Obama and the Middle East: The End of America's Moment?

By Fawaz Gerges       Find This Book
"Taking stock of Obama's first year in the White House, this book places his engagement in the Middle East within the broader context of U.S. foreign policy since 9/11 and examines key areas that have posed a challenge to his administration."  (Publisher Description)

Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent

By E.J. Dionne, Jr.        Find This Book
" The days of political camaraderie are over, writes Washington Post columnist Dionne (Foundations of Democracy and Culture/Georgetown Univ.; Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right, 2008, etc.), who nonetheless offers some possible correctives to the current poisonous political climate. The clash between Republicans and Democrats, writes the author, has devolved into the struggle of individualism versus community, local versus national and the Right versus the Middle. Philosophical boundaries are tilted, and moderates are now often painted as left wing. Rampant historical revisionism divides us. Dionne decries interpretations of the Founding Fathers' intentions by the courts as well as politicians; originalists have little basis to claim definite knowledge of the intentions of the framers of the Constitution. Knowing that the Constitution was a work in progress that would grow and adapt to the times, they continued to argue, balance and compromise. Hamilton, Clay, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt used republican nationalism to better the American community. The communitarian reforms of the New Deal established the idealistic American Century. Now the resurgence of radical individualism threatens to dissolve those reforms. Populist methods are the favored tool to promote individualistic objectives and attack the elites, especially Wall Street. However, it is not so much that the wealthy have too much; it's that they have failed in their stewardship of our economy. The men who founded our country were elites and elitist. The difference is that those founders knew that they also had a social obligation to provide for the common good. Dionne condemns the current partisanship as destructive and demands the return to moderation, balance and compromise. The author's extensive knowledge of Washington allows him to ably illustrate our remarkable political history, and he renews our hope that cooler heads can prevail with a renewed balance of individual rights and the needs of the community"  (Kirkus Reviews)

Selecting a President

By Eleanor Clift           Find This Book

"Clift (contributing editor, "Newsweek") and Spieler (political writer, Voterpunch.org) present the first offering in a new series on how American government works, aimed primarily at high school seniors and college freshmen. The authors concisely and objectively explain the basic structure of America's electoral system and skillfully use anecdotes from past campaigns to explore how the process has changed from the election of George Washington to that of Barack Obama. The entire chain of events from primaries to election and taking office is covered, but the authors do not get overly technical. The book does a great job of bringing election history to life through stories and examples (e.g., the down-to-the-last-ballot Bush-Gore race of 2004 and the 2008 Democratic primary race), rather than sticking with a textbook formula found in more advanced academic tomes such as Nelson W. Polsby and others' "Presidential Elections: Strategies and Structures of American Politics". VERDICT In our hot election year, this one is valuable for both high school students and adults looking for a simple explanation of the often complicated election process. Its focus makes it most appealing for current collections.--"  (Library Journal)

Ron Paul's Revolution: The Man and the Movement He Inspired

By Brian Doherty        Find This Book

"Paul, a congressman from Texas, has political views that are not exactly in alignment with either of the two major parties. He takes what is generally considered a liberal position on the war on drugs and war in the Middle East but a decidedly conservative stance on ending income taxes, the IRS, and the Federal Reserve. An obstetrician and air force veteran, Paul is a follower of libertarians, most prominently F. A. Hayek. Doherty, himself a libertarian and the author of This Burning Man (2004), met Paul during his first run for the presidency in 1988 under the Libertarian Party banner and portrays a man who is difficult to define politically and who is frank and honest to the point of political suicide. In a debate with Rudy Giuliani during the 2008 presidential contest, Paul called the 9/11 terrorist attack a reaction to the provocation of American involvement in the Middle East. Noting Paul's enormously diverse followers, Doherty compares Paul to Barry Goldwater and Eugene McCarthy as he argues that Paul and his free-market liberation ideals will have a lasting impact on American politics."   (Booklist)

Modern New York: The Life and Economics of a City

By Greg David        Find This Book
"In this well-documented book, former Crains New York Business editor and current columnist David presents Wall Street as the possible driver of New Yorks future prosperity despite its periodic booms and busts. Although the myth of manufacturing persists among those enamored of the citys past, high costs and clogged transport weigh on the sectors prospects, while higher education, film and television production, and a revived tech sector offer greater prospects for job creation and enhance the citys allure for young people. The financial field still rules the roost: If Wall Street is permanently restructured, New York will simply be less wealthy. In October 2007, the peak for financial industry employment, the state comptroller reported that each job in Wall Street created another 3.2 jobs in the economy 2 in the city and 1.2 elsewhere, mostly in the suburbs. Davids review of policies and personalities shaping New Yorks past and future offers insights into Wall Streets leadership of the global financial industry, but leaves unexamined possible overseas challenges, neglecting to address prospects that New Yorks intellectual base could fuel the growth of high-value-added manufacturing locally. Nonetheless, his cautious claim that Wall Street may save the city again as it has done so often in modern New York may quiet market detractors"  (Publishers Weekly)

Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age

"Common Sense Media founder Steyer (The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children, 2002) addresses common concerns of many parents in managing the online lives of their children. Keeping track of the privacy and security aspects of social-media accounts can feel like a shell game for even the most astute Internet user. This seems especially true with regard to Facebook, whose enormous membership of 800 million users, coupled with their erratic shifting of privacy settings, has changed Mark Zuckerberg's college-dorm project into a potentially dangerous destination for millions of teenagers. Computer and Internet education in elementary schools has given young people a formidable working knowledge of technology that often outpaces that of their parents--and of their own ability to judge the safety of what personal information they put on the Internet. Steyer is well positioned to write cogently on this subject. As a parent and founder of an organization working to empower Internet consumers to protect themselves, he brings a pragmatic approach to managing adolescent Internet activity. Recognizing the likely futility of "banning the Internet" for today's kids, the author instead focuses on educating parents about "R.A.P."--relationships, attention/addiction problems and privacy--with case-study examples and concrete suggestions on appropriate guidelines to set for children organized by age groups. The approach includes recognizing and building on the positive aspects of social media, which will help minimize the negative aspects. Some of Steyer's recommendations are bigger-picture suggestions--e.g., challenging elected officials to take a serious look at updating the nation's privacy laws. A useful, nuts-and-bolts handbook for concerned parents."  (Kirkus Reviews)  Check Our Catalog

The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto

By Tavis Smiley
"Record unemployment and rampant corporate avarice, empty houses but homeless families, dwindling opportunities in an increasingly paralyzed nation--these are the realities of 21st-century America, land of the free and home of the new middle class poor. Award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West, one of the nation's leading democratic intellectuals, co-hosts of Public Radio's "Smiley & West," now take on the "P" word--poverty."The Rich and the Rest of Us" is the next step in the journey that began with "The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience." Smiley and West's 18-city bus tour gave voice to the plight of impoverished Americans of all races, colors, and creeds. With 150 million Americans persistently poor or near poor, the highest numbers in over five decades, Smiley and West argue that now is the time to confront the underlying conditions of systemic poverty in America before it's too late.By placing the eradication of poverty in the context of the nation's greatest moments of social transformation-- such as the abolition of slavery, woman's suffrage, and the labor and civil rights movements--ending poverty is sure to emerge as America's 21st -century civil rights struggle.As the middle class disappears and the safety net is shredded, Smiley and West, building on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., ask us to confront our fear and complacency with 12 poverty changing ideas. They challenge us to re-examine our assumptions about poverty in America--what it really is and how to eliminate it now."  (Publisher Description)  Check our Catalog