Armed Humanitarians; The Rise Of The Nation Builders

By Nathan Hodge
"Journalist Hodge, who has spent more than a decade writing about the defense industry, addresses the twenty-first-century foreign policy shift that calls for the U.S. military to engage in armed humanitarianism. A necessary progression from the much-maligned nation building of the 1990s, this change stems from the Pentagons realization that soft power is required to address the economic struggles of disenfranchised peoples that are at the root of most international conflicts. Drawing on an enormous amount of location research in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, the Republic of Georgia, and elsewhere, Hodge exhibits a startling grasp of the primary challenges to our national security as he addresses corruption on the ground overseas, our bloated defense budget, and ongoing difficulties with the State Departments overdependence on military contractors. Readers of Greg Mortensons Three Cups of Tea (2009) will appreciate repeated references to that title and how its philosophy of active civilian engagement is admired and emulated by military in the field. Equal parts inspiring and frustrating, this is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand U.S. foreign policy." (Booklist)  Check Our Catalog

Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarak

By Tarek Osman
"Famous until the 1950s for its religious pluralism and extraordinary cultural heritage, Egypt is now seen as an increasingly repressive and divided land, home of the Muslim Brotherhood and an opaque regime headed by the aging President Mubarak.
In this immensely readable and thoroughly researched book, Tarek Osman explores what has happened to the biggest Arab nation since President Nasser took control of the country in 1954. He examines Egypt's central role in the development of the two crucial movements of the period, Arab nationalism and radical Islam; the increasingly contentious relationship between Muslims and Christians; and perhaps most important of all, the rift between the cosmopolitan elite and the mass of the undereducated and underemployed population, more than half of whom are aged under thirty. This is an essential guide to one of the Middle East's most important but least understood states."  (Publisher Description)
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Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World

By James Carroll
" Carroll examines the enigma that is Jerusalemthe holiest and most blood-soaked spot on earthwith insight and candor. He begins at the very beginning: Homo erectus become Homo sapiens become Homo sapiens sapiens. He who knows he knows soon becomes aware of death. Death leads to ritual, and ritual leads to religion. And while various religions flourished all over the ancient world, it was in Jerusalem that God emerged. Not just a god, but God, one who recognizes how both the need for violence and the hatred of violence reside within the human spirit. These conflicting impulses are the subthemes that propel Carrolls story across the ages, through Jerusalems wreckages and rebirths, as the three Abrahamic religions claim the city as its own. Carrolls writing is so compelling, so beautifully constructed, that, ironically, the book can be a very slow read. There is something on almost every page that makes the reader want to stop and contemplate. For those meeting Jerusalem for the first time, this volume makes a stunning introduction. For others, who have struggled with the citys conundrums, either its symbolic meaning in the history of civilization or its place in the modern world, Carrolls reflections will add clarity if not closure."  (Booklist)  Check Our Catalog

Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture

By Peggy Orenstein
"Orenstein, who has written about girls for nearly two decades (Schoolgirls), finds today's pink and princess-obsessed girl culture grating when it threatens to lure her own young daughter, Daisy. In her quest to determine whether princess mania is merely a passing phase or a more sinister marketing plot with long-term negative impact, Orenstein travels to Disneyland, American Girl Place, the American International Toy Fair; visits a children's beauty pageant; attends a Miley Cyrus concert; tools around the Internet; and interviews parents, historians, psychologists, marketers, and others. While she uncovers some disturbing news (such as the American Psychological Association's assertion that the "girlie-girl" culture's emphasis on beauty and play-sexiness can increase girls' susceptibility to depression, eating disorders, distorted body image, and risky sexual behavior), she also finds that locking one's daughter away in a tower like a modern-day Rapunzel may not be necessary. Orenstein concludes that parents who think through their values early on and set reasonable limits, encourage dialogue and skepticism, and are canny about the consumer culture can combat the 24/7 "media machine" aimed at girls and hold off the focus on beauty, materialism, and the color pink somewhat. With insight and biting humor, the author explores her own conflicting feelings as a mother as she protects her offspring and probes the roots and tendrils of the girlie-girl movement."  (Publisher's Weekly)   Check Our Catalog

Rollback; Repealing Big Government Before The Coming Fiscal Collapse

By Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
"If Congress and the Administration really wanted to learn how to eliminate the deficit, limit government, and protect liberty they would stop wasting taxpayers' money on 'debt commissions' and instead read "Rollback.""
--The Honorable Ron Paul, Member of Congress
"In "Rollback, ," Tom Woods provides a provocative assessment of President Obama's first two years of economic policy-making, challenging virtually every aspect of the administration's narrative. While some readers may not be persuaded, all will find Woods' analysis both interesting and worthy of serious debate."
--Dr. Jeffrey Miron, Economist, Harvard University, and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
"Tom Woods takes an honest (and methodically cited) look at the record of big government: skyrocketing health-care costs, an out-of-control military, moral hazard in the markets, and a collapsing dollar. Even better, he offers clever, turn-key solutions that could restore the United States to being the breeding ground of wealth and ingenuity that our immigrant ancestors sought and cherished. "Rollback" debunks the popular rhetoric of politicians, the media, and academia. Without a hint of partisanship--taking on Republicans and Democrats alike--Woods has shown how misguided policies have set us up to be the first generation in memory to pass along lower standards of health, wealth, and opportunity to our children. If you are confused about how our once-mighty country has fallen so far, so fast, then "Rollback" is a good place to find your answer."
--Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and host of The Peter Schiff Show
"In "Rollback," economic historian Tom Woods proves that the true culprit for our financial woes is a government that thinks it can right any wrong, regulate any activity, and tax any event; and a public that continues to accept the assault on its natural liberties in the name of safety. Woods demonstrates with brutal clarity the critical and immediate need to reject the myth that the government can protect us and to repeal the institutions it has created to do so."
--Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, Senior Judicial Analyst, FOX News
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The WhistleBlower

