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Best Public Affairs & Policy Politics Books

Understanding Trump
Further, these pages hold a detailed discussion of Trump-style solutions for national security, education, health care, economic growth, government reform, and other important topics. The very essence of Trump's mission is a willingness to enact policies and set goals that send our country in a bold new direction - one that may be "unreasonable" to Washington but is sensible to millions of Americans outside the Beltway. He is a Fox News contributor and author of 34 books, including 14 New York Times bestsellers.
Reviews
"I use the computer alot so when my eyes get tired it is great to just listen when ironing or driving on the weekends."
"If you love Trump, then you have an opportunity to find out why so many people are exploding with hatred for him. Similarly, if you hate him, it would be interesting to find out what it was about him that appealed to enough voters to win the election. Praise: In the front of the book, Gingrich explains the methods behind some of Trump's crazy habits. When a radio interviewer asked him to name some leaders in the middle east conflict, he quickly admitted he couldn't do that, but he'd know all about them when he needed to. I work in a technical job, where there are too many domains and details to hold in consciousness all the time; they will literally paralyze me. I practice Trump's method, holding on to what I need to know about the job at hand, confident I can throw new data in when necessary. I can't offer a solution but I'd like to say this: We'll never get anywhere until we admit that our present costs are unacceptable and that other countries do this MUCH better than we do."
"In any case, this book goes a long way toward articulating the ideological trends that drove Trump to a historic victory in the presidential election, giving context to the man himself, and looking forward to give us a glimpse of what we can expect in the future."
"OK, so it seems I posted my review on the wrong book- this is by far the BEST book on both the 2016 election and Donald Trump I've seen yet- and I've read over 2 dozen."
"He includes parts of speeches given by numerous people as well as Trump speeches. He also includes numerous excerpts from written material."
"Thoroughly enjoyed this book."
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Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
#1 New York Times Bestseller |. Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • The Washington Post • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • Esquire • Time Winner of the Carnegie Medal for Nonfiction | Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Nonfiction | Winner of a Books for a Better Life Award | Finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize | Finalist for the Kirkus Reviews Prize | An American Library Association Notable Book A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time. Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.” —David Cole, The New York Review of Books “Searing, moving . Just Mercy will make you upset and it will make you hopeful.” —Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review “Inspiring . Stevenson is not only a great lawyer, he’s also a gifted writer and storyteller.” — The Washington Post “As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.” —The Financial Times “Brilliant.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer “Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Just Mercy is his inspiring and powerful story.” —John Grisham “Bryan Stevenson is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today, and Just Mercy is extraordinary. But at the same time that [Bryan] Stevenson tells an utterly damning story of deep-seated and widespread injustice, he also recounts instances of human compassion, understanding, mercy, and justice that offer hope. Just Mercy is a remarkable amalgam, at once a searing indictment of American criminal justice and a stirring testament to the salvation that fighting for the vulnerable sometimes yields.” —David Cole, The New York Review of Books. For decades he has fought judges, prosecutors and police on behalf of those who are impoverished, black or both. Injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. Against tremendous odds, Stevenson has worked to free scores of people from wrongful or excessive punishment, arguing five times before the Supreme Court. The message of the book, hammered home by dramatic examples of one man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance horror, is that evil can be overcome, a difference can be made. Stevenson has been angry about [the criminal justice system] for years, and we are all the better for it.” —Ted Conover, The New York Times Book Review “Inspiring . “As deeply moving, poignant and powerful a book as has been, and maybe ever can be, written about the death penalty.” —The Financial Times “Brilliant.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Not since Atticus Finch has a fearless and committed lawyer made such a difference in the American South. Bryan Stevenson, however, is very much alive and doing God’s work fighting for the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the vulnerable, the outcast, and those with no hope. The stories told within these pages hold the potential to transform what we think we mean when we talk about justice.” —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow “A distinguished NYU law professor and MacArthur grant recipient offers the compelling story of the legal practice he founded to protect the rights of people on the margins of American society. It is inspiring and suspenseful—a revelation.” —Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns “Words such as important and compelling may have lost their force through overuse, but reading this book will restore their meaning, along with one’s hopes for humanity.” —Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains “Bryan Stevenson is America’s young Nelson Mandela, a brilliant lawyer fighting with courage and conviction to guarantee justice for all. It is as gripping to read as any legal thriller, and what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the soul of a great nation.” —Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Reviews
"My tendency is to put things into "liberal" and "conservative" buckets and this one seemingly fit into the liberal bucket and I am a professed conservative."
"I have a new hero . Bryan Stevenson. This is a great book."
"This is a system that condemns children to life imprisonment without parole, that makes petty theft a crime as serious as murder, and that has declared war on hundreds of thousands of people with substance abuse problems by imprisoning them and denying them help. JUST MERCY explores a number of devastating cases, including children as young as fourteen facing life imprisonment, and scores of people on death row - mostly poor, and mostly black - who have been unfairly convicted. But the central focus is on Walter McMillan, a black man sentenced to death for the murder of a prominent young white woman. Ours is no longer a country that sees compassion as a virtue; instead, we write harsher and harsher laws that demand longer and longer sentences for those we consider undesirables. It's rare these days to meet someone who truly dedicates himself to those least able to help themselves, especially someone who isn't after media attention or self-promotion."
"Corruption and prejudice in the 1950's led to sending many innocent blacks and poor people to prison."
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Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
In Zero to One , legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places. What Thiel is after is the revitalization of imagination and invention writ large…" – The New Republic "Might be the best business book I've read...Barely 200 pages long and well lit by clear prose and pithy aphorisms, Thiel has written a perfectly tweetable treatise and a relentlessly thought-provoking handbook." This is a classic.” - Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan “Thiel has drawn upon his wide-ranging and idiosyncratic readings in philosophy, history, economics, anthropology, and culture to become perhaps America’s leading public intellectual today” - Fortune "Peter Thiel, in addition to being an accomplished entrepreneur and investor, is also one of the leading public intellectuals of our time. "The first and last business book anyone needs to read; a one in a world of zeroes."
Reviews
"For example "we never invest in entrepreneurs who turn up for the interview in a suit" or "four of the founders of PayPal had built bombs as children." Memo to Peter Thiel: you are successful despite your prejudice against people who don't share your sartorial taste, and your partners made it to adulthood despite having been poorly supervised as children. He was not beaten by a better provider of software, he was superseded by a shift in technology toward powerful mobile devices, tablets and the cloud, all of which, in turn, were motivated by other entrepreneurs' desire to obtain monopoly profits. So Steve Jobs dominated many of these arenas for long enough to enjoy monopoly profits and other people will some day take this all further. Even the government is in on the act, Peter Thiel claims, or else it would not be granting patents to inventors or freedom from competition from generic drugs to the pharmaceutical companies that first develop new medications. My mom taught me that "necessity is the mother of invention:" GM did not develop the Volt till it was up against the wall, Archimedes discovered how to screw water upwards during the Roman siege of Syracuse, the Germans developed jet propulsion, the swept wing and the rocket we later sent to the moon when they had pretty much already lost WWII. And then we have the cases where, as the author says, it's clear that you need to incentivize people to innovate (drugs spring to mind, where the US has a lead) and that's where patents come in. And it was crystal clear to everybody with a modicum of common sense that both Intel and Microsoft were not helping the world along when they used dirty tricks to hurt AMD and Netscape. The author takes us on a (rather gratuitous) trip from Plato and Aristotle to Nozick and Rawls via Epicurus, Lucretius, Hegel and Marx to discuss when optimism is and isn't warranted and the bottom line is that you're only allowed to be an optimist if you have "definite optimism" based on a specific Design (my capital D) for a business. Peter Thiel takes a massive swipe at the Malcolm Gladwells of the world who overemphasize chance, serendipity and fate with facile arguments about the similarity in Steve Jobs' and Bill Gates' birthdates. It's the Nassim Nicholas Taleb idea, and he duly appears on the back cover to endorse the book. For the best book on the subject I'd swerve around NNT's work and turn to Benoit Mandelbrot's masterpiece, "The (Mis)behaviour of Markets." The fourth idea is no more original, but Thiel puts it well: "there are many more secrets left to find, but they will yield only to relentless searchers." The fifth idea is you need to pick your partners i.e. your investors, your fellow managers and your (ideally 3) directors very carefully in order to make sure you all want the same thing out of the company (and it had better not be immediate rewards). But once they have their first billion and don't need to run their ideas by anyone else to get them funded they very often go do something stupid (dunno, like go mine asteroids) with exactly the same fervour they previously applied to the sensible endeavour that made them rich. The more grounded ones keep their further investments close to home and direct their creativity toward giving lectures and writing books."
"Along with business strategy, Thiel outlines how successful innovation shapes society and shares an intriguing vision. Rather than offer scripts or formulas, Thiel discusses the logic of starting a company that will make a truly meaningful and unique impact on the world. Blake did a great job of adapting and presenting the contents, many of which were delivered when Thiel taught at Stanford. Keeping in mind that companies growing 1000x often carry entire portfolios, Peter gives a good argument for successful moonshots and grand visions. He also highlights the dangers of trying to disrupt entrenched competitors and avoid extra resistance and burn rates on marketing. Rather, Tesla began by making powertrains, then started with high end luxury models to which no solid alternative existed. His strong argument for monopolies are both for novelty and to develop early market dominance should competitors arise later. I found a Monopoly Index by Forbes that showed these types of companies outperforming the Dow and S&P by 33%, which was a pleasant result of some due diligence. Even if you make a product that’s a 3x improvement over a market leader, you aren’t creating anything truly new, and well funded competitors are likely to catch up. It looks at economics, globalization, artificial intelligence, and historical trends along with founder characteristics and the qualities of great salespeople. If you like diving really deep into the mind of a founder across many life experiences, check out Tony Hseih’s Delivering Happiness."
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Best Agriculture & Food Policy

