From a world-renowned cultural historian, an original look at the hidden commonalities among Fascism, Nazism, and the New Deal Today Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal is regarded as the democratic ideal, the positive American response to an economic crisis that propelled Germany and Italy toward Fascism. Yet in the 1930s, shocking as it may seem, these regimes were hardly considered antithetical. Now, Wolfgang Schivelbusch investigates the shared elements of these three "new deals" to offer a striking explanation for the popularity of Europe's totalitarian systems. Returning to the Depression, Schivelbusch traces the emergence of a new type of state: bolstered by mass propaganda, led by a charismatic figure, and projecting stability and power. He uncovers stunning similarities among the three regimes: the symbolic importance of gigantic public works programs like the TVA dams and the German autobahn, which not only put people back to work but embodied the state's authority; the seductive persuasiveness of Roosevelt's fireside chats and Mussolini's radio talks; the vogue for monumental architecture stamped on Washington, as on Berlin; and the omnipresent banners enlisting citizens as loyal followers of the state. Far from equating Roosevelt, Hitler, and Mussolini or minimizing their acute differences, Schivelbusch proposes that the populist and paternalist qualities common to their states hold the key to the puzzling allegiance once granted to Europe's most tyrannical regimes.
When it comes to food, Americans seem to have a pretty great deal. Our grocery stores are overflowing with countless varieties of convenient products. But like most bargains that are too good to be true, the modern food system relies on an illusion. It depends on endless abundance, but the planet has its limits. So too does a healthcare system that must absorb rising rates of diabetes and obesity. So too do the workers who must labor harder and faster for less pay. Through beautifully-told stories from around the world, Kevin Walker reveals the unintended consequences of our myopic focus on quantity over quality. A trip to a Costa Rica plantation shows how the Cavendish banana became the most common fruit in the world and also one of the most vulnerable to disease. Walker’s early career in agribusiness taught him how pressure to sell more and more fertilizer obscured what that growth did to waterways. His family farm illustrates how an unquestioning belief in “free markets” undercut opportunity in his hometown. By the end of the journey, we not only understand how the drive to produce ever more food became hardwired into the American psyche, but why shifting our mindset is essential. It starts, Walker argues, with remembering that what we eat affects the wider world. If each of us decides that bigger isn’t always better, we can renegotiate the grand food bargain, one individual decision at a time.
A tale of fathers and sons, the ties that bind, and the barriers of class that even love cannot break, Three Bargains is a stunning first novel, as potent, heart-stopping, and epic as Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. By the banks of the River Yamuna in northern India, where rice paddies of basmati merge into fields of sugarcane, twelve-year-old Madan lives with his impoverished family in the town of Gorapur. Madan's father works for Avtaar Singh, a powerful and controlling man who owns the largest factory in town and much of the land around it. Madan's sharp mind and hardened determination catch Avtaar Singh's attention. When Madan’s father's misdeeds jeopardize his sister's life, Madan strikes his first bargain with Avtaar Singh to save her. Drawn into Avtaar Singh's violent world, Madan becomes his son in every way but by blood. Suddenly it looks as if everything will change for Madan and his family until a forbidden love affair has brutal consequences and he is forced to leave behind all that is dear to him. On his journey toward redemption, Madan will have to bargain, once, twice, three times for his life and for the lives of those he loves.
A duchess determined to love... Evie Montgomery, the Duchess of Somerset, has promised her grandfather she will marry for love, and she is determined to keep said promise. Only the man she loves is the most notorious rake in the country. And he hasn't spared her a glance in the seven years since she's known him. Winning his hand in marriage isn't hard, winning his heart, however, is another matter entirely. The rake she cannot forget... The last thing Gabriel, the Viscount St. Clare, wants in this life is marriage. However, when Evie appears on his doorstep, she proposes a bargain, he can't refuse. Marrying the duchess to gain her fortune is tempting, but not as tempting as the duchess herself. When the past comes a knocking, they realize that to keep love in their lives, they have to give up much more than either of them has bargained for.
