{"title":"History--Modern--General","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"dissolving-illusions-disease-vaccines-and-the-forgotten-history","title":"Dissolving Illusions: Disease, Vaccines, and The Forgotten History","description":"Not too long ago, lethal infections were feared in the Western world. Since that time, many countries have undergone a transformation from disease cesspools to much safer, healthier habitats. Starting in the mid-1800s, there was a steady drop in deaths from all infectious diseases, decreasing to relatively minor levels by the early 1900s. The history of that transformation involves famine, poverty, filth, lost cures, eugenicist doctrine, individual freedoms versus state might, protests and arrests over vaccine refusal, and much more.Today, we are told that medical interventions increased our lifespan and single-handedly prevented masses of deaths. But is this really true?Dissolving Illusions details facts and figures from long-overlooked medical journals, books, newspapers, and other sources. Using myth-shattering graphs, this book shows that vaccines, antibiotics, and other medical interventions are not responsible for the increase in lifespan and the decline in mortality from infectious diseases. If the medical profession could systematically misinterpret and ignore key historical information, the question must be asked, \"What else is ignored and misinterpreted today?\"Perhaps the best reason to know our history is so that the worst parts are never repeated.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1480216895\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781480216891\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Bystrianyk, Roman, Humphries, Suzanne, N\/A\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Createspace Independent Publishing Platform","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jul 2013)","offer_id":45658044694725,"sku":"9781480216891","price":31.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781480216891.jpg?v=1768897430"},{"product_id":"illiberal-america-a-history","title":"Illiberal America: A History","description":"\u003cp\u003eA storm of illiberalism, building in the United States for years, unleashed its destructive force in the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021. The attack on American democracy and images of mob violence led many to recoil, thinking \"That's not us.\" But now we must think again, for Steven Hahn shows in his startling new history that illiberalism has deep roots in our past. To those who believe that the ideals announced in the Declaration of Independence set us apart as a nation, Hahn shows that Americans have long been animated by competing values, equally deep-seated, in which the illiberal will of the community overrides individual rights, and often protects itself by excluding perceived threats, whether on grounds of race, religion, gender, economic status, or ideology.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDriven by popular movements and implemented through courts and legislation, illiberalism is part of the American bedrock. The United States was born a republic of loosely connected states and localities that demanded control of their domestic institutions, including slavery. As white settlement expanded west and immigration exploded in eastern cities, the democracy of the 1830s fueled expulsions of Blacks, Native Americans, Catholics, Mormons, and abolitionists. After the Civil War, southern states denied new constitutional guarantees of civil rights and enforced racial exclusions in everyday life. Illiberalism was modernized during the Progressive movement through advocates of eugenics who aimed to reduce the numbers of racial and ethnic minorities as well as the poor. The turmoil of the 1960s enabled George Wallace to tap local fears of unrest and build support outside the South, a politics adopted by Richard Nixon in 1968. Today, with illiberalism shaping elections and policy debates over guns, education, and abortion, it is urgent to understand its long history, and how that history bears on the present crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1324110503\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781324110507\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Hahn, Steven\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (May 2025)","offer_id":46079786877125,"sku":"9781324110507","price":28.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781324110507.jpg?v=1776031807"},{"product_id":"invisible-doctrine-the-secret-history-of-neoliberalism","title":"Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism","description":"\u003cb\u003e#1 \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER - A \u003cb\u003e\"fantastic\" (Mark Ruffalo), \u003c\/b\u003e fiercely argued takedown of neoliberalism that not only defines this slippery concept but connects it to the climate crisis, poverty, and fascism--and shows us how to fight back.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Incisive, illuminating, eye-opening--an unsparing anatomy of the great ideological beast stalking our times, often whispered about and yet never so clearly in view.\"--David Wallace-Wells, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Uninhabitable Earth\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNeoliberalism is the dominant ideology of our time. It shapes us in countless ways, yet most of us struggle to articulate what it is. Worse, we have been persuaded to accept this extreme creed as a kind of natural law. In \u003ci\u003eInvisible Doctrine, \u003c\/i\u003ejournalist George Monbiot and filmmaker Peter Hutchison shatter this myth. They show how a fringe philosophy in the 1930s--championing competition as the defining feature of humankind--was systematically hijacked by a group of wealthy elites, determined to guard their fortunes and power. Think tanks, corporations, the media, university departments and politicians were all deployed to promote the idea that people are consumers, rather than citizens. