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Fast Track: Essential Review for AP, Honors, and Other Advanced Study (High School Subject Review)
by The Princeton ReviewGET UP TO SPEED WITH FAST TRACK: AMERICAN GOVERNMENT! Covering the most important material taught in high school government classes, this essential review book gets readers on the fast track to class success, with critical information presented in an easy-to-follow quick-study format!Inside this book, you'll find:• Clear, concise summaries of the most important concepts, institutions, and policies covered in U.S. government & politics, social studies, and civics classes• Diagrams, charts, and graphs for quick visual reference• Easy-to-follow content organization and illustrationsWith its friendly, straightforward approach and a clean, colorful modern design crafted to appeal to visual learners, this guidebook is perfect for catching up in class or getting ahead on exam review.Topics covered in Fast Track: American Government include:• Constitutional underpinnings• Federalism• Public opinion• Voting and polling• The effects of mass and social media• Electoral laws and systems• Political parties, interest groups, and PACs• The branches of government• The legislative process• Civil rights and civil liberties• The U.S. criminal justice system... and more!
Fast Track Land Occupations in Zimbabwe: In the Context of the Zvimurenga
by Kirk Helliker Sandra Bhatasara Manase Kudzai ChiwesheThis book offers the first detailed scholarly examination of the nation-wide land occupations which spread across the Zimbabwean countryside from the year 2000, and led to the state’s fast track land reform programme. In an innovative way, it highlights the decentralized character of the occupations by recognizing significant spatial variation around a number of key themes, including historical memory, modes of mobilization and gender. A case study of the land occupations in Mashonaland Central Province, based on original research, adds empirical weight to the argument. In further identifying and understanding the specificities and complexities of the land occupations, the book also frames them by way of a nuanced comparative-historical analysis of the three zvimurenga. It thus examines the land occupations (referred to, likely controversially, as the ‘third chimurenga’) with reference to the original anti-colonial revolt from the 1890s (the first chimurenga) and the war of liberation in the 1970s (the second chimurenga). Further, the book engages critically with the ruling party’s chimurenga narrative and the hegemonic understanding of the land occupations within Zimbabwean studies. This book is a crucial read for all scholars and students of post-2000 land and politics in Zimbabwe, but also for those more broadly interested in historical-comparative analyses of land struggles in Zimbabwe and beyond.
The Fast Track to New Skills: Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean
by María Marta Ferreyra Lelys Dinarte Díaz Sergio Urzúa BassiHigher education in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has expanded dramatically in the new millennium, yet enrollment in short-cycle programs (SCPs) is still relatively low. Shorter and more practical than bachelor’s programs, SCPs can form skilled human capital fast. The economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated underlying trends, such as automation, the use of electronic platforms, and the need for lifelong learning. Addressing these demands requires the urgent upskilling and reskilling of the population—a task for which SCPs are uniquely suited. The Fast Track to New Skills: Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean explores the labor market out¬comes and returns of SCPs, examines their providers, and identifies the practices adopted by the best programs. Relying on unique data that includes a novel survey of SCP directors in five LAC countries, it finds that while SCPs generate, on average, good labor market out¬comes, they vary greatly in quality. SCP providers respond quickly and flexibly to local economy needs; and specific practices related to faculty, job search assistance, and interaction with prospective em¬ployers are distinctive of the best programs. Drawing on these findings, The Fast Track to New Skills discusses how to create an environment where good programs are offered and students have the interest and means to attend them. It draws attention to a higher education sector that has been typically overlooked, both in research and policy. The Fast Track to New Skills will be of interest to policy makers, researchers, and the public at large.
Faster, Better, Cheaper: Low-Cost Innovation in the U.S. Space Program (New Series in NASA History)
by Howard E. McCurdyIn Faster, Better, Cheaper: Low-Cost Innovation in the U.S. Space Program, Howard E. McCurdy examines NASA's recent efforts to save money while improving mission frequency and performance. McCurdy details the sixteen missions undertaken during the 1990s—including an orbit of the moon, deployment of three space telescopes, four Earth-orbiting satellites, two rendezvous with comets and asteroids, and a test of an ion propulsion engine—which cost less than the sum traditionally spent on a single, conventionally planned planetary mission. He shows how these missions employed smaller spacecraft and cheaper technology to undertake less complex and more specific tasks in outer space. While the technological innovation and space exploration approach that McCurdy describes is still controversial, the historical perspective on its disappointments and triumphs points to ways of developing "faster, better, and cheaper" as a management manifesto.
