"For a charmingly recherché complaint, check out Activism, Inc. by Dana R. Fisher. Fisher, who teaches sociology at Columbia, is upset about the professionalization of grass-roots campaigning, which she believes has sliced the bottom rung off the political ladder and keeps inspired young people from entering politics and pointing it in a more salubrious direction."
--The New York Times Book Review
"This book describes how grassroots politics has withered and what must be done to revive it. A timely message for America in the 21st century."
--Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley
"An original grassroots critique as to why progressive citizen groups and the Democratic Party are failing to prevail and weakening themselves. Dana Fisher argues that you cannot outsource democratic movements. Listen up, national progressive groups, Fisher's insights are lighting up the path to greater effectiveness. Democrats would be well advised to put this book at the top of their reading list. That is, if they want to understand better how to win elections."
--Ralph Nader
Activism, Inc. introduces America to an increasingly familiar political actor: the canvasser. She's the twenty-something with the clipboard, stopping you on the street or knocking on your door, the foot soldier of political campaigns.
Granted unprecedented access to the "People's Project," an unknown yet influential organization driving left-leaning grassroots politics, Dana Fisher tells the true story of outsourcing politics in America. Like the major corporations that outsourced their customer service to companies abroad, the grassroots campaigns of national progressive movements--including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, Save the Children, and the Human Rights Campaign--have been outsourced at different times to this single organization. During the 2004 presidential campaign, the Democratic Party followed a similar outsourcing model for their canvassing.
Fisher examines the history and rationale behind political outsourcing on the Left, weaving together frank interviews with canvassers, high-ranking political officials across the political spectrum, and People's Project management. She compares all of this to the grassroots efforts on the Right, which remain firmly grounded in communities and local politics.
This book offers a chilling review of the consequences of political outsourcing. Connecting local people on the streets throughout America to the national organizations and political campaigns that make up progressive politics, it shows what happens to the passionate young activists outsourced to the clients of Activism, Inc.

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Dana Fisher - Activism, Inc., How the Outsourcing of Grassroots Campaigns Is Strangling Progressive Politics in America (2006).pdf

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Osprey - Essential Histories 66 - Gregory Fremont- Barnes - The Wars of the Barbary Pirates, To the s hores of Tripoli, the rise of the US Navy and Mari nes (2006).jpg

USA Books1 - Osprey - Essential Histories 66 - Gregory Fremont-Barn... of Tripoli, the rise of the US Navy and Marines 2006.jpg

The wars against the Barbary pirates not only signaled the determination of the United States to throw off its tributary status, liberate its citizens from slavery in North Africa, and reassert its right to trade freely upon the seas: they enabled America to regain its sense of national dignity. The wars also served as a catalyst for the development of a navy with which America could project its newly acquired power thousands of miles away. By the time the fighting was over the young republic bore the unmistakable marks of a nation destined to play a major role in international affairs.

Contents
Introduction · Chronology · Background to War · Warring States · Outbreak · The Fighting · Portrait of a Sailor · The World Around War · Portrait of a Civilian · How the Wars Ended · Conclusions and Consequences · Further Reading · Index

Gregory Fremont-Barnes
Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from Oxford University and serves as a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, dividing his work between teaching cadets on site and commissioned officers of the British Army posted to garrisons throughout the UK and abroad. His writing focuses principally on the military and naval history of the 18th and 19th centuries and includes such works as The French Revolutionary Wars, The Boer War, The Peninsular War, The Indian Mutiny, Trafalgar, The Wars of the Barbary Pirates, Nelson’s Officers and Midshipmen, and many others. He has edited two major reference works, the three-volume Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the two-volume Encyclopedia of the Age of Political Revolutions and New Ideologies, 1760–1815, and co-edited the five-volume Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War.

