NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An urgent argument that America and other democracies are in peril because they have lost the will to defend the values and institutions that sustain freedom and prosperity. Now updated with a new preface! “Epic and debate-shifting.”—David Brooks, New York Times Only once in the last 250,000 years have humans stumbled upon a way to lift ourselves out of the endless cycle of poverty, hunger, and war that defines most of history. If democracy, individualism, and the free market were humankind’s destiny, they should have appeared and taken hold a bit earlier in the evolutionary record. The emergence of freedom and prosperity was nothing short of a miracle. As Americans we are doubly blessed, because the radical ideas that made the miracle possible were written not just into the Constitution but in our hearts, laying the groundwork for our uniquely prosperous society. Those ideas are: • Our rights come from God, not from the government. • The government belongs to us; we do not belong to it. • The individual is sovereign. We are all captains of our own souls, not bound by the circumstances of our birth. • The fruits of our labors belong to us. In the last few decades, these political virtues have been turned into vices. As we are increasingly taught to view our traditions as a system of oppression, exploitation, and privilege, the principles of liberty and the rule of law are under attack from left and right. For the West to survive, we must renew our sense of gratitude for what our civilization has given us and rediscover the ideals and habits of the heart that led us out of the bloody muck of the past—or back to the muck we will go.

Historian Eric Foner chronicles the way in which Americans -- black and white -- responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. He addresses the quest of emancipated slaves searching for economic autonomy and equal citizenship, and describes the remodeling of Southern society, 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.

"The Nixon Effect examines the 37th president's political legacy in broad-ranging ways that make clear, for the first time, the breadth and duration of his influence on American political life. The book argues that Nixon is the key political figure in postwar American politics in multiple ways, some barely acknowledged until now. His legacy includes a generational shift in the ideological orientations of both the Republican and Democratic parties; the Nixon influence, both intentional and unintentional, was to push both parties further out to their ideological poles. So stark was Nixon's influence on party identities that it shaped the hardened partisan polarization in Washington today and the evolution of what has come to be called Red and Blue America, "--Amazon.com.

"When most people think of the history of modern conservatism, they think of Ronald Reagan, with his politics and policies front and center. Yet this narrow view of a movement obscures the whole, leaving many to question: How did Donald Trump win the presidency? And what is the future of the Republican party? In The Right, distinguished journalist Matthew Continetti shifts this lens, arguing that an understanding of the history of the pre-Reagan right is crucial to understanding the past and determining the future of the movement. The Right is a sweeping historical account of American conservatism's evolution, from the beginning of the Progressive Era through the present. It tells the story of how conservatism in the United States began as networks of intellectuals, often acting in concert with political figures, developed a critique of Progressivism and of New Deal liberalism, and institutionalized this vision in magazines, think tanks, nonprofits, and political entities and campaigns. Over time, these thinkers attracted new adherents, including former Democrats and evangelical Christians, and built up a conservative superstructure of organizations and media outlets that turned ideas into policy. With the end of the Cold War, this conservative superstructure found itself under attack from dissidents for whom it was too globalist, too corporate, and too open to unrestricted immigration. The superstructure held for two decades but buckled under the pressures of the second Iraq War and the global financial crisis of 2008. Just as the Vietnam War ended the reign of Cold War liberals in the Democratic Party, the Iraq War ended the reign of post-Cold War conservatives in the Republican Party, and the right began to resemble other national populist movements around the world. Drawing out the tensions between conservatism and populism, and between the conservative desire for mainstream acceptance and the pull of extremism, Continetti argues that the more one studies conservatism's past, the more one becomes convinced of its future. Deeply researched and brilliantly told, The Right is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the American right"--

"Barack Obama has called Jason Kander the future of the Democratic Party. A former Army Captain who served in Afghanistan, Kander was the first millennial ever elected to statewide office. Today, he is the founder and president of Let America Vote, and a bold new voice in American politics. In OUTSIDE THE WIRE, Jason Kander writes candidly about his life, from joining the military following 9/11, to launching his first political campaign, to becoming the next step in the evolution of the Democratic Party following the 2016 presidential election. Kander's signature outspoken voice is on full display as he guides readers through his own journey from soldier to politician, detailing -- often with a dose of humor -- the lessons he's learned along the way. OUTSIDE THE WIRE is an inspiring and entertaining argument for a life of service, as well as a hopeful vision of America's future as seen through the eyes of one of its most dedicated citizens." -- Publisher's annotation.

