Power grabs, partisan stand-offs, propaganda, and riots make for tantalizing fiction, but what do we do when that drama becomes a reality all around us? For a country founded as an escape from British tyranny, the United States seems to have devolved into a land where tyrants rise to power, sycophants blindly follow, and the entire nation suffers.As ancient Greek philosophers warned us, chaotic tragedy unfolds in the absence of reason, and the only cure is a return to wisdom and virtue. America's founding fathers knew this lesson all too well and dreamed of an enlightened citizenry guided by better-than-ideological dictators. Using contemporary events to illuminate universal human weaknesses, Andrew Fiala charts the perennial history of tyrannical takeovers and the masses who support them and ultimately suffer under their rule.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
|
9781538160480
|
Hardcover
The Saboteur
By Kix, Paul
In the tradition of Agent Zigzag comes this breathtaking biography, as fast-paced and emotionally intuitive as the very best spy thrillers, which illuminates an unsung hero of the French Resistance during World War II - Robert de La Rochefoucald, an aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur - and his daring exploits as a rsistant trained by Britain's Special Operations Executive.A scion of one of the most storied families in France, Robert de La Rochefoucald was raised in magnificent chateaux and educated in Europe's finest schools. When the Nazis invaded and imprisoned his father, La Rochefoucald escaped to England and learned the dark arts of anarchy and combat - cracking safes and planting bombs and killing with his bare hands - from the officers of Special Operations Executive, the collection of British spies, beloved by Winston Churchill, who altered the war in Europe with tactics that earned it notoriety as the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." With his newfound skills, La Rochefoucauld returned to France and organized Resistance cells, blew up fortified compounds and munitions factories, interfered with Germans' war-time missions, and executed Nazi officers. Caught by the Germans, La Rochefoucald withstood months of torture without cracking, and escaped his own death, not once but twice.The Saboteur recounts La Rochefoucauld's enthralling adventures, from jumping from a moving truck on his way to his execution to stealing Nazi limos to dressing up in a nun's habit - one of his many disguises and impersonations. Whatever the mission, whatever the dire circumstance, La Rochefoucauld acquitted himself nobly, with the straight-back aplomb of a man of aristocratic breeding: James Bond before Ian Fleming conjured him.More than just a fast-paced, true thriller, The Saboteur is also a deep dive into an endlessly fascinating historical moment, telling the untold story of a network of commandos that battled evil, bravely worked to change the course of history, and inspired the creation of America's own Central Intelligence Agency.
Harper
|
9780062322524
|
Hardcover
Suicide of the West
By Goldberg, Jonah
With his trademark blend of political history, social science, economics, and pop culture, two-time NYT bestselling author, syndicated columnist, National Review senior editor, and American Enterprise Institute fellow Jonah Goldberg makes the timely case that America and other democracies are in peril as they lose the will to defend the values and institutions that sustain freedom and prosperity. Instead we are surrendering to populism, nationalism and other forms of tribalism. Only once in the last 250,000 years have humans stumbled upon a way to lift ourselves out of the endless cycle of poverty, hunger, and war that defines most of history - in 18th century England when we accidentally discovered the miracle of liberal democratic capitalism. As Americans we are doubly blessed that those radical ideas were written into the Constitution, laying the groundwork for our uniquely prosperous society: Our rights come from God not from the government. The government belongs to us; we do not belong to the government. The individual is sovereign. We are all captains of our own souls. The fruits of our labors belong to us. In the last few decades, these political virtues have been turned into vices. As we are increasingly taught to view our traditions as a system of oppression, exploitation and "white privilege," the principles of liberty and the rule of law are under attack from left and right. At a moment when authoritarianism, tribalism, identity politics, nationalism, and cults of personality are rotting our democracy from within, Goldberg exposes the West's suicidal tendencies on both sides of the ideological aisle. For the West to survive, we must renew our sense of gratitude for what our civilization has given us and rediscover the ideals that led us out of the bloody muck of the past - or back to the muck we will go. Suicide is painless, liberty takes work.
