The four strangers whose lives havebecome inextricably linked find themselves crossing divides of caste,class and religion to form the most unexpected of friendships.Produced by Tamasha - creator of the groundbreaking East is East and the award-winning musical Fourteen Songs, Two Weddings and a Funeral - A Fine Balance was first seen at Hampstead Theatre in 2006, where it enjoyed a sell-out run.'it tells a grim tale with wit, warmth and a keen eye for the join between public policies and private lives' The Times****'nothing short of a miracle' Sunday Telegraph'a moving but unsentimental homage to endurance, asking for no pity, only understanding' Sunday Times

    Join her as she splashes in the sea, prepares for a party, sells oranges, and hopes to see sweet, sweet snow.

    What each discovers, as the story unfolds, is that the enemy is not a faceless beast, but rather a real person with family, friends, and dreams.

    But when the queen dies, the land becomes quiet and barren, and everyone is filled with sadness. What will make the kingdom bloom again? Can Serenity, the youngest of three princesses, bring hope and life back to her kingdom with a single apple pip — a precious seed left to her by her mother? This original fairy tale is brought to life and exquisitely illustrated by the internationally renowned Jane Ray.

    Realizing that it could not rely on police investigators or the legal system to solve the murder, the church formed its own investigative team, a group of secular young men in their twenties who called themselves Los Intocables (the Untouchables). Known in Guatemala as “The Crime of the Century,” the Bishop Gerardi murder case, with its unexpectedly outlandish scenarios and sensational developments, confounded observers and generated extraordinary controversy. In his first nonfiction book, acclaimed novelist Francisco Goldman has spoken to witnesses no other reporter has reached, and observed firsthand some of the most crucial developments in the case. Now he has produced The Art of Political Murder , a tense and astonishing true detective story that opens a window on the new Latin American reality of mara youth gangs and organized crime, and tells the story of a remarkable group of engaging, courageous young people, and of their remarkable fight for justice.

    But when onlookers criticize his father for riding while Nasreddine walks, the boy is ashamed. The following week, Nasreddine persuades his father to walk, and let him ride -- but then people criticize the boy for making his father walk! No matter what Nasreddine tries, it seems that someone always finds something to disapprove of.Nasreddine is a legendary character popular in stories told throughout the Middle East, and this clever story will bring him to a new audience. Accompanied by stunning artwork, this tale offers a gentle reminder to readers that it isn't always necessary to listen to the world's criticisms.

    Then a travel agent convinced him to spend his vacation in India. Amazed by what he saw in the land of sacred cows and shocking poverty, Jaume was transformed.That experience lead him to reconsider the world he lived in and caused him to think that he might do something to make it a little better. He devoted himself to helping a small orphanage in Bombay, one that was about to close its doors and send its forty children back to the streets (and the brothels) from which they had been rescued. Jaume seized the moment, determined not to let that happen. As a consequence, he changed his life, and much more as well.In Bombay Smiles, Jaume Sanllorente gives us an insightful and loving vision of a country of great contrasts. He reveals that the secret of his own happiness is in seeking happiness for others.Bombay Smiles is a story of loneliness, ransoms, dangers, injustices, threats of death, and acts of courage, which give an example to follow in spite of the adversities one might meet. It is a lesson of wise love, surrender, sacrifice, and hope, which invites us to start on the path toward a better world.Jaume Sanllorente was born in 1976 in Barcelona, Spain. His nonprofit organization, Bombay Smiles, provides schools, homes, and health care to thousands of children in India.

    But he returned to the profession he loved, and in Last Ditch House he revisits four more cases from his childcare days, using a technique similar to the first book. The narrative is set a year after Wednesday s Child and tells of a summer spent working with four unusual cases for a voluntary child-protection group.Last Ditch House is more complex, richer and a little darker than its predecessor and Shane Dunphy has consciously given more of himself this time, going into his own motivations and feelings in greater detail. The cases recounted here are those of four children from very different aspects of Irish society, each with a unique story to tell.Once again, Shane Dunphy draws on the real-life experience of fifteen years working in child protection, and while these events did not, in reality, happen concurrently, he has woven them together to create a non-fiction book that has the pace, atmosphere and dialogue of a thriller. Yet everything recounted here really happened. These stories - shocking, heart-breaking and inspiring - are all true."