Faster, Smarter, Greener: The Future of the Car and Urban Mobility (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Venkat Sumantran Charles Fine David GonsalvezA call to redefine mobility so that it is connected, heterogeneous, intelligent, and personalized, as well as sustainable, adaptable, and city-friendly.The twentieth century was the century of the automobile; the twenty-first will see mobility dramatically re-envisioned. Automobiles altered cityscapes, boosted economies, and made personal mobility efficient and convenient for many. We had a century-long love affair with the car. But today, people are more attached to their smartphones than their cars. Cars are not always the quickest mode of travel in cities; and emissions from the rapidly growing number of cars threaten the planet. This book, by three experts from industry and academia, envisions a new world of mobility that is connected, heterogeneous, intelligent, and personalized (the CHIP architecture).The authors describe the changes that are coming. City administrators are shifting from designing cities for cars to designing cities for people. Nations and cities will increasingly employ targeted user fees and offer subsidies to nudge consumers toward more sustainable modes. The sharing economy is coaxing many consumers to shift from being owners of assets to being users of services. The auto industry is responding with connected cars that double as virtual travel assistants and by introducing autonomous driving.The CHIP architecture embodies an integrated, multimode mobility system that builds on ubiquitous connectivity, electrified and autonomous vehicles, and a marketplace open to innovation and entrepreneurship. Consumers will exercise choice on the basis of user experience and efficiency, aided by “intelligent advisors,” accessible through their mobile devices.An innovative mobility architecture reconfigured for this century is a social and economic necessity; this book charts a course for achieving it.
Fastest, Highest, Strongest: A Critique of High-Performance Sport (Routledge Critical Studies in Sport)
by Rob Beamish Ian RitchieFastest, Highest, Strongest presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport. Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of: * The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport * The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach * The changing meaning of "sport" * The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance * The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport. Fastest, Highest, Strongest is a profound critical examination of modern sport. Its straightforward style will appeal to under- and post-graduate students as well as scholars of sports ethics and history, policy makers and all those interested in the changing nature of sport.
Fat
by Deborah LuptonIn contemporary western societies, the fat body has become a focus of stigmatizing discourses and practices aimed at disciplining, regulating and containing it. Despite the fact that in many western countries fat bodies outnumber those that are thin, fat people are still socially marginalized, and treated with derision and even repulsion and disgust. Medical and public health experts continue to insist that an ‘obesity epidemic’ exists and that fatness is a pathological condition which should be prevented and controlled. Fat is a book about why the fat body has become so reviled and reviewed as diseased, the target of such intense discussion and debate about ways to reduce its size down to socially and medically acceptable dimensions. It is about the lived experience of fat embodiment: how does it feel to be fat in a fat phobic-society? Fat activism and obesity politics, and related controversies, are also discussed. Internationally-renowned sociologist Deborah Lupton explores fat as a sociocultural artefact: a bodily substance or body shape that is given meaning by complex and shifting systems of ideas, practices, emotions, material objects and interpersonal relationships. This analysis identifies broader preoccupations and trends in the ways that human bodies and selfhood are experienced and practised. The second and much expanded edition of Fat is twice as long as the original edition. Lupton incorporates the very latest current critical scholarship and research offered in the humanities and social sciences on fat embodiment and fat politics. New updated material is presented in every chapter, including substantial additional sections on new digital media. Fat is a lively, at times provocative introduction for the general reader, as well as for students and academics interested in the politics of embodiment and health.
