Staff Picks by Tag

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One Person, One Vote: A Surprising History of Gerrymandering in America By Nick Seabrook Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780593315866
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Pantheon - June 14th, 2022

Clear and alarming, Seabrook delves into a practice that's as American as apple pie: gerrymandering. From the Founding Fathers to the current congressional maps, Seabrook deftly shines a light on this egregiously undemocratic process. With the current redistricting following the 2020 census giving us maps like those of Florida and Ohio, this is a must-read for all who care about voting rights.


Review by Zack

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American Kleptocracy: How the U.S. Created the World's Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History By Casey Michel Cover Image
$29.99
Unavailable at this time.
ISBN: 9781250274526
Published: St. Martin's Press - November 23rd, 2021

An eye-opening deep dive into how the US became and continues to be a hotspot for off-shore money laundering, and how that has affected real estate, politics, industry, and urban development. 

 



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American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery By Craig Unger Cover Image
$30.00
Unavailable at this time.
ISBN: 9780593182536
Published: Dutton - January 26th, 2021

Very interesting and thought provoking book. It shows the reader the tangled web of overlapping facts that all point back to potential Kompromat by Russian agents over the last decades. The greed, corruption and race for power is undeniable. It provides the answers of how America lost its moral compass, duped the public and lead us to insurrection. 


Review by Sue

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How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them By Jason Stanley Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780525511854
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - May 26th, 2020

This book is a concise and easy-to-understand primer on fascism, and for me was the perfect introduction to reading political science. It helped me get my bearings in a genre that up until now always intimidated me. In the best possible way, it left me with so many questions. It is not a tome on the history of fascist regimes or a manifesto on how to uproot the fascist model. Instead it is the ignition to keep reading to answer those questions, and the foundation to do so confidently.


Review by Jess

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Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights By Juno Mac, Molly Smith Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781786633613
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Verso - March 3rd, 2020

The Nordic Model vs legalization vs decriminalization. Brothel laws, immigration policy, anti-trafficking and exiting programs, FOSTA-SESTA. This primer - built from the authors and countless others' experiences - explores all the concepts, failures, and possibilities tied within the way society handle the taboo world of sex work, as well as the labor rights its workers deserve. 


Review by Sarah C.

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Sisters in Hate: American Women and White Extremism By Seyward Darby Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780316487788
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Back Bay Books - October 19th, 2021

The phrase 'white nationalism' can dredge up a lot of images for people - angry beige men outlined in the glow of tiki torches or homemade militias kitted out in ill-fitting camo and American flags. In this study of three distinct women of white supremacy, the insidious nature of white women and their complicity in violent rhetoric is brought to the light, despite their best attempts to shield it in 'traditional feminine values' like baking and the pure art of... polka dancing? So much for the superior race. 


Review by Sarah C.

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The Golden Thread: The Cold War and the Mysterious Death of Dag Hammarskjöld By Ravi Somaiya Cover Image
$28.00
Unavailable at this time.
ISBN: 9781455536542
Published: Twelve - July 7th, 2020

This book takes a long look at Hammarskjöld's career, the geopolitical conflicts he was navigating in the Congo during the Cold War, and the motives of individuals and organizations who had the most at stake — all in an attempt to solve the decades-long mystery of the UN Secretary General's death.

The urgency and detail with which Somaiya accounts the events leading up to the plane crash and the evidence revealed in the nearly 50 years since is engrossing. I haven't stopped thinking about it!



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A Collective Bargain: Unions, Organizing, and the Fight for Democracy By Jane McAlevey Cover Image
$26.99
ISBN: 9780062908599
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Ecco - January 7th, 2020

What if there were one weird trick that could solve the crises of inequality, healthcare coverage, racial and gender discrimination, and the threat of climate change? In this exciting new book, Jane McAlevey argues that only a revived labor movement and the democratic power that it offers to ordinary people can challenge an increasingly unsustainable status quo.


Review by Stephen

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Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence By Kristen R. Ghodsee Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781645036364
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Bold Type Books - March 3rd, 2020

The word "feminism" has never been so ubiquitous, but it's in danger of being reduced to a new way to make women buy things. In this fantastic book (which is only partially about sex), Kristen Ghodsee makes a powerful case for the power of universal social programmes like childcare, healthcare, and parental leave to grant women economic, social, and political independence.


Review by Stephen

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The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality By Bhaskar Sunkara Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781541647107
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Basic Books - April 14th, 2020

This new book by the founder of Jacobin magazine is a fantastic introduction to democratic socialism, the hottest new craze that's sweeping the nation! In his typically readable and engaging style, Bhaskar imagines a plausible socialist future, outlines the successes and failures of socialism in the Twentieth Century, and shows how the instability of liberal capitalism presents an opportunity for the resurgence of democratic socialist politics.


Review by Stephen

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