Bridging two eras

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Luca Fezzi

Publio Clodio Pulcro (93-52 a.C.) nasce da una famiglia di antichissima nobiltà. Fratello della spregiudicata Clodia, la Lesbia cantata da Catullo, sin dagli inizi della carriera politica si rende protagonista di gravi scandali, uscendone miracolosamente indenne. Nel 60 a.C. abiura le proprie origini patrizie divenendo plebeo; due anni dopo si fa eleggere tribuno e inizia una folgorante ascesa politica, sorretto dal favore del popolo. Spregiudicato e audace, gestisce un potere inedito e lo fa in modo particolarmente radicale e violento: combatte i suoi nemici - Cicerone in primis - con le bande armate di piazza, si assicura l'impunità grazie alla connivenza dei triumviri Cesare, Pompeo e Crasso, blinda il proprio successo popolare a colpi di demagogia. Muore per mano dell'avversario Milone, a pochi giorni dalle elezioni alla carica di pretore.

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Yegor Gaidar

"Yegor Gaidar, one of Russia's first post-Soviet prime ministers and principal architect of its historic transformation to a market economy, here presents his account of governing in the tumultuous early 1990s. Though still in his forties, Gaidar has already played a pivotal role in contemporary Russian political history, championing the cause of dramatic economic reform, aggressive privatization of state enterprises, and painful fiscal discipline in the face of widespread popular resistance."--BOOK JACKET. "Gaidar remains active in Russian politics, having formed his own political party, Russia's Democratic Choice. In this book, he brings his story through Yeltsin's cliffhanger re-election in 1996, and assesses the still-precarious state of the market reforms and democratic politics."--BOOK JACKET.

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W. Jeffrey Tatum

Publius Clodius Pulcher was a prominent political figure during the last years of the Roman Republic. The first modern, comprehensive biography of Clodius, The Patrician Tribune traces his career from its earliest stages until its end in 52 B.C., when he was murdered by a political rival. Arguing that Clodius's story is crucial to our understanding of Roman constitutional, religious, and social history, Jeffrey Tatum explores Clodius's political successes, as well as the limitations of his popular strategies, within the broader context of Roman political practices. In the process, Tatum illuminates the relationship between the political contests of Rome's elite and the daily struggles of Rome's urban poor.

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Rena Pederson

Drawing on exclusive interviews, a journalist and former State Department speechwriter sheds new light on Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who inspired Burma's first steps towards democracy, and her lifelong fight for liberty.