Society & Politics

In the decades since the end of the Second World War, it has been widely assumed that the western model of liberal democracy and (read more)

In the decades since the end of the Second World War, it has been widely assumed that the western model of liberal democracy and free trade is the way the world should be governed. However, events in the early years of the twenty-first century - first, the 2003 war with Iraq and its chaotic aftermath and, second, the financial crash of 2008 - have threatened the general acceptance that continued progress under the benign (or sometimes not so benign) gaze of the western powers is the only way forwards. And as America turns inwards and Europe is beset by austerity politics and populist nationalism, the post-war consensus looks less and less secure.

But is this really the worst of times? In a forensic examination of the world we now live in, acclaimed historian Michael Burleigh sets out to answer that question. Who could have imagined that China would champion globalization and lead the battle on climate change? Or that post-Soviet Russia might present a greater threat to the world's stability than ISIS? And while we may be on the cusp of still more dramatic change, perhaps the risks will - in time - bring not only change but a wholly positive transformation. Incisive, robust and always insightful, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times is both a dazzling tour d'horizon of the world as it is today and a surprisingly optimistic vision of the world as it might become.
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The history of the Conservative party has, extraordinarily, rarely been written in a single volume for the general reader. There (read more)

The history of the Conservative party has, extraordinarily, rarely been written in a single volume for the general reader. There are academic multi-volume accounts and a multitude of smaller books with limited historical scope. But now, Robin Harris, Margaret Thatcher's speechwriter and party insider, has produced this authoritative but lively history book which tells the whole story and fills a gaping hole in Britain's historiographical record.

Taking as his starting point the larger than life personalities of the Conservative Party's leaders and prime ministers since its inception, Robin Harris' book also analyses the interconnected themes and issues which have dominated Conservative politics over the years. The careers of Peel, Disraeli, Salisbury, Baldwin, Chamberlain, Churchill, Eden, Macmillan, Heath, Thatcher, Major, Hague and Cameron together amount to an alternative history of Britain since the early nineteenth century. This landmark book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in history or politics, or anyone who has ever wondered how Britain came to be the nation it is today. (hide)

In The Establishment Owen Jones, author of the international bestseller Chavs, offers a biting critique of the British Establishment (read more)

In The Establishment Owen Jones, author of the international bestseller Chavs, offers a biting critique of the British Establishment and a passionate plea for democracy. Behind our democracy lurks a powerful but unaccountable network of people who wield massive power and reap huge profits in the process. In exposing this shadowy and complex system that dominates our lives, Owen Jones sets out on a journey into the heart of our Establishment, from the lobbies of Westminster to the newsrooms, boardrooms and trading rooms of Fleet Street and the City.

Exposing the revolving doors that link these worlds, and the vested interests that bind them together, Jones shows how, in claiming to work on our behalf, the people at the top are doing precisely the opposite. In fact, they represent the biggest threat to our democracy today - and it is time they were challenged. Praise for Owen Jones' Chavs: "A passionate and well-documented denunciation of the upper-class contempt for the probes that has recently become so visible in the British class system". (hide)

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, both the crisis of liberal democracy, as visible in, for example, the rise of far-right (read more)

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, both the crisis of liberal democracy, as visible in, for example, the rise of far-right actors in Europe and the United States, and environmental crises, from declining biodiversity to climate change, are increasingly in the public spotlight. Whilst both areas have been analysed extensively on their own, The Far Right and the Environment: Politics, Discourse and Communication provides much-needed insights into their intersection by illuminating the environmental communication of far-right party and non-party actors in Europe and the United States. Although commonly perceived as a `left-wing' issue today, concerns over the natural environment by the far right have a long, ideology-driven history.
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What does democracy expect of its citizens, and how do the citizenry match these expectations? This Oxford Handbook examines the (read more)

What does democracy expect of its citizens, and how do the citizenry match these expectations? This Oxford Handbook examines the role of the citizen in contemporary politics, based on essays from the world's leading scholars of political behavior research. The recent expansion of democracy has both given new rights and created new responsibilities for the citizenry. These political changes are paralleled by tremendous advances in our empirical knowledge of citizens and their behaviors through the institutionalization of systematic, comparative study of contemporary publics--ranging from the advanced industrial democracies to the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe, to new survey research on the developing world.

