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Consent: A Memoir
by Vanessa Springora“Consent” is a Molotov cocktail, flung at the face of the French establishment, a work of dazzling, highly controlled fury...By every conceivable metric, her book is a triumph.” -- The New York Times Already an international literary sensation, an intimate and powerful memoir of a young French teenage girl’s relationship with a famous, much older male writer—a universal #MeToo story of power, manipulation, trauma, recovery, and resiliency that exposes the hypocrisy of a culture that has allowed the sexual abuse of minors to occur unchecked.Sometimes, all it takes is a single voice to shatter the silence of complicity.Thirty years ago, Vanessa Springora was the teenage muse of one of the country’s most celebrated writers, a footnote in the narrative of a very influential man in the French literary world.At the end of 2019, as women around the world began to speak out, Vanessa, now in her forties and the director of one of France’s leading publishing houses, decided to reclaim her own story, offering her perspective of those events sharply known.Consent is the story of one precocious young girl’s stolen adolescence. Devastating in its honesty, Vanessa’s painstakingly memoir lays bare the cultural attitudes and circumstances that made it possible for a thirteen-year-old girl to become involved with a fifty-year-old man who happened to be a notable writer. As she recalls the events of her childhood and her seduction by one of her country’s most notable writers, Vanessa reflects on the ways in which this disturbing relationship changed and affected her as she grew older.Drawing parallels between children’s fairy tales and French history and her personal life, Vanessa offers an intimate and absorbing look at the meaning of love and consent and the toll of trauma and the power of healing in women’s lives. Ultimately, she offers a forceful indictment of a chauvinistic literary world that has for too long accepted and helped perpetuate gender inequality and the exploitation and sexual abuse of children. Translated from the French by Natasha Lehrer"...One of the belated truths that emerges from [Consent] is that Springora is a writer. [...]Her sentences gleam like metal; each chapter snaps shut with the clean brutality of a latch." -- The New Yorker"Consent [is] rapier-sharp, written with restraint, elegance and brevity." -- The Times (London)"[Consent] has something steely in its heart, and it departs from the typical American memoir of childhood abuse in exhilarating ways." -- Slate"Lucid and nuanced...[Consent] will speak to trauma survivors everywhere." -- Los Angeles Review of Books”A piercing memoir about the sexually abusive relationship she endured at age 14 with a 50-year-old writer...This chilling account will linger with readers long after the last page is turned.” -- Publishers Weekly "Springora's lucid account is a commanding discussion of sexual abuse and victimization, and a powerful act of reclamation." -- Booklist"A chilling story of child abuse and the sophisticated Parisians who looked the other way...[Springora] is an elegant and perceptive writer." -- Kirkus
El consentimiento
by Vanessa SpringoraLA NOTICIA LITERARIA DEL AÑO APLAUDIDA POR LA PRENSA MUNDIAL: la Nueva Gran Novela Francesa, ganadora del Gran Premio de las Lectoras de Elley del Premio Jean-Jacques Rousseau y número 1 en ventas. «Tiene todos los ingredientes para dar un aldabonazo en la conciencia social, y lo está dando. Sobrio, sereno y factual, el relato de Springora no tiene nada de sensacionalista, y aun así es impactante. [...] Un libro que nos golpea de la primera página a la última.»Laura Freixas, La Vanguardia Con trece años, Vanessa Springora conoce a Gabriel Matzneff, un apasionado escritor treinta y seis años mayor que ella, tras cuyo prestigio y carisma