Evan's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 28 Oct 2019 13:14:22 -0700 60 Evan's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Two "Discourses" and the "Social Contract"]]> 13593282
 The book brings together superb new translations by renowned Rousseau scholar John T. Scott of three of Rousseau’s works: the Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, the Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men, and On the Social Contract. The two Discourses show Rousseau developing his well-known conception of the natural goodness of man and the problems posed by life in society. With the Social Contract, Rousseau became the first major thinker to argue that democracy is the only legitimate form of political organization. Scott’s extensive introduction enhances our understanding of these foundational writings, providing background information, social and historical context, and guidance for interpreting the works. Throughout, translation and editorial notes clarify ideas and terms that might not be immediately familiar to most readers. The three works collected in The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau represent an important contribution to eighteenth-century political theory that has exerted an extensive influence on generations of thinkers, beginning with the leaders of the French Revolution and continuing to the present day. The new translations on offer here will be welcomed by a wide readership of both Rousseau scholars and readers with a general interest in political thought.]]> 344 Jean-Jacques Rousseau 0226921867 Evan 0 3.80 1762 The Major Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Two "Discourses" and the "Social Contract"
author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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average rating: 3.80
book published: 1762
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]]> The Republic of Plato 30290 Long regarded as the most accurate rendering of Plato's Republic that has yet been published, this widely acclaimed work is the first strictly literal translation of a timeless classic. This second edition includes a new introduction by Professor Bloom, whose careful translation and interpretation of The Republic was first published in 1968. In addition to the corrected text itself there is also a rich and valuable essay—as well as indexes—which will better enable the reader to approach the heart of Plato's intention.]]> 487 Plato 0465069347 Evan 0 4.02 -400 The Republic of Plato
author: Plato
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average rating: 4.02
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]]> Leviathan 16609 672 Thomas Hobbes 0872201775 Evan 5 3.59 1651 Leviathan
author: Thomas Hobbes
name: Evan
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1651
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire]]> 113206 One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times 

From the editor of The New Yorker : a riveting account of the collapse of the Soviet Union, which has become the standard book on the subject. Lenin’s Tomb combines the global vision of the best historical scholarship with the immediacy of eyewitness journalism. Remnick takes us through the tumultuous 75-year period of Communist rule leading up to the collapse and gives us the voices of those who lived through it, from democratic activists to Party members, from anti-Semites to Holocaust survivors, from Gorbachev to Yeltsin to Sakharov. An extraordinary history of an empire undone, Lenin’s Tomb stands as essential reading for our times. 
Ěý±Ő±Ő> 588 David Remnick 0679751254 Evan 3 4.24 1994 Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
author: David Remnick
name: Evan
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1994
rating: 3
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]]> The Politics 1011599
The accompanying notes provide literary and historical references, call attention to textual problems, and supply other essential information and interpretation. A glossary supplies working definitions of key terms in Aristotle's philosophical-political vocabulary as well as a guide to linguistic relationships that are not always reflected in equivalent English terms. Lord's extensive Introduction presents a detailed account of Aristotle's life in relation to the political situation and events of his time and then discusses the problematic character and history of Aristotle's writings in general and of the Politics in particular. Lord also outlines Aristotle's conception of political science, tracing its relation to theoretical science on the one hand and to ethics on the other. In conclusion, he briefly traces the subsequent history and influence of the Politics up to modern times.

