Book picks similar to
Brexit Without the Bullshit: The Facts on Food, Jobs, Schools, and the NHS by Gavin Esler
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How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them
Jason F. Stanley - 2018
A Yale philosopher identifies the ten pillars of fascist politics, and charts their horrifying rise and deep history.As the child of refugees of World War II Europe and a renowned philosopher and scholar of propaganda, Jason Stanley has a deep understanding of how democratic societies can be vulnerable to fascism: Nations don't have to be fascist to suffer from fascist politics. In fact, fascism's roots have been present in the United States for more than a century. Alarmed by the pervasive rise of fascist tactics both at home and around the globe, Stanley focuses here on the structures that unite them, laying out and analyzing the ten pillars of fascist politics--the language and beliefs that separate people into an "us" and a "them." He knits together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India, Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations. He makes clear the immense danger of underestimating the cumulative power of these tactics, which include exploiting a mythic version of a nation's past; propaganda that twists the language of democratic ideals against themselves; anti-intellectualism directed against universities and experts; law and order politics predicated on the assumption that members of minority groups are criminals; and fierce attacks on labor groups and welfare. These mechanisms all build on one another, creating and reinforcing divisions and shaping a society vulnerable to the appeals of authoritarian leadership.By uncovering disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley reveals that the stuff of politics—charged by rhetoric and myth—can quickly become policy and reality. Only by recognizing fascists politics, he argues, may we resist its most harmful effects and return to democratic ideals.
None of My Business
P.J. O'Rourke - 2018
J. O'Rourke takes on his scariest subjects yet--business, investment, finance, and the political chicanery behind them. Want to get rich overnight for free in 3 easy steps with no risk? Then don't buy this book. (Actually, if you believe there's a book that can do that, you shouldn't buy any books because you probably can't read.) P.J.'s approach to business, investment, and finance is different. He takes the risks for you in his chapter "How I Learned Economics by Watching People Try to Kill Each Other." He proposes "A Way to Raise Taxes That We'll All Love"--a 200% tax on celebrities. He offers a brief history of economic transitions before exploring the world of high tech innovation with a chapter on "Unnovations," which asks, "The Internet--whose idea was it to put all the idiots on earth in touch with each other?" He misunderstands bitcoin, which seems "like a weird scam invented by strange geeks with weaponized slide rules in the high school Evil Math Club." He closes with a fanciful short story about the morning that P.J. wakes up and finds that all the world's goods and services are free! This is P.J. at his finest, a book not to be missed.
Nobody Hates Trump More Than Trump: An Intervention
David Shields - 2018
It can be read in a variety of ways: as a psychological investigation of Trump, as a philosophical meditation on the relationship between language and power, as a satirical compilation of the “collected wit and wisdom of Donald Trump,” and above all as a dagger into the rhetoric of American political discourse—a dissection of the politesse that gave rise to and sustains Trump. The book’s central thesis is that we have met the enemy and he is us. Who else but David Shields would make such an argument, let alone pull it off with such intelligence, brio, and wit, not to mention leaked off-air transcripts from Fox News?
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“Shields has written the best book on the political and cultural implications of Trump’s presidency, and he nails it at least a hundred times, and in dozens of unique ways. Shields writes that Trump “seems not to have an inner life,” which explains a number of things no one else has gotten at. Bravo. I’m sending copies to everyone I can think of. My take—written on the inside cover of the book at 3 A.M. is this: “Donald Trump is the culture hero for all those people in the world wearing wigs and toupees and dignity diapers and prosthetic arms and legs, all those people who have false teeth and hearing aids, breast implants, and those rods that make your penis seem hard when it really isn’t. And there are more of those people in the world than we can imagine. Commercial fiction is far too slow and getting slower daily as it puckers its lips to the nether parts of the marketplace, and most discursive writing isn’t much faster. Shields’s deployment of self-reflexivity has moved the whole project beyond post-modernism. His self-reflexivity isn’t, as it has become with nearly everyone, a calcifying style or posture. It’s fully integrated, and thus it moves at the same speed as perception, even becoming an accelerant to meaning. Shields has earned the designation of being the writer most likely to be picked up and murdered should either the right or leftist fundamentalists take power. And this designation hasn’t been conferred on an American writer since Philip K. Dick. Shields is that good. He is one of a very small group of true 21st century writers, and I salute him as a master.” —Brian Fawcett “I wasn’t going to read it because I’m so tired of anti-Trump shit, but I love the book, agree with everything Shields nails about this moment. It’s the best summation of Trump I’ve come across. Such a relief to see someone get it. I was reading passages to my millennial Communist ‘Trump is going to kill us all’ bf, who didn’t say anything, just rolled away.” —Bret Easton Ellis“Shields’s most ‘accessible’ book and probably his best. Impossible to put down—a polyphonic bricolage that is both absolutely of this moment and deserving of a burial in a time capsule to be opened at another age. The clinical depression of our current historical circumstances is never absent from these pages, but while reading them, one does so with exultation at seeing Trump and his era so exactly skewered.” —Jonathan Raban “No other book approaches the man and the situation in quite this way: the problem isn’t out there; it’s in us. A book (deserving of a wide readership) for those who have a bit of trouble with the left and a ton of trouble with the right.
