Book picks similar to
Africa First!: Igniting a Growth Revolution by Jakkie Cilliers
africa
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other-nonfiction
political-science
Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution
James Ferguson - 2015
More than thirty percent of South Africa's population receive such payments, even as pundits elsewhere proclaim the neoliberal death of the welfare state. These programs' successes at reducing poverty under conditions of mass unemployment, Ferguson argues, provide an opportunity for rethinking contemporary capitalism and for developing new forms of political mobilization. Interested in an emerging "politics of distribution," Ferguson shows how new demands for direct income payments (including so-called "basic income") require us to reexamine the relation between production and distribution, and to ask new questions about markets, livelihoods, labor, and the future of progressive politics.
Reggie and Me
James Hendry - 2020
But for a one small boy in the leafy northern suburbs of Johannesburg ... his beloved housekeeper is serving fish fingers for lunch.This is the tale of Hamish Charles Sutherland Fraser – chorister, horse rider, schoolboy actor and, in his dreams, 1st XV rugby star and young ladies’ delight. A boy who climbs trees in the spring and who loves a girl named Reggie.An odd child growing up in a conflicted, scary, beautiful society.A young South African who hasn’t learnt the rules.
Dragon Defender
Ava Richardson - 2021
His dragon Gloriox is determined to help him heal, but when their travels bring them to the land of Chamenos, they find that trouble has gotten there first. Gloriox’s niece has been captured, and every other dragon is gone.With their newfound friends Ziggy and Rosa, Pieter and Gloriox will need to scour Chamenos in order to find Gloriox’s niece and face the tyrant king, who’s determined to find the first dragon’s bones and will show no mercy in achieving his goals. Yet, there’s more to the tyrant king’s dark magic than it seems, and Pieter may be the only one who can stop him.Things won’t be so easy with dark spirits in the air and Pieter’s overwhelming fear of losing his companions to unnecessary violence. Some battles must be fought, though, no matter how much Pieter longs for safety. If he can’t overcome his fear of action, his hesitation could be just as deadly as any evil spell.Danger lurks while ancient powers sleep, but if the powers awaken, Chamenos – and the world – will pay the price.
The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap
Ralph Nader - 2004
Bush,corporate government, and the whole charade of presidential campaigning -- from the last honest man in American politicsRalph Nader -- brilliant visionary, relentless activist -- may be the most honest man left in politics. And yet his presidential campaigns have faced consistent opposition -- mainly from Democrats afraid that competition from an inspiring independent could dent their voting block.Now, in The Good Fight, Nader swings back harder than ever at those who "want to block the American people from having more voices and choices" and have lost touch with the concept that votes must be earned, not inherited or entitled. While taking on corporate-occupied Washington and the government's daily abuse of ordinary citizens, he urges a speedy return to stronger civic motivation. If fed-up citizens don't actively join the fight for better leadership, then ultimately we have no one to blame but ourselves for the inadequate checks on the erosion of our civil liberties.In an era when politicians sell us rhetoric and then sell out our principles, Nader stands as a crucial voice of candor. The Good Fight is a stirring response to politics as usual, one that will captivate readers of all political stripes and help us define what we must do to shape the brightest future for our nation.
Where the Devil Don't Stay: Traveling the South with the Drive-By Truckers
Stephen Deusner - 2021
The Drive-By Truckers, as they named themselves, grew into one of the best and most consequential rock bands of the twenty-first century, a great live act whose songs deliver the truth and nuance rarely bestowed on Southerners, so often reduced to stereotypes.Where the Devil Don’t Stay tells the band’s unlikely story not chronologically but geographically. Seeing the Truckers’ albums as roadmaps through a landscape that is half-real, half-imagined, their fellow Southerner Stephen Deusner travels to the places the band’s members have lived in and written about. Tracking the band from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia, to the author’s hometown in McNairy County, Tennessee, Deusner explores the Truckers’ complex relationship to the South and the issues of class, race, history, and religion that run through their music. Drawing on new interviews with past and present band members, including Jason Isbell, Where the Devil Don’t Stay is more than the story of a great American band; it’s a reflection on the power of music and how it can frame and shape a larger culture.
Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora
Michael A. Gomez - 2004
Particular attention is paid to the everyday lives of the working classes and their cultural development. Their exploits, challenges, and struggles are covered over a broad time frame that links as well as differentiates past and present circumstances.
