On My Radar:

 The Hidden History of American Democracy: Rediscovering Humanity's Ancient Way of Living

by Thom Hartmann

Barrett-Koehler Publishers

Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

In this powerful, sweeping history and analysis of American democracy, Thom Hartmann shows how democracy is the one form of governance most likely to produce peace and happiness among people.

With the violent exception of the Civil War, American democracy resisted the pressure to disintegrate into factionalism for nearly two centuries, and now our very system of democratic elections is at stake. So how do we save our democracy?

Hartmann’s newest book in the celebrated Hidden History Series offers a clear call to action and a set of solutions with road maps for individuals and communities to follow to create a safer, more just society and a more equitable and prosperous economy.

Now Available:

How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive

by Jennifer Brown

Berrett-Koehler

Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

The need for inclusive leadership has never been more urgent. In the United States, the wealth gap is the greatest it has ever been, with women, people of color, and other marginalized communities being the most impacted by economic and societal inequities. In the workplace, representation is still sorely lacking across every industry. Pay disparities, low wages, and lack of benefits continue to characterize many jobs in the nation's labor force. These realities have an impact on generations, communities, and our society overall. To build a more equitable future, leaders must grasp the urgency of their role and responsibility in the change effort. 

In this updated and greatly expanded second edition of her bestselling book, Jennifer Brown takes a deeper dive into what it takes to be an inclusive leader and examines the challenges and mindsets that continue to hold many leaders back. Combining nearly two decades of professional DEI expertise with personal experience and reflection, she tackles complex topics such as identity, privilege, and systemic inequities. Following her widely acclaimed Inclusive Leader Continuum, Brown makes the journey to becoming an inclusive leader more informed and actionable by offering new structure and content throughout the new edition of the book, including new insights and stories, detailed strategies and tools, and discussion guides to spark learning at the individual and organizational levels. 

Whether you are already a fan of the first edition of How to Be an Inclusive Leader or are just embarking on your journey to become a more inclusive leader, this book will meet you where you are and equip you to take action and step into your role in the change effort.

Now Available:

Show the Value of What You Do:  Measuring and Achieving Success in Any Endeavor

by Patricia Pulliam Phillips & Jack J. Phillips

Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

In an era of evidence-based inquiry, people need to be able to demonstrate the value of their projects credibly. But how do you do that when there isn't an obvious measure connected to the project, like increased sales?

In their new book Patti and Jack Phillips, the cofounders of ROI Institute, show how you can adopt the same methodology used by more than 6,000 organizations in seventy countries to evaluate large institutional initiatives. By following their six-step process, you can build a case for any project, process, or intervention, even so-called soft programs. For example, the first case study in the book involves successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of chaplaincy in an intensive care unit.

The authors explain how to link your project to a meaningful business outcome, make sure your project will actually influence that outcome, identify metrics that will show if you're making progress, collect and analyze data, and use the results to build support.

This book includes extensive examples from a wide range of organizations: businesses, nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and more. It provides diagnostic tools and supportive practices and even offers advice on how to find a positive interpretation for results that don't conform to your anticipated outcome.

Answering the question Is it worth it? defines the ultimate value of any project. Using the methodology this book presents will keep your work relevant, your career on track, and your organization healthy.

in My TBR Stack:

Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old? The Path of Purposeful Aging
by Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro
Berrett-Koehler
Hardcover


From the publisher's website:

Everyone is getting old; not everyone is growing old. But the path of purposeful aging is accessible to all—and it's fundamental to health, happiness, and longevity.

With a focus on growing whole through developing a sense of purpose in later life, Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old? celebrates the experience of aging with inspiring stories, real-world practices, and provocative questions. Framed by a long conversation between two old friends, the book reconceives aging as a liberating experience that enables us to become more authentically the person we always meant to be with each passing year.

In their bestseller Repacking Your Bags, Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro defined the good life as “living in the place you belong, with people you love, doing the right work, on purpose.” This book builds on that definition to offer a purposeful path for living well while aging well.

