Current Events
by Tony Wagner
Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation’s schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn’t limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren’t teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy.
by Jay Hakes
A former national energy official offers a viable plan for American energy independence. A Declaration of Energy Independence takes a nonpartisan, honest approach to these fundamental questions and obliterates the political and economic myths of both conservatives and liberals. Jay E. Hakes combines real facts and solid science with historical context to ask the right questions and propose the best answers. After educating readers on the facts, A Declaration of Energy Independence goes on to offer an seven-point plan for breaking free from the costly energy trap and enhancing American influence abroad.
by Andrew Yarrow
Andrew Yarrow explains in accessible terms why federal debt is rising (and will soon rise much faster), what effects it may have on Americans if debt is not brought under control, why our government borrows, and what it will take to pay it all back.
by Peter Navarro
In this comprehensive look at the awakening giant that is China, Peter Navarro describes an emerging power beleaguered by both internal and external threats-if the Japanese don't get them, AIDS and SARS will.
by Douglas Schoen
Hugo Chavez, the current president of Venezuela and a self-proclaimed enemy of the United States, commands what even Osama bin Laden only dreams of -- but few Americans see him as a true danger to this country. This book argues that we should.
by Eric A. Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman
Eric Finkelstein is a renowned health economist who has spent much of his career studying the economics of obesity. Now, with the help of coauthor Laurie Zuckerman, he skillfully reveals the economic drivers behind America's growing obesity epidemic, its impact on society, and what can be done to get the epidemic under control.
by Paul Brown and Gerd Leipold
Scientists may still be discussing what caused the disappearance of the once-dominant dinosaurs, but there is no doubt among any of them what is causing the current round of mass extinctions. It is mankind.
by John Ghazvinian
Although Africa has long been known to be rich in oil, extracting it hadn't seemed worth the effort and risk until recently. But with the price of Middle Eastern crude oil skyrocketing and advancing technology making reserves easier to tap, the region has become the scene of a competition between major powers.
by Rory Stewart
In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat who had recently completed an epic walk from Turkey to Bangladesh, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amara and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq.
by Bjorn Lomborg
In a world fraught with problems and challenges, we need to gauge how to achieve the greatest good with our money.
by George Orwel
Modern living is driven by oil, from the gasoline that propels our cars to the electricity that powers our homes to the military that protects our freedom. Throughout the twentieth century, a relatively uninterrupted supply of oil has fueled our nation's unparalleled growth.
by Rory Stewart
In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan -- surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations.
