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  Allen Dulles: The Life of the...

  Editors Charles River

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  The 28-year period from 1933-1961, bracketed on one end by Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and on the other by the very height of the Cold War, was marked by a remarkably stable succession of American presidents. In fact, only three men held office in this period, and that predictability led to a general stability among government agencies. Conversely, the CIA had five different directors in its first 15 years, from 1946-1961, and then nine different directors in the next 20, with four of those directors serving less than a year. But of all the CIA’s directors, none wielded the immense influence or power of Allen Dulles, who, together with his brother, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, became arguably the two most powerful people in the government after the president.  
  	To this day, Dulles’ eight-year tenure in that office is the longest, and as one of the country’s leading experts in international law, intelligence, and spycraft, he became renowned for his unwavering anti-communist ideology and readiness to take decisive measures to counter what he perceived as a menace to American safety. As such, it would be Dulles who sanctioned many of the CIA’s most notorious operations, including the ousting of Iran's democratically elected government in 1953, spying and experimentation on American citizens, and the disastrous Bay of Pigs. That last episode cost him his job, though he continued to play a role in American political life after President John F. Kennedy forced him out of the CIA in 1961.  
  	By then, however, Dulles had already had an outsized influence on the direction of the country, and to this day his legacy can be felt, even as his reputation continues to be a source of much debate. 

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  The Power of Nothing to Lose -...

  William L. Silber

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  Following books by Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Ariely, noted economics professor William L. Silber explores the Hail Mary effect, from its origins in sports to its applications to history, nature, politics, and business. 
  A quarterback like Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers gambles with a Hail Mary pass at the end of a football game when he has nothing to lose -- the risky throw might turn defeat into victory, or end in a meaningless interception. Rodgers may not realize it, but he has much in common with figures such as George Washington, Rosa Parks, Woodrow Wilson, and Adolph Hitler, all of whom changed the modern world with their risk-loving decisions. 
  In The Power of Nothing to Lose, award-winning economist William Silber explores the phenomenon in politics, war, and business, where situations with a big upside and limited downside trigger gambling behavior like with a Hail Mary. Silber describes in colorful detail how the American Revolution turned on such a gamble. The famous scene of Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas night to attack the enemy may not look like a Hail Mary, but it was. Washington said days before his risky decision, “If this fails I think the game will be pretty well up.” Rosa Parks remained seated in the white section of an Alabama bus, defying local segregation laws, an act that sparked the modern civil rights movement in America. It was a life-threatening decision for her, but she said, “I was not frightened. I just made up my mind that as long as we accepted that kind of treatment it would continue, so I had nothing to lose.” 
   The risky exploits of George Washington and Rosa Parks made the world a better place, but demagogues have inflicted great damage with Hail Marys. Towards the end of World War II, Adolph Hitler ordered a desperate counterattack, the Battle of the Bulge, to stem the Allied advance into Germany. He said, “The outcome of the battle would spell either life or death for the German nation.” Hitler failed to change the war’s outcome, but his desperate gamble inflicted great collateral damage, including the worst wartime atrocity on American troops in Europe. 
  Silber shares these illuminating insights on these figures and more, from Woodrow Wilson to Donald Trump, asylum seekers to terrorists and rogue traders. Collectively they illustrate that downside protection fosters risky undertakings, that it changes the world in ways we least expect.

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  The Death of Expertise - The...

  Tom Nichols

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  Fully updated chapters continue to address how technology and increasing levels of education have exposed people to more information than ever before. These societal gains, however, have also helped fuel a surge in narcissistic and misguided intellectual egalitarianism that has crippled informed debates on any number of issues. Over the past several years, the rise of populism and conspiracy theories have taken this to new levels. All voices, even the most ridiculous, demand to be taken with equal seriousness, and any claim to the contrary is dismissed as undemocratic elitism. 
   
   
   
  Tom Nichols' The Death of Expertise, Second Edition, follows up on how this rejection of experts has occurred: the openness of the internet, the emergence of a customer satisfaction model in higher education, the transformation of the news industry into a 24-hour entertainment machine, and importantly, the election of Donald Trump. Paradoxically, the increasingly democratic dissemination of information, rather than producing an educated public, has instead created an army of ill-informed and angry citizens who denounce intellectual achievement. When ordinary citizens believe that no one knows more than anyone else, democratic institutions themselves are in danger of falling either to populism or to technocracy or, in the worst case, a combination of both.

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  Free Speech - What Everyone...

  Nadine Strossen

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  This concise but comprehensive book lays out specific answers to myriad topical questions about free speech law, and also general explanations of how and why the law distinguishes between protected and punishable speech. 
   
   
   
  The book focuses on modern First Amendment law, explaining the historic factors that propelled its evolution in a more speech-protective direction—in particular, the Civil Rights Movement. It highlights the many cases, involving multiple issues, in which robust speech-protective principles aided advocates of racial justice and other human rights causes. The book also shows how these holdings reflect universal, timeless values, which have been incorporated in many other legal systems, and have inspired countless thinkers and activists alike. 
   
   
   
  Without oversimplifying the complexities of free speech law, the book's lively question-and-answer format summarizes this law in an understandable, interesting, and memorable fashion. It addresses the issues in a logical sequence, presenting facts and eloquent language from landmark Supreme Court opinions. It will be illuminating to a wide range of listeners, from those who know nothing about free speech law, to those who have studied it but seek a well-organized summary of major doctrinal rules, as well as insights into their background, rationales, and interconnections.

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  Letters To Mikey - Messages of...

  Glenn Cort

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  In America we have so much, but there is something missing. There is a widespread fear of what we are becoming. Our new normal is indescribable, yet undeniable. Subtle, yet controlling. We can all feel it but we can’t put our finger on what it is. 
  There is a generalized sense of noise and confusion that has dominated our society for years. It’s as if we’ve become unglued from anything — truth or reality — that has formerly held us together. 
  Driven by the fear of the moment, Letters to Mikey (LTM) is the story of a parent and part time teacher who sits down to write a birthday card for his eighteen-year-old son and is at a loss for words for what is happening to society. So, he drops everything, moves to an island and visits a place that he hasn’t been to for years... the local library. What he finds there is truly astonishing! 
  Written for young adults and teenagers, LTM explains truth in a way that kids can rely on to have less frustration and worry about this crazy world we live in. It provides real reasons for optimism for a brighter future as well as coping mechanisms, tools and strategies to enable a future generation to bring an end to terrible disagreement and hate forever. These aren't false promises. It's possible.  
  Geared to start a movement, LTM seeks to tap into our greatest resource — young people.

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  Humanitarianism - A Very Short...

  Julia F. Irwin

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  Humanitarian crises are a central problem of modern history and contemporary international relations. Since the 1990s, the aid sector has ballooned in size and is now a multi-billion-dollar industry. In this book, historian Julia F. Irwin traces the events and trends that defined modern humanitarianism, from the eighteenth century up to the present day. It describes the origins of international humanitarian action, the development of major humanitarian organizations and movements, the evolution of international humanitarian law, and the expansion of the international humanitarian sector. It examines organized efforts to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity amid major conflicts, disasters, refugee crises, and other humanitarian emergencies. At the same time, Irwin shows how beliefs about race, gender, religion, and nationality have historically influenced humanitarian sentiments and actions. Attuned to the distinctions between wartime, postwar, and non-conflict situations, Irwin assesses criticisms waged against humanitarian actions and debates over the legitimacy of humanitarian interventions. This Very Short Introduction also teases out the complex relationship between humanitarianism, human rights, and international development. Finally, this book surveys diverse and competing humanitarian traditions throughout the world.

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