Family of SpiesChristine Kuehn
- Genre: Political Science
- Publish Date: November 25, 2025
- Publisher: Celadon Books
- Apple Books | $2.99Amazon Kindle
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1
Family of SpiesChristine Kuehn
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • USA TODAY BESTSELLER • INDIE BESTSELLER "An amazing and gripping tale, full of suspenseful twists and cinematic details" ― New York Times Book Review A propulsive, never-before-told story of one family’s shocking involvement as Nazi and Japanese spies during WWII and the pivotal role they played in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It began with a letter from a screenwriter, asking about a story. Your family. World War II. Nazi spies. Christine Kuehn was shocked and confused. When she asked her seventy-year-old father, Eberhard, what this could possibly be about, he stalled, deflected, demurred, and then wept. He knew this day would come. The Kuehns, a prominent Berlin family, saw the rise of the Nazis as a way out of the hard times that had befallen them. When the daughter of the family, Eberhard’s sister, Ruth, met Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels at a party, the two hit it off, and they had an affair. But Ruth had a secret—she was half Jewish—and Goebbels found out. Rather than having Ruth killed, Goebbels instead sent the entire Kuehn family to Hawaii, to work as spies half a world away. There, Ruth and her parents established an intricate spy operation from their home, just a few miles down the road from Pearl Harbor, shielding Eberhard from the truth. They passed secrets to the Japanese, leading to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. After Eberhard’s father was arrested and tried for his involvement in planning the assault, Eberhard learned the harsh truth about his family and faced a decision that would change the path of the Kuehn family forever. Jumping back and forth between Christine discovering her family’s secret and the untold past of the spies in Germany, Japan, and Hawaii, Family of Spies is fast-paced history at its finest and will rewrite the narrative of December 7, 1941.
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Liar's KingdomAndrew Weissmann
THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From MS NOW legal analyst and veteran federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, an urgent summons to tackle the scourge of political lies in America—and prevent a figure like Donald Trump from ever rising again. “The 2020 election was a total FRAUD!” “I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” “There is NO WAY Biden got 80,000,000 votes!!!” These and other lies by Donald Trump sparked a historic insurrection to topple our democracy and undermined the public’s faith in elections. The Trump administration’s deceit has enabled the use of law enforcement and the military against the people, the unlawful deportation of immigrants, and the disregard of international rules meant to promote a civilized and peaceful world. Other politicians, inspired by the success of the political lie, have flooded the public square with falsehoods of their own. As Andrew Weissmann reveals, our vulnerability to politicians’ lies stems from a flaw in America’s legal system—one that can be fixed. But it will take courage, creativity, and a willingness to look beyond our borders to other countries that have already confronted this crisis. A slim, elegant treatise, Liar’s Kingdom is a playbook for stopping politicians like Trump from holding office in the future—and for saving our democracy. We are entitled to more from our government, and this book shows how we can get it.
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PrequelRachel Maddow
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis. “A ripping read—well rendered, fast-paced and delivered with the same punch and assurance that she brings to a broadcast. . . . The parallels to the present day are strong, even startling.”— The New York Times (Editors’ Choice) Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens’ confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule. That effort worked—tongue and groove—alongside an ultra-right paramilitary movement that stockpiled bombs and weapons and trained for mass murder and violent insurrection. At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court. None of it went as planned. While the scheme has been remembered in history—if at all—as the work of fringe players, in reality it involved a large number of some of the country’s most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation. That failure of the legal system had consequences. The tentacles of that unslain beast have reached forward into our history for decades. But the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose the insurrectionists also make for a deeply resonant, deeply relevant tale in our own disquieting times.
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AdriftScott Galloway
From bestselling author, CNN+ host of No Mercy, No Malice , and NYU business school professor Scott Galloway comes an urgent examination of the future of our nation – and how we got here. We are only just beginning to reckon with our post-pandemic future. As political extremism intensifies, the great resignation affects businesses everywhere, and supply chain issues crush bottom lines, we’re faced with daunting questions – is our democracy under threat? How will Big Tech change our lives? What does job security look like for me? America is on the brink of massive change – change that will disrupt the workings of our economy and drastically impact the financial backbone of our nation: the middle class. In Adrift , Galloway looks to the past – from 1945 to present day – to explain just how America arrived at this precipice. Telling the story of our nation through 100 charts, Galloway demonstrates how crises such as Jim Crow, World War II, and the Stock Market Crash of 2008, as well as the escalating power of technology, an entrenched white patriarchy, and the socio-economic effects of the pandemic, created today’s perfect storm. Adrift attempts to make sense of it all, and offers Galloway’s unique take on where we’re headed and who we’ll become, touching on topics as wide-ranging as online dating to minimum wage to the American dream. Just as in 1945 and 1980, America is once again a nation at a crossroads. This time, what will it take for our nation to keep up with the fast and violent changes to our new world?
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All We SayBen Rhodes
What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? This sweeping history of the United States told through fifteen speeches relives the battle over American identity, from a New York Times bestselling author and one of President Barack Obama’s former speechwriters. “At a time of moral and political drift, Ben Rhodes reminds us what American greatness actually sounds like, and what it means.”—Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies For 250 years, we have debated what it means to be American. This question shaped the compromises in our Constitution and the arguments we’ve been having ever since—spawning abolitionism, secession, and civil war; populism, mass migration, and global leadership; movements for reform and the backlashes to them. In All We Say , Ben Rhodes tells the story of fifteen speeches—some iconic, others long forgotten—which have both shaped and reflected the argument Americans have been having from our founding to the intense divisions of our time. Through riveting and beautifully rendered accounts of the people, movements, and moments that produced these speeches, Rhodes traces the history of our battle over identity. The result is a singular and revealing portrait of America itself: a nation divided between two stories—one of inheritance, power, and exclusion, the other of equality, striving, and belonging. Drawing on a decade writing for Barack Obama, Rhodes also shows us how words can redirect a nation, what makes a speech enduring, and why oratory is a unique form of persuasion in American democracy. From Benjamin Franklin’s call for compromise at the Constitutional Convention, to Alexander Stephens’ case for white supremacy as the cornerstone of the Confederacy; from Martin Luther King’s dream of true equality to Donald Trump’s rallying cry against democracy itself, these speeches remind us that history is a living argument. At a time when American identity—and truth—is contested, All We Say offers a fresh and powerful look at who we really are and who we could still become.
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Crisis of the Common GoodChris Murphy
A prominent senator assesses the destructive ideas that have seized the American spirit—and shows how the hidden alignments in our politics can free us from their hold. Today, the United States is in a crisis—and it’s not just a political one: over fifty years, the pursuit of profit has undermined virtue and character, while too many of us have become convinced that happiness results from acting as good consumers, rather than as good citizens. New technologies threaten essential human capabilities, like friendship, thinking, and creation. And a winner-takes-all mentality has given the rich and well-connected nearly uncontested control of our politics and has corrupted our government. The result: Americans have lost the sense of daily purpose and connection that are vital to happiness, becoming anxious, angry, and adrift. In this vacuum, Donald Trump, feeding off the emptiness and resentment, has come to power. In recent years, Senator Chris Murphy has stepped forward to challenge the Trump administration’s assaults on our democracy. But he also sees that these assaults are a symptom of a deeper crisis: the abandonment of the common good as our country’s organizing principle. In his unflinching new book, he draws on history and political philosophy to expose how six different cults have seized hold of American life and paved the way to our current troubles: a cult of profit that punishes workers, a cult of globalism that weakens communities, a cult of technology that turns us against one another and poisons our young, a cult of consumption that undermines citizenship, a cult of credentialism that devalues those without degrees, and a cult of corruption that threatens democracy. Refusing despair, Murphy offers a new politics of the common good that is both deeply rooted in our past and a radical challenge to the status quo. It is also capable of drawing support across the political spectrum: as Murphy shows, a majority of Americans—including many Trump voters—favor policies that confront these destructive cults by curbing corporate power, controlling predatory technology, enhancing face-to-face connection, granting workers greater control of their lives, and removing big money from our politics. The common good, Murphy shows, is no object of nostalgia; it is a vital principle ready to be claimed today.
