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Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today's Youth for Tomorrow's World
by James ComerThe call-to-arms to "leave no child behind" in America has become popularly associated with the Bush administration's education plan--a plan that actually diverges greatly from the ideals of the Children's Defense Fund, which originated the concept. Here, in a bold and engaging new book, Dr. James Comer reclaims this now-famous exhortation as a tool for positive and substantive change. Far removed from the federal government's focus on standardized testing as the panacea for our educational ills, Dr. Comer's argument--drawn from his own experiences as the creator of the School Development Program--urges teachers, policymakers, and parents alike to work toward creating a new kind of school environment. In so doing, Dr. Comer reignites a crucial debate as he details the evolution and many successes of his School Development Program since its inception thirty-five years ago, and he illustrates how his model for change has proven effective in public schools throughout the country. Most important, he offers proof that students from all backgrounds can learn at a high level, adopt positive behavioral attitudes, and prepare for a fulfilling adult life, if they learn in schools that provide adequate support for their complete development--schools that know that leaving no child behind should be much more than just a convenient political slogan.
Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives
by Grover G. NorquistThe new political movement that now controls much of the Republican party is a coalition of Americans who simply wish to be left alone by the government. They want to be free to run a business, keep the money they earn, own a gun, practice their faith, and perhaps homeschool their children—in short, to control their own destinies. Directly opposed is the descriptively titled Takings Coalition, which is at the heart of the tax-and-spend left. These forces will battle for control of America's future over the next fifty years.In this compelling and powerful narrative, Grover Norquist describes the two competing coalitions in American politics, what they can achieve and what they cannot do, and how you may fit into the contest. Required reading for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of politics in America today, Leave Us Alone outlines the order of battle for the next generation.
Leave it in the Ground: The Politics of Coal and Climate
by John C. BergEmploying scientific explanations and hard data, this book shows why coal is such a problem, how the pro-coal forces got to be so powerful, and how those forces might be defeated through political activism. <P><P>Coal provided the energy to build modern civilization. This energy source raised standards of living, multiplied the earth's population, and enabled people in developed countries to enjoy leisure time. Today, we know that if we burn all the coal available, climate change will continue to increase. But the use of coal isn't purely an environmental issue; there are also political and economic forces at play. This book examines the politics and environmental impact of coal production and distribution, presenting a clear point of view―that we must shift away from coal use―backed by hard data and supplying specific prescriptions for opposing and regulating the coal industry. <P><P>Author John C. Berg explains how ending the burning of coal (and of oil and natural gas) is a political problem rather than a technical one; explodes the "clean coal" myth, providing scientific documentation of how burning coal emits more greenhouse gases per unit of energy than any other fuel; and describes how controlling coal use in the United States will also serve to restore the possibility of a meaningful international climate agreement. Additionally, readers will understand the critical importance of activism―from local to international―in spurring government regulation to control the coal industry, which can only be defeated politically. <P><P>Examines scientific data to provide a clear explanation―in layman's terms―of the relation of coal to climate change <P><P>Illustrates how activism can lead to meaningful government policy change <P><P>Provides non-expert readers with a clear understanding of the political issues surrounding coal mining and coal burning as well as the domestic and international politics of coal and climate <P><P>Shows the interconnection of coal's role in labor exploitation, the environmental destruction of Appalachia and other coal areas, and the acceleration of climate change
Leaving Glorytown: One Boy's Struggle Under Castro
by Eduardo F. CalcinesIn this absorbing memoir, by turns humorous and heartbreaking, Eduardo Calcines recounts his boyhood and chronicles the conditions that led him to wish above all else to leave behind his beloved extended family and his home for a chance at a better future.Eduardo F. Calcines was a child of Fidel Castro's Cuba; he was just three years old when Castro came to power in January 1959. After that, everything changed for his family and his country. When he was ten, his family applied for an exit visa to emigrate to America and he was ridiculed by his schoolmates and even his teachers for being a traitor to his country. But even worse, his father was sent to an agricultural reform camp to do hard labor as punishment for daring to want to leave Cuba. During the years to come, as he grew up in Glorytown, a neighborhood in the city of Cienfuegos, Eduardo hoped with all his might that their exit visa would be granted before he turned fifteen, the age at which he would be drafted into the army.
Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out
by Ibn WarraqIn the West abandoning one's religion (apostasy) can be a difficult, emotional decision, which sometimes has social repercussions. However, in culturally diverse societies where there is a mixture of ethnic groups and various philosophies of life, most people look upon such shifts in intellectual allegiance as a matter of personal choice and individual right. By contrast, in Islam apostasy is still viewed as an almost unthinkable act, and in orthodox circles it is considered a crime punishable by death. Renowned scholar of Islamic Studies Bernard Lewis described the seriousness of leaving the Islamic faith in the following dire terms: "Apostasy was a crime as well as a sin, and the apostate was damned both in this world and the next. His crime was treason ù desertion and betrayal of the community to which he belonged, and to which he owed loyalty; his life and property were forfeit. He was a dead limb to be excised." <p><p> Defying the death penalty applicable to all apostates in Islam, the ex-Muslims who are here represented feel it is their duty to speak up against their former faith, to tell the truth about the fastest growing religion in the world. These former Muslims, from all parts of the Islamic world, recount how they slowly came to realize that the religion into which they were born was in many respects unbelievable and sometimes even dangerous. <p> These memoirs of personal journeys to enlightenment and intellectual freedom make for moving reading and are a courageous signal to other ex-Muslims to come out of the closet.
Leaving Terrorism Behind: Individual and Collective Disengagement (Political Violence)
by John Horgan Tore BjorgoThis new edited volume expands our understanding of the processes by which individuals and groups disengage from terrorism. While there has been a growing awareness of the need to understand and prevent processes of radicalization into terrorism, disengagement and deradicalization from terrorism have long been neglected areas in research on terrorism. This book uses empirical data to explore how and why individuals and groups disengage from terrorism, and what can be done to facilitate it. The work also presents a series of case studies of disengagement programmes, from Colombia, northern Europe, Italy, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, comparing and assessing their various strengths and weaknesses. In light of the lessons learned from these cases, this book describes and explains the potential for new developments in counter-terrorism. This book will be of great interest to all students of terrorism studies, war and conflict studies, international security and politics in general, as well as professionals in the field of counter-terrorism.
Leaving The Twentieth Century: Situationist Revolutions
by McKenzie WarkThe acclaimed history of the groundbreaking Situationist movementThe Situationist International, which leaped to the fore during the Paris tumult of 1968, has extended its revolutionary influence right up to the present day. In Leaving the Twentieth Century, the movement is captured for the first time in its full range and diversity.McKenzie Wark traces the group&’s development from the bohemian Paris of the &’50s to the explosive days of May &’68. She introduces the group as an ensemble, revealing the work and activities of thinkers previously obscured by the reputation of founding member Guy Debord. Roaming through Europe and exploring the vital lives its members—including Constant, Asger Jorn, Michèle Bernstein, Alexander Trocchi, and Jacqueline de Jong—Wark uncovers a group riven with conflicting passions. She follows the narrative beyond 1968, to the Situationists International&’s disintegration and beyond: the ideas of T. J. Clark, the Fourierist utopia of Raoul Vaneigem, René Vienet&’s earthy situationist cinema, Gianfranco Sanguinetti&’s pranking of the Italian ruling class, Alice Becker-Ho&’s account of the anonymous language of the Romany, and Debord&’s late films and his surprising work as a game designer.
Leaving World War II Behind
by David SwansonThis book documents the case that World War II happened in such a different world that it has little relevance to today's foreign policy, as well as the case that U.S. participation in WWII was not justifiable. Specifically, WWII was not fought to rescue anyone from persecution, was not necessary for defense, was the most damaging and destructive event yet to occur, and would not have happened had any one of these factors been missing: World War I, the manner in which WWI was ended, U.S. funding and arming of Nazis, a U.S. arms race with Japan, U.S. development of racial segregation, U.S. development of eugenics, U.S. development of genocide and ethnic cleansing, or the U.S. and British prioritization of opposing the Soviet Union at all costs. The author corrects numerous misconceptions about the most popular and misunderstood war in western culture, in order to build a case for moving to a world beyond war.