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World
by Greg Critser&“An in-depth, well-researched, and thoughtful exploration of the &‘fat boom&’ in America.&” —TheBoston Globe Low carb, high protein, raw foods . . . despite our seemingly endless obsession with fad diets, the startling truth is that six out of ten Americans are overweight or obese. In Fat Land, award-winning nutrition and health journalist Greg Critser examines the facts and societal factors behind the sensational headlines, taking on everything from supersize to Super Mario, high-fructose corn syrup to the high costs of physical education. With a sharp eye and even sharper tongue, Critser examines why pediatricians are now treating conditions rarely seen in children before; why type 2 diabetes is on the rise; the personal struggles of those with weight problems—especially among the poor—and how agribusiness has altered our waistlines. Praised by the New York Times as &“absorbing&” and by Newsday as &“riveting,&” this disarmingly funny, yet truly alarming, exposé stands as an important examination of one of the most pressing medical and social issues in the United States. &“One scary book and a good companion to Eric Schlosser&’s Fast Food Nation.&” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy
by Craig Whitlock#1 New York Times bestselling author Craig Whitlock&’s masterful account of one of the biggest public corruption scandals in American history—exposing how a charismatic Malaysian defense contractor bribed scores of high-ranking military officers, defrauded the US Navy of tens of millions of dollars, and jeopardized our nation&’s security.All the admirals in the US Navy knew Leonard Glenn Francis—either personally or by his legendary reputation. He was the larger-than-life defense contractor who greeted them on the pier whenever they visited ports in Asia, ready to show them a good time after weeks at sea while his company resupplied their ships and submarines. He was famed throughout the fleet for the gluttonous parties he hosted for officers: $1,000-per-person dinners at Asia&’s swankiest restaurants, featuring unlimited Dom Pérignon, Cuban cigars, and sexy young women. On the surface, with his flawless American accent, he seemed like a true friend of the Navy. What the brass didn&’t realize, until far too late, was that Francis had seduced them by exploiting their entitlement and hubris. While he was bribing them with gifts, lavish meals, and booze-fueled orgies, he was making himself obscenely wealthy by bilking American taxpayers. Worse, he was stealing military secrets from under the admirals&’ noses and compromising national security. Based on reams of confidential documents—including the blackmail files that Francis kept on Navy officers—Fat Leonard is the full, unvarnished story of a world-class con man and a captivating testament to the corrosive influence of greed within the ranks of the American military.
Fat Man and Little Boy
by Mike MeginnisTwo bombs over Japan. Two shells. One called Little Boy, one called Fat Man. Three days apart. The one implicit in the other. Brothers.Named one of Flavorwire's best independent books of 2014, and winner of the 2013 Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize.<P><P>In this striking debut novel, the atomic bombs dropped on Japan are personified as Fat Man and Little Boy. This small measure of humanity is a cruelty the bombs must suffer. Given life from death, the brothers' journey is one of surreal and unsettling discovery, transforming these symbols of mass destruction into beacons of longing and hope."Impressive. . . The novel straddles a hybrid genre of historical magical realism." - The Japan Times"Meginnis's talent is his ability to make the reader feel empathy for souls who killed so many. . . Many pages in this novel feel like engravings . . . Meginnis has written one of the best, most natural novels about the atomic bombs." - Nick Ripatrazone, The Millions"[An] imaginative debut. . . Meginnis' story is both surprising and incisive." - Publishers WeeklyNamed one of "the year's most impressive debut novelists" by the 2014 Brooklyn Book Festival"An imaginative and surprisingly intimate look at the consequences of our actions and the costs of war." - Library Journal"In his inventive and fabulist debut novel Fat Man and Little Boy Mike Meginnis lends a surprisingly human dimension to the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II." - Largehearted Boy"Throughout Fat Man and Little Boy, Meginnis's language is luminous and disarmingly spare, whether he is invoking a naturalist moment or a fantastical metamorphosis." - Necessary Fiction"Beguiling, strange, and strangely lovely, Fat Man and Little Boy is a deeply sorrowful yet mysteriously empowering debut."-Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers"Only someone with the deftness of heart of a writer like Mike Meginnis could redefine the war novel into something like Fat Man and Little Boy, a book which translates our basic world of never-ending terror into a highly nuanced and inventive diorama available absolutely nowhere else."-Blake Butler, author of Scorch Atlas and There is No Year"Mike Meginnis is my favorite kind of writer-extraordinarily inventive, formally curious, profoundly moving-and his Fat Man and Little Boy is a debut of impressive ambition, a reinvention of the historical novel, an existential thriller powered by the booming engines of history, the atom, the human heart." -Matt Bell, author of In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods"In Fat Man and Little Boy, Mike Meginnis takes the mother of all atrocities and makes it strange, sizable, turns it so sideways that we're forced to notice, to take heed. This alone is an achievement, but it's the way he does it that dazzles-with gorgeous, careful prose that gives us human failings and a desperate longing for connection so vividly rendered that we have no choice but drink it in, to reckon once again with this disaster in our own time and way."-Amber Sparks, author of The Desert Places and May We Shed These Human Bodies
Fat Man Fed Up: How American Politics Went Bad
by Jack W. GermondFor more than forty years, Jack Germond has been covering politics for Gannett newspapers, the Washington Star, and the Baltimore Sun, and talking politics on the Today show, The McLaughlin Group, and Inside Washington. Now, in Fat Man Fed Up, Germond confronts the most critical issues raised by our election process and offers a scathing but wry polemic about what's wrong with American politics.