se esconde un depredador. Después de un meticuloso cortejo, la adolescente se entrega a él en cuerpo y alma, cegada por el amor e ignorante de que sus relaciones con menores llevan años nutriendo su producción literaria. Más de treinta años después de los hechos, Springora narra de forma lúcida y fulgurante esta historia de amor y perversión, y la ambigüedad de su propio consentimiento. Su maravillosa novela ha hecho, según el diario Le Monde, «arder Saint-Germain-desPrés»: el caso Matzneff cuestiona a la intelectualidad francesa y a una sociedad obnubilada por el talento y la celebridad. La crítica ha dicho...«Uno de los acontecimientos editoriales de esta inusual temporada en España. Estamos ante la última gran novela francesa, con todo lo que esta frase supone, y su autora, la también editora Vanessa Springora, está a la altura de sus compatriotas Delphine de Vigan o Emmanuel Carrère, imprescindibles en cualquier canon de la literatura actual de no ficción. Pero, en el caso de Springora, su proeza narrativa (escribe con la soltura de quien lleva toda la vida esperandopara hacerlo) es digna del mayor reconocimiento, tanto por parte de la crítica como de la sociedad francesa, la misma que, durante años que terminaron siendo décadas, miró para otro lado.»Inés Martín Rodrigo, ABC «El rostro de una incómoda constatación: todos lo sabían y nadie hizo nada.»María D. Valderrama, elDiario.es «Hablar con Vanessa Springora es como entrevistar a Lolita si hubiera podido rehacer su vida tras su historia con Humbert Humbert. Pero hay muchas diferencias: Springora existe, está viva y encima cuenta ella, con su propia voz, lo que sucedió.»Xavi Ayén, La Vanguardia «No hay entre las páginas elocuentes y nada revanchistas de El consentimiento ápice de manifiesto panfletario. [...] Los hechos que se cuentan, esa historia de amor consentida y cancelada al mismo tiempo por la propia autora, son reales. Pero su estructura novelada, su carácter de narración literaria, la convierte en algo más que un testimonio.»Marta Moleón, La Razón «Profundamente doloroso. [...] La autora ha sabido encontrar el tono justo, la serenidad y la claridad de ideas necesaria para escribirlo de tal modo que la historia fluya con agilidad a pesar de las sacudidas que esconde. [...] Léanlo.»Mònica Planas, Ara «Springora torpedea el cinismo con el que aún se encubre la pederastia y [...] representa un paso más en el proceso que han emprendido las mujeres de activar un punto de vista crítico en relación al mundo.»Anna Caballé, El País «Una bomba de profundidad en el seno de la intelectualidad francesa con un debate que tiene una compleja y retorcida argumentación.»Elena Hevia, El Periódico «Hay libros que cuentan la realidad y parecen de pura y terrible ficción. [...] Sencillo, durísimo, inverosímil.»A&L, Heraldo de Aragón «Una escritura sencilla, precisa y sabia, un lenguaje clásico, luminoso y justo. Elegan
Consequence: A Memoir
by Eric FairNamed one of "8 Books You Need to Read" by VultureA man questions everything--his faith, his morality, his country--as he recounts his experience as an interrogator in Iraq; an unprecedented memoir and "an act of incredible bravery" (Phil Klay, author of Redeployment). In 2004, after several months as an interrogator, Eric Fair’s call to serve his country has led him to a dark and frightening place. By the time he leaves Iraq after that first deployment, Fair will have participated in or witnessed a variety of aggressive interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, diet manipulation, exposure, and isolation. Years later, with his health and marriage crumbling, haunted by the role he played in what we now know as “enhanced interrogation,” it is Fair’s desire to speak out that becomes a key to his survival. Spare and haunting, Eric Fair’s memoir urgently questions the very depths of who he, and we as a country, have become.
