Taking Power

Taking Power analyzes the causes behind some three dozen revolutions in the Third World between 1910 and the present. It advances a theory that seeks to integrate the political, economic, and cultural factors that brought these revolutions about, and links structural theorizing with original ideas on culture and agency. It attempts to explain why so few revolutions have succeeded, while so many have failed. The book is divided into chapters that treat particular sets of revolutions including the great social revolutions of Mexico 1910, China 1949, Cuba 1959, Iran 1979, and Nicaragua 1979, the anticolonial revolutions in Algeria, Vietnam, Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe from the 1940s to the 1970s, and the failed revolutionary attempts in El Salvador, Peru, and elsewhere. It closes with speculation about the future of revolutions in an age of globalization, with special attention to Chiapas, the post-September 11 world, and the global justice movement.

One of the key issues of our time is the question of where power and governance should lie. Should they be centrally controlled, drawing on efficiencies of scale and gathered knowledge? Or should they be more locally distributed, so that they more closely represent the actual needs of people and communities? In Taking Power Back, Simon Parker makes a powerful case for the latter: centralization, he argues, has been largely a failure, breeding distrust among citizens—who, he shows, are beginning to take matters into their own hands. Offering policy recommendations and practical suggestions, Parker argues for a new kind of politics, one that can fully unleash society's creative potential.

Since coming to power in 1998, the Chavez government has inspired both fierce internal debate and horror amongst Western governments accustomed to counting on an obeisant regime in the oil-rich state. In this rich and resourceful study, Greg Wilpert exposes the self-serving logic behind much middle-class opposition to Venezuela's elected leader, and explains the real reason for their alarm. He argues that the Chavez government has instituted one of the world's most progressive constitutions, but warns that they have yet to overcome the dangerous specters of the country's past.

Offers a radical rethinking of Marx's concept of revolution that shows how we can bring about social and political change today.

An expert in pulmonary medicine shares a wide-ranging exploration of the human lung: the organ that explains our origins and holds the keys to our future. We take an average of 7.5 million breaths a year and some 600 million in our lifetime, and what goes on in our body each time oxygen is taken in and carbon dioxide expelled is nothing short of miraculous. “Our lungs are the lynchpin between our bodies and the outside world,” writes pulmonologist Michael Stephen. And yet, we too often take our lungs for granted. In Breath Taking, Stephen sheds much-needed light on our extraordinary lungs. He relates the history of oxygen on Earth and the evolutionary origins of breathing, and explores the healing power of breath and its spiritual potential. Stephen interweaves his narrative with scientific history, such as the development of the lung transplant, and poignant human stories, including his own frantic attempts to engage his son’s lungs at birth. Despite great advances in science, our lungs are ever more threatened. Asthma is on the rise, increasing anxiety leaves us vulnerable to disease, and COVID-19 has revealed that vulnerability in historic ways. Breath Taking offers inspiration and hope, inspiration, and vital perspective to us all.

For too long, women have been told to confine themselves-physically, socially, and emotionally. Eliza VanCort says now is the time for women to stand tall, raise their voices, and claim their space. Women fight the pressure to make themselves small in private, professional, and public spaces. VanCort, a teacher, consultant, and speaker, provides the necessary tools for women to rewrite the rules and create the stories of their choosing safely and without apology. VanCort identifies the five key behaviors of all Space-Claiming Queens: use your voice and posture to project confidence and power, end self-sabotage, forge connections, neutralize unsafe spaces, and unite across differences. Through personal narrative, research, and actionable strategies, VanCort provides how-tos on combating challenges, such as antimentors and microaggressions, and gives advice for building up your old girls club, asking for what you're worth, and owning your space without apology. Bold, fun, and enlightening, this book is birthed from VanCort's incredible story. Having a mother with schizophrenia forced VanCort to learn to be small and invisible at an early age, and suffering a traumatic brain injury as an adult required her to rethink communication from the ground up. Drawing on these experiences, and those of real women everywhere, VanCort empowers women to claim space for themselves and for their sisters with courage, empathy, and conviction because when we rise together, we rise so much higher.

“AN IMPORTANT BOOK ABOUT MOTIVATION FROM A PROVEN MOTIVATOR.” —JACK WELCH Yum! Brands CEO David Novak learned long ago that you can’t lead a great organization of any size without getting your people aligned, enthusiastic, and focused relentlessly on the mission. But how do you do that? There are countless leadership books, but how many will actually help a Taco Bell shift manager, a Fortune 500 CEO, a new entrepreneur, or anyone in between? Over his fifteen years at Yum! Brands, Novak has developed a trademarked program—Taking People with You—that he personally teaches to thousands of managers around the world. He shows them how to make big things happen by getting people on their side. No skill in business is more important. And Yum!’s extraordinary success (at least 13 percent growth for each of the last ten years) proves his point. Novak knows that managers don’t need leadership platitudes or business school theories. So he cuts right to the chase with a step-by-step guide to setting big goals, building strong teams, blowing past your targets, and celebrating after you shock the skeptics. And then doing it again and again until consistent excellence becomes a core element of your culture.

Succint narrative biographies of every serving head of state or head of government, covering some 200 countries and territories. Each country section contains a brief explanation of its type of government and the respective roles of the head of state, the head of government and the legislature; a listing of the most recent heads of state and head of government, with dates of office; biographical profiles of the current head of state and head of government, and other recent incumbents of these positions who remain significant and active political leaders; and a photographic section with pictures of many of the world's political leaders. Fully indexed by name, date of taking office, and source of authority.