Duty And Dynamite A Life Of Activism

'Duty and Dynamite: A Life of Activism' traces the life story of Laloo 'Isu' Chiba. The son of Gujarati immigrants to South Africa, he shows little interest in politics in his early life, instead associating with the notorious Fordsburg gangster, Sharif Khan. His gradual politicization in 1950s Johannesburg leads to his recruitment into the first generation of Umkhonto we Sizwe freedom fighters, where he displays resourcefulness and bravery in equal measure. That earns him torture, detention and ultimately eighteen years in prison on Robben Island. He is devastated by his separation from his wife and three young daughters for close on to two decades. On the Island, alongside Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada, he excels as one of the transcribers of Mandela's autobiography, as a key communications operative, and originator of the prisoners' garden. Soon after his release, he immerses himself in the politics of the United Democratic Front, where he distinguishes himself as a leading activist of the democratic movement. After 1994, he is called upon to serve as an ANC MP for two terms in SA's democratic Parliament, where he steadfastly fights against corruption in the Arms Deal. This autobiography, published posthumously, talks to a life of duty to the cause of freedom.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed comes a brave, frank, and exquisitely written memoir that will change the way you see the world. Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Educated as a scientist, she is an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In LIVING WITH A WILD GOD, she recounts her quest-beginning in childhood-to find "the Truth" about the universe and everything else: What's really going on? Why are we here? In middle age, she rediscovered the journal she had kept during her tumultuous adolescence, which records an event so strange, so cataclysmic, that she had never, in all the intervening years, written or spoken about it to anyone. It was the kind of event that people call a "mystical experience"-and, to a steadfast atheist and rationalist, nothing less than shattering. In LIVING WITH A WILD GOD, Ehrenreich reconstructs her childhood mission, bringing an older woman's wry and erudite perspective to a young girl's impassioned obsession with the questions that, at one point or another, torment us all. The result is both deeply personal and cosmically sweeping-a searing memoir and a profound reflection on science, religion, and the human condition. With her signature combination of intellectual rigor and uninhibited imagination, Ehrenreich offers a true literary achievement-a work that has the power not only to entertain but amaze.

"The book demonstrates how African American soldiers used military service as a tool to challenge white notions of second-class citizenry"--

What kind of people are suicide bombers? How do they justify their actions? In this meticulously researched and sensitively written book, journalist Christoph Reuter argues that popular views of these young men and women--as crazed fanatics or brainwashed automatons--fall short of the mark. In many cases these modern-day martyrs are well-educated young adults who turn themselves into human bombs willingly and eagerly--to exact revenge on a more powerful enemy, perceived as both unjust and oppressive. Suicide assassins are determined to make a difference, for once in their lives, no matter what the cost. As Reuter's many interviews with would-be martyrs, their trainers, friends, and relatives reveal, the bombers are motivated more by how they expect to be remembered--as heroic figures--than by religion-infused visions of a blissful life to come. Reuter, who spent eight years researching the book, moves from the broken survivors of the childrens' suicide brigades in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, to the war-torn Lebanon of Hezbollah, to Israeli-occupied Palestinian land, and to regions as disparate as Sri Lanka, Chechnya, and Kurdistan. He tells a disturbing story of the modern globalization of suicide bombing--orchestrated, as his own investigations have helped to establish, by the shadowy Al Qaeda network and unintentionally enabled by wrong-headed policies of Western governments. In a final, hopeful chapter, Reuter points to today's postrevolutionary, post-Khomeini Iran, where a new social environment renounces the horrific practice in the very place where it was enthusiastically embraced just decades ago.

This antiquarian volume contains a comprehensive treatise on democracy and education, being an introduction to the 'philosophy of education'. Written in clear, concise language and full of interesting expositions and thought-provoking assertions, this volume will appeal to those with an interest in the role of education in society, and it would make for a great addition to collections of allied literature. The chapters of this book include: 'Education as a Necessity of Life'; 'Education as a Social Function'; 'Education as Direction'; 'Education as Growth'; 'Preparation, Unfolding, and Formal Discipline'; 'Education as Conservative and Progressive'; 'The Democratic Conception in Education'; 'Aims in Education', etcetera. We are republishing this vintage book now complete with a new prefatory biography of the author.

'Karplus's tales of a turbulent graduate school experience at Caltech will inspire readers to muster fortitude when everything seems to be spinning out of control. Karplus balances rigorous scientific discussions with refreshing chapters expounding his passion for photography and gastronomy.'Nature Chemistry, May 2020Nobel Laureate Martin Karplus was eight when his family fled Nazi-occupied Austria via Switzerland and France for the United States. He would later credit his life as a refugee as a decisive influence on his world view and approach to science.Spinach on the Ceiling is an autobiographical telling of Karplus' life story, and how it led him to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013. The book captures pivotal moments in Martin's life — from his escape to Switzerland in 1938 shortly after Hitler's entrance into Austria; to memorable moments like when his parents gave him a microscope which opened his eyes to the wonders of science; to his education in New England and California; and his eventual scientific career which took him to England, Illinois, Columbia, Strasbourg, and Harvard. It relates how Martin's optimistic outlook and belief in his vision made it possible for him to overcome setbacks in his life, and turn a subject of study his colleagues considered a waste of time into a central part of chemistry and structural biology. It is his hope to inspire and aid young readers, in particular, to have a successful trajectory in their own lives. Although research and teaching have been his primary focus, he has traveled the world photographing people and places with a Leica IIIC and has had numerous exhibitions of the photographs. He has also enjoyed a lifelong interest in cooking and worked in some of the best restaurants in France and Spain.

The True Story of Anti-Abortion Killer James Kopp Sniper opens in October 1998 near Buffalo, NY. A man is alone in the dark in a forest. He clutches an assault rifle and is thinking about his mission. "You can cut holes in the fences around the death camps," he thinks. "A trickle of relief in the abortion holocaust. It is your duty to do it." He nestles the rifle into his shoulder and shoots at his target through the back window of a house, then flees. Barnett Sepia, a doctor who provides abortions, is fatally wounded. The shooter is James Kopp, the son of a Marine, who came to embrace the pro-life cause and ultimately the notion of "justifiable homicide: against abortion providers. Kopp fancies himself a lone wolf in the movement; a celibate man driven to "defend the unborn." He is nicknamed "Atomic Dog" in the movement and helps orchestrate assaults on abortion clinics. As the story unfolds, he becomes the central figure in an international manhunt for multiple shootings in Canada. On the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, Kopp flees to Mexico, Ireland, and France. Award-winning journalist Jon wells followed Kopp's footsteps, traveled to his hometown, and interviewed investigators in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and France to tell this gripping detective story and dark psychological drama.