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A Life Less Extraordinary
by Lav BhargavaIn this candid memoir, Lav Bhargava embarks on a self-reflective journey, sharing heartfelt anecdotes that blend humour with insightful introspection. Rather than a recounting of triumphs or regrets, the narrative focuses on the people and moments that shaped a life well-lived.The author muses on life&’s deeper truths, touching on the subtle workings of karmic destiny and the limitations of human control. With warmth and honesty, the memoir traces the gradual arc towards contentment, highlighting the lessons learnt along the way.Far from a conventional tale of success, this is a story of personal evolution—embracing flaws, unexpected teachings, and the wisdom that emerges over time. It is a testament to the enduring commitment to authenticity and the peace found in simply being oneself.At a pivotal moment in his seventies, Lav Bhargava reflects on the many roles he has played—politician, actor, social activist, husband, father—offering an honest self-appraisal shaped by decades of public service and personal growth. This is his memoir.
A Life Less Ordinary: A Memoir
by Baby HalderWhen she was very young, Baby Halder was abandoned by her mother and left with a cruel, abusive father. She was married off at twelve to a man twice her age who beat her. At fourteen, she was a mother herself. Her early life was marked by overwhelming challenges and heartbreak until, exhausted and desperate, she fled with her three children to Delhi, to work as a maid in some of the city's wealthiest homes. Expected to serve her employers' every demand, she faced a staggering workload that often left her no time to care for her own children. But she never complained, for such is the lot of the poor in modern-day India.Written without a trace of self-pity, A Life Less Ordinary is a shocking look deep inside a world of poverty and subjugation that few outsiders know about—and an inspiring true story of one remarkable woman's strength, courage, and determination to soar above her circumstances.
A Life Together: Lucas Alaman and Mexico, 1792-1853
by Eric Van YoungAn eminent historian&’s biography of one of Mexico&’s most prominent statesmen, thinkers, and writers Lucas Alamán (1792–1853) was the most prominent statesman, political economist, and historian in nineteenth‑century Mexico. Alamán served as the central ministerial figure in the national government on three occasions, founded the Conservative Party in the wake of the Mexican‑American War, and authored the greatest historical work on Mexico&’s struggle for independence. Though Mexican historiography has painted Alamán as a reactionary, Van Young&’s balanced portrait draws upon fifteen years of research to argue that Alamán was a conservative modernizer, whose north star was always economic development and political stability as the means of drawing Mexico into the North Atlantic world of advanced nation‑states. Van Young illuminates Alamán&’s contribution to the course of industrialization, advocacy for scientific development, and unerring faith in private property and institutions such as church and army as anchors for social stability, as well as his less commendable views, such as his disdain for popular democracy.
A Life in Error: From Little Slips to Big Disasters
by James ReasonThis succinct but absorbing book covers the main way stations on James Reason’s 40-year journey in pursuit of the nature and varieties of human error. In it he presents an engrossing and very personal perspective, offering the reader exceptional insights, wisdom and wit as only James Reason can. The journey begins with a bizarre absent-minded action slip committed by Professor Reason in the early 1970s - putting cat food into the teapot - and continues up to the present day, conveying his unique perceptions into a variety of major accidents that have shaped his thinking about unsafe acts and latent conditions. A Life in Error charts the development of his seminal and hugely influential work from its original focus into individual cognitive psychology through the broadening of scope to embrace social, organizational and systemic issues. The voyage recounted is both hugely entertaining and educational, imparting a real sense of how James Reason’s ground-breaking theories changed the way we think about human error, and why he is held in such esteem around the world wherever humans interact with technological systems. This book is essential reading for students, academics and safety professionals of all kinds who are interested in avoiding breakdowns that can cause serious damage to people, assets and the environment.
