Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics, see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
Though reticent in public,George Bush has openly shared his private thoughts in correspondence throughout his life.Fortunately,since the former president does not plan to write his autobiography,this collection of letters,diary entries,and memos,with his accompanying commentary,willfill that void.As he writes in his preface,"So what we have here are letters from the past and present.Letters that are light and hopefully amusing.Letters written when my heart was heavy or full of joy.Serious letters.Nutty letters.Caring and rejoicing letters...It's all about heartbeat." Organized chronologically,the volume begins with eighteen-year-old George's letters to his parents during World War II,at the time he was commissioned,he was the youngest pilot in the Navy.Readers will gain insights into Bush's career highlights-the oil business,his two terms in Congress,his ambassadorship to the U.N.,his service as an envoy to China his tenure with the Central Intelligence Agency,and of course,the vice presidency,the preside
This classic book is a powerful indictment of contemporary attitudes to race. By accusing British intellectuals and politicians on both sides of the political divide of refusing to take race seriously, Paul Gilroy caused immediate uproar when this book was first published in 1987. A brilliant and explosive exploration of racial discourses, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack provided a powerful new direction for race relations in Britain. Still dynamite today and as relevant as ever, this Routledge Classics edition includes a new introduction by the author.
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
A riveting exploration of the world's most highly trained military units, from the ancient Spartans to modern-day US Navy SEALs, this is the definitive guide to the world's special military forces. 作者简介： Hugh McManners is a former commando and the author of many books, including Scars of War, and several successful DK titles, including The Outdoor Training Manual, Backpackers Handbook, and The Complete Wilderness Training Book.
From Henry Clay to Newt Gingrich -- the men who ruled Congress and changed the course of American history Since the early days of our country, leaders in the House of Representatives have exerted tremendous force and influence on government policy and consequently on both domestic and world affairs. Now, two prominent public figures profile nine of America's most provocative, colorful, and controversial congressional leaders: Henry Clay, James Polk, Thaddeus Stevens, James Blaine, Thomas Reed, Joe Cannon, Nicholas Longworth, Sam Rayburn, and Newt Gingrich. Capturing the personalities of these men in revealing anecdotes, the Cheneys present a telling chronicle of how power in the House affects not only congressional politics, but the nation as a whole.
This is not your typical self-help book. You won't find any motivational platitudes or cute business parables here. This is more of a "get off your butt and get to work" approach that can help you achieve more success, make more money, improve your business, and have more fun. Larry Winget doesn't pull any punches here. He believes that business gets better when businesspeople get better through personal growth. And it works the same way in your personal life-husbands and wives improve each other when they improve themselves, and kids improve when their parents do. In other words, everything in life gets better when you get better, and nothing gets better until you get better. This book can make you better, but it will probably tick you off. Winget is direct, caustic, and controversial. You won't like or agree with everything he has to say. Yet his advice is full of wisdom and truth that can't easily be argued with. Words from Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life that prove that this book is any
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 July 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Senator Obama called “the audacity of hope.” Now, in The Audacity of Hope, Senator Obama calls for a different brand of politics–a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces–from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media–that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating hu
Winston Churchill's six-volume history of the cataclysm thatswept the world remains the definitive history of the Second WorldWar. Lucid, dramatic, remarkable both for its breadth and sweep andfor its sense of personal involvement, it is universallyacknowledged as a magnificent reconstruction and is an enduring,compelling work that led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize forliterature. The Grand Alliance recounts the momentous events of1941 surrounding America's entry into the War and Hitler's march onRussia the continuing onslaught on British civilians during theBlitz, Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the alliance betweenBritain and America that shaped the outcome of the War.
From the woman who has reported on every president from Kennedy to Clinton comes a privileged glimpse into the White House -- and a telling record of the ever-changing relationship between the presidency and the press. Helen Thomas wanted to be a reporter from her earliest years. She turned a copy-aide job at the Washington Daily News into a powerful and successful career spanning thirty-seven years and eight U.S. presidents. Assigned to the White House press corps in 1961. Thomas was the first woman to close a press conference with "Thank you. Mr. President." She was also the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association and the first woman member, later president, of the Gridiron Club. In this revealing memoir, which includes hundreds of anecdotes, observations, and personal details. Thomas looks back on a career spent with presidents at home and abroad, on the ground and in the air. Providing a unique view of the past four decades of presidential history. Front Row at the W
We have just experienced the worst financial crash the worldhas seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. While realeconomies in general did not crash as they did in the 1930s, thefinancial parts of the economy certainly did, or, at least, camevery close to doing so. Hundreds of banks in the United States andEurope have been closed by their supervisory authorities, forciblymerged with stronger partners, nationalized or recapitalized withthe tax payers' money. Banks and insurance companies had, by mid2010, already written off some 2000 billion dollars in creditwrite-downs on loans and securities. In this book, Johan Lybeckdraws on his experience as both an academic economist and aprofessional banker to present a detailed yet non-technicalanalysis of the crash. He describes how the crisis began in early2007, explains why it happened and shows how it compares to earlierfinancial crises. · Integrates macro theory and financial facts to provide adetailed yet non-technical analysis of the recent f
An inside look at seven of the most harrowing and significant Special Operations missions ever. Courage beyond reason. Loyalty beyond faith. Perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. These are just some of the qualities of the members of the U.S. Special Operation Forces. BEYOND HELL AND BACK details the seven defining Special Ops missions that have made the Special Operation Forces the best fighting unit in the world, including: THE RESCUE OF BAT-21: The largest and longest Combat Search and Rescue mission in the Vietnam War lasted 17 days and cost the lives of 13 Americans—all to rescue one man and the invaluable knowledge he alone possessed. TASK FORCE NORMANDY: Planned in secrecy and executed with flawless efficiency, Task Force Normandy was an Army/Air Force Special Operations joint op that fired the opening shots behind enemy lines in Operation Desert Storm. OPERATION EAGLE CLAW: The devastating Special Forces operation mounted to retrieve 52 American hostages in Iran
The Norton Critical Edition offers a complete historical and philosophical introduction to Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party. It will help both students making their first approach to Marx's thought and those ready to study the Manifesto in more depth. For beginning students, this edition provides a carefully anno-tated text of the Manifesto, a useful historical and philosophical introduction by Frederic Bender, and a chronology of events sur-rounding publication of the Manifesto. More experienced students will benefit from sections on the sources of Marx's thought, the sig-nificance of the Manifesto in the history of Marxism, and recent interpretations of the work. THE EDITOR: FREDERIC L. BENDER is professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He is the author of The Betrayal of Marw and editor of Karl Marx: The Essential Writings.
