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The Blackboard and the Bottom Line: Why Schools Can't Be Businesses
by Larry Cuban"Ford Motor Company would not have survived the competition had it not been for an emphasis on results. We must view education the same way," the U.S. Secretary of Education declared in 2003. But is he right? In this provocative new book, Larry Cuban takes aim at the alluring cliché that schools should be more businesslike, and shows that in its long history in business-minded America, no one has shown that a business model can be successfully applied to education. In this straight-talking book, one of the most distinguished scholars in education charts the Gilded Age beginnings of the influential view that American schools should be organized to meet the needs of American businesses, and run according to principles of cost-efficiency, bottom-line thinking, and customer satisfaction. Not only are schools by their nature not businesslike, Cuban argues, but the attempt to run them along business lines leads to dangerous over-standardization--of tests, and of goals for our children. Why should we think that there is such a thing as one best school? Is "college for all" achievable--or even desirable? Even if it were possible, do we really want schools to operate as bootcamps for a workforce? Cuban suggests that the best business-inspired improvement for American education would be more consistent and sustained on-the-job worker training, tailored for the job to be done, and business leaders' encouragement--and adoption--of an ethic of civic engagement and public service.
The Blackwell Companion to Globalization (Blackwell Companions Ser.)
by George RitzerThis companion features original essays on the complexity of globalization and its diverse and sometimes conflicting effects. Written by top scholars in the field, it offers a nuanced and detailed examination of globalization that includes both positive and critical evaluations. Introduces the major players, theories, and methodologies Explores the major areas of impact, including the environment, cities, outsourcing, consumerism, global media, politics, religion, and public health Addresses the foremost concerns of global inequality, corruption, international terrorism, war, and the future of globalization Wide-ranging and comprehensive, an excellent text for undergraduate and graduate students in a range of disciplines
The Blackwell Companion to Social Work
by Martin DaviesFully revised and restructured, this fresh edition offers students and trainee social workers an incisive and authoritative introduction to the subject. As well as entirely new sections on theory and practice, the expert contributions which have shaped the companion's leading reputation have been updated and now include innovative standalone essays on social work theory.Comprehensively reworked new edition comprising six substantive sections covering essential topics for trainee social workers - in effect, six books in oneIncludes an extensive introduction and chapters by leading experts on the focus and purpose of social workProvides a unified textbook for trainees and an invaluable professional reference volumeFeatures a wealth of new material on theory and practice alongside detailed expositions of the social and psychological framework, stages in the human life cycle, and the objectives and core components of social workEach chapter lists five key points to remember, questions for discussion, and recommendations for further reading
The Blaine McCracken Novels Volume One: The Omega Command, The Alpha Deception, and The Gamma Option (The Blaine McCracken Novels)
by Jon LandThe USA Today–bestselling author&’s first three pulse-pounding thrillers featuring his heroic rogue agent—&“Nobody writes action like Jon Land&” (John Lescroart). &“Land is one of the best all-out action writers in the business,&” and his Blaine McCracken series takes the thriller genre to a whole new level (The Los Angeles Review of Books). Collected in this volume are the first three adventures of the &“no-holds-barred rogue agent&” who nukes the rulebook to save the world (Publishers Weekly). The Omega Command: A space shuttle is destroyed in flight, and the CIA recalls disgraced agent Blaine McCracken to uncover the villains who are responsible. The Alpha Deception: A space-borne superweapon rains death down on a small American town, and McCracken races to learn who pulled the trigger—before the fearsome beam turns on Washington. The Gamma Option: When his estranged son is kidnapped, McCracken goes to work for a group of Arab militants to recover the child he never knew—and bring the Middle East back from the brink of war.
