News that discount giant Kmart was filing for bankruptcy in early 2002 sent shockwaves through the retail community. How could a brand as widely recognized and firmly fixed in our cultural lexicon be teetering on the brink of extinction? Depending on who you talk to, Kmart’s fall from grace can be attributed to any number of factors. In the first in-depth examination of Kmart, author Marcia Layton Turner reveals the real reason behind Kmart’s troubles–bad management–and discusses how the large personalities and even larger dreams of Kmart’s misguided leaders played a significant role in transforming this once profitable retail titan into a bankrupt behemoth. Even though Kmart has emerged from bankruptcy, the truth is that the company has made a number of bad decisions throughout its forty-year history–some seemed like good decisions at the time, while others were obviously off base. But what really hurt Kmart is the fact that most of these decisions were made by rogue managers who shirked the

"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

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 proliferation of international institutions and their impact has become a central issue in international relations。Why do countries comply with international agreements and how do international institutions influence national policies？Most theories focus on the extent to which international institutions can wield ’carrots and sticks’directly in their relations with states。Xinyuan Dai presents an alternative framework in which they influence national policies indirectly by utilizing non-state actors （NGOs，social movements） and empowering domestic constituencies。In this way，even weak international institutions that lack ’carrots and sticks’may have powerful effects on states。 Supported by empirical studies of environmental politics， human rights and economic and security issues，this book sheds fresh light on how and why international institutions matter。It will be of interest to students， scholars and policymakers in both international relations and international law。

Thomas L. Friedman's phenomenal number-one bestseller The World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see the world in a new way. In his brilliant, essential new book, Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: America's surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; and the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests. In this groundbreaking account of where we stand now, he shows us how the solutions to these two big problems are linked--how we can restore the world and revive America at the same time. Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the astonishing expansion of the world's middle class through globalization have produced a planet that is "hot, flat, and crowded." Already the earth is being affected in ways that threaten to make it dangerously unstable. In just a few years, it will be too late to fix things--unless the United States steps up now and takes the