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Whether rising up from fiery leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo
Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro or from angry masses of Brazilian
workers and Mexican peasants, anti U.S. sentiment in Latin America
and the Caribbean today is arguably stronger than ever. It is also
a threat to U.S. leadership in the hemisphere and the world. Where
has this resentment come from? Has it arisen naturally from
imperialism and globalization, from economic and social
frustrations? Has it served opportunistic politicians? Does Latin
America have its own style of anti Americanism? What about national
variations? How does cultural anti Americanism affect politics, and
vice versa? What roles have religion, literature, or cartoons
played in whipping up sentiment against 'el yanqui'? Finally, how
has the United States reacted to all this? This book brings leaders
in the field of U.S. Latin American relations together with the
most promising young scholars to shed historical light on the
present implications of hostility to the United States in Latin
America and the Caribbean. In essays that carry the reader from
Revolutionary Mexico to Peronist Argentina, from Panama in the
nineteenth century to the West Indies' mid century independence
movement, and from Colombian drug runners to liberation
theologists, the authors unearth little known campaigns of
resistance and probe deeper into episodes we thought we knew well.
They argue that, for well over a century, identifying the United
States as the enemy has rung true to Latin Americans and has
translated into compelling political strategies. Combining history
with political and cultural analysis, this collection breaks the
mold of traditional diplomatic history by seeing anti Americanism
through the eyes of those who expressed it. It makes clear that
anti Americanism, far from being a post 9/11 buzzword, is rather a
real force that casts a long shadow over U.S. Latin American
relations.
Whether rising up from fiery leaders such as Venezuela's Hugo
Chavez and Cuba's Fidel Castro or from angry masses of Brazilian
workers and Mexican peasants, anti U.S. sentiment in Latin America
and the Caribbean today is arguably stronger than ever. It is also
a threat to U.S. leadership in the hemisphere and the world. Where
has this resentment come from? Has it arisen naturally from
imperialism and globalization, from economic and social
frustrations? Has it served opportunistic politicians? Does Latin
America have its own style of anti Americanism? What about national
variations? How does cultural anti Americanism affect politics, and
vice versa? What roles have religion, literature, or cartoons
played in whipping up sentiment against 'el yanqui'? Finally, how
has the United States reacted to all this? This book brings leaders
in the field of U.S. Latin American relations together with the
most promising young scholars to shed historical light on the
present implications of hostility to the United States in Latin
America and the Caribbean. In essays that carry the reader from
Revolutionary Mexico to Peronist Argentina, from Panama in the
nineteenth century to the West Indies' mid century independence
movement, and from Colombian drug runners to liberation
theologists, the authors unearth little known campaigns of
resistance and probe deeper into episodes we thought we knew well.
They argue that, for well over a century, identifying the United
States as the enemy has rung true to Latin Americans and has
translated into compelling political strategies. Combining history
with political and cultural analysis, this collection breaks the
mold of traditional diplomatic history by seeing anti Americanism
through the eyes of those who expressed it. It makes clear that
anti Americanism, far from being a post 9/11 buzzword, is rather a
real force that casts a long shadow over U.S. Latin American
relations.
This book interrogates the nature of anti-Americanism today and
over the last century. It asks several questions: How do we define
the phenomenon from different perspectives: political, social, and
cultural? What are the historical sources and turning points of
anti-Americanism in Europe and elsewhere? What are its links with
anti-Semitic sentiment? Has anti-Americanism been beneficial or
self-destructive to its "believers"? Finally, how has the United
States responded and why? The authors, scholars from a multitude of
countries, tackle the potential political consequences of
anti-Americanism in Eastern and Central Europe, the region that has
been perceived as strongly pro-American.
The Irish rock band U2, and especially its frontman Bono, are among
the most effective activists ever. U2 has convinced wealthy
governments to forgive tens of billions of dollars in loans while
spreading its activist messages to billions of people, helping save
millions of lives. So how did four boys from one of the poorest
countries in the West achieve this? Who and what influenced them?
