Political Science & Ideology
-
My Revision Notes: AQA A-level Politics: Political Ideas Second Edition
My Revision Notes will engage students with our updated approach to consolidating course content and helping them learn, practise and apply their skills and understanding. Coverage of key content is combined with practical study tips and effective planning strategies to create a guide that students can rely on to build both knowledge and confidence.
– Helps students plan and manage their learning independently with our topic-by-topic planner
– Encourages students to practise and apply their skills and knowledge with regular ‘Now test yourself’ sections, refreshed practice questions and answer guidance online
– Supports subject-specific exam skills with a new exam skills box at the end of each chapter
– Reflects the structure and format of recent exams with refreshed exam-style questions and improved course coverage
– Includes content mapped to the specification, streamlined to give students the knowledge they need to help with the exams
– Covers content for the Political Ideas component of the AQA specification
– Helps students understand key terms with user-friendly definitions and tips throughout, plus a glossaryRead more
£11.40 -
My Revision Notes: AQA A-level Politics: US and Comparative Politics
Exam board: AQA
Level: A-level
Subject: Politics
First teaching: September 2017
First exams: Summer 2018 (AS); Summer 2019 (A-level)With My Revision Notes, every student can:
– Plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner
– Consolidate subject knowledge by working through clear and focused content coverage
– Test understanding and identify areas for improvement with regular ‘Now Test Yourself’ tasks and answers- Improve exam technique through practice questions, expert tips and examples of typical mistakes to avoidRead more
£3.60 -
Nationalized Politics: Evaluating Electoral Politics Across Time
In the United States, politics has become increasingly nationalized in recent years as voter decision-making is now driven by partisan or national political forces rather than the attributes of individual candidates. Indeed, voters now seem more concerned with which of the two national parties will be in power across all levels of government as opposed to which candidate will represent them individually. The phenomenon has now reached levels unseen since the nineteenth century, when the party ballot was in use and voters were generally unable to select among individual candidates.Nationalized Politics asks and answers the question, “how has nationalization influenced elections across different political eras?” Jamie L. Carson, Joel Sievert, and Ryan D. Williamson look at historical variation in nationalization through an analysis of congressional elections from 1840 to 2020. By examining roughly 180 years of elections, the authors leverage considerable differences in electoral competition, electoral rules, nationalization, polarization, and partisan advantage via the incumbency advantage. Moreover, Carson, Sievert, and Williamson employ a unique survey design to capture citizen attitudes toward the nationalization of politics to further consider the question of how nationalization is currently shaping politics. Providing a comprehensive history of US congressional elections, Nationalized Politics illustrates the roots of the current electoral landscape in the US.
Read more
£18.00 -
No Politics But Class Politics
Denouncing racism and celebrating diversity have become central mainstays of progressive politics: for many on the left, social justice consists of equitable distribution of wealth, power, and esteem among racial groups. But as Adolph Reed, Jr. and Walter Benn Michaels argue in this groundbreaking collection of essays, the emphasis seems to be tragically misplaced. Not only does a fixation with racial disparities distract from the pervasive influence of class―it actually legitimises economic inequality. Adolph Reed, Jr. is the towering radical theorist of American democracy of his generation.” ―Cornel West “Walter Benn Michaels is cunning, brilliant, acutely suggestive, exhilarating to read.” ―Eric Lott “For decades, Adolph Reed and Walter Benn Michaels have brought common as well as uncommon sense to the analysis of politics under oligarchic late capitalism.” ―Barbara J. Fields “Wokelords and anti-racist liberals will be frustrated, enraged, and defeated. This book pushes us closer towards the uncompromising, bare-knuckled anti-capitalist movement we so desperately need.” ―Cedric Johnson “An exhilarating journey that swaps the orthodoxies of contemporary progressive culture for a class politics rooted in universalism.” ―James Bloodworth “Adolph Reed, Jr. and Walter Benn Michaels have been among the clearest voices critiquing the dominant race reductionism in American intellectual life and proposing a real egalitarian alternative.” ―Bhaskar Sunkara “Anyone interested in the politics of race and class must push aside the dogma of identity and grapple with what Reed, Jr. and Michaels have been arguing for decades.–Jodi Dean “These essays tell the story of the last seven decades, charting the decline of the left and American politics. The result is as rich as it is rare: a long view that is pressing and immediate.” ―Corey Robin “Reed, Jr. and Michaels take a hammer to common ways of thinking about race, class, inequality and identity, revealing ugly truths, and challenging us out of our comfort zones.” ―Kenan MalikRead more
£15.90£19.00No Politics But Class Politics
£15.90£19.00 -
Northern Ireland Government and Politics for CCEA AS Level
This well-researched text was written specifically to address Unit AS1 of the current CCEA Government and Politics AS Level specification. It covers the Government and Politics of Northern Ireland and has been through a meticulous quality assurance process.
