Book picks similar to
The Spellbinders: Charismatic Political Leadership by Ann Ruth Willner
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Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice
Adam Benforado - 2015
The evidence is all around us: Our system of justice is fundamentally broken. But it’s not for the reasons we tend to think, as law professor Adam Benforado argues in this eye-opening, galvanizing book. Even if the system operated exactly as it was designed to, we would still end up with wrongful convictions, trampled rights, and unequal treatment. This is because the roots of injustice lie not inside the dark hearts of racist police officers or dishonest prosecutors, but within the minds of each and every one of us. This is difficult to accept. Our nation is founded on the idea that the law is impartial, that legal cases are won or lost on the basis of evidence, careful reasoning and nuanced argument. But they may, in fact, turn on the camera angle of a defendant’s taped confession, the number of photos in a mug shot book, or a simple word choice during a cross-examination. In Unfair, Benforado shines a light on this troubling new field of research, showing, for example, that people with certain facial features receive longer sentences and that judges are far more likely to grant parole first thing in the morning. Over the last two decades, psychologists and neuroscientists have uncovered many cognitive forces that operate beyond our conscious awareness. Until we address these hidden biases head-on, Benforado argues, the social inequality we see now will only widen, as powerful players and institutions find ways to exploit the weaknesses of our legal system. Weaving together historical examples, scientific studies, and compelling court cases—from the border collie put on trial in Kentucky to the five teenagers who falsely confessed in the Central Park Jogger case—Benforado shows how our judicial processes fail to uphold our values and protect society’s weakest members. With clarity and passion, he lays out the scope of the legal system’s dysfunction and proposes a wealth of practical reforms that could prevent injustice and help us achieve true fairness and equality before the law.
A Crooked Line: From Cultural History to the History of Society
Geoff Eley - 2005
I found A Crooked Line engrossing, insightful, and inspiring."--Lizabeth Cohen, author of A Consumers' Republic"A Crooked Line brilliantly captures the most significant shifts in the landscape of historical scholarship that have occurred in the last four decades. Part personal history, part insightful analysis of key methodological and theoretical historiographical tendencies since the late 1960s, always thoughtful and provocative, Eley's book shows us why history matters to him and why it should also matter to us."--Robert Moeller, University of California, Irvine"Part genealogy, part diagnosis, part memoir, Eley's account of the histories of social and cultural history is a tour de force."--Antoinette Burton, Professor of History and Catherine C. and Bruce A. Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies, University of Illinois"Eley's reflections on the changing landscape of academic history in the last forty years will interest and benefit all students of the discipline. Both a native informant and an analyst in this account, Eley combines the two roles superbly to produce one of most engaging and compelling narratives of the recent history of History."--Dipesh Chakrabarty, author of Provincializing EuropeUsing his own intellectual biography as a narrative device, Geoff Eley tracks the evolution of historical understanding in our time from social history through the so-called "cultural turn," and back again to a broad history of society.A gifted writer, Eley carefully winnows unique experiences from the universal, and uses the interplay of the two to draw the reader toward an organic understanding of how historical thinking (particularly the work of European historians) has evolved under the influence of new ideas. His work situates history within History, and offers students, scholars, and general readers alike a richly detailed, readable guide to the enduring value of historical ideas.Geoff Eley is Professor of History at the University of Michigan.
Radicals: Portraits of a Destructive Passion
David Horowitz - 2012
So argues David Horowitz, bestselling author in his newest book Radicals: Portraits of a Destructive Passion.From Karl Marx to Barack Obama, Horowitz shows how the idealistic impulse to make the world “a better place” gives birth to the twin cultural pathologies of cynicism and nihilism, and is the chief source of human suffering. A former liberal himself, Horowitz recounts his own brushes with radicalism and offers unparalleled insight into the disjointed ideology of liberal elites through case studies of well-known radial leftists, including Christopher Hitchens, feminist Bettina Aptheker , leftist academic Cornel West, and more.Exploring the origin and evolution of radical liberals and their progressive ideology, Radicals illustrates how liberalism is not only intellectually crippling for its adherents, but devastating to society.