Leaving the 20th Century: The Incomplete Work of the Situationist International
by Christopher GrayThe first Situationist text to be published in the UK in 1974, 'Leaving the 20th Century' was Chris Gray and the English situationists' attempt to capture and distil the vibrant anti-art, anti-capitalist energy of the original International Situationist texts (1957-74). With its loose translations and irreverent commentary, Gray and co. attempted to capture the "terrorism, wit and general megalomania" of the original publications, whilst faithfully reprinting the "photographs of girls, soldiers, bombings, comic-strip frames, maps of cities and diagrams of labyrinths, cathedrals and gardens." From the art/anti-art beginnings, to the role of the Situationists in the worker-student insurrection of May 68', 'Leaving the 20th Century' remains the definitive English pro-situ text.
Leaving the Gay Place: Billy Lee Brammer and the Great Society
by Tracy Daugherty&“By turns a strong, clear biography (with shades of rock n roll memoir), a poetic ode to various places and people in midcentury Texas and an oral history.&” —Texas Observer Acclaimed by critics as a second F. Scott Fitzgerald, Billy Lee Brammer was once one of the most engaging young novelists in America. When he published his first and only novel, The Gay Place, in 1961, literary luminaries such as David Halberstam, Willie Morris, and Gore Vidal hailed his debut. Halberstam called it &“a classic . . . [A] stunning, original, intensely human novel inspired by Lyndon Johnson . . . It will be read a hundred years from now.&” More recently, James Fallows, Gary Fisketjon, and Christopher Lehmann have affirmed The Gay Place&’s continuing relevance, with Lehmann asserting that it is &“the one truly great modern American political novel.&” Leaving the Gay Place tells a sweeping story of American popular culture and politics through the life and work of a writer who tragically exemplifies the highs and lows of the country at mid-century. Tracy Daugherty follows Brammer from the halls of power in Washington, DC, where he worked for Senate majority leader Johnson, to rock-and-roll venues where he tripped out with Janis Joplin, and ultimately to back alleys of self-indulgence and self-destruction. Constantly driven to experiment with new ways of being and creating—often fueled by psychedelics—Brammer became a cult figure for an America on the cusp of monumental change, as the counterculture percolated through the Eisenhower years and burst out in the sixties. In Daugherty&’s masterful recounting, Brammer&’s story is a quintessential American story, and Billy Lee is our wayward American son.
Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood: Self, Society and the State (Middle East Today)
by Mustafa MenshawyThe book offers a processual and discursive perspective on how individuals exit the Muslim Brotherhood. The framework is based on an interaction of ‘micro’ psychological and emotional factors, ‘meso’ organizational factors and ‘macro’ political developments linked to the specific case of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt during the Arab Spring. Based on interviews conducted in Egypt, Turkey, Qatar and the United Kingdom, the author traces in-depth narratives of exiters while they return to their private life or resort to political activism of another stripe. This work examines thought-provoking patterns pertaining to elements long under-explored in the scholarship and stands out as it systematically identifies this unexamined subset of Brotherhood members: peaceful leavers.
Leaving without Losing: The War on Terror after Iraq and Afghanistan
by Mark N. KatzAs the United States withdraws its combat troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, politicians, foreign policy specialists, and the public are worrying about the consequences of leaving these two countries. Neither nation can be considered stable, and progress toward democracy in them—a principal aim of America and the West—is fragile at best. But, international relations scholar Mark N. Katz asks: Could ending both wars actually help the United States and its allies to overcome radical Islam in the long term?Drawing lessons from the Cold War, Katz makes the case that rather than signaling the decline of American power and influence, removing military forces from Afghanistan and Iraq puts the U.S. in a better position to counter the forces of radical Islam and ultimately win the war on terror. He explains that since both wars will likely remain intractable, for Washington to remain heavily involved in either is counter-productive. Katz argues that looking to its Cold War experience would help the U.S. find better strategies for employing America’s scarce resources to deal with its adversaries now. This means that, although leaving Afghanistan and Iraq may well appear to be a victory for America’s opponents in the short term—as was the case when the U.S. withdrew from Indochina—the larger battle with militant Islam can be won only by refocusing foreign and military policy away from these two quagmires.This sober, objective assessment of what went wrong in the U.S.–led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the ways the West can disentangle itself and still move forward draws striking parallels with the Cold War. Anyone concerned with the future of the War on Terror will find Katz’s argument highly thought provoking.