It considers the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, the amendments made in subsequent agreements (St Andrews, Hillsborough and Stormont House) and examines the functions and responsibilities of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the executive and various political parties.
Included in the book are tasks, practice essay titles, key terms and concepts, as well as a detailed glossary, index and examination preparation guide.
Areas explored include:
* The principles, content and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and the changes made to it by subsequent agreements.
* An analysis of the Assembly, including its three main functions (representation, legislation and scrutiny), and its independence from the Executive.
* A look at the Executive Office and the Executive as a whole – how it disappointed, how it can determine legislation and policy, the divisions within it, and its ability to function as a power-sharing government.
* An evaluation of the Northern Ireland political parties, including their role in government, their respective backgrounds, strategies and policies, and how they have changed since 1998.
Read more
£10.40 -
OCR Classical Civilisation A Level Components 31 and 34: Greek Religion and Democracy and the Athenians
This textbook supports OCR’s A-Level Classical Civilisation and is written for students taking Components 31 and 34 from the ‘Beliefs and Ideas’ Component Group. The ideal preparation for the final examinations, this book covers the two optionsGreek Religion and Democracy and the Athenians. Experts and experienced teachers present all the necessary content in a clear and accessible narrative. Helpful student features include study questions, further reading, and boxes focusing in on key people, events and terms.Read more
£12.70£14.20 -
On Politics
A magisterial, one-volume history of political thought from Herodotus to the present, Ancient Athens to modern democracy – from author and professor Alan Ryan
This is a book about the answers that historians, philosophers, theologians, practising politicians and would-be revolutionaries have given to one question: how should human beings best govern themselves?
Almost every modern government claims to be democratic; but is democracy really the best way of organising our political life? Can we manage our own affairs at all? Should we even try? In the west, do we actually live in democracies? In this extraordinary book Alan Ryan engages with the great thinkers of the past to show us how vividly their ideas speak to us in today’s uncertain world.
ALAN RYAN was born in London in 1940 and taught for many years at Oxford, where he was a Fellow of New College and Reader in Politics. He was Professor of Politics at Princeton from 1988 to 1996, when he returned to Oxford to become Warden of New College and Professor of Political Theory until his retirement in 2009. His previous books include The Philosophy of John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell: A Political Life and John Dewey and the High Tide of American Liberalism. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.
Reviews of On Politics:
‘An engaging and smart survey of major political thinkers … Through Ryan [they] speak directly to the present’ Mark Mazower, Prospect
‘Ryan’s book is a magnificent piece of work, clear (even when the ideas he’s exploring are obscure) and engaging (even when the theory in the original is forbidding) … anyone remotely interested in political theory will profit from reading or dipping into Ryan’s On Politics, whether this is their first acquaintance with the canon of political theory or whether they have been “Hobbing and Locking” for decades … It’s a remarkable experience’ Jeremy Waldron, New York Review of Books
‘Ambitiously and elegantly covers two and a half millennia of political thinking … despite covering huge intellectual terrain, [On Politics] a delight both when it explores detail and also when it draws conclusions of a broader perspective’ Justin Champion, BBC History Magazine
‘On Politics is crammed with smart observations and wise advice’ John Keane, Financial Times
‘An impressive achievement’ Economist
Read more
£12.30£14.20On Politics
£12.30£14.20 -
Out of Our Minds: What We Think and How We Came to Think It
‘Immensely learned and ambitious…seam-bursting eclecticism and polymathic brio… This is by any standards a significant book and its author deserves high praise.’Literary Review
To imagine – to see that which is not there – is the startling ability that has fuelled human development and innovation through the centuries. As a species we stand alone in our remarkable capacity to refashion the world after the pictures in our minds.
Traversing the realms of science, politics, religion, culture, philosophy and history, Felipe Fernández-Armesto reveals the thrilling and disquieting tales of our imaginative leaps. Through groundbreaking insights in cognitive science, he explores how and why we have ideas in the first place, providing a tantalising glimpse into who we are and what we might yet accomplish. Fernández-Armesto shows that bad ideas are often more influential than good ones; that the oldest recoverable thoughts include some of the best; that ideas of Western origin often issued from exchanges with the wider world; and that the pace of innovative thinking is under threat.
Read more
£0.90 -
Pearson Edexcel A level Politics: Covering the full A level in one book
This all-in-one textbook provides in-depth coverage of specification content and recent political developments and helps students to apply their knowledge through case studies, debates on key issues and practice questions.
