Books with category 🏛 Politics
Displaying 8 books

A Promised Land

2020

by Barack Obama

A Promised Land is an intimate and powerful account of history in the making, from the president who inspired us to believe in democracy. Barack Obama narrates his journey from a young man searching for his identity to becoming the leader of the free world, offering personal insights into both his political education and the significant moments of his first presidential term.

From his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory, and the historic election night on November 4, 2008, Obama's memoir is a deeply personal exploration of the reach and limits of presidential power, U.S. partisan politics, and international diplomacy. He takes readers inside the Oval Office, the White House Situation Room, and across the globe, sharing his thoughts on assembling his cabinet, handling the global financial crisis, confronting Vladimir Putin, and authorizing the mission that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

With candor, Obama discusses the challenges of running for office as a Black American, the impact of the presidency on his family, and never loses faith in the progress possible within the American experiment. A Promised Land is a testament to democracy, founded on empathy and common understanding, built together day by day.

The Once and Future Witches

2020

by Alix E. Harrow

In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in this powerful novel of magic, family, and the suffragette movement. In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters—James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna—join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote—and perhaps not even to live—the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

An homage to the indomitable power and persistence of women, The Once and Future Witches reimagines stories of revolution, motherhood, and women's suffrage—the lost ways are calling.

T-Minus AI

2020

by Michael Kanaan

Late in 2017, the conversation about the global impact of artificial intelligence (AI) changed forever. China delivered a bold message when it released a national plan to dominate all aspects of AI across the planet. Within weeks, Russia's Vladimir Putin raised the stakes by declaring AI the future for all humankind, and proclaiming that, "Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world."

The race was on. Consistent with their unique national agendas, countries throughout the world began plotting their paths and hurrying their pace. Now, not long after, the race has become a sprint.

Despite everything at risk, for most of us AI remains shrouded by a cloud of mystery and misunderstanding. Hidden behind complex technical terms and confused even further by extravagant depictions in science fiction, the realities of AI and its profound implications are hard to decipher, but no less crucial to understand.

In T-Minus AI: Humanity's Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power, author Michael Kanaan explains the realities of AI from a human-oriented perspective that's easy to comprehend. A recognized national expert and the U.S. Air Force's first Chairperson for Artificial Intelligence, Kanaan weaves a compelling new view on our history of innovation and technology to masterfully explain what each of us should know about modern computing, AI, and machine learning.

Kanaan also illuminates the global implications of AI by highlighting the cultural and national vulnerabilities already exposed and the pressing issues now squarely on the table. AI has already become China's all-purpose tool to impose authoritarian influence around the world. Russia, playing catch up, is weaponizing AI through its military systems and now infamous, aggressive efforts to disrupt democracy by whatever disinformation means possible.

America and like-minded nations are awakening to these new realities, and the paths they're electing to follow echo loudly, in most cases, the political foundations and moral imperatives upon which they were formed.

As we march toward a future far different than ever imagined, T-Minus AI is fascinating and critically well-timed. It leaves the fiction behind, paints the alarming implications of AI for what they actually are, and calls for unified action to protect fundamental human rights and dignities for all.

The Expendables

2020

by Jeff Rubin

The Expendables: How the Middle Class Got Screwed By Globalization offers a provocative and far-reaching analysis of the economic forces that have marginalized the middle class in the developed world. Jeff Rubin, former CIBC World Markets Chief Economist, presents a compelling case that the decline of the middle class was not only predictable but is a direct consequence of policy choices that favored globalization.

Through a detailed exploration of trends such as stagnant wages in North America since the 1970s, the collapse of union membership, and the shift away from full-time employment, Rubin illustrates the retreat of the middle class. He highlights how agreements like NAFTA and global economic policies such as deregulation and tax legislation that favor the wealthy have contributed to this erosion.

Rubin's argument is not only economic but also touches on the political backlash seen in events like Brexit, the rise of Donald Trump, and the growth of populism in Europe. He suggests that resolving these issues will require rethinking the fundamental ideas about capital and labor that have shaped the current system.

The Expendables is a critical examination of the developed world's economic landscape, offering insights that are both humane and rigorous, and calling for a more equitable future.

