Other books that might interest you

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  The Tree of the Doves - Ceremony...

  Christopher Merrill

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  “A unique travelogue” that “explores the nature of terror, its place in the post-9/11 world and how it unites and galvanizes those in the throes of it” (Kirkus Reviews). 
   
  Using several ageless questions—“Where do we come from? Where are we going? What shall we do?”—as his point of departure, journalist and award-winning poet Christopher Merrill explores the related issues of terror, modernity, tradition, and epochal transformation. In three extended essays, Merrill observes the performance of a banned ritual in the Malaysian province of Kelatan; traces Saint-John Perse’s epic voyage from Beijing to Ulan Bator in 1921 and relates it to the China of today; and embarks on a trip across the Levant in 2007 in the wake of the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
   
  Merrill asserts that it is in this trinity of human actions—ceremony, expedition, war: all devised to keep terror at bay—that history is formed, and that the technological, political, environmental, and social changes we are witnessing now presage the end of one order and the creation of another. 
   
  “Merrill is a ‘writer’s writer’: he spins sentences made of gold.” —Publishers Weekly

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  Still Hopeful - Lessons from a...

  Maude Barlow

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  “Canada’s best-known voice of dissent.” — CBC		 
  “It’s time we listened to the Maude Barlows of the world.” — CNN		 
  In this timely book, Barlow counters the prevailing atmosphere of pessimism that surrounds us and offers lessons of hope that she has learned from a lifetime of activism. She has been a linchpin in three major movements in her life: second-wave feminism, the battle against free trade and globalization, and the global fight for water justice. From each of these she draws her lessons of hope, emphasizing that effective activism is not really about the goal, rather it is about building a movement and finding like-minded people to carry the load with you. Barlow knows firsthand how hard fighting for change can be. But she also knows that change does happen and that hope is the essential ingredient.

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  A Macat Analysis of Thucydides's...

  Mark Fisher

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  Thucydides’ The History of the Peloponnesian War is generally acknowledged as the first great work in the fields of both history and political theory. It uses a combination of narrative, debate, and analysis to document the war between Athens and Sparta (431–404 b.c.e.). But the importance of the work lies less in the story, than in the way Thucydides tells it. History was the first major work of political inquiry that did not relate events to divine influences. It introduced instead a critical method of looking to the facts of human actions as the basis of our understanding—a method that continues to be used today, more than two millennia later. Many of the most important political thinkers in the Western tradition cite Thucydides as an influence, and major figures including Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and Friedrich Nietzsche have praised his writing.

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  Counting - How We Use Numbers to...

  Deborah Stone

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  What do people do when they count? What do numbers really mean? We all know that people can lie with statistics, but in this groundbreaking work, eminent political scientist Deborah Stone uncovers a much deeper problem. With help from Dr. Seuss and Cookie Monster, she explains why numbers can't be objective: in order to count, one must first decide what counts. Every number is the ending to a story built on cultural assumptions, social conventions, and personal judgments.And yet, in this age of big data and metric mania, numbers shape almost every facet of our lives: whether we get hired, fired, or promoted; whether we get into college or out of prison; how our opinions are gathered and portrayed to politicians; or how government designs health and safety regulations. In warm and playful prose, Counting explores what happens when we measure nebulous notions like merit, race, poverty, pain, or productivity. Suffused with moral reflection and ending with a powerful epilogue on COVID-19's dizzying statistics, Counting will forever change our relationship with numbers.

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  Allied Intelligence and the...

  Gary Sterne

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  The first volume in a groundbreaking work of WWII history presents a startlingly different narrative of D-Day based on newly released documents.   Though the historic importance of the Allied attack on the gun battery at Pointe du Hoc is well known, historian Gary Sterne has uncovered striking new information about the events in recently released documents. In a landmark work of World War II history, Sterne presents a trenchant reassessment of the battle for Pointe du Hoc in a vivid, two-volume account that reveals the true mission of the 2nd and 5th U.S. Army Rangers.   This first volume looks at the critical months leading up to the Normandy invasion, following the preparations of the Rangers from their arrival in England in 1943. Sterne examines the orders they received, along with dozens of aerial reconnaissance photographs of Omaha Beach, Pointe et Raz de la Percée, Pointe du Hoc and Maisy—as well as French Resistance reports. Shown in chronological order and in their original format, many of these documents are still marked TOP SECRET.   Together with the second volume, The Cover Up at Omaha Beach, this revelatory work will change the way historians view the Pointe du Hoc battle from now on.

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  Homer Simpson Marches on...

  Timothy M. Dale, Joseph J. Foy

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  A volume of enlightening essays on how TV shows, movies, and music can change hearts and minds.   Amid all its frenetic humor, the long-running animated hit The Simpsons has often questioned what is culturally acceptable, wading into controversial subjects like gay rights, the war on terror, religion, and animal rights. This subtle form of political analysis is effective in changing opinions and attitudes on a large scale. Homer Simpson Marches on Washington explores the transformative power that enables popular culture to influence political agendas, frame the consciousness of audiences, and create profound shifts in values and ideals.   To investigate the full spectrum of popular culture in a democratic society, editors Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. Foy gather a top-notch team of scholars who use television shows such as Star Trek, The X-Files, All in the Family, The View, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report, as well as movies and popular music, to investigate contemporary issues in American popular culture.

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