Bøger udgivet af Avalon Publishing Group

A hair-raising memoir of Kathie Klarreich's life in Haiti as a reporter for NPR, Christian Science Monitor, ABC News and Time during the past decade

Named the Dolman Travel Book of the Year, The Dead Yard paints an unforgettable portrait of modern Jamaica. Since independence, Jamaica has gradually become associated with twin images--a resort-style travel Eden for foreigners and a new kind of hell for Jamaicans, a society where gangs control the areas where most Jamaicans live and drug lords like Christopher Coke rule elites and the poor alike. Ian Thomson''s brave book explores a country of lost promise, where America''s hunger for drugs fuels a dependent economy and shadowy politics. The lauded birthplace of reggae and Bob Marley, Jamaica is now sunk in corruption and hopelessness. A synthesis of vital history and unflinching reportage, The Dead Yard is "a fascinating account of a beautiful, treacherous country" (Irish Times).

The thrilling story of the Bonnot Gang, a band of anarchist bank robbers whose crimes terrorized Belle Epoque Paris, and whose escapades reflected the fast-paced, dizzyingly modern, and increasingly violent period on the eve of World War I.

For centuries, scientists have strived to predict the future. But to what extent have they succeeded? Can past events-Hurricane Katrina, the Internet stock bubble, the SARS outbreak-help us understand what will happen next? Will scientists ever really be able to forecast catastrophes, or will we always be at the mercy of Mother Nature, waiting for the next storm, epidemic, or economic crash to thunder through our lives? In The Future of Everything, David Orrell looks back at the history of forecasting, from the time of the oracle at Delphi to the rise of astrology to the advent of the TV weather report, showing us how scientists (and some charlatans) predicted the future. How can today’s scientists claim to anticipate future weather events when even thee-day forecasts prove a serious challenge? How can we predict and control epidemics? Can we accurately foresee our financial future? Or will we only find out about tomorrow when tomorrow arrives?

"Lingeman's discussion of films is never less than interesting, and he understands the paradox of a politically repressive period leading to some of the most inventive films ever made." -New York Times Book Review

From the leading magazine on the left, an exose of the failures, lies and misdeeds that caused the financial collapse-and a plan for rescuing the country.

Everyone loves a carnival, whether it's the Big Top or a traveling midway kicking up dust. These roving extravaganzas are as amusing as they are mysterious and as innocent as they are sordid. Step Right Up is a one-of-a-kind anthology that collects the finest literature and the most absorbing first-person accounts about carnivals, sideshows, and the circus, capturing all of the spectacle and sensation of this unusual and treasured tradition. A colourful assortment of characters populate the fairgrounds and circus tents of this unique collection from circus legends like P. T. Barnum and Otis Jordan the Frog Prince to a motley crew of ride monkeys and rubes. Step Right Up takes the reader everywhere from a small village in Romania to the streets of Coney Island and offers everything from Fred Rosen's account of the scandalous demise of Grady "Lobster Boy" Stiles Jr. to imaginative fiction like Michael Chabon's macabre take on the origin of clowns. The bizarre romance and mystery of the world's oldest and oddest traveling institution come to life in selections from Katherine Dunn, Kevin Baker, Jim Tully, Flannery O'Connor, Lee Durkee, Robert Hough, Michael Chabon, Fred Rosen, Susan Dickinson, Joseph Michell, Edora Welty, and Ellen Hunnicut.

Garbo and Crawford. Ava, Hedy, Judy, Liz epitomized Hollywood''s golden era. With a trembling lip or sultry eye, with a tear or song or husky whisper, these women held moviegoers across America in their sway from the hard times of the 1930s through the booming postwar years to the early sixties. They were royalty and box office, and led pampered public lives—furs, jewels, designer gowns; limousines, flash bulbs, handsome escorts—that captured the national imagination. They also signed seven-year contracts with a morals clause, and the more they slipped, the more the secret abortions, efficient cover-ups, legal legerdemain, and dropped charges bound them to the wizard in their Oz, Louis B. Mayer. The slips are here along with the successes. Here, too, are the Blonde Bombshell Jean Harlow, Million-Dollar Mermaid Esther Williams, Sweater Girl Lana Turner, and bad girl Ava Gardner ("She can''t act. She can''t talk. She''s terrific," declared Mayer after her screen test). From Jeanette MacDonald and Norma Shearer to Princess Grace and Dame Elizabeth Taylor, the sixteen portraits in this lively, photograph-filled volume, each accompanied by the star''s filmography, tell the tales that have long lay hidden behind the gossip and the glories of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer''s glamorous golden girls.

A leading investment professional explains the world of impact investing--investing in businesses and projects with a social and financial return--and shows what it takes to make sustainable, transformative change.

In this debut collection of eight compulsively readable stories, McIntyre combines honesty and compassion with hilarious dialogue, marking the auspicious arrival of an exciting new talent.

A rising historian presents a masterful opus on the development of racist thought in America, using the stories of Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Angela Davis to reveal how racist ideas- and the racist policies they support- have become entrenched in American society.

