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"e;A complex, smart and ambitious book that at first reads like a self-help manual, then blossoms into a wide-ranging political manifesto."e;Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times Book ReviewNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: Time*; The New Yorker *;NPR*;GQ*;Elle*;Vulture*;Fortune*; Boing Boing*;The Irish Times*;The New York Public Library*; The Brooklyn Public LibraryPorchlight's Personal Development & Human Behavior Book of the YearNothing is harder to do these days than nothing. But in a world where our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity . . . doing nothing may be our most important form of resistance. So argues artist and critic Jenny Odell in this field guide to doing nothing (at least as capitalism defines it). Odell sees our attention as the most preciousand overdrawnresource we have. Once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind's role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress. Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book is a four-course meal in the age of Soylent.

"At last--a global plan that actually adds up."--James Hansen, former director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space StudiesThe world must reach negative greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Yet no single plan has addressed the full scope of the problem--until now. In The 100% Solution, Solomon Goldstein-Rose--a leading millennial climate activist and a former Massachusetts state representative--makes clear what needs to happen to hit the 2050 target: the manufacturing booms we must spur, the moonshot projects we must fund, the amount of CO2 we'll have to sequester from the atmosphere, and much more. Most importantly, he shows us the more prosperous and equitable world we can build by uniting the efforts of activists, industries, governments, scientists, and voters to get the job done. This is the guide we've been waiting for. As calls for a WWII-scale mobilization intensify--especially among youth activists--this fully illustrated, action-oriented book arms us with specific demands, sets the stakes for what our leaders must achieve, and proves that with this level of comprehensive thinking we can still take back our future.

The classic work on debt, now is a special tenth anniversary edition with a new introduction by Thomas Piketty Before there was money, there was debt. Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems—to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market. The problem with this version of history? There’s not a shred of evidence to support it.Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that for more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors. Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it. Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a fascinating chronicle of this little known history—as well as how it has defined human history. It shows how debt has defined our human past, and what that means for our economic future.

The New York Times Bestseller The brilliant intellect and candor of Anthony Bourdain is on full display in this collection of interviews from throughout his remarkable career, with an introduction from The New Yorker's Helen Rosner. Anthony Bourdain always downplayed his skills as a chef (many disagreed). But despite his modesty, one thing even he agreed with was that he was a born raconteur-as he makes clear in this collection of sparkling conversations. His wit, passion, and deep intelligence shine through all manner of discussion here, from heart-to-hearts with bloggers, to on-stage talks before massive crowds, to intense interviews with major television programs. Without fail, Bourdain is always blisteringly honest-such as when he talks about his battles with addiction, or when detailing his thoughts on restaurant critics. He regularly dispenses arresting insight about how what's on your plate reveals much of history and politics. And perhaps best of all, the heartfelt empathy he developed travelling the world for his TV shows is always in the fore, as these talks make the "Hemingway of gastronomy," as chef Marco Pierre White called him, live again.

"After three decades of living and traveling in Italy, Jeff Biggers finally crossed over to Sardinia, uncovering a treasury of stories amid major archaeological discoveries rewriting the history of the Mediterranean. Based in the bewitching port of Alghero, guided through the island's rich and largely untranslated literature, he embarked on a rare journey around the island to experience its famed cuisine, wine, traditional rituals and thriving cultural movements. Beyond its fabled beaches, reconsidering how its unique history and ways have shaped Italy and Europe today, Biggers explores how travelers must first understand Sardinia and its ancient and modern history to truly understand the rest of Italy"--