A Life in Letters
by Simone WeilThe inspiring letters of philosopher, mystic, and freedom fighter Simone Weil to her family, presented for the first time in English.Now in the pantheon of great thinkers, Simone Weil (1909–1943) lived largely in the shadows, searching for her spiritual home while bearing witness to the violence that devastated Europe twice in her brief lifetime. The letters she wrote to her parents and brother from childhood onward chart her intellectual range as well as her itinerancy and ever-shifting preoccupations, revealing the singular personality at the heart of her brilliant essays.The first complete collection of Weil’s missives to her family, A Life in Letters offers new insight into her personal relationships and experiences. The letters abound with vivid illustrations of a life marked by wisdom as much as seeking. The daughter of a bourgeois Parisian Jewish family, Weil was a troublemaking idealist who preferred the company of miners and Russian exiles to that of her peers. An extraordinary scholar of history and politics, she ultimately found a home in Christian mysticism. Weil paired teaching with poetry and even dabbled in mathematics, as evidenced by her correspondence with her brother, André, who won the Kyoto Prize in 1994 for the famed Weil Conjectures.A Life in Letters depicts Simone Weil’s thought taking shape amid political turmoil, as she describes her participation in the Spanish struggle against fascism and in the transatlantic resistance to the Nazis. An introduction and notes by Robert Chenavier contextualize the letters historically and intellectually, relating Weil’s letters to her general body of writing. This book is an ideal entryway into Weil’s philosophical insights, one for both neophytes and acolytes to treasure.
A Life in the American Century
by Joseph S. Nye Jr.For the past eight decades, we have lived in “the American Century” – a period during which the US has enjoyed unrivalled power – be it political, economic or military - on the global stage. Born on the cusp of this new era, Joseph S. Nye Jr. has spent a lifetime illuminating our understanding of the changing contours of America power and world affairs. His many books on the nature of power and political leadership have rightly earned him his reputation as one of the most influential international relations scholars in the world today. In this deeply personal book, Joseph Nye shares his own journey living through the American century. From his early years growing up on a farm in rural New Jersey to his time in the State Department, Pentagon and Intelligence Community during the Carter and Clinton administrations where he witnessed American power up close, shaping policy on key issues such as nuclear proliferation and East Asian security. After 9/11 drew the US into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Nye remained an astute observer and critic of the Bush, Obama and Trump presidencies. Today American primacy may be changing, but he concludes with a faint ray of guarded optimism about the future of his country in a richer but riskier world.
A Life of Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham: A Twentieth Century Naval Leader (Cass Series: Naval Policy And History Ser. #Vol. 25)
by Michael SimpsonThis book presents an account of the life of naval commander Andrew Cunningham, the best-known and most celebrated British admiral of the Second World War. It supplements Cunningham's papers by Cabinet and Admiralty records, papers of his service contemporaries and of Churchill.
A Light Shines in Hrlem: New York's First Charter School and the Movement It Led
by Mary Bounds Wyatt WalkerA Light Shines in Harlem tells the fascinating history of New York's first charter school, the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem, and the early days of the state's charter school movement. Told through the experiences of those on the inside--including a hero of the civil rights movement; a Wall Street star; inner-city activists; and real-world educators, parents, and students--this book shows how they all came together to create a groundbreaking school that, in its best years, far outperformed public schools in the neighborhoods in which most of its children lived. It also looks at education reform through a broader public policy lens, discussing recent research and issues facing the charter movement today, describing what makes a public charter school--or any school--succeed or fail, and showing how these lessons can be applied to other public and private schools to make all of them better. The end result is not only an exciting narrative of how one school fought to succeed, but also an illuminating glimpse into the future of education in the United States.
A Line in the Sand: A Novel
by Kevin PowersFROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE YELLOW BIRDS'Entertaining, intelligent, and effortlessly readable' Sunday Times'A stunning novel' New York Times'One of the best crime novels of the year' Irish Times'A cracking mystery' Guardian'Tense and enthralling' Daily Mail'Taut and enjoyable' Daily Telegraph'A kickass mystery from a superb storyteller' David Baldacci, author of The 6:20 Man'A spellbinding and totally original thriller' Philipp Meyer, author of The Son An early morning on a beach in Virginia. As he is taking his daily swim, Arman Bajalan - formerly an interpreter in Iraq - discovers a dead body. After surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US. Now, sure that the murder is connected to his past, he knows he's still not safe.Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her fresh-off-the-beat partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the man's pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman by the Iraq war, who is investigating a nefarious corporation: one on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defence contract.As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unravelling the truth and keeping Arman alive - even if it costs them everything.A Line in the Sand is a sinuous, powerful and white-knuckle thriller, from the award-winning author of The Yellow Birds, shot through with treachery, trauma and the long tentacles of war.
