?《大动量：什么控制了我们的世界》的内容从金融次贷危机到伊拉克战争，从宗教信仰差异带来的行为到流行文化的潮流裹挟，从媒体网络的科技飞跃到全球环保运动所遭遇的支持与抵制，作者的视线遍及当今世界发展的各个关键领域，深刻剖析了随着“速度”（组织效率和传播速度）和“质量”（组织和投入的规模、影响力）的高度发展，大动量是如何对人类施加着支配性的、却又难以被察觉的巨大影响。 ?《大动量：什么控制了我们的世界》包含作者马克罗德对丰富案例的大量独到分析，文笔生动、鞭辟入里，并冷静地提醒世人小心大动量可能为世界带来的毁灭性打击，诚恳地建议我们如何在生活中保持冷静和独立的头脑，以幸存和完胜于这个易被各种危险动量所笼罩的“疯狂”世界。
'Magisterial...a biography that is almost as much a personaladventure story as an intellectual treatise.' - Andrew Roberts 'A penetrating interpretation...No one with a serious interestin the Napoleonic period can afford to ignore it. ' - TimesLiterary Supplement
Eugene Fran?ois Vidocq was born in France in 1775 and his lifespanned the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and the 1848revolutions. He was the Inspector Morse, the Sherlock Holmes, theJames Bond of his day. A notorious criminal, he turned policeofficer and employed a gang of ex-convicts as his detectives. Heinvented innovative criminal indexing techniques and experimentedwith fingerprinting, until his cavalier attitude towards the thinblue line forced him out of the police. So he began the world'svery first private detective agency. The cases he solved were high profile and he grew in notoriety.However, his infamy didn't prevent him from becoming a spy andmoving secretly across the dangerous borders of Europe. This is agloriously enjoyable historical romp through the eighteenth centuryin the company of the man whose influence still holds to thisday.
India is everywhere: on magazine covers and cinema marquees, at the gym and in the kitchen, in corporate boardrooms and on Capitol Hill. Through incisive reportage and illuminating analysis, Mira Kamdar explores India's astonishing transformation from a developing country into a global powerhouse. She takes us inside India, reporting on the people, companies, and policies defining the new India and revealing how it will profoundly affect our future -- financially, culturally, politically. The world's fastest-growing democracy, India has the youngest population on the planet, and a middle class as big as the population of the entire United States. Its market has the potential to become the world's largest. As one film producer told Kamdar when they met in New York, "Who needs the American audience? There are only 300 million people here." Not only is India the ideal market for the next new thing, but with a highly skilled English-speaking workforce, elite educational institutions, and growing foreign inves
In this major contribution to Ideas in Context Anne McLarenexplores the consequences for English political culture when, withthe accession of Elizabeth I, imperial 'kingship' came to beinvested in the person of a female ruler. She looks at howElizabeth managed to be queen, in the face of considerable maleopposition, and demonstrates how that opposition was enacted. DrMcLaren argues that during Elizabeth's reign men were able toaccept the rule of a woman partly by inventing a new definition of'citizen', one that made it an exclusively male identity, and sheemphasizes the continuities between Elizabeth's reign and theoutbreak of the English civil wars in the seventeenth century. Asignificant work of cultural history informed by political thought,Political Culture in the Reign of Elizabeth I offers a wholesalereinterpretation of the political dynamics of the reign of QueenElizabeth.
