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No one man should have all that power : how Rasputins manipulate the world / by Barshad, Amos,author.;
Includes bibliographical references."Amos Barshad has long been fascinated by the powerful. But not by elected officials or natural leaders--he's interested in the scheming advisors, the dark figures who wield power in the shadows. And, as Barshad shows in 'No One Man Should Have All That Power', the natural habitat of these manipulators is not only political backrooms. It's anywhere power dynamics exist--from Hollywood to drug cartels, from recording studios to the NFL.In this wildly entertaining, wide-ranging, and insightful exploration of the phenomenon, Barshad takes readers into the lives of more than a dozen of these notorious figures, explores how they got there and how they wielded control, what led to their downfall or staved it off, and what lessons we can take from them [...]"--from dust jacket.
Subjects: Power (Social sciences); Influence (Psychology); Manipulative behavior.; Consultants.; Political consultants.; Political corruption.; Business consultants.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Mark Twain / by Chernow, Ron,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, under Halley's Comet, the rambunctious Twain was an early teller of tall tales. He left his home in Missouri at an early age, piloted steamboats on the Mississippi, and arrived in the Nevada Territory during the silver-mining boom. Before long, he had accepted a job at the local newspaper, where he barged into vigorous discourse and debate, hoaxes and hijinks. After moving to San Francisco, he published stories that attracted national attention for their brashness and humor, writing under a pen name soon to be immortalized. Chernow draws a richly nuanced portrait of the man who shamelessly sought fame and fortune and crafted his celebrity persona with meticulous care. Twain eventually settled with his wife and three daughters in Hartford, where he wrote some of his most well-known works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, earning him further acclaim. He threw himself into American politics, emerging as the nation's most notable pundit. While his talents as a writer and speaker flourished, his madcap business ventures eventually forced him into bankruptcy; to economize, Twain and his family spent nine eventful years in exile in Europe. He suffered the death of his wife and two daughters, and the last stage of his life was marked by heartache, political crusades, and eccentric behavior that sometimes obscured darker forces at play. Drawing on Twain's bountiful archives, including his fifty notebooks, thousands of letters, and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, Chernow masterfully captures a man whose career reflected the country's westward expansion, industrialization, and foreign wars. No other white author of his generation grappled so fully with the legacy of slavery after the Civil War or showed such keen interest in African American culture. Today, more than one hundred years after his death, Twain's writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.; Authors, American; Humorists, American;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Booze, cigarettes, and constitutional dust-ups : Canada's quest for interprovincial free trade / by Manucha, Ryan,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Gerard Comeau, a retiree living in rural New Brunswick, never thought his booze run would turn him into a Canadian hero. In 2012, after Comeau had driven to Quebec to purchase cheaper beer and crossed back into his home province, police officers participating in a low-stakes sting operation tailed and detained him, confiscated his haul, and levied a fine of less than 300 dollars. Countries routinely engage in trade wars and erect barriers to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. Comeau, however, was detained by the full force of the law for engaging in commerce with a Canadian business on the other side of a domestic border. With Comeau's story as its starting point, Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups tells the fascinating tale of Canadian interprovincial trade. Ryan Manucha examines the historical, political, and legal forces that gave rise to the regulation of interprovincial commerce in Canada, the trade-offs that come with liberalized domestic free trade, and Canada's enduring pursuit of economic union. The pandemic laid bare the vulnerability of global supply chains, the fickleness of foreign trading partners, and the surprising slipperiness of domestic trade. In a global climate of increasingly isolationist geopolitics, the history and possibility of Canada's economic union, quirks and all, deserve careful attention."--