Eating Animals
Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his life oscillating between enthusiastic carnivore and occasional vegetarian. " Eating Animals isn't just an anti-meat screed, or an impassioned case for vegetarianism. " Eating Animals carefully, deliberately, takes you through every relevant dimension of factory farming....One sees it from the inside, the outside, the moral high ground, the dithering consumer level, through Foer's family stories, from slaughterhouse workers, animal behaviorists, even from defenders of the system....Foer's aim is not to make your choice, but to inform it. "A work of moral philosophy....The fact that Foer makes me wonder whether I'm being, at best, a hypocrite every time I eat a piece of beef suggests he's completely successful in at least one ambition." What makes Eating Animals so unusual is vegetarian Foer's empathy for human meat eaters, his willingness to let both factory farmers and food reform activists speak for themselves, and his talent for using humor to sweeten a sour argument.
Reviews
"Foer makes reading about hog s*%t and chicken fecal soup an interesting, sometimes moving experience."
"In much the same way as a smoker or gun owner needs to be aware of the effects and responsibilities of their choice, so should anyone who eats animals, especially those from factory farms, understand the consequences of theirs."
"This book should be required reading."
"He hones in on the factory farming industry, our justifications for eating meat, and the environmental toll of this cultural habit."
"I went into this book already aware that factory farming was horrific and environmentally unstable."
"This book will be confronting for anyone who doesn't really know how animals are raised and slaughtered for food.The book consolidates the information and arguments that I have encountered since I decided to adopt a vegetarian diet 30 years ago."
"Foer doesn't stand on a soap box and try to convert everyone to become vegan or vegetarian, but he gathers and presents sufficient incontrovertible evidence that how we currently raise animals for food (factory farming) is unhealthy, inhumane and unsustainable."
"I took Eating Animals out of its packaging with the intention of reading the first page or so, then changing out of my work clothes, then starting dinner. But equally significant is the fact that he's also just an average guy struggling to make his eating habits jibe with his morality. As important as guys like Jeremy Bentham and Peter Singer are to this discussion, they're not the best choices for the average reader."
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Best City Planning & Urban Development

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
One of the most acclaimed books of our time, winner of both the Pulitzer and the Francis Parkman prizes, The Power Broker tells the hidden story behind the shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York (city and state) and makes public what few have known: that Robert Moses was, for almost half a century, the single most powerful man of our time in New York, the shaper not only of the city's politics but of its physical structure and the problems of urban decline that plague us today. "The most absorbing, detailed, instructive, provocative book ever published about the making and raping of modern New York City and environs and the man who did it, about the hidden plumbing of New York City and State politics over the last half-century, about the force of personality and the nature of political power in a democracy. This is a study of the corruption which power exerts on those who wield it to set beside Tacitus and his emperors, Shakespeare and his kings." "In the future, the scholar who writes the history of American cities in the twentieth century will doubtless begin with this extraordinary effort." "The feverish hype that dominates the merchandising of arts and letters in America has so debased the language that, when a truly exceptional achievement comes along, there are no words left to praise it. Important, awesome, compelling--these no longer summon the full flourish of trumpets this book deserves. "Required reading for all those who hope to make their way in urban politics; for the reformer, the planner, the politician and even the ward heeler." The most unlikely subjects--banking, ward politics, construction, traffic management, state financing, insurance companies, labor unions, bridge building--become alive and contemporary. It is like one of the great Russian novels, overflowing with characters and incidents that all fit into a vast mosaic of plot and counterplot.
Reviews
"This was a tip from New York Magazine on "How to read 'The Power Broker'": Buy a cheap paperback version, tear it into thirds, read one third at a time."
"This book is a classic."
"Absolutely a spectacular book about New York, the City at the center of it, and the man behind both for over four decades."
"I purchased this after having read the author's works on Lyndon Johnson."
"This defines what a biography can be."
"Retrospectively, I am happy to see the Washington Square Park still alive and bustling with activity around which my school - New York University is located. For a book this big, I do however suggest you to read the first few chapters more intently, as the later development of the story is constantly related to its first few chapters."
"Robert Moses's direct influence on the roads, bridges, parks, and housing of NYC is without parallel in U.S. history."
"A long haul, scanned in places, with plentiful, interesting information."
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Best Public Administration

