The collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after years of rampant money printing is a frightening example of what lies in store for countries that resort to printing money to pay national debts, bail out banks and oligarchs, and enrich political elites. When Money Destroys Nations tells the gripping story of the disintegration of the once thriving Zimbabwean economy and the inspiring and tragic accounts of how ordinary people survived in turbulent circumstances. Philip Haslam and Russell Lamberti give a straightforward and revealing account of the causes and consequences of Zimbabwe's hyperinflation. Countries around the world are resorting to money printing with their stimulus packages and quantitative easing. Zimbabwe's economic collapse is not an isolated tragedy. It holds lessons for all countries and for all political leaders tempted to take illusory and perilous shortcuts to prosperity. Zimbabwe's lessons must not be ignored. This is the story of When Money Destroys Nations. "Haslam and Lamberti have produced a fascinating, accessible account of how Zimbabweans actually lived (and died) during the world's second-highest hyperinflation..." - Professor Steve H. Hanke, Johns Hopkins University
An eccentric classic of Zen poetry When Zen master Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481) was appointed headmaster of the great temple at Kyoto, he lasted nine days before denouncing the rampant hypocrisy he saw among the monks there. He in turn invited them to look for him in the sake parlors of the Pleasure Quarters. A Zen monk-poet-calligrapher-musician, he dared to write about the joys of erotic love, along with more traditional Zen themes. He was an eccentric and genius who dared to defy authority and despised corruption. Although he lived during times plagued by war, famine, rioting, and religious upheaval, his writing and music prevailed, influencing Japanese culture to this day. "Ikkyu scandalized the Zen community of his day and is likely to scandalize some readers even nowhis short poems are simultaneously bawdy, abrupt, vulgar, and reverential... It is impossible not to love the velocity and variety of his verse."The Philadelphia Inquirer "Stephen Berg is exactly the right poet to have translated these poems."Hayden Carruth, The Hudson Review "A deeply sensual man, Ikkyu had little patience for the fussiness of monastic life and ritual... What is especially appealing about Ikkyu's poetry is the way his sensuality infuses his Zen sensibility."American Book Review Stephen Berg (1934-2014) was the founder and editor of American Poetry Review. Also available by Stephen Berg Steel Cricket PB $16.00, 1-55659-075-X CUSA New & Selected Poems PB $12.00, 1-55659-043-1 CUSA
AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Never stop...Never forget...Just remember. Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They've been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning...they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love...every memory has vanished. Now Charlie and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be...the more they question why they were ever together to begin with. Forgetting is terrifying, but remembering may be worse. Heart-stopping and utterly captivating, the complete Never Never series, now available in one volume, will leave readers breathless and believing in the power of love. Perfect for fans of: * Verity, Too Late and The Wives * New Adult and Coming of Age stories * Angsty, romantic suspense * First loves and second chances * Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher, Mia Sheridan and Lucy Score Don't miss the bestselling romantic mystery— Now available in a stunning hardcover Collector's Edition featuring nine exclusive illustrations, a foil-stamped case, beautifully sprayed edges and custom designed endpapers!
TIME-TESTED, ROCK-SOLID ADVICE THAT HAS CARRIED THOUSANDS OF NOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE UP THE LADDER OF SUCCESS IN THEIR BUSINESS AND PERSONAL LIVES A classic book that gave birth to the self-help industry, How to Win Friends and Influence People is a phenomenal bestseller, having sold over 15 million copies worldwide and still going strong. It has been translated into 31 languages and is on Time magazine's list of 100 most influential books of all time. Dale Carnegie offers practical and proven advice on how to deal with people and understand them in order to get along well with them to make your life more rewarding. Carnegie believed that financial success, to a very large extent, depends on 'the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people.' He teaches these skills through fundamental principles of dealing with people so that they feel important and appreciated. He also details techniques for handling people without making them feel manipulated. This book will teach you how to: ●Think new thoughts, get out of a mental rut, acquire new visions and discover new ambitions ● Increase your popularity and make friends quickly and easily ● Increase your influence, prestige and the ability to get things done ●Become a better speaker and a more effective conversationalist ●Avoid arguments and keep your communication smooth and pleasant Carnegie illustrates his points with anecdotes of historical figures, leaders of the business world, and everyday folks. One of the world's best-known self-made billionaire, Warren Buffett, has said that this is the book that changed his life.