In My TBR Stack:

Touching the Jaguar: Transforming Fear into Action to Change Your Life and the World
by John Perkins
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

When New York Times bestselling author John Perkins was a young Peace Corps volunteer, his life was saved by an Amazonian shaman who taught him to "touch the jaguar”—to transform his fears into positive action. He went on to become an "economic hit man" (EHM), convincing developing countries to build huge infrastructure projects that put them perpetually in debt to the World Bank and other US-controlled institutions. Although he sincerely believed this was the best model for economic development, he came to realize it was really a new form of colonialism. Returning to the Amazon, he saw the destructive impact of his EHM work. But he also was inspired by a previously uncontacted tribe that touched its jaguar by uniting with its enemies to defend its territory against invading oil and mining companies. 

For the first time, Perkins details how his experiences in the Amazon converted him from an EHM to a crusader for transforming our failing Death Economy that destroys its own resources and nature itself into a flourishing Life Economy that renews itself. He provides a strategy for each of us to change our lives and defend our territory—the earth—against destructive policies and systems.

In My TBR Stack:

The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back
by Thom Hartmann
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

America’s #1 progressive radio host looks at how elites have long tried to disenfranchise citizens–particularly people of color, women, and the poor–and shows what we can do to ensure everyone has a voice in this democracy.

In today’s America, only a slim majority of people register to vote, and a large percentage of registered voters don’t bother to show up: Donald Trump was elected by only 26 percent of eligible voters. Unfortunately, this is not a bug in our system, it’s a feature. Thom Hartmann unveils the strategies and tactics that conservative elites in this country have used, from the foundation of the Electoral College to the latest voter ID laws, to protect their interests by preventing “the wrong people”–such as the poor, women, and people of color–from voting while making it more convenient for the wealthy and white. But he also lays out a wide variety of simple, commonsense ways that we the people can fight back and reclaim our right to rule through the ballot box.

In My TBR Stack:

The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America
by Thom Hartmann
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann asks, What if the Supreme Court didn't have the power to strike down laws? According to the Constitution, it doesn't. From the founding of the republic until 1803, the Supreme Court was the final court of appeals, as it was always meant to be. So where did the concept of judicial review start? As so much of modern American history, it began with the battle between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and with Marbury v. Madison. 

Hartmann argues it is not the role of the Supreme Court to decide what the law is but rather the duty of the people themselves. He lays out the history of the Supreme Court of the United States, since Alexander Hamilton's defense to modern-day debates, with key examples of cases where the Supreme Court overstepped its constitutional powers. The ultimate remedy to the Supreme Court's abuse of power is with the people--the ultimate arbiter of the law--using the ballot box. America does not belong to the kings and queens; it belongs to the people.





Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth
by Rachel Maddow
Crown Publishing
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

In 2010, the words “earthquake swarm” entered the lexicon in Oklahoma. That same year, a trove of Michael Jackson memorabilia—including his iconic crystal-encrusted white glove—was sold at auction for over $1 million to a guy who was, officially, just the lowly forestry minister of the tiny nation of Equatorial Guinea. And in 2014, Ukrainian revolutionaries raided the palace of their ousted president and found a zoo of peacocks, gilded toilets, and a floating restaurant modeled after a Spanish galleon. Unlikely as it might seem, there is a thread connecting these events, and Rachel Maddow follows it to its crooked source: the unimaginably lucrative and equally corrupting oil and gas industry.

With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe, revealing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas along the way, and drawing a surprising conclusion about why the Russian government hacked the 2016 U.S. election. She deftly shows how Russia’s rich reserves of crude have, paradoxically, stunted its growth, forcing Putin to maintain his power by spreading Russia’s rot into its rivals, its neighbors, the West’s most important alliances, and the United States. Chevron, BP, and a host of other industry players get their star turn, most notably ExxonMobil and the deceptively well-behaved Rex Tillerson. The oil and gas industry has weakened democracies in developed and developing countries, fouled oceans and rivers, and propped up authoritarian thieves and killers. But being outraged at it is, according to Maddow, “like being indignant when a lion takes down and eats a gazelle. You can’t really blame the lion. It’s in her nature.”

Blowout is a call to contain the lion: to stop subsidizing the wealthiest businesses on earth, to fight for transparency, and to check the influence of the world’s most destructive industry and its enablers. The stakes have never been higher. As Maddow writes, “Democracy either wins this one or disappears.”

