These short stories approach their subjects from an array of perspectives, but what they share is freshness, surprise, and a compulsion to plumb some... absolute extremes of American existence. National Book Award citation American Salvage is rich with local color and peopled with rural characters who love and hate extravagantly. They know how to fix cars and washing machines, how to shoot and clean game, and how to cook up methamphetamine, but they have not figured out how to prosper in the twenty-first century. Through the complex inner lives of working-class characters, Bonnie Jo Campbell illustrates the desperation of post-industrial America, where wildlife, jobs, and whole ways of life go extinct and the people have no choice but to live off what is left behind.

As the War in Iraq continues to rage, many in the White House, State Department, Department of Defense, and outside government are left to wonder if it... was possible to foresee the difficulty the United States is currently having with Sunni nationalists and Islamic extremists. Recent American military experience offers significant insight into this question. With the fog of the Cold War finally lifting and clarity returning to the nature of conflict, the dominance of asymmetry in the military experience of the United States is all too evident.Lebanon (1982-1984), Somalia (1992-1994), and Afghanistan (2001-2004) offer recent and relevant insight into successes and failures of American attempts to fight adversaries utilizing asymmetric conflict to combat the United States when it intervened in these three states. The results illustrate the difficulty of engaging adversaries unwilling to wage a conventional war and the need for improved strategic and tactical doctrine.It is easy, Lowther writes, for Americans to forget the lessons of past conflicts as the politics of the present dominate…. His purpose here is to highlight some of history's recent lessons so that we may move forward with an awareness of what experience offers.

This entertaining, informative collection covers the best of American satire—from Ben Franklin's cutting satiric attacks to Nathaniel Hawthorne's... Celestial Railroad, Calvin Trillin's Old Marrieds, Mark Twain's American Abroad to P.J. O'Rourke's The Innocents Abroad—Updated, a late 20th-century take on Twain's classic piece. "Entertaining and satisfying...An excellent introduction."—Amazon.com.

This important book by one of our leading experts on disaster preparedness offers a compelling narrative about our nation’s inability to properly plan... for large-scale disasters and proposes changes that can still be made to assure the safety of its citizens. Five years after 9/11 and one year after Hurricane Katrina, it is painfully clear that the government’s emergency response capacity is plagued by incompetence and a paralyzing bureaucracy. Irwin Redlener, who founded and directs the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, brings his years of experience with disasters and health care crises, national and international, to an incisive analysis of why our health care system, our infrastructure, and our overall approach to disaster readiness have left the nation vulnerable, virtually unable to respond effectively to catastrophic events. He has had frank, and sometimes shocking, conversations about the failure of systems during and after disasters with a broad spectrum of people—from hospital workers and FEMA officials to Washington policy makers and military leaders. And he also analyzes the role of nongovernmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross in the aftermath of Katrina. Redlener points out how a government with a track record of over-the-top cronyism and a stunning disregard for accountability has spent billions on “random acts of preparedness,” with very little to show for it—other than an ever-growing bureaucracy. As a doctor, Redlener is especially concerned about America’s increasingly dysfunctional and expensive health care system, incapable of handling a large-scale public health emergency, such as pandemic flu or widespread bioterrorism. And he also looks at the serious problem of a disengaged, uninformed citizenry—one of the most important obstacles to assuring optimal readiness for any major crisis. Redlener describes five natural and man-made disaster scenarios as a way to imagine what we might face, what our current systems would and would not prepare us for, and what would constitute optimal planning—for government and the public—in each situation. To see what could be learned from others, he points up some of the more effective ways countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East have dealt with various disasters. And he concludes with a real prescription: a nine-point proposal for how America can be better prepared as well as an addendum of what citizens themselves can do.An essential book for our time, Americans at Risk is a devastating and realistic account of where we stand today.

