The Fractured Republic

A National Review Best Book of the Year Americans today are anxious--about the economy, about politics, about our government. The institutions that once dominated our culture have become smaller, more diverse, and personalized. Individualism has come at the cost of dwindling solidarity. No wonder, then, that voters and politicians alike are nostalgic for a time of social cohesion and economic success. But the policies of the past are inadequate to the America of today. Both parties are stuck presenting old solutions to new problems. In The Fractured Republic, Yuval Levin details his innovative answers to the dysfunctions of our fragmented national life. By embracing subsidiarity and diversity and rejecting extremism and nostalgia, he believes we can revive the middle layers of society and enable an American revival. Updated with a new epilogue, Levin helps us navigate our fraught political waters.

A bold and controversial story tackling the events of January 6, 2021, with history and satire. Through historical events and caricatures, it illuminates the motivations, questionable actions, and comical incompetence of the insurrectionists, shedding light on the origins of reliance on conspiracy theories, misinformation, and political extremism. A scathing critique of the systemic racism and hatred of equality that forms the foundation of the insurrection led by corrupt group of criminals. There is more to the story than has been recounted at the hearing, court appearances and Sunday News Shows. The racism and resentment that forms the foundation of the insurrection is deeply embedded in the American body politic.

A leading conservative intellectual argues that to renew America we must recommit to our institutions Americans are living through a social crisis. Our politics is polarized and bitterly divided. Culture wars rage on campus, in the media, social media, and other arenas of our common life. And for too many Americans, alienation can descend into despair, weakening families and communities and even driving an explosion of opioid abuse. Left and right alike have responded with populist anger at our institutions, and use only metaphors of destruction to describe the path forward: cleaning house, draining swamps. But, as Yuval Levin argues, this is a misguided prescription, rooted in a defective diagnosis. The social crisis we confront is defined not by an oppressive presence but by a debilitating absence of the forces that unite us and militate against alienation. As Levin argues, now is not a time to tear down, but rather to build and rebuild by committing ourselves to the institutions around us. From the military to churches, from families to schools, these institutions provide the forms and structures we need to be free. By taking concrete steps to help them be more trustworthy, we can renew the ties that bind Americans to one another.

What would happen if the Democrats and GOP disappeared?Politics. Scandals. Corruption. Murder?The Republican and Democratic Parties have collapsed. Capitol Hill is in chaos. The economy is in free fall. Someone must step up and take charge.Anna Rothwell is the brilliant young Chief of Staff to Willis Montgomery, a senior Member of Congress. She has always dreamed of holding a position of power. When the country's future is at stake, Montgomery announces his candidacy for Speaker of the House, giving Anna her chance.Anna trusts no one in the Capitol's backstabbing, poisonous environment. As the Speaker election grows near, other candidates suffer suspicious personal tragedies, questionable ethics charges, and possible framing for felonies. In the end, Anna must decide: should she fulfill her life's ambition, or will she pursue the truth, wherever it might lead?

Plunging his tiny ship into the unimaginable maelstroms of Jupiter allows Adam Hale forget the blood-soaked tragedy that ended his military career. Until a beautiful spy came looking for his missing brother, her partner. And to take her revenge on Adam. What they find changes everything they thought they knew. And brings foes determined to kill them both before they solve the mystery. If you love adrenaline-pumping science fiction and grand adventure on a galaxy-spanning scale, grab "Storm Divers" today!

Over the past forty years, congregations, businesses, other organizations, and communities across the United States have become increasingly divided along political and ideological lines. In When the Center Does Not Hold, David R. Brubaker, with contributions by colleagues Everett Brubaker, Carolyn Yoder, and Teresa J. Haase, offers relevant, practical mentorship on navigating polarized environments. Through easily accessible stories, they provide tools and processes that will equip leaders to both manage themselves and effectively lead others in highly polarized and anxious systems. Coaching includes guidance on key characteristics of effective leadership in times of polarization: refusing contempt, honoring dignity, broadening binaries, seeking first to understand, inviting disagreement, and staying connected. With years of combined experience in the fields of conflict transformation and organizational and leadership studies, Brubaker and his colleagues offer hope. Here, readers learn from leaders and communities that continue to renew the covenants that bind them, courageously address deeper needs that drive conflict, and hold on to a moral center while navigating the storms of polarization.

To the Edge of the World, is an adventure in travel—full of extraordinary personalities, more than a century of explosive political, economic, and cultural events, and almost inconceivable feats of engineering. Christian Wolmar passionately recounts the improbable origins of the Trans-Siberian railroad, the vital artery for Russian expansion that spans almost 6,000 miles and seven time zones from Moscow to Vladivostok. The world's longest train route took a decade to build—in the face of punishing climates, rampant disease, scarcity of funds and materials, and widespread corruption. The line sprawls over a treacherous landmass that was previously populated only by disparate tribes and convicts serving out their terms in labor camps—where men were regularly starved, tortured, or mutilated for minor offenses. Once built, it led to the establishment of new cities and transformed the region's history. Exceeding all expectations, it became, according to Wolmar, “the best thing that ever happened to Siberia.” It was not all good news, however. The railroad was the cause of the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War, and played a vital—and at times bloody—role in the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Civil War. More positively, the Russians were able to resist the Nazi invasion during the Second World War as new routes enabled whole industries to be sent east. Siberia, previously a lost and distant region, became an inextricable part of Russia's cultural identity. And what began as one meandering, single-track line is now, arguably, the world's most important railroad.

★ Publishers Weekly starred review "This incisive and eloquent volume will expand readers' minds."--Publishers Weekly Many Christians are disconnected from the past or imagine they are "above" history, immune to it, as if self-starters from clean slates in every generation. They suffer from a lack of awareness of time and the effects of history--both personal and collective--and thus are naive about current issues and fixated on the end times. Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that awakening to the spiritual significance of time is crucial for orienting faith in the 21st century. He encourages us to cultivate the spiritual discipline of memento tempori, a temporal awareness of the Spirit's presence--indebted to a past, oriented toward the future, and faithful in the present. To gain spiritual appreciation for our mortality. To synchronize our heart-clocks with the tempo of the Spirit, which changes in the different seasons of life. Integrating popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, Smith provides insights for pastoring, counseling, spiritual formation, politics, and public life.