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Suicidal EmpathyGad Saad
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy , Saad unleashes a blistering critique of maladaptively irrational altruism that has gripped our culture. This mind parasite hijacked the empathy module of our progressive elite, leading to a catastrophic miscalibration of moral priorities. The results are everywhere: from coddling violent criminals to protecting rapists to branding self-defense as toxic behavior. We are witnessing a civilization in rapid decline. Lunatic policies are instituted because we prioritize the feelings of ostensibly marginalized groups over The Truth, criminals over victims, and squatters over homeowners. This is not humane; it’s an active dismantling of the pillars that keep us safe and free. This crisis of empathy creates a horrifying system of inverse morality where the strong and successful are demonized, and the destructive are celebrated. Just look at the insane inversions we tolerate daily: we prefer illegal migrants over our own legal citizens and veterans, permit drug addicts to threaten children’s safety in parks, and elevate transgender 'women' above biological women in sports and safe spaces. Common sense is dying in a deluge of misguided compassion. Suicidal Empathy is your wake-up call. Stop ignoring your survival instincts in the name of political correctness. This isn't just misguided policy; it is the ultimate expression of a culture actively choosing its own demise.
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The Case for AmericaBret Baier
#1 New York Times Bestseller Bret Baier makes the case for America—an inspiring defense of our history, values, and national character by Fox News Channel's Chief Political Anchor “An eloquently written and splendidly reasoned homage to the founding principles of the Declaration of Independence.” —Douglas Brinkley Can the Founders’ ideals still inspire and unite the nation 250th years after the Declaration of Independence? The impossible dream of the United States of America began with a declaration. Years before the Revolution was won, long before the Constitution was created, we were a nation because of our decision to be free. Though the universal hunger for freedom that endures, these days our country often seems at cross purposes. Our very history is divisive. On one side, there are the unrelenting complaints about all the things we’re getting wrong. Such critics seem intent on focusing on the darker chapters of our story. On the other side is a sanitized version of history that leaves little room for self-reflection. It’s as if any admission of frailty or failure is an unpatriotic act. In The Case for America Bret Baier argues that neither of these pictures reflects our reality. To make the case for the nation’s enduring value, he underscores our fundamental character: unity, freedom, resilience. Baier shares his own reflections alongside those of numerous historians, commentators, and business leaders in a moving ode to a nation.
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The U.S. ConstitutionMelissa Murray
From a #1 New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and legal expert comes an accessible and modern guide on how to read and understand the U.S. Constitution. Think of this as the U.S. Constitution explained by America’s favorite law professor, Melissa Murray. On her podcast, Strict Scrutiny , Murray and her cohosts, Kate Shaw and Leah Litman, provide in-depth, accessible, and irreverent analysis of the Supreme Court and its cases, culture, and personalities. On that podcast, on MSNOW —where she is a frequent contributor—in opinion pieces, and when providing commentary as she did in a recent New York Times piece on Justice Brown Jackson, Murray spends an awful lot of time demystifying laws for everyone else. In this book, she tackles one of the founding American documents: the Constitution. Each amendment will be annotated with some historical context provided, as well as examples of how it is relevant to our present day. More necessary than ever, as we look to the Supreme Court and their interpretation of the Constitution as the last institution upholding our democracy, this book is an indispensable read for every thinking American.
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Wild FaithTal Lavin
The acclaimed author of Culture Warlords investigates the rise of the Christian Right over the last half-century that lays out the grim vision evangelicals are enforcing on our democracy. "An investigative triumph and a warning." —David Corn, author of #1 New York Time s bestseller Russian Roulette and American Psychosis All across America, a storm is gathering: from book bans in school libraries to anti-trans laws in state legislatures; firebombings of abortion clinics and protests against gay rights. The Christian Right, a cunning political force in America for more than half a century, has never been more powerful than it is right now—it propelled Donald Trump to power, and it won’t stop until it’s refashioned America in its own image. In Wild Faith , critically acclaimed author Tal Lavin goes deep into what motivates the Christian Right, from its segregationist past to a future riddled with apocalyptic ideology. Using primary sources and firsthand accounts, Lavin introduces you to “deliverance ministers” who carry out exorcisms by the hundreds; modern-day, self-proclaimed prophets and apostles; Christian militias, cults, zealots, and showmen; and the people in power who are aiding them to achieve their goals. Along the way, he explores anti-abortion terrorists, the Christian Patriarchy movement, with its desire to place all women under absolute male control; the twisted theology that leads to rampant child abuse; and the ways conspiracy theorists and extremist Christians influence each other to mutual political benefit. From school boards to the Supreme Court, Christian theocracy is ascendant in America—and only through exploring its motivations and impacts can we understand the crisis we face. In Wild Faith , Lavin fearlessly confronts whether our democracy can survive an organized, fervent theocratic movement, one that seeks to impose its religious beliefs on American citizens. "An urgent prophecy, a clarion call, a dire warning about what has been happening in America in plain sight, and yet under the noses of millions. With gorgeous prose and his inimitable style, Lavin lifts up a mirror to the ways in which abuse in private becomes public policy, religion is corrupted into fanaticism, and decades of culture warring has led to the brink—a moment we must face squarely, and fight in solidarity.” —Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita Esquire Best Nonfiction Books of 2024
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The Devil's ChessboardDavid Talbot
An explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful—and secretive—colossus in Washington, from the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers. America’s greatest untold story of espionage history: the United States’ rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA. Drawing on revelatory new materials—including newly discovered U.S. government documents, U.S. and European intelligence sources, the personal correspondence and journals of Allen Dulles’s wife and mistress, and exclusive interviews with the children of prominent CIA officials—Talbot reveals the underside of one of America’s most powerful and influential figures. Dulles’s decade as the director of the CIA—which he used to further his public and private agendas—were dark times in American politics. Calling himself “the secretary of state of unfriendly countries,” Dulles saw himself as above the elected law, manipulating and subverting American presidents in the pursuit of his personal interests and those of the wealthy elite he counted as his friends and clients—colluding with Nazi-controlled cartels, German war criminals, and Mafiosi in the process. Targeting foreign leaders for assassination and overthrowing nationalist governments not in line with his political aims, Dulles employed those same tactics to further his goals at home, Talbot charges, offering shocking new evidence in the JFK assassination. An exposé of American power and the abuse of power that is as disturbing as it is timely, The Devil’s Chessboard is a provocative and gripping story of the rise of the national security state—and the battle for America’s soul. This meticulously researched exposé reveals: Secret Government Operations: How Allen Dulles built the CIA into a formidable secret government, operating beyond the reach of presidents and the law. Covert Wars and Assassinations: The chilling details of Dulles’s covert wars, from overthrowing governments not in line with his political aims to targeting foreign leaders for assassination. Unholy Alliances: The details of Dulles’s shocking collusion with Nazi-controlled cartels, German war criminals, and Mafiosi to further his personal and political agendas. The Rise of the National Security State: A provocative, timely warning about the unchecked growth of secret power and the ongoing battle for America’s soul.
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Mein KampfAdolf Hitler
Mein Kampf written by Adolf Hitler is known as one of the most dangerous books in history. It is a fundamental exposition of Nazi ideology, which caused deaths of milions of people. The publisher would like to inform, that propaganda of any totalitarianism, such as Nazism, Fascism and Communism is not his target and this book should be only perceived as a historical source. Every man wanting to understand the complexity of the World War II should be acquainted with this position.
