obstacles that face any project for democracy and equality in the US. * Michael Hardt, author of The Subversive 70s *In the half century since the pioneering sociologist C.W. Mills published The Power Elite, the rulers of this country have grown richer than Midas, more rapacious, more unaccountable even as they've become more hostile to the interests of the general welfare. Now, Heather Gautney gives us a much-needed follow-up study into how the ruling class rules, how it maintains such misery in the midst of extraordinary wealth. Gautney's research should be required reading for all. Make it the one-city-one-book for every town and college in the nation. Hand it out to new citizens at their swearing-in ceremonies. Quickly publish a young-adult version for children. Read it, and act. * Greg Grandin, Peter V. and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History, Yale University *At a time of extreme wealth inequality and billionaire dominance, Gautney places the critical observations of C. Wright Mills into new historic context. The New Power Elite illuminates, with sociological imagination and insight, the new structures of concentrated wealth and power that have captured our politics, culture, and economy. An essential read for our oligarchic times. * Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy Studies, and author of The Wealth Hoarders *This illuminating volume helps readers understand events from the overthrow of the democratically elected Chilean government in 1973 to the power dynamics and erosion of social norms that set the stage for the January 6 insurrection in the US. * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: The Power Elite Chapter 1: The State, Part I Chapter 2: The State, Part II Chapter 3: The Military Chapter 4: Wall Street Chapter 5: Billionaires Chapter 6: Celebrity Chapter 7: Publics Conclusion Notes Index

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Book SynopsisFeatured on the front page of the New York Times, Our Declaration is already regarded as a seminal work that reinterprets the promise of American democracy through our founding text. Combining a personal account of teaching the Declaration with a vivid evocation of the colonial world between 1774 and 1777, Allen, a political philosopher renowned for her work on justice and citizenship reveals our nation’s founding text to be an animating force that not only changed the world more than two-hundred years ago, but also still can. Challenging conventional wisdom, she boldly makes the case that the Declaration is a document as much about political equality as about individual liberty. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Our Declaration is an “uncommonly elegant, incisive, and often poetic primer on America’s cardinal text” (David M. Kennedy).Trade Review"The book is a tour de force of close textual analysis." -- Gordon S. Wood - New York Review of Books"Our Declaration is an artful, often elegiac meditation on the meaning of Jefferson's famous words for our time. Allen brings the analytical skills of a philosopher, the voice of a gifted memorialist, and the spirit of a soulful humanist to the task at hand, and manages to do something quite rare, find new meaning in Jefferson’s understanding of equality." -- Joseph J. Ellis, author of Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence"Our Declaration sets forth a bold thesis… Allen’s passion for each of the Declaration’s 1,337 words is admirable." -- Steven B. Smith - New York Times Book Review"This wise and rich book is what we need in these troubled times—a robust and persuasive defense of equality and liberty grounded in our national scripture. Danielle Allen is a towering political philosopher of the democratic art of being and a force for good!" -- Cornel West, author of Democracy Matters: Winning the War on Imperialism"Danielle Allen celebrates the Declaration of Independence by reading it closely—line by line, comma by comma—and invites her fellow citizens to do the same. The result is a richly rewarding book that demonstrates the pleasures of slow reading, the power of words to shape events, and the importance of equality to democratic life." -- Michael Sandel, author of What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets"Danielle Allen's poignant and personal reflection on the Declaration of Independence is a rare and singular work…[S]he has written a book that throws open a door to a large circle of readers: anyone with a stake in democracy. Her observations about the importance of language in building and sustaining a republic are especially resonant and worthy of the towering rhetoric of the Declaration. Our Declaration holds the promise of both discovery and rediscovery whether you've never read the Declaration or have memorized each of its 1,337 words." -- Ann Marie Lipinski, curator, Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University"Our Declaration is a primer on all that we have been missing… Not just an invaluable civics lesson but also a poignant personal memoir… Allen is an evangelist for this romantic moment in American history when men of uncommon vision and political deftness stated their case and listed their grievances against the most powerful nation on Earth." -- Thane Rosenbaum - The Washington Post"An astounding new book that should reinvigorate public understanding of the founding document of the United States… Reading Ms. Allen makes reading the Declaration meaningful and enjoyable—a powerful enough lesson it is't own right." -- Sarah J. Purcell - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"At once simple, sharp and deftly executed." -- Kirkus Reviews