This New York Times bestseller and business classic has been fully updated for a world where skilled communication is more important than ever. The book that revolutionized business communications has been updated for today’s workplace. Crucial Conversations provides powerful skills to ensure every conversation―especially difficult ones―leads to the results you want. Written in an engaging and witty style, it teaches readers how to be persuasive rather than abrasive, how to get back to productive dialogue when others blow up or clam up, and it offers powerful skills for mastering high-stakes conversations, regardless of the topic or person. This new edition addresses issues that have arisen in recent years. You’ll learn how to: * Respond when someone initiates aCrucial Conversationwith you * Identify and address the lag time between identifying a problem and discussing it * Communicate more effectively across digital mediums When stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong, you have three choices: Avoid a crucial conversation and suffer the consequences; handle the conversation poorly and suffer the consequences; or apply the lessons and strategies of Crucial Conversations and improve relationships and results. Whether they take place at work or at home, with your coworkers or your spouse, Crucial Conversations have a profound impact on your career, your happiness, and your future. With the skills you learn in this book, you'll never have to worry about the outcome of a Crucial Conversation again.
This is one man’s chronicle, at times indignant and at others reflective, of an extraordinary moment in the history of the world, a moment of crisis whose eventual resolution will have far-reaching consequences for our children and their children. The author is Professor Thomas Harrington. His primary field of study is Hispanic culture and history, with a focus on Catalonian language, history and nationalism. With a deep knowledge of the life of a particular region and language group, he cultivated a keen insight into the difference between what is authentic and organic to a social order and what is exogenous and imposed by a ruling-class structure. He has a particular curiosity about the latter. His profound awareness of this power in operation in world events allowed him to see what so many others missed: namely he knew something was very off about the Covid response from the beginning. It’s to the eternal disgrace of so many elites in the political, economic, cultural, and academic world that so many participated in the “great reset” and, further, that so many who did not participate remained silent even as essential social, market, and cultural functioning was systematically dismantled by force with the full participation of the commanding heights of society. Privileged people, whose educational background putatively provided them with greater critical thinking skills than most, and hence an enhanced ability to see through the barrage of propaganda, fell immediately and massively into line. Not only did we see them overwhelmingly accept the government’s repressive, unproven and often patently unscientific measures to contain the Covid virus, but watched many of them emerge online and in other public forums as semi-official enforcers of repressive Government policies and Big Pharma marketing pitches. They mocked and ignored world-class doctors and scientists, and anyone else who expressed ideas that were at variance with official government policies. They told us, ridiculously, that science was not a continuous process of trial and error, but a fixed canon of immutable laws, while promoting, on that same absurd basis, the establishment and enforcement of medical apartheid within families and communities. In the name of keeping their children safe from a virus that could do them virtually no harm, they greatly impeded their long-term social, physical and intellectual development through useless mask-wearing, social distancing and screen-based learning. And in the name of protecting the elderly, they promulgated medically useless rules that forced many older people to suffer and die alone, deprived of the comfort of their loved ones. Many of these people, who by dint of their educational backgrounds should have found it more easy than most to go to the primary sources of scientific information on the virus and the measures taken to lessen its impact, chose in large numbers—with doctors being very prominent among them—to instead “educate” themselves on these important matters with curt summaries derived from the mainstream press, social media or Pharma-captured agencies like the CDC and the FDA. This, paradoxically, while millions of intrepid and less credentialed people with a greater desire to know the truth, often became quite knowledgeable about the actual state of ’the science.” This devastating case of class abdication—which essentially turned the old adage about “To whom much is given, much is expected” on its head—is a central focus of this book. It was the treason of experts.
