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What Britain Did To Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest And Rule by Max Siollun

What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule by Max Siollun Most accounts of Nigeria's colonisation were written by British officials, presenting it as a noble civilising mission to rid Africans of barbaric superstition and corrupt tribal leadership. Thanks to this skewed writing of history, many Nigerians today still have Empire nostalgia and view thecolonial period through rose-tinted glasses.Max Siollun offers a bold rethink: an unromanticised history, arguing compellingly that colonialism had few benevolent intentions, but many unjust outcomes. It may have ended slavery and human sacrifice, but it was accompanied by extreme violence; ethnic and religious identity were cynicallyexploited to maintain control, while the forceful remoulding of longstanding legal and social practices permanently altered the culture and internal politics of indigenous communities. The aftershocks of this colonial meddling are still being felt decades after independence. Popular narratives oftensuggest that the economic and political turmoil are homegrown, but the reality is that Britain created many of Nigeria's crises, and has left them behind for Nigerians to resolve.This is a definitive, head-on confrontation with Nigeria's experience under British rule, showing how it forever changed the country--perhaps cataclysmically. Review " What Britain Did to Nigeria is a nuanced, informative and timely book that powerfully captures the complexity of the colonial impact."-- Olivette Otele, author of African Europeans: An Untold History "A humanizing and unyielding account of the actors who partook in the making of modern Nigeria, emphasising the scandals and clandestine colonial operations absent from mainstream narratives. It is an unvarnished account of the abuse of power by what was once the most powerful empire on the planet.By the end of this book, the line between savagery and civilization becomes indelibly blurred." -- Gimba Kakanda, writer, foreign policy analyst and columnist, Daily Trust "A must-read for anyone interested in the story of Britain's colonial encounter with Nigeria. Siollun tells this complex story from a Nigerian perspective while never once abandoning his objective eye, the mark of the truly-committed historian. [...] His vast knowledge and down-to-earth writingstyle have combined to produce a book that is both educative and enjoyable to read, one that shows colonialism in all its human complexities and contradictions. A fantastic accomplishment." -- Remi Adekoya, University of York, author of Biracial Britain: A Different Way of Looking at Race "Max Siollun has conducted extraordinary research which places the history of one of the most important English-speaking countries on earth in a new light. This is a compelling, brilliant and brave history of Nigeria and British colonialism."-- Toby Green, author of A Fistful of Shells: West Africafrom the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution"Siollun's evenhanded assessment of the roughly 60 years of colonial rule that followed is also absorbing, particularly his description of Nigerian resistance to the various injustices and humiliations inflicted by the British." --Foreign Affairs, Nicholar van de Walle "It is, to say the least, a complex story, but Siollun gets to the heart of it, offering a cogent analysis of the development of slavery and the lucrative trade in rubber, in palm oil as well as the livestock and cereals industries and the wholesale exploitation involved." --RTE, Paddy Kehoe."The British Empire is often presenteed as an endeavour that conqured territory, carried out atrocities, and looted resources. Max Siollun's 'What Britain Did to Nigeria' provides some evidence to support that case. But Siollun also provides much-needed nuance: British colonialism in Nigeria wascharacterised by a tension between the colonial government and the work of missionaries." --History Today, Tomiwa Owolade."Balanced and illuminating... Siollun shatters the comfortable assumption that the transition from pre-colonial to colonial government in what became Nigeria avoided... monstrous bloodshed." -- The Article "An intriguing new history of the British presence in Nigeria...Max Siollun writes a powerful corrective to the historical record, one that successfully argues that we cannot understand Nigeria today without examining its colonial past."-- Georgetown Security Studies Review What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Short History of Conquest and Rule by Max Siollun "Max Siollun offers a bold rethink: an unromanticised history, arguing compellingly that colonialism had few benevolent intentions, but many unjust outcomes. [...] This is a definitive, head-on confrontation with Nigeria's experience under British rule, showing how it forever changed thecountry-perhaps cataclysmically."-- BookAuthority, '23 Best New Slavery Books To Read In 2021' About the Author Max Siollun is a historian and author who specializes in Nigeria's history. He has written some of the most acclaimed books on Nigeria's history, and has been described as standing "unchallenged, in contemporary times, as the Chronicler-in-Chief of the Nigerian military" by the Special Assistant onNew Media to Nigeria's President Buhari, Tolu Ogunlesi.

The Fortunes Of Africa: A 5000-year History Of Wealth - Greed And Endeavor By Martin Mered

The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor by Martin Meredith A sweeping history the fortune seekers, adventurers, despots, and thieves who have ruthlessly endeavored to extract gold, diamonds, and other treasures from Africa and its people.Africa has been coveted for its rich natural resources ever since the era of the Pharaohs. In past centuries, it was the lure of gold, ivory, and slaves that drew merchant-adventurers and conquerors from afar. In modern times, the focus of attention is on oil, diamonds, and other rare earth minerals.In this vast and vivid panorama of history, Martin Meredith follows the fortunes of Africa over a period of 5,000 years. With compelling narrative, he traces the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms and empires; the spread of Christianity and Islam; the enduring quest for gold and other riches; the exploits of explorers and missionaries; and the impact of European colonization. He examines, too, the fate of modern African states and concludes with a glimpse of their future.His cast of characters includes religious leaders, mining magnates, warlords, dictators, and many other legendary figures-among them Mansa Musa, ruler of the medieval Mali empire, said to be the richest man the world has ever known.

Dear Ijeawele, Or A Feminist Manifesto In Fifteen Suggestions - Nlp Vlisco Edition

A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received a letter from a dear friend from childhood, asking her how to raise her baby girl as a feminist. Dear Ijeawele is Adichie & rsquo;s letter of response. Here are fifteen invaluable suggestions-compelling, direct, wryly funny, and perceptive-for how to empower a daughter to become a strong, independent woman. From encouraging her to choose a helicopter, and not only a doll, as a toy if she so desires; having open conversations with her about clothes, makeup, and sexuality; debunking the myth that women are somehow biologically arranged to be in the kitchen making dinner, and that men can & ldquo;allow & rdquo; women to have full careers, Dear Ijeawele goes right to the heart of politics in the twenty-first century. It will start a new and urgently needed conversation about what it really means to be a woman today. This new edition by Narrative Landscape Press was designed in collaboration with Vlisco, the wax print textile company.

Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography Of Nelson Mandela

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela The book that inspired the major new motion picture "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom". Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's antiapartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality. Long Walk to Freedom is his moving and exhilarating autobiography, destined to take its place among the finest memoirs of history's greatest figures. Here for the first time, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela tells the extraordinary story of his life-an epic of struggle, setback, renewed hope, and ultimate triumph.

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa By Walter Rodney

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney Before a bomb ended his life in the summer of 1980, Walter Rodney had created a powerful legacy. This pivotal work, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa", had already brought a new perspective to the question of underdevelopment in Africa. His Marxist analysis went far beyond the heretofore accepted approach in the study of Third World underdevelopment. "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" is an excellent introductory study for the student who wishes to better understand the dynamics of Africa's contemporary relations with the West.

Nigeria's Decades of Blood

What is going to happen between Christians and Muslims? This book tells you what is happening in a country where fifty million Muslims and fifty million Christians face each other-Nigeria. Over the last twenty years, rivers of blood have flowed into the abyss. This book describes Nigeria's religious riots, and how it all happened-the killings, the violence, the arson of churches and mosques, homes and businesses. It answers these questions: Who started what? How did it get started? Who got hurt, and how many people got killed? What did Christians do? What about the Muslims? What did the government do about it? Or the police? Nigeria's Decades of Blood is the first book in the series, Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations . Subsequent books will discuss the underlying issues that affect the relationship between these two religions.

