Social Security Works!: Why Social Security Isn't Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All

Altman, Nancy J./ Kingson, Eric R./ Johnston, David Cay (Get this book)
For a balanced yet passionate defense of our Social Security system, author-lawyer Altman and professor Kingson team up, this time in print, to convince audiences from California to Maine that Social Security is, indeed, a valued and valuable program. Altman and Kingson present the facts in ways that nonactuaries can thoroughly understand. Appended is additional information about how Social Security works and about the Social Security Works All Generations Plan; descriptions of various Social Security expansion legislative bills; and a list of leading organizations working to expand Social Security.--Booklist

Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America's Stealth Warfare

Scott Horton (Get this book)
An examination of the erosion of personal liberty accompanying the rise of the national security state. Thanks at least in part to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, Americans are more aware than ever before of the massive amount of data that the government keeps not just on suspected terrorists and enemies of the state, but also on ordinary citizens. Even so, in specific terms, writes Harper's contributing editor Horton, "Americans know less about what their national security forces are doing than ever before." This contradiction perfectly describes the way things are today: We know that there are spies among us, but we don't know what they're really after—save that they keep their activities from us by arguing that to know too much would endanger our safety. This useful book catches him in the act and even offers some thoughts on how to poke his eyes out.--Kirkus

More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High-Stakes Testing

Alfie Kohn, Diane Ravitch (Get this book)
The eagerly engaged voices assembled here present an action plan to combat the increase in high-stakes standardized testing currently plaguing K 12 education. Readily highlighting the drive to turn public education over to private companies, Hagopian and crew scathingly indict test preparation giant Pearson, the Chicago Public School System, the arrogance of the Texas State Legislature, and programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top; Education Secretary Arne Duncan also comes under fire for his support of repetitive standardized testing over more free-form education. The contributors build on Hagopian's optimism for the blooming of an "educational spring" and make this book exceptional.--Publisher's Weekly