The Making Of Americans; Democracy And Our Schools

By E.D. Hirsch
"Hirsch's 1987 bestseller, Cultural Literacy, generated an intense debate over its proposals for education reform, namely that all schools should teach a standard core curriculum, the information every American should be equipped with in order to participate in the national cultural life (e.g., everyone should understand the term "Achilles heel"; know who said, "To be or not to be" or who wrote the Gettysburg Address). Hirsch's new book fine-tunes his philosophy while rebutting the criticism that "cultural literacy" fostered a conservative "white" curriculum that didn't take into account the learning styles and knowledge base of minority groups. Although must reading for educators, the book undoubtedly will reignite the earlier controversy. For example, Hirsch questions the wisdom of charter schools and educational vouchers, insisting that a "trans-ethnic" common educational experience can be had only in public schools attended by rich and poor together. However, in the context of the continuing shortcomings of American education and armed with the support of prominent educators, Hirsch once again challenges the prevailing "child-centered" philosophy, championing a return to a "subject-centered" approach to learning." (PW Reviews)
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What Americans Really Want...Really; The Truth About Our Hopes, Dreams, and Fears

By Dr. Frank Luntz

"Luntz (Words That Work) draws on personal experiences and current focus group research to aggregate our understanding of attitudes about everyday life, work, consumption, corporations, religious institutions, government, family relationships and community membership. Ostensibly for a general readership, the real audience for Luntz's work are groups who benefit from knowing what drives choices in contemporary American culture. Market researchers, pollsters, lobbyists and public relations officials are offered insights into such topics as what college students care about, what people expect from their employers and government, and what religious beliefs count in "selling" God to congregants." (PW Reviews)

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Test Of Our Times; America Under Seige...And How We Can Be Safe Again

By Tom Ridge
"Ridge, the first secretary of homeland security, recalls the agency's creation and early history in a memoir of his time performing "the most thankless yet rewarding job in America." The author was governor of Pennsylvania when President Bush tapped him to coordinate the federal domestic counterterrorism effort after September 11.... Ridge acknowledges his missteps, laments the baleful effects of "politics and turf" on his department and decries unfavorable media coverage. He also endeavors, unconvincingly, to defend the work of the Transportation Security Administration and the color-coded terror alert system.... Ridge concludes with a series of recommendations for his successors, including "a national identification system," immigration reform, energy independence and a reorganization of DHS "along regional lines." DHS remains a work in progress, and Ridge's singular perspective recommends his memoir to policy makers, students and concerned citizens.
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The Great Progression; How Hispanics Will Lead America To A New Era Of Prosperity

By Geraldo Rivera

"The Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist offers insight on how Hispanics are revitalizing the economy and transitioning government, and features interviews with prominent Latinos including Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Jennifer Lopez." Check Our Catalog

Green Metropolis; Why Living Smaller, Living Closer and Driving Less Are The Keys To Sustainability

By David Owen
"While the conventional wisdom condemns it as an environmental nightmare, Manhattan is by far the greenest place in America, argues this stimulating eco-urbanist manifesto. According to Owen (Sheetrock and Shellac), staff writer at the New Yorker, New York City is a model of sustainability: its extreme density and compactness—and horrifically congested traffic—encourage a carfree lifestyle centered on walking and public transit; its massive apartment buildings use the heat escaping from one dwelling to warm the ones adjoining it; as a result, he notes, New Yorkers' per capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than a third of the average American's. The author attacks the "powerful anti-urban bias of American environmentalists" like Michael Pollan and Amory Lovins, whose rurally situated, auto-dependent Rocky Mountain Institute he paints as an ecological disaster area. The environmental movement's disdain for cities and fetishization of open space, backyard compost heaps, locavorism and high-tech gadgetry like solar panels and triple-paned windows is, he warns, a formula for wasteful sprawl and green-washed consumerism. Owen's lucid, biting prose crackles with striking facts that yield paradigm-shifting insights. The result is a compelling analysis of the world's environmental predicament that upends orthodox opinion and points the way to practical solutions. " (PW Reviews)
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Death Of Conservatism

By Sam Tanenhaus
"The arguments are more surprising than the conclusions in this slender book that simultaneously celebrates and mourns the end of the harshly ideological strain of conservatism that reached full flower during the presidency of George W. Bush. Tracing the movement's intellectual history from Edmund Burke to Rush Limbaugh, Tanenhaus (Whitaker Chambers), editor of the New York Times Book Review, argues that the "contemporary Right define[s] itself less by what it yearns to conserve than by what it longs to destroy"—and that pragmatic Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have usurped the Republicans' once winning focus on social stability. Tanenhaus argues that Republicans must moderate their focus on ideological purity if they are to return from the political wilderness and offers trenchant criticism of the liberal excesses that previously led to a long Democratic exile from the White House. Tanenhaus's positions are not entirely consistent, however; he aligns Nixon with George W. Bush and his destructively "revanchist course" before praising Nixon's "prodigious gifts" and "sheer intellectual ability." But the author recognizes the need for two strong parties to compete in American politics, and his impeccably well-written book insightfully summarizes the highs and lows of American conservatism over the decades. (Sept.) [Page 47]. " (PW Reviews)
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In Fed we trust : Ben Bernanke's war on the great panic /

By David Wessel
"It is often said that the Fed chairman is the second most powerful person in the world, and when Alan Greenspan left the post in 2005, his successor, Ben Bernanke, along with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, would soon face problems that were far more challenging than those of Greenspan's tenure. Wessel's account is a history of the Fed, a biography of Bernanke, and a blow-by-blow account of the decision-making process that took place as Bernanke and Paulson used desperate measures to try to right a rapidly sinking ship. Bernanke failed to anticipate the severity of the financial downturn, but perhaps he did the best that any man could be expected to do. "
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$20 Per Gallon; How The Inevitable Rise In The Price Of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives For The Better

By Christopher Steiner
"According to Steiner, senior staff reporter at Forbes magazine, surging fuel prices will transform Americans' daily lives almost beyond recognition. With traditional energy sources disappearing and global demand soaring, the U.S. will confront gas prices rocketing to $6, $8, $14 and beyond—prices that will compel sweeping changes in everything from urban planning to food production. He reveals the consequences of each incremental hike in gas prices: at $8 per gallon, air travel will essentially vanish; at $14 a gallon, Wal-Mart stores will become empty "ghost boxes"; when gas hits $16 a gallon, sushi will become an extravagance only for the extremely wealthy. While many changes will come at tremendous social and economic cost, Steiner envisions a better future, where human ingenuity will spur greater efficiency and less waste. Although it's unlikely all the author's predictions will come true—he goes so far as to forecast the order in which airlines will go out of business—the surprising snapshots of the future (where rising gas prices might revitalize Detroit) make for vivid and compelling reading. "
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