Publisher: Atria Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/08/2012
ISBN-13: 9781439169810
ISBN-10: 1439169810

Although America's early Progressives initiated social reforms like women's suffrage, many also assumed whites' mental and moral superiority over blacks, thanks to racial prejudice and 19th-century pseudoscience. President Theodore Roosevelt, however, saw civil rights as a logical extension of Progressive ideals: after taking office in 1901, he quietly consulted preeminent educator Booker T. Washington on Southern political appointments. Roosevelt then sparked national debate -- and explosive racial violence -- by hosting Washington as the White House's first official African-American guest. Guest of Honor is "a striking snapshot" (Booklist) of American prejudice and idealism at the dawn of the 20th century that fans of Clarence Lusane's The Black History of the White House are sure to enjoy.

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Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/08/2012
ISBN-13: 9780805088892
ISBN-10: 080508889X

The Outsourced Self is an "incisive, provocative, and often downright entertaining" (Publishers Weekly) look at how market forces increasingly push us to pay hired help to meet our needs in the most intimate areas of our lives (including dating services, childcare professionals, life coaches, and birthday planners), rather than depending on more traditional support from family, friends, and neighbors. Drawing from hundreds of first-hand interviews with specialty service providers and their clients, author Arlie Hochschild provides compelling evidence that outsourcing our lives often costs us dearly in both human and emotional capital. For another family-focused study of globalization, try Katherine Newman's The Accordion Family.

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Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/01/2012
ISBN-13: 9781416594277
ISBN-10: 1416594272

In 1939, before World War II, the Jewish population in Europe was about 10 million strong, living in four broad areas of Europe: western Europe (Britain, France, and the Netherlands); Germany and the area around it; eastern Europe (Poland and Romania); and, further east, the Soviet Union. In On the Eve, historian Bernard Wasserstein explores the political and social realities of these communities, portraying their commonalities as well as what divided them. He also illuminates vivid aspects of what were frequently the most educated parts of the populace, despite rising anti-Semitism, a low birth rate, declining political power, and other factors. A "marvelously complete overview of a diverse, teeming civilization poised for ruin," says Kirkus Reviews.

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Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/05/2011
ISBN-13: 9780374288907
ISBN-10: 0374288909

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and an international leader in foreign policy analysis are the formidably qualified co-authors of That Used to Be Us. They carefully identify four significant areas in which the U.S. once prospered, but now lags behind -- globalization, technological innovation, economic stability, and energy production. Drawing from extensive historical examples, they outline why it isn't too late, and -- with a forthright self-awareness of their own privileged positions of wealth, power, and influence -- they call upon their peers to acknowledge responsibility for renewing the America's corporate, economic, and political potential for the betterment of all its citizens.

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Publisher: Doubleday
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/08/2008
ISBN-13: 9780385511841
ISBN-10: 0385511841

Taking its title from a 1932 speech by H.G. Wells, Liberal Fascism delves into the origins of modern progressive movements, tracing their roots back to early 20th-century fascist political discourse. Decrying contemporary usage of the word "fascism," which author Jonah Goldberg claims is "thrown around freely by people who don't know what it means," the National Review contributing editor explores the left-wing origins of fascist thought and draws surprising parallels between totalitarian regimes -- Hitler's Nazi Party, Mussolini's Italy, and the Soviet Union -- and American institutions such as Woodrow Wilson's Federal Trade Commission and the League of Nations (a forerunner to the modern UN), as well as FDR's New Deal. Sure to generate controversy regardless of one's political leanings, the provocative Liberal Fascism is a "lively polemic" (Kirkus Reviews).

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Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/14/2010
ISBN-13: 9781416588696
ISBN-10: 1416588698

Two leading political scientists analyze the growing divide between America's middle-class and its richest citizens and attempt to unravel the causes of this wealth disparity. Setting up their debate as a socioeconomic whodunit, they rigorously interrogate the obvious suspects -- money and economic factors -- at length. A wealth of intelligently gathered and impressively synthesized evidence clears oft-cited economic issues and instead heavily implicates the U.S. government itself. Three decades of catering to corporate coalitions, special interest lobbyists, and in-house federal fat-cats have entrenched policies that keep the rich richer and the poor poorer. While this isn't an entirely unexpected bust, Winner-Take-All Politics is worthwhile as a smart analysis of the crime.

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Publisher: Twelve
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/01/2011
ISBN-13: 9781455502776
ISBN-10: 1455502774

Fans of the late political journalist, author, and iconoclast Christopher Hitchens widely regard Arguably as the definitive collection of his most influential, brilliantly articulate, and wildly outspoken political commentaries. Spanning four incredible decades of a prolific career, his earliest writings on Vietnam, Korea, civil rights issues, and international affairs are represented. So, too, are his infamous critiques of public figures (from Mother Theresa to Bill and Hillary Clinton) and religion (from radical Islam to Catholicism). The selections aptly reflect the life of a mind tirelessly striving for truth, unafraid of self-contradictions, and adept at re-invention. New readers eager to sample Hitchens' force-of-nature prose will find no better introduction than this.

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Publisher: Crown Forum
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/03/2008
ISBN-13: 9780307407863
ISBN-10: 0307407861

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and noted conservative pundit George F. Will offers readers a warm, engaging collection of wide-ranging meditations on Americana. Predictably, Will has a few tart observations about California liberals, but also expresses impatience with lazy-thinking conservatives who wax overly nostalgic about Ronald Reagan. One Man's America is a surprisingly apolitical work that embodies much of the unique vibrancy it praises in modern American culture, society, economy, and politics. New and returning fans of the author alike will appreciate the chatty, casual-Sunday-afternoon tone of essays on everything from baseball to Brooks Brothers, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and much more.

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