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How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of the most distinctive and funny politicians, Senator John Kennedy (the one from Louisiana)—hailed by Politico as “America’s most quotable Senator”—offers his perceptive (and hilarious) takes on the ridiculousness of political life in this scathingly witty takedown of Washington and its elite denizens. How to Test Negative for Stupid offers the Senator’s tongue-in-cheek guidebook through Washington, punctuated by his thoughts on various issues and humorous stories about life from Louisiana politics and inside the Senate. From the mind—and mouth—of "America's Most Quotable Senator": “Always be yourself . . . unless you suck.”“I say this gently: This is why the aliens won’t talk to us.”“If you trust government, you obviously failed history class.”“I believe that our country was founded by geniuses, but it’s being run by idiots.”“Always follow your heart . . . but take your brain with you.”“I’m not going to Bubble Wrap it: The water in Washington, D.C., won’t clear up until you get the pigs out of the creek.”“I have the right to remain silent but not the ability.”“Common sense is illegal in Washington, D.C., I know. I’ve seen it firsthand.”“I believe that we are going to have to get some new conspiracy theories. All the old ones turned out to be true.”
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Ghost NationChris Horton
'Compelling and important' - Rana Mitter, The Observer 'Few books qualify as essential reading but Ghost Nation is one of them' - Clive Hamilton, bestselling co-author of The Hidden Hand 'A thoughtful, illuminating exploration of Taiwan’s past and present as well as its possible future' - Booklist The gripping story of Taiwan's rich past and precarious present from one of the country's top foreign correspondents. With all eyes on Ukraine and the Middle East, Taiwan is emerging as the next geopolitical tinderbox. Despite sitting at the heart of the tense relationship between China and the US, Taiwan’s history and its people have long been overlooked and misunderstood. In Ghost Nation , Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton tells their stories and explores why this diplomatically isolated country has become such an important player on the world stage. As China’s military preparations continue apace, the stakes have never been higher. Perched precariously on the fault-lines of global power, the fate of this vibrant democracy and tech colossus will shape Asia’s future – either containing or facilitating China’s expansionist goals. Drawing from over a decade of living and reporting in Taiwan, and informed by interviews with everyday citizens, presidents and other key figures, Horton provides a panoramic view of this fascinating country. Ghost Nation will leave readers with a profound appreciation for Taiwan’s struggle for self-determination – and its pivotal role in our shared future. 'Indispensable and timely' - Melissa Chan, Emmy-nominated international affairs correspondent 'An unmissable account . . . Accessible, entertaining and immaculately researched' - Dr Jonathan Sullivan, co-author of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat and former Director of the China Policy Institute
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Mein KampfAdolf Hitler
Mein Kampf written by Adolf Hitler is known as one of the most dangerous books in history. It is a fundamental exposition of Nazi ideology, which caused deaths of milions of people. The publisher would like to inform, that propaganda of any totalitarianism, such as Nazism, Fascism and Communism is not his target and this book should be only perceived as a historical source. Every man wanting to understand the complexity of the World War II should be acquainted with this position.
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The Plot to Betray AmericaMalcolm Nance
*** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*** An Explosive, Revelatory Assessment of the Greatest Betrayal in American History, Newly Revised and Updated William Barr · Paul Manafort · Michael Cohen · Steve Bannon · Rudy Giuliani · Mitch McConnell · Roger Stone · George Papadopoulos · Jeff Sessions · And More! "Impressive... a persuasive whodunit narrative." - Washington Post In The Plot to Betray A merica , New York Times bestselling author and renowned intelligence expert Malcolm Nance reveals exactly how President Trump and his inner circle conspired, coordinated, communicated, and eventually strategized to commit the greatest acts of treachery in the history of the United States: compromising the presidential oath of office in exchange for power and personal enrichment. Seduced by the promises of riches dangled in front of them by Vladimir Putin, the Trump administration eagerly decided to reap the rewards of the plan to put a Kremlin-friendly crony in the Oval Office. Even after his impeachment, Trump continues to defend Putin and jeopardize American intelligence. And instead of interfering, Trump's powerful Republican allies have done everything they can to facilitate Trump's irreparable damage to national security. Through in-depth research and interviews with intelligence experts and insiders, Nance charts Trump's deep financial ties to Russia through his family's investments-including those of Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner-and exposes the corrupt behavior of Trump's other double-crossing pro-Moscow associates. In doing so, Nance also draws a portrait of a venal and selfish president, one who willingly sells American national security to dictators, strongmen, and the ultra-rich at the expense, and sometimes the lives, of American citizens. In this newly revised and updated edition, The Plot to Betray America ultimately sketches the blueprint of the Trump administration's conspiracy against our country-and shows us how we can still fight to defend democracy, protect our national security, and save the Constitution.
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ProphecyCarissa Véliz
“Lively. . . . Rousing. . . . Prophecy —roving, intelligent, irreducibly idiosyncratic—can expand our sense of possibility, starting now.” — The New York Times Book Review Tech empires are the prophets of the modern day, and like the ancient oracles and medieval astrologers that preceded them, they're not in it for the common good—they're in it for power. Award-winning University of Oxford professor Carissa Véliz brilliantly argues why we must reclaim that power, and shows us how. “A masterpiece. . . . The most important book you will read for years.” —Roger McNamee, New York Times bestselling author of Zucked For thousands of years, oracles, seers, and astrologers advised leaders and commoners alike about the future. But predictions are often power plays in disguise, obfuscating accountability and stripping individuals of their agency. Today we face the same threat of powerful prophets but under a new facade: tech. Not only do modern predictions made by tech companies advise on war, industry, and marriages, but artificial intelligence also now determines whether we can get a loan, a job, an apartment, or an organ transplant. And when we cede ground to these predictions, we lose control of our own lives. Drawing on history’s cautionary tales and modern-day tech companies’ malfeasance—from surveillance and biased algorithms to a startling lack of accountability—Carissa Véliz demonstrates that big tech’s prophecies are just as shallow, dangerous, and unjust as their ancient counterparts’. What she uncovers in the process is chilling. Artificial intelligence is increasing risk in business and society while creating a false sense of security. In this incisive, witty, and bracingly original book, Véliz contends that the main promise of prediction is not knowledge of the future but domination over others. Powerful people use predictions to determine our future. Prophecy is an invitation to defy those orders and live life on our own terms.
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The Bill of ObligationsRichard Haass
“ An indispensable guide to good citizenship in an era of division and rancor .” —Anne Applebaum There is no question that the United States faces dangerous threats from without; the greatest peril to the country, however, comes from within. In The Bill of Obligations , bestselling author Richard Haass argues that, to solve our climate of division and safeguard our democracy, the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. The Bill of Rights is at the center of our Constitution, yet the most intractable conflicts often emerge from cases that, as former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer pointed out, “are not about right versus wrong. They are about right versus right.” There is a way forward: to place obligations on the same footing as rights. The ten obligations that Haass introduces here reenvision what it means to be an American citizen, to commit to our fellow citizens and counter the growing apathy, anger, and violence that threaten us all. Through an expert blend of civics, history, and political analysis, this book illuminates how Americans across the political spectrum can rediscover how to contribute to and reshape this country’s future.
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The Future of GeographyTim Marshall
From the New York Times bestselling author of Prisoners of Geography and leading geopolitics expert comes an “insightful, hopeful, and endlessly fascinating” ( Daily Express ) book on today’s new space race and the geopolitics of space—including the increasingly tense power struggle between the US, China, and Russia and what it means for all of us here on Earth. Spy satellites orbiting the moon. Space metals worth more than most countries’ GDP. People on Mars within the next ten years. This isn’t science fiction—it’s reality. Humans are venturing up and out, and we’re taking our competitive spirit with us. Soon, what happens in space will shape human history as much as the mountains, rivers, and seas have impacted civilizations around the world. It’s no coincidence that Russia, China, and the US are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global politics and the world order as we know it. In this must-read work, bestselling author Tim Marshall navigates the new astropolitical reality to show how we got here and where we’re heading. Extensively researched, “thought-provoking” ( Popular Science ), and drawing on the latest information from intelligence, government, and civilian institutions, this book provides a detailed, clear account of the new space race, the power rivalries, and how technology, economics, and war have a ripple effect on everyone across the globe. Written with all the insight and wit that have made Marshall one of the world’s most popular and trusted writers on geopolitics, The Future of Geography is an essential read about global power, politics, and the future of humanity.
