Other books that might interest you

• 

  Through the Perilous Fight - Six...

  Steve Vogel

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  In the summer of 1814, the United States of America teetered on the brink of disaster. The war it had declared against Great Britain two years earlier appeared headed toward inglorious American defeat. The young nation's most implacable nemesis, the ruthless British admiral George Cockburn, launched an invasion of Washington in a daring attempt to decapitate the government and crush the American spirit. The British succeeded spectacularly, burning down most of the city's landmarks—including the White House and the Capitol—and driving President James Madison from the area. As looters ransacked federal buildings and panic gripped the citizens of Washington, beleaguered American forces were forced to regroup for a last-ditch defense of Baltimore. The outcome of that "perilous fight" would help change the outcome of the war—and with it, the fate of the fledgling American republic. 
    
  In a fast-paced, character-driven narrative, Steve Vogel tells the story of this titanic struggle from the perspective of both sides. Like an epic novel, Through the Perilous Fight abounds with heroes, villains, and astounding feats of derring-do. The vindictive Cockburn emerges from these pages as a pioneer in the art of total warfare, ordering his men to "knock down, burn, and destroy" everything in their path. While President Madison dithers on how to protect the capital, Secretary of State James Monroe personally organizes the American defenses, with disastrous results. Meanwhile, a prominent Washington lawyer named Francis Scott Key embarks on a mission of mercy to negotiate the release of an American prisoner. His journey will place him with the British fleet during the climactic Battle for Baltimore, and culminate in the creation of one of the most enduring compositions in the annals of patriotic song: "The Star-Spangled Banner." 
    
  Like Pearl Harbor or 9/11, the burning of Washington was a devastating national tragedy that ultimately united America and renewed its sense of purpose. Through the Perilous Fight combines bravura storytelling with brilliantly rendered character sketches to recreate the thrilling six-week period when Americans rallied from the ashes to overcome their oldest adversary—and win themselves a new birth of freedom.

  Show book

• 

  Scotland's Referendum - A Guide...

  David Torrance

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  On 18 September 2014, everyone in Scotland aged 16 or over will be asked the question: 'Should Scotland Be An Independent Country? 'As the referendum approaches, the debates over whether or not Scotland should be an independent country are becoming more heated. This guide, produced by respected Scottish journalists and authors, Jamie Maxwell and David Torrance, covers everything you need to know in advance of deciding which way to vote. Maxwell and Torrance summarise the main arguments for and against before delving into the central issues at the heart of the debate, including economics, welfare and pensions, defence and foreign affairs, and culture and national identity. They outline the way that Scotland is currently governed and review where the parties stand on the debate before concluding with speculative chapters on what happens after the vote, whether YES or NO. The referendum on 18 September 2014 is the most significant democratic event in Scotland's history. Get engaged. Be informed. Whatever you do, don't NOT vote!

  Show book

• 

  When Left Moves Right - The...

  Maria Snegovaya

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Over the past two decades, postcommunist countries have witnessed a sudden shift in the electoral fortunes of their political parties: previously successful center-left parties suffered dramatic electoral defeats and disappeared from the political scene, while right-wing populist parties soared in popularity and came to power. This dynamic echoed similar processes in Western Europe and raises a question: Were these dynamics in any way connected? When Right Moves Left argues that they were. And that the root of the connection between them lies in the pro-market rebranding of the ex-communist left—the key explanatory variable. This book asserts that, though the left's pro-market shift initially led to electoral rewards, it had a less straightforward impact on left-wing parties' electoral fortunes in the long run. 
   
   
   
  The book draws upon different levels of analysis: cross-country observational data, case studies, and individual-level experimental surveys. It argues that scholars should incorporate the economic policy dimension when explaining the demise of the left and the rise of the populist right in the region. It also examines important parallels between the dynamics of Western and postcommunist countries by arguing that the idiosyncrasy of Eastern European politics has been overstated in scholarly literature.

  Show book

• 

  The Ugandan Tales

  Victor Rumanyika

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  "The Ugandan Tales" is set in Uganda and about the struggles of ordinary Africans against post independence African rulers that preach freedom and emancipation but have turned into oppressors.  This collection of poetry dives deep into topics of police brutality, social injustices, and oppression through the landscape of the tortured cities. Ordinary people seek to reassert their rights against an intransigent regime that is determined to keep them oppressed. The poems chronicle everyday struggles that are faced at the hands of fellow Africans masquerading as Pan Africanists. Through peaceful and non violent means, a new generation of people is now taking a stand against social, political and economic segregation.

  Show book

• 

  The Education of John Adams

  R.B. Bernstein

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The Education of John Adams is the first biography of John Adams by a biographer with legal training. It examines his origins in colonial Massachusetts, his education, and his struggle to choose a career and define a place for himself in colonial society. It explores the flowering of his legal career and the impact that law had on him and his understanding of himself; his growing involvement with the American Revolution as polemicist, as lawyer, as congressional delegate, and as diplomat; and his commitment to defining and expounding ideas about constitutionalism and how it should work as the body of ideas shaping the new United States. 
   
   
   
  The book traces his part in launching the government of the United States under the US Constitution; his service as the nation's first vice president and second president; and his retirement years, during which he was first a vexed and rejected ex-president and then became the revered Sage of Braintree. It describes the relationships that sustained him—with his wife, the brilliant and eloquent Abigail Adams; with his children; with such allies and supporters as Benjamin Rush and John Marshall; with such sometime friends and sometime adversaries as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson; and with such foes as Alexander Hamilton and Timothy Pickering.

  Show book

• 

  The Revolution Where You Live -...

  Sarah van Gelder, Danny Glover

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  YES! Magazine cofounder Sarah van Gelder sends dispatches from an eighteen-state journey across America, describing how people abandoned by big national institutions are developing creative community-based solutions to environmental and social problems. 
   
   
  YES! Magazine cofounder Sarah van Gelder was worried about the current state of American society. Environmental destruction, growing poverty, urban decay, rural decline-it's a long list. Can we turn this around, she wondered? Are there answers we haven't found yet? She confided her fears to a friend, who said to her, "If the universe could deploy the one small person that is you, what would it have you do?" Her answer surprised them both: "I'd go out traveling and see for myself." 
   
  So driving a twelve-year-old Toyota pickup truck with a tiny camper hand-painted by a Suquamish artist, van Gelder visited eighteen states and five Indian reservations, big cities and small towns. She wanted to meet people at the margins of society who were the least embedded in the big institutions that reward status quo thinking. 
   
  She came away believing that a profound change is sweeping the country. She went to all kinds of places and met all kinds of people who were dealing with very different problems, but what united them all was best summed up by a phrase she saw on a mural in Newark: "We the People LOVE This Place." Through the connection we each have to place-our physical and ecological place and also the human community-we are creating a new America.

  Show book