12
December

The New Old World, by Perry Anderson. 2009


The New Old World, by Perry Anderson. @ Amazon

Product Details

* Pub. Date: December 2009
* Publisher: Verso
* Format: Hardcover, 364 pages
* ISBN-13: 9781844673124
* ISBN: 184467312X

Magisterial analysis of Europe’s development since the end of the Cold War

A major work of modern history and political analysis, The New Old World punctures both domestic and American myths about continental Europe. Surveying the post-Cold War trajectory of European power and the halting progress towards social and economic integration, Perry Anderson draws out the connections between the EU’s eastward expansion, a foreign policy largely subservient to America’s, and the popular rejection of the European Constitution.

As a neoliberal economic project, pushed forward by a succession of centrist governments, the European Union cannot afford to allow its peoples a free choice that might dash elite schemes of a post-national democracy. Anderson explores Hayek’s suggestion that protecting a market economy might require exactly this kind of inter-state structure, out of reach of popular opposition. With landmark chapters on France, Germany, Italy and Turkey, and a wide-ranging survey of current theories of the Union, The New Old World offers an iconoclastic portrait of a continent that is now being increasingly hailed as a moral and political exemplar for the world at large.


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10
December

The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History

The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History
The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History. [Two volume set]
Edited by Michael Kazin
Rebecca Edwards & Adam Rothman, associate editors

Product Details

* Pub. Date: December 2009
* Publisher: Princeton University Press
* Format: Hardcover, 992 pages
* ISBN-13: 9780691129716
* ISBN: 0691129711

Table of Contents – Vol. 1 [PDF]
Table of Contents – Vol. 2 [PDF]
Alphabetical List of Entries [PDF]
Topical List of Entries [PDF]
Directory of Contributors [PDF]
Preface [PDF]

Sample Entries

* Mass Culture: Cartooning/Brown [PDF]
* Periods: Conservative interregnum, 1920-32/McGirr [PDF]
* Political Parties: Labor parties/Powers [PDF]
* Ethnic and Racial Groups: Race and politics since 1933/Countryman [PDF]
* Institutions: Supreme Court/Hoffer [PDF]; Voting/Keyssar [PDF]
* War and Foreign Policy: Transnational influences on American politics/Suri [PDF]

Product Description

An essential resource for anyone interested in U.S. history and politics, this two-volume encyclopedia covers the major forces that have shaped American politics from the founding to today. Broad in scope, the book addresses both the traditional topics of political history–such as eras, institutions, political parties, presidents, and founding documents–and the wider subjects of current scholarship, including military, electoral, and economic events, as well as social movements, popular culture, religion, education, race, gender, and more.

Each article, specially commissioned for this book, goes beyond basic facts to provide readers with crucial context, expert analysis, and informed perspectives on the evolution of American politics. Written by more than 170 leading historians and social scientists, The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History gives students, scholars, and researchers authoritative introductions to the subject’s most important topics and a first step to further research.

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02
December

Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge (Harvard University Press Reference Library)

Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge
Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge (Harvard University Press Reference Library), ed. by Jacques Brunschwig, Sir Geoffrey E. R. Lloyd

View @Amazon; @AbeBooks; @Barnes and Noble

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000
ISBN-10: 067400261X
ISBN-13: 978-0674002616

From Library Journal

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29
November

The Perils of Global Legalism, by Eric A. Posner

The Perils of Global Legalism

The Perils of Global Legalism, by Eric A. Posner

View @Amazon; @AbeBooks; @Barnes and Noble

Read an excerpt.

University Of Chicago Press, 2009
ISBN-10: 0226675742
ISBN-13: 9780226675749.