– Includes all core and non-core political ideas, with key thinkers thoroughly integrated into the theory
– Provides complete guidance to the USA route of the specification
– Strengthens understanding by interweaving both historical context and contemporary examples, such as Brexit, into the text
– Builds confidence by highlighting key terms and explaining synoptic links between different topics in the specification
– Develops analysis and evaluation skills with ‘stretch and challenge’ activities
– Features practice questions with answer guidance onlineAvailable in print as Student Textbooks or in two digital formats:
Student eTextbooks are downloadable versions of the printed textbooks purchased on a copy-by-copy basis and allocated to the students in Dynamic Learning
Whiteboard eTextbooks are online, interactive versions of the textbooks for front-of-class teaching and lesson planningWe are seeking endorsement from Pearson Edexcel for the Student Textbook and Student eTextbook.
Read more
£28.40 -
Pearson Edexcel A-level Politics Student Guide 3: Political Ideas Second Edition
This Student Guide will help you to:
* Identify key content for the exams with our concise coverage of topics
* Avoid common pitfalls with clear definitions and exam tips throughout
* Reinforce your learning with bullet-list summaries at the end of each section
* Make links between topics with synoptic links highlighted throughout
* Test your knowledge with rapid-fire knowledge check questions and answers
* Find out what examiners are looking for with our Questions & Answers section, for the core political ideas, plus Anarchism, Feminism and NationalismRead more
£9.50 -
Perception and Misperception in International Po – New Edition (Center for International Affairs, Harvard University)
Since its original publication in 1976, Perception and Misperception in International Politics has become a landmark book in its field, hailed by the New York Times as “the seminal statement of principles underlying political psychology.” This new edition includes an extensive preface by the author reflecting on the book’s lasting impact and legacy, particularly in the application of cognitive psychology to political decision making, and brings that analysis up to date by discussing the relevant psychological research over the past forty years. Jervis describes the process of perception (for example, how decision makers learn from history) and then explores common forms of misperception (such as overestimating one’s influence). He then tests his ideas through a number of important events in international relations from nineteenth- and twentieth-century European history. Perception and Misperception in International Politics is essential for understanding international relations today.Read more
£21.90£23.80 -
Peril
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
THE NEW YORK TIMES NO 1 BESTSELLER
The storming of the Capitol on 6 January 2021 revealed the transition from President Trump to President Biden to be one of the most dangerous periods in American history, with the result of the election called into question by the sitting president.
But, as internationally bestselling author Bob Woodward and acclaimed reporter Robert Costa reveal for the first time, it was far more than just a domestic political crisis. At the highest level of the US military, secret action was taken to prevent Trump from possibly starting a war.
Woodward and Costa interviewed more than 200 people at the centre of the turmoil, resulting in a spellbinding and definitive portrait of a nation on the brink. They take readers deep inside the Trump White House, the Biden White House, the 2020 campaign, and the Pentagon and Congress, with vivid, eyewitness accounts of what really happened. Peril is supplemented throughout with never-before-seen material from secret orders, transcripts of confidential calls, diaries, emails, meeting notes and other personal and government records, making for an unparalleled history.It is also the first inside look at Biden’s presidency, revealing the background to his controversial decision to leave Afghanistan. He took office faced with the challenges of a lifetime: dealing with the continuing deadly pandemic and its crushing economic impact, all the while navigating a bitter and disabling partisan divide, and the hovering, dark shadow of the former president. ‘We have much to do in this winter of peril,’ Biden declared at his inauguration.
Peril is the extraordinary story of the end of one presidency and the beginning of another. The culmination of Bob Woodward’s bestselling trilogy on the Trump presidency, along with Fear and Rage, it is an essential read for anyone wanting to understand this tumultuous period.
Read more
£7.80£19.00Peril
£7.80£19.00 -
Political ideas for A Level: Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Feminism, Anarchism 2nd Edition
These Student’s Books will help students understand the core ideas and principles behind the political ideologies, and how they apply in practice to human nature, the state, society and the economy.