"Lord's translation is clearly the best available."� Claremont Review]]> 284 Aristotle 0226026698 Evan 3 3.91 -350 The Politics
author: Aristotle
name: Evan
average rating: 3.91
book published: -350
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)]]> 119322
Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.]]> 399 Philip Pullman 0679879242 Evan 4 4.02 1995 The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)
author: Philip Pullman
name: Evan
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Four Texts on Socrates: Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Aristophanes' Clouds]]> 73947 192 Plato 0801485746 Evan 3 4.02 1984 Four Texts on Socrates: Euthyphro/Apology/Crito/Aristophanes' Clouds
author: Plato
name: Evan
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1984
rating: 3
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date added: 2013/04/07
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]]> <![CDATA[Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative, and Historical Studies]]> 128816 352 Jack A. Goldstone 015506679X Evan 0 to-read 4.02 1986 Revolutions: Theoretical, Comparative, and Historical Studies
author: Jack A. Goldstone
name: Evan
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1986
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]]> Revolution and War 270869 384 Stephen M. Walt 0801482976 Evan 0 to-read 3.97 1996 Revolution and War
author: Stephen M. Walt
name: Evan
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1996
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]]> <![CDATA[The Origins of Alliances (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)]]> 1035668 � New Republic How are alliances made? In this book, Stephen M. Walt makes a significant contribution to this topic, surveying theories of the origins of international alliances and identifying the most important causes of security cooperation between states. In addition, he proposes a fundamental change in the present conceptions of alliance systems. Contrary to traditional balance-of-power theories, Walt shows that states form alliances not simply to balance power but in order to balance threats. Walt begins by outlining five general hypotheses about the causes of alliances. Drawing upon diplomatic history and a detailed study of alliance formation in the Middle East between 1955 and 1979, he demonstrates that states are more likely to join together against threats than they are to ally themselves with threatening powers. Walt also examines the impact of ideology on alliance preferences and the role of foreign aid and transnational penetration. His analysis show, however, that these motives for alignment are relatively less important. In his conclusion, he examines the implications of "balance of threat" for U.S. foreign policy.]]> 336 Stephen M. Walt 0801494184 Evan 0 to-read 3.93 1987 The Origins of Alliances (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
author: Stephen M. Walt
name: Evan
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1987
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]]> <![CDATA[A History of Western Philosophy]]> 243685 A History of Western Philosophy has been universally acclaimed as the outstanding one-volume work on the subject—unparalleled in its comprehensiveness, its clarity, its erudition, its grace and wit. In seventy-six chapters he traces philosophy from the rise of Greek civilization to the emergence of logical analysis in the twentieth century. Among the philosophers considered are: Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Empedocles, Anaxagoras, the Atomists, Protagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Cynics, the Sceptics, the Epicureans, the Stoics, Plotinus, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Benedict, Gregory the Great, John the Scot, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Occam, Machiavelli, Erasmus, More, Bacon, Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, the Utilitarians, Marx, Bergson, James, Dewey, and lastly the philosophers with whom Lord Russell himself is most closely associated -- Cantor, Frege, and Whitehead, co-author with Russell of the monumental Principia Mathematica.]]> 906 Bertrand Russell 0671201581 Evan 0 currently-reading 4.12 1945 A History of Western Philosophy
author: Bertrand Russell
name: Evan
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1945
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]]> <![CDATA[Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media]]> 11933489 Manufacturing Consent Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky show how an underlying elite consensus largely structures all facets of the news. Far from challenging established power, the media work hard to discover and mirror its assumptions. The authors skilfully dissect the way in which the marketplace and the economics of publishing significantly shape the news. They reveal how issues are framed and topics chosen, and contrast the double standards underlying accounts of free elections, a free press, and governmental repression. The authors conclude that the modern mass media can best be understood in terms of a 'propaganda model'. News and entertainment companies dedicate themselves to profit within the established system. Their interests require that they support the governing assumptions of state and private power. The propaganda model provokes outrage from journalists, editors and broadcasters, but twenty years after first publication, Manufacturing Consent remains the most important critique of the mass media.]]> 464 Edward S. Herman Evan 5 favorites 4.26 1988 Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
author: Edward S. Herman
name: Evan
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1988
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Social Construction of International Politics: Identities and Foreign Policies, Moscow, 1955 and 1999]]> 1134084 320 Ted Hopf 0801487919 Evan 3 4.15 2002 Social Construction of International Politics: Identities and Foreign Policies, Moscow, 1955 and 1999
author: Ted Hopf
name: Evan
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2002
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[The ABCs of Political Economy: A Modern Approach]]> 623412 320 Robin Hahnel 0745318576 Evan 5 4.08 2002 The ABCs of Political Economy: A Modern Approach
author: Robin Hahnel
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average rating: 4.08
book published: 2002
rating: 5
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Good read about the unwarranted assumptions of mainstream economic theory. Is more theoretical knowledge than practical. The chapters on micro and macro models are especially interesting.
]]> <![CDATA[Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy]]> 26069 258 Robert D. Putnam 0691037388 Evan 4 3.85 1992 Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy
author: Robert D. Putnam
name: Evan
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1992
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Facebook Democracy: The Architecture of Disclosure and the Threat to Public Life]]> 15065081 200 Jose Marichal 1409444309 Evan 0 to-read 3.80 2012 Facebook Democracy: The Architecture of Disclosure and the Threat to Public Life
author: Jose Marichal
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average rating: 3.80
book published: 2012
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]]> <![CDATA[Rectifying International Injustice: Principles of Compensation and Restitution Between Nations]]> 16897774 216 Daniel Butt 1281978507 Evan 5 5.00 2008 Rectifying International Injustice: Principles of Compensation and Restitution Between Nations
author: Daniel Butt
name: Evan
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2008
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]]> <![CDATA[International Ethics: A Critical Introduction]]> 7588978 272 Richard Shapcott 0745631428 Evan 5 4.14 2010 International Ethics: A Critical Introduction
author: Richard Shapcott
name: Evan
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2010
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A Brief History of Neoliberalism]]> 183033 247 David Harvey 0199283273 Evan 4 4.14 2005 A Brief History of Neoliberalism
author: David Harvey
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average rating: 4.14
book published: 2005
rating: 4
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]]> The Once and Future King 43545 639 T.H. White 0441627404 Evan 0 to-read 4.07 1958 The Once and Future King
author: T.H. White
name: Evan
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1958
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]]> <![CDATA[The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)]]> 18512 here.

The Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures as the quest continues. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and took part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escaped into Fangorn Forest and there encountered the Ents. Gandalf returned, miraculously, and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Meanwhile, Sam and Frodo progressed towards Mordor to destroy the Ring, accompanied by SmEagol--Gollum, still obsessed by his 'precious'. After a battle with the giant spider, Shelob, Sam left his master for dead; but Frodo is still alive--in the hands of the Orcs. And all the time the armies of the Dark Lord are massing. J.R.R. Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labeled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabolic, the narrative moves through countless changes of scene and character in an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail.]]> 404 J.R.R. Tolkien Evan 5 4.54 1955 The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Evan
average rating: 4.54
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]]> <![CDATA[The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)]]> 15241
Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs.

Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin -- alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.]]> 322 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618346260 Evan 5 4.45 1954 The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
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average rating: 4.45
book published: 1954
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]]> <![CDATA[The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)]]> 34
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkeness bind them

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit.

In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
--back cover]]> 398 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618346252 Evan 5 4.36 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Evan
average rating: 4.36
book published: 1954
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]]> The Crying of Lot 49 2794 The Crying of Lot 49 opens as Oedipa Maas discovers that she has been made executrix of a former lover's estate. The performance of her duties sets her on a strange trail of detection, in which bizarre characters crowd in to help or confuse her. But gradually, death, drugs, madness, and marriage combine to leave Oedipa in isolation on the threshold of revelation, awaiting the Crying of Lot 49.]]> 152 Thomas Pynchon 006091307X Evan 5 3.70 1966 The Crying of Lot 49
author: Thomas Pynchon
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average rating: 3.70
book published: 1966
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]]> <![CDATA[Forbidden Fruit: Counterfactuals and International Relations]]> 7954181 352 Richard Ned Lebow 0691132909 Evan 4 3.68 2010 Forbidden Fruit: Counterfactuals and International Relations
author: Richard Ned Lebow
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average rating: 3.68
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Agricultural Policies]]> 221363 195 Robert H. Bates 0520244931 Evan 4 3.69 1981 Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Agricultural Policies
author: Robert H. Bates
name: Evan
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1981
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups]]> 369409
The theory shows that most organizations produce what the economist calls “public goods”―goods or services that are available to every member, whether or not he has borne any of the costs of providing them. Economists have long understood that defense, law, and order were public goods that could not be marketed to individuals, and that taxation was necessary. They have not, however, taken account of the fact that private as well as governmental organizations produce public goods.

The services the labor union provides for the worker it represents, or the benefits a lobby obtains for the group it represents, are public they automatically go to every individual in the group, whether or not he helped bear the costs. It follows that, just as governments require compulsory taxation, many large private organizations require special (and sometimes coercive) devices to obtain the resources they need. This is not true of smaller organizations for, as this book shows, small and large organizations support themselves in entirely different ways. The theory indicates that, though small groups can act to further their interest much more easily than large ones, they will tend to devote too few resources to the satisfaction of their common interests, and that there is a surprising tendency for the “lesser� members of the small group to exploit the “greater� members by making them bear a disproportionate share of the burden of any group action.