The Consequences of Love
by Gavanndra HodgeThe must-read memoir about the dazzling days and dark nights of a Chelsea childhood . . .'Brilliant and moving' The Times'Dazzling' Evening Standard'Beautifully written' Marian Keyes'Unflinchingly honest Sunday Times'Superbly written' Guardian'A triumph' i_______Her father was a hairdresser to the rich and famous - he was also their drug dealer.Her mother was an alcoholic fashion model.Her days and nights were non-stop parties - she spent them taking care of her little sister and putting out naked flames.And when her sister dies aged nine, Gavanndra is left alone with her grief. Growing up in the dazzling days and dark nights of her parents' social lives, surviving means fitting into their dysfunctional world, while stopping the family from falling apart . . ._________'A redemptive tale of an emotional reckoning' i'This story will stay with you long after you put the book down' Emma Gannon'There are scenes that will reduce you to tears, but there's also humour, forgiveness and uplifting optimism. By the end of this dazzling debut you just want to give her a huge cheer for coming through' Evening Standard'A masterful writer with a gift for storytelling' i
A Consequential President: The Legacy of Barack Obama
by Michael D'AntonioBarack Obama was once a most unlikely candidate, but his successful campaign for the White House made him a worldwide sensation and a transformative figure even before he was inaugurated. Elected as the Iraq War and the Great Recession had discouraged millions of Americans, Obama made a promise of hope that revived the national spirit. Soon after he occupied the White House, Congress approved his economic-recovery act and his program to save the U.S. auto industry. Both worked better than any observer predicted, and together they powered a recovery that has seen growth return and unemployment reduced to below five percent. Today the American economy is again the most vibrant in the world and its recovery has far outpaced Western Europe's. Had he only saved the U.S. economy, Barack Obama would be considered a truly successful president. However, he has achieved so much more, against ferocious opposition---including some who challenged his claim to being an American citizen---that he can be counted as one of the most consequential presidents in history. With health care reform he ended a long-running crisis of escalating costs and inadequate access of treatment that threatened the well-being of 50 million people. His energy policies drove down the cost of power generated by the sun, the wind, and even fossil fuels. His efforts on climate change produced the first treaty to address global warming in a meaningful way---the Paris Agreement---and his diplomacy produced a dramatic reduction in the nuclear threat posed by Iran. Add the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, the normalization of relations with Cuba, and his “pivot” toward Asia, and Obama's successes abroad match those at home.In A Consequential President, Michael D'Antonio tallies President Obama’s long record of achievement, recalling both his major successes and less-noticed ones that nevertheless contribute to his legacy. The record includes Obama's role as a inspirational leader who was required to navigate race relations as the first black president and had to function in an atmosphere that included both racial acrimony from his critics and unfair expectations among supporters. In light of these conditions, Obama's greatest achievement came as he restored dignity and ethics to the office of the president, and serve as proof that he has delivered the hope and the change he promised eight years before.
Los conservadores: Vida y obra de una élite intelectual en los albores de un Perú inpendiente
by Fernán Altuve-FebresLos conservadores tiene su origen en una inquietante pregunta que atañe a la historia política en el Perú ¿Hemos sido capaces de crear un pensamieno conservador? Hace dos siglos, en los inicios del Perú independiente, más que un pensamiento conservador orgánico, surgieron exponentes intelectuales que sostenían, entre otras ideas, la fidelidad a la monarquía hispánica. Con la Independencia surge el debate entre la alternativa monárquica o republicana como la forma de gobierno más adecuada para el nuevo Estado. ¿Qué beneficios y desafíos conllevaba para el Perú una monarquía moderada o una confederación con Bolivia? ¿De qué modo la élie y la iglesia fortalecieron sus alianzas para preservar el poder? El reconocido abogado y académico Fernán Altuve-Febres da cuenta en este ensayo de algunos de los precursores de esta modalidad del pensamiento nacional. Aplicando el método biográfico-intelectual, y centrándose en el contexto histórico que abarca esde el ocaso del Reino del Perú (1809) hasta la consolidación definitiva de la República (1839), el autor aborda la vida y obra de Blas de Ostolaza, José Ignacio Moreno, José de la Riva-Agüero, José María de Pando, Juan García del Río, Antonio José de Irisarri y José Joaquín de Mora, quienes sientan las bases de la corriente conservadora en el Perú.