– Comprehensive coverage of the ideologies of Liberalism, Socialism, Conservatism, Socialism, Feminism and Anarchism
– Definitions of key terms and concepts to help clarify knowledge and understanding of political language
– Exam focus sections at the end of each chapter to test and develop understanding of key topics, offering practice for short and long essay questionsRead more
£14.30 -
Political Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction: 97 (Very Short Introductions)
This book introduces readers to the concepts of political philosophy. It starts by explaining why the subject is important and how it tackles basic ethical questions such as ‘how should we live together in society?’ It looks at political authority, the reasons why we need politics at all, the limitations of politics, and whether there are areas of life that shouldn’t be governed by politics. It explores the connections between political authority and justice, a constant theme in political philosophy, and the ways in which social justice can be used to regulate rather than destroy a market economy. David Miller discusses why nations are the natural units of government and whether the rise of multiculturalism and transnational co-operation will change this: will we ever see the formation of a world government?ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Read more
£7.10£8.50 -
Politics and the English Language (Penguin Modern Classics)
‘Politics and the English Language’ is widely considered Orwell’s most important essay on style. Style, for Orwell, was never simply a question of aesthetics; it was always inextricably linked to politics and to truth.’All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer.’Language is a political issue, and slovenly use of language and cliches make it easier for those in power to deliberately use misleading language to hide unpleasant political facts. Bad English, he believed, was a vehicle for oppressive ideology, and it is no accident that ‘Politics and the English Language’ was written after the close of World War II.Read more
£2.80 -
Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought (Princeton Classics): Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought – Expanded Edition: 23…
Politics and Vision is a landmark work by one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century. This is a significantly expanded edition of one of the greatest works of modern political theory. Sheldon Wolin’s Politics and Vision inspired and instructed two generations of political theorists after its appearance in 1960. Substantially expanded for republication in 2004, it is both a sweeping survey of Western political thought and a powerful account of contemporary predicaments of power and democracy. In lucid and compelling prose, Sheldon Wolin offers original, subtle, and often surprising interpretations of political theorists from Plato to Rawls. Situating them historically while sounding their depths, he critically engages their diverse accounts of politics, theory, power, justice, citizenship, and institutions. The new chapters, which show how thinkers have grappled with the immense possibilities and dangers of modern power, are themselves a major theoretical statement. They culminate in Wolin’s remarkable argument that the United States has invented a new political form, “inverted totalitarianism,” in which economic rather than political power is dangerously dominant. In this expanded edition, the book that helped to define political theory in the late twentieth century should energize, enlighten, and provoke generations of scholars to come. Wolin originally wrote Politics and Vision to challenge the idea that political analysis should consist simply of the neutral observation of objective reality. He argues that political thinkers must also rely on creative vision. Wolin shows that great theorists have been driven to shape politics to some vision of the Good that lies outside the existing political order. As he tells it, the history of theory is thus, in part, the story of changing assumptions about the Good. Acclaimed as a tour de force when it was first published, and a major scholarly event when the expanded edition appeared, Politics and Vision will instruct, inspire, and provoke for generations to come.Read more
£19.80£20.90 -
Politics of the Mind: Marxism and Mental Distress (2nd edition)
Mental distress has become one of the key “public issues of the 21st century”. This edition of Politics of the Mind: Marxism and Mental Distress looks at the link between the economic and political system under which we live ― capitalism ― and the enormously high levels of mental distress that we see in the world today.
A new introductory chapter explores the impact on mental health of the “multiple crises” of the system including the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, discusses the significance of new research that challenges the biomedical model and assesses the implications for mental health and mental health services of political developments since the book was first published in 2017.
Read more
£9.20£9.50 -
Politics UK
This revised and updated tenth edition of the bestselling textbook Politics UK is an indispensable introduction to British politics. It provides a thorough and accessible overview of the institutions and processes of British government, an excellent grounding in British political history and an incisive introduction to the issues and challenges facing Britain today.
This edition welcomes three brand new chapters – ‘Elites in the United Kingdom’, ‘Gender and British politics’ and ‘UK Immigration policy in hostile environment’ – alongside rigorously updated revised chapters. It delivers excellent coverage of contemporary events, with significant new material covering: the Johnson premiership and the national challenge of Covid-19, the end of the May premiership and the implementation of Brexit, the Labour Party’s transition from Corbyn to Starmer, infrastructure and innovation, ‘fake news’, populism and nationalism, the UK’s place in a post-Brexit world, climate change, social mobility and elite recruitment, devolution and regionalism, constitutional strain, the role of political advisers, abuse and incivility in politics and much more.
Other features of the new edition include:
- A wide range of illustrative material, boxes and case studies providing illuminating examples alongside the analysis.
- A comprehensive ‘who’s who’ of politics in the form of Profile boxes featuring key political figures.
- And another thing . . . pieces containing short articles on salient and pressing topics, written by distinguished commentators including Sir John Curtice, Sir Simon Jenkins, Andrew Rawnsley, Baroness Julie Smith of Newnham, and Philip Collins.
- Online interviews on the book’s website see notable figures from British political life discussing the pressing issues of today.
With chapters written by highly respected scholars in the field and contemporary articles on real-world politics from well-known political commentators, this textbook is an essential guide for all students of British politics.
Read more
£30.40£33.20Politics UK
£30.40£33.20 -
Politics, But Better: An A – Z Guide to Creating a More Hopeful Future
From the founder of Simple Politics comes a guide to rediscovering the heart of our democracy, reshaping our political system and making the UK a better place for all.
Strikes across the country. A prime minister resigning after just forty-four days. Accusations of bullying in the House of Commons. Our politics and our democracy appear to be fundamentally broken.
But that doesn’t mean that all hope is lost. Things can get better. There are solutions out there to the complex web of failure in which we’re currently entangled.