"[Kafka] would have appreciated this narrative on any number of levels...[Carle] emerges as an odd and admirable...character in The Interrogator. Witnessing this prickly, rigidly upright man trying to wrest meaning from his bleak dilemma becomes the most compelling aspect of The Interrogator."- Laura Miller, Salon

One of the country's most prominent young writers on race delivers an unflinching account of what it means to be a young black man in America today, and how the existing script for black manhood is being rewritten in one of the most fascinating periods of American history.

A rising star in progressive journalism presents a deeply-reported exploration of the political and social movements that have arisen since the 2008 financial crisis, revealing how ordinary Americans across political beliefs struggle for change, and charting the effectiveness of new forms of resistance.

A journalist draws on her unprecedented four years of unlimited access to one of the nation's most diverse public schools as it struggles against closure,defies standardization and broken government prescriptions, and comes up with new approaches to education that have the potential to improve all American schools.

This unprecedented and unwavering history of the Supreme Court- told through the eyes of people who have suffered the most as a result of its judgements- shows how its decisions have consistently favoured the moneyed and powerful, from Reconstruction to the present day.

One of America's most important progressive leaders makes an impassioned case for liberals and conservatives to come together and fight against corporate control of the United States economy and political process.

Nomi Prins, a former Wall Street insider, shows how six powerful Wall Street bankers became the unelected leaders of the 20th century that operated as a shadow government that transformed American economy and life. Through a riveting revisionist history, Prins reveals the surreptitious and highly personal connection between six influential bankers, and the highest office in the land.

Testimony from the largest number of on the record, named, combat veterans who reveal the disturbing, daily reality of war and occupation in Iraq

Forty years ago, a majority of Americans were highly engaged in issues of war and peace. Whether to go to war or keep out of conflicts was a vital question at the heart of the country's vibrant, if fractious, democracy. But American political consciousness has drifted. In the last decade, America has gone to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, while pursuing a new kind of warfare in Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan. National security issues have increasingly faded from the political agenda, due in part to the growth of government secrecy.In lucid and chilling detail, journalist and lawyer Scott Horton shows how secrecy has changed the way America functions. Executive decisions about war and peace are increasingly made by autonomous, self-directing, and unaccountable national security elites. Secrecy is justified as part of a bargain under which the state promises to keep the people safe from its enemies, but in fact allows excesses, mistakes, and crimes to go unchecked. Bureaucracies use secrets to conceal their mistakes and advance their power in government, invariable at the expense of the rights of the people. Never before have the American people had so little information concerning the wars waged in their name, nor has Congress exercised so little oversight over the war effort. American democracy is in deep trouble. Lords of Secrecy explores the most important national security debates of our time, including the legal and moral issues surrounding the turn to private security contractors, the sweeping surveillance methods of intelligence agencies, and the use of robotic weapons such as drones. Horton looks at the legal edifice upon which these decisions are based and discusses approaches to rolling back the flood of secrets that is engulfing America today.Whistleblowers, but also Congress, the public, and the media, play a vital role in this process.As the ancient Greeks recognized, too much secrecy changes the nature of the state itself, transforming a democracy into something else. Horton reminds us that dealing with the country's national security concerns is both a right and a responsibility of a free citizenry, something that has always sat at the heart of any democracy that earns the name.

In the wake of the Citizen's United decision, elections will be controlled by moneyed interests as never before. award-winning authors John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney show what this influx of cash with zero transparency means for democracy-and how we can fix the system before it's too late.

An explosive expose into the radical right-wing state of Israeli politics from one of our most controversial investigative reporters and the bestselling author of Republican Gomorrah.

A legendary journalist shows how the privacy of American citizens has been eroded and invaded by data-collecting corporations and snooping government entities-with dire consequences for our freedom and democracy.

An intimate, investigative portrait of how the purveyors of the politics of personal crisis and redemption brought down the GOP--and why they're still calling the shots for the party

What if politicians pose a graver threat to liberal democracy than mass migration? Brexit and Donald Trump's victory were just the beginning -- and Marine Le Pen's defeat does not signal a turning of the tide. From the Introduction From Europe to the United States, opportunistic politicians have exploited the economic crisis, terrorist attacks, and an unprecedented influx of refugees to bring hateful and reactionary views from the margins of political discourse into the mainstream. They have won the votes of workers, women, gays, and Jews; turned openly xenophobic ideas into state policy; and pulled besieged centrist parties to the right. How did we get here? In this deeply reported account, Sasha Polakow-Suransky provides a front-row seat to the anger, desperation, and dissent that are driving some voters into the arms of the far right and stirring others to resist. He introduces readers to refugees in the Calais "Jungle" and the angry working-class neighbors who want them out; a World War II refugee-turned-rabbi who became a leading defender of Muslim immigrants; the children of Holocaust survivors who have become apologists for the new right; and alt-right activists and the intellectuals who enable them. Polakow-Suransky chronicles how the backlash against refugees and immigrants has reshaped our political landscape. Ultimately, he argues that the greatest threat comes not from outside, but from within -- even established democracies are at risk of betraying their core values and falling apart.

Now revised and updated: "This book is an unbelievable accomplishment. [W]hatever your politics, you should read this book. It is incredibly carefully reported... I think every member of Congress should read this book." Chris Hayes

"Van Jones, one of the most effective organizers and strategists on the left.. seeks to harness the insurgent energies expressed by the Occupy movement into lasting institutional reform."-Rick Perlstein, Rolling Stone