Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Nov 14, 2018
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Nov 8, 2016
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Oct 1, 2014
On Saudi Arabia - Karen Elliott House
On Saudi Arabia - House, Karen ElliottSummary: A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from The Wall Street Journal draws on three decades of firsthand experience to profile the Saudi Arabia of today, offering insight into its leaders, citizens, cultural complexities and international prospects.
Booklist Reviews
Saudi Arabia, ruled by the royal Al Saud family, provides one of every four barrels of oil exported around the world. It is a little-understood nation of inordinate importance to the rest of the globe. As the Arab Spring has transformed other oil-producing nations in the Middle East, forcing developed nations to consider democratic ideals versus oil economies, Saudi Arabia has so far managed to stay outside that debate despite its repressive regime. House, Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter and former Wall Street Journal correspondent, spent five years traveling the kingdom to study a society she calls Islam Inc., owned and operated by the Al Saud royal family for generations. By exploiting deep religious, tribal, and regional differences for hundreds of years, the Sauds rely on an Islam that demands obedience of men, who demand obedience of women, and allows for no questioning of authority, despite widespread poverty, unemployment, and roiling discontent. House explores the history and fragility of the royal family and the interplay of religion, economics, and culture as well as the forces of modernity, including the Internet, that promise transformation.
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Jul 1, 2014
Republican Gomorrah - Max Blumenthal
Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party - Blumenthal, MaxSummary: 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. Offers a look at the powerful players, such as Karl Rove and Howard Ahmanson, and the political and personal problems they have dealt with that will impact the future of the Republican Party in a post-Bush world.
Book News Review
In this book, journalist Blumenthal suggests that recent scandals involving prominent right-wing politicians are no accident. Instead, he suggests, they are evidence for the accuracy of social psychologist Erich Fromm's theory that the sexual and moral anxieties of fear-ridden people make them more susceptible to the appeal of authoritarian belief systems. Based on extensive interviews with right-wing leaders and activists, Blumenthal's book succeeds at being more than a lurid accounting of sexual escapades and immoral behavior, clearly showing how "the personal is political" in a way that the coiner of that phrase probably never intended. This book will appeal to readers interested in current U.S. politics
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Nov 1, 2013
Honeymoon in Tehran - Azadeh Moaveni
Honeymoon in Tehran: two years of love and danger in Iran - Moaveni, Azadeh
Summary: The Iranian-American author describes her return to Iran as a reporter for "Time" magazine, her marriage to an Iranian man, the repressive Iranian society and its impact, and her family's decision to leave Iran.
Booklist Reviews
In this intimate look at the modern Iranian middle class, Moaveni, a journalist and the author of Lipstick Jihad (2005), blends her own experiences in Iran with her primary reporting subject: the dubious Tehran reaction to the ascendance of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. An Iranian American living in Lebanon, Moaveni unexpectedly fell in love when she returned to her homeland on assignment. This opened her eyes to a whole new aspect of Iranian life, that of young couples. She writes extensively about how the country s troubled economic situation forces twenty-somethings to postpone marriage and independence from their families. Iran s "brain drain" is well documented, but the reasons professionals grudgingly leave Iran have rarely been discussed by Western media, which instead focuses on Ahmadinejad s rantings. Moaveni tracks the country s increased social conservatism, and reveals both expensive marriage traditions and governmental manipulation. This perfect blend of political commentary and social observation is an excellent choice for readers interested in going beyond the headlines to gain an in-depth understanding of twenty-first-century Iran. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.
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Jun 1, 2013
The media relations department of Hizbollah wishes you a happy birthday - Neil MacFarquhar
The media relations department of Hizbollah wishes you a happy birthday: unexpected encounters in the changing Middle East - MacFarquhar, Neil
Summary: The author narrates his encounters with residents of countries throughout the Middle East as they conduct their everyday lives and adjust to the dramatic political and social upheavals that have occurred throughout the region.
Kirkus Reviews
A sly, knowledgeable look at the changes in Arab mores and politics since the 1970s, from a New York Times journalist with extensive experience in the region.MacFarquhar (The Sand Café, 2006), the Times' former Cairo bureau chief and current UN chief, grew up in Marsa Brega, Libya, where his American father worked as a chemical engineer. Largely sheltered from the repercussions of the Six-Day War in 1967 and the military coup by Muammar Al-Qadhafi in 1969, the author returned to the Middle East after college in America to find out what he missed, learning Arabic and traveling through the area as a foreign correspondent. Here MacFarquhar attempts to uncover the positive changes in Libya, still plagued by Qadhafi's "erratic, often adolescent theatrics" and without a clear notion of his succession; Lebanon, where farmers in the Bekaa valley rue the end of the civil war in 1990, which eliminated their lucrative business growing hashish and opium; Kuwait, where the author interviewed a sex therapist (" ‘A veiled woman writing about sex. Can you imagine? They love it, sweetie,' she told me, laughing"); Saudi Arabia, where fatwas, or religious edicts, are issued daily on social and political matters; and Syria, where he spoke with Mohamed Shahrour, an outspoken critic of the narrow, violence-centered interpretation of the Koran. Everywhere the author encounters the repressive tentacles of the secret police agencies, or mukhabarat, especially in Saudi Arabia, with its Wahhabi clerics, and Morocco, ruled by the whims of the king. Having to navigate among oil wealth, repression and the simmering resentment of a struggling populace continues to plague the Arab states, stifling what MacFarquhar believes—and convincingly argues—they urgently need: new ideas, technology and innovation.A humane, well-reasoned investigation of the Arab countries of the Middle East and the tremendous vitality of their inhabitants.Agent: David Halpern/The Robbins Office Copyright Kirkus 2009 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.
