Bøger udgivet af New Press

Drone warfare has raised profound ethical and constitutional questions both in the halls of Congress and among the U.S. public. Not since debates over nuclear warfare has American military strategy been the subject of discussion in living rooms, classrooms, and houses of worship. Yet as this groundbreaking new work shows, the full implications of drones have barely been addressed in the media.In a unique take on a subject that has grabbed headlines and is consuming billions of taxpayer dollars each year, philosopher Grégoire Chamayou applies the lens of philosophy to our understanding of how drones are changing our world. For the first time in history, a state has claimed the right to wage war across a mobile battlefield that potentially spans the globe. Remote-control flying weapons, he argues, take us well beyond even George W. Bush's justification for the war on terror.What we are seeing is a fundamental transformation of the laws of war that have defined military conflict as between combatants. As more and more drones are launched into battle, war now has the potential to transform into a realm of secretive, targeted assassinations of individuals—beyond the view and control not only of potential enemies but also of citizens of democracies themselves. Far more than a simple technology, Chamayou shows, drones are profoundly influencing what it means for a democracy to wage war. A Theory of the Drone will be essential reading for all who care about this important question.

Fourth grade is ground zero in the fierce debates about education reform in America. In this fascinating and groundbreaking book, Schaenen adds the voices of actual fourth-grade kids to the conversation.

Hailed as an "impressive collection of remembrances and commentaries" ("Choice"), "The Muses Go to School" brings together beloved and renowned artists--including Whoopi Goldberg, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rosie Perez, and Phylicia Rashad--to share their transformative school encounters with the arts that helped them discover their inner humanity and put them on the road to fully realized creative lives. These autobiographical pieces are paired with interpretive essays by distinguished educators to produce a powerful case for positioning the arts at the center of primary and secondary school curriculums. Spanning a range of genres from acting and music to literary and visual arts, these smart and entertaining voices make surprising connections between the arts and the development of intellect, imagination, spirit, emotional intelligence, self-esteem, and self-discipline of young people. Herbert Kohl and Tom Oppenheim have created "a superbly articulate assemblage of intensely personal, interdisciplinary voices" ("Booklist"), revealing that creative arts are a critical element of any education.

"From Algeria and Libya to Egypt and Syria, the Arab world commands Western headlines, even as its complex politics and cultures elude the grasp of most Western readers and commentators. Perhaps no other region is so closely linked to contemporary U.S. foreign policy, and nowhere else does the unfolding of events have such significant consequences for America. The Arabs: A Concise History argues that the key to understanding the Arab world today--and in the years ahead--is unlocking its past. John McHugo takes the reader on a journey through the political, social, and intellectual history of the Arabs from the Roman Empire right up to the present day. His sweeping and fluent account describes in vivid detail the mission of the Prophet Muhammad, the expansion of Islam, the origins of Shiism, medieval and modern conflicts, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the interaction with Western ideas, the struggle to escape foreign domination, the rise of Islamism, and the end of the era of dictators. McHugo reveals how the Arab world came to have its present form, why change was inevitable, and what choices lie ahead following the Arab Spring. This deeply informed and accessible account is the perfect entry point for anyone seeking to comprehend this vital part of the world. "--

Rationing: it's a word-and idea-that people often loathe and fear. Health care expert Henry Aaron has compared mentioning the possibility of rationing to "shouting an obscenity in church." Yet societies in fact ration food, water, medical care, and fuel all the time, with those who can pay the most getting the most. As Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has said, the results can be "thoroughly unequal and nasty."In Any Way You Slice It, Stan Cox shows that rationing is not just a quaint practice restricted to World War II memoirs and 1970s gas station lines. Instead, he persuasively argues that rationing is a vital concept for our fragile present, an era of dwindling resources and environmental crises. Any Way You Slice It takes us on a fascinating search for alternative ways of apportioning life's necessities, from the goal of "fair shares for all" during wartime in the 1940s to present-day water rationing in a Mumbai slum, from the bread shops of Cairo to the struggle for fairness in American medicine and carbon rationing on Norfolk Island in the Pacific. Cox's question: can we limit consumption while assuring everyone a fair share?The author of Losing Our Cool, the much debated and widely acclaimed examination of air-conditioning's many impacts, here turns his attention to the politically explosive topic of how we share our planet's resources.