By Kathryn Bolkovac

"Bolkovac, who worked as part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia in the late 1990s, provides yet another perspective on why private military contracting has encroached on U.S. foreign policy, threatening our image, national security, and the lives of those we are supposed to be protecting. A police officer turned human rights investigator, she worked at uncovering international sex trafficking and cover-ups by her bosses at DynCorp International, which led to her firing, a mad rush across the border, and a subsequent wrongful termination lawsuit in which she was victorious and became the self-described poster girl for everything wrong about security-for-hire. Most galling is the sad truth that DynCorp answered to no law, nor to the military, the U.S., or the Bosnians. The criminality, including rape and murder, committed by corporate military contractors has proliferated in the past decade, and Bolkovacs cautionary tale ends on the sourest of notes. DynCorp won another federal contract on the heels of her lawsuit, and no one was prosecuted for crimes against the women whose lives she struggled to save. Infuriating and heartbreaking."  (Booklist)  Check Our Catalog

Osama Bin Laden

By Michael Scheuer
"This propulsive biography is not bin Laden for beginners, but its central point is clear. Scheuer (Imperial Hubris), chief of the CIAs Osama bin Laden unit from 1996 to 1999, argues that the West chronically underestimates bin Ladens piety, generosity, personal bravery, strategic ability, charisma and patience. In creating a cartoonish enemy, the U.S. has mindlessly played into bin Ladens plans to provoke a war on Muslim soil to catalyze a jihad to obliterate America from within, by making it economically weak, until its markets collapse. The depiction of bin Ladens evolution from devout student to militant leader is deeply detailed and dense, and readers unable to keep up with a dissection of Islams diverse creeds and doctrines will feel overwhelmed at times, but Scheuers project is lucid and important. Bin Laden anticipated a war of attrition that might last decades and has planned ahead. He has cultivated a multigenerational cadre of between 5,000 and 7,000 loyal warriors, many from the educated upper classes. The conflict with al-Qaeda will, by bin Ladens design, likely be multigenerational, and Scheuer takes a crucial step in revealing how the West keeps itself vulnerable by persisting in demonizing rather than understanding its formidable opponent. "  (Publishers Weekly)    Check Our Catalog

The Violence Of Peace; America's Wars Under Obama

By Stephen L. Carter

"Distinguished Yale Law professor and bestselling author Carter (The Emperor of Ocean Park) examines Obama's words (particularly his invocation of the "just war tradition" during his Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech, the full text of which is included here) and actions in order to determine his position on "what he believes to be worth fighting for." Rather than vilifying Obama, who has continued the dubious war-mongering of his predecessor, Carter believes that neither Bush nor Obama had much choice, arguing that modern warfare, involving drone attacks and long-distance fighting, is an autopoietic process. Carter delves into Obama's orientation toward the tenets of Just War, the theory that has dominated Western thought since the Roman era: jus ad bellum (just cause for going to war); jus in bello (just conduct within war); jus ad pacem (success in war); and pacem in terris (peace). The author cites Dissent editor Michael Walzer and other prominent political scientists almost as frequently as he does the president, and includes examples of warfare from the American Civil War to Afghanistan, resulting in a thoughtful examination of America's engagement in a "great war" undertaken by a dedicated thinker on the subject."  (Publishers Weekly)   Check Our Catalog

A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education for All

By Wendy Kopp

"Now in its twentieth year, with more than 8,000 members teaching across the nation and an alumni influencing educational policy and challenging public schools, Teach for America has earned a respected place in the debate on educational reform. Founder Kopp offers a perspective on lessons learned as she spotlights particularly effective teachers and techniques that have helped poor children from underperforming schools to exceed standards and get into college. Following profiles of teachers and schools, she offers lessons that are widely applicable, including the imperative to set high expectations for children from low-income families and a commitment to organizational change. Kopp defends TFA and programs developed by its alumni from charges of cherry-picking students and against the members short-term commitment (two years, though 60 percent exceed that minimum) and argues passionately for transformational change that includes children across the nation, regardless of race or class. She cautions against looking for silver bullets (charter schools) or silver scapegoats (unmotivated students), arguing that there are no simple solutions but a collection of many multilayered answers, some combination of which will work in every school."  (Booklist)      Check Our Catalog