Discover the sexy fun of the Billionaire series... From USA Today bestselling author Lila Monroe! Sexy Australian billionaire Grant Devlin is ruining my life. He exercises shirtless in his office, is notorious for his lunchtime hook-ups, he even yawns sexily. If I didn't need this job so bad, I'd take his black Amex and tell him where to swipe it. He doesn't even know I exist, but why would he? He jets off to Paris with supermodels, I spend Friday nights with Netflix and a chunk of Pepperidge Farm frozen cake—waiting for his call. Because every time he crashes his yacht, or blows $500k on a single roulette spin in Monte Carlo, I’m the PR girl who has to clean up his mess. But this time, it’s going to take more than just a fat charity donation. This time, the whole company is on the line. He needs to show investors that he’s settling down, and Step #1 is pretending to date a nice, stable girl until people forget about what happened with the Playboy Bunnies backstage at the Oscars. My plan is perfect, except for one thing: He picks me. The Billionaire Series: 1. The Billionaire Bargain 2. The Billionaire Secret 3. The Billionaire Game 4. The Billionaire Prize 5. Billionaire with a Twist 6. Billionaire on the Rocks PRAISE FOR LILA: "Romantic comedy at its best!" - Seraphim Books Reviews "A fun and flirty feel-good story that put a smile on my face!" - Goodreads “A funny rom-com that gives me all the laugh and fluff was exactly what I need. This quirky and heartwarming second-chance romance was fun, light and perfect to take me away from all the heaviness in life.” - Goodreads “Lila Monroe’s writing is a sure thing to put me in a good mood especially in the gray days… I smiled all the time while reading it and these characters made my day so much better.” - ItaPixie Reviews "I love the humor in Ms. Monroe's stories! They are outrageously funny! Add to that the romance and off the charts steaminess and you get one helluva story!" - Bibliophile Chloe "This is a great… new series. I enjoyed playful characters, the funny moments and the steamy romance! 5 Stars." Reading Keeps Me Sane Blog “Lila Monroe is an author who knocks romantic comedy books out of the park. Her books are, sweet, spicy, romantic and so funny that you cannot help but fall in love with her characters and her stories.” - Goodreads Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren, Sophie Kinsella, Lauren Blakely, Kendall Ryan, Julia Kent, Jasmine Guillory. 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Locked away at Pecan Place, Jessie finds her situation to be even more dangerous than she feared. While she struggles to maintain her sanity and discover answers about the group that seems less and less like any legitimate government agency, Pietr fights to keep their relationship alive. But very aware that his mother's time is running out, Pietr makes a deal he doesn't dare tell Jessie about. Because the deal Pietr's made could mean the death of far more than his tenuous relationship with the girl he loves.
The convergence of tough-on-crime politics, stiffer sentencing laws, and jurisdictional expansion in the 1970s and 1980s increased the powers of federal prosecutors in unprecedented ways. In Hard Bargains, social psychologist Mona Lynch investigates the increased power of these prosecutors in our age of mass incarceration. Lynch documents how prosecutors use punitive federal drug laws to coerce guilty pleas and obtain long prison sentences for defendants—particularly those who are African American— and exposes deep injustices in the federal courts. As a result of the War on Drugs, the number of drug cases prosecuted each year in federal courts has increased fivefold since 1980. Lynch goes behind the scenes in three federal court districts and finds that federal prosecutors have considerable discretion in adjudicating these cases. Federal drug laws are wielded differently in each district, but with such force to overwhelm defendants’ ability to assert their rights. For drug defendants with prior convictions, the stakes are even higher since prosecutors can file charges that incur lengthy prison sentences—including life in prison without parole. Through extensive field research, Lynch finds that prosecutors frequently use the threat of extremely severe sentences to compel defendants to plead guilty rather than go to trial and risk much harsher punishment. Lynch also shows that the highly discretionary ways in which federal prosecutors work with law enforcement have led to significant racial disparities in federal courts. For instance, most federal charges for crack cocaine offenses are brought against African Americans even though whites are more likely to use crack. In addition, Latinos are increasingly entering the federal system as a result of aggressive immigration crackdowns that also target illicit drugs. Hard Bargains provides an incisive and revealing look at how legal reforms over the last five decades have shifted excessive authority to federal prosecutors, resulting in the erosion of defendants’ rights and extreme sentences for those convicted. Lynch proposes a broad overhaul of the federal criminal justice system to restore the balance of power and retreat from the punitive indulgences of the War on Drugs.
The sizzling first installment in the New York Timesand USA Today bestselling Marriage to a Billionairetrilogy. To save her family home, impulsive bookshop owner Alexa McKenzie, casts a love spell, which conjures up an unexpected visitor - her best friend's older brother and the powerful man who once shattered her heart. Billionaire Nicholas Ryan doesn't believe in marriage, but in order to inherit his father's corporation, he needs a wife and needs one fast. When he discovers his sister's childhood friend is in dire financial straits, he's offers Alexa an interesting proposal... A marriage in name only, the rules? Avoid entanglement. Keep things businesslike. Do notfall in love. The arrangement is only for a year so the rules shouldn't be that hard to follow... Except Fate has a way of upsetting the best laid plans… "Jennifer Probst has proved to be one of the most exciting breakout novelists in the romance genre." - USA Today
Mismatched lovers and unexpected attraction catch fire in this timeless Regency romance by the New York Times bestselling author. Forced to wed to keep her inheritance, independent Lady Jocelyn Kendal finds an outrageous solution: she proposes marriage to Major David Lancaster, an officer dying from his Waterloo wounds. In return for making her his wife, she will provide for his governess sister. But after the bargain is struck and the marriage is made, the major makes a shocking, miraculous recovery. Though they agree to an annulment, such matters take time . . . time enough for David to realize he is irrevocably in love with his wife. Haunted by her past, Jocelyn refuses to trust the desire David ignites in her. She never counted on a real husband, least of all one who would entice her to be a real wife. But some bargains are made to be broken—and his skilled courtship is impossible to resist . . . Praise for Mary Jo Putney “Putney’s endearing characters and warm-hearted stories never fail to inspire and delight.” —Sabrina Jeffries “A complex maze of a story twisted with passion, violence, and redemption. Miss Putney just gets better and better.” —Nora Roberts “A gifted writer with an intuitive understanding of what makes romance work.” —Amanda Quick “No one writes historical romance better.” —Cathy Maxwell “Dynamite!” —Laura Kinsale