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Eric C. Anderson - Take the Money and Run, Soverei gn Wealth Funds and the Demise of American Prosper ity (2009).jpg

USA Books1 - Eric C. Anderson - Take the Money and Run, Sovereign W...alth Funds and the Demise of American Prosperity 2009.jpg

In this book, an expert in the field explains why the United States is the world's largest debtor nation and how America's relationship to creditor states is of growing economic, diplomatic, and even national security concern. Foreign countries are not merely investing in U.S. corporations but are purchasing them outright: Abu Dhabi bought Citigroup securities, Kuwait purchased a large block Merrill Lynch stock, and China bought Morgan Stanley's convertible securities-and this happened before the September 2008 meltdown of Wall Street. The means by which wealthy foreign states make these purchases are sovereign wealth funds, their surplus capital that they are seeking to invest in order to generate the greatest return. Currently, the largest sovereign wealth funds are held by the United Arab Emirates (of which Abu Dhabi is part), Norway, Singapore, Kuwait, and the People's Republic of China; Qatar and Libya are also in the top ten. The United States has no such fund (although the state of Alaska does). This book takes a close look at China's and Norway's sovereign wealth funds to explain how they work. The author also uses domestic examples (Harvard's endowment, the California's state employees' retirement fund) to propose how the United States could create a sovereign wealth fund, speculating that such a fund could solve the looming Social Security funds shortfall. Most important, the book elucidates the national security aspects of not having an American sovereign wealth fund when so many other nations-both friend and foe-have them.

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Eric C. Anderson - Take the Money and Run, Soverei gn Wealth Funds and the Demise of American Prosper ity (2009).pdf

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The Constitution of The United States of America ( 1787).jpg

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.

The Constitution creates the three branches of the national government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court. The Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch. The Constitution reserves all unenumerated powers to the respective states and the people, thereby establishing the federal system of government.

The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and ratified by conventions in each U.S. state in the name of "The People". The Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times; the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.

The United States Constitution is the oldest written constitution still in use by any nation in the world, although the Statutes of 1600, the principal part of San Marino's Constitution, is older.

The Constitution holds a central place in United States law and political culture. The handwritten original document penned by Jacob Shallus is on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

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The Constitution of The United States of America ( 1787).pdf

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Bradford Perkins - Cambridge History of American F oreign Relations, Volume I. The Creation of a Repu blican Empire, 1776-1865 (1993).jpg

USA Books1 - Bradford Perkins - Cambridge History of American Fore.... The Creation of a Republican Empire, 1776-1865 1993.jpg

The Creation of a Republican Empire traces American foreign relations from the colonial era to the end of the Civil War, paying particular attention not only to the diplomatic controversies of the era but also to the origins and development of American thought regarding international relations. The primary purpose of the book is to describe and explain, in the diplomatic context, the process by which the United States was born, transformed into a republican nation, and extended into a continental empire. Central to the story are the events surrounding the American Revolution, the constitutional Convention, the impact on the United States of the European wars touched off by the French Revolution, the Monroe Doctrine, the expansionism of the 1840s, and the ordeal of the Civil War.

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Bradford Perkins - Cambridge History of American F oreign Relations, Volume I. The Creation of a Repu blican Empire, 1776-1865 (1993).pdf

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Walter LaFeber - The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, Volume II, The American Search for Opportunity, 1865-1913 (1993).jpeg

USA Books1 - Walter LaFeber - The Cambridge History of American Fo... The American Search for Opportunity, 1865-1913 1993.jpeg

The American Search for Opportunity, 1865-1913 analyzes the period between the American Civil War and World War I (1865-1913) as the formative basis for twentieth-century American world power--"The American Century" as it has become known--and examines the "Imperial Presidency" that these roots produced. The extent of U.S. power was so great that it not only transformed American society, but reshaped other societies around the globe as well, by helping fuel--and in some cases directly causing--the great revolutions of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in Mexico, Russia, China, Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, Panama, and Central America. The book, therefore, not only examines American history, but the history of many other areas that were dramatically affected by U.S. power as they entered the twentieth century.

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Walter LaFeber - The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, Volume II, The American Search for Opportunity, 1865-1913 (1993).djvu

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Akira Iriye - Cambridge History of American Foreig n Relations, Voume III, Globalizing of America, 19 13-1945 (1993).jpg

USA Books1 - Akira Iriye - Cambridge History of American Foreign Re...ns, Voume III, Globalizing of America, 1913-1945 1993.jpg

The book describes the history of the foreign relations of the United States during 1913-1945, the period of two world wars as well as of momentous changes that brought to an end the period of European domination. The United States emerged as the key global power, actively participating in wars but also promoting trade and investment activities throughout the world, as well as "Americanizing" other countries' ways of life and habits of thought. The book is thus not a usual survey of foreign policy decisions but tells a story about America's growing involvement in all parts of the world and in all aspects of twentieth-century life.

