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A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service
by Robert M GatesFrom the former secretary of defense and author of the acclaimed #1 best-selling memoir Duty, a characteristically direct, informed, and urgent assessment of why big institutions are failing us and how smart, committed leadership can effect real improvement regardless of scale. Across the realms of civic and private enterprise alike, bureaucracies vitally impact our security, freedoms, and everyday life. With so much at stake, competence, efficiency, and fiscal prudence are essential, yet Americans know these institutions fall short. Many despair that they are too big and too hard to reform. Robert Gates disagrees. Having led change successfully at three monumental organizations—the CIA, Texas A&M University, and the Department of Defense—he offers us the ultimate insider’s look at how major bureaus, organizations, and companies can be transformed, which is by turns heartening and inspiring and always instructive. With practical, nuanced advice on tailoring reform to the operative culture (we see how Gates worked within the system to increase diversity at Texas A&M); effecting change within committees; engaging the power of compromise (“In the real world of bureaucratic institutions, you almost never get all you want when you want it”); and listening and responding to your team, Gates brings the full weight of his wisdom, candor, and devotion to civic duty to inspire others to lead desperately needed change.From the Hardcover edition.
A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity
by Nicholas D. Kristof Sheryl WudunnAn essential, galvanizing narrative about making a difference here and abroad--a road map to becoming the most effective global citizens we can be.In their number one New York Times best seller Half the Sky, husband-and-wife team Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn brought to light struggles faced by women and girls around the globe, and showcased individuals and institutions working to address oppression and expand opportunity. A Path Appears is even more ambitious in scale: nothing less than a sweeping tapestry of people who are making the world a better place and a guide to the ways that we can do the same--whether with a donation of $5 or $5 million, with our time, by capitalizing on our skills as individuals, or by using the resources of our businesses. With scrupulous research and on-the-ground reporting, the authors assay the art and science of giving, identify successful local and global initiatives, and share astonishing stories from the front lines of social progress. We see the compelling, inspiring truth of how real people have changed the world, upending the idea that one person can't make a difference. We meet people like Dr. Gary Slutkin, who developed his landmark Cure Violence program to combat inner-city conflicts in the United States by applying principles of epidemiology; Lester Strong, who left a career as a high-powered television anchor to run an organization bringing in older Americans to tutor students in public schools across the country; MIT development economist Esther Duflo, whose pioneering studies of aid effectiveness have revealed new truths about, among other things, the power of hope; and Jessica Posner and Kennedy Odede, who are transforming Kenya's most notorious slum by expanding educational opportunities for girls. A Path Appears offers practical, results-driven advice on how best each of us can give and reveals the lasting benefits we gain in return. Kristof and WuDunn know better than most how many urgent challenges communities around the world face today. Here they offer a timely beacon of hope for our collective future.From the Hardcover edition.
A Path Out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East
by Kenneth M. Pollack"A persuasive but painful solution for dealing with the mess in the Middle East." -Kirkus. The greatest danger to America's peace and prosperity, notes leading Middle East policy analyst Kenneth M. Pollack, lies in the political repression, economic stagnation, and cultural conflict running rampant in Arab and Muslim nations. By inflaming political unrest and empowering terrorists, these forces pose a direct threat to America's economy and national security. The impulse for America might be to turn its back on the Middle East in frustration over the George W. Bush administration's mishandling of the Iraq War and other engagements with Arab and Muslim countries. But such a move, Pollack asserts, will only exacerbate problems. He counters with the idea that we must continue to make the Middle East a priority in our policy, but in a humbler, more humane, more realistic, and more cohesive way. Pollack argues that Washington's greatest sin in its relations with the Middle East has been its persistent unwillingness to make the sustained and patient effort needed to help the people of the Middle East overcome the crippling societal problems facing their governments and societies. As a result, the United States has never had a workable comprehensive policy in the region, just a skein of half-measures intended either to avoid entanglement or to contain the influence of the Soviet Union. Beyond identifying the stagnation of civic life in Arab and Muslim states and the cumulative effect of our misguided policies, Pollack offers a long-term strategy to ameliorate the political, economic, and social problems that underlie the region's many crises. Through his suggested policies, America can engage directly with the governments of the Middle East and indirectly with its people by means of cultural exchange, commerce, and other "soft" approaches. He carefully examines each of the region's most contested areas, including Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and explains how the United States can address each through mutually reinforcing policies. At a time when the nation will be facing critical decisions about our continued presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, A Path Out of the Desert is guaranteed to stimulate debate about America's humanitarian, diplomatic, and military involvement in the Middle East.