    That Chris Abani is able to find humanity, mercy, and even, yes, forgiveness, amid such devastation is something of a miracle.”—Rebecca Brown, author of The End of Youth"The moment you enter these pages, you step into a beautiful and terrifying dream. You are in the hands of a master, a literary shaman. Abani casts his spell so completely—so devastatingly—you emerge cleansed, redeemed, and utterly haunted."—Brad Kessler, author of Birds in FallPart Inferno, part Paradise Lost, and part Sunjiata epic, Song for Night is the story of a West African boy soldier’s lyrical, terrifying, yet beautiful journey through the nightmare landscape of a brutal war in search of his lost platoon. The reader is led by the voiceless protagonist who, as part of a land mine-clearing platoon, had his vocal chords cut, a move to keep these children from screaming when blown up, and thereby distracting the other minesweepers. The book is written in a ghostly voice, with each chapter headed by a line of the unique sign language these children invented. This book is unlike anything else ever written about an African war.Chris Abani is a Nigerian poet and novelist and the author of The Virgin of Flames, Becoming Abigail (a New York Times Editor’s Choice), and GraceLand (a selection of the Today Show Book Club and winner of the 2005 PEN/Hemingway Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award). His other prizes include a PEN Freedom to Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He lives and teaches in California.

    The collection, which examines the larger concepts of salvation and temptation in a world of blossoming strife, includes a series of aubades – dramatic poems culminating with the separation of lovers at dawn. The lovers suffer a metaphysical crisis, seeking to know what is good, what is evil, and how to truly know the difference. Knowing, however, invites the terrible into their world. The Devil, a seductive trickster, haunts the landscape as a voice who dares each inquisitor to learn about mortality, morality, the beautiful, and the unspeakable through direct experience. Furious Lullaby offers a departure from the lighter prose poetry of de la Paz’s Names above Houses and preserves the author’s concern with the nature of human grace.

    'Survivor' is the story of impossible misfortune and improbable good luck - the compelling and uplifting account of the boy who made it out of the ghetto, survived Auschwitz and Stutthof and endured the Dresden bombing, before escaping to England.

    The guide includes unique illustrated cutaways, floor plans, and reconstructions of major architectural sights, plus a pull-out city map clearly marked with attractions from the guidebook and an easy-to-use street index. DK's insider travel tips and essential local information will help you discover the best of this city in Spain, from local festivals and markets to day trips around the countryside. Detailed listings will guide you to hotels, restaurants, bars and shops for all budgets, while transportation maps and a chart showing the walking distances between sights will help you get around the city.With hundreds of full-color photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and custom maps that brighten every page, "DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Madrid" truly shows you this city as no one else can.

    She does not understand the threat to her Jewish family nor the harrowing escape that follows which will bring her to Riga, Latvia, through Russia and Japan, over the Pacific Ocean, and finally end in Portland, Oregon. Although the family is safe at last, author Alice Rene tells us in this book about the emotional impact of Nazi tyranny on a young child, just how it effected her personally.Ilse is ashamed of herself for being different and becomes anxious and withdrawn. The antics of an outrageous aunt and uncle, though comical, only add to her humiliation. Changing her name to Alice does not alter her feelings of isolation. She realizes that she must somehow make peace with her history and identity. With both pathos and humor, Becoming Alice showcases Alice’s triumph over adversity, identity crisis and the sometimes debilitating power of family ties.

    But, as often happens, the tribes grew envious of each other and began to fight amongst themselves in the names of their spirits. The children decided to declare a war on war by creating a creature that combined the best of all the spirits and would protect all the people. To this day, the dragon is a symbol of peace and plays an especially important role in the celebration of the Chinese New Year. This timely message of cooperation and empowerment makes this book especially appealing to trade and institutional accounts. Communities with significant Chinese populations will also have a special interest in this title. Catherine Louis' Liu and the Bird was a critical hit with review journals, teachers, and librarians.

    Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori spent four years traveling the globe conducting extensive on-the-ground research in twenty different countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe. The result is this vividly detailed book which provides the most comprehensive information available on Pentecostalism, the fastest-growing religion in the world. Rich with scenes from everyday life, the book dispel many stereotypes about this religion as they build a wide-ranging, nuanced portrait of a major new social movement.

    During their first two years in Nicaragua, Pablo and Euni Yoder and their five children had endured more than a dozen robberies. Their trials had drawn them closer to each other and to God, but as the sun set, Pablo's usually rambunctious family still grew quiet and tense, and a vague foreboding subdued his own naturally boisterous spirit. The robbers would be back. It was only a matter of time. In spite of the poverty and violence that surrounded them, a fledgling church was emerging, and a light, small at first but growing steadily, was piercing the darkness. They knew God had called them to Waslala, and had faith that He would protect them. But now that faith would be tested like never before...

    Part of the 'See Inside' series, this title includes double page spreads on medieval times, the Tudor period, the Plague, the Great Fire of London, the restoration, Victorian London and the Blitz.

    Within a few short weeks, the fit forty-three-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a "tiny nuclear bomb." Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime. Traces of polonium radiation were found in Germany and on certain airplanes, suggesting a travel route from Russia for the carriers of the fatal poison. But what really happened? What did Litvinenko know? And why was he killed? The full story of Sasha Litvinenko's life and death is one that the Kremlin does not want told. His closest friend, Alex Goldfarb, and his widow, Marina, are the only two people who can tell it all, from firsthand knowledge, with dramatic scenes from Moscow to London to Washington. Death of a Dissident reads like a political thriller, yet its story is more fantastic and frightening than any novel. Ever since 1998, when Litvinenko denounced the FSB for ordering him to assassinate tycoon Boris Berezovsky, he had devoted his life to exposing the FSB's darkest secrets. After a dramatic escape to London with Goldfarb's assistance, he spent six years, often working with Goldfarb, investigating a widening series of scandals. Oligarchs and journalists have been assassinated. Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko was poisoned on the campaign trail. The war in Chechnya became unspeakably harsh on both sides. Sasha Litvinenko investigated all of it, and he denounced his former employers in no uncertain terms for their dirty deeds. Death of a Dissident opens a window into the dark heart of the Putin Kremlin. With its strong-arm tactics, tight control over the media, and penetration of all levels of government, the old KGB is back with a vengeance. Sasha Litvinenko dedicated his life to exposing this truth. It took his diabolical murder for the world to listen.

    After walking away from her corporate career, Cynthia Clampitt headed to Australia, to start over, to write, and to test the limits of what she could do. Waltzing Australia recounts that joyous adventure. It is a story about change and about making dreams come true. But more than that, it is about Australia: the history, legends and art, both European and Aboriginal; the beauty, the challenge, the people, the land. From Sydney to Perth, Tasmania to Darwin, tropics to desert, city to wilderness, Clampitt carries the reader along on an exhilarating grand tour of a fascinating country. With a writing style reminiscent of Annie Dillard, she captures the essence of the land Down Under and invites others to fall in love with Australia.

    Each fall these graceful raptors, with wingspans of up to six feet, cruise over the eastern United States, then soar over Cuba and winter in South America, returning north with the spring. In 2004, Gessner went along for the ride, traveling illegally into the mountains of Cuba and deep into Venezuela as he competed with the crew of a BBC documentary to be the first to follow the full migration, trailing the birds by car, boat, foot, and plane. He called his favorite osprey Fidel.Soaring with Fidel is about the exhilaration of migration, but it is also a deeper meditation on the nature of human happiness. In describing the thrill of travel, the antics of these swashbuckling birds, and the cast of characters he meets (and drinks with) along the way—including scientists, students, tour guides, and an online group of birders—Gessner gives us a profound lesson in the importance of following what you love.