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Akira Iriye - Cambridge History of American Foreig n Relations, Voume III, Globalizing of America, 19 13-1945 (1993).pdf

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Warren I. Cohen - Cambridge History of American Fo reign Relations, Volume IV, America in the Age of Soviet Power, 1945-1991 (1993).jpeg

USA Books1 - Warren I. Cohen - Cambridge History of American Forei..., America in the Age of Soviet Power, 1945-1991 1993.jpeg

This is an elegant and concise history of American foreign relations during the Cold War era, based on the most recent American, Chinese, and Soviet literature, written from a post-Cold War perspective. All of the major foreign policy issues, including the origins of the Soviet-American conflict; the extension of the confrontation to Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere on the periphery; wars in Korea and Vietnam; crises involving the Taiwan Straits, Berlin, and Cuba; the rise and fall of detente; imperial overreach; and the critical roles of Reagan and Gorbachev in the 1980s are carefully analyzed and clearly explained.

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Warren I. Cohen - Cambridge History of American Fo reign Relations, Volume IV, America in the Age of Soviet Power, 1945-1991 (1993).pdf

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Barry Forshaw - The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction ( 2007).jpg

The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction takes the reader on a guided tour of the mean streets and blind corners that make up the world’s most popular literary genre. The insider’s book recommends over 200 classic crime novels from masterminds Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith to modern hotshots James Elroy and Patricia Cornwall. You’ll investigate gumshoes, spies, spooks, serial killers, forensic females, prying priests and patsies from the past, present, and future. Complete with extra information on what to read next, all movie adaptions, and illustrated throughout with photos and diagrams …all the evidence that counts

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Stephen Prince - Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1 998).jpg

Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch is one of the most influential films in American cinema. The intensity of its violence was unprecedented, while the director's use of multiple cameras, montage editing, and slow motion quickly became the normative style for rendering screen violence. This volume includes freshly-commissioned essays by several leading scholars of Peckinpah's work. Examining the film's production history from script to screen, its rich and ambivalent vision of American society, and its relationship to the Western genre, among other topics, it provides a definitive reinterpretation of an enduring film classic.

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Stephen Prince - Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1 998).pdf

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Bill Moyers - Moyers on Democracy (2008).jpg

Bill Moyers on America today:
“Here in the first decade of the twenty-first century the story that becomes America’s dominant narrative will shape our collective imagination and our politics for a long time to come. In the searching of our souls demanded by this challenge . . . kindred spirits across the nation must confront the most fundamental liberal failure of the current era: the failure to embrace a moral vision of America based on the transcendent faith that human beings are more than the sum of their material appetites, our country is more than an economic machine, and freedom is not license but responsibility—the gift we have received and the legacy we must bequeath.
“Although our sojourn in life is brief, we are on a great journey. For those who came before us and for those who follow, our moral, political, and religious duty to make sure that this nation, which was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are equal under the law, is in good hands on our watch.”
—from “For America’s Sake”
People know Bill Moyers mostly from his many years of path-breaking journalism on television. But he is also one of America’s most sought-after public speakers. His appearances draw sell-out crowds across the country and are among the most reproduced on the Web. “And one reason,” writes noted journalist Bill McKibben, “is that Moyers pulls no punches. His understanding of America’s history is at least as deep as his understanding of Christian tradition, which is an integral part of his background . . . With his feet firmly planted in the deepest American traditions, Bill Moyers is helping to keep alive an oratorical tradition that is fading after two centuries. Trained by his career in broadcasting, he writes for the ear, his cadences and his repetitions timed to bring an audience to full realization of its role and its power.”
And that is the message of this book. Moyers on Democracy collects many of Bill Moyers’s most moving statements to connect the dots on what is happening to our country—the twinned growth of private wealth and public squalor, the assault on our Constitution, the undermining of the electoral process, the accelerating class war against ordinary (and vulnerable) Americans inherent in the growth of economic inequality, the dangers of an imperial executive, the attack on the independence of the press, the despoiling of the earth we share as our common gift—and to rekindle the reader’s conviction that “the gravediggers of democracy will not have the last word.” Richly insightful and alive with a fierce, abiding love for our country, Moyers on Democracy is essential reading in this fateful presidential year.

