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A Road to Nowhere: The Idea of Progress and Its Critics
by Matthew W. SlabochSince the Enlightenment, the idea of progress has spanned right- and left-wing politics, secular and spiritual philosophy, and most every school of art or culture. The belief that humans are capable of making lasting improvements—intellectual, scientific, material, moral, and cultural—continues to be a commonplace of our age. However, events of the preceding century, including but not limited to two world wars, conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, the spread of communism across Eastern Europe and parts of Asia, violent nationalism in the Balkans, and genocides in Cambodia and Rwanda, have called into question this faith in the continued advancement of humankind.In A Road to Nowhere, Matthew W. Slaboch argues that political theorists should entertain the possibility that long-term, continued progress may be more fiction than reality. He examines the work of German philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer and Oswald Spengler, Russian novelists Leo Tolstoy and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and American historians Henry Adams and Christopher Lasch—rare skeptics of the idea of progress who have much to engage political theory, a field dominated by historical optimists. Looking at the figures of Schopenhauer, Tolstoy, and Adams, Slaboch considers the ways in which they defined progress and their reasons for doubting that their cultures, or the world, were progressing. He compares Germany, Russia, and the United States to illustrate how these nineteenth-century critics of the idea of progress contributed to or helped forestall the emergence of forms of government that came to be associated with each country: fascism, communism, and democratic capitalism, respectively.Turning to Spengler, Solzhenitsyn, and Lasch, Slaboch explores the contemporary relevance of the critique of progress and the arguments for and against political engagement in the face of uncertain improvement, one-way inevitable decline, or unending cycles of advancement and decay. A Road to Nowhere concludes that these notable naysayers were not mere defeatists and presents their varied prescriptions for individual and social action.
The Road to Omaha
by Robert Ludlum"A very funny book... no character is minor: they're all hilarious." --Houston Chronicle. In The Road To Gandolfo, Robert Ludlum introduced us to the outrageous General MacKenzie Hawkins and his legal wizard, Sam Devereaux, whose plot to kidnap the Pope spun wildly out of control into sheer hilarity. Now Ludlum's two wayward heroes return with a diabolical scheme to right a very old wrong -- and wreak vengeance on the (expletive deleted) who drummed the hawk out of the military. Their outraged opposition will be no less than the White House. Byzantine Treachery. Discovering a long-buried 1878 treaty with an obscure Indian tribe, the hawk -- a.k.a. Chief Thunder Head -- hatches a brilliant plot that will ultimately bring him and his reluctant lawyer Sam before the Supreme Court. Their goal: to reclaim a choice piece of American real estate -- the state of Nebraska. Which just happened to the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Air Command! Will they succeed against the powers that be? Will the Wopotami tribe ever have their day in the Supreme Court? From the Oval Office to the Pentagon, all the president's men are outfitted, until it rests with CIA Director Vincent "Vinnie the Bam-Bam" Mangecavallo to cut Sam and Hawk off at the pass. And only one thing is certain: Robert Ludlum will keep us in nonstop suspense and side-splitting laughter--through the very last page. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity.
The Road to Oran: Anglo-French Naval Relations, September 1939-July 1940 (Cass Series: Naval Policy And History Ser.)
by David BrownOn 3 July 1940, soon after the collapse of the French front and France's request for an armistice, a reluctant Royal Navy commander opened fire on the French Navy squadron at Mers-el-Kebir. Some 1,300 French sailors lost their lives.The late David Brown's detailed account finally conveys an objective understanding of the course of events that led u
The Road to Pearl Harbor: The Coming of the War Between the United States and Japan
by Herbert FeisThese works are now made available through an environmentally friendly, print-on-demand basis, using only what is necessary to meet the required demands of an interested public. We invite you to learn of the records of the U.S. Government, heightening the knowledge and debate that can lead from such publications.
Road to Redemption: The Liberal Party of Canada 2006-2019
by Brooke JeffreyDespite being described as the most successful political party in any western democracy, the Liberal Party of Canada experienced its worst electoral defeat in 2011. Reduced to third-party status, the Liberal Party of Canada was seen by some experts as a spent force doomed to disappear from the Canadian political scene. And yet, just four years later, the party surged ahead once more, winning one of the most decisive elections in Canadian history. Road to Redemption offers a detailed exploration of this stunning reversal. It begins by outlining weaknesses in the party’s organization and culture, weaknesses that existed long before the 2011 rout but were ignored while the party continued to win elections. Finally brought to light by the disastrous 2011 electoral campaign, these weaknesses were then systematically tackled by party elites and activists in a concerted effort to rebuild and restructure the party. Their efforts culminated in the state-of-the-art campaigns run by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in 2015 and 2019. Brooke Jeffrey argues that the remarkable turnaround of 2015 confirms the Liberal Party’s exceptional ability to redefine itself and adapt to changing circumstances, a singular strength and the principal reason for the party’s enduring appeal. Despite being reduced to a minority government in 2019, Jeffrey concludes that the Liberal Party and leader Justin Trudeau can take advantage of this second chance to further strengthen and consolidate the party’s position for years to come.