Subjects: Free trade; Free trade; Interstate commerce; Interprovincial commerce;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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American made : what happens to people when work disappears / by Stockman, Farah,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Shannon, Wally, and John built their lives around their place of work. Shannon, a white single mother, became the first woman to run the factory's dangerous furnaces at the Rexnord manufacturing plant in Indianapolis and was proud of producing one of the world's top brands of steel bearings. Wally, a black man known for his initiative and kindness, was promoted to become chairman of efficiency, one of the most coveted posts on the factory floor, and dreamed of starting his own barbecue business one day. John, a white machine operator, came from a multigenerational union family and clashed with a work environment that was increasingly hostile to organized labor. The Rexnord factory had served as one of the economic engines for the surrounding community. When the factory closed, hundreds of people lost their jobs. What had life been like for Shannon, Wally, and John, before the factory closed? And what became of them after the factory moved to Mexico and Texas? American Made is a story about people and a community struggling to reinvent itself. It is also a story about race, class, and American values, and how jobs serve as a bedrock of people's lives and drive powerful social justice movements. This revealing book is also about this political moment, when joblessness and uncertainty about the future of work have made themselves heard at a national level. Most of all it is a story about people: who we consider to be one of us, and how the dignity of work lies at the heart of who we are"--
Subjects: Plant shutdowns; Unemployed; Working class; Work;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Moscow X : a novel / by McCloskey, David,author.;
"CIA officers Sia and Max enter Russia under commercial cover to recruit Vladimir Putin's moneyman. Sia works for a London law firm that conceals the wealth of the superrich. Max's family business in Mexico--a CIA front since the 1960s--is a farm that breeds high-end racehorses. They pose as a couple to target Vadim, Putin's private banker, and his wife, Anna, who--unbeknownst to CIA--is a Russian intelligence officer under deep cover at the bank. As they descend further into a Russian world dripping with luxury and rife with gangland violence, Sia and Max's only hope may be Anna, who is playing a game of her own. Careening between the horse ranch in northern Mexico, the corridors of Langley, and the dark opulence of Putin's Russia, Moscow X is both a gripping thriller of modern espionage and a raw, unsparing commentary on the nature of truth, loyalty, and vengeance amid the shadow war between the United States and Russia"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Spy fiction.; Novels.; Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1952-; United States. Central Intelligence Agency; Intelligence officers; Man-woman relationships; Political corruption; Undercover operations;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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Danger Zone. by Drygas, Vita,film director.; DogWoof (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Originally produced by DogWoof in 2023.In the competitive world of tourism, there are very few experiences that are out of bounds. DANGER ZONE explores the world of war tourism, catering to a growing market for ever rarer and extreme experiences. Tourists are promised frontline action, with real ammo, real battles, and real danger. War has become a luxury product, a commodity that can be bought and sold, and tour operators are desperate to get into the growing business. This morally ambiguous tourist industry leads to the collision of two very different worlds, between these thrill-seeking tourists and the people caught in the cross-hairs of conflict, who are not afforded the luxury and privilege of choice. DANGER ZONE asks: what are the tourists left with on reflection, is there a realisation of how lucky they are merely as a result of where they were born? Do those who live in conflict areas, through no choice of their own, perceive in these tourists hope for a peaceful life? Or, is it purely a one-sided interaction in which no one wins and no one learns?Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: Documentary films.; Political science.; Social sciences.; Business.; Economic development.; Travel.; Instructional films.; Military history..; Documentary films.; Current affairs.; Globalization.; War.; Economics.; Tourism.; Syria.;
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Heist by Causey, Frances,filmmaker; Goldmacher, Donald,filmmaker; Donald Goldmacher (Firm),dst; Kanopy (Firm),dst;
Bernie Sanders, Van Jones, David Cay Johnson, Nomi Prins, Robert Crandall, Robert KuttnerOriginally produced by Donald Goldmacher in 2011.This investigative documentary reveals how American corporations orchestrated the dismantling of middle-class prosperity through rampant deregulation, the outsourcing of jobs, and tax policies favoring businesses and the wealthy. HEIST exposes the roots of the American economic crisis and the destruction of the American dream.. The collapse of the U.S. economy is the result of conscious choices made over thirty five years by a small group: leaders of corporations and their elected allies, and the biggest lobbying interest in Washington, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. To these individuals, the collapse is not a catastrophe, but rather the planned outcome of their long, patient work. For the rest of the country, it is merely the biggest heist in American history.. "(HEIST) has the virtue of taking the long view of a crisis that recent films like INSIDE JOB and TOO BIG TO FAIL have only sketchily explored. It makes a strong case that government regulation of business is essential for democracy to flourish." — Stephen Holden, The New York Times. "Wherever one's politics fall on the spectrum, there is much in here — such as a maddening video Filmclip in which an American law firm offers counsel on how to avoid hiring American workers — likely to give one pause." — Mindy Farabee, L.A. TimesMode of access: World Wide Web.