The Blaine McCracken Novels Volume Three: Pandora's Temple and The Tenth Circle (The Blaine McCracken Novels)
by Jon LandBetter get McCracken! A powerhouse pair of thrillers from the USA Today–bestselling author and “one of the best all-out action writers in the business” (Los Angeles Review of Books). “Nobody writes action like Jon Land,” and his Blaine McCracken series blasts the thriller genre into another stratosphere (John Lescroart). Collected here are two action-packed adventures of the “no-holds-barred rogue agent” who nukes the rulebook to save the world (Publishers Weekly). Pandora’s Temple: Rogue special-operations agent Blaine McCracken’s only hope to save the world from an unimaginably destructive weapon is to find the mythical Pandora’s Temple. Only a few obstacles stand in his way: Mexican drug gangs, killer robots, an army of professional assassins, and a legendary sea monster. “[A] wild tsunami of a tale . . . I love this book!” —Douglas Preston “Big and bold . . . an exhilarating ride start to finish.” —John Lutz The Tenth Circle: Rev. Jeremiah Rule is about to take fire and brimstone to a whole new level as he prepares to unleash no less than the tenth circle of hell during the president’s State of the Union speech. As the clock ticks down to an unthinkable maelstrom, it’s up to McCracken to save the US from hell on earth. “[A] knockout thriller . . . that grips you by the throat and refuses to let go until the last page.” —James Rollins “One hell of a writer . . . his nonstop ticking clock tension had me turning the pages so fast they were smoldering.” —Peter James
The Blaine McCracken Novels Volume Two: The Omicron Legion and The Vengeance of the Tau (The Blaine McCracken Novels)
by Jon LandTwo knockout thrillers featuring the heroic rogue agent—from the USA Today–bestselling author and “one of the best all-out action writers in the business” (Los Angeles Review of Books). “Nobody writes action like Jon Land,” and his Blaine McCracken series blasts the thriller genre to a whole new level (John Lescroart). Collected here are the fourth and fifth adventures of the “no-holds-barred rogue agent” who nukes the rulebook to save the world (Publishers Weekly). The Omicron Legion: A mysterious league of elite assassins targets ninety-six of the most powerful people in America, and only McCracken can stop them before the murderers bring the country to its knees in Land’s “first-rate suspense thriller” (Publishers Weekly). The Vengeance of the Tau: Far beneath the sands of Alexandria in Egypt, an archaeological team digs deeper than anyone has before, seeking an ancient power older than the pyramids. What they unearth is an evil that threatens the whole world. An insidious secret organization, the Tau, attempts to harness the vicious force as part of a plan for world domination. But they didn’t count on a certain rogue American op.
The Blair Years
by Alastair CampbellA revelatory account of Tony Blair's tumultuous leadership, The Blair Years gathers extracts from the diaries of the man who knew him best: Alastair Campbell--Blair's spokesman from 1994 to 2003, his press secretary, strategist, and closest confidant. It is a compelling chronicle of contemporary British politics and the rise of New Labour, providing the first important record of a remarkable decade in Britain's history.Here are the defining events of the time, from the Labour Party's new dawn to the war on terror; from the death of Princess Diana to negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland; from Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq to the Hutton Inquiry of 2003, the year Campbell resigned his position. Here also are Blair's relationships with world leaders and heads of state, including presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. But above all, here is Tony Blair up close and personal, making the decisions that affected the lives of millions, under relentless and frequently hostile pressure. Often described as the second most powerful figure in Britain, Alastair Campbell is no stranger to controversy. Feared and admired in equal measure, hated by some, he was pivotal to the founding of New Labour and the sensational election victory of 1997. Campbell spent more waking hours alongside the prime minister than anyone, and his diaries--at times brutally frank, often funny, always engrossing--take the reader right to the heart of government.The Blair Years is a story of politics in the raw, of progress and setback, of reputations made and destroyed, under the relentless scrutiny of a 24-hour media. Unflinchingly told, it covers the crises and scandals, the rows and resignations, the ups and downs at No. 10 Downing Street. But amid the landmark events are insights and observations that make this a remarkably human portrayal of some of the most influential people in the world.A completely riveting book about life at the very top, told by a man who saw it all.From the Hardcover edition.
The Blame Game: Spin, Bureaucracy, and Self-Preservation in Government
by Christopher HoodThe blame game, with its finger-pointing and mutual buck-passing, is a familiar feature of politics and organizational life, and blame avoidance pervades government and public organizations at every level. Political and bureaucratic blame games and blame avoidance are more often condemned than analyzed. In The Blame Game, Christopher Hood takes a different approach by showing how blame avoidance shapes the workings of government and public services. Arguing that the blaming phenomenon is not all bad, Hood demonstrates that it can actually help to pin down responsibility, and he examines different kinds of blame avoidance, both positive and negative. Hood traces how the main forms of blame avoidance manifest themselves in presentational and "spin" activity, the architecture of organizations, and the shaping of standard operating routines. He analyzes the scope and limits of blame avoidance, and he considers how it plays out in old and new areas, such as those offered by the digital age of websites and e-mail. Hood assesses the effects of this behavior, from high-level problems of democratic accountability trails going cold to the frustrations of dealing with organizations whose procedures seem to ensure that no one is responsible for anything. Delving into the inner workings of complex institutions, The Blame Game proves how a better understanding of blame avoidance can improve the quality of modern governance, management, and organizational design.
