A few must-reads—now 50% off through the end of this week.
Stuff your book bags with titles from our Back-to-School sale! Now through September 25th receive 35% off new and recent titles, 45% off on orders over $60. And now through the end of this week receive 50% off on featured sale titles, including all 6 listed below, and several others featured in our beach reads, summer picks, and gift book recommendations from 2015 and 2016.
1
Engines of Empire »
Steamships and the Victorian Imagination
RECOMMENDED READING FOR:
historians and steampunks
Following famous travelers like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne as well as ordinary spectators, tourists, and imperial administrators, Engines of Empire offers a bold and wryly told account of the steamship and its outsized imprint on the cultural imaginary and imperial clout of Western society. Burgess reveals how steamships, which became the quintessential symbol of modernity, nationalism, empire, and civilization itself, offer an invaluable lens through with to consider (or reconsider) Victorian society. Offering a corrective for decades of hagiography lauding the technological prowess of the steamship, this book balances this narrative against the catastrophic consequences that the advent of the steam engine posed for subjugated peoples around the world.
“[Engines of Empire] barrels forth with creativity and character, to offer a voyage at once informative and thought provoking.”
—Glenn S. Gordinier, author of The Rocket’s Red Glare: The War of 1812 and Connecticut
Read an excerpt from Chapter 1 »
2
If God Were a Human Rights Activist »
RECOMMENDED READING FOR:
all those who have not given up the struggle for a better society
Despite universalizing language and an ever-increasing global reach, human rights as we know them were forged in the crucibles of the American and French revolutions and still bear the unmistakable imprint of a western-centric understanding of the world. So argues Boaventura de Sousa Santos in his book, If God Were A Human Rights Activist—“a tour de force of the moral and intellectual imagination” in which he argues that conventional human rights discourses have, at their own peril, trivialized and ignored decisive resistance movements at the global margins (from indigenous movements in Latin America, to peasant movements in Africa and Asia, to the Islamic insurgency). Only a counter-hegemonic conception of human rights, Santos argues, can adequately face the challenges presented by other rival political theologies today.
"A must-read for those interested in the question of human rights and the complicated task of building law beyond its current, dominating and degrading paradigms."
—Lewis Gordon, professor and author of What Fanon Said: A Philosophical Introduction to His Life and Thought
3
The Shared Society »
A Vision for the Global Future of Latin America
RECOMMENDED READING FOR:
inequality decriers and democracy boosters
Former Peruvian president, Alejandro Toledo—whose presidency coincided with aggressive poverty reduction and rapid economic growth—maps out his blueprint for a more prosperous and progressive Latin America in The Shared Society. Toledo articulates his vision for a shared society as one that is inclusive—economically, socially, and politically. By combining the goal of sustained economic growth with the imperative of equitable distribution of its gains for all, a self-reinforcing cycle can begin: one that generates more economic dividends by ensuring that everyone shares (and reinvests) in their neighborhoods, their communities, and their countries.
“As President of Peru, Alejandro Toledo confronted some of Latin America’s biggest challenges. Today, he shares his vision for the region’s future, and offers a roadmap for promoting growth and creating the inclusive, prosperous society that is well within reach.”
—Bill Clinton, former US President
4
Laws of Image »
Privacy and Publicity in America
RECOMMENDED READING FOR:
TMZ viewers, former Gawker readers, and law and society types
Since the turn of the twentieth century if not earlier, the United States has been what Samantha Barbas calls an image society—a culture steeped in advertisements, billboards, tabloids, and magazines, highly attuned to looks, impressions, and surface appearances. Nowhere does image-consciousness appear more fiercely than when applied to self-presentation and reputation, a culture-wide neurosis that has furnished us with a whole corpus of laws protecting individuals from libel, slander, and invasion of privacy. Laws of Image illustrates how these legal devices are the expression of a people who have become so publicity-conscious and self-focused that everyone believes they have a right to control their public images, to manage and spin them like actors, politicians, and rock stars—even where such regulation runs up against free speech.
"Beautifully written and powerfully argued, Laws of Image shows us how the law develops through culture, leaving us with a rich sense of the struggle that remains as digital culture renders the image as common as the bit."
—Lawrence Lessig, professor and author of Republic, Lost: The Corruption of Equality and the Steps to End It
Read an excerpt from the Introduction »
5
Losing Afghanistan »
An Obituary for the Intervention
RECOMMENDED READING FOR:
Middle East experts and politics and current events buffs
Losing Afghanistan follows the stories of four individuals—an ambassador, a Navy SEAL, a young Afghan businessman, and a wind energy engineer—as they navigate the perilous and contradictory terrain of life during the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan. Turning the lens away from battles and politics to zero in on the lives of individuals living in and around Bagram Airbase, Noah Coburn opens a window onto the chasm between what ordinary Afghans think and want, and what international actors assume and do—and the frustration and disillusionment that resulted. With Afghanistan’s political future still far from certain, Coburn offers a more nuanced account of the intervention, a history that looks at how individual lives were shaped socially and economically by the vast resources that flooded the country.
"Rich in description and thick with ironies, Losing Afghanistan, reveals the insanities of a war run by and for contractors, and by soldiers posing as development agents. . . . A quiet indictment."
—Catherine Lutz, professor
Read an Excerpt from Chapter 1 »
6
The Diplomat in the Corner Office »
Corporate Foreign Policy
RECOMMENDED READING FOR:
private, public, and civil sector leaders
Bridging economics and international relations, Timothy L. Fort, one of the founders of the business and peace movement, makes the case that in the 21st century global business environment it’s time to expand our notion of corporate responsibility. The Diplomat in the Corner Office marries ethics and economics and calls on companies, government, and civil society to better leverage business as a force for peace. Invoking principles expounded by Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, and Immanuel Kant, Fort illustrates how a peace-oriented international business strategy not only strengthens communities but also makes economic sense.
Winner of the 2016 Social Issues in Management Book Award, sponsored by the Academy of Management.
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