The Catalpa Rescue by Peter FitzSimons ($35, PB)
New York, 1874. Members of the Clan-na-Gael—agitators for Irish freedom from the English yoke—hatch a daring plan to free 6 Irish political prisoners from the most remote prison in the British Empire, Fremantle Prison in WA. Under the guise of a whale hunt, Captain Anthony sets sail on the Catalpa to rescue the men from the stone walls of this hell on Earth known to the inmates as a ‘living tomb’. For Ireland, who had suffered English occupation for 700 years, a successful escape was an inspirational call to arms. For America, it was a chance to slap back at Britain for their support of the South in the Civil War; for England, a humiliation. And for a young Australia, still not sure if it was Great Britain in the South Seas or worthy of being an independent country in its own right, it was proof that Great Britain was not unbeatable.
2040: A Handbook for the Regeneration by Damon Gameau ($35, PB)
Damon Gameau has spent most of his adult years overwhelmed into inaction by the problem of climate change and its devastating effects on the planet—so he decided to imagine what the world could look like in 2040, if we all decided to start doing things differently, right now. 2040: A Handbook for the Regeneration shows how we can stitch this magnificent vision into everyday life by engaging in activities such as cooking, shopping, gardening, sharing, working and teaching our kids. It demonstrates that climate change is a practical problem that can be tackled by each of us, one small step at a time, and that we can make a genuine difference—if we know what to do. Brimming with practical wisdom and even 50 delicious recipes, Gameau offers an empowering vision to become the change you want to see in the world.
Politics
The Threat by Andrew G. McCabe ($40, HB)
Andrew McCabe started as a street agent in the FBI’s NY field office, serving under director Louis Freeh. He became an expert in 2 kinds of investigations that are critical to American national security: Russian organized crime—which is inextricably linked to the Russian state—and terrorism. He led investigations that included the Boston Marathon bombing, a plot to bomb the NY subways, several narrowly averted bombings of aircraft, the controversial investigations into the Benghazi attack, the Clinton Foundation’s activities, and Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. He was fired as deputy director 26 hours before his scheduled retirement—Trump’s celebratory Tweet: Andrew McCabe FIRED, a great day for the hard working men and women of the FBI— A great day for Democracy’. This page-turning narrative spans the 2 decades when the FBI’s mission shifted to preventing terrorist attacks on Americans. But as McCabe shows, right now the greatest threat to the US comes from within, as President Trump and his administration ignore the law, attack democratic institutions, degrade human rights & undermine the US Constitution.
The Kabul Peace House by Mark Isaacs ($30, PB)
After decades of war, few Afghans remember what it is like to live in peace, and many have never known a time without war. Yet, a group of Afghan youth, male & female, have come together—led by the charismatic & idealistic Insaan—to form a model community, a microcosm of how a new Afghanistan could be. Mark Isaacs lives alongside these inspirational & courageous young people in ‘The Community’, revealing the personal stories of trauma & loss that ultimately lead them to defy the risks & stand up to demand peace, a seemingly impossible dream. He witnesses their acts of non-violent protest, their small steps in making life better, their setbacks & struggles, bravery & hope for a future that shines with peace.
Firefighting: The Financial Crisis and its Lessons by Ben S. Bernanke et al ($23, PB)
10 years on from the GFC, Ben Bernanke chairman of the Federal Reserve, Timothy Geithner (president of the Federal Reserve Bank of NY during the Bush years, & Treasury secretary under Obama) & Hank Paulson (secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush) reflect on the causes of the crisis, why it was so damaging, and what it ultimately took to prevent a second Great Depression. A powerful, warts & all account told with unprecedented clarity—from the flawed human response to the necessity to learn from the past & help firefighters of the future protect economies from the ravages of financial crises—this is a vital account of a defining moment in modern history & an inspiring lesson on leadership through crisis.
