Включенные в сборник рассказы и очерки, написанные в литературном стиле «non fiction», представляют собой некое возвращение в еще недавнее, но уже далекое прошлое страны, которой сейчас нет. В них автор стремился воспроизвести атмосферу «советского образа жизни». Написанные позже очерки и эссе, фактически, о том же прошлом, которое напоминает о себе сегодня. Книга представляет интерес, прежде всего, для современной молодежи, которая хотела бы понять смысл жизни предшествующего поколения.

The American approach to law enforcement was forged by the experience of revolution. Emerging as they did from the shadow of British rule, the country’s founders would likely have viewed police, as they exist today, as a standing army, and therefore a threat to liberty. Even so, excessive force and disregard for the Bill of Rights have become epidemic in today’s world. According to civil liberties reporter Radley Balko, these are all symptoms of a generation-long shift to increasingly aggressive, militaristic, and arguably unconstitutional policing—one that would have shocked the conscience of America’s founders.Rise of the Warrior Cop traces the arc of U.S. law enforcement from the constables and private justice of colonial times to present-day SWAT teams and riot cops. Today, relentless “war on drugs” and “war on terror” pronouncements from politicians, along with battle-clad police forces with tanks and machine guns have dangerously blurred the distinction between cop and soldier. Balko’s fascinating, frightening narrative shows how martial rhetoric and reactionary policies have put modern law enforcement on a collision course with the values of a free society.

«RUтопия» исследует воплощенную утопию, которая, по мнению автора, стоит за всеми фундаментальными социально-культурными трансформациями. При этом, однако, если воплощение утопии оказывается неполным, она с неизбежностью перерастает в свою антиутопическую противоположность. В книге анализируются исторические примеры такого воплощения (США, СССР, Третий рейх) и новые возможности воплощения в условиях эпохи постмодерна. Автор рассматривает религиозные и метафизические основы утопизма и особое внимание уделяет традиции и вероятному будущему русской утопии, способной прийти на смену нынешнему безвременью.

On August 19, 1991, eight high-ranking Soviet officials took over the government of the USSR and proclaimed themselves its new rulers. Less than seventy-two hours later, their coup had collapsed, but it would change the course of history in a way that no one—certainly not the plotters themselves—could have foreseen.The editor of this volume, who witnessed these momentous events, have assembled firsthand accounts of the attempted coup. They include testimonies from “junta” members and military officers, resistance leaders and ordinary citizens, Muscovites and residents of other locales, Russian and foreign journalists, foreign visitors and returning émigrés, as well as Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. Key documents and photographs complement the individual accounts.The provocative introduction to the volume places the August events in the larger context—from the early days of perestroika and glasnost to the second confrontation at the White House, in October 1993.

A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook, June 2006

The collection of stories

Russia, again, is on the move. The news headlines proclaim it. Georgia was first. Then, Ukraine and the invasion of Crimea. Meddling in the elections of the United States followed. For the fourth straight year, Forbes has ranked Vladimir Putin as the world’s most powerful person—even above the president of the United States. Like it or not, the world has descended into a new Putin-led Cold War 2.0. As the storm clouds gather, America sleeps.

Russian’s hand in Syria and its closer ties to Iran are especially alarming to those who know Bible prophecy and the book of Ezekiel. Putin is poised right now on Israel’s northern border—an ominous sign of our times.

What does the Bible say about our troubling times?

In Russia Rising, Mark Hitchcock, popular speaker and Bible prophecy expert, explores the history of Russia and its current military moves. He will explain the biblical prophecies related to Russia, the Middle East, and the end times. The tracks of the Russian bear lead to the Middle East and Israel. Are we on a collision course with Russia?

[Contain tables]

How the West’s obsession with Vladimir Putin prevents it from understanding Russia

It is impossible to think of Russia today without thinking of Vladimir Putin. More than any other major national leader, he personifies his country in the eyes of the outside world, and dominates Western media coverage of it to an extraordinary extent. In Russia itself, he is likewise the centre of attention for detractors and supporters alike. But as Tony Wood argues, this overwhelming focus on the president and his personality means that we understand Russia less than we ever did before. Too much attention is paid to the man, and not enough to the country outside the Kremlin’s walls.