The Political Spectrum: The Tumultuous Liberation of Wireless Technology, from Herbert Hoover to the Smartphone
From the former chief economist of the FCC, a remarkable history of the U.S. government’s regulation of the airwaves Popular legend has it that before the Federal Radio Commission was established in 1927, the radio spectrum was in chaos, with broadcasting stations blasting powerful signals to drown out rivals. "A. fascinating history... exposing. how inefficient, and perhaps corrupt, our spectrum policy really is.... Mr. Hazlett devotes a substantial portion of his book to arguments for reforms [and the book]. is full of valuable instruction [on] the strategic use of the regulatory process." The Political Spectrum: The Tumultuous Liberation of Wireless Technology, from Herbert Hoover to the Smartphone, tells a thrilling, roller-coaster tale of how US regulators often blocked progress... Hazlett explains how recent reforms helped liberate the radio spectrum... ushering in the 'smartphone revolution', ubiquitous social media and the amazing wireless world."
Reviews
"The list of FCC sins is long: delaying the introduction of FM radio for 26 years, delaying the introduction of cellular phones for decades, infringing the First Amendment rights of radio and TV broadcasters, giving broadcast TV commercial advantages over cable TV, and generally ignoring the power and efficiency of free markets."
"The author has created a carefully crafted narrative that does not require you to be an economist or tech savant to understand the implications of overregulation by starting with wireless media that we all can relate to, radio and television. When a person of Dr. Hazlett’s experience, knowledge and expertise offers a solution to such an important issue I can only hope that the powers that be (FCC, Congress) will carefully consider these clearly explained remedies that can be implemented in a short time frame."
"As a former engineer, entrepreneur, and venture capital investor who spent 40 years struggling to innovate under the arcane and destructive power of the FCC, Tom Hazlett’s romp through the history of this woebegone regulatory agency brought back many memories while filling in many blanks."
"This is an amazing book providing real insight into the real political and economic motivations behind the FCC's policies throughout its history."
"The second book, contained within the first, is the meditation of a first-rate scholar on the intractable difficulty of effective government regulations in general, and the hidden social costs that can result from systems of public management that fail to take account of of the inevitable characteristics of political and bureaucratic institutions."
"The best book around on the history of the use and regulation of wireless spectrum."
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Best Cultural Policy

Letter to a Christian Nation
In fact, it has been by no means uncommon for a child to be born into this world only to be patiently and lovingly reared by religious maniacs, who believe that the best way to keep the sun on its course or to ensure a rich harvest is to lead him by tender hand into a field or to a mountaintop and bury, butcher, or burn him alive as offering to an invisible God. Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times best seller, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, which won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction.
Reviews
"Simple, brief."
"Challenging to the faithful masses to reevaluate their principles."
"I will, however, say that this book is powerful."
"If you care about truth, intellectual honesty, and reason, you MUST read this book!"
"A committed Christian would I think find it an uncomfortable read as it would confront them with the fallacies of religion."
"Great read full of logical points that anyone with common sense can follow."
"Loved it!"
"I would recommend this book be read by anyone interested in religion or philosophy in any degree, whether you want to just get a preview of some of the topics being thrown around today between religious peoples and atheists, or as a primer that will prepare you for more in-depth books on religion such as Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion."
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Best Economic Policy

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
In Zero to One , legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation, even if we’re too distracted by shiny mobile devices to notice. Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in America and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places. What Thiel is after is the revitalization of imagination and invention writ large…" – The New Republic "Might be the best business book I've read...Barely 200 pages long and well lit by clear prose and pithy aphorisms, Thiel has written a perfectly tweetable treatise and a relentlessly thought-provoking handbook." This is a classic.” - Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan “Thiel has drawn upon his wide-ranging and idiosyncratic readings in philosophy, history, economics, anthropology, and culture to become perhaps America’s leading public intellectual today” - Fortune "Peter Thiel, in addition to being an accomplished entrepreneur and investor, is also one of the leading public intellectuals of our time. "The first and last business book anyone needs to read; a one in a world of zeroes."
Reviews
"For example "we never invest in entrepreneurs who turn up for the interview in a suit" or "four of the founders of PayPal had built bombs as children." Memo to Peter Thiel: you are successful despite your prejudice against people who don't share your sartorial taste, and your partners made it to adulthood despite having been poorly supervised as children. He was not beaten by a better provider of software, he was superseded by a shift in technology toward powerful mobile devices, tablets and the cloud, all of which, in turn, were motivated by other entrepreneurs' desire to obtain monopoly profits. So Steve Jobs dominated many of these arenas for long enough to enjoy monopoly profits and other people will some day take this all further. Even the government is in on the act, Peter Thiel claims, or else it would not be granting patents to inventors or freedom from competition from generic drugs to the pharmaceutical companies that first develop new medications. My mom taught me that "necessity is the mother of invention:" GM did not develop the Volt till it was up against the wall, Archimedes discovered how to screw water upwards during the Roman siege of Syracuse, the Germans developed jet propulsion, the swept wing and the rocket we later sent to the moon when they had pretty much already lost WWII. And then we have the cases where, as the author says, it's clear that you need to incentivize people to innovate (drugs spring to mind, where the US has a lead) and that's where patents come in. And it was crystal clear to everybody with a modicum of common sense that both Intel and Microsoft were not helping the world along when they used dirty tricks to hurt AMD and Netscape. The author takes us on a (rather gratuitous) trip from Plato and Aristotle to Nozick and Rawls via Epicurus, Lucretius, Hegel and Marx to discuss when optimism is and isn't warranted and the bottom line is that you're only allowed to be an optimist if you have "definite optimism" based on a specific Design (my capital D) for a business. Peter Thiel takes a massive swipe at the Malcolm Gladwells of the world who overemphasize chance, serendipity and fate with facile arguments about the similarity in Steve Jobs' and Bill Gates' birthdates. It's the Nassim Nicholas Taleb idea, and he duly appears on the back cover to endorse the book. For the best book on the subject I'd swerve around NNT's work and turn to Benoit Mandelbrot's masterpiece, "The (Mis)behaviour of Markets." The fourth idea is no more original, but Thiel puts it well: "there are many more secrets left to find, but they will yield only to relentless searchers." The fifth idea is you need to pick your partners i.e. your investors, your fellow managers and your (ideally 3) directors very carefully in order to make sure you all want the same thing out of the company (and it had better not be immediate rewards). But once they have their first billion and don't need to run their ideas by anyone else to get them funded they very often go do something stupid (dunno, like go mine asteroids) with exactly the same fervour they previously applied to the sensible endeavour that made them rich. The more grounded ones keep their further investments close to home and direct their creativity toward giving lectures and writing books."
"Along with business strategy, Thiel outlines how successful innovation shapes society and shares an intriguing vision. Rather than offer scripts or formulas, Thiel discusses the logic of starting a company that will make a truly meaningful and unique impact on the world. Blake did a great job of adapting and presenting the contents, many of which were delivered when Thiel taught at Stanford. Keeping in mind that companies growing 1000x often carry entire portfolios, Peter gives a good argument for successful moonshots and grand visions. He also highlights the dangers of trying to disrupt entrenched competitors and avoid extra resistance and burn rates on marketing. Rather, Tesla began by making powertrains, then started with high end luxury models to which no solid alternative existed. His strong argument for monopolies are both for novelty and to develop early market dominance should competitors arise later. I found a Monopoly Index by Forbes that showed these types of companies outperforming the Dow and S&P by 33%, which was a pleasant result of some due diligence. Even if you make a product that’s a 3x improvement over a market leader, you aren’t creating anything truly new, and well funded competitors are likely to catch up. It looks at economics, globalization, artificial intelligence, and historical trends along with founder characteristics and the qualities of great salespeople. If you like diving really deep into the mind of a founder across many life experiences, check out Tony Hseih’s Delivering Happiness."
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Best Energy Policy

