Series in Opinion
Books in Opinion
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
One day in 1957, in the third-grade classroom of St. Brigid’s parochial school, an exasperated Sister Mary Lurana bent over a restless young William O’Reilly and said, “William, you are a bold, fresh piece of humanity.” Little did she know that she was, early in his career as a troublemaker, defining the essence of Bill O’Reilly and providing him with the title of his brash and entertaining issues-based memoir. In his most intimate book yet, O’Reilly goes back in time to examine the people, places, and experiences that launched him on his journey from working-class kid to immensely influential television personality and bestselling author. Readers will learn how his traditional outlook was formed in the crucible of his family, his neighborhood, his church, and his schools, and how his views on America’s proper role in the world emerged from covering four wars on five continents over three-plus decades as a news correspondent. What will delight his numerous fans and surprise many others is the humor and self-deprecation with which he handles one of his core subjects: himself, and just how O’Reilly became O’Reilly.
A Letter to the President
From the legendary best-selling author of Fear of Flying comes a powerful essay directed at politicians who depend on the women's vote, yet never bother to address women until they need to be rescued. In no uncertain terms, Erica Jong addresses the key issues facing American women -- abortion, jobs, economic parity, health care, and more -- and makes clear that in return for the women's vote, our President must fulfill his promise to advance the rights of American women. Erica Jong fiercely believes that women's rights are human rights, and a core value of democracy. Jong holds nothing back in this breathless, urgent and necessary call to arms. The happy fact that Obama has won a second term in no way detracts from her insistence that he look at the electorate differently, rather than turning it all over to Michelle! Women are not a minority to be appeased. Rather, we are the majority. Beginning with the worldwide sensation created by her debut novel, Fear Of Flying, in 1973 -- which has sold 26 million copies to date -- Erica Jong has established herself not only as an important American novelist and poet, but also as a passionate and compelling commentator on feminist issues. Jong has published eight novels, two memoirs and seven books of poetry.
A Planet to Win(With: Alyssa Battistoni,Thea Riofrancos)
All politics are climate politics in the twenty-first century - and this bold book argues for a Green New Deal that confronts both climate change and inequality The age of climate gradualism is over, as unprecedented disasters are exacerbated by inequalities of race and class. We need profound, radical change. A Green New Deal can tackle the climate emergency and rampant inequality at the same time. Cutting carbon emissions while winning immediate gains for the many is the only way to build a movement strong enough to defeat big oil, big business, and the super-rich - starting right now. A Planet to Win explores the political potential and concrete first steps of a Green New Deal. It calls for dismantling the fossil fuel industry and building beautiful landscapes of renewable energy, guaranteeing climate-friendly work and no-carbon housing and free public transit. And it shows how a Green New Deal in the United States can strengthen climate justice movements worldwide. We don't make politics under conditions of our own choosing, and no one would choose this crisis. But crises also present opportunities. We stand on the brink of disaster - but also at the cusp of wondrous, transformative change.
After Henry
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Didion's "reportorial pieces afford the pleasures of literature.... She is an expert geographer of the landscape of American public culture" ( The New York Times Book Review). Here, the National Book Award–winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking covers ground from Washington to Los Angeles, from a TV producer's gargantuan "manor" to the racial battlefields of New York's criminal courts. At each stop she uncovers the mythic narratives that elude other observers: Didion tells us about the fantasies the media construct around crime victims and presidential candidates; she gives us new interpretations of the stories of Nancy Reagan and Patty Hearst; she charts America's rollercoaster ride through evanescent booms and hard times that won't go away. A bracing amalgam of skepticism and sympathy, After Henry is further proof of Joan Didion's infallible radar for the true spirit of our age.
Can We All Be Feminists?
“ As timely as it is well-written, this clear-eyed collection is just what I need right now.” —Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming “The intersectional feminist anthology we all need to read” ( Bustle) , edited by a feminist activist and writer who “calls to mind a young Audre Lorde” (Kirkus) Why do some women struggle to identify as feminists, despite their commitment to gender equality? How do other aspects of our identities – such as race, religion, sexuality, gender identity, and more – impact how we relate to feminism? Why is intersectionality so important? In challenging, incisive, and fearless essays – all of which appear here for the first time – seventeen writers from diverse backgrounds wrestle with these questions, and more. A groundbreaking book that elevates underrepresented voices, Can We All Be Feminists? offers the tools and perspective we need to create a 21st century feminism that is truly for all. Including essays by: Soofiya Andry, Gabrielle Bellot, Caitlin Cruz, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Brit Bennett, Evette Dionne, Aisha Gani, Afua Hirsch, Juliet Jacques, Wei Ming Kam, Mariya Karimjee, Eishar Kaur, Emer O’Toole, Frances Ryan, Zoé Samudzi, Charlotte Shane, and Selina Thompson
Carceral Humanitarianism: Logics of Refugee Detention
Coopted by military operations, humanitarianism has never been neutral. Rather than welcoming refugees, host countries assess the relative risks of taking them in versus turning them away, using a risk-benefit analysis that often reduces refugees to collateral damage in proxy wars fought in the war on terrorism. Carceral Humanitarianism testifies that humanitarian aid and human rights discourse are always political and partisan. Forerunners is a thought-in-process series of breakthrough digital works. Written between fresh ideas and finished books, Forerunners draws on scholarly work initiated in notable blogs, social media, conference plenaries, journal articles, and the synergy of academic exchange. This is gray literature publishing: where intense thinking, change, and speculation take place in scholarship.