In My TBR Stack:

Bedtime Stories for Managers
by Henry Mintzberg
Berrett-Koehler
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

If you're like most managers and things keep you up at night, now you can turn to a book that's designed especially for you! But you won't find talking rabbits or princesses here. (There is a cow, but it doesn't jump.) Henry Mintzberg has culled forty-two of the best posts from his widely read blog and turned them into a deceptively light, sneakily serious compendium of sometimes heretical reflections on management. 

The moral here is this: managers need to leave their castles and find out what's actually going on in their kingdoms. And like real bedtime stories, these essays have metaphors galore. So prepare to grow strategies like weeds and organize like a cow. Discover the maestro myth of managing, find the soft underbelly of hard data, and learn why downsizing is bloodletting and your board should be a bee. Mintzberg writes, “Just try not to be outraged by anything you read, because some of my most outrageous ideas turn out to be my best. They just take a while to become obvious.”

In My TBR Stack:

Servant Leadership in Action: How You Can Achieve Great Relationships and Results
Edited by Ken Blanchard & Renee Broadwell
Berrett-Koehler
Hardcover
From the publisher's website:

We've all seen the negative impact of self-serving leaders in every sector of our society. Not infrequently, they end up bringing down their entire organization. But there is another way: servant leadership. 

Servant leaders lead by serving their people, not by exalting themselves. This collection features forty-four renowned servant leadership experts and practitioners—prominent business executives, bestselling authors, and respected spiritual leaders—who offer advice and tools for implementing this proven, but for some still radical, leadership model. 

Edited by legendary business author and lifelong servant leader Ken Blanchard and his longtime editor Renee Broadwell, this is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging guide ever published for what is, in every sense, a better way to lead.

In My TBR Stack:

The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love
by Sonya Renee Taylor
Berrett-Koehler
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

A global movement guided by love Humans are a varied and divergent bunch with all manner of beliefs, morals, and bodies. Systems of oppression thrive off our inability to make peace with difference and injure the relationship we have with our own bodies. The Body Is Not an Apology offers radical self-love as the balm to heal the wounds inflicted by these violent systems. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world for us all.

Online Marketing for Busy Authors

A Step-by-Step Guide (available 4/19/16)
by Fauzia Burke
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Trade Paperback

 "Fauzia Burke has been on the web promoting books from the very beginning . . . She knows exactly what kinds of web promotion will drive book sales, and doesn't waste your time or money with distractions."
-- Madeline McIntosh, President, Penguin Random House

There has truly never been a better time to be an author. For the first time, you have direct access to your readers via the Internet -- you can create a community eagerly awaiting your next book (and telling their friends about it too). But where do you start? How do sort through the dizzying range of online options? Where is it most worth spending your time -- what is a "must do" and what is a "might do"?

Enter Fauzia Burke, a digital book marketing pioneer and friend of overwhelmed writers everywhere. She not only makes the job of building your online brand doable, but she proves that it can be fun and fulfilling, too.

Burke takes authors step by step through the process of identifying their unique personal brand, defining their audience, clarifying their aspirations and goals, and setting priorities. Once that foundation is established, she walks you through the process of developing a personalized, sustainable long-term online marketing plan. She offers advice on designing a successful website, building a mailing list of super fans, blogging, creating an engagement strategy for social media, and more.

"Once you build your brand," Burke writes, "no one can take it away from you." Your digital brand is a conversation about your book that builds your community one relationship at a time. By following Burke's expert advice, any author can conquer the Internet and still get their next manuscript in on time.

Author Bio

Fauzia Burke is the founder and president of FSB Associates, an online publicity and marketing firm specializing in creating awareness for books and authors. She's the author of Online Marketing for Busy Authors (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, April 2016). Fauzia has promoted the books of authors such as Alan Alda, Arianna Huffington, Deepak Chopra, Melissa Francis, S. C. Gwynne, Mika Brzezinski, Charles Spencer and many more. A nationally recognized speaker and online branding expert, Fauzia writes for the Huffington Post, Maria Shriver and MindBodyGreen. For online marketing, book publishing and social media advice, follow Fauzia on Twitter (@FauziaBurke) and Facebook (Fauzia S. Burke). For more information on the book, please visit: www.FauziaBurke.com.