Lebanese Political Parties: Dream of a Republic (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)
by Christian ThuseltThis book examines Lebanese political parties and their encounters with modernity. Taking three, mainly Christian parties as an example, the book refutes the idea of Middle Eastern parties being backwards or antiquated. By combining historical and anthropological perspectives, it is shown that these parties stand for normativities of modernity. Lebanese, as well as Middle Eastern parties in general, have a rather poor reputation: they are considered family-based, ideologically meaningless, tailored solely to their leadership, and non-modern. Contrastingly, this book claims that the concept of the "real party" corresponds to an encounter with modernity and that these parties, although dysfunctional in parts, are better than their reputation. Most importantly, Lebanese parties are taking the nation-state as their central reference point, as they recognise it as the legitimate form of societal organization. The volume claims that important constituents of modernity, such as the individual, the nation, secularity, progress, and representing the people (demos), serve for the parties in question as resources of utopian elements informing much of these parties’ identities. Bringing Lebanese political parties into a global debate on modernity, the book tackles the notion of parties of the Middle East being non-modern. It will be of interest to scholars researching political science, political history and the Middle East.
Lebanese Shi‘ite Leadership, 1920–1970s
by Omri NirThis book examines the coalitions and relationships within the power centers of Shi'ite politics during the era of political feudalism in Lebanon. The author maps the Shi'ite leadership and its inter-connections, including the alliances and rivalry between prominent Zu'ama, clans, and Ulama' from the formation of Lebanon in 1920 to the decline of old Shi'ite politics and the emergence of popular movements in the 1970s. The work also explains the role of prominent intellectuals within these power centers.
Lebanon Facing The Arab Uprisings
by Daniel Meier Rosita Di PeriThis book provides an intimate picture of Lebanon, exploring the impacts of the Arab uprisings of 2011 which are deeply affecting Lebanese politics and society. The book examines Lebanon's current issues and its deep sectarian divisions, as well as the ways in which it still seems able to find some adaptation paths to face the many challenges left by its regional sectarian and political polarization. Authors delve into border regions, Syrian refugees, the welfare state, the Lebanese Army, popular mobilisations in 2011 and the two main communities, the Sunnis and the Shia. Built on various fieldwork researches, the volume explores each of the topics through the lenses of identification building processes, the re-ordering of social and/or political relations, and the nationhood symbols and meanings.
Lebanon after the Syrian Withdrawal: External Intervention, Power-Sharing and Political Instability
by Ohannes GeukjianLebanon experienced serious instability and ethno-national conflict following the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, compounded by the Arab Spring, which led to regional instability and civil war in Iraq and Syria. Why did consociational democracy fail? Was failure inevitable? What impact could external powers play in creating an environment where consociationalism might be successfully implemented? This book addresses these key questions and provides a comprehensive analysis of how internal and external elite relations influence the chances of a successful regulation of ethno-national conflict through power-sharing. Exploring the roles played by Syria, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States and France, it argues that external actors in the Lebanese conflict largely determined whether power-sharing was successfully established and shows that the consociational democratic model cannot provide long-term conflict regulation in their absence. The author argues that relationships between internal and external actors determine the prospects for successful conflict regulation and pinpoints the crucial role of the external forces in the creation of power-sharing agreements in Lebanon concluding that future success is dependent on the maintenance of positive, exogenous pressures. This book will be of key interest to students and scholars studying politics, international relations, and Middle East studies.
Lebanon and the Arab Uprisings: In the Eye of the Hurricane (Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series)
by Maximilian Felsch Martin WählischThe Arab uprisings have put Lebanon under increased strain. While the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt caused limited reverberations, the war in Syria echoed in the fine-tuned political and confessional balance of Lebanon. Over one million refugees, equal to one-quarter of Lebanon’s population, have moved in from Syria. The country’s economy and its already weak public infrastructure have been impacted heavily. Hizbullah’s engagement in Syria has posed questions about Lebanon’s disassociation policy. Terrorist attacks by ISIL and the growing risk of radicalization across the confessional spectrum have left the country at unease. However, Lebanon’s political elites have vowed to shield the country from regional turbulences. Lebanon recently saw a series of demonstrations because of the inability of the government to manage the garbage crisis, but it has been far from witnessing a large-scale citizen uprising similar to the 2005 Cedar Revolution or the revolts next door. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the current situation in Lebanon, and a detailed assessment of the difficulties which the country is currently facing.