Politics, But Better will look at the very fabric of our system and what improvements can be made. Exploring twenty-six issues in UK politics, from A to Z – including censorship, elections, insults and U-turns – it clearly lays out the problems and challenges we face, and puts forward possible solutions. Looking at a variety of ideas and real-world examples, it will encourage us to rethink the fundamental ways we do things, to question the status quo, and to chart a path towards a more hopeful future.
Respect and understanding are at the heart of this book, promoting open debate, tolerance and compassion as the cornerstones of a reformed political landscape. Politics is about improving the world – and we can do better.
Read more
£1.90 -
Politics, Poverty and Belief: A Political Memoir
‘For the past half-century Frank Field has been an outstanding parliamentarian, social reformer and champion of the disadvantaged. He joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 and was expelled from it at the age of 78.’ -Brian & Rachel Griffiths
‘Frank Field is one of the most important, iconoclastic and remarkable politicians of his generation. This book is told with his Christian belief, regrets and all, and his trademark searing honesty.’ -Nick Timmins
In the increasingly dirty world of British politics, one man has stood out for unimpeachable integrity – the former Labour Member of Parliament for Birkenhead, Frank Field.
In this touching but also profound memoir, the veteran former Labour MP and social campaigner Frank Field reveals the poverty of his own childhood and the deep and lasting effect of his Christian socialism.
Field has spent his life fighting poverty in Britain, and has found allies on all sides of the political spectrum. In this book, Field talk about his activism, his foundational work with the Child Poverty Action Group and his work passing legislation for the Minimum Living Wage. He explains why he has dedicated his life to speaking out against the corruption of greed and power and writes with great alacrity about the titans of his political age, including Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. In the end, Field’s zeal for reform was too much for too many people, and, in 2015, he was deselected by his own local Labour party.
Politics, Poverty and Belief is an implicit indictment of modern British politics – the world of cash for questions, Partygate and all the rest – in which the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
Read more
£14.60£19.00Politics, Poverty and Belief: A Political Memoir
£14.60£19.00 -
Politics: A Complete Introduction: Teach Yourself
This is your go-to guide to politics
As the UK gears up for a snap general election on the back of a hotly contested and divisive referendum, there has never been a better time to discover more about politics and how it works.
Politics: A Complete Introduction explains everything you need to know, giving you a comprehensive and easy-to-understand introduction to a complex subject.
Inside you will learn about different political ideologies and systems, referendums, elections and electoral systems, political parties and party systems, protest, the media and politics, constitutions and human rights, what the courts do, and how the machinery of government is organised. It also covers the nation state in the modern world and international terrorism.
Politics: A Complete Introduction is a jargon-free guide that will get you informed, fast.
Read more
£3.80 -
Politics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
In this provocative but balanced essay, Kenneth Minogue discusses the development of politics from the ancient world to the twentieth century. He prompts us to consider why political systems evolve, how politics offers both power and order in our society, whether democracy is always a good thing, and what future politics may have in the twenty-first century.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Read more
£7.10£8.50 -
Politics: Ideas in Profile (Ideas in Profile – small books, big ideas)
Ideas in Profile: Small Introductions to Big Topics
In the first title of an exciting new series one of the world’s leading political scientists asks the big questions about politics: what is it, why we do we need it and where, in these turbulent times, is it heading? From the gap between rich and poor to the impact of social media, via Machiavelli, Hobbes and Weber, Runciman’s comprehensive short introduction is invaluable to those studying politics or those who want to know how life in Denmark became more comfortable than in Syria.
The Ideas in Profile series is what introductions can and should be. Concise, clear, relevant, entertaining, original and global in scope, Politics makes essential reading for anyone, from students to the general reader.
Read more
£7.20£8.50 -
Politics: The Basics
Now in its fifth edition, Politics: The Basics explores the systems, movements and issues at the cutting edge of modern politics. A highly successful introduction to the world of politics, it offers clear and concise coverage of a range of issues and addresses fundamental questions such as:
• Why does politics matter?
• Why obey the state?
• What are the key approaches to power?
• How are political decisions made?
• What are the current issues affecting governments worldwide?
Accessible in style and topical in content, the fifth edition has been fully restructured to reflect core issues, systems and movements that are at the centre of modern politics and international relations. Assuming no prior knowledge in politics, it is ideal reading for anyone approaching the study of politics for the first time.
Read more
£17.30£19.00Politics: The Basics
£17.30£19.00 -
Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1933-1945 (Cinema and Society)
A comprehensive analysis of Nazi film propaganda in its political, social and economic contexts. It considers more than 100 films, identifying those aspects of Nazi ideology that were concealed in the framework of popular entertainment under the direction of Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister.Read more
£16.10 -
Reconstruction Updated Edition: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
From the “preeminent historian of Reconstruction” (New York Times Book Review), the prize-winning classic work on the post-Civil War period that shaped modern America.
Eric Foner’s “masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history” (New Republic) redefined how the post-Civil War period was viewed.