Newtown, Connecticut. Aurora, Colorado. Both have entered our collective memory as sites of unimaginable heartbreak and mass slaughter perpetrated by lone gunmen. Meanwhile, cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C., are dealing with the painful, everyday reality of record rates of gun-related deaths. By any account, gun violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. A widely respected activist and policy analyst--as well as a former gun enthusiast and an ex-member of the National Rifle Association--Tom Diaz presents a chilling, up-to-date survey of the changed landscape of gun manufacturing and marketing. "The Last Gun" explores how the gun industry and the nature of gun violence have changed, including the disturbing rise in military-grade gun models. But Diaz also argues that the once formidable gun lobby has become a "paper tiger," marshaling a range of evidence and case studies to make the case that now is the time for a renewed political effort to attack gun violence at its source--the guns themselves. In the aftermath of Newtown, a challenging national conversation lies ahead. "The Last Gun" is an indispensable guide to this debate, and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we can finally rid America's streets, schools, and homes of gun violence and prevent future Newtowns.

In a magisterial work of narrative nonfiction that weaves together the racially fraught history of public education in Milwaukee and the broader story of hypersegregation in the rust belt, "Lessons from the Heartland" tells of an iconic city's fall from grace--and of its chance for redemption in the twenty-first century. A symbol of middle American working-class values and pride, Wisconsin--and in particular urban Milwaukee--has been at the forefront of a half-century of public education experiments, from desegregation and "school choice," to vouchers and charter schools. Picking up where J. Anthony Lukas's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Common Ground" left off, "Lessons from the Heartland" offers a sweeping narrative portrait of an All-American city at the epicenter of American public education reform, and an exploration of larger issues of race and class in our democracy. Miner (whose daughters went through the Milwaukee public school system and who is a former "Milwaukee Journal" reporter) brings a journalist's eye and a parent's heart to exploring the intricate ways that jobs, housing, and schools intersect, underscoring the intrinsic link between the future of public schools and the dreams and hopes of democracy in a multicultural society. This book will change the way we think about the possibility and promise of American public education.

Howard Zinn was perhaps the best-known and most widely celebrated popular interpreter of American history in the twentieth century, renowned as a bestselling author, a political activist, a lecturer, and one of America's most recognizable and admired progressive voices. His rich, complicated, and fascinating life placed Zinn at the heart of the signal events of modern American history--from the battlefields of World War II to the McCarthy era, the civil rights and the antiwar movements, and beyond. A bombardier who later renounced war, a son of working-class parents who earned a doctorate at Columbia, a white professor who taught at the historically black Spelman College in Atlanta, a committed scholar who will be forever remembered as a devoted "people's historian"--Howard Zinn blazed a bold, iconoclastic path through the turbulent second half of the twentieth century. For the millions who were moved by Zinn's personal example of political engagement and by his inspiring "bottom up" history, here is an authoritative biography of this towering figure--by Martin Duberman, recipient of the American Historical Association's 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. Given exclusive access to the previously closed Zinn archives, Duberman's impeccably researched biography is illustrated with never-before-published photos from the Zinn family collection. "Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left" is a major publishing event that brings to life one of the most inspiring figures of our time.