The Blanqui Reader
by Peter Hallward Louis Auguste Blanqui Philippe Le GoffFirst English-language collection of writings by the legendary nineteenth-century insurrectionistLouis Auguste Blanqui (1805–1881) was one of the most important and controversial figures in nineteenth-century French revolutionary politics, and he played a major role in all of the great upheavals that punctuated his life—the insurrections of 1830, 1848 and 1870–71. Adamant that a just and egalitarian society can only be established by revolutionary means, he recognised that no insurrection can succeed if it fails to overcome the coercive resources of the state, and no revolutionary government can endure if it betrays the principles that alone earn and deserve mass support.At odds with followers of Proudhon on the one hand and of Marx on the other, Blanqui commanded unrivalled authority in French revolutionary circles during parts of his own lifetime but was quickly forgotten (if not derided) after his death. This is the first collection of Blanqui’s writings ever published in English, and it includes new and complete translations of his best-known texts: Instructions for an Armed Uprising and Eternity by the Stars. With material drawn from all his most important publications and speeches, as well as from the full sweep of his voluminous manuscripts and correspondence, this wide-ranging anthology will enable anglophone readers and political activists to arrive at their own critical assessment of Blanqui’s thought and legacy for the first time.
The Blasphemer: The Price I Paid for Rejecting Islam
by Waleed Al-HusseiniThe Infuriating Tale Of A Young Palestinian Punished For Exercising His Freedom Of Speech.Like many of his generation, Waleed Al-Husseini began a blog in his twenties. However, unlike many, Waleed also had the misfortune of having been a blogger in Palestine; worse yet, he often criticized Islam and its adherents-and declared himself an apostate-in his writings. The Palestinian Authority did not take well to this and eventually put Waleed in jail without a trial or even a wisp of legal justification. As if this was not bad enough, they placed Waleed in solitary confinement. This state of affairs continued for 11 months. Over the course of this time, Waleed was tortured and suffered innumerable indignities and deprivations simply for having the audacity to speak his mind. Eventually his unjust imprisonment began to draw international attention from foreign governments and human rights organizations, which pressured the Palestinian Authority and finally forced it to provide him a trial and parole. After being paroled, Waleed fled Palestine, first to Jordan and then to France, where he has become an outspoken advocate for freedom of speech and a critic of the state of contemporary Islam. The Blasphemer is a sobering, impassioned recounting of this Kafkaesque experience as well as a searing polemic against the corruption and hypocrisy that define contemporary Palestine.
The Blazing World and Other Writings
by Kate Lilley Margaret CavendishFlamboyant, theatrical and ambitious, Margaret Cavendish was one of the seventeenth century's most striking figures: a woman who ventured into the male spheres of politics, science, philosophy and literature. The Blazing World is a highly original work: part Utopian fiction, part feminist text, it tells of a lady shipwrecked on the Blazing World where she is made Empress and uses her power to ensure that it is free of war, religious division and unfair sexual discrimination. This volume also includes The Contract, a romance in which love and law work harmoniously together, and Assaulted and Pursued Chastity, which explores the power and freedom a woman can achieve in the disguise of a man.
The Bleeding Edge: Why Technology Turns Toxic in an Unequal World
by Bob Hughes<P>Capitalism likes us to believe in the steady, inevitable march of progress, from the abacus to the iPad. But the historical record tells of innumerable roads not taken, all of which could have led to better, more equal worlds, and still can. <P>Academic and activist Bob Hughes puts flesh on the bones of the idea that 'another world is possible', using as evidence the technology that capitalism claims as quintessentially its own: the computer in all its forms. <P>Contrary to popular belief capitalism does not do innovation well - instead suppressing or appropriating it. This book shows that great innovations have never emerged from capitalism per se, but always from the utopian moments that occur behind the capitalist's back. And when it does embrace an innovation, the results are often the diametric opposite of what the innovators intended.In this thorough and meticulous work Hughes argues that if we only prioritized equality over materialism then superior and more diverse technologies would emerge leading to a richer more sustainable world. <P>Bob Hughes is an academic, activist, and author. Formerly he taught electronic media Oxford Brookes University and now spends his time researching and campaigning against inequality. He is author of Dust or Magic, a book for digital multimedia workers, about how people "do good stuff with computers." He is a member of No One is Illegal, which campaigns for the total abolition of immigration controls, for whom he has written many articles.