My Command by Olusegun Obasanjo

First published a decade after the end of the Nigerian Civil War, My Command takes a keen look at the events leading up to-and shortly following-the war, as wellas the war itself.

My Vision: Challenges In The Race For Excellence By Hh Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makto

My Vision: Challenges In The Race For Excellence by Hh Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makto My Vision: challenges in the race for excellence is a unique book in which His Highness Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice president and prime minister of United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, Examines aspect of the UAE & rsquo;S unique development experience This is a book about a unique development experience that set a creative example for the Arab world to follow. This experience provide a reassuring message that if all the constituent of any given society agree to excel in all fields, different cultures and religions can co-exist without the slightest problem.

The Secret By Rhonda Byrne

The Secret was first published in 2006, along with the release of a movie version of the same name. This self-help book aims to show people how they can change their lives for the better and achieve success in all aspects of their lives. This is the Tamil edition of the bestselling book. According to the author, the power of thoughts can shape lives. If people have positive attitude and express gratitude for things they already have and visualize their desires, it opens up opportunities for those desires to become reality. The author believes that the whole universe is governed by the law of attraction. The power of this law can help fulfill a person s desire if they tune in to the right frequency through their thoughts. Thus, positive thoughts attract positive results. Thoughts, both negative and positive, have the power to influence events. For instance, anger invites experiences that cause a person to feel aggressive. Positive feelings attract positive events. Carrying this further through visualization can help people actually get whatever they want, according to the author. She places special emphasis on gratitude and visualization. The feeling of gratitude gives off a positive frequency that attracts good things. Visualization helps translate that power into objects that we desire.

Politics Among Nations By Hans Morgenthau-Kenneth W Thompson & David Clinton

Politics Among Nations by Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth W Thompson,David Clinton.Hans Morgenthau's Classic text established realism as the fundamental way of thinking about international relations. Although it has had its critics, the fact that it continues to be the most long lived text for courses in international relations attests to its enduring value. Someone has said the study of international relations has for half a century been nothing so much as a dialogue between Morgenthau, those who embrace his approach, and those who turn elsewhere for enlightenment. After 50 years, the dialogue between Morgenthau and scholars from around the world continues more or less as in the past, something with more intensity even in an "age of terror."The seventh edition preserves intact Morgenthau's work while adding a 40 page introduction by the editors who explore its relevance for a new era. What follows the introduction are the perspectives of a dozen statesmen, scholars, and observers each offering insights on Morgenthau's concepts and ideas as they relate to current crises on every continent. They bring up to date the dialogue that began in 1948.

From Third World to First: The Singapore Story - 1965-2000

Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading post is a thriving Asian metropolis with not only the world's number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade, but also the world's fourth & ndash;highest per capita real income? The story of that transformation is told here by Singapore's charismatic, controversial founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Rising from a legacy of divisive colonialism, the devastation of the Second World War, and general poverty and disorder following the withdrawal of foreign forces, Singapore now is hailed as a city of the future. This miraculous history is dramatically recounted by the man who not only lived through it all but who fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of these changes. Delving deep into his own meticulous notes, as well as previously unpublished government papers and official records, Lee details the extraordinary efforts it took for an island city & ndash;state in Southeast Asia to survive at that time. Lee explains how he and his cabinet colleagues finished off the communist threat to the fledgling state's security and began the arduous process of nation building: forging basic infrastructural roads through a land that still consisted primarily of swamps, creating an army from a hitherto racially and ideologically divided population, stamping out the last vestiges of colonial & ndash;era corruption, providing mass public housing, and establishing a national airline and airport. In this illuminating account, Lee writes frankly about his trenchant approach to political opponents and his often unorthodox views on human rights, democracy, and inherited intelligence, aiming always "to be correct, not politically correct." Nothing in Singapore escaped his watchful eye: whether choosing shrubs for the greening of the country, restoring the romance of the historic Raffles Hotel, or openly, unabashedly persuading young men to marry women as well educated as themselves. Today's safe, tidy Singapore bears Lee's unmistakable stamp, for which he is unapologetic: "If this is a nanny state, I am proud to have fostered one." Though Lee's domestic canvas in Singapore was small, his vigor and talent assured him a larger place in world affairs. With inimitable style, he brings history to life with cogent analyses of some of the greatest strategic issues of recent times and reveals how, over the years, he navigated the shifting tides of relations among America, China, and Taiwan, acting as confidant, sounding board, and messenger for them. He also includes candid, sometimes acerbic pen portraits of his political peers, including the indomitable Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, the poetry & ndash;spouting Jiang Zemin, and ideologues George Bush and Deng Xiaoping. Lee also lifts the veil on his family life and writes tenderly of his wife and stalwart partner, Kwa Geok Choo, and of their pride in their three children & ndash; & ndash; particularly the eldest son, Hsien Loong, who is now Singapore's deputy prime minister. For more than three decades, Lee Kuan Yew has been praised and vilified in equal measure, and he has established himself as a force impossible to ignore in Asian and international politics. From Third World to First offers readers a compelling glimpse into this visionary's heart, soul, and mind.

My Vision - Challenges In The Race For Excellence By Hh Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makto

My Vision: Challenges In The Race For Excellence by Hh Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makto My Vision: challenges in the race for excellence is a unique book in which His Highness Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Vice president and prime minister of United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, Examines aspect of the UAE & rsquo;S unique development experience This is a book about a unique development experience that set a creative example for the Arab world to follow. This experience provide a reassuring message that if all the constituent of any given society agree to excel in all fields, different cultures and religions can co-exist without the slightest problem.

Nigeria and the Leadership Question: Proffering Solutions to Nigeria’s Leadership Problem

This book provides for the reader: - An excellent perspective on the early historical origins and political development of Nigeria. - Solutions to the leadership question Nigeria has been struggling with since independence. - It destroys the myth that leadership is Nigeria & rsquo;s only problem. - It points out the role of responsible followership in building a great nation. - It shows why democracy has not worked in Africa and what needs to be done for it to work. - It points out reasons why strong men (messiahs) cannot solve the problem of Nigeria and African nations. - It makes a case for building strong institutions and systems as the key to eradicating corruption and leadership failure. - It posits that wrong values are at the root of our national problems and challenges both for leaders and followers to imbibe good values. - It enjoins citizens not to abdicate the responsibility of their country to the leaders alone, but must themselves accept the responsibility for their nation. - It also shows examples of proactive Nigerians that are taking responsibility to build a better Nigeria. Tag: Nigeria, Leadership, Nigeria Leadership, Obasanjo, Buhari, Awolowo, Abiola, Adiagbon, Murtala Muhammed, Sunday Adelaja, National Transformation, Visionary Leader, Giants of Africa, Nigerians, Great Nation, Discover your Purpose.

Long Walk to Freedom

'Irrestitible' describes Long Walk to Freedom, which must be one of the few political autobiographies that's also a page-turner

Book Business : Publishing, Past, Present, And Future

Product Information In this book based on his W.W. Norton Lectures given at the New York Public Library in October, 1999, Epstein discusses the severe crisis facing the book business today--a crisis that affects writers and readers as well as publishers--and looks ahead to the radically transformed industry that will revolutionize the idea of the book.

Policy Matters By Jose Antonio Ocampo, Jomo K.s., Sarbuland Khan

Economic and Social Policies to Sustain Equitable Development. In 2000 the UN pledged to halve world poverty by 2015 as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), but progress has been elusive, and consensus difficult to achieve. These papers reveal disparate problems faced by the UN in developing a coherent Development Agenda, from the complex effects of trade and finance liberalization to the damaging realities of development aid, itself a central pillar of the MDGs. The unifying theme is one of economic and social integration, and an emphasis on long-term strategic investment in education, health and infrastructure. By challenging mainstream economic thought, this book is required reading for students, academics and activists wanting to engage in the debate, and help the MDGs reach a positive conclusion.