A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East
by George J. Mitchell Alon SacharFinally, a way forward in the Middle East: The answer to why Israel and Palestine's attempts at negotiation have failed and a practical roadmap for bringing peace to this complicated, troubled region.George Mitchell knows how to bring peace to troubled regions. He was the primary architect of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for peace in Northern Ireland. But when he served as US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2011--working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--diplomacy did not prevail. Now, for the first time, Mitchell offers his insider account of how the Israelis and the Palestinians have progressed (and regressed) in their negotiations through the years and outlines the specific concessions each side must make to finally achieve lasting peace. This unflinching look at why the peace process has failed, and what must happen for it to succeed, is an important, essential, and valuable read.
A Pathway to American Renewal: Red, White, and Black Volume II
by The Woodson CenterA celebration of resilience: the inspiring story of how Black America survived unimaginable odds and an examination of the real challenges it faces today.This challenging and inspiring collection of essays constructively frames the story of Black America—not as a tragedy involving helpless victims, but as a model for the nation. Scholars and grassroots leaders recount the history—the gritty, painful, but often triumphant account of what blacks accomplished after slavery was ended. Denied access to the institutions of white America, they built their own churches, schools, hotels, and a host of other successful enterprises. Their resilience produced amazing increases in literacy, family formation, and income. Today&’s unsung grassroots leaders are the living evidence of the power of resilience. They use their stories of overcoming adversity and their own fallibility to help others. The organizations they create heal their communities. This volume presents the insights of scholars who warn of the dangerous forces that threaten to shackle the ability of blacks to succeed today. They warn that, by accepting the notion that black adversity continues to be the product of systemic racism and is therefore unchangeable, no one would need to step up to the realities of a responsible life. This kind of thinking has led to lowering standards in education and even in the judicial system. The scholars outline positive paths to the future. More than chapters to be passively read, A Pathway to American Renewal is an invitation and a promissory note that points directly to what American renewal might really involve.
A Patriot's History of Globalism: Its Rise and Decline
by Larry SchweikartLarry Schweikart has won wide acclaim for his number one New York Times bestseller, A Patriot&’s History of the United States. Now, with A Patriot's History of Globalism, Schweikart shows that globalism, or the attempt to form a one-world government is nothing new. In the wake of Napoleon's defeat in 1814, the globalists of the day (mostly monarchs) sought to create a governing arrangement for Europe. Within forty years, three of the major participants were at war with each other. After World War I, they tried again at Versailles, this time even more aggressively changing boundaries of nations and moving populations. That attempt only lasted twenty years before another major war between the participants. Yet again, after World War II, globalists used the threat of the atomic bomb to try to form an international government with the United Nations. Most recently, the World Economic Forum and World Health Organization are attempting to minimize nationalities with global control of money and medicine. But there are signs this tide has been reversed and is finally in decline. A Patriot's History of Globalism is the gold standard text for the history of globalism.
A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice
by David Alan SklanskyA law professor and former prosecutor reveals how inconsistent ideas about violence, enshrined in law, are at the root of the problems that plague our entire criminal justice system—from mass incarceration to police brutality. We take for granted that some crimes are violent and others aren’t. But how do we decide what counts as a violent act? David Alan Sklansky argues that legal notions about violence—its definition, causes, and moral significance—are functions of political choices, not eternal truths. And these choices are central to failures of our criminal justice system. The common distinction between violent and nonviolent acts, for example, played virtually no role in criminal law before the latter half of the twentieth century. Yet to this day, with more crimes than ever called “violent,” this distinction determines how we judge the seriousness of an offense, as well as the perpetrator’s debt and danger to society. Similarly, criminal law today treats violence as a pathology of individual character. But in other areas of law, including the procedural law that covers police conduct, the situational context of violence carries more weight. The result of these inconsistencies, and of society’s unique fear of violence since the 1960s, has been an application of law that reinforces inequities of race and class, undermining law’s legitimacy. A Pattern of Violence shows that novel legal philosophies of violence have motivated mass incarceration, blunted efforts to hold police accountable, constrained responses to sexual assault and domestic abuse, pushed juvenile offenders into adult prisons, encouraged toleration of prison violence, and limited responses to mass shootings. Reforming legal notions of violence is therefore an essential step toward justice.