Endorsements

Authors

"Fauzia delivered more than I imagined was possible, plus she's fun to work with."
-- Alan Alda, award winning actor and author of two New York Times bestsellers

"I've known Fauzia for over twenty years, and I can honestly say that no one knows more about the ins and outs of online marketing for books. Fauzia gives authors the practical advice they need to find as wide an audience as possible for their books."

-- R. J. Palacio, author of The New York Times bestseller, Wonder

"Fauzia Burke is intelligent, well connected, and effective. With her considered online publicity campaigns, she reaches the parts of the media that conventional PR either doesn't understand, or wrongly ignores."

-- Charles Spencer, author of Killers of the King and other bestselling books

"In these days, an author needs a steady, capable guide to navigate the many difficulties of getting books seen and heard. Fauzia Burke and her small but mighty team offer not only smart thinking when it comes to online marketing but support and friendship every step of the way. Fauzia's hands-on and kind approach works and the steps she has outlined in her book will help any author build a base of readers.
She's simply the best."

-- Jan Jarboe Russell, author of The New York Times Bestseller The Train To Crystal City

"Fauzia creativity and diligent commitment to online publicity and social media are unsurpassed. Unequivocally, she is the premier "Go-To" online marketer."

-- Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, author of We Can All Do Better

Publishers

"Fauzia Burke has been on the web promoting books from the very beginning, and I have consistently admired her perfect balance of creativity with practicality. She knows exactly what kinds of web promotion will drive book sales, and doesn't waste your time or money with distractions. She gets results, and is also a pleasure to work with."
-- Madeline McIntosh, President, Penguin Random House

"Fauzia Burke was talking about online marketing years before the rest of us even knew what that meant, and she continues to lead the way.  We should consider ourselves lucky that she is as generous in sharing her hard-won knowledge as she is ahead of the curve in gaining it."
-- Bob Miller, President and Publisher of Flatiron Books/Macmillan

"Always innovative and effective, I have no reservations in recommending Fauzia Burke."
-- Judith Curr, President and Publisher, Atria Publishing Group/Simon & Schuster

"Fauzia Burke knows better than anyone how to utilize the broad and sometimes confusing array of digital marketing tools on behalf of books."
-- Walter Weintz, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Workman Publishing

"Fauzia Burke is one of the most innovative marketing experts in the publishing industry. Her tireless dedication to her clients, paired with her tenacity for exploring new marketing opportunities, is unmatched in my view. Her arsenal is highly sought after and she brings positive, pragmatic, and powerful expertise to any author's table."
-- Kate Rados, Director, Community Development for The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

Agents

"With her industry savvy, creative thinking, passion for online PR and brand development, and boundless energy, Fauzia is a true asset to any author."
-- Sandra Dijkstra – Literary Agent and Founder of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

"When it comes to publicizing a book on the web, nobody has the range and expertise of Fauzia Burke."
-- Larry J. Kirshbaum – Literary Agent with The Waxman Leavell Literary Agency

"Fauzia Burke is an industry leader in the world of online publicity and marketing . I have recommended Fauzia to many clients, with total confidence , and they have all been thrilled with the results."
-- Wendy Sherman, Literary Agent and Founder of Wendy Sherman Associates

"Armed with years of experience, Fauzia has been successfully pioneering the world of online marketing to help authors connect with their readers, and produce terrific, long lasting results."
-- Amy Hughes, Literary Agent with Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary Agency 

-30-

In My TBR Stack:

Find Your Balance Point: Clarify Your Priorities, Simplify Your Life, and Achieve More
by Brian Tracy and Christina Stein
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Everyone today has too much to do and too little time—that’s not going to change. The only way to make our lives less stressful is to make sure we spend more time doing the things that matter most and less time doing the things that matter less. When we’re not clear on what is really important, we make thoughtless and impulsive choices and end up feeling exhausted and unfulfilled.

Bestselling author Brian Tracy teams up with therapist Christina Stein to show how to find true balance—when all your actions and choices are guided by a profound knowledge of your deepest personal values, vision, purpose, and goals. Not only will you feel less stressed, but you’ll accomplish more, and more efficiently, than you ever thought possible.