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The Blind SpotJeffrey Winters
An urgent and shocking examination of how the ultra-rich dominate democracies, hoard political power, and maintain inequality—and how we might chart another path. The wealthy and powerful few have dominated the many throughout most of human history. This is now more starkly visible than ever—a time when, with politicians bought and paid for across the political spectrum, the gulf between oligarchs and average citizens is larger than any gap that existed during European feudalism or the slave society of Imperial Rome. One thing is clear: the world is heading into an even deeper state of inequality, one that oligarchs of past eras could only have dreamed of. The strange thing is, for the first time in history, this domination is accomplished through democracy. Yet we aren’t in open revolt against the system. In fact, we seemingly keep voting to prop it up. Why? In The Blind Spot , political scientist Jeffrey Winters delivers a timely, incisive account of how we reached this era of in-your-face oligarchy. Tracing the evolution of wealth power through the modern democratic era, he demonstrates how domination by oligarchs isn’t just a flaw in our democracy, but a foundational feature—allowing the wealthy to limit the agenda, control the marketplace of ideas, and rewire the law to defend, hide, and increase their money and power. Now, in an extraordinary paradox, we exist in a state of “participatory inequality,” a world in which the 99.99 percent of us participate openly, freely, and democratically in our own ongoing exclusion and exploitation. But The Blind Spot ultimately sounds a clarion call for change, arming us not only with a vital lens through which we can understand just how bad our political reality has become, but also with bold ideas for how we might shift the balance of power. While powerful oligarchs do not cede power willingly, this period of shocking inequality is nevertheless an opportunity for change.
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Last Branch StandingSarah Isgur
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A myth-busting glimpse into the inner workings of the Supreme Court, revealing what we get wrong about the Roberts Court, what the justices' clerks gossip about, and how to fix a court in crisis—from the popular ABC news pundit and top legal podcaster "Isgur has all your answers in these smart, snappy, clear-eyed pages.” —Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams Most people get the Supreme Court all wrong. A smattering of high-profile decisions have popularized a simplistic idea of the Court and its justices. Yes, six of them were appointed by Republicans, and only three by Democrats. So, how does that 6-3 conservative majority explain why in the 2024-25 term, conservative Brett Kavanaugh was more likely to agree with liberal Elena Kagan than conservative Neil Gorsuch? Or why the court threw shade at Florida’s attempt to ban drag shows? To truly understand the Court, argues Sarah Isgur, you have to look beyond partisan politics—the “X-Axis.” The wisest court watchers apply another measuring stick, the “Y-Axis," where the nine justices span from order-loving institutionalists to true chaos agents. Once you appreciate these overlapping and even competing impulses, the Court begins to look a lot more like a 3-3-3 split than 6-3. The ultimate insider , Isgur takes readers on a deep dive inside the Supreme Court: how cases land at the Court’s doorstep, which justices attend clerk happy hours (and which ones even bother showing up to the office), why conservatives already have buyer’s remorse about Amy Coney Barrett, and how the whole judicial system is kind of a constitutional anomaly. She’ll even help you decide whether you should throw your hat in the ring and go to law school! Blending irreverent humor and incisive commentary, Isgur goes underneath the robes—and shows us what we need to do to preserve the rule of law amid dicey times in this little self-governing experiment we’ve been running for the last 250 years.
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Prisoners of GeographyTim Marshall
UPDATED TO REFLECT CURRENT EVENTS! In this fascinating New York Times bestseller—fully revised to reflect the events of our current world—award-winning journalist Tim Marshall uses ten maps of crucial regions to explain how physical landscapes influence geopolitical strategies of world leaders, showing “how geography shapes not just history but destiny” ( Newsweek). Maps have always captivated us, offering insights not only into our destinations but also into the broader world. Yet, when it comes to understanding geopolitics, many overlook the fundamental role of geography. All leaders of nations are constrained by geography—their choices limited by mountains, rivers, deserts, and seas. Now in “one of the best books about geopolitics” ( The Evening Standard )—journalist Tim Marshall reveals the profound influence of geography on global politics, offering a compelling lens through which to understand the seismic shifts reshaping international relations. Through ten up-to-date maps, Marshall explores the landscapes and climates that constrain and empower nations across key parts of the globe, from Russia’s vast tundras to China’s mountainous borders, Africa’s deserts to the Arctic’s shifting ice. Taking a deep dive into the key flashpoints defining our world today—including the Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict—Marshall unpacks the shifting dynamics of the New Middle East, China’s bold moves to expand its global influence, including its growing interest in Taiwan, and how America’s pivot to the Pacific is reshaping alliances. And Europe’s tilt towards extreme politics, increased defense spending, and the future role of NATO, paint a dramatic picture of a continent in flux. An essential read for anyone interested in the interplay between geography and global politics, this fully revised edition of Prisoners of Geography offers a vivid look at the forces driving our increasingly complex world.
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Who Is Government?Michael Lewis
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S 2025 SUMMER READS AS SEEN ON CBS MORNINGS , CNN ANDERSON COOPER , ABC NEWS LIVE , MSNBC MORNING JOE, AND MANY MORE "This eye-opening, multifaceted ode to public service. . . feels both urgent and moving." —The Guardian "Terrific." — New York Times An all-star team of writers and storytellers go in search of the essential public servant Who works for the government and why does their work matter? Michael Lewis invited his favorite writers, including Casey Cep, Dave Eggers, John Lanchester, Geraldine Brooks, Sarah Vowell, and W. Kamau Bell, to join him in writing about someone doing an interesting job for the government. The stories they found are unexpected, riveting, and inspiring, including a former coal miner devoted to making mine roofs less likely to collapse, saving thousands of lives; an IRS agent straight out of a crime thriller; and the manager who made the National Cemetery Administration the best-run organization, public or private, in the entire country. Each essay shines a spotlight on the essential behind-the-scenes work of exemplary federal employees. Whether they’re digitizing archives, chasing down cybercriminals, or discovering new planets, these public servants are committed to their work and universally reluctant to take credit. Expanding on the celebrated Washington Post series, these vivid profiles show how the essential business of government makes our lives possible.
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Regime ChangeMaggie Haberman
A riveting, intimate, and revelatory account of the most radical and consequential presidency of our time. From the two reporters who have covered him more closely than perhaps anyone else over the past decade comes this definitive portrait of Donald Trump in the White House. Regime Change covers the first year of Trump’s second presidency—a term liberated from every constraint that defined his first. The generals who once told him “no” are gone, and the lawyers who remain have learned to pick their battles. His administration has flouted court orders and he has claimed powers that Congress once checked. What remains is a President willing to take enormous risks that have upended global markets and toppled heads of state; an imperial President operating almost entirely on instinct alone. Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented reporting from deep within the administration’s most closely guarded rooms, Regime Change takes the reader inside the Situation Room and into the secret Oval Office deliberations that have launched a new war in the Middle East and seen Trump seal the border, surge National Guard troops into cities, and send immigration agents into deadly clashes with protestors. Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan bring us behind the scenes of a presidency that has transformed the culture, turned the Justice Department into an agent of retribution against the President’s enemies and the office itself into a brazen vehicle for profit. They reveal a second term propelled by a historical irony that Trump himself has come to understand: that the indictments, the convictions, the assassination attempts, and four years of exile made him not weaker but far more powerful, more vengeful, and more willing to gamble than any President in modern history. This is the story of how Trump has used that power, who has tried to stop him, and why nearly all of them have failed. It is also the story of something American journalists are more accustomed to chronicling in distant capitals than in their own: a President who has fundamentally altered the nature of the office he holds—and, with it, how the rest of the world understands American power. It is an account of Regime Change right here in America—a landmark real-time history of a modern presidency like no other.
