Hidden Agenda

Each of us pitches ideas every day. Regardless of what idea we're selling-or who we're selling it to-it all boils down to the act of stirring someone to join you, to agree to follow you. Yet we consistently underestimate how critical it is to recognize the role of the decision maker. Decisions are, after all, made by people; and people have needs and agendas, spoken and unspoken. Understanding these needs and agendas are critical to success in business. Kevin Allen's approach is not about persuading, but about creating a connection that assures a mutual win. By unearthing the true motivation or desire of the decision maker, Allen shows how to craft a story or message around it, creating a predictable and repeatable end result. Full of stories and examples, this entertaining book teaches you how to effectively find, connect, and finally to speak to the Hidden Agenda to win business unfailingly, every time.

The exposé that reveals “a prostitution ring, heavy CIA involvement, spying on the White House as well as on the Democrats, and plots within plots” (The Washington Post) Ten years after the infamous Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon presidency, Jim Hougan—then the Washington editor of Harper’s Magazine—set out to write a profile of Lou Russell, a boozy private-eye who plied his trade in the vice-driven underbelly of the nation’s capital. Hougan soon discovered that Russell was “the sixth man, the one who got away” when his boss, veteran CIA officer Jim McCord, led a break-in team into a trap at the Watergate. Using the Freedom of Information Act to win the release of the FBI’s Watergate investigation—some thirty-thousand pages of documents that neither the Washington Post nor the Senate had seen—Hougan refuted the orthodox narrative of the affair. Armed with evidence hidden from the public for more than a decade, Hougan proves that McCord deliberately sabotaged the June 17, 1972, burglary. None of the Democrats’ phones had been bugged, and the spy-team’s ostensible leader, Gordon Liddy, was himself a pawn—at once, guilty and oblivious. The power struggle that unfolded saw E. Howard Hunt and Jim McCord using the White House as a cover for an illicit domestic intelligence operation involving call-girls at the nearby Columbia Plaza Apartments. A New York Times Notable Book, Secret Agenda “present[s] some valuable new evidence and explored many murky corners of our recent past . . . The questions [Hougan] has posed here—and some he hasn’t—certainly deserve an answer” (The New York Times Book Review). Kirkus Reviews declared the book “a fascinating series of puzzles—with all the detective work laid out.”

In this powerful book, journalist and film maker John Pilger strips away the layers of deception, dissembling language and omission that prevent us from understanding how the world really works. From the invisible corners of Tony Blair's Britain to Burma, Vietnam, Australia, South Africa and the illusions of the 'media age', power, he argues, has its own agenda. Unchallenged, it operates to protect its interests with a cynical disregard for people - shaping, and often devastating, millions of lives. By unravelling the hidden histories of contemporary events, Pilger allows us to read between the lines. He also celebrates the eloquent defiance and courage of those who resist oppression and give us hope for the future. Tenaciously researched and written with passion and wit, Hidden Agendas will change the way you see the world.

Few books in Canada empirically and systematically examine the role journalists play in the news-making process. While there are several books that look at how journalists do their jobs, and others that examine the political process, none – until now – have analyzed the opinions of journalists and how the news is reported. Focusing primarily on the political orientation of journalists, Miljan and Cooper investigate the link between what journalists believe about politics and how they report political issues. Using data gathered from interviews with over 800 Canadians and some 270 journalists, the authors compare how the attitudes of journalists differ from those of the general population, and how the journalists’ opinions influence the daily news. By examining the way they respond to questions on the economy, social issues, and national unity, and comparing these responses with how the stories were reported in Canadian news outlets, the book arrives at the controversial conclusion that journalists, more so than the owners of the media, are the architects of the news, engineering not only its drama, but also its ideological thrust. A must-read for anyone interested in politics and the media, this book should be read by journalists, politicians, academics, and all Canadians who are concerned about the hidden agendas of journalists.

Why your political views are more self-serving than you think When it comes to politics, we often perceive our own beliefs as fair and socially beneficial, while seeing opposing views as merely self-serving. But in fact most political views are governed by self-interest, even if we usually don't realize it. Challenging our fiercely held notions about what motivates us politically, this book explores how self-interest divides the public on a host of hot-button issues, from abortion and the legalization of marijuana to same-sex marriage, immigration, affirmative action, and income redistribution. Expanding the notion of interests beyond simple economics, Jason Weeden and Robert Kurzban look at how people's interests clash when it comes to their sex lives, social status, family, and friends. Drawing on a wealth of data, they demonstrate how different groups form distinctive bundles of political positions that often stray far from what we typically think of as liberal or conservative. They show how we engage in unconscious rationalization to justify our political positions, portraying our own views as wise, benevolent, and principled while casting our opponents' views as thoughtless and greedy. While many books on politics seek to provide partisans with new ways to feel good about their own side, The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind illuminates the hidden drivers of our politics, even if it's a picture neither side will find flattering.

In this book, Dennis Smith argues that we need to look afresh at globalization. So far analysts have seen globalization in terms of three logics. Yet these approaches ignore important historical and human aspects of globalization.

SAVING LIVES IS HIS MISSION. Tough-as-nails Navy SEAL Kell Kreiger is the best there is at searching, rescuing, and taking no prisoners...yet even the rush of ever-more dangerous missions isn't enough to satisfy him. Haunted by a tortured past, Kell seeks distraction in a secret world of dark intimacies. But when Emily Stanton, the one ray of light in Kell's shadowy existence, is pursued by a ruthless drug lord, the rules of the game suddenly change—and Kell will have to go deeper undercover than he ever imagined... SAVING HER IS HIS PASSION. Emily has loved Kell ever since her father, a prominent politician, rescued him from a brutal life on the streets. They were kids then, too young to act on what was growing between them...but now that Emily is ready, the handsome, headstrong SEAL has decided he's no good for her. Ever since he rescued her from Diego Fuentes' compound, Kell's only duty has been to keep Emily safe. But Fuentes isn't finished with Emily—or Kell. And to protect Emily, Kell has no choice but to lay himself—body, soul, and secrets—bare...and fight against evil with all his heart.