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Book Synopsis The powerful story of an art form that has transformed the cultural landscape, by an award-winning poet, professor, and slam champion.'AN ENGAGING HISTORY' New York Times 'A RICH HYBRID OF MEMOIR AND HISTORY' The New Yorker 'A MUST-READ' Roger Robinson 'GALVANISING' Luke Kennard 'CAPTURES LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE' Therí A. Pickens 'MAGNIFICENT' Cornel WestIn 2009, at only twenty years old, Joshua Bennett was invited to recite a poem for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House's Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word. Spike Lee and Saul Williams were in the audience, and it turned out to be the very same event where Lin-Manuel Miranda first performed a work-in-progress that revolutionised musical theatre - Hamilton.Blending memoir and literary analysis, Bennett shows how a handful of visionaries altered modern culture. With passion, wit and erudition, he charts the history of spoken-word poetry, as well as his coming-of-age journey as a writer. From the early influence of Miguel Algarín and the Nuyorican Poets Café to Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem for President Joe Biden, he celebrates the contributions of legendary figures such as Ntozake Shange, Nikki Giovanni and Miguel Piñero, as well as how artists like MF DOOM, Jill Scott and Mos Def were inspired to develop their craft within their shared tradition.Spoken Word illuminates the profound influence that poetry has had everywhere melodious words are heard, from the West End to academia, from the podiums of political protest to cafés, from schools to rooms full of strangers all across the world.Trade ReviewBennett's engaging history of a literary and cultural movement that took hold in many realms - music, theater, film, television and, of course, poetry - tracks its evolution from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe to slam poetry and beyond. * New York Times, Editors’ Choice *Joshua Bennett wasn't on the sidelines observing the spoken word revolution he was in it, and he knew it was too good to be ghettoised, too uncut and raw to be ignored and too fly not to survive. It is rare to find such a nuanced and erudite record from an insider of a culture. A must-read for all interested in poetry, culture and its evolution. * Roger Robinson, author of 'Home is Not a Place' *A galvanising, thoroughgoing history of rare literary quality. Dr Joshua Bennett is courageously personal and honest in his account, but it's a passion which speaks to all of us, and to anyone still finding their voice or the nerve to take that risk, from the back room of the local arts centre to the biggest stages in the world. All written with the detail, lyricism, imagination and intellect of a seasoned poet. I feel more hopeful and excited for having read it. * Luke Kennard, author of 'Notes on the Sonnets' *This marvellous and magnificent book on the recent past and present of Spoken Word touches hearts and minds in a soulful way! Bennett's beautiful prose and powerful stories glow from his early Black Church origins, through his Ivy-league education, grassroots poetic formation to his precious son August Galileo listening to Coltrane! Don't miss this superb laying bare of Black joy and genius! * Dr Cornel West, author of 'Race Matters' and 'Democracy Matters' *Joshua Bennett's memoir and cultural history is a stirring reminder that no other art form is grounded in, and centres, community like spoken word does. I loved reading about how, through care, dedication, and will, spaces were forged that allowed voices from any and everywhere to come, be heard, and develop into some of the most radical and vital truth tellers of our times. * Rishi Dastidar, author of 'Saffron Jack' *Bennett renders this lush history in lively, captivating prose, smoothly transporting us back to the city blocks, bars, cafes and stages these artists traversed and inhabited. Perhaps most endearingly, and what makes this book shine with a refreshing dynamism, is that this history is also his own. Having 'lived out every part of the story' he hopes to tell, he is uniquely qualified to walk readers through the story of spoken word ... This book is not only a thoroughly researched and engrossing history by an accomplished and qualified academic, but also, and perhaps more significantly, a tender and heartwarming narrative of the evolution of an art form from a passionate, charismatic participant who was on the ground, in the audience and on the stage himself * Tas Tobey, The New York Times *Bennett captures lightning in a bottle: not just a few of spoken word's historical touchstones, but glimpses of all that the form has wrought in its various illustrious afterlives ... He clarifies for us that spoken word is no passing fad, swept away by the passage of time. It is, instead, howling wind that deserves our respect for how it transforms everything, leaving the world more exposed, more open, and more beautiful in its wake. * Therí A. Pickens, author of 'Black Madness :: Mad Blackness' *A talented poet in his own right, Bennett turns his attention to tracing the lineage and celebrating the impact of spoken word poetry in the U.S. ... Composed in dynamic, interlocking scenes, the story unfolds effortlessly despite the scholarly rigor and research evident in the writing. . . . Bennett succeeds in his efforts to "reclaim the political ethos and persistent dreaming" of spoken word poetry's bright past and brighter future. * Diego Báez, Booklist *Bennett, a Dartmouth English professor and poet who counts Guggenheim and National Endowment of the Arts fellowships among his many honors, traces the widespread cultural influence of spoken word poetry, from its 20th-century beginnings in New York to its 21st-century proliferation in digital media. . . . . A well-researched, invigorating celebration of a spirited art form. * Kirkus Reviews *Engaging ... While competing with his collegiate slam team at the University of Pennsylvania, Bennett absorbeda powerful lesson from a mentor. He learned that performance poetry could be interpreted as an "insistence on his own survival." That's a ringing endorsement for this art form, and this book. * James Sullivan, The San Francisco Chronicle *A rich hybrid of memoir and history [that] surveys the institutions that have shaped spoken-word poetry for the past five decades . . . Bennett, a poet himself, pays tribute to his literary forebears . . . [and] chronicles the mainstreaming, for better or worse, of a radical tradition * The New Yorker, 'Briefly Noted' *Bennett's book is much more than a history: it's a living poetic meditation on his own life as a poet and the lives of pathbreaking if largely ignored poets who did spoken word even before that moniker had been invented. * Ousmane K. Power-Greene, The Boston Globe *