If the nation's gross national income--over $14 trillion--were divided evenly across the entire U.S. population, every household could call itself middle class. Yet the income-level disparity in this country is now wider than at any point since the Great Depression. In 2010 the average salary for CEOs on the S&P 500 was over $1 million--climbing to over $11 million when all forms of compensation are accounted for--while the current median household income for African Americans is just over $32,000. How can some be so rich, while others are so poor? In this provocative book, Peter Edelman, a former top aide to Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a lifelong antipoverty advocate, offers an informed analysis of how this country can be so wealthy yet have a steadily growing number of unemployed and working poor. According to Edelman, we have taken important positive steps without which 25 to 30 million "more" people would be poor, but poverty fluctuates with the business cycle. The structure of today's economy has stultified wage growth for half of America's workers--with even worse results at the bottom and for people of color--while bestowing billions on those at the top. "So Rich, So Poor" delves into what is happening to the people behind the statistics and takes a particular look at the continuing crisis of young people of color, whose possibility of a productive life too often is lost on their way to adulthood. This is crucial reading for anyone who wants to understand the most critical American dilemma of the twenty-first century.

As China navigates the murky waters of a "third way" with liberal economic policies under a strict political regime, the surprising battleground for China's future emerges in the country's highest rated television network--China Central Television, or CCTV. With 16 internationally broadcast channels and over 1.2 billion viewers, CCTV is a powerhouse in conveying Chinese news and entertainment. The hybrid nature of the network has also transformed it into an unexpected site of discourse in a country that has little official space for negotiation. While CCTV programming is state sponsored--and censored--the popularity and profit of the station are determined by the people. And as the Chinese Communist Party seeks to exert its own voice on domestic and international affairs, the prospect of finding an amenable audience becomes increasingly paramount. Through a series of interviews with a fascinating cast of power players including a director of a special topic program that incited the 1989 student movement, current and past presidents of CCTV, and producers at the frontline of the network's rapidly evolving role in Chinese culture, celebrated media analyst Ying Zhu unlocks a doorway to political power that has long been shrouded in mystery.

"The story of the United States' intimate and pivotal relationship with the Arab world's largest nation over the course of six decades"--Provided by publisher.

"Bank Street College of Education professor Salvatore Vascellaro is a leading advocate of taking children and teachers into a wider world as the key to improving our struggling schools. Combining practical and theoretical guidance, Out of the Classroom and into the World visits a rich variety of classrooms transformed by innovative field trip curricula--showing how students' hearts and minds are opened as they discover how a suspension bridge works, what connects them to the people and places of their neighborhood, and as they come to understand the ecosystem of a river by following it to its source. Vascellaro shows, equally, that what teachers can offer children is fueled by their own engagement with the world, and he offers stunning examples of teachers awakened by their direct experiences with the social issues plaguing American society--from the flood-torn areas of New Orleans to the mining areas of West Virginia. Based on the core principles of progressive pedagogy, and the wisdom gained from Vascellaro's experience as a teacher, school administrator, and teacher educator, Out of the Classroom and into the World is a direct retort to test scores and standards as adequate measures of teaching and learning--an inspiring call and major new resource for anyone interested in reinvigorating America's classrooms"-- Provided by publisher.

After a long political season of listening to Glenn Beck's loony rants, Sarah Palin's off-kilter phraseology, and Rand Paul's downright oddball elocutions, authors Shelby Gragg and Stefan Petrucha were struck by an astonishing similarity to the beloved fill-in-the-blank games of their childhood. And so the hilarious spoof "What the (Active Verb) Is Wrong with the Right?" was born. This laugh-out-loud parody invites readers to create their own fanciful sentences that would make any right-wing nut proud. From the roots of the rabid right (testing our knowledge of the McCarthy hearings and Richard Nixon's Checkers speech), through the O'Reilly and Hannity ascendancy, and up to the heyday of Glenn and Sarah, "What the (Active Verb) Is Wrong with the Right?" touches on the greatest hits and the most outrageous misses of contemporary conservative rhetoric. Including favorites such as Ann Coulter and Ronald Reagan, along with a supporting cast of thousands of tea partiers and irate Fox News viewers, here's the ultimate impulse buy/graduation gift/stocking stuffer that will provide hours of cathartic and comic relief for the rest of us. Chuckle at the rabid right! Guffaw through O'Reilly and Hannity! Giggle at Glenn and Sarah! And laugh until you weep for the fate of the nation!