The Absent Superpower: The Shale Revolution and a World Without America
Alone among the world's powers, only the United States is geographically wealthy, demographically robust, and energy secure. Just as the global economy tips into chaos, just as global energy becomes dangerous, just as the world really needs the Americans to be engaged, the United States will be...absent. Geopolitical Strategist Peter Zeihan is a global energy, demographic and security expert who marries the realities of geography and populations to a deep understanding of how global politics impact markets and economic trends, helping industry leaders navigate today's complex mix of geopolitical risks and opportunities.
Reviews
"In 2014, the author wrote a fascinating book “The Accidental Superpower.” It described how the U.S. benefits from a combination of geographic factors including maritime advantages (navigable river ways, natural harbors making for a network of low cost transportation), an ideal location from a security standpoint (an island-continent protected by huge oceans on each side, and surrounded by two friendly neighbors integrated in NAFTA). Its labor force will continue growing unlike in Japan and Russia where it is shrinking catastrophically rapidly. Zeihan also added near the end of the book that the emergence of shale oil production will render the U.S. increasingly energy independent. The U.S. will become less (financially) supportive of NATO and worldwide maritime routes security (end of Bretton Woods era). Zeihan indicated in his newsletter that if Hillary had won the election, the U.S. policy path would be identical but carried out at a slower pace. Within “The Accidental Superpower” Zeihan explored the fate of various countries and supranational entities including Russia, China, Japan, Europe and the Euro Zone in particular. U.S. shale oil has improved its efficiency by developing new technologies including micro-seismic exploration and multilateral drilling that leverages Big Data live information. Because of those improvements, even though the industry was closing down many shale operations during the price war, the remaining survivors produced a lot more oil per rig than ever before (graph pg. This is an advantage that may contribute to the reindustralisation of the U.S. And, lower energy costs (petroleum and natural gas) have implications affecting numerous part of the consumer, chemical, pharmaceutical, and industrial product sectors (diagram on pg. As a consequence of the emergence of U.S. shale oil, the international oil markets will fragment into at least two (if not more) separate markets: a) a US domestic one where prices will be chronically low and not volatile; and b) the traditional international one where prices will be a lot more volatile and have frequent spikes at or above $100 even $150 associated with Gulf crisis, wars, etc. In the Twilight War, he describes how Russia in order to preempt its unfortunate geography (flat and vulnerable to attacks) and demography (rapidly shrinking population) will attempt to rebuild the USSR by either invading or controlling former satellite countries (he designates 11 such countries on pg. By attempting this land grab, Russia will have much friction with both Scandinavia and Turkey; but such prospective conflicts will experience stalemate without shift in borders or control from existing arrangements. The Next Gulf War is really about the tension between Iran (Shiites) and Saudi Arabia (Sunnis) who both compete for supremacy in the Region. Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon … will lose the ability to maintain populations more than one-third their current size.” (pg. The tension between China and Japan in protecting their respective access to oil energy will affect the entire Far East. Zeihan frequently refers to the “Asian premium.”. The last chapter of the Part II: Disorder is on the international private major companies. By contrast BP has been pretty much wiped out in the aftermath of its Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The U.S. will continue to maintain close trade and direct investment ties with this region to recreate supply chains to replace or diversify away from relying on China’s manufacturing. And, Latin America needs the income that will be generated by the U.S. Dollar diplomacy to repay its foreign debt and feed its people. 385, he shares a graph that depicts a time series of the estimated temperature increase caused by a doubling of CO2 based on studies completed between 2001 and 2014. However, when looking at the Bureau of Economic Analysis time series focusing on the trade of goods only (not services) imports have risen from 1.6% of GDP in 1942 to 12.7% in 2015. This is not an isolationist nation, but instead one that is increasingly becoming a hub of industrial design whereby the actual goods are manufactured and assembled out of the U.S. By the same token, the U.S. runs a resulting chronic large Current Account Deficit. This has to result in a shortage of American engineers, mathematicians, and scientists that has unfavorable implication in the current Big Data-Artificial Intelligence race."
"There is some great in depth explanation and analysis of the US shale oil industry abd the technology coming online to make it extremely productive and competitive."
"The thesis of the book is that as the US becomes energy independent, it will be less interested in world trade (true, since most of our imports are either oil or from China) and less interested in military intervention. My book, Baltic Attack, gives a fictional take at how stealth Air Power could affect that war (I was an aircraft engineer)."
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Best Environmental Policy

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come. In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it. “Dan Egan’s deeply researched and sharply written The Death and Life of The Great Lakes . nimbly splices together history, science, reporting and personal experiences into a taut and cautiously hopeful narrative. early acclaim, [ The Death and Life of the Great Lakes ] is easy to read, offering well-paced, intellectually stimulating arguments, bolstered by well-researched and captivating narratives.”. - Lekelia Danielle Jenkins, Science. “This book feels urgent to policymakers and laypersons alike.”. - Kerri Arsenault, Literary Hub. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is an engaging, vitally important work of science journalism.”. - Eva Holland, The Globe and Mail. “Dan Egan has done more than any other journalist in America to chronicle the decline of this once-great ecosystem, to alert the public to new threats, and to force governments to take remedial action.”. - Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment, Special Merit citation.
Reviews
"If you like having fresh water to drink from the Great Lakes or live near one of the "HOMES," this book is for you."
"I live near the great lakes and have been a big fan of all the shore lines."
"A well-researched book that should be required reading for every Michigander."
"Having lived,vacationed and traveled around the Great Lakes most of my life, I have gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for these spectacular inland seas."
"Any midwesterner drawing water from the Great Lakes will appreciate this thoughtful and well-researched book."
"Sad reading about one calamity after another to the Great Lakes."
"Should be forced read for every person associated with making decisions that cover the Great Lakes."
"Great history of Lake Superior, everything except why the fluctuations in water levels."
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Best Immigration Policy