A Peace In Southern Africa: The Lancaster House Conference On Rhodesia, 1979
by Jeffrey DavidowIn the middle of 1979 Rhodesia formed one leg of the triad of southern Africa's remaining white-ruled states. The country appeared no closer to peace and majority rule than it had at any time since Ian Smith's 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence. But by the end of that year a remarkable agreement had been forged that ended Rhodesia's rebell
A Peace To End All Peace: The Fall Of The Ottoman Empire And The Creation Of The Modern Middle East
by David FromkinPublished with a new afterword from the author--the classic, bestselling account of how the modern Middle East was created The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts--including the hostilities between Arabs and Israelis, and the violent challenges posed by Iraq's competing sects--are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. InA Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time, showing how the choices narrowed and the Middle East began along a road that led to the conflicts and confusion that continue to this day. A new afterword from Fromkin, written for this edition of the book, includes his invaluable, updated assessment of this region of the world today, and on what this history has to teach us.
A Peaceful Conquest: Woodrow Wilson, Religion, and the New World Order
by Cara Lea BurnidgeA century after his presidency, Woodrow Wilson remains one of the most compelling and complicated figures ever to occupy the Oval Office. A political outsider, Wilson brought to the presidency a distinctive, strongly held worldview, built on powerful religious traditions that informed his idea of America and its place in the world. With A Peaceful Conquest, Cara Lea Burnidge presents the most detailed analysis yet of how Wilson's religious beliefs affected his vision of American foreign policy, with repercussions that lasted into the Cold War and beyond. Framing Wilson's intellectual development in relationship to the national religious landscape, and paying greater attention to the role of religion than in previous scholarship, Burnidge shows how Wilson's blend of Southern evangelicalism and social Christianity became a central part of how America saw itself in the world, influencing seemingly secular policy decisions in subtle, lasting ways. Ultimately, Burnidge makes a case for Wilson's religiosity as one of the key drivers of the emergence of the public conception of America's unique, indispensable role in international relations. As the presidential election cycle once again raises questions of America's place in the world, A Peaceful Conquest offers a fascinating excavation of its little-known roots.
A Peaceful Superpower: Lessons from the World's Largest Antiwar Movement
by David CortrightA definitive analysis of the impacts of the Iraq antiwar movementAs the Bush administration prepared to wage war against Iraq, millions of people in the United States and around the world took to the streets to warn against the impending disaster. It was the largest wave of antiwar protest in history. This is the story of those dramatic events, told by distinguished peace scholar and activist David Cortright. This revealing account offers an insider view of the emergence of the movement and its political and communications strategies in attempting to prevent the attack. It reviews the arrogance of power as senior officials rejected public and expert opinion and rushed ahead with their ill-fated invasion. The book traces efforts by opponents of the war to end the worsening conflict and win Congressional approval for the withdrawal of troops. Cortright explores the role of the Iraq issue and the impact of antiwar networks in propelling Barack Obama to the White House, and the frustrations many activists felt in navigating the limitations of conventional politics. Readable, insightful and passionately argued, A Peaceful Superpower provides a definitive analysis of the impacts of the Iraq antiwar movement and a hopeful look at the power of civil society to shape the course of history.
A Peacemaker for Warring Nations: The Founding of the Iroquois League
by Joseph BruchacThe League of the Iroquois was a true representational democracy—so much so that the United States Constitution is said to have been modeled on some of its tenets. But how, perhaps a thousand years before the time of Columbus, did the Five Iroquois Nations (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca) come to end the bitter eye-for-eye warfare among them? What brought them together in an alliance based on the Great Law of Peace? And how was it that a system of Clan Mothers was instituted in which women are seen as the center of the nation and still today choose the 50 royaners, or peace chiefs, who speak for their respective communities in meetings of the League? In A Peacemaker for Warring Nations, renowned Native author Joseph Bruchac draws from the teachings of both contemporary and past Iroquois tradition bearersin telling the inspiring story of how &“the Peacemaker,&” a divine messenger sent by the Creator, helped to bring reconciliation to warring nations. The book is beautifully and accurately illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden, a respected Mohawk artist whose work honors his deep indigenous roots.