Lebanon: A Country in Fragments
by Andrew ArsanLebanon seems a country in the grip of permanent crisis. In recent years it has suffered blow after blow, from Rafiq Hariri's assassination in 2005, to the 2006 July War, to the current Syrian conflict, which has brought a million refugees streaming into the country. <p><p> This is an account not just of Lebanon's high politics, with its endless rows, walk-outs, machinations and foreign alliances, but also of the politics of everyday life: all the stresses and strains the country's inhabitants face, from electricity black-outs and uncollected rubbish to stagnating wages and property bubbles. Andrew Arsan moves between parliament and the public squares where protesters gather, between luxury high-rises and refugee camps, and between expensive nightclubs and seafront promenades, providing a comprehensive view of Lebanon in the twenty-first century. <p><p> Where others have treated Lebanon's woes as exceptional, a by-product of its sectarianism and particular vulnerability to regional crises, Arsan argues that there is nothing particular about Lebanon's predicament. Rather, it is a country of the age--one of neoliberal economics, populist fervor, forced displacement, rising xenophobia, and public disillusion. Lebanon, in short, offers us a lens through which to look on our times.
Lebanon: Levantine Calvary, 1958–1990 (Cold War, 1945–1991)
by Al J. VenterWhen the world held its breath It is 25 years since the end of the Cold War, now a generation old. It began over 75 years ago, in 1944long before the last shots of the Second World War had echoed across the wastelands of Eastern Europewith the brutal Greek Civil War. The battle lines are no longer drawn, but they linger on, unwittingly or not, in conflict zones such as Iraq, Somalia and Ukraine. In an era of mass-produced AK-47s and ICBMs, one such flashpoint was the LevantIt is axiomatic that the recent history of much of the Eastern Mediterranean is linked to the creation of the state of Israel in May 1948, incontestably so. The country emerged from a series of conflicts and these have continued intermittently ever since, fuelled as much by ArabIsraeli enmity, national pride and territorial aspirations as hostile neighbours. Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt and in the latter phases, Iran were all part of it. There were rich pickings in the regions for the two great powers of the Cold War as they aligned with one side or the other, the Soviets in full support of Arab interests and the Jewish State enjoying the support of Washington. That combination not only led to several Middle Eastern wars but, as we are able to observe in todays news reports, the knock-on effect continues in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Syria especially. For much of the period under review it was Lebanon that took the brunt of it, with resident Christian, Sunni, Shiite as well as Israeli interests deploying multiple levels of force much of it clandestine to jockey for predominance. Throughout, land, sea and air forces were involved.Al Venter has devoted a good deal of his career towards covering these developments, from the early 1970s all the way through to the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1991. He has been to war with both Arab and Jew (he was with the IDF strike force headed by Ariel Sharon when he entered Beirut in 1982); spent time in Syria (visited that countrys southern front adjacent to the Golan Heights); been on combat missions with the Israeli-backed South Lebanese Army in the Druze homeland adjacent to Mount Heron and has been embedded with the Lebanese Force Command along Beiruts Green Line, where many of his photos used in this publication were taken. Venter also spent a lot of time in South Lebanon with UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, and was able to observe from up close the growing influence of the Pasdaran, Tehrans surrogate force in the region that eventually spawned Hezhollah. His last visit, in 1997, included contacts while hosted by Lebanese President General mile Lahoud with senior Iranian-supported Hezbollah elements in Beirut, one of few Western correspondents to have achieved this distinction.
Lebanon: The Politics of Frustration - The Failed Coup of 1961 (History and Society in the Islamic World)
by Adel BesharaLebanon examines the ideological, political and social underpinnings of the attempted coup against General Chihab's government in Lebanon in 1961. The author analyzes the role of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, the history of the army in Lebanon and it role in Lebanese politics and the impact of the coup on Lebanese political life. This book provides an extraordinary insight into the mechanisms of military coups in the Arab world and will be of interest to students and researchers of the history and politics of the Middle East.