    In 1947, East Bengal was drenched with as much blood as was shed in Punjab. Seen through the eyes of Maloy Krishna Dhar as a young boy making the perilous journey to India-escaping to a 'new' India from an 'old' India that had become East Pakistan, the memoir tells the story of the rapid deterioration of age-old bonds between Bengali, Hindus and Muslims, of the cruelest violence comparable to the worst genocides in history.from amazon.com

    1959) created a performance work called The Loop for InSITE, a biennial group exhibition held in Tijuana, Mexico. Addressing the idea of international borders and the contemporary ease/unease of global travel, Alys' contribution was a journey that started in Tijuana and ended in the nearby border town of San Diego - never, however, crossing the Mexico-U.S. border. The artist instead took the long way, skirting the Pacific rim from Mexico to Panama, Sydney, Bangkok, Vancouver, Los Angeles and finally San Diego. The Loop took Alys one month and five days rather a few minutes - an absurd journey that called attention to Mexico and America's fraught attitudes to their shared border. Francis Alys often employs the basic human activity of walking to create performances, photo documentation, videos, slide projections and paintings.

    Living and traveling in Spain during a year of teaching English to university students, she learned to translate and interpret her past and present worlds—to study the surprising moments of communication—as a way to make sense of language and meaning, longing and memory.    Morano focuses first on her year of living in Oviedo, in the early 1990s, a time spent immersing herself in a new culture and language while working through the relationship she had left behind with an emotionally dependent and suicidal man. Next, after subsequent trips to Spain, she explores the ways that travel sparks us to reconsider our personal histories in the context of larger historical legacies. Finally, she turns to the aftereffects of travel, to the constant negotiations involved in retelling and understanding the stories of our lives. Throughout she details one woman’s journey through vocabulary and verb tense toward a greater sense of her place in the world.    Grammar Lessons illustrates the difficulty and delight, humor and humility of living in a new language and of carrying that pivotal experience forward. Michele Morano’s beautifully constructed essays reveal the many grammars and many voices that we collect, and learn from, as we travel.

    The true story of Hiromi Suzuki, a Japanese American girl who defied tradition to train at her family's restaurant, and who became one of the first female sushi chefs in New York.

    But the dead body of Jennifer Andrews, found in a hole on the terrace, rather spoils the view. It looks like a straightforward case: Jennifer was a congenital flirt, and the hole was dug by her builder husband Eddie, who was violent and jealous. But questions remain unanswered. Why was Jennifer's body so unmarked? And how did she reach her shallow grave unnoticed? BLOOD SINISTER: Award-winning ex-Guardian hack Phoebe Agnew had a name for championing the underdog - and for attacking the police in print. When her trussed and strangled body is found in her chaotic flat, Detective Inspector Slider must demonstrate the impartiality of the law and find her killer. Unidentified fingerprints, a missing ligature, alibis offered when none is required - Slider is on a race against time to untangle the web of lies and hidden relationships.

    Those who actually live in this place--the flumps, the sausages, the megas, and maxis--are all there to say hello. Despite their differences, they all get along in their crazy, higgledy-piggledy world. Zany humor and intricate drawings are skillfully combined to surprise and entertain the whole family.

    It showcases sixteen essays by leading international law experts. The essays, written in an accessible form, are organized in three groupings: stories about the development of international human rights law, stories about the use of international law in the U.S. legal system, and stories about international law's impact on interstate politics and the global economy. Experienced international law scholars, teachers, and practitioners will discover valuable new insights, and readers new to international law will find that the book quickly immerses them in the core controversies and most significant developments in the field.

    He wants to restore his father's olive press house and live an idyllic life farming in peace, but it is 1976 and the civil war is closing in.

    FROM THE INTRODUCTION: “The truth is we do not always know how we go from falling off the edge of one cliff to running with determination beside the ledge of another. The Bridge of Silver Wings…is what saves a given soul when that soul no longer has any idea how to save itself.”Original cover art by Luther E. Vann titled "Angel of Mercy, Angel of Love."

    Playing the Game examines the long-lasting legacy of the movement and its forefather. Drawing on Baden-Powell's extensive archive, it is a rich and evocative selection of his writings, on peace—a major theme throughout his career, on his own life—drawing from his wonderful idiosyncratic anecdotal autobiography, and including a healthy sprinkling of some of Baden-Powell's more memorable aphorisms, such as "I don’t mind confessing I have a weakness for hippos," and "The man who holds the average boy’s attention for more than seven minutes is a genius," not to mention "Knowledge without character is mere pie-crust." Imbued with a strong sense of the splendor and the old-school Empire feel of Baden-Powell’s work, Playing the Game offers a dazzling window into a world that’s gone, but whose legacy remains alive, not least in the 28 million members of the Scouts Association.

