Social Analysis

A former US naval intelligence worker, Milton William Cooper published his manifesto Behold a Pale Horse in 1991. Since then it has gone on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, becoming the number-one best seller in the American prison system. According to Behold a Pale Horse, JFK was assassinated - because he was about to reveal that extraterrestrials were about to take over the earth - by his driver, an alien himself; AIDS is a government conspiracy; and much more.

Born in 1858, Franz Boas permanently changed the standards and practices of anthropology. A German-born secular Jew, he became known for his distinctive approach to the discipline - non-hierarchical, open to diverse inputs, and unbiased. Throughout his career, Boas used his scholarship to effect social change. His work convinced his colleagues to abandon the theories that had decided one race (Caucasian) and one culture (Western European) were more fully developed and worthier than others.

Scattered over the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea lie the remnants of failed peace proposals, international summits, secret negotiations, UN resolutions, and state-building efforts. The conventional story is that these well-meaning attempts at peacemaking were repeatedly, perhaps terminally, thwarted by violence. Through a rich interweaving of reportage, historical narrative, and powerful analysis, Nathan Thrall presents a startling counterhistory.

With exclusive reporting, eyewitness accounts and analysis from the Pulitzer Prize-winning staff of The New York Times, this edition of THE JANUARY 6 REPORT offers the definitive record of the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Hear the report from the select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, with accompanying insights from New York Times reporters who’ve covered the story from the beginning.

Linguistic structuralism studies the meaning of language based not just on definitions, but also on the relationships of words and sounds to each other. Lévi-Strauss's insight was to see that this concept of structuralism in linguistics could be applied to anthropology as well. He saw that while some cultures are very different from others, they all seem to have certain internal structural relationships in common. By tracing these structures across cultures, he tried to answer nothing less than the eternal question: "What is man?"

In their best-selling book, The Coddling of the American Mind, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt explore the culture of fragility and safetyism that has invaded American universities since 2013 and the underlying causes behind it. (Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. If you’re looking for the original book, it is available from Amazon and Audible.)

Sociologist Émile Durkheim's 1897 work On Suicide is a powerful evidence-based study of why people take their own lives. In the late 19th century it was generally accepted that each suicide was an individual phenomenon, caused by such personal factors as grief, loss, and financial problems. But Durkheim felt there were patterns in suicide rates, and believed that a more likely cause of suicide lay in the individual's relationship to society.

This is a summary and analysis of the White Fragility and not the original book. Robin DiAngelo tackles the issue of racism in America by challenging white supremacy. She asks white people to examine their culture and socialization in order to understand and disrupt racism as a system and structure.

In early 2014, sparked by an assault by their government on peaceful students, Ukrainians rose up against a deeply corrupt, Moscow-backed regime. Initially demonstrating under the banner of EU integration, the Maidan protesters proclaimed their right to a dignified existence; they learned to organize, to act collectively, to become a civil society. Most prominently, they established a new Ukrainian identity: territorial, inclusive, and present-focused with powerful mobilizing symbols.

Black Music is a book about the brilliant young jazz musicians of the early 1960s: John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, and others. It is composed of essays, reviews, interviews, liner notes, musical analyses, and personal impressions from 1959-1967. Also includes Amiri Baraka's reflections in a 2009 interview with Calvin Reid of Publishers Weekly.

What Newspapers Have Said About Elsie Benedict and Her Work "Over fifty thousand people heard Elsie Lincoln Benedict at the City Auditorium during her six weeks lecture engagement in Milwaukee."-Milwaukee Leader, April 2, 1921. "Elsie Lincoln Benedict has a brilliant record. She is like a fresh breath of Colorado ozone. Her ideas are as stimulating as the health-giving breezes of the Rockies."-New York Evening Mail, April 16, 1914.

Nonviolent Communication evolved from an intense interest in two issues that I had. First, I wanted to understand better what happens to humans which leads some of us to act violently and exploitably. And secondly, I wanted to understand better what kind of education fits our efforts to remain compassionate - which I think is our nature - even when others act violently or exploitably.

The Antichrist was aptly named. It is not so much aimed at the expression of any new perspective or in support of the expansion of knowledge but rather represents an effort to undo the religious interference Nietzsche believed worked against the advancement of culture and knowledge. In many ways he was the mouthpiece for the most unfavorable logical conclusions that rose to the fore in the meeting of the scientific and Christian perspective.

Short on time? Or maybe you’ve already read or listened to the book, but need a refresh on the most important takeaways. In a quick, easy listen, you can take the main principles from On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century! This is a summary of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, in which Timothy Snyder provides a stark warning for the future of American democracy.

The Cold War dominated international life from the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But how did the conflict begin? Why did it move from its initial origins in Postwar Europe to encompass virtually every corner of the globe? And why, after lasting so long, did the war end so suddenly and unexpectedly? Robert McMahon considers these questions and more, as well as looking at the legacy of the Cold War and its impact on international relations today.

Short on time? Or maybe you’ve already read the book, but need a refresh on the most important takeaways. In a quick, easy read, you can take the main principles from Outliers: The Story of Success. Outliers asserts that a person’s background and environment are every bit as important as intelligence and drive in achieving success. Critics have complained that Gladwell’s explanations for success are simply interesting, but too simplistic. However, the book has sold millions of copies and remains popular.

Social capital - the relationships between people that allow communities to function well - has long been recognized as the grease that oils the wheels of society. It facilitates trust, creates bonds among neighbors, and even helps boost employment. In his 2000 book, Bowling Alone, American sociologist Robert Putnam argues that Americans have become disconnected from one another and from the institutions of their common life and investigates the consequences of this change.

Exactly What to Say: The Magic Words for Influence and Impact gives the listener insightful ways to engage an audience. The book has examples of phrases and questions you can use in any situation to guide your audience’s behavior to the results you want. NinjaReads summaries are made for go-getters who have an itch to learn and grow. Not only will you learn faster, but you’ll also be more productive as you save hours of your day. As you grow smarter from each listen, your family and friends may notice and give you compliments on how much you have grown.

This historic mission of this remarkable but little-known organization, the US National Intelligence Council (NIC), now 40 years old, is strategic intelligence assessment in service of senior American foreign policymakers. Its signature inside products, National Intelligence Estimates, are now accompanied by the NIC's every-four-years Global Trends. Unclassified, Global Trends has become a noted NIC brand, its release awaited by officials, academics, and private sector managers around the world.

This audiobook is a vital tool for anyone who wants to become more aware of their body language as well as learn how to read and analyze verbal and nonverbal clues of others.