Road to Rust: The Disintegration of the Steel Industry in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio
by Dale Richard PerelmanThe author of Steel tells the story of strikes and violent unrest amid the mines and mills of twentieth-century Pennsylvania and Ohio—includes photos. As the twentieth century dawned on western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, the region&’s steel industry faced a struggle for unionism. The industry was plagued by disasters that killed and maimed countless workers, many of them impoverished immigrants from Ireland, Hungary, and other nations—in 1906 alone, more than four hundred workers died in steel plant accidents. In response, unionists like Philip Murray, John L. Lewis, Samuel Gompers, and Gus Hall began to battle for fair wages, hours, and working conditions. Managers like Judge Elbert Gary and Tom Girdler opposed their every move. Tensions from issues of immigration, class, skill, and race erupted throughout the industry. The tribulations led to widespread steel strikes directed by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, and a war that killed scores and injured thousands. In this book, industrial relations expert Dale Richard Perelman charts the struggle and decline of the nation&’s most prominent regional steel industry.
The Road to Seneca Falls: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman's Rights Convention
by Judith WellmanIn the summer of 1848 some 300 women and men gathered in a church in the New York town of Seneca Falls and passed a series of resolutions pertaining to the rights of women. Among them was the radical idea that women should be allowed to vote, proposed by the main organizer of the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This book examines the factors that led up to the convention, woven together with the story of Cady Stanton's life.
The Road to Serfdom: Text and Documents (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek, Volume 2)
by Bruce Caldwell Friedrich A. HayekAn unimpeachable classic work in political philosophy, intellectual and cultural history, and economics,The Road to Serfdom has inspired and infuriated politicians, scholars, and general readers for half a century. Originally published in 1944--when Eleanor Roosevelt supported the efforts of Stalin, and Albert Einstein subscribed lock, stock, and barrel to the socialist program--The Road to Serfdom was seen as heretical for its passionate warning against the dangers of state control over the means of production. For F. A. Hayek, the collectivist idea of empowering government with increasing economic control would lead not to a utopia but to the horrors of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
The Road to Social Europe: A Contemporary Approach to Political Cultures and Diversity in Europe (Studies in European Sociology)
by Jean-Claude BarbierIn the wake of the Greek and Irish crises, and at a moment when solidarity between states is hotly debated on a daily basis at EU level, it is important to understand how ‘solidarity’ can happen at all. The Road to Social Europe reviews the development of political cultural processes since the nineteenth century, showing how social protection and social justice have gradually become interwoven with systems of social protection, or welfare states. Grounded on extensive empirical research conducted in many EU countries and in the European Commission’s administration over twenty years, the book provides a cultural analysis of welfare systems in Europe. It also presents an original enquiry into the importance of languages for politics in Europe, for the politics of welfare, and for sociological research. It shows how sociological and ethnographic analysis can help in understanding the current and future challenges of European integration that rely unilaterally on functional economics. This in-depth sociological analysis of European diversity will appeal to a wide audience of students and scholars of sociology, political science, political economy and European studies.
The Road to the White House 2008
by Stephen WayneStephen Wayne, a leading scholar of presidential electoral politics, describes and analyzes the crucial politics, procedures, and strategies behind campaign finance, media relations, nominating politics, and the politics and meaning of the general election.
The Road to Unafraid: How The Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear And Found Courage Through Black Hawk Down And Beyond
by Jeff Struecker Dean MerrillJeff Struecker, a "Black Hawk Down" hero, the Army's Top Ranger, now an Army Chaplain, relates his own tales from the frontlines of every U.S. initiative since Panama, and tells how God taught him faith from the front in fear-soaked times. As readers go on-mission with Struecker through his harrowing tales, they will learn how to face their own fears with faith in a mighty God. Just as he told one of his charges in Mogadishu: "The difference between being a coward and a hero is not whether you're scared, it's what you do while you're scared."