Crown Forum
|
9781101904930
|
Hardcover
Chasing Hillary
By Chozick, Amy
For a decade, award-winning New York Times journalist Amy Chozick chronicled Hillary Clinton's pursuit of the presidency. Chozick's front-row seat, initially covering Clinton's imploding 2008 campaign, and then her assignment to "The Hillary Beat" ahead of the 2016 election, took her to 48 states and set off a nearly ten-years-long journey in which the formative years of her twenties and thirties became - both personally and professionally - intrinsically intertwined to Clinton's presidential ambitions. Chozick's candor and clear-eyed perspective - from her seat on the Hillary bus and reporting from inside the campaign's Brooklyn headquarters, to her run-ins with Donald J. Trump and her globetrotting with Bill Clinton - provide fresh intrigue and insights into the story we thought we all knew. This is the real story of what happened, with the kind of dishy, inside details that repeatedly surprise and enlighten. But Chasing Hillary is also a rollicking, irreverent, refreshingly honest personal story of how the would-be first woman president looms over Chozick's life. And, as she gets married, attempts to infiltrate the upper echelons of political journalism and inquires about freezing her eggs so she can have children after the 2016 campaign, Chozick dives deeper into decisions Clinton made at similar points in her life. In the process, Chozick came to see Clinton not as an unknowable enigma and political animal but as a complex person, full of contradictions and forged in the political battles and media storms that had long predated Chozick's years of coverage. Trailing Clinton through all of the highs and lows of the most noxious and wildly dramatic presidential election in American history, Chozick comes to understand what drove Clinton, how she accomplished what no woman had before, and why she ultimately failed. Poignant, illuminating, laugh-out-loud funny, Chasing Hillary is a campaign book like never before that reads like a fast-moving political novel.
Harper
|
9780062413598
|
Hardcover
The Gatekeepers
By Whipple, Chris
The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the White House Chiefs of Staff, whose actions - and inactions - have defined the course of our country. What do Dick Cheney and Rahm Emanuel have in common? Aside from polarizing personalities, both served as chief of staff to the president of the United States - as did Donald Rumsfeld, Leon Panetta, and a relative handful of others. The chiefs of staff, often referred to as "the gatekeepers," wield tremendous power in Washington and beyond; they decide who is allowed to see the president, negotiate with Congress to push POTUS's agenda, and - most crucially - enjoy unparalleled access to the leader of the free world. Each chief can make or break an administration, and each president reveals himself by the chief he picks. Through extensive, intimate interviews with all seventeen living chiefs and two former presidents, award-winning journalist and producer Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on this unique fraternity. In doing so, he revises our understanding of presidential history, showing us how James Baker's expert managing of the White House, the press, and Capitol Hill paved the way for the Reagan Revolution - and, conversely, how Watergate, the Iraq War, and even the bungled Obamacare rollout might have been prevented by a more effective chief. Filled with shrewd analysis and never-before-reported details, The Gatekeepers offers an essential portrait of the toughest job in Washington.
Crown
|
9780804138246
|
Hardcover
Written Out of History
By Lee, Mike
Senator Mike Lee tells the story of the Founders whose warnings about the dangers of an all-powerful federal government helped shape our Constitution--but are being ignored today. Today, most Americans are familiar only with the "big names" associated with the Founding - Washington, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and so on. Because we have forgotten so many of our lesser-known Founders, many of whom warned of the dangers of centralized federal power, we have also strayed from the system of limited government prescribed by our Constitution. The resulting imbalance of power, allowed to get worse over decades, has created the problems with executive overreach and the expansive federal bureaucracy that plague America today. Senator Mike Lee, a champion of constitutionally limited government, now seeks to give these nearly forgotten but far-sighted early American thinkers their proper due. He will introduce readers to the influential, liberty-minded Americans who may not be household names but should be, including: Mercy Otis Warren, one of revolutionary America's most prominent female writers and protg of John Adams who engaged in vigorous debate against the encroachment of federal power and broke with Adams over the Constitution Canasatego, an Iroquois chief who taught Benjamin Franklin the basic principles behind the separation of powers in government Aaron Burr, whose "trial of the century" in the early 1800s defined the limits of executive power and warned of its potential for abuse Elbridge Gerry, who championed individual rights and greater power for the states over the newly formed federal government - and without whom there would be no Bill of Rights. Written Out of History is not simply a history lesson. By channeling voices from the past, this book will inject renewed passion into the debate over what the Constitution means to us today, and the limits it sets on a power-hungry federal government.