The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam
Murray takes a step back at each stage and looks at the bigger and deeper issues which lie behind a continent's possible demise, from an atmosphere of mass terror attacks to the steady erosion of our freedoms. Murray’s book is informed by actual reporting across the Continent, and a quality of writing that manages to be spritely and elegiac at the same time. Murray’s is also a truly liberal intellect, in that he is free from the power that taboo exerts over the European problem, but he doesn’t betray the slightest hint of atavism or meanspiritedness." That it is written with Douglas Murray’s usual literary elegance and waspish humor does not make it any less depressing. That Murray will be vilified for it by the liberals who have created the appalling mess he describes does not make it any less brilliant and important ( . "His overall thesis, that a guilt-driven and exhausted Europe is playing fast and loose with its precious modern values by embracing migration on such a scale, is hard to refute." "This is a vitally important book, the contents of which should be known to everyone who can influence the course of events, at this critical time in the history of Europe." "Douglas Murray’s introduction to this already destructive subject of Islamist hegemony is a distinguished attempt to clarify the origins of a storm. It may even prove to be the start of a conversation, and for such a dangerously politicized and neglected subject, that would be most welcome. The combination of fascinating subject matter and superb writing make The Strange Death of Europe a title that stays in the mind throughout the reading process and beyond." Murray is at his strongest when lampooning the neurotic guilt of Western liberal elites . With violence erupting in Europe and America's new anti-immigration policies, this audacious work will find its readers." More than any other book with which I am familiar, The Strange Death of Europe provides a rich, comprehensive, and haunting portrait of a continent in extremis and an astute, thoroughly credible diagnosis of the social, psychological, and cultural afflictions that have led it to this hour of crisis." "Every so often, something is published which slices through the fog of confusion, obfuscation and the sheer dishonesty of public debate to illuminate one key fact about the world. Such a work is Douglas Murray’s tremendous and shattering book, The Strange Death of Europe ." It is likely that liberals in Europe and North America will avoid this book, but they shouldn’t. "Murray’s clear and humane exposition of the seismic changes and the abject failure of political elites to face up to them gives those not willfully blind an opportunity to see." Readers able to face a stern depiction of culture clash will witness in The Strange Death of Europe a panorama of a receding landscape. "In Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam , whereby one learns that the death in question is not so strange after all, for it is merely a case of suicide--or, more precisely, attempted suicide, because there is an increasing resistance underway, which is even reversing Islamization in some European countries, at least in some respects . Murray is very effective in fully identifying the deformed, guilt-ridden liberalism à la Karsten Nordal Hauken that generates illiberal concessions to intolerance--and to violence." "By far the most compelling political book of the year was Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe . Based on travels through key European centres, Murray weaves a tale of uncontrolled immigration, failed multiculturalism, systemic self-doubt, cultural suicide and disingenuous political leadership.
Reviews
"Murray frames the moral dilemma facing the west through a quote from the prophetic 1973 book The Camp of the Saints. Author Jean Raspail saw ‘A million poor wretches, armed only with their weakness and their numbers, overwhelmed by misery, encumbered with starving brown and black children, ready to disembark on our soil, the vanguard of the multitudes pressing hard against every part of the tired and overfed West. To reject them would destroy them.’. An established journalist, Murray had the resources to travel throughout Europe to view the immigration problem firsthand. Their parts of the major cities – Paris, Stockholm, Berlin – become no-go zones for police, firemen and ambulances. Murry recites the well-known history of strife between Islam and Christianity, from Charles Martel's victory at Tours in 732 through the 1683 defeat of the Ottomans at Vienna. Murray's arguments are well made, and his knowledge of European history, philosophy and literature are impressive. The argument is encapsulated in his treatment of Michel Houellebecq's novel Submission, about the coming to power of an Islamist government in France. He notes cases such as that of Pym Fortuyn in the Netherlands in which liberals came to oppose immigration (and, too often, to die for taking such a stance). He notes that Jews have been driven from historical Jewish quarters and are very often victims of attacks by Muslims. He does not whatsoever go into the question of who owns the media that covers up Muslim crime and broadcasts the message of diversity. To survive in a harsh climate, bands of Northern Europeans developed altruism, tolerance and high intelligence. He envisions a Western Europe in which pockets of traditional people muddle through in small concentrations far from the cities. Last year the town of Yagotin, not far from Kyiv, forced Ukraine's president to go back on a plan to resettle 250 Syrians in their midst. Table of Contents. 1 The beginning. 2 How we got hooked on immigration. 3 The excuses we told ourselves. 4 ‘Welcome to Europe’. 5 ‘We have seen everything’. 6 Multiculturalism. 7 They are here. 8 Prophets without honour. 9 Early-warning sirens. 10 The tyranny of guilt. 11 The pretence of repatriation. 12 Learning to live with it. 13 Tiredness. 14 We’re stuck with this. 15 Controlling the backlash. 16 The feeling that the story has run out. 17 The end. 18 What might have been. 19 What will be."
"All debate over the huge numbers of immigrants and their offspring from all over the world has been shut-down by the mainstream political parties by implying anyone who opposes this transformation is racist, xenophobic, nativist, etc."
"Starting off after WWII, the author shows how the politicians encouraged migrant workers to fill the gaps left by a diminished workforce.The understanding at the time of this policy, for both the politicians and the public, was that these workers would be guests who would eventually go back to their country of origin. The latter half of the book focuses on the migration crisis of recent years featuring discussions about Europe's culture via artists and authors, as well as what the implications are for the future of Europe. To summarize these chapters quite succinctly, it becomes clear that the politicians are at odds with the people and the future of an indigenous population with no sense of direction or purpose is a grim one indeed."
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Best Intergovernmental Organizations Policy

The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe
Stiglitz reveals three potential paths forward: drastic structural reforms, not of the individual countries, but of the eurozone; a well-managed dissolution of the euro; or a bold new system dubbed the “flexible euro.” With trenchant analysis―and brand new material on Brexit― The Euro is urgent and timely reading. “Terrific and clarifying.”. - Peter Goodman, The New York Times. “[Stiglitz] is surely right.
Reviews
"'The Euro was supposed to enhance commercial ties, erode borders and foster a spirit of collective interest - partly through economies of scale and comparative advantage. But in the 17 years since that currency came into existence, it has instead reinvigorated conflicts and a spirit of distrust while making economic inequality worse and dividing Europe into adversarial debtor and creditor camps. Worse yet, the structure of the Eurozone built in certain ideas about what was required for economic success - that the central bank should focus on inflation, ignoring unemployment, growth, and stability as well, as does the Federal Reserve. Why were Europe's leaders even focusing on milk, the size of loaves of bread, and what OTC drugs could be sold outside of pharmacies as Greece's GDP plummeted about 25%? Stiglitz also points that prior to the crisis (early 2000s), Germany adopted reforms that aggressively cut into ordinary workers' safety net, especially those at the bottom. Sitglitz endorses significant debt write-downs, raising both taxes and spending by the same amount (Stiglitz blames a hidden agenda of downsizing government for the latter), and banning excessive trade deficits. He also criticizes the European Common Bank for 'resisting quantative easing,' yet argues that the most important effect of QE has been contributing to 'growing inequality,' which he says hurts growth. Bottom-Line, per Stiglitz: The Euro has failed to achieve either of its two principal goals of prosperity and political integration."
"In fact Stiglitz explicates many arguments against the UE, but he doesn't arrive to affirm the paradox which it would be better to leave the single states with an its money."
"One could do well on advanced exams in economics by just rereading Samuelson's relevant chapter in his introductory book."
"Travels to other countries is necessary to observe the problems."
"His cruise left Tuesday and I learned at lunch on Saturday."
"Nobel prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz successfully dismantles the conventional consensus about what ails Europe, demolishing the champions of austerity while offering a cure that can rescue the continent--and perhaps the world--from the next crisis."
"It is extremely accurate and helpful to understand all the alternatives facing the international community, willing to act to overcome the shortcomings of a monetary system developed without a fiscal coordination."
"Not an easy read but very informative."
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Best Military Policy