Economics for the Common Good by Jean Tirole
When Jean Tirole won the Nobel Prize in Economics, he suddenly found himself being stopped in the street by strangers & asked to comment on current events far from his own research. This is his passionate manifesto for a world in which economics can help us improve the shared lot of societies & humanity as a whole. To show how, Tirole shares his insights on a broad range of questions affecting our everyday lives & the future of our society, including global warming, unemployment, the post-2008 global financial order, the euro crisis, the digital revolution, innovation, and the proper balance between the free market & regulation. ($34, PB)
Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business by David T. Courtwright ($50, HB)
We live in an age of addiction, from compulsive gaming & shopping to binge eating & opioid abuse. Sugar can be as habitforming as cocaine, researchers tell us, and social media apps are hooking our kids. David Courtwright chronicles the triumph of ‘limbic capitalism’, the growing network of competitive businesses targeting the brain pathways responsible for feeling, motivation & long-term memory. Multinational industries, often with the help of complicit governments & criminal organizations, have multiplied & cheapened seductive forms of brain reward, from Steve Wynn’s groundbreaking casinos & Purdue Pharma’s pain pills, to McDonald’s engineered burgers & Tencent video games from China. Courtwright holds out hope that limbic capitalism can be contained by organized opposition from across the political spectrum—progressives, nationalists & traditionalists have made common cause against the purveyors of addiction before. They could do it again.
Upheaval: How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change by Jared Diamond ($35, PB)
In the third book in his trilogy (Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse), Jared Diamond reveals how successful nations recover from crisis—showing how seven countries have survived defining upheavals in the recent past, from the forced opening up of Japan and the Soviet invasion of Finland to the Pinochet regime in Chile, through selective change, a process of painful self-appraisal and adaptation more commonly associated with personal trauma. Looking ahead to the future, he investigates whether the United States, and the world, are squandering their natural advantages and are on a devastating path towards catastrophe. Is this fate inevitable? Or can we still learn from the lessons of the past?
special price $29.95
Read and Riot: A pussy riot guide to activism by Nadya Tolokonnikova ($33, PB)
Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, a guerilla guide to radical protest and joyful political resistance—as indispensible to confronting, say, your domineering mother-in-law or your local city council as it is to helping foment an ongoing and ever-escalating insurrection against, say, a sexist, racist, nepotistic powermad oligarchy threatening to destroy democracy as we know it.
Choked: The Age of Air Pollution and the Fight for a Cleaner Future by Beth Gardiner ($33, PB)
Every year, air pollution prematurely kills seven million people around the world. Its impact has been linked to strokes, heart attacks, cancer, premature birth and Alzheimer’s disease. The people affected are not just the mask-wearing masses of China, where clean air was sold in bottles as a publicity stunt to draw attention to the grim deterioration of air quality; nor are they solely the workers of India’s factory slums. They are as much inhabitants of first world countries & major cities like London & LA as they are the coalburners of Poland. Beth Gardiner travels to air pollution hot-spots around the world to meet the scientists who have transformed our understanding of air pollution, and to trace the commercial pressures & political decisions that have allowed it to remain at life-threatening levels. Gardiner presents us with the hard facts, but also offers real-world solutions, and inspiring stories of the individuals & groups who are fighting for a less toxic future.
Now in B Format Bean Counters: The Triumph of the Accountants and How They Broke Capitalism by Richard Brooks, $23 The Growth Delusion: The Wealth and Well-Being of Nations by David Pilling, $23 Moneyland: Why Thieves And Crooks Now Rule The World And How To Take It Back by Oliver Bullough, $23 Our History is the Future: Standing Rock vs the Dakota Access Pipeline by Nick Estes ($30, PB)
In 2016, a small protest encampment at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota, initially established to block construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, grew to be the largest Indigenous protest movement in the 21st century, attracting tens of thousands of Indigenous & non-Native allies from around the world. Its slogan ‘Mni Wiconi’ Water is Life was about more than just a pipeline. Water Protectors knew this battle for Native sovereignty had already been fought many times before, and that, even after the encampment was gone, their anti-colonial struggle would continue. Nick Estes traces traditions of Indigenous resistance leading to the #NoDAPL movement from the days of the Missouri River trading forts through the Indian Wars, the American Indian Movement, and the campaign for Indigenous rights at the United Nations.
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