The Bleeding Edge: Why Technology Turns Toxic in an Unequal World
by Bob HughesIt’s hammered into us from birth that ‘all good things come at a price’. Today, that price looks apocalyptic, with wars, exploitation and environmental collapse in every part of the globe. Some suggest that the carnage is “a price worth paying” for technological progress. No pain, no gain. But technology is precisely the business of minimising the costs and impacts of existence… and by whole orders of magnitude. By now, all human beings should be leading creative, leisure-filled lives in a pristine world of burgeoning diversity. So how did it go so wrong? In a word, inequality. In The Bleeding Edge, Bob Hughes argues that unequal societies are incapable of using new technologies well. Wherever elites exist, self-preservation decrees that they must take control of new technologies to protect and entrench their status, rather than satisfy people’s needs. Hughes pursues the latest discoveries about the effects of social inequality on human health, into the field of human environmental impact, and traces today’s ecological crisis back to the rise of the world’s first elites, 5,000 years ago. He argues that new technologies have never emerged from elites or from the clash of competitive forces, but from largely voluntary, egalitarian collaborations of the kind that produced the world’s first working computers. Finally, Hughes shows that an egalitarian world is not ‘pie in the sky' but our evolutionary homeland, the glue that holds societies together, and the “cradle of invention” from which all our best ideas emerge. The book concludes: ‘Let’s assume that the commitment to human equality that’s written into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights means exactly what it says, and take it from there.’
The Blessings of Liberty: A Concise History of the Constitution of the United States
by Michael BenedictThis concise, accessible text covers important trends and events in U.S. constitutional history, encompassing key Supreme Court and lower-court cases. The volume begins by discussing the English and colonial origins of American constitutionalism. Following an analysis of the American Revolution's meaning to constitutional history, the text traces the Constitution's evolution from the Early Republic to the present day. The Second Edition addresses the constitutional issues surrounding the impeachment of President Clinton and the Patriot Act, among other recent events.
The Blind Boss and His City: Christopher Augustine Buckley and Nineteenth-Century San Francisco
by William A. BulloughThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.
The Blind Decades
by Philippe AskenazyFrance is often described as one of the last Western economies unable to reform itself in the face of globalization. Yet its economy has not fallen by the wayside and has even resisted the great recession that began in 2008. By interlinking historical, economic, and political factors and by comparing France with other nations, this book explains the puzzle presented by the development of France. Understanding France's economy requires downplaying the usual policy injunctions--demands for less state control and less rigidity in the labor market--and instead stressing the importance of constructing a long-term industrial strategy.
The Blind Spots of Public Bureaucracy and the Politics of Non‐Coordination (Executive Politics And Governance Ser.)
by Kai Wegrich Tobias BachHow to better coordinate policies and public services across public sector organizations has been a major topic of public administration research for decades. However, few attempts have been made to connect these concerns with the growing body of research on biases and blind spots in decision-making. This book attempts to make that connection. It explores how day-to-day decision-making in public sector organizations is subject to different types of organizational attention biases that may lead to a variety of coordination problems in and between organizations, and sometimes also to major blunders and disasters. The contributions address those biases and their effects for various types of public organizations in different policy sectors and national contexts. In particular, it elaborates on blind spots, or ‘not seeing the not seeing’, and different forms of bureaucratic politics as theoretical explanations for seemingly irrational organizational behaviour. The book’s theoretical tools and empirical insights address conditions for effective coordination and problem-solving by public bureaucracies using an organizational perspective.
The Blind Spy (Anna Rensikov Ser. #3)
by Alex Dryden“Alex Dryden is a writer who can please everyone from fans of old le Carré to students of current affairs.” —James Grippando, New York Times bestselling author of Afraid of the Dark“Ex-KGB Colonel Anna Resnikov is a terrific heroine.” —Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author of Supreme Justice“Alex Dryden is the real thing. If he got any realer, he would step out of the pages and physically punch you, with both elegance and regret.”—Hugh Laurie, star of “House”An author whom the Richmond Times Dispatch calls, “the next John le Carré,” Alex Dryden returns with The Blind Spy—the third book in his critically acclaimed espionage fiction series featuring Anna Resnikov, formerly of the KGB in Moscow. One of the most intriguing female protagonists in contemporary fiction, Anna is back in the rifle sights of her former masters as she races to expose Russia’s plot to destabilize the Ukraine and retake their former territory. A story almost literally ripped from the headlines, The Blind Spy is a gripping, smart adventure that crackles with authentic modern spycraft—an absolute must-read for fans of John le Carré, Alex Berenson, Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko series, spy novel and geopolitical thriller devotees, and for any readers interested in what’s really going on in the “new Russia.”
