Z Books
Recent Z Books
Hughes: Dialogues and Reflections of Indigenous Activism
Feb 10, 2012
Provocative and original, The Politics of Indigeneity explores the concept of indigeneity across the world - from the Americas to New Zealand, Africa to Asia - and the ways in which it intersects with local, national and international social and political realities. Taking on the role of critical interlocutors, the authors engage in extended dialogue with indigenous spokespersons and activists, as well as between each other. In doing so, they explore the possibilities of a 'second-wave indigeneity' - one that is alert to the challenges posed to indigenous aspirations by the neo-liberal agenda of nation-states and their concerns with sovereignty. Timely and topical in its focus on global indigenous politics, and featuring a variety of first-hand indigenous voices - including those of indigenous activists, scholars, leaders and interviewees - this is a vital contribution to an often contentious topic.
Hallward: Damming the Flood
Sep 10, 2011
“This riveting and deeply informed account should be carefully read by those who recognize that Haiti's tragic history is a microcosm of imperial savagery and heroic resistance.” – Noam Chomsky “A detailed account of the 'democratic containment' of Haiti's radical politics in the past two decades ... an outstanding book.” – Slavoj Žižek, New Statesman “An excellent book ... the first accurate analysis of recent Haitian history, and of its history in the making.” – Dr. Paul Farmer, Harvard University “Damming the Flood is a brilliant, politically sophisticated and morally infuriating work on a shameful piece of very recent history that the US press has either distorted or ignored. It is the most important and devastating book I’ve read on American betrayal of democracy in one of the most tormented nations in the world.” – Jonathan Kozol, author of Death at an Early Age, Rachel and her Children, and Savage Inequalities “The book is a masterpiece. As someone who lived through those years, Damming the Flood is not only incredibly accurate and well sourced but the analysis is also flawless.” – Ira Kurzban, immigration lawyer and former attorney for the Haitian Government “This is a book about the latest crime that the world’s most powerful nation committed against one of the world’s poorest. I like this book for its scholarship, its measured tone, and its good writing. But I am grateful for it above all because at long last it presents another side of a story that has been reported, almost universally, with stunning tendentiousness and in apparent ignorance of the lives and opinions of most Haitians. This book goes a long way to setting the record straight ... It ought to be required reading for every historian of the Americas and for every student of political science.” – Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond Mountains Long before a devastating earthquake hit in January 2010, Haiti was one of the most impoverished and oppressed countries in the world. However, in the late 1980s a remarkable popular mobilization known as Lavalas (“the flood”) sought to liberate the island from decades of US-backed dictatorial rule. Damming the Flood analyzes how and why the Lavalas governments led by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide were overthrown, in 1991 and again in 2004, by the enemies of democracy in Haiti and abroad. The elaborate campaign to suppress Lavalas was perhaps the most successful act of imperial sabotage since the end of the Cold War. It has left the people of Haiti at the mercy of some of the most rapacious political and economic forces on the planet. Updated with a substantial new afterword that addresses the international response to the earthquake, Damming the Flood is both an invaluable account of recent Haitian history and an illuminating analysis of twenty-first-century imperialism. This new edition provides an additional chapter which updates us with the events in Haiti after and around the earthquake. These fateful events don't alter the conclusions Hallward arrived at in the first edition; if anything they're re-enforced and proved right. The speed at which a humanitarian tragedy was turned into an opportunity to further deepen military occupation, allowing the US take over the island, proves that Haiti has not lost its appeal for the “Humanitarian Interventionists” in any way. Also, the widespread acceptance of the occupation as a positive action by most of the world's media shows that popular perception has come to accept that it is natural to keep Haitians at gun point, even in the most extraordinary and tragic circumstances. Lastly, it sadly proves through the series of logistical blunders, such as the primacy of military over humanitarian aid, the state of neglect in which the victims were abandoned for weeks before they saw any meaningful help (with the exception of understaffed Cuban doctors), and by the fact that most aid which was promised by foreign donors (both agencies and governments) has not been delivered more than one year later, that Haitian people's lives are a very low priority on the international community's agenda. This year's anniversary of the earthquake was one of shame for all the self-proclaimed “friends” of Haiti.