The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America
by Timothy SnyderNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of On Tyranny comes a stunning new chronicle of the rise of authoritarianism from Russia to Europe and America.&“A brilliant analysis of our time.&”—Karl Ove Knausgaard, The New YorkerWith the end of the Cold War, the victory of liberal democracy seemed final. Observers declared the end of history, confident in a peaceful, globalized future. This faith was misplaced. Authoritarianism returned to Russia, as Vladimir Putin found fascist ideas that could be used to justify rule by the wealthy. In the 2010s, it has spread from east to west, aided by Russian warfare in Ukraine and cyberwar in Europe and the United States. Russia found allies among nationalists, oligarchs, and radicals everywhere, and its drive to dissolve Western institutions, states, and values found resonance within the West itself. The rise of populism, the British vote against the EU, and the election of Donald Trump were all Russian goals, but their achievement reveals the vulnerability of Western societies.In this forceful and unsparing work of contemporary history, based on vast research as well as personal reporting, Snyder goes beyond the headlines to expose the true nature of the threat to democracy and law. To understand the challenge is to see, and perhaps renew, the fundamental political virtues offered by tradition and demanded by the future. By revealing the stark choices before us--between equality or oligarchy, individuality or totality, truth and falsehood--Snyder restores our understanding of the basis of our way of life, offering a way forward in a time of terrible uncertainty.
The Road to War
by Marvin KalbNot since Pearl Harbor has an American president gone to Congress to request a declaration of war. Nevertheless, since then, one president after another, from Truman to Obama, has ordered American troops into wars all over the world. From Korea to Vietnam, Panama to Grenada, Lebanon to Bosnia, Afghanistan to Iraq-why have presidents sidestepped declarations of war? Marvin Kalb, former chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS and NBC News, explores this key question in his thirteenth book about the presidency and U.S. foreign policy.Instead of a declaration of war, presidents have justified their war-making powers by citing "commitments," private and public, made by former presidents. Many of these commitments have been honored, but some betrayed. Surprisingly, given the tight U.S.-Israeli relationship, Israeli leaders feel that at times they have been betrayed by American presidents. Is it time for a negotiated defense treaty between the United States and Israel as a way of substituting for a string of secret presidential commitments?From Israel to Vietnam, presidential commitments have proven to be tricky and dangerous. For example, one president after another committed the United States to the defense of South Vietnam, often without explanation. Over the years, these commitments mushroomed into national policy, leading to a war costing 58,000 American lives. Few in Congress or the media chose to question the war's provenance or legitimacy, until it was too late. No president saw the need for a declaration of war, considering one to be old-fashioned.The word of a president can morph into a national commitment. It can become the functional equivalent of a declaration of war. Therefore, whenever a president "commits"the United States to a policy or course of action with, or increasingly without, congressional approval, watch out-the White House may be setting the nation on a road toward war. The Road to War was a 2013 Foreword Reviews honorable mention in the subject of War & Military.
The Road to War
by Marvin KalbNot since Pearl Harbor has an American president gone to Congress to request a declaration of war. Nevertheless, since then, one president after another, from Truman to Obama, has ordered American troops into wars all over the world. From Korea to Vietnam, Panama to Grenada, Lebanon to Bosnia, Afghanistan to Iraq--why have presidents sidestepped declarations of war? Marvin Kalb, former chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS and NBC News, explores this key question in his thirteenth book about the presidency and U.S. foreign policy.Instead of a declaration of war, presidents have justified their war-making powers by citing "commitments," private and public, made by former presidents. Many of these commitments have been honored, but some betrayed. Surprisingly, given the tight U.S.-Israeli relationship, Israeli leaders feel that at times they have been betrayed by American presidents. Is it time for a negotiated defense treaty between the United States and Israel as a way of substituting for a string of secret presidential commitments?From Israel to Vietnam, presidential commitments have proven to be tricky and dangerous. For example, one president after another committed the United States to the defense of South Vietnam, often without explanation. Over the years, these commitments mushroomed into national policy, leading to a war costing 58,000 American lives. Few in Congress or the media chose to question the war's provenance or legitimacy, until it was too late. No president saw the need for a declaration of war, considering one to be old-fashioned.The word of a president can morph into a national commitment. It can become the functional equivalent of a declaration of war. Therefore, whenever a president "commits"the United States to a policy or course of action with, or increasingly without, congressional approval, watch out--the White House may be setting the nation on a road toward war.
The Road To War
by Martin ShipwayHow did France become embroiled in Vietnam, in the first of long wars of decolonization? And why did the French colonial administration, in late 1946, having negotiated with Ho Chi Minh for a year, adopt a warlike stance towards Ho's régime which ran counter to the liberal colonial doctrine of liberated France? Based on French archival sources, almost all of them previously unavailable to the English-speaking reader, the author assesses the policy that emerged from the 1944 Brazzaville conference; and the doomed attempt to apply that policy in Indo-China.