Review

This carefully argued book provides a useful corrective to the frequent assumption, held by many American legal academics and European elites, that the world’s problems can be substantially reduced simply by creating more international law and institutions. As the book persuasively explains, only through rigorous thinking about the limits of what law and courts can accomplish in a heterogeneous and fragmented global system can we achieve more effective international cooperation. Rich in theoretical and interdisciplinary insights, the book also illustrates its claims with numerous real-world examples, both contemporary and historic, making it accessible to a wide audience.–Curtis Bradley, Duke Law School (Curtis Bradley, Duke Law School )

This trenchant and rigorous book provides a much-needed antidote to the sanctimony and sermonizing that permeates international law. It lays bare international law’s circularity and demonstrates that much of the edifice is built on illusion. The `establishment’ will be forced into contortions to answer its arguments. It’s a bracing, refreshingly and altogether scintillating read.–Michael J. Glennon, author of Limits of Law, Prerogatives of Power

Table of Contents

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24
November

The New Oxford Companion to Law, ed. by Peter Cane & Joanne Conaghan

The New Oxford Companion to Law

The New Oxford Companion to Law, ed. by Peter Cane & Joanne Conaghan

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Oxford University Press 2008
ISBN-10: 0199290547
ISBN-13: 978-0199290543

Review

Cane and Conaghan succeed in providing readers with a much better understanding of law and the legal system…the Companion blends the basics to indulge the occasional curiosity with useful suggestions for further reading paths which will not let you put this book down… Phillip Taylor The book provides unrivalled encyclopaedic coverage of the fundamental major areas of law, from specific laws to crimes, cases, personalities, legal events, the role of law in national and international politics, and law’s underlying philosophy…and all in one place! Phillip Taylor The New Companion will…function as Oxford Companions should: as an introduction for the intelligent layman who can reach for it from his own shelves. To these readers, the New Companion is warmly commended. Edinburgh Law Review Vol 13, 2009

Product Description

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23
November

Amazon’s Black Friday Books Deals 2009

Amazon

Amazon’s 2009 Black Friday Books Sale:

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Discover Great Deals:

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Everyday Savings:

* Save up to 45% on Bestsellers

04
November

韩少功:漫长的假期

我偶尔去某大学讲课,有一次顺便调查学生读书的情况。我的问题是这样:谁读过三本以上的法国文学?(约四分之一的学生举手)谁读过《红楼梦》?(约五分之一的学生举手)然后,我降低门槛,把调查内容改成《红楼梦》的电视剧,这时举手多一些了,但仍只是略过半数。

这是一群文学研究生,将要成为硕士或博士的。他们很诚实,也毫不缺乏聪明。我相信未举手者已做过上百道关于《红楼梦》或法国文学的试题,并且一路斩获高分——否则他们就不可能坐在这里。

问题在于,那些试题就是他们的文学?读书怎么成了这么难的事?或者事情别有原因:是什么剥夺了他们广泛阅读的自由?

我不想拍孩子们的马屁,很坦白地告诉他们:即使在三十年前,让很多中学生说出十本俄国文学、十本法国文学、十本美国文学,都不是怎么困难的。我这一说法显然让他们惊诧了,怀疑了,困惑了,一双双眼睛瞪得很大。三十年前?天啦,那不正是文化的禁锁和荒芜时期?不正是文革的十年浩劫?……有人露出一丝讪笑,那意思是:老师你别忽悠我们啦。

没错,是禁锁是荒芜甚至是浩劫,从当时大批青年失学来看的确如此,从当时官方政策主体来看的确如此。但你们注意了:一具病体并非尸体,仍有不绝的生力,包括生力的逐步恢复和增强。文革不过是一场大病来袭,但如同历史上文网森严的旧中国和政教合一的旧欧洲,它并不曾冷却民众的精神之血,无法遏制新文化的萌发、繁殖、积聚、壮大以及爆发,直至制度层面的变革。这才是历史真切而生动的过程。我们曾用这种眼光注意过很多复杂局面,包括宗教法庭与牛顿的共存,普鲁士帝制与黑格尔的共存,斯大林铁幕与肖洛霍夫、爱森斯坦、肖斯塔科维奇的共存,为什么独独乐意给文革随便贴一枚标签?是什么人最习惯和最惬意地使用着这一类标签?

中国谚语:知其一,还要知其二。

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