Why were urban women veiled in the early 1900s, unveiled from 1936 to 1979, and reveiled after the 1979 revolution? This question forms the basis of Hamideh Sedghi's original and unprecedented contribution to politics and Middle Eastern studies. Using primary and secondary sources, Sedghi offers new knowledge on women's agency in relation to state power. In this rigorous analysis she places contention over women at the centre of the political struggle between secular and religious forces and demonstrates that control over women's identities, sexuality, and labor has been central to the consolidation of state power. Sedghi links politics and culture with economics to present an integrated analysis of the private and public lives of different classes of women and their modes of resistance to state power.
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
More than two thousand years after his death, Julius Caesarremains one of the great figures of history. He shaped Rome forgenerations, and his name became a synonym for "emperor" -- notonly in Rome but as far away as Germany and Russia. He is bestknown as the general who defeated the Gauls and doubled the size ofRome's territories. But, as Philip Freeman describes in thisfascinating new biography, Caesar was also a brilliant orator, anaccomplished writer, a skilled politician, and much more. Julius Caesar was a complex man, both hero and villain. Hepossessed great courage, ambition, honor, and vanity. Born into anoble family that had long been in decline, he advanced his careercunningly, beginning as a priest and eventually becoming Rome'sleading general. He made alliances with his rivals and thendiscarded them when it suited him. He was a spokesman for theordinary people of Rome, who rallied around him time and again, buthe profited enormously from his conquests and lived opulently.Eventually he
Through dramatic incidents tells for the first time the full story of the development of Cold War naval intelligence from the end of WWII to the breakup the Soviet Union in 1991, from both sides, East and West. Unlike other accounts, which focus on submarine confrontations and accidents, the authors cover all types of naval intelligence, human collection (racing with the Soviets to capture Nazi subs, successful and losing spies and defectors), signal intelligence (surface, air, satellite and navy commando teams in balaclavas launched by speed boats from subs), acoustic (passive underwater arrays and tapping phone lines), and the aerial and space reconnaissance. The authors give details of operations in all these areas, some of which were witnessed first hand. "A new light is shed on the spy ships incidents of the 1960s and on submarine intrusions in Swedish waters. Excerpts of the Soviet Navy instructions on UFOs and accounts of Soviet naval encounters with unexplained objects are also published
GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN'S GRASSROOTS BID FOR THE PRESIDENCY IS GENERATING EXCITEMENT IN EVERY CORNER OF AMERICA. In Winning Back America, Governor Dean writes for the first time about his life and the people and events that have shaped him, beginning with his upbringing in New York and taking us through his medical career, eleven and a half years as governor of Vermont, and finally into his presidential campaign. Howard Dean writes about: The years at college that changed the way he looks at America His decision to attend medical school and the origins of his commitment to children and to universal health care Meeting his wife, Judith Steinberg, and bringing up a family in Vermont One dramatic day that he began as an internist and ended as governor The successes of his governorship His decision to run for president of the United States His vision for the country Winning Back America is Howard Dean in his own words. Dean tells h
In Statecraft, Margaret Thatcher, a unique world figure, discusses global military, political, and economic challenges of the twenty0first century. The former British Prime Minister brings her unrivaled political experience to comment on the threats that democracy faces at the dawn of the new millennium and the role Western powers should play in the world's hotspots, especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Reflecting on the lessons of the Cold War, she outlines the foundation of U.S. dominance and its mission as the only global superpower. Thatcher offers wise observations about the dangers posed by Balkan instability, rogue states, Islamic extremism, and international terrorism -- and suggests strategies to counter them. She also examines current trends in Russia, China, India, the Far East, Europe and Great Britain, and offers guidance for the future. Noting how every contemporary problem evokes demands for a global solution, Thatcher also warns of over-reliance on international institutions
As his parents finished packing the few personal belongines they were permitted to take out of Germany,the bespectacled 15-year-old stood in the corner of the apartment memorizing the details of the scene.He was a bookish and reflective child,with that odd mixture of ego and insecurity that can come from growing up smart yet persecuted.“I'll be back someday.”he saide to the cutoms inspector who was surveying the boses.Years later,he would recall how the offciual looded at him“with the disdain of ages”and said nothing. Henry Kissinger was right:he did come bacd to his Bavarian birthplace,first as a soldier with the U.S. Army counterintelligence corps,them as a ren owned scholar of international relations,and eventually as the dominant relations,and eventually as the dominant statesman of his era. Bya the time he was made secretary of stalte in 1973,he had become,according to the Gallup Poll,the most admired person in America.In addition.as the conducted foreign ploicy with the air of a gues
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.