Sentinel
|
9780399564451
|
Hardcover
Guilty Admissions
By Laporte, Nicole
Guilty Admissions weaves together the story of an unscrupulous college counselor named Rick Singer, and how he preyed on the desperation of some of the country's wealthiest families living in a world defined by fierce competition, who function under constant pressure to get into the "right" schools, starting with pre-school; non-stop fundraising and donation demands in the form of multi-million-dollar galas and private parties; and a community of deeply insecure parents who will do anything to get their kids into name-brand colleges in order to maintain their own A-list status.Investigative reporter Nicole LaPorte lays bare the source of this insecurity -- that in 2019, no special "hook" in the form of legacy status, athletic talent, or financial giving can guarantee a child's entrance into an elite school.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781538717097
|
Hardcover
Social Security Handbook 2023
By Administration, Social Security
The Social Security Handbook: Overview of Social Security Programs, 2023 provides information about Social Security programs and services, and identifies rights and obligations under the Social Security laws. This completely updated Handbook, organized by section number, is a readable, easy-to-understand reference for comprehending complex Social Security programs and services and contains information on several topics relevant to Social Security policies:. ·How Social Security programs are administered·Who is and isn't covered under retirement, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance programs·Who is responsible for submitting the necessary evidence to support a claim·How claims are processed by the Social Security office·What Social Security benefits are owed to you·How to obtain information about your rights under Social Security policy.
Bernan Press
|
9781636713823
|
Paperback
Homelands
By Corchado, Alfredo
From prizewinning journalist and immigration expert Alfredo Corchado comes the sweeping story of the great Mexican migration from the late 1980s to today. When Alfredo Corchado moved to Philadelphia in 1987, he felt as if he was the only Mexican in the city. But in a restaurant called Tequilas, he connected with two other Mexican men and one Mexican American, all feeling similarly isolated. Over the next three decades, the four friends continued to meet, coming together over their shared Mexican roots and their love of tequila. One was a radical activist, another a restaurant/tequila entrepreneur, the third a lawyer/politician. Alfredo himself was a young reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Homelands merges the political and the personal, telling the story of the last great Mexican migration through the eyes of four friends at a time when the Mexican population in the United States swelled from 700,000 people during the 1970s to more than 35 million people today.
Bloomsbury Publishing
|
9781632865540
|
Hardcover
A Covert Action
By Jones, Seth G
In this gripping narrative history, Seth G. Jones reveals the CIA's involvement in a landmark victory for democracy during the Cold War. In 1983, while Soviet- backed Polish prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski worked to crush a budding opposition movement through martial law, the CIA launched a sophisticated intelligence campaign supporting dissident groups--particularly trade union-turned-political force Solidarity. With President Ronald Reagan's support, American funds bankrolled clandestine newspapers, broadcasting, and information warfare. This initiative, code-named QRHELPFUL, proved vital in establishing a free and democratic Poland. Long overlooked by CIA historians and Reagan biographers, the story features an extraordinary cast of characters--including spymaster Bill Casey, CIA officer Richard Malzahn, Solidary leader Lech Walesa, and Pope John Paul II.
Tyranny from Plato to Trump
By Fiala, Andrew
Power grabs, partisan stand-offs, propaganda, and riots make for tantalizing fiction, but what do we do when that drama becomes a reality all around us? For a country founded as an escape from British tyranny, the United States seems to have devolved into a land where tyrants rise to power, sycophants blindly follow, and the entire nation suffers.As ancient Greek philosophers warned us, chaotic tragedy unfolds in the absence of reason, and the only cure is a return to wisdom and virtue. America's founding fathers knew this lesson all too well and dreamed of an enlightened citizenry guided by better-than-ideological dictators. Using contemporary events to illuminate universal human weaknesses, Andrew Fiala charts the perennial history of tyrannical takeovers and the masses who support them and ultimately suffer under their rule.
The Saboteur
By Kix, Paul
In the tradition of Agent Zigzag comes this breathtaking biography, as fast-paced and emotionally intuitive as the very best spy thrillers, which illuminates an unsung hero of the French Resistance during World War II - Robert de La Rochefoucald, an aristocrat turned anti-Nazi saboteur - and his daring exploits as a rsistant trained by Britain's Special Operations Executive.A scion of one of the most storied families in France, Robert de La Rochefoucald was raised in magnificent chateaux and educated in Europe's finest schools. When the Nazis invaded and imprisoned his father, La Rochefoucald escaped to England and learned the dark arts of anarchy and combat - cracking safes and planting bombs and killing with his bare hands - from the officers of Special Operations Executive, the collection of British spies, beloved by Winston Churchill, who altered the war in Europe with tactics that earned it notoriety as the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." With his newfound skills, La Rochefoucauld returned to France and organized Resistance cells, blew up fortified compounds and munitions factories, interfered with Germans' war-time missions, and executed Nazi officers. Caught by the Germans, La Rochefoucald withstood months of torture without cracking, and escaped his own death, not once but twice.The Saboteur recounts La Rochefoucauld's enthralling adventures, from jumping from a moving truck on his way to his execution to stealing Nazi limos to dressing up in a nun's habit - one of his many disguises and impersonations. Whatever the mission, whatever the dire circumstance, La Rochefoucauld acquitted himself nobly, with the straight-back aplomb of a man of aristocratic breeding: James Bond before Ian Fleming conjured him.More than just a fast-paced, true thriller, The Saboteur is also a deep dive into an endlessly fascinating historical moment, telling the untold story of a network of commandos that battled evil, bravely worked to change the course of history, and inspired the creation of America's own Central Intelligence Agency.