More than two decades have passed since prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995, yet he remains an unusually intriguing and admired modern leader. A native-born Israeli, Rabin became an inextricable part of his nation's pre-state history and subsequent evolution. This revealing account of his life, character, and contributions draws not only on original research but also on the author's recollections as one of Rabin's closest aides.

"From an award-winning journalist, a perceptive study of how Israel's actions, which run counter to the traditional historical values of Judaism, are putting Jewish people worldwide in an increasingly untenable position. More than a decade ago, the historian Tony Judt considered whether the behavior of Israel was becoming not only "bad for Israel itself" but also, on a wider scale, "bad for the Jews." Under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, this issue has grown ever more urgent. In The State of Israel vs. the Jews, veteran journalist Sylvain Cypel addresses it in depth, exploring Israel's rightward shift on the international scene and with regard to the diaspora. Cypel reviews the little-known details of the military occupation of Palestinian territory, the mindset of ethnic superiority that reigns in the midst of an Israeli "colonial camp" that is largely in the majority, and the adoption of new laws, the most serious of which establishes two-tier citizenship between Jews and non-Jews. He shows how Israel has aligned itself with authoritarian regimes and adopted the practices of a security state, including the use of technologies such as the software that enabled the tracking and, ultimately, the assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Lastly, The State of Israel vs. the Jews examines the impact of Israel's evolution in recent years on the two main communities of the Jewish diaspora, in France and the United States, considering how and why public figures in each differ in their approaches"--

In the period from 1881 to 1917 socialist movements flourished in every major centre of Russian Jewish life, but, despite common foundations, there was often profound and bitter disagreement between them. This book describes the formation and evolution of these movements, which were at once united by a powerful vision and sundered by the contradictions of practical politics.

This intensely interesting—and troubling—book is the product of a lifetime of reflection and study of democracy. In it, John Lukacs addresses the questions of how our democracy has changed and why we have become vulnerable to the shallowest possible demagoguery. Lukacs contrasts the political systems, movements, and ideologies that have bedeviled the twentieth century: democracy, Liberalism, nationalism, fascism, Bolshevism, National Socialism, populism. Reflecting on American democracy, Lukacs describes its evolution from the eighteenth century to its current form—a dangerous and possibly irreversible populism. This involves, among other things, the predominance of popular sentiment over what used to be public opinion. This devolution has happened through the gigantic machinery of publicity, substituting propaganda—and entertainment—for knowledge, and ideology for a sense of history. It is a kind of populism that relies on nationalism and militarism to hold society together. Lukacs's observations are original, biting, timely, sure to inspire lively debate about the precarious state of American democracy today.

Of all the players in the planning and evolution of the Bush Administration's war on terrorism, few were more integral--or more controversial--than Douglas Feith, the chief strategist on Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon policy team. A highly influential international policy analyst for more than a quarter century, Feith worked closely with Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Vice President Cheney, and President Bush in defining the U.S. response to the attacks of 9/11--from the successful war on Afghanistan to the more challenging invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. Now, in this candid and revealing memoir, Feith--a charter member of the neoconservative movement and an architect of the administration's preventive strategy in the war on terrorism--offers the most in-depth and authoritative account yet of the Pentagon's evolving stance during one of the most controversial eras of American history. Drawing upon a unique trove of documents and records, this extraordinary chronicle will put the reader in the room for scores of previously unreported senior-level meetings, showing how hundreds of critical decisions were made in defense of American interests during and after the crisis of 9/11--decisions both successful and controversial. Where journalists like Bob Woodward could only speculate, Feith is the first inside player to reveal the inner workings of the Pentagon, at a time when history hung in the balance.--From publisher description.

Wolfe mines the bedrock of the liberal tradition, explaining how Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill, John Dewey, and other celebrated minds helped shape liberalism's central philosophy. Wolfe also examines those who have challenged liberalism since its inception, from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to modern conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and evolutionary theorists such as Richard Dawkins. Drawing on both the inspiration and insights of seminal works such as John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments, Kant's essay "What is Enlightenment?," and Mill's On Liberty and The Subjection of Women, Wolfe ambitiously sets out to define what it truly means to be a liberal. He analyzes and applauds liberalism's capacious conception of human nature, belief that people outweigh ideology, passion for social justice, faith in reason and intellectual openness, and respect for individualism. And we see how the liberal tradition can influence and illuminate contemporary debates on immigration, abortion, executive power, religious freedom, and free speech. But Wolfe also makes it clear that before liberalism can be successfully applied to today's problems, it needs to be recovered, understood, and embraced--not just by Americans but by all modern people--as the most beneficial way to live in our complex modern world.--From publisher description.

