In the Cold War era that dominated the second half of the twentieth century, nobody envisaged that the collapse of the Soviet Union would come from within, still less that it would happen meekly, without global conflagration.In this brilliantly compact, original, engaging book, Stephen Kotkin shows that the Soviet collapse resulted not from military competition but, ironically, from the dynamism of Communist ideology, the long-held dream for "socialism with a human face." The neo-liberal reforms in post-Soviet Russia never took place, nor could they have, given the Soviet-era inheritance in the social, political, and economic landscape. Kotkin takes us deep into post-Stalin Soviet society and institutions, into the everyday hopes and secret political intrigues that affected 285 million people, before and after 1991. He conveys the high drama of a superpower falling apart while armed to the teeth with millions of loyal troops and tens of thousands of weapons of mass destruction. Armageddon Averted vividly demonstrates the overriding importance of history, individual ambition, geopolitics, and institutions, and deftly draws out contemporary Russia's contradictory predicament. --

The first book that explains how to open to the immensity of living with death—and how participating fully in life is the perfect preparation for whatever may come next. In Who Dies?, the Levines provide calm compassion rather than the frightening melodrama of death.

Edited by Stephen Shore, author of Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Ask and Tell: Self-Advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum aims to help people with autism effectively self-advocate in their pursuit of independent, productive, and fulfilling lives. Ask and Tell is unique by being the first book to speak to the twin issues of self-advocacy and disclosure for people with autism and by consisting exclusively including the cover art and the preface by Temple Grandin of contributions by those on the autism spectrum for persons on the spectrum.

In Bestiary, Stephen Mitchell has collected animal poems from many ages and many cultures. He includes excerpts from ancient masterpieces like "The Hymn to the Sun" by Pharaoh Amen-hotep IV, The Book of Job, and The Book of Psalms; haiku by Basho, Buson, and Issa; poems by Milton and Smart, Blake and Burns, Whitman and Emily Dickenson, Hardy and Hopkins... This is a gook of passionate and humorous encounters with the vibrant world of animals.

“I love The First Christmas . What a charming way Stephen Mitchell has found to tell my favorite story of all, the Nativity, character by character (I love the donkey and the ox), with wise and thrilling interludes about God, reality, truth.” –Anne Lamott In The First Christmas , Stephen Mitchell brings the Nativity story to vivid life as never before. A narrative that is only sketched out in two Gospels becomes fully realized here with nuanced characters and a setting that reflects the culture of the time. Mitchell has suffused the birth of Jesus with a sense of beauty that will delight and astonish readers. In this version, we see the world through the eyes of a Whitmanesque ox and a visionary donkey, starry-eyed shepherds and Zen-like wise men, each of them providing a unique perspective on a scene that is, in Western culture, the central symbol for good tidings of great joy. Rather than superimposing later Christian concepts onto the Annunciation and Nativity scenes, he imagines Mary and Joseph experiencing the angelic message as a young Jewish woman and man living in the year 4 bce might have experienced it, with terror, dismay, and ultimate acceptance. In this context, their yes becomes an act of great moral courage. Readers of every background will be enchanted by this startlingly beautiful reimagining of the Christmas tale.

About 80 millennia ago, out of one major exodus by migratory human ancestors from Africa—from Eritrea to Yemen (then to India and Australia, and eventually to Europe)—was the entire non-African world in all its racial and cultural diversity ultimately peopled; and to one prehistoric woman in Africa 150,000 years ago, all the peoples of the world can trace their genetic origin. So argues Stephen Oppenheimer in a groundbreaking volume that has stirred heated controversy among authorities in geology, linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology. Thoroughly researched and meticulously reasoned, with dramatic evidence garnered from recent advances in the field of genetics through DNA analysis, The Real Eve traces the evolution of modern humankind out of a common African ancestry—for again and again, Oppenheimer's extensive genealogical research, based on our gender-specific so-called Adam and Eve genes, has led him straight back to Africa. His conclusions have placed him in direct opposition to multiregionalists, who maintain that archaic human populations evolved locally, and have unsettled many long-established anthropological assumptions and cultural prejudices to provide a fresh perspective on the nature of the human destiny that all of us on planet Earth share. Color photographs are featured in this fascinating story of our human beginnings.