A Peculiar Indifference: The Neglected Toll of Violence on Black America
by Elliott CurrieA NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEARFrom Pulitzer Prize finalist Elliott Currie comes a devastating exploration of the extreme levels of violence afflicting Black communities, and a blueprint for addressing the crisis About 170,000 Black Americans have died in homicides just since the year 2000. Violence takes more years of life from Black men than cancer, stroke, and diabetes combined; a young Black man in the United States has a fifteen times greater chance of dying from violence than his white counterpart. Even Black women suffer violent death at a higher rate than white men, despite homicide’s usual gender patterns. Yet while the country has been rightly outraged by the recent spate of police killings of Black Americans, the shocking amount of “everyday” violence that plagues African American communities receives far less attention, and has nearly disappeared as a target of public policy. As acclaimed criminologist Elliott Currie makes clear, this pervasive violence is a direct result of the continuing social and economic marginalization of many Black communities in America. Those conditions help perpetuate a level of preventable trauma and needless suffering that has no counterpart anywhere in the developed world. Compelling and accessible, drawing on a rich array of both classic and contemporary research, A Peculiar Indifference describes the dimensions and consequences of this enduring emergency, explains its causes, and offers an urgent plea for long-overdue social action to end it.
A People Betrayed: A History Of Corruption, Political Incompetence And Social Division In Modern Spain
by Paul PrestonNowhere does the ceaseless struggle to maintain democracy in the face of political corruption come more alive than in Paul Preston’s magisterial history of modern Spain. The culmination of a half-century of historical investigation, A People Betrayed is not only a definitive history of modern Spain but also a compelling narrative that becomes a lens for understanding the challenges that virtually all democracies have faced in the modern world. Whereas so many twentieth-century Spanish histories begin with Franco and the devastating Civil War, Paul Preston’s magisterial work begins in the late nineteenth century with Spain’s collapse as a global power, especially reflected in its humiliating defeat in 1898 at the hands of the United States and its loss of colonial territory. This loss hung over Spain in the early years of the twentieth century, its agrarian economic base standing in stark contrast to the emergence of England, Germany, and France as industrial powers. Looking back to the years prior to 1923, Preston demonstrates how electoral corruption infiltrated almost every sector of Spanish life, thus excluding the masses from organized politics and giving them a bitter choice between apathetic acceptance of a decrepit government or violent revolution. So ineffective was the Republic—which had been launched in 1873—that it paved the way for a military coup and dictatorship, led by Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1923, exacerbating widespread profiteering and fraud. When Rivera was forced to resign in 1930, his fall brought forth a succession of feeble governments, stoking rancorous tensions that culminated in the tragic Spanish Civil War. With astonishing detail, Preston describes the ravages that rent Spain in half between 1936 and 1939. Tracing the frightening rise of Francisco Franco, Preston recounts how Franco grew into Spain’s most powerful military leader during the Civil War and how, after the war, he became a fascistic dictator who not only terrorized the Spanish population through systematic oppression and murder but also enriched corrupt officials who profited from severe economic plunder of Spain’s working class. The dictatorship lasted through World War II—during which Spain sided with Mussolini and Hitler—and only ended decades later, in 1975, when Franco’s death was followed by a painful yet bloodless transition to republican democracy. Yet, as Preston reveals, corruption and political incompetence continued to have a corrosive effect on social cohesion into the twenty-first century, as economic crises, Catalan independence struggles, and financial scandals persist in dividing the country. Filled with vivid portraits of politicians and army officers, revolutionaries and reformers, and written in the “absorbing” (Economist) style for which Preston is so revered, A People Betrayed is the first historical work to examine the continuities of political unrest and national anxiety in Spain up until the present, providing a chilling reminder of just how fragile democracy remains in the twenty-first century.
A People and A Nation: A History of the United States (Brief Tenth Edition)
by Beth Bailey David W. Blight Carol Sheriff Mary Beth Norton Jane Kamensky Howard P. Chudacoff Fredrik Logevall Debra MichalsThe Brief Edition of A PEOPLE AND A NATION offers a succinct and spirited narrative that tells the stories of all people in the United States. The authors' attention to race and racial identity and their inclusion of everyday people and popular culture brings history to life, engaging readers and encouraging them to imagine what life was really like in the past.
A People and a Nation, Volume I: To 1877
by David W. Blight Carol Sheriff Jane Kamensky Fredrik Logevall Howard ChudacoffThink history is dull? No way, and you're about to find out for yourself. A PEOPLE AND A NATION offers a lively narrative, telling the stories of the diverse peoples in the United States. The authors bring history to life by encouraging you to imagine what life was really like in the past. Focus questions and key terms (with definitions, of course) help you concentrate on important information and easily review it as you prep for tests. And with MindTap for A People and a Nation, you get convenient digital access to an ebook with note-taking and other time-saving features and apps. You'll also explore the people, events and places in the United States through interactive activities, videos, images and maps. Enjoy your journey.
