Other books that might interest you

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  Burden of Service -...

  Mohammed Bello Adoke

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  In 2011, the Nigerian government brokered a $1.3 billion deal between Royal Dutch Shell, Eni S.p.A. of Italy and Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd of Nigeria for one of Africa's richest oil fields ("OPL 245"). The transaction—finalised after thirteen years of mutual suspicion, bitter litigation, emotional blackmail and dirty intrigues—has caught global attention and attracted criminal proceedings. The middlemen are now in jail and officials of the international oil companies are facing trial in an Italian court over alleged corruption. Mohammed Bello Adoke was the Nigerian Attorney-General who gave the legal advice on the complicated transaction. He saved his country from an impending $2 billion award in favour of Shell by the International Centre for the Settlement of International Disputes (ICSID), an organ of the World Bank. But he has been hounded, victimised, scandalised and forced into exile for his service to his fatherland. In recounting his five-year experience in government, Bello Adoke reveals the details of the billion-dollar oil deal and unveils the web of local and international intrigues, deceit, lies and conspiracy around an avoidable scandal. 

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  The Effective Citizen - How to...

  Graham Steele

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  One of Canada’s most compelling political writers reveals how government really works—and how ordinary citizens can make it work for them.   A lawyer, analyst, and former Nova Scotia cabinet minister, Graham Steele shared a candid chronicle of his experiences in Canadian government with his acclaimed memoir What I Learned About Politics. Now he presents an insiders’ guide to modern Canadians politics, answering elusive questions such as: Who really runs the parties? What does a backbencher do? And how does a citizen effectively navigate the system to achieve change?   A primer for anyone who wants to become a politician or influence one, The Effective Citizen explains how politicians think and what factors influence that thinking; how to interpret the “non-answer” in political speech; and acknowledges that in politics, “bland is safe.”

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  Seeing It Through - The Story of...

  Andy Ballard

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  Andy Ballard comes from quite a humble background; being a working class boy from a council estate at a middle class grammar school left its marks. A career teacher with nearly twenty- ve years in state education, he forged a second very successful career as a local, regional, and national of cer of his trade union. His story includes how his work at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers would secure the future of ATL and lay the foundations for the formation of "The Education Union". Ballard describes the interplay between his private and professional lives, and bares his soul when the pressures of a lifetime of commitment brings his story to an unexpected conclusion.

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  Out of Mao's Shadow - The...

  Philip P. Pan

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  Prize-winning journalist Philip P. Pan offers an unprecedented inside look at the momentous battle underway for China's future. On one side is the entrenched party elite determined to preserve its authoritarian grip on power. On the other is a collection of lawyers, journalists, entrepreneurs, activists, hustlers, and dreamers striving to build a more tolerant, open, and democratic China. The outcome of this dramatic, hidden struggle will shape China's rise to superpower status-and determine how it affects the rest of the world.From factories in the rusting industrial northeast to a tabloid newsroom in the booming south, from a small-town courtroom to the plush offices of the nation's wealthiest tycoons, Pan speaks with men and women fighting and sacrificing for change. An elderly surgeon exposes the government's cover-up of the SARS epidemic. A filmmaker investigates the execution of a student in the Cultural Revolution. A blind man is jailed for leading a crusade against forced abortions carried out under the one-child policy.Out of Mao's Shadow offers a startling perspective on China and its remarkable transformation, challenging conventional wisdom about the political apathy of the Chinese people and the notion that prosperity leads automatically to freedom. Like David Remnick's Lenin's Tomb, this is the moving story of a nation in transition, of a people coming to terms with their past.

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  Propaganda Decoded

  Birand Bingul

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  Nothing less than our democracy is at stake.
  Hate, anger, fake news, and alleged conspiracies: Our debate culture is in a state of emergency, and polarization has become a central phenomenon in our society. In this insightful wake-up call, reporter Birand Bingül argues that this is part of a propaganda strategy that seeks to collapse our social dialogue.
  With historic context as well as examples from present-day politicians, Bingul provides thorough, structured insight into the various elements that make propaganda so effective, even in a time when information and facts are at everyone's fingertips.
  A deep analysis into how propaganda and populism works, with helpful and hopeful ways to counter these strategies.

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  Is That Mic Off? - More Things...

  Phil Mason

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  If you want to hear something stupid, just listen to the nearest politician. From the authors of Read My Lips and Mission Accomplished!, this completely new collection of politicians' gaffes, slips and brain freezes brings the verbal misstep into the present era of coalition government in Britain, the 2012 presidential election campaign in America and the global phenomenon of Wikileaks. Here is a treasure trove of the finest worst utterings from the men and women whose main skill is meant to be their power of communication. From Bush, Obama and Palin to Brown, Cameron, Clegg and co., the mad, the bad, the stupid and the shameless are all in attendance -watch them shoot from the lip and hit themselves in the foot. If, as they always say, politicians want to be judged by their words, let them be these.

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