The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University work to increase knowledge of the cultures, histories, environment, and contemporary affairs of Latin America; foster cooperation and understanding among the people of the Americas; and contribute to democracy, social progress, and sustainable development throughout the hemisphere. Book jacket.

"A selection of lyrics from the musicals of the award-winning Stephen Sondheim, in the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets series"--

A delightful collection from legendary character actor Stephen Tobolowsky—who currently appears on The Goldbergs , HBO’s Silicon Valley , and the serial podcast The Tobolowsky Files — “a series of true stories that wrestle with a big idea: how belief shapes our lives. Funny, smart, and moving, this is a wonderful account of our relationship with the unknowable” (Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin ). In My Adventures with God , Stephen Tobolowsky explores the idea that most people’s lives seem to fit into the template of the Old Testament. We all have powerful creation myths: tales of our childhood and family, our first battles won and lost. It is our Genesis. Then, like in the Book of Exodus , we go into slavery. Rather than building pyramids, we lose ourselves in fear and ambition—in first loves, first jobs, too many dreams mixed with too much beer. We eventually become free, only to wander in the wilderness. At some point we stop and proclaim to the universe who we are. This is our Leviticus moment. We reconcile what we thought we would be with what we have become. We often attempt a mid-course correction. Then, as in the Book of Numbers, we are shaped by mortality as we bear the loss of family and friends. Finally, we retell our stories to our children hoping to make sense of the journey, like Moses did in Deuteronomy. Tobolowsky’s stories tell of a boy growing up in the wilds of Texas, finding and losing love, losing and finding himself—all told through the prism of the Torah and Talmud, mixed with insights from science, and refined through a child’s sense of wonder. My Adventures with God is a “fast-paced, precise, wide-ranging, and impressive book draws on the I Ching, Talmud, Einstein, Grimms’ Fairy Tales , and reruns of SportsCenter to create counterpoints when discussing his life of faith. This is a well-told, must-read…for anyone interested in a comedic adventure with the divine” ( Publishers Weekly ).

Through his pioneering work in science, technology and language design, Stephen Wolfram has developed his own signature way of thinking about an impressive range of subjects. From science consulting for a Hollywood movie, solving problems of AI ethics, hunting for the source of an unusual polyhedron, communicating with extraterrestrials, to finding the fundamental theory of physics and exploring the digits of pi, Adventures of a Computational Explorer captures the infectious energy and curiosity of one of the great pioneers of the computational world.

In the 1980s, writer Steve Gerber was embroiled in a lawsuit against Marvel Comics over ownership of his creation Howard The Duck. To raise funds for legal fees, Gerber asked Jack Kirby to contribute to a benefit comic titled Destroyer Duck. Without hesitation, Kirby (who was in his own dispute with Marvel at the time) donated his services for the first issue, and the duo took aim at their former employer in an outrageous five-issue run. With biting satire and guns blazing, Duke "Destroyer" Duck battled the thinly veiled Godcorp (whose infamous credo was "Grab it all! Own it all! Drain it all!"), its evil leader Ned Packer and the (literally) spineless Booster Cogburn, Medea (a parody of Daredevil's Elektra), and more! Now, all five Gerber/Kirby issues are collected--but relettered and reproduced from JACK'S unbridled, uninked pencil art! Also included are select examples of Alfredo Alcala's unique inking style over Kirby on the original issues, Gerber's script pages, an historical Introduction by Mark Evanier (co-editor of the original 1980s issues), and an Afterword by Buzz Dixon (who continued the series after Gerber)! Discover all the hidden jabs you missed when Destroyer Duck was first published, and experience page after page of Kirby's raw pencil art!