Harten: The Rise of Evo Morales and the MAS
May 12, 2011
In this insightful and revealing book, Harten attempts to explain the success of the MAS and its wider consequences, showing how Morales has become the symbol for a new political consciousness that has entailed de-stigmatizing indigenous identities.
Hill: The Economics Anti-Textbook
Mar 10, 2011
Mainstream textbooks present economics as an objective science free from value judgements.
Hands: @ is For Activism
Jan 16, 2011
@ is For Activism examines the transformation of politics through digital media, including digital television, online social networking and mobile computing.
Hands: @ is For Activism
Jan 16, 2011
@ is For Activism examines the transformation of politics through digital media, including digital television, online social networking and mobile computing. Joss Hands maps out how political relationships have been reconfigured and new modes of cooperation, deliberation and representation have emerged. This analysis is applied to the organisation and practice of alternative politics, showing how they have developed and embraced the new political and technological environment. Hands offers a comprehensive critical survey of existing literature, as well as an original perspective on networks and political change. He includes many case studies including the anti-war and global justice movements, peer production, user created TV and 'Twitter' activism. @ is For Activism is essential for activists and students of politics and media.
Hahnel: Green Economics
Dec 01, 2010
“An accessible and informative document valuable for both beginners and more advanced students of environmental policy and politics.” (*) This book's pluralistic, non-dogmatic, and committed investigation of the values of ecological sustainability, economic justice, and human dignity provides balanced analysis of environmental problems and their potential solutions. Author Robin Hahnel employs techniques of cost-benefit analysis to illuminate where mainstream economics can be helpful, where mainstream economics can be misleading, and where heterodox ideas can provide important insights. He focus primarily on climate change, reviews the history of climate negotiations, and provides guidelines for an effective, efficient, and fair post-Kyoto treaty. Endorsements: “[This text] hits the sweet spot in synthesizing understanding and critique of the main competing paradigms. Hahnel addresses what's right and wrong about neoclassical economics, ecological economics and Marxist economics in their perspectives on ecological issues. By integrating technical, historical and current material, he produces an accessible and informative document valuable for both beginners and more advanced students of environmental policy and politics.” — Paul Baer, Georgia Institute of Technology (*) “An insightful, thought-provoking discussion about getting the economics right for the civilizational challenges that face us this decade and beyond. Hahnel is a master of synthesis, bringing together multiple perspectives to shed light on critical policy debates, and potential paths forward.” — Eban Goodstein, Director, Bard Center for Environmental Policy, Bard College
Harvey: A Companion to Marx's Capital
Oct 09, 2010
Based on his recent lectures, this current volume aims to bring this depth of learning to a broader audience, guiding first-time readers through a fascinating and deeply rewarding text. A Companion to Marx’s Capital offers fresh, original and sometimes critical interpretations of a book that changed the course of history and, as Harvey intimates, may do so again.
Holloway: Crack Capitalism
Sep 07, 2010
The latest book from John Holloway, acclaimed author of Change The World Without Taking Power.
Harman: A People's History of the World
Aug 12, 2010
Chris Harman describes the shape and course of human history as a narrative of ordinary people forming and re-forming complex societies in pursuit of common human goals. Interacting with the forces of technological change as well as the impact of powerful individuals and revolutionary ideas, these societies have engendered events familiar to every schoolchild - from the empires of antiquity to the world wars of the twentieth century. In a bravura conclusion, Chris Harman exposes the reductive complacency of contemporary capitalism, and asks, in a world riven as never before by suffering and inequality, why we imagine that it can - or should - survive much longer. Ambitious, provocative and invigorating, A People's History of the World delivers a vital corrective to traditional history, as well as a powerful sense of the deep currents of humanity which surge beneath the froth of government.
Hooks: Feminist Theory
Aug 11, 2010
In this South End Press classic, hooks maintains that mainstream feminism's reliance on white, middle-class, and professional spokeswomen obscures the centrality of women of color and poor women in the movement for women's liberation.
Hahnel: ABC's of Political Economy
Aug 07, 2010
The ABCs of Political Economy is an accessible introduction to modern political economy. While informed by the work of Marx, Keynes, Veblen, Kalecki and other great political economists, Robin Hahnel teaches the reader the essential tools necessary to understand economic issues today from a modern perspective, searching for ways to replace the economics of competition and greed with the economics of equitable co-operation. The ABCs of Political Economy empowers people who are dissatisfied with today's economies but are often intimidated by conventional economic analysis. No previous economics background is assumed, and everything is explained in verbal form in eight core chapters.Examining the nature of today's economic market, issues of economic justice, macroeconomics and globalization, Robin Hahnel provides an ideal introduction to key economic ideas, offering a critical perspective on our present system and outlining clear alternatives for the future.