A People and a Nation: Vol. II, Since 1865 (Ninth Edition)
by Beth Bailey David W. Blight Carol Sheriff David M. Katzman Mary Beth Norton Fredrik Logevall Howard ChudacoffDeveloped to meet the demand for a low-cost, high-quality history book, this economically priced version of A PEOPLE AND A NATION, Ninth Edition, offers readers the complete text while limiting the number of features, photos and maps. All volumes feature a paperback, two-color format that appeals to those seeking a comprehensive, trade-sized history text. A PEOPLE AND A NATION is a best-selling text offering a spirited narrative that tells the stories of all people in the United States. The authors' attention to race and racial identity and their inclusion of everyday people and popular culture brings history to life, engaging readers and encouraging them to imagine what life was really like in the past.
A People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics
by Hadas ThierA lively, accessible, and timely guide to Marxist economics for those who want to understand and dismantle the world of the 1%. Economists regularly promote Capitalism as the greatest system ever to grace the planet. With the same breath, they implore us to leave the job of understanding the magical powers of the market to the &“experts.&” Despite the efforts of these mainstream commentators to convince us otherwise, many of us have begun to question why this system has produced such vast inequality and wanton disregard for its own environmental destruction. This book offers answers to exactly these questions on their own terms: in the form of a radical economic theory.&“Thier&’s urgently needed book strips away jargon to make Marx&’s essential work accessible to today&’s diverse mass movements.&” —Sarah Leonard, contributing editor to The Nation &“A great book for proletarian chain-breaking.&” —Rob Larson, author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley&“Thier unpacks the mystery of capitalist inequality with lucid and accessible prose . . . . We will need books like A People&’s Guide to help us make sense of the root causes of the financial crises that shape so many of our struggles today.&” —Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership &“Ranging from exploitation at work to the operations of modern finance, this book takes the reader through a fine-tuned introduction to Marx&’s analysis of the modern economy . . . . Thier combines theoretical explanation with contemporary examples to illuminate the inner workings of capitalism . . . . Reminds us of the urgent need for alternatives to a crisis-ridden system.&” —David McNally, author of Blood and Money
A People's Guide to the Federal Budget
by Barbara Ehrenreich - National Priorities Project Josh Silver Mattea KramerA comprehensive resource on what every American should know about how our government raises and spends our tax dollarsFrom history of the budget process to detail about the ongoing conflict in Washington, from charts explaining where every federal dollar goes to simple explanations of budget terminology, this book covers it all.A People's Guide to the Federal Budget is for every American who wants to understand and participate in a process that affects all of us. It serves as a foundation for the novice reader, a reference tool for a more advanced audience, and is perfect for high school and college classroom use. Released to coincide with the fiscal year 2013 budget process and the 2012 presidential election, this guide includes up-to-the-minute numbers and explanation of President Obama's 2013 budget request.Ideally, the federal budget is a reflection of our values and our vision for the role of our government. The $3.7 trillion the government is planning to spend this year is mostly our money. We contribute about 60 percent of the government's total revenues each year (not including borrowing) through individual income taxes and payroll deductions for such things as Social Security and Medicare. This means we are all stakeholders in the government's decisions about how this money will be spent.Understanding the federal budget is essential. Our elected representatives in Washington make choices that impact not just us, but our children, and our children's children. We need to be in this debate, and be in it for the long haul, if we are to build the kind of government, and the kind of nation, that truly reflects our values.
A People's History of Riots, Protest and the Law: The Sound of the Crowd
by Matt ClementThis book examines how movements from below pose challenges to the status quo. The 2010s have seen an explosion of protest movements, sometimes characterised as riots by governments and the media. But these are not new phenomena, rather reflecting thousands of years of conflict between different social classes. Beginning with struggles for democracy and control of the state in Athens and ancient Rome, this book traces the common threads of resistance through the Middle Ages in Europe and into the modern age. As classes change so does the composition of the protestors and the goals of their movements; the one common factor being how groups can mobilise to resist unbearable oppression, thereby developing a crowd consciousness that widens their political horizons and demonstrates the possibility of overthrowing the existing order. To appreciate the roots and motivations of these so-called deviants the author argues that we need to listen to the sound of the crowd. This book will be of interest to researchers of social movements, protests and riots across sociology, history and international relations.