When American mayors start a campaign to ban handguns, Otis Cogsworth, CEO of Cogsworth International Arms worries about the effects on his company. He convinces an Arkansas congressman to introduce the 'American Freedom from Fear Act': a law mandating that every American must own a gun. In tiny rural Asabogue, Mayor Lois Leibowitz passes an ordinance to ban firearms. But Otis Cogsworth's holiday mansion sits nearby. Otis orchestrates a recall election against Lois. Asabogue resident Jack Steele, a has-been action star not unlike Steven Seagal, runs against her and brings in the heavy artillery of American politics. Thousands of pro-gun militants armed to the teeth, and their opponents, descend on Asabogue. The village becomes a war zone. Meanwhile, Washington politicians and a cowardly President are caught between a mighty gun lobby and the absurdity of every American man, woman and child carrying a gun. What ensues is a hilarious indictment of American politics, whose author knows from bitter experience how sensible laws almost never get passed by Congress.

When American mayors start a campaign to ban handguns, Otis Cogsworth, CEO of Cogsworth International Arms worries about the effects on his company. He convinces an Arkansas congressman to introduce the 'American Freedom from Fear Act': a law mandating that every American must own a gun. In tiny rural Asabogue, Mayor Lois Leibowitz passes an ordinance to ban firearms. But Otis Cogsworth's holiday mansion sits nearby. Otis orchestrates a recall election against Lois. Asabogue resident Jack Steele, a has-been action star not unlike Steven Seagal, runs against her and brings in the heavy artillery of American politics. Thousands of pro-gun militants armed to the teeth, and their opponents, descend on Asabogue. The village becomes a war zone. Meanwhile, Washington politicians and a cowardly President are caught between a mighty gun lobby and the absurdity of every American man, woman and child carrying a gun. What ensues is a hilarious indictment of American politics, whose author knows from bitter experience how sensible laws almost never get passed by Congress.

It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.

Collects MARAUDERS (2022) #6-10. As A.X.E. makes waves, the Marauders hold on for survival! The Progenitor has risen, and - like the rest of the world - the crew will face judgment! Who among them was able to justify their existence? Who among them failed? And just how excited is Orchis for a chance to scapegoat mutants for Earth's brush with Celestial destruction? Plus- Captain Kate Pryde promised to help mutants in need, no matter where they are or when. But can the Marauders rescue an entire civilization in the past without erasing the future? Perhaps with an assist from one of the greatest X-Men of 2099?! When the Threshold Three are revealed and take their place in Krakoa, the shocking secrets of the first mutants may upend all of history! All this...and Detective Lockheed.

A surprising, enlightening series of conversations that shed new light on the music and career of "our greatest living composer" (New York Times) Steve Reich is a living legend in the world of contemporary classical music. As a leader of the minimalist movement in the 1960s, his works have become central to the musical landscape worldwide, influencing generations of younger musicians, choreographers and visual artists. He has explored non-Western music and American vernacular music from jazz to rock, as well as groundbreaking music and video pieces. He toured the world with his own ensemble and his compositions are performed internationally by major orchestras and ensembles. Now Reich sits down with past collaborators, fellow composers and musicians as well as visual artists influenced by his work to reflect on his prolific career as a composer as well as the music that inspired him and that has been inspired by him, including: David Lang Brian Eno Richard Serra Michael Gordon Michael Tilson Thomas Russell Hartenberger Robert Hurwitz Stephen Sondheim Jonny Greenwood David Harrington Elizabeth Lim-Dutton David Robertson Micaela Haslam Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker Julia Wolfe Nico Muhly Beryl Korot Colin Currie Brad Lubman

Harry Stoner could sell anything. He could sell the public his new line of dresses year after year. He could sell the big store buyers his design in return for such bonuses as the luscious hooker Margo. He could sell his wife on the idea he was faithful, and a teenaged playmate on the idea he was hip. Then came the day when Harry Stoner's empire of fabric and flesh began to fall apart, and Harry had nothing left to sell - except what was left of himself.