The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing
by Ian Bremmer Preston KeatWritten by two of the world's leading figures in political risk management, "The Fat Tail" reveals that while the world remains exceedingly risky for businesses, it is by no means incomprehensible.
The Fatah-Hamas Rift: An Analysis of Failed Negotiations
by Gadi HitmanHow did two national movements—which both share the same national ethos based on territorial and human elements and the same history—fail to reach an agreement that would unite their forces to realize their aspirations? Both sides recall the Nakba (catastrophe), the term for the defeat in the 1948 war and the subsequent Palestinian exodus. They also both emphasize issues such as the victimization of refugees, widows, and orphans; the sanctity of Jerusalem and Palestine; the contributions of shuhadaa (martyrs) to the national struggle still in progress; and the suffering of the prisoners in Israeli jails. Despite this joint confrontation with the same opponent—Israel—Fatah leaders (the organization whose people are the foundation of the Palestinian Authority) and Hamas have failed to find a path to reconciliation. Examining the Palestinian internal question from an original angle, The Fatah-Hamas Rift analyzes the many rounds of negotiations and seeks to explain this failure, with a focus on the decade after 2007.
Fatal Accusation (The Fatal Series)
by Marie ForceA deadly serious affair…The story breaks as Metro PD lieutenant Sam Holland attends a dinner party with her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano: President Nelson is accused of having an affair. More shocking still, campaign staffer Tara Weber claims the president fathered her newborn son—while the First Lady was undergoing secret cancer treatment.When a high-profile murder case hits Sam’s desk, she’s shocked to uncover a connection to the presidential scandal. With the department caught up in its own internal scandals, and the chief’s job hanging by a thread, Sam questions who she can trust as her team uncovers information that clouds an already-murky case. And with calls for the president to resign getting louder by the minute, Sam needs to close this case before she finds herself living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…
The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism (The\collected Works Of F. A. Hayek Ser.)
by F. A. Hayek W. W. Bartley IIIHayek gives the main arguments for the free-market case and presents his manifesto on the "errors of socialism." Hayek argues that socialism has, from its origins, been mistaken on factual, and even on logical, grounds and that its repeated failures in the many different practical applications of socialist ideas that this century has witnessed were the direct outcome of these errors. He labels as the "fatal conceit" the idea that "man is able to shape the world around him according to his wishes." "The achievement of The Fatal Conceit is that it freshly shows why socialism must be refuted rather than merely dismissed--then refutes it again."--David R. Henderson, Fortune. "Fascinating. . . . The energy and precision with which Mr. Hayek sweeps away his opposition is impressive."--Edward H. Crane, Wall Street Journal F. A. Hayek is considered a pioneer in monetary theory, the preeminent proponent of the libertarian philosophy, and the ideological mentor of the Reagan and Thatcher "revolutions."
