We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy


Ta-Nehisi Coates - 2017
    Now Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the tragic echoes of that history in our own time: the unprecedented election of a black president followed by a vicious backlash that fueled the election of the man Coates argues is America's "first white president."But the story of these present-day eight years is not just about presidential politics. This book also examines the new voices, ideas, and movements for justice that emerged over this period--and the effects of the persistent, haunting shadow of our nation's old and unreconciled history. Coates powerfully examines the events of the Obama era from his intimate and revealing perspective--the point of view of a young writer who begins the journey in an unemployment office in Harlem and ends it in the Oval Office, interviewing a president.We Were Eight Years in Power features Coates's iconic essays first published in The Atlantic, including Fear of a Black President, The Case for Reparations and The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration, along with eight fresh essays that revisit each year of the Obama administration through Coates's own experiences, observations, and intellectual development, capped by a bracingly original assessment of the election that fully illuminated the tragedy of the Obama era. We Were Eight Years in Power is a vital account of modern America, from one of the definitive voices of this historic moment.

Civil Disobedience


Henry David Thoreau - 1849
    In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848).

The Conscience of a Liberal


Paul Krugman - 2007
    Seeking to understand both what happened to middle-class America and what it will take to achieve a "new New Deal," Krugman has created his finest book to date, a work that weaves together a nuanced account of three generations of history with sharp political, social, and economic analysis. This book, written with Krugman's trademark ability to explain complex issues simply, will transform the debate about American social policy in much the same way as did John Kenneth Galbraith's deeply influential book, The Affluent Society.

Conceived in Liberty (4 Volume Set)


Murray N. Rothbard - 1975
    They offer a complete history of the Colonial period ofAmerican history, a period lost to students today, who are led to believeAmerican history begins with the US Constitution. Rothbard's ambition was to shed new light on Colonial history and show that the struggle for human liberty was the heart and soul of this land from its discovery through the culminating event of the American Revolution. These volumes are a tour de force, enough to establish Rothbard as one of the great American historians. Although a detailed narrative history of the struggle between liberty andpower, Rothbard offers a third alternative to the conventional interpretivedevices. Against those on the right who see the American Revolution as a"conservative" event, and those on the left who want to invoke it as somesort of proto-socialist uprising, Rothbard views this period as a time ofaccelerating libertarian radicalism. Through this prism, Rothbardilluminates events as never before. The volumes were brought out in the 1970s, but the odd timing and unevendistribution prevented any kind of large audience. They were beloved only by a few specialists, and sought after by many thanks to their outstandingreputation. The Mises Institute is pleased to be the publisher of the newlyavailable set. Volume One covers the discovery of the Americas and the colonies in the 17th century (531 pages, including index). Volume Two covers the period of "salutary neglect" in the first half of the18th century (294 pages, including index). Volume Three covers the advance to revolution, from 1760-1775 (373 pages, including index). Volume Four covers the political, military, and ideological history of therevolution and after (470 pages, including index). ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Murray N. Rothbard (1926-1995) distinguished himself as an economist, writing a major treatise on theory, several important economic histories, and a highly praised history of economic thought. But he was also known as the pioneer thinker of libertarianism, the political philosophy that roots freedom in private property ownership and decries the state as inherently contrary to the ethics of a free society. Writing from this perspective, he gained a reputation as the most provocative and influential contributor to the anarchist tradition in our century.