Other books that might interest you

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  The Prince

  Niccolo Machiavelli

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  Delve into the timeless wisdom and political acumen of Niccolò Machiavelli’s "The Prince," masterfully narrated by Daniel Pagone. Written in the early 16th century, "The Prince" remains one of the most influential political treatises ever penned, offering keen insights into power, leadership, and statecraft that continue to resonate in modern times. 
  Machiavelli's pragmatic approach to governance, often summarized by the phrase "the ends justify the means," provides a candid examination of how rulers can maintain power and navigate the complexities of political life. From the importance of military prowess to the manipulation of public perception, "The Prince" offers a blueprint for leaders in any era. 
  Daniel Pagone's engaging narration brings Machiavelli's text to life, capturing the nuance and intensity of this seminal work. His voice guides listeners through the intricate ideas and historical examples that Machiavelli employs to illustrate his theories, making this audiobook an accessible and thought-provoking experience. 
  Perfect for students of political science, history enthusiasts, or anyone interested in the art of leadership, "The Prince" is an essential addition to any audiobook collection. Experience Machiavelli’s enduring legacy and understand why his work remains a cornerstone of political literature.

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  The New Leviathans - Thoughts...

  John Gray

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  Ever since its publication in 1651, Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan has unsettled and challenged how we understand the world. Condemned and vilified by each new generation, his cold political vision continues to see through any number of human political and ethical vanities. 
   
   
   
  In his wonderfully stimulating book The New Leviathans, John Gray allows us to understand the world of the 2020s with all its contradictions, moral horrors, and disappointments. The collapse of the USSR ushered in an era of near apoplectic triumphalism in the West: a genuine belief that a rational, liberal, well-managed future now awaited humankind and that tyranny, nationalism, and unreason lay in the past. Since then, so many terrible events have occurred and so many poisonous ideas have flourished, and yet our liberal certainties treat them as aberrations that will somehow dissolve. Hobbes would not be so confident. 
   
   
   
  Filled with fascinating and challenging observations, The New Leviathans is a powerful meditation on historical and current folly. As a species we always seem to be struggling to face the reality of base and delusive human instincts. Might a more self-aware, realistic, and disabused ethics help us?

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  Ukraine Between War and Peace

  Jacques Baud

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  Has the US strategy in Ukraine reached an impasse? What is the Russian conduct of military operations? When will the Ukrainian counter-offensive take place? Does Western weaponry really make a difference in Ukraine? Who are the winners of this war? What changes in the world are we witnessing since February 24, 2022? What is the reality of the losses on the Ukrainian and Russian sides? Can Western industry compete with Russian industry in Ukraine? Why is a negotiated solution not being sought? How is our perception of the conflit serving Ukraine?
  
  To answer these questions and many others, Jacques Baud relies on information from Western intelligence services and American documents that were leaked in April 2023. After the best-sellers Putin, Game Master? and Operation Z, both works praised world-wide, Baud returns to the war in Ukraine by analyzing the facts and nothing but the facts. Whether one is for or against the position of Ukraine, one must nevertheless deal with the field of operations and to analyze what is happening there. This is the only way to find a path to peace—because peace will not come by relying on illusions.

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  Queen Victoria's Jubilee

  Mark Twain

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  While in London in 1897, Mark Twain was commissioned by William Randolph Hearst to report for the San Francisco Examiner on the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne.Evoking historical detail reminiscent of passages in The Prince and the Pauper and Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, Twain compares the jubilee to his own original and imaginative account of the 1415 celebration following the English victory at Agincourt, and he also reflects on the rapid changes in the British Empire during the Victorian age.

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  Pax Transatlantica - America and...

  Jussi M. Hanhimaki

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  Is the West finished as a political idea? In recent years, observers have begun pointing to signs that this transatlantic community is eroding. When the European Union expanded, the classic European nation state was in decline. Now, nationalism is on the rise. Furthermore, nations within the EU are less willing to cooperate with the US on policies that require sacrifice and risks, such as using military force alongside the US. Today, following the twin shocks of Brexit and Trump's election, the concept of a unified Western transatlantic community seems to be a relic. But, in Pax Transatlantica, the international historian Jussi Hanhimäki explains why the West is far from over. 
   
   
   
  Hanhimäki argues that—despite Trump's inflammatory, dismissive rhetoric—NATO continues to provide robust security for its member states. NATO has survived by expanding its remit and scope, and it is viewed favorably by member states overall. Moreover, the transatlantic relationship boasts the richest and most closely connected transcontinental economy in the world. Lastly, Hanhimäki traces the parallel evolution of domestic politics on both sides of the Atlantic, focusing on the rise of populism. He contends that populism is not causing a rift between the US and Europe. Rather, the spread of populism evinces that their politics are in fact closely integrated.

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  The Moral Equivalent of War

  William James

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  This essay is based upon a speech given at Stanford University in 1906, William James’ last public utterance and is the original expression of the idea of non-military national service.  While acknowledging the horrors of war and its motives, he also acknowledges the benefits that accrue when groups of people address themselves to a common purpose evident in military behavior.  The modern reader will no doubt find certain attitudes regarding sex, race, and conquest of nature outdated. Nonetheless, one can’t help but admire the enlightened principles that have led to the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Peace Corps, VISTA, and AmeriCorps, and will likely be part of the effort to deal with global warming and climate change.The following from the essay is the gist of James’ thesis:“If now -- and this is my idea -- there were, instead of military conscription, a conscription of the whole youthful population to form for a certain number of years a part of the army enlisted against Nature, the injustice would tend to be evened out, and numerous other goods to the commonwealth would remain blind as the luxurious classes now are blind, to man’s relations to the globe he lives on, and to the permanently sour and hard foundations of his higher life. To coal and iron mines, to freight trains, to fishing fleets in December, to dishwashing, clotheswashing, and windowwashing, to road-building and tunnel-making, to foundries and stoke-holes, and to the frames of skyscrapers, would our gilded youths be drafted off, according to their choice, to get the childishness knocked out of them, and to come back into society with healthier sympathies and soberer ideas.”

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