The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a period of steep economic decline, followed by economic reform, soaring inflation, corruption and crime. Despite the fact that unions were part of the State and that membership was obligatory, incorporating 98 percent of the labor force, millions of workers were not paid their wages.

Based upon an abundance of first-hand material, "Labour After Soviet Socialism "examines the complex interplay of history, ideology, leadership, state policy and economics, to explain the difficulty workers have encountered in defending their interests.

David Mandel, labor scholar and activist, teaches political science at the University of Quebec, Montreal. He is co-founder of the School for Worker Democracy, which conducts rank-and-file labor education in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

When Stan Lee first pitched the idea of Spider-Man in 1962, his boss was full of objections: People hate spiders. Teenagers aren't lead characters; they're sidekicks. He should be glamorous and successful, not a friendless loser. But Stan persisted and Martin Goodman let him give the unlikely hero a tryout in Amazing Fantasy, which was already slated for cancellation. With Spider-Man on the cover, No. 15 shot to the top of Marvel's best-seller list for the year, and the rest is history. Amazing Spider-Man, which debuted seven months later, broke the comics mold. Peter Parker lived in uncool Queens, was always broke, continually worried about his Aunt May, was unlucky in love, and was constantly getting yelled at by his boss, Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man had the quips and confidence that Parker lacked, but learning to use his powers wasn't always easy. He often seemed on the verge of defeat against the rogue's gallery of classic foes that debuted in the first couple of years: Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, and the Green Goblin. Much of the credit for Spider-Man's greatness goes to co-creator and artist Steve Ditko, who had a knack for portraying teenagers and their problems. His artwork infused Spider-Man with a loose-limbed energy, and, while maybe everyone was scared of spiders, Ditko made swinging through New York seem like the coolest adventure ever. This XXL-sized collector's dream, close in size to the original artworks, features the first 21 stories of the world's favorite web slinger from 1962-1964. Rather than recolor the original artwork (as has been done in previous decades' reprints of classic comics), TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era's inexpensive, imperfect printing-as if hot off of a world-class 1960s printing press. Three different paper stocks, including an uncoated and woodfree paper, were exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics. With an in-depth historical essay by Marvel editor Ralph Macchio, an introduction by uber-collector David Mandel, and original art, rare photographs, and other gems, these 698 pages of wall-crawling wonder will make anyone's spider-sense tingle with anticipation. (c) 2021 MARVEL About the series MARVEL COMICS LIBRARY is an exclusive, long-term collaboration between TASCHEN and Marvel. The rarest classic comics, including Spider-Man, Avengers, and Captain America are meticulously reproduced in their original glory, in extra-large format. The library offers collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lay their hands on the world's most desirable comics. Each volume includes an essay by a comic book historian along with hundreds of photos and artifacts, including rare original comic book artwork.

This collection, a critical perspective on the changes occurring in the "post-Communist" world today, covers Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Poland, China, and Cuba. Combining a unique variety of genres -- interviews, diaries, and essays -- it provides both analytical insight and a concrete sense of the complex socio-political and cultural processes at work in these societies.

In order to document what really is taking place in former socialist countries, David Mandel, a translator of Russian and long time observer of Russian society, brought together social scientists in the West with their Russian counterparts. The result--a collection of essays and interviews by some of the foremost democratic socialist thinkers of today.

The Petrograd Workers in the Russian Revolution is a study of the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and of the first months of Soviet power as viewed and experienced 'from below'

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a period of steep economic decline, followed by economic reform, soaring inflation, corruption and crime. Despite the fact that unions were part of the State and that membership was obligatory, incorporating 98 percent of the labor force, millions of workers were not paid their wages.

Based upon an abundance of first-hand material, "Labour After Soviet Socialism "examines the complex interplay of history, ideology, leadership, state policy and economics, to explain the difficulty workers have encountered in defending their interests.

David Mandel, labor scholar and activist, teaches political science at the University of Quebec, Montreal. He is co-founder of the School for Worker Democracy, which conducts rank-and-file labor education in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

In 2012, soon after his election to a third presidential term as president, following a four-year stint as prime minister (to avoid modifying the constitution), and in the wake of an unprecedented wave of popular protests, Vladimir Putin issued his May Decrees. Notable among them was the governments commitment to increase the salaries of doctors, scientific researchers and university teachers to double the average in their respective regions by 2018. But then on December 30 of that year, the government issued a road map for education, revealing that the salary increases in higher education would be paid for, not by significant new government funding, but by optimization, which would eliminate 44% of the current teaching positions in higher education. This was justified in part by a forecasted drop in student enrollment. Thus opened a new, accelerated period of reform of higher education. David Mandel examines the impact of these reforms on the condition of Russias university teachers and the collective efforts of some teachers, a small minority, to organize themselves in an independent trade union to defend their professional interests and their vision of higher education. Apart from the subjects intrinsic interest, an in-depth examination of this specific aspect of social policy provides valuable insight into the nature of the Russian state as well as into the condition of civil society, in particular the popular classes, to which Russian university teachers belong according to their socio-economic situation, if not necessarily their self-image.

The account of political discrimination and violation of the "citizens first" hiring principle at McGill University. "Yet another one of academe's sordid little stories illustrating once again nuances that nobody inside or outside universities should ever disregard."--"Globe and Mail"

A guide to locating and learning about 3,000 people in the Bible In this fitting companion to the JPS Tanakh, David Mandel has undertaken the enormous task of cataloging every character in the Hebrew Bible. From Aaron to Zurishaddi, this comprehensive biographical dictionary gives readers the opportunity to get up close and personal with everyone named in the Bible--its patriarchs, matriarchs, and prophets, warriors and peacemakers, holy men and sinners, heroes and villains. Arranged in an encyclopedic A to Z format, Who's Who in the Jewish Bible is much more than a catalog of names. It contains detailed biographical information as well as fascinating facts and intriguing stories, written in a contemporary narrative style, about all the Bible's characters. Each entry also includes the origin and meaning of the name, the dates he or she lived (if known), and the person's first appearance in the Bible by book, chapter, and verse. Who's Who in the Jewish Bible is the most thorough and comprehensive book of its kind and an invaluable reference for students, teachers, rabbis, and anyone interested in knowing more about the people of the Hebrew Bible. Those who search for a name in the Bible, whether well?known or obscure, will be rewarded with well-organized information that will add new meaning and enjoyment to their reading.

The economic and political situation of a society attempting to be re-born is the subject of this work. With a chronological perspective in mind, Mandel describes the nature of the crisis that led to a regime-initiated perestroika.