The A-Z of Amazon.co.uk FBA: A step-by-step guide to branding, sourcing and selling private-label FBA products on Amazon’s UK website
Ned Browne - 2016
Put simply, FBA allows sellers to outsource their product storage and distribution to Amazon. FBA is giving rise to a new, post-eBay, entrepreneur: people who want to spend their time re-selling, designing, branding and marketing products. With FBA, you don’t have to worry about being hacked or setting up payment systems. There’s no more traipsing to the Post Office or worrying about being away when an order needs to be fulfilled. This gives you freedom too – you can run your FBA operation from anywhere in the world. All you need is access to the Internet. There are numerous books available on this subject, but this is the first to focus solely on Amazon.co.uk – that means UK case studies, pounds not dollars and UK/EU laws/rules. If you’re a seasoned FBAer, this book is probably not for you – although you will learn a few new things. However, if you’re thinking of entering this market or have less than a couple of years’ experience this guide should prove invaluable. This books covers the following topics: • Finding products that will sell. • Creating your own brand – branded products sell for a premium. • Importing goods from outside the EU. • Sourcing/buying products from overseas suppliers. • Registering as a seller on Amazon. • Listing FBA products on Amazon. • Getting your products to Amazon’s fulfilment centres. • Commodity codes, import duty and VAT. • Pricing your products. • How to get great customer reviews to boost sales. • The dark arts of Amazon SEO. • Selling as a Pro Merchant. • Product requiring prior approval by Amazon. • Promoting your products, including: o Amazon Sponsored Products advertising. o Facebook for business. o Amazon money-off promotions. o Amazon Launchpad. o Handmade at Amazon. • List on eBay, sell via FBA. • Returns and damaged stock. • Amazon Lending. • Rules and regulations – tedious but necessary. Amazon FBA is a moveable feast – things are changing every week. I have included my email address in the book and encourage readers to ask questions, make suggestion and point out any inaccuracies. Hopefully there won’t be too many of the latter! Enjoy and good luck. Ned Browne 15th July 2016.
Xenophobe's Guide to the Greeks
Alexandra Fiada - 1995
They exhibit an extreme passion for freedom of choice—which has turned law circumvention into an art and has made them incapable of comprehending words like “discipline,” “co-ordination,” or “system.” There's no such thing as a meek GreekA Greek cannot talk unless he has his hands free, and a soft-spoken Greek is one who can be heard only as far as across the street. Two Greeks having an amiable conversation sound as if they are ready to murder each other, and a party of exuberant Greeks having a good time could be described as a pack of hounds that has just sighted the fox. Free spiritsMercurial in the extreme, the Greeks' temperament flourishes uninhibited throughout their waking hours. This is probably why the ancient sages saw fit to carve their maxims “Nothing in excess” and “Know thyself” on the portals of the Delphic Oracle, in an attempt to persuade their fellow Greeks to curb their emotions. They were not heeded then any more than they are now. How much does a Greek urn?In general, Greeks believe in free trade, fair dealing, and keeping one's word. They are quick at grasping (and inventing) complicated business and financial arrangements and they are past masters in acting as middlemen—which means that they are paid by both parties while risking nothing themselves.
Travels with Doctor Death
Ron Rosenbaum - 1991
Rosenbaum's articles delve into some of America's greatest mysteries such as "Oswald's Ghost", "The Mysterious Death of J.F.K.'s Mistress", "Back on the Watergate Case with Inspector RN", and "Dead Ringers". Rosenbaum is a regular contributor to Vanity Fair and The New York Times.
Benghazi: The Definitive Report
Jack Murphy - 2013
Christopher Stevens and two other Americans when the U.S. State Department and CIA headquarters in Benghazi, Libya, were sieged in a shocking terrorist attack. For the next four months, Webb and his team at SOFREP.com, the world’s premier Special Ops website, embarked on a relentless investigation to understand exactly what happened to their countrymen, as well as the roles played by the Obama administration, State Department, and CIA. Drawing on unmatched sources, they spoke to individuals who would talk to no one else, including fellow Special Operations team members familiar with the African theatre, and to well-placed contacts in the Washington intelligence community. This is their report—an unforgettably gripping minute-by-minute narrative of the events and their aftermath as they really unfolded on that terrible day in Libya.
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.
1877: America's Year of Living Violently
Michael A. Bellesiles - 2010
In the wake of the contested presidential election of 1876, white supremacist mobs swept across the South, killing and driving out the last of the Reconstruction state governments. A strike involving millions of railroad workers turned violent as it spread from coast-to-coast, and for a moment seemed close to toppling the nation’s economic structure.In 1877, celebrated historian Michael Bellesiles reveals that the fires of that fated year also fueled a hothouse of cultural and intellectual innovation. Bellesiles relates the story of 1877 not just through dramatic events, but also through the lives of famous and little-known Americans.