Suicide of the West
By Goldberg, Jonah
With his trademark blend of political history, social science, economics, and pop culture, two-time NYT bestselling author, syndicated columnist, National Review senior editor, and American Enterprise Institute fellow Jonah Goldberg makes the timely case that America and other democracies are in peril as they lose the will to defend the values and institutions that sustain freedom and prosperity. Instead we are surrendering to populism, nationalism and other forms of tribalism. Only once in the last 250,000 years have humans stumbled upon a way to lift ourselves out of the endless cycle of poverty, hunger, and war that defines most of history - in 18th century England when we accidentally discovered the miracle of liberal democratic capitalism. As Americans we are doubly blessed that those radical ideas were written into the Constitution, laying the groundwork for our uniquely prosperous society: Our rights come from God not from the government. The government belongs to us; we do not belong to the government. The individual is sovereign. We are all captains of our own souls. The fruits of our labors belong to us. In the last few decades, these political virtues have been turned into vices. As we are increasingly taught to view our traditions as a system of oppression, exploitation and "white privilege," the principles of liberty and the rule of law are under attack from left and right. At a moment when authoritarianism, tribalism, identity politics, nationalism, and cults of personality are rotting our democracy from within, Goldberg exposes the West's suicidal tendencies on both sides of the ideological aisle. For the West to survive, we must renew our sense of gratitude for what our civilization has given us and rediscover the ideals that led us out of the bloody muck of the past - or back to the muck we will go. Suicide is painless, liberty takes work.
Chasing Hillary
By Chozick, Amy
For a decade, award-winning New York Times journalist Amy Chozick chronicled Hillary Clinton's pursuit of the presidency. Chozick's front-row seat, initially covering Clinton's imploding 2008 campaign, and then her assignment to "The Hillary Beat" ahead of the 2016 election, took her to 48 states and set off a nearly ten-years-long journey in which the formative years of her twenties and thirties became - both personally and professionally - intrinsically intertwined to Clinton's presidential ambitions. Chozick's candor and clear-eyed perspective - from her seat on the Hillary bus and reporting from inside the campaign's Brooklyn headquarters, to her run-ins with Donald J. Trump and her globetrotting with Bill Clinton - provide fresh intrigue and insights into the story we thought we all knew. This is the real story of what happened, with the kind of dishy, inside details that repeatedly surprise and enlighten. But Chasing Hillary is also a rollicking, irreverent, refreshingly honest personal story of how the would-be first woman president looms over Chozick's life. And, as she gets married, attempts to infiltrate the upper echelons of political journalism and inquires about freezing her eggs so she can have children after the 2016 campaign, Chozick dives deeper into decisions Clinton made at similar points in her life. In the process, Chozick came to see Clinton not as an unknowable enigma and political animal but as a complex person, full of contradictions and forged in the political battles and media storms that had long predated Chozick's years of coverage. Trailing Clinton through all of the highs and lows of the most noxious and wildly dramatic presidential election in American history, Chozick comes to understand what drove Clinton, how she accomplished what no woman had before, and why she ultimately failed. Poignant, illuminating, laugh-out-loud funny, Chasing Hillary is a campaign book like never before that reads like a fast-moving political novel.
The Gatekeepers
By Whipple, Chris
The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the White House Chiefs of Staff, whose actions - and inactions - have defined the course of our country. What do Dick Cheney and Rahm Emanuel have in common? Aside from polarizing personalities, both served as chief of staff to the president of the United States - as did Donald Rumsfeld, Leon Panetta, and a relative handful of others. The chiefs of staff, often referred to as "the gatekeepers," wield tremendous power in Washington and beyond; they decide who is allowed to see the president, negotiate with Congress to push POTUS's agenda, and - most crucially - enjoy unparalleled access to the leader of the free world. Each chief can make or break an administration, and each president reveals himself by the chief he picks. Through extensive, intimate interviews with all seventeen living chiefs and two former presidents, award-winning journalist and producer Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on this unique fraternity. In doing so, he revises our understanding of presidential history, showing us how James Baker's expert managing of the White House, the press, and Capitol Hill paved the way for the Reagan Revolution - and, conversely, how Watergate, the Iraq War, and even the bungled Obamacare rollout might have been prevented by a more effective chief. Filled with shrewd analysis and never-before-reported details, The Gatekeepers offers an essential portrait of the toughest job in Washington.
