Launchpad Republic

Will America's entrepreneurial spirit continue to define its destiny? What can the rest of the world learn from America's experience? In Launchpad Republic: America's Entrepreneurial Edge and Why it Matters to All of Us, Howard Wolk and John Landry provide an insightful and thought-provoking history of entrepreneurship in the United States, with a focus on the political, legal, and cultural forces that have sustained "creative destruction" and propelled the country forward for more than 200 years. In telling this story, the book highlights the critical features that have set America apart from other countries and identifies the key attributes necessary for it to maintain leadership for years to come. Entrepreneurship is a rebellious act, and America's democratic system is unique in enabling new companies to challenge established ones. As a result, the country enjoys not just more robust start-up activity, but also a dynamism that forces big companies to improve—or face the consequences. It protects both property rights and the right to compete in ways not enjoyed elsewhere, encouraging investment and innovation. Aside from assessing how American entrepreneurial capitalism unfolded, the authors address current challenges such as the rise of the "Big Tech", concerns about inequality, inclusivity and sustainability, and the evolution toward stakeholder capitalism. They compare the American approach to both Continental Europe's consensus-oriented framework and China's authoritarian model. Launchpad Republic offers readers: Insights into how America's political, legal and cultural history helped make the country the most dynamic economy in the world since inception A framework for understanding how the country's balanced and limited government, decentralized financial and corporate system, and responsiveness to consumers all served to enable innovation and improved standard of living while avoiding many of the pitfalls of cronyism and protectionism Fascinating comparisons between the United States and other countries, both historical and contemporary, that provide important context to many of today's critical issues A book that covers important topics in an easy to read style, Launchpad Republic belongs in the library of every policy wonk, capitalist, entrepreneur, founder, business leader, amateur historian, and technologist with an interest in how America's relentless entrepreneurial spirit has influenced—and will influence—its destiny.

Will America's entrepreneurial spirit continue to define its destiny? What can the rest of the world learn from America's experience? In Launchpad Republic: America's Entrepreneurial Edge and Why it Matters to All of Us, Howard Wolk and John Landry provide an insightful and thought-provoking history of entrepreneurship in the United States, with a focus on the political, legal, and cultural forces that have sustained "creative destruction" and propelled the country forward for more than 200 years. In telling this story, the book highlights the critical features that have set America apart from other countries and identifies the key attributes necessary for it to maintain leadership for years to come. Entrepreneurship is a rebellious act, and America's democratic system is unique in enabling new companies to challenge established ones. As a result, the country enjoys not just more robust start-up activity, but also a dynamism that forces big companies to improve—or face the consequences. It protects both property rights and the right to compete in ways not enjoyed elsewhere, encouraging investment and innovation. Aside from assessing how American entrepreneurial capitalism unfolded, the authors address current challenges such as the rise of the "Big Tech", concerns about inequality, inclusivity and sustainability, and the evolution toward stakeholder capitalism. They compare the American approach to both Continental Europe's consensus-oriented framework and China's authoritarian model. Launchpad Republic offers readers: Insights into how America's political, legal and cultural history helped make the country the most dynamic economy in the world since inception A framework for understanding how the country's balanced and limited government, decentralized financial and corporate system, and responsiveness to consumers all served to enable innovation and improved standard of living while avoiding many of the pitfalls of cronyism and protectionism Fascinating comparisons between the United States and other countries, both historical and contemporary, that provide important context to many of today's critical issues A book that covers important topics in an easy to read style, Launchpad Republic belongs in the library of every policy wonk, capitalist, entrepreneur, founder, business leader, amateur historian, and technologist with an interest in how America's relentless entrepreneurial spirit has influenced—and will influence—its destiny.

_______ ‘Timely and troubling’ Evening Standard ‘A necessary book’ David Aaronovitch ‘Frequently jaw-dropping’ Huffington Post From UFOs to the New World Order, the inside story of how conspiracy theories won over America. In November 2017, a serial climate change denier and anti-vaxxer was elected President of the United States. The rise of Donald Trump marked the beginning of a new American epoch: the age of the conspiracy theorist. Now, Anna Merlan goes undercover in America’s sprawling network of conspiracy theorists and uncovers their secrets. She meets the UFOlogist who claims to have travelled to Mars with a young Barack Obama. She chats with the ‘pizzagate’ truthers who think Washington D.C.’s favourite pizzeria is run by a satanic paedophile ring. And she bumps into Alex Jones, the YouTube impresario who thinks the state is using chemical warfare to turn the population gay – and who happens to be on first-name terms with the leader of the free world. Merlan reveals a world of innuendo and propaganda lying just beneath the surface of US culture. It might just help explain the political turmoil of our time. _______ ‘Through exhaustive research, personal interviews, and a critical yet at times appropriately empathetic approach, writer Anna Merlan has written a captivating book that illuminates the landscape of conspiracy theories.’ New York Magazine ‘An entertaining taxonomy of toxic ideas’ Herald ‘A rock-steady narrator with a ready command of history, nerves of steel, and incisive social insights . . . We need a thousand of her, or a million.’ The Nation

Since the demise of the USSR, the mantle of the largest planned economies in the world has been taken up by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and other multinational corporations For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their remarkable success appears to vindicate the old idea that modern society is too complex to be subjected to a plan. And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, much of the economy of the West is centrally planned at present. Not only is planning on vast scales possible, we already have it and it works. The real question is whether planning can be democratic. Can it be transformed to work for us? An engaging, polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, The People’s Republic of Walmart revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters. With the advances in information technology in recent decades and the emergence of globe-straddling collective enterprises, democratic planning in the interest of all humanity is more important and closer to attainment than ever before.