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of the most pernicious effects has been to make our various crises--from climate disasters to economic crashes, from the degradation of public services to rampant child poverty--seem unrelated. In fact, they have all been exacerbated by the \"invisible doctrine,\" which subordinates democracy to the power of money. Monbiot and Hutchison connect the dots--and trace a direct line from neoliberalism to fascism, which preys on people's hopelessness and desperation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSpeaking out against the fairy tale of capitalism and populist conspiracy theories, Monbiot and Hutchison lay the groundwork for a new politics, one based on truly participatory democracy and \"private sufficiency, public luxury\" an inspiring vision that could help bring the neoliberal era to an end.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0593735153\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780593735152\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Monbiot, George, Hutchison, Peter\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jun 2024)","offer_id":46080006848709,"sku":"9780593735152","price":23.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780593735152.jpg?v=1776033547"},{"product_id":"tyranny-of-the-minority-why-american-democracy-reached-the-breaking-point","title":"Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER - A call to reform our antiquated political institutions before it's too late--from the authors of \u003ci\u003eHow Democracies Die\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[Levitsky and Ziblatt] write with terrifying clarity about how the forces of the right have co-opted the enshrined rules to exert their tyranny.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE OF \u003ci\u003eTHE CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS\u003c\/i\u003e' TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR - \u003c\/b\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEWSWEEK \u003c\/i\u003eBEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAmerica is undergoing a massive experiment: It is moving, in fits and starts, toward a multiracial democracy, something few societies have ever done. But the prospect of change has sparked an authoritarian backlash that threatens the very foundations of our political system. Why is democracy under assault here, and not in other wealthy, diversifying nations? And what can we do to save it? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, \u003ci\u003eHow Democracies Die, \u003c\/i\u003e a global bestseller, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent framework for understanding these volatile times. They draw on a wealth of examples--from 1930s France to present-day Thailand--to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy. They then show how our Constitution makes us uniquely vulnerable to attacks from within: It is a pernicious enabler of minority rule, allowing partisan minorities to consistently thwart and even rule over popular majorities. Most modern democracies--from Germany and Sweden to Argentina and New Zealand--have eliminated outdated institutions like elite upper chambers, indirect elections, and lifetime tenure for judges. The United States lags dangerously behind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this revelatory book, Levitsky and Ziblatt issue an urgent call to reform our politics. It's a daunting task, but we have remade our country before--most notably, after the Civil War and during the Progressive Era. And now we are at a crossroads: America will either become a multiracial democracy or cease to be a democracy at all.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0593443098\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780593443095\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Levitsky, Steven, Ziblatt, Daniel\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Sep 2024)","offer_id":46080027164869,"sku":"9780593443095","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780593443095.jpg?v=1776033729"},{"product_id":"the-golden-thread-a-history-of-the-western-tradition-volume-ii-the-modern-and-contemporary-west","title":"The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West","description":"\u003cb\u003eA compelling, resource-rich history of the modern West--from the Renaissance to the present--designed for students and lifelong learners alike, and grounded in the enduring ideals of liberty, faith, and reason. This is Volume II of a two-part series tracing the story of Western civilization from antiquity to the modern age.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Western Tradition from 1500 to the Present\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the Renaissance in Europe, the Western world experienced a long series of cataclysmic events that still reverberate in modern society. Written by Allan C. Guelzo, \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Thread, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West \u003c\/i\u003ebegins in 1500, when the Protestant Reformation brought an end of the Roman Catholic Church's dominance over European states. It then turns to the rise of imperial powers that swiftly circled the globe, and to the explosion of intellectual, economic, and technological advancements sparked by the Enlightenment. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese were moments of flourishing in Western civilization, but also moments of uncertainty, as they portended the violent political upheavals that shook continental Europe and the Americas during the American, French and Bolivarian Revolutions as well as the Napoleonic Wars. The Industrial Revolution, the Romantic revolt against the Enlightenment, and a second wave of scientific advancement in the nineteenth century challenged any attempt to restore the classical unity of the West. A radically redrawn world emerged from these developments, one that was ill-prepared for the colossal physical and moral shocks of the First and Second World Wars.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn its closing chapters, Guelzo explores how Western civilization has, in our own time, been simultaneously challenged by secular totalitarianism and yet remained remarkably resilient laying the foundations for material prosperity around the globe. Through the paradoxes of the twentieth century, \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Thread\u003c\/i\u003e engages with the most significant questions facing the West today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Golden Thread\u003ci\u003e is a two-volume history of the Western tradition. Volume I is authored by James Hankins; Volume II, covering the modern and contemporary West, is authored by Allen C. Guelzo.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Golden Thread\u003c\/i\u003e series features: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Vision of Two Authors\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWritten by two of the most distinguished historians of our time.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Golden Thread\u003c\/i\u003e speaks in coherent, singular voices. Each volume is authored by an eminent individual writing in narrative form and interpretive tone, and animated by the conviction that knowledge across disciplines is best pursued through stories that are rich in insight, humanity, and meaning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Cultural Inheritance\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNearly 1000 curated images--sculptures, paintings, and artifacts--from the vaults of the West's finest cultural institutions.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders are not merely told what happened, but shown what was created--page after page alive with the rich architecture, sculpture, music, and painting that gave visible form to the West's most enduring aspirations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLiving Voices from the Distant Past\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFeatures close to 200 foundational primary source texts drawn from every era.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWoven through the chapters are the voices that once commanded nations, composed poems and hymns, and drafted creeds. These are not summaries or paraphrases--they are the words themselves, as they were first spoken, sung, and inscribed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eVisual Histories of the World\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEnriched by over 150 bespoke maps, each a visual key to the unfolding story of the West.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Golden Thread\u003c\/i\u003e does more than locate events--it reconstructs the shifting boundaries of thought, faith, empire, and imagination that defined how men and women once pictured the world and their place within it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1641774010\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781641774017\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Guelzo, Allen C., Hankins, James\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Encounter Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Encounter Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Jan 2026)","offer_id":46080084967621,"sku":"9781641774017","price":156.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781641774017.jpg?v=1776034400"},{"product_id":"the-age-of-choice-a-history-of-freedom-in-modern-life","title":"The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the Cundill History Prize\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA sweeping history of the rise of personal choice in the modern world and how it became equated with freedom\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChoice touches virtually every aspect of our lives, from what to buy and where to live to whom to love, what profession to practice, and even what to believe. But the option to choose in such matters was not something we always possessed or even aspired to. At the same time, we have been warned by everybody from marketing gurus to psychologists about the negative consequences stemming from our current obsession with choice. It turns out that not only are we not very good at realizing our personal desires, we are also overwhelmed with too many possibilities and anxious about what best to select. There are social costs too. How did all this happen? \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Choice\u003c\/i\u003e tells the long history of the invention of choice as the defining feature of modern freedom. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTaking readers from the seventeenth century to today, Sophia Rosenfeld describes how the early modern world witnessed the simultaneous rise of shopping as an activity and religious freedom as a matter of being able to pick one's convictions. Similarly, she traces the history of choice in romantic life, politics, and the ideals of human rights. Throughout, she pays particular attention to the lives of women, those often with the fewest choices, who have frequently been the drivers of this change. She concludes with an exploration of how reproductive rights have become a symbolic flashpoint in our contemporary struggles over the association of liberty with choice. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on a wealth of sources ranging from novels and restaurant menus to the latest scientific findings about choice in psychology and economics, \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Choice\u003c\/i\u003e urges us to rethink the meaning of choice and its promise and limitations in modern life.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0691164711\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780691164717\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Rosenfeld, Sophia\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Feb 2025)","offer_id":46080528777413,"sku":"9780691164717","price":48.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780691164717.jpg?v=1776038103"},{"product_id":"how-democracies-die","title":"How Democracies Die","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER - The urgent and influential guide to the forces that have undermined democracies across the globe--forces running rampant in the United States today--hailed as \"a touchstone\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e) that \"comes at exactly the right moment\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003e(Editors' Choice) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[Levitsky and Ziblatt] expand the conversation beyond Trump and before him, to other countries and to the deep structure of American democracy and politics.\"\u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003eEzra Klein \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE - SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE - A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post, Time, Foreign Affairs, \u003c\/i\u003eWBUR, \u003ci\u003ePaste\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDonald Trump's presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we'd be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang--in a revolution or military coup--but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, to the American South during Jim Crow, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die. Now the question is, can our democracy be saved? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eHow Democracies Die\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"If you only read one book for the rest of the year, read \u003ci\u003eHow Democracies Die. . . .\u003c\/i\u003eThis is not a book for just Democrats or Republicans. It is a book for all Americans. It is nonpartisan. It is fact based. It is deeply rooted in history. . . . The best commentary on our politics, no contest.\"\u003cb\u003e--Michael Morrell, former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (via Twitter)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A smart and deeply informed book about the ways in which democracy is being undermined in dozens of countries around the world, and in ways that are perfectly legal.\"\u003cb\u003e--Fareed Zakaria, \u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eCNN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1524762946\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781524762940\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Levitsky, Steven, Ziblatt, Daniel\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jan 2019)","offer_id":46080689569989,"sku":"9781524762940","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781524762940.jpg?v=1776039431"},{"product_id":"poet-mystic-widow-wife-the-extraordinary-lives-of-medieval-women","title":"Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Brilliantly revealing history of medieval women . . . Howes's debut has just the right meld of insightful research, enjoyable storytelling and contemporary contexts.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A history of medieval women's lives as told through the prism of four exceptional individuals. . . . throughout, the tensions of medieval womanhood strain and stretch--eroticism and purity, sexuality and motherhood, silence and speech.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003ePoet, Mystic, Widow, Wife \u003c\/i\u003echarts the lives and times of four medieval women writers--Marie de France, a poet; Julian of Norwich, a mystic and anchoress; Christine de Pizan, a widow and court writer; and Margery Kempe, a no-good wife--who all bucked convention and forged their own paths. Largely forgotten by modern readers, these women have an astonishing amount to teach us about love, marriage, motherhood, friendship, and earning a living. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Reading the words of these four writers, Hetta Howes engagingly reveals how everyday women lived, survived, and thrived in medieval times. Who did they marry and why? Did they ever have extramarital affairs? Could they earn money and become self-sufficient? Could they be leaders? What did they think about death--and what about life and their place in it? \u003ci\u003ePoet, Mystic, Widow, Wife\u003c\/i\u003e paints a vibrant portrait of these women, their world, and the ways they speak to us today.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0520396588\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780520396586\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Howes, Hetta\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: University of California Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Dec 2024)","offer_id":46080698941637,"sku":"9780520396586","price":38.