A Line in the Sand: A Novel
by Kevin PowersIn this &“spellbinding and totally original thriller&” (Philipp Meyer, author of The Son) a lonely veteran&’s gruesome discovery throws him right into the face of danger as a twisted investigation unravels the secrets of his dark past. One early morning on a Norfolk beach in Virginia, a dead body is discovered by a man taking his daily swim—Arman Bajalan, formerly an interpreter in Iraq. After narrowly surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US as a maintenance worker at the Sea Breeze Motel. Now, convinced that the body is connected to his past, he knows he is still not safe. Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her newly minted partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the dead man&’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman is by the Iraq War, who is investigating a corporation on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defense contract. As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unraveling the truth and keeping Arman alive—even if it costs them absolutely everything.
A Line in the Tar Sands: Struggles for Environmental Justice
by Black, Toban; D'Arcy, Stephen; Weis, Tony; Kahn Russell, Joshua; Klein, Naomi; McKibben, BillTar sands “development” comes with an enormous environmental and human cost. But tar sands opponents—fighting a powerful international industry—are likened to terrorists; government environmental scientists are muzzled; and public hearings are concealed and rushed. Yet, despite the formidable political and economic power behind the tar sands, many opponents are actively building international networks of resistance, challenging pipeline plans while resisting threats to Indigenous sovereignty and democratic participation. Featuring contributions from Winona LaDuke, Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein, Clayton Thomas-Muller, Harsha Walia, Jeremy Brecher, Crystal Lameman, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Yves Engler, Cherri Foytlin, Macdonald Stainsby, Yudith Nieto, Greg Albo, Brian Tokar, Jesse Cardinal, Rex Weyler, Jess Worth, and many more. The editors’ proceeds from this book will be donated to frontline grassroots environmental justice groups and campaigns.
A Line in the Tar Sands: Struggles for Environmental Justice
by Joshua KahnThe fight over the tar sands in North America is among the epic environmental and social justice battles of our time, and one of the first that has managed to marry quite explicitly concern for frontline communities and immediate local hazards with fear for the future of the entire planet. Tar sands "development" comes with an enormous environmental and human cost. But tar sands opponents—fighting a powerful international industry—are likened to terrorists; government environmental scientists are muzzled; and public hearings are concealed and rushed. Yet, despite the formidable political and economic power behind the tar sands, many opponents are actively building international networks of resistance, challenging pipeline plans while resisting threats to Indigenous sovereignty and democratic participation. Including leading voices involved in the struggle against the tar sands, A Line in the Tar Sands offers a critical analysis of the impact of the tar sands and the challenges opponents face in their efforts to organize effective resistance. Contributors include Angela Carter, Bill McKibben, Brian Tokar, Christine Leclerc, Clayton Thomas-Muller, Crystal Lameman, Dave Vasey, Emily Coats, Eriel Deranger, Greg Albo, Jeremy Brecher, Jess Worth, Jesse Cardinal, Joshua Kahn Russell, Lilian Yap, Linda Capato, Macdonald Stainsby, Martin Lukacs, Matt Leonard, Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Naomi Klein, Rae Breaux, Randolph Haluza-DeLay, Rex Weyler, Ryan Katz-Rosene, Sâkihitowin Awâsis, Sonia Grant, Stephen D'Arcy, Toban Black, Tony Weis, Tyler McCreary, Winona LaDuke, and Yves Engler.
