Record numbers of Americans describe themselves as “independents” and reject the conventional agendas of Left and Right. In this widely acclaimed book, Ted Halstead and Michael Lind explain why today’s ideologies and institutions are so ill-suited to the Information Age, and offer a groundbreaking blueprint for updating all sectors of America society. Taking on partisans and experts on both sides of the political divide, they propose far-reaching reforms for the way we provide health and retirement security, collect taxes, organize elections, enforce civil rights, and educate our children. Twice before the United States has dramatically reconfigured itself, shifting from an agrarian to an industrial society after the Civil War and successfully adapting to the massive technological and demographic changes of the early twentieth century during the New Deal era. Uniting a sweeping historical vision with bold policy proposals, The Radical Center shows us how to reinvent our nation once again so that all Americans can reap the benefits of the Information Age.

Drawing on extensive research and national survey data, sociologist Donald I. Warren here presents an in-depth analysis of the Middle American Radicals, who they are, what they believe, the major targets of their grievances, and the likelihood of their political mobilization. The evidence indicates that as many as one in five Americans shares the Radical Center perspective, including people who outwardly seem to have very little in common by way of economic, occupational, or education status. Of particular significance are the findings concerning potential support for the various presidential candidates and for a third national political party.

Capek's best plays, stories, and columns take us from the social contributions of clumsy people to dramatic meditations on mortality and commitment. The Reader includes a new and, at last, complete English translation of R.U.R., the play that introduced the literary robot.

Explores the cultural work of two important early-twentieth-century writers: the poet William Carlos Williams and the educator/philosopher John Dewey, both key figures in American democracy.

In the mid-1990s, news headlines featured political gridlock, anti-government fanaticism, political assaults on environmental regulations, local demands to turn over federal land to the states, ‘patriotic’ armed militia groups, courtroom brawls between activists and rural residents over endangered species, finger-pointing and trash-talking generally. Sound familiar? It’s said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but rhymes instead. Fortunately, if problems are cyclical so are solutions. I’d like to share one that we came up with back then. It’s called the radical center. This is the story of its rise. I’m a former Sierra Club activist who dropped out of the ‘conflict industry’ in 1997 to cofound The Quivira Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering common ground between ranchers, conservationists, public land managers, and scientists. Our effort focused on resolving the long-standing feud between ranchers and environmentalists, a hopeless fight that had imperiled the wide open spaces of our beloved West. Our idea was to find a ‘third way’ beyond the polarization in order to implement practical, on-the-ground goals through collaboration, not confrontation. We called it the radical center and defined its mission as “a grassroots coming-together of diverse people to discuss their common interests rather than argue their differences and who agree to work cooperatively on a pragmatic program of action that improves the well-being of all living things.” Included in this book are three columns that I wrote over a period of nearly twenty years: The Uneasy Chair (1995-1997) which was published in the newsletter of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, The Far Horizon (1997-2006) for the newsletter of the Quivira Coalition, and The Next West (2009-2011), which I wrote for my web site. Taken together, I believe they offer a unique look at the times from the perspective of someone on the front lines. ~ Courtney White

To understand and improve the underlying principles that govern how organic reactions occur, A Foundation Course for College Organic Chemistry follows a brick-by-brick building approach. Emphasis is given to interrelating experimental facts and findings with predictions (mechanism) and inferences (results). Discussions focus on clarifying how complex organic reactions occur, which is based on electronegativity differences, movement of electrons (through σ framework or π bonds), and addition or removal of atoms (hydrogen, halogens) or groups (hydroxy, amino). The book begins with simple rules governing the deconstruction of reactions and applies them to explain how esterification, amide, and cyanide hydrolysis reactions proceed. The importance of stereochemistry (used in drug development, biology, and medicine), aromatic electrophilic and nucleophilic substitutions, reaction kinetics, and dynamics is explained with suitable examples. Features: A systematic and structured approach is used to study all aspects of reactive intermediates (generation, structure, geometry, and reactions of carbocations, carbanions, and carbon-free radicals) This book incorporates scientific methods to deduce reaction mechanisms with simple and relevant explanations, and limitations A proper explanation is given to understand the influence of functional groups on the stability and reactivity of intermediates, pKa, HSAB principles, structure-activity relations, and how these can be exploited in organic chemistry Information is presented in an accessible way for students, teachers, researchers, and scientists