Reckless: How Debt, Deregulation and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (and How We Can Fix It)

By Byron Dorgan
"In this scathing indictment of the Bush administration and the excesses of big business and corporate gluttony during the past eight years, North Dakota Senator Dorgan (D-N.Dak.) chronicles how Americans' faith in government has been undermined by a lack of regulation and untrammeled greed. ....Dorgan's decidedly Democratic approach to repairing Americans' "broken trust" is to increase regulation, police Wall Street and to tax the wealthy. Readers who can wade through his rehashing of wrongdoing will find his practical solutions persuasive and in alignment with the new administration. "
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Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left And World Chaos

by Mike Evans
"...Argues that Jimmy Carter's plan for peace in the Middle East--a plan supported by Barack Obama and the liberal left--would divide Jerusalem, weaken Israel, and surrender to radical Islam."
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To Live Or To Perish Forever; Two Tumultuous Years In Pakistan

By Nicholas Schmidle
"A clear account of the dystopian politics of Pakistan. Journalist Schmidle arrived in February 2006, as the authoritarian rule of Pervez Musharraf was coming under attack.... He traveled with ethnic rebels and marched with student protestors, all the while avoiding the attention of the ubiquitous government intelligence agencies. The author lets his subjects speak, allowing the reader to understand the logic of their emotions and intentions—some evil are evil, some benign, but all are more than political caricatures of the Western imagination... Schmidle also follows the return from exile of popular former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and her near-immediate assassination, as well as the August 2008 resignation of Musharraf. A fully realized portrait of a nation struggling to survive its internal divisions and hatreds."
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The Eliminationists; How Hate Talk Radicalized The American Right

By David Neiwert
""Conservative commentators, including Rush Limbaugh and Bill O Reilly, have become the "transmitters" of a rage against liberals that has repackaged for mainstream consumption the dangerous notion that opponents should be eliminated "either through suppression, exile, and ejection, or extermination." Neiwert, a reporter who grew up in Idaho among John Birchers and Republicans, is very familiar with conservative sentiments. But he notes a growing trend toward demonizing political opponents and encouraging violence rather than debating and discussing political differences."
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Ad Nausem; A Field Guide To Consumer Culture

By Carrie McLaren

" ...Carrie McLaren and Jason Torchinsky (as well as contributors such as David Cross, The Onion’s Joe Garden, The New York Times’s Julie Scelfo, and others)discuss everything from why the TV program CSI affects jury selection, to the methods by which market researchers stalk shoppers, to how advertising strategy is like dog training. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening account of the many ways consumer culture continues to pervade and transform American life."

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Idiot America; How Stupidity Became A Virtue In The Land Of The Free

By Charles P. Pierce

"Journalist Pierce delivers a rapier-sharp rant on how the America of "Franklin and Edison, Fulton and Ford" has devolved into America "the Uninformed," where citizens hostile to science are exchanging "fact for fiction, and faith for reason," and glutting themselves on "reality" TV and conspiracy theories. Pierce makes no apologies for his liberal bias, and some conservatives, notably evolution opponents and Rush Limbaugh, endure a good deal of bashing. Pierce writes that in the U.S., "Fact is merely what enough people believe, and truth lies only in how fervently they believe it." "

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40 More Years; How The Democrats Will Rule The Next Generation

By James Carville
"The election of Obama in 2008 was partly due to a shift in American demographics that will favor the Democrats for the next 40 years, proclaims Democratic political advisor Carville. American voters are younger and more ethnically and racially diverse, a trend that favors Democrats. The old canard that young Democrats are prone to switch parties as they age and pay taxes doesn't stand up against data showing a drop in Republican vote share. Republicans have sealed their current fate by persisting in ignoring the political middle and appealing to their ultraconservative base. Carville points to failed policies of the Bush administration and Republican philosophies:.... Carville argues that contrary to the myth that Republicans are better on the economy, Democrats have more often delivered strong economies while providing needed social programs. The big challenge for Obama and future Democratic political efforts will be to restore confidence in government. .."
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Dread; How Fear And Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics From The Black Death To Avian Flu

By Philip Alcabes

"According to Alcabes, an essayist and expert in public health, "epidemics fascinate us"; hopeful projection or not, his study provides enough gruesome details and unexpected sidelights to captivate history fans. Looking first at the plague that swept Europe in recurring waves from 1300 to 1700 ("the model for the epidemic"), Alcabes sorts through the widespread confusion over its cause and method of transmission....Alcabes makes the science behind the history-as in a description of infected fleas regurgitating the plague bacteria into a victim's system-just as gripping.....Showing how even epidemics hinge on societal attitudes and expectations, Alcabes presents an engrossing, revealing account of the relationship between progress and plague.

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Busted; Life Inside The Great Mortgage Meltdown

By Edmund Andrews
"As I write in February 2009, I am four months past due on my mortgage and bracing for foreclosure proceedings to begin.” Thus begins this cautionary and critical examination of the housing crisis, a story that turned personal when New York Times economics reporter Andrews got caught up in the housing bubble after falling in love with a woman and a house...... Because of his economics journalism background, Andrews says he “should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe,” and he castigates himself as well as fellow borrowers, the financial industry that took advantage of them and a government that didn't put the brakes on the crisis that many economists warned about but that Alan Greenspan, the Bush administration and others ignored. This deeply personal expos is timely and sobering in its candor."
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How Barack Won; A State By State Guide To The Historic 2008 Election

By Chuck Todd

"From NBC's political director and elections director. Readers who pick this up for, say, a quick check of McCain's margin of victory in Montana will find themselves tempted to embark on a full cross-country trip through these pages. States here are divided into four categories: "Battleground States," "Receding Battleground States," "Emerging Battleground States," and "Red and Blue States" (not clear why that wasn't two separate lists). Entries are from two to five pages long, more for states in flux than the true Blue or Red ones, with a clear format of both textual and tabular information on the state's 2008 presidential choice, its party support in the past, and what to keep an eye on in future elections. A final section of tables analyzing the 2008 electorate is fascinating."

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Great Jobs In The President's Stimulus Plan

By Laurence Shatkin

"President Obama's huge economic stimulus plan aims to create or save 3 to 4 million jobs for recession-weary Americans and for a nation in need of rebuilding, modernization, and recovery. But which jobs, exactly, offer the most opportunity for workers? This new book covers the best occupations that are in demand from this bold initiative, including jobs in infrastructure, energy, green technology, health care, education, and manufacturing." Check Our Catalog