Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Russia's World Order - How...

  Paul Robinson

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  The first Cold War was a struggle between capitalism and communism; most Western politicians and policymakers imagine the new one to be a struggle between democracy and autocracy. Russia's World Order explains that in Russian eyes, the conflict is about something very different: it is a fight between two incompatible visions of where history is leading. 
   
   
   
  Russia's World Order describes the civilizational theory that has come to dominate Russian official discourse, and that has come to dominate Russian official discourse and that is being used to justify its clashes with the West. Whereas the West promotes a vision of history that drives all nations toward convergence on a single model, Russia's political leaders increasingly portray the world as consisting of numerous distinct civilizations, each diverging toward its own destination. The Russian state portrays itself as defending the right of all civilizations to chart their own independent path and is having some success in using this logic to win allies. 
   
   
   
  Paul Robinson recounts how ideas of inevitable convergence once dominated Russian thought as well but were gradually pushed out by civilizational theories. He outlines where these theories came from, what they propose, and how they became popular. Russia's World Order thereby reveals the true nature of today's New Cold War.

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  The Two Marias

  Jonathan Kis Lev

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  In their early teens, two girls were forced to sit next to each other in school. Although they were complete opposites−one a social butterfly and the other a withdrawn bookworm−they soon realized that they shared similar hopes and dreams. Over time, against all expectations, they became best friends. 
  Until the war broke out. 
  Now, each was thrown into opposite sides of the conflict. And mistakes were made−unforgivable mistakes, that would shape both their futures. 
  How could their friendship endure? 
  BASED ON A REMARKABLE TRUE STORY, with an appendix including authentic WWII photographs and documents. 
  “Wonderful... A wry, sharply observed tale of both heroism and coming-of-age-story during one of the darkest times in humanity.” 
  “Compulsively readable... In this 200-page novella Kis-Lev proves to be yet again a distinctively contemporary literary voice.” 
  “Biting, brilliant exploration of a female friendship. And though The Two Marias focuses on young women, readers need be neither young nor female in order to enjoy it...”

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  The Life of the Vikings - World...

  KidsChoice

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  KidsChoice: World knowledge for Children is an engaging audiobook series that takes young listeners on a fascinating journey to explore and understand the world around them. Aimed at curious children aged 7 to 99, this series dives into a variety of topics in science, society, and culture, making complex ideas accessible and exciting.  Each episode brings a unique theme to life—whether exploring the mysteries of space, uncovering the secrets of the human body, or discovering the diversity of cultures and traditions worldwide. With lively narration, interesting facts, and interactive elements, the series guides young listeners on an adventure full of discovery, encouraging them to ask questions and expand their understanding in a fun way.  In the scientific world of KidsChoice, children learn about the wonders of nature and the universe. Concepts like the solar system, animal behavior, the human body, and Earth's various ecosystems are explained in a way that is easy for kids to grasp and find fascinating. Exciting analogies and vivid examples help spark curiosity, turning learning into an adventure.  Societal topics also have a special place in the series. KidsChoice introduces young listeners to the basics of community, compassion, and making a positive impact. Children learn what it means to be a good citizen and how they can make small, meaningful contributions to their communities.  Additionally, KidsChoice opens a window to the vibrant world of global cultures. Through a virtual journey around the globe, children discover how people in other countries live, the customs and traditions they follow, the languages they speak, and the foods they enjoy. This fosters understanding and respect for diverse ways of life, celebrating the richness of human experience as a beautiful, valuable part of the world.  With its vivid language and captivating soundscapes, "KidsChoice: World knowledge for Children" turns learning into an exciting experience, sparking a lifelong curiosity and a deeper understanding of the world around them.

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  Liberty Equality Fashion - The...

  Anne Higonnet

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  Joséphine Bonaparte, future Empress of France; Térézia Tallien, the most beautiful woman in Europe; and Juliette Récamier, muse of intellectuals, had nothing left to lose. After surviving incarceration and forced incestuous marriage during the worst violence of the French Revolution of 1789, they dared sartorial revolt. Together, Joséphine and Térézia shed the underwear cages and massive, rigid garments that women had been obliged to wear for centuries. They slipped into light, mobile dresses, cropped their hair short, wrapped themselves in shawls, and championed the handbag. Juliette made the new style stand for individual liberty. 
   
   
   
  The erotic audacity of these fashion revolutionaries conquered Europe, starting with Napoleon. Everywhere a fashion magazine could reach, women imitated the news coming from Paris. It was the fastest and most total change in clothing history. Two centuries ahead of its time, it was rolled back after only a decade by misogynist rumors of obscene extravagance. 
   
   
   
  New evidence allows the real fashion revolution to be told. This is a story for our time: of a revolution that demanded universal human rights, of self-creation, of women empowering each other, and of transcendent glamor. 
   
   
   
  This audiobook includes bonus lectures from the author's "Clothing" course she teaches as professor of art history at Barnard College, Columbia University.

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  Zebulon Pike: The Life and...

  Editors Charles River

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  Given that Lewis and Clark remain so famous, it was inevitable that the other American explorers would be overlooked, particularly William Eaton, the hero of the Battle of Derna in the Barnaby Wars, and Zebulon Montgomery Pike, the explorer of the Mississippi. In the case of Pike, Orsi suggests that the explorer is overlooked and in some cases slighted due to what the expeditions did and did not accomplish. Eaton and Pike represented “the first wave of Manifest Destiny, expanding the republican principles of liberty and citizenship in the world.”[1] 
  	Contrasted to that patriotic sentiment are caveats and questions. The career of Zebulon Pike was “dominated by ambiguously motivated explorations of the American West.”[2] With the procurement of the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the nation, Pike had the full force of American authority at his disposal, and his travels through the Colorado Rockies into New Mexico pushed the boundaries between America and Spain. Captured by Spanish officials for illegal entry, he was finally released back into American custody after a year’s time with a volume of new information on Spanish territory, its economy, and its military configuration. This sparked a debate about whether the capture was planned by the American government itself. 
  	Pike’s return is still debated, as is his relationship with General James Wilkinson and Aaron Burr. The controversy is relevant to Burr’s alleged conspiracy to establish a competing empire in the American Southwest, or perhaps as a way of conquering Spanish America without involving the White House. Pike’s papers, confiscated by the Spanish, have complicated the search for the truth, and any evidence of his complicity remains confidential, in part because of the unpredictable explorer’s unpredictable demise.

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  The Origins of Elected Strongmen...

  Erica Frantz, Andrea...

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  Since the end of World War II, democracies typically fell apart by coup d'état or through force. Today, however, they are increasingly eroding at the hands of democratically elected incumbents, who seize control by slowly chipping away at democratic institutions. To better understand these developments, this book examines the role of personalist political parties, or parties that exist primarily to further their leader's career as opposed to promote a specific policy platform. Using original data capturing levels of personalism in the parties of democratically elected leaders from 1991 to 2020, The Origins of Elected Strongmen shows that the rise of personalist parties around the globe is facilitating the decline of democracy. 
   
   
   
  Personalist parties lack both the incentive and capacity to push back against a leader's efforts to expand executive power. As such, leaders backed by personalist parties are more likely to succeed in their efforts to dismantle institutional constraints on their rule. Such attacks on state institutions, in turn, reverberate throughout society, deepening political polarization and weakening supporters' commitment to democratic norms of behavior. In these ways, ruling party personalism erodes horizontal and vertical constraints on a leader, ultimately degrading democracy and raising the risk of democratic failure.

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