Unlike the 1930s, when the United States tragically failed to open its doors to Europeans fleeing Nazism, the country admitted over three million... refugees during the Cold War. This dramatic reversal gave rise to intense political and cultural battles, pitting refugee advocates against determined opponents who at times successfully slowed admissions. The first comprehensive historical exploration of American refugee affairs from the midcentury to the present, Americans at the Gate explores the reasons behind the remarkable changes to American refugee policy, laws, and programs. Carl Bon Tempo looks at the Hungarian, Cuban, and Indochinese refugee crises, and he examines major pieces of legislation, including the Refugee Relief Act and the 1980 Refugee Act. He argues that the American commitment to refugees in the post-1945 era occurred not just because of foreign policy imperatives during the Cold War, but also because of particular domestic developments within the United States such as the Red Scare, the Civil Rights Movement, the rise of the Right, and partisan electoral politics. Using a wide variety of sources and documents, Americans at the Gate considers policy and law developments in connection with the organization and administration of refugee programs.

Restless and driven, casual and direct-Americans are a challenge! Learn how Americans behave at work and how to deal with them. Whether you work with... Americans face-to-face, communicate with them by telephone or e-mail or interact together in a virtual team, Americans at Work: A Guide to the Can-Do People reveals the subtle and the not-so-subtle aspects of American culture in the workplace. Best-selling author Craig Storti provides historical perspectives and explanations of the six most important American cultural themes and their relevance to the workplace: Land of Opportunity (a driven people), Go-for-It Mentality (ready, aim, fire: new is better), Equality for All (but don't forget who's boss), The Drive to Achieve (nice guys finish last), Live and Let Live (do your own thing) and Time Matters (obsession with efficiency). Learn about straight talk-American style-and how Americans aren't always as direct as they say they are. Find out why Americans are deeply conflicted about power: they crave it but hate to be caught craving it. See how Americans view outsiders. Gain tips for succeeding in the American environment. Finally, get the basics of work-related etiquette: conducting meetings, giving feedback, nonverbal communication, e-mail rules, gifts, taboo topics and so on. Knowing how Americans work with each other will help you predict their reactions and, more important, their expectations of you. And if you are American, you will better understand your own behavior and be able to work more effectively with colleagues from other cultures. Americans at Work is an interesting book examining the behavioral norms and perceptions of the American workplace from dual perspectives: Americans of others and vice versa. Whilst Americans at Work targets a non-American audience seeking to better understand the idiosyncrasies of the American workplace, it also provides Americans with a revealing 'big picture' view that may help them work more effectively with people from other cultures. The book is well suited for readers across a wide spectrum of interests from business, communications, linguistics, and sociology to foreign travel. The information is presented in an easily accessible manner, containing rich descriptions and examples punctuated by relevant quotations from notable authors. A bibliography is provided to help readers interested in furthering their exploration of 'can-do people.' The overreaching goal of Americans at Work is to help readers work more effectively with people from the USA..This information will help readers acquire a better understanding of white-collar American workers in general. More importantly, Storti posits, it will change 'how you see the world.'-Judy Bullock, University of PhoenixWith its clear language and its emphasis on highly practical workplace issues, Americans at Work is a useful addition to the intercultural canon, in that anyone can pick it up and read it on their way to work (or even on the plane bound to the United States). In addition, it will almost certainly be of interest to any American who would like to discover more about how their own culture and behavior are percieved by their non-American counterparts.-Robert Johnson, www.dialogin.com ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart 1: The Big Pictures1 Americans and Foreigners2 The Land of Opportunity3 The Can-Do People4 Equality for All5 You Are What You've Done6 On Your Own7 Time Matters8 Communication, American Style9 Bosses and SubordinatesPart 2: The DetailsEpilogueBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

What if Jesus suddenly appeared and announced that he planned to run for President of the United States? Yes, that Jesus. And what if a well-meaning but... utterly inexperienced band of disciples not only helped him mount a seat-of-the-pants campaign but also ran it well, getting millions of people to support him and in the process throwing the other two major party candidates—as well as the world's news media—into a frenzy as they scramble to discredit him? Roland Merullo's bitingly clever satirical novel about the state of American politics follows one man's campaign to bring back goodness and kindness (real goodness and kindness this time) in a country that has fallen into a divisive state of fear and hatred. Merullo takes us into the heart of "a nation in grave spiritual danger" as the Son of man sets out to make everyone realize that "politics as usual" is no longer an acceptable alternative. American Savior is a remarkably innovative novel that challenges our perceptions and beliefs while it wags a finger at the folly of our self-righteousness. It is sure to cause controversy among those for whom politics itself has become a kind of religion.