The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner
From the remotest air bases in the Pacific Command, where he discovered that the authority to initiate use of nuclear weapons was widely delegated, to the secret plans for general nuclear war under Eisenhower, which, if executed, would cause the near-extinction of humanity, Ellsberg shows that the legacy of this most dangerous arms buildup in the history of civilization--and its proposed renewal under the Trump administration--threatens our very survival. "The Doomsday Machine is being published at an alarmingly relevant moment, as North Korea is seeking the capability to target the United States with nuclear missiles, and an unpredictable president, Donald Trump, has countered with threats of 'fire and fury.'". "One of the best books ever written on the subject--certainly the most honest and revealing account by an insider who plunged deep into the nuclear rabbit hole's mad logic and came out the other side." "Ellsberg’s brilliant and unnerving account makes a convincing case for disarmament and shows that the mere existence of nuclear weapons is a serious threat to humanity." When the author hurriedly copied the contents of his RAND Corporation safe to reveal, in time, what would become known as the Pentagon Papers, that was just the start of it. "History may remember Ellsberg as the whistleblower who leaked the Pentagon Papers and helped end the Vietnam War, but his alarmingly relevant new book should also assure his legacy as a prescient and authoritative anti-nuclear activist. The Doomsday Machine , which takes its title from Dr. Strangelove, reads like a thriller as Ellsberg figures out that America's pledge never to attack first was fiction and that the so called 'fail-safe' systems are prone to disaster." "Ellsberg presents his thoughts on how best to dismantle a program that could lead to global annihilation, while once again proving how deeply disturbing and radically ignorant our country's leaders are when it comes to thermonuclear warfare." "In the era of barbed insults regarded as precursors to nuclear threat, the warnings yielded by The Doomsday Machine have become required reading. The Doomsday Machine is essential reading--both a terrifying ‘Doctor Strangelove’ saga and a hopeful consideration of future scenarios." The Doomsday Machine is not for the faint of heart, but its sense of urgency should make it required reading, and―more importantly―a call to action." "This long-awaited chronicle from the father of American whistle-blowing is both an urgent warning and a call to arms to a public that has grown dangerously habituated to the idea that the means of our extinction will forever be on hair-trigger alert." He introduces us to the men who have coldly and with a God-like sense of righteous entitlement, put in place a plan that can, on a whim--not virtually, but literally--annihilate life on Earth. "A fascinating and terrifying account of nuclear war planning by a consultant from the RAND Corporation at the highest levels of government in the Kennedy administration.
Reviews
"While Ellsberg confesses to having held dangerous and delusional beliefs that he no longer holds, to having worked within an institution plotting genocide, to having taken well-meaning steps as an insider that backfired, and to having written words he did not agree with, we also learn from this book that he did effectively and significantly move the U.S. government in the direction of less reckless and horrific policies long before dropping out and becoming a whistleblower. In any case, we now have a book that draws on Ellsberg’s memory, documents made public over the decades, advancing scientific understanding, the work of other whistleblowers and researchers, the confessions of other nuclear war planners, and the additional developments of the past generation or so. Here we read an up-close account from within the White House and Pentagon of a group of people making plans for nuclear wars based on a completely false conception of what nuclear bombs would do (leaving the results of fire and smoke out of casualty calculations, and lacking the very idea of nuclear winter), and based on completely fabricated accounts of what the Soviet Union was doing (believing it was thinking offense when it was thinking defense, believing it had 1,000 intercontinental ballistic missiles when it had four), and based on wildly flawed understandings of what others in the U.S. government itself were doing (with levels of secrecy denying both true and false information to the public and much of the government). This is an account of extravagant disregard for human life, outdoing that of the creators and testers of the atomic bomb, who placed bets on whether it would ignite the atmosphere and burn up the earth. Ellsberg’s colleagues were so driven by bureaucratic rivalries and ideological hatreds that they’d favor or oppose more land-based missiles if it benefited the Air Force or hurt the Navy, and they’d plan for any combat with Russia to immediately require the nuclear destruction of every city in Russia and China (and in Europe via Soviet medium-range missiles and bombers and from the close-in fallout from U.S. nuclear strikes on Soviet bloc territory). Combine this portrait of our dear leaders with the number of near-misses through misunderstanding and accident that we’ve learned of over the years, and the remarkable thing is not that a fascistic fool sits in the White House today threatening fire and fury, with Congressional committee hearings publicly pretending nothing can be done to prevent a Trump-induced apocalypse. “The declared official rationale for such a system,” Ellsberg writes, “has always been primarily the supposed need to deter—or if necessary respond to—an aggressive Russian nuclear first strike against the United States. The nature, scale, and posture of our strategic nuclear forces has always been shaped by the requirements of quite different purposes: to attempt to limit the damage to the United States from Soviet or Russian retaliation to a U.S. first strike against the USSR or Russia. threats of ‘first use’—to prevail in regional, initially non-nuclear conflicts involving Soviet or Russian forces or their allies.”. But the United States never threatened nuclear war until Trump came along! They have used them in the precise way that a gun is used when it is pointed at someone in a confrontation.”. U.S. presidents who have made specific public or secret nuclear threats to other nations, that we know of, and as detailed by Ellsberg, have included Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump, while others, including Barack Obama, have frequently said things like “All options are on the table” in relation to Iran or another country. Not only did Congress just hear from a lineup of witnesses who each said that there might be no way to stop Trump or any other president from launching a nuclear war (given that impeachment and prosecution should not be mentioned in relation to anything so trivial as apocalypse prevention). Here’s Ellsberg: “Nor could the president then or now—by exclusive possession of the codes necessary to launch or detonate any nuclear weapons (no such exclusive codes have ever been held by any president)—physically or otherwise reliably prevent the Joint Chiefs of Staff or any theater military commander (or, as I’ve described, command post duty officer) from issuing such authenticated orders.” When Ellsberg managed to inform Kennedy of the authority Eisenhower had delegated to use nuclear weapons, Kennedy refused to reverse the policy. Ellsberg recounts his efforts to make civilian officials, the secretary of “defense” and the president, aware of top nuclear war plans kept secret and lied about by the military. It has been reported by insiders and scholars to have been a critical influence on U.S. strategic war planning ever since.”. Ellsberg’s account of the Cuban Missile Crisis alone is reason to get this book. While Ellsberg believed U.S. actual dominance (in contrast to myths about a “missile gap”) meant there would be no Soviet attack, Kennedy was telling people to hide underground. While everyone who nudged this crisis in the right direction may have helped save the world, including Vassily Arkhipov who refused to launch a nuclear torpedo from a Soviet submarine, the real hero of Ellsberg’s tale is, in the end, I think, Nikita Khrushchev, who chose predictable insults and shame over annihilation. Of course, Germany had already bombed civilians in Spain and Poland, as had Britain in Iraq, India, and South Africa, and as had both sides on a smaller scale in the first world war."
"This book exposes for the first time the secret plan developed by the government and approved by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to launch a nuclear strike against Russia and China, under a range of possible circumstances, that they knew was likely to kill 600,000,000 people worldwide."
"Daniel Ellsberg made history by leaking the Pentagon Papers, and it is possible that he is the person most responsible for ending the atrocity of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg reveals that he personally wrote plans and reviewed strategies for the US to fight a nuclear war, against the Soviet Union or China. In the SIOP, for massive retaliation and Mutually Assured Destruction, Ellsberg reveals the the US planned to attack both the USSR and China in the event of war, no matter who started it or why. This extraordinary book reveals that he believed in the Communist threat and the domino theory enough that after he left academia, he actually went to RAND and then the Pentagon and personally wrote plans for waging nuclear war. As a metaphor, he went to Hell and made an alliance with the Devil, developing plans to end life on earth...and then he changed and became nearly a saint."
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Best Non-Governmental Organization Policy

