Showing results by publisher "Basic Books" in Politics & Government

The last century saw a revolution in life expectancy. Whether you are male or female, born in the global south or north, the chances are that you can expect to live much longer than previous generations. But instead of seeing this as a precious gift of extra life, we see it as a burden, with ageing populations dogged by infirmity, dependent on an ever-decreasing number of young people to support them. Andrew Scott argues it doesn't have to be like that.

A New York Times–bestselling historian charts how and why societies from ancient Greece to the modern era chose to utterly destroy their foes, and warns that similar wars of obliteration are possible in our time War can settle disputes, topple tyrants, and bend the trajectory of...

THE MUST-READ GUIDE TO THE TRADE WAR 'A smart, vivid and humane account of the way the world really works' TIM HARFORD 'This is the book to read if you want to understand what might be about to hit the world economy' EVAN DAVIS The dangerous race for self-sufficiency has begun. Be warned...

As World War II ended, the United States stood as the dominant power on the world stage. In 1947, to support its new global status, it created the CIA to analyse foreign intelligence. But within a few years, the Agency was engaged in other operations: bolstering pro-American governments, overthrowing nationalist leaders, and surveilling anti-imperial dissenters in the US. The Cold War was an obvious reason for this transformation - but not the only one. In The CIA, celebrated intelligence historian Hugh Wilford draws on decades of research to show the Agency as part of a larger picture.

From bestselling author and provocateur Christopher Hitchens, the classic guide to the art of principled dissent and disagreement “Hitchens is, first and last, a writer, an always exciting, often exacting, furious polemicist.”―The Boston Globe In Letters to a Young Contrarian, bestselling...

The quest for social justice is a powerful crusade of our time, with an appeal to many different people, for many different reasons. But those who use the same words do not always present the same meanings. Clarifying those meanings is the first step toward finding out what we agree on and...

An enlarged edition of Thomas Sowell's brilliant examination of the origins of economic disparities Economic and other outcomes differ vastly among individuals, groups, and nations. Many explanations have been offered for the differences. Some believe that those with less fortunate outcomes are...

Part manifesto, part exploration of what justice truly means for survivors of trauma and abuse, Judith Herman forces us to reconsider our perspective on victims, revealing uncomfortable truths about our justice systems and proposing new ways to implement justice. Truth and Repair is a profound and timely commentary that lies at the intersection of several cultural moments including the #MeToo movement, a resurgent interest in trauma, and the global movements focusing on racial injustices and abuses of power towards people of colour.

The definitive translation of Plato's Republic, the most influential text in the history of Western philosophy “No one else has even come close to balancing Bloom’s fidelity to Greek with intelligible English prose.”—National Review Long regarded as the most accurate rendering of Plato's...

Learn why the Roman Republic collapsed -- and how it could have continued to thrive -- with this insightful history from an award-winning author. In Mortal Republic, prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts offers a new history of the fall of the Roman Republic that explains why Rome exchanged...

From a preeminent scholar of Eastern Europe and the prizewinning author of Chernobyl, the essential history of Russian imperialism. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimea and attempted to seize a portion of Ukraine -- only the latest iteration of a centuries-long effort to expand Russian boundaries...

When Tsar Nicholas II fell from power in 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest. Though Nicholas's life is often described as tragic, it was not fate that doomed the Romanovs - it was poor leadership and a blinkered faith in autocracy. Definitive and engrossing, The Last Tsar uncovers how Nicholas II stumbled into revolution, taking his family, the Romanov dynasty, and the whole Russian Empire down with him.

'A must-read' THOMAS PIKETTY 'Captivating' DARON ACEMOGLU 'Fascinating' FRANCIS FUKUYAMA An award-winning political scientist shows that a society's path to prosperity, sustainability, and equality depends on who owns the land. For millennia, land has been a symbol of wealth and privilege. But...

From a Bancroft Prize-winning historian, a biography of the famed poet, courtier, and colonizer, showing how he laid the foundations of the English Empire Sir Walter Ralegh was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. She showered him with estates and political appointments. He envisioned her becoming...

From one of America’s leading geopolitical thinkers, the classic treatise on America's strategic mission in the modern world “The Grand Chessboard makes permanent contributions to the national debate over American foreign policy and power.”―Los Angeles Times In this seminal work...

'Essential reading to understand today's challenges' MERVYN KING 'This extraordinary tour de force confirms Goodspeed as one of the most brilliant economic minds of his generation' NIALL FERGUSON What causes a recession? Do recessions end on their own, or do they require external intervention?...

An “essential” (Times UK) and “meticulously researched” (Forbes) book by “the skeptical environmentalist” argues that panic over climate change is causing more harm than good Hurricanes batter our coasts. Wildfires rage across the American West. Glaciers collapse in the Arctic...

This New York Times bestselling Trump biography from a major American intellectual explains how a renegade businessman became one of the most successful -- and necessary -- presidents of all time. In The Case for Trump, award-winning historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson...

A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'AN INNOVATIVE AND EXHILARATING READ' Angus Deaton, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Economic development is not really development without consent. For centuries, the developed Western world has exploited the less-developed 'Rest' in the name of progress...

From snake-oil salesmen to crypto grifters, the "fascinating" (Fareed Zakaria) story of charlatans—and why we fall for them For centuries charlatans have been bamboozling victims. But today, charlatanry is more lucrative and global than ever. Using the power of digital technology, our age’s...