Ocean State Libraries

“Uncompromising and unconventional . . . Cornel West is an eloquent prophet with attitude.” — Newsweek“
"A timely analysis about the current state of democratic systems in America." — The Boston Globe

In Democracy Matters, Cornel West argues that if America is to become a better steward of democratization around the world, we must first wake up to the long history of corruption...

"Donald Trump's presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we'd be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang--in a revolution or military coup--but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions,...

In 1831, the then twenty-seven year old Alexis de Tocqueville, was sent with Gustave de Beaumont to America by the French Government to study and make a report on the American prison system. Over a period of nine months the two traveled all over America making notes not only on the prison systems but on all aspects of American society and government. From these notes, Tocqueville wrote "Democracy in America", an exhaustive analysis of the successes...

The last half of the 20th century was an era of democratic triumph. The main antidemocratic regimes - communist, fascist, Nazi - disappeared, and new democracies emerged vigorously or tentatively throughout the world. In this accessible and authoritative audiobook, one of the most prominent political theorists of our time provides a primer on democracy that clarifies what it is, why it is valuable, how it works, and what challenges it confronts in...

Each essay in this 1880 edition of Mixed Essays is on a different subject yet all exhibit "unity of tendency," in Arnold's words. It contains the works "Democracy," "Equality," "Irish Catholicism and British Liberalism," "'Porro unum est Necessarium,'" "A Guide to English Literature," "Falkland," "A French Critic on Milton," "A French Critic on Goethe," and "George Sand."

"About a decade ago, I found myself alone for dinner one evening in Buenos Aires, the city of my birth. I had a lecture to give the next day and I had reserved the time alone to prepare over dinner in a typical neighborhood restaurant. Such a "boliche," in the local porteño slang, was a comfortable setting to have a meal. I sat down with typical Argentine fare and the inescapable good wine and turned to my lecture materials. I soon found myself distracted...

"From the former secretary of state and bestselling author -- a sweeping look at the global struggle for democracy and why America must continue to support the cause of human freedom. From the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the ongoing struggle for human rights in the Middle East, Condoleezza Rice has served on the front lines of history. As a child, she was an eyewitness to a third awakening of freedom, when her hometown...

"In Trust, Pete Buttigieg demonstrates how trust will be essential in order to face the unique challenges of the decades ahead. Trust is essential to the foundation of America's democracy, asserts Pete Buttigieg, the former presidential candidate and South Bend mayor. Yet, in a century warped by terrorism, financial collapse, Trumpist populism, systemic racism, and now a global pandemic, trust has been squandered, sacrificed, abused, stolen, or never...