Americans by Heart examines the plight of undocumented Latino students as they navigate the educational and legal tightrope presented by their... immigration status. Many of these students are accepted to attend some of our best colleges and universities but cannot afford the tuition to do so because they are not eligible for financial aid or employment. For the few that defy the odds and manage to graduate, their status continues to present insurmountable barriers to employment. This timely and compelling account brings to light the hard work and perseverance of these students and their families; their commitment to education and civic participation; and their deep sense of uncertainty and marginality. Offering a rich in-depth analysis, the author presents a new framework for educational policies that recognizes the merit and potential of undocumented Latino students and links their situation to larger social and policy issues of immigration reform and higher education access.

American Schools, American Teachers: Issues and Perspectives provides a history and social commentary of education in the United States, as well as... in-depth discussions about current issues. This text presents foundational aspects of education utilizing a thought provoking issues approach. It is a text about ideas that need to be considered, thought about, and discussed. The book is organized in three sections: history and background issues, issues in the classroom, and issues affecting education.

American Science Fiction Film and Television presents a critical history of late 20th Century SF together with an analysis of the cultural and thematic... concerns of this popular genre. Science fiction film and television were initially inspired by the classic literature of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. The potential and fears born with the Atomic age fuelled the popularity of the genre, upping the stakes for both technology and apocalypse. From the Cold War through to America's current War on Terror, science fiction has proved a subtle vehicle for the hopes, fears and preoccupations of a nation at war.The definitive introduction to American science fiction, this book is also the first study to analyze SF across both film and TV. Throughout, the discussion is illustrated with critical case studies of key films and television series, including The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The X-Files, and Battlestar Galactica.

"Jones and McDermott restore meaning to democratic responsibility by finding that public evaluations affect Congress. In contrast to the popular... depiction of the representatives controlling the representedrampant in the political science literature, Jones and McDermott show that the people are in control, determining not only the direction of policy in Congress, but also who stays, who retires, and who faces difficult reelection efforts. This book makes an important correction to our understanding of how Congress operates."---Sean M. Theriault, University of Texas at Austin Voters may not know the details of specific policies, but they have a general sense of how well Congress serves their own interests; and astute politicians pay attention to public approval ratings. When the majority party is unpopular, as during the 2008 election, both voters and politicians take a hand in reconfiguring the House and the Senate. Voters throw hard-line party members out of office while candidates who continue to run under the party banner distance themselves from party ideology. In this way, public approval directly affects policy shifts as well as turnovers at election time. Contrary to the common view of Congress as an insulated institution, Jones and McDermott argue that Congress is indeed responsive to the people of the United States. David R. Jones is Professor of Political Science at Baruch College, City University of New York. Monika L. McDermott is Associate Professor of Political Science at Fordham University.

Pauline Maier shows us the Declaration as both the defining statement of our national identity and the moral standard by which we live as a nation. It... is truly "American Scripture," and Maier tells us how it came to be -- from the Declaration's birth in the hard and tortuous struggle by which Americans arrived at Independence to the ways in which, in the nineteenth century, the document itself became sanctified.Maier describes the transformation of the Second Continental Congress into a national government, unlike anything that preceded or followed it, and with more authority than the colonists would ever have conceded to the British Parliament; the great difficulty in making the decision for Independence; the influence of Paine's Common Sense, which shifted the terms of debate; and the political maneuvers that allowed Congress to make the momentous decision.In Maier's hands, the Declaration of Independence is brought close to us. She lets us hear the voice of the people as revealed in the other "declarations" of 1776: the local resolutions -- most of which have gone unnoticed over the past two centuries -- that explained, advocated, and justified Independence and undergirded Congress's work. Detective-like, she discloses the origins of key ideas and phrases in the Declaration and unravels the complex story of its drafting and of the group-editing job which angered Thomas Jefferson.Maier also reveals what happened to the Declaration after the signing and celebration: how it was largely forgotten and then revived to buttress political arguments of the nineteenth century; and, most important, how Abraham Lincoln ensured its persistence as a living force in American society. Finally, she shows how by the very act of venerating the Declaration as we do -- by holding it as sacrosanct, akin to holy writ -- we may actually be betraying its purpose and its power.