The Unofficial Guide to Adoptive Parenting
Sally Donovan - 2014
This is the real stuff: dynamic, messy, baffling adoptive parenting, rooted in domestic life.Award-winning columnist and adoptive parent Sally Donovan offers savvy, compassionate advice on how to be 'good enough' in the face of both day-to-day and more bewildering challenges – how to respond to 'red mist' meltdowns, crippling anxieties about new routines and, most importantly, how to meet the intimidating challenge of being strong enough to protect and nurture your child.Full of affecting and hilarious stories drawn from life in the Donovan household, The Unofficial Guide to Adoptive Parenting offers parents a refreshing counterblast to stuffy parenting manuals -- read it, weep, laugh and learn.
Letter to Father
Bhagat Singh - 2019
His father had requested the courts to look into evidences that would prove his son’s innocence, but the letter only goes on to show why Bhagat Singh is a true revolutionary who paved a new path for Indian Independence.
Summary: Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Readtrepreneur Publishing - 2017
We have managed to overcome and even come up with solutions to major world problems like famine, plague, and war.
This book Homo Deus discusses the evolution of man over the years; from simple-minded beings who believed in God to intelligent man who questions God’s existence and would rather rely on Science and data computation to get their answers.
(Note: This summary is wholly written and published by readtrepreneur.com It is not affiliated with the original author in any way)
“History began when humans invented gods, and will end when humans become gods.” – Yuval Noah Harari
Homo Deus tells us of the journey throughout man’s quest for power as they attempt to become more godlike, and the reasons behind why they could accomplish so much.
Humankind has always thought of themselves as more superior than the other species and believed that their existence has great meaning and meant for a higher purpose.
P.S. Open your eyes and mind as you learn more about our own species – mankind. As we read along, Homo Deus will make us ponder – Are we really that great as we think? Are we bettering ourselves, or self-destructing?
P.P.S. This is a ZERO-RISK investment. Should you find this book unworthy of the original coffee price of $3.99, get a REFUND within 7 days!
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Who Controls America
Mark Mullen - 2017
All of the mentioned are just puppets on an invisible string doing the biddings of a few unseen puppeteers. Yes, that’s right. A few elite and undisclosed organizations send our children off to war, restrict the growth of the middle class, and limit educational opportunities for American citizens. The sad truth is this is nothing new. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin warned of the dangers and destructive power of these elites if left unchecked. These few unchosen were able, and continue, to use the Federal Reserve Banking System, universities, and war to create economic recessions and depressions that provide unnoticed benefits to a select group of social manipulators. In this stunning new book, Mark Mullen takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of secret partnerships created by unfamiliar ideologues designed to acquire most of the nation’s wealth and power. In Who Controls America, Mullen shines a light on those few elites who place greed, power, and profits above the interests of the American citizen and the pursuit of the American Dream.