All of the theory in the book is in Chapter 1; the remaining chapters contain empirical and historical evidence of the theory’s relevance to labor unions, pressure groups, corporations, and Marxian class action.]]> 186 Mancur Olson 0674537513 Evan 5 3.98 1965 The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups
author: Mancur Olson
name: Evan
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1965
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]]> <![CDATA[False Profits: Recovering from the Bubble Economy]]> 7090210 192 Dean Baker 0982417128 Evan 4 3.83 2010 False Profits: Recovering from the Bubble Economy
author: Dean Baker
name: Evan
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation]]> 2593770
Ramadan calls for a radical reform that goes beyond adaptation to envision bold and creative solutions to transform the present and the future of our societies. This new approach interrogates the historically established sources, categories, higher objectives, tools, and methodologies of Islamic law and jurisprudence, and the authority this traditional geography of knowledge has granted to textual scholars. He proposes a new geography which redefines the sources and the spiritual and ethical objectives of the law creating room for the authority of scholars of the social and hard sciences. This will equip this transformative reform with the spiritual, ethical, social and scientific knowledge necessary to address contemporary challenges. Ramadan argues that radical reform demands not only the equal contributions of scholars of both the text and the context, but the critical engagement and creative imagination of the Muslim masses. This proposal for radical reform dramatically shifts the
center of gravity of authority. It is bound to provoke controversy and spark debate among Muslims and non-Muslims alike.]]> 372 Tariq Ramadan 0195331710 Evan 5 4.12 2001 Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation
author: Tariq Ramadan
name: Evan
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2001
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II]]> 78130 500 William Blum 1567512526 Evan 4 4.25 1995 Killing Hope: U.S. Military and C.I.A. Interventions Since World War II
author: William Blum
name: Evan
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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]]> 9-11 38338 140 noam-chomsky 1583224890 Evan 5 3.76 2001 9-11
author: noam-chomsky
name: Evan
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2001
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance]]> 12612 Hegemony or Survival demonstrates how, for more than half a century the United States has been pursuing a grand imperial strategy with the aim of staking out the globe. Our leaders have shown themselves willing-as in the Cuban missile crisis-to follow the dream of dominance no matter how high the risks. World-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky investigates how we came to this perilous moment and why our rulers are willing to jeopardize the future of our species.

With the striking logic that is his trademark, Chomsky tracks the U.S. government's aggressive pursuit of "full spectrum dominance" and vividly lays out how the most recent manifestations of the politics of global control-from unilateralism to the dismantling of international agreements to state terrorism-cohere in a drive for hegemony that ultimately threatens our existence. Lucidly written, thoroughly documented, and featuring a new afterword by the author, Hegemony or Survival is a definitive statement from one of today's most influential thinkers.]]> 304 Noam Chomsky 0805076883 Evan 5 3.98 2003 Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance
author: Noam Chomsky
name: Evan
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2003
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[History of the Peloponnesian War]]> 261243 648 Thucydides 0140440399 Evan 0 to-read 3.90 -411 History of the Peloponnesian War
author: Thucydides
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average rating: 3.90
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]]> <![CDATA[All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror]]> 46347
Operation Ajax, as the plot was code-named, reshaped the history of Iran, the Middle East, and the world. It restored Mohammad Reza Shah to the Peacock Throne, allowing him to impose a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The Islamic Revolution, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection."It is not far-fetched," Kinzer asserts in this book, "to draw a line from Operation Ajax through the Shah's repressive regime and the Islamic Revolution to the fireballs that engulfed the World Trade Center in New York."Drawing on research in the United States and Iran, and using material from a long-secret CIA report, Kinzer explains the background of the coup and tells how it was carried out. It is a cloak-and-dagger story of spies, saboteurs, and secret agents. There are accounts of bribes, staged riots, suitcases full of cash, and midnight meetings between the Shah and CIA agent Kermit Roosevelt, who was smuggled in and out of the royal palace under a blanket in the back seat of a car. Roosevelt,the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, was a real-life James Bond in an era when CIA agents operated mainly by their wits. After his first coup attempt failed, he organized a second attempt that succeeded three days later.The colorful cast of characters includes the terrified young Shah, who fled his country at the first sign of trouble; General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, father of the Gulf War commander and the radio voice of "Gang Busters," who flew to Tehran on a secret mission that helped set the coup in motion; and the fiery Prime Minister Mossadegh, who outraged the West by nationalizing the immensely profitable Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The British, outraged by the seizure of their oil company, persuaded President Dwight Eisenhower that Mossadegh was leading Iran toward Communism. Eisenhower and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain became the coup's main sponsors.