What strategies did they use to succeed as much as they did as
activists, and how did those strategies change over time? In
particular, how did lead singer Bono make the leap into superstar
lobbying? And, with so much attention on him, how has he handled
critics who have taken to task his work on behalf of developing
countries? In The World and U2: One Band's Remaking of Global
Activism, Alan McPherson trains a historian's eye on the evolution
and influence of the band's activism from its formation in 1976 to
its most recent album and concert tour. Throughout its nearly four
decades, the band has held up a mirror to the increasing
selfishness in the world while at the same time working to fill the
void left by those who have abandoned the world's poor to their
plight. From raising awareness about war and human rights in the
1980s to engaging in direct action in the 1990s to moving mountains
of cash for the planet's poorest in the twenty-first century, the
band, and especially Bono, have both raised the bar and set the
example for other celebrity activists. But it is also a success
that has brought a greater scrutiny to bear on U2's activism and
initiated a healthy debate about the merits of Western development
aid. The World and U2: One Band's Remaking of Global Activism tells
this story of U2's successful storming of the world's philanthropic
stage. It will enchant the band's fans, engage its critics, and
offer lessons-and warnings-to activists seeking to change things
for the better.
Discover the unique mind and humane vision of an under-recognized
American author. Encompassing themes of race, education, fame, law,
and America's past and future, these essays are James Alan
McPherson at his most prescient and invaluable. Born in segregated
1940s Georgia, McPherson graduated from Harvard Law School only to
give up law and become a writer. In 1978, he became the first Black
author to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. But all the while,
McPherson was also writing and publishing nonfiction that stand
beside contemporaries such as James Baldwin and Joan Didion, as
this collection amply proves. These essays range from McPherson's
profile of comedian Richard Pryor on the cusp of his stardom; a
moving tribute to his mentor, Ralph Ellison; a near fatal battle
with viral meningitis; and the story of how McPherson became a
reluctant landlord to an elderly Black woman and her family. There
are meditations on family as the author travels to Disneyland with
his daughter, on the nuances of a neighborhood debate about naming
a street after Malcolm X or Dr. Martin Luther King, and,
throughout, those connections that make us most deeply
human-including connections between writer and reader. McPherson
writes of his early education, "The structure of white supremacy
had been so successful that even some of our parents and teachers
had been conscripted into policing the natural curiosity of young
people. We were actively discouraged from reading. We were
encouraged to accept our lot. We were not told that books just
might contain extremely important keys which would enable us to
break out of the mental jails that have been constructed to contain
us." The collection's curator, Anthony Walton, writes, "In his
nonfiction, McPherson was often looking for a way 'beyond' the
morasses in which Americans find themselves mired. His work is a
model of humanistic imagining, an attempt to perform a healing that
would, if successful, be the greatest magic trick in American
history: to 'get past' race, to help create a singular American
identity that was no longer marred by the existential tragedies of
the nation's first 400 years. He attempted this profound
reimagining of America while simultaneously remaining completely
immersed in African American history and culture. His achievement
demonstrates that an abiding love for black folks and black life
can rest alongside a mastery of 'The King's English' and a sincere
desire to be received as an American citizen and participant in
democracy. It is time for that imaginative work to be fully
comprehended and for this simultaneously American and African
American genius to assume a fully recognized place beside the other
constitutive voices in our national literature." This is a
collection is for any reader seeking a better understanding of our
world and a connection to a wise and wickedly funny writer who
speaks with forceful relevance and clarity across the decades. On
Becoming an American Writer is part of Godine's Nonpareil imprint:
celebrating the joy of discovery with books bound to be classics.
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Elbow Room (Paperback)
James Alan McPherson
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A beautiful collection of short stories that explores blacks and
whites today, Elbow Room is alive with warmth and humor. Bold and
very real, these twelve stories examine a world we all know but
find difficult to define.
Whether a story dashes the bravado of young street toughs or
pierces through the self-deception of a failed preacher, challenges
the audacity of a killer or explodes the jealousy of two lovers,
James Alan McPherson has created an array of haunting images and
memorable characters in an unsurpassed collection of honest,
masterful fiction.