Some things change life as we know it forever. This is the book that caused a sensation when originally published in Spanish in 2022 (as La Filosofia de Bitcoin) for its novel exploration of why Bitcoin is a creative disruption to civilization comparable to gunpowder, the stirrup, or the internet. Now available in translation for English readers, The Philosophy of Bitcoin explores, from a philosophical point of view, the nature of Bitcoin, its political implications, and its relationship with the State. Based on an analysis of its innovations, the author explains what and why institutions are put in crisis as a result of Bitcoin, and why it is stoking the crucible of disruption like nothing else for a very long time. "Álvaro D. María’s book does an excellent job of breaking down the nuance between money’s relationship with the State. Bitcoin’s emergence will transform the State because the very concept of money has been redefined. In fact, you could say this transformation has already begun with the wave of nation-state Bitcoin adoption currently making its way across the world. D. María deftly navigates this transformation in his book, covering topics such as the emergence of new social contracts and the coming change in both economics and politics." —Samson Mow, JAN3 CEO "This book ignites the critical thinking of all kinds of readers; it is accessible to beginners seeking a gateway to Bitcoin and stimulating for experts reimagining the matter. Álvaro D. María commands the art of explaining complex social and economic processes in simple terms. He can relevantly quote from Greek philosophers, Golden Age poets, Nobel laureates, or even Shrek to welcome each of us, “newbies” and “original gangsters” alike, into this bottom-up grassroot revolution." —Gabriel Kurman, founder of Rootstock; CEO, Koibanx "As we search for reasons to say “yes” to Bitcoin, we often look into the economic sphere, finding motives in the Fiat model or Executive Order 6102. We also look for arguments in the lack of freedoms, censorship, or the prevailing KYC. But what about the reasons of political philosophy, and the reasons that are anchored to the most radical changes that man has experienced and that involve centuries or millennia? The Philosophy of Bitcoinby Álvaro D. María makes you understand where we are and shows you why Bitcoin and cyberspace are the beginning of the crumbling of the state absolutism in which we live. Few books deserve a 10 out of 10." —Lunaticoin "The Philosophy of Bitcoin is a book that had to exist. It is not only because of how D. María managed to synthesize the historical discussion of power and state in 100 pages, but also because, in Spanish, there was a huge philosophical gap in the analysis of Bitcoin. The book is a contribution at all levels: for those who are just starting to learn about Bitcoin, for those who are already users, or for those who have become Bitcoiners. The book is definitely a philosophical revelation about Bitcoin, available to everyone." —Javier Bastardo, author of Satoshi in Venezuela "The Philosophy of Bitcoin provides insightful guidance to explore the deeper implications of Bitcoin beyond its role as a currency. The book recognizes Bitcoin as a transformative breakthrough for humanity, and Álvaro D. María expertly analyzes its impact on the relationship between money and the State. He skillfully navigates this transformation, exploring topics such as the emergence of new social contracts, changes in economics and politics, and the redefinition of property rights. A must read for anyone interested in Bitcoin and Austrian economics." —Prince Philip of Serbia Álvaro D. María holds double degrees in law and philosophy. When he wrote and published this book in Spanish in 2022 it was an instant success. This edition marks the debute of his work in English.
Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of the most influential works in the history of political thought and the adjective Machiavellian is well-known and perhaps even over-used. So why does the meaning of the text continue to be debated to the present day? And how does a contemporary reader get to grips with a book full of references to the politics of the early 16th Century? The Routledge Guidebook to Machiavelli’s The Prince provides readers with the historical background, textual analysis, and other relevant information needed for a greater understanding and appreciation of this classic text. This guidebook introduces: * the historical, political and intellectual context in which Machiavelli was working * the key ideas developed by Machiavelli throughout the text and the examples he uses to illustrate them * the relationship of The Prince to The Discourses and Machiavelli’s other works Featuring a timeline, maps and suggestions for further reading throughout, this book is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to be able to engage more fully with The Prince.
4th Edition (2022), 22 chapters, 320,000 words, Over 500 pages Michael Bazzell has helped hundreds of celebrities, billionaires, and everyday citizens completely disappear from public view. He is now known in Hollywood as the guy that “fixes” things. His previous books about privacy were mostly REACTIVE and he focused on ways to hide information, clean up an online presence, and sanitize public records to avoid unwanted exposure. This textbook is PROACTIVE. It is about starting over. It is the complete guide that he would give to any new client in an extreme situation. It leaves nothing out, and provides explicit details of every step he takes to make someone completely disappear, including document templates and a chronological order of events. The information shared in this volume is based on real experiences with his actual clients, and is unlike any content ever released in his other books.