Brimming with insights into Middle Eastern history and American foreign policy, this book is an eye-opening look at an event whose unintended consequences - Islamic revolution and violent anti-Americanism--have shaped the modern world. As the United States assumes an ever-widening role in the Middle East, it is essential reading.]]> 272 Stephen Kinzer 0471678783 Evan 0 to-read 4.28 2003 All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
author: Stephen Kinzer
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average rating: 4.28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy]]> 224127 484 John J. Mearsheimer 0374177724 Evan 0 to-read 4.06 2006 The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
author: John J. Mearsheimer
name: Evan
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2006
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]]> <![CDATA[Globalization and its Discontents]]> 87661 304 Joseph E. Stiglitz 0393324397 Evan 0 to-read 3.88 2002 Globalization and its Discontents
author: Joseph E. Stiglitz
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average rating: 3.88
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]]> <![CDATA[Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate]]> 1072570
Essays by some of today's most prominent political theorists debate the importance of anarchy versus the importance of interdependence in determining state behavior; the feasibility of international cooperation; the impotance of absolute gains versus relative gains as incentive for cooperation; the trade-offs between economic welfare and military security; the importance of state intentions versus state power; and the significance of the emergence of numerous international regimes and institutions.

The collection

-An introduction by David A. Baldwin;

-Robert O. Keohane on the realist challenge after the Cold War;

-Joseph M. Grieco on relative gains and the limits of cooperation;

-Helen Milner on anarchy in international relations theory;

-Stephen Krasner on national power and international cooperation;

-Charles Lipson on international cooperation in economic and security affairs.

Cutting to the heart of the debate over the possibility of a "new world order," Baldwin's collection is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the post-Cold War world.]]> 375 David A. Baldwin 0231084412 Evan 4 3.28 1993 Neorealism and Neoliberalism: The Contemporary Debate
author: David A. Baldwin
name: Evan
average rating: 3.28
book published: 1993
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Macro Polity (Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology)]]> 1509827 496 Robert S. Erikson 0521564859 Evan 3 3.65 2001 The Macro Polity (Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology)
author: Robert S. Erikson
name: Evan
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2001
rating: 3
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]]> The Essential Chomsky 1395714 The Essential Chomsky brings together selections from his most important writings since 1959-from his groundbreaking critique of B.F. Skinner to his bestselling works Hegermony or Survival and Failed States-concerning subjects ranging from critiques of corporate media and U.S. interventionism to intellectual freedom and the political economy of human rights. With a foreword by Anthony Arnove, The Essential Chomsky is an unprecedented, comprehensive overview of Chomsky's thought.]]> 515 Noam Chomsky 0143065475 Evan 5 favorites 4.11 2008 The Essential Chomsky
author: Noam Chomsky
name: Evan
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2008
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Logic of Positive Engagement (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)]]> 12799276 The Logic of Positive Engagement, Nincic outlines the efficacy of and the benefits that can flow from positive rather than negative engagement.

Nincic observes that threats and punishments may be gratifying in a symbolic sense, but that they haven't affected the longevity or the most objectionable policies of the regimes against which they are directed. Might positive inducements produce better results? Nincic examines two major models of positive inducements: the exchange model, in which incentives are offered in trade for altered behavior, and the catalytic model, in which incentives accumulate to provoke a thorough revision of the target's policies and priorities. He examines the record with regard to long-term U.S. relations with Cuba, Libya, and Syria, and then discusses the possibility that positive inducements might bring policy success to current relations with Iran and North Korea.]]> 224 Miroslav Nincic 0801450063 Evan 4 4.00 2011 The Logic of Positive Engagement (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
author: Miroslav Nincic
name: Evan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics]]> 769610
The authors focus on the central issues of involvement: how people come to be active and the issues they raise when they do. They find fascinating differences along cultural lines, among African-Americans, Latinos, and Anglo-Whites, as well as between the religiously observant and the secular. They observe family activism moving from generation to generation, and they look into the special role of issues that elicit involvement, including abortion rights and social welfare.