Entering the world of conspiracy theories and secret societies is like stepping into a distant， parallel universe where the laws of physics have completely changed： black means white， up is down， and if you want to understand what’s really going on， you need a good reference book。 That’s where Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies comes in。 Whether you’re a skeptic or a true believer， this fascinating guide， packed with the latest information， walks you through some of the most infamous conspiracy theories — such as Area 51 and the assassination of JFK — and introduces you to such mysterious organizations as the Freemasons， the Ninjas， the Mafia， and Rosicrucians。 This behind-the-curtain guide helps you separate fact from fiction and helps you the global impact of these mysterious events and groups on our modern world。 Discover how to： Test a conspiracy theory Spot a sinister secret society Assess the Internet’s role in fueling conspirac
The thesis of this provocative and potentially important book is the increasing threat of violence arising from renewed conflicts between countries and cultures that base their traditions on religious faith and dogma. This argument moves past the notion of ethnicity to examine the growing influence of a handful of major cultures--Western, Eastern Orthodox, Latin American, Islamic, Japanese, Chinese, Hindu, and African--in current struggles across the globe. Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist at Harvard University and foreign policy aide to President Clinton, argues that policymakers should be mindful of this development when they interfere in other nations' affairs. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against “failed states” around the globe. In this much-anticipated follow-up to his international bestseller Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky turns the tables, showing how the United States itself shares features with other failed states—suffering from a severe “democratic deficit,” eschewing domestic and international law, and adopting policies that increasingly endanger its own citizens and the world. Exploring the latest developments in U.S. foreign and domestic policy, Chomsky reveals Washington’s plans to further militarize the planet, greatly increasing the risks of nuclear war. He also assesses the dangerous consequences of the occupation of Iraq; documents Washington’s self-exemption from international norms, including the Geneva conventions and the Kyoto Protocol; and examines how the U.S. electoral system is designed to eliminate genuine political alternatives, impeding any meaningful democracy. Forceful
The Handbook of Conflict Resolution, Second Edition is writtenfor both the seasoned professional and the student who wants todeepen their understanding of the processes involved in conflictsand their knowledge of how to manage them constructively. Itprovides the theoretical underpinnings that throw light on thefundamental social psychological processes involved inunderstanding and managing conflicts at all levels—interpersonal,intergroup, organizational, and international. The Handbook coversa broad range of topics including information on cooperation andcompetition, justice, trust development and repair, resolvingintractable conflict, and working with culture and conflict.Comprehensive in scope, this new edition includes chapters thatdeal with language, emotion, gender, and personal implicit theoriesas they relate to conflict.
For the last sixty years, the CIA has managed to maintain a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, burying its blunders in top-secret archives. Its mission was to know the world. When it did not succeed, it set out to change the world. Its failures have handed us, in the words of President Eisenhower, "a legacy of ashes." Now Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the CIA-and everything is on the record. LEGACY OF ASHES is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including ten Directors of Central Intelligence. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after 9/ll. Tim Weiner's past work on the CIA and American intelligence was hailed as "impressively reported" and "immensely entertaining" in The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal called it "truly extr
Why conservatism equals terrible government-and always will "Ending the conservative era requires organizing, yes, but also hard thinking and shrewd analysis. When progressives of the future look back at how they triumphed, one of the people they'll thank is Greg Anrig. Drawing inspiration from the work of the early neoconservatives who demolished public support for liberal programs, Anrig casts a sharp eye on conservative ideas and nostrums and shows that many of them simply don't work because they are rooted more in ideological dreams than in reality. Facts are stubborn things, Ronald Reagan once said, and Anrig makes good use of them in this important and engaging book." -E. J. Dionne, syndicated columnist and author of Why Americans Hate Politics "Greg Anrig's wide-ranging and perceptive book looks beyond the ideology of the right and offers a persuasive account of the many policy failures that have emerged out of the conservative movement. Anrig has put the Bush administration and the r
"Very little of my backstory qualifies as Hallmark Card material, but it may help you to make sense of the way I see and interpret what's going on around me." -Jack Cafferty For the millions who watch the "Cafferty File" on CNN's The Situation Room, Jack Cafferty stands for common sense-the much-needed voice of reason who skewers right-wing nut jobs and liberal eggheads alike. For years, he's voiced the views, hopes, and fears of the average American in inimitable style. Now, in It's Getting Ugly Out There, he brings that level-headed wisdom to bear on the most critical issues facing us today-and explains why Americans must take our country back from those who are harming it. "It's been a target-rich seven years for someone like me who enjoys pushing people's buttons and sticking pins in things that need pricking, from rich and fatuous celebrities offering foreign policy analysis to the latest lying Beltway blowhard impaling himself on his sword of pomposity. . . . Anyone familiar with my da