Caste

Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today.

Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people’s lives and behavior and the nation’s fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people—including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball’s Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others—she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. 

She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity.

Pro Truth: A Practical Plan for Putting Truth Back Into Politics

How can we turn back the tide of post-truth politics, fake news, and misinformation that is damaging our democracy? First, by empowering citizens to recognize and resist political lies and deceptions: Using cutting-edge neuroscience research, we show you the tricks post-truth politicians use to exploit our mental blindspots and cognitive biases. We then share with you strategies to protect yourself and others from these threats.

Second, by addressing the damage caused by the spread of fake news on social media: We provide you with effective techniques for fighting digital misinformation.

Third, by exerting pressure on politicians, media, and other public figures: Doing so involves creating new incentives for telling the truth, new penalties for lying, and new ways of communicating across the partisan divide. To put this plan into action requires the rise of a Pro-Truth Movement - a movement which has already begun, and is making a tangible impact.

If you believe truth matters, and want to protect our democracy, please read this book, and join us. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky and Tim Ward have teamed up to help citizens learn to protect themselves from lies, and empower them to put truth back into politics.

Manifesto of the Free People's Union

2020

by Jakub Lasak

The Manifesto of the Free People’s Union presents the faults of the following systems:

The Political System
The political system is not about creating the best solutions for people, but about politicians fighting for power for themselves.

The Financial System
The banking system enslaves us and makes us poorer due to the system of fractional reserve, inflation, and other aspects.

The Education System
The education system does not teach us anything useful. It forces us to memorize things such as maps, useless facts, or solving math equations, as it was useful in the 20th century, but not now.

Health Care
The health care system is broken because, for example, pharmaceutical companies don’t want to prevent illnesses, but to keep us ill as long as possible to earn more money.

It also presents faults in areas such as economic system, media, food, and others. Then, it proposes, with all the details, a whole new system that will serve us. For example, it presents a new political system, in which governments consist of the best specialist that create solutions which we, the people, can accept or reject.

The Skin We're In

2020

by Desmond Cole

The Skin We're In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power is a bracing, provocative, and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada's most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. This work is set to spark a national conversation, influence policy, and inspire activists.

In his 2015 cover story for Toronto Life magazine, Desmond Cole exposed the racist actions of the Toronto police force, detailing the dozens of times he had been stopped and interrogated under the controversial practice of carding. The story quickly came to national prominence, shaking the country to its core and catapulting its author into the public sphere. Cole used his newfound profile to draw insistent, unyielding attention to the injustices faced by Black Canadians on a daily basis.

Both Cole’s activism and journalism find vibrant expression in his first book, The Skin We’re In. Puncturing the bubble of Canadian smugness and naive assumptions of a post-racial nation, Cole chronicles just one year—2017—in the struggle against racism in this country. It was a year that saw calls for tighter borders when Black refugees braved frigid temperatures to cross into Manitoba from the States, Indigenous land and water protectors resisting the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, police across the country rallying around an officer accused of murder, and more.

The year also witnessed the profound personal and professional ramifications of Desmond Cole’s unwavering determination to combat injustice. In April, Cole disrupted a Toronto police board meeting by calling for the destruction of all data collected through carding. Following the protest, Cole, a columnist with the Toronto Star, was summoned to a meeting with the paper’s opinions editor and informed that his activism violated company policy. Rather than limit his efforts defending Black lives, Cole chose to sever his relationship with the publication. Then in July, at another police board meeting, Cole challenged the board to respond to accusations of a police cover-up in the brutal beating of Dafonte Miller by an off-duty police officer and his brother. When Cole refused to leave the meeting until the question was publicly addressed, he was arrested. The image of Cole walking out of the meeting, handcuffed and flanked by officers, fortified the distrust between the city’s Black community and its police force.

Month-by-month, Cole creates a comprehensive picture of entrenched, systemic inequality. Urgent, controversial, and unsparingly honest, The Skin We’re In is destined to become a vital text for anti-racist and social justice movements in Canada, as well as a potent antidote to the all-too-present complacency of many white Canadians.

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