Other books that might interest you

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  Reagan at Reykjavik -...

  Ken Adelman

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  A dramatic account of the Cold War’s turning point, the 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Iceland, by a key player in that weekend’s world-changing events. 
   
  In October 1986, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met for a forty-eight-hour summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Planned as a short gathering to outline future talks, the meeting quickly turned to major international issues, including the Strategic Defensive Initiative (“Star Wars”) and the possibility of eliminating all nuclear weapons. Both men were at the height of their powers, and they had a rare opportunity to move toward peace. The meeting led to negotiations and concessions that neither side had predicted—and laid the groundwork for the most sweeping arms accord in history, adopted the following year, and the end of the Soviet Union a half decade later. 
   
  From his position as a participant in these historic events, Ken Adelman, Regan’s arms control director, is able to reveal the motivations, relationships, and conversations that led to the summit’s breakthroughs. His analysis as both a participant and historian provides an invaluable perspective on this uniquely significant episode. 
   
  Scrupulously researched and based on now-declassified documents, Reagan at Reykjavik tells the gripping tale of the weekend that changed the world. Adelman provides an honest, laser-etched portrait of President Reagan at one of his finest and most challenging moments—and, indisputably, one of the most significant triumphs of his presidency.

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  Recessional - The Death of Free...

  David Mamet

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  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! 
  “Savagery appeased can only grow. Once you give in to it, it must escalate, like a fire searching for air.” 
  The man who won the Pulitzer Prize for GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, who wrote the classic films THE VERDICT and WAG THE DOG sounds his alarm about the Visigoths at our gates. 
  In RECESSIONAL he calls out, skewers, mocks, and, most importantly, dissects the virus of conformity which is now an existential threat to the West. 
  A broad-ranging journey through history, the Bible, and literature, RECESSIONAL examines how politics and cultural attitudes about rebellion have shifted in the United States in the last generation. By screaming down freedom of thought and expression, Mamet explains, we kill invention and democracy – the foundations of security and growth. 
  A wickedly funny, wistful and wry appeal to the free-thinking citizen, RECESSIONAL is a vital warning that if we don’t confront the cultural thuggery now, the commissars and their dupes will transform the Land of the Free into the dictatorship at which they aim.

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  Isis

  Michael Weiss

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  Initially dismissed by US President Barack Obama, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has shocked the world by conquering massive territories in both countries and promising to create a vast new Muslim caliphate that observes the strict dictates of Sharia law. In ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, American journalist Michael Weiss and Syrian analyst Hassan Hassan explain how these violent extremists evolved from a nearly defeated Iraqi insurgent group into a jihadi army of international volunteers who have conquered territory equal to the size of Great Britain. Drawing on original interviews with former US military officials and current ISIS fighters, the authors also reveal the internecine struggles within the movement itself, as well as ISIS's bloody hatred of Shiite Muslims, which is generating another sectarian war in the region. Past is prologue and America's legacy in the Middle East is sowing a new generation of terror.

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  Arguing for Independence -...

  Stephen Maxwell

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  Shortlisted for 'Polemic of the Year' at The Paddy Power/Total Politics Political Book Awards 2013!Following an introductory chapter exploring why political argument deals in probability and plausibility across interdependent areas of social activity not certainty in individual areas, this book offers a case for independence under six main headings - the democratic case, the economic case, the social case, the international case, the cultural case and the environmental case. Under each heading, the case is assessed against both the supportive evidence and the hostile evidence, from a variety of sources, concluding with a judgement of where the balance of the evidence points. The book concludes with a selection of populist objections to independence answered by summary rebuttals from the independence file. Reviews Maxwell has done his homework assiduously. The key historical, social science and political sources on the subject have been marshalled with skill and to good effect... The author writes in coherent and lucid prose so even complex economic arguments can be reaily understood and absorbed. SUNDAY HERALD This is a book of profound thought, intelligence and wit. To my mind it is the best book on the need for Scottish Independence and it certainly should be read and cherished by all of us who hope to contribute to the campaign. Stephen stimulated many of us for years, but this is his final and most powerful work. As Owen Dudley Edwards says in his Preface: "This book lifts the entire debate on Scottish independence to a new intellectual level. PAUL HENDERSON SCOTT Back Cover Independence: a nation's right to effective government by its people or for its people Evidence: interpretation of facts Risk: likelihood that outcomes will not be as predicted Wicked issues: problems perceived to be resistant to resolution What sorts of arguments and evidence should carry the most wight in assessing the case for and against Scottish independence? Given the complexity of the question and the range of the possible consequences, can either side in the argument protend to certainty, or must we simply be satisfied with probability or even plausibility? Are there criteria for sifting the competing claims and counter-claims and arriving at a rational decision on Scotland's future? In Arguing for Independence author Stephen Maxwell opens with a chapter on The Ways We Argue before exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments for independence under six main headings: the democratic case the economic case the social case the international case the cultural case the environmental case. He also provides his own concise answers to some of the most frequent 'Aye but' responses to the case for independence. By offering an assessment of the case for independence across all its dimensions, Arguing for Independence fills a longstanding gap in Scotland's political bookshelf as we enter a new and critical phase in the debate on Scotland's political future.

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  State of the Union 1985

  Ronald Reagan

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  The 1985 State of the Union Address delivered February 6, 1985, on Reagan’s 74th birthday, reports the strongest economic growth in 34 years, 3-year inflation of 3.9%, and more citizens working than ever before.  Despite progress Reagan notes “millions in our inner cities who long for real jobs, safe neighborhoods, and schools that truly teach” and people around the world “who struggle to break free from totalitarianism”.  
  “Our economy is not getting older and weaker; it's getting younger and stronger.” Reagan calls for further tax cuts to make America the investment capital of the world. He calls for enterprise zones, rejects policies that break up families and increase dependency, and says that “blacks, Hispanics, and all minorities will not have full and equal power until they have full economic power.” 
  “National security is government's first responsibility”. We “only have a military-industrial complex until a time of danger, and then it becomes the arsenal of democracy.” Reagan advocates the Strategic Defense Initiative against ballistic missiles as “the most hopeful possibility of the nuclear age” and looks forward to “the day when nuclear weapons are banned from this Earth forever.” Some say it will take a long time. The “answer to that is: Let’s get started.” 
  “Many countries in east Asia and the Pacific have few resources other than the enterprise of their own people. But through low tax rates and free markets they've soared ahead of centralized economies.” … “We've seen the benefits of free trade and lived through the disasters of protectionism. Tonight I ask all our trading partners, developed and developing alike, to join us in a new round of trade negotiations to expand trade and competition and strengthen the global economy …”   
  Audio recording courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. 
  AspenLeafMedia.com

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  America Ascendant - A...

  Stanley B. Greenberg

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  Our economy is on the move, fueled by revolutions in energy, immigration, innovation, big data, and advanced manufacturing. America's energy independence has set off shockwaves. Just as important are the social transformations that are making the country ever more racially and culturally diverse, younger, and a home to immigrants. While most other countries struggle profoundly with immigration and religious and racial differences, America is on a path to multicultural identity. 
   
   
   
  These revolutions in the economy, society, and culture are also producing an American majority that embraces new values and new politics. Republicans are waging a counter-revolution, which is why America appears, at first glance, to be gridlocked and why the country is turning to Democrats to take on the country's growing challenges. 
   
   
   
  In this incisive book, expert strategist Stanley B. Greenberg draws on years of research and polling to illuminate how America is far from being gridlocked, and he articulates a powerful vision of how American politics and America can be renewed.

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