    She takes into account deeply imbedded cultural habits and political goals to illuminate a struggle that promises to remain a headline story over the next decade. In this fascinating look, Slavin provides details of thwarted efforts at reconciliation under both the Clinton and Bush presidencies and opportunities rebuffed by the Bush administration in its belief that invading Iraq would somehow weaken Iran's Islamic government. Yet despite the dire situation in Iraq, the Bush administration appears to be building a case for confrontation with Iran based on the same three issues it used against Saddam Hussein's regime: weapons of mass destruction, support for terrorism, and repression of human rights. The U.S. charges Iran is supporting terrorists inside and outside Iraq and is repressing its own people who, in the words of U.S. officials, "deserve better." Slavin believes the U.S. government may be suffering from the same lack of understanding and foresight that led it into prolonged warfare in Iraq. One of the few reporters to interview Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as his two predecessors and scores of ordinary Iranians, Slavin gives insight into what the U.S. government may not be taking into account. She portrays Iran as a country that both adores and fears America and has a deeply rooted sense of its own historical and regional importance. Despite government propaganda that portrays the U.S. as the "Great Satan," many Iranians have come to idolize staples of American pop culture while clinging to their own traditions. This is clearly not a relationship to be taken a face value. The interplay between the U.S. and Iran will only grow more complex as Iran moves toward becoming a nuclear power. Distrustful of each other's intentions yet longing at some level to reconcile, neither Tehran nor Washington know how this story will end.

    Marc in Haiti. Amidst the tumult of civil war, gang-fighting, and terrorism, Terry's powerful ministry to the people of St. Marc took him from having a gun pointed to his head to being invited to pray in the presidential palace. His inspiring story shows how one man's obedience to God brought miraculous healing to gang leaders, prisoners, government officials, and the transformed town of St. Marc.

    

    His grandfather Pak-Teh is the leader of the honey hunting clan. It is Pak-Teh who has the high honor of climbing the tall Tualang tree in the annual hunt to gather honey from the nests of giant honey bees.But Pak-Teh is getting older and is now ready to prepare someone to take his place. He believes that Nizam is the one. Even though Nizam has climbed the mighty Tualang—the bee tree—in the daylight, he has never done it at night. Will he be brave enough?On the first moonless night of the honey hunt, Nizam and Pak-Teh and the other honey hunters enter the dark rainforest. Pak-Teh starts the hunt with a prayer and a traditional story. Then he begins to climb. Nizam follows. Can he climb that high and not be afraid? Will the angry bees sting him?At the top, Nizam and Pak-Teh use the honey hunters’ secret to keep from being stung, while their clansmen below soothe the bees with chanting. After a week of gathering honey in the nights, the clan returns home to celebrate their sweet and miraculous golden harvest.At this feast, Pak-Teh honors Nizam with an important announcement.This is a collaboration between three remarkable people: a scientist who has been fascinated with insects since the third grade; a writer who believes that writing children’s books is her way of building a better world; and an artist who never stops sketching and drawing as he travels.Meet the creators of The Bee Tree:Stephen Buchmann has traveled all over the world studying bees. He is a member of the entomology department faculty at the University of Arizona, and the author/co-author of 150 scientific papers and 8 books (including The Forgotten Pollinators and Letters from the Hive). He is active in international pollination research, conservation and policies to protect the world’s pollinators and the plants they pollinate. He served on a National Academy of Science committee investigating the status of pollinators in North America.Diana Cohn is an award winning children’s book author. Her books include ¡Sí, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can! (Cinco Puntos Press); Dream Carver (Chronicle Books); and Mr. Goethe’s Garden (Bell Pond Books). She is a hobbyist beekeeper with a deep interest in pollination ecology. She first met Steve Buchmann while working on a radio documentary on the pollination crisis in America. As a result of their meeting they co-founded The Bee Works, an organization dedicated to public education about pollination ecology.Paul Mirocha’s illustrations first appeared in Gathering the Desert by Gary Paul Nabhan, winner of the John Burroughs Medal for natural history in 1985. After 13 years as a graphic designer for the University of Arizona’s Office of Arid Lands Studies, Paul left to become a full-time illustrator, producing over 20 children’s picture books and pop-ups as well as modern nature writing, among them High Tide in Tucson, Prodigal Summer, and Small Wonder, by Barbara Kingsolver. Paul has made five trips to Malaysia. His paintings in The Bee Tree come directly from his sketchbook and memories from those experiences.