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Project MavenKatrina Manson
One of the Economist's Best Books of 2026 The dramatic story of the secretive decade-long Pentagon campaign to deliver America into the age of AI warfare. In 2017, a small crew gathered in a windowless Pentagon room to put AI at the heart of how America makes war. Led by Drew Cukor, an unyielding Marine Corps colonel driven by the deaths of US troops and the prospect of war with an AI-equipped China, the Project Maven team raced to send AI into combat, igniting controversy and forever changing the US military. Summoning the mayhem of a tech startup, the Maven team wrestled Pentagon bureaucrats and each other. They enlisted an initially reluctant Silicon Valley, supercharged the growth of Palantir, and sent algorithms made by Amazon, Microsoft, and others into hot wars. Maven fielded technology to identify targets at speed and scale, developed AI-infused command systems, and learned where AI fails. The prospect of machines making independent decisions about life and death alarmed members of the military across all ranks and the project sparked a revolt among thousands of tech workers at Google. Yet today, Maven’s AI-enabled systems operate in every branch of the US military, and its lessons are folded into developing autonomous technology set to be on the front lines of future war. Project Maven and its legacy sit at the intersection of colliding trends: America’s insecurity about declining global power, the technological revolution driving AI into every aspect of society, the dominance of Big Tech, all-encompassing surveillance, and the ambitions of China’s growing military. As the second Trump administration pours money into military AI and autonomy while the UN Secretary-General clamors for a ban on killer robots, this book investigates whether AI will improve accuracy and save lives or if a fundamentally unreliable black-box technology will unleash mistakes and atrocities at scale. Drawing on more than 200 interviews with insiders and opponents, this compelling narrative tells the definitive story of how AI warfare, once the stuff of apocalyptic science fiction, has become a reality.
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BreakneckDan Wang
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Shortlisted for the Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award One of The New Yorker's Best Books of the Year • One of NPR's "Books We Love" of 2025 • A Financial Times Best Book of the Year • An August 2025 Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book • One of Bookbub's Best Nonfiction of 2025 • A China Books Review Best Book of 2025 • An Inc. Best Business Book of 2025 A riveting, firsthand investigation of China’s seismic progress, its human costs, and what it means for America. For close to a decade, technology analyst Dan Wang—“a gifted observer of contemporary China” (Ross Douthat)—has been living through the country’s astonishing, messy progress. China’s towering bridges, gleaming railways, and sprawling factories have improved economic outcomes in record time. But rapid change has also sent ripples of pain throughout the society. This reality—political repression and astonishing growth—is not a paradox, but rather a feature of China’s engineering mindset. In Breakneck, Wang blends political, economic, and philosophical analysis with reportage to reveal a provocative new framework for understanding China—one that helps us see America more clearly, too. While China is an engineering state, relentlessly pursuing megaprojects, the United States has stalled. America has transformed into a lawyerly society, reflexively blocking everything, good and bad Blending razor-sharp analysis with immersive storytelling, Wang offers a gripping portrait of a nation in flux. Breakneck traverses metropolises like Shanghai, Chongqing, and Shenzhen, where the engineering state has created not only dazzling infrastructure but also a sense of optimism. The book also exposes the downsides of social engineering, including the surveillance of ethnic minorities, political suppression, and the traumas of the one-child policy and zero-Covid. In an era of animosity and mistrust, Wang unmasks the shocking similarities between the United States and China. Breakneck reveals how each country points toward a better path for the other: Chinese citizens would be better off if their government could learn to value individual liberties, while Americans would be better off if their government could learn to embrace engineering—and to produce better outcomes for the many, not just the few.
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Legacy of AshesTim Weiner
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • With shocking revelations that made headlines all across the country, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Tim Weiner gets at the truth behind the CIA and uncovers why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it, and how these profound failures jeopardize our national security. " For anyone interested in the CIA or American intelligence since World War II.” — The Washington Post A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century • The precursor to the New York Times bestseller The Mission For years, the CIA has managed to maintain a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, burying its blunders in top-secret archives. Its mission was to know the world. When it did not succeed, it set out to change the world. Its failures have handed us, in the words of President Eisenhower, “a legacy of ashes.” Now Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tim Weiner offers a definitive history of the CIA—and everything is on the record. LEGACY OF ASHES is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including ten Directors of Central Intelligence. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after 9/ll. Here is the hidden history of the CIA: why eleven presidents and three generations of CIA officers have been unable to understand the world; why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it; and how these failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.
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Chip WarChris Miller
The Financial Times Business Book of the Year, this epic account of the decades-long battle to control one of the world’s most critical resources—microchip technology—with the United States and China increasingly in fierce competition is “pulse quickening…a nonfiction thriller” ( The New York Times ). You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything —from missiles to microwaves—runs on chips, including cars, smartphones, the stock market, even the electric grid. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower, but America’s edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by players in Taiwan, Korea, and Europe taking over manufacturing. Now, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more on chips than any other product, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America’s military superiority and economic prosperity. Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the US became dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America’s victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. Until recently, China had been catching up, aligning its chip-building ambitions with military modernization. Here, in this paperback edition of the book, the author has added intriguing new material focused on "America's Chip Comeback,” which overviews the global consequences of the just passed CHIPS Act, the new export controls on China, and the effort to rally allies to better guard chip technology. Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War is “an essential and engrossing landmark study” ( The Times , London).
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Culture WarlordsTal Lavin
One reporter takes an immersive dive into white supremacy's explosive online presence, exploring the undercurrents of propaganda, racism, misogyny, and history that led us to where we are now. Tal Lavin is every skinhead's worst nightmare: a loud and unapologetic Jewish trans man, acerbic, smart, and profoundly antiracist, with the investigative chops to expose the tactics and ideologies of online hatemongers. Culture Warlords is the story of how Lavin, a frequent target of extremist trolls (including those at Fox News), dove into a byzantine online culture of hate and learned the intricacies of how white supremacy proliferates online. Within these pages, he reveals the extremists hiding in plain sight online: Incels. White nationalists. White supremacists. National Socialists. Proud Boys. Christian extremists. In order to showcase them in their natural habitat, Lavin assumes a range of identities, going undercover as a blonde Nazi babe, a forlorn incel, and a violent Aryan femme fatale. Along the way, he discovers a whites-only dating site geared toward racists looking for love, a disturbing extremist YouTube channel run by a fourteen-year-old girl with over 800,000 followers, the everyday heroes of the antifascist movement, and much more. By combining compelling stories chock-full of catfishing and gate-crashing with his own in-depth, gut-wrenching research, he also turns the lens of anti-Semitism, racism, and white power back on itself in an attempt to dismantle and decimate the online hate movement from within. Shocking, humorous, and merciless in equal measure, Culture Warlords explores some of the vilest subcultures on the Web-and shows us how we can fight back.
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Seven Things You Can't Say About ChinaTom Cotton
#1 New York Times Bestseller Senator Tom Cotton offers an unflinching look at the deadly geopolitical threat of Communist China and reveals the truth about America’s most dangerous enemy. “As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I’m often asked if the threat from China is as bad as it seems. My answer is no—it’s worse than you can imagine.” Seven Things You Can’t Say About China is Tom Cotton’s provocative exposé about the gravest national security threat to American freedom. The media, Hollywood, academia, Wall Street, and most politicians can’t—or won’t—speak the truth about China. But Senator Cotton will, because America needs to know. In this hard-hitting book, he reveals what others refuse to say, including: The inside story—drawn from his intelligence and national-security experience and knowledge—on how deeply the Chinese Communist Party has infiltrated America.How China persecutes Christians and commits genocide against religious and ethnic minorities.The alarming rise of China’s armed forces and nuclear arsenal, which will soon rival our own.The danger our children face from China’s influence on Hollywood, the NBA, TikTok, and so much more.How China lied, stole, and cheated its way to wealth while devastating America’s workers and businesses. Seven Things You Can’t Say About China sounds the alarm about Communist China’s carefully crafted plans to defeat America in the coming decade—and what we must do to fight back.