The Fatal Eggs (Modern Voices Ser.)
by Mikhail BulgakovThe chickens come home to roost in this &“brilliantly strange&” blend of science fiction and political satire by the author of The Master and Margarita (The Guardian, UK). As the new reality of post-Revolution Soviet life begins to settle in, a gifted but eccentric zoologist named Persikov invents a machine that revolutionizes the growth of living organisms by drastically increasing their size and reproductive rates. Meanwhile, a mysterious plague has wiped out the entire poultry population of Russia, raising concerns about the government&’s ability to feed its people. Hoping to use Persikov&’s yet-untested invention to revive the decimated chicken population, the secret service confiscates Persikov&’s machine—with disastrous results… Inspired by H. G. Wells&’s novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth, this science fiction novella delighted readers in 1925 Russia—and also disapproved of by certain critics who saw the tale as an anti-Soviet satire of the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and of post-war leadership.
The Fatal Environment: The Myth of the Frontier in the Age of Industrialization, 1800–1890 (Mythology of the American West)
by Richard SlotkinA two-time National Book Award finalist&’s &“ambitious and provocative&” look at Custer&’s Last Stand, capitalism, and the rise of the cowboys-and-Indians legend (The New York Review of Books). In The Fatal Environment, historian Richard Slotkin demonstrates how the myth of frontier expansion and subjugation of Native Americans helped justify the course of America&’s rise to wealth and power. Using Custer&’s Last Stand as a metaphor for what Americans feared might happen if the frontier should be closed and the &“savage&” element be permitted to dominate the &“civilized,&” Slotkin shows the emergence by 1890 of a mythos redefined to help Americans respond to the confusion and strife of industrialization and imperial expansion. &“A clearly written, challenging and provocative work that should prove enormously valuable to serious students of American history.&” —The New York Times &“[An] arresting hypothesis.&” —Henry Nash Smith, American Historical Review
Fatal Future?: Transnational Terrorism and the New Global Disorder
by Richard M. Pearlstein"As the media has zeroed in on the individual victims, heroes, and perpetrators of 9/11, followed the fighting in Afghanistan, and chronicled the 'war against terrorism' at home, there has been a crying need for a short, sober book like this one . . . to] provide a broader context. It shows that 9/11 was not unexpected, if unpredicted. " -- J. Garry Clifford, Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut The nature and goals of terrorist organizations have changed profoundly since the Cold War standoff among the U. S. , Soviet, and Chinese superpowers gave way to the current "polyplex" global system, in which the old rules of international engagement have been shattered by a new struggle for power among established states, non-state actors, and emerging nations. In this confusing state of global disorder, terrorist organizations that are privately funded and highly flexible have become capable of carrying out incredibly destructive attacks anywhere in the world in support of a wide array of political, religious, and ethnic causes. This groundbreaking book examines the evolution of terrorism in the context of the new global disorder. Richard M. Pearlstein categorizes three generations of terrorist organizations and shows how each arose in response to the global conditions of its time. Focusing extensively on today's transnational (i. e. , privately funded and internationally operating) terrorist organizations, he devotes thorough attention to the two most virulent types: ethnoterrorism and radical Islamic terrorism. He also discusses the terrorist race for weapons of mass destruction and the types of attacks, including cyberterrorism, that are likely to occur incoming years. Pearlstein concludes with a thought-provoking assessment of the many efforts to combat transnational terrorism in the post-September 11 period.
Fatal Prescription
by Don PendletonDeadly Plague There seems to be little connection between the viral devastation of a small African village and the massacre at a drug research facility in Belgium... But Mack Bolan has learned the hard way that appearances can be deceiving. In fact, a wealthy industrialist is about to expand the release of a highly contagious virus out of Africa and into the States, and use the "miracle" antidote as his ticket to the US presidency. It's up to the Executioner to take down the villain's mysterious assassin and stop the pending epidemic...
Fatal Serum: The Truth Will Prevail (Fatal Serum Ser.)
by Sam BlackFrom the author of Avengement comes a gripping thriller of big pharma, government corruption, and a defiant doctor’s struggle for survival. Ten years ago, doctorate student Sam Abbot created two astounding serums. One could prevent contagious diseases while the other was capable of blocking the harmful effects of air pollution on human lungs. Both could change the world. Shocked to have his miraculous work turned down by big pharma, Sam gets help from a wealthy rogue benefactor to start his own company. But when the drug companies see their profits dropping, they use their influence with a shady US senator to take out the competition. <p><p> Now, just as Sam is about to go on a well-earned vacation, his wife mysteriously disappears—and Sam is named the prime suspect. Desperate and on the run, Sam must finally confront the powers that have haunted his life if he or his wife are to survive.