The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times is René Guénon's most prophetic work. Having seen his telling analysis of Western culture, The Crisis of the Modern World, swiftly overtaken by events, he based this his final and most profound critique squarely on changeless metaphysical principles. He exposes with his fabled clarity the precise nature of the modern deviation, devoting special attention to the part played by modern philosophy and science (with their accompanying notions of progress and evolution) in the formation of the industrial and democratic society that we now regard as "normal." He sees history as a descent from Form (or Quality) toward Matter (or Quantity). But following after the Reign of Quantity (modern materialism and the "rise of the masses"), Guénon predicts a reign of "inverted quality" just before the end of the age: the triumph of the "counter-initiation" the kingdom of Antichrist. Although Guénon bases his critique on "abstract" principles, his examples are satisfyingly concrete: his remarks on "the degeneration of coinage" could easily be updated to include the transformation of money into electronically-stored digital information; his treatment of "the significance of metallurgy" as regards its occult dangers points directly to our own well-founded fear of such man-made elements as plutonium; and his chapter on the "cracks in the Great Wall" gives solid metaphysical grounding to our twenty-first century demonology, including the UFO phenomenon. This text is considered the magnum opus among Guénon's works of civilizational criticism, as is Symbols of Sacred Science among his studies on symbols and cosmology, and Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta among his more purely metaphysical works. The Reign of Quantity gives a concise but comprehensive view of the present state of affairs in the world, as it appears from the point of view of the 'ancient wisdom', formerly common both to the East and to the West, but now almost entirely lost sight of. The author indicates with his fabled clarity and directness the precise nature of the modern deviation, and devotes special attention to the development of modern philosophy and science, and to the part played by them, with their accompanying notions of progress and evolution, in the formation of the industrial and democratic society which we now regard as 'normal'. Guénon sees history as a descent from Form (or Quality) toward Matter (or Quantity); but after the Reign of Quantity-modern materialism and the 'rise of the masses'-Guénon predicts a reign of 'inverted quality' just before the end of the age: the triumph of the 'counter-initiation', the kingdom of Antichrist. This text is considered the magnum opus among Guénon's texts of civilizational criticism, as is Symbols of Sacred Science among his studies on symbols and cosmology, and Man and His Becoming according to the Vedanta among his more purely metaphysical works.
Of the books published regarding hyperinflation, this may be the only one that provides effective strategies for operating a business under conditions of a rapidly depreciating currency. "The Hyperinflation Survival Guide: Strategies for American Businesses" was written by Dr. Gerald Swanson (an associate professor of economics at the University of Arizona). Harry E. Figgie, Jr. sponsored the research and production of this book. As it was originally printed in 1989, it was way ahead of its time. However, this doesn't change the fact that this book will prove to be an excellent resource for businessmen and individuals once the Federal Reserve's destruction of the U.S. dollar enters its terminal stage.
The story of the idealists, technologists, and opportunists fighting to bring cryptocurrency to the masses. In their short history, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have gone through booms, busts, and internecine wars, recently reaching a market valuation of more than $2 trillion. The central promise of crypto endures—vast fortunes made from decentralized networks not controlled by any single entity and not yet regulated by many governments. The recent growth of crypto would have been all but impossible if not for a brilliant young man named Vitalik Buterin and his creation: Ethereum. In this book, Laura Shin takes readers inside the founding of this novel cryptocurrency network, which enabled users to launch their own new coins, thus creating a new crypto fever. She introduces readers to larger-than-life characters like Buterin, the Web3 wunderkind; his short-lived CEO, Charles Hoskinson; and Joe Lubin, a former Goldman Sachs VP who became one of crypto’s most well-known billionaires. Sparks fly as these outsized personalities fight for their piece of a seemingly limitless new business opportunity. This fascinating book shows the crypto market for what it really is: a deeply personal struggle to influence the coming revolution in money, culture, and power.