Brandeis University is the United States' only Jewish-sponsored nonsectarian university, and while only being established after World War II, it has risen to become one of the most respected universities in the nation. The faculty and alumni of the university have made exceptional contributions to myriad disciplines, but they have played a surprising formidable role in American politics. Stephen J. Whitfield makes the case for the pertinence of Brandeis University in understanding the vicissitudes of American liberalism since the mid-twentieth century. Founded to serve as a refuge for qualified professors and students haunted by academic antisemitism, Brandeis University attracted those who generally envisioned the republic as worthy of betterment. Whether as liberals or as radicals, figures associated with the university typically adopted a critical stance toward American society and sometimes acted upon their reformist or militant beliefs. This volume is not an institutional history, but instead shows how one university, over the course of seven decades, employed and taught remarkable men and women who belong in our accounts of the evolution of American politics, especially on the left. In vivid prose, Whitfield invites readers to appreciate a singular case of the linkage of political influence with the fate of a particular university in modern America.

The speed with which Algeria has gone from symbol of revolutionary socialism to Islamic battleground has confounded most observers. Charting Algeria's political evolution from the turn of the century to the present, Robert Malley explores the historical and intellectual underpinnings of the current crisis. His analysis helps makes sense of the civil war that is tearing Algeria apart. Using contemporary Algerian politics as a case study of the intellectual movement labeled "Third Worldism," Malley's thoughtful analysis also elucidates the broader transformations affecting countries of the Third World that once embraced ideologies of state-centered radical change. Malley focuses on the interplay between politics, economics, and ideology to explain the rise, essential components, and precipitous decline of Third Worldism—a movement that attracted scholars and activists in both the developed and underdeveloped worlds from the mid 1950s to the mid 1980s. He relates the disillusionment with Third Worldism to the growing appeal in the Third World of economic liberalism, versions of political pluralism, and ideological movements that threaten the very existence of the central state. At a time when the public increasingly is associating countries of the less developed world with Islamism, tribalism, and ethnic warfare, The Call from Algeria challenges our assumptions and offers a new perspective.

“As this book, which is greater than the sum of its brilliant parts makes clear, Katha Pollitt, who is famously a feminist, is also a humorist, a moralist and a most hilarious, wise, and incisive observer.” –Victor Navasky, author of A Matter of Opinion Through presidential administrations Democratic and Republican, Katha Pollitt has observed and exposed the inconsistencies and illogic of those who stand in the way of progress solely to hold on to their power. In defense of human rights and equality, she assails the corrupt and educates the misguided with compassion, Swiftian wit, and complete literary authority. In this compelling collection, Pollitt skewers one hypocrite after another. She suggests, for example, that creationists be permitted to oppose the teaching of evolution only so long as they agree to forgo the benefits of the theory–such as flu vaccines. She gently wonders if those who denounced the decision to allow Terri Schiavo to die in peace would themselves be satisfied to be video-diagnosed by Senator Bill Frist. And in the title essay about fundamentalists’ antagonism toward sex education and STD prevention, she asks, “What is it with these right-wing Christians? Faced with a choice between sex and death, they choose death every time.” Pollitt is one of the most eloquent and persuasive voices in American political conversation of this or any other era, and Virginity or Death! Is a marvelous demonstration of her keen insight, mordant humor, and sense of justice. “Katha Pollitt has long and rightly been hailed for her brilliance, wit, and great insight into politics, social issues, and women’s rights. As with all of her work, I am enormously grateful for Virginity or Death!, and also deeply jealous.” –Anne Lamott, author of Traveling Mercies

The 2008 presidential nominations were unprecedented in many ways. Marking another step in the democratization of the selection process and a surprising loss of control by party elites, the contests in both parties were unusually competitive and the outcomes belied the predictions of experts. This book offers a fresh look at the role of parties, the constraints of campaign finance, the status of front-runners, and the significance of rules, race, and gender in the post-reform era. In this volume, leading scholars assess the state of the process with original research about money, scheduling, superdelegates, and the role of race and gender in voting. Original analyses show how changes in campaign finance and the scheduling of primaries and caucuses helped determined the outcomes in both parties. Race, once thought of as a handicap, proved an asset for the Obama campaign. 2008 marked another milestone in the democratization of the nominations process with expanded participation by rank and file voters in donating money, voting, and using the Internet. This timely book provides a glimpse into the future of party nominations and elections.