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2022 "A frothy picaresque that ... vibrates to the “sweet celestial confusion” of Soutine’s painting: delirious and earthy, reverent and irreligious." -- The New York Times Book Review A wild, effervescent, absinthe-soaked novel that tells of the life of the extraordinary artist Chaim SoutineSteve Stern’s astonishing new novel The Village Idiot begins on a glorious spring day in Paris 1917. Amid the carnage of World War I, some of the foremost artists of the age have chosen to stage a boat race.  At the head of the regatta is Amedeo Modigliani, seated regally in a bathtub pulled by a flock of canvasback ducks.  But unbeknownst to the competition, he has a secret advantage: his young friend, the immigrant painter Chaim Soutine, is hauling the tub from underwater.  Soutine, an unwashed, misfit artist (who incidentally can’t swim) has been persuaded by the Italian to don a ponderous diving suit and trudge along the floor of the river Seine.  Disoriented and confused by the artificial air in his helmet Chaim stumbles through the events of his past and future life. It’s quite an extraordinary life.  From his impoverished beginnings in an East European shtetl to his equally destitute days in Paris during the Années Folles, the Crazy Years, from the Cinderella patronage of the American collector Albert Barnes, who raises him from poverty to international attention, to his perilous flight from the Nazi occupation of France, Chaim Soutine remains driven by his unrelenting passion to paint.  To be sure, there are notable distractions, such as his unlikely friendship with Modigliani, who drags him from brothels to midnight felonies to a duel at dawn; there are the romances with remarkable women who compete with and sometimes salvage his obsession. But there is also, always on the horizon, the coming storm that threatens to sweep away Chaim and a generation of gifted Jewish refugees from a tradition that would outlaw their longing to make art. Wildly inventive, as funny as it is heart-breaking, The Village Idiot is a luminous fever-dream of a novel, steeped in the heady atmosphere of a Paris that was the cultural capital of the universe, a place where anything seemed possible.

Johnny Cash seemed like the stuff of legend when he was alive, and even more so as he achieved something close to sainthood in death. The interviews collected here bring us closer to the actual man: brilliant, falliable, introspective, and longing for redemption.Mythmaker, philosopher, sinner, and saint, Johnny Cash is perhaps the quintessential American icon. Though often rebellious and unruly, he rarely spoke without intention, sincerity, and a bit of poetry. The interviews here spotlight that inimitable rhetorical style, and the fascinating diversity of subjects that made him as relatable as he was mysterious. From a hopped up early interview with Pete Seeger, to a meditation on sobriety, to the last interview in which he stares calmly into the face of death, this collection brings together decades of insight as deeply profound as the unforgettable baritone of The Man in Black himself.

A lifetime of activist experience from a civil rights legend informs this playbook for building and conducting nonviolent direct action campaigns In an era of massive worldwide protests for racial and economic justice, it is important to remember that marching is only one way to take to the streets. Protest must be supplemented with the sustained direct action campaigns that are crucial to winning major reforms. Beginning as a trainer in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, George Lakey has spent decades helping direct action tactics flourish and succeed on the front lines of social change. Now, in this timely and down-to-earth guide, he passes the torch to a new generation of activists. Lakey looks to successful campaigns across the world to help us see what has worked, what hasn't, and why: from choosing the right target to designing a creative campaign; from avoiding burnout within your group to building a movement of movements to achieve real progressive victories. Drawing on the experiences of a diverse set of ambitious change-makers, How We Win shows us the way to justice, peace, and a sustainable economy. This is what democracy looks like.

The National Bestseller“Focused and persuasive... Bray’s book is many things: the first English-language transnational history of antifa, a how-to for would-be activists, and a record of advice from anti-Fascist organizers past and present.”—THE NEW YORKER"Insurgent activist movements need spokesmen, intellectuals and apologists, and for the moment Mark Bray is filling in as all three... The book’s most enlightening contribution is on the history of anti-fascist efforts over the past century, but its most relevant for today is its justification for stifling speech and clobbering white supremacists."—Carlos Lozada, THE WASHINGTON POST“[Bray’s] analysis is methodical, and clearly informed by both his historical training and 15 years of organizing, which included Occupy Wall Street…Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook couldn’t have emerged at a more opportune time. Bray’s arguments are incisive and cohesive, and his consistent refusal to back down from principle makes the book a crucial intervention in our political moment.”—SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEIn the wake of tragic events in Charlottesville, VA, and Donald Trump''s initial refusal to denounce the white nationalists behind it all, the "antifa" opposition movement is suddenly appearing everywhere. But what is it, precisely? And where did it come from? As long as there has been fascism, there has been anti-fascism — also known as “antifa.” Born out of resistance to Mussolini and Hitler in Europe during the 1920s and ’30s, the antifa movement has suddenly burst into the headlines amidst opposition to the Trump administration and the alt-right. They could be seen in news reports, often clad all in black with balaclavas covering their faces, demonstrating at the presidential inauguration, and on California college campuses protesting far-right speakers, and most recently, on the streets of Charlottesville, VA, protecting, among others, a group of ministers including Cornel West from neo-Nazi violence. (West would later tell reporters, "The anti-fascists saved our lives.")Simply, antifa aims to deny fascists the opportunity to promote their oppressive politics, and to protect tolerant communities from acts of violence promulgated by fascists. Critics say shutting down political adversaries is anti-democratic; antifa adherents argue that the horrors of fascism must never be allowed the slightest chance to triumph again.In a smart and gripping investigation, historian and former Occupy Wall Street organizer Mark Bray provides a detailed survey of the full history of anti-fascism from its origins to the present day — the first transnational history of postwar anti-fascism in English. Based on interviews with anti-fascists from around the world, Antifa details the tactics of the movement and the philosophy behind it, offering insight into the growing but little-understood resistance fighting back against fascism in all its guises.