This far-reaching analysis, based on an original survey of 15,000 individuals, including 2,500 long personal interviews, shows that some individuals have a greater voice in politics than others, and that this inequality results not just from varying inclinations toward activity, but also from unequal access to vital resources such as education. Citizens' voices are especially unequal when participation depends on contributions of money rather than contributions of time. This deeply researched study brilliantly illuminates the many facets of civic consciousness and action and confirms their quintessential role in American democracy.]]> 664 Sidney Verba 0674942930 Evan 4 3.61 1995 Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics
author: Sidney Verba
name: Evan
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1995
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Social Theory of International Politics]]> 786373 447 Alexander Wendt 0521469600 Evan 5 favorites 3.98 1995 Social Theory of International Politics
author: Alexander Wendt
name: Evan
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1995
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Theory of International Politics]]> 1031046 250 Kenneth N. Waltz 0075548526 Evan 4 3.91 1979 Theory of International Politics
author: Kenneth N. Waltz
name: Evan
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1979
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[International Political Economy (4th Edition)]]> 7884006 432 Thomas Oatley 0205723772 Evan 3 3.92 2011 International Political Economy (4th Edition)
author: Thomas Oatley
name: Evan
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 3
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]]> <![CDATA[After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy]]> 116879 320 Robert O. Keohane 0691122482 Evan 4 3.69 1984 After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy
author: Robert O. Keohane
name: Evan
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1984
rating: 4
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]]> Siddhartha 52036 152 Hermann Hesse Evan 4 4.07 1922 Siddhartha
author: Hermann Hesse
name: Evan
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1922
rating: 4
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]]> Democracy in America 16619 Democracy in America has had the singular honor of being even to this day the work that political commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the society of the USA. Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French aristocrat, came to the young nation to investigate the functioning of American democracy & the social, political & economic life of its citizens, publishing his observations in 1835 & 1840. Brilliantly written, vividly illustrated with vignettes & portraits, Democracy in America is far more than a trenchant analysis of one society at a particular point in time. What will most intrigue modern readers is how many of the observations still hold true: on the mixed advantages of a free press, the strained relations among the races & the threats posed to democracies by consumerism & corruption. So uncanny is Tocqueville’s insight & so accurate are his predictions, that it seems as tho he were not merely describing the American identity but actually helping to create it.]]> 983 Alexis de Tocqueville 0140447601 Evan 0 to-read 4.03 1835 Democracy in America
author: Alexis de Tocqueville
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average rating: 4.03
book published: 1835
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]]> <![CDATA[Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass]]> 36529
An astonishing orator and a skillful writer, Douglass became a newspaper editor, a political activist, and an eloquent spokesperson for the civil rights of African Americans. He lived through the Civil War, the end of slavery, and the beginning of segregation. He was celebrated internationally as the leading black intellectual of his day, and his story still resonates in ours.]]> 158 Frederick Douglass 1580495761 Evan 5 4.08 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
author: Frederick Douglass
name: Evan
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1845
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations]]> 25698 The Wealth of Nations articulates the concepts indispensable to an understanding of contemporary society; and Robert Reich's Introduction both clarifies Smith's analyses and illuminates his overall relevance to the world in which we live. As Reich writes, "Smith's mind ranged over issues as fresh and topical today as they were in the late eighteenth century--jobs, wages, politics, government, trade, education, business, and ethics."



Introduction by Robert Reich - Commentary by R. H. Campbell and A. S. Skinner - Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide]]> 1076 Adam Smith 0226763749 Evan 0 to-read 3.87 1776 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
author: Adam Smith
name: Evan
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1776
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]]> <![CDATA[The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design]]> 117047 ***30th Anniversary Edition***

Cover note: Each copy of the anniversary edition of The Blind Watchmaker features a unique biomorph. No two covers are exactly alike.

Acclaimed as the most influential work on evolution written in the last hundred years, The Blind Watchmaker offers an inspiring and accessible introduction to one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. A brilliant and controversial book which demonstrates that evolution by natural selection - the unconscious, automatic, blind yet essentially non-random process discovered by Darwin - is the only answer to the biggest question of all: why do we exist?]]> 466 Richard Dawkins 0141026162 Evan 0 to-read 4.09 1986 The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
author: Richard Dawkins
name: Evan
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1986
rating: 0
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]]> The Selfish Gene 61535 360 Richard Dawkins 0199291152 Evan 5 4.15 1976 The Selfish Gene
author: Richard Dawkins
name: Evan
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1976
rating: 5
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]]> The Federalist Papers 110331

Hailed by Thomas Jefferson as “the best commentary on the principles of government which was ever written", The Federalist Papers is a collection of eighty-five essays published by Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay from 1787 to 1788, as a means to persuade the public to ratify the Constitution of the United States.


With nearly two-thirds of the essays written by Hamilton, this enduring classic is perfect for modern audiences passionate about his work or seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most important documents in US history.