Lebanon: The Politics of a Penetrated Society (The Contemporary Middle East #Vol. 6)
by Tom NajemIn a time of great political change and unrest in the Middle East, this highly topical text offers a succinct account of the contemporary political environment in Lebanon. Tom Najem provides both a developed understanding of the pre-civil war system and an analysis of how circumstances resulting from the civil war combined with essential pre-war elements to define politics in Lebanon. Systematically exploring Lebanon’s history, society and politics, the author stresses the importance of the crucial role of external actors in the Lebanese system. The analysis encompasses: the formation of the state weaknesses and dynamics of the Lebanese state the civil war post-war government and change the Lebanese economy foreign policy. Written in a clear and accessible manner, this book fills a conspicuous gap in the existing academic literature on Lebanon. It will be of interest not only to students of international politics and Middle East studies, but also to anyone travelling in or wanting to learn more about the region.
Lebanon: The Rise and Fall of a Secular State under Siege
by Mark FarhaWhy has secularism faced such challenges in the Middle East and in Lebanon in particular? In light of dominating headlines about the spread of sectarianism and the so-called death of Arab secularism, Mark Farha addresses the need for a thorough examination of the history of secular thought and practice in the region. By offering a comprehensive, systematic account of the underlying ideological, socio-economic, and political factors involved, Farha provides a new understanding of the historical roots of secularism as well as the potential causes for the continued resistance a fully deconfessionalized state faces both in Lebanon and in the region at large. Drawing on a vast corpus of primary and secondary sources to examine the varying political parties and ideologies involved, this book provides a fresh approach to the study of religion and politics in the Arab world and beyond.
Lebanon: War and Politics in a Fragmented Society
by Charles WinslowWinslow provides a comprehensive history and political analysis of Lebanon from ancient times to the present day. He focuses on the civil and sectarian strife that has characterized the country's past and contemporary history.
Leben - Teilhaben - Altwerden: Vermutungen und Gewissheiten
by Anton AmannLeben muss als Ergebnis der Evolution aufgefasst werden und menschliches Leben als die Entstehung der Art Sapiens aus der Gattung des Homo aus der Familie der Menschenaffen. Wird die Entstehung menschlichen Lebens als evolutionäre Tatsache mit der Vorstellung sozialen Lebens gekoppelt, werden wir auf die konstruktive Hervorbringung der menschlichen Lebensformen verwiesen, deren integraler Bestandteil gesellschaflichte Teilhabe ist. Teilhabe ist einerseits an die Phylogenese der Art Sapiens rückgebunden, muss andererseits aber von jedem Menschen in der Ontogenese neu erworben und praktiziert werden, wobei er auf Umwelt angewiesen ist. Teilhabe im Alter ist eine eigene Spezifikation der Bedingungen dieses Prozesses und lässt sich anhand einer Vielzahl von empirischen Befunden darstellen.
Leben und Alltag in Malaysia
by Souchou YaoMalaysia ist eine wohlhabende, sich entwickelnde Nation in Südostasien. Seine Bürger sind mit den Problemen konfrontiert, die das Leben der Menschen überall auf der Welt kennzeichnen. Diese Probleme betreffen die Familie und die wirtschaftliche Sicherheit ebenso wie die existenziellen Entscheidungen, die wir gewöhnlich mit den Bewohnern entwickelter Gesellschaften verbinden. Mit der Kunst der Ethnographie und der kulturellen Analyse des Anthropologen zeigt das Buch, wie gewöhnliche Malaysier mit den Unwägbarkeiten und der Unbeständigkeit ihrer täglichen Existenz umgehen. In einer leicht postkolonialen Geste überträgt Doing Lifework in Malaysia das Werk von Heidegger, Arendt, Camus und Sartre - den Meistern des europäischen Existenzialismus - auf eine Situation, die erkennbar aus der "Dritten Welt" stammt. Das Ergebnis ist eine Reihe eindringlicher und erhellender Essays, die ein breites Spektrum sozialer Akteure abdecken, darunter eine tamilische Hausangestellte, die Filmemacherin Jasmin Ahmed, ein malaiischer Großhändler, der zum Ökologen wurde, eine Gruppe chinesischer Händler im Landesinneren von Sarawak und eine ehemalige kommunistische Aufständische. Diese faszinierende Studie beleuchtet das malaysische Gesellschaftsleben neu und rückt dabei Themen in den Mittelpunkt, die in anderen Berichten normalerweise nicht behandelt werden: Hinduistische Verehrung als Auflehnung gegen die Tradition, Gabentausch und Globalisierung, Rassenneid und Psychoanalyse, Kleinstkapitalismus und Einsamkeit.