Bread And Freedom

Accounts of the Arab Spring often focus on the role of youth coalitions, the use of social media, and the tactics of the Tahrir Square occupation. This authoritative and original book argues that collective action by organised workers played a fundamental role in the Egyptian revolution, which erupted after years of strikes and social protests. Drawing on the authors' decade-long experience of reporting on and researching the Egyptian labour movement, the book provides the first in-depth account of the emergence of independent trade unions and workers' militancy during Mubarak's last years in power, and and their destabilising impact on the post-revolutionary regimes.

The conventional story of the end of the cold war focuses on the geopolitical power struggle between the United States and the USSR: Ronald Reagan waged an aggressive campaign against communism, outspent the USSR, and forced Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall." In There Is No Freedom Without Bread!, a daring revisionist account of that seminal year, the Russian-born historian Constantine Pleshakov proposes a very different interpretation. The revolutions that took place during this momentous year were infinitely more complex than the archetypal image of the "good" masses overthrowing the "bad" puppet regimes of the Soviet empire. Politicking, tensions between Moscow and local communist governments, compromise between the revolutionary leaders and the communist old-timers, and the will and anger of the people—all had a profound influence in shaping the revolutions as multifaceted movements that brought about one of the greatest transformations in history. In a dramatic narrative culminating in a close examination of the whirlwind year, Pleshakov challenges the received wisdom and argues that 1989 was as much about national civil wars and internal struggles for power as it was about the Eastern Europeans throwing off the yoke of Moscow.

Written by a Russian prince who renounced his title, this work promotes an anarchist market economy — a system of autonomous cooperative collectives. A century after its initial publication, it remains fresh and relevant.

On The Night Of July 25, 1975, Indian Democracy Came Within A Hair-Breadth Of Extinction. A People Who, Thirty Years Earlier Had Wrested Their Freedom From The Greatest Empire On Earth, Came Close To Losing It For Ever. That India Had Been Given A Second Chance To Make Democracy Work Is Due Entirely To The Miscalculation Of The Would-Be Dictator. Mrs. Indira Gandhi Believed That The Indian People, Cowed And Crushed By Nineteen Months Of Unbridled Tyranny, Would Be Too Enervated By Fear To Oppose Her But Mrs. Gandhi Was Wrong. The People Of India Discarded Mrs. Gandhi S Well-Ordered And Regimented Dictatorship And Opted For The Flawed And Imperfect Liberal Model. If The Democratic Concept Came Close To Being Destroyed, It Was Because The People Of India Had Taken It For Granted, Delegating Power To Representatives Undeserving Of Their Trust, And Looking On Their Rulers As Their Masters Instead Of What They Actually Were-Servants On Electoral Sufferance. The Author, A Victim Of The Coup, Had Enough Time During His 15.5 Months In Jail To Ponder The Causes That Led Up To It. What He Found Most Difficult To Swallow Was The Glib Explanations Offered By His Colleagues In Jail About Their Woefully Shallow Understanding Of Democracy Itself. It Is This Realisation Of Pervasive Ignorance And Apathy That Led Him To Write This Book - An Attempt To Trace The Genesis Of Democracy And Search For The Origins Of The Attitudes And Institutions That Sustain It. The Book Tries To Explain The Virtues Of Democracy And How They Were Arrived At; It Also Tries To Warn Its Friends Against The Onslaughts Of Economic And Political Controls And Those Who Would Advocate Them. At Times This Book Will Prove Heavy Going But Human Freedom Is So Precious That The Fact That Plato Or Hegel Or Marx Need Effort And Concentration For A Proper Understanding Should Be Accepted Cheerfully, Their Right Postulates Acclaimed, Their Wrong Conclusions Rejected, And An Independent Assessment Arrived At. Finally, The Book Has An Inspiring Message: If People Are Ready To Live Democracy Earnestly Enough, They Will Never Have To Die In Order To Preserve It. A Liberal In The Best Sense Of The World, Piloo Mody Has Made His Mark As One Of The Great Iconoclasts Of India S Parliament With Devastating Sallies Against The Pompous, The Cur-Rupt And The Incompetent - All Delivered With Wit And Urbanity. By Profession An Architect, With A Degree From The University Of California, Mr. Mody Has The Distinction Of Having Worked With Le Corbusier At Chandigarh. He Has Found Time To Edit A Political Weekly, March Of The Nation, Has Written Numerous Articles For The National Press And Is The Author Of Zulfih, My Friend, Published In English, Hindi And Urdu. An Advocate Of Sound And Constructive Labour Relations, Mr. Mody Is Patron Or President Of Several Labour Groups Ranging From Officers Of The Life Insurance Corporation To The Hawkers Of Delhi. At The Moment He Is The Chief Proponent Of A New Political Culture In India To Bridge The Gap Between Kathni And Karni (Precept And Practice).

First published in 1981, Bread, Knowledge and Freedom is a study of 142 working class autobiographies all of which cover some part of the period between 1790 and 1850. It is a full-scale examination of a form of source material that is significantly extensive. The book illustrates many aspects of ordinary working-class family life as well as the working-class pursuit of knowledge and literacy and the attempts of the middle-class educators to impose their notion of ‘useful knowledge.’ Dr. Vincent concludes with an assessment of the contribution of autobiography to nineteenth century working class history. This book will be of interest to students of history, sociology and literature.

Frederick Douglass knew where he was born but not when. He knew his grandmother but not his father. And as a young child, there were other questions, such as Why am I a slave? Answers to those questions might have eluded him but Douglass did know for certain that learning to read and to write would be the first step in his quest for freedom and his fight for equality. Told from first-person perspective, this picture-book biography draws from the real-life experiences of a young Frederick Douglass and his attempts to learn how to read and write. Author Shana Keller (Ticktock Banneker's Clock) personalizes the text for young readers, using some of Douglass's own words. The lyrical title comes from how Douglass "paid" other children to teach him.

Based on the testimony of key players, "Syria: Neither Bread nor Freedom" recounts the drama of the "Damascus Spring" and its repression, and reveals what happens in a state like Syria to the institutions that occupy the political space between government and governed. From political parties to parliament; from the media to the judicial system and universities, the official veil of rhetoric and propaganda is lifted to reveal a system so demoralized and corrupted that power is wielded for no purpose but power itself; a system which, as Bashar al-Assad himself is discovering, is virtually incapable of reform.

The Tassajara Bread Book has been a favorite among renowned chefs and novice bakers alike for more than thirty years. In this deluxe edition, the same gentle, clear instructions and wonderful recipes are presented in a new paperback format with an updated interior design and full-color photos of the breads. Deborah Madison, author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, says, "This little book has long been a guide for those who want to bake but don’t know where to begin, as well as for those who want to go beyond and discover not just recipes, but bread making itself."