Karl Marx: Philosophy and Revolution, Shlomo Avinery, Yale University Press, 2019, pp. 217, ISBN 978-0-300-21170-2 Shlomo Avineri’s new intellectual biography of Karl Marx is a part of Yale University Press’ “Jewish Lives Series,” which is, according to the publisher, “aimed at exploring the many facets of Jewish identity” and the
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Brazillionaires: Wealth, Power, Decadence, and Hope in an American Country, Alex Cuadros, 2016, Spiegel & Grau, pp. 346, ISBN 978-0-8129,9676-0 Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva thrice ran for the presidency of Brazil before finally being elected in 2002. He started his political career by involving himself with the metalworker’s union
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The Security Principle: From Serenity to Regulation, Frédéric Gros, Verso, 2019, pp. 195, ISBN 978-1-78478-715-8 Security dominates public discourse. We often hear politicians justifying a particular action with reference to the ‘security of the people’, or the ‘security of supply.’ At times it may appear that our very being centers around
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We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast, Jonathan Safran Foer, Hamish Hamilton, 2019, pp. 272, ISBN 976-0-7352-3307-2 As wildfires spurred by global warming rage in Australia and California, as bigger, stronger and more dangerous hurricanes batter coastal communities, as sea levels rise and glaciers melt, as an
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The New Authoritarians: Convergence on the Right, David Renton, Haymarket Books, 2019, pp. 280, ISBN 978-1-60846-908-6 The right is on the rise in Europe and around the world. In 2016 and 2017, we saw the referendum victory of Brexit in the United Kingdom, the election of Donald Trump and the
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Bibliodiversity: A Manifesto for Independent Publishing, Susan Hawthorne, Fernwood Publishing with Spinifex, 2015, pp. 87, $10.95, ISBN 978-1-55266-747-7 A recent study on book publishing diversity done by the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), the body that represents 115 Canadian-owned and controlled publishers, revealed striking imbalances in geographical, racial, and gender
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Left, Right – Yves Engler Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada, Yves Engler, Black Rose Books, 2019, pp. 263, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-55164-663-3 Former Speaker of the Venezuelan National Assembly Juan Guaido declared himself the interim President of Venezuela on January 23, 2019. The move followed a concerted
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Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran, Lior B. Sternfeld, 2019, Standford University Press, pp. 208, $40, ISBN 978-1-5036-0614-2 Speaking to a crowd of a few thousand in December 2005 in the south-eastern city of Zahedan, the then President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the Holocaust was
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Rodrigo Duterte: Fire and Fury in the Philippines, Jonathan Miller, Scribe, 2018, pp. 346, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-947534-34-6, also published as Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines The language of diplomacy is often bland, but always measured and appropriate. It aims to foster good relationships, build trust between the
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