The Campbell Revolution

How are we to assess Gordon Campbell’s decade-long premiership of British Columbia? While to many he was an ideologue set on revolutionizing provincial politics, he was a far more complex figure – polarizing and unpopular, but also a shrewd party manager and successful political operator. Beginning with a detailed account of Gordon Campbell’s pre–Liberal Party political activities, The Campbell Revolution? then takes a broad look at the policy options open to him in the context of the neoliberal revolution that swept across Canada and elsewhere in the 1980s and 1990s. Contributors discuss the Campbell administration's reforms in social, environmental, and economic policies, focusing on tax system reform, the arts and culture sector, healthcare, and urban development in the context of the 2010 Winter Olympics. More than just a narrative of the career of an enigmatic public official, this book looks at specific public policy examples and asks whether Campbell led a revolution or simply rode a wave of change that had begun years before he came to power. A comprehensive examination of Gordon Campbell’s leadership and governance style and the ideological underpinnings of BC’s Liberal Party, The Campbell Revolution? examines how the Campbell administration attempted to transform politics in British Columbia in the twenty-first century.

As if by unseen signal toward the end of the 1980s, many Latin American governments suddenly transferred money and decision-making power to local municipalities. At the same time, national authorities allowed local governments to choose their leaders in free and open elections. The resulting revolution has been profound in its reach and stunning in the silent shift of power from central to local authorities. The Quiet Revolution traces the growth and effects of decentralization and democratization in Latin America throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Based on first-hand accounts from mayors, local officials, and neighborhood leaders, Tim Campbell focuses on those cities and towns that made the most of their new intergovernmental arrangements. He further argues that the reforms, which are vital to long-term sustainable growth in the region, are in danger of being smothered by current policy responses from national and international institutions. Campbell's research, conducted over a ten-year span, counters conventional wisdom about the role of development banks in the process of state reform and offers timely insights into similar events taking place in other parts of the world.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER We all know the system isn’t working. Our governments are corrupt and the opposing parties pointlessly similar. Our culture is filled with vacuity and pap, and we are told there’s nothing we can do: “It’s just the way things are.” In this book, Russell Brand hilariously lacerates the straw men and paper tigers of our conformist times and presents, with the help of experts as diverse as Thomas Piketty and George Orwell, a vision for a fairer, sexier society that’s fun and inclusive. You have been lied to, told there’s no alternative, no choice, and that you don’t deserve any better. Brand destroys this illusory facade as amusingly and deftly as he annihilates Morning Joe anchors, Fox News fascists, and BBC stalwarts. This book makes revolution not only possible but inevitable and fun.

This collection of essays is an introduction to a complex topic and is written by ten distinguished American and British historians at the forefront of their fields. The book contains chapters on political culture, finance, the role of religion, politics, art, the parliament, peasants, pamphlets and the Estates General.

Introduces Britain's Industrial Revolution, including a timeline, key events, causes, and its impact on coal mining, railroads, communications, the rise of labor unions, and the Luddite uprising.