Conservative but Not Republican
by Philpot Tasha S.Conservative but Not Republican provides a clear and comprehensive framework for understanding the formation and structure of ideological self-identification and its relationship to party identification in the USA. Exploring why the increase in Black conservatives has not met with a corresponding rise in the number of Black Republicans, the book bridges the literature from a number of different research areas to paint a detailed portrait of African-American ideological self-identification. It also provides insight into a contemporary electoral puzzle facing party strategists, while addressing gaps in the current literature on public opinion and voting behavior. Further, it offers original research from previously untapped data. The book is primarily designed for political science, but is also relevant to African-American studies, communication studies, and psychology. Including easy to read tables and figures, it is accessible not only to academic audiences, but also to journalists and practitioners.
The Conservative Case for Trump
by Brett M. Decker Phyllis Schlafly Ed MartinFrom Phyllis Schlafly, the woman whose celebrated classic A Choice Not An Echo (over 3 million copies sold) upended the 1964 Republican Convention, comes a persuasive new argument for a surprising conservative choice: Donald Trump.If you can’t stand Hillary Clinton, but wonder if you could vote for Donald Trump, you need to buy this book.In it, you’ll learn from conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly-lawyer, bestselling author, and "sweet- heart of the Silent Majority”-why Donald Trump is worthy of every conservative’s vote.Joined by Ed Martin, the former head of the Missouri Republican Party, and Brett Decker, formerly an editorial writer with the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times, Schlafly presents the real Trump, the Trump she and her colleagues have met with and interviewed, the Trump who is far more conservative than you think.In The Conservative Case for Trump, Schlafly reveals:1. How Trump’s appointees to the Supreme Court (on which Schlafly advised him) could be the most consequential in a century2. How, unlike any other Republican, Trump could actually fix the nation’s immigration mess3. Why his economic platform could spark an economic revival on the scale of the Reagan boom of the 1980s (it is based on much the same plan)4. How Trump will defend the First Amendment-guaranteeing freedom of speech and religion-against an ever more dictatorial Left5. Why Trump’s fresh thinking on defense and foreign policy is long overdue-and could send terrorism into rapid retreatDonald Trump is the most controversial Republican presidential candidate since Barry Goldwater, and could be the most conservative and successful since Ronald Reagan. Phyllis Schlafly makes an irrefutable case that needs to be shared with every wavering voter. Nothing less than the future of our country is at stake. If you buy only one political book this year, it has to be The Conservative Case for Trump.
A Conservative Environmentalist: The Life and Career of Frank Masland Jr.
by Thomas G. SmithA wealthy textile titan from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Frank Masland Jr. was an ardent political conservative and an equally fervent conservationist who was well known and highly respected in the mid-twentieth-century environmental preservation community. This eye-opening biography charts Masland’s life work, telling the story of how he and fellow Republicans worked with Democrats to expand the national park system, preserve wild country, and protect the environment. Though a conservative conservationist appears to be a contradiction in terms today, this was not necessarily the case when Masland and his compatriots held sway. Conservatives, Masland insisted, had a duty to be good stewards of the earth for present and future generations, and they worked closely with members of both parties in Congress and nonpolitical conservation groups to produce landmark achievements. When conservatives turned against environmentalism during the Reagan presidency, Masland refused to join what historians have termed the “Republican reversal.” During his long life of nearly a hundred years, Masland used his voice, influence, experiences with nature, and considerable wealth to champion environmental causes at the national, state, and local levels. Engaging, informative, and at times eyebrow-raising, this portrait of a passionately anti-statist nature-loving Republican environmentalist documents the history of the twentieth-century conservation movement and reminds us of a time when conservative Republicans could work with liberal Democrats to protect the environment.