Why We Struck : The Story Of The First Nigeria Coup By Adewale Ademoyega

Why We Struck : The Story of The First Nigeria Coup by Adewale Ademoyega Why We Struck : The Story of The First Nigeria Coup by Adewale Ademoyega The Story of the first Nigerian Coup. It tells a story of the first military intervention in Nigerian politics. The coup that took place on January 15. 1966. was concieved and planned by Major Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega. The book is indeed a souvenir, being the original work of the only surviving member of the trio that conceived and planned the coup. The Story of the first Nigerian Coup. It tells a story of the first military intervention in Nigerian politics. The coup that took place on January 15. 1966. was concieved and planned by Major Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna and Ademoyega.

Groundwork Of Nigerian History By Obaro Ikime

Filling a gap, this study presents a comprehensive history of Nigeria's diverse peoples. The first two chapters provide a geographical and archaeological background. The main body of the work is divided into three sections: Nigeria Before 1800; Nigeria in the 19th century: and Nigeria in the 20th century. Contributors cover a multitude of different issues and regions such as the Benin Kingdom, the trans-atlantic slave trade, nationalist movements, and Borno in the 19th century.

An Image Of Africa And The Trouble With Nigeria By Chinua Achebe

An Image of Africa and the Trouble with Nigeria by Chinua Achebe Beautifully written yet highly controversial, An Image of Africa asserts Achebe's belief in Joseph Conrad as a 'bloody racist' and his conviction that Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness only serves to perpetuate damaging stereotypes of black people. Also included is The Trouble with Nigeria, Achebe's searing outpouring of his frustrations with his country.GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

Leah Sharibu - The Girl Boko Haram Left Behind By Reno Omokri

Leah Sharibu: The Girl Boko Haram Left Behind by Reno Omokri Leah Sharibu was abducted by the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram, along with 109 other girls on February 19, 2018. While the other girls were released, Leah was held back because she refused to abandon her faith in God through Christ Jesus and accept Islam as her abductors wanted. Her Faith at just 14 is inspiring. This book is an account of how she was abducted, and how she can be set free and what you can do to help.

Oil - Politics And Violence - Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture - 1966-1976 By Max Siollun

Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria & rsquo;s Military Coup Culture (1966-1976) by Max Siollun This is a ground breaking book by historian Max Siollun about the relationship between oil and military rule in Nigeria. Modern Nigeria cannot be understood without reference to its era of military rule. Military rule and oil wealth effected cataclysmic changes in Nigeria that nearly tore the country apart on several occasions. 40 years after the end of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, Max Siollun answers the key questions that go to the root of the Nigerian nation:*Who were the key personalities and events that caused the Nigeria/Biafra civil war?*What is the root of the Niger Delta oil conflict and the "curse of oil"?*How has Nigeria managed to endure successive military coups, civil war, ethnic violence and still remain united?*The role of Babangida, Ojukwu, Abacha, Obasanjo, Yar'Adua and Buhari in previous military coup plots and Nigerian governments.The book's style is that of a fast paced dramatised narrative that will bring the characters and the story to life in a manner that will engage the casual, journalistic or academic reader. Those who have read the book have described it as the most detailed published analysis of the major events and controversies of Nigeria from independence until the 1976 assassination of its then Head of State General Murtala Muhammed. These include the traumatic January and July coups of 1966, the unprecedented magnanimity of the federal leader General Gowon after Nigeria's civil war, the post war stewardship of Gowon, and an hour by hour reconstruction of the events leading up to the 1976 Dimka coup in which Gowon's successor General Murtala Muhammed was killed.The book is the definitive reference point for Nigeria's political life between 1960 and 1976. It examines the controversies of that era with the encyclopaedic detail and penetrating analysis that is Max Siollun's trademark. No previous text has exhaustively analysed these events or this period in Nigeria's history. What lessons can be learned from the events and mistakes of this period? How can Nigeria avoid repeating those mistakes? Max Siollun answers these questions and many more. Review "I cannot commend this book too highly... this book is a revelation". - Kaye Whiteman (Business Day)"The most comprehensive and authentic documentation on the Nigerian coup and counter coup of 1966 and the Biafran War that I have ever seen ." - Former Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria About the Author Max Siollun is a historian and commentator on Nigerian political and governmental issues, specializing in Nigerian history and the Nigerian military's participation in politics. Although born in Nigeria, he was educated in England and is a graduate of the University of London. For the past decade has been a well known columnist for several publications on Nigerian history and contemporary affairs.His balanced critiques on Nigerian history and the Nigerian military s intervention in politics has given him a reputation as one of the most renowned scholars on Nigeria's posy-independence history, and unprecedented access to documentary and eyewitness sources regarding Nigeria's history.

Nigeria: Too Hard To Hold - Peter Okorie

The book, & lsquo;Nigeria: Too Hard to Hold & rsquo;, is a 292 page story of Nigeria, starting from early external influences of Europeans and Arabs from the Atlantic ocean and Sahara desert, respectively. The book described the slow laborious process of formation of British protectorates leading subsequently to the amalgamation of the southern and northern protectorates in 1914. Under the pretext of stopping the slave trade & ndash; the same slave trade they initiated & ndash; the colonial masters succeeded in annexing and colonizing yet more territories, protectorate after protectorate, in instalments. Following amalgamation, the massive development of infrastructure & ndash; sea ports, railways, roads, and educational institutions & ndash; are chronicled in details. Chapter (5) five & ndash; the centre of gravity of the book & ndash; is a well researched 100 page account of the Nigeria & ndash; Biafra War, from the first shots at Gakem in July 1967 to the final shots in Owerri in the second week of January, 1970. The international intrigues masterminded by the British against Biafra are well documented. The book also looked at the post civil war challenges: official corruption, harvest of coups, political instability, ethnic suspicions and growing insecurity, especially Boko Haram, farmers/herdsmen clashes, banditry and persistent calls for restructuring of the country. Anyone who is interested in the survival of Nigeria must read this book.

My Watch Trilogy Bundle By Olusegun Obasanjo

"During his watch, a watchman has no sleep and no respite." - Olusegun Obasanjo Following in the steps of his previous memoirs, & ldquo;My Command & rdquo; and & ldquo;Not My Will & rdquo;, Olusegun Obasanjo's & ldquo;My Watch & rdquo; is more than the story of the Obasanjo presidency told by the man himself. It is a memoir of a lifetime spent in service to country, of a man who has been destined with the watch, with the vigilance, with the responsibility to his people to speak up and speak out. & ldquo;My Watch & rdquo; by the only military and civilian President in Nigeria & rsquo;s history, spans large expanses of time, from the pre-colonial Owu history, to early Abeokuta and the last throes of an independent city state at turn-of-the-century colonial Nigeria, to the early life of its author, his civil war experience, his stewardship of the transitional government of 1976-1979, the interregnum, his second appearance on the national scene as a civilian President on Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999, the completion of the first civilian-civilian transfer of government in Nigeria's history that inaugurated the Yar'Adua Presidency and signalled the end of Obasanjo's tenure in office, and the years hence. Presented in three volumes, this exquisitely narrated memoir, is intensely personal, broadly nationalistic and international, told by this sojourner of Nigerian and world history, Olusegun Mathew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo.

