Other books that might interest you

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  Unmasking the State - Making...

  Mike McGovern

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  When the Republic of Guinea gained independence in 1958, one of the first policies of the new state was a village-to-village eradication of masks and other ritual objects it deemed “fetishes.” The Demystification Program, as it was called, was so urgent it even preceded the building of a national road system. In Unmasking the State, Mike McGovern attempts to understand why this program was so important to the emerging state and examines the complex role it had in creating a unified national identity. In doing so, he tells a dramatic story of cat and mouse where minority groups cling desperately to their important— and outlawed—customs. Primarily focused on the communities in the country’s southeastern rainforest region—people known as Forestiers—the Demystification Program operated via a paradox. At the same time it banned rituals from Forestiers’ day-to-day lives, it appropriated them into a state-sponsored program of folklorization. McGovern points to an important purpose for this: by objectifying this polytheistic group’s rituals, the state created a viable counterexample against which the Muslim majority could define proper modernity. Describing the intertwined relationship between national and local identity making, McGovern showcases the coercive power and the unintended consequences involved when states attempt to engineer culture.

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  The Hidden Face of Pope Francis

  Paul Ariès

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  Why did Pope Francis canonize a priest responsible for the genocide of the Indians?
  Why does he wish to beatify the anti-Semitic French priest, Leon Dehon?  
  What are the unmentionable reasons for his papal election? 
  Pope Francis is presented as progressive and sensitive to the interests of the people, but underneath his smiles and his good words hides an authoritarian and dogmatic pope. This pope relies on very conservative movements such as Communion and Liberation or the Order of the Knights of Columbus, which are close to Opus Dei. 
  The good Pope Francis is beginning to drop his mask when he declares that Europe is undergoing a new Arab invasion (sic), when he calls on "Catholics with a sense of identity" to take to the streets, when he fights against republican secularism and demonizes atheists.
  After an overview of the financial, political and sexual scandals, Paul Ariès proceeds to a very detailed and documented analysis of the "Church of Francis," particularly in the areas of ecology and sexuality. This clear book offers a surprising insight into the best communicator the Church has known in a long time.

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  Hannibal - The True Story of the...

  Liam Dale

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  Interested in Hannibal's remarkable life but short on time for lengthy biographies? Join The History Journals for an hourly history tour. 
   
  Hannibal, the mighty Carthaginian leader who boldly marched 37 war elephants across the Alps to challenge the Roman Empire, remains an enduring inspiration. Discover the man behind the legend in this history journal. 
   
  Setting aside modern associations, Hannibal predates "Hannibal the Cannibal" and has influenced historical military leaders like Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington. 
   
  Dive into: 
  - Hannibal's life from start to finish 
  - His use of war elephants 
  - How he inspired leaders like Napoleon 
  - Carthaginian prowess in war and trade 
  - His role in the Punic Wars 
   
  Explore the fascinating life of Hannibal, a military genius whose legacy endures.

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  Educational Pluralism and...

  Ashley Rogers Berner

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  In Educational Pluralism and American Democracy, education policy expert Ashley Rogers Berner envisions a K–12 education system that serves both the individual and the common good. Calling for education reform that will enable US public schools to fulfill the longstanding promise of American education, Berner proposes a radical reimagining of both the structure and content of US public school systems. She urges policymakers to embrace educational pluralism, an internationally common model in which the government funds diverse types of schools that deliver more universal content. 
   
   
   
  Providing an incisive assessment of democratic education throughout the world, Berner argues that educational pluralism can build students' exposure to diverse viewpoints and shared knowledge within distinctive school communities. She shows how pluralism steers a middle path that enables equitable access, promotes academic excellence, and avoids the zero-sum games that characterize US education policy. 
   
   
   
  In this thought-provoking proposal, Berner lays out a roadmap for big-picture reform, expertly delineating the mechanisms through which educational norms can change. A practical conclusion describes concrete moves that advocates can pursue to garner support and advance new legislation.

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  When Skins Were Money: A History...

  James A. Hanson

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  When Skins Were Money tells the story of North America’s oldest and most romantic business, of the exploration of a continent, of fortunes won and lost, and of political intrigue and war that accompanied the struggle for control of furs and the native people who supplied them.  It is the first one-volume history of the fur trade—the first business in North America.

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  The Big Change - America...

  Frederick Lewis Allen

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  During the first fifty years of the twentieth century, the United States saw two world wars, a devastating economic depression, and more social, political, and economic changes than in any other five-decade period before. Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor of Harper's Magazine, recounts these years—spanning World War I, the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, World War II, and the early Cold War—in vivid detail, from the fashions and customs of the times to major events that changed the course of history. 
   
   
    
  Politically, the United States grew into its own as a global superpower during these years, even as domestic developments altered the everyday lives of its citizens. The introduction of the automobile, mass production, and organized labor changed the way Americans lived and worked, while innovations like penicillin and government regulation of food safety contributed to an increase in average life expectancy from forty-nine years in 1900 to sixty-eight years in 1950. With the development of a strong, centralized government, a thriving middle class, and widespread economic prosperity, the nation emerged from the Second World War transformed in virtually every way. 
   
   
    
  Richly informative, The Big Change is an indispensable volume charting the many changes that ushered in our contemporary age.

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