Nonfiction

Though steeped all her life in politics because it was her father's profession, Alexandra Kerry never thought of herself as political. To her, her father's job was much like that of any other Dad: It was nothing extraordinary. She felt the tides of the various campaigns as they came and went, and naturally noticed the people who were always around the house--campaign managers, aides, strategists. But for most of that time, Alexandra was a young girl, an adolescent, and later, a young woman trying to find her own footing, first as an actress and later as a photographer and filmmaker.

That all changed when her father became the Democratic front-runner in the race for president. It was during that time that Alexandra and her sister began to make campaign stops with their father, to submit to press interviews, and eventually to become regulars on the campaign trail as their father crisscrossed the country. At first this was just a role: a daughter supporting a father she loved and believed in. But eventually during the course of an emotional roller coaster of a political campaign, she found herself caring passionately about the voters she was meeting, the issues that were beginning to emerge as the hot buttons of the race. It was in fact during this time that she found herself becoming, for the first time in her life, a true activist.

Documenting that journey via photographs and original writing in this, her first book, Alexandra Kerry brings readers inside the political whirlwind up close and personal: What did it feel like to see her father attacked by the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth? What did she learn about America and its people? How did it feel to see her father come so close to becoming president, and then to watch him concede?

This fascinating chronicle is sure to captivate political junkies as well as the everyday reader interested in knowing more about the country, its voters, and the author herself.

To James Naughtie, a renowned British journalist with unparalleled knowledge of Blair and a deep understanding of American politics, the story of our love affair with Blair provides a fascinating mirror on the troubles facing Western democracies, and on America itself. In The Accidental American, the first book about Blair written specifically for American readers, he explores how a politician swept to power by a party once avowedly socialist came to make common cause with American neo-conservatives, and became the gatekeeper between America and Western Europe.

Though Blair has been feted by Congress and is beloved by the White House, his real beliefs about America remain almost unknown. Naughtie has watched Blair close-up for many years and has many contacts inside his circle of friends and advisors. In the tumult of a presidential election year, this book provides a revelatory portrait of a master politician and revelatory insights into the politics and character of our own country.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Best friends Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg had spent many lonely nights looking for a way to stand out among Harvard University's elite, competitive, and accomplished student body. Then, in 2003, Zuckerberg hacked into Harvard's computers, crashed the campus network, almost got himself expelled, and was inspired to create Facebook, the social networking site that has since revolutionized communication around the world.

With Saverin's funding their tiny start-up went from dorm room to Silicon Valley. But conflicting ideas about Facebook's future transformed the friends into enemies. Soon, the undergraduate exuberance that marked their collaboration turned into out-and-out warfare as it fell prey to the adult world of venture capitalists, big money, and lawyers.

Despite their numbers, Latinos continue to lack full and equal participation in all facets of American life, including education. This book provides a critical discussion of the role that select K-12 educational policies have and continue to play in failing Latino students. The author draws upon institutional, national, and statewide data, as well as interviews with students, teachers, and college administrators, to explore the role that public policies play in educating Latino students. The book concludes with specific recommendations that aim to raise achievement, college transition rates, and success among Latino students from preschool through college.

Chapters cover high dropout rates, access to college-preparation resources, testing and accountability, financial aid, the DREAM Act, and affirmative action.

The ACLU Guide to Protest covers our bedrock freedoms and civil liberties and why they matter, how they're under attack, and the power of mobilization and protest. Issues such as free speech, immigration, racial justice, religious liberty, reproductive freedom, women's rights, LGTB rights, and privacy and technology are discussed in detail. The ACLU also explains the employment of various tactics and how they were successfuly used in specific campaigns.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a national organization at the forefront of what has come to be known as The Resistance. In the current political climate, the ACLU has taken a fierce stance to fight government abuse and to vigorously defend individual freedoms including speech and religion, a woman's right to choose, the right to due process, citizens' rights to privacy and much more.

For the first time, the ACLU brings its vast political knowledge to Americans, providing them with everything they need to know to take a stance in defense of individual freedoms. The ACLU Guide to Protest educates readers on everything from fighting voter intimidation, understanding pertinent laws, discovering mobilization efforts, as well as creating effective messaging for signs and banners when you're ready to march.