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace - One School at a Time
The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard. Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way.
Reviews
"It's a good children's book."
"This was a well written account and put forth a totally different solution to terrorism than the popular media presents."
"Both books offer extended examples of the heroics these men went to in order to safely escort/save Mortenson and Luttrell."
"Should be required reading in school."
"I thought it was far too full of flowery language and exaggeration, which was inappropriate for an account of real events."
"They need to be empowered to make their own decisions about schools, culture centers and health care, locally... not patronized as incapable so we have to do it for them. Would that not have been a greater good and left the local residents to direct their own futures? The poppy war lords had a vested interest and money as did many of the people with whom Mortenson came into contact. He had not been invited to do so and while the book is an interesting adventure, had it not been a book club selection, I would have stopped reading on ethical principles alone."
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Best Public Affairs & Administration

The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. A consummate political insider, Roger Stone views the JFK assassination through the prism of a murder investigator's first question, cui bono (who benefits)? Stone's shocking answer is that the primary suspect has been hiding in plain sight for 50 years: LBJ. Any serious student of politics or history should read Roger Stone's stunning new book The Man Who Killed Kennedy . Roger Stone nails LBJ for JFK murder! Roger Stone is likely the only person who both had access to higher levels of government and is willing to stake his reputation on this particular theory. Has evidence Lyndon B. Johnson arranged John F. Kennedy's assassination. — Daily Mail UK. Backs up the bombshell claim of President Lyndon B. Johnson's former mistress, that LBJ was the power-crazed mastermind behind the assassination of the man he replaced in the White House, John F. Kennedy! Stone's book will change American history forever!
Reviews
"This account blows earlier accounts of the Kennedy assassination, including the Warren Commission, right out of the water."
"I can say it brings the important dust from the corners and sheds light allowing all of us to forego having to skim the interwebs reading the JFK document dumps."
"I found it strange that I've read books on the Viet Nam War and Watergate - the other two defining political events in my growing up years - but I had never taken the time to accept or reject the Warren Commission. It's interesting that in the back of my mind I've sort of known there are two self-contradictory popular beliefs that guide popular perception on the Kennedy assassination: 1. the Warren Report is seriously flawed. 2. anyone that presents an alternative view of the Warren Report is a kook. So who does Roger Stone - longtime political strategist for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, and George W. Bush - say killed JFK? Stone sets out to show how the parties that would most benefit from Kennedy's death worked together, including the Mob, J. Edgar Hoover, a few renegades in the CIA tied to the Bay of Pigs and several failed assassination attempts on Fidel Castro, certain Texas oilmen, and first and foremost, the man who stood the most to gain and who could organize the plot and then perform the most important function to hold it all together - controlling the evidence - namely Lyndon Baines Johnson. Like any argument based on an historical event; you have to present - and hope the readers / listeners believe - a boatload of circumstantial evidence, assembled cogently, and wrapped up neatly with a bow on top. I think I can confidently say this: Even if all Stone's assumptions and dot connecting aren't correct, he made an overwhelming case that the Warren Commission and its report was a sham that was designed to protect powerful participants in a plot that could not be subsumed within a lone gunman theory."
"I have always been suspicious of commission reports and conclusions."
"It's the first one that concentrates mostly on LBJ, and gives real facts and all the documented evidence for those facts. One 'fact' that I have heard both ways is whether the Secret Service was told to not ride on the back posts of the presidental limo (which supposedly is protocol to do)."
"If you doubt the essential conclusions of this book and continue to fall into step with the party line, you are a very hard nut to crack."
"It reads like a novel mystery, but unfortunately it is really an indictment of the corruption rampart in our government."
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Best Regional Politics Planning

Introduction to Emergency Management, Fifth Edition
Introduction to Emergency Management , Fifth Edition, offers a fully up-to-date analysis of US emergency management principles. Extensive discussions cover the latest disasters, offering ample opportunity for current students and practitioners to build their critical thinking skills and grow into the next generation of leaders in this increasingly important profession.
Reviews
"The book was exactly as described."
"Good basic book."
"I bought this book for a class and didn't end up using it much, but from what I did read I enjoyed."
"Overall the book provides good information but has some editorial and factual errors which should have been addressed by now."
"though out of date, very good info!"
"Looking for a detailed and complete overview of Emergency Management (in the USA), than this seems the book a must read."
"It's like all the other books."
"I used the book for the class, still had it for review if I needed it for my next class."
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Best Government Social Policy

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs
In Chasing the Scream , Hari reveals his discoveries entirely through the stories of people across the world whose lives have been transformed by this war. It begins with Hari's discovery that at the birth of the drug war, Billie Holiday was stalked and killed by the man who launched this crusade--and it ends with the story of a brave doctor who has led his country to decriminalize every drug, from cannabis to crack, with remarkable results. Johann Hari was a columnist for the Independent in London for nine years and was twice named Newspaper Journalist of the Year by Amnesty International UK.
Reviews
"For the history, in addition to Anslinger, his research provides detailed insights into: -- Billy Holiday, a jazz singer and drug user whose paths crossed with Anslinger’s, and. -- Arnold Rothstein, who invented the modern drug gang, and was the first major figure in organized drug crime in the United States. And as Hari moved us to the present and future, these personal stories came from actual extensive interviews with an amazing array of individuals, including: -- Chino Hardin, a drug dealer for years in Brooklyn, who started his business when he was 14 years old. -- Marisela Escobedo, who refused to accept her daughter’s murder by drug traffickers, and led protests in Mexico, until she was assassinated in front of the government palace (interviews were with family and friends). -- Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland, who supported and promoted harm reduction approaches, including heroin clinics. Good stories, compelling arguments, and powerful facts (all fact-checked by the author and editors, with over 65 pages of notes, and a website with actual audio tapes of the interviews for those who want more)."
"I know all too well that even people who "know better" can still become addicted. When you're an addict, one often feels as if there's nobody else who understands...except your sick addict running buddies. My fair city is cited a few times in this book as Anslinger was severely delusional in his pursuit to punish all addicts, and I see the faces of desperate addicts every day."
"I already was in favor of legalizing marijuana before reading this, however, after reading it, I believe the manner in which we treat people who use drugs is not only criminal, but also contributing to a lifelong dependence on drugs rather than helping them break their addition."
"Employing a journalistic approach, Hari examines the history and impact of the war on drugs through the stories of numerous drug war participants—warriors, users, dealers, addicts, counselors, etc. If you support the war on drugs, please, please, please read this book."
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Best Social Security