The Road to Wigan Pier (Essential Gothic, SF & Dark Fantasy)
by George OrwellA new edition of Orwell's early work, showing the origins of his commitment to social justice.A new edition of Orwell's early account of bleak working class life in the industrial culture of Yorkshire and Lancashire, which revealed the distinctions between the upper classes of the British Empire and the reality of the people who worked in the factories to drive wealth and prosperity for others, never to get a share for themselves. Published while Orwell was in Spain, the book highlights the political philosophy that led him to fight for the leftist forces in the Civil War.
The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited
by Stephen ArmstrongYou think that the recession isn't biting? Look again. You think that the riots in August 2011 were unpredicted? Think again. 75 years after George Orwell's classic expose on life in the North, Stephen Armstrong returns to find that many things have changed, but not always for the better. Here he finds how young girls go missing because of the intransigence of the benefits systems, how fragile hope can be in the face of poverty and why the government stands in the way of a community helping itself. In his journey, taking in Bradford, Sheffield, Liverpool and Wigan, Armstrong reveals a society at the end of its tether, abandoned by all those who speak in its name.
The Road to Wigan Pier Revisited
by Stephen ArmstrongYou think that the recession isn't biting? Look again. You think that the riots in August 2011 were unpredicted? Think again. 75 years after George Orwell's classic expose on life in the North, Stephen Armstrong returns to find that many things have changed, but not always for the better. Here he finds how young girls go missing because of the intransigence of the benefits systems, how fragile hope can be in the face of poverty and why the government stands in the way of a community helping itself. In his journey, taking in Bradford, Sheffield, Liverpool and Wigan, Armstrong reveals a society at the end of its tether, abandoned by all those who speak in its name.
The Road Towards DemocraCity: A Creative Approach to Transition in a Post-Development Based Society
by Marco CarceaThis book discusses the challenges faced by the homo resaliens and his need for a transition to a more sustainable social, economic, and environmental system. It fills a gap in the existing literature and provides a new perspective by changing the etymology of the word resilience: no more resiliere, but resalio. By comparing and analysing the relevant literature, the author has coined the term homo resaliens (resilient man), in contrast to the failure of the homo oeconomicus, the corruption of the homo politicus, the incompleteness of homo sustinens, and the limits of homo ecologicus. Opening a new debate in which the role of academia and res publica are fundamental to safeguard human communities and future generations, this book will greatly assist governments that wish to understand the socio-political and economic implication of resilience in terms of social inclusiveness and long term social and environmental sustainability.
A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State
by Meredith Tax"This is the book I've been waiting for-only it's richer, deeper, and more intriguing than I could have imagined. A Road Unforeseen is a major contribution to our understanding of feminism and Islam, of women and the world, and gives me fresh hope for change." -Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed and Living With a Wild GodIn war-torn northern Syria, a democratic society-based on secularism, ethnic inclusiveness, and gender equality-has won significant victories against the Islamic State, or Daesh, with women on the front lines as fierce warriors and leaders.A Road Unforeseen recounts the dramatic, underreported history of the Rojava Kurds, whose all-women militia was instrumental in the perilous mountaintop rescue of tens of thousands of civilians besieged in Iraq. Up to that point, the Islamic State had seemed invincible. Yet these women helped vanquish them, bringing the first half of the refugees to safety within twenty-four hours.Who are the revolutionary women of Rojava and what lessons can we learn from their heroic story? How does their political philosophy differ from that of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Islamic State, and Turkey? And will the politics of the twenty-first century be shaped by the opposition between these political models?Meredith Tax is a writer and political activist. Author, most recently, of Double Bind: The Muslim Right, the Anglo-American Left, and Universal Human Rights, she was founding president of Women's WORLD, a global free speech network of feminist writers, and cofounder of the PEN American Center's Women's Committee and the International PEN Women Writers' Committee. She is currently international board chair of the Centre for Secular Space and lives in New York.
Road Vehicle Automation 7 (Lecture Notes in Mobility)
by Gereon Meyer Sven BeikerThis book is the seventh volume of a sub-series on Road Vehicle Automation, published as part of the Lecture Notes in Mobility. Written by researchers, engineers and analysts from around the globe, the contributions are based on oral and poster presentations from the Automated Vehicles Symposium (AVS) 2019, held on July 15–18, 2019, in Orlando, Florida, USA. The book explores public sector activities, human factors aspects, vehicle systems and other related technological developments, as well as transportation infrastructure planning, which are expect to foster and support road vehicle automation.
