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"[An] inspired tour of the post modern city…Invigorating." —Mark Kingwell, Harper’s Hailed as an “original and fascinating book” (Times Literary Supplement), A History of Future Cities is Daniel Brook’s captivating investigation of four “instant cities”—St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Dubai—that sought to catapult themselves into the future by emulating the West.
A technicolor history of the first civil rights movement and its collapse into black and white. Brutal slavery existed all over the New World, but only America followed emancipation with a twisted system of segregation. The Accident of Color asks why. Searching for answers, Daniel Brook journeys to the places that resisted Jim Crow the longest. In the cosmopolitan port cities of New Orleans and Charleston, integrated streetcars plied avenues patrolled by integrated police forces for decades after the Civil War. This progress was ushered in during Reconstruction when long-free, openly biracial communities joined in coalition with the formerly enslaved and allies at the fringes of whiteness. Tragically, their victories—including integrated schools—and their alliance itself were violently uprooted by segregation along a stark, new black-white color line. By revisiting a turning point in the construction of America’s uniquely restrictive racial system, The Accident of Color brings to life a moment from our past that illuminates the origins of the racial lies we live by.
"Takes dead aim at the conservative economic consensus that has dominated U.S. politics . . . Biting and necessary."—The American Prospect In this provocative, witty, and revealing polemic, Daniel Brook's The Trap argues that the exploding income gap—a product of the conservative ascendance—is systematically dismantling the American dream, as debt-laden, well-educated young people are torn between their passions and the pressure to earn six-figure incomes. Rising education, housing, and health-care costs have made it virtually impossible for all but the corporate elite to enjoy what were once considered middle-class comforts. Thousands are afflicted with a wrenching choice: take up res...
"This is a fantastic, practical, and succinct summary of evidence-based - and heartfelt, inspired - ways to cultivate resilient well-being in stressful times. What a beautiful book!" -Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness "This is a wonderful, useful, and inspiring book. What Dr. Dan Brook reveals will change your individual mind and relationships. A delight for us all." -Dacher Keltner, PhD, Co-Director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Born to Be Good and co-author of Understanding Emotions Harboring Happiness offers 101 clear, snappy, and scientifically-supported methods for achieving happiness. The goal of this easily-digestible book is to liberate readers, not burden them. Everyone wants to be happier, but most people don't want to put in the effort. Harboring Happiness will appeal to people who want fast, easy solutions. It is very easy to read this book straight through or to jump in and out at any point, making Harboring Happiness useful and accessible to all.
The authors argue that the rules and practices of corporate law mimic contractual provisions that parties would reach if they bargained about every contingency at zero cost and flawlessly enforced their agreements. But bargaining and enforcement are costly, and corporate law provides the rules and an enforcement mechanism that govern relations among those who commit their capital to such ventures. The authors work out the reasons for supposing that this is the exclusive function of corporate law and the implications of this perspective.
A revealing look at the role kin-based societies have played throughout history and around the world A lively, wide-ranging meditation on human development that offers surprising lessons for the future of modern individualism, The Rule of the Clan examines the constitutional principles and cultural institutions of kin-based societies, from medieval Iceland to modern Pakistan. Mark S. Weiner, an expert in constitutional law and legal history, shows us that true individual freedom depends on the existence of a robust state dedicated to the public interest. In the absence of a healthy state, he explains, humans naturally tend to create legal structures centered not on individuals but rather on ...
A inspiring story of triumph and overcoming fears, perfect for first-day-of-school jitters or any new beginnings! This clever twist on a beloved classic nursery rhyme is by the New York Times–bestselling creator of Caldecott Medal winner, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend . Everyone knows that when Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But what happened after? Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's poignant tale follows Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is high up on the city wall—that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can longer do many of the things he loves most. Will he summon the courage to f...
Using a comparative historical methodology, this book analyzes and contrasts the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia with China's Tiananmen Square rebellion from socio-cultural and political economic perspectives.
For Gretchen Brooktree, life is a bit of a struggle. It is 1961, and she works as a secretary to the commanding officer of an air force base, returning home at night to her familys farm. She is isolated from city life and worldly affairs by both distance and a fundamentalist parochial education. Gretchen can recite Bible verses and the tenets of her religion and loves to learn, but she is unsophisticated and unfamiliar with the social ways of the world. Thus, when she suddenly finds herself in love with a highly educated, city-born college graduate, Gretchen faces the prospect of numerous challenges and adjustments. Identifying with her new nickname--Brook--she pulls herself together and gets to work. She enters the University of California-Berkeley, where she is stunned by what she does not know and struggles to keep up. Slowly, she loses the archaic ideas and concepts she has carried since childhood and learns how to make her way in the world. As she does so, Brook emerges into the person she has always known she could be. Based on a true story, this historical novel explores the life of one woman in the chaotic 1960s as she struggles to overcome her past and become a new person.
These essays, which grew out of a conference attended by Dennett, consider evolution, intentionality, consciousness, ontology, and ethics and free will.