A Little Light: 20 ways the coronavirus response could make the world better
by Lucy Mangan Tom Whipple Sarah Knapton Alex Hern Lindsay DodgsonAt a time of fear and anxiety, leading writers offer reassurance by looking at twenty ways the response to the coronavirus pandemic could make the world a better place.The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is a once-in-a-century event, a tragedy and a source of deep anxiety. But in darkness there is light; in tackling the most impossible challenges, human ingenuity forges new and positive paths forward.In his introduction, Professor Graham Davey argues that context and perspective are the best ways to alleviate the personal anxiety created by the pandemic and lockdown - context offered by the pieces in this collection.From leading science, society and culture writers and editors comes an easy-to-read look at twenty ways the human response to coronavirus could help to make the world a better place. Twenty reasons for each of us to find light in the darkness. Contributors include:Tom Whipple, science editor of The TimesLucy Mangan, columnist and authorSarah Knapton, science editor of the TelegraphLindsay Dodgson, senior staff writer at Business InsiderAlex Hern, technology editor of the Guardian
A Little Light: 20 ways the coronavirus response could make the world better
by Lucy Mangan Tom Whipple Sarah Knapton Alex Hern Lindsay DodgsonAt a time of fear and anxiety, leading writers offer reassurance by looking at twenty ways the response to the coronavirus pandemic could make the world a better place.The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is a once-in-a-century event, a tragedy and a source of deep anxiety. But in darkness there is light; in tackling the most impossible challenges, human ingenuity forges new and positive paths forward.In his introduction, Professor Graham Davey argues that context and perspective are the best ways to alleviate the personal anxiety created by the pandemic and lockdown - context offered by the pieces in this collection.From leading science, society and culture writers and editors comes an easy-to-read look at twenty ways the human response to coronavirus could help to make the world a better place.Twenty reasons for each of us to find light in the darkness. Contributors include:Tom Whipple, science editor of The TimesLucy Mangan, columnist and authorSarah Knapton, science editor of the TelegraphLindsay Dodgson, senior staff writer at Business InsiderAlex Hern, technology editor of the Guardian
A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas, 1492 to the Present
by Ward ChurchillWard Churchill has achieved an unparalleled reputation as a scholar-activist and analyst of indigenous issues in North America. Here, he explores the history of holocaust and denial in this hemisphere, beginning with the arrival of Columbus and continuing on into the present. He frames the matter by examining both "revisionist" denial of the Nazi-perpatrated Holocaust and the opposing claim of its exclusive "uniqueness," using the full scope of what happened in Europe as a backdrop against which to demonstrate that genocide is precisely what has been-and still is-carried out against the American Indians. Churchill lays bare the means by which many of these realities have remained hidden, how public understanding of this most monstrous of crimes has been subverted not only by its perpetrators and their beneficiaries but by the institutions and individuals who perceive advantages in the confusion. In particular, he outlines the reasons underlying the United States's 40-year refusal to ratify the Genocide Convention, as well as the implications of the attempt to exempt itself from compliance when it finally offered its "endorsement. " In conclusion, Churchill proposes a more adequate and coherent definition of the crime as a basis for identifying, punishing, and preventing genocidal practices, wherever and whenever they occur. Ward Churchill (enrolled Keetoowah Cherokee) is Professor of American Indian Studies with the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado-Boulder. A member of the American Indian Movement since 1972, he has been a leader of the Colorado chapter for the past fifteen years. Among his previous books have been Fantasies of a Master Race, Struggle for the Land, Since Predator Came, and From a Native Son.
A Little Taste of Freedom
by Emilye CrosbyIn this long-term community study of the freedom movement in rural, majority-black Claiborne County, Mississippi, Emilye Crosby explores the impact of the African American freedom struggle on small communities in general and questions common assumptions that are based on the national movement. The legal successes at the national level in the mid 1960s did not end the movement, Crosby contends, but rather emboldened people across the South to initiate waves of new actions around local issues. Escalating assertiveness and demands of African Americans--including the reality of armed self-defense--were critical to ensuring meaningful local change to a remarkably resilient system of white supremacy. In Claiborne County, a highly effective boycott eventually led the Supreme Court to affirm the legality of economic boycotts for political protest. NAACP leader Charles Evers (brother of Medgar) managed to earn seemingly contradictory support from the national NAACP, the segregationist Sovereignty Commission, and white liberals. Studying both black activists and the white opposition, Crosby employs traditional sources and more than 100 oral histories to analyze the political and economic issues in the postmovement period, the impact of the movement and the resilience of white supremacy, and the ways these issues are closely connected to competing histories of the community.