Linking Hamlet's ghost with the opening of the Communist Manifesto, the noted French philosopher (Aporias, LJ 2/15/94) meditates on the state and future of Marxism since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Developing two highly expanded lectures, Derrida notes that the current talk of the "new world order" and "the end of history" is the recurrence of a old debate, an attempt to exorcise the "spirit" represented by Marxism, just as Marx was concerned with the "ghosts" and "conjuring" of capitalism. Derrida argues that the deconstructive doctrine of "differance" and Marxism as an act posit many Marxisms. It is therefore the interpreter's duty to preserve the spirit of Marxism by pursuing the ghosts and laying bare the conjurings. This is Derrida's first major statement on Marx; an important book for academic collections. Written in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and within the context of a critique of a "new world order" that proclaims the death of Marx and Marxism, Jacques Derrida undertakes a re
Although its composition seems occasionally arbitrary, this addition to the weird history subgenre is as informative as it is entertaining. Smith and Kiger (Poplorica) take 20 of American history's biggest "flops, goofs, misjudgments, and fiascoes" (mainly from the 20th century) and attempt to extract a "meaningful lesson" from each, the latter more difficult than simply telling an embarrassing story. For instance, "Beware Solutions That Create New Problems" profiles Thomas Midgeley, the innovator who added poisonous lead to gasoline and invented ozone-killing CFCs, which made him responsible for more atmospheric damage than any other man in history. Most enjoyable are the chapters on jaw-droppingly ridiculous decisions, such as Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees in 1967 or the 1974 Cleveland Indians' 10-cent beer night that turned into one of pro sports' ugliest riots. Some subjects seem more like misguided incidents than fiascoes (e.g., inventors' unending quest for a flying car, the Y2K scare), but there
In 1823 and 1824, the newly independent government of Mexicoentered the international capital market, raising two loans inLondon totaling ?6.4 million. Intended to cover a variety ofexpenses, the loans fell into default by 1827 and remained indefault until 1887. This case study explores how the loan processworked in Mexico in the early nineteenth century, when foreignlending was still a novelty, and the unexpected ways in whichinternational debt could influence politics and policy. The historyof the loans, the efforts of successive governments in Mexico toresume repayment, and the efforts of the foreign lenders to recovertheir investment became one of the most significant, persistent,and contentious, if largely misunderstood, issues in the politicaland financial history of nineteenth-century Mexico. The loansthemselves became entangled in partisan politics in Mexico andabroad, especially in Great Britain and France, and were a fertilesource of speculation for a wide range of legitimate - andnot-so-legitimate
In this collection of essays David A Dyker explores some of the most difficult and fascinating aspects of the process of transition from autocratic "real socialism" to a capitalism that is sometimes democratic, sometimes authoritarian. The stress is on the economic dimension of transformation, but the author sets the economic drama firmly within a political economy framework and a historical perspective. Trends in key economic variables are analysed against the background of the struggle between different social and political groups for power and command over resources. While the book pays due attention to topical issues like EU enlargement, the underlying perspective is a long-term one. Transition is viewed not as a set of once-and-for-all institutional changes or a process of short-term stabilisation, but as a historic opportunity to solve the inherited problem of poverty and underdevelopment in Central-East Europe and the former Soviet Union. The book ends with a critical assessment of how economics, as a
The #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of A Patriot's History of the United States examines tencurrent challenges. America is at a crossroads. Weface two options: continue our descent toward big government,higher taxes, less individual liberty, and more debt or pull ourcountry back on the path our Founding Fathers planned for us. Butthat path isn't always so easy to see. Following the success of his previous books, conservativehistorian Larry Schweikart tackles some of the key issuesconfronting our nation today: education, government bailouts, guncontrol, health care, the environment, and more. For each he asks,"What would the founders say?" and sets out to explore our historyand offer wisdom to help us get back on track. What would really becompatible with the vision that Washington, Jefferson, Madison, andthe other founders had for America? Written in Schweikart's informal yet informative style, WhatWould the Founders Say? is sure to delight his fans and anyonelooking fo
From Publishers Weekly The language of clinical psychology can convey detachment—or, as in this starstruck study of the 42nd president, gushing admiration. Deploying his trademark diagnosis, Johns Hopkins psychologist Gartner (The Hypomanic Edge) pegs Clinton as a hypomanic personality with boundless energy and charisma, but prone to impulsive appetites and lapses in judgment. The author attributes much of Clinton's psyche to genes (many inherited, he argues, from an illegitimate father he tentatively identifies), but he also embraces Freudian notions: Clinton's relationships with women, Gartner contends, follow a pattern established in childhood when he felt torn between his bossy, Hillaryesque grandmother and his lushly erotic, Monica-like mother. Gartner sometimes overreaches—We can almost see Clinton going through the stages of his relationship with [stepfather] Roger in his approach to Bosnia—but his analysis of Clinton's political talents, right down to his mesmerizing facial expressions whi
The conclusion to The Baroque Cycle is a veritable doorstop, but a doorstop perhaps worth its weight in 18th-century gold coins—especially to those who need a reminder about the dangerous misuses of science and “progress.” Critics can’t heap enough praise on Stephenson’s eloquent narration, true-to-life characters, and impeccable plotting (“generated via Waterhouse’s Logic Mills,” says the San Francisco Chronicle). Stephenson exquisitely unearths Baroque history, too, from mints to gardens to Jacobites. While compelling, you’ll best appreciate this epic history-romance-science fiction story “once you have a solid liberal arts education under your belt” (Chronicle). Stephenson mostly gets away with his philosophical pedantry because he’s so smart and inventive. If you have the courage to delve in, you won’t be disappointed. And if you can’t bring yourself to start with Quicksilver, System includes a preface relating “the story thus far” that reviewers found helpful enough.