Huntsinger: Mindful Economics: how the U.S. economy works, why it matters, ...
Jun 20, 2009
Mindful Economics is an educational resource for people who are concerned about problems associated with the economy of the United States. It is also a resource for people who are interested in participating in positive social change. Lasting and meaningful change will require that people not only understand the economy of the U.S. and its problems, but also how to begin the process of building new healthy alternatives. Our hope is that Mindful Economics will make a contribution to these efforts.
Hahnel: Economic Justice and Democracy: From Competition to Cooperation
Apr 14, 2009
Robin Hahnel argues that progressives need to go back to the drawing board and rethink how they conceive of economic justice and economic democracy.
Huntsinger: Democracy Inc.: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism
Jan 07, 2009
Reviews: "If democracy means more than occasional elections and protection of those rights that are compatible with economic and political elites' interests, Wolin's analysis of our democratic predicament is shocking, solid, and fundamentally correct."--C.P. Waligorski, Choice "Of the many books I've read or skimmed in the past seven years that attempted to get inside the social and political debacles of the present, none has had the chilling clarity and historical discernment of Sheldon S. Wolin's Democracy Incorporated. Building on his fifty years as a political theorist and proponent of radical democracy, Wolin here extends his concern with the extinguishing of the political and its replacement by fraudulent simulations of democratic process."--Jonathan Crary, Artforum Endorsements: "With his fundamental grasp of political theory and restless spirit to get at the essence of what threatens modern democracy, Wolin demonstrates that the threats to our democratic traditions and institutions are not always from outside, but may come from within. It is a book that policymakers and scholars of contemporary society should read and reflect upon."--Rakesh Khurana, Harvard Business School, author of From Higher Aims to Hired Hands "As we've come to expect from Sheldon Wolin, a tightly argued and deeply revealing book about the dangers of unconstrained capitalism for our democracy."--Robert B. Reich, University of California, Berkeley
Hocquenghem: Lettre ouverte à ceux qui sont passés du col Mao ...
Apr 24, 2008
Guy Hocquenghem (3 décembre 1946 - 28 août 1988) était un essayiste, romancier et militant homosexuel français.
Horsman: Race and Manifest Destiny: Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism
Dec 18, 2007
American myths about national character tend to overshadow the historical realities. Mr. Horsman's book is the first study to examine the origins of racialism in America and to show that the belief in white American superiority was firmly ensconced in the nation's ideology by 1850. The author deftly chronicles the beginnings and growth of an ideology stressing race, basic stock, and attributes in the blood. He traces how this ideology shifted from the more benign views of the Founding Fathers, which embraced ideas of progress and the spread of republican institutions for all. He finds linkages between the new, racialist ideology in America and the rising European ideas of Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, and scientific ideologies of the early nineteenth century. Most importantly, however, Horsman demonstrates that it was the merging of the Anglo-Saxon rhetoric with the experience of Americans conquering a continent that created a racialist philosophy. Two generations before the "new" immigrants began arriving in the late nineteenth century, Americans, in contact with blacks, Indians, and Mexicans, became vociferous racialists. In sum, even before the Civil War, Americans had decided that peoples of large parts of this continent were incapable of creating or sharing in efficient, prosperous, democratic governments, and that American Anglo-Saxons could achieve unprecedented prosperity and power by the outward thrust of their racialism and commercial penetration of other lands. The comparatively benevolent view of the Founders of the Republic had turned into the quite malevolent ideology that other peoples could not be "regenerated" through the spread of free institutions.
Hahnel: Panic Rules!: Everything You Need to Know About the Global ...
Oct 12, 2007
"For years, people have been asking what to read to understand the global economy, its institutions, its crises, the reasons for the particular forms it has taken and their effects- and what they can do about it. Is there really "No Alternative," as constantly proclaimed? Why these arrangements and principles, not others? Robin Hahnel has written that book: lucid, enlightening, deeply-informed, wide-ranging, and constructive. It's just what has been needed." - Noam Chomsky