A Little War That Shook the World: Georgia, Russia, and the Future of the West
by Ronald D. AsmusThe brief war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 seemed to many like an unexpected shot out of the blue that was gone as quickly as it came. Former Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Ronald Asmus contends that it was a conflict that was prepared and planned for some time by Moscow, part of a broader strategy to send a message to the United States: that Russia is going to flex its muscle in the twenty-first century. A Little War that Changed the World is a fascinating look at the breakdown of relations between Russia and the West, the decay and decline of the Western Alliance itself, and the fate of Eastern Europe in a time of economic crisis.
A Living Man from Africa: Jan Tzatzoe, Xhosa Chief and Missionary, and the Making of Nineteenth Century South Africa
by Roger S. LevineBorn into a Xhosa royal family around 1792 in South Africa, Jan Tzatzoe was destined to live in an era of profound change--one that witnessed the arrival and entrenchment of European colonialism. As a missionary, chief, and cultural intermediary on the eastern Cape frontier and in Cape Town and a traveler in Great Britain, Tzatzoe helped foster the merging of African and European worlds into a new South African reality. Yet, by the 1860s, despite his determined resistance, he was an oppressed subject of harsh British colonial rule. In this innovative, richly researched, and splendidly written biography, Roger S. Levine reclaims Tzatzoe's lost story and analyzes his contributions to, and experiences with, the turbulent colonial world to argue for the crucial role of Africans as agents of cultural and intellectual change.
A Living Wage: American Workers and the Making of Consumer Society
by Lawrence B. GlickmanThe fight for a "living wage" has a long and revealing history as documented here by Lawrence B. Glickman. The labor movement's response to wages shows how American workers negotiated the transition from artisan to consumer, opening up new political possibilities for organized workers and creating contradictions that continue to haunt the labor movement today. Nineteenth-century workers hoped to become self-employed artisans, rather than permanent "wage slaves." After the Civil War, however, unions redefined working-class identity in consumerist terms, and demanded a wage that would reward workers commensurate with their needs as consumers. This consumerist turn in labor ideology also led workers to struggle for shorter hours and union labels. First articulated in the 1870s, the demand for a living wage was voiced increasingly by labor leaders and reformers at the turn of the century. Glickman explores the racial, ethnic, and gender implications, as white male workers defined themselves in contrast to African Americans, women, Asians, and recent European immigrants. He shows how a historical perspective on the concept of a living wage can inform our understanding of current controversies.
A Local Habitation: Life and Times, Volume One 1918-40
by Richard HoggartRichard Hoggart's book, The Uses of Literary, established his reputation as a uniquely sensitive and observant chronicler of English working-class life. In this vivid first volume of autobiography he describes his origins in that milieu. Orphaned at an early age, Hoggart grew up in a working-class district of Leeds, in an intimate world of terraced back-to-backs, visits from the local Board of Guardians, clothing checks and potted-meat sandwiches. With affectionate insight he recreates the family circle - a loving grandmother, one domineering and on gentle aunt, and a bibulous, melancholy uncle - and recalls his early schooling, the friends he made and the mentors he admired. Hard-working and articulate, Hoggart did well enough at grammar school to go on to Leeds University. This volume ends as, having earned a higher degree and travelled in Nazi Germany, he prepares to leave Yorkshire, via the Army, for the world beyond. Wry, compassionate, exact, A Local Habitation is a classic recreation of working-class England between the wars.
