Juergensmeyer explores the 1993 World Trade Center explosion, Hamas suicide bombings, the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack, and the killing of abortion clinic doctors in the United States. His personal interviews with 1993 World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima, Christian Right activist Mike Bray, Hamas leaders Sheik Yassin and Abdul Azis Rantisi, and Sikh political leader Simranjit Singh Mann, among others, take us into the mindset of those who perpetrate and support violence in the name of religion.

    This is economist Bryan Caplan's sobering assessment in this provocative and eye-opening book. Caplan argues that voters continually elect politicians who either share their biases or else pretend to, resulting in bad policies winning again and again by popular demand.Boldly calling into question our most basic assumptions about American politics, Caplan contends that democracy fails precisely because it does what voters want. Through an analysis of Americans' voting behavior and opinions on a range of economic issues, he makes the convincing case that noneconomists suffer from four prevailing biases: they underestimate the wisdom of the market mechanism, distrust foreigners, undervalue the benefits of conserving labor, and pessimistically believe the economy is going from bad to worse. Caplan lays out several bold ways to make democratic government work better--for example, urging economic educators to focus on correcting popular misconceptions and recommending that democracies do less and let markets take up the slack.The Myth of the Rational Voter takes an unflinching look at how people who vote under the influence of false beliefs ultimately end up with government that delivers lousy results. With the upcoming presidential election season drawing nearer, this thought-provoking book is sure to spark a long-overdue reappraisal of our elective system.

    These stories are the real thing, passionate, imaginative, searing."-Richard Bausch, author of "Wives & Lovers" The first book of its kind, "Operation Homecoming "is the result of a major initiative launched by the National Endowment for the Arts to bring distinguished writers to military bases and inspire U.S. Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen and their families to record their wartime experiences. Encouraged by such authors as Tom Clancy, Mark Bowden, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tobias Wolff, Jeff Shaara, and Marilyn Nelson, American military personnel and their loved ones wrote candidly about what they saw, heard, and felt while in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on the home front. Taken together, these almost one hundred never-before-published eyewitness accounts, private journals, short stories, letters, and other personal writings become a dramatic narrative that shows the human side of warfare. - the fear and exhilaration of heading into battle;- the interactions between U.S. forces and Afghans and Iraqis, both as enemies and friends;- the boredom, gripes, and humorous incidents of day-to-day life on the front lines;- the anxiety and heartache of worried spouses, parents, and other loved ones on the home front;- the sheer brutality of warfare and the physical and emotional toll it takes on those who fight;- the tearful homecomings for those who returned to the States alive- and the somber ceremonies for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. From riveting combat accounts to profound reflections on warfare and the pride these troops feel for one another, "Operation Homecoming" offers an unflinching and intensely revealing look into the lives of extraordinary men and women. What they have written is without question some of the greatest wartime literature ever published. "Andrew Carroll has given America a priceless treasure."-Tom Brokaw, on "War Letters" Proceeds from this book will be used to provide arts and cultural programming to U.S. military communities. For more information, please go to www.OperationHomecoming.gov.

    It answers the most common questions asked by examiners, clarifies the requirements of the written and oral portions, and presents practice questions from the exam with a reference to the specific information source from where the answer may be derived. An appendix with a "Practical Test Checklist" is included. The main body of questions is written in a Q & A format, with the questions that checkride examiners are most likely to ask along with comprehensive, easy-to-remember responses. This guide teaches not only what to expect on the private pilot oral exam, but also how to exhibit subject mastery and confidence while under the examiner's scrutiny.

    French political philosopher Roy demonstrates that the Islamism of today is a mix of populist politics and mixed economies of laissez-faire for the rich and subsidies for the poor, and argues that Islamic fundamentalists will never be able to reshape economics and politics in the name of Islamic un

    Operation Ajax is the first true-to-life spy thriller in a new genre of interactive comics experiences.Designed specifically for the iPad, Operation Ajax is an original story inspired by the investigative journalism of best-selling author, Stephen Kinzer, and his work All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror.~From cognitocomics.com

    In particular the book tells of Ottawa’s failure to recognize and confront the efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate and influence Canadian politics, academia, and media, and to exert control over Canadians of Chinese heritage.Claws of the Panda gives a detailed description of the CCP’s campaign to embed agents of influence in Canadian business, politics, media and academia. The party’s aims are to be able to turn Canadian public policy to China’s advantage, to acquire useful technology and intellectual property, to influence Canada’s international diplomacy, and, most important, to be able to monitor and intimidate Chinese Canadians and others it considers dissidents.The book traces the evolution of the Canada-China relationship over nearly 150 years. It shows how Canadian leaders have constantly misjudged the reality and potential of the relationship while the CCP and its agents have benefited from Canadian naivete.