The Blitz and its Legacy: Wartime Destruction to Post-War Reconstruction
by Peter J. LarkhamTriggered in part by contemporary experiences in the Balkans, the Middle East and elsewhere, there has been a rise in interest in the blitz and the subsequent reconstruction of cities, especially as many of the buildings and areas rebuilt after the Second World War are now facing demolition and reconstruction in their turn. Drawing together leading scholars and new researchers from across the fields of planning, history, architecture and geography, this volume presents an historical and cultural commentary on the immediate and longer-term impacts of wartime destruction. The book's contents in 14 chapters cover the spread of themes from experiencing the war to reconstruction and its experiences; and although many chapters draw upon the UK experience, there is deliberate inclusion of some material from mainland Europe and Japan to emphasise that the experiences, processes and products are not London-specific. A comparative book tracing destruction to reconstruction is a relative rarity, and yet of the utmost importance in possessing wider relevance to post-disaster reconstructions. The Blitz and Its Legacy is a fascinating volume which includes war experiences of destruction, architecture, urban design, the political process of planning and reconstruction, and also popular perceptions of rebuilding. Its findings provide very timely lessons which highlight the value of learning from historical precedent.
The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust (Information Policy)
by Kevin WerbachHow the blockchain—a system built on foundations of mutual mistrust—can become trustworthy.The blockchain entered the world on January 3, 2009, introducing an innovative new trust architecture: an environment in which users trust a system—for example, a shared ledger of information—without necessarily trusting any of its components. The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the most famous implementation of the blockchain, but hundreds of other companies have been founded and billions of dollars invested in similar applications since Bitcoin's launch. Some see the blockchain as offering more opportunities for criminal behavior than benefits to society. In this book, Kevin Werbach shows how a technology resting on foundations of mutual mistrust can become trustworthy. The blockchain, built on open software and decentralized foundations that allow anyone to participate, seems like a threat to any form of regulation. In fact, Werbach argues, law and the blockchain need each other. Blockchain systems that ignore law and governance are likely to fail, or to become outlaw technologies irrelevant to the mainstream economy. That, Werbach cautions, would be a tragic waste of potential. If, however, we recognize the blockchain as a kind of legal technology that shapes behavior in new ways, it can be harnessed to create tremendous business and social value.
The Blood Bankers: Tales from the Global Underground Economy
by James S. Henry Foreword by Senator Bill BradleyLike tentacles on a vast octopus, the firsthand investigations in The Blood Bankers all lead to one core. A financial detective of sorts, investigative journalist Jim Henry analyzes a range of scandals, including the looting of the Philippines by the Marcos family and the financial collapse of nations throughout the developing world. A rogues' gallery of international criminals owes its existence to the dramatic growth of the underground global economy over the last two decades. Our world is being reshaped, often in sinister fashion, by wide open capital markets and an international banking network that exists to launder hundreds of billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains. Here is an inside look at globalization's dark side--the new high growth global markets for influence-peddling, capital flight, money laundering, weapons, drugs, tax evasion, child labor, illegal immigration, and other forms of transnational crime.