The Dark Side of Lyndon Baines Johnson
Joachim Joesten - 1968
Joesten carefully documents the little-known facts behind Johnson's involvement in scandals stretching back to his first stolen election in 1948, thru the Bobby Baker, Billy Sol Estes and Walter Jenkins affairs, and culminates with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Included are LBJ's connection to mobsters, big Texas oil, political graft and corruption, blackmailing of FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, and a disturbing number of murders committed by his henchmen for LBJ's personal gain.FROM THE BOOK:The true nature of Lyndon B. Johnson has long been hidden from the public through the frenzied efforts of highly paid P.R. wizards and artificial image-builders. William Manchester came closer than most other people to seeing through the benign public relations mask of Lyndon Johnson, but one wouldn't know it from scanning the pages of 'The Death of a President'.If there are two persons in the world who have really come to know Johnson at close quarters, outside of his own family, they are Robert and Jacqueline Kennedy. Manchester interviewed both of them at length and they told him, without mincing their words, what they thought of That Man in the White House. But when Manchester, having faithfully recorded everything the Kennedys had told him, rushed into print with his story, years ahead of schedule, they both got panicky and practically forced him to 'revise' his story out of recognition.Edward J. Epstein, the author of Inquest, somehow managed to get hold of a copy of the original, unedited manuscript of the Manchester book, then entitled 'Death of a Lancer', and revealed in the July issue 1967 of Commentary, some of its contents.In his original draft, Manchester, it seems, made some very pungent remarks about Lyndon Johnson whom he described, among other things, as a 'chameleon who constantly changes loyalties'; 'a capon' and 'a crafty schemer who has a gaunt, hunted look about him'.He also pictured Johnson as 'a full-fledged hypomaniac' and 'the crafty seducer with six nimble hands who can persuade a woman to surrender her favors in the course of a long conversation confined to obscure words. No woman, even a lady, can discern his intentions until the critical moment'.By far the most interesting aspect of this matter, however, is Epstein's contention that Manchester's original theme, which gave unity to his book, was 'the notion that Johnson, the successor, was somehow responsible for the death-of his predecessor'.Several quotations from the original draft bear out this contention. At one point, the Lancer version states, 'The shattering fact of the assassination is that a Texas murder has made a Texan President'.At another, Kenneth O'Donnell, Kennedy's appointments secretary, is quoted as exclaiming 'They did it. I always knew they'd do it. You couldn't expect anything else from them. They finally made it'.Then Manchester comments: 'He didn't specify who "they" were. It was unnecessary. They were Texans, Johnsonians'.But what is one to think of an author who allows his most important work not only to be castrated, but to be turned completely upside down by a publisher more committed to the dictates of expediency than to the search for historical truth?
Lecretia's Choice: A Story of Love, Death and the Law
Matt Vickers - 2016
In Lecretia’s Choice, Matt tells the story of their life together, and how it changed when his proud, fiercely independent wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour and forced to confront her own mortality. The death she faced—slow, painful, dependent—was completely at odds with how she had lived her life. Lecretia wanted to die with dignity, to be able to say goodbye well, and not to suffer unnecessarily—but the law denied her that choice. With her characteristic spirit, she decided to mount a challenge in New Zealand’s High Court, but as the battle raged, Lecretia’s strength faded. She died on 5 June 2015, at the age of forty-two, the day after her family learned that the court had ruled against her. Lecretia’s Choice is not only a moving love story but compulsory reading for everyone who cares about the dignity we afford terminally ill people who want to die on their own terms. In 2015 Matt Vickers supported his wife, Lecretia Seales, in her campaign to gain the right to choose how she died. Lecretia’s Choice is his first book.
The Holy Cow and Other Indian Stories
Tarun Chopra - 2000
Attempts to tell the reader through stories what India is, its traditions, culture, philosophical and religious beliefs customs, etc that are so variagated that it seems there are many Indias, rather that just one.
The A303: Highway to the Sun
Tom Fort - 2012
But journeys embarked upon full of the joys of the season all too often grind into a standstill of rage and bitterness before Hampshire even gives way to Wiltshire.Four-and-a-half thousand years ago the bluestones of Stonehenge were conveyed west from the river Avon along a small section of its route. Roman roads crossed it and drovers' paths lie beneath it. Its route cuts across some of the finest chalkland in southern England. The views are huge, the hills wide and windswept. Ancient woods lay across the summits of the downs and prehistoric monuments and sites are everywhere, the evidence of ancient habitation and worship left in abundance.Tom Fort samples the fare at the Willoughby Hedge Café , legendary among truckers. He seeks out service stations and inns and turnpike toll houses; tells stories of dreadful crashes and highway robberies; of solstice seekers and Stonehenge; of Queen Guinevere and Sir Launcelot; of army camps and racing tracks; Battles and festivals; of churches, abbeys, farms, houses, burial mounds, trout fishermen and falconers.Digging in dark corners, explorating long-forgotten byways and pouring over ancient maps Tom Fort has created a travel book, a book of social and cultural history, and a book about the England of 3000 BC and the England of 2010 AD.
Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia
Michael Vatikiotis - 2017
Yet beyond the beach clubs and plush five-star hotel lobbies, the heart of Southeast Asia is a dark and forbidding place where lust for power and naked greed mean that ordinary people's lives are uncertain and insecure, with conflict never far below the calm surface of outward politeness. Confounding those who argue that democracy and stability march hand in hand with growth and development, Southeast Asia's social and political transformation has been haltingly slow and marked by pronounced periods of protracted conflict and upheaval - Thailand alone has witnessed two military coups since the turn of the twentieth century. Violence haunts the political landscape and is entrenched in the small wars that unceasingly afflict the margins.Blood and Silk begins as a journey, the author's own long voyage of discovery in the region over the past three decades. What follows is a taxonomy of sorts, a detailed delving into the different forms of conflict, ranging from the prevalence of elite power struggles with violent consequences to ethnic and religious wars, and territorial disputes. Vatikiotis aims to dispel the myth of a tropical Arcady, and give proper consideration to the grim reality of perpetual threats to lives and livelihoods in Southeast Asia. For etched on the faces of the ordinary people, whether the roadside sate seller in Jakarta, the noodle stall owner in Bangkok, or the long suffering, foot-scratching, ear-picking, tea-shop owner in Rangoon is the same weary look of resignation. They have limited scope for improving their lives, but what makes things worse is that those who do, the power holders, are selfish and narrowly focused on pursuing the interests of power and personal wealth, at their expense..
The Lobster Gangs of Maine
James M. Acheson - 1988
In reality, he writes, “the lobster fisherman is caught up in a thick and complex web of social relationships. Survival in the industry depends as much on the ability to manipulate social relationships as on technical skills.” Acheson replaces our romantic image of the lobsterman with descriptions of the highly territorial and hierarchical “harbor gangs,” daily and annual cycles of lobstering, intricacies of marketing the catch, and the challenge of managing a communal resource.
Who Runs This Place?: The Anatomy of Britain in the 21st Century
Anthony Sampson - 2005
Now in this intensely topical book, he surveys a much more troubled scene with more anger and impatience. He looks at the whole panoply of power, from an embattled Number Ten to the murky intelligence spooks, from corporate boardrooms to banks and pension funds. Who Runs This Place? is written not just for those inside the Westminster Bubble. It is addressed in fresh and vivid terms to those who need to understand the institutions and careers they are choosing, and the bosses who will influence their whole future. And it comes at a time when the British people are clamoring to comprehend the secretive groups that pull the levers, behind the facades.
Minimalist Budget: Simple Strategies On How To Save More, Spend Less, And Curb Spending Temptation (Without Living On Ramen)
Zoe McKey - 2017
Minimalist Budget will help you to turn your bloated expenses into a well-toned budget, spending on exactly what you need and nothing else. This book presents solutions for two major problems in our consumer society: (1) how to downsize your cravings without having to sacrifice the fun stuff, and (2) how to whip your finances into shape and follow a personalized budget. This is not a get rich quick book. But I can promise day-by-day, month-by-month, you’ll budget better and become richer as a consequence. Regardless of how much your income is we’ll find a way to budget, save, and increase your net worth. Since my youth, I’ve had to live on a budget that ranged from $100 to $200 a month if I was lucky. Even though I never knew how much I would have the next month, I was always able to have enough for my essential expenses, personal pleasures, and savings. If you’re tired of the false and impossible-to-follow promises of “finance gurus,” try out my simple, straightforward, easy-to-stick-to methods. Improve your spending habits: • Incorporate minimalism into your finances • How to avoid becoming a minimalist consumerist • Learn the psychological traps that make you overspend • Control your compulsive spending habits Feel financially secure every day: • Learn about two A-Z budgeting methods and how to make them work for you • Learn ratio-based budgeting and fixed-amount budgeting • Discover the best budgeting software programs • Design a bulletproof savings strategy to get out of debt, be prepared for emergencies, and set yourself up for retirement Stop hating your financial life: • Learn how to set SMART financial goals • Increase your self-confidence with budgeting • 50 small budgeting tips Financial education is not part of our educational system. It is normal that we don’t know how to budget when we step into the craziness we call adulthood. But it is not normal to stay ignorant about a field of life that (like it or not) guarantees our material survival. Money management is an essential skill for everybody who earns, shops or consumes. If you follow the budgeting tips in this book, you’ll be able to keep track of your finances. You’ll clearly know where your money goes, where it comes from and where can you save. You won’t feel stressed of running out of money unexpectedly, you’ll clear yourself out of debts and have savings for bigger expenses like a vacation, new car or unexpected events. Leave money struggles for yesterday. Grab a copy of Minimalist Budget by hitting buy now in the top right corner of this page.