Reconstruction chronicles the way in which Americans—black and white—responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. It addresses the ways in which the emancipated slaves’ quest for economic autonomy and equal citizenship shaped the political agenda of Reconstruction; the remodeling of Southern society and the place of planters, merchants, and small farmers within it; the evolution of racial attitudes and patterns of race relations; and the emergence of a national state possessing vastly expanded authority and committed, for a time, to the principle of equal rights for all Americans.
This “smart book of enormous strengths” (Boston Globe) remains the standard work on the wrenching post-Civil War period—an era whose legacy still reverberates in the United States today.
Read more
£13.70£18.00 -
Red Africa: Reclaiming Revolutionary Black Politics (Salvage Editions)
Red Africa makes the case for a revolutionary Black politics inspired by Marxist anti-colonial struggles in Africa. Kevin Ochieng Okoth revisits historical moments when Black radicalism was defined by international solidarity in the struggle against capitalist-imperialism, that together help us to navigate the complex histories of the Black radical tradition. Hechallenges common misconceptions about national liberation, showing that the horizon of national liberation was not limited to the nation-building projects of post-independence governments. While African socialists sought to distance themselves from Marxism and argued for a ‘third way’ socialism rooted in ‘traditional African culture’ the intellectual and political tradition Okoth calls ‘Red Africa’ showed that Marxism and Black radicalism were never incompatible.The revolutionary Black politics of Eduardo Mondlane, Amílcar Cabral, Walter Rodney and Andrée Blouin gesture toward a decolonised future that never materialised. We might yet build something new from the ruins of national liberation, something which clings onto the utopian promise of freedom and refuses to let go. Red Africa is not simply an exercise in nostalgia, it is a political project that hopes to salvage what remains of this tradition―which has been betrayed, violently suppressed, or erased―and to build from it a Black revolutionary politics capable of imagining new futures out of the uncertain present.
Read more
£7.20£8.50 -
Resistance: The Underground War in Europe, 1939-1945
*WINNER OF THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE 2023*
*A NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEAR*‘The best book about the subject I have ever read’ Max Hastings, Sunday Times
A sweeping history of occupation and resistance in war-torn Europe, from the acclaimed author of The Eagle Unbowed
Across the whole of Nazi-ruled Europe the experience of occupation was sharply varied. Some countries – such as Denmark – were within tight limits allowed to run themselves. Others – such as France – were constrained not only by military occupation but by open collaboration. In a historical moment when Nazi victory seemed permanent and irreversible, the question ‘why resist?’ was therefore augmented by ‘who was the enemy?’.
Resistance is an extraordinarily powerful, humane and haunting account of how and why all across Nazi-occupied Europe some people decided to resist the Third Reich. This could range from open partisan warfare in the occupied Soviet Union to dangerous acts of defiance in the Netherlands or Norway. Some of these resistance movements were entirely home-grown, others supported by the Allies.
Like no other book, Resistance shows the reader just how difficult such actions were. How could small bands of individuals undertake tasks which could lead not just to their own deaths but those of their families and their entire communities?
Filled with powerful and often little-known stories, Halik Kochanski’s major new book is a fascinating examination of the convoluted challenges faced by those prepared to resist the Germans, ordinary people who carried out exceptional acts of defiance and resistance.
‘A superb, myth-busting survey of the many ways in which the subjugated peoples of Europe tried to fight back’ Saul David, Daily Telegraph
Read more
£17.10£19.00Resistance: The Underground War in Europe, 1939-1945
£17.10£19.00 -
S.H.O.R.E.: The Ultimate Descent
The Club was the Board’s international affiliate and provided professional accountants from Asia with a networking forum in their adopted country, the United States. However, despite its fancy claims, the non-profit was not run transparently, forcing a young, energetic lady, Olive, to run her voice. She and her Like-Minded friends wanted transparency and fair treatment for all. Though supported by junior members, she was confronted by the patriarchal mindset that discourages women’s involvement in manly matters. She fought her way through to the top only to find the malice deep-rooted and highly exhausting for an honest individual.Read more
£3.10 -
SAS Forged in Hell: From Desert Rats to Dogs of War: The Mavericks who Made the SAS
A Waterstones Best History Book of 2023
The incredible true story of the SAS’ daring mission to liberate Europe
In the summer of 1943, the largest invasion fleet ever assembled sailed for fortress Europe, aiming to bulldoze its way onto Nazi shores. At its vanguard went a few hundred elite forces soldiers, the Royal Navy warship carrying them bearing the iconic winged dagger emblem on its prow, plus the motto ‘Who Dares Wins’.
Led by the legendary SAS commander Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne, these war-bitten, piratical raiders were tasked to do the impossible – to bludgeon their way through the most heavily defended enemy shoreline, so enabling the ensuing forces to follow on.