    The blogosphere has become a huge platform for individuals and businesses alike. As well as being essential for creative trades of all kinds--carpenters, photographers, caterers, gardeners and graphic designers to name but a few--blogs can be inspirational and beautiful; becoming hubs for people with similar tastes and interests. Blogging for Creatives is the first approachable, non-techie guide to the blogosphere, complete with hundreds of tips, tricks and motivational stories from artistic bloggers who have started from scratch. It covers everything creatives need to know about how to design a beautiful, interesting blog that people will want to return to again and again--such as how to design, publish and host a blog, as well as keeping it fresh, staying motivated and forging connections with others in the field. Professional advice is highly illustrated with examples of successful blogs, broken down into succinct types that work, helping the reader to identify and develop the style of blog they want.Includes box-out tips, tricks and anecdotes from successful bloggersNon-techie approach that reflects the creative scope of the modern blogHighly illustrated with examples of blog types that work, with proven advice from the creators

    Containing 74 essays written over the last ten years, this book covers a range of subjects including the literature of the perceived masters and of Rushdie's contemporaries, the politics of colonialism and the ironies of culture, film, politicians, the Labour Party, religious fundamentalism in America, racial prejudice and the preciousness of the imagination and of free expression.

    Atheism is one of the most important movements in modern Western culture. For the last two hundred years, it seemed to be on the verge of eliminating religion as an outmoded and dangerous superstition. Recent years, however, have witnessed the decline of disbelief and a rise in religious devotion throughout the world. In THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM, the distinguished historian and theologian Alister McGrath examines what went wrong with the atheist dream and explains why religion and faith are destined to play a central role in the twenty-first century.A former atheist who is now one of Christianity’s foremost scholars, McGrath traces the history of atheism from its emergence in eighteenth-century Europe as a revolutionary worldview that offered liberation from the rigidity of traditional religion and the oppression of tyrannical monarchs, to its golden age in the first half of the twentieth century. Blending thoughtful, authoritative historical analysis with incisive portraits of such leading and influential atheists as Sigmund Freud and Richard Dawkins, McGrath exposes the flaws at the heart of atheism, and argues that the renewal of faith is a natural, inevitable, and necessary response to its failures.THE TWILIGHT OF ATHEISM will unsettle believers and nonbelievers alike. A powerful rebuttal of the philosophy that, for better and for worse, has exerted tremendous influence on Western history, it carries major implications for the future of both religion and unbelief in our society.

    One of the chapters in each trivia book was “Disturbing Facts about Our World”. I decided to fill an entire volume with facts about upsetting crimes and mayhem, combined with unbelievable yet real instances of misfortune and misery. This is a book where grim examples of bigotry and hypocrisy are intertwined with amusing stories of bad luck. In the spirit of the times we live in, I dedicated a whole chapter to COVID-19 trivia and weird medical conditions. I am well aware that many potential readers might be overwhelmed by the condensed negativity, but hey… a fact is a fact! Continue to read if you are curious to learn:- Why were the trousers of New Zealand’s farmers exploding?- What is the depressing origin of the phrase “Hip Hip, Hooray”?- Why did the Spanish Habsburgs royal family sleep with human mummies?- Why was it legal in Iceland until 2015 to kill Basque people?- Who was the “Deep Throat” informer from the Watergate scandal?- How many people were killed trying to cross the notorious Berlin Wall?- Why do snakes make a better pet than cats or dogs?- How can millipedes cause a train crash?- What is the etymology of “thug”?- What are the chances of getting killed by rubbish falling from space?- How did polygamist men in Kuwait manage to visit all their wives during the coronavirus lockdown?However incredible these pieces of trivia might sound, all entries have been verified and fact-checked.