Intellectuals and Race is a radical book in the original sense of one that goes to the root of the problem. The role of intellectuals in racial strife is explored in an international context that puts the American experience in a wholly new light.The views of individual intellectuals have spanned the spectrum, but the views of intellectuals as a whole have tended to cluster. Indeed, these views have clustered at one end of the spectrum in the early twentieth century and then clustered at the opposite end of the spectrum in the late twentieth century. Moreover, these radically different views of race in these two eras were held by intellectuals whose views on other issues were very similar in both eras.Intellectuals and Race is not, however, a book about history, even though it has much historical evidence, as well as demographic, geographic, economic and statistical evidence-- all of it directed toward testing the underlying assumptions about race that have prevailed at times among intellectuals in general, and especially intellectuals at the highest levels. Nor is this simply a theoretical exercise. The impact of intellectuals' ideas and crusades on the larger society, both past and present, is the ultimate concern. These ideas and crusades have ranged widely from racial theories of intelligence to eugenics to "social justice" and multiculturalism.In addition to in-depth examinations of these and other issues, Intellectuals and Race explores the incentives, the visions and the rationales that drive intellectuals at the highest levels to conclusions that have often turned out to be counterproductive and even disastrous, not only for particular racial or ethnic groups, but for societies as a whole.ReviewPittsburgh Tribune-Review“Sowell brings an all-too-rare perspective to whatever he writes about — that of a conservative black intellectual, especially valuable for this book’s topic.”About the AuthorThomas Sowell is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and has taught economics at Cornell, UCLA, Amherst, and other academic institutions. He is the author of Intellectuals and Society, Dismantling America, Economic Facts and Fallacies, and the classic Basic Economics, which has been translated into six languages. Sowell has published in both academic journals and in such popular media as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine, and Fortune, and he writes a syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country. He lives in Stanford, California. Views: 618
As the western world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden has fought to keep his personal life a mystery – loyalty and fear keeping those who know him from speaking out – until now.
For the first time, two of Osama’s closest family members, his first wife Najwa and their fourth son Omar, go behind the headlines to reveal the truth about the character and life of a man feared and revered around the globe.
In gripping detail, they recount the drama, tensions, and everyday activities of the man they knew as a husband and father. Married at fifteen, Najwa describes the transformation of the quiet, serious young man she fell in love with into an authoritarian husband and stern father, an entrepreneur, and – finally – the leader of a complex international terrorist network. Uprooted from a life of extraordinary luxury and privilege in Saudi Arabia, they suddenly found themselves living life on the run, fleeing from country to country under assumed names and fake passports. Omar describes how he and his siblings were brought up in remote ranches and fortified Afghani mountain camps, handling Kalashnikovs and learning desert survival skills. Their eventual escape from Afghanistan would come just days before the terrible events of 9/11 changed the world forever.
With unprecedented access and exclusive family photographs, Jean Sasson, author of the bestselling Princess, presents the story that we were never meant to hear. Views: 618
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1808) by Daniel Defoe Views: 618
When a local's troubling death is linked to a Russian oligarch and his multinational conglomerate, Bruno faces one of his toughest cases yet, one that brings together a French notary and a rock star—and, of course, Bergerac red and white.It's summer in the Dordogne. The heirs of a Périgordian sheep farmer learn that they have been disinherited, and their father's estate sold to an insurance company in return for a policy that will place him in a five-star retirement home for the rest of his life. But the farmer never gets his life of luxury—he dies before moving in. Was it a natural death? Was there foul play? Bruno begins the investigation that leads him to several shadowy insurance companies owned by a Russian oligarch with a Cypriot passport. The companies are based in Cyprus, Malta, and Luxembourg, but Bruno finds a weak spot in France: the Russian's France-based notaire and insurance agent. As Bruno is pursuing this lead, the oligarch's... Views: 617
From the best-selling author of Skinny Dip and Razor Girl, a new novel that captures the Trump era with Hiaasen's inimitable savage humor and wonderful, eccentric characters. A surefire best seller.Carl Hiaasen's Squeeze Me is set among the landed gentry of Palm Beach. A prominent high-society matron—who happens to be a fierce supporter of the President and founding member of the POTUSSIES—has gone missing at a swank gala. When the wealthy dowager, Kiki Pew Fitzsimmons, is later found dead in a concrete grave, panic and chaos erupt. The President immediately declares that Kiki Pew was the victim of rampaging immigrant hordes. This, as it turns out, is far from the truth. Meanwhile a bizarre discovery in the middle of the road brings the First Lady's motorcade to a grinding halt (followed by some grinding between the First Lady and a lovestruck Secret Service agent). Enter Angie Armstrong, wildlife wrangler extraordinaire, who arrives at... Views: 617
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil in the White City and Dead Wake delivers a fresh and compelling portrait of Winston Churchill and London during the BlitzNAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2020 BY The Washington Post • HuffPost • The Seattle Times • Lit Hub • The Week • PopSugarOn Winston Churchill's first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next twelve months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people... Views: 615