Subjects: North American Studies; Documentary films. ; Globalization; Politics;
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People vs. Donald Trump : an inside account / by Pomerantz, Mark F.,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Mark Pomerantz was a retired lawyer living a calm suburban life when he accepted an unexpected offer to join the staff of the district attorney of New York County in February 2021 to work on the investigation of former president Donald Trump. The Manhattan DA was interested in Pomerantz because he brought vast experience in litigating white collar and organized crime cases, having worked as a federal prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney for decades. Pomerantz had prosecuted and defended cases involving murder, drug trafficking, political corruption, tax evasion, and financial fraud. His clients had included governors and senators, business leaders, financial institutions, and also gangsters and murderers. Over the next year, Pomerantz investigated the world of Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. He interviewed potential witnesses, scrutinized financial records, and learned everything he could about Trump's business practices. The investigation led him to believe that the former president's approach to business had much in common with the business practices of another well-known public figure--former mob boss John J. Gotti. Ultimately, Pomerantz gathered enough evidence to support the view--held by many of his colleagues on the case, including former Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.--that former president Donald Trump should be indicted for a number of financial crimes. But that indictment never happened. This book explains why. Pomerantz's work ultimately led to the indictment of the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, who pleaded guilty to tax fraud. But that indictment was merely the prelude to a larger criminal case that Pomerantz urged the Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, to bring against Donald Trump. When the DA refused to authorize that prosecution, Pomerantz and his colleague Carey Dunne resigned. Aspects of the case Pomerantz wanted to bring are currently being pursued against Trump by the attorney general of New York State in a civil fraud case that does not involve criminal penalties. In People vs. Donald Trump, Pomerantz tells the story of his unprecedented investigation, why he believes Donald Trump should be prosecuted, and what we can learn about the nature of justice in America from this extraordinary case. Pomerantz draws from a lifetime of legal experience to tell a devastating and frequently entertaining story of how prosecutors think, how criminals act, and how our justice system works-and sometimes doesn't work. Pomerantz has written a cautionary tale that illuminates the challenges of prosecuting Donald Trump, why Trump manages to dance between the raindrops of accountability, and how others might bring him to justice."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Pomerantz, Mark F.; Trump, Donald, 1946-; Trump, Donald, 1946-; Trump Organization (New York, N.Y.); Trump Organization (New York, N.Y.); Commercial crimes; Corruption investigation; Criminal investigation; Finance; Governmental investigations; Justice, Administration of; Political corruption; Presidents; Presidents; Public prosecutors;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Burning down the house : how libertarian philosophy was corrupted by delusion and greed / by Koppelman, Andrew,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A lively history of American libertarianism and its decay into dangerous fantasy. In 2010 in South Fulton, Tennessee, each household paid the local fire department a yearly fee of $75.00. That year, Gene Cranick's house accidentally caught fire. But thefire department refused to come because Cranick had forgotten to pay his yearly fee, leaving his home in ashes. Observers across the political spectrum agreed-some with horror and some with enthusiasm-that this revealed the true face of libertarianism. But libertarianism did not always require callous indifference to the misfortunes of others. Modern libertarianism began with Friedrich Hayek's admirable corrective to the Depression-era vogue for central economic planning. It resisted oppressive state power. It showed how capitalism could improve life for everyone. Yet today, it's a toxic blend of anarchism, disdain for the weak, and rationalization for environmental catastrophe. Libertarians today accept new, radical arguments-which crumble under scrutiny-that justify dishonest business practices and Covid deniers who refuse to wear masks in the name of "freedom." Andrew Koppelman's book traces libertarianism's evolution from Hayek's moderate pro-market ideas to the romantic fabulism of Murray Rothbard, Robert Nozick, and Ayn Rand, and Charles Koch's promotion of climate change denial. Burning Down the House is the definitive history of an ideological movement that has reshaped American politics"--
Subjects: Capitalism; Individualism; Libertarian literature; Libertarianism;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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No place to go : how public toilets fail our private needs / by Lowe, Lezlie,1972-author.;
Includes bibliographical references."This book is Number One in addressing the politics of where we're allowed to "go" in public. Adults don't talk about the business of doing our business. We work on one assumption: the world of public bathrooms is problem- and politics-free. No Place To Go: How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs reveals the opposite is true. No Place To Go is a toilet tour from London to San Francisco to Toronto and beyond. From pay potties to deserted alleyways, No Place To Go is a marriage of urbanism, social narrative, and pop culture that shows the ways - momentous and mockable - public bathrooms just don't work. Like, for the homeless, who, faced with no place to go sometimes literally take to the streets. (Ever heard of a municipal poop map?) For people with invisible disabilities, such as Crohn's disease, who stay home rather than risk soiling themselves on public transit routes. For girls who quit sports teams because they don't want to run to the edge of the pitch to pee. Celebrities like Lady Gaga and Bruce Springsteen have protested bathroom bills that will stomp on the rights of transpeople. And where was Hillary Clinton after she arrived back to the stage late after the first commercial break of the live-televised Democratic leadership debate in December 2015? Stuck in a queue for the women's bathroom. Peel back the layers on public bathrooms and it's clear many more people want for good access than have it. Public bathroom access is about cities, society, design, movement, and equity. The real question is: Why are public toilets so crappy?"--
Subjects: Public toilets; Restrooms;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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