The Action League Grannies have been spied on by the California National Guard. They've been written about in Time magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News. They've appeared on Fox News with Bill O'Reilly, Jon Stewart's Comedy Central, and are regulars in Bay Area evening news stories. In public, they've been both booed and cheered, but they continue to protest with a sense of outrage, a sense of humor, and a commitment...

See the minorities that have influenced politics.

Five experts (John Dunn, Karl Gerth, Martin Jay, Josiah Ober, and Quentin Skinner) give their perspectives on different aspects of democracy: its meaning in different cultures and in different times, and possible ways to improve the way it works today.

"Portraits of brave women from the late 1800s through today--role models who are passionate about important issues A source of inspiration for young women with strong social convictions, She Takes a Stand highlights 16 extraordinary women who have fought for human rights, civil rights, workers' rights, reproductive/sexual rights, and world peace. Among these are many who have been imprisoned, threatened, or suffered financial hardships for pursuing...

The Iron Heel (1907) is a novel by American writer Jack London. A groundbreaking work of dystopian science fiction, The Iron Heel was, inspired by London's socialist views and belief in an eventual global upheaval. Although his predictions proved wrong for the United States of the early-twentieth century, London was, recognized by such figures as George Orwell for his foresight regarding the rise of fascism in Europe. The novel is, told from the perspective...

First published in 1979, a Bend in the River is a novel of the politics and society of postcolonial Africa. Salim, a young Indian man, moves to a town on a bend in the river of a recently independent nation. As Salim strives to establish his business, he comes to be closely involved with the fluid and dangerous politics of the newly created state, the remnants of the old regime clashing inevitably with the new.

It is America's worst nightmare: A nuclear bomb destroys a major city. Thousands of Americans are dead and many more will die from radiation poisoning. Threats promising more attacks spread through the media. Panic has broken out in many cities. How could American intelligence have failed to detect a nuclear device? Who is responsible for the blast? Sean Falcone, national security advisor, is tasked with identifying and tracking down the attackers....

A Democratic strategist assists a retired veteran run for mayor in a small, conservative Midwest town.

America as we know it-wealthy, powerful, assertive-is not what Obama wants. He wants a smaller America, a poorer America, an America unable to exert its will, an America happy to be one power among many, an America in decline so that other nations might rise-all in the name of global fairness. To Obama, the hated "one percent" isn't just wealthy Americas; it is America itself. In Obama's view, America needs to be taken down a notch. That is the startling...

The funeral procession was the most important ceremony performed in ancient Athens. Pericles's funeral speech, delivered over the war dead, as captured by Thucydides, is one of the most striking pieces of prose to survive from that time. Witness the structure of the funeral ceremony and unpack Pericles's great speech.