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Book SynopsisA Uyghur poet's piercing memoir of life under the most coercive surveillance regime in history***LITHUB'S #1 BEST-REVIEWED NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023******A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023******AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023***'Essential reading' AI WEIWEI, author of 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows'Deserves to be read widely... Beautiful' FINANCIAL TIMESIf you took an Uber in Washington DC a few years ago, there's a chance your driver was one of the greatest living Uyghur poets, and one of only a handful from his minority Muslim community to escape the genocide being visited upon his homeland in western China.A successful filmmaker, innovative poet and prominent intellectual, Tahir Hamut Izgil had long been acquainted with state surveillance and violence, having spent three years in a labour camp on fabricated charges.But in 2017, the Chinese government's repression of its Uyghur citizens assumed a terrifying new intensity: critics were silenced; conversations became hushed; passports were confiscated; and Uyghurs were forced to provide DNA samples and biometric data.As Izgil's friends disappeared one by one, it became clear that fleeing the country was his family's only hope.Escape to America spared Izgil's family the internment camps that have swallowed over a million Uyghurs. It also allowed this rare personal testimony of the Xinjiang genocide to reach the wider world.Waiting to Be Arrested at Night charts the ongoing destruction of a community and a way of life. It is a call for the world to awaken to a humanitarian catastrophe, an unforgettable story of courage, escape and survival, and a moving tribute to Izgil's friends and fellow Uyghurs whose voices have been silenced.Trade ReviewAn urgent tale of survival and subversion * Economist, *Books of the Year* *Deserves to be read and listened to widely... This is a beautiful read. Izgil’s poetic gaze, and the elegant translation by Joshua L Freeman, together produce a compact, compelling prose that pushes you to keep reading on, even as you blink back tears * Financial Times *So much more than a thrilling account of a great escape. It is nothing less than a call to the West not to look away from one of the most terrible genocides of our times * Sunday Times *Izgil's memoir is a story about how to survive in, and to negotiate one's way through, a society in which repression has become routine, and the power of the state is unfettered. The book's restraint is also its strength * Guardian *I… devoured it in one night. It is a stunning work with its lyrical prose and elegiac translation, a page-turner that stands alongside any thriller for the skill with which it builds tension as a noose tightens round an entire community… Tahir reveals again the banality of evil * i *In the elegant, elliptical poems that appear throughout the text – translated, like the rest of the memoir, with great skill and subtlety by Joshua L. Freeman – Tahir both acknowledges and transforms the worsening political situation. Perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of the book is its refreshing lack of political rhetoric: there are no pronouncements on the great evil of the Chinese state. Tahir lets the awful facts speak for themselves * Times Literary Supplement *A heart-wrenching but beautifully written memoir * Daily Telegraph *More than just a memoir... It is also the story of the Uyghur people and the political, social, and cultural destruction of their homeland by the Chinese state * TIME *To call this merely 'a good book' is an understatement - it is essential reading -- Ai Weiwei, author of 1000 Years of Joys and SorrowsAn outlier among books about human rights. This is in effect a psychological thriller, although the narrative unfolds like a classic horror movie as relative normalcy dissolves into a nightmare -- Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to EnvyA vital and urgent book about the tragedy of the Uyghur people, abandoned by the world and brutally oppressed by the Chinese government. The voice of Tahir Hamut Izgil is one that must be heard -- Janine di Giovanni, author of The Morning They Came for UsElegiac and deeply courageous, a most powerful literary indictment of the unfettered power of the state. A remarkable book -- Philippe Sands, author of East West StreetI was riveted and chastened by Tahir Hamut Izgil's memoir. Izgil's crystalline, courageous prose is a wake-up call for everyone invested in the myth - and also the possibility - of freedom -- Tracy K. Smith, Poet Laureate of the United States of AmericaThis powerful and poignant memoir is an instant classic. He lays bare the vicious genocidal persecution of the precious Uyghur people in a very personal and persuasive way -- Cornel West, author of Democracy MattersAn essential testimony to one of the defining crimes against humanity of the twenty-first century so far. The poet Tahir Hamut Izgil is one of the few Uyghurs who escaped just in time to tell us -- Philip Gourevitch, author of We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our FamiliesA terrifying, compelling read of one family's efforts to escape the jaws that were closing around them -- Ian Johnson, author of The Souls of ChinaAn exceptionally powerful, profoundly lyrical and beautifully translated book - I urge you to read it -- Julia Lovell, author of Maoism: A Global HistoryEven if we can't comprehend why this tragedy is happening in Xinjiang, Tahir Hamut Izgil reminds us why it matters -- Peter Hessler, author of River TownA lived-in page-turner with the slow, grim boil of a Le Carré novel (no shooting, but no hope of justice either, with plenty of code words and offstage violence). Lucid and quietly terrifying * Washington Post *A compelling account of Izgil’s ultimately successful escape to the US. It is a story of mounting fear, as friends disappear one by one, and he and others take to sleeping next to a pile of warm clothes that they can hastily put on if the doorbell rings in the night * Prospect *

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