Shows how local government is sometimes the biggest violator of individual rights.

Shows how local government is sometimes the biggest violator of individual rights.

In this innovative grassroots to global study, Kathleen Mapes explores how the sugar beet industry transformed the rural Midwest by introducing large factories, contract farming, and foreign migrant labor. Identifying rural areas as centers for modern American industrialism, Mapes contributes to an ongoing reorientation of labor history from urban factory workers to rural migrant workers. She engages with a full range of individuals, including Midwestern family farmers, industrialists, Eastern European and Mexican immigrants, child laborers, rural reformers, Washington politicos, and colonial interests. Engagingly written, Sweet Tyranny demonstrates that capitalism was not solely a force from above but was influenced by the people below who defended their interests in an ever-expanding imperialist market.

War on the West reveals, for the first time, the startling and shocking details behind one of the nation's top news stories: the brewing Western revolt against the federal government. The federal government, following the lead of environmental extremists, is increasingly using strong-arm tactics against Western land-owners and resource providers. Government agents have jailed ranchers for fencing their own land, placed the welfare of wildlife above the lives of humans, used federal laws and government lawyers to intimidate property owners into submission, and condemned much of the West to the devastation of a "nature's way" approach to land management. War on the West lays out, issue by issue, the attack now underway on timber, mining, ranching, oil and gas exploration, tourism, and even the West's most important resource: water. With the dramatic stories of the brave men and women who have banded together in a grassroots movement to fight back, Pendley shows how the West's most threatened species - working men and women and their communities - are making a dramatic comeback.

Fighting Tyranny combines two of Gene Sharp's books in a single pocket-sized volume - From Dictatorship to Democracy and The Anti-Coup. At a time when governments around the world are becoming increasingly authoritarian and aggressive towards their citizens, this book offers ideas and nonviolent methods of action to successfully defend or establish democratic systems. From Dictatorship to Democracy - A conceptual Framework for Liberation is a practical exploration of the techniques of nonviolent struggle against totalitarian regimes. This book has been used successfully by activists from all sides of the political spectrum, by grassroots activists and state-backed colour revolutionaries alike, to overthrow governments and effect political change. The Anti-Coup - co-authored with Bruce Jenkins - explores the possibilities of nonviolent defence against coups d'état. Coups may happen to a functioning democracy, or in the power vacuum that occurs after a government has been ousted. The Anti-Coup describes methods to block coups and putsch attempts which can be used by citizens and governments.

- UNCHECKED GROWTH IN PRESIDENTIAL POWER - DISREGARD OF CONSTITUTIONAL GUIDELINES - DECEPTION BY EXECUTIVE - DECREASE OF AMERICAN POWER AND PRESTIGE - INCREASE IN SIZE AND SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES - USE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO WEAKEN OPPOSITION - LOSS OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND CHOICES - GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF ECONOMY - MOVE TOWARD A ONE-PARTY SYSTEM - CONSTANT CLASS WARFARE

The recent turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East disproves the idea that dictatorships are acceptable to the people of these nations. From the uprising in Tunisia to the overthrow of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and rebellion across the region, the tide is turning against oppressive regimes. In this timely and urgent narrative, White House advisor on Africa George Ayittey takes a hard look at the fight against dictatorships around the world, from Eastern Europe in the twentieth century to the present turmoil in the Middle East. He describes the historic circumstances that led to the rise of brutal dictators and explains how, despite the best intentions and billions of dollars in aid, Western governments have been complicit in helping dictators consolidate power. He not only shows how the popular uprisings underway can best bring about democracy, but warns how democratic movements can inadvertently pave the way for more dictators. Ayittey examines strategies that have worked in the struggle to establish democracy through revolution, and suggests that by harnessing the power of democratic institutions and grassroots efforts, Africans can bring stability and security to the continent.