"From Thug to Scholar is the true account of James Williams's journey in life, the process of losing the mask he wore to fit in with the crowd and becoming a role model for young people of all races. Read it and be inspired." Linda Jacobs, Spur Finalist and WILLA Award winning author of Jackson Hole Journey. "Not only does Dr. James Williams present a compelling story about the struggles and triumphs of his life; but interwoven, amidst every page, are life-principles destined to positively impact every generation. This book should be in the hands of every person who has a dream...and is dogmatic enough to do what it takes, to make those dreams come true!" -Savaslas A. Lofton, author "At a Mirror's Glance" novel
They have names like Barmy Bernie, Daft Donald, and Steamin' Sammy. They like lager (in huge quantities), the Queen, football clubs (especially Manchester United), and themselves. Their dislike encompasses the rest of the known universe, and England's soccer thugs express it in ways that range from mere vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities. Now Bill Buford, editor of the prestigious journal Granta, enters this alternate society and records both its savageries and its sinister allure with the social imagination of a George Orwell and the raw personal engagement of a Hunter Thompson.
Acclaimed for his writings on Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as his passionate defense of black youth culture, Michael Eric Dyson has emerged as the leading African American intellectual of his generation. Now Dyson turns his attention to one of the most enigmatic figures of the past decade: the slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. Five years after his murder, Tupac remains a widely celebrated, deeply loved, and profoundly controversial icon among black youth. Viewed by many as a "black James Dean," he has attained cult status partly due to the posthumous release of several albums, three movies, and a collection of poetry. But Tupac endures primarily because of the devotion of his loyal followers, who have immortalized him through tributes, letters, songs, and celebrations, many in cyberspace. Dyson helps us to understand why a twenty-five-year-old rapper, activist, poet, actor, and alleged sex offender looms even larger in death than he did in life. With his trademark skills of critical thinking and storytelling, Dyson examines Tupac's hold on black youth, assessing the ways in which different elements of his persona-thug, confused prophet, fatherless child-are both vital and destructive. At once deeply personal and sharply analytical, Dyson's book offers a wholly original way of looking at Tupac Shakur that will thrill those who already love the artist and enlighten those who want to understand him. "In the tradition of jazz saxophonists John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, Dyson riffs with speed, eloquence, bawdy humor, and startling truths that have the effect of hitting you like a Mack truck."-San Francisco Examiner "Such is the genius of Dyson. He flows freely from the profound to the profane, from popular culture to classical literature." -- Washington Postbr Philadelphia Inquirer "Among the young black intellectuals to emerge since the demise of the civil rights movement" -- undoubtedly the most insightful and thought-provoking is Michael Eric Dyson." -- Manning Marable, Director of African American Studies, Columbia University
In this literary, co-constructed narrative, two Brazilian scholars explore the spaces “in-between” their biographies and work looking to decolonize scholarship and promote social justice.
Finalist for the 2018 National Council on Crime & Delinquency’s Media for a Just Society Awards Nominated for the 49th NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Nonfiction) A 2017 Washington Post Notable Book A Kirkus Best Book of 2017 “Butler has hit his stride. This is a meditation, a sonnet, a legal brief, a poetry slam and a dissertation that represents the full bloom of his early thesis: The justice system does not work for blacks, particularly black men.” —The Washington Post “The most readable and provocative account of the consequences of the war on drugs since Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow . . . .” —The New York Times Book Review “Powerful . . . deeply informed from a legal standpoint and yet in some ways still highly personal” —The Times Literary Supplement (London) With the eloquence of Ta-Nehisi Coates and the persuasive research of Michelle Alexander, a former federal prosecutor explains how the system really works, and how to disrupt it Cops, politicians, and ordinary people are afraid of black men. The result is the Chokehold: laws and practices that treat every African American man like a thug. In this explosive new book, an African American former federal prosecutor shows that the system is working exactly the way it's supposed to. Black men are always under watch, and police violence is widespread—all with the support of judges and politicians. In his no-holds-barred style, Butler, whose scholarship has been featured on 60 Minutes, uses new data to demonstrate that white men commit the majority of violent crime in the United States. For example, a white woman is ten times more likely to be raped by a white male acquaintance than be the victim of a violent crime perpetrated by a black man. Butler also frankly discusses the problem of black on black violence and how to keep communities safer—without relying as much on police. Chokehold powerfully demonstrates why current efforts to reform law enforcement will not create lasting change. Butler's controversial recommendations about how to crash the system, and when it's better for a black man to plead guilty—even if he's innocent—are sure to be game-changers in the national debate about policing, criminal justice, and race relations.
In this absorbing and enlightening account, Breen provides compelling insight into the history and character of one of the most important yet least understood countries in the world.
Excerpt from The Thugs or Phansigars of India: Comprising a History of the Rise and Progress of That Extraordinary Fraternity of Assassin's From this repository of undigested materials, the compiler of the volume now offered to the public, has endeavoured to form a clear and suc cinct account of the Thugs, their peculiar super stitions, their methods of proceeding in robbing and murdering travellers, and the operations of the British government in India for the extirpation of this singular and unparalled system of assassination and plunder. To this he has added an Appendix, containing the vocabulary of their language, the disclosures made to Captain Sleeman by Thug informers, and a specimen of the trials of some of the criminals; which serves to exhibit the careful and impartial system pursued by the British autho rities in bringing these atrocious criminals to jusiicc. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
An incisive look into the lives, politics, and horrible deeds of fifty-six of history’s most notorious world leaders—and how they shaped our world for the worst. For the most notorious leaders in the history of the world, evil is more than just a moment of weakness—it’s a way of life. For every noble king, righteous emperor, and peace-loving president, history seems to serve up a double portion of murderous pharaohs, deranged dictators, or corrupt czars. Thugs probes this dark and twisted side of raw human power—from France’s King Louis XIV to China’s Mao Tse-Tung and everywhere in between. It’s a fascinating peek into the lives of the rich and infamous, the sour crème de la crème. Some, like Herod the Great, earned villainous reputations for slaughtering their own family members and countrymen. Others, like Egypt’s King Farouk, were almost laughable in their misdeeds, amassing the world’s largest collection of pornography. Then there are those leaders, such as Hitler, who committed acts of such unspeakable evil that their names are uttered as curses. From Filipino first lady Imelda Marcos’s bullet-proof bras to African strongman Ide Amin’s bizarre fixation with all things Scottish, Micah D. Halpern turns the yellowed pages of history and contemporary news accounts to profile the bewildering, outrageous, horrific, gut-wrenching, zany, and tragicomic behavior of the world’s worst leaders. Praise for Thugs “Written in short, easy-to-digest sentences, columnist and historian Halpern fills his brief sketches with colorful, terrible details in the manner of that rare, beloved history teacher whose lectures stir rapture in a nap-prone student body.” —Publishers Weekly
