Sharing the balance of power

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Jung Chang

A biography of of Mao Zedong taken from the perspective of his relationship to women. The normal biographical elements make up the majority of the text but when there is an interesting aspect regarding Mao's attitude toward women, Jung Chang (a woman) goes for it. For example... any normal biography of Mao, would take account of the movements of Mao's army as he took control of China but it is interesting that his army camped outside the town where his wife and son lived (had been abandoned, frankly) and he made no effort whatsoever to meet them. Little things like that give the reader insight into the character of Mao... along with his mass murders, of course.

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E.H. Kossmann

"What political theories did the Dutch develop in the seventeenth century, to describe and justify the existence of a republic that in one generation had grown conspicuously in wealth and power? In this book, the author shows the meaning of political philosophy for a new and surprisingly energetic state." "The first essay is a study of Dutch political theory in the seventeenth century and is based on an analysis of publications in law and philosophy dating from the 1660s to the 1690s. The second essay studies the Dutch concept of popular sovereignty in the early seventeenth century, whereas the third considers the Dutch seventeenth and eighteenth-century views on the nature of a republic. These three essays, previously published as independent articles, are brought together here for the first time in English. An introduction has been added in which the author places the original texts in a new perspective"--Book jacket.

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[compiled by] Tony Crowley

"For almost a thousand years language has been an important and contentious issue in Ireland. The story of the relations between the English and Irish languages is a complex one full of unexpected alliances, strange accounts of historical origins, and peculiar forms of cultural identity. Above all it reflects the great themes of Irish history: colonial invasion, native resistance, religious and cultural difference.". "Collected here for the first time are texts on the politics of language from the date of the first legislation against Irish, the Statute of Kilkenny of 1366, to the constitution of the Free State in 1922. Crowley's introduction connects these texts to current debates, taking the Belfast Agreement as an example, and illustrates how the language debates continue to have historical resonance today. Divided into six historical sections with detailed introductions, this unique sourcebook includes familiar cultural texts such as Spenser's View of the Present State of Ireland and essays and letters by Yeats and Synge, alongside less familiar writings, from introductions to the first Irish-English and English-Irish dictionaries to the Preface to the New Testament in Irish (1602).". "Providing direct access to original texts, this is an historical resource book which can be used as a case study in the relations between language and cultural identity both in the present and the past."--BOOK JACKET.

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Lindsay Luterman

Wendy Austin has escaped from her captivity and the American government. She has everything she could ever want: her family, her brother, her best friend, and a house where she can live safely and not worry about being taken away. Yet, something is drawing her away from Canada and back to America. If there is any chance that Mike is still alive, she has to find out and save him. Through this rescue mission, she will learn what the American government is really capable of and what goes on inside their prisons from a guard's perspective. She may even find more than she came looking for. But even Wendy knows that when it comes to the American government, you only get one shot to make it out alive or end up dead.