When you operate from your true balance point, you feel clear and focused, and everything in your life feels like it is in perfect harmony. You go through your day with courage, confidence, and purpose because everything you do is in alignment with who you are.

Through questions that guide you to reflect and focus, as well as concrete action steps and exercises, Tracy and Stein help you discover your personal balance point and show how you can use it to set priorities and manage your time in a way that both energizes you and simplifies every aspect of your life. The result is a new, active approach to integrating life balance, work achievement, and time management. 

On My Radar:

The Orbital Perspective: Lessons in Seeing the Big Picture From a Journey of 71 Million Miles
by Ron Garan
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

For astronaut Ron Garan, living on the International Space Station was a powerful, transformative experience-one that he believes holds the key to solving our problems on Earth.

On spacewalks and through windows, Garan was struck by the stunning beauty of the earth from space but sobered by knowing how troubled our planet is. And yet on the International Space Station, Garan, a former fighter pilot, was working side by side with Russians, who only a few years before were "the enemy." If fifteen nationalities could collaborate on one of the most ambitious, technologically complicated undertakings in history, surely we can apply that kind of cooperation and innovation toward creating a better world. That spirit is what Garan calls the "orbital perspective."

Garan vividly conveys what it was like learning to work with a diverse group of people in an environment only a handful of human beings have ever known. But more importantly, he describes how he and others are working to apply the orbital perspective here at home, embracing new partnerships and processes to promote peace and combat hunger, thirst, poverty, and environmental destruction. This book is a call to action for each of us to care for the most important space station of all: planet Earth. You don't need to be an astronaut to have the orbital perspective.

On My Radar:

Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy from Big Money and Global Corporations
Jeffrey D. Clements
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

• STILL ESSENTIAL: The Citizens United decision continues to distort the electoral process and expand the power of corporations
• UPDATED THROUGHOUT: This second edition details both the ruling’s expanding damage to democracy and, in an all-new chapter, how citizens can lead the battle against it

The Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling that corporations are people eliminated campaign finance restrictions and dramatically increased corporate power –but attorney Jeff Clements shows how you can fight back.

Clements explains the strange history of how the Supreme Court came to embrace a concept that flies in the face of not only all common sense but most of American legal history as well. He shows how unfettered corporate rights will impact public health, energy policy, the environment, and the justice system.

In this new edition Clements details Citizens United’s ongoing destructive effects—for example, Chevron was able to spend $1.2 million to influence a single local election in a city of 100,000 people.  But he also describes the growing movement to reverse the ruling—since the first edition 16 states, 160 members of Congress, and 500 cities and towns have called for a Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. And in a new chapter, Do Something!, Clements shows how—state by state and community by community—Americans are using new strategies and tools to renew democracy and curb unbalanced corporate power.

BookSpin Interview:

5 minutes with:

Charlotte Ashlock
Berrett-Koehler
Digital Producer and Editor



Charlotte Ashlock is a very interesting lady.  Don't take my word for it, read her bio here.

I "met" Charlotte on twitter and she has one of the twitter feeds that I stop and read every time.    

When I decided to change things up a bit and include interviews on BookSpin, I thought it would be a good idea to include all sorts of book people:  writers, editors, agents, publishers, and...digital producers.

Charlotte's blog is http://ashlockcharlotte.wordpress.com

1.  Tell me about your journey to working in the publishing industry.

When I was doing the bibliography for my Senior Project at Bard College, I noticed a bunch of the books I had read were all by the same publisher. So I contacted them and told them how much I loved their books, and got an internship on the strength of that.  After my internship, I did website work for a nonprofit and learned a lot of computer skills.  Because of my computer skills and previous internship, I was eventually hired as Berrett-Koehler's Digital Editor. 

2.  What is a "typical" day at work for you?

There is no typical day- my job is to innovate digitally so we can reach our audiences in other ways besides the printed book.  We are doing a lot of rapid prototyping and experimenting with different content delivery forms.  So the variety of projects I work on is endless.  It's a perfect job for someone who wants to use their imagination and their curiosity. 

3.  What has most surprised you about your job?

The praise and warm feedback from my coworkers.  It's a more supportive environment than I've ever worked in before.