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout (and perhaps underpins) our society; not a medical "condition" distinct from the lives it affects, rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional, and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs (and behaviors) of addiction. “In this brilliant and well-documented book, Gabor Maté locates the source of addictions in the trauma of an emotionally empty childhood, making it a relational rather than a medical problem. "Dr. Maté’s latest book is a moving, debate-provoking, and multi-layered look at how addiction arises, the people afflicted with it and why he supports decriminalization of all drugs, including crystal meth.… [ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts ] reads not only as a lively textbook analysis of the physiological and psychological causes of drug addiction, but also as an investigation into his heart and mind." “In this comprehensive and courageous book … Maté relates, with compassion and honesty, the poignant stories of severe substance addicts – the hungry ghosts, in Buddhist-realm terminology – whom he treats. And it is the addicts’ stories and the clear logic of the latest science and statistics that Maté shares which convince the reader that society’s attitudes toward, and treatment of, addiction must change. "It’s time to give Maté … the Order of Canada for this erudite and sensitive book about the lives of Downtown Eastside intravenous-drug users, the neurobiology of addiction, and the folly of the war on drugs. "Gabor Maté’s latest book is a sprawling but fascinating look at addiction that is part science, part diatribe, part character study, and part confessional.… The writing is powerful.… the book leaves the reader with a profound sense of empathy and understanding for some of society’s most marginalized victims. "It seems odd to use the word ‘beautiful’ to describe a book that focuses, frequently in graphic, unrelenting detail, on the lives of some of the most hopeless outcasts of our society: the hard-core street addicts with whom Dr. Gabor Maté works. " In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts looks at addictions, how they work, who experiences them and what can be done.… The book is a survey of scientific evidence on addiction, but it is haunted by Maté’s patients who are wrestling with poverty, violence, mental illness, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, the authorities, their pasts. We read about the depths of addiction, but also the persistence of humanity under the worst of conditions.… That the well-off and the destitute are considered together in this book reminds us that addiction transcends class." “[ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts ] shows an unflinching look at addiction… Dr. Maté makes observations that cut through all the myths and misinterpretations about addicts and how they live… There are many nuggets of wisdom and insight throughout the book. I heartily recommend this book to anyone with an interest in addiction, addiction treatment, early childhood development, or drug policy.”. — Drug War Chronicle. “As a person who has struggled with addiction and worked with recovering addicts, I’m pleased to see that someone is bold enough to write holistically and compassionately about addiction. I devoured this book page by page—it is more than a book on addiction, it is on what makes us human.”. — Ex Libris. “[ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts ] is quite unlike any book or documentary I've ever seen about the topic of addiction… This book allows the reader to become a spectator of the treatment of addicts—the people considered on the bottom level of society.”. — A Book of Days. Gabor Maté, a Vancouver-based physician specializing in addictions explains in his book In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts that criminalization and coercion do nothing but perpetuate the War On Drugs… Dr. Maté further explains that a far better way to approach drug addiction is through a process called harm reduction, which has more to do with compassion and empathy, not ostracism and punishment, and which encourages a gradual reduction of addiction.” —The Ithaca Journal “ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts provides essential reading for anyone who has ever been a parent, fetus, young child, child care worker, teacher, or physician… [Gabor Maté’s] empathy toward the addicts he treats is compelling, as he links degrees of neglect and trauma described by these hapless, unloved patients to his early upbringing. “The book opens with specific stories of addicts who Dr. Maté has worked with and interviewed. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout (and perhaps underpins) our society; not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects, rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional, and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs (and behaviors) of addiction. “Gabor Maté’s latest book effectively demolishes the belief that addictions arise from chemical imbalances, genetics, or bad choices…. I n the Realm of Hungry Ghosts condemns society for depriving human beings of what they need to thrive and then persecuting and punishing them for using drugs to relieve their pain… well-written, engaging.”. — Dissident Voice. Maté, a physician in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, has been treating poor and homeless people addicted to various drugs, particularly cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, for many years and in this account his insights into the physiological, sociological, psychological, and political-economic nature of addiction are stunningly elucidated… exceptionally clearly-written and readable… Too many books are described as essential reading, but for anyone who has ever been touched in any way by substance abuse or other addictions, or for anyone who knows someone who has, and especially for anyone dealing professionally with medical and policy issues related to addictive drugs, this book simply must be read. “[Gabor Maté], a front-line professional combating addiction in Canada, questions the premise that addiction is a choice that people make. Does that make sense – people want to, choose to be addicted?”. — Addiction Magazine.
Reviews
"Though his focus is on drug addiction he gives insight to any kind of addiction."
"Really interesting, thoughtful, nuanced and compassionate."
"I found this book truly helpful."
"Such an enlightening, personal reflection of this man's life and work."
"Although I am not a typical drug or alcohol addict I do love to gamble, but am able to stay away for long periods, but I would say he is right on and when I compared his opinions to people in my life that suffer hard core addiction.....it all makes more sense!"
"I AM A ADC COUNSELOR INTERN AND MATE SHOWS US THE REALITY OF ADDICTION AND THAT WE ALL ARE HUMAN, ADDICTS ARE NOT TO BE JUDGED FOR BEING ADDICTS, THEY DIDNT CHOOSE TO BE ADDICTS WHEN GROWING UP THEY DIDNT SAY I AM GOING TO GROW UP AND BE AN ADDICT!!!!!"
"One of most informative, humane treaties on addiction that elegantly ties together the neurobiologic underpinnings of addiction with the personal and social elements."
"This is a great book by a gifted and minful doctor who don't go with the flow."
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Best Social Services & Welfare

Spilled Milk: Based On A True Story
Brooke Nolan is a battered child who makes an anonymous phone call about the escalating brutality in her home. When social services jeopardize her safety condemning her to keep her father’s secret, it’s a glass of spilled milk at the dinner table that forces her to speak about the cruelty she’s been hiding. When jury members and a love interest congregate to inspire her to fight, she risks losing the support of family and comes to the realization that some people simply do not want to be saved. Several colleges and high schools have incorporated the novel into their lesson plans and I've received tons of feedback from my voracious fans- I knew I needed to come out with a more polished and professional edition that was appropriate for the education system, my fans, and in general. Randis, author of bestselling novel Spilled Milk and thePillbillies series, started journaling at the age of six and had shortstories and poetry published by the time she was thirteen.She is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and a certifiedexpert in the field of domestic violence. Randis engages audiences on a local and national level to raise awareness about child abuse, serving as a frequent commentator to media outlets.
Reviews
"Sometimes bad things happen to good people and that thought breaks my heart."
"A story of courage of a young child in a very dysfunctional home."
"It's surprising that his mum was such a friendly, helpful and understanding person given that her son was the complete opposite."
"there were times I had to put it down and collect myself because I could feel tears forming in my eyes."
"I just know after reading the conclusion that she has not only written a best seller but has helped save many lives by writing her story."
"Concisely written, she moves swiftly into illustrating her rise from a hell ruled by her father into an adolescence marked by determination to change the dynamic; she forges a life for herself in spite of her father and mother who want her to remain dependent."
"I read this book in about 3 days."
"I actually really liked this book even though it's quite disturbing."
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