Leading Soviet commentator Vladimir Pozner reflects on his nation from Stalin to perestroika, the evolution of the Communist party, past "cultural genocide," and the world's emergence from Cold War thinking

"Stanley Black and Alvaro Jaspe offer a fresh look at Spain's dynamic transition from pariah state to key European Union player. The book covers the historical, political, cultural and social events that have shaped Spain's evolution from the end of the Spanish Civil War through to the aftermath of the March 2004 Madrid bombing and the early years of the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero"--Provided by publisher.

Exploring Soviet and Russian history, politics, and foreign policy, The Uses of History brings together the classic essays of renowned scholar Alexander Dallin. The author provides insightful analysis and nuanced interpretations of such key-and controversial-issues as the domestic sources of Soviet foreign policy, Stalin's leadership in World War II, Russian-American relations in the Reagan era, the causes of the collapse of the USSR, and the disappointments of Russia's post-Soviet evolution. With his incisive assessment of the biases and blunders in American interpretations, Dallin rejects single-factor explanations for Soviet and Russian domestic and foreign policies, instead examining the complex interplay of internal and external conditions, institutions, mindsets, and the role of individual leaders. All readers interested in Soviet and post-Soviet history will find this collection a stimulating and deeply knowledgeable resource.

"One would be hard-pressed to name a more admirable contemporary American example of the intellectual engage than Martin Duberman. Historian, playwright, memoirist, biographer, social commentator, teacher, activist and assured podium performer, Duberman is an unapologetic, uncategorizable and nonsectarian radical whose constant questioning of conventional wisdoms - even on the left - has made him one of this country's pre-eminent participants in the political and cultural wars that have riven public life."â__In These Times"A marvelous collection of a lifetime of courageous writing by a deeply moral and reflective man who has engaged the greatest struggles of our times with an unflinching nerve, a wise heart and a brilliant intellect informed at all times by compassion."â__Jonathan KozolThe lives of â__outsidersâ__ have been the focus of Martin Duberman's work as a public intellectual for the past four decades. Best known for his biography of Paul Robeson, Duberman highlights the "banding together" of the excluded in Left Out. These identity-based movementsâ__black power, gay liberation, feminismâ__have created a vital and controversial change in American consciousness in recent decades. Duberman's collected essays trace this evolution of thought to the history of dissent from abolitionism through the New Left to today's organizing.Presenting summations of Duberman's views on such matters as race, foreign policy, gender and sexuality, Left Out offers incisive analyses of the split between class-based and identity-based politics on the Left. The "godfather" of the gay studies movement, Duberman has taken many brave and prescient stands. His writing shows why he is considered a deeply moral and wise man. For the first time available in paperback, this edition, updated through 2002, includes three new essays: "The State of Gay Studies," "Queer Economic Justice," and "Jewish Radicals, Effeminacy, and the Rise of Gay Chauvinism".

This book is a newly revised edition of Nicholas M. Nagy-Talavera’s classic work The Green Shirts and the Others published by the Hoover Institution Press in 1970. This book is the standard work in English on the history of fascism in Romania and Hungary. The Green Shirts and the Others is the first comprehensive and comparative work in English on the history of the fascist movements in Hungary and Romania. The author presents an objective account of the history of the two countries from 1918 to 1945 and the role of fascist movements during these years. He considers the rise of these movements, the Arrow Cross in Hungary and the Legion of the Archangel Michael in Romania. He considers their evolution and growth during the interwar period, as well as during the tragic periods in which each movement came to power in its respective country. The author then draws conclusions and parallels from the comparative history of the two movements. The author, Nicholas M. Nagy-Talavera, was a leading American expert on the history of Hungary and Romania during the interwar period and World War II. He was a professor of history at California State University, Chico. His other books include Nicolae Iorga: A Biography.