In this timely and provocative analysis, Wood looks beyond Putin to explore the profound changes Russia has undergone since 1991. In the process, he challenges many of the common assumptions made about contemporary Russia. Though commonly viewed as an ominous return to Soviet authoritarianism, Putin’s rule should instead be seen as a direct continuation of Yeltsin’s in the 1990s. And though many of Russia’s problems today are blamed on legacies of the Soviet past, Wood argues that the core features of Putinism – a predatory, authoritarian elite presiding over a vastly unequal society – are integral to the system set in place after the fall of Communism.

What kind of country has emerged from Russia’s post-Soviet transformations, and where might it go in future? Russia Without Putin culminates in an arresting analysis of the country’s foreign policy – identifying the real power dynamics behind its escalating clashes with the West – and with reflections on the paths Russia might take in the 21st century.

Russian annexation of Crimea and the subsequent air campaign over Syria took the world by surprise. The capabilities and efficiency of Moscow’s armed forces during both operations signalled to the world that Russia was back in business as a significant military actor on the international stage.

In this cutting-edge study, Bettina Renz provides an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of Russia’s military revival under Putin’s leadership. Whilst the West must adjust to the reality of a modernised and increasingly powerful Russian military, she argues that the renaissance of Russian military might and its implications for the balance of global power can only be fully understood within a wider historical context.

Assessing developments in Russian Great Power thinking, military capabilities, Russian strategic thought and views on the use of force throughout the post-Soviet era, the book shows that, rather than signifying a sudden Russian military resurgence, recent developments are consistent with longstanding trends in Russian military strategy and foreign policy.

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Эссеистская — лирическая, но с элементами, впрочем, достаточно органичными для стилистики автора, физиологического очерка, и с постоянным присутствием в тексте повествователя — проза, в которой сегодняшняя Польша увидена, услышана глазами, слухом (чутким, но и вполне бестрепетным) современного украинского поэта, а также — его ночными одинокими прогулками по Кракову, беседами с легендарными для поколения автора персонажами той еще (Вайдовской, в частности) — «Город начинается вокзалом, такси, комнатой, в которую сносишь свои чемоданы, заносишь с улицы зимний воздух, снег на козырьке фуражке, усталость от путешествия, запах железной дороги, вагонов, сигаретного дыма и обрывки польской фразы „poproszę bilecik“. Потом он становится привычным и даже банальным с похожими утрами и темными вечерами, с улицами, переполненными пешеходами и бездомными алкоголиками, с тонко нарезанной ветчиной в супермаркете и телевизионными новостями про политику и преступления, с посещениями ближайшего рынка, на котором крестьяне продают зимние яблоки и дешевый китайский товар, который привозят почему-то не китайцы, а вьетнамцы»; «Мрожек стоял и жмурился, присматриваясь к Кракову и к улице Каноничной, его фигура и весь вид будто спрашивали: что я тут ищу? Я так и не решился подойти тогда к нему. Просто стоял рядом на Крупничей с таким точно идиотским видом: что я тут делаю?»

Scorched Earth is the first book to chronicle the effects of chemical warfare on the Vietnamese people and their environment, where, even today, more than 3 million people—including 500,000 children—are sick and dying from birth defects, cancer, and other illnesses that can be directly traced to Agent Orange/dioxin exposure. Weaving first-person accounts with original research, Vietnam War scholar Fred A. Wilcox examines long-term consequences for future generations, laying bare the ongoing monumental tragedy in Vietnam, and calls for the United States government to finally admit its role in chemical warfare in Vietnam. Wilcox also warns readers that unless we stop poisoning our air, food, and water supplies, the cancer epidemic in the United States and other countries will only worsen, and he urgently demands the chemical manufacturers of Agent Orange to compensate the victims of their greed and to stop using the Earth’s rivers, lakes, and oceans as toxic waste dumps. Vietnam has chosen August 10—the day that the US began spraying Agent Orange on Vietnam—as Agent Orange Day, to commemorate all its citizens who were affected by the deadly chemical. Scorched Earth will be released upon the third anniversary of this day, in honor of all those whose families have suffered, and continue to suffer, from this tragedy.Review“I consider Scorched Earth to be the Silent Spring of chemical warfare in Vietnam, a powerful clarion call [that brings together] scientific evidence, passionate argument, Vietnamese interviews and documentation, review of the class action suits… and new and little known evidence gathered by Vietnamese scholars… to form one coherent argument.”—Dr. John Marciano, Vietnam scholar, and professor emeritus, State University of New York–Cortland“A fascinating and compelling book on the effects on the Vietnamese people of the Agent Orange defoliation campaign during the Vietnam War, a personal, impassioned account on the part of the victims, a fascinating and at times shocking tale of an important and unresolved episode in American history.”—Dr. Michael Viola, director, Medicine for Peace, and retired chair, oncology department, State University of New York–Stonybrook

