The Impossible Revolution

Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad and his junta regime have slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Syrians in the name of fighting terrorism. Former political prisoner, and current refugee, Yassin al-Haj Saleh exposes the lies that enable Assad to continue on his reign of terror as well as the complicity of both Russia and the US in atrocities endured by Syrians.

Yassin al-Haj Saleh is a leftist dissident who spent sixteen years as a political prisoner and now lives in exile. He describes with precision and fervour the events that led to Syria’s 2011 uprising, the metamorphosis of the popular revolution into a regional war, and the ‘three monsters’ Saleh sees ‘treading on Syria’s corpse’: the Assad regime and its allies, ISIS and other jihadists, and Russia and the US. Where conventional wisdom has it that Assad’s army is now battling religious fanatics for control of the country, Saleh argues that the emancipatory, democratic mass movement that ignited the revolution still exists, though it is beset on all sides. The Impossible Revolution is a powerful, compelling critique of Syria’s catastrophic war, which has profoundly reshaped the lives of millions of Syrians.

"In a vigorous book, the author stresses what he sees as the revolution's most important feature: ordinary people spontaneously taking power for themselves."--New Society

Studying major writers and philosophers--Schlegel and Schleiermacher in Germany, Wordsworth in England, and Chateaubriand in France--Gerald Izenberg shows how a combination of political, social, and psychological developments resulted in the modern concept of selfhood. More than a study of one national culture influencing another, this work goes to the heart of kindred intellectual processes in three European countries. Izenberg makes two persuasive and related arguments. The first is that the Romantics developed a new idea of the self as characterized by fundamentally opposing impulses: a drive to assert the authority of the self and expand that authority to absorb the universe, and the contradictory impulse to surrender to a greater idealized entity as the condition of the self's infinity. The second argument seeks to explain these paradoxes historically, showing how romantic individuality emerged as a compromise. Izenberg demonstrates how the Romantics retreated, in part, from a preliminary, radically activist ideal of autonomy they had worked out under the impact of the French Revolution. They had begun by seeing the individual self as the sole source of meaning and authority, but the convergence of crises in their personal lives with the crises of the revolution revealed this ideal as dangerously aggressive and self-aggrandizing. In reaction, the Romantics shifted their absolute claims for the self to the realm of creativity and imagination, and made such claims less dangerous by attributing totality to nature, art, lover, or state, which in return gave that totality back to the self.

The captivating story of Hamilton and Madison fighting the odds to forge a nation's legacy Seven years after the revolution, America was in crisis. The government didn't work, but the citizens didn't care—or were in a state of rebellion. Then two unknown men, Hamilton and Madison (unknown especially compared to the revered Founding Fathers), envisioned a plan that no one else thought could happen: a truly United States. Against all odds, these men maneuvered and strategized to get the right men to agree on the right ideas. The result: the most brilliant political document ever, and a powerful United States. From New York Times bestselling author Charles Cerami, this gripping tale of young men founding a nation will captivate both history buffs and those who just love a great story. "Cerami spins a good historical tale." —Kirkus Reviews

Accomplishing the Impossible draws contemporary leadership lessons from the events and people that were central to the beginning of the American Revolution. Retired general, scholar, and educator William E. Rapp, cuts through the popular mythology around the Boston Campaign and applies the historical lessons to challenges faced by today’s business and public sector leaders. By doing so, he inspires today’s leaders to view contemporary leadership and change management through a fresh lens. “At a time when our nation is emerging from multiple crises, one often hears cries for better leadership. But what virtues must our leaders possess and how do we develop those qualities in ourselves and others? Major General Bill Rapp (ret.) tells us in Accomplishing the Impossible: Leadership That Launched Revolutionary Change. In this well-researched and elegantly written book about the unsung heroes who helped win our nation’s independence, an accomplished warrior-scholar tells compelling stories that teach us not only how to spot and grow effective and principled leaders, but also how to become better leaders ourselves.” —H.R. McMaster, author of Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World “An outstanding primer on leadership all the more exceptional for breathing life into events that occurred nearly 250 years ago. Bill Rapp teases out lessons in leadership that are as germane to business as they are to the military and are as applicable today as they were in the first years of the American Revolution. A unique resource for leaders looking to maximize the potential of their organizations.” —Peter R. Mansoor, Mason Chair of Military History, Ohio State University, Author, Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War

Documents the cultural revolution behind the making of 1967's five Best Picture-nominated films, including Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, Doctor Doolittle, In the Heat of the Night, and Bonnie and Clyde, in an account that discusses how the movies reflected period beliefs about race, violence, and identity. 40,000 first printing.