A People's History of the Civil War: Struggles for the Meaning of Freedom (A\new Press People's History Ser.)
by David Williams&“Does for the Civil War period what Howard Zinn&’s A People&’s History of the United States did for the study of American history in general.&” —Library Journal Historian David Williams has written the first account of the American Civil War as viewed though the eyes of ordinary people—foot soldiers, slaves, women, prisoners of war, draft resisters, Native Americans, and others. Richly illustrated with little-known anecdotes and firsthand testimony, this path-breaking narrative moves beyond presidents and generals to tell a new and powerful story about America&’s most destructive conflict. A People&’s History of the Civil War is a &“readable social history&” that &“sheds fascinating light&” on this crucial period. In so doing, it recovers the long-overlooked perspectives and forgotten voices of one of the defining chapters of American history (Publishers Weekly). &“Meticulously researched and persuasively argued.&” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A People's History of the Farmers' Movement, 2020–2021
by Sabah Siddiqui Shamsher SinghIn the annals of India’s history, a monumental uprising unfolded in 2020, echoing the resilience and coming together of large sections of its agrarian base. Instigated by the contentious farm laws of 2020, the Farmers’ Movement burgeoned into a year-long saga of protest and perseverance, ending only in December 2021 after the passing of the Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 by the Indian Parliament. From the initial demand for law repeal to the multifaceted growth of the movement, the book traces the journey of the Farmers’ Movement, as each essay dissects the socio-political dynamics, cultural nuances, and mass solidarity that underpinned the protests, including focused analyses from Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and the Sikh diaspora in the United Kingdom. This anthology chronicles the ebb and flow of a nation’s spirit, encapsulating the symbiotic relationship between theory and praxis, between change and continuity. It serves as a testament to the power of collective resistance and a roadmap for future struggles, ensuring that the legacy of the Farmers’ Movement endures beyond the pages of history.This volume is an interdisciplinary project and will be of interest to scholars from diverse fields such as economics, sociology, public policy, political science, history, political geography, gender studies, cultural studies, international studies, architecture, media studies, psychology, and ethnomusicology.
A People's History of the Supreme Court
by Peter IronsIrons, a civil liberties lawyer and history professor, brings to life the common people whose real-life circumstances proved precedent setting in Supreme Court decisions. He focuses on the human aspect of decisions, from the impact of the slave trade and related issues in the formation of the nation to the contradictory values of the founding fathers and subsequent lawmakers. Irons reveals that the Bill of Rights was not central to the views of one founder, James Madison; the focus on individual rights was actually a compromise designed to secure ratification of the Constitution. Irons examines how the law has intersected with politics, from the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments during the radical reconstruction period through the Jim Crow era, when blacks were stripped of previously adjudicated rights. Irons clearly and repeatedly shows how the law reflects political reality above esoteric legal mandates. Irons continues his analysis to 1992, with case histories exploring the political context of the times. His work gives contextual richness to the history of an important American institution.
A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped OurConstitution: Revised Edition
by Peter IronsRecent changes in the Supreme Court have placed the venerable institution at the forefront of current affairs, making this comprehensive and engaging work as timely as ever. In the tradition of Howard Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States, Peter Irons chronicles the decisions that have influenced virtually every aspect of our society, from the debates over judicial power to controversial rulings in the past regarding slavery, racial segregation, and abortion, as well as more current cases about school prayer, the Bush/Gore election results, and "enemy combatants." A comprehensive history of the people and cases that have changed history, this is the definitive account of the nation's highest court.
A People's History of the United States
by Howard ZinnSince its original landmark publication in 1980, A People's History of the United States has been chronicling American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version of history taught in schools-with its emphasis on great men in high places-to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace.Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of-and in the words of-America's women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. As historian Howard Zinn shows, many of our country's greatest battles-for a fair wage, an eight-hour workday, child-labor laws, health and safety standards, universal suffrage, women's rights, racial equality-were carried out at the grassroots level, against bloody resistance. Covering Christopher Columbus's arrival through the 2000 Election and the "war on terrorism," A People's History of the United States, which was nominated for the American Book Award in 1981 and has sold more than one million copies, features insightful analysis of the most important events in our history.This new edition contains two new chapters covering the Clinton presidency, the 2000 Election, and the "war on terrorism," continuing Zinn's important contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history.