State, pluralism, and the Indian historical tradition

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Andrew Wilson

"This book provides a guide to modern Ukraine and to the versions of its past propagated by both Russians and Ukrainians. It concentrates on the complex relationship between Ukraine and Russia, beginning with the myth of common origin in the early medieval era, then looking closely at the Ukrainian experience under the Tsars and Soviets and the path to independence in 1991. Wilson also considers the history of Ukraine since 1991 and continuing disputes over identity, culture and religion. He examines the economic collapse under first president Leonid Kravchuk and the attempts at recovery under his successor Leonid Kuchma, and explores the conflicts in Ukrainian society between the country's 'Eastern' roots and its Western aspirations."--BOOK JACKET.

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Charles Hornsby

"Since independence in 1963, Kenya has survived nearly five decades as a functioning nation-state, with regular elections, its borders intact and without experiencing war or military rule. However, Kenya's independence has always been circumscribed by its failure to transcend its colonial past; its governments have failed to achieve adequate living conditions for most of its citizens; and its politics have been fraught with controversy - illustrated most recently by the post-election protests and violence in 2007. The decisions of the early years of independence, and the acts of its leaders in the decades since - from Jomo Kenyatta, Tom Mboya and Oginga Odinga to Daniel arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki - have changed the country's path in unpredictable ways, but key themes of conflicts remain: over land, tribalism - including the simmering Kikuyu-Luo rivalries - money, power, national autonomy and the distribution of resources. The political elite's endless struggle for access to state resources has damaged Kenya's economy and the political exploitation of ethnicity still threatens the country's stability. In this definitive new history, Charles Hornsby demonstrates how independent Kenya's politics have been dominated by a struggle to deliver security, impartiality, efficiency and growth, but how the legacies of the past have continued to undermine their achievement, making the long-term future of Kenya far from certain."--

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David Yetman

"From the very first, Teachive captivated me," David Yetman writes in this ethnography of a Mayo Indian peasant village in Sonora, Mexico. Over the centuries, the Mayos have evolved a profound union between the monte, or thornscrub forest, and their cultural life. With the assistance of resident Vicente Tajia and others, Yetman describes the region's plant and animal life and recounts the stories and traditions that animate the monte for the Mayos. That folk culture, so critical to their identity, is under assault by the global economic revolution. A passionate observer and chronicler, Yetman analyzes how galloping capitalism is destroying the monte and thus eroding traditional Mayo society. Listing Indian, Spanish, and scientific terms, an appendix glosses plants used by the Mayos in the Teachive area.

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Phil Williams

"The late Professor Phil Williams, who died whilst this book was in production, explores the cross currents of a fractured sensibility that challenge our policy makers in the Assembly Government. Most quoted, of course, is the divide between north and south. Yet he concludes that the distance between them is largely psychological, simply because their peoples so seldom meet. In respect of other divides, for instance between the poorer communities of Wales and those that are more prosperous, the physical distance is often very small. Without being fully conscious of such divisions we will have no chance of addressing them."--BOOK JACKET.