Every month, five million people move from the past to the future. Pouring into developing-world instant cities like Dubai and Shenzhen, these urban newcomers confront a modern world cobbled together from fragments of a West they have never seen. Do these fantastical boomtowns, where blueprints spring to life overnight on virgin land, represent the dawning of a brave new world? Or is their vaunted newness a mirage?

In a captivating blend of history and reportage, Daniel Brook travels to a series of major metropolitan hubs that were once themselves instant cities St. Petersburg, Shanghai, and Mumbai to watch their dress rehearsals for the twenty-first century. Understanding today s emerging global order, he argues, requires comprehending the West s profound and conflicted influence on developing-world cities over the centuries.

In 1703, Tsar Peter the Great personally oversaw the construction of a new Russian capital, a window on the West carefully modeled on Amsterdam, that he believed would wrench Russia into the modern world. In the nineteenth century, Shanghai became the fastest-growing city on earth as it mushroomed into an English-speaking, Western-looking metropolis that just happened to be in the Far East. Meanwhile, Bombay, the cosmopolitan hub of the British Raj, morphed into a tropical London at the hands of its pith-helmeted imperialists.

Juxtaposing the stories of the architects and authoritarians, the artists and revolutionaries who seized the reins to transform each of these precociously modern places into avatars of the global future, Brook demonstrates that the drive for modernization was initially conflated with wholesale Westernization. He shows, too, the ambiguous legacy of that emulation the birth (and rebirth) of Chinese capitalism in Shanghai, the origins of Bollywood in Bombay s American-style movie palaces, the combustible mix of revolutionary culture and politics that rocked the Russian capital and how it may be transcended today.

A fascinating, vivid look from the past out toward the horizon, A History of Future Cities is both a crucial reminder of globalization s long march and an inspiring look into the possibilities of our Asian Century."

In The Accident of Color, Daniel Brook journeys to nineteenth-century New Orleans and Charleston and introduces us to cosmopolitan residents who elude the racial categories the rest of America takes for granted. Before the Civil War, these free, openly mixed-race urbanites enjoyed some rights of citizenship and the privileges of wealth and social status. But after Emancipation, as former slaves move to assert their rights, the black-white binary that rules the rest of the nation begins to intrude. During Reconstruction, a movement arises as mixed-race elites make common cause with the formerly enslaved and allies at the fringes of whiteness in a bid to achieve political and social equality for all. In some areas, this coalition proved remarkably successful. Activists peacefully integrated the streetcars of Charleston and New Orleans for decades and, for a time, even the New Orleans public schools and the University of South Carolina were educating students of all backgrounds side by side. Tragically, the achievements of this movement were ultimately swept away by a violent political backlash and expunged from the history books, culminating in the Jim Crow laws that would legalise segregation for a half century and usher in the binary racial regime that rules us to this day. The Accident of Color revisits a crucial inflection point in American history. By returning to the birth of our nation's singularly narrow racial system, which was forged in the crucible of opposition to civil rights, Brook illuminates the origins of the racial lies we live by.

All 13 episodes from the first season of the Netflix comedy drama adapted from Piper Kerman's memoir about her time spent in a women's prison. Taylor Schilling stars as Piper Chapman, who ten years previously transported drug money for her then girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon). Piper is now serving a 15-month sentence as a result. Though her fiancé Larry Bloom (Jason Biggs) is initially determined to support her through the ordeal, the challenges of prison life often cause problems in their relationship, especially since Alex is one of her fellow inmates. The episodes are: 'I Wasn't Ready', 'T*t Punch', 'Lesbian Request Denied', 'Imaginary Enemies', 'The Chickening', 'WAC Pack', 'Blood Donut', 'Moscow Mule', 'F**ksgiving', 'Bora Bora Bora', 'Tall Men With Feelings', 'Fool Me Once' and 'Can't Fix Crazy'.

Daniel Brooks was a 50-year-old husband, father and district-level administrator in a public school system, when he first noticed pronounced tremors, speech difficulties and walking problems developing. In this book, Daniel chronicles his life with a Parkinson's Plus syndrome and explains how he dealt with the neurological decline that resulted. Read a user-friendly, patient's explanation of the defining symptoms of these atypical Parkinsonism disorders and find out how this neuro-degenerative disease progressed in Dan's case. He writes a compelling and inspirational story of how he maintained his faith in God, while courageously facing life with a movement disorder.