In 1947, Ayn Rand wrote a pamphlet for the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, entitled “Screen Guide for Americans,” based on her personal impressions of the American film industry. Rand cited examples of popular and critically acclaimed films which in her view contained hidden Communist or “Collectivist” messages that had not been recognized as such, even by conservatives. Examples included “The Best Years of Our Lives” (because it portrayed businessmen negatively, and suggested that bankers should give veterans collateral-free loans) and “A Song to Remember” (because it implied that Chopin sacrificed himself for a patriotic cause rather than devoting himself to his music).

Сегодня трудно не задаться вопросом, каким образом Владимир Путин установил полный контроль над российскими государственными институтами и убедил российский народ и элиту примириться с его клептократическим режимом и авантюризмом. Эта замечательная книга дает убедительный и ясный ответ: Советский Союз создал крайне искаженный тип государства - "Тайный Левиафан", подавление фактов в котором не только имело огромные экономические издержки, но и разрушило политические основы подотчетности и расширило возможности спецслужб. Книга обязательна для прочтения всем, кто хочет понять советскую историю и современный российский режим.

The writing career of John Berger — poet, storyteller, playwright, and essayist — has yielded some of the most original and compelling examinations of art and life of the past half century. In this essential volume, Geoff Dyer has brought together a rich selection of many of Berger’s seminal essays.Berger’s insights make it impossible to look at a painting, watch a film, or even visit a zoo in quite the same way again. The vast range of subjects he addresses, the lean beauty of his prose, and the keenness of his anger against injustice move us to view the world with a new lens of awareness. Whether he is discussing the singleminded intensity of Picasso’s Guernica, the parallel violence and alienation in the art of Francis Bacon and Walt Disney, or the enigmatic silence of his own mother, what binds these pieces throughout is the depth and fury of Berger’s passion, challenging us to participate, to protest, and above all, to see.

APRIL 1945: From the ruins of Berlin, a Luftwaffe transport plane takes off carrying secret papers belonging to Adolf Hitler. Half an hour later, it crashes in flames…APRIL 1983: In a bank vault in Switzerland, a German magazine offers to sell more than 50 volumes of Hitler’s secret diaries. The asking price is $4 million…Written with the pace and verve of a thriller and hailed on publication as a classic, Selling Hitler tells the story of the biggest fraud in publishing history.

Впервые! Две книги – в одном томе: «Succes (успех) в большом городе» и «Sex в большой политике».Ирина Хакамада делится с читателем искусством выживания в большой политике и новейшей методикой карьерного (и личного) счастья.Легкий и эмоциональный, с курьезами и анекдотами, точными наблюдениями и ироничным взглядом на известных лиц, «Самоучитель от self-made woman» понравится всем: как любителям серьезной литературы, так и поклонникам развлекательного чтения.

Жизнь фронтмена Sex Pistols Джона Лайдона никогда не была похожа на красочные фильмы о рок-звёздах. Мальчик вырос в трущобах Лондона среди насилия и бедности, а музыкантом стал, скорее, в знак протеста, нежели ради денег и славы. И он не боится об этом открыто говорить. Пронзительная и откровенная история о суровой жизни Лайдона в Англии, о жизни в Sex Pistols и за её пределами.