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780520396586.jpg?v=1776039475"},{"product_id":"captains-dinner-a-shipwreck-an-act-of-cannibalism-and-a-murder-trial-that-changed-legal-history","title":"Captain's Dinner: A Shipwreck, an Act of Cannibalism, and a Murder Trial That Changed Legal History","description":"\u003cb\u003eA Barnes \u0026amp; Noble Best History Book of 2025\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFour men in a lifeboat. Two weeks without food. One impossible choice that would reshape the boundaries between survival and murder. \"A perfect enunciation of the classic philosophical conundrum: can you sacrifice one innocent life to save many?\" (Yann Martel, author of \u003ci\u003eLife of Pi\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn May 19, 1884, the yacht Mignonette set sail from England on what should have been an uneventful voyage. When their vessel sank in the Atlantic, Captain Thomas Dudley and his crew found themselves adrift in a tiny lifeboat. As days turned to weeks, they faced an unthinkable choice: starve to death or resort to cannibalism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTheir decision to sacrifice the youngest--17-year-old cabin boy Richard Parker--ignited a firestorm of controversy upon their rescue. Instead of being hailed as heroes and survivors, Dudley and his crew found themselves at the center of \u003cb\u003eRegina v. Dudley and Stephens\u003c\/b\u003e, a landmark murder trial that would establish the legal precedent that necessity cannot justify murder--a principle that continues to shape Anglo-American law today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eCaptain's Dinner\u003c\/i\u003e, acclaimed journalist, Pulitzer Prize juror, and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Adam Cohen masterfully depicts both the harrowing weeks at sea and the sensational trial that followed. \u003cb\u003e\"Is killing one innocent person justified if it saves the lives of three others? Cohen's answer--in this riveting account--reads like a thriller\"\u003c\/b\u003e (former U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken). Through this Victorian tragedy, Cohen reveals an enduring conflict between primal instincts and moral principles. This book will\u003cb\u003e \"make you think long and hard about what you might do to survive\" \u003c\/b\u003e(Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePerfect for readers of David Grann's \u003ci\u003eThe Wager\u003c\/i\u003e and Nathaniel Philbrick's \u003ci\u003eIn the Heart of the Sea\u003c\/i\u003e, this pulse-pounding true story has become a real-life example of one of life's greatest moral dilemmas. \u003cb\u003e\"Thoroughly researched and impeccably argued\" \u003c\/b\u003e(Martel). Rich with narrative detail and real-life courtroom twists, \u003cb\u003e\"brilliant and profound,\"\u003c\/b\u003e (bestselling author Amy Chua), \u003ci\u003eCaptain's Dinner\u003c\/i\u003e strikes at the heart of a question that haunts us all: When does survival justify murder?\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-13: 9798893310597\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Cohen, Adam\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Authors Equity\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Authors Equity","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Nov 2025)","offer_id":46080774865093,"sku":"9798893310597","price":41.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9798893310597.jpg?v=1776040218"},{"product_id":"what-is-free-speech-the-history-of-a-dangerous-idea","title":"What Is Free Speech?: The History of a Dangerous Idea","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A brilliant history of a weaponized mantra.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA leading intellectual historian shows how free speech, once viewed as both hazardous and unnatural, was reinvented as an unalloyed good, with enormous consequences for our society today.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEvery premodern society, from Sumeria to China to seventeenth-century Europe, knew that bad words could destroy lives, undermine social order, and create political unrest. Given the obvious dangers of outspokenness, regulating speech and print was universally accepted as a necessary and proper activity of government. Only in the early 1700s did this old way begin to break down. In a brief span of time, the freedom to use words as one pleased was reimagined as an ideal to be held and defended in common. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFara Dabhoiwala explores the surprising paths free speech has taken across the globe since its invention three hundred years ago. Though free speech has become a central democratic principle, its origins and evolution have less to do with the high-minded pursuit of liberty and truth than with the self-interest of the wealthy, the greedy, and the powerful. Free speech, as we know it, is a product of the pursuit of profit, of technological disruption, of racial and imperial hypocrisy, and of the contradictions involved in maintaining openness while suppressing falsehood. For centuries, its shape has everywhere been influenced by international, not just national, events; nowhere has it ever been equally available to women, the colonized, or those stigmatized as racially inferior. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRejecting platitudes about the First Amendment and its international equivalents, and leaving no ideological position undisturbed, \u003ci\u003eWhat Is Free Speech?