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Bill Moyers - Moyers on Democracy (2008).pdf

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Madeleine Albright - Memo to the President Elect, How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leader ship (2008).jpg

USA Books1 - Madeleine Albright - Memo to the President Elect, How ...e Can Restore Americas Reputation and Leadership 2008.jpg

The next president, whether Democrat or Republican, will face the daunting task of repairing America's core relationships and tarnished credibility after the damage caused during the past seven years. In Memo to the President Elect, former secretary of state and bestselling author Madeleine Albright offers provocative ideas about how to confront the striking array of challenges that the next commander-in-chief will face and how to return America to its rightful role as a source of inspiration across the globe.

Much more than a set of policy prescriptions, Secretary Albright's writing blends lessons from the past with forward-looking suggestions about how to assemble a first-rate foreign policy team, anticipate the actions of other key countries, make full use of presidential power without repeating the excesses of the Bush administration, and revive America's commitment to its founding ideals.

Albright's advice is candid—as conveyed in a confidential memo—and seasoned with humor and stories from her years in office. Drawing on her extensive experience as an advisor to two presidents and a key figure in four presidential transitions, she provides an insider's analysis of U.S. options in addressing the decisive issues of our era: terrorism, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rivalries in the Middle East, the potential for nuclear war, and headaches created by such troublesome leaders as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, and North Korea's Kim Jong-il.

The 2008 election promises to be one of the most dramatic in our nation's history. Memo to the President Elect offers indispensable guidance for the next occupant of the White House—and a wealth of insights for voters to think about before deciding who that person will be.

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Edward Davies - United States in World History (20 06).jpg

In this short, accessible introductory survey of the history of the United States from 1790 to the present day, Edward J. Davies examines key themes in the evolution of America from colonial rule to international supremacy. Focusing particularly on those currents within U.S. history that have influenced the rest of the world, Davies examines key themes including industralisation, the rise of international corporations, civil rights and popular culture. Offering a new way of examining the United States, this book reveals how concepts that originated in American's definition of itself as a nation - concepts such as capitalism, republicanism and race - have had supranational impact across the world.

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Edward Davies - United States in World History (20 06).pdf

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Howard Zinn - A People's History of The United Sta tes (2003).jpg

According to this classic of revisionist American history, narratives of national unity and progress are a smoke screen disguising the ceaseless conflict between elites and the masses whom they oppress and exploit. Historian Zinn sides with the latter group in chronicling Indians' struggle against Europeans, blacks' struggle against racism, women's struggle against patriarchy, and workers' struggle against capitalists. First published in 1980, the volume sums up decades of post-war scholarship into a definitive statement of leftist, multicultural, anti-imperialist historiography. This edition updates that project with new chapters on the Clinton and Bush presidencies, which deplore Clinton's pro-business agenda, celebrate the 1999 Seattle anti-globalization protests and apologize for previous editions' slighting of the struggles of Latinos and gays. Zinn's work is an vital corrective to triumphalist accounts, but his uncompromising radicalism shades, at times, into cynicism. Zinn views the Bill of Rights, universal suffrage, affirmative action and collective bargaining not as fundamental (albeit imperfect) extensions of freedom, but as tactical concessions by monied elites to defuse and contain more revolutionary impulses; voting, in fact, is but the most insidious of the "controls." It's too bad that Zinn dismisses two centuries of talk about "patriotism, democracy, national interest" as mere "slogans" and "pretense," because the history he recounts is in large part the effort of downtrodden people to claim these ideals for their own.