Fatale
by Jean-Patrick Manchette Donald Nicholson-Smith Jean EchenozWhether you call her a coldhearted grifter or the soul of modern capitalism, there's no question that Aimée is a killer and a more than professional one. Now she's set her eyes on a backwater burg--where, while posing as an innocent (albeit drop-dead gorgeous) newcomer to town, she means to sniff out old grudges and engineer new opportunities, deftly playing different people and different interests against each other the better, as always, to make a killing. But then something snaps: the master manipulator falls prey to a pure and wayward passion. Aimée has become the avenging angel of her own nihilism, exacting the destruction of a whole society of destroyers. An unholy original, Jean-Patrick Manchette transformed the modern detective novel into a weapon of gleeful satire and anarchic fun. In Fatale he mixes equal measures of farce, mayhem, and madness to prepare a rare literary cocktail that packs a devastating punch.
The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam
by Peter OborneAs the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we are told. After the events of 9/11 and the advent of the 'war on terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive fantasy.Based on rigorous historical research and forensic contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths, fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality, these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance.With murderous attacks on Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will benefit us all in the long run.
The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair
by Martin MeredithFifty years ago, as Europe's colonial powers withdrew, Africa moved with enormous hope and fervor toward democracy and economic independence. Dozens of new states were launched amid much jubilation and the world's applause. African leaders, popularly elected, stepped forward to tackle the problems of development and nation-building. In the Cold War era, the new states excited the attention of the superpowers. Africa was considered too valuable a prize to lose. Today, Africa is a continent rife with disease, death, and devastation. Most African countries are effectively bankrupt, prone to civil strife, subject to dictatorial rule, and dependent on Western assistance for survival. The sum of Africa's misfortunes #151; its wars, its despotisms, its corruption, its droughts #151; is truly daunting. What went wrong? What happened to this vast continent, so rich in resources, culture and history, to bring it so close to destitution and despair in the space of two generations? Focusing on the key personalities, events and themes of the independence era, Martin Meredith's riveting narrative history seeks to explore and explain the myriad problems that Africa has faced in the past half-century, and faces still. From the giddy enthusiasm of the 1960s to the "coming of tyrants" and rapid decline, The Fate of Africa is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how it came to this #151; and what, if anything, is to be done.
The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence
by Martin MeredithFirst published in 2005, The Fate of Africa was hailed by reviewers as "A masterpiece....The nonfiction book of the year" (The New York Post); "a magnificent achievement" (Weekly Standard); "a joy," (Wall Street Journal) and "one of the decade’s most important works on Africa" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).<P><P> Now Martin Meredith has revised this classic history to incorporate important recent developments, including the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Robert Mugabe’s continued destructive rule in Zimbabwe, controversies over Western aid and exploitation of Africa’s resources, the growing importance and influence of China, and the democratic movement roiling the North African countries of Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.
The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence
by Martin MeredithFifty years ago, as Europe's colonial powers withdrew, Africa moved with enormous hope and fervor toward democracy and economic independence. Dozens of new states were launched amid much jubilation and the world's applause. African leaders, popularly elected, stepped forward to tackle the problems of development and nation-building. In the Cold War era, the new states excited the attention of the superpowers. Africa was considered too valuable a prize to lose. Today, Africa is a continent rife with disease, death, and devastation. Most African countries are effectively bankrupt, prone to civil strife, subject to dictatorial rule, and dependent on Western assistance for survival. The sum of Africa's misfortunes - its wars, its despotisms, its corruption, its droughts - is truly daunting. What went wrong? What happened to this vast continent, so rich in resources, culture and history, to bring it so close to destitution and despair in the space of two generations? Focusing on the key personalities, events and themes of the independence era, Martin Meredith's riveting narrative history seeks to explore and explain the myriad problems that Africa has faced in the past half-century, and faces still. From the giddy enthusiasm of the 1960s to the "coming of tyrants" and rapid decline, The Fate of Africa is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how it came to this - and what, if anything, is to be done.