The Power Of Art

"Great art has dreadful manners," Simon Schama observes wryly at the start of his epic and explosive exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. "The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things; visions that soothe, charm and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure, and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your sense of reality. . . ." With the same disarming force, The Power of Art propels us on an eye-opening, breathtaking odyssey, zooming in on eight extraordinary masterpieces, from Caravaggio's David and Goliath to Picasso's Guernica. Jolting us far from the comfort zone of the hushed art gallery, Schama closes in on intense make-or-break turning points in the lives of eight great artists who, under extreme stress, created something unprecedented, altering the course of art forever. The embattled heroes & mdash;Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko & mdash;each in his own resolute way, faced crisis with steadfast defiance, pitting passion and conviction against scorn and short-sightedness. The masterpieces they created challenged convention, shattered complacency, shifted awareness and changed the way we look at the world. With vivid storytelling and powerfully evocative descriptive passages, Schama explores the dynamic personalities of the artists and the spirit of the times they lived through, capturing the flamboyant theatre of bourgeois life in Amsterdam, the passion and paranoia of Revolutionary Paris, and the carnage and pathos of Civil War Spain. Most compelling of all, The Power of Art traces the extraordinary evolution of eight "eye-popping" world-class works of art. Created in a bolt of illumination, such works "tell us something about how the world is, how it is to be inside our skins, that no more prosaic source of wisdom can deliver. And when they do that, they answer, irrefutably and majestically, the nagging question of every reluctant art-conscript . . . 'OK, OK, but what's art really for?'"

The Golden Road - How Ancient India Transformed The World

The internationally bestselling author of The Anarchy returns with a sparkling, soaring history of ideas, tracing South Asia's under-recognized role in producing the world as we know it.For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilization, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific.In The Golden Road, William Dalrymple draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India's oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today (including zero), India transformed the culture and technology of its ancient world & ndash; and our world today as we know it.

Remaking Nigeria - Sixty Years Sixty Voices

On October 1, 2020, Nigeria celebrated its 60th year of political independence. After sixty years of independence, most Nigerians, particularly the youth, hold the view that the country has failed to work for them in a way that is satisfactory and enduring. This book seeks to give voice to young Nigerians, the critical change agents, to help the country understand and sharpen its focus on those issues that hold the key to its collective survival. Clearly, the new decade will be a defining moment for Nigeria. Sixty years after independence, fifty years after a civil war, and at the beginning of a new decade, it is important that a new generation of citizens is challenged to reposition the country. From interaction with young people and discussions on social media, there appears to be a knowledge and information gap among young Nigerians about the history and socio-political evolution of the country. Beyond the lack of understanding of history, there is also a dearth of ideas on what needs to be done and how to get Nigeria out of its current situation. This book addresses these problems. Contributors to the book are young Nigerians with fresh ideas on nationhood, democracy, and development. The book focuses on issues such as federalism, elections and democracy, constitutionalism, environmental justice, data and ICT, the economy and social inclusion, media and press freedom, youth engagement, law and human rights, education and social services, religion and multiculturalism, leadership challenge and good governance, corruption and accountability, foreign policy and regional cooperation.A quarter of a century ago, Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, posed the fundamental question: When is a nation? Based on their background, experience and research, contributors to this book reflected on this question and other important questions with the aim of helping Nigerians understand and appreciate the formula for nation building, and the strategic goals in the construction of a modern nation-state. The essays are analytical, insightful, pragmatic and offer solutions to & ldquo;the trouble with Nigeria. & rdquo; We hope that they will inspire a new generation of Nigerians on what the country needs to do to fulfil the promise and hope of independence.A new Nigeria is possible. But it must be a Nigeria built around the motto of freedom, equality, and opportunity. It must be a Nigeria created in the image of Nigerians of the 21st century; not one created in the image of the British Empire, the Royal Niger Company, Sir Frederick Lugard, internal colonialists or the new imperialists. For young Nigerians to whom this book is directed, it is time to stop looking back or looking up, and as John F. Kennedy admonished, & ldquo; & hellip;accept our own responsibility for the future. & rsquo; & rsquo;

This Fiction Called Nigeria - The Struggle For Democracy

An uncompromising look at Nigeria & rsquo;s crisis of democracy by a renowned essayist and criticIn this groundbreaking work, the essayist and critic Adewale Maja-Pearce delivers a mordant verdict on Nigeria & rsquo;s crisis of democracy. A mosaic of ethnic and religious groups, the most populous country in Africa was fabricated by British colonizers at the turn of the twentieth century. In the years since its independence in 1960, Nigeria spent an unbroken quarter century as a military dictatorship. Yet the blessings of today & rsquo;s democracy are unclear to many, especially among the more than half of the population living in extreme poverty. Buffeted by unemployment, saddled with debt, menaced by bandits and Islamic fundamentalists, Nigeria faces the threat of disintegration.Maja-Pearce shows that recent mobilizations against police brutality, sexism, and homophobia reveal a powerful undercurrent of discontent, especially among the country & rsquo;s youth. If Nigeria has a future, he shows here, it is in the hands of young people unwilling to go on as before.

The Two Popes - Francis/ Benedict And The Decision That Shook The World

THE STORY BEHIND THE SCREENPLAY OF THE TWO POPES, THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING ANTHONY HOPKINS AND JONATHAN PRYCE (PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS THE POPE).From the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour comes the fascinating and revealing tale of an unprecedented transfer of power, and of two very different men - who both happen to live in the Vatican.In February 2013, the arch-conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement: he would resign, making him the first pope to willingly vacate his office in over 700 years. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a one time tango club bouncer, a passionate soccer fan, a man with the common touch.Why did Benedict walk away at the height of power, knowing his successor might be someone whose views might undo his legacy? How did Francis - who used to ride the bus to work back in his native Buenos Aires - adjust to life as leader to a billion followers? If, as the Church teaches, the pope is infallible, how can two living popes who disagree on almost everything both be right?Having immersed himself in these men's lives to write the screenplay for The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten masterfully weaves their stories into one gripping narrative. From Benedict and Francis's formative experiences in war-torn Germany and Argentina to the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church to its foundations, to the intrigue and the occasional comedy of life in the Vatican, The Two Pope glitters with the darker and the lighter details of one of the world's most opaque but significant institutions.

The United States In Africa: Bush Policy And Beyond

The George W. Bush administration maintains that in sub-Saharan Africa it is making major new contributions in fighting disease, promoting development, fostering democracy, and promoting peace. Yet, despite the rhetoric, is the Bush Administration really working to bring about a fairer and more just Africa?Though aid has increased and a major AIDS initiative launched, Copson argues that US policy in Africa falls well short of meeting reasonable standards of fairness or justice. Foreign aid is losing its focus on development as political priorities come to the fore; U.S. barriers to African exports remain substantial; and the AIDS program is in danger of flagging due to unilateralism and ideological controversy. An increasingly military approach to fighting the 'Global War on Terror' in Africa and securing energy imports carries serious risks for the region. Copson concludes by assessing the prospects of a more equitable policy emerging in future administrations.

We See It All: Liberty And Justice In An Age Of Perpetual Surveillance

This investigation into the legal, political, and moral issues surrounding how the police and justice system use surveillance technology asks the question: what are citizens of a free country willing to tolerate in the name of public safety? As we rethink the scope of police power, Jon Fasman & rsquo;s chilling examination of how the police and the justice system use the unparalleled power of surveillance technology & mdash;how it affects privacy, liberty, and civil rights & mdash;becomes more urgent by the day. Embedding himself within police departments on both coasts, Fasman explores the moral, legal, and political questions posed by these techniques and tools.By zeroing in on how facial recognition, automatic license-plate readers, drones, predictive algorithms, and encryption affect us personally, Fasman vividly illustrates what is at stake and explains how to think through issues of privacy rights, civil liberties, and public safety. How do these technologies impact how police operate in our society? How should archaic privacy laws written for an obsolete era & mdash;that of the landline and postbox & mdash;be updated?Fasman looks closely at what can happen when surveillance technologies are combined and put in the hands of governments with scant regard for citizens & rsquo; civil liberties, pushing us to ask: Is our democratic culture strong enough to stop us from turning into China, with its architecture of control?

This Animal Called Man

Man is a contradiction, a complex being, and a unique animal. This book seeks to elucidate on Biblical or Christian teaching, throwing in liberal snatches of philosophical thought. It drew inspiration from Biblical affirmation that man was created from the same material that God took to create the animals.