Chronicling the Crash: Standpoint Writers on Economics and the Financial Crisis
Standpoint was founded in 2008. The magazine has only known economic tumult and making sense of the financial crisis has been the main objective of our economics coverage. Chronicling the Crash is a collection of the finest writing from Standpoint on recent economic history. Few of the problems left by the financial crisis have gone away and the insights of this eclectic mix of journalists, economists and politicians remain as pertinent now as they were the day they were written.
Citizenship Papers
Citizenship papers, n 1. Materials prepared for presentation to authorities when making an application for citizenship. 2. Documents presented as proof of citizenship. There are those in America today who seem to feel we must audition for our citizenship, with "Patriot" offered as the badge for those found narrowly worthy. Let this book stand as Wendell Berry’s application, for he is one of those faithful, devoted critics envisioned by the Founding Fathers to be the life’s blood and very future of the nation they imagined. Adams, Jefferson and Madison would have found great clarity in his prose and great hope in his vision. And today’s readers will be moved and encouraged by his anger and his refusal to surrender in the face of desperate odds. Books get written for all sorts of reasons, and this book was written out of necessity. Citizenship Papers collects nineteen new essays, from celebrations of exemplary lives to critiques of American life, including "A Citizen’s Response [to the new National Security Strategy]"a ringing call of caution to a nation standing on the brink of global catastrophe.
Content
Hailed by Bruce Sterling as a political activist, gizmo freak, junk collector, programmer, entrepreneur, and all-around Renaissance geek,” Cory Doctorow is the Web’s most celebrated high-tech pop-culture maven. Content is the first collection of Doctorow’s infamous articles, essays, and polemics. Here’s why Microsoft should stop treating its customers as criminals (through relentless digital-rights management); how America chose copyright and Happy Meal toys over jobs; why Facebook is taking a faceplant; how Wikipedia is a poor cousin of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; and, of course, why free e-books kick ass. Accessible to geeks and noobs (if you’re not sure what that means, it’s you) alike, Content is a must-have compilation from Cory Doctorow, who will be glad to take you along for the ride as he effortlessly surfs the zeitgeist.
Cruel: America’s Slow Burn to Conscious Dysfunction
"Could our country truly be sliding down the slippery slope of Conscious Dysfunction?" Cruel will make you ask this question along with many more. Cruel is a powerful book that will challenge your thoughts, personal views, political views, perceptions, and how others attempt to exploit them for gain. Cruel is a book that will challenge you to consider this along with several other relevant social issues. These issues range from presidential commentary on the United States 2016 presidential election and the reverberating impacts it has had locally and abroad. Other societal issues include taking a hard look at what the numerous beliefs and views that further divide us today, race in America, and the impacts biased fears have on the American subconscious. If you are interested in fresh insights plainly communicated without over theorizing some of the most relevant issues of today, as well as finding a way to move past them, pick up a copy of this book. Learn how to acknowledge the problems and become a part of the solution! .
Dave Barry Is Not Taking This Sitting Down
Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry is a pretty amiable guy. But lately, he’s been getting a little worked up. What could make a mild-mannered man of words so hot under the collar? Well, a lot of things–like bad public art, Internet millionaires, SUVs, Regis Philbin . . . and even bigger problems, like • The slower-than-deceased-livestock left-lane drivers who apparently believe that the right lane is sacred and must never come in direct contact with tires • The parent-misery quotient of last-minute school science fair projects • Day trading and other careers that never require you to take off your bathrobe • The plague of the low-flow toilets, which is so bad that even in Miami, where you can buy drugs just by opening your front door and yelling “Hey! I want some crack,” you can’t even sell your first born to get a normal-flushing toilet Dave Barry is not taking any of this sitting down. He’s going to stand up for the rights of all Americans against ridiculously named specialty “–chino” coffees and the IRS. Just as soon as he gets the darn toilet flushed.
Dreamers and Deceivers
The new nonfiction from #1 bestselling author and popular radio and television host Glenn Beck. THEIR NAMES ARE FAMILIAR. THEIR STORIES ARE NOT. Everyone has heard of a "Ponzi scheme," but do you know what Charles Ponzi actually did to make his name synonymous with fraud? Credit for inventing radio usually goes to Marconi or David Sarnoff and RCA--but if you've never heard of Edwin Armstrong or Lee de Forest, you know only half the story. You've probably been to a Disney theme park, but did you know that the park Walt believed would change the world was actually EPCOT? He died before his vision for it could ever be realized. History is about so much more than dates and dead guys; it's the greatest story ever told. Now, in this powerful follow-up to his national bestseller Miracles and Massacres , Glenn Beck brings ten more true and untold stories to life. The people who made America were not always what they seemed. There were entrepreneurs and visionaries whose selflessness propelled us forward, but there were also charlatans and fraudsters whose selfishness nearly derailed us. Dreamers and Deceivers brings both of these groups to life with stories written to put you right in the middle of the action. You know that Woodrow Wilson was a progressive who dramatically changed America, but did you know that he was also involved in one of the most shocking national deceptions of all time? You know I Love Lucy , but the true story of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball is much better than anything they produced for television. You've heard of Upton Sinclair, the socialist author who gained famed with The Jungle , but it was a book he wrote two decades later that proved the depths he was willing to go to maintain his reputation. From the spy Alger Hiss, to the visionary Steve Jobs, to the code-breaker Alan Turing--once you know the full stories behind the half-truths you've been force fed...once you meet the unsung heroes and obscured villains edited from our schoolbooks...once you begin to see these amazing people from our past as people rather than just names--your perspective on today's important issues may forever change. Find out why this series has become America's new go-to history book.