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom."This potent book about America's most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist."—San Francisco Chronicle"Nearly every paragraph is laced through with dense, gorgeously evocative descriptions of a vanished world and steeped in its own vivid vocabulary."—Entertainment Weekly Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he's ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram... Views: 615
A powerful and gripping recreation of the Battle of Beecher Island—the notoriously bloody clash between US Army scouts and American Indian warriors
Historian Dee Brown dramatically recounts the nine-day siege between Plains tribes and Major James William Forsyth’s scouts. Based on historical sources, the novel is told from a variety of viewpoints, including that of Lieutenant Frederick Beecher, still wounded from the Civil War and charged with clearing out American Indian settlements to make way for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. Beecher is joined by General Sheridan and Major Forsyth, as well as the scouts—from seasoned frontiersmen to young boys—employed to take part in the perilous mission. On the other side are the famous American Indian players in the battle: Turkey Leg and Roman Nose. With this complex assortment of characters, Brown vividly recreates the 1868 siege, as well as the competing worldviews of life on the prairies. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection. Views: 614
In 'Sun Child' Angela Huth looks at the vicissitudes of grown-up behaviour through the eyes of a child, one who watches and suffers. The situation - an all too familiar one - is treated with both poignant humour and ruthless honesty. Views: 614
Early on summer mornings, police chief Bruno enjoys wandering the stalls of the weekly market in the village of St. Denis as they are being loaded with wares—ducks, oysters, wooden toys, used books, exotic teas and now, even miniskirts and cellphone cases. St. Denis is changing. But when Bruno's old friend Léopold from Senegal and his young nephew Cali start selling African coffee and chocolate more cheaply than Bruno's old friend Fauquet at his café across the square—Fauquet starts to lose his clientele and a competition erupts between the vendors. As a local taxpayer, Fauquet seeks protection against unfair competition while Leopold and Cali seek the right to do business fairly and protection from the anti-immigrant café-owners in nearby towns. As the rivalry escalates, it's up to Bruno to find a way for the neighbors of St. Denis to make peace. A Vintage Shorts original. An ebook short. Views: 613
How would you feel about sleeping in a tree house with a six-metre carpet python? Does being lost in a maze of pitch black tunnels give you the creeps? Find out how twin brothers cope when a dull holiday on a farm with no electricity gets interesting in ways they never expected.Luke and James are nine-year-old twin brothers. Being lost in the dark is not on their list of things to do. They would prefer not to share their sleeping bags with a snake. And they don’t want to spend their school holidays with their eccentric Aunt Lucy, in the middle of nowhere. The boys face daunting and exciting challenges when they find themselves lost and alone in pitch-black tunnels and caves inhabited by spiders, lizards, bats and glow worms. They will need to face their deepest fears and draw strength and courage from places deep within themselves. This is an adventure story about being bad-mannered, self-centred and scared, and also about being friendly, considerate and courageous. It’s about finding the best part of yourself and liking who you discover yourself to be. This story is a page turner for young people getting into their first novels. Views: 612
"No one reads a Gear novel without being transformed in beautiful ways." –Richard S. Wheeler, award-winning authorJohn Tylor figures everything is finally coming his way. He's got what he wants: a free shot into the wilderness where no one will ever know his name or his shame. As he and Will Cunningham head west into the northern Plains, Tylor rescues a wounded hawk, which he had dreams foretelling the event. Tylor and Cunningham run smack into a party of Arapaho who are eager to relieve these solitary white guys of everything they've got, including the hawk. Fortunately, guided by visions, Gray Bear and his desperate little band of Shoshoni, arrive in the nick of time to drive off the Arapaho. The wounded hawk is proof of prophecy coming true. While Tylor remains with the Shoshoni, Gray Bear and Cunningham take a fortune in perfectly tanned buffalo hides to trade for guns with Lisa on the Missouri. However, a half-drowned Fenway McKeever has pulled himself out of the... Views: 612
When The Fountainhead was first published, Ayn Rand''s daringly original literary vision and her groundbreaking philosophy, Objectivism, won immediate worldwide interest and acclaim. This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggles to defeat him. This edition contains a special afterword by Rand's literary executor, Leonard Peikoff, which includes excerpts from Ayn Rand's own notes on the making of The Fountainhead. As fresh today as it was then, here is a novel about a hero-and about those who try to destroy him. Views: 611
When Grace married the genial and handsome Captain Leo Waterhouse in Australia in 1943, they were young, in love - and at war. Like many other young men and women, they were ready, willing and able to put the war effort first. They never seriously doubted that they would come through unscathed.But Leo never returned from a commando mission masterminded by his own hero figure, an eccentric and charismatic man who inspired total loyalty from those under his command. The world moved on to new alliances, leaving Grace, like so many widows, to bear the pain of losing the love of her life and wonder what it had all been for.
Sixty years on, Grace is still haunted by the tragedy of her doomed hero when the real story of his ill-fated secret mission is at last unearthed. As new fragments of her hero's story emerge, Grace is forced to keep revising her picture of what happened to Leo and his fellow commandoes - until she learns about the final piece in the jigsaw, and the ultimate betrayal.
As absorbing as it is moving, this timely novel reminds us of the terrible costs of war as it questions why men so willingly and fatally adopt the heroic code. Views: 611
