During the early 1880s a continual interaction of events, ideas, and people in Ireland and the United States created a ""Greater Ireland"" spanning the Atlantic that profoundly impacted both Irish and American society. In A Greater Ireland: The Land League and Transatlantic Nationalism in Gilded Age America, Ely M. Janis closely examines the Irish National Land League, a transatlantic organization with strong support in Ireland and the United States. Founded in Ireland in 1879 against the backdrop of crop failure and agrarian unrest, the Land League pressured the British government to reform the Irish landholding system and allow Irish political self-rule. The League quickly spread to the United States, with hundreds of thousands of Irish Americans participating in branches in their local communities. As this ""Greater Ireland"" flourished, new opportunities arose for women and working-class men to contribute within Irish-American society. Exploring the complex interplay of ethnicity, class, and gender, Janis demonstrates the broad range of ideological, social, and political opinion held by Irish Americans in the 1880s. Participation in the Land League deeply influenced a generation that replaced their old county and class allegiances with a common cause, shaping the future of Irish-American nationalism.

Most observers of Iran viewed the Green Uprisings of 2009 as a 'failed revolution', with many Iranians and those in neighbouring Arab countries agreeing. In Contesting the Iranian Revolution, however, Pouya Alimagham re-examines this evaluation, deconstructing the conventional win-lose binary interpretations in a way which underscores the subtle but important victories on the ground, and reveals how Iran's modern history imbues those triumphs with consequential meaning. Focusing on the men and women who made this dynamic history, and who exist at the centre of these contentious politics, this 'history from below' brings to the fore the post-Islamist discursive assault on the government's symbols of legitimation. From powerful symbols rooted in Shi'ite Islam, Palestinian liberation, and the Iranian Revolution, Alimagham harnesses the wider history of Iran and the Middle East to highlight how activists contested the Islamic Republic's legitimacy to its very core.

In this space, we wanted to put our photograph with President Obama when he spoke in Bellevue in February 2012. It is hanging in our living room, one of our proudest possessions, equal to our wedding picture. However, to use the photo here, we would have needed permission from OFA. Not likely, we think.

Most books have friendly comments from experts. For us, you are the experts. Please write your comments here:

Send your comments by e-mail to [email protected]. We will publish the signed ones on the Web at www.prudent-ventures.com. Look there for news about the book, our campaign activities, and comments.

Three years after the advent of Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government in February 2009, the country still awaits the elections that people hope will lead to a more enduring political settlement. Zimbabwe: Mired in Transition reviews the experience of recent years assesses the progress that has been made. What is the public mood, and how has it changed? What steps have been taken to reform the media? How important is a new constitution. Although the economy has stabilised to some extent with the adoption of a multi-currency regime, industrial and agricultural production are depressed, and investment inflows are limited; what spaces exist for fiscal reform? Are local authority structures and the state bureaucracy equipped to handle the tasks that will ne asked of them? In terms of two important areas, the book extends its analysis further back than 2009. First, is the issue of emigration. Estimates of the number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora range from three to four million; what impact us this having on national development, and to what extent might the trend of migration be reversed? The second concerns young people, the chapter on which concludes: 'We already have a "lost generation" - those who were once called the "born frees." Unless positive changes are made, we will still have another'. This collection of eleven essays examines in detail some of the pressing questions which Zimbabweans must ask as they chart a way forward.

With Factions of the government collapsing across America and the middle class drastically diminishing, is there hope for the American people? Albert Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." The actions of the Democrats and Republicans have clearly and inarguably shown their inability to work for the people. Yes, there is an opportunity. This opportunity comes in a different form of government that gets back to the basics, government by the people for the people. Mega corporations have infiltrated government and have stolen your very way of life. The time is now to step up and be the American that you are, or forever hold your peace.

