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  On the Cannibals

  Michel de Montagrie

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  'I am not sorry we note the barbarous horror of cannibalism, but grieved that, prying so narrowly into their faults, we are so blinded in ours.'
  
  First translated into English in 1603, 'On the Cannibals' is an essay reflecting on a remarkable trip to Brazil which Michel de Montaigne undertook at the end of the sixteenth century.
  
  A study into the customs and practices of indigenous peoples in the Americas, Montaigne delves into the concept of 'civilisation', contrasting the behaviour of so-called 'barbarians' with Western society. He challenges the idea that European values are superior, understanding the practices of the Tupinambá people and arguing that the horrors inflicted by the soldiers of Portugal on their enemies at the time are – in many ways – far worse. It remains a persuasive and compelling argument for cultural relativism. This audiobook edition is expertly narrated by Malk Williams.
  Michael de Montaigne (1533 – 1592) was a French philosopher and writer, and a significant figure in the French Renaissance. He is widely known for popularising the essay, amalgamating anecdotes with memoir and intellect. He has been a huge influence on several Western writers, including William Shakespeare.

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  Moscow Rules - What Drives...

  Keir Giles

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  From Moscow, the world looks different. It is through understanding how Russia sees the world—and its place in it—that the West can best meet the Russian challenge. 
   
   
   
  Russia and the West are like neighbors who never seem able to understand each other. A major reason, this book argues, is that Western leaders tend to think that Russia should act as a "rational" Western nation—even though Russian leaders for centuries have thought and acted based on their country's different history and traditions. Russia, through Western eyes, is unpredictable and irrational, when in fact its leaders almost always act in their own predictable and rational ways. For Western leaders to try to engage with Russia without attempting to understand how Russians look at the world is a recipe for repeated disappointment and crises. 
   
   
   
  Keir Giles, a senior expert on Russia at Britain's prestigious Chatham House, describes how Russian leaders have used consistent doctrinal and strategic approaches to the rest of the world. These approaches may seem alien in the West, but understanding them is essential for successful engagement with Moscow. Giles argues that understanding how Moscow's leaders think—not just Putin but his predecessors and eventual successors—will help counterparts in the West develop a less crisis-prone and more productive relationship with Russia.

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  The Impeachment Power - The Law...

  Keith E. Whittington

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  We are witnessing an unprecedented moment in American politics in which impeachments are increasingly common. In today's partisan environment, it is more vital than ever that government officials, scholars, and ordinary citizens understand what an impeachment can reasonably be expected to accomplish. In this incisive and accessible book, Keith Whittington provides needed clarity on the constitutional power of impeachment. 
   
   
   
  Drawing insights from American and British history, congressional practice, and the language of the Constitution itself, Whittington shows how impeachment is a tool for checking abuses of elective office and defending constitutional norms. While we have come to associate impeachment with the presidency, it can be used to remedy gross misconduct by an array of officers of the federal government. Whittington cautions against abusing this immense and consequential power to settle political scores, demonstrating how it undermines the independence of the branches and makes Congress the seat of political power. 
   
   
   
  A must-listen for the informed citizen, The Impeachment Power argues that impeachment is ultimately a political instrument and gives us the perspective we need to recognize when an impeachment might be useful and when we are better served by looking for alternative ways to solve our political problems.

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  The Era of Revolution - 1775-1796

  George Washington, Maximilien de...

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  Six speeches about freedom and revolution from the American, French and Irish revolutions.The first two speeches are from the American Revolutionary war (1775-1783). Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty or give me death” is recognized even today, two centuries since Henry spoke at the Second Virginia Convention to an audience including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The speech is credited with providing troops from Virginia for the revolutionary war.In the Newburgh Address, Washington and implores his army to put their faith in him. A mutiny was proposed because Congress has not paid them as promised. Washington needed to make clear to his generals that there was no option to surrender or turn away to unsettled lands, and that he was with them and on their side in the thick of both war and politics.Next is William Wilberforce’s Abolition Speech to the British parliament in 1789, the apex of a campaign that led to slavery being outlawed across the British Empire.Speeches from the French revolution then follow. First, there is the reaction from the aristocracy in England; a valediction from Edmund Burke, an MP in the British Parliament, on the beauty of Marie Antoinette and his sadness at her passing.Four speeches follow by Maximilien de Robespierre, a foundational member of the French Revolution, who laid down the political philosophy of liberty and the moral law over divinity and customary law. The speeches are filled with a passion for direct democracy and the rule of the people, not the elites.The volume ends with a more measured, but no less impassioned, address by the Irish lawyer and statesman John Curran. It was given in Curran’s defence of Archibald Rowan, who was sentenced to transportation to Australia for his treasonous activities fighting for Irish independence. While unsuccessful, this rallying cry for genuine self-determination and free speech captures the heart of the conflicts that defined the era.

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  Africa on the Precipice - The...

  Nnamdi Chiekwu

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  Africa on the Precipice (ATP) provides commentary on global geopolitics, economics, and world history, using African interests as a lens to give a different perspective on world events. The book specifically explores how and why Africa has not fared well in the ‘battle of civilizations’ (or global geopolitics) from the 15th century until present times. ATP also presents a bold blueprint to make African countries dominant on the international stage through an ideology originated by the author called ‘Afro-Hegemonism’.  
  ATP sounds the alarm for African countries that they must undergo transformational socioeconomic restructuring by 2030. The consequence of not doing so, will see Africans continue to be a global underclass in a geopolitical landscape that is quickly evolving. Moreover, the ultimate price for not embracing revolutionary change now, could see Africans permanently lose their sovereignty, treasure, and freedom in the 21st century.

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  Tom Nairn: Old Nations Auld...

  Tom Nairn

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  Tom Nairn has been the most forceful and original mind to confront, de-mask and anatomise the British state. The perception that Great Britain was a multinational state and not a united nation had never quite been lost over the centuries, but it was Nairn who almost single-handedly hammered this truth into the skull of British intellectuals and campaigners until it became – as it is today – practically uncontested by the political class.
  
  NEAL ASCHERSON, London Review of Books
  
  
  For the last fifty years Tom Nairn has been one of Britain's most consistently provocative and influential voices. No other writer has left so deep an impression on mainstream debates about Scotland, Britain and nationalism. No other writer has so thoroughly interrogated the United Kingdom's post-war crisis and decline.
  
  
  Old Nations, Auld Enemies, New Times brings together, for the first time, the full span of Nairn's work, from his ground-breaking analysis of the British state in the 1960s and '70s to his more recent examinations of globalisation, the English question and Scotland's independence referendum.
  
  
  
  Nairn stands alongside the great Scottish intellectual and literary figures of recent decades. Old Nations is the definitive Nairn collection – and an indispensable guide for anyone looking to understand the current moment in Scottish and British politics.
  
  
  For originality of mind, Tom Nairn is without equal among his contemporaries. In fifty years, there has never been a time in my memory in which that he was saying went with the flow of opinion, on the left or at large ... All of this in a style of extraordinary vigour and beauty – and not least humour: writing as democratic as his own unswerving politics. One thinks: if only there were more like him. But that would be a contradiction in terms.
  
  PERRY ANDERSON, New Left Review
  
  Tom Nairn is well known both as a major contributor to debates about Scottish nationalism and the re-configuring of the current UK, and as a supremely thoughtful and witty writer. This collection of his writings illustrates the evolution of his ideas and will be invaluable. Whether one agrees with Nairn or not, his arguments always make one think afresh.
  
  LINDA COLLEY, Professor of History, Princeton University

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