Book picks similar to
Participation in America: political democracy and social equality by Sidney Verba


american-politics
less-than-1-000-reviews
multiculturalism
political-science

Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics


Cynthia Enloe - 1990
    Cynthia Enloe pulls back the curtain on the familiar scenes—governments promoting tourism, companies moving their factories overseas, soldiers serving on foreign soil—and shows that the real landscape is not exclusively male. She describes how many women's seemingly personal strategies—in their marriages, in their housework, in their coping with ideals of beauty—are, in reality, the stuff of global politics. In exposing policymakers' reliance on false notions of "femininity" and "masculinity," Enloe dismantles an apparently overwhelming world system, revealing it to be much more fragile and open to change than we think.

New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era


Mary Kaldor - 1999
    Yet, during the 1990s millions have died in wars in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia, and millions more have become refugees from war-torn regions.In this pathbreaking book, the author argues that, in the context of globalization, what we think of as war—war between states in which the aim is to inflict maximum violence—is becoming an anachronism. In its place is a new type of organized violence, which she calls “new wars,” a mixture of war, organized crime, and massive violations of human rights. The actors are both global and local, public and private. These wars are fought for particular political goals using tactics of terror and destabilization that are theoretically outlawed by the rules of modern warfare; an informal criminalized economy is built into the functioning of these new wars.The author asserts that political leaders and international institutions have been unable to deal with the spread of these wars mainly because they have not come to terms with their logic; wars are treated either as old wars or as anarchy. Her analysis offers a basis for a cosmopolitan political response to these wars in which the monopoly of legitimate organized violence is reconstructed on a transnational basis, and international peacekeeping is reconceptualized as cosmopolitan law enforcement. The author shows how this approach has profound implications for the reconstruction of civil society, political institutions, and economic and social relations.

The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties


Mark E. Neely Jr. - 1991
    Indeed, Lincoln's record on the Constitution and individual rights has fueled a century of debate, from charges that Democrats were singled out for harrassment to Gore Vidal's depiction of Lincoln as an absolute dictator. Now, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Fate of Liberty, one of America's leading authorities on Lincoln wades straight into this controversy, showing just who was jailed and why, even as he explores the whole range of Lincoln's constitutional policies. Mark Neely depicts Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus as a well-intentioned attempt to deal with a floodtide of unforeseen events: the threat to Washington as Maryland flirted with secession, disintegrating public order in the border states, corruption among military contractors, the occupation of hostile Confederate territory, contraband trade with the South, and the outcry against the first draft in U.S. history. Drawing on letters from prisoners, records of military courts and federal prisons, memoirs, and federal archives, he paints a vivid picture of how Lincoln responded to these problems, how his policies were actually executed, and the virulent political debates that followed. Lincoln emerges from this account with this legendary statesmanship intact--mindful of political realities and prone to temper the sentences of military courts, concerned not with persecuting his opponents but with prosecuting the war efficiently. In addition, Neely explores the abuses of power under the regime of martial law: the routine torture of suspected deserters, widespread antisemitism among Union generals and officials, the common practice of seizing civilian hostages. He finds that though the system of military justice was flawed, it suffered less from merciless zeal, or political partisanship, than from inefficiency and the friction and complexities of modern war. Informed by a deep understanding of a unique period in American history, this incisive book takes a comprehensive look at the issues of civil liberties during Lincoln's administration, placing them firmly in the political context of the time. Written with keen insight and an intimate grasp of the original sources, The Fate of Liberty offers a vivid picture of the crises and chaos of a nation at war with itself, changing our understanding of this president and his most controversial policies.

Justice and the Politics of Difference


Iris Marion Young - 1990
    It critically analyzes basic concepts underlying most theories of justice, including impartiality, formal equality, and the unitary moral subjectivity. Starting from claims of excluded groups about decision making, cultural expression, and division of labor, Iris Young defines concepts of domination and oppression to cover issues eluding the distributive model. Democratic theorists, according to Young do not adequately address the problem of an inclusive participatory framework. By assuming a homogeneous public, they fail to consider institutional arrangements for including people not culturally identified with white European male norms of reason and respectability. Young urges that normative theory and public policy should undermine group-based oppression by affirming rather than suppressing social group difference. Basing her vision of the good society on the differentiated, culturally plural network of contemporary urban life, she argues for a principle of group representation in democratic publics and for group-differentiated policies. This is an innovative work, an important contribution to feminist theory and political thought, and one of the most impressive statements of the relationship between postmodernist critiques of universalism and concrete thinking.... Iris Young makes the most convincing case I know of for the emancipatory implications of postmodernism. --Seyla Benhabib, State University of New York at Stony Brook

Giants and Dwarfs: Essays, 1960-1990


Allan Bloom - 1990
    In this book, current liberal theories of justice are criticized, the shortcomings of the modern university are analyzed and the works of Shakespeare, Swift and Plato are examined.

