Book picks similar to
Race for the Exits: The Unraveling of Japan's System of Social Protection by Leonard J. Schoppa
japan
public-policy
revolution-activism
social-welfare
The Official Handbook for the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy: The Arguments You Need to Defeat the Loony Left
Mark W. Smith - 2004
Looks at a variety of topics, including the war on terror, taxes, abortion, and welfare, offering a conservative response to liberal ideas and policies.
Borderless Economics: Chinese Sea Turtles, Indian Fridges and the New Fruits of Global Capitalism
Robert Guest - 2011
Today, they call - or Skype - home the moment their flight has landed, and that's just the beginning. Thanks to cheap travel and easy communication, immigrants everywhere stay in intimate contact with their native countries, creating powerful cross-border networks.In Borderless Economics, Robert Guest, The Economist's Business Editor, travels through dozens of countries and 44 American states, observing how these networks create wealth, spread ideas and foster innovation. He shows how: * Brainy Indians in America collaborate with brainy Indians in India to build $70 fridges and $300 houses * Young Chinese study in the West and then return home (where they're known as "sea turtles"), infecting China with ideas that will eventually turn it democratic * The so-called "brain drain" - the flow of educated migrants from poorcountries to rich ones - actually reduces global poverty *America's unique ability to attract and absorb migrants lets it tap into the energy of all the world's diaspora networks. So despite its current woes, if the United States keeps its borders open, it will remain the world's most powerful nation indefinitely. With on-the-ground reporting from Asia, Africa, Europe and even Idaho, this book examines how migration, for the all the disruption it causes, makes the world wealthier and happier.
Cornered Tigers: The Defence of the Admin Box, Burma 1944
James Holland - 2016
Not only was it the first decisive victory for British troops against the Japanese, more significantly, it demonstrated how the Japanese could be defeated. The lessons learned in this tiny and otherwise insignificant corner of the Far East, set up the campaign in Burma that would follow, as General Slim’s Fourteenth Army finally turned defeat into victory.It is an amazing and thrilling story: more gripping than that of Rorke’s Drift, with a more justifiable enemy, and with every bit as many moments of extreme heroism. In this fifteen-day battle of terrifying violence, there was incredible human drama: bloody-hand-to-hand fighting, daring airborne drops, valiant attempts to break the siege, increasingly desperate and suicidal charges by the Japanese, repeated breakthroughs that needed counter-attacking, tragedy, black humour and the ultimate triumph of the defenders.
Bushido: Legacies of Japanese Tattoos
Takahiro Kitamura - 2000
The Samurai spirit, Bushido, is an integral component of Japanese tattooing that is traced through the imagery and interpersonal dynamics of this veiled subculture. The eloquent text is based largely on Takahiro Kitamura's experiences as client and student of the famed Japanese tattoo master, Horiyoshi III. Over 200 beautiful photos by Jai Tanju capture the breathtaking tattoo artistry of Horiyoshi III. Five original, unpublished prints by Horiyoshi III, like those in his acclaimed book, 100 Demons of Horiyoshi III, are included here. Bushido: Legacies of the Japanese Tattoo is certain to fascinate everyone with an interest in tattoo culture.
If We Can Put a Man on the Moon...: Getting Big Things Done in Government
William D. Eggers - 2009
Yet our nation has a proud history of great achievements: victory in World War II, our national highway system, welfare reform, the moon landing. We need more successes like these to reclaim government's legacy of competence. In If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, William Eggers and John O'Leary explain how to do it. The key? Understand-and avoid-the common pitfalls that trip up public-sector leaders during the journey from idea to results. The authors identify pitfalls including:-The Partial Map Trap: Fumbling handoffs throughout project execution -The Tolstoy Syndrome: Seeing only the possibilities you want to see -Design-Free Design: Designing policies for passage through the legislature, not for implementation -The Overconfidence Trap: Creating unrealistic budgets and timelines -The Complacency Trap: Failing to recognize that a program needs changeAt a time of unprecedented challenges, this book, with its abundant examples and hands-on advice, is the essential guide to making our government work better. A must-read for every public official, this book will be of interest to anyone who cares about the future of democracy.