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How to Be an AntiracistIbram X. Kendi
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” ( Time ) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves —now updated, with a new preface. “The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”— The New York Times ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR— The New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Shelf Awareness, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist , Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves. Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
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In Defense of the Second AmendmentLarry Correia & Nick Searcy
What Part of the Second Amendment Don’t You Understand? That’s the question posed by award-winning, New York Times bestselling author, and professional firearms instructor, Larry Correia. Bringing with him the practical experience that comes from having owned a high-end gun store—catering largely to law enforcement—and as a competitive shooter and self-defense trainer, Correia blasts apart the emotion-laden, logic-free rhetoric of the gun control fanatics who turn every “mass shooting” into a crazed call for violating your rights, abusing the Constitution— and doing absolutely nothing to really fight crime . In his essential new book, In Defense of the Second Amendment , Correia reveals: • Why “gun-free” zones are more dangerous for law-abiding citizens • How the Second Amendment does indeed include your right to own an AR-15—and why that’s not an “outdated” concept • Why “red flag” laws don’t work, can be easily abused, and ignore a much more commonsensical approach to keeping guns out of the wrong hands • The insanity of “criminal justice reform” that frees dangerous criminals and “gun reform” that penalizes your right to self-defense • How we can return to a society that has a safe and healthy relationship with guns—as we had for most of our history • Correia’s promise: “Believe me, I’ve heard every argument relating to gun control possible. I can show you how to defend your rights.” Urgent, informed, with vitally important information for whoever who owns a gun—or is thinking about owning a gun—or who cares about the preservation of our constitutional rights, In Defense of the Second Amendment is a landmark book of enduring importance.
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Thank You for VotingErin Geiger Smith
In this concise, lively look at the past, present, and future of voting, a journalist examines the long and continuing fight for voting equality, why so few Americans today vote, and innovative ways to educate and motivate them; included are checklists of what to do before election day to prepare to vote and encourage others. Voting is a prized American right and a topic of debate from the earliest days of the country. Yet in the 2016 presidential election, about 40 percent of Americans—and half of the country's young adults—didn't vote. Why do so many Americans choose not to vote, and what can we do about it? The problem, Erin Geiger Smith contends, is a lack of understanding about our electoral system and a need to make voting more accessible. Thank You for Voting is her eye-opening look at the voting process, starting with the Framers' perspective, through the Equal Protection amendment and the Voting Rights Act, to the present and simple actions individuals can take to increase civic participation in local, state, and national elections. Geiger Smith expands our knowledge about our democracy—including women's long fight to win the vote, attempts to suppress newly enfranchised voters' impact, state prohibitions against felons voting, charges of voter fraud and voter suppression, and other vital issues. In a conversational tone, she explains topics that can confuse even the most informed voters: polling, news literacy, gerrymandering and the Electoral College. She also explores how age, race, and socioeconomic factors influence turnout. Ultimately, Thank You for Voting offers hope. Geiger Smith challenges corporations to promote voting, and offers examples of how companies like Patagonia and Walmart have taken up the task in a non-partisan way. And she reveals how get-out-the-vote movements—such as television star Yara Shahidi's voting organization, Michelle Obama's When We All Vote campaign, and on-the-ground young activists—innovatively use technology and grassroots techniques to energize first-time voters.
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The Day AfterBrian Tyler Cohen
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shameless, Brian Tyler Cohen explores how Republicans have abused power, how Democrats have refused to exercise power when they held it, and how progressives should wield power if they are fortunate enough to win a free and fair election in a post-Trump world. This book is a wake-up call about the decades-long project that led to Trump’s America. It’s the playbook for progressives who want to do far more than restore the status quo. This is how we build a stronger country, with hope and opportunity for all — before our democracy slides into a distant memory.
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The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The book that galvanized the nation, gave voice to the emerging civil rights movement in the 1960s—and still lights the way to understanding race in America today. • "The finest essay I’ve ever read.” —Ta-Nehisi Coates At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document from the iconic author of If Beale Street Could Talk and Go Tell It on the Mountain. It consists of two "letters," written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism. Described by The New York Times Book Review as "sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle … all presented in searing, brilliant prose," The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of literature.
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The Reluctant SpyJohn Kiriakou
“A gripping page-turner that reads better than fiction, The Reluctant Spy is the true-life story of a U.S. spy on the frontlines of the war on terror.”—Peter Bergen, New York Times bestselling author of Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden “A vivid picture of the tradeoffs facing America in the post-9/11 world.”—Jane Mayer, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Money Long before the waterboarding controversy exploded in the media, one CIA agent had already gone public. In a groundbreaking 2007 interview with ABC News, John Kiriakou called waterboarding “torture”—but admitted that it probably worked. The Reluctant Spy , at once a confessional, an adventure story, and a chronicle of Kiriakou’s life in the CIA, stands as an important, eloquent piece of testimony from a committed American patriot. In February 2002, Kiriakou was the head of counterterrorism in Pakistan. Under his command, in a spectacular raid coordinated with Pakistani agents and the CIA’s best intelligence analyst, Kiriakou’s field officers took down the infamous terrorist Abu Zubaydah. For days, Kiriakou became the wounded terrorist’s personal “bodyguard.” In circumstances stranger than fiction, as al-Qaeda agents scoured the streets for their captured leader, the best trauma surgeon in America was flown to Pakistan to make sure that Zubaydah did not die. In The Reluctant Spy , Kiriakou takes us into the fight against an enemy fueled by fanaticism. He chillingly describes what it was like inside the CIA headquarters on the morning of 9/11, the agency leaders who stepped up and those who protected their careers. And in what may be the book’s most shocking revelation, he describes how the White House made plans to invade Iraq a full year before the CIA knew about it—or could attempt to stop it. Chronicling both mind-boggling mistakes and heroic acts of individual courage, The Reluctant Spy is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the inner workings of the U.S. intelligence apparatus, the truth behind the torture debate, and the incredible dedication of ordinary men and women doing one of the most extraordinary jobs on earth.
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The FixBarbara Mcquade
New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade offers a piercing, urgent, and deeply informed exposé on the escalating threat of far-right politics to American democracy and national security—and a clear roadmap for how to stop it. In The Fix , Barbara McQuade draws on her decades of experience as a federal prosecutor to show us the detrimental effects of a government that uses corruption, cruelty, and chaos as tools of control. As a US Attorney, McQuade became all too familiar with corruption cases, prosecuting former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Volkswagen, among others. Here, she exposes how rampant corruption and cruelty are being weaponized to manipulate every facet of American life. Weaving together courtroom stories, lessons from history, and real-time legal analysis, McQuade shows how each corrupt offense, each act of cruelty, is a step toward total authoritarianism. Yet The Fix is not just a critique of power gone awry. McQuade offers clear strategies that ordinary Americans can utilize, from organizing teach-ins and protests to running for local office, to reclaim the rule of law and ensure that elected officials serve the public's interest, not their own. Eye-opening and grounded in the author's abiding faith in the US Constitution to help restore power to the people, The Fix is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of America and ready to work together to take it back.
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American Government 101Kathleen Sears
Understand American government, elections, and the Constitution with this engaging, accessible introduction to how US politics really works. Too often, textbooks turn the noteworthy details of government into tedious discourse that would put even the president to sleep. American Government 101 cuts out the boring explanations, and instead provides a hands-on lesson that keeps you engaged as you learn. From the backstory of the Constitution to the institution of the Electoral College, this primer is packed with hundreds of entertaining tidbits and concepts to help you learn about how the government of the United States actually works. So whether you want to learn about how policies and laws are created, or just want to become a better-informed voter, American Government 101 has all the answers--even the ones you didn't know you were looking for.