In this book you'll discover:
Why right now is the best opportunity in history to regain and strengthen freedom in America. How minimal effort on your part can turn America around. How to create a healthy, safe, and prosperous country. How this book can improve every aspect of your life. How self responsibility, good character, and action can influence politics

"Each and every chapter I read, the same thought came to me: I wish I had written this book. Michael Pickens has nicely summarized dozens of communication and leadership tips, tricks, and techniques, along with great examples, that I have sub-consciously used for years. I keep saying to myself: YES, YES, YES " Mark Hinkle, Libertarian Party Chairman 2010-12
"This powerful book is packed full of practical concepts that will help to develop strong leaders within the Liberty Movement" Judge Jim Gray, 2012 Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate
"This book is a must read for those who choose to make the world a better place for their family, their neighbors, their community, and our country as a whole." Tom C. Liotta, Author, "Creating Champions for Life"
"I see how the constitution has been eroding year after year and the negative results that it has had for the American people. This book is a must read for anyone who would like to restore good health, real safety, and prosperity to the American people. Get this book NOW Before time runs out." Larry Nicholas, Chairman, Washington State Libertarian Party

Born in Gering, Nebraska on May 2, 1920, Dale Cannady has witnessed a dramatically changing world. Using the GI Bill to gain his college education at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dale rose to be Assistant City Planning Director in Portland, Oregon. My Thoughts is the culmination of 92 years of experience and observation.

Born in Gering, Nebraska on May 2, 1920, Dale Cannady has witnessed a dramatically changing world. Using the GI Bill to gain his college education at the University of Washington in Seattle, Dale rose to be Assistant City Planning Director in Portland, Oregon. My Thoughts is the culmination of 92 years of experience and observation.

Documenting the efforts of one grassroots organization that made a difference, Dorothy Swanson's story extends beyond the realms of television to demonstrate the rewards of making the voice of public opinion heard. An organization that began over 15 years ago with one woman's efforts to save one show, Viewers for Quality Television (VQT) has become an important force in the industry. Prior to Dorothy Swanson's founding of this group, there was no system in place where viewers could collectively voice their opinions to those responsible for the fate of programmes. On several occasions, Swanson's organization succeeded in convincing network executives to reconsider shows that would have been cancelled under normal business practices. VQT's endorsements continue to be an important part of many programmes' bids for survival.

"It's been a long time since I've read a more interesting, informing, and inspiring book."-Bill Moyers What can we do beyond Occupy Wall Street? Political and economic systems are failing us, and it's time for citizens to create change-individually and collaboratively. In The Leaderless Revolution, Carne Ross sounds a call to action. With dramatic stories from the United States and around the world, Ross's analysis contrasts with the naive, Panglossian optimism of globalization boosters like Thomas Friedman. Uncontrolled economic volatility, perpetual insecurity, rampant inequality, and accelerating climate change are heading us into a dangerous period of prolonged crisis. Ross-a former British diplomat to Iraq who resigned over his nation's involvement in the U.S.-led invasion-draws from his own experiences to offer an empowering new vision of how we can put things right.

This report is an in-depth study of electoral commissions in six countries of West Africa 'Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone - assessing their contribution in strengthening political participation in the region. As institutions that apply the rules governing elections, electoral management bodies (EMBs) have occupied, over the last two decades, the heart of discussion and practice on the critical question of effective citizen participation in the public affairs of their countries. The way in which they are established and the effectiveness of their operations have continued to preoccupy those who advocate for competitive elections, while reforms to the EMBs have taken centre stage in more general political reforms. Election Management Bodies in West Africa thus responds to the evident need for more knowledge about an institution that occupies a more and more important place in the political process in West Africa. Based on documentary research and detailed interviews in each country, the study provides a comparative analysis which highlights the similarities and differences in the structure and operations of each body, and attempts to establish the reasons for their comparative successes and failures.

The Oxford Handbook of American Political Parties and Interest Groups is a major new volume that will help scholars assess the current state of scholarship on parties and interest groups and the directions in which it needs to move. Never before has the academic literature on political parties received such an extended treatment. Twenty nine chapters critically assess both the major contributions to the literature and the ways in which it has developed. With contributions from most of the leading scholars in the field, the volume provides a definitive point of reference for all those working in and around the area. Equally important, the authors also identify areas of new and interesting research. These chapters offer a distinctive point of view, an argument about the successes and failures of past scholarship, and a set of recommendations about how future work ought to develop. This volume will help set the agenda for research on political parties and interest groups for the next decade. The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are a set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of scholarship on American politics. Each volume focuses on a particular aspect of the field. The project is under the General Editorship of George C. Edwards III, and distinguished specialists in their respective fields edit each volume. The Handbooks aim not just to report on the discipline, but also to shape it as scholars critically assess the scholarship on a topic and propose directions in which it needs to move. The series is an indispensable reference for anyone working in American politics. General Editor for The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics: George C. Edwards III