'A vibrant tale of betrayal, intrigue and revolution' Anthony Ryan 'A thrilling, fantastical adventure that introduces a beguiling new world' S. A. Chakraborty In the city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness-only he doesn't want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city's immigrants are sworn to secrecy. But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn't exist, he's put on a collision course with Bassa's darkest secrets. Drawn into the city's hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. But the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire. Award-winning author Suyi Davies Okungbowa begins a thrilling new epic fantasy series of violent conquest, buried histories and forbidden magic. Praise for Son of the Storm 'A contender for best new fantasy series of the year' SFX 'Everything I love to see in a fantasy story: masterful, fully-realised worldbuilding, morally complex characters, thoughtful and piercing interrogations of power . . . Damn good stuff!' Jenn Lyons 'An elaborately plotted tale of ancient magics and world-shattering politics. I, like many others, will be impatiently waiting for the next instalment!' Andrea Stewart 'An original and fully conceived new world of fantasy teeming with brilliant possibilities' P. Djèlí Clark 'An epic fantasy set apart by how deftly Okungbowa unfurls his intricate, richly imagined world' A. K. Larkwood 'Forgotten magic propels a richly drawn story of ambition, conspiracy and the elusiveness of belonging' Fonda Lee 'Bold characters, bloody action and brutal politics. I thoroughly enjoyed it!' James Islington

A vivid historical account of the social world of Rome as it moved from republic to empire. In 49 B.C., the seven hundred fifth year since the founding of Rome, Julius Caesar crossed a small border river called the Rubicon and plunged Rome into cataclysmic civil war. Tom Holland’s enthralling account tells the story of Caesar’s generation, witness to the twilight of the Republic and its bloody transformation into an empire. From Cicero, Spartacus, and Brutus, to Cleopatra, Virgil, and Augustus, here are some of the most legendary figures in history brought thrillingly to life. Combining verve and freshness with scrupulous scholarship, Rubicon is not only an engrossing history of this pivotal era but a uniquely resonant portrait of a great civilization in all its extremes of self-sacrifice and rivalry, decadence and catastrophe, intrigue, war, and world-shaking ambition.

Not just an epic videogame from BioWare and LucasArts, Star Wars: The Old Republic™ spawned a New York Times bestselling series of novels—which are now together in one electrifying ebook bundle. Fatal Alliance, Deceived, Revan, and Annihilation tell four daringly original stories of Jedi and Sith that embody this unique, beloved era in Star Wars Legends storytelling. . . . FATAL ALLIANCE by Sean Williams From across the galaxy they’ve come: a Jedi Padawan, an ex-trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian. An extraordinary auction has drawn them all together, in quest of a prize whose value may be the wealth of a world itself. None intend to leave empty-handed. All have secrets, desires, and schemes. And nothing could ever unite them as allies—except the truth about the deadly danger of the object they covet. But can Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire, join as one against the certain doom of the galaxy? DECEIVED by Paul S. Kemp A Sith warrior to rival the most sinister of the Order’s Dark Lords, Darth Malgus brought down the Jedi Temple on Coruscant in a brutal assault that shocked the galaxy. But if war crowned him the darkest of Sith heroes, peace will transform him into something far more heinous—something Malgus would never want to be but cannot stop becoming, any more than he can stop the rogue Jedi fast approaching. Her name is Aryn Leneer—and the lone Jedi Knight that Malgus cut down in the fierce battle for the Jedi Temple was her Master. REVAN by Drew Karpyshyn Hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior—Revan has been all of these. He left Coruscant a Jedi, on a mission to defeat the Mandalorians. He returned a Sith disciple, bent on destroying the Republic. The Jedi Council gave Revan his life back, but the price of redemption was the loss of his memories. All that’s left are nightmares—and deep, abiding fear. One thing he’s certain of: Something very dark is plotting against the Republic. With no idea how to identify the threat, let alone stop it, Revan may be doomed to fail. But only death can stop him from trying. ANNIHILATION by Drew Karpyshyn After his triumphant destruction of a Sith superweapon arsenal, covert agent Theron Shan is recruited for an even more dangerous mission. A power struggle has the Empire in flux, but Darth Karrid remains bent on total domination, using a fearsome Imperial cruiser in her reign of terror. Now, joined by a hotheaded smuggler and Karrid’s former Jedi Master, Theron must match wits and weapons with a crew of the most cold-blooded dark side disciples. And if they don’t seize their one chance to succeed, they will have countless opportunities to die.

This text shows us how to approach the Internet as responsible people. Democracy, it maintains, depends on shared experiences and requires people to be exposed to topics and ideas that they would not have chosen in advance.