Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar

Enemy Combatant: My Imprisonment at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Kandahar

by Moazzam Begg

The searing story of one man's years inside the notorious American prison—and his Kafkaesque struggle to clear his name. "Under the hood I felt I couldn't breathe properly….Flashing lights—obviously from soldiers' cameras taking trophy pictures—came and went in front of me, despite the hood's darkness. From beside me a voice said in Arabic, 'Shall we pray, brother?' A guard came and screamed in my ear, 'Shut... (more)

The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics (BK Currents)

The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics (BK Currents)

by Riane Tennenhaus Eisler

Bestselling author Riane Eisler (The Chalice and the Blade, which has sold more than 500,000 copies sold) shows that at the root of all of society's big problems is the fact that we don?t value what matters. She then presents a radical reformulation of economics priorities focused on activities of caring and caregiving at the individual, organizational, societal, and environmental levels.

Live from Jordan: Letters Home from My Travels Through the Middle East

Live from Jordan: Letters Home from My Travels Through the Middle East

by Benjamin Orbach

One man's irreverent and insightful chronicle of his journey into the Arab World. The deejay put on a James Brown remix, and the club went nuts again. Everyone started singing in English, and people climbed up on all the club's tables and chairs to shake their hipsÖOn my way home at 4:00 a.m. (the club was still hopping when I left), I couldn't help thinking about all these wealthy Jordanians and... (more)

Global Issues for Global Citizens: An Introduction to Key Development Challenges

Global Issues for Global Citizens: An Introduction to Key Development Challenges

In our world, there are many development issues whose resolution requires international action. Examples include global poverty, communicable diseases, education, migration, climate change, access to water, hunger, international trade, international financial stability, and conflicts. Effects of these global issues, which are already being felt in our societies, are expected to become even more acute as in the... (more)

What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism (Lionel Robbins Lectures)

What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism (Lionel Robbins Lectures)

by Alan B. Krueger

Many popular ideas about terrorists and why they seek to harm us are fueled by falsehoods and misinformation. Leading politicians and scholars have argued that poverty and lack of education breed terrorism, despite the wealth of evidence showing that most terrorists come from middle-class, and often college-educated, backgrounds. In What Makes a Terrorist , Alan Krueger argues that if we are to correctly assess... (more)

Beyond Humanitarianism: What You Need to Know About Africa and Why It Matters

Beyond Humanitarianism: What You Need to Know About Africa and Why It Matters

by Princeton N. Lyman, Patricia Dorff

Currently, 15 percent of U.S. oil imports come from Africa--as much as from the Middle East--and the continent is poised to double its output over the coming decade. It has become the focus of attention from countries like China, which now imports more oil from Angola than from Saudi Arabia. In addition, Africa is rising in importance in trade, international security, democracy promotion, and efforts to tackle... (more)

Austerity Britain, 1945-1951

by David Kynaston

A majestic people’s history of England in the years immediately following the end of World War II, and a surprise bestseller in the UK. As much as any country, England bore the brunt of Germany’s aggression in World War II , and was ravaged in many ways at the war’s end. Celebrated historian David Kynaston has written an utterly original, compellingly readable account of the following six years, during which the... (more)

Creating a World without Poverty: How Social Business Can Transform Our Lives

Creating a World without Poverty: How Social Business Can Transform Our Lives

by Muhammad Yunus

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize outlines his vision for a new business model that combines the power of free markets with the quest for a more humane world--and tells the inspiring stories of companies that are doing this work today. In the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe, bringing with them enormous potential for positive change. But traditional capitalism cannot solve problems like... (more)

Castles, Battles, and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History

Castles, Battles, and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History

by Jurgen Brauer

Castles, Battles, and Bombs reconsiders key episodes of military history from the point of view of economics—with dramatically insightful results. For example, when looked at as a question of sheer cost, the building of castles in the High Middle Ages seems almost inevitable: though stunningly expensive, a strong castle was far cheaper to maintain than a standing army. The authors also reexamine the strategic... (more)

Traveling Light: On the Road with America#s Poor

Traveling Light: On the Road with America#s Poor

by Kath Weston

How far can you get on two tacos, one Dr. Pepper, and a little bit of conversation? What happens when you’re broke and you need to get to a new job, an ailing parent, a powwow, college, or a funeral on the other side of the country? And after decades of globalization, what kind of America will you glimpse through the window on your way? For five years, Kath Weston rode the bus to find out. Weston’s route takes her... (more)

King's Dream (Icons of America)

by Eric J. Sundquist

“I have a dream”—no words are more widely recognized, or more often repeated, than those called out from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1963. King’s speech, elegantly structured and commanding in tone, has become shorthand not only for his own life but for the entire civil rights movement. In this new exploration of the “I have a dream” speech, Eric J. Sundquist places it in the... (more)

China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges

China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges

by Minky Worden

An essential book for understanding China on the cusp of the Olympics, China's Great Leap draws on the expertise of many of the world's leading China experts. These writers examine the People's Republic of China today as its government and 1.3 billion people prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games. When Beijing first sought the Games, China was still recovering from the upheavals of Maoist rule and adapting to a... (more)

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