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Best Sellers

Hardcover Nonfiction

Week of March 7, 2004

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AMERICAN DYNASTY
Kevin Phillips
Cover of AMERICAN DYNASTY

AMERICAN DYNASTY

by Kevin Phillips · Viking Press

7 wks on list

An acerbic, withering account of the ascent of the Bush family to the pinnacle of the American political and social elite and the implications of the dynasty's hold on power for democracy in America. With an unerring instinct for fakery and humbug,Phillips traces the convoluted trail of Bush mendacity through three generations. The picture he paints of a family willing to do ANYTHING to hold power and a country so craven as to vote for it is both very funny and completely dismaying in equal measure.

3
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THE PRICE OF LOYALTY
Ron Suskind
Cover of THE PRICE OF LOYALTY

THE PRICE OF LOYALTY

by Ron Suskind · Simon & Schuster

6 wks on list

A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter's explosive account of the inner workings of the George W. Bush administration, the most secretive White House of modern times. This vivid, unfolding narrative is like no other book that has been written about the Bush presidency -- or any that is likely to be written soon. At its core are the candid assessments of former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, for two years the administration's top economic official, a principal of the National Security Council, and a tutor to the new President. He is the only member of Bush's innermost circle to leave and then to agree to speak frankly about what has really been happening inside the White House. O'Neill's account is supported by Suskind's interviews with many participants in the administration, by transcripts of meetings, and by voluminous documents that cover most areas of domestic and foreign policy. The result is a disclosure of breadth and depth unparalleled for an ongoing presidency. As readers are taken to the very epicenter of government, this news-making volume offers a definitive view of the characters and conduct of Bush and his closest advisers as they manage crucial domestic policies and global strategies at a time of life-and-death crises. Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Christine Todd Whitman, and many of their aides are seen in an intimate, "unmanaged" way -- as is Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, O'Neill's close friend and ally. Along the way, the central conflicts of this administration's governance -- between politics and policy, ideology and analysis -- are starkly visible through the lens of recent events and the revelation of the often unseen intentions that underlie actions. In this book Suskind draws on unique access to present an astonishing account of a President so carefully managed in his public posture that he is unknown to most Americans. Now, he will be known.

5
NEW
THE PASSION
Cover of THE PASSION

THE PASSION

by · Tyndale

1 wks on list

"Authors of the Passion Gospels present a double perspective: that of the time of Jesus and that of their own time following the destruction of the Temple. Within this historical context, the author addresses the questions of anti-Semitism and the family quarrels between Jews and Christians with the vitriol that was acceptable within their rhetorical tradition. Questions about Jesus' Passion - his trial and the purpose of his suffering - are expertly answered in this re-release, which has a new introduction by the author."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS
Brian Greene
Cover of THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS

THE FABRIC OF THE COSMOS

by Brian Greene · Knopf

2 wks on list

The author argues that recent scientific discoveries about the birth of the universe require us to replace outmoded ways of seeing the world, bridging the chasm between science and spirituality, the physical realm and the soul.

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LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM)
Al Franken
Cover of LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM)

LIES (AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM)

by Al Franken · Dutton

27 wks on list

Al Franken, one of America's savviest satirists has been studying the rhetoric of the Right. He has listened to their cries of 'slander', 'bias' and even 'treason'. He has examined the Bush administration's policies of squandering our surplus, ravaging the environment, and alienating the rest of the world. He's even watched Fox News. A lot. And in this fair and balanced report, Al bravely exposes them all for what they are: liars. Lying, lying, liars.

9
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PERFECTLY LEGAL
David Cay Johnston
Cover of PERFECTLY LEGAL

PERFECTLY LEGAL

by David Cay Johnston · Portfolio

4 wks on list

Now updated with a new prologue! Since the mid-1970s, there has been a dramatic shift in America's socioeconomic system, one that has gone virtually unnoticed by the general public. Tax policies and their enforcement have become a disaster, and thanks to discreet lobbying by a segment of the top 1 percent, Washington is reluctant or unable to fix them. The corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the gift tax have been largely ignored by the media. But the cumulative results are remarkable: today someone who earns a yearly salary of $60,000 pays a larger percentage of his income in taxes than the four hundred richest Americans. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston exposes exactly how the middle class is being squeezed to create a widening wealth gap that threatens the stability of the country. By relating the compelling tales of real people across all areas of society, he reveals the truth behind: • "Middle class" tax cuts and exactly whom they benefit. • How workers are being cheated out of their retirement plans while disgraced CEOs walk away with millions. • How some corporations avoid paying any federal income tax. • How a law meant to prevent cheating by the top 2 percent of Americans no longer affects most of them, but has morphed into a stealth tax on single mothers making just $28,000. • Why the working poor are seven times more likely to be audited by the IRS than everyone else. • How the IRS became so weak that even when it was handed complete banking records detailing massive cheating by 1,600 people, it prosecuted only 4 percent of them. Johnston has been breaking pieces of this story on the front page of The New York Times for seven years. With Perfectly Legal, he puts the whole shocking narrative together in a way that will stir up media attention and make readers angry about the state of our country.

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DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY?
Michael Moore
Cover of DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY?

DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY?

by Michael Moore · Warner

#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Moore's incisive examination of the failures of the United State's political system, paired with thoughtful guidance on how to move forward. In case anyone in Washington hasn't noticed, Americans are fed up with the status quo. In this, the first shot fired over the bow of the 2004 Presidential election, Michael Moore aims to unseat the man who slithered into the White House on tracks built by the bloody hands of Enron and greased with the oil of his daddy. As if an unelected, semi-literate president weren't problem enough, America's Democrats have managed to take the liberty out of "liberal," signing on with the G.O.P. for dirty corporate money and the ill-gotten gains of globalization. The "left" is just as satisfied as the right to stand idly by as the chasm between the haves and the have-nots grows wider and wider. Thank god for Michael Moore because Dude, Where's My Country tells us precisely what went wrong, and, more importantly, how to fix things. In a voice that is fearless, funny, and furious, Moore takes readers to the edge of righteous laughter and divine revenge.

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WASHINGTON'S CROSSING
David Hackett Fischer
Cover of WASHINGTON'S CROSSING

WASHINGTON'S CROSSING

by David Hackett Fischer · Oxford University Press

1 wks on list

Six months after the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was all but lost. A powerful British force had routed the Americans at New York, occupied three colonies, and advanced within sight of Philadelphia. Yet, as David Hackett Fischer recounts in this riveting history, George Washington--and many other Americans--refused to let the Revolution die. On Christmas night, as a howling nor'easter struck the Delaware Valley, he led his men across the river and attacked the exhausted Hessian garrison at Trenton, killing or capturing nearly a thousand men. A second battle of Trenton followed within days. The Americans held off a counterattack by Lord Cornwallis's best troops, then were almost trapped by the British force. Under cover of night, Washington's men stole behind the enemy and struck them again, defeating a brigade at Princeton. The British were badly shaken. In twelve weeks of winter fighting, their army suffered severe damage, their hold on New Jersey was broken, and their strategy was ruined. Fischer's richly textured narrative reveals the crucial role of contingency in these events. We see how the campaign unfolded in a sequence of difficult choices by many actors, from generals to civilians, on both sides. While British and German forces remained rigid and hierarchical, Americans evolved an open and flexible system that was fundamental to their success. The startling success of Washington and his compatriots not only saved the faltering American Revolution, but helped to give it new meaning.

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THE WORKING POOR
David K. Shipler
Cover of THE WORKING POOR

Historical bestseller data sourced from the New York Times Book Review, archived by Hawes Publications.