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  The Sentinel State -...

  Minxin Pei

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  China watchers long argued that economic liberalization and prosperity would be harbingers of democracy. Instead, the Communist Party's grip has strengthened. How? The answer lies in the effectiveness of the surveillance state. And the source of that effectiveness is not just facial recognition AI and phone tracking. Technology is important, but what matters more is China's vast army of domestic spies.Central government surveillance data is confidential, so Minxin Pei turned to local reports, police gazettes, leaked documents, and interviews with exiled dissidents to provide a detailed look at the evolution, organization, and tactics of the surveillance state. Following the 1989 Tiananmen uprising, the Party invested in a coercive apparatus operated by a small number of secret police capable of mobilizing millions of citizen informants. The Party's Leninist bureaucratic structure—whereby officials and activists penetrate every sector of the economy and civil society, from universities to delivery companies to monasteries—ensures that Beijing's eyes and ears are everywhere.Rigorously empirical and rich in historical insight, The Sentinel State is a singular contribution to our knowledge about Chinese state coercion and, more generally, the survival strategies of authoritarian regimes.

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  The Rise of the American...

  Beatrice Edwards

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  "A vital book about the ridiculously cozy relationship between corporate wealth and government power and how it only seems to be getting worse" (William Cohan, author of Money and Power). 
   
   
   
  In the United States today we have good reasons to be afraid. Our Bill of Rights has been rendered powerless by ubiquitous surveillance and our freedoms are impaired by government control of information, systemic financial corruption, and unfettered corporate influence in our elections. Behind a thinning veneer of democracy, the Corporate Security State is tipping the balance between the self-interest of a governing corporate elite and the rights of the people to freedom, safety, and fairness. 
   
   
   
  In The Rise of the American Corporate Security State, Beatrice Edwards examines the real reasons to be afraid in twenty-first-century America, and outlines how we can address them. Our first steps in the right direction may be small, but they are important. They are based on the principle that we have a right to know what our government is doing and to speak openly about it. Creeping censorship, secret courts, and clandestine corporate control are all anathema to democratic practices and must be corrected now—before this last chance to redeem our rights is lost.

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  The City Is Up for Grabs - How...

  Gregory Royal Pratt

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  Chicago is a world-class city, but it is also a city in crisis. 
   
   
    
  Crime is up, schools have repeatedly shut down due to conflict between City Hall and the powerful teachers' union, and COVID-19 only deepened the entrenched poverty, institutional racism, and endless tug of war between the city's haves and have nots. 
   
   
    
  For four years, the person at the center of this storm was Lori Lightfoot. A groundbreaking figure—the first Black, gay woman to be elected mayor of a major city and only the second female mayor of Chicago—she knew the city was at a critical turning point when she took office in 2019. But the once-in-a-lifetime challenges she ended up facing were beyond anything she or anyone else saw coming. 
   
   
    
  Chicago Tribune reporter Gregory Royal Pratt offers the first comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at the tumultuous single term of Mayor Lightfoot and the chaos that roiled the city and City Hall as she fought to live up to her promises to change the city's culture of corruption and villainy, reform its long-troubled police department, and make Chicago the safest big city in America.

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  Dynamite Nashville - Unmasking...

  Betsy T. Phillips

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  New evidence in Dynamite Nashville uncovers the origin of an organized group of racist terrorists committing nationwide acts of violence against integration efforts in the late 1950's and early 1960s. Award winning historian Betsy Phillips not only paints a detailed picture of the social dynamic of the times, but details how a violent fringe of racists came to national prominence. In Dynamite Nashville, Phillips unmasks the KKK, reveals a racist terrorist network, names its principle leader, and shines a much needed historical spotlight on unsung civil rights hero Z. Alexander Looby. 
   
   
   
  Just as Nashville was where Civil Rights icons began, Nashville is where one of the country's most prominent organizations of racist terrorists formed. Members of The Confederate Underground would participate in least twenty bombings between 1957 and 1963. In Dynamite Nashville, Phillips revisits three unsolved Nashville bombings. Additionally, her research shows how the differing agendas of local police and the FBI allowed these bombers to escape prosecution until decades later, if at all. Dynamite Nashville is a prequel to the racist violence of the 1960s, the story of how these bombers came together to learn how to terrorize communities, and to escape any meaningful justice. It is also the story of how communities and heroes like Z. Alexander Looby pushed back.

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  Unchained Privacy: Blockchain...

  BLOCKCHAINS BLUEPRINT

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  This audiobook explores the crucial intersection of privacy, security, and civil liberties in the digital age. It discusses how increasing data collection and surveillance threaten individual autonomy and free expression. Blockchain technology is presented as a potential solution, offering decentralized and secure methods for managing personal data and financial transactions. The text examines the benefits of blockchain, like empowering individuals and enhancing financial inclusion, but it also acknowledges challenges such as regulatory hurdles and potential for misuse. Ultimately, it champions the need to balance privacy with security and to promote responsible development of blockchain technologies to safeguard fundamental freedoms.

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  The Shocking Truth about Social...

  Zoey Fraisers

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  Social movements have shaped the course of history, challenging oppressive systems, advocating for change, and giving a voice to the marginalized. From civil rights struggles to labor movements, from feminist activism to climate change protests, these collective efforts have demonstrated the power of ordinary people to influence political, social, and economic landscapes. But what makes a social movement successful? Why do some fizzle out while others spark revolutions? This book explores the truth behind social movements—their origins, strategies, challenges, and impact on society.  
    
  Social movements arise from deep-seated grievances, often triggered by inequality, injustice, or political repression. When institutions fail to address these concerns, people come together to demand change. While some movements rely on peaceful protests, petitions, and advocacy, others take a more radical or even violent turn. The paths they take can determine their success or failure. Movements like the U.S. civil rights movement and India’s independence struggle succeeded through persistent, organized, and nonviolent resistance. In contrast, some movements collapse due to internal divisions, government crackdowns, or loss of public support.  
    
  In today’s digital age, technology has transformed activism. Social media has made it easier to mobilize large numbers of people, spread awareness, and hold those in power accountable. However, it has also given rise to misinformation, government surveillance, and fleeting activism that lacks long-term commitment. Movements that once took years to build can now emerge overnight, but sustaining them remains a challenge. 

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