Best Political Reference

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu a high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician, and it was believed to have been compiled during the late Spring and Autumn period or early Warring States period.

A landmark work of more than one hundred scholars, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution is a unique line-by-line analysis explaining every clause of America's founding charter and its contemporary meaning. The indispensable reference to the U.S. Constitution — now fully revised and updated Law students and attorneys, policy makers and ordinary citizens turn to The Heritage Guide to the Constitution for insight into every clause of the most important governing charter in history.

The Art of War & Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy includes translations of Sun Tzu's Art of War , Lao-Tzu's Tao Te Ching , the teachings of the master sage Confucius, and the writings of Mencius. Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty, who has had a significant impact on Chinese and Asian history and culture, both as an author of The Art of War as well as through legend.

Cool Tools is a highly curated selection of the best tools available for individuals and small groups. It's a habit he learned while editing and publishing the Whole Earth Catalog , the bible of counterculture do-it-yourselfers who wanted in 'tools and ideas for the 21st century.'". "Stewart Brand said that Cool Tools had captured the spirit of the Whole Earth Catalog but without taking on a counterculture and back-to-the-land philosophy. "Jeff Bezos is a fan of e-mail newsletters such as Cool Tools , a compendium of technology tips and product reviews written by Kevin Kelly, a co-founder of Wired ."

Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? “For economics and political-science students, surely, but also for the general reader who will appreciate how gracefully the authors wear their erudition.” — Kirkus Reviews “Provocative stuff; backed by lots of brain power.” — Library Journal “This is an intellectually rich book that develops an important thesis with verve. large and ambitious new book.” — The Daily “ Why Nations Fail is a splendid piece of scholarship and a showcase of economic rigor.” —The Wall Street Journal "Ranging from imperial Rome to modern Botswana, this book will change the way people think about the wealth and poverty of nations...as ambitious as Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel ." A wonderfully readable mix of history, political science, and economics, this book will change the way we think about economic development. "Some time ago a little-known Scottish philosopher wrote a book on what makes nations succeed and what makes them fail. The Wealth of Nations is still being read today. “This fascinating and readable book centers on the complex joint evolution of political and economic institutions, in good directions and bad. Acemoglu and Robinson provide an enormous range of historical examples to show how such shifts can tilt toward favorable institutions, progressive innovation and economic success or toward repressive institutions and eventual decay or stagnation. Written with a deep knowledge of economics and political history, this is perhaps the most powerful statement made to date that ‘institutions matter.’ A provocative, instructive, yet thoroughly enthralling book.” —Joel Mokyr, Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics and History, Northwestern University. “This important and insightful book, packed with historical examples, makes the case that inclusive political institutions in support of inclusive economic institutions is key to sustained prosperity. This is important analysis not to be missed.” —Peter Diamond, Nobel Laureate in Economics “Acemoglu and Robinson have made an important contribution to the debate as to why similar-looking nations differ so greatly in their economic and political development. The openness of a society, its willingness to permit creative destruction, and the rule of appear to be decisive for economic development.” —Kenneth Arrow, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1972 “Acemoglu and Robinson—two of the world's leading experts on development—reveal why it is not geography, disease, or culture which explains why some nations are rich and some poor, but rather a matter of institutions and politics. “Some time ago a little known Scottish philosopher wrote a book on what makes nations succeed and what makes them fail. The Wealth of Nations is still being read today. Two centuries from now our great-great-…-great grandchildren will be, similarly, reading Why Nations Fail .” —George Akerlof, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001 “In this stunningly wide ranging book Acemoglu and Robinson ask a simple but vital question, why do some nations become rich and others remain poor? This book is a must read at a moment where governments right across the western world must come up with the political will to deal with a debt crisis of unusual proportions.” —Steve Pincus, Bradford Durfee Professor of History and International and Area Studies, Yale University “The authors convincingly show that countries escape poverty only when they have appropriate economic institutions, especially private property and competition. More originally, they argue countries are more likely to develop the right institutions when they have an open pluralistic political system with competition for political office, a widespread electorate, and openness to new political leaders. This intimate connection between political and economic institutions is the heart of their major contribution, and has resulted in a study of great vitality on one of the crucial questions in economics and political economy.” — Gary S. Becker, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1992 “This not only a fascinating and interesting book: it is a really important one. The highly original research that Professors Acemoglu and Robinson have done, and continue to do, on how economic forces, politics and policy choices evolve together and constrain each other, and how institutions affect that evolution, is essential to understanding the successes and failures of societies and nations.

Relive the extraordinary Presidency of Barack Obama through White House photographer Pete Souza's behind-the-scenes images and stories in this #1 New York Times bestseller--with a foreword from the President himself. During Barack Obama's two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else--and he photographed them all. "The book, which distills the 1.9 million photographs that Souza took of Obama's eight years in the White House down to about 300 images, it as once warm and nostalgic, worshipful and respectful, sad and wistful-in a sense, not so different from the framed JFK portraits that everyday Americans hung in living rooms, right through the Nixon administration. "Here are the qualities that radiate from these photos of the former President and his family, all taken by Souza during his eight years as official White House photographer: intelligence, kindness, warmth, integrity. "Souza, chief official White House photographer for Obama's two terms, was on hand for history--documenting our first black president, and a pretty photogenic one at that. Souza's book, an instant best seller, includes many iconic images we've seen before, but its most poignant moments are the least public--like one of the president and his daughters frolicking in the snow at the White House. "The 300 photographs in the book are a remarkable account of President Obama's eight years in the White House, from events of historic significance to quiet moments with his wife and daughters and the family dogs.

His proposals are pure common sense, ideas shared by many—such as term limits for members of Congress and Supreme Court justices and lim­its on federal taxing and spending—that draw on the wisdom of James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. Mark R. Levin, nationally syndicated talk-radio host, host of LevinTV, chairman of Landmark Legal Foundation, and the host of the new Fox News show Life, Liberty, & Levin, is the author of five consecutive New York Times #1 bestsellers: Liberty and Tyranny, Plunder and Deceit, Rediscovering Americanism, Ameritopia, and The Liberty Amendments.