Conservative Heroes
by Garland S Tucker IIIConservatism in America, as one early twentieth-century politician said, is "as old as the Republic itself." But what are its foundational principles, and how did they form the modern conservative movement? Author Garland S. Tucker III tells the story in this lively look at fourteen champions of conservative thought--some well known, others hardly remembered at all. Taking readers on an exciting tour from the American Founding to the modern era, Tucker traces the development of conservatism's basic tenets and shows how leaders put principle into action (some more successfully than others).Conservative Heroes offers brief but penetrating profiles of: --The Founders who agreed on the two primary purposes of government--but differed on how best to achieve the balance between them --The pair of nineteenth-century congressional leaders who fought to preserve the founding vision of a limited national government --The towering statesman whose defense of slavery has obscured his considerable contributions to American constitutional history --The last Democratic president to advance conservative principles --The president and treasury secretary who together reduced taxes and the size of the federal government--and sparked an economic boom --The forgotten leaders, both Democrats, who spearheaded the conservative challenge to FDR's New Deal --The man who revived the GOP as the conservative party --The three driving forces behind the ascent of modern conservatism Here is the story of American conservatism in fourteen lives--a story we need to understand to tackle the challenges we face today.
Conservatives in Power: A Brief History With Documents (Bedford Cultural Editions)
by Meg JacobsRonald Reagan's election to the presidency in 1980 marked a victory for conservatism. But, as Meg Jacobs and Julian Zelizer point out in their introduction, once in power, conservatives discovered that implementing their agenda and reversing the liberalism entrenched in American government would not be as easy as they had hoped. In this collection, Jacobs and Zelizer explore the successes and limitations of the so-called Reagan Revolution and chronicle its legacy through subsequent presidencies up to Barack Obama's election in 2008. More than 60 thematically organized documents -- some recently released -- illuminate conservatives' efforts to shift American politics to the right. These materials -- including speeches, memos, and articles from the popular press -- explore Reagan's personal evolution as a conservative leader, as well as Reaganomics, tax cuts, anticommunism, the arms race, the culture wars, and scandals such as Iran Contra. Photographs, document headnotes, a chronology, selected bibliography, and questions for consideration provide pedagogical support.
Consider The Lobster: Essays and Arguments
by David Foster WallaceDo lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a sick sense of humour? What is John Updike's deal anyway? And who won the Adult Video News' Female Performer of the Year Award the same year Gwyneth Paltrow won her Oscar? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in his new book of hilarious non-fiction. For this collection, David Foster Wallace immerses himself in the three-ring circus that is the presidential race in order to document one of the most vicious campaigns in recent history. Later he strolls from booth to booth at a lobster festival in Maine and risks life and limb to get to the bottom of the lobster question. Then he wheedles his way into an L.A. radio studio, armed with tubs of chicken, to get the behind-the-scenes view of a conservative talkshow featuring a host with an unnatural penchant for clothing that only looks good on the radio. In what is sure to be a much-talked-about exploration of distinctly modern subjects, one of the sharpest minds of our time delves into some of life's most delicious topics.
Consider The Lobster: Essays and Arguments
by David Foster WallaceDo lobsters feel pain? Did Franz Kafka have a sick sense of humour? What is John Updike's deal anyway? And who won the Adult Video News' Female Performer of the Year Award the same year Gwyneth Paltrow won her Oscar? David Foster Wallace answers these questions and more in his new book of hilarious non-fiction. For this collection, David Foster Wallace immerses himself in the three-ring circus that is the presidential race in order to document one of the most vicious campaigns in recent history. Later he strolls from booth to booth at a lobster festival in Maine and risks life and limb to get to the bottom of the lobster question. Then he wheedles his way into an L.A. radio studio, armed with tubs of chicken, to get the behind-the-scenes view of a conservative talkshow featuring a host with an unnatural penchant for clothing that only looks good on the radio. In what is sure to be a much-talked-about exploration of distinctly modern subjects, one of the sharpest minds of our time delves into some of life's most delicious topics.