This book provides a fresh and even-handed account of the newly modernized AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) - the 40-million member insurance giant and political lobby that continues to set the national agenda for Medicare and Social Security. Frederick R. Lynch addresses AARP's courtship of 78 million aging baby boomers and the possibility of harnessing what may be the largest ever senior voting bloc to defend threatened cutbacks to Social Security, Medicare, and under-funded pension systems. Based on years of research, interviews with key strategists, and analyses of hundreds documents, "One Nation under AARP" profiles a largely white generation, raised in the relatively tranquil 1950s and growing old in a twenty-first century nation buffeted by rapid economic, cultural, and demographic change. Lynch argues that an ideologically divided boomer generation must decide whether to resist entitlement reductions through its own political mobilization or, by default, to empower AARP as it tries to shed its 'greedy geezer' stereotype with an increasingly post-boomer agenda for multigenerational equity.

An unabridged edition to include: Political Ideals - Capitalism and the Wage System - Pitfalls in Socialism - Individual Liberty and Public Control - National Independence and Internationalism

Practical guidance how to prepare for and meet with elected officials and staff, how to write effective letters and emails to elected officials, strategies for influencing legislators face-to-face, best practices for communicating with Congress and state legislatures, and how to write persuasive "letters to the editor."

This book is one part research studies, one part interviews and focus groups, and one part experience. It uses available research on Congress and its decision making. Dozens of elected officials, including members of Congress, and their staff agreed to off-the-record interviews and discussed the factors that contribute to their decision-making process.

Strategies for Influencing Legislators Face-to-Face

Best Practices for Communicating with Congress and State Legislatures

Practical Guidance How to Prepare for and Meet with Elected Officials

How to Write Effective Letters and Email to Members of Congress

How to Write Persuasive Letters to the Editor that Get Published

Summary Table of Contents
Part I. How Government Really Works
Ch. 1. How Congressional Offices Work
Ch. 2. Congressional Culture
Ch. 3. How Legislators Make Decisions
Ch. 4. People Who Can (and Can't) Influence Legislators and How They Do It
Part II. How to Influence a Legislator
Ch. 5. Strategies for Influencing Legislators
Ch. 6. Face-to-Face Meetings
Ch. 7. Communications
Appendices
A. The Advocate's Pledge
B. US Constitution and Amendments
C. Declaration of Independence
D. Information about Congress and Washington, DC Index

Complete Table of Contents online at www.CitizensHandbook.com

America is fighting a Civil War today. Between the Citizen and the State. On one side are the Patriots, people who support the Constitution and our system of government: limited in its power over your life. A system of checks and balances and small government where the important decisions are made by the States, not Washington. A system where 'We the People' has real meaning, where Rights apply to individuals, and where the Government has only duties. Patriots trust the people. On the other side are the Progressives, people who believe that ethics and morality and law come not from God but from the Government. Their vision is for a system where the Government becomes the Nanny State, and in the process Big Brother, taking care of them from Cradle to Grave. All you have to give up for this Utopia is your personal freedom and all your Rights - which turn out to be not so inalienable after all. Progressives trust the State. Refounding America is about fighting this Patriotic War against the Progressives who would have their State take over every aspect of our lives. Their prescription for "hope" and "change" is Socialism, the first step on the slippery slope to Marxism. Over 60 years ago, George Orwell warned us about this coming totalitarian dystopia in his works 1984 and Animal Farm. In the latter, all the animals were equal - except the elitist Pigs, who were more equal. Sound familiar? Refounding America is the field manual for the other animals in the barnyard who want their own personal freedoms back and are sick and tired of the Pigs telling them what to do. Refounding America is the handbook loaded with practical, tactical strategies to "Take Back America Now," and win the battle against the Progressives.