Angela Cray Gets Real: (An Angela Cray Mystery, Book 1)
Dara Carr - 2018
After coming within air-kissing distance of a felony charge, Angela is determined to make something of her life. When a sympathetic neighbor offers her work, Angela jumps at the opportunity. She figures it won’t be hard to track down a missing fiancé last seen with two Lady Gaga lookalikes. After all, one of her superpowers is finding badly behaved men. But the trail of the runaway groom has more twists than a bride’s updo. And when Angela uncovers secrets that people will kill to keep hidden, she has to decide the price she’s willing to pay for success. Angela will need to call upon all her charm and cunning—and the deities of her ancient Samoan ancestors—to make sure this professional growth opportunity doesn’t kill her first. Praise: "...An entertaining, unconventional mystery that is difficult to put down. Dara Carr’s Angela Cray Gets Real is a mystery with a decidedly unconventional detective: Angela Cray is broke, living with her mother, desperately in need of a job, and entirely lacking in detective experience. Her story of venturing into this new line of work is stylish, absorbing, and laugh-out-loud funny."—Foreword Clarion Reviews Finalist for a Freddie Award for Writing Excellence from the Mystery Writers of America/Florida chapter.
International Political Economy
Thomas Oatley - 2009
This text surveys major interests and institutions and examines how state and non-state actors pursue wealth and power. Emphasizing fundamental economic concepts as well as the interplay between domestic and international politics, International Political Economy not only explains how the global economy works; it also encourages students to think critically about how economic policy is made in the context of globalization.
The Lost Twin
Diana Finley - 2020
Penniless and alone, Marie is forced to make an impossible choice. One she will regret for the rest of her life.Against the odds, Marie raises her son Barry and gives him a good life. Yet she can never bring herself to tell him that somewhere out there, he has a twin brother.But secrets can’t stay buried forever. And when Barry learns the truth, it threatens to tear mother and son apart all over again.Will the family ever be reunited? And can the scars of a lifetime ever truly heal?
The Billionaire Cattle Baron
Mandy Magro - 2017
But this farmer isn’t looking for a wife — his first love ended in tragedy, and he will never put his heart on the line again. The land is his love, and he’s happy that way.Sasha Hepworth has goals and ambitions and she has worked very hard for her success. She’s just forgotten how to enjoy herself. So a weekend fling with a gorgeous cowboy is just what she needs — after all, it can’t go any further. She’d never leave the conveniences and beauty of the city for a dusty outback town.But a weekend of fine dining and spectacular sights isn’t enough for Blake and Sasha, and the growing feelings that neither can deny make them question everything about their lives. When a city girl meets a country boy, will they find middle ground?
The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy
Susan Strange - 1996
Big businesses, drug barons, insurers, accountants and international bureaucrats all encroach on the so-called sovereignty of the state. Professor Strange examines the implications of this rivalry and points to some new directions for research in international relations, international business and economics.
The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won't Tell You about Global Warming
Roger A. Pielke Jr. - 2010
In The Climate Fix, Pielke offers a way to repair climate policy, shifting the debate away from meaningless targets and toward a revolution in how the world’s economy is powered, while de-fanging the venomous politics surrounding the crisis. The debate on global warming has lost none of its power to polarize and provoke in a haze of partisan vitriol. The Climate Fix will bring something new to the discussions: a commonsense perspective and practical actions better than any offered so far.
THIS is Africa
Mat Dry - 2012
THIS is Africa is a compilation of stories that defines the maxim "Truth is sometimes stranger, and more wondrous than fiction." From a place known for its continent-wide diversity, notorious for its dramatic turbulence, and beloved for its animals and untamed wildness, Mat Dry, brings his incredible true tales of living and working in Africa as a Safari Guide.
Britain Alone: The Path from Suez to Brexit
Philip Stephens - 2021
Nearly 60 years later, the rebuke rings true again. Britain's postwar search for its place in the world has vexed prime ministers and government since the nation's great victory in 1945: the cost of winning the war was giving up the empire. After the humiliation of Anthony Eden's Suez expedition, Britain seemed for a time to have found an answer. Clinging to its self-image as a great island nation, it would serve as America's best friend while acknowledging its geography by signing up to membership of the European Union. Never a comfortable balancing act, for 40 years it appeared to work. In 2016 David Cameron called the Brexit referendum and blew it up. Author Philip Stephens paints a fascinating portrait of a nation struggling to reconcile its waning power with past glory. Drawing on decades of personal contact and interviews with senior politicians and diplomats in Britain, the United States and across the capitals of Europe, Britain Alone is a vivid account of a proud nation struggling to admit it is no longer a great power. It is a guide to how we arrived at the state we are in.
The Mask of Anarchy Updated Edition: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War
Stephen Ellis - 1999
In 1990, when thousands of teenage fighters, including young men wearing women's clothing and bizarre objects of decoration, laid siege to the capital, the world took notice. Since then Liberia has been through devastating civil upheaval. What began as a civil conflict, has spread to other West African nations.Eschewing popular stereotypes and simple explanations, Stephen Ellis traces the history of the civil war that has blighted Liberia in recent years and looks at its political, ethnic and cultural roots. He focuses on the role religion and ritual have played in shaping and intensifying this brutal war. In this edition, with a new preface by the author, Ellis provides a current picture of Liberia and details how much of the same problems still exist.