Written by the blogger who was the first to report on the lobbyists who brought us the Tea Parties, here is a groundbreaking expos of the plans to make America conservative again. "A Field Guide to the Right" dissects the rise of "patriot" hate groups, financing for Glenn Beck and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and how former Bush operatives and current trade association heads have cleverly adapted to crush Obama and progressive reform.

When the historian Howard Zinn died in early 2010, millions mourned the loss of one of our foremost intellectual and political guides: a historian, activist, and truth-teller who, in the words of the "New York Times"'s Bob Herbert, "peel[ed] back the rosy veneer of much of American history." Designed to highlight Zinn's most important writings, "The Indispensable" Zinn includes excerpts from Zinn's bestselling "A People's History of the United States"; his memoir, "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train"; his inspiring writings on the civil rights movement; and the full text of his celebrated play "Marx in Soho." Noted historian and activist Timothy Patrick McCarthy provides essential historical and biographical context for each selection. With an introduction from Zinn's former Spellman College student and longtime friend Alice Walker and an afterword by Zinn's friend and colleague Noam Chomsky, "The Indispensable Zinn" is both a fitting tribute to the legacy of a man whose "work changed the way millions of people saw the past" (Noam Chomsky) and a powerful and accessible introduction for anyone discovering Zinn for the first time.

An oral history drawn from the collection of 9/11 interviews at Columbia University.

First published: 2010; Previous edition: 2012..

"First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Saqi Books."--Title page verso.

As public schools become increasingly embattled by budget shortfalls, crowded buildings, and ever-more-rigid curricula, the burden of these restrictions has drastically changed the way children are expected to learn. Nowhere is this more obvious or more devastating than classrooms in high-need urban areas. Drawing upon teachers' firsthand experiences in some of today's most demanding schools, leading education experts Beverly Falk and Megan Blumenreich provide an enlightening account of what our students really need--and how teachers are stepping up to provide what state standards and political posturing cannot. "Teaching Matters" takes us into a variety of classrooms to witness the art of teaching at its most creative and effective, with a focus on early childhood and elementary school. We follow educators as they strive to change systems that fail to address the needs of their students, from efforts to break the silence about homophobia in schools and multipronged strategies to build stronger relationships with immigrant families to the modification of ineffective curriculum to foster the growth of the "whole child." By confronting many misconceptions about urban education and school reform, Falk and Blumenreich provide a crucial insider's look at some of the most challenging and relevant questions in education today.

A sweeping historical travelogue of the contentious border of France and Spain, in the great tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Jan MorrisWith the Catalonia crisis making international headlines, the unique cultural and geographic region bordering Spain and France has once again moved to the center of the world's attention. In The Savage Frontier, acclaimed author and journalist Matthew Carr uncovers the fascinating, multilayered story of the Pyrenees region-at once a forbidding, mountainous frontier zone of stunning beauty, home to a unique culture, and a site of sharp conflict between nations and empires.Carr follows the routes taken by monks, soldiers, poets, pilgrims, and refugees. He examines the people and events that have shaped the Pyrenees across the centuries, with a cast of characters including Napoleon, Hannibal, and Charlemagne; the eccentric British climber Henry Russell; Francisco Sabaté Llopart, the Catalan anarchist who waged a lone war against the Franco regime across the Pyrenees for years after the civil war; Camino de Santiago pilgrims; and the cellist Pablo Casals, who spent twenty-three years in exile only a few miles from the Spanish border to show his disgust and disapproval of the Spanish regime.The Savage Frontier is a book that will spark a new awareness and appreciation of one of the most haunting, magical, and dramatic landscapes on earth.

The singular chronicle of life at the forefront of anti-racist activism.