Author: Stephen Kotkin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520918851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
This study is the first of its kind: a street-level inside account of what Stalinism meant to the masses of ordinary people who lived it. Stephen Kotkin was the first American in 45 years to be allowed into Magnitogorsk, a city built in response to Stalin's decision to transform the predominantly agricultural nation into a "country of metal." With unique access to previously untapped archives and interviews, Kotkin forges a vivid and compelling account of the impact of industrialization on a single urban community. Kotkin argues that Stalinism offered itself as an opportunity for enlightenment. The utopia it proffered, socialism, would be a new civilization based on the repudiation of capitalism. The extent to which the citizenry participated in this scheme and the relationship of the state's ambitions to the dreams of ordinary people form the substance of this fascinating story. Kotkin tells it deftly, with a remarkable understanding of the social and political system, as well as a keen instinct for the details of everyday life. Kotkin depicts a whole range of life: from the blast furnace workers who labored in the enormous iron and steel plant, to the families who struggled with the shortage of housing and services. Thematically organized and closely focused, Magnetic Mountain signals the beginning of a new stage in the writing of Soviet social history.
Magnetic Mountain
Author: Stephen Kotkin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520918851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
This study is the first of its kind: a street-level inside account of what Stalinism meant to the masses of ordinary people who lived it. Stephen Kotkin was the first American in 45 years to be allowed into Magnitogorsk, a city built in response to Stalin's decision to transform the predominantly agricultural nation into a "country of metal." With unique access to previously untapped archives and interviews, Kotkin forges a vivid and compelling account of the impact of industrialization on a single urban community. Kotkin argues that Stalinism offered itself as an opportunity for enlightenment. The utopia it proffered, socialism, would be a new civilization based on the repudiation of capitalism. The extent to which the citizenry participated in this scheme and the relationship of the state's ambitions to the dreams of ordinary people form the substance of this fascinating story. Kotkin tells it deftly, with a remarkable understanding of the social and political system, as well as a keen instinct for the details of everyday life. Kotkin depicts a whole range of life: from the blast furnace workers who labored in the enormous iron and steel plant, to the families who struggled with the shortage of housing and services. Thematically organized and closely focused, Magnetic Mountain signals the beginning of a new stage in the writing of Soviet social history.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520918851
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
This study is the first of its kind: a street-level inside account of what Stalinism meant to the masses of ordinary people who lived it. Stephen Kotkin was the first American in 45 years to be allowed into Magnitogorsk, a city built in response to Stalin's decision to transform the predominantly agricultural nation into a "country of metal." With unique access to previously untapped archives and interviews, Kotkin forges a vivid and compelling account of the impact of industrialization on a single urban community. Kotkin argues that Stalinism offered itself as an opportunity for enlightenment. The utopia it proffered, socialism, would be a new civilization based on the repudiation of capitalism. The extent to which the citizenry participated in this scheme and the relationship of the state's ambitions to the dreams of ordinary people form the substance of this fascinating story. Kotkin tells it deftly, with a remarkable understanding of the social and political system, as well as a keen instinct for the details of everyday life. Kotkin depicts a whole range of life: from the blast furnace workers who labored in the enormous iron and steel plant, to the families who struggled with the shortage of housing and services. Thematically organized and closely focused, Magnetic Mountain signals the beginning of a new stage in the writing of Soviet social history.
The Complete Poems of C. Day Lewis
Author: Cecil Day Lewis
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804725859
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 772
Book Description
C. Day Lewis (1904-1972) was one of the leading young poets of the 1930's who - along with W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, and Stephen Spender - broke away from the staid poetic establishment to dominate British poetry in the middle third of the century. Here, for the first time, are all the poems Day Lewis wrote, including occasional verse which has never appeared in book form and a number of poems previously published only in limited editions. The Complete Poems has been edited, with an introduction and textual notes, by Jill Balcon, the poet's widow.
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804725859
Category : Poetry
Languages : en
Pages : 772
Book Description
C. Day Lewis (1904-1972) was one of the leading young poets of the 1930's who - along with W. H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, and Stephen Spender - broke away from the staid poetic establishment to dominate British poetry in the middle third of the century. Here, for the first time, are all the poems Day Lewis wrote, including occasional verse which has never appeared in book form and a number of poems previously published only in limited editions. The Complete Poems has been edited, with an introduction and textual notes, by Jill Balcon, the poet's widow.
The Mountain World
Author: Gregory McNamee
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781578050932
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
An extraordinary collection of mountain writing, spanning five continents, 2,500 years, and numerous genres - including poetry, myth, folktale, and short story.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781578050932
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
An extraordinary collection of mountain writing, spanning five continents, 2,500 years, and numerous genres - including poetry, myth, folktale, and short story.
