NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse—the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of act
After the collapse of the Han dynasty in the third century CE, China divided along a north-south line. Mark Lewis traces the changes that both underlay and resulted from this split in a period that sa
The first novel in nearly twenty years from the acclaimed actor/writer/director is a book about art and love, fame and heartbreak--a blistering story of a young man making his Broadway debut in Henry IV just as his marriage implodes. A bracing meditation on fame and celebrity, and the redemptive, healing power of art; a portrait of the ravages of disappointment and divorce; a poignant consideration of the rites of fatherhood and manhood; a novel soaked in rage and sex, longing and despair; and a passionate love letter to the world of theater, A Bright Ray of Darkness showcases Ethan Hawke's gifts as a novelist as never before. Hawke's narrator is a young man in torment, disgusted with himself after the collapse of his marriage, still half hoping for a reconciliation that would allow him to forgive himself and move on as he clumsily, and sometimes hilariously, tries to manage the wreckage of his personal life with whiskey and sex. What saves him is theater: in particular, the challenge
Eight simple strategies for getting your retirement portfolio back in shape InvestingIs Social Security about to collapse? (No.) Is Wall Street totally corrupt? (Nope.) Did the government bailouts ben
In her stunning novel, Hall imagines a new dystopia set in the not-too-distant future. England is in a state of environmental crisis and economic collapse. There has been a census, and all citizens ha
A beautiful, full-color graphic version of Eric Cline’s bestselling 1177 B.C., adapted by award-winning author-illustrator Glynnis FawkesEric Cline’s 1177 B.C. tells the story of one of history’s greatest mysteries: what caused the ancient civilizations of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean to collapse more than three thousand years ago, bringing the Late Bronze Age to an abrupt end? In this vivid and captivating full-color graphic adaptation of the landmark book, author-illustrator Glynnis Fawkes invites us to follow two young friends living in the aftermath of the cataclysm as they unravel why it happened—and reveal important lessons for today’s interconnected and vulnerable world.Pel, a member of the marauding Sea Peoples, and Shesha, an Egyptian scribe, visit the kingdoms of the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Hittites, Canaanites, Assyrians, and Egyptians to explore the calamities that brought them down. This graphic history depicts the people, events, art, architecture, and lands that Pel
Civil wars are nasty, brutish, and long. Monica Duffy Toft introduces this complex and timely topic. Civil wars are the most common form of large-scale political violence. In the past thirty years, the study of civil wars has been one of the largest growing segments of the international relations field. Their causes are complex, ranging from fights over access to housing, jobs, and arable land or other resources, to political contests over offices, rights, and representation. Because civil wars tend to drag on, motives and relevant actors shift. Groups form, collapse, coalesce, align and realign, and then fight amongst themselves. Governments themselves change through elections, coups, military defeats, or revolutions. Understanding the origins of civil wars and their trajectories therefore demands some appreciation of the economic, political, social, cultural, and geographic order of societies. If there is one factor that best predicts why a civil war erupts, it is a prior civil war.
Three decades after the Soviet Union's collapse, Russia has transformed from a fringe player to a resurgent great power in Africa. The October 2019 Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi highlighted the appeal of Russia's normative agenda, the ubiquity of Russian military technology, and the breadth of Moscow's presence on the continent. Beneath the pageantry, a darker side of Russia's African resurgence looms large. From Libya to Madagascar, Russia has used sinister tactics to expand its influence, such as private military contractors, shadowy mining and energy deals with authoritarian regimes, and election interference campaigns. This book presents a chronological examination of Russia's post-Cold War foreign policy towards Africa, and outlines the factors that have enabled and impeded the growth of its influence. It pays special attention to the non-material factors behind this rising power; the domestic drivers of Russian decision-making; Moscow's relationships with fellow external powers;
America has collapsed into chaos after corporate interests finally gain total power over the government, freedom and human rights no longer exist as they don't turn a profit. The middle class is repla
Most party systems are relatively stable over time. Yet in the 1980s and 1990s, established party systems in Peru and Venezuela broke down, leading to the elections of outsider Alberto Fujimori and an
American political scientist Castle examines the paradox of the flawed Polish transition to democracy, noting that because the country was the first in eastern Europe to start down that road, its tran
Human progress is heading toward collapse. There are converging ecological crises looming on the horizon: climate change, peak oil, water shortages, fish depletion and food scarcities. The world is on
Practically all Civil War historians agree that after the fall of Atlanta in September 1864 and Lincoln's triumphant reelection in November, the South had no remaining chance to make good its independ
China is hot. The world sees a glorious future for this sleeping giant, three times larger than the United States, predicting it will blossom into the world's biggest economy by 2010. According to Cha
Edward "Egg" Garrison thought the field trip to the caverns would be a great place to take pictures. It turns out it's the perfect place for a mystery!
This study examines patterns of pottery production and consumption at the Maya city centre of Lamanai during the Terminal Classic to Early Postclassic period (A.D.800-A.D.1250). The central focus is o
"Explores the phenomenon of party system collapse through a detailed examination of Venezuela's traumatic party system decay, as well as a comparative analysis of collapse in Bolivia, Colombia, and Ar
Ancestral Pueblo farmers encountered the deep, well watered, and productive soils of the central Mesa Verde region of Southwest Colorado around A.D. 600, and within two centuries built some of the lar
