Knowledge = Power

Timeless techniques of effective public speaking from ancient Rome's greatest orator

National Book Award Finalist TIME Magazine's #1 Nonfiction Book of 2012 A New York Times Notable Book A Washington Post Top Ten Book of 2012 Best Nonfiction of 2012: The Wall Street Journal, The Plain Dealer In the much-anticipated follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize-winning Gulag,  acclaimed journalist Anne Applebaum delivers a groundbreaking history  of how Communism took over Eastern Europe after World War II and  transformed in frightening fashion the individuals who came under its  sway. Iron Curtain describes how, spurred by Stalin and his  secret police, the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were created and  what daily life was like once they were complete. Drawing on newly  opened East European archives, interviews, and personal accounts  translated for the first time, Applebaum portrays in chilling detail the  dilemmas faced by millions of individuals trying to adjust to a way of  life that challenged their every belief and took away everything they  had accumulated. As a result the Soviet Bloc became a lost civilization,  one whose cruelty, paranoia, bizarre morality, and strange aesthetics  Applebaum captures in these electrifying pages.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "How did our democracy go wrong? This extraordinary document ... is Applebaum's answer." —Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny The  Pulitzer Prize–winning historian explains, with electrifying clarity,  why elites in democracies around the world are turning toward  nationalism and authoritarianism. From the United States and  Britain to continental Europe and beyond, liberal democracy is under  siege, while authoritarianism is on the rise. In Twilight of Democracy, Anne Applebaum, an award-winning historian of Soviet atrocities who was  one of the first American journalists to raise an alarm about  antidemocratic trends in the West, explains the lure of nationalism and  autocracy. In this captivating essay, she contends that political  systems with radically simple beliefs are inherently appealing,  especially when they benefit the loyal to the exclusion of everyone  else. Elegantly written and urgently argued, Twilight of Democracy is a brilliant dissection of a world-shaking shift and a stirring glimpse of the road back to democratic values.

Of all the despots of our time, Joseph Stalin lasted the longest and  wielded the greatest power, and his secrets have been the most jealously  guarded—even after his death. In this book, the first to draw  from recently released archives, Robert Conquest gives us Stalin as a  child and student; as a revolutionary and communist theoretician; as a  political animal skilled in amassing power and absolutely ruthless in  maintaining it. He presents the landmarks of Stalin’s rule: the class  with Lenin; collectivization; the Great Terror; the Nazi-Soviet pact and  the Nazi-Soviet war; the anti-Semitic campaign that preceded his death;  and the legacy he left behind. Distilling a lifetime’s study,  weaving detail, analysis, and research, Conquest has given us an  extraordinarily powerful narrative of this incredible figure. “Thoughtful and thorough and shot through with insight.”—The Washington Post Book World “Definitive . . . a magnificent, even poetic, act of historical retribution.”—The New Leader “Brilliant . . . this book probably is the most cogent and readable account of Stalin’s life yet published.”—The San Diego Union

A  gripping account of the months before and after Stalin’s death and how  his demise reshaped the course of twentieth-century history  Joshua Rubenstein’s riveting account takes us back to the second half of  1952 when no one could foresee an end to Joseph Stalin’s murderous  regime. He was poised to challenge the newly elected U.S. President  Dwight Eisenhower with armed force, and was also broadening a vicious  campaign against Soviet Jews. Stalin’s sudden collapse and death in  March 1953 was as dramatic and mysterious as his life. It is no  overstatement to say that his passing marked a major turning point in  the twentieth century. The Last Days of Stalin is an  engaging, briskly told account of the dictator’s final active months,  the vigil at his deathbed, and the unfolding of Soviet and international  events in the months after his death. Rubenstein throws fresh light on the  devious plotting of Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, and other “comrades in  arms” who well understood the significance of the dictator’s impending  death; the witness-documented events of his death as compared to official published versions; Stalin’s rumored plans to forcibly exile Soviet Jews; the responses of Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles to the Kremlin’s conciliatory gestures after Stalin’s death; and the momentous repercussions when Stalin’s regime of terror was cut short.

The bestselling historian on the dramatic wartime relationship - and shocking similarities - between two tyrants 'Laurence  Rees brilliantly combines powerful eye-witness testimony, vivid  narrative and compelling analysis in this superb account of how two  terrible dictators led their countries in the most destructive and  inhumane war in history' Professor Sir Ian Kershaw, author of Hitler - Hubris and Hitler - Nemesis This  compelling book on Hitler and Stalin - the culmination of thirty years'  work - examines the two tyrants during the Second World War, when  Germany and the Soviet Union fought the biggest and bloodiest war in  history. Yet despite the fact they were bitter opponents, Laurence Rees  shows that Hitler and Stalin were, to a large extent, different sides of  the same coin. Hitler's charismatic leadership may contrast with  Stalin's regimented rule by fear; and his intransigence later in the  war may contrast with Stalin's change in behaviour in response to  events. But at a macro level, both were prepared to create undreamt-of  suffering, destroy individual liberty and twist facts in order to build  the utopias they wanted, and while Hitler's creation of the Holocaust  remains a singular crime, Rees shows why we must not forget that Stalin  committed a series of atrocities at the same time. Using  previously unpublished, startling eyewitness testimony from soldiers of  the Red Army and Wehrmacht, civilians who suffered during the conflict  and those who knew both men personally, bestselling historian Laurence  Rees - probably the only person alive who has met Germans who worked for  Hitler and Russians who worked for Stalin - challenges long-held  popular misconceptions about two of the most important figures in  history. This is a master work from one of our finest historians.

