Other books that might interest you

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  Stumbling Over Truth - The...

  Kevin Marsh

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  The 2004 report of the Hutton Inquiry created today's BBC. It cost the corporation its Chairman and Director General and seemed to many to usher in an age of self-doubt and caution. It was also the end of the most extraordinary experiment in news management Britain has ever seen - the decade of Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's spin doctor, charged with delivering what Peter Mandelson described as New Labour's mission to 'create the truth'. But Lord Hutton condemned the BBC and its journalism without hearing a single word from the man who put the 'sexed up' dossier story on the air: Today editor Kevin Marsh. Had Hutton done so, his conclusions would surely have been very different. Now outside the BBC, Marsh can tell for the first time the inside story of Andrew Gilligan's notorious 6.07 broadcast on the Today programme. He explains how he was certain the story of the 'sexed up' dossier was true, but also how Gilligan's 'flawed reporting' fatally damaged the BBC's case. And he tells of his growing disillusionment with the British media's aptitude and appetite for holding power to account - or even telling the truth. Stumbling Over Truth is an important book for anyone who wants to understand the toe-to-toe confrontations between Tony Blair's government and the BBC, and the fight to resist unremitting government attempts to manipulate the media.

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  After the Protests Are Heard -...

  Sharon D. Welch

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  From the Women's March in DC to #BlackLivesMatter rallies across the country, there has been a rising wave of protests and social activism. These events have been an important part of the battle to combat racism, authoritarianism, and xenophobia in Trump's America. However, the struggle for social justice continues long after the posters and megaphones have been packed away. After the protests are heard, how can we continue to work toward lasting change?This book is an invaluable resource for anyone invested in the fight for social justice. Welch highlights examples of social justice work accomplished at the institutional level. From the worlds of social enterprise, impact investing, and sustainable business, After the Protests Are Heard describes the work being done to promote responsible business practices and healthy, cooperative communities. The book also illuminates how colleges and universities educate students to strive toward social justice on campuses across the country, such as the Engaged Scholarship movement, which fosters interactions between faculty and students and local and global communities. In each of these instances, activists work from within institutions to transform practices and structures to foster justice and equality.

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  Symbols of Freedom - Slavery and...

  Matthew J. Clavin

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  In the early United States, anthems, flags, holidays, monuments, and memorials were powerful symbols of an American identity that helped unify a divided people. A language of freedom played a similar role in shaping the new nation. Resonating across the country, they encouraged the creation of a republic where the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" was universal.For enslaved people and their allies, the language and symbols that served as national touchstones made a mockery of freedom. Yet, as author Matthew J. Clavin reveals, it was these powerful expressions of American nationalism that inspired forceful and even violent resistance to slavery.Symbols of Freedom is the surprising story of how enslaved people and their allies drew inspiration from the language and symbols of American freedom. Mindful and proud that theirs was a nation born in blood, these disparate patriots fought to fulfill the republic's promise by waging war against slavery.In a time when the US flag, the Fourth of July, and historical sites have never been more contested, this book reminds us that symbols are living artifacts whose power is derived from the meaning with which we imbue them.

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  The Unknown Courier - The True...

  Ian Colvin

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  On 30 April 1943, the drowned corpse of Major William Martin washed up on the coast of Spain. In what appeared to be a stroke of grave misfortune for the British, he was found to be carrying top-secret plans for the invasion of Italy. Truth, however, is often stranger than fiction: the plans, as well as the identity of the Major himself, were fake - part of a secret British intelligence ruse called 'Operation Mincemeat', which misled Hitler, causing him to divert his forces away from the Allied target of Sicily.
  Journalist Ian Colvin became fascinated by tales of this audacious scheme and decided to investigate further. His search led him to Madrid, Gibraltar, Seville and finally to a grave at Huelva. The resulting book, originally published in 1953, is a breathtaking account of Colvin's journey, involving German ex-intelligence officers, Spanish generals, flamenco dancers and even a frogman pathologist specialising in drowned bodies.
  With its thrilling insights into what turned out to be one of the most successful wartime deceptions ever attempted, The Unknown Courier inspired Ben Macintyre's bestselling Operation Mincemeat. Colvin's lively account looks beyond the military machinations and considers the mysterious identity of the unknown courier - who was this man who, after his own death, changed the course of the Second World War?

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  Please Don't Bomb the Suburbs -...

  William Upski Wimsatt

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  “A book for middle-aging youth activists who are still passionate about fighting for a revolutionary new society . . . Billy Wimsatt has grown up.” —CounterPunch 
   
  As a potty-mouthed graffiti writer from the South Side of Chicago, William Upski Wimsatt electrified the literary and hip-hop world with two of the most successful underground classic books in a generation, Bomb the Suburbs (1994) and No More Prisons (1999), which, combined, sold more than ninety thousand copies. 
   
  In Please Don’t Bomb the Suburbs, Wimsatt weaves a first-person tour of America’s cultural and political movements from 1985–2010. It’s a story about love, growing up, a generation coming of age, and a vision for the movement young people will create in the new decade. With humor, storytelling, and historical insight, Wimsatt lays out a provocative vision for the next twenty-five years of personal and historical transformation. Never heard of Billy Wimsatt before? Your life just got better. 
   
  “Longtime political organizer, activist, graffiti artist, and progressive, Wimsatt delivers a wake-up call for the millennial generation two years after his seminal Bomb the Suburbs.” —Publishers Weekly 
   
  “Wimsatt’s level of sincerity and enthusiasm is refreshing and bracing, and the book stands as a reminder that anybody who wants to help improve the world can find plenty of ways to get busy, and also have a great time doing it.” —Literary Kicks

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  What Makes a Terrorist? -...

  Alan B. Kreuger

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  Why we need to think more like economists to successfully combat terrorism 
  If we are to correctly assess the root causes of terrorism and successfully address the threat, we must think more like economists do. This is the argument of Alan Krueger's What Makes a Terrorist, a book that explains why our tactics in the fight against terrorism must be based on more than anecdote, intuition, and speculation. 
  Many popular ideas about terrorists and why they seek to harm us are fueled by falsehoods, misinformation, and fearmongering. Many believe that poverty and lack of education breed terrorism, despite the wealth of evidence showing that most terrorists come from middle-class, and often college-educated, backgrounds. Krueger closely examines the factors that motivate individuals to participate in terrorism, drawing inferences from terrorists' own backgrounds and the economic, social, religious, and political environments in the societies from which they come. 
  He describes which countries are the most likely breeding grounds for terrorists, and which ones are most likely to be their targets. Krueger addresses the economic and psychological consequences of terrorism and puts the threat squarely into perspective, revealing how our nation's sizable economy is diverse and resilient enough to withstand the comparatively limited effects of most terrorist strikes. He also calls on the media to be more responsible in reporting on terrorism. 
  Bringing needed clarity to one of the greatest challenges of our generation, this 10th anniversary edition of What Makes a Terrorist features a new introduction by the author that discusses the lessons learned in the past decade from the rise of ISIS and events like the 2016 Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida.

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