Consider the Women: A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarchs of the Bible
by Debbie BlueA timely and compelling new look at three key women in the biblical narrative Among the mostly male-dominated narratives in Scripture, the stories of women can be game-changing. In this book Debbie Blue looks closely at Hagar (mother of Islam), Esther (Jewish heroine), and Mary (Christian matriarch)—and finds in them unexpected and inviting new ways of navigating faith and life. As she sets out to explore these biblical characters who live and move in places and ways outside of the strict boundaries of tradition, Blue encounters many real life characters who challenge her expectations and renew her hope—a Muslim tattoo artist, a Saudi Arabian sculptor, a rabbi in a Darth Vader costume, Aztec dancers at a feast of Guadalupe, an Islamic feminist scholar, and more.Readers who embark with Blue on the sometimes unorthodox, subversive paths of these curious and lively figures will be led to envision more expansive and hopeful possibilities for faith, human connection, and love in our divided, violent world.
Consider the Women: A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarchs of the Bible
by Debbie BlueA timely and compelling new look at three key women in the biblical narrative Among the mostly male-dominated narratives in Scripture, the stories of women can be game-changing. In this book Debbie Blue looks closely at Hagar (mother of Islam), Esther (Jewish heroine), and Mary (Christian matriarch)—and finds in them unexpected and inviting new ways of navigating faith and life. As she sets out to explore these biblical characters who live and move in places and ways outside of the strict boundaries of tradition, Blue encounters many real life characters who challenge her expectations and renew her hope—a Muslim tattoo artist, a Saudi Arabian sculptor, a rabbi in a Darth Vader costume, Aztec dancers at a feast of Guadalupe, an Islamic feminist scholar, and more.Readers who embark with Blue on the sometimes unorthodox, subversive paths of these curious and lively figures will be led to envision more expansive and hopeful possibilities for faith, human connection, and love in our divided, violent world.
Considering Doris Day: A Biography
by Tom SantopietroThe biggest female box office attraction in Hollywood history, Doris Day remains unequalled as the only entertainer who has ever triumphed in movies, radio, recordings, and a multi-year weekly television series. America's favorite girl next door may have projected a wholesome image that led Oscar Levant to quip "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin," but in Considering Doris Day Tom Santopietro reveals Day's underappreciated and effortless acting and singing range that ran the gamut from musicals to comedy to drama and made Day nothing short of a worldwide icon. Covering the early Warner Brothers years through Day's triumphs working with artists as varied as Alfred Hitchcock and Bob Fosse, Santopietro's smart and funny book deconstructs the myth of Day as America's perennial virgin, and reveals why her work continues to resonate today, both onscreen as pioneering independent career woman role model, and off, as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor. Praised by James Cagney as "my idea of a great actor" and by James Garner as "the Fred Astaire of comedy," Doris Day became not just America's favorite girl, but the number one film star in the world. Yet after two weekly television series, including a triumphant five year run on CBS, she turned her back on show business forever. Examining why Day's worldwide success in movies overshadowed the brilliant series of concept recordings she made for Columbia Records in the '50s and '60s, Tom Santopietro uncovers the unexpected facets of Day's surprisingly sexy acting and singing style that led no less an observer than John Updike to state "She just glowed for me." Placing Day's work within the social context of America in the second half of the twentieth century, Considering Doris Day is the first book that grants Doris Day her rightful place as a singular American artist.
The Consolation of Nature: Spring in the Time of Coronavirus
by Michael McCarthy Jeremy Mynott Peter MarrenONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST NATURE BOOKS OF 2020SHORTLISTED FOR THE RICHARD JEFFERIES SOCIETY & WHITE HORSE BOOKSHOP LITERARY PRIZE'Lovely: full of fascinating detail and anecdote, but the undertow of the virus moving in real time beneath its sunlit surface gives it a unique emotional heft.'-The Times'A literary window into the wonderful wild world during lockdown... a charming book.'-Daily Mail'An entrancing testament to nature's power to restore us to ourselves.'-Ruth PadelNature took on a new importance for many people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of light, growth, rebirth and renewal.Three writers, close friends but living in widely separated, contrasting parts of the country, resolved to record their experiences of this extraordinary spring in intimate detail, to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer.The Consolation of Nature is the story of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.