From the white pine of Maine's' northeastern forests, westward to
the yellow hibiscus of Hawaii's Polynesian islands, our states's
official botanical symbols are as uniquely diverse as the terrain
and character of the 50 states themselves. In this reference book
over 200 state botanical symbols are presented with informative
text that highlights their adoptive legislation, botanical and
social history. Color photo montages add visual interest to the
pages. Alan McPherson is a naturalist who resides in northern
Indiana and enjoys traveling and learning about the botanical
resources our our vast country.
"Indian Battle Sites in Indiana" is a historical guide to the most
notable Native and Euro-American military conflicts that took place
in the wilds of Indiana during the 1700s and early 1800s. The pages
herein are mostly filled with words from those who were there
engaged in combat for possession of the land. This regional
anthology provides insight into a transitional time of upheaval and
contest between two vastly different cultures of the Old and New
Worlds.
Turning Leaves is a celebration of the colors of autumn in Indiana.
The content encourages the reader to open their senses to this
fleeting, color-filled transition between summer and winter, when
autumn brings picturesque beauty and a magnificence of its own.
This regional book includes the science of fall foliage color, a
listing of the most colorful trees, shrubs and vines, their
distribution and habitat within the Hoosier state, mapped driving
and walking tours, photo tips, numerous autumn-related stories,
inspirational quotes and color photographs that will help you
discover the splendor of fall foliage in Indiana. Everything to do
with Indiana's autumn, Turning Leaves is for those who love the
annual festival of kaleidoscopic floral beauty, the high point of
the year
Throughout Indiana, Hoosiers in increasing numbers are discovering
the joys of creating their own private gardens, as well as visiting
public gardens; verdant sanctuaries where they often find ideas and
inspiration. As we all realilze or should know, spending time in a
garden, private or public, can be a rewarding experience of
horticultural enrichment, beauty and inner peace. The author, Alan
McPherson, has spent considerable time wandering Indiana, seeking
out the most outstanding gardens or "botanic gems" whose gates are
open to the public. He shares his findings of these Eden-like
public retreats in this readable companion guide. The rich array of
garden types found in Indiana and neighboring cities include
historic, estate, ethnic, educational, commercial, arboretum,
conservatory, and pleasure gardens. These public garden settings
are designed with international landscape styles that include
English, Italian, French, Japanese, American influences and an
eclectic mix of several. Brought to life by numerous color
photographs and a delighful informative text, this guide book
directs readers to Indiana's diverse public gardens with ease.
With the same grace and lyrical precision that distinguish his
vibrant short stories, James McPherson surveys the emotional
upheaval of his last twenty-one years. From Baltimore, Maryland, to
Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Iowa and Japan, "Crabcakes" witnesses
McPherson's confrontation with the past, and his struggle to make
sense of it and to bind it, peacefully, to the present. His
elliptical search for meaning -- and his ultimate understanding of
what makes us human -- finds in "Crabcakes" a powerful and enduring
voice.
On September 21, 1976, a car bomb killed Orlando Letelier, the
former Chilean ambassador to the United States, along with his
colleague Ronni Moffitt. The murder shocked the world, especially
because of its setting--Sheridan Circle, in the heart of
Washington, D.C. Letelier's widow and her allies immediately
suspected the secret police of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet,
who eliminated opponents around the world. Because U.S. political
leaders saw the tyrant as a Cold War ally, they failed to warn him
against assassinating Letelier and hesitated to blame him
afterward. Government investigators and diplomats, however, pledged
to find the killers, defying a monstrous, secretive regime. Was
justice attainable? Finding out would take nearly two decades. With
interviews from three continents, never-before-used documents, and
recently declassified sources that conclude that Pinochet himself
ordered the hit and then covered it up, Alan McPherson has produced
the definitive history of one of the Cold War's most consequential
assassinations. The Letelier car bomb forever changed
counterterrorism, human rights, and democracy. This page-turning
real-life political thriller combines a police investigation,
diplomatic intrigue, courtroom drama, and survivors' tales of
sorrow and tenacity.
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