If they succeeded, it would mark the turning point in the war. If they failed, the consequences were unthinkable. Against all odds, outnumbered some fifty-to-one, and facing a ferocious series of cliffside defences, they would have to dare all as never before.
So begins the incredible true story of the SAS’s mission to liberate Europe.
Action-packed and filled with heroic endeavour, SAS Forged in Hell is breath-taking combat writing at its best, in true Damien Lewis style.
Read more
£11.00£22.00 -
SAS Great Escapes Two: Six Untold Epic Escapes Made by World War Two Heroes
‘Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller’ Lee Child
SAS Great Escapes Two recounts the hitherto untold stories of six of the most dramatic and daring escapes executed by the world’s most famous fighting force during WWII. From the very earliest SAS missions to the push into Nazi-occupied Europe, they cover some of the key figures in the Regiment, including its founder, David Stirling, plus other lesser-known heroes.
With each story comes an edge-of-the-seat, rollercoaster ride in classic Damien Lewis fashion, as readers are plunged into the escapees’ experiences – sharing their most terrifying yet inspiring moments. These stunning accounts of survival beggar belief, revealing nerve-racking bluff and deception, knife-edge encounters with enemy hunter forces hellbent on wreaking vengeance and murder, but also incredible acts of mercy and kindness from those who risk all to help the escapees on their way.
Each tale of breath-taking derring-do reveals how necessity really is the mother of all invention, as with every step and at every juncture these fugitives defied fate, snatching survival and freedom from the jaws of the enemy, and all the horrors that would have followed capture.
Damien Lewis has worked closely with the families of those portrayed, accessing wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to relate how the men of the SAS crossed blazing deserts, evaded enemy hunter forces and escaped through hostile lands, battling against seemingly insurmountable odds. But most of all, these uplifting tales of endurance beyond measure showcase the triumph of the human spirit and the will to survive.
‘Damien Lewis paints a uniquely vivid picture of the wartime SAS. Packed with detail, this fresh and dynamic book brings us as close to its remarkable members as we are ever likely to get.’ Joshua Levine, author of
Dunkirk‘In these days when we are told to be scared of everything it is a relief to read of steely nerves and cold courage. Damien Lewis has collected examples of exactly these qualities from World War II and they are all thrillers, to be read with pleasure – and a bit of nostalgia!’ Frederick Forsyth
‘The fund of SAS escapes turns out to be too big for one book, and in Damien Lewis there is a writer of rare narrative gifts able to bring alive these epic stories for us today’ Mark Urban
‘An astonishing book: a collection of truly riveting stories of bravery, all brilliantly told. In terms of sheer drama and audacity, SAS: Great Escapes Two goes where no fiction writer would dare venture’ Alex Gerlis, author of Agent in the Shadows
Read more
£10.50£20.90 -
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed (Veritas Paperbacks)
“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”―John Gray, New York Times Book Review
“A powerful, and in many insightful, explanation as to why grandiose programs of social reform, not to mention revolution, so often end in tragedy. . . . An important critique of visionary state planning.”―Robert Heilbroner, Lingua FrancaHailed as “a magisterial critique of top-down social planning” by the New York Times, this essential work analyzes disasters from Russia to Tanzania to uncover why states so often fail―sometimes catastrophically―in grand efforts to engineer their society or their environment, and uncovers the conditions common to all such planning disasters.
“Beautifully written, this book calls into sharp relief the nature of the world we now inhabit.”―New Yorker
“A tour de force.”― Charles Tilly, Columbia UniversityThe Institution for Social and Policy Studies
Read more
£12.10£14.20 -
Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars
Sing As We Go is an astonishingly ambitious overview of the political, social and cultural history of the country from 1919 to 1939.
It explores and explains the politics of the period, and puts such moments of national turmoil as the General Strike of 1926 and the Abdication Crisis of 1936 under the microscope. It offers pen portraits of the era’s most significant figures. It traces the changing face of Britain as cars made their first mass appearance, the suburbs sprawled, and radio and cinema became the means of mass entertainment. And it probes the deep divisions that split the nation: between the haves and have-nots, between warring ideological factions, and between those who promoted accommodation with fascism in Europe and those who bitterly opposed it.
__________________________________________
Praise for the series:‘Scholarly, objective and extremely well written. A masterclass . . . Heffer’s eye for the telling detail is evident on almost every page.’ Andrew Roberts, 5*, Telegraph
‘Gloriously rich and spirited . . . colourful, character driven history.’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times
‘Enlightening . . . Robust opinion, an eye for telling detail and a gift for bringing historical figures alive.’
History Books of the Year, Daily MailRead more
£27.10£33.30Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars
£27.10£33.30 -
Social Warming: How Social Media Polarises Us All
‘Witty, rigorous, and as urgent as a fire alarm’ Dorian Lynskey
‘Cooly prosecutorial’ Guardian
Nobody meant for this to happen.