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Axis of shame - Arthur C.Hasiotis
Summary: [The author] has created a manifesto for political change so U.S. foreign policy can be free from the corruption of lobby money and America may begin to make positive steps toward repairing its damaged reputation and relationship with the Middle East. --P. [4] of cover.
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VEEP (DVD)
Summary: Former Senator Selina Meyer was a charismatic leader and a rising star in her party with her eye on the White House, then she became Vice President. VEEP follows the whirlwind day-to day existence of Vice President Meyer as she puts out political fires, juggles a busy public schedule and demanding private life, and defends the President's interests, even as she tries to improve her dysfunctional relationship with the Chief Executive.
Video Librarian Reviews
Emmy-winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays fumbling American Vice President Selina Meyer in this HBO-aired comedy from British satirist Armando Iannucci. Dishing up plenty of bureaucratic dysfunction and petty infighting (Washington insider and former New York Times columnist Frank Rich served as an advisor), the series begins with one-time senator and rising star Meyer reduced to insignificance when she signs on for the second spot on what turns out to be the winning presidential ticket. Her staff—Amy (Anna Chlumsky), Mike (Matt Walsh), Dan (Reid Scott), and Gary (Tony Hale)—are clearly B-team players, and the episodes largely revolve around everyone's bickering and passing the buck while dealing with minor issues and ceremonial events that are pawned off by the president and his team (POTUS himself is never seen—another indication of how out of the loop Meyer is). For all the bills and task forces tossed around, the show doesn't address issues; rather, it's purely a comedy about petty personalities, political waste, and ineffectual leadership—which, given the climate in the nation's capital today, may not be too far off the mark (although the show is a little toothless, and manages to avoid political partisanship). Compiling all eight episodes from the 2012 debut season, extras include audio commentaries, deleted scenes and outtakes, and behind-the-scenes featurettes (the Blu-ray version also includes a bonus DVD with the entire season on a single flipper disc). A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)Copyright Video Librarian Reviews 2011.
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Mar 1, 2013
Homeland - Cory Doctorow
Homeland - Doctorow, Cory
Summary: When Marcus, once called M1k3y, receives a thumbdrive containing evidence of corporate and governmental treachery, his job, fame, family, and well-being, as well as his reform-minded employer's election campaign, are all endangered.
Staff Comments: I always walk away from a Cory Doctorow novel feeling a little smarter and a lot more paranoid.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* Marcus is back in this sequel to the crossover thriller Little Brother (2008). While attending the Burning Man festival, Marcus receives a USB drive from a hacker, Masha, with more than 800,000 incriminating government documents, and she advises Marcus to publish the material if anything happens to her. Meanwhile, a contact at the festival recommends Marcus to California Senate Independent candidate Joe Noss as a webmaster, and he has his first real job, but can he fulfill his promise to Masha and keep his new position? Doctorow sends readers into a world of Darknet secret websites, Occupy protests, kidnapping and interrogation, and hacking. The narrative is threaded with geek teen culture, economic problems, election strategy, corporate greed, government conspiracies, and privacy issues, and technology nerds will eat this for breakfast with a cup of really good coffee—Marcus says cold-pressed is the only way to go. Libraries are going to want to "pwn" multiple copies to meet demand, and hope that readers take up the activism call to use their "skillz" for good. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Doctorow's international following is already lining up for this long-awaited sequel. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.
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Dec 1, 2012
Destiny of the republic - Candace Millard
Summary: A narrative account of the twentieth president's political career offers insight into his background as a scholar and Civil War hero, his battles against the corrupt establishment, and Alexander Graham Bell's failed attempt to save him from an assassin's bullet.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* What a shame for himself and for the country that the kind, intelligent, and charming president James Garfield did not see his administration through to completion. (He had been in office only four months when, in July 1881, he was shot by a deranged office seeker; in September, he died.) That is the sentiment the reader cannot help but derive from this splendidly insightful, three-way biography of the president; Charles Guiteau, who was Garfield's assassin; and inventor Alexander Graham Bell, whose part in the story was an unsuccessful deathbed attempt to locate the bullet lodged somewhere in the president's body. Garfield, who largely educated himself and rose to be a Civil War general and an Ohio representative in the House, was the dark-horse candidate emergent from the 1880 Republican National Convention. Guiteau, on the other hand, led a troubled life and came to believe it was his divine mission to eliminate Garfield in revenge for the new president's steps against proponents of the spoils system. Bell could have been the hero of the whole sad story, but his technology failed to save the stricken president's life. Millard's book, which follows her deeply compelling The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey (2005), stands securely at the crossroads of popular and professional history—an intersection as productive of learning for the reader as it undoubtedly was for the author. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.
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