Democracy in America - The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II

At the core of Obama’s Wars is the unsettled division between the civilian leadership in the White House and the United States military as the president is thwarted in his efforts to craft an exit plan for the Afghanistan War.   

 “So what’s my option?” the president asked his war cabinet, seeking alternatives to the Afghanistan commander’s request for 40,000 more troops in late 2009.  “You have essentially given me one option. ...It’s unacceptable.”  

 “Well,” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates finally said, “Mr. President, I think we owe you that option.”   

It never came. An untamed Vice President Joe Biden pushes relentlessly to limit the military mission and avoid another Vietnam. The vice president frantically sent half a dozen handwritten memos by secure fax to Obama on the eve of the final troop decision.   

President Obama’s ordering a surge of 30,000 troops and pledging to start withdrawing U.S. forces by July 2011 did not end the skirmishing.   

General David Petraeus, the new Afghanistan commander, thinks time can be added to the clock if he shows progress.  “I don’t think you win this war,” Petraeus said privately.  “This is the kind of fight we’re in for the rest of our lives and probably our kids’ lives.”   

Hovering over this debate is the possibility of another terrorist attack in the United States. The White House led a secret exercise showing how unprepared the government is if terrorists set off a nuclear bomb in an American city—which Obama told Woodward is at the top of the list of what he worries about all the time.   

Verbatim quotes from secret debates and White House strategy sessions—and firsthand accounts of the thoughts and concerns of the president, his war council and his generals—reveal a government in conflict, often consumed with nasty infighting and fundamental disputes.   

Woodward has discovered how the Obama White House really works, showing that even more tough decisions lie ahead for the cerebral and engaged president.   

Obama’s Wars offers the reader a stunning, you-are-there account of the president, his White House aides, military leaders, diplomats and intelligence chiefs in this time of turmoil and danger.

On Liberty is undoubtedly the most influential and best known of the works by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill. And unlike many philosophical works, it is written in relatively easy to understand language and is fairly short. It is, therefore, one of those books which is very often included on reading lists for schools and colleges. Despite this apparent accessibility, however, the book and its key messages are open to misunderstandings.

As with many books of apparent general principle, it is difficult to understand On Liberty properly without knowing something of the conditions in which it was written. Both the world in general and Mills' life in particular had a profound impact on the book and the thinking behind it.

By establishing in clear and direct language the "principle of harm", On Liberty established in the public consciousness a principle that had been touched on by others but which was now put at the forefront of public debate. The idea that a person should be free to do anything they wish so long as it does not harm others is now espoused by anyone who claims to be liberal or enlightened. His setting forth of the three basic freedoms that a person needs to enjoy to be deemed "free" have been similarly popular. These are the freedom of speech, the freedom of action and the freedom of assembly.

Although On Liberty is flawed in some places, and now seriously out of date in others, its influence on liberal thinking has been immense and continuous. A

This edition includes a new introduction and conclusion by historian Rupert Matthews in which he sets out the background to the writing of the book - both the general political situation of the time and the very particular personal situation in which John Stuart Mill found himself.

Adapting a selection of these essential essays—pseudonymously authored by the now well-documented triumvirate of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay—for a contemporary audience, Glenn Beck has had them reworked into “modern” English so as to be thoroughly accessible to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Founding Fathers’ intent and meaning when laying the groundwork of our government. Beck provides his own illuminating commentary and annotations and, for a number of the essays, has brought together the viewpoints of both liberal and conservative historians and scholars, making this a fair and insightful perspective on the historical works that remain the primary source for interpreting Constitutional law and the rights of American citizens.