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Marilyn B. Young, John ]. Fitzgerald, A. Tom G mnfeld - The Vietnam War, A History in Documents (2003).jpg

Grade 7 Up-This "documentary history" provides a social and political context for the conflict, with no military history and little coverage of the actual fighting. Instead, it focuses on the official documents, speeches, quotes, media commentary, and memoirs that trace the history of French and, later, American involvements in South East Asia. The documents are skillfully tied together by brief text that gives good background information. The authors primarily credit gross miscalculations on the part of American policy makers, such as John Foster Dulles and Robert S. McNamara, in helping lead the country into this conflict and are often critical of the United States politicians. A concluding section recounts a Vietnamese woman's return visit to her homeland long after the war, describes the changes in U.S./Vietnamese relations and attitudes, and looks at the role of the war in limiting the expansion of Communism. Related topics, such as the Civil Rights movement, Vietnam Veterans against the War, and the Kent State shootings, are covered, and ample information on Ho Chi Minh is included. The book is well balanced in showing both sides; the tragedy of the war i+s underlined by truly awful statistics on the amount of munitions used, the destruction of Vietnam, and the loss of life. Good-quality, black-and-white photos and illustrations are plentiful and informative. Comparable in style and reading level to John M. Dunn's A History of U.S. Involvement (Lucent, 2001), this excellent title could be used in conjunction with William Dudley's The Vietnam War:

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Marilyn B. Young, John ]. Fitzgerald, A. Tom G mnfeld - The Vietnam War, A History in Documents (2003).pdf

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Thomas C. Reeves - Twentieth Century America, A Br ief History (2000).jpg

Grade 9 Up-Reeves competently describes the changes that have occurred in the United States over the last century as our country has grown from a brash newcomer among the older European nations into the lone superpower and global economic dynamo that we are today. All of the major issues and events are touched upon in this clearly written, though somewhat bland recital. The text is arranged in short chronological chapters and is accompanied by a sprinkling of black-and-white photos. There is thorough coverage and thoughtful analysis of each presidency from Theodore Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. The changing roles of women, the recognition of the civil rights of African Americans, and the gradual improvements in their standard of living and access to higher education are adequately covered. The sexual revolution and other counterculture influences of the '60s and '70s are duly noted. "Monicagate" and the impeachment of Bill Clinton receive a brief, but clear explanation as well. The U.S. intervention in Kosovo and the bombing of Yugoslavia conclude the volume. A short, helpful list of suggested readings follows each chapter. Students should find this a useful no-frills introduction to the topic, adequate for an introductory course or quick reference. Harold Evans's much larger and more attractively packaged The American Century (Knopf, 1998) provides similar coverage with a multitude of fascinating photos and an extensive bibliography, but its size makes it more suitable for reference.

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Thomas C. Reeves - Twentieth Century America, A Br ief History (2000).pdf

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Laura Tiebert - Chicago For Dummies, 4 edition (20 07).jpg

Years ago, when Frank Sinatra sang the praises of "my kind of town," he was saluting Chicago. Chicago is still a truly vibrant and eclectic city that constantly reinvents itself. Cosmopolitan yet not elitist, sophisticated in some ways yet refreshingly brash in others, Chicago is wonderfully entertaining and welcoming.

There’s plenty to do and this guide clues you in with the latest info on:
- Four options for exploring the city
- Five day trips to nearby attractions
- Accommodations, ranging from three of the world’s best luxury hotels to wonderful historic getaways with modern amenities
- A shopping guide that covers power shopping along the Magnificent Mile and bargain hunting in unique shops
- The action and attractions, ranging from Soldier Field or Wrigley Field to the Hancock Observatory to Navy Pier
- Restaurants, including everything from elegant to family-style, and from Chicago’s famous deep-dish pizza to all kinds of ethnic cuisine
- Intriguing architecture and incredible museums, including the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Art Institute of Chicago
- Fantastic outdoor attractions, including Millenium Park, Grant Park, North Avenue Beach, two great zoos, and more
- What to do when the sun goes down, whether you like the blues, ska, or hip-hop… the hot night spots or great theater
- Culture, ranging from Lyric Opera and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to The Second City and Improv Olympics
- Sports—baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and more—in a city of notoriously passionate fans

Like every For Dummies travel guide, Chicago For Dummies, 4th Edition, includes:
- Down-to-earth trip-planning advice
- What you shouldn’t miss — and what you can skip
- The best hotels and restaurants for every budget
- Handy Post-it Flags to mark your favorite pages

With this friendly guide to help you choose from the best sites and attractions, Chicago will surely be your kind of town.

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