The Consolation of Nature: Spring in the Time of Coronavirus
by Michael McCarthy Jeremy Mynott Peter MarrenONE OF THE GUARDIAN'S BEST NATURE BOOKS OF 2020SHORTLISTED FOR THE RICHARD JEFFERIES SOCIETY & WHITE HORSE BOOKSHOP LITERARY PRIZE'Lovely: full of fascinating detail and anecdote, but the undertow of the virus moving in real time beneath its sunlit surface gives it a unique emotional heft.'-The Times'A literary window into the wonderful wild world during lockdown... a charming book.'-Daily Mail'An entrancing testament to nature's power to restore us to ourselves.'-Ruth PadelNature took on a new importance for many people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of light, growth, rebirth and renewal.Three writers, close friends but living in widely separated, contrasting parts of the country, resolved to record their experiences of this extraordinary spring in intimate detail, to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer.The Consolation of Nature is the story of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.
The Consolation of Nature: Spring in the Time of Coronavirus
by Michael McCarthy Jeremy Mynott Peter MarrenNature took on a new importance for thousands of people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Britain, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of hope and renewal; and furthermore, in an extraordinary conjunction, the spring of 2020 turned out to be the loveliest spring ever recorded in Britain. Three nature writers, living like everyone else under lockdown, but walking out each day to exercise, resolved to record their experiences of the coronavirus spring, in widely contrasting parts of the country. They did so to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer, and The Consolation of Nature is the enthralling account of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
The Consolations of the Forest
by Sylvain Tesson Linda CoverdaleA meditation on escaping the chaos of modern life and rediscovering the luxury of solitude. Winner of the Prix Médicis for nonfiction, The Consolations of the Forest is a Thoreau-esque quest to find solace, taken to the extreme. No stranger to inhospitable places, Sylvain Tesson exiles himself to a wooden cabin on Siberia's Lake Baikal, a full day's hike from any "neighbor," with his thoughts, his books, a couple of dogs, and many bottles of vodka for company. Writing from February to July, he shares his deep appreciation for the harsh but beautiful land, the resilient men and women who populate it, and the bizarre and tragic history that has given Siberia an almost mythological place in the imagination. Rich with observation, introspection, and the good humor necessary to laugh at his own folly, Tesson's memoir is about the ultimate freedom of owning your own time. Only in the hands of a gifted storyteller can an experiment in isolation become an exceptional adventure accessible to all. By recording his impressions in the face of silence, his struggles in a hostile environment, his hopes, doubts, and moments of pure joy in communion with nature, Tesson makes a decidedly out-of-the-ordinary experience relatable. The awe and joy are contagious, and one comes away with the comforting knowledge that "as long as there is a cabin deep in the woods, nothing is completely lost."
Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue
by Ryan HolidayIn the tradition of Janet Malcolm's THE JOURNALIST AND THE MURDERER and Robert Greene's THE 48 LAWS OF POWER, author Ryan Holiday examines the case that rocked the media world--and the billionaire mastermind behind itIn 2007, a short blogpost on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley-vertical of Gawker Media, outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private. This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker, its bankruptcy and with Nick Denton, Gawker's CEO and founder, out of a job. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental--it had been masterminded by Thiel.For years, Thiel had searched endlessly for a solution to what he'd come to call the "Gawker Problem." When an unmarked envelope delivered an illegally recorded sex tape of Hogan with his best friend's wife, Gawker had seen the chance for millions of pageviews and to say the things that others were afraid to say. Thiel saw their publication of the tape as the opportunity he was looking for. He would come to pit Hogan against Gawker in a multi-year proxy war through the Florida legal system, while Gawker remained confidently convinced they would prevail as they had over so many other lawsuit--until it was too late. The verdict would stun the world and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean--for the First Amendment? For privacy? For culture?In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious--and successful--secret plots in recent memory.Some will cheer Gawker's destruction and others will lament it, but after reading these pages--and seeing the access the author was given--no one will deny that there is something ruthless and brilliant about Peter Thiel's shocking attempt to shake up the world.