Power & Choice: An Introduction to Political Science
W. Phillips Shively - 1991
The theme of "power and choice," based on a definition of politics as the making of collective choices for a group or state through the use of power, runs through much of the text.
Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices
Stuart Hall - 1997
Combining examples with activities and selected readings it offers a unique resource for teachers and students in cultural studies and related fields as an introduction to this complex and central theme.
Last Plane Out of Saigon
Richard Pena - 2014
LAST PLANE OUT OF SAIGON is a faithful reproduction of the journal he kept as a draftee working in the operating room of Vietnam's largest military hospital during the final year of the war. Supporting historical and political context is provided by award-winning scholar, John Hagan. Richard’s entries were written in real time and, as they chronicle the last desperate year of this tragic war, present readers with a better understanding of the complicated final year of the Vietnam War from the inside, looking out. A year that tragically remains unfamiliar to most Americans. This landmark book describes, in part, the hasty departure of American troops from Vietnam but is timely now as America again withdraws from war and is challenged with multiple global conflicts. It is a gripping real-time account of the anger, resistance and resilience forged in one man by the horrors of Vietnam witnessed up close, in graphically human terms, touching on mistakes that were made then and which our country continues to make today. The reader will feel the weight of this compelling account, as the Vietnam War continues to plague the consciousness of our country. All Americans should read this important piece of history, bound to leave them with chills. Richard Pena served in Vietnam as an Operating Room Specialist for the United States Army and left on the last day of American withdrawal. He is now a nationally renowned practicing attorney in Austin, Texas. He is a former President of the American Bar Foundation and State Bar of Texas and served on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association. John Hagan is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University and Co-Director of the Center of Law & Globalization at the American Bar Foundation in Chicago. He has published nine books and more than 150 articles in nationally renowned magazines and journals.
Getting Played: African American Girls, Urban Inequality, and Gendered Violence
Jody Miller - 2008
Wright Mills AwardDraws a vivid picture of the race and gender inequalities that harm young African American women in poor urban communitiesMuch has been written about the challenges that face urban African American young men, but less is said about the harsh realities for African American young women in disadvantaged communities. Sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, and even gang rape are not uncommon experiences. In Getting Played, sociologist Jody Miller presents a compelling picture of this dire social problem and explores how inextricably, and tragically, linked violence is to their daily lives in poor urban neighborhoods.Drawing from richly textured interviews with adolescent girls and boys, Miller brings a keen eye to the troubling realities of a world infused with danger and gender-based violence. These girls are isolated, ignored, and often victimized by those considered family and friends. Community institutions such as the police and schools that are meant to protect them often turn a blind eye, leaving girls to fend for themselves. Miller draws a vivid picture of the race and gender inequalities that harm these communities--and how these result in deeply and dangerously engrained beliefs about gender that teach youths to see such violence--rather than the result of broader social inequalities--as deserved due to individual girls' flawed characters, i.e., she deserved it.Through Miller's careful analysis of these engaging, often unsettling stories, Getting Played shows us not only how these young women are victimized, but how, despite vastly inadequate social support and opportunities, they struggle to navigate this dangerous terrain.
Twilight of the Machines
John Zerzan - 2008
When everything is at stake, all must be confronted and superseded. At this moment, there is the distinct possibility of doing just that.”
The Cromwell Street Murders: The Detective's Story
John Bennett - 2005
This book tells for the first time the story from a police perspective. For ten years, the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Superintendent John Bennett QPM, has refused to tell his story. Now, together with BBC journalist Graham Gardner, he reveals the full story of how the West's were caught, how the case was prepared and how it nearly failed to come to court. This book chronicles the roles of those who brought down two of Britain's most infamous killers, shedding light on the real heroes of one of the saddest chapters of criminal history. It explores the court processes, the complications of Rose West's trial, her unsuccessful appeal and the difficulty of dealing with witnesses in such a traumatic case. On one level, this is a story of the triumph of good over evil; on another it is a detailed documentation of how a murder investigation really works - the pressures, the commitment and the physical and emotional drain on those who carry out this work.