]]> 688 Alexander Hamilton Evan 4 4.05 1788 The Federalist Papers
author: Alexander Hamilton
name: Evan
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1788
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam]]> 3873 496 Karen Armstrong 0517223120 Evan 0 to-read 3.89 1993 A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
author: Karen Armstrong
name: Evan
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1993
rating: 0
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]]> Being and Time 92307 589 Martin Heidegger 0060638508 Evan 0 to-read 4.04 1927 Being and Time
author: Martin Heidegger
name: Evan
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1927
rating: 0
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]]> Being and Nothingness 10033 Being & Nothingness is without doubt one of the most significant philosophical books of the 20th century. The central work by one of the century's most influential thinkers, it altered the course of western philosophy. Its revolutionary approach challenged all previous assumptions about the individual's relationship with the world. Known as 'the Bible of existentialism', its impact on culture & literature was immediate & was felt worldwide, from the absurdist drama of Samuel Beckett to the soul-searching cries of the Beat poets.
Being & Nothingness is one of those rare books whose influence has affected the mindset of subsequent generations. Seventy years after its 1st publication, its message remains as potent as ever--challenging readers to confront the fundamental dilemmas of human freedom, choice, responsibility & action.]]> 688 Jean-Paul Sartre 0415278481 Evan 0 to-read 4.00 1943 Being and Nothingness
author: Jean-Paul Sartre
name: Evan
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1943
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]]> A Brief History of Time 3869
Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,� of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.]]> 226 Stephen Hawking 0553380168 Evan 0 to-read 4.22 1988 A Brief History of Time
author: Stephen Hawking
name: Evan
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1988
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]]> <![CDATA[Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America]]> 1869
Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.]]> 240 Barbara Ehrenreich 0805063897 Evan 5 3.65 2001 Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
author: Barbara Ehrenreich
name: Evan
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2001
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]]> Critique of Pure Reason 18288 'The purpose of this critique of pure speculative reason consists in the attempt to change the old procedure of metaphysics and to bring about a complete revolution'

Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (1781) is the central text of modern philosophy. It presents a profound and challenging investigation into the nature of human reason, its knowledge and its illusions. Reason, Kant argues, is the seat of certain concepts that precede experience and make it possible, but we are not therefore entitled to draw conclusions about the natural world from these concepts. The Critique brings together the two opposing schools of philosophy: rationalism, which grounds all our knowledge in reason, and empiricism, which traces all our knowledge to experience. Kant's transcendental idealism indicates a third way that goes far beyond these alternatives.]]> 785 Immanuel Kant 0521657296 Evan 0 to-read 3.95 1781 Critique of Pure Reason
author: Immanuel Kant
name: Evan
average rating: 3.95
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]]> Night 1617 Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. This new translation by his wife and most frequent translator, Marion Wiesel, corrects important details and presents the most accurate rendering in English of Elie Wiesel's testimony to what happened in the camps and of his unforgettable message that this horror must simply never be allowed to happen again.]]> 120 Elie Wiesel 0374500010 Evan 5 4.38 1956 Night
author: Elie Wiesel
name: Evan
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1956
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism]]> 1237300 The Shock Doctrine retells the story of the most dominant ideology of our time, Milton Friedman's free market economic revolution. In contrast to the popular myth of this movement's peaceful global victory, Klein shows how it has exploited moments of shock and extreme violence in order to implement its economic policies in so many parts of the world from Latin America and Eastern Europe to South Africa, Russia, and Iraq. At the core of disaster capitalism is the use of cataclysmic events to advance radical privatization combined with the privatization of the disaster response itself. By capitalizing on crises, created by nature or war, Klein argues that the disaster capitalism complex now exists as a booming new economy, and is the violent culmination of a radical economic project that has been incubating for fifty years.]]> 558 Naomi Klein 0805079831 Evan 5 4.27 2007 The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
author: Naomi Klein
name: Evan
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present]]> 2767 Zinn portrays a side of American history that can largely be seen as the exploitation and manipulation of the majority by rigged systems that hugely favor a small aggregate of elite rulers from across the orthodox political parties.
A People's History has been assigned as reading in many high schools and colleges across the United States. It has also resulted in a change in the focus of historical work, which now includes stories that previously were ignored