Road Work: Among Tyrants, Heroes, Rogues, and Beasts
by Mark Bowden“Painstakingly reported stories about losers, oddballs and con men” from the #1 New York Times–bestselling journalist (The New York Times Book Review). From the author of Black Hawk Down comes a riveting collection of the most diverse and far-reaching of Mark Bowden’s award-winning nonfiction—“with fascinating features on Norman Mailer, the war against terror, and even a Philadelphia Zoo gorilla, Bowden’s range is broad” (Entertainment Weekly). Whether traveling to Rhode Island where one of the largest cocaine rings in history is uncovered, or to the Luangwa Valley in Zambia where anti-poachers fight to save the black rhino, Bowden takes us down rough roads previously off-limits: the top-secret world of Guantanamo Bay; Saddam Hussein’s post 9/11 days on the run; a pimp’s inside track on police corruption in Philadelphia; and Al Sharpton’s campaign trail. Bowden also invites readers along to meet a small-town high school football team, farmers who make bras for cows, the Rocky Balboa statue in Philadelphia, and on an inspiring trip to Disney World with a wide-eyed group of terminally ill children. In Road Work, Mark Bowden “fashion[s] prose that reads like good fiction, with the bonus that his stories are true” (The New York Times Book Review). “Astute character reading and solid research combine with ingenious and stylish prose: a superior portfolio from a journalist who stays at the top of his game.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Bowden is unlike any other journalist . . . Superb reporting, a fine mind conceiving the story line, and a compelling writing style lead to something approaching immortality.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Roadblock Politics: The Origins of Violence in Central Africa
by Peer SchoutenThere are so many roadblocks in Central Africa that it is hard to find a road that does not have one. Based on research in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR), Peer Schouten maps more than a thousand of these roadblocks to show how communities, rebels and state security forces forge resistance and power out of control over these narrow points of passage. Schouten reveals the connections between these roadblocks in Central Africa and global supply chains, tracking the flow of multinational corporations and UN agencies alike through them, to show how they encapsulate a form of power, which thrives under conditions of supply chain capitalism. In doing so, he develops a new lens through which to understand what drives state formation and conflict in the region, offering a radical alternative to explanations that foreground control over minerals, territory or population as key drivers of Central Africa's violent history.
Roadblocks to the Socialist Modernization Path and Transition: Evidence from East Germany and Poland (Studies in Economic Transition)
by Jutta Günther Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast Udo Ludwig Hans-Jürgen WagenerThis open access book examines how different economic systems impacted the development of East Germany and Poland. Through comparing these countries while they were centrally planned socialist economies with the periods when they transitioned to capitalism, the inability of socialist economies to modernize effectively and produce sustained economic growth is highlighted. Particular attention is given the role of technological progress in economic growth, peculiar institutions, the creation and transfer of knowledge, and post-socialist transformations. The book presents a detailed analysis of the barriers to modernization and growth implied by Soviet-type state socialism and the differences and similarities between the transition of East Germany and Poland to capitalist market economies. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in comparative systems and the political economy.
Roadless Rules: The Struggle for the Last Wild Forests
by Tom TurnerRoadless Rules is a fast-paced and insightful look at one of the most important, wide-ranging, and controversial efforts to protect public forests ever undertaken in the United States. In January 2000, President Clinton submitted to the Federal Register the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, prohibiting road construction and timberharvesting in designated roadless areas. Set to take effect sixty days after Clinton left office, the rule was immediately challenged by nine lawsuits from states, counties, off-road-vehicle users, and timber companies. The Bush administration refused to defend the rule and eventually sought to replace it with a rule that invited governors to suggest management policies for forests in their states. That rule was attacked by four states and twenty environmental groups and declared illegal. Roadless Rules offers a fascinating overview of the creation of the Clinton roadless rule and the Bush administration's subsequent replacement rule, the controversy generated, the response of the environmental community, and the legal battles that continue to rage more than seven years later. It explores the value of roadless areas and why the Clinton rule was so important to environmentalists, describes the stakeholder groups involved, and takes readers into courtrooms across the country to hear critical arguments. Author Tom Turner considers the lessons learned from the controversy, arguing that the episode represents an excellent example of how the system can work when all elements of the environmental movement work together--local groups and individuals determined to save favorite places, national organizations that represent local interests but also concern themselves with national policies, members of the executive branch who try to serve the public interest but need support from outside, and national organizations that use the legal system to support progress achieved through legislation or executive action.