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Our Own Worst EnemiesRobert A. Pape
The nation’s leading expert on political violence diagnoses the gravest threat to American democracy—and how to overcome it The January 6th riot, the attempted kidnapping of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the shootings of Minnesota legislators, the two attempted assassinations of Donald Trump, attacks on judges, as well as the recent killing of Charlie Kirk—Americans are increasingly embracing political violence. And the call for blood comes from both sides of the aisle. In Our Own Worst Enemies, Robert A. Pape argues that American democracy is at a precarious moment because the principal danger in this new phase will come not from a fringe militia group. Rooting his observations in both historical data and fascinating (and terrifying) original interviews with contemporary political actors, Pape shows that support for political violence against democratic institutions is now as likely to come from “normal” political activists with nice homes and 401(k)s as it is from the Proud Boys and the cast of sometimes-oddball characters who stormed the Capitol. He identifies the precursors to the current moment, explains why the old solutions are not working this time around, and articulates what is needed to safeguard democracy in this new age of “violent populism.” For over two centuries, American democracy has depended on citizens’ willingness to accept political differences and peaceful transitions of power. Our Own Worst Enemies tells us how we can return to those all-important norms.
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Modern GreeceStathis Kalyvas
When Greece's economic troubles began to threaten the stability of the European Union in 2010, the nation found itself in the center of a whirlwind of international finger-pointing. In the years prior, Greece appeared to be politically secure and economically healthy. Upon its emergence in the center of the European economic maelstrom, however, observers and critics cited a century of economic hurdles, dictatorships, revolutions, and more reasons as to why their current crisis was understandable, if not predictable. The ancient birthplace of democracy and countless artistic, literary, philosophical, and scientific developments had struggled to catch-up to its economically-thriving neighbors in Western Europe for years and quickly became the most seriously economically-troubled European country following a fiscal nosedive beginning in 2008. When the deficit and unemployment skyrocketed, the resulting austerity measures triggered widespread social unrest. The entire world turned its focus toward the troubled nation, waiting for the possibility of a Greek exit from the European Monetary Union and its potential to unravel the entire Union, with other weaker members heading for the exit as well. The effects of Greece's crisis are also tied up in the global arguments about austerity, with many viewing it as necessary medicine, and still others seeing austerity as an intellectually bankrupt approach to fiscal policy that only further damages weak economies. In Modern Greece: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Stathis Kalyvas, an eminent scholar of conflict, Europe, and Greece combines the most up-to-date economic and political-science findings on the current Greek crisis with a discussion of Greece's history. Tracing the nation's development from the early nineteenth century to the present, the informative question-and answer format covers key episodes including the independence movement of the early nineteenth century, the massive ethnic cleansing in Turkey and Greece following World War I, the German occupation in World War II, the following brutal civil war, the conflict with Turkey over Cyprus, the military coup of 1967, democracy at long last, and the country's entry into the European Union. Written by one of the most brilliant political scientists in the academy, Modern Greece is the go-to resource for understanding both the current crisis and the historical events that brought the country to where it is today. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.
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With D'Annunzio in FiumeMario Carli
In the aftermath of the First World War, the political map of Europe was radically reshaped and reorganized. Nationalistic tensions sprang up in the immediate aftermath of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and history’s most bombastic backlash to it was the Italian Regency of Carnaro. Gabriele D’Annunzio, renowned Italian poet and aviator, stormed the port of Fiume on the Dalmatian coast with thousands of hardened veterans in protest of the government of Rome agreeing to transfer the city, populated by Italians, to Yugoslavia. What followed was a period of bombastic theatrics, fiery oration, and irredentist zeal that captivated the world and served as an inspiration for the future fascist parties of Europe. In With D’Annunzio in Fiume , fellow poet and veteran Mario Carli recounts his experiences with his brothers-in-arms in the taking of Fiume and their stand against the diktats of the post-war order. Also included in this book is an essay called We Arditi , in which Carli eulogizes the Arditi, “the daring ones,” who were the special forces of the Italian army during the First World War. Like their more well-known German counterparts, the Stormtroopers, they were the shock troops of modern warfare, infiltrating No Man’s Land to storm trenches and blow up bunkers. If With D’Annunzio in Fiume is a celebration of poetry and art, then We Arditi is its militant counterpart, a hypermasculine ode to the glory of combat. These two pieces together offer a well-rounded and complementary analysis of the duality of war. Antelope Hill Publishing is proud to present these two pieces, now available in English for the first time ever. The oft-overlooked saga of the Fiume adventure serves as a foundation for what came later in Italy with Mussolini and the Fascists, and a reminder to the modern reader that pen and tongue are just as important as the rifle on the road to conquest.
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Rage and the RepublicJonathan Turley
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, law professor, legal analyst, and bestselling author of The Indispensable Right Jonathan Turley explores how the unique origins of American democracy set it apart from other revolutions, whether it can survive and thrive in the 21st century, and how the unfinished story of the revolution will play out in a rapidly changing world. This is a book about revolutions. Most countries are the progeny of revolution. At the birth of this nation, the Founding Fathers faced the quintessential question of self-governance: how do you keep democracy from devolving into violent anarchy or brutal despotism? Drawing on little-known facts from the founding, Jonathan Turley reveals how the United States escaped the cycles of violence and instability that plagued other democratic movements, from ancient Athens to 19th-century France. As the nation approaches a new era marked by artificial intelligence, robotics, and profound economic shifts, America must again withstand the pressure of radical forces that seek to curtail our natural liberties under the guise of popular reform. In this crisis of faith, many politicians and pundits are questioning the very principles of American democracy, and some law professors are even calling for scrapping the Constitution. Synthesizing sources from history to philosophy to the arts, Turley offers a hopeful account of how the lessons of the past can guide us through today’s “crisis of faith” in democracy and see us into the future. He notes: “From redcoats to robots, our challenges have changed. Yet, we have remained. Our greatest danger is not forgetting the history detailed in this book, but forgetting who we were in that history.”
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Fighting the Hate: A Handbook for Jews Under SiegeMelanie Phillips
Since the Hamas-led atrocities in Israel on October 7, 2023, the Jewish world has been subjected to an unprecedented international onslaught. Israel has been portrayed as the most evil nation in the world through defamatory lies, and as a result Jews across the West have been targeted by murderous attacks, vilification, and social ostracism. Such Jews have been profoundly destabilized by this tsunami of hatred and baffling irrationality, which calls into question their very future. Many, if not most, are deeply unsure about the necessary balance between safety and resistance. They may lack the information or self-confidence needed to fight the lies, or else be traumatized by friendships or family relationships shattered by the divisions created by this bombardment. Fighting the Hate provides the help that Jews have been crying out for to cope with these intense pressures. Offering detailed advice across the political and religious spectrum, journalist Melanie Phillips maps out what Jews are up against and suggests specific responses to the many different kinds of attack they are suffering. Her book is a clarion call for a new strategy of Jewish self-confidence, the essential basis for survival in the face of an unparalleled threat.