Facebook didn’t mean to facilitate a genocide.
Twitter didn’t want to be used to harass women.
YouTube never planned to radicalise young men.
But with billions of users, these platforms need only tweak their algorithms to generate more ‘engagement’. In so doing, they bring unrest to previously settled communities and erode our relationships.
Social warming has happened gradually – as a by-product of our preposterously convenient digital existence. But the gradual deterioration of our attitudes and behaviour on- and offline – this vicious cycle of anger and outrage – is real. And it can be corrected. Here’s how.
Read more
£9.60£10.40 -
The 48 Laws Of Power: Robert Greene (The Modern Machiavellian Robert Greene)
THE MILLION COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
‘If power is your ultimate goal, this is the book you need’ The Times
Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distils three thousand years of the history of power into forty-eight well-explicated laws. As attention-grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers.
Some laws require prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), some stealth (“Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions”), and some the total absence of mercy (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”), but like it or not, all have applications in real-life situations.
Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissenger, P T Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded – or been victimised by – power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing or defending against ultimate control.
Read more
£15.99£18.99 -
The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southest Asia: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)
For two thousand years the disparate groups that now reside in Zomia (a mountainous region the size of Europe that consists of portions of seven Asian countries) have fled the projects of the organized state societies that surround them – slavery, conscription, taxes, corvée labour, epidemics and warfare. This book, essentially an anarchist history, is the first-ever examination of the huge literature on state-making whose author evaluates why people would deliberately and reactively remain stateless. Among the strategies employed by the people of Zomia to remain stateless are physical dispersion in rugged terrain; agricultural practices that enhance mobility; pliable ethnic identities; devotion to prophetic, millenarian leaders; and maintenance of a largely oral culture that allows them to reinvent their histories and genealogies as they move between and around states. In accessible language, James Scott – recognized worldwide as an eminent authority in Southeast Asian, peasant, and agrarian studies – tells the story of the peoples of Zomia and their unlikely odyssey in search of self-determination. He redefines our views on Asian politics, history, demographics, and even our fundamental ideas about what constitutes civilization, and challenges us with a radically different approach to history that presents events from the perspective of stateless peoples and redefines state-making as a form of internal colonialism. This new perspective requires a radical reevaluation of the civilizational narratives of the lowland states. Scotts work on Zomia represents a new way to think of area studies that will be applicable to other runaway, fugitive communities, be they Gypsies, Cossacks, tribes fleeing slave raiders, Marsh Arabs, or San-Bushmen. Chosen as A Best Book of 2009, Jesse Walker, managing editor, Reason.Read more
£19.00 -
The Boy From Block 66: A WW2 Jewish Holocaust Survival True Story (Heroic Children of World War II)
He has endured more than any child ever should, but now he must survive Block 66.January, 1945. 14-year-old Moshe Kessler steps off the train at Buchenwald concentration camp. Having endured the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, lost touch with his entire family, and survived the death march in the freezing European winter, he has seen more than his share of tragedy.
Moshe knows only one thing about Buchenwald. Everyone knows it.
If you want to survive, you have to get to Block 66.
The Germans are cruel and determined – but they are not prepared for Buchenwald’s secret resistance, which rises up with one mission only: to protect the camp’s children from harm.
This is the incredible true story of Moshe Kessler and Block 66 – the children’s block that was at the forefront of one of the most shocking and inspiring stories of Holocaust survival.
Read more
£12.30 -
The Boy From Block 66: A WW2 Jewish Holocaust Survival True Story (Heroic Children of World War II)
He has endured more than any child ever should, but now he must survive Block 66.January, 1945. 14-year-old Moshe Kessler steps off the train at Buchenwald concentration camp. Having endured the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, lost touch with his entire family, and survived the death march in the freezing European winter, he has seen more than his share of tragedy.
Moshe knows only one thing about Buchenwald. Everyone knows it.
If you want to survive, you have to get to Block 66.
The Germans are cruel and determined – but they are not prepared for Buchenwald’s secret resistance, which rises up with one mission only: to protect the camp’s children from harm.
This is the incredible true story of Moshe Kessler and Block 66 – the children’s block that was at the forefront of one of the most shocking and inspiring stories of Holocaust survival.
Read more
£12.30 -
The Captive Mind (Penguin Modern Classics)
Written in Paris in the early 1950s, this book created instant controversy in its analysis of modern society that had allowed itself to be hypnotized by socio-political doctrines, and to accept totalitarian terror on the strength of a hypothetical future.Read more
£9.80£12.30The Captive Mind (Penguin Modern Classics)
£9.80£12.30 -
The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University
An inside view of Chinese academia and what it reveals about China’s political system
On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China’s history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China’s political system. It wasn’t all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell’s post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today.
Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong’s drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What’s wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China’s political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism.
Read more
£17.70£20.90