My Life, Volume I: The Early Years


Bill Clinton - 2005
    It shows us the progress of a remarkable American, who, through his own enormous energies and efforts, made the unlikely journey from Hope, Arkansas, to the White House—a journey fueled by an impassioned interest in the political process which manifested itself at every stage of his life: in college, working as an intern for Senator William Fulbright; at Oxford, becoming part of the Vietnam War protest movement; at Yale Law School, campaigning on the grassroots level for Democratic candidates; back in Arkansas, running for Congress, attorney general, and governor.We see his career shaped by his resolute determination to improve the life of his fellow citizens, an unfaltering commitment to civil rights, and an exceptional understanding of the practicalities of political life.We come to understand the emotional pressures of his youth—born after his father’s death; caught in the dysfunctional relationship between his feisty, nurturing mother and his abusive stepfather, whom he never ceased to love and whose name he took; drawn to the brilliant, compelling Hillary Rodham, whom he was determined to marry; passionately devoted, from her infancy, to their daughter, Chelsea, and to the entire experience of fatherhood; slowly and painfully beginning to comprehend how his early denial of pain led him at times into damaging patterns of behavior.President Clinton’s book is also the fullest, most concretely detailed, most nuanced account of a presidency ever written—encompassing not only the high points and crises but the way the presidency actually works: the day-to-day bombardment of problems, personalities, conflicts, setbacks, achievements.It is a testament to the positive impact on America and on the world of his work and his ideals.It is the gripping account of a president under concerted and unrelenting assault orchestrated by his enemies on the Far Right, and how he survived and prevailed. It is a treasury of moments caught alive, among them:• The ten-year-old boy watching the national political conventions on his family’s new (and first) television set.• The young candidate looking for votes in the Arkansas hills and the local seer who tells him, “Anybody who would campaign at a beer joint in Joiner at midnight on Saturday night deserves to carry one box. . . . You’ll win here. But it’ll be the only damn place you win in this county.” (He was right on both counts.)• The roller-coaster ride of the 1992 campaign.• The extraordinarily frank exchanges with Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole.• The delicate manipulation needed to convince Rabin and Arafat to shake hands for the camera while keeping Arafat from kissing Rabin.• The cost, both public and private, of the scandal that threatened the presidency.Here is the life of a great national and international figure, revealed with all his talents and contradictions, told openly, directly, in his own completely recognizable voice. A unique book by a unique American.From the Hardcover edition.

Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom


Rebecca MacKinnon - 2012
    For every story about the web’s empowering role in events such as the Arab Spring, there are many more about the quiet corrosion of civil liberties by companies and governments using the same digital technologies we have come to depend upon. Sudden changes in Facebook’s features and privacy settings have exposed identities of protestors to police in Egypt and Iran. Apple removes politically controversial apps at the behest of governments as well as for its own commercial reasons. Dozens of Western companies sell surveillance technology to dictatorships around the world. Google struggles with censorship demands from governments in a range of countries — many of them democracies — as well as mounting public concern over the vast quantities of information it collects about its users.In Consent of the Networked, journalist and Internet policy specialist Rebecca MacKinnon argues that it is time to fight for our rights before they are sold, legislated, programmed, and engineered away. Every day, the corporate sovereigns of cyberspace make decisions that affect our physical freedom — but without our consent. Yet the traditional solution to unaccountable corporate behavior — government regulation — cannot stop the abuse of digital power on its own, and sometimes even contributes to it.A clarion call to action, Consent of the Networked shows that it is time to stop arguing over whether the Internet empowers people, and address the urgent question of how technology should be governed to support the rights and liberties of users around the world.

A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat


Zell Miller - 2003
    As part of a stinging critique of the Democratic Party, Miller outlines key positions on important issues that can again make the party relevant for the entire nation. From tax cuts to welfare, gun control to the environment, the arts to education, immigration to terrorism, Miller identifies values that make sense to a growing majority of Americans. Miller�s candid analysis of the campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton further underscores his conclusion that the Democratic Party can no longer field a serious presidential challenge. Many party loyalists will not like what Senator Miller writes; yet his credentials are beyond question, for few Democrats have worked longer or stronger for the party and its candidates. Zell Miller has served in an elective office in each of the last six decades. When he left office as governor after two terms, he had an 85 percent approval rating, prompting the Washington Post to call him the most popular governor in the country. After getting to Washington, he became President Bush�s biggest Democratic supporter, but steadfastly refused to switch parties. A National Party No More is a firsthand account from the enigmatic senator who has confounded his Democratic colleagues. Driven by conscience and common sense, Senator Miller names the self-destructive direction of his party and stubbornly pulls the Democratic family toward reform.