Written Out of History
By Lee, Mike
Senator Mike Lee tells the story of the Founders whose warnings about the dangers of an all-powerful federal government helped shape our Constitution--but are being ignored today. Today, most Americans are familiar only with the "big names" associated with the Founding - Washington, Adams, Madison, Hamilton and so on. Because we have forgotten so many of our lesser-known Founders, many of whom warned of the dangers of centralized federal power, we have also strayed from the system of limited government prescribed by our Constitution. The resulting imbalance of power, allowed to get worse over decades, has created the problems with executive overreach and the expansive federal bureaucracy that plague America today. Senator Mike Lee, a champion of constitutionally limited government, now seeks to give these nearly forgotten but far-sighted early American thinkers their proper due. He will introduce readers to the influential, liberty-minded Americans who may not be household names but should be, including: Mercy Otis Warren, one of revolutionary America's most prominent female writers and protg of John Adams who engaged in vigorous debate against the encroachment of federal power and broke with Adams over the Constitution Canasatego, an Iroquois chief who taught Benjamin Franklin the basic principles behind the separation of powers in government Aaron Burr, whose "trial of the century" in the early 1800s defined the limits of executive power and warned of its potential for abuse Elbridge Gerry, who championed individual rights and greater power for the states over the newly formed federal government - and without whom there would be no Bill of Rights. Written Out of History is not simply a history lesson. By channeling voices from the past, this book will inject renewed passion into the debate over what the Constitution means to us today, and the limits it sets on a power-hungry federal government.
Guilty Admissions
By Laporte, Nicole
Guilty Admissions weaves together the story of an unscrupulous college counselor named Rick Singer, and how he preyed on the desperation of some of the country's wealthiest families living in a world defined by fierce competition, who function under constant pressure to get into the "right" schools, starting with pre-school; non-stop fundraising and donation demands in the form of multi-million-dollar galas and private parties; and a community of deeply insecure parents who will do anything to get their kids into name-brand colleges in order to maintain their own A-list status.Investigative reporter Nicole LaPorte lays bare the source of this insecurity -- that in 2019, no special "hook" in the form of legacy status, athletic talent, or financial giving can guarantee a child's entrance into an elite school.
Social Security Handbook 2023
By Administration, Social Security
The Social Security Handbook: Overview of Social Security Programs, 2023 provides information about Social Security programs and services, and identifies rights and obligations under the Social Security laws. This completely updated Handbook, organized by section number, is a readable, easy-to-understand reference for comprehending complex Social Security programs and services and contains information on several topics relevant to Social Security policies:. ·How Social Security programs are administered·Who is and isn't covered under retirement, survivors, disability, and hospital insurance programs·Who is responsible for submitting the necessary evidence to support a claim·How claims are processed by the Social Security office·What Social Security benefits are owed to you·How to obtain information about your rights under Social Security policy.
Homelands
By Corchado, Alfredo
From prizewinning journalist and immigration expert Alfredo Corchado comes the sweeping story of the great Mexican migration from the late 1980s to today. When Alfredo Corchado moved to Philadelphia in 1987, he felt as if he was the only Mexican in the city. But in a restaurant called Tequilas, he connected with two other Mexican men and one Mexican American, all feeling similarly isolated. Over the next three decades, the four friends continued to meet, coming together over their shared Mexican roots and their love of tequila. One was a radical activist, another a restaurant/tequila entrepreneur, the third a lawyer/politician. Alfredo himself was a young reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Homelands merges the political and the personal, telling the story of the last great Mexican migration through the eyes of four friends at a time when the Mexican population in the United States swelled from 700,000 people during the 1970s to more than 35 million people today.
A Covert Action
By Jones, Seth G
In this gripping narrative history, Seth G. Jones reveals the CIA's involvement in a landmark victory for democracy during the Cold War. In 1983, while Soviet- backed Polish prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski worked to crush a budding opposition movement through martial law, the CIA launched a sophisticated intelligence campaign supporting dissident groups--particularly trade union-turned-political force Solidarity. With President Ronald Reagan's support, American funds bankrolled clandestine newspapers, broadcasting, and information warfare. This initiative, code-named QRHELPFUL, proved vital in establishing a free and democratic Poland. Long overlooked by CIA historians and Reagan biographers, the story features an extraordinary cast of characters--including spymaster Bill Casey, CIA officer Richard Malzahn, Solidary leader Lech Walesa, and Pope John Paul II.