Conspiracy: Nixon, Watergate, and Democracy's Defenders
by P. O’Connell PearsonThe story of President Richard Nixon and those who fought against him comes to life in this insightful and accessible nonfiction middle grade book from the author of Fly Girls and Fighting for the Forest.The Watergate scandal created one of the greatest constitutional crises in American history. When the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon and the Supreme Court ruled that he had to turn over to Congress the tapes that proved the claims against him, he realized his support in the Senate had collapsed. He resigned rather than face almost certain conviction on abuse of power and obstruction of justice. We know the villain&’s story well, but what about the heroes? When the country&’s own leader turned his back on the Constitution, who was there to defend it? Conspiracy is about the reporters, prosecutors, judges, justices, members of Congress, and members of the public who supported and defended the Constitution when it needed it most.
Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas
by Cass R. SunsteinThe nation's most-cited legal scholar who for decades has been at the forefront of applied behavioral economics, and the bestselling author of Nudge and Simpler, Cass Sunstein is one of the world's most innovative thinkers in the academy and the world of practical politics. In the years leading up to his confirmation as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Sunstein published hundreds of articles on everything from same-sex marriage to cost-benefit analysis. Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas is a collection of his most famous, insightful, relevant, and inflammatory pieces. Within these pages you will learn: * Why perfectly rational people sometimes believe crazy conspiracy theories * What wealthy countries should and should not do about climate change * Why governments should allow same-sex marriage, and what the "right to marry" is all about * Why animals have rights (and what that means) * Why we "misfear," meaning get scared when we should be unconcerned and are unconcerned when we should get scared * What kinds of losses make us miserable, and what kinds of losses are absolutely fine * How to find the balance between religious freedom and gender equality * And much more . . . Cass Sunstein is a unique, controversial, and exciting voice in the political world. A man who cuts through the fog of left vs. right arguments and offers logical, evidence-based, and often surprising solutions to today's most challenging questions.
Conspiracy to Riot: The Life and Times of One of the Chicago 7
by Lee WeinerThis memoir by one of the famed Chicago Seven &“chronicles the moments from [his] life that forged him as someone willing to jump atop cars with a bullhorn&” (South Side Weekly). In March 1969, eight young men were indicted by the federal government for conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. First dubbed the &“Conspiracy 8&” and later the &“Chicago 7,&” the group included firebrands like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale. But it also included a little-known community activist and social worker from the South Side of Chicago named Lee Weiner, who was just as surprised as the rest of the country when his name was included in the indictment. The ensuing trial became a media sensation, and it changed Weiner&’s life forever. An irreverent, freewheeling memoir of an indelible moment in history—which Kirkus Reviews calls &“a welcome addition to the library of the countercultural 1960s left&”—Conspiracy to Riot is startlingly relevant to today&’s polarized political climate, reflecting on the power of activism to create a better, more just world and offering a blueprint for making it happen.
Conspirator: Lenin in Exile
by Helen RappaportThe father of Communist Russia, Vladimir Ilych Lenin now seems to have emerged fully formed in the turbulent wake ofWorldWar I and the Russian Revolution. But Lenin’s character was in fact forged much earlier, over the course of years spent in exile, constantly on the move, and in disguise. In Conspirator, Russian historian Helen Rappaport narrates the compelling story of Lenin’s life and political activities in the years leading up to the revolution. As he scuttled between the glittering capital cities of Europe--from London and Munich to Vienna and Prague--Lenin found support among fellow émigrés and revolutionaries in the underground movement. He came to lead a ring of conspirators, many of whom would give their lives in service to his schemes. A riveting account of Lenin’s little-known early life, Conspirator tracks in gripping detail the formation of one of the great revolutionaries of the twentieth century.