General Books - Page 8

Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism (American Intellectual Culture)

Ronald J. Pestritto

Amazon Price: $30.31 List Price: $36.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $30.21

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> History & Theory

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Unique interpretation 5 out of 5 stars.
50 of 55 people found this review helpful.

This only being the third book I've read on Woodrow Wilson's political thought, I was struck by its argument--Wilson subverted the ideas of the Founders by his progressivism and his progressive thought is consistent throughout his writings (cf. Thorsen). Arguing that Wilson significantly diverged from the political thought of the Founders, Pestritto is critical of Wilson and brings to bear upon his argument insightful context that had a substantial influence upon Wilson's intellect. Pestritto is convincing throughout and each of his chapters are clearly organized so that the reader easily follows. One thing I had a hard time buying was the weight he gave Hegel in Wilson's thought. Nevertheless, the book is deeply read in the primary literature and is conversant with the secondary. I found it helpful in writing a paper and looking for how to approach Wilson's writings, in terms of specific pieces and interpretation, and where to look for other sources.

Editorial Review:

Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism highlights Wilson's sharp departure from the traditional principles of American government, most notably the Constitution. Ronald J. Pestritto persuasively argues that Wilson's unfailing criticism places him clearly in line with the Progressives' assault on the original principles of American constitutionalism. Drawing primarily from early writings and speeches that Wilson made during his years as a scholar, Pestritto examines the future president's clear and consistent ideologies that laid the foundation for later actions taken as a public leader.

How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter

Amazon Price: $22.36 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Crown Forum Amazon Marketplace: 249 new & used starting at $1.03

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> Political Parties
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> U.S.
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 705 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This forceful, sarcastic, and often hilarious book offers tips on arguing with liberals, which include the following: don't be defensive, always outrage the enemy, and never apologize to, compliment, or show graciousness to a Democrat. Welcome to the world according to Ann Coulter. Ever combative, Coulter is unafraid to court controversy or confront her detractors head-on, whether they are mainstream journalists and talk-show hosts who have misquoted her without apology or "weak and frightened conservatives" craving liberal approval. Though the writing is often over-the-top, the book if full of one-liners that will delight conservatives, such as "the best way to convert liberals is to have them move out of their parents' home, get a job, and start paying taxes." But there is more here than just insults and countless jabs at Bill Clinton, and even her most devoted readers will find much new material in the book. Largely a collection of her syndicated columns from the past decade, How to Talk to a Liberal also includes columns that were never released or were rejected by editors--in Coulter's words, "what you could have read if you lived in a free country." --Shawn Carkonen

Amazon.com Exclusive Content

Ann Coulter on Election 2004
Ann Coulter has become a fixture among the country's leading conservative pundits with her take-no-prisoners approach making for controversial headline copy. She speaks out about Election 2004 in our exclusive interview.

Ann Coulter's Significant Seven
Ann Coulter kindly agreed to take the life quiz we like to give to all our authors: the Amazon Significant Seven. Read her answers here.

Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader (7th Edition) (MySearchLab Series 15% off)

Terence Ball, Richard Dagger

Amazon Price: $57.87 List Price: $76.20 Usually ships in 9 to 12 days By: Longman Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $49.29

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Political Science -> Political Doctrines -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A solid and strong collection of original works 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

The editors have done a good job of including most of the major areas of western political thought of the last two thousand years. A bit skimpy on classical works, but well grounded in more contemporary times and the foundational thought of American and Western democratic ideals. The contents have been edited to ensure that the message is not lost in prose, and the average reader should be able to enjoy the readings, also getting a clear sense of what the original author intended to say. Aimed at the Higher Education market it is a little pricey, but a buy for the shelf of anyone interested in this subjecr area.

Editorial Review:

-X, Ball, Terrence and Dagger, Richard, Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader, Fourth Edition*\ This highly acclaimed collection of original sources put readers directly in touch with the political thinkers and the ideas that have shaped our world. Present readers with key selections from a wide array of original sources, from classic standards to newly emerging ideologies. A logical organization, introductions to each selection, and new explanatory notes make this book accessible and engaging. For those interested in political science and ideologies.

Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism

Bernard-Henri Levy

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $11.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> Political
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this unprecedented critique, Bernard-Henri Lévy, one of the world’s leading intellectuals revisits his political roots, scrutinizes the totalitarianisms of the past as well as those on the horizon, and argues powerfully for a new political and moral vision for our times. Are human rights Western or universal? Does anti-Semitism have a future, and, if so, what will it look like? And how is it that progressives themselves–those who in the past defended individual rights and fought fascism–have now become the breeding ground for new kinds of dangerous attitudes: an unthinking loathing of Israel; an obsessive anti-Americanism; an idea of “tolerance” that, in its justification of Islamic fanaticism, for example, could become the “cemetery of democracies”; and an indifference, masked by relativism, to the greatest human tragedies facing the world today? Illuminating these and other questions, Lévy also brings to life his own autobiography, highlighting the thinkers he has known and scrutinized and the ideological battles he has fought over thirty years–revealing their bearing on the present.