"Takes dead aim at the conservative economic consensus that has dominated U.S. politics . . . Biting and necessary."--"The American Prospect"

In this witty and revealing polemic, journalist Daniel Brook argues that the exploding income gap--a product of the conservative ascendance--is systematically dismantling the American dream, as debt-laden, well-educated young people are torn between their passions and the pressure to earn six-figure incomes.

Rising education, housing, and health-care costs have made it virtually impossible for all but the corporate elite to enjoy what were once considered middle-class comforts. Thousands are afflicted with a wrenching choice: take up residence on America's financial and social margins or sell out. From the activist who works to give others a living wage but isn't paid one himself, to the universal health-care advocate who becomes a management consultant for Big Pharma, Brook presents a damning indictment of the economic and political landscape that traps young Americans. Daniel Brook is a journalist whose writing has appeared in "Harper's," "Dissent," "The San Francisco Chronicle," and "The Boston Globe," among other publications. Brook was a finalist in the 2003 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists and won the 2000 "Rolling Stone" College Journalist Competition while a student at Yale. He lives in Philadelphia. In this provocative, witty, and revealing polemic, Daniel Brook argues that the exploding income gap--a product of the conservative ascendance--is systematically dismantling the American dream, as debt-laden, well-educated young people are torn between their passions and the pressure to earn six-figure incomes.
Rising education, housing, and health-care costs have made it virtually impossible for all but the corporate elite to enjoy what were once considered middle-class comforts. Thousands are afflicted with a wrenching choice: take up residence on America's financial and social margins or sell out. And it's not just impoverished teachers and social workers, struggling to pay their rent, who are hurt. From the activist who works to give others a living wage but isn't paid one himself, to the universal health-care advocate who becomes a management consultant for Big Pharma, Brook presents a damning indictment of the economic and political landscape that traps young Americans. When the best and the brightest cannot afford to serve the public good, Brook asks, what are we selling out: an individual's career, or the very promise of American democracy? "Daniel Brook has written a searing indictment of an unequal America in which anxiety rules and even idealists sell their souls to the highest bidder. This book is funny, smart, and compulsively readable, but most of all it is terrifying."--David Callahan, author of "The Cheating Culture" and "The Moral Center" "[Brook] makes a compelling argument that the protection of intellectual integrity provided by tenure has been lost in a marketplace of adjuncts. Supporting the book's principal concern--the death of public service as a viable career path--Brook observes that programs like Teach for America emphasize their one- or two-year commitment periods, implying that high-achieving college graduates will still have time for their 'real, ' more lucrative jobs, where they can make a return on their 'capital investment' . . . Brook makes a timely contribution by offering [young Americans] a rallying cry, a community identity, and an unapologetically liberal agenda. Rather than merely mourning the New Deal, he suggests that perhaps it is time to forge a new one."--Sandra Beasley, "The American Scholar
""In this new book subtitled "Selling Out to Stay Afloat in a Winner-Take-All America, " Brook crafts an interesting cultural commentary on 20-somethings that have given up on their dreams. With mounting student loan debts, rising costs of living and a dwindling middle class, he examines how we got to be a generation of corporate monkeys that have traded in jobs in public service or creative fields. Definitely liberal-minded, this is an enlightening, relatable read."--"The Allentown Morning Call
""Daniel Brook has written a searing indictment of an unequal America in which anxiety rules and even idealists sell their souls to the highest bidder. This book is funny, smart, and compulsively readable, but most of all it is terrifying."--David Callahan, author of "The Cheating Culture" and "The Moral Center"
""The Trap" shows how the decimation of the middle class is making the most meaningful kind of work unsustainable. When jobs that are altruistic and creative are a sure ticket to penury, the whole society loses. This is an incisive, important, consciousness-raising book that should inspire professionals to understand their financial insecurity as the system's failure, not their own--and to demand change."--Michelle Goldberg, author of "Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism
""Daniel Brook makes a truly powerful case against the hyperindividualism rotting away at the foundations of our society. He shows, with data and also with one story after another, what a tough time it is to be coming up in America. If you know someone (maybe yourself) who feels trapped in a job that doesn't really reflect their hopes and dreams, then this book will help explain how it happened, and how, together, we might be able to change it."--Bill McKibben, author of "Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
""Daniel Brook's "The Trap" will transform the way we think and talk about America's most pressing economic and social problem, growing income inequality. It's a terrific book."--Robert H. Frank, author of "The Economic Naturalist" and "The Winner Take All Society""" "We let inequality call itself 'freedom, ' when freedom is precisely what inequality is costing us. Daniel Brook's "The Trap" is a powerful corrective to this enormous mistake."--Benjamin Kunkel, author of "Indecision""" "Twenty-something journalist Brook sees the best minds of his generation scrivening away as corporate lawyers and accountants, and he's furious about it. His fresh and striking pay-gap polemic laments the plight of 'educated, idealistic young people' who must choose whether 'to be a sellout or a saint'--that is, whether to take a lucrative corporate job or to eke out a pauper's existence in creative or nonprofit work. 'The new economic realities, ' Brook writes, 'are shaping people's lives, closing off certain career and lifestyle options. They are reducing freedom.' Brook marshals facts and interviews to make his case for 'more egalitarian economic policies.' Decrying recent economic shifts that have widened the chasm between private and public sector employment, he skewers centrist 'New Democrats' as well as usual-suspects such as William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan . . . many readers will wince in recognition of their work/life compromises. 'Corporate America is riddled with secret dissenters, ' Brook notes; he does a real service asking why it must be this way."--"Publishers Weekly"""

