July 2008

www.publicaffairsbooks.com 

A New York Times bestselling author makes the case for identity--the dominant force that shapes political interaction

In this compelling book, Natan Sharansky takes on those who see identity as a foe of freedom. The man who gave us a moving memoir of his life in the Gulag (Fear No Evil) and wrote one of the most influential treatises in recent years on foreign policy (The Case For Democracy)
explains why identity is freedom's greatest ally in the struggle against tyranny. With the moral clarity, analytical precision, and light-hearted wit that are his trademarks, Sharansky draws on his unique experience to offer an unapologetic defense of the power of identity. He asserts that when framed by democracy, strong identities enrich our lives and enable us to defend the values we most deeply cherish.

July tour dates

7/15         San Francisco, CA/JCC, 8 PM

7/16         Seattle, WA/Town Hall with University Bookstore, 7:30 PM

Read more

Who exactly has America detained all these years at Guantánamo?

Mahvish Rukhsana Khan is an American lawyer, born to immigrant Afghan parents in Michigan. With the aid of her fluency in Pashto and a familiarity with Afghan cultures and customs that no other "habeas" lawyer with security clearance had, she was quickly taken on as an interpreter for Afghan detainees. Over more than thirty trips to Guantánamo, Khan unexpectedly connected with the very men that Donald Rumsfeld has termed "the worst of the worst." As time went by, Khan began to question whether Guantánamo truly held America's most dangerous enemies...

"My Guantánamo Diary is the first thing I have read that brings to life the place and its inmates.  By turns saddening and enraging, and also amusing, it is splendidly written.  This is an outstanding book." --Aryeh Neier, President, Open Society Institute and Former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

"Reliable information is still scarce about Guantánamo, but increasingly we're gaining glimpses of life there.... Mahvish Rukhsana Khan, an American woman of Afghan descent who worked as an interpreter, has written a book to be published next month, My Guantánamo Diary, that is wrenching to read."--Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times

Tour Dates:

Read more

Healthcare. For everyone. Guaranteed.

 
"This Monday a modest little paperback will show up in bookstores offering a suggestion for health-care reform. It won't contain any wrenching human stories like those in last year's big health-care book, Jonathan Cohn's "Sick." It won't be accompanied by gonzo stunts à la Michael Moore's "Sicko." But "Healthcare, Guaranteed," by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, may nonetheless be the most exciting book yet to come out of the country's medical crisis. What it offers is a radical yet straightforward proposal, one a layperson can understand. If the complexities of health-care policy give you a headache, this book is aspirin. Read it twice and call your congressman in the morning."- Newsweek

"The best of recent books on this question is happily the shortest and clearest and comes out this month. I think it has the answer. The proposal laid out in Healthcare, Guaranteed by Ezekiel Emanuel (an oncologist, bioethicist and noted health policy scholar) has convinced me. Whether it will convince others is in doubt for reasons I will come to. But if you are going to read one book on the subject, make it Mr Emanuel's."- Clive Crook, Financial Times

Watch Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel on The Today Show

Read more

"An indispensable history to the decade preceding 9/11."--Richard Holbrooke

During the last decade of the twentieth century, America and the West declared victory. Democracy and the free market had prevailed, and the United States  emerged as the world's triumphant superpower. The finger-on-the-button tension that had defined an earlier generation was over, and it seemed that long-lasting peace was at hand. The next twelve years passed in a haze of self congratulation and inward preoccupation--what some now mistakenly call a "holiday from history." When that complacency about the world shattered on September 11, 2001, confused Americans asked themselves: How did we get here?

"Mr. Chollet ... and Mr. Goldgeier ... have written an astute and highly informed book."--Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

Read more

The illusion of business and the business of illusion

In his trenchant analysis of a business stratagem gone wrong, Lucas Conley offers us a long overdue investigation into our culture of obsession. As hilarious as it is frightening, OBD: Obsessive Branding Disorder skillfully reexamines our buying habits to illustrate the chilling impact of the industry masterminds responsible for capturing our attention and seducing us to buy--at any cost.

"There's nothing more powerful in business than a truly original idea or a new product that kicks butt--innovations that speak for themselves. But most companies have neither original ideas nor exciting products--which is why they rely on increasingly desperate marketing tactics to attract attention. Lucas Conley offers a stinging and hilarious take on a world in which brands have gotten out of hand. Business is simply too important for us to put up with the scourge of obsessive branding disorder. This book is the cure for what ails us." --William Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company Magazine and coauthor of Mavericks at Work

Visit Lucas Conley's blog

See Lucas Conley's 10 most overrated brands 

Read more

For the first time, a Black American is a major party presidential nominee. Now what?

Black America is at a turning point. The Democratic victories of 2006, the collapse of the Republican Party, and the galvanizing impact of the Obama candidacy are all signs of hope that the momentum of Black America's decline into political insignificance can be reversed. But in order to truly address the problems that plague Black America, argues Daniels, it is vital that black Americans find a way to restore their national civic leadership to the vibrant force that it once was.

"Lee Daniels has written a prophetic book and powerful plea for a new generation of leadership to step forward with courage and vision--especially with a focus on the Black poor--or we face slow but sure decay and decline! His deep commitment to Black freedom resounds in this troubling challenge!"--Cornel West, Princeton University

Read more