\u003c\/i\u003e is the unsettling history of an ideal as cherished as it is misunderstood.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0674987314\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780674987319\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Dabhoiwala, Fara\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Belknap Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Belknap Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Aug 2025)","offer_id":46080924483781,"sku":"9780674987319","price":38.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780674987319.jpg?v=1776041712"},{"product_id":"daring-to-be-free-rebellion-and-resistance-of-the-enslaved-in-the-atlantic-world","title":"Daring to Be Free: Rebellion and Resistance of the Enslaved in the Atlantic World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Amazon Best History Title of the Month\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA revelatory history of enslaved people's resistance and self-emancipation, across the Atlantic world and beyond. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the 1720s, the West African chief Tomba was abducted for organizing the local resistance against slave raiders and imprisoned on a British ship, where he promptly led a revolt using a smuggled hammer. In the early nineteenth century, a pregnant woman named Solitude rallied laborers and soldiers to resist Napoleon's efforts to reimpose slavery on Guadeloupe. A few decades later, Frederick Douglass fashioned his own template for self-emancipation. In \u003ci\u003eDaring to Be Free\u003c\/i\u003e, the acclaimed historian Sudhir Hazareesingh recasts the story of slavery's end by showing that the enslaved themselves were at the center of the action--their voices, their resistance, and their extraordinary fight for freedom. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThroughout, \u003ci\u003eDaring to Be Free\u003c\/i\u003e portrays the struggle for liberation from the perspective of the enslaved and, wherever possible, in their own words. It highlights the power of collective action, stressing the role of maroon communities, conspiracies, insurrections, and spiritual movements, from Haiti and Brazil to Cuba, Mauritius, and the American South. These acts of resistance involved entire communities, with women often at the heart of the story as warriors, organizers, and agents of radical change. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEmploying written archives and oral history, \u003ci\u003eDaring to Be Free\u003c\/i\u003e shows how the struggle for freedom was shaped less by Western Enlightenment or Christian ideals than by the enslaved's own spiritual, martial, and cultural resources. Emancipation wasn't handed down by benevolent reformers--it was seized, again and again, by those who demanded freedom. 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In this history, Mann uncovers the germ of today's fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars. In \u003ci\u003e1493\u003c\/i\u003e, Mann has again given readers an eye-opening scientific interpretation of our past, unequaled in its authority and fascination.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0307278247\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780307278241\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Mann, Charles C.\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Jul 2012)","offer_id":46081219690693,"sku":"9780307278241","price":28.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780307278241.jpg?v=1776044058"},{"product_id":"iran-a-modern-history","title":"Iran: A Modern History","description":"\u003cb\u003eA masterfully researched history of Iran from 1501 to 2009\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"The defiant spirit of [Iran] is brought to life in this monumental history of the past 500 years.\"--Richard Spencer, \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes \u003c\/i\u003e(London) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A majestic work that goes a long way in unraveling . . . the country's enigmas and apparent contradictions.\"--Ervand Abrahamian, \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Abbas Amanat combines chronological and thematic approaches, exploring events with lasting implications for modern Iran and the world. Drawing on diverse historical scholarship and emphasizing the twentieth century, he addresses debates about Iran's culture and politics. Political history is the driving narrative force, given impetus by Amanat's decades of research and study. He layers the book with discussions of literature, music, and the arts; ideology and religion; economy and society; and cultural identity and heritage.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0300248938\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780300248937\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Amanat, Abbas\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Yale University Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Sep 2019)","offer_id":46081355808965,"sku":"9780300248937","price":37.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780300248937.jpg?v=1776045157"},{"product_id":"an-atlas-of-extinct-countries","title":"An Atlas of Extinct Countries","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe remarkable (and occasionally ridiculous) stories of 48 nations that fell off the map.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Countries are just daft stories we tell each other. They're all equally implausible once you get up close.