Above all, Lévy offers a powerful new vision for progressives everywhere, one based neither on the failed idealisms of the past neither nor on their current misguided, bigoted, and dangerously sentimental attachments but on an absolute commitment to combat evil in all its guises. The “new barbarism” Levy compellingly diagnoses is real and must be confronted. At a time of ideological and political transition in America, Left in Dark Times is a polemical, incendiary articulation of the threats we all face–in many cases without our even being aware of it–and a riveting, cogent stand against those threats. Surprising and sure to be controversial, wise and free of cynicism, it is one of the most important books yet written by one of the crucial voices of our time.

Praise for Bernard-Henri Lévy’s American Vertigo

“An entertaining trip, as much in the tradition of Jack Kerouac as Tocqueville.”
–The New York Times

“Perceptive, pugnacious, passionate [and] exquisitely written.”
–The New York Observer

“It’s difficult to remember when a writer of any nationality so clearly and thoughtfully delineated both the good and bad in America. [Grade:] A.”
–Entertainment Weekly (Editor’s Choice)

“Lévy is a true friend of the American experiment and a comrade in the American struggle against the barbarisms.”
–The New Republic

“Lévy writes brilliantly. American Vertigo is filled with insights and goodwill.”
–The Wall Street Journal

“Provocative . . . [Lévy is] a writer of enormous power and vitality.”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“Vigorous . . . impressive.”
–The Boston Globe

Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him

Humberto Fontova

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Sentinel Trade Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $8.38

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Historical -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Historical -> General AAS
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Political

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 67 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The perfect conservative contrast to the upcoming movie about Che.

Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the mainstream media celebrate Ernesto “Che” Guevara as a saint, a sex symbol, and a selfless martyr. But their ideas about Che — whose face adorns countless T-shirts and posters — are based on the lies of Fidel Castro’s murderous dictatorship.

Che’s hipster fans are classic “useful idiots,” the name Stalin gave to foolish Westerners who parroted his lies about communism. And their numbers will only increase after a new biopic is released this fall, starring Benicio Del Toro.

But as Humberto Fontova reveals in this myth-shattering book, Che was actually a bloodthirsty executioner, a military bumbler, a coward, and a hypocrite. In fact, Che can be called the godfather of modern terrorism.

Fontova reveals:

• How he longed to destroy New York City with nuclear missiles.
• How he persecuted gays, blacks, and religious people.
• How he loved material wealth and private luxuries, despite his image as an ascetic.

Are Che fans like Angelina Jolie, Jesse Jackson, Carlos Santana, and Johnny Depp too ignorant to realize they’ve been duped? Or too anti-American to care?

Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad

Frances Moore Lappe

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Small Planet Media Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $5.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Current Events -> Poverty -> Social Services & Welfare
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Current Events -> War & Peace
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Winner of the 2008 JAMES BEARD HUMANITARIAN AWARD, 2008 NAUTILUS SMALL PRESS GOLD AWARD and 2008 NAUTILUS SILVER AWARD in the category of Social Change/Activism

Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity & Courage in a World Gone Mad is a little book with a big message. Frances Moore Lappe--author of fifteen books, including three-million-copy bestseller Diet for a Small Planet--distills her world-spanning experience and wisdom in a conversational yet hard-hitting style to create a rare "aha" book. In nine short chapters, Lappe leaves readers feeling liberated and courageous. She flouts conventional right-versus-left divisions and affirms readers' basic sanity--their intuitive knowledge that it is possible to stop grasping at straws and grasp the real roots of today's crises, from hunger and poverty to climate change and terrorism. Because we are creatures of the mind, says Lappe, it is the power of "frame"--our core assumptions about how the world works--that determines outcomes. She pinpoints the dominant failing frame now driving out planet toward disaster. By interweaving fresh insights, startling facts, and stirring vignettes of ordinary people pursuing creative solutions to our most pressing global problems, Lappe uncovers a new, empowering "frame" through which real solutions are emerging worldwide.
She writes: "My book's intent is to enable us to see what is happening all around us but is still invisible to most of us. It is about people in all walks of life who are penetrating the spiral of despair and reversing it with new ideas, ingenious innovation--and courage."

Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory

David Ray Griffin

Amazon Price: $13.60 List Price: $20.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Olive Branch Press Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $11.38

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> 21st Century
Subjects -> History -> World -> 21st Century
Subjects -> History -> World -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 76 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

By virtue of his previous four books on the subject, David Ray Griffin is widely recognized as one of the leading spokespersons of the 9/11 truth movement, which rejects the official conspiracy theory about 9/11. Although this movement was long ignored by the US government and the mainstream media, recent polls have shown that (as Time magazine has acknowledged) the rejection of the official theory has become "a mainstream political phenomenon." It is not surprising, therefore, that the government and the corporately controlled media have shifted tactics. No longer ignoring the 9/11 truth movement, they have released a flurry of stories and reports aimed at debunking it.

