Current Affairs


Wednesday, February 4, 2009

American Grit: What It Will Take To Survive and Win in the 21st Century


By Tony Blankley
"Argues that the liberal policies of President Obama will result in a decline of the economy, a lessening of the resolve to fight Islamic terrorism, and a government unable to counteract the aggressive policies of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela."

Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage


By Jeff Benedict
"Investigative journalist Benedict explores the drama behind a controversial Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain.In a country where home ownership is an unofficial article of faith, the prospect of the state seizing private property to make room for a highway or school is grudgingly tolerated at best. But Benedict's painstaking reconstruction shows the city of New London, Conn., successfully pushing the definition of "public use" to new extremes by condemning a collection of small homes in a low-income neighborhood as a means of generating more tax dollars. Once reclaimed, this prime waterfront land would become a corporate campus for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. The author brings his highly technical subject to life through the passion of his central characters: two women who scarcely met but spent years locked in conflict."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama


By Gwen Ifill

"Moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, Ifill focuses on young African American male politicians who have benefited from the Civil Rights Movement, offering compelling profiles of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and many others."

Thursday, January 22, 2009

The Next 100 Years; A Forecast For The 21st Century


By George Friedman


Friedman, author and founder of a forecasting company, sets out to provide a sense of the twenty-first century. He is confident that rather than being on the verge of decline, the U.S. has actually just begun its ascent and will be the center of power. This is a book about unintended consequences and how the constraints of time and place impact the behavior of individuals and nations and offer a view of future events. With many unknowns and acknowledging potential for error, Friedman carefully explains his position on the ultimate collapse of Russia, our next opponent after the Islamic conflicts, and he evaluates China and concludes it will not become a major threat. He provides thoughtful rationale for Japan, Turkey, and Poland to emerge as great powers, and his theories are fascinating on a confrontation between the U.S. and Mexico, a major economic force at the end of the century. This is an excellent book and will intrigue many library patrons.

(Check Our Catalog)

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power


By David E. Sanger


Readers of The New York Times know David Sanger as one of the most trusted correspondents in Washington, one to whom presidents, secretaries of state, and foreign leaders talk with unusual candor. Now, with a historian’s sweep and an insider’s eye for telling detail, Sanger delivers an urgent intelligence briefing on the world America faces. In a riveting narrative, The Inheritance describes the huge costs of distraction and lost opportunities at home and abroad as Iraq soaked up manpower, money, and intelligence capabilities. The 2008 market collapse further undermined American leadership, leaving the new president with a set of challenges unparalleled since Franklin D. Roosevelt entered the Oval Office.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Postcards From Tomorrow Square; Reports From China by James Fallows




By James Fallows

Dispatches from Atlantic Monthly national correspondent Fallows (Blind Into Baghdad: America's War in Iraq, 2006, etc.) capture with clarity and humor the present and future of the country that could be the next world superpower.China is in the midst of an astonishing economic boom that is fantastically anarchic, despite the heavy-handed political controls of the Communist Party.
(Check Library Catalog)

The Bomb; A New History

By Stephen Younger


From a designer of nuclear weapons, this primer discusses the history, strategic rationales, and technical and industrial requirements of America s maintenance of a nuclear arsenal. As weighty as these topics are, Younger writes clearly about them for the public audience.
(Check Library Catalog)