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The Cult of TrumpSteven Hassan
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *As featured in the streaming documentary #UNTRUTH—now with a new foreword by George Conway and an afterword by the author* A masterful and eye-opening examination of Trump and the coercive control tactics he uses to build a fanatical devotion in his supporters written by “an authority on breaking away from cults…an argument that…bears consideration as the next election cycle heats up” ( Kirkus Reviews ). Since the 2016 election, Donald Trump’s behavior has become both more disturbing and yet increasingly familiar. He relies on phrases like, “fake news,” “build the wall,” and continues to spread the divisive mentality of us-vs.-them. He lies constantly, has no conscience, never admits when he is wrong, and projects all of his shortcomings on to others. He has become more authoritarian, more outrageous, and yet many of his followers remain blindly devoted. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert and a major Trump supporter, calls him one of the most persuasive people living. His need to squash alternate information and his insistence of constant ego stroking are all characteristics of other famous leaders— cult leaders. In The Cult of Trump , mind control and licensed mental health expert Steven Hassan draws parallels between our current president and people like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Ron Hubbard, and Sun Myung Moon, arguing that this presidency is in many ways like a destructive cult. He specifically details the ways in which people are influenced through an array of social psychology methods and how they become fiercely loyal and obedient. Hassan was a former “Moonie” himself, and he presents a “thoughtful and well-researched analysis of some of the most puzzling aspects of the current presidency, including the remarkable passivity of fellow Republicans [and] the gross pandering of many members of the press” (Thomas G. Gutheil, MD and professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School). The Cult of Trump is an accessible and in-depth analysis of the president, showing that under the right circumstances, even sane, rational, well-adjusted people can be persuaded to believe the most outrageous ideas. “This book is a must for anyone who wants to understand the current political climate” (Judith Stevens-Long, PhD and author of Living Well, Dying Well ).
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How Fascism WorksJason Stanley
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “No single book is as relevant to the present moment.”—Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen “With unsettling insight and disturbing clarity, How Fascism Works is an essential guidebook to our current national dilemma of democracy vs. authoritarianism.”—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker staff writer A Yale philosopher identifies the ten pillars of fascist politics, and charts their horrifying rise and deep history. As a scholar of philosophy and propaganda and the child of refugees of WWII Europe, Jason Stanley has long understood that democratic societies, including the United States, can be vulnerable to fascism. In How Fascism Works , he identifies ten pillars of fascist politics—an appeal to the mythic past, propaganda, anti-intellectualism, unreality, hierarchy, victimhood, law and order, sexual anxiety, favoring “the heartland,” and a dismantling of public goods and unions—that amount to an urgent diagnosis of the tactics right-wing politicians use to break down democracies and a critical lens on the current moment. Stanley knits together reflections on history, philosophy, sociology, and critical race theory with stories from contemporary Hungary, Poland, India, Myanmar, and the United States, among other nations, making clear the immense dangers of language and beliefs that separate people into an “us” and a “them.” By uncovering disturbing patterns that are as prevalent today as ever, Stanley reveals that the stuff of politics—rhetoric and myth—can become policy and reality all too quickly. Only by recognizing them, he argues, can we begin to resist their most harmful effects and return to democratic ideals.
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The Dangerous Case of Donald TrumpBandy X. Lee
As this bestseller predicted, Trump has only grown more erratic and dangerous as the pressures on him mount. This new edition includes new essays bringing the book up to date—because this is still not normal. Originally released in fall 2017, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump was a runaway bestseller. Alarmed Americans and international onlookers wanted to know: What is wrong with him? That question still plagues us. The Trump administration has proven as chaotic and destructive as its opponents feared, and the man at the center of it all remains a cipher. Constrained by the APA’s “Goldwater rule,” which inhibits mental health professionals from diagnosing public figures they have not personally examined, many of those qualified to weigh in on the issue have shied away from discussing it at all. The public has thus been left to wonder whether he is mad, bad, or both. The prestigious mental health experts who have contributed to the revised and updated version of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump argue that their moral and civic "duty to warn" supersedes professional neutrality. Whatever affects him, affects the nation: From the trauma people have experienced under the Trump administration to the cult-like characteristics of his followers, he has created unprecedented mental health consequences across our nation and beyond. With eight new essays (about one hundred pages of new material), this edition will cover the dangerous ramifications of Trump's unnatural state. It’s not all in our heads. It’s in his.
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The Poisoned CityAnna Clark
Winner of The Hillman Prize for Book Journalism - 2019 When the people of Flint, Michigan, turned on their faucets in April 2014, the water pouring out was poisoned with lead and other toxins. Through a series of disastrous decisions, the state government had switched the city’s water supply to a source that corroded Flint’s aging lead pipes. Complaints about the foul-smelling water were dismissed: the residents of Flint, mostly poor and African American, were not seen as credible, even in matters of their own lives. It took eighteen months of activism by city residents and a band of dogged outsiders to force the state to admit that the water was poisonous. By that time, twelve people had died and Flint’s children had suffered irreparable harm. The long battle for accountability and a humane response to this man-made disaster has only just begun. In the first full account of this American tragedy, Anna Clark's The Poisoned City recounts the gripping story of Flint’s poisoned water through the people who caused it, suffered from it, and exposed it. It is a chronicle of one town, but could also be about any American city, all made precarious by the neglect of infrastructure and the erosion of democratic decision making. Places like Flint are set up to fail—and for the people who live and work in them, the consequences can be fatal.
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Government GangstersKash Pramod Patel
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A brilliant roadmap highlighting every corrupt actor, to ultimately return our agencies and departments to work for the American People…we will use this blueprint to help us take back the White House and remove these Gangsters from all of Government!” —Donald J. Trump The highest levels of government have been infiltrated by an anti-democratic Deep State that can be defeated by refocusing our national security mission and relentlessly defending the truth. A sinister cabal of corrupt law enforcement personnel, intelligence agents, and military officials at the highest levels of government plotted to overthrow a president. Even after they failed, they continue to secretly pull the levers of power without any accountability to the American people. This isn’t the synopsis of a fictional spy thriller. This is what is actually happening in the United States government. In Government Gangsters , Kash Patel—a former top official in the White House, the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the Department of Justice—pulls back the curtain on the Deep State, revealing the major players and tactics within the permanent government bureaucracy, which has spent decades stripping power away from the American people and their elected leaders. Based on his firsthand knowledge, Patel reveals how we can defeat the Deep State, reassert self-government, and restore our democracy.
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The Declaration of Independence and the United States ConstitutionRichard Beeman
What is the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court really allowed to do? This unique and handy guide includes the documents that guide our government, annotated with accessible explanations from one of America's most esteemed constitutional scholars. In one portable volume, with accessible annotations and modernizing commentary throughout, Richard Beeman presents The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution . Beeman has created a fascinating apparatus for understanding the most important document in American history—and why it’s as central in the America of today as it was in creation of the country. Penguin presents a series of six portable, accessible, and—above all—essential reads from American political history, selected by leading scholars. Series editor Richard Beeman, author of The Penguin Guide to the U.S. Constitution , draws together the great texts of American civic life to create a timely and informative mini-library of perennially vital issues. Whether readers are encountering these classic writings for the first time, or brushing up in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, these slim volumes will serve as a powerful and illuminating resource for scholars, students, and civic-minded citizens.
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Toxic EmpathyAllie Beth Stuckey
A sharp Christian voice makes a bold argument: when politics are driven by empathy rather than truth, innocent people pay the price. We are told that empathy is the highest virtue—the key to being a good person. Is that true? Or has “empathy,” like so many other words of our day—“tolerance,” “justice,” “acceptance”—been hijacked by bad actors who exploit compassion for their own political ends? In Toxic Empathy , Allie Beth Stuckey argues that empathy has become a tool of manipulation by left-wing activists who bully people into believing that they must adopt progressive positions to be loving. She explores the five most heated issues through which toxic empathy is deployed: abortion, gender, sexuality, immigration, and social justice. Progressives use catchy mantras to present their perspective as empathetic, like “abortion is healthcare,” “love is love,” or “no human being is illegal,” but in each case, they ignore the other side of the moral equation. For example, abortion is presented as compassionate for the woman, but what about the human life the procedure kills? This book isn’t about killing empathy; it’s about submitting our empathy to God’s definitions of love, goodness, and justice. Stuckey exposes the logical pitfalls and moral consequences of toxic empathy, equipping Christians with research-backed, Biblical truths to dismantle the progressive lies that have permeated our culture—and our church.