Scientists throughout history, from Galileo to today’s experts on  climate change, have often had to contend with politics in their pursuit  of knowledge. But in the Soviet Union, where the ruling elites  embraced, patronized, and even fetishized science like never before,  scientists lived their lives on a knife edge. The Soviet Union had the  best-funded scientific establishment in history. Scientists were  elevated as popular heroes and lavished with awards and privileges. But  if their ideas or their field of study lost favor with the elites, they  could be exiled, imprisoned, or murdered. And yet they persisted, making  major contributions to 20th century science. Stalin and the Scientists tells the story of the many gifted scientists who worked in Russia from  the years leading up to the Revolution through the death of the “Great  Scientist” himself, Joseph Stalin. It weaves together the stories of  scientists, politicians, and ideologues into an intimate and sometimes  horrifying portrait of a state determined to remake the world. They  often wreaked great harm. Stalin was himself an amateur botanist, and by  falling under the sway of dangerous charlatans like Trofim Lysenko (who  denied the existence of genes), and by relying on antiquated ideas of  biology, he not only destroyed the lives of hundreds of brilliant  scientists, he caused the death of millions through famine. But  from atomic physics to management theory, and from radiation biology to  neuroscience and psychology, these Soviet experts also made  breakthroughs that forever changed agriculture, education, and medicine.  A masterful book that deepens our understanding of Russian history, Stalin and the Scientists is a great achievement of research and storytelling, and a gripping look at what happens when science falls prey to politics.

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born,  Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and  friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed  him--the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower  East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood--he has found a  way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door. "All life was a  theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage," he writes. "I wanted to  set the world under a marquee that read: 'Jerry Weintraub Presents.'"  In When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead,  we follow Weintraub from his first great success at age twenty-six with  Elvis Presley, whom he took on the road with the help of Colonel Tom  Parker; to the immortal days with Sinatra and Rat Pack glory; to his  crowning hits as a movie producer, starting with Robert Altman and Nashville, continuing with Oh, God!, The Karate Kid movies, and Diner, among others, and summiting with Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen.  Along the way, we'll watch as Jerry moves from the poker tables of  Palm Springs (the games went on for days), to the power rooms of  Hollywood, to the halls of the White House, to Red Square in Moscow and  the Great Palace in Beijing-all the while counseling potentates, poets,  and kings, with clients and confidants like George Clooney, Bruce  Willis, George H. W. Bush, Armand Hammer, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bob  Dylan, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bobby Fischer . . .well, the list goes  on forever.  And of course, the story is not yet over . . .as the old-timers say, "The best is yet to come."  As Weintraub says, "When I stop talking, you'll know I'm dead."  With wit, wisdom, and the cool confidence that has colored his  remarkable career, Jerry chronicles a quintessentially American journey,  one marked by luck, love, and improvisation. The stories he tells and  the lessons we learn are essential, not just for those who love movies  and music, but for businessmen, entrepreneurs, artists . . . everyone.

Understand Bitcoin, Blockchains, and Cryptocurrency “Antony helps us all clearly understand the mechanics of bitcoin and blockchain.” ―Rob Findlay, Founder, Next Money #1  Best Seller in Investing Derivatives and Natural Resource Extraction  Industry, Futures Trading, Banks & Banking, Energy & Mining,  Monetary Policy, and Computers & Technology There’s a  lot written on cryptocurrency and blockchains. But, for the uninitiated,  most of this information can be indecipherable. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains provides a clear guide to this new currency and the revolutionary technology that powers it. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Gain  an understanding of a broad spectrum of Bitcoin topics including the  history of Bitcoin, the Bitcoin blockchain, and Bitcoin buying, selling,  and mining. Learn how payments are made, and how to put a value on  cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Blockchain technology.  What exactly is a blockchain, how does it work, and why is it important? The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains answers  these questions and more. Learn about notable blockchain platforms,  smart contracts, and other important facets of blockchains and their  function in the changing cyber-economy. Things to know before buying cryptocurrencies. Find   trustworthy and balanced insights into Bitcoin investing and investing  in other cryptocurrency. Discover the risks and mitigations, learn how  to identify scams, and understand cryptocurrency exchanges, digital  wallets, and regulations. Learn about: Blockchain technology and how it works Workings of the cryptocurrency market Evolution and potential impacts of Bitcoin and blockchains on global businesses You’ve read books such as Blockchain Bubble or Revolution, Cryptoassets, Blockchain Technology Explained, Blockchain Revolution, The Bitcoin Standard, Mastering Bitcoin, or Bitcoin For Dummies, but to really understand the technology read The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains.

Blockchain: The Complete Guide to Uncovering Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Technology and the Future of Money