Walking Through Fire - The Later Years Of Nawal El Saadawi - In Her Own Words

In A Daughter of Isis, Nawal El Saadawi painted a beautifully textured portrait of the childhood that moulded her into a novelist and fearless campaigner for freedom and the rights of women. Walking through Fire takes up the story of her extraordinary life.Famous for her novels, short stories and writings on women, Saadawi is known as the first Arab woman to have written about sex and its relation to economics and politics. Imprisoned under Sadat for her opinions, she has continued to fight against all forms of discrimination based on class, gender, nationality, race or religion.This autobiography shows the passion for justice that has shaped her life and her writing. We read about her as a rural doctor, trying to help a young girl escape from a terrible fate imposed on her by a brutal male tyranny. We follow her attempts to set up women's organizations and to publish magazines later banned by the authorities or endangered by fundamentalist threats. We travel with her into exile after the publication of her name on a death list. We witness her first marriage to a freedom fighter hounded into drug addiction by a system that has no mercy. We share her struggle against her 'false self' and a second husband who offers her financial security and comfort - provided she stops writing. We live the beautiful moments of her third marriage with a man released after fourteen years of imprisonment and hard labour - their love, companionship and shared struggle.Nawal El Saadawi has carved a place for herself in the universal struggle against oppression. 'Words should not seek to please, to hide the wounds in our bodies, or the shameful moments in our lives', she says. 'They may hurt, give us pain, but they can also provoke us to question what we have accepted for thousands of years.'

Black Skin - White Masks

Few modern voices have had as profound an impact on the black identity and critical race theory as Frantz Fanon, and Black Skin, White Masks represents some of his most important work. Fanon & rsquo;s masterwork is now available in a new translation that updates its language for a new generation of readers.A major influence on civil rights, anti-colonial, and black consciousness movements around the world, Black Skin, White Masks is the unsurpassed study of the black psyche in a white world. Hailed for its scientific analysis and poetic grace when it was first published in 1952, the book remains a vital force today from one of the most important theorists of revolutionary struggle, colonialism, and racial difference in history.

The Spirit Level - Why Equality Is Better For Everyone

Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett''s The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone is the most influential and talked-about book on society in the last decade - now updated with a new chapter on the controversy the book has ignited.Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than in Japan? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Australians? The answer: inequality.This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show:How almost everything - from life expectancy to mental illness, violence to illiteracy - is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it isThat societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them - including the well-offHow we can find positive solutions and move towards a happier, fairer futureUrgent, provocative and genuinely uplifting, The Spirit Level has been heralded as providing a new way of thinking about ourselves and our communities, and could change the way you see the world.''A big idea, big enough to change political thinking'' - Guardian''A remarkable new book ... the implications are profound'' - Will Hutton, Observer''The evidence is hard to dispute'' - EconomistRichard Wilkinson studied economic history at the London School of Economics before training in epidemiology and is Professor Emeritus at the University of Nottingham Medical School and Honorary Professor at University College London.Kate Pickett is a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York and a National Institute for Health Research Career Scientist. Her work with Richard Wilkinson on The Spirit Level was shortlisted for Research Project of the Year 2009 by the Times Higher Education Supplement, and their book was chosen as one of the Top Ten Books of the Decade by the New Statesman.

The Silva Mind Control Method

Since The Silva Mind Control Method, over one million people have graduated from Mind Control training to use their minds at a deeper and more effective level, even in their sleep!The Silva Mind Control explains the famous forty-eight-hour program which forms the basis of a system of mind control that alleviates stress, increases creativity, and develops concentration, and presents numerous case histories of graduates of the program.

The Seven Necessary Sins For Women And Girls

A bold and uncompromising feminist manifesto that shows women and girls how to defy, disrupt, and destroy the patriarchy by embracing the qualities they & rsquo;ve been trained to avoid.Seizing upon the energy of the #MeToo movement, feminist activist Mona Eltahawy advocates a muscular, out-loud approach to teaching women and girls to harness their power through what she calls the & ldquo;seven necessary sins & rdquo; that women and girls are not supposed to commit: to be angry, ambitious, profane, violent, attention-seeking, lustful, and powerful. All the necessary & ldquo;sins & rdquo; that women and girls require to erupt.Eltahawy knows that the patriarchy is alive and well, and she is fed the hell up: Sexually assaulted during hajj at the age of fifteen. Groped on the dance floor of a night club in Montreal at fifty. Countless other injustices in the years between. Illuminating her call to action are stories of activists and ordinary women around the world & mdash;from South Africa to China, Nigeria to India, Bosnia to Egypt & mdash;who are tapping into their inner fury and crossing the lines of race, class, faith, and gender that make it so hard for marginalized women to be heard. Rather than teaching women and girls to survive the poisonous system they have found themselves in, Eltahawy arms them to dismantle it.Brilliant, bold, and energetic, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls is a manifesto for all feminists in the fight against patriarchy.

Hero - the Secret

From Rhonda Byrne, creator of the international bestselling movie and book, The Secret, comes Hero, her latest world-changing project and the most important to date.FROM ZERO TO HERO...YOUR SECRET MAP TO A RICH LIFEWhat is your true calling and why aren't you already living it?Imagine if there was a map that showed you step by step how to get from where you are now to your true calling and the life you were born to live & mdash;the most brilliant, rich, fulfilling, and dazzling life you could ever dream of. You are holding in your hands such a map. Hero is the map for your life.By following the journeys of twelve of the most successful people on the planet today, you & rsquo;ll learn how to use your inner powers to overcome obstacles and to make impossible dreams come true. You'll be inspired to find your own calling and start taking the steps toward making the life of your dreams an everyday reality.Be the hero you are meant to be.

Walking Through Fire - The Later Years Of Nawal El Saadawi - In Her Own Words

In A Daughter of Isis, Nawal El Saadawi painted a beautifully textured portrait of the childhood that moulded her into a novelist and fearless campaigner for freedom and the rights of women. Walking through Fire takes up the story of her extraordinary life.Famous for her novels, short stories and writings on women, Saadawi is known as the first Arab woman to have written about sex and its relation to economics and politics. Imprisoned under Sadat for her opinions, she has continued to fight against all forms of discrimination based on class, gender, nationality, race or religion.This autobiography shows the passion for justice that has shaped her life and her writing. We read about her as a rural doctor, trying to help a young girl escape from a terrible fate imposed on her by a brutal male tyranny. We follow her attempts to set up women's organizations and to publish magazines later banned by the authorities or endangered by fundamentalist threats. We travel with her into exile after the publication of her name on a death list. We witness her first marriage to a freedom fighter hounded into drug addiction by a system that has no mercy. We share her struggle against her 'false self' and a second husband who offers her financial security and comfort - provided she stops writing. We live the beautiful moments of her third marriage with a man released after fourteen years of imprisonment and hard labour - their love, companionship and shared struggle.Nawal El Saadawi has carved a place for herself in the universal struggle against oppression. 'Words should not seek to please, to hide the wounds in our bodies, or the shameful moments in our lives', she says. 'They may hurt, give us pain, but they can also provoke us to question what we have accepted for thousands of years.'

The History Of The Nigerian Railway. Vol 1: Opening The Nation To Sea And Road Transportat

The railway systems of Nigeria were not just railways replacing another mode of transport. They were pioneers in the opening up of the country to development and contact with the outside world. This prodigious three-volume narrative sets out to explore those systems from their very beginning in the 1890s through their tortuous development to the closing decades of the twentieth century. The first volume starts with exploration, geography and demographic studies and covers the basics of the railway system: locomotives, rolling stock, permanent way, bridging, and signalling applications. The maintenance of these assets is then described followed by fuel examination and water supply exploration. The second volume covers the economic and political history for each of the nine railway and tramway systems traversing the country. Emphasis is given to time and place in the prevailing environment. In the third volume operational facilities and commercial practice are each described under three heads: crime, health, training, storekeeping and railway road transport are given a historical perspective. The whole is summed up under organisation, accounts and statistics while staff and industrial relations have their place, followed by short biographies of departmental heads.

Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made The Rich Richer- And Turned Its Back On

This acclaimed paradigm-shifting work identifies the real culprit behind one of the great economic crises of our time & mdash;the growing inequality of incomes between the vast majority of Americans and the richest of the rich.A groundbreaking work that identifies the real culprit behind one of the great economic crimes of our time & mdash; the growing inequality of incomes between the vast majority of Americans and the richest of the rich.We all know that the very rich have gotten a lot richer these past few decades while most Americans haven & rsquo;t. In fact, the exorbitantly paid have continued to thrive during the current economic crisis, even as the rest of Americans have continued to fall behind. Why do the & ldquo;haveit- alls & rdquo; have so much more? And how have they managed to restructure the economy to reap the lion & rsquo;s share of the gains and shift the costs of their new economic playground downward, tearing new holes in the safety net and saddling all of us with increased debt and risk? Lots of so-called experts claim to have solved this great mystery, but no one has really gotten to the bottom of it & mdash;until now.In their lively and provocative Winner-Take-All Politics, renowned political scientists Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson demonstrate convincingly that the usual suspects & mdash;foreign trade and financial globalization, technological changes in the workplace, increased education at the top & mdash;are largely innocent of the charges against them. Instead, they indict an unlikely suspect and take us on an entertaining tour of the mountain of evidence against the culprit. The guilty party is American politics. Runaway inequality and the present economic crisis reflect what government has done to aid the rich and what it has not done to safeguard the interests of the middle class. The winner-take-all economy is primarily a result of winner-take-all politics.In an innovative historical departure, Hacker and Pierson trace the rise of the winner-take-all economy back to the late 1970s when, under a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress, a major transformation of American politics occurred. With big business and conservative ideologues organizing themselves to undo the regulations and progressive tax policies that had helped ensure a fair distribution of economic rewards, deregulation got under way, taxes were cut for the wealthiest, and business decisively defeated labor in Washington. And this transformation continued under Reagan and the Bushes as well as under Clinton, with both parties catering to the interests of those at the very top. Hacker and Pierson & rsquo;s gripping narration of the epic battles waged during President Obama & rsquo;s first two years in office reveals an unpleasant but catalyzing truth: winner-take-all politics, while under challenge, is still very much with us.Winner-Take-All Politics & mdash;part revelatory history, part political analysis, part intellectual journey & mdash; shows how a political system that traditionally has been responsive to the interests of the middle class has been hijacked by the superrich. In doing so, it not only changes how we think about American politics, but also points the way to rebuilding a democracy that serves the interests of the many rather than just those of the wealthy few.

End Times: Elites - Counter-Elites - And The Path Of Political Disintegration

& ldquo;Peter Turchin brings science to history. Some like it and some prefer their history plain. But everyone needs to pay attention to the well-informed, convincing and terrifying analysis in this book. & rdquo; & mdash;Angus Deaton, winner of the Nobel Prize in EconomicsFrom the pioneering co-founder of cliodynamics, the groundbreaking new interdisciplinary science of history, a big-picture explanation for America's civil strife and its possible endgamesPeter Turchin, one of the most interesting social scientists of our age, has infused the study of history with approaches and insights from other fields for more than a quarter century. End Times is the culmination of his work to understand what causes political communities to cohere and what causes them to fall apart, as applied to the current turmoil within the United States. Back in 2010, when Nature magazine asked leading scientists to provide a ten-year forecast, Turchin used his models to predict that America was in a spiral of social disintegration that would lead to a breakdown in the political order circa 2020. The years since have proved his prediction more and more accurate, and End Times reveals why.The lessons of world history are clear, Turchin argues: When the equilibrium between ruling elites and the majority tips too far in favor of elites, political instability is all but inevitable. As income inequality surges and prosperity flows disproportionately into the hands of the elites, the common people suffer, and society-wide efforts to become an elite grow ever more frenzied. He calls this process the wealth pump; it & rsquo;s a world of the damned and the saved. And since the number of such positions remains relatively fixed, the overproduction of elites inevitably leads to frustrated elite aspirants, who harness popular resentment to turn against the established order. Turchin & rsquo;s models show that when this state has been reached, societies become locked in a death spiral it's very hard to exit.In America, the wealth pump has been operating full blast for two generations. As cliodynamics shows us, our current cycle of elite overproduction and popular immiseration is far along the path to violent political rupture. That is only one possible end time, and the choice is up to us, but the hour grows late

Shadows At Noon - The South Asian Twentieth Century

A groundbreaking view of South Asian history in the twentieth century that underlines the similarities and intertwined cultures of India and Pakistan Winner of the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History & bull; Longlisted for the 2024 Women & rsquo;s Prize for Non-Fiction & bull; Longlisted for the 2024 Cundill History Prize & ldquo;Chatterji tells the story of the subcontinent & rsquo;s recent history in a fluent sweeping arc. . . . Wonderfully enjoyable to read . . . [and] sure to become a classic. & rdquo; & mdash;William Dalrymple, The Guardian This radically original and ambitious history of the Indian subcontinent explores the region & rsquo;s unique twentieth-century history and foregrounds the deep connections, rather than the well-publicized fissures, between the cultures of India and Pakistan. Taking the partitions of British India rather than the two world wars as the century & rsquo;s inflection points, Joya Chatterji examines how issues of nationalism, internal and external migration, and technological innovation contributed to South Asia & rsquo;s tumultuous twentieth century. Chatterji weaves together elements of her autobiography and family history; stories of such legendary figures as Tagore, Jinnah, Gandhi, and Nehru; and, in particular, the accounts of the many who were left behind and marginalized in relentless nation-building projects. Chatterji examines the countries & rsquo; mirroring patterns in state building, social and cultural life, modes of leisure, consumption, and oppression, and offers a timely course correction to our understanding of the dynamics of South Asian history. It reframes the events of the twentieth century that are continuing to play out in the present day.

Ten Days In Harlem

Rising star Simon Hall captures the spirit of the 1960s in ten days that revolutionized the Cold War: Fidel Castro's visit to New York. New York City, September 1960. Fidel Castro champion of the oppressed, scourge of colonialism, and leftist revolutionary arrives for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. His visit to the UN represents a golden opportunity to make his mark on the world stage. Fidel & rsquo;s shock arrival in Harlem is met with a rapturous reception from the local African American community. He holds court from the iconic Hotel Theresa as a succession of world leaders, black freedom fighters and counter-cultural luminaries everyone from Nikita Khrushchev to Gamal Abdel Nasser, Malcolm X to Allen Ginsberg come calling. Then, during his landmark address to the UN General Assembly one of the longest speeches in the organisation & rsquo;s history he promotes the politics of anti-imperialism with a fervour, and an audacity, that makes him an icon of the 1960s. In this unforgettable slice of modern history, Simon Hall reveals how these ten days were a foundational moment in the trajectory of the Cold War, a turning point in the history of anti-colonial struggle, and a launching pad for the social, cultural and political tumult of the decade that followed. "A highly readable, engaging, astute microhistory of an overlooked event." Kirkus

Man Of Contradictions: Joko Widodo And The Struggle To Remake Indonesia

Although he has dominated Indonesian politics for years, President Joko Widodo remains a beguiling figure. He has consistently defied both his sternest critics and his strongest supporters. A brilliant instinctive politician, Jokowi, as he is known, was resoundingly re-elected in 2019. However, he has struggled to turn success at the ballot box into the transformational change that Indonesia desperately needs. Jokowi has vowed to turn the world & rsquo;s fourth most populous nation into an Asian powerhouse with a strong economy and the heft to defend its international interests at a time of renewed US-China rivalry. Progress has been slow, however. And the scale of the challenge is increasing, at home and abroad. As he gets to work in his second and final term, will Jokowi deliver on his grand ambitions? Or will Indonesia once more fall short of expectations? Man of Contradictions, the first English-language political biography of Jokowi, will examine how he became so popular, what makes him tick, and why he will struggle to remake Indonesia. The key to understanding Jokowi lies not in uncovering some core inner convictions but in embracing his contradictions.