    This photographic portrait of Sudan poignantly reveals the nations struggle to survive.

    Gabriel García Márquez is perhaps one of the most brilliant writers of our time. He is a tremendous figure, enormously talented, and unabashedly admired. This is his story, lovingly told, for children to enjoy. Using the imagery from his novels, Monica Brown traces the novelist's life in this creative nonfiction picture book from his childhood in Colombia to today. This is an inspiring story about an inspiring life, full of imagination and beauty.

    When Gram comes to visit Japan for the first time, Baachan takes them on a trip to the seashore to gather Wakame, a long, curvy seaweed that floats near the shore. While the three gather their equipment and ride the streetcar toward the beach, Baachan explains about Wakame and other seaweeds. Gram remembers how some seaweeds are used in Maine, and Nanami translates for them both. By the end of the day, Nanami's two grandmothers discover that they have much in common despite being from countries that were on opposing sides in the war they both remember vividly. Now, looking out across the beach at the surfers, dog-walkers, and seaweed gatherers, they share an understanding of this precious peace.

    Himself a tragic figure, Shapiro led a life marked by frequent ocean crossings, alcoholism, and failed ventures, yet his writings are models of precision, psychological insight, and daring. Shapiro focuses intently on the nature of violence:  the mob violence of pogroms committed against Jews; the traumatic aftereffects of rape, murder, and powerlessness; the murderous event that transforms the innocent child into witness and the rabbi's son into agitator. Within a society on the move, Shapiro's refugees from the shtetl and the traditional way of life are in desperate search of food, shelter, love, and things of beauty. Remarkably, and against all odds, they sometimes find what they are looking for. More often than not, the climax of their lives is an experience of ineffable terror. This collection also reveals Lamed Shapiro as an American master. His writings depict  the Old World struggling with the New, extremes of human behavior combined with the pursuit of normal  happiness. Through the perceptions of a remarkable gallery of men, women, children—of even animals and plants—Shapiro successfully reclaimed the lost world of the shtetl as he negotiated East Broadway and the Bronx, Union Square, and vaudeville. Both in his life and in his unforgettable writings, Lamed Shapiro personifies the struggle of a modern Jewish artist in search of an always elusive home.

    But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. " --Mark, 10:13-14 I began writing this book during a trip to Japan in January 2002. While in the country I started reading anthropologist Ruth Benedict's classic analysis of Japanese society and culture, The Sword and the Chrysanthemum. Written at the close of World War II to help the American government plan for defeating the Japanese war machine and dealing with a defeated nation, Benedict wrote several things that struck home as I began my own work a half century later. For one thing, as she reviewed indigenous Japanese social analyses she cautioned, "They were amazingly frank. Of course they did not present the whole picture. No people does. A Japanese who writes about Japan passes over really crucial things which are as familiar to him and as invisible as the air he breathes. So do Americans when they write about America" (p. 7). That is part of the challenge I faced, to see what is invisible in front of our eyes. The German poet Goethe spoke of this when he wrote: "What is most difficult of all? That which you think is easiest, To see what is before your eyes.

    John refused to become a part of the systemic hatred. He founded the Sonrise orphanage and school for children orphaned in the genocide, and he now leads reconciliation efforts between his own Tutsi people, the victims of this horrific massacre, and the perpetrators, the Hutus. His remarkable story is one that demands to be told.

    From the odd-shaped hammerhead shark and the powerful killer whale, to the colorful angelfish and the deadly lionfish, the Aquarium Guide covers more than 100 of God’s sea creatures and gives information about their features, their design, and much more. This spiral-bound book makes finding the truth about these animals easy. Don’t make your trip to the aquarium without it.

