The Obama Hate Machine: The Lies, Distortions, and Personal Attacks on the President--And Who Is Behind Them

""'Obama was born in Kenya'...'Obama is a Muslim and a terrorist sympathizer'...'Obama is a Communist who wants to institute death panels'...The extent to which these undying lies have taken hold in the American mindset shows just how ruthless, destructive, and all-powerful the right-wing machine--hijacked by extremists in the media and fueled by corporate coffers--has become in America. And no one has inspired such venom as our nation's current president, who has been targeted by Republicans for a uniquely insidious brand of character assassination. In his characteristic on-the mark arguments sure to appeal to anyone on the Left or in the Center, talk show host and syndicated columnist Bill Press shows how the peculiar nature of Obama Hating subverts issue-driven debate and threatens not only the outcome of the 2012 election but the future of the American democratic system."  (Publisher Description)  Check Our Catalog

The Escape Artists: How Obama's Team Fumbled the Recovery

By Noam Scheiber
" A star White House journalist provides a gripping look inside the meeting rooms, the in-boxes, and the super-sharp minds of the pedigreed propeller heads who attempted to guide President Obama out of a global economic crisis."  (Publisher Description)  Check Our Catalog

Bending History: Barack Obama's Foreign Policy

By Martin Indyk
" How well has Barack Obama carried out his duties as U.S. commander-in-chief, top diplomat, and grand strategist? A trio of renowned foreign policy experts illuminates the grand promise and the great contradictions of a new president who has captured the attention and imagination of citizens around the world like few of his White House predecessors."  (Publisher Description)  Check Our Catalog

Money Well Spent?: The Truth Behind the Trillion-Dollar Stimulus, the Biggest Economic Recovery Plan in History

By Michael Grabell
"ProPublica reporter Grabell puts the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" under a microscope, focusing on its effect in three cities: Elkhart, Ind., whose civic plaza advertised "File Your Unemployment Electronically"; Aiken, S.C. where stimulus money funded the Savannah River cleanup; and Fremont, Calif. home to solar panel startup Solyndra, which received over million. Grabell shares stories of workers who lost jobs and homes, and discusses the impact of the stimulus on goals like increasing Internet connectivity, improving education, and creating green jobs. From an energetic, auspicious beginning, with promises of detailed online tracking and immediate economic impact, the stimulus has played out over two years with some wins (the successful river cleanup created many jobs) and some losses (Solyndra went bankrupt). However, "With money spread so thinly... it was difficult for the public to grasp what the stimulus was about. But it was easy for small projects to capture the media coverage... and overwhelm the narrative the administration was desperately trying to reclaim." Grabell concludes that the problems that were seen nationwide were not a surprise: politics, insufficient funding, and cost overruns. "In this new era, audacity had met reality." This thorough exploration of the stimulus will educate readers about where money went, not just in the focus cities but around the country, and the lasting impact of the Great Recession"  (Publishers Weekly)  Check Our Catalog

Where Did the Jobs Go--And How Do We Get Them Back?: Your Guided Tour to America's Employment Crisis

"An evenhanded discussion and study guide on unemployment. Bittle and Johnson draw on solid statistical sources including the National Association of Manufacturers, trade-union organizations, the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute and the Economic Policy Institute, and they also rely on expertise from, among others, Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman of Princeton, Nouriel Roubini of NYU's Stern School and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The authors provide a scrupulous analysis of the many problems caused by the unemployment crisis, as well as possible solutions. Bittle and Johnson rightly place a great deal of responsibility on the backs of readers: "If you've been reading along carefully, you probably have your own checklist of criteria for judging what's likely to hurt or help on jobs." Just in case, though, they provide a list of "considerations [they] think are vital." The authors encourage readers to review past mistakes and successes in order to be better prepared to assimilate what is to come. In that vein, they provide a useful historical discussion of the 1930s Depression and FDR's WPA program, as well as estimates of the financial costs of possible solutions and the ramifications for other sectors of American society. Joblessness affects consumer spending, government programs and citizens' ability to purchase homes, write the authors. Fortunately they provide a helpful series of options to ensure that "the greatest number of people have the greatest possible chance to get ahead." The authors intended to "help voters sift through the political rhetoric" to better understand and face the unemployment crisis. Mission accomplished."   (Kirkus Reviews)   Check Our Catalog

How We Do Harm: A Doctor Breaks Ranks about Being Sick in America

By Otis Webb Brawley
"American medicine is infected. Greed, apathy, and ignorance are the pathogens. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, has seen enough. In this no-holds-barred peek at the contemporary health scene, he relishes his role as a rabble-rouser. Drawing on true stories to make his points, Brawley, aided by coauthor Goldberg, illustrates how more care is not better care and that doctors are not necessarily right. Many of these clinical cases conjure frustration, heartache, and outrage. A middle-aged woman comes to the hospital because her breast has fallen off (an automastectomy). She has disregarded the presence of breast cancer for nine years. A 23-year-old man with congenital heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia shows up at the ER about every other month in need of electrical cardioversion. Without health insurance, he cannot obtain an implantable defibrillator. At his wife's urging, a healthy retired man goes for a free screening PSA blood test. He receives much more than he bargained for: a radical prostatectomy, incontinence, and a colostomy. The benefits of any medical treatment must always be balanced with the potential for harm. Brawley finds the right formula for mixing autobiography, the politics of modern medicine, controversies in cancer care, and wisdom. (Booklist)  Check Our Catalog

The Devil We Don't Know: The Dark Side of Revolutions in the Middle East

By Nonie Darwish
""Respected human rights activist Nonie Darwish assesses the potential for freedom to succeed following the recent revolutions in the Middle East. The recent powerful wave of Middle East uprisings has fueled both hope and trepidation in the region and around the world as the ultimate fate-and fallout-of the Arab spring continue to hang in the balance. Born and raised as a Muslim in Egypt and now living in the United States, Nonie Darwish brings an informed perspective to this carefully considered assessment of the potential outcome of the revolutions in the Middle East. This thought-provoking book will add to the ongoing debate on what the future holds for the people and the politics of the region and on the ultimate compatibility of freedom and democracy in the Muslim world. Takes an unflinching, in-depth look at the ramifications of the game-changing recent uprisings in the Middle East Examines that factors that will obstruct or support freedom and democracy in the Muslim world Written by a former journalist for the Middle East News Agency who has written extensively on the Middle East, Islam, and women's rights, and who is also the author of Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Terrifying Implications of Islamic Law and Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror "--"  (Publisher Description)  Check Our Catalog