The Dentsu Way: Secrets of Cross Switch Marketing from the World's Most Innovative Advertising Agency
Kotaro Sugiyama - 2010
In a world saturated with marketing messages, making your offering relevant is your biggest challenge. Dentsu's Cross Switch model meets it head on.The Dentsu Way shares proven tactics for getting your message to consumers and creating scenarios to move them through calibrated Contact Points to meet whatever specific goal you set.This game-changing book:Explains Dentsu's 110-year history and unique service structure, as well as its broad range of business fieldsIntroduces ten case studies of successful campaigns, which have won international advertising awards at events such as the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and ADFESTProvides nine of Dentsu's newest original tools and analysis methodsGain broader, more meaningful customer involvement and penetrate more deeply than ever into your market by following the Dentsu Way.
The Afghan Wars In An Hour
Rupert Colley - 2011
American, British and coalition forces have been fighting in Afghanistan since October 2001, a month following the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. By the end of the year the war seemed won. But a decade on the ongoing conflict seems far from over.Today's conflict has historical parallels - in the nineteenth century Great Britain twice invaded Afghanistan, in 1839 and 1878. Both times they had seemingly defeated the Afghan forces only to find that the Afghan soldier, not knowing the meaning of defeat, fought back inflicting on the mighty British Empire humiliating retreats. A century later, the Soviet Union, technologically and militarily superior, also discovered to its cost that the Afghan was a tenacious foe and impossible to defeat. After a decade of conflict the Soviet Union withdrew, its military reputation in tatters. Today, Afghanistan has been in a state of constant conflict for almost four decades. When not fighting external enemies its people have fought against each other. The Civil War of 1990 to 1996, during which the Taliban emerged, was ferocious in its intensity.The coalition forces of today are embroiled in an equally unending war. But why are we still fighting in Afghanistan? What are the lessons of history? Who are the Taliban; who are the Mujahedeen, and why was Osama bin Laden so significant? These, in an hour, are the Afghan Wars.
The Naked Man Festival: And Other Excuses to Fly Around the World
Brian Thacker - 2004
In search of the most unusual and wildest festivities, the author was pelted with beans, amazed by giant snow cows, stampeded in a temple full of men wearing nothing but "nappies," befriended by alien abductees, and much more while attending a Hogmanay in Scotland, a Tomato Festival in Ripley, Tennesee, a Bean Throwing Festival in Tokyo, and a Vodou Festival in Haiti. The side-splitting stories will inspire readers to attend—or create—peculiar festivals of their own, and on a more serious note, explore and appreciate other cultures.
A Man and His Mountain: The Everyman Who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America's Greatest Wine Entrepreneur
Edward Humes - 2013
His life story is a compelling slice of history, daring, innovation, feuds, intrigue, talent, mystique, and luck. Admirers and detractors alike have called him the Steve Jobs of wine—a brilliant, infuriating, contrarian gambler who seemed to win more than his share by anticipating consumers’ desires with uncanny skill. Time after time his decisions would be ignored and derided, then envied and imitated as competitors struggled to catch up.He founded Kendall–Jackson with a single, tiny vineyard and a belief that there could be more to California Wine Country than jugs of bottom-shelf screw-top. Today, Kendall–Jackson and its 14,000 acres of coastal and mountain vineyards produce a host of award-winning wines, including the most popular Chardonnay in the world, which was born out of a catastrophe that nearly broke Jackson. The empire Jackson built endures and thrives as a family-run leader of the American wine industry.Jess Jackson entered the horseracing game just as dramatically. He brought con men to justice, exposed industry-wide corruption in court and Congress, then exacted the best revenge of all: race after race, he defied conventional wisdom with one high-stakes winner after another, capped by the epic season of Rachel Alexandra, the first filly to win the Preakness in nearly a century, cementing Jackson’s reputation as America’s king of wine and horses.
Dynamic Karate
Masatoshi Nakayama - 1966
This book fills the gaps left by others.The late Master Masatoshi Nakayama, chief instructor of the Japan Karate Association, left this book as a testament. It reveals his great experience as a karate competitor and teacher, describing and illustrating in detail all the correct movements involved in the particular block, punch, or kick you want to perfect, as well as instructions--on combining blocking techniques with decisive counterattacks. Also included is a glossary of all Japanese karate terms and a guide to their pronunciation.Because of the lightning speed of karate techniques, normal camera work often fails to record the action accurately. For this reason, many of the photo sequences found in Dynamic Karate were taken using a stroboscope with a flash time of 1/10,000 of a second, enabling you to follow each movement as it is actually performed.
