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Book Review Archive February 20th, 2005, v4#5 |
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NO GLOBAL: The People of Ireland Versus the Multinationals By Robert Allen April 2004/ 288pp/ PB £14.99 / 0745322107 In their pursuit of foreign investment, largely from US corporates, many states have seen phenomenal economic growth, whilst allowing manufacturers of raw chemicals, pharmaceuticals and highly dangerous substances to make toxic products free from the strict controls imposed by other nations. But at what expense to the health of their population and the delicate nature of their ecosystems? Robert Allen's book reveals the consequences to human health and the environment of the Irish state's love affair with the multinational chemical industry. The cost to society was a series of ecological and social outrages, starting in the 1970s and continuing into the 2000s. No Global is a lesson for countries who seek to encourage multinationals, but also a heart-warming record of the successful campaigns fought by local people to protect themselves and their environment from polluting industry. GREEN ALTERNATIVES TO GLOBALISATION: A Manifesto By Michael Woodin and Caroline Lucas 256pp / Pb £11.99 / US$24.95 / 0745319327 / Hb £40.00 / 0745319335 Written by two of the most prominent UK members of the Green Party, with a foreword by Mike Feinstein (Green Mayor of Santa Monica, California), this book is an accessible and concise statement of the Green alternatives to economic globalisation. Arguing that globalisation increases poverty, undermines democracy, and destroys the environment, the authors demonstrate the urgent need for a new approach - economic localisation - that is based on the Green principles of equity, ecology and democracy. GLOBAL CORRUPTION REPORT 2004: Special Focus: Political Corruption By Transparency International February 2004/ 368pp / PB £15.99 / 0745322301 This year’s Global Corruption Report focuses on corruption in the political process and on the insidious impact of corrupt politics on public life in societies across the globe. Special features include the TI’s league table of the world’s top embezzlers and contributions by former UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson and former president of the USA Jimmy Carter. 'The Global Corruption Report is the first attempt by any organisation to map the global fight against corruption. A kind of travel-guide to the jungle of various standards and practices in different world regions.' Guardian ECOCIDE: A Short History of the Mass Extinction of Species By Franz Broswimmer 'It is essential reading for anybody who cares about the future of humanity and the diversity of species-a diversity on which depend the ecological conditions for our survival. Humanity is at a cross roads-the future will either be an ecological wasteland of extinct species or a rejuvenation of ecological democracy.' Vandana Shiva Available now/ 224pp/ PB £12.99 / 0745319343/ Environment/ Ecology/ Politics At the dawn of the 21st century, it is clear that changes of enormous ecological significance are occurring on our planet. The ozone layer is beginning to disintegrate. Since 1970 the world's forests have almost halved. A quarter of the world's fish have been depleted. We live in an age of ecocide. 70% of biologists believe the world is now in the midst of the fastest mass extinction of species in the planet's 4.5 billion-year history. Biodiversity loss is rated as a more serious environmental problem than the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, or pollution and contamination. How have we come to this, and what can be done to conserve our environment for the future? Research specialist Broswimmer examines the facts behind the figures to offer a disturbing account of the ecological impact that the human species has on the planet. CURRENT AFFAIRS THE ROAD TO AL QAEDA: The Story of Bin Laden's Right-Hand Man By Montasser al-Zayyat, translated by Ahmed Fekry and Edited by Sara Nimis January 2004 / Pb £10.99 $19.95 / 0745321755/ Current Affairs and Biography Proving yet again that the Pluto Politics list is at the cutting edge of current affairs, we bring you the story of Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri. GROWTH FETISH by Clive Hamilton February 2004 / Pb £12.99 $22.50 / 0745322506 / Business and Politics Voted one of the Guardian’s top political reads of the year by a panel of politicians, journalists, academics and Fabians. For up-to-the-minute information on this title, visit: www.growthfetish.com, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3083448.stm http://www.samuelbrittan.co.uk/text182_p.html. A WAR ON TERROR: Afghanistan and After by Paul Rogers January 2004 / Pb £12.99 $24.95 / 0745320864 / International Politics Read two recent articles by our author on the Open Democracy website: http://www.opendemocracy.net/themes/article-2-1816.jsp http://www.opendemocracy.net/themes/article-2-1822.jsp GREEN ALTERNATIVES TO GLOBALISATION: A Manifesto By Michael Woodin and Caroline Lucas April 2004 / 256pp / Pb £11.99 / 0745319327 / Hb £40.00 / 0745319335 'Essential reading for anyone wanting to move beyond critiques of economic globalisation to coherent and credible alternatives.' Dame Anita Roddick HOW AMERICA GETS AWAY WITH MURDER: Illegal Wars, Collateral Damage and Crimes Against Humanity By Michael Mandel Politics / Int'l Relations / 320pp / PB £14.99 / $22.95 / 0745321518 They call it "collateral damage," but legally and morally it is really mass murder. In Kosovo, America claimed its war was a "humanitarian intervention," in Afghanistan, "self-defense," and in Iraq, it claimed the authority of the Security Council of the United Nations. Yet each of these wars was illegal according to established rules of international law. According to these rules, illegal wars fall within the category of "supreme international crimes". So how come the war crimes tribunals never manage to turn their sights on America and always wind up putting America's enemies -- "the usual suspects" -- on trial? "Exciting, original, and completely convincing.” Edward S. Herman "This closely reasoned and carefully documented study is sad and grim, and necessary." Noam Chomsky Don’t Miss: THE FORGING OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE: From the Revolution to Vietnam: A History of American Imperialism By Sidney Lens with a new introduction by Howard Zinn (Co-pub with Haymarket Publishing) Politics/ History / 472pp / PB £16.99 / $27.50 / 0745321003 This new edition of a well-known history title offers a radical history of America and critique of imperialism. BAD NEWS FROM ISRAEL By Greg Philo and Mike Berry Media Studies / Middle East / 304pp / PB £10.99 / $19.95 / 0745320619 Based on rigorous research by the world-renowned Glasgow University Media Group, Bad News from Israel brings together senior journalists - including the BBC’s George Alagiah and Brian Hanrahan, and C4’s Lindsey Hilsum - and ordinary viewers, in the largest study ever undertaken in this area. "The book does a very good job of summarising for the reader the complex historical background to present day Israel. It covers a lot of ground in a clear and readable manner and is particularly good at airing different views about the Arab-Israeli conflict." - Professor Avi Shlaim, University of Oxford "A remarkable book, very comprehensive, with an innovative approach and full of interesting examples. It is convincing and very useful for both researchers and the general public." - Professor Lucrecia Escudero Chauvel, Universités de Lille III and Paris VIII JEWISH FUNDAMENTALISM IN ISRAEL - New Edition By Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky Current Affairs / Religion / 208pp / PB £14.99 / $19.95 / 0745320902 A controversial assessment of Jewish fundamentalism in modern Israel. OPEN BORDERS - Second Edition: The Case Against Immigration Controls By Teresa Hayter Immigration / Racism / International Studies / PB £13.99 / $21.95 / 0745322441 Updated, with a substantial new introduction covering the 2002 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act, Teresa Hayter argues that the more governments cast around for ever more brutal and repressive ways of trying to keep people out, the clearer it becomes that it is impossible to win any particular reforms or improvements in immigration controls, and that there can be no such thing as fair or non-racist immigration controls. She argues that the only answer is to oppose immigration controls in their totality. RACISM AND ANTI_RACISM IN EUROPE By Alana Lentin Cultural Studies / Sociology / Pb £16.99 / $29.95 / 0745322204 A comparative political sociology of anti-racism in Europe, showing the various discourses within this movement OTHER JUNE TITLES NETWORK CULTURE: Politics for the Information Age By Tiziana Terranova Media / Cultural Studies / 256pp / PB £14.99 / $22.95 / 0745317480 A sophisticated argument about what the new forms of communication and organization mean for politics, democracy, and identity. BAD MARXISM: Capitalism and Cultural Studies By John Hutnyk Cultural