    Mendel's klezmer band travels from village to village in Eastern Europe playing happy music and sad music, until hard times force the players to seek a better life in America.

    Bush touched, from the very early flop on energy policy to the walking fiasco named Alberto Gonzales. Even adding the tragicomedy of Hurricane Katrina doesn’t come close to describing the governmental catastrophe of the Bush administration. The collapse of the Bush presidency is a broadly acknowledged fact. Everyone who’s anyone, from politicians to comedians, has taken shots at this ever-growing target. By any fair assessment, much of the past seven years has been disastrous. The challenge is to understand why.Few analysts have stepped aside, abandoning easy hits and quick gibes, and analyzed the totality of the Bush Administration.  Now, bestselling author Thomas Oliphant does just that.  With his keen, experienced eye, he asks the simplest of questions: “How could some of the smartest, most experienced and politically savvy people in Washington screw up so badly?”After all, this was the team led by a man with an MBA.  They came to Washington with the mission to run the government in an orderly, businesslike manner.  Instead, chaos has ensued.  How did this happen?From domestic policy to international goofs, from soaring energy prices to the health care crisis---Thomas Oliphant tackles it all, closely inspecting the initial projections and promises of Bush and his key senior officials, and the ways in which they lost control of these well-publicized and overconfident plans.  By comparing their rhetoric to their dismal record, Oliphant provides a historic analysis of the Bush administration---showing how a system so seemingly competent and mechanized could fail so miserably, and with such frequency.In the wake of the Republican loss of Congress  and unmet promises for future change, and as the presidential campaign to choose Bush’s successor heats up, Oliphant provides a rigorous examination of what went wrong and what this means for the next administration. Utter Incompetents is at its heart a searching look at the George W. Bush administration, its policies, and the legacy that it will leave behind on January 20, 2009.It is also the substantive backdrop for the next president.

    She grew up in Germany during the 1930s and '40s amid turbulent political and military encroachment. The raw reality of war fought in her homeland made survival a constant struggle. At the hands of Soviet troops in 1945, she and her parents suffered periods of captivity and forced labor, deprivation, rape, hunger, and ever-present fear. After a courageous flight to West Germany, Metzroth and parents tasted personal freedom after many years without it. The fear disappeared but the new beginning caused much stress. In her book the author tells of her unshakable desire for happiness and fulfillment. Education is her vehicle to success. In college she meets her husband. Together they leave Germany for America and write another chapter of their life as a family. When a teacher, Almut Metzroth shares her enthusiasm for learning with high school students. She takes them on trips to Europe to awaken an appreciation of foreign cultures and recognition of their common bonds. Reflecting on her success, she now considers, why not me?

    Based around photographs of, and interviews with, ordinary Palestinian people, it looks at all aspects of daily life ranging from restrictions on movement and imprisonment to the effects of the occupation on business, the practicing of religion and the development of democracy. By providing the reader with a comprehensive understanding of how Israel s policies in the West Bank affect the lives of real people on the ground, the book cuts through the smokescreens and political correctness that pervade coverage of the issue and offers the reader a new platform from which to form his or her own opinions.REVIEWS "Of the numerous images in Western media that depict the Israeli occupation, only a handful manage to provide a glimpse of the Palestinians reality, and only a fraction come with appropriate analysis. This lack of honest and searching reflection on the socio-economic conditions of the Palestinians has been accurately and brilliantly addressed by Mark Howell in his book, What Did We Do to Deserve This: Palestinian Life Under Occupation in the West Bank. This book combines powerful photographic images of the daily lives of the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with detailed commentary and analysis based on historical information, testimonies, and political and economic reports. The juxtaposition of scenes is staggering and alarming, yet all express the tenacity of these Palestinians human will. Howell excellently analyses Palestine s political, economic and social landscapes, which are effectively shaped by Israel s policies policies that prevent people from reaching their work, patients and pregnant women from reaching hospitals, that impose strictures on movement, split families from each other, and that terrorize people into leaving their homes through, what Howell calls, quiet transfer . Several crucial themes are tackled in this book, both through powerful images and informative commentaries. One is the concept of transfer in Zionist ideology the forced migration of Palestinians from Palestine to neighboring Arab lands which Howell infers has not left Israeli politics but is indeed alive and well in the policies implemented by the Israeli government in the West Bank. Howell highlights the dramatic and far-reaching consequences of Israel s policies on the Palestinians daily lives. He points out that the policies of subjugation and occupation are carried out with impunity and the acquiescence of international powers, despite obvious contradictions in international la and these powers apparent high regard for human rights and democracy. The book s moving testimonies tell the story of a people denied basic rights and freedoms; some have lost loved ones or suffer from injuries and imprisonment, while others struggle in courts to regain land confiscated by Israeli settlers. These testimonies indicate the scale of Israel s domination over all aspects of Palestinian life. What Did We Do to Deserve This? is a remarkable book in both content and style. "Atef Alshaer is a PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London., The Middle East in London Magazine, 2008/05/01"

