books about: nationalism

books about: nationalism

books:

Nationalism

Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood Is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East

Quil Lawrence

Walker & Company, 2008

Beacon of democracy
As a producer/director for British and American TV I have made numerous films in and about Iraq over the last five years, but Invisible Nation is a revelation to me. Like most people covering the tragedy, I have been distracted by the carnage in the south and ...

The Modern Middle East: A History

James L. Gelvin

Oxford University Press, USA, 2007

One of the best introductions out there...
It is hard to overstate the value of this relatively short introduction to Middle Eastern history. Rather than attempting a traditional narrative, Gelvin's history emphasizes ways of conceptualizing Middle Eastern history, allowing readers to see, for example, the ...

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition

Benedict Anderson

Verso, 2006

An amazing introduction
If you want a scholarly introduction to nationalism and its history, this is an excellent book to start with. Anderson begins with a discussion of how the concept of the nation first came into being, with emphasis on the factors that enabled people to imagine ...

Promises Not Kept: Poverty and The Betrayal of Third World Development

John Isbister

Kumarian Press, 2006

This is a case where newer is not necessarily better.
Much of the clarity and conciseness that marked the 3rd edition of this work as an excellent introduction to the study of underdevelopment has been lost in the 4th edition. I have used the 3rd edition several times in the past two years as a primary text for a ...

A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 (New York Review Books Classics)

Alistair Horne

NYRB Classics, 2006

Positively 6 stars
Alistair Horne is one of the preeminent historians of the 20th Century. I've read several of his books, including the entire trilogy on the three Franco - German wars. I've found each of his books excellent, but this one will always rate as his best - for the ...

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Samuel P. Huntington

Simon & Schuster, 1998

Confirmed predictions
First published in 1996, this scholarly discussion of future international relations has been a classic from the beginning and will remain so for decades to come. From among the seven most important civilizations the author selected three, which may collide in ...

Assata: An Autobiography (Lawrence Hill & Co.)

Assata Shakur

Lawrence Hill Books, 2001

If you are into racism, women issues and simple reading, this book if for you!
This is by far the best autobiography I have read so far. It was an easy read and extremely expressive. In many ways it is disturbing if you think of what the character goes through. The explicit racism, abuse, pain that Assata had to endure is decribed really well. ...

Who Sings the Nation-State?: Language, Politics, Belonging

Judith Butler, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Seagull Books, 2007

Original, Brilliant
Although short, this book is one of the only inquiries into sovereignty that moves beyond the theoretical framework of Agamben, and begins to explore new vocabularies for addressing postcolonial subjectivity. Butler and Spivak breathe new life into a text by Ardent, ...

The Covenant with Black America

Tavis Smiley

World Press, 2006

Five stars
America, and especially Balck America, needs books like this one. It is a powerful book that everyone who wants to understand racism and human nature in general should read. This is a very informative and moving piece dealing with current situation of not only African ...

Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare

James H. Cone

Orbis Books, 1992

James Cone's MARTIN AND MALCOLM AND AMERICA Remains Top List
Dr James Cone's MARTIN AND MALCOLM AND AMERICA: A DREAM OR A NIGHTMARE is one of the best books I've encountered. Cone discusses the rhetorical strategies of Martin Luther King, Jr, and Malcolm X as they applied to their particular audiences: King to the South ...

Kosovo: What Everyone Needs to Know
Tim Judah

Oxford University Press, USA, 2008

On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared its independence, becoming the seventh state to emerge from the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. A tiny country of just two million people, 90% of whom are ethnic Albanians, Kosovo is central-geographically, historically, and politically-to the future of the Western Balkans and, in turn, its potential future ...

Precarious Life: The Power of Mourning and Violence

Judith Butler

Verso, 2006

Excellent social commentary
Judith Butler is a multi-talented scholar who can write for both specialized and general audiences (which is why many, I believe, envy her). This book is quite accessible and rightly so; it is concerned with the contemporary predicaments we are currently in at this ...

For Love of Country?

Martha C. Nussbaum

Beacon Press, 2002

interesting book
This is a collection of essays that discusses and debates the ideas of patriotism and cosmopolitanism. The idea of being a "citizen of the world" is very fascinating and complex, it is of course naturally apart of any discourse regarding globalization. I think this ...

Nations and Nationalism (New Perspectives on the Past)

Ernest Gellner

Cornell University Press, 1983

classic modernist account of nationalism
Truly one of the most important books ever written about nationalism, this is also one of the few modernist accounts of nationalism that ages well. While this book was published in 1983, it is basically an expanded version of a chapter from Gellner's earlier ...

Social Psychology Sixth Edition

Sharon Brehm

Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004

What's not to like?
Easy to read yet scholarly. Great illustrations. Space in the margins for notes. Good chapter overviews and summaries. Nice T/F questions to prime the reader. Sources used appropriately. It is truly the ideal textbook. The format, layout, and writing style make this ...