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.A History of Modern Britain
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Andrew Marr

May 02, 2008
This book was updated for its paperback release and having read it carefully I suspect that many of the errors referred to by other reviewers were removed at that point. Having lived out of Britain for a sizeable chunk of my adult life, I found that I had much to learn from the pages - several large gaps in my knowledge were filled in.

I found it difficult to detect any signs of bias, and Andrew Marr's easy writing style made it a pleasure to read. This is almost as far removed from the dry history textbook that I wrestled with as a young student as it is possible to be. For anyone wanting a crash course on British modern history, this could not be bettered. Well researched and referenced, this deserves to become a standard. ... Read More:
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.Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship - 2nd Edition (2007)
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: The Home Office - Life in the UK Advisor

March 27, 2007
Here it is, the cure for insomnia!

Given that one of the aims of the Life in the UK test is to test English literacy, you would think the official guide would be written in accessible English! Instead, we are handed this sloppy compilation of pointless statistics, useless abbreviations, dry facts with little context and advice that will make you slap your forehead and scowl: 'Well, OBVIOUSLY!'

A blue box pops up every so often asking the reader 'check that you understand...', but oftentimes what is listed has NOT been explained or even mentioned in what you've just finished reading. I defy anyone to explain to me the differences between the Council of Europe, the Council of the EU, the EU, the EC and the European Parliament ... Read More:
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.The Audacity of Hope
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Barack Obama

February 07, 2008
Barack Obama clearly has a lot to say about vision, but when it comes down to it, not enough reality to talk about. The first few chapters about this book are about visions, values, morals, goals, beliefs, ideals, principles and expectations, and then go on to talk more about visions, values, morals, goals, beliefs, ideals, principles and expectations but around a different theme. This type of talk no doubt works brilliantly as a passionate speech, but reading at this level of detail gets tedious pretty quickly. Fortunately, in between all that there are stories to tell that embellish points effectively and there are other points of reference, but compared to other political books I have read, this one took much longer to make its points.

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.The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Naomi Klein

May 01, 2008
Naomi Klein unveils in this hard-hitting book (naming names) extremely clearly the economic utopia and the shameful realities resulting from the neo-liberal policies of the Chicago School of Economics, also called `The Washington Consensus'.

What
Its defenders claim that the free market is a perfect scientific system, in which individuals acting on their own self-interested desire, create the maximum benefit for all.
But, as no country or city wanted to implement deliberately their policies, its powerful fundamentalist defenders, together with their long arm, the IMF, used and created shocks (wars, military coups, political upheavals, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, epidemics, energy and resource shortages) to force a second ... Read More:
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.Life in the UK Test: Practice Questions: Questions and Answers for British Citizenship and Settlement Tests
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Henry Dillon

April 20, 2007
I have just taken my test last Friday and I passed first time! I finished the test in less than 2 minutes. I bought this book just to see how i was doing after having finished studying the original purple study guide book provided by the home office.
This book has been very helpful. You also get free access to their website when you buy this book. Compared to other websites the questions in this book and their website are very similar to the questions in the real test and there are no nonsense questions. Most questions are purely based on the study guide and I haven't seen any wrong answers to questions.
For as long as you don't miss anything from chapters 2-6, you will definitely pass the test.
I would recommend it to anyone who needs to take the ... Read More:
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.Unjust Rewards: Exposing Greed and Inequality in Britain Today
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Polly Toynbee, David Walker

August 01, 2008
I heard Polly Toynbee at a debate recently and bought her book in order to read more data about the subject. Although one of the rich of this country (I pay higher rate tax at the margin)I am, of course, concerned about society as a whole. By the end of the book I was fuming.
After tricking a few lawyers and bankers into giving her ammunition (which she very selectively uses) she gives a handful of case studies. Firstly, the lawyers are so rich they don't even know how rich they are, therefore, tax them into oblivion - it's only fair! Furthermore, since they aren't experts on the dispersion of incomes within the country she asserts, only slightly tongue in cheek (?), that they shouldn't be allowed to vote. Now the vast majority of people in this country are not economic ... Read More:
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.The Prince (Penguin Classics)
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Niccolo Machiavelli, George Bull

February 16, 2004
This masterpiece of reasoning and good practical handbook on how to get ahead in real life if you happen to be already a man of some means, was a work of great humanity in an age when humanity was still considered disgusting and subserviant to the Lord above and his chosen servants on Earth. What a shot across the bows to all those religious hypocrites and Bible following automatons this must have been, then. Two elements surrounding this work's brave publication are crucial, I feel: One being that this was Italy, (as it became) and at its advanced stage of the great Renaissance, as we now know it, and the second being that it was written at a time which was just right to be publishing order challenging controversial works. After seeing the liberal benefits to man that the use of ... Read More:
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.The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics)
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: MARX & ENGLES

September 09, 2005
"The Communist Manifesto" was first published in 1848 by the so-called founders of scientific socialism, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. It was the political manifesto of a small revolutionary group known as the Communist League. The Manifesto is still being re-issued today, since its considered to be a foundational text of Marxism.

Today, its also much easier to see the absurdities of the Manifesto. The program proposed by Marx and Engels was implemented in the socialist nations. It "worked" temporarily, as these nations created an industrial base and an infrastructure by the use of a planned economy, but only at the cost of enormous sacrifices. In effect, Stalin "built socialism" by plundering the peasantry, super-exploiting the working class and de facto re-introducing ... Read More:
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.Mike's Election Guide 2008
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Michael Moore

August 19, 2008
"The Communist Manifesto" was first published in 1848 by the so-called founders of scientific socialism, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. It was the political manifesto of a small revolutionary group known as the Communist League. The Manifesto is still being re-issued today, since its considered to be a foundational text of Marxism.

Today, its also much easier to see the absurdities of the Manifesto. The program proposed by Marx and Engels was implemented in the socialist nations. It "worked" temporarily, as these nations created an industrial base and an infrastructure by the use of a planned economy, but only at the cost of enormous sacrifices. In effect, Stalin "built socialism" by plundering the peasantry, super-exploiting the working class and de facto re-introducing ... Read More:
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.An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming
City Travel Guides > Books > Government and Politics
by: Nigel Lawson

April 10, 2008
The combined wisdom of the world's leading climate change scientists is clearly no match for Nigel Lawson. He alone is clear sighted enough to see these clever people are all wrong. Stop worrying you people on coastlands and islands as you watch the tide rising. Stop fussing about those droughts Africa and Australia! Trust Nigel, everything will be well because...er because he says so.
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