Meeting the short run challenges of reviving the worldwideeconomy need not mean sacrificing long run economic andenvironmental sustainability. A Global Green New Deal (GGND) is aneconomic policy strategy for ensuring a more economically andenvironmentally sustainable world economic recovery. Revivinggrowth and creating jobs should be essential objectives. Butpolicies should also aim to reduce carbon dependency, protectecosystems and water resources, and alleviate poverty. Otherwise,economic recovery today will do little to avoid future economic andenvironmental crises. Part One argues why a GGND strategy isessential to the sustainability of the global economy. Part Twoprovides an overview of the key national policies whilst Part Threefocuses on the global actions necessary to allow national policiesto work. Part Four summarizes the main recommendations for nationaland international action, and discusses the wider implications forrestructuring the world economy towards 'greener' development.
The Bush administration's drive to politicize the Justice Department reached a new low with the wrongful firing of seven U.S. Attorneys in late 2006. Their action has ignited public outrage on a scale that far surpassed the reaction to any of the Bush administration's other political debacles. David Iglesias was one of those federal prosecutors, and now he tells his story. Iglesias has long served in the Navy as part of the JAG corps. One of his earliest cases, about an assaulted Marine in Guantanamo Bay, became the basis for the movie A Few Good Men. When Bush chose him to become the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, it was a dream come true. He was a core member of Karl Rove's idealized Republican Party of the future -- handsome, Hispanic, evangelical, and a military veteran. The dream came to an abrupt end when Senator Pete Domenici improperly called Iglesias, wanting him to indict high-level Democrats before the 2006 elections. When Iglesias refused, the line went dead. Iglesias was fired just weeks later. F
Having made The 9/11 Commission Report understandable for everyone, the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel team of Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón use all their considerable talents to explain the post-9/11 world. Working from news reports drawn from multiple international media, Jacobson and Colón depict the critical events, decision makers, and consequences of America’s “war on terror,” and, most important, the context in which the war began, unfolded, and unraveled. The most demanding story they have ever tackled, After 9/11 is also the most tailor-made for their medium, capturing simultaneous events, geographic complexity, numerous participants, and a vast array of economic, statistical, and quantitative information—compellingly told through the sequential panel art narrative form unique to graphic books. Proving yet again that graphic novels best meet the challenge of giving the most information with the least amount of ink, Jacobson and Colón answer with clarity and unforgettable imagery t
This book, by one of America's most intelligent and decent political writers, tells liberals how the conservative movement rose and fell, and how they could emulate its successes while avoiding its failures." —George Packer, author of Blood of the Liberals and The Assassins' Gate "No one is better than Todd Gitlin at describing the crucial dynamic through which movements gain or lose political power. Justly celebrated for his seminal work on such dynamics during the 1960s, Gitlin now explains everything that's happened since, with passion and wisdom—and happily, because of Bushism's collapse, legitimate optimism about the future." —Michael Tomasky, Editor, Guardian America "An impassioned yet realistic plea for Democrats and liberals to become more serious about politics. They would do well to follow his advice." —Alan Wolfe, Director, Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, Boston College "A brilliant and indispensable book. Gitlin convincingly