Studies / Politics / Pb £15.99 / $24.95 / 0745320813 A critical political analysis of how Cultural Studies has used and abused Marxism, offering a close reading of Derrida and Negri. MAX WEBER: A Critical Introduction By Kieran Allen Sociology / Pb £11.99 / $19.95 / 0745322387 Ideal student introduction to Weber's sociology that offers critical analysis in the context of Weber's political beliefs. FEATURED TITLES Pox Americana: Exposing the American Empire Edited by John Bellamy Foster and Robert W. McChesney Politics / Current Affairs / 160pp / £12.99 / $27.95 / 074532357X This volume gathers the work of leading left-wing analysts of imperialism to examine the burning question of our time - the nature and prospects of the US imperial project currently being given shape by war and occupation in the Middle East. Noam Chomsky, Immanuel Wallerstein, Peter Gowen and others discuss the dynamics at work behind the 'War on Terrorism'. The Liberal Virus: Permanent War and the Americanization of the World By Samir Amin Politics / Current Affairs / 128pp / Pb £9.99 / 0745323596 The Liberal Virus examines the ways in which the American model is being imposed on the world, and outlines its economic and political consequences. It shows how both citizenship and class consciousness are diluted in 'low-intensity democracy' and argues instead for democratisation as an ongoing process -- of fundamental importance for human progress -- rather than a fixed constitutional formula designed to support the logic of capital accumulation. KEY SEPTEMBER TITLES The Myths of Zionism By John Rose Middle East / Politics / History / 248pp / £14.99 / $22.95 / 0745320554 This is a controversially critical account of the historical, political and cultural roots of Zionism. Rose shows how this powerful political force is based in mythology: ancient, medieval and modern. Many of these stories, as with other mythologies, have no basis in fact. However, because Zionism is a living political force, these myths have been used to justify very real and political ends -- namely, the expulsion and continuing persecution of the Palestinians. '[It is] written in an accessible way, despite the very complicated issues with which Rose deals: such as the cultural and ideological sources of the Zionist narrative.' Ilan Pappe, Professor of Middle East History, University of Haifa, Israel The Politics of Empire: Globalisation in Crisis Edited by Alan Freeman and Boris Kagarlitsky Politics / Globalization / 304pp / Pb £15.99 / $22.95 / 0745321836 Nine leading writers and activists spanning five continents present a radical deconstruction of the theories behind the neoliberal project. Challenging the idea that globalisation is inevitable and unstoppable, they argue that its economic contradictions have torn apart the world order which sustained it, creating a divided and warlike planet. Beyond Criminology: Taking Harm Seriously Edited by Paddy Hillyard, Christina Pantazis, Steve Tombs and Dave Gordon Social Issues / 344pp / Pb £17.99 / $29.95 / 0745319033 Beyond Criminology is an innovative, groundbreaking critique of the narrow focus of conventional criminology. The central argument of the book is that crime forms only a small and often insignificant amount of harm that people experience from the cradle to the grave. Exploring a range of topics including violence, indifference, corporate and state harms, murder, children, asylum and immigration policies, sexuality and poverty, the contributions raise a number of theoretical and methodological issues associated with a social harm approach. Employment Rights – Third Edition Richard W. Painter and Keith Puttick Reference / Industrial Relations/ 624pp / Pb £29.95 / $32.50 / 0745321240 This new edition of the successful handbook Employment Rights is fully updated and revised to include new material on all recent employment law. Employment Rights is a well-established text and reference point on all aspects of labour law – in particular for those outside the legal profession. Coverage is comprehensive and includes recruitment and selection; contracts (and changes to them); wages; discrimination; unfair dismissal and redundancy; health and safety; trade union rights; and work-related benefits. Other Pluto Rights-Related Books: Your Right To Know: A Users Guide to the Freedom of Information Act by Heather Brooke Civil Rights in Peril: The Targeting of Arabs and Muslims Edited by Elaine Hagopian Your Rights - 8th ed: The Liberty Guide to Human Rights by Megan Addis and Penelope Morrow
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