Zoya's story

Sample

Victoria E. Bynum

The Long Shadow of the Civil War relates uncommon narratives about common Southern folks who fought not with the Confederacy, but against it. Focusing on regions in three Southern states--North Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas--Victoria E. Bynum introduces Unionist supporters, guerrilla soldiers, defiant women, socialists, populists, free blacks, and large interracial kin groups that belie stereotypes of Southerners as uniformly supportive of the Confederate cause. Centered on the concepts of place, family, and community, Bynum's insightful and carefully documented work effectively counters the idea of a unified South caught in the grip of the Lost Cause.

Sample

Patricia Herlihy

"Russians are famed for their debilitating love of vodka. During the late imperial period, alcohol was blamed for health problems, workplace accidents and absenteeism, rioting and pogroms, and the decline of the army. Many outsiders have cited it as the primary cause of Russia's "backwardness" and a barrier to its modernization. Alcoholism continues to plague modern Russia, causing major social, economic, and health problems." "In The Alcoholic Empire, Patricia Herlihy illuminates the complex relationship between vodka and politics in Russia, focusing on the history and role of temperance organizations in the late imperial period. She traces the beginning of temperance activities to 1894, when Nicholas II created a monopoly on the sale and production of alcohol. Temperance advocates - a diverse group that ranged from Tolstoy to illiterate peasants and included laity, clergy, and workers, men and women, the medical professions, the Duma, and the military - disagreed about the causes and remedies for alcoholism, but they agreed that it was a social and moral problem for which the government should be held accountable."--Jacket.

Sample

Geoff Simons

This book provides a detailed history of Cuba from the earliest times to the present. Particular emphasis is given to the continuation of the 35-year-long US economic embargo of the island in the context of Cuba's struggle for survival in the so-called 'Special Period', following the collapse of the Socialist bloc. The history is traced from before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the late fifteenth century, through the subsequent Spanish colonization of the island and the four centuries of Spanish-imposed slavery, to the US involvement in Cuba in the twentieth century and the impact of the successful Castro revolution of 1959. It is argued by the author that the current policy of Washington, reinforced by new legislation (1992), has virtually no support in the world community, is a violation of international law, and today involves the United States in crimes against humanity.

Sample

[Mei] Hong Lida zhu

A century ago, Chinese feminists fighting for the emancipation of women helped spark the republican revolution, which overthrew the Qing empire. After the communist revolution of 1949, Chairman Mao famously proclaimed that "women hold up half the sky." In the early years of the people's republic, the Communist Party sought to transform gender relations with expansive initiatives such as assigning urban women jobs in the planned economy. Yet those gains are now being eroded in China's post-socialist era. Contrary to many claims made in the mainstream media, women in China have experienced a dramatic rollback of many rights and gains relative to men. This crucial book debunks the popular myth that women have fared well as a result of post-socialist China's economic reforms and breakneck growth. Laying out the structural discrimination against women in China will speak to broader problems with China's economy, politics, and development.