America

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Charles Bracelen Flood

Historian-biographer Charles Bracelen Flood brings to life the drama of Lincoln's final year, in which he oversaw the last campaigns of the Civil War, was reelected as president, and laid out his majestic vision for the nation's future in a reunified South and in the expanding West. In that crucial year, the Civil War was far from won: as the year began, Lincoln had yet to appoint Ulysses S. Grant as the general-in-chief who would finally bring victory. At the same time, with the North sick of the war, Lincoln was facing a reelection battle in which hundreds of thousands of "Peace Democrats" were ready to negotiate to leave the Confederacy as a separate American nation. In his personal life, he had to deal with the erratic behavior of his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and was unknowingly stalked by John Wilkes Booth.--From publisher description.

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Ethan A. Singer, Leland M. Wooton

Examines the structures and functions of California government at all levels and the ways in which Californians can actively contribute to the ongoing future of their government.

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Ralph Nader

The man who shook up American politics in 2000 -- and is doingso again in 2004 -- returns to hold both parties' feet to the fire with his straight talk about Bush, corporate government, and the whole political charade.Ralph Nader -- relentless activist, brilliant visionary -- may also be the most honest man we've got left in politics. And yet from the moment Nader declared his presidential candidacy on Meet the Press, he's faced relentless opposition, mainly from Democrats fearing that competition from an inspiring independent could dent their voting block "as it did in 2000." Even his old pals at The Nation joined in the party panic.Now, in The Good Fight, Nader swings back harder than ever at those who "want to block the American people from having more voices and choices" and have lost touch with the concept that votes must be earned, not inherited or entitled. He takes on corporate-occupied Washington and the government's daily abuse against ordinary citizens: "Corporations are saying no to the necessities of the American people. They're saying no to health insurance for everyone, no to a living wage, no to tax reform, no to straightening out the defense budget, which is bloated and redundant, no to access to our courts." And most of all, he urges a speedy return to stronger civic motivation. If fed-up citizens don't actively join the fight for improvement, then ultimately we have no one to blame but ourselves for the inadequate checks on the erosion of our civil liberties. In an era when politicians sell us rhetoric and then sell out our principles, Nader stands as a crucial voice of candor. The Good Fight is a call to awareness and action that will captivate readers of all political stripes and help us define what we must do to shape the brightest future for our nation.

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Robin Cohen and Harry Goulbourne

After independence many African countries abjured conventional patterns of political representation and democratic participation in the interest of creating a unified state and promoting economic development. Today, however, the dominant models of one-party democracy and African socialism are in terminal collapse as a result of internal pressures and the influence of political changes taking place in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Throughout Africa, especially in South Africa, the old Left has been slowly forced to abandon its belief in democratic centralism in favor of a more pluralistic vision of the future. In this volume of provocative essays, leading scholars from Africa, Europe, and the United States examine the extent to which popular demands for democracy are both subverting and enriching the postcolonial order in Africa. The contributors explore a wide range of topics, including economic democracy, the state and civil society, the impact of the economic crisis on women, and agrarian reform. Theoretical chapters are followed by case studies of the prospects for democracy in South Africa, Uganda, Ghana, the Sudan, Botswana, and the southern African region. This book will be indispensable for those seeking to understand Africa's future in the world order.