Search

This work puts debates about Social Security reform into historical perspective, considers various reform ideas, and elaborates a proposal to ensure that the system can continue to meet the claims of the retired and the disabled. It sets out a plan to change the way Social Security is financed.

Perth and Kinross, at the geographical heart of Scotland, contains a wide diversity of buildings including the remains of a Roman line of forts and watch towers, carved stones erected by the warrior aristocracy of the sixth to ninth centuries, the inventive medieval Dunkeld Cathedral, and the island fortress of Lochleven Castle. Blair Castle's mid-eighteenth-century stucco work is unequalled in Scotland. A multitude of smaller country houses embrace a variety of styles, while Georgian and Victorian churches, many with superb stained glass, abound. Towns and villages range from Dunkeld, the epitome of a small Scottish burgh, to the Royal burgh of Perth. This is the tenth volume in the Buildings of Scotland series.

Persistent Progressives tells the story of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union’s evolution from an early movement against monopolists and wholesalers to a regional trailblazer for agriculture ideologies built on social democracy, the family farmer, and cooperative enterprises. As a continuing advocate for saving the family farm, the Farmers Union legacy provides a unique window into the transformation of the agriculture and rural communities in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Using data spanning decades, author John Freeman covers the founding of the RMFU in 1907 until the present, demonstrating how members continually sought to control the means of production and marketing by forming cooperatives, providing consumer services, and engaging in politics. Powering this evolution was a group of “practical idealists”—the Farmers Union leaders and titular persistent progressives who shaped the organization’s growth and expansion. Initiated by Jim Patton, who brought the organization out of its oppositional roots and into its cooperative advocacy, the RMFU passed to John Stencel and then David Carter, joining hands with agricultural conservationists and small organic producers along the way to carry the torch for progressive agrarianism in today’s urbanized world. Shaken but undeterred by some notable failures, its leadership remains convinced of the efficacy of cooperatives as a means to achieve justice for all. Discussing the broader social, economic, political, and environmental issues related to farming, ranching, and urbanization, Persistent Progressives seamlessly blends regional history with ongoing issues of agricultural and economic development.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a complete guide to over 50 years of superheroes on screen! This expanded and updated edition of the 2004 award-winning encyclopedia covers important developments in the popular genre; adds new shows such as Heroes and Zoom; includes the latest films featuring icons like Superman, Spiderman and Batman; and covers even more types of superheroes. Each entry includes a detailed history, cast and credits, episode and film descriptions, critical commentaries, and data on arch-villains, gadgets, comic-book origins and super powers, while placing each production into its historical context. Appendices list common superhero conventions and cliches; incarnations; memorable ad lines; and the best, worst, and most influential productions from 1951 to 2008.

ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF 2024 One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2024 Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | National Indie Bestseller A Barack Obama summer reading pick One of Publishers Weekly's ten best books of 2024 "Terrific . . . Vibrant . . . When the Clock Broke is one of those rarest of books: unflaggingly entertaining while never losing sight of its moral core." —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times (Editors' Choice) "John Ganz is a fantastic writer . . . [When the Clock Broke] is phenomenal . . . truly, truly great." —Chris Hayes, Why Is This Happening? podcast "When the Clock Broke is leagues more insightful on the subject of Trump’s ascent than most writing that purports to address the issue directly." —Becca Rothfeld, The Washington Post A revelatory look back at the convulsions at the end of the Reagan era—and their dark legacy today. With the Soviet Union extinct, Saddam Hussein defeated, and U.S. power at its zenith, the early 1990s promised a “kinder, gentler America.” Instead, it was a period of rising anger and domestic turmoil, anticipating the polarization and resurgent extremism we know today. In When the Clock Broke, the acclaimed political writer John Ganz tells the story of America’s late-century discontents. Ranging from upheavals in Crown Heights and Los Angeles to the advent of David Duke and the heartland survivalists, the broadcasts of Rush Limbaugh, and the bitter disputes between neoconservatives and the “paleo-con” right, Ganz immerses us in a time when what Philip Roth called the “indigenous American berserk” took new and ever-wilder forms. In the 1992 campaign, Pat Buchanan's and Ross Perot’s insurgent populist bids upended the political establishment, all while Americans struggled through recession, alarm about racial and social change, the specter of a new power in Asia, and the end of Cold War–era political norms. Conspiracy theories surged, and intellectuals and activists strove to understand the “Middle American Radicals” whose alienation fueled new causes. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton appeared to forge a new, vital center, though it would not hold for long. In a rollicking, eye-opening book, Ganz narrates the fall of the Reagan order and the rise of a new and more turbulent America.

On March 31, 1943, the musical Oklahoma! premiered and the modern era of the Broadway musical was born. Since that time, the theatres of Broadway have staged hundreds of musicals--some more noteworthy than others, but all in their own way a part of American theatre history. With more than 750 entries, this comprehensive reference work provides information on every musical produced on Broadway since Oklahoma's 1943 debut. Each entry begins with a brief synopsis of the show, followed by a three-part history: first, the pre-Broadway story of the show, including out-of-town try-outs and Broadway previews; next, the Broadway run itself, with dates, theatres, and cast and crew, including replacements, chorus and understudies, songs, gossip, and notes on reviews and awards; and finally, post-Broadway information with a detailed list of later notable productions, along with important reviews and awards.

Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging is a comprehensive volume that focuses on the newest fields of MRI from functional and metabolic mapping to the latest applications of neuro-interventional techniques. Each chapter offers critical discussions regarding available methods and the most recent advances in neuroimaging, including such topics as the use of diffusion and perfusion MRI in the early detection of stroke, the revolutionary advent of high-speed MRI for non-invasively mapping cortical responses to task activation paradigms, and the principles and applications of contrast agents. The chapters also discuss how these new advances are applied to problems in patients ranging in age from the newborn to the elderly, as well as disease states ranging from metabolic encephalopathy to cardiovascular disorders and stroke. Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging will be a valuable text/reference for residents, research fellows, and clinicians in radiology, neuroradiology, and magnetic resonance imaging.