Kendo: The Definitive Guide
Hiroshi Ozawa - 1997
Kendo: The Definitive Guide is the first book in English to provide a practical and truly comprehensive approach to the subject. Everything that the novice needs to know, from basic information about purchasing, wearing, and maintaining essential equipment to competing in international tournaments, is explained in simple, straightforward language. Step-by-step explanation of fundamental techniques needed to be mastered to attain black belt level is illustrated in easy-to-follow line drawings. With appendices giving the rules at international competitions and important information about Kendo clubs outside Japan, Kendo is the definitive guide for all non-Japanese Kendoists. A special section about the history and development of this martial art and guidelines for running practice sessions also make it a unique resource for all teachers of Kendo.
Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest
Vijay Gokhale - 2021
It was 5 o'clock on the morning of 4 June. Tanks, APCs and troop trucks were sweeping down the avenue. Citizens ran for cover. Helicopters hovered above. Foreign media claimed that Chinese troops had fired into the crowds with several hundred casualties.'More than three decades later, the Tiananmen Square incident refuses to be forgotten. The events that occurred in the summer of 1989 would not only set the course for China's politics but would also re-define its relationship with the world. China's message was clear: it remained committed to market-oriented reform, but it would not tolerate any challenge to the supremacy of the Chinese Communist Party. In return for economic prosperity, the Chinese have surrendered some rights to the state. A democratic future seems far away.Vijay Gokhale, then a young diplomat serving in Beijing, was a witness to the drama that unfolded in Tiananmen Square. This unique account brings an Indian perspective on an event in China's history that the Chinese government has been eager to have the world forget.
Give People Money: The Simple Idea to Solve Inequality and Revolutionise Our Lives
Annie Lowrey - 2018
It sounds crazy, but it has become one of the most influential and hotly debated policy ideas of our time. Futurists, radicals, libertarians, socialists, union representatives, feminists, conservatives, Bernie supporters, development economists, child-care workers, welfare recipients, and politicians from India to Finland to Canada to Mexico--all are talking about UBI.In this sparkling and provocative book, economics writer Annie Lowrey looks at the global UBI movement. She travels to Kenya to see how a UBI is lifting the poorest people on earth out of destitution, India to see how inefficient government programs are failing the poor, South Korea to interrogate UBI's intellectual pedigree, and Silicon Valley to meet the tech titans financing UBI pilots in expectation of a world with advanced artificial intelligence and little need for human labor.Lowrey examines the potential of such a sweeping policy and the challenges the movement faces, among them contradictory aims, uncomfortable costs, and, most powerfully, the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing. She shows how this arcane policy offers not only a potential answer for our most intractable economic and social problems, but also a better foundation for our society in this age of turbulence and marvels.
On Empire: America, War, and Global Supremacy
Eric J. Hobsbawm - 2008
From the best-known and most popular historian of modern Europe (The Independent) comes a keenly perceptive and incisive look at empire and war as they have been transformed in the age of globalization.
Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy
Christopher L. Hayes - 2012
In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters.How did we get here? With Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer. Since the 1960s, as the meritocracy elevated a more diverse group of men and women into power, they learned to embrace the accelerating inequality that had placed them near the very top. Their ascension heightened social distance and spawned a new American elite--one more prone to failure and corruption than any that came before it.Mixing deft political analysis, timely social commentary, and deep historical understanding, Twilight of the Elites describes how the society we have come to inhabit – utterly forgiving at the top and relentlessly punitive at the bottom – produces leaders who are out of touch with the people they have been trusted to govern. Hayes argues that the public's failure to trust the federal government, corporate America, and the media has led to a crisis of authority that threatens to engulf not just our politics but our day-to-day lives.Upending well-worn ideological and partisan categories, Hayes entirely reorients our perspective on our times. Twilight of the Elites is the defining work of social criticism for the post-bailout age.