Library Journal calls Howard Zinn’s book “a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those…whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories.”]]> 729 Howard Zinn 0060838655 Evan 5 favorites 4.07 1980 A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
author: Howard Zinn
name: Evan
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1980
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories: The Great Short Works of Franz Kafka]]> 17688 The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories has garnered critical acclaim and is widely recognized as the preeminent English-language anthology of Kafka's stories. These translations illuminate one of this century's most controversial writers and have made Kafka's work accessible to a whole new generation. This classic collection of forty-one great short works -- including such timeless pieces of modern fiction as "The Judgment" and "The Stoker" -- now includes two new stories, "First Sorrow" and "The Hunger Artist."]]> 352 Franz Kafka 0684800705 Evan 0 to-read 4.09 1915 The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories: The Great Short Works of Franz Kafka
author: Franz Kafka
name: Evan
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1915
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]]> Les Misérables 24280 1463 Victor Hugo 0451525264 Evan 0 to-read 4.19 1862 Les Misérables
author: Victor Hugo
name: Evan
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1862
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Hobbit, or There and Back Again]]> 5907 Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text in this 372-page paperback edition is based on that first published in Great Britain by Collins Modern Classics (1998), and includes a note on the text by Douglas A. Anderson (2001).]]> 366 J.R.R. Tolkien Evan 5 4.29 1937 The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Evan
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1937
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]]> The Plague 11989
It tells the story from the point of view of a narrator of a plague sweeping the French Algerian city of Oran. The narrator remains unknown until the start of the last chapter, chapter 5 of part 5. The novel presents a snapshot of life in Oran as seen through the author's distinctive absurdist point of view.

The book tells a gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.

The Plague is considered an existentialist classic despite Camus' objection to the label. The novel stresses the powerlessness of the individual characters to affect their destinies. The narrative tone is similar to Kafka's, especially in The Trial, whose individual sentences potentially have multiple meanings; the material often pointedly resonating as stark allegory of phenomenal consciousness and the human condition.]]> 308 Albert Camus Evan 4 4.05 1947 The Plague
author: Albert Camus
name: Evan
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1947
rating: 4
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]]> Animal Farm 7613
The book tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to create a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. Ultimately, however, the rebellion is betrayed, and the farm ends up in a state as bad as it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals � inspired by his philosophy of Animalism � plot a rebellion against Jones.

Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall...]]> 129 George Orwell Evan 5 favorites 3.90 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: Evan
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1945
rating: 5
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]]> 1984 5470 328 George Orwell Evan 5 favorites 4.15 1949 1984
author: George Orwell
name: Evan
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1949
rating: 5
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]]> The Catcher in the Rye 5107 It's Christmas time and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school...

Fleeing the crooks at Pencey Prep, he pinballs around New York City seeking solace in fleeting encounters—shooting the bull with strangers in dive hotels, wandering alone round Central Park, getting beaten up by pimps and cut down by erstwhile girlfriends. The city is beautiful and terrible, in all its neon loneliness and seedy glamour, its mingled sense of possibility and emptiness. Holden passes through it like a ghost, thinking always of his kid sister Phoebe, the only person who really understands him, and his determination to escape the phonies and find a life of true meaning.

The Catcher in the Rye is an all-time classic in coming-of-age literature- an elegy to teenage alienation, capturing the deeply human need for connection and the bewildering sense of loss as we leave childhood behind.

J.D. Salinger's (1919�2010) classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950's and 60's it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.]]> 277 J.D. Salinger 0316769177 Evan 5 3.81 1951 The Catcher in the Rye
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Evan
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1951
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]]> <![CDATA[Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism]]> 1032019 The World Is Flat head-on—a crisp, contrarian history of global capitalism.

One economist has called Ha-Joon Chang "the most exciting thinker our profession has turned out in the past fifteen years." With Bad Samaritans, this provocative scholar bursts into the debate on globalization and economic justice. Using irreverent wit, an engagingly personal style, and a battery of examples, Chang blasts holes in the "World Is Flat" orthodoxy of Thomas Friedman and other liberal economists who argue that only unfettered capitalism and wide-open international trade can lift struggling nations out of poverty. On the contrary, Chang shows, today's economic superpowers—from the U.S. to Britain to his native Korea—all attained prosperity by shameless protectionism and government intervention in industry. We have conveniently forgotten this fact, telling ourselves a fairy tale about the magic of free trade and—via our proxies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization—ramming policies that suit ourselves down the throat of the developing world.

Unlike typical economists who construct models of how the marketplace should work, Chang examines the past: what has actually happened. His pungently contrarian history demolishes one pillar after another of free-market mythology. We treat patents and copyrights as sacrosanct—but developed our own industries by studiously copying others' technologies. We insist that centrally planned economies stifle growth—but many developing countries had higher GDP growth before they were pressured into deregulating their economies. Both justice and common sense, Chang argues, demand that we reevaluate the policies we force on nations that are struggling to follow in our footsteps.]]> 288 Ha-Joon Chang 1596913991 Evan 3 4.19 2007 Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism
author: Ha-Joon Chang
name: Evan
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2007
rating: 3
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Good analysis of neoliberal globalization and the hypocrisy of highly industrialized countries.
]]>