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCountries die. Sometimes it's murder, sometimes it's by accident, and sometimes it's because they were so ludicrous they didn't deserve to exist in the first place. This is an atlas of 48 nations that fell off the map. Their causes of death range from the implausible (jerky prices) to the unfortunate (too evil) to the downright bizarre (the flip of a coin). The polite way of writing an obituary is: dwell on the good bits, gloss over the embarrassing stuff. This book refuses to do so, because these dead nations are so ridiculous that it's impossible to skip the embarrassing stuff.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e ★ \"This book is a sparkling gem.\"--\u003cem\u003eBooklist \u003c\/em\u003e(Starred Review)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Perfect for fans of \u003cem\u003eAtlas Obscura\u003c\/em\u003e.\"--\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1609457668\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781609457662\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Defoe, Gideon\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Europa Compass\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Europa Compass","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Mar 2022)","offer_id":46081446641861,"sku":"9781609457662","price":24.64,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781609457662.jpg?v=1776046195"},{"product_id":"israel-a-simple-guide-to-the-most-misunderstood-country-on-earth","title":"Israel: A Simple Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"fascinating and very moving\" (Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe West Wing\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Social Network\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e chronological timeline spanning from Biblical times to today that explores one of the most \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003einteresting\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e countries in the world--Israel.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIsrael. The small strip of arid land is 5,700 miles away but remains a hot-button issue and a thorny topic of debate. But while everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know the facts? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHere to fill in the information gap is Israeli American Noa Tishby. But \"this is not your Bubbie's history book\" (Bill Maher, host of \u003ci\u003eReal Time with Bill Maher\u003c\/i\u003e). Instead, offering a fresh, 360-degree view, Tishby brings her \"passion, humor, and deep intimacy\" (Yossi Klein Halevi, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLetters to My Palestinian Neighbor\u003c\/i\u003e) to the subject, creating an accessible and dynamic portrait of a tiny country of outsized relevance. Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland's evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from WWI to Israel's creation to the disputes dividing the country today. Tackling popular misconceptions with an abundance of facts, Tishby provides critical context around headline-generating controversies and offers a clear, intimate account of the richly cultured country of Israel.\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1982144947\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781982144944\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Tishby, Noa\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Free Press\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Free Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback (Sep 2022)","offer_id":46081462894789,"sku":"9781982144944","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781982144944.jpg?v=1776046310"},{"product_id":"born-in-blackness-africa-africans-and-the-making-of-the-modern-world-1471-to-the-second-world-war","title":"Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War","description":"\u003cp\u003eTraditional accounts of the making of the modern world afford a place of primacy to European history. Some credit the fifteenth-century Age of Discovery and the maritime connection it established between West and East; others the accidental unearthing of the \"New World.\" Still others point to the development of the scientific method, or the spread of Judeo-Christian beliefs; and so on, ad infinitum. The history of Africa, by contrast, has long been relegated to the remote outskirts of our global story. What if, instead, we put Africa and Africans at the very center of our thinking about the origins of modernity?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a sweeping narrative spanning more than six centuries, Howard W. French does just that, for \u003cem\u003eBorn in Blackness\u003c\/em\u003e vitally reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the \"dark\" continent. 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As the West ascended, their stories--siloed and piecemeal--were swept into secluded corners, thus setting the stage for the hagiographic \"rise of the West\" theories that have endured to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Capacious and compelling\" (Laurent Dubois), \u003cem\u003eBorn in Blackness\u003c\/em\u003e is epic history on the grand scale. In the lofty tradition of bold, revisionist narratives, it reframes the story of gold and tobacco, sugar and cotton--and of the greatest \"commodity\" of them all, the twelve million people who were brought in chains from Africa to the \"New World,\" whose reclaimed lives shed a harsh light on our present world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1631495828\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781631495823\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: French, Howard W.