"It is hard to imagine this magnificent biography ever being superseded . . . It is a stylish, splendidly erudite work." —Terry Eagleton, The Guardian"More than any other public figure of the eighteenth century, Tom Paine strikes our times like a trumpet blast from a distant world." So begins John Keane's magnificent and award-winning (the Fraunces Tavern Book Award) biography of one of democracy's greatest champions.Among friends and enemies alike...

'DEMOCRACY HAS A LONG, EVENTFUL PAST. DOES IT HAVE A FUTURE?The roots of democracy stretch back beyond Athens to Syria- Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent, where citizens' assemblies held privilege and power to account over 3,000 years before the French Revolution. In this timely and illuminating new global history, John Keane ('one of the world's leading political thinkers' ,The Times) gets to the heart of a complex, ever-evolving ideal.Today, American-style democracy may appear to b...

Desde sus orígenes en Siria y Mesopotamia (que no en Atenas) hasta hoy, pasando por sus momentos de mayor fervor revolucionario en Francia y América, la democracia ha cuestionado siempre las formas estereotipadas de entender quién ha de ostentar poder y privilegios, y por qué. La democracia nos invita a llevar a cabo un acción radical: considerarnos iguales y decidir por nosotros mismos sobre nuestra vida y nuestro futuro. John Keane rastrea cómo surgió y evolucionó este concepto, desde la...

Democracy and despotism live closer together than you’d expect—this briskly astute book reveals why that should alarm us all.We live in troubled times, marked by a sinister trend threatening democracy everywhere: the triumph of despotism not only in countries like Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, but also in states run by popularly elected demagogues—Orbán and Erdoğan, Netanyahu and Trump.Leading political thinker John Keane shows why this new despotism defies the laws of pol...

When love took flight, a miracle followed.Flight of a Dog's Soul is a true story blending memoir and spiritual inspiration. It was born from the grief of losing a beloved companion—and the extraordinary miracle that followed. When Clouseau, the author's cherished dog, passed away, sorrow filled the home—until, within hours, a mourning dove appeared in a way that felt like more than coincidence. Landing on a shoulder, walking gently up an arm, and pressing its cheek...

We live in a revolutionary age of communicative abundance in which many media innovations - from satellite broadcasting to smart glasses and electronic books - spawn great fascination mixed with excitement. In the field of politics, hopeful talk of digital democracy, cybercitizens and e-government has been flourishing. This book admits the many thrilling ways that communicative abundance is fundamentally altering the contours of our lives and of our politics, often for the better. But it a...

Revisión histórica heterodoxa de la democracia, de sus orígenes y de sus mitos fundacionales. Dividido en tres partes, este libro aborda los diferentes tipos de democracia que se han instaurado en cada época de la historia y sus características. Rastrea los orígenes de esta forma de organización en las antiguas civilizaciones de Mesopotamia. Revisa los principales ideales acerca de la naturaleza de la democracia representativa, permeada por los idearios de la ilustración del siglo XVIII, y...

A disturbing in-depth exposé of the antidemocratic practices of despotic governments now sweeping the world.One day they’ll be like us. That was once the West’s complacent and self-regarding assumption about countries emerging from poverty, imperial rule, or communism. But many have hardened into something very different from liberal democracy: what the eminent political thinker John Keane describes as a new form of despotism. And one day, he warns, we may be more ...

The full chronological sweep of democracy, from the assemblies of ancient Mesopotamia and Athens to present perils around the globe. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.This compact history unspools the tumultuous global story that began with democracy's radical core idea: We can collaborate, as equals, to determine our own futures. Acclaimed political thinker John Keane traces how this concept emerged a...

The full chronological sweep of democracy, from the assemblies of ancient Mesopotamia and Athens to present perils around the globe. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.This compact history unspools the tumultuous global story that began with democracy’s radical core idea: We can collaborate, as equals, to determine our own futures. Acclaimed political thinker John Keane traces how this concept emerged a...

A Moggy for MichaelOriginally published in Reader's Digest and delivered to 40 million readers worldwide in 13 languages across 40 countries. Also featured in Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul.When ten-year-old Mike Cunningham's cat disappears, he does something most kids wouldn't dare—he calls a pet detective, even though his father says it's a waste of time.Sam wasn't just a cat. He was a gift from Mike's mother before she died six mo...

Numa época em que a incerteza sobre o mundo atravessa todas as dimensões da nossa vida, olhar para os quatro milénios de democracia, bem como para o seu verdadeiro valor, pode ser a chave para perspetivar o futuro. Dos primórdios da democracia - que viu a luz do dia na Mesopotâmia, antes de Atenas - até ao papel que teve no fervor revolucionário em França e na América, esta palavra de dez letras mudou por completo a nossa história. A verdade é que o conceito de democracia desfez o jogo do ...