All 13 episodes from the second season of the Netflix comedy drama adapted from Piper Kerman's memoir about her time spent in a women's prison. Taylor Schilling stars as Piper Chapman, who ten years previously transported drug money for her then girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon). Piper is now serving a 15-month sentence as a result. In this season, Piper receives some unsettling news from her fiancé Larry Bloom (Jason Biggs), while Alex finds herself living in fear when she is released from prison after testifying against her former drug boss. The past lives of some of Piper's fellow inmates are explored in flashblacks, including Taystee (Danielle Brooks), Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba), Lorna (Yael Stone), Red (Kate Mulgrew) and Rosa (Barbara Rosenblat). The episodes are: 'Thirsty Bird', 'Looks Blue, Tastes Red', 'Hugs Can Be Deceiving', 'A Whole Other Hole', 'Low Self Esteem City', 'You Also Have a Pizza', 'Comic Sans', 'Appropriately Sized Pots', '40 Oz of Furlough', 'Little Mustachioed S**t', 'Take a Break from Your Values', 'It Was the Change' and 'We Have Manners. We're Polite'.

The Pull of the Earth is Laurie Thorp's dirt-under-the-fingernails ethnography of four years in an elementary school garden and the ways in which this garden catalyzed cultural transformation and inspired hope, growth, and community. Filled with photographs, sketches, poetry, and journal entries, Thorp's engaging book describes the educational benefits of learning through the environment: lessons on nutrition, the rhythms and cycles found in nature, and the stability found in entering a reciprocal relationship with the land. It will be a valuable resource for educators, environmentalists, and ethnographers.

The Pull of the Earth is Laurie Thorp's dirt-under-the-fingernails ethnography of four years in an elementary school garden and the ways in which this garden catalyzed cultural transformation and inspired hope, growth, and community. Filled with photographs, sketches, poetry, and journal entries, Thorp's engaging book describes the educational benefits of learning through the environment: lessons on nutrition, the rhythms and cycles found in nature, and the stability found in entering a reciprocal relationship with the land. It will be a valuable resource for educators, environmentalists, and ethnographers.

Using a comparative historical methodology, this book analyzes the causal convergence of the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia from socio-cultural and political economic perspectives, and contrasts it with China's Tiananmen Square rebellion during same year. The key strategy in tracking the causal convergence is a measured emphasis on structures, agencies, cultures, and their interactions.

This book analyzes the causal convergence of the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, through socio-cultural and political economic perspectives, within a comparative historical methodological framework, while contrasting it with China's Tiananmen Square rebellion that same year. The key strategy in tracking the causal convergence is a measured emphasis on structures, agencies, cultures, and their interactions.