Bloomsbury Publishing

Exorcising Hitler; the occupation and denazification of Germany.

Taylor, author of Dresden and The Berlin Wall, presents this fascinating account of the end of World War II and the denazification and rebuilding of Germany. The author follows the two themes of political cynicism and rivalry and heroism and determination through the events of early post-war Europe, during which Central and Eastern Europe experienced mass refugee movements and struggles for dominance between Soviet and Western occupation into the Cold War. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Independence; the struggle to set America free.

Ferling (history, U. of West Georgia), author of many books on Revolutionary War era America, traces the evolution of the idea of independence and the events and decisions that ultimately led Congress, with the support of most Americans, to declare independence. The book evaluates key players in the process, both important members of the Continental Congress, many of whom were deeply divided about which course to pursue up until July 1776, and important British ministers and their principal adversaries in Parliament. American independence was not inevitable, Ferling asserts, but the result of a protracted struggle in America over how best to secure the interests of individual colonies and of the North American empire, and in Great Britain over how best to hold their power in North America. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The precariat; the new dangerous class.

The "precariat" is a "class-in-the-making," lacking labor-related security and resulting from the neoliberal insistence on labor market flexibility, according to Standing (economic security, U. of Bath, UK), who argues that it is a dangerous class that is prone to listen to and mobilize behind ugly political voices of populism and neo-fascism. He describes the causes and characteristics of the precariat, the particular place of migrants within the precariat, and political responses to the anomie and anxiety within the precariat (including the scapegoating of immigrants). He also proposes "mildly utopian" political measures for addressing the emergence of the precariat that are guided by an ethos of social solidarity and universalism. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Rat island; predators in paradise and the world's greatest wildlife rescue.

Stolzenburg, a 2010 Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellow, writes an engaging account of the efforts to control or eradicate invasive animal species such as rabbits, foxes, pigs, and especially rats, through shooting, trapping, and poisoning. Most of these battles occur on islands which are some of the richest and most biologically diverse places on the planet and are also experiencing the highest rates of extinction. Stolzenburg tells stories about some of the players in these battles, describes their successes and failures, and explores some of the ethical concerns around this type of preservation effort. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Shadows on the Gulf; a journey through our last great wetland.

This sad and timely volume on the ecological degradation of the American Gulf Coast describes the historical and ongoing destruction of the coastlines, wetlands and marine ecosystems of the region only recently brought so forcefully to the attention of the general public by the British Petroleum oil leak and cleanup disaster. The work is both an ecological and natural history, discussing quantifiable biological damages as well as the effects of disaster and degradation on indigenous peoples, food supplies and Gulf culture. Jacobsen writes about food, culture and the natural world and is the author of the award winning A Geography of Oysters. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)