These essays describe how citizens think about politics, how their values shape their behavior, the patterns of participation, the sources of vote choice, and how public opinion impacts on governing and public policy. This is the most comprehensive review of the cross-national literature of citizen behavior and the relationship between citizens and their governments. It will become the first point of reference for scholars and students interested in these key issues. (hide)

Can presidents influence whether Congress enacts their agenda? Most research on presidential-congressional relations suggests that (read more)

Can presidents influence whether Congress enacts their agenda? Most research on presidential-congressional relations suggests that presidents have little if any influence on Congress. Instead, structural factors like party control largely determine the fate of the president's legislative agenda. In The President on Capitol Hill, Jeffrey E.

Cohen challenges this conventional view, arguing that existing research has underestimated the president's power to sway Congress and developing a new theory of presidential influence. Cohen demonstrates that by taking a position, the president converts an issue from a nonpresidential into a presidential one, which leads members of Congress to consider the president's views when deciding how to vote. Presidential position taking also converts the factors that normally affect roll call voting--such as party, public opinion, and policy type--into resources that presidents can leverage to influence the vote.

Published: 25 Jun 2019 (hide)

Kurt and his crew are in a deadly race to stop the sea rising. A mission deep inside the swirling Pacific. Their objective? To save (read more)

Kurt and his crew are in a deadly race to stop the sea rising. A mission deep inside the swirling Pacific. Their objective? To save the world.

The blistering Kurt Austin adventure in the NUMA files series from UK No. 1 bestseller Clive Cussler. A global threat The world's sea levels are rising at an alarming rate, too quickly to be caused by glacier melt. (hide)

This book provides both evidence-based scientific studies and practical guidance to enhance the welfare of cattle, pigs, sheep and (read more)

This book provides both evidence-based scientific studies and practical guidance to enhance the welfare of cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry at slaughter. Temple Grandin and Michael Cockram have brought together a range of international experts to prepare chapters on philosophical and ethical views on the slaughter of farmed animals. These include welfare issues and their assessment, the condition of animals on arrival and their management during lairage, animal handling, methods of humane slaughter and assessment of unconsciousness.

Published:22 May 2020 (hide)

***Please note this item is currently out of stock and being reprinted*** A perfect stocking filler - whether Brexit makes you laugh (read more)

***Please note this item is currently out of stock and being reprinted*** A perfect stocking filler - whether Brexit makes you laugh or cry, Ladybird's The Story of Brexit will just make you laugh. "Leaving was the will of the people," sighs Angelica's father. He voted to leave.

Angelica voted to remain, but she feels the same way. "It is the will of the people," she sighs. They stare at the ducks.They like the ducks. Ducks are better than people.

'Brexit gave us lots of exciting new words, like brextremist, remoaner, bremoaner, remaybe, breprehensible, remaintenance, brexorcist, remaidstone, brex-girlfriend, remange, brextortion, remayhem and bregret. The new words make it harder for foreigners to understand what we are saying. In a tough, new international business world, small advantages such as this can be crucial.' (hide)

Just over a decade into the new millennium, America is beset by a sense of crisis. The seismic shifts that occurred in the space (read more)

Just over a decade into the new millennium, America is beset by a sense of crisis. The seismic shifts that occurred in the space of a generation have created a country of winners and losers, leaving the social contract in pieces. In The Unwinding, George Packer narrates the story of America over the past three decades, bringing to the task his empathy with people facing difficult challenges, his sharp eye for detail and a gift for weaving together engaging narratives.

The Unwinding moves deftly back and forth through the lives of half a dozen characters, including Dean Price, the son of tobacco farmers who becomes an evangelist for a new economy in the rural South; Tammy Thomas, a factory worker in the industrial Midwest trying to survive the collapse of her city; Jeff Connaughton, a Washington careerist; and Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley billionaire. The narrative alternates these intimately told stories with biographical sketches of the era's leading public figures, from Oprah Winfrey to Steve Jobs, capturing the year-by-year flow of events. The Unwinding portrays a superpower coming apart at the seams, its elites and institutions no longer working, leaving ordinary people to improvise their own schemes for salvation. (hide)