    Drawing on a wide variety of original sources, it examines the Conservative response to the German threat, and argues that the response of the Conservative Party towards Germany showed a marked absence of open hostility towards Germany. Overall, this important new study provides a powerful and overdue corrective to the traditional depiction of the Conservative Party in opposition as 'Scaremongers' and the chief source of Germanophobic views among the British political parties.

    Here, Ulf Schmidt recounts the meteoric rise of one of Hitler's most trusted advisers, Karl Brandt.As Reich Commissioner for Health and Sanitation, Karl Brandt became the highest medical authority inthe Nazi regime. He was entrusted with the killing of handicapped children and adults - the so-called 'Euthanasia' Program - and played a part in illegal medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners. What drove a rational,highly cultured, idealistic and talented young medic to become responsible for mass murder and criminal human experimentation on a previously unimaginable scale? This riveting biography explores in detail the level of culpability of one of the most intriguing of the Nuremberg Nazis.Ulf Schmidt presents an incisive study of Brandt's political power as a way of exploring the contradictionsof Nazi medicine in which the care for wounded civilians and soldiers existed side by side with the murder of tens of thousands of unwanted people. Brandt's eventual capture and trial at Nuremberg in 1947 is also described in detail.This book is the first major biography of Brandt, featuring substantial unseen documentation, and a lasting reminder of the horrors of the Third Reich.

    As entertainment for the treaty-signing ceremony, Perry brought a white-men-in-black-face minstrel show—and thereby confirmed the widely whispered Japanese belief that trade with the American "barbarians" could only lead to cultural ruin. Yet the pawns in this clash of cultures—the minstrels, Ace Bledsoe and Ned Clark, and the Japanese interpreter, Manjiro Okubo—are just slightly more curious than cautious. Within the minstrels Manjiro sensed "the subtleties of spirit that reside in all good men." When Ace and Ned are unwittingly made part of a Japanese plot to undermine the American presence, Manjiro helps them escape into the countryside. Pursued by samurai, torn between treachery and loyalty, Manjiro and the minstrels (along with family, friends, and lovers) make their way across Japan, fleeing a showdown with the samurai that gradually becomes inevitable.Commodore Perry's Minstrel Show is the long-awaited prequel—more than a decade in the making—to Richard Wiley's PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel, Soldiers in Hiding. A sword-swinging page-turner infused with a heady mix of Japanese etiquette, American ideals, and Machiavellian philosophy, Wiley's latest novel sparkles as it shapes history into an enlightened drama of the earliest moments of globalization.

    In this important and illuminating book, Bassam Tibi, a senior scholar of Islamic politics, provides a corrective to this dangerous gap in our understanding. He explores the true nature of contemporary Islamism and the essential ways in which it differs from the religious faith of Islam.Drawing on research in twenty Islamic countries over three decades, Tibi describes Islamism as a political ideology based on a reinvented version of Islamic law. In separate chapters devoted to the major features of Islamism, he discusses the Islamist vision of state order, the centrality of antisemitism in Islamist ideology, Islamism's incompatibility with democracy, the reinvention of jihadism as terrorism, the invented tradition of shari'a law as constitutional order, and the Islamists' confusion of the concepts of authenticity and cultural purity. Tibi's concluding chapter applies elements of Hannah Arendt's theory to identify Islamism as a totalitarian ideology.