\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Liveright Publishing Corporation\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Liveright Publishing Corporation","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Oct 2021)","offer_id":46081565163717,"sku":"9781631495823","price":45.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback (Oct 2022)","offer_id":46081565196485,"sku":"9781324092407","price":28.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781631495823.jpg?v=1776047286"},{"product_id":"the-political-and-strategic-history-of-the-world-vol-iii-louis-xiv-to-the-brink-of-world-war-i-a-d-1661-1914","title":"The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol. III: Louis XIV to the Brink of World War I, A.D. 1661 - 1914","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis third volume of Conrad Black's magnificent series opens with the assumption of direct rule by Louis XIV of France and covers the great sweep of history with the rise of Russia, the decline of the Ottomans, the wars of the Spanish and Austrian successions, the Age of Discovery, the rise of India, China, and Japan, colonization of the New World, the Seven-Years' War, the American and French revolutions, the Napoleonic wars, the founding of the United States through the American Civil War, the Crimean War, the unification of Germany and Italy, and the decline of Pax Britannica prior to the start of World War I. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWriting with his usual panache, Lord Black continues to delight his readers with his sagacious assessments of historical figures and events. He insists, and these volumes demonstrate, that history is shaped by individual decisions in specific times and places, and that human beings are active participants in the historical movements of the world, not passive victims of blind social forces. Many intriguing personalities come to life in these pages as our modern world slowly comes into view. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is history for the history-lover and is also a mighty reference work to be returned to again and again. A must have for all home libraries to pass down to future generations that they may contemplate the doings of their ancestors, draw strength from their courage and tenacity, and revive hope in the certain knowledge that human society continues to progress despite the hardship and setbacks which often accompany it. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 1966833091\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9781966833093\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Black, Conrad\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: World Encounter Institute\/New English Review\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"World Encounter Institute\/New English Review","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover (Apr 2026)","offer_id":46099812909253,"sku":"9781966833093","price":84.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9781966833093.jpg?v=1776645542"},{"product_id":"these-truths-a-history-of-the-united-states","title":"These Truths: A History of the United States","description":"\u003cp\u003eWritten in elegiac prose, Lepore's groundbreaking investigation places truth itself--a devotion to facts, proof, and evidence--at the center of the nation's history. The American experiment rests on three ideas--\"these truths,\" Jefferson called them--political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. And it rests, too, on a fearless dedication to inquiry, Lepore argues, because self-government depends on it. But has the nation, and democracy itself, delivered on that promise?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThese Truths\u003c\/em\u003e tells this uniquely American story, beginning in 1492, asking whether the course of events over more than five centuries has proven the nation's truths, or belied them. To answer that question, Lepore traces the intertwined histories of American politics, law, journalism, and technology, from the colonial town meeting to the nineteenth-century party machine, from talk radio to twenty-first-century Internet polls, from Magna Carta to the Patriot Act, from the printing press to Facebook News.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlong the way, Lepore's sovereign chronicle is filled with arresting sketches of both well-known and lesser-known Americans, from a parade of presidents and a rogues' gallery of political mischief makers to the intrepid leaders of protest movements, including Frederick Douglass, the famed abolitionist orator; William Jennings Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate and ultimately tragic populist; Pauli Murray, the visionary civil rights strategist; and Phyllis Schlafly, the uncredited architect of modern conservatism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmericans are descended from slaves and slave owners, from conquerors and the conquered, from immigrants and from people who have fought to end immigration. \"A nation born in contradiction will fight forever over the meaning of its history,\" Lepore writes, but engaging in that struggle by studying the past is part of the work of citizenship. \"The past is an inheritance, a gift and a burden,\" \u003cem\u003eThese Truths\u003c\/em\u003e observes. \"It can't be shirked. There's nothing for it but to get to know it.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0393635244\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780393635249\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Lepore, Jill\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"W. W. 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