In the present book, David Ray Griffin shows that these attempts can themselves be easily debunked. Besides demonstrating the pitiful failure of Debunking 9/11 Myths (published by Popular Mechanics and endorsed by Senator John McCain), Griffin riddles recent reports and stories put out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Time magazine as well as a new book by the chairmen of the 9/11 Commission. He also responds to criticisms of the 9/11 truth movement by left-leaning and Christian publications--which one might have expected to be supportive.

Throughout these critiques, Griffin shows that the charge that is regularly leveled against critics of the official theory-that they employ irrational and unscientific methods to defend conclusions based on faith-actually applies more fully to those who defend the official theory.

This book, by debunking the most prevalent attempts to refute the evidence cited by the 9/11 truth movement, shows that this movement's central claim-that 9/11 was an inside job-remains the only explanation that fits the facts.

The Conservative Soul: Fundamentalism, Freedom, and the Future of the Right

Andrew Sullivan

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 56 new & used starting at $4.76

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Political Science -> Political Doctrines -> Conservatism

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Disappointed 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Without question, Andrew Sullivan is one of my favorite writers. Even when I do not agree with his analysis of a situation, be it political or philosophical, I find him to be interesting, thoughtful, and passionate. And when it comes to the Bush Administration and the handling of Iraq and other facets of the conflict with Islamic terrorists, I have to say that a good deal of his attitude (though not, I think, development of ideas) has mirrored my own over the course of the past several years. So I was very much looking forward to reading his most recent book, The Conservative Soul. I am also disheartened to say that I was tremendously disappointed. Although there are some interesting nuggets of good ideas buried in the book, I find that on the whole it was sloppy, muddled, disorganized and -- I'm sorry to say -- not very well written. Although I would highly recommend that everyone read Sullivan's blog and essays, I would not recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

Today's conservatives support the idea of limited government, but they have increased government's size and power to new heights. They believe in balanced budgets, but they have boosted government spending, debt, and pork to record levels. They believe in national security but launched a reckless, ideological occupation in Iraq that has made us tangibly less safe. They have substituted religion for politics and damaged both.

In The Conservative Soul, one of the nation's leading political commentators makes an impassioned call to rescue conservatism from the excesses of the Republican far right, which has tried to make the GOP the first fundamentally religious party in American history. In this bold and powerful book, Andrew Sullivan makes a provocative, prescient, and heartfelt case for a revived conservatism at peace with the modern world, and dedicated to restraining government and empowering individuals to live rich and fulfilling lives.

The Plan: Big Ideas for America

Rahm Emanuel, Bruce Reed

Amazon Price: $15.96 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: PublicAffairs Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $6.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Government -> Public Policy
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> Political Parties
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Scary Bolshevik Socialist...You Name It 1 out of 5 stars.
12 of 16 people found this review helpful.

This guy is now Obama's Chief of Staff. The two together want to implement a "Civilian Defense Force" that's "just as big, just as powerful, and just as well funded as the US military." Hello, America. This is the land where individual liberty is cherished and safeguarded by the Constitution...a land where we purposely limited the powers of the federal government. Communists/socialists have fellowship on collectivism and elevating the worker to icon status...Americans have fellowship on their liberty and defending themselves from tyrrany...which is just what they are proposing, tyrrany

Editorial Review:

The Plan offers a bold vision of what America can be. It shows the way for both parties to move beyond the old political arguments and make progress for the American people. And it offers an innovative agenda for America – with ideas that address the nation’s most pressing challenges by doing more for Americans and asking Americans to do more for their country in return. Each of these ideas offers a clean break with the status quo, yet all are positive, practical, and can be put into action right away. Built on the authors’ firm beliefs that politicians owe the people real answers, that citizenship is a responsibility, not an entitlement program, and that the Democratic Party succeeds when America succeeds, the highly anticipated Plan delivers, challenges, and inspires.

Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Basic Books Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $12.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Politics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Political Science -> Political Doctrines -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great roadmap for our new president 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

What i loved the most about this book is that it is so easy to understand. That being said, it is also thoughtful, well written, and insightful. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the tools needed to turn around our great nation.

Now this is change we can believe in! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

It is a very exciting time for the U.S. as we shed the old policies that are clearly not working and move forward to a new America. Change for America provides clear and easy-to-digest insight as to how to accomplish this enormous task. I highly recommend this read if you care about this country and about making it the place we are all proud to live in again.

Change? Change to what? 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 11 people found this review helpful.

The authors fail to mention the kind of change they want. What change? Socialist European style of CHANGE has failed and there is nothing wrong with how America is, AFAIK. Yes, there are some shortcomings but I am ready to blame them on die-hard liberals in the US congress and other clueless leftists like the authors of this book. I wish America would become more and more conservative and right wing. That's the change I'd support... More conservatism is needed. Liberals should just go away or be sent to Cuba, their paradise. Thats the kind of change the world needs. Liberalism has failed miserably.