A Handbook Of Peace Studies And Conflict Resolution - Revised Edition By Felix Ogbewe Aigbovbio

The term 'peace' is a household word,a sought after by all,but the most elusive among human desires....A Handbook of Peace Studies and Comflict Resolution programme,students of other sundry Department and even the general public because of the relevant issues and concepts treated simplistically and lucidly in the book that are germane to the survival of mankind.

Cowries Of Blood: Essays On Herdsmen- Banditry And Nigeria's Endgame Politics

Cowries of Blood contains essays about Nigeria & rsquo;s struggles with insecurity, elite failure and leadership inadequacies. The articles were published in the author & rsquo;s Monday Lines column in the Nigerian Tribune between March 2012 and August 2021.

Orientalism

A groundbreaking critique of the West's historical, cultural, and political perceptions of the East that is & mdash;three decades after its first publication & mdash;one of the most important books written about our divided world. "Intellectual history on a high order ... and very exciting." & mdash;The New York TimesIn this wide-ranging, intellectually vigorous study, Said traces the origins of "orientalism" to the centuries-long period during which Europe dominated the Middle and Near East and, from its position of power, defined "the orient" simply as "other than" the occident. This entrenched view continues to dominate western ideas and, because it does not allow the East to represent itself, prevents true understanding.

Achebe Or Soyinka? A Study In Contrasts - New Perspectives On African Literature

This is a controversial new study on Africa's two most widely read and, arguably, her finest writers. Despite their shared levels of prestige, each represents a distinct pole of Nigerian writing. On the one hand, there's Soyinka, the playful imagist steeped in the myth and magic of his native Yoruba culture; at the other end of the spectrum, Achebe's internalized Igbo cultural traditions.Kole Omotoso - himself a prolific writer and prize-winning Nigerian novelist - explores and defines the differences in style, background, and vision between the two men. Individual chapters describe their childhood, their cultural influences, political involvement, their stand during the Nigerian civil war, their attitudes to the world at large, their contribution to the language debate in African literatures, and there is also a chapter devoted to Achebe's and Soyinka's responses to their critics.The works of Achebe and Soyinka are considered against three main agendas: the pan-African agenda, the Nigerian nation-state agenda, and the ethnic national agenda. Despite their shared nationality, their contribution towards creating 'a community of sensibilities' in Nigeria is questioned by the author in terms of the instability that has bedevilled Nigeria and, by extension, other African countries.

Populista: The Rise Of Latin America's 21st Century Strongman

'An ambitious, riveting and essential book that has much to teach us about the recent history of this region, and about the human impulse towards populism that continues to shape the world' Ben Rhodes, bestselling author of The World As It Is'A REVOLUTION IS A STRUGGLE TO THE DEATH BETWEEN THE FUTURE AND THE PAST.' FIDEL CASTROFor more than six decades, Fidel Castro's words have echoed through the politics of Latin America. His towering political influence still looms over the region today.The swing to the Left in Latin America, known as the 'Pink Tide', was the most important political movement in the Western Hemisphere in the 21st century. It involved some of the biggest, most colourful and most controversial characters in Latin America for decades, leaders who would leave an indelible mark on their nations and who were adored and reviled in equal measure.Parties became secondary to individual leaders and populism reigned from Venezuela to Brazil, from Central America to the Caribbean, financed by a spike in commodity prices and the oil-backed largesse of Venezuela's charismatic socialist president, Hugo Ch & aacute;vez.Yet within a decade and a half, it was all over. Today, this wave of populism has left the Americas in the hands of some of the most authoritarian and dangerous leaders since the military dictatorships of the 1970s.

Sharpen Your Discernment By Roberts Liardon

Because When Life Looks Grey, It's Really Black and White "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold" (Proverbs 3:13 & ndash;14 NIV). We all know people whom we would call wise, prudent, or discerning. What sets these individuals apart is their ability to walk in the guidance of God. Do you feel like you daily receive direction from God? You can! From the Scriptures, author Roberts Liardon sets you on the path to pursuing a life marked by wisdom. With this knowledge and insight, you can find out how to be led by the Spirit of God; develop a plan of action for successful decision & ndash;making; defeat the spiritual forces of evil in your life; and discover the immense power in daily prayer and Bible & ndash;reading. Sharpen your discernment and you will be more than a conqueror!

The Sheikh Ceo

The Sheik CEO by Yasar Jarrar. The rise of Dubai is a remarkable story, one which has created a brand synonymous with superlatives and dynamism and put it among the leading cities of the world. As a result of its connectivity, bold futuristic projects, its ease of doing business, its hub status and its robust trading networks, Dubai has emerged as the Hong Kong of South Asia, the Miami of Africa and the Singapore of the Middle East. But this book is not about Dubai! This book is about the Sheikh who built it into a global hub, his leadership style and the way he operates. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, is & ndash; by any measure & ndash; one of the most known and admired leaders in our region. He has created an extraordinary legacy through his bold vision and ability to deliver, often against all odds. This book distils the lessons to be learned from observing Sheikh Mohammed firsthand, featuring interviews capturing insights from ministers and members of his Executive Office team from the past two decades. It gives an insider & rsquo;s view of the Sheikh CEO who runs Dubai, his personal leadership model and how he delivers. Whether or not you aspire to be a political or public leader, any leader or manager can improve his or her capabilities by studying Sheikh Mohammed & rsquo;s lessons in leadership.

Just In Four Years - Alhaji Lateef Jakande: A Beacon For Africa's Leadership

How did he achieve so much in just 4 years of a single term in office? Meet the man who lived a full life; a life rich not in material things but in the things that truly matter & ndash; Integrity, Honour, Service, and Character. A quintessential politician and an administrator par excellence; the first civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande. & ldquo;Just in Four Years & rdquo; is a book that chronicles the landmark achievement of the former Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria. Whose motivation was to make life better for the poor and to bring good governance to all and sundry. This book is aimed at buttressing ably that a standard has been set, precedence has been created and the baton dangling, awaiting a visionary leader of this generation to clutch and continue to run the race of good and selfless leadership as Lateef Jakande had envisioned. To bring to the spotlight the concept of good governance that can be achieved within a single dispensation. This is a book that must be read by everyone who cares about good governance. It & rsquo;s high time the people started asking politicians the question, can you be the Lateef Jakande we all need? The time for action is now. Read this book and join the effort towards a new Nigeria that understands what good governance looks like based on antecedent.

Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, And Being Good

Abandon dead, dry, religious rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation with a passionate, provocative poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." The 4-minute video became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). Bethke's message clearly struck a chord with believers and nonbelievers alike, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged. In his New York Times bestseller Jesus & gt; Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem--highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair, and hope. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior. Along the way, Bethke gives you the tools you need to: Humbly and prayerfully open your mind Understand Jesus for all that he is View the church from a brand-new perspective Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he's not a pastor or theologian, but simply an ordinary, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. On this journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him with love beyond the props of false religion. Praise for Jesus & gt; Religion: "Jeff's book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. Listen to that voice, then follow it--right to the feet of Jesus." --Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always "The book you hold in your hands is Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz meets C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity meets Augustine's Confessions. This book is going to awaken an entire generation to Jesus and His grace." --Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church, author of Limitless Life: Breaking Free from the Labels That Hold You Back

The Rise And Fall Of The East

The long history of China & rsquo;s relationship between stability, diversity, and prosperity, and how its current leadership threatens this delicate balance A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2023 Chinese society has been shaped by the interplay of the EAST & mdash;exams, autocracy, stability, and technology & mdash;from ancient times through the present. Beginning with the Sui dynasty & rsquo;s introduction of the civil service exam, known as Keju, in 587 CE & mdash;and continuing through the personnel management system used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) & mdash;Chinese autocracies have developed exceptional tools for homogenizing ideas, norms, and practices. But this uniformity came with a huge downside: stifled creativity. Yasheng Huang shows how China transitioned from dynamism to extreme stagnation after the Keju was instituted. China & rsquo;s most prosperous periods, such as during the Tang dynasty (618 & ndash;907) and under the reformist CCP, occurred when its emphasis on scale (the size of bureaucracy) was balanced with scope (diversity of ideas). Considering China & rsquo;s remarkable success over the past half-century, Huang sees signs of danger in the political and economic reversals under Xi Jinping. The CCP has again vaulted conformity above new ideas, reverting to the Keju model that eventually led to technological decline. It is a lesson from China & rsquo;s own history, Huang argues, that Chinese leaders would be wise to take seriously.

The Road To Mecca

From his work as a journalist in the Middle East before his conversion, Muhammad Asad became an author, translator of Islamic literature, and international diplomat. His written works include his famed English translation of the Qur'an and translations of the Prophet's oral teachings. In this extraordinary and beautifully-written autobiography, Asad tells of his initial rejection of all institutional religions, his entree into Taoism, his fascinating travels as a diplomat, and finally his embrace of Islam.

The Fortunes Of Africa: A 5000-Year History Of Wealth - Greed - And Endeavor

A sweeping history the fortune seekers, adventurers, despots, and thieves who have ruthlessly endeavored to extract gold, diamonds, and other treasures from Africa and its people.Africa has been coveted for its rich natural resources ever since the era of the Pharaohs. In past centuries, it was the lure of gold, ivory, and slaves that drew merchant-adventurers and conquerors from afar. In modern times, the focus of attention is on oil, diamonds, and other rare earth minerals.In this vast and vivid panorama of history, Martin Meredith follows the fortunes of Africa over a period of 5,000 years. With compelling narrative, he traces the rise and fall of ancient kingdoms and empires; the spread of Christianity and Islam; the enduring quest for gold and other riches; the exploits of explorers and missionaries; and the impact of European colonization. He examines, too, the fate of modern African states and concludes with a glimpse of their future.His cast of characters includes religious leaders, mining magnates, warlords, dictators, and many other legendary figures-among them Mansa Musa, ruler of the medieval Mali empire, said to be the richest man the world has ever known.

The God Desire

From the bestselling author of Jews Don & rsquo;t Count & lsquo; A hugely heartfelt, funny, kind, fascinating, human and clever book & rsquo; ALAIN DE BOTTON & lsquo; Magnificent. Breathtaking. And shockingly rare & hellip; another one-sitting wonder & rsquo; STEPHEN FRY David Baddiel would love there to be a God. He has spent a lot of time fantasising about how much better life would be if there actually was such a thing as a Superhero Dad who chased off Death. Unfortunately for him, there isn & rsquo;t. Or at least, that is Baddiel & rsquo;s view in this book, which argues that it is indeed the very intensity of his, and everyone else & rsquo;s, desire for God to exist that proves His non-existence. Anything so deeply wished-for we will, considers Baddiel, make real. The admission of his own divine yearnings makes for a book that is more vulnerable & ndash; and more understanding of the value and power of religion & ndash; than most atheist polemics. A philosophical essay that utilises Baddiel & rsquo;s trademarks of comedy, storytelling and personal asides, The God Desire offers a highly readable new perspective on the most ancient of debates.

The Bad-ass Librarians Of Timbuktu: And Their Race To Save The World's Most Precious Manus

To save precious centuries old Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians in Timbuktu pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean & rsquo;s Eleven.In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that had fallen into obscurity. The Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu tells the incredible story of how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist and historian from the legendary city of Timbuktu, later became one of the world & rsquo;s greatest and most brazen smugglers.In 2012, thousands of Al Qaeda militants from northwest Africa seized control of most of Mali, including Timbuktu. They imposed Sharia law, chopped off the hands of accused thieves, stoned to death unmarried couples, and threatened to destroy the great manuscripts. As the militants tightened their control over Timbuktu, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali.Over the past twenty years, journalist Joshua Hammer visited Timbuktu numerous times and is uniquely qualified to tell the story of Haidara & rsquo;s heroic and ultimately successful effort to outwit Al Qaeda and preserve Mali & rsquo;s and the world & rsquo;s literary patrimony. Hammer explores the city & rsquo;s manuscript heritage and offers never before reported details about the militants & rsquo; march into northwest Africa. But above all, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu is an inspiring account of the victory of art and literature over extremism.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER & bull; 2015 Christian Book Award winner & bull; Nabeel Qureshi describes his dramatic journey from Islam to Christianity in this expanded edition with new bonus content and reflections. "My friend Nabeel Qureshi was courageous enough to chase down the truth with intellectual integrity, no matter the personal cost," --Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Christ. Providing an intimate view into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God. Unable to deny the arguments but not wanting to deny his family, Qureshi struggled with an inner turmoil that will challenge Christians, Muslims, and all those who are interested in two of the world's greatest religions and the quest for truth. Qureshi--with great courage and intimacy--wrote this book with three major purposes in mind: To tear down walls between two of the world's major religions by giving non-Muslim readers an insider's perspective into a Muslim's heart and mind. To equip the reader with facts and knowledge, showing the strength of the case for the gospel contrasted with the case for Islam. To portray the immense inner struggle of Muslims grappling with the gospel, including all the sacrifices and doubts that rise up along the way. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus is more than the memoir of a man's pursuit of answers to the most important issues of life and faith. Ultimately, it's the story about the transformative grace and mercy of the one true God. This edition has been expanded to include: A revised foreword and introduction A new afterword by apologist Mark Mittelberg and a reflection by Nabeel's wife A substantially extended epilogue that shares how Nabeel told his friend David of his decision to follow Christ, how his parents found out, and more Expert contributions from scholars and ministry leaders on each section of the book, contributions previously included only in the ebook edition An appendix with a topical table of contents (for teaching from Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus) An appendix tackling the objection that Ahmadi Muslims--the Islamic movement that Qureshi was raised in--are not true Muslims And a sneak peek prologue from Nabeel's book, No God but One: Allah or Jesus?

Mindhunter: Inside The Fbi's Elite Serial Crime Unit

Now a Netflix original seriesDiscover the classic, behind-the-scenes chronicle of John E. Douglas & rsquo; twenty-five-year career in the FBI Investigative Support Unit, where he used psychological profiling to delve into the minds of the country & rsquo;s most notorious serial killers and criminals.In chilling detail, the legendary Mindhunter takes us behind the scenes of some of his most gruesome, fascinating, and challenging cases & mdash;and into the darkest recesses of our worst nightmares.During his twenty-five year career with the Investigative Support Unit, Special Agent John Douglas became a legendary figure in law enforcement, pursuing some of the most notorious and sadistic serial killers of our time: the man who hunted prostitutes for sport in the woods of Alaska, the Atlanta child murderer, and Seattle's Green River killer, the case that nearly cost Douglas his life.As the model for Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, Douglas has confronted, interviewed, and studied scores of serial killers and assassins, including Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and Ed Gein, who dressed himself in his victims' peeled skin. Using his uncanny ability to become both predator and prey, Douglas examines each crime scene, reliving both the killer's and the victim's actions in his mind, creating their profiles, describing their habits, and predicting their next moves.