In the vein of Never Let Me Go and Killers of the Flower Moon, one of America’s greatest storytellers sheds light on an American tragedy: the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the ‘cultural genocide’ experienced by the Native American children at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School . . .In September of 1890, the academic year begins at the Carlisle School, a military-style boarding school for Indians in Pennsylvania, founded and run by Captain Richard Henry Pratt. Pratt considers himself a champion of Native Americans. His motto, “To save the man, we must kill the Indian,” is severely enforced in both classroom and dormitory: Speak only English, forget your own language and customs, learn to be white.As the young students navigate surviving the school, they begin to hear rumors of a “ghost dance” amongst the tribes of the west—a ceremonial dance aimed at restoring the Native People to power, and running the invaders off their land. As the hope and promise of the ghost dance sweeps across the Great Plains, cynical newspapers seize upon the story to whip up panic among local whites. The US government responds by deploying troops onto lands that had been granted to the Indians. It is an act that seems certain to end in slaughter.As news of these developments reaches Carlisle, each student, no matter what their tribe, must make a choice: to follow the white man’s path, or be true to their own way of life . . .

A significant collection of interviews with the defiant, controversial, and ground-breaking singer, songwriter, and activist throughout her turbulent career . . .“It’s not like I got up in the morning and said, ‘Okay, now let’s start a new controversy’.”  -- Sinéad O’ConnorSinéad O'Connor’s music — both in her songwriting and in her beautiful voice —addressed both emotional despair and incandescent joy with glorious ardor. But she may have been just as well known for her outspokenness. This collection of interviews covers the entire span of O'Connor's career, from the early days to her last interview. From giddy teenager to seasoned superstar, she speaks candidly about her meteoric rise to fame, and recounts what happened when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on live television in an act of protest. Unguarded and unpredictable, O'Connor was a woman who electrified the globe: imaginative, opinionated, and eloquent.

A veteran music critic and record reviewer illustrates how digital culture has throttled and debased popular music In The Endless Refrain, former Washington Post writer and editor David Rowell goes deep into the psychology of the average listener - as well as the algorithms that function as today's tastemakers - to explore the devastating effects that technology has on musicians and fans alike. Making an incisive analysis of the economic and technological forces behind the rise of Napster, Pandora, Spotify, and iTunes, Rowell examines how contemporary currents of music consumption and production shut the doors on the organic creation of new music and trapped us in a whirlpool of repetition and stale nostalgia. Combining personal memoir, interviews, industry research, and good old-fashioned critical passion, Rowell's book is a pungent indictment of a music culture gone awry, crippled by nostalgia and subverted by the sinister hive minds of the internet.

A propulsive debut political thriller set in the aftermath of a global nuclear weapons crisis—from the acclaimed filmmaker of The Fugitive and an award-winning journalist . . ."A knife-edged investigation that morphs into a political thriller about a world on the brink. An ingenious page turner." —Michael MannA plot to disrupt a global peace summit in Chicago collides with a civil rights case breakthrough at a mysterious archaeological site . . . Chicago detective Randall Jenkins has not been back home to the historic Civil Rights hotspot of Cairo, Illinois since the disappearance of his mother, a well-known journalist, several decades ago. That all changes the day Dr. Molly Moore, an ambitious young archaeologist in the national spotlight for her groundbreaking high-tech discoveries, uncovers a set of strange bones at a huge 12,000-year-old site at a highway construction project.  With retired military general and contractor William Alexander breathing down her neck to cover up the dig, Molly and Randall soon find themselves in the middle of a wild military conspiracy.The detective and archaeologist’s entwined family mysteries suddenly thrust them into the central position as the only people who can ensure the safety of the ongoing Chicago global peace summit. They must take on the rogue general who views any disarmament agreement as a clear and present danger to the United States. The fate of global peace and the lives of Molly and Randall hang in the balance.