The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide
by Gary J. BassA riveting history--the first full account--of the involvement of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in the 1971 atrocities in Bangladesh that led to war between India and Pakistan, shaped the fate of Asia, and left in their wake a host of major strategic consequences for the world today.Giving an astonishing inside view of how the White House really works in a crisis, The Blood Telegram is an unprecedented chronicle of a pivotal but little-known chapter of the Cold War. Gary J. Bass shows how Nixon and Kissinger supported Pakistan's military dictatorship as it brutally quashed the results of a historic free election. The Pakistani army launched a crackdown on what was then East Pakistan (today an independent Bangladesh), killing hundreds of thousands of people and sending ten million refugees fleeing to India--one of the worst humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Nixon and Kissinger, unswayed by detailed warnings of genocide from American diplomats witnessing the bloodshed, stood behind Pakistan's military rulers. Driven not just by Cold War realpolitik but by a bitter personal dislike of India and its leader Indira Gandhi, Nixon and Kissinger actively helped the Pakistani government even as it careened toward a devastating war against India. They silenced American officials who dared to speak up, secretly encouraged China to mass troops on the Indian border, and illegally supplied weapons to the Pakistani military--an overlooked scandal that presages Watergate. Drawing on previously unheard White House tapes, recently declassified documents, and extensive interviews with White House staffers and Indian military leaders, The Blood Telegram tells this thrilling, shadowy story in full. Bringing us into the drama of a crisis exploding into war, Bass follows reporters, consuls, and guerrilla warriors on the ground--from the desperate refugee camps to the most secretive conversations in the Oval Office. Bass makes clear how the United States' embrace of the military dictatorship in Islamabad would mold Asia's destiny for decades, and confronts for the first time Nixon and Kissinger's hidden role in a tragedy that was far bloodier than Bosnia. This is a revelatory, compulsively readable work of politics, personalities, military confrontation, and Cold War brinksmanship.
The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East
by Jimmy CarterSince his earliest days in the White House, Jimmy Carter has demonstrated an untiring passion for pursuing peace in the Middle East. His formation of the Carter Center and his continuing prominent role in world affairs has done nothing to dampen that passion. In this new edition with an updated afterword and chronology, President Carter demystifies the history of the political expectations of each nation in the Middle East, the reasons for their different goals, and the nature of their prime concerns. His landmark study provides an enlightened and reconciling vision for all--Jews, Muslims, and Christians--who share the blood of Abraham.
The Blood of Government
by Paul A. KramerIn 1899 the United States, having announced its arrival as a world power during the Spanish-Cuban-American War, inaugurated a brutal war of imperial conquest against the Philippine Republic. Over the next five decades, U.S. imperialists justified their colonial empire by crafting novel racial ideologies adapted to new realities of collaboration and anticolonial resistance. In this pathbreaking, transnational study, Paul A. Kramer reveals how racial politics served U.S. empire, and how empire-building in turn transformed ideas of race and nation in both the United States and the Philippines.Kramer argues that Philippine-American colonial history was characterized by struggles over sovereignty and recognition. In the wake of a racial-exterminist war, U.S. colonialists, in dialogue with Filipino elites, divided the Philippine population into "civilized" Christians and "savage" animists and Muslims. The former were subjected to a calibrated colonialism that gradually extended them self-government as they demonstrated their "capacities." The latter were governed first by Americans, then by Christian Filipinos who had proven themselves worthy of shouldering the "white man's burden." Ultimately, however, this racial vision of imperial nation-building collided with U.S. nativist efforts to insulate the United States from its colonies, even at the cost of Philippine independence. Kramer provides an innovative account of the global transformations of race and the centrality of empire to twentieth-century U.S. and Philippine histories.
The Blood of Guatemala: A History of Race and Nation
by Greg GrandinOver the latter half of the twentieth century, the Guatemalan state slaughtered more than two hundred thousand of its citizens. In the wake of this violence, a vibrant pan-Mayan movement has emerged, one that is challenging Ladino (non-indigenous) notions of citizenship and national identity. In The Blood of Guatemala Greg Grandin locates the origins of this ethnic resurgence within the social processes of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century state formation rather than in the ruins of the national project of recent decades. Focusing on Mayan elites in the community of Quetzaltenango, Grandin shows how their efforts to maintain authority over the indigenous population and secure political power in relation to non-Indians played a crucial role in the formation of the Guatemalan nation. To explore the close connection between nationalism, state power, ethnic identity, and political violence, Grandin draws on sources as diverse as photographs, public rituals, oral testimony, literature, and a collection of previously untapped documents written during the nineteenth century. He explains how the cultural anxiety brought about by Guatemala's transition to coffee capitalism during this period led Mayan patriarchs to develop understandings of race and nation that were contrary to Ladino notions of assimilation and progress. This alternative national vision, however, could not take hold in a country plagued by class and ethnic divisions. In the years prior to the 1954 coup, class conflict became impossible to contain as the elites violently opposed land claims made by indigenous peasants. This "history of power" reconsiders the way scholars understand the history of Guatemala and will be relevant to those studying nation building and indigenous communities across Latin America.