Yukon Audit


Ken Baird - 2015
    Land of the midnight sun and the Klondike gold rush. Wilderness and wildlife, rivers and lakes, mountains and glaciers. As mystical a place as there is on earth. The Yukon’s also a great place to launder illicit cash with a gold mine. And organized crime knows it. C.E. Brody is a man of the world but prefers life in a cabin on the Yukon River. For a living he flies an ancient float plane and runs a highway repair shop. Single, fiercely independent, a champion for the little guy, Brody loves his dogs and plane, hates cops and phones, and cooks a great meal for two. After repairing her car, Brody is hired by a beautiful and mysterious woman to fly her over a gold mine. The two spot a missing plane. They land and find two men inside. He knows the pilot, she knows the passenger. Within hours, Brody realizes he’s suddenly become the center of attention for the RCMP, the FBI, and two underworld gangs. His beautiful passenger is making romantic advances. He’s beaten up, his plane is hijacked, a friend’s child is kidnapped. With no idea what's going on, he's bound and determined to get answers. And get even. A thriller, an adventure, a romance, Yukon Audit is filled with imagery and insight into the land called the Yukon - its gold rush history, its colorful characters, its geography and geology. Detailed flying sequences are narrated from the cockpit, as are the history and details of Brody’s sixty year old pride and joy, a DeHavilland Beaver, the greatest bush plane ever made. If you’ve never been to the Yukon, you’ll want to visit after reading Yukon Audit.

Metode Penelitian Komunikasi- Dilengkapi Contoh Analisis Statistik


Jalaluddin Rakhmat - 1999
    

The Eyes of Others


Mikael Carlson - 2015
    Intelligence analyst Eugene "Boston" Hollinger wants to escape from his. Hampered by strange dreams since he was severely injured by a roadside bomb in ISIS-occupied Iraq, he enlists the help of an attractive, yet quirky dream therapist to get to the bottom of the mystery. Together they come to understand the true nature of Boston’s condition - he is not dreaming, but somehow accessing the memories of others while he sleeps.As Boston comes to grips with his condition, the nation’s intelligence community is in a panic. A mole with high-level access to classified intel is passing secrets to the enemy, and the pressure to catch him is increasing by the minute. With soldiers and informants dying every day, and the government all pointing fingers at each other, Boston realizes his strange dreams are about the mole, and could hold the only key to finding him before it’s too late. Now armed with a new tool to track him down, he enlists the help of some old friends and his current fiancée to help bring the traitor to justice at any cost. As forces within the government seek to silence him, it becomes a race against time - find the mole or become the scapegoat in one of the deadliest intelligence breaches ever uncovered. The Eyes of Others follows the struggles of five people caught up in a maelstrom of bureaucratic wrangling, politics, and one of the most desperate, high-stakes mole hunts in American history. Lives will be lost and tensions high, but can the mole be found in time when the only clues can be found by dreaming about memories seen through the eyes of others?

The Infernal


Kim Wilkins - 1997
    Can these 20th-century murders be linked to events in Elizabethan England?

The University in Ruins


Bill Readings - 1996
    The structure of the contemporary University is changing rapidly, and we have yet to understand what precisely these changes will mean. Is a new age dawning for the University, the renaissance of higher education under way? Or is the University in the twilight of its social function, the demise of higher education fast approaching? We can answer such questions only if we look carefully at the different roles the University has played historically and then imagine how it might be possible to live, and to think, amid the ruins of the University.Tracing the roots of the modern American University in German philosophy and in the work of British thinkers such as Newman and Arnold, Bill Readings argues that historically the integrity of the modern University has been linked to the nation-state, which it has served by promoting and protecting the idea of a national culture. But now the nation-state is in decline, and national culture no longer needs to be either promoted or protected. Increasingly, universities are turning into transnational corporations, and the idea of culture is being replaced by the discourse of "excellence." On the surface, this does not seem particularly pernicious.The author cautions, however, that we should not embrace this techno-bureaucratic appeal too quickly. The new University of Excellence is a corporation driven by market forces, and, as such, is more interested in profit margins than in thought. Readings urges us to imagine how to think, without concession to corporate excellence or recourse to romantic nostalgia within an institution in ruins. The result is a passionate appeal for a new community of thinkers.

Why Read Hannah Arendt Now?


Richard J. Bernstein - 2018
    She was extremely perceptive about the dark tendencies in contemporary life that continue to plague us. She developed a concept of politics and public freedom that serves as a critical standard for judging what is wrong with politics today. Richard J. Bernstein argues that Arendt should be read today because her penetrating insights help us to think about both the darkness of our times and the sources of illumination. He explores her thinking about statelessness and refugees; the right to have rights; her critique of Zionism; the meaning of the banality of evil; the complex relations between truth, lying, power, and violence; the tradition of the revolutionary spirit; and the urgent need for each of us to assume responsibility for our political lives. This short and very readable book will be of great interest to anyone who wants to understand the forces that are shaping our world today.

CALIFORNIA: A Trip Across the Plains, in the Spring of 1850


James Abbey - 2015
    He kept a day-by-day journal of his overland journey. Abbey provides a wealth of information about what it was like to travel overland by wagon in 1850.