A Logic of Expressive Choice
by Alexander A. SchuesslerAlexander Schuessler has done what many deemed impossible: he has wedded rational choice theory and the concerns of social theory and anthropology to explain why people vote. The "paradox of participation"--why individuals cast ballots when they have virtually no effect on electoral outcomes--has long puzzled social scientists. And it has particularly troubled rational choice theorists, who like to describe political activity in terms of incentives. Schuessler's ingenious solution is a "logic of expressive choice." He argues in incentive-based (or "economic") terms that individuals vote not because of how they believe their vote matters in the final tally but rather to express their preferences, allegiances, and thus themselves. Through a comparative history of marketing and campaigning, Schuessler generates a "jukebox model" of participation and shows that expressive choice has become a target for those eliciting mass participation and public support. Political advisers, for example, have learned to target voters' desire to express--to themselves and to others--who they are. Candidates, using tactics such as claiming popularity, invoking lifestyle, using ambiguous campaign themes, and shielding supporters from one another can get out their vote even when it is clear that an election is already lost or won. This important work, the first of its kind, will appeal to anyone seeking to decipher voter choice and turnout, social movements, political identification, collective action, and consumer behavior, including scholars, graduate students, and upper-level undergraduates in political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, and marketing. It will contribute greatly to our understanding and prediction of democratic participation patterns and their consequences.
A Long Gray Line: A Mike Walton Novella
by Simon GervaisFormer counterterrorism expert Simon Gervais' debut novel, THE THIN BLACK LINE, was an immediate sensation and an international bestseller, drawing raves from bestselling authors Steve Berry ("Realistic, vivid, dramatic, this is a story told by someone who knows what he's talking about"), David Morell ("A high-speed, break-neck, turbo-charged thriller that takes readers behind the scenes of the war on terrorism"), and others, along with reviewers such as Ottawa Life, which called THE THIN BLACK LINE, "A fascinating look into Canada's covert operations, complemented by loveable and heroic characters you will find yourself rooting for." Now those characters are back in a sequel novella that puts them on a mission with potentially devastating consequences. A LONG GRAY LINE pits the International Market Stabilization Institute - a privately funded organization operating outside official channels to protect North America's financial interests - against two foes at the same time. One could decimate the American stock market and throw the entire world economy into a tailspin. The other is a piece of unfinished business from their last operation that could be even more destructive. Their ability to act in the face of confounding choices will have an effect on the future for years to come. Featuring Mike and Lisa Walton - the husband-and-wife team of operatives who led the charge in THE THIN BLACK LINE - A LONG GRAY LINE is a thriller so packed with action and tension that it contains enough excitement for stories four times its size.
A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq
by Christopher HitchensSelected essays from his work on the subject.
A Long Time Burning: The History of Literary Censorship in England (Routledge Revivals)
by Donald ThomasCensorship of the written word has proved a constant source for debate and argument. To cut or not to cut is a question with a long and fascinating history. First published in 1969, A Long Time Burning is an account of the political, religious, and moral censorship of literature, in the context of English literary history. It is principally concerned with the evolution of a modern pattern of censorship between the abolition of licensing in 1695 and the late Victorian period. The author outlines the motives and methods of censorship, illustrating these by more detailed discussion of such cases as those involving Edmund Curll, John Wilkes, Thomas Paine, William Hone, Richard Carlile, William Dugdale and Henry Vizetelly. The unofficial trade in banned books and the campaigns of the Proclamation Society; the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and the National Vigilance Association are described with the aid of some previously unpublished material.The book includes an anthology of illustrative material, quoting extracts from publications banned at various times and for various reasons. Pages from such books as Venus in the Cloister are reprinted for the first time in more than two centuries, while the other documents range from the Blasphemy Act of 1698 to a prosecution brought under the Race Relations Act of 1965.
A Long Time Coming: The Inspiring, Combative 2008 Campaign and the Historic Election of Barack Obama
by Evan Thomas Staff Of NewsweekBased on in-depth reporting by a special team of Newsweek reporters and written by bestselling author Evan Thomas, A Long Time Coming tells the inside story of Barack Obama’s triumph over Senator John McCain to become the first African-American U. S. president. In juicy detail, it chronicles the long siege between Obama and Hillary Clinton, the wild ride of John McCain, and the explosive arrival of Sarah Palin. Finally, it shows how Obama overcame times of vexation and self-doubt to transform himself from the consummate outsider to the confident leader of an unstoppable political movement-one that brought hope and the possibility of redemption to the United States.