Other books that might interest you

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  Democracy For Beginners

  Robert Cavalier

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  With all the talk about “democracy” these days, it’s surprising how little time is spent concentrating on the concept of democracy itself, its history and justification as a form of political governance. Democracy for Beginners looks at democracy’s rich evolution in its varied forms, and at some of the challenges democracies face today.Beginning with the rise of democracy in fifth-century Athens and ending with an exploration of what the future might hold — for example the notion of “e-democracy”—Democracy for Beginners is an important resource for understanding the foundation on which our country stands. Readers will become familiar with ideas advanced by democracy’s advocates and architects, and by its critics, from Plato to contemporary social choice theoreticians.Democracy for Beginners is the perfect introduction to the United States of America's founding principles.

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  Conversations with Kennedy

  Benjamin C. Bradlee

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  Distinguished journalist Benjamin C. Bradlee’s intimate biography of President John F. Kennedy and his Camelot years.Conversations with Kennedy is legendary reporter and executive Benjamin C. Bradlee’s account of his intimate dialogues with JFK—a man he counted as a confidante and friend. Beginning in 1958, when Kennedy was a US senator running for president, and continuing until 1963, the year that Kennedy died, Bradlee shared a close professional and personal relationship with the charismatic politician. Both men were war veterans, idealists, and up-and-coming American leaders, and they shared values that drove their friendship.   Kennedy was a politician equally at home with the bruising intellects he appointed to government posts and his working-class constituents. He respected his complicated father, understood his brothers, admired women, and had few illusions about human nature. Bradlee’s eye for detail reveals JFK’s views on everything from Communism to conservatism to freedom of the press.   From parties at the White House to weekends at Palm Beach to JFK’s enduring influence on Bradlee’s own life, this is an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the man behind a myth, written by a giant of American journalism.   

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  The Tale of Buster Bumblebee

  Arthur Scott Bailey

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  Buster Bumblebee and his family move into a new home. Excitement and buzzing abound. Buster meet a strange fellow called a carpenter bee, way too many chirpy crickets, and even finds his own long lost sister. Later in his adventurous life, Buster learns of another kind of Bee, a Raising Bee and how much food is available for everyone there. All in all, this tale will bring smiles and grins to listeners young and old as it tells of Buster Bumblebee, a young bee with a lot to learn but a heart of gold. (Summary by phil chenevert)

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  The Watchers - The Rise of...

  Shane Harris

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  Our surveillance state was born in the brain of Admiral John Poindexter in 1983. Poindexter, President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser, realized that the United States might have prevented the terrorist massacre of 241 Marines in Beirut if only intelligence agencies had been able to analyze in real time data they had on the attackers. Poindexter poured government know-how and funds into his dream-a system that would sift reams of data for signs of terrorist activity. Decades later, that elusive dream still captivates Washington. After the 2001 attacks, Poindexter returned to government with a controversial program, called Total Information Awareness, to detect the next attack. Today it is a secretly funded operation that can gather personal information on every American and millions of others worldwide. But Poindexter's dream has also become America's nightmare. Despite billions of dollars spent on this digital quest since the Reagan era, we still can't discern future threats in the vast data cloud that surrounds us all. But the government can now spy on its citizens with an ease that was impossible-and illegal-just a few years ago. Drawing on unprecedented access to the people who pioneered this high-tech spycraft, Shane Harris shows how it has shifted from the province of right-wing technocrats to a cornerstone of the Obama administration's war on terror. Harris puts us behind the scenes and in front of the screens where twenty-first-century spycraft was born. We witness Poindexter quietly working from the private sector to get government to buy in to his programs in the early nineties. We see an army major agonize as he carries out an order to delete the vast database he's gathered on possible terror cells-and on thousands of innocent Americans-months before 9/11. We follow General Mike Hayden as he persuades the Bush administration to secretly monitor Americans based on a flawed interpretation of the law. After Congress publicly bans the Total Information Awareness program in 2003, we watch as it is covertly shifted to a "black op," which protects it from public scrutiny. When the next crisis comes, our government will inevitably crack down on civil liberties, but it will be no better able to identify new dangers. This is the outcome of a dream first hatched almost three decades ago, and The Watchers is an engrossing, unnerving wake-up call.

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  Hopes and Fears - Trump Clinton...

  Michael Ashcroft

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  Donald Trump's election as President of the United States confounded the pundits and crowned a year of political surprises.
  In Hopes And Fears, Lord Ashcroft sets out in compelling detail why America sent Trump to the White House. With the rigorous research and analysis that is his hallmark, he argues that - contrary many people's assumptions - the American people made the choice with their eyes wide open.
  We hear from swing-state voters in their own words as they wrestle with their decision and explain why they, and their country, want change - with all the risks it may entail. Drawing the parallels with the UK's Brexit referendum, the book explores the lessons of 2016 for both parties, the divisions within the American electorate and what they mean for the future.
  For anyone wondering how America came to choose its new leader, Hopes And Fears has the answers.

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  Portugal and Slovakia in...

  Pieter C. van Duin, Zuzana...

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  This book is a contribution to European comparative history involving Portugal and Slovakia, but also the larger geographic units of Iberia and Slavic Central Europe. While developments in Portugal and Slovakia predominate, Spain, the Czech lands, and other regions are discussed as well. The subjects investigated include the position of women and the activities of messianic thinkers in the seventeenth century as well as semi-fascist Catholic political movements in the twentieth century. The authors look at the subject matter from the viewpoint of politics, social phenomena, and culture. The cultural dimension includes religion and ideology, both of which have clearly been of critical importance in Portuguese and Slovak history. It also includes problems of ethno-linguistic and national identity and the more recent phenomenon of multiculturalism, whose social promotion is controversial and uncertain.
  
  
  
  "This comparative study by Zuzana Poláčková and Peter C. van Duin, a collection of essays, is a revelation, especially for students of European authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, and, furthermore, anybody interested in European history."
  
  —Josette Baer, Professor, UZH University of Zurich
  
  
  
  "This book gives proof to Cicero’s dictum: "Historia magistra vitae est"—without knowledge of the past we cannot build a sustainable future. Thanks to the authors for this great contribution to knowledge!"
  
  —Lucia Mokrá, Professor of International Law, Comenius University, Bratislava
  
  
  
  "This collection of essays provides not only fascinating insights into the political workings of these two small states, but of the workings of politics in the larger Iberian / Slavic context. Highly recommended."
  
  —Dr. David Reichardt, International Relations, Webster University, Saint-Louis, Missouri 
  
  
  
  "A very important contribution to the study of the comparative history of Europe, and therefore I fully recommend its publication."
  
  —Mgr. Juraj Marušiak, PhD. Institute of Political Science, public research institution, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

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