“Vi Khi Nao's fictional language is full of magical slippages ... an esoteric sadness seeps up through surface deadpan and pizzazz." —Jonathan LethemA mesmerizing epistolary tale of a sensual queer love affair set against the backdrop of Las Vegas' gritty underbelly.The Italy Letters is a slim, powerful shot of literary fantasia from one of America’s best-kept secrets. Long an underground favorite, visionary writer Vi Khi Nao weaves an unforgettable and highly distinctive story of a love affair suffused with longing, erotic passion, and heartbreak—all while painting a picture of the gritty underside of Las Vegas.This beautiful and mesmerizing novel by a queer Vietnamese American writer is a brilliant and unclassifiable work of fiction that takes the form of a series of letters written by the unnamed narrator to her lover in Italy … part of a stream-of-consciousness narrative that is by turns poignant, bawdy, funny, and disturbing—and often beautifully poetic. Along the way, the story touches on the immigrant experience, LGBTQIA identity, social class, writing, betrayal, sex, and homesickness. The result is an authentically distinctive piece of writing from a writer on the cusp of wide acclaim.

"A former prosecutor provides an essential guide to ensuring that Donald Trump -- and other oligarchs of his ilk -- no longer beat the rap and face serious jail time for their crimes"--

"A 16-year-old confesses to the murder of a local celebrity--a hero of New Orleans's shaky post-storm recovery. The boy's father, doing life in prison on the installment plan for a series of minor offenses, will do anything to save him. Enter Ben Alder, a carpetbagging attorney ... who has drifted down to New Orleans. He winds up defending them both. Ben and his partner Boris are public defenders obsessed with redeeming their case history of failures, and willing to do anything to protect their clients. As Ben tries to disrupt a corrupt and racist criminal justice system that believes an inexplicable crime has been solved, he confronts his own legacy of loss and faith. And as the novel hurtles towards its tragic, redemptive conclusion, Ben finds himself an onlooker and a perpetrator where he thought he was the hero"--

"Lively . . . excoriating, eloquent . . . We are all Faustians now." — James Wood, The New YorkerA devilishly fascinating tour of the Faustian bargain through the ages, from brimstone to blues and beyond . . .From ancient times to the modern world, the idea of the Faustian bargain—the exchange of one's soul in return for untold riches and power—has exerted a magnetic pull upon our collective imaginations.Scholar Ed Simon takes us on a historical tour of the Faustian bargain, from the Bible to blues, and illustrates how the impulse fto sacrifice our principles in exchange for power is present in all kinds of social ills, from colonialism to nuclear warfare, from social media to climate change to AI, and beyond. In doing so, Simon conveys just how much the Faustian bargain shows us about power and evil . . . and ourselves.

"In late 17th Century London rich young women are being kidnapped, then murdered. Harry Hunt, formerly of the Royal Society but now a rich gentleman, is falsely accused. To clear his name, he must rely on his abandoned scientific expertise and battle the full force of the British aristocracy."--

"Journalists Shane Burley and Ben Lorber present a sorely-needed progressive and intersectional approach to the vital question: What can we do about antisemitism? From online trolling of Jews by the 'alt-right' to synagogue shootings by white nationalists to the spread of QAnon and George Soros conspiracy theories, antisemitism is a fixture of U.S. politics today. Its rise is part and parcel of growing exclusionary nationalist movements - putting multiracial democracy itself at risk. At the same time, conversations about antisemitism are more polarized than ever. How is antisemitism connected to anti-Blackness, xenophobia, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, and other forms of oppression? How do we build the coalitions and movements we need to fight it all together? Why is it important to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel's oppression of Palestinians and antisemitism? Using personal stories, historical deep-dives, front-line reporting, and interviews with leading change-makers, Lorber and Burley help the reader understand how antisemitism works, what's at stake in contemporary debates, and how we can build true safety in solidarity"--