Whatever Works explores the relationship between a crotchety misanthrope, Boris and a naïve, impressionable young runaway from the south, Melody. When Melody's uptight parents arrive in New York to rescue her, they are quickly drawn into wildly unexpected romantic entanglements. Everyone discovers that finding love is just a combination of lucky chance and appreciating the value of "whatever works."

“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975,” among other things an extraordinary feat of editing and archival research, takes up a familiar period in American history from a fresh and fascinating angle. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Swedish television journalists traveled to the United States with the intention of “showing the country as it really is.” Some of the images and interviews they collected have been assembled by Goran Hugo Olsson into a roughly chronological collage that restores a complex human dimension to the racial history of the era.

In a small supermarket in a blue collar town, a black man smiles at a 10 year old white boy across the checkout aisle. This innocuous moment sends two gangs into a ruthless war that ends with a shocking backlash.

A superintendent of a school district works for the betterment of the student’s education when an embezzlement scheme is discovered, threatening to destroy everything.

The story of America's rise to power starting with 1959, using archival footage and US pop music to highlight the consequences to the rest of the world and in the peoples' minds.

Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.

Meloy’s first return to short stories since her critically acclaimed debut, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It is an extraordinary new work from one of the most promising writers of the last decade. Eleven unforgettable new stories demonstrate the emotional power and the clean, assured style that have earned Meloy praise from critics and devotion from readers. Propelled by a terrific instinct for storytelling, and concerned with the convolutions of modern love and the importance of place, this collection is about the battlefields—and fields of victory—that exist in seemingly harmless spaces, in kitchens and living rooms and cars. Set mostly in the American West, the stories feature small-town lawyers, ranchers, doctors, parents, and children, and explore the moral quandaries of love, family, and friendship. A ranch hand falls for a recent law school graduate who appears unexpectedly— and reluctantly—in his remote Montana town. A young father opens his door to find his dead grandmother standing on the front step. Two women weigh love and betrayal during an early snow. Throughout the book, Meloy examines the tensions between having and wanting, as her characters try to keep hold of opposing forces in their lives: innocence and experience, risk and stability, fidelity and desire. Knowing, sly, and bittersweet, Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It confirms Maile Meloy’s singular literary talent. Her lean, controlled prose, full of insight and unexpected poignancy, is the perfect complement to her powerfully moving storytelling.

A veteran actress comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years earlier.

The same situation is played out in different cities (New York, Berlin and Tokyo). A lover has to choose whether to commit to a partner who is returning home. In each case there are other people involved, an ex-partner and someone else in a "permanent" relationship, what do they choose to do?

American politics seems to grow more contentious and complicated by the day, and whether American democracy works well is hotly debated. Amidst all this roiling partisan argument and confusing claims and counterclaims, there has never been a greater need for an impartial primer on the basics of the American political system. This Very Short Introduction gives readers a concise, accessible, and sophisticated overview of the vital elements of American democracy, emphasizing both how these elements function, their historical origins, and how they have evolved into their present forms. Richard Valelly covers all facets of America's political system: the bicameral Congress and the place of the filibuster, the legislative-executive process, the role of the Supreme Court, political parties and democratic choice, bureaucracy, the partisan revival, and the political economy. He offers as well an original analysis of the evolution of the American presidency and a fascinating chapter on the effects of public polling on political decision-making and voter representation. Valelly shows that the American political system is, and always has been, very much a work in progress--unfolding within, and also constantly updating, an eighteenth-century constitutional framework. In a refreshingly balanced and judicious assessment, he explores the strengths of American democracy while candidly acknowledging both gaps in representation and the increasing income inequality have sparked protest and intense public discussion. Finally, Valelly considers the remarkable persistence, for more than two centuries, of the basic constitutional forms established in 1787, despite the dramatic social changes that have reshaped virtually all aspects of American life. For anyone wishing to understand the nuts and bolts of how our political system works--and sometimes fails to work--this Very Short Introduction is the very best place to start.

作为当今世界使用频率最高的字眼之一，“全球化”描述的是变化中的经济、政治、文化、意识形态和环境方面的发展进程。在过去的几十年中，这些进程在不断加速并不断向纵深方向发展。作者以生动的语言展现了全球化的多个方面，尤其是“9·11事件”之后，“全球化”被赋予的新的含义。他试图回答以下两个问题：全球化是从现代才开始的吗？全球化是件“好”事还是件“坏”事？

总统制研究权威查尔斯•琼斯在《美国总统制》中对美国总统制进行了极为精准的考察，资料丰富，见解惊人。作者大量着墨于安德鲁•杰克逊、富兰克林•罗斯福等强势总统如何强化了总统所辖机构的权力，分析了价值理念、前任总统遗产、与国会的关系、外部事件的冲击等因素如何影响着总统的权威。此外，作者还探究了联邦权力的崛起和联邦机构的扩张，以及产生总统的政治程序的变迁。

【内容简介】 本书出色考察了美国那场经济危机以及历史上一次巨大的政策革命。劳赫威在书中呈现了罗斯福新政主要的成功与失败之处，解释了为何新政的某些计划会成功、另一些计划未能成功，这些计划包括建立全国复兴总署这样的机构，以及设立全国劳资关系委员会、通过《社会保障法》这样的重大举措。在全书最后，作者描述了罗斯福政府在第二次世界大战结束后，如何将新政的各项战略推向全球舞台。 【名人评价及推荐】 罗斯福的最大历史功绩，就在于说服了具有根深蒂固的孤立主义传统和自我安全感的美利坚民族，使之转变为纳粹德国和军国主义日本的一大克星，甚或最大克星。这项伟大成就依凭的——再说一遍——信赖、鼓舞和引导本国人民的政治秉性和才能，我们可以在译林出版社提供的《大萧条与罗斯福新政》中译本内领略再三，得益匪浅。 ——中国人民大学美国研究中心主任 时殷弘 要想理解大萧条，理解罗斯福新政为使美国恢复繁荣所付出的努力，每个人都应该从这本书开始读起。此书见解独到、发人深省，与前景不明的经济时期息息相关。 ——威斯康星-麦迪逊大学 小约翰•米尔顿•库珀 【编辑推荐】 这本书告诉我们，美国1930年代的大萧条并不是凭空降临的。大萧条之前，美国人民就已经在广告商的花言巧语之下，追随消费欲望的膨胀，以信贷方式落入了“负债的世界”。在滥用杠杆透支消费能力之后，股市崩盘不过是最后一根稻草。此后政府为应对大萧条而推出的新政，并不是一项深思熟虑的单独措施，而是一系列持续的政策试验。