4.  What is the best part of your job?  The part you wouldn't trade for anything....

Interacting with the authors always makes me really, really, happy.  Our publishing focus is books that improve lives, organizations, and societies, so our authors are always really driven to make the world a better place. The authors inspire me with their zest and enthusiasm and idealism.

5.  Tell me something I don't know about publishing.

Small presses sometimes receive fewer unsolicited submissions than literary agents.  So if you don't mind being published by a small press (instead of one of the big New York houses) your chances could be better researching the small presses in your niche and targeting them directly.

A big BookSpin thank you to Charlotte for her time and for being the first BookSpin interviewee.  

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Know someone who should be interviewed on BookSpin?  Contact me at the email address on the top right of this page.  :)

Currently Reading:

Embrace the Chaos: How India Taught Me to Stop Overthinking and Start Living
by Bob Miglani
Berrett-Koehler
Trade Paperback

• Shows readers how they can find more joy and fulfillment amidst the chaos and confusion of modern life.
• Illustrated with funny and moving stories of the author’s experiences in India
• Based on Bob Miglani’s popular Embrace the Chaos blog and Facebook page (over 30,000 followers)

Like many of us, Bob Miglani felt overwhelmed and anxious. He worried constantly about his job, his finances, and his family’s future. Life seemed so uncertain and unpredictable, but the more he tried to control it, the more stress he felt. It was a chance invitation to India, the land of his birth, that finally freed him.

India, Miglani writes, is “the capital of chaos”: over a billion people living on one-third the space of the United States, a bewildering mix of different languages, religions, customs, cultures, and castes. And yet somehow things get done and people are generally happy. India made Miglani realize that you simply have to accept “the unpredictable, uncertain, imperfect, and complicated nature of life.” Instead of fighting it, Miglani learned to use his energy on what he could control—his own actions, words, and thoughts. However, thinking too much is just another way of trying to control the chaos. Instead of endlessly pondering possibilities, Miglani found it was better to take action, even imperfectly—to move forward, make mistakes, trust his intuition, find his purpose.

Throughout the book, Miglani tells funny and moving stories of his trips to India, the people he met there, and what each encounter taught him. What happens when you find yourself in an Indian village with no money and a plane to catch? How can an educated urban woman choose the man she is going to marry based on one or two meetings? What keeps a rural Indian health worker motivated despite the enormous need and such limited ability to help? What does trying to catch an insanely overcrowded Indian bus teach you about perfection?

Embracing the chaos, Miglani writes, “is a wonderfully freeing experience that opens us up to new, fresh possibilities. It leads us down paths we never would have walked on, introducing us to new people, new opportunities, and some of the best experiences in our life. It brings out strengths we never knew existed inside of us.” 

On My Radar: Friday Edition

Corporations Are Not People: Why They Have More Rights Than You Do and What You Can Do About It
by Jeffrey D. Clements

Trade Paperback
Berrett-Koehler

From the publisher website:

• A plain-English guide to the disastrous practical consequences of the bizarre legal doctrine of “corporate personhood”— enshrined most recently in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision

• Features a constitutional amendment designed to overturn Citizens United and restore the government to the people

• Includes a “tool kit” to help citizens mount a grassroots campaign to pass the People’s Rights amendment

The January 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision marked a culminating victory for the legal doctrine of corporate personhood. Corporations, as legal persons, are now entitled to exercise their alleged free-speech rights in the form of campaign spending, effectively enabling corporate domination of the electoral process.

Jeffrey Clements uncovers the roots, expansion, and far-reaching effects of the strange and destructive idea, which flies in the face of not only all common sense but, Clements shows, most of American legal history, from 1787 to the 1970s. He details its impact on the American political landscape, economy, job market, environment, and public health—and how it permeates our daily lives, from the quality of air we breathe to the types of jobs we can get to the politicians we elect. Most importantly, he offers a solution: a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and tools readers can use to mount a grassroots drive to get it passed.

Overturning Citizens United is not about a triumph of one political ideology over another—it’s about restoring the democratic principles on which America was built. Republican president Theodore Roosevelt and conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist both vocally opposed the idea of corporate personhood. Community by community, state by state, we can cross party and ideological lines to form a united front against unchecked corporate power in America—and reinstate a government that is truly of, by, and for the people.