Steeltown, USSR
Author: Stephen Kotkin
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520911008
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
No one, not even Mikhail Gorbachev, anticipated what was in store when the Soviet Union embarked in the 1980s on a radical course of long-overdue structural reform. The consequences of that momentous decision, which set in motion a transformation eventually affecting the entire postwar world order, are here chronicled from inside a previously forbidden Soviet city, Magnitogorsk. Built under Stalin and championed by him as a showcase of socialism, the city remained closed to Western scrutiny until four years ago, when Stephen Kotkin became the first American to live there in nearly half a century. An uncommonly perceptive observer, a gifted writer, and a first-rate social scientist, Kotkin offers the reader an unsurpassed portrait of daily life in the Gorbachev era. From the formation of "informal" political groups to the start-up of fledgling businesses in the new cooperative sector, from the no-holds-barred investigative reporting of a former Communist party mouthpiece to a freewheeling multicandidate election campaign, the author conveys the texture of contemporary Soviet society in the throes of an upheaval not seen since the 1930s. Magnitogorsk, a planned "garden city" in the Ural Mountains, serves as Kotkin's laboratory for observing the revolutionary changes occurring in the Soviet Union today. Dominated by a self-perpetuating Communist party machine, choked by industrial pollution, and haunted by a suppressed past, this once-proud city now faces an uncertain future, as do the more than one thousand other industrial cities throughout the Soviet Union. Kotkin made his remarkable first visit in 1987 and returned in 1989. On both occasions, steelworkers and schoolteachers, bus drivers and housewives, intellectuals and former victims of oppression—all willingly stepped forward to voice long-suppressed grievances and aspirations. Their words animate this moving narrative, the first to examine the impact and contradictions of perestroika in a single community. Like no other Soviet city, Magnitogorsk provides a window onto the desperate struggle to overcome the heavy burden of Stalin's legacy.
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520911008
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 364
Book Description
No one, not even Mikhail Gorbachev, anticipated what was in store when the Soviet Union embarked in the 1980s on a radical course of long-overdue structural reform. The consequences of that momentous decision, which set in motion a transformation eventually affecting the entire postwar world order, are here chronicled from inside a previously forbidden Soviet city, Magnitogorsk. Built under Stalin and championed by him as a showcase of socialism, the city remained closed to Western scrutiny until four years ago, when Stephen Kotkin became the first American to live there in nearly half a century. An uncommonly perceptive observer, a gifted writer, and a first-rate social scientist, Kotkin offers the reader an unsurpassed portrait of daily life in the Gorbachev era. From the formation of "informal" political groups to the start-up of fledgling businesses in the new cooperative sector, from the no-holds-barred investigative reporting of a former Communist party mouthpiece to a freewheeling multicandidate election campaign, the author conveys the texture of contemporary Soviet society in the throes of an upheaval not seen since the 1930s. Magnitogorsk, a planned "garden city" in the Ural Mountains, serves as Kotkin's laboratory for observing the revolutionary changes occurring in the Soviet Union today. Dominated by a self-perpetuating Communist party machine, choked by industrial pollution, and haunted by a suppressed past, this once-proud city now faces an uncertain future, as do the more than one thousand other industrial cities throughout the Soviet Union. Kotkin made his remarkable first visit in 1987 and returned in 1989. On both occasions, steelworkers and schoolteachers, bus drivers and housewives, intellectuals and former victims of oppression—all willingly stepped forward to voice long-suppressed grievances and aspirations. Their words animate this moving narrative, the first to examine the impact and contradictions of perestroika in a single community. Like no other Soviet city, Magnitogorsk provides a window onto the desperate struggle to overcome the heavy burden of Stalin's legacy.
Lessons of History
Author: Klas-Göran Karlsson
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Lessons of history are often referred to in public discourse, but seldom in scholarly discussions. This book seeks to change this by introducing an innovative analytical model of historical lessons, starting from the basic three-fold perspective that everyone simultaneously is history, shares history, and makes history. Not all history, however, is useful for extracting lessons. Here, what are called borderline historical events, which demonstrate both time-specific and time-transcending qualities, are suggested as useful didactic material. Scholarly works on the Holocaust and Soviet terror, from Raul Hilberg’s and Robert Conquest’s classical works of the 1960s, to more recent books by Jan Gross and Timothy Snyder, are analyzed to identify lessons of history, and how they have changed during a full half-century.
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Lessons of history are often referred to in public discourse, but seldom in scholarly discussions. This book seeks to change this by introducing an innovative analytical model of historical lessons, starting from the basic three-fold perspective that everyone simultaneously is history, shares history, and makes history. Not all history, however, is useful for extracting lessons. Here, what are called borderline historical events, which demonstrate both time-specific and time-transcending qualities, are suggested as useful didactic material. Scholarly works on the Holocaust and Soviet terror, from Raul Hilberg’s and Robert Conquest’s classical works of the 1960s, to more recent books by Jan Gross and Timothy Snyder, are analyzed to identify lessons of history, and how they have changed during a full half-century.
Mountain Lines
Author: Jonathan Arlan
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1510709762
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
A New York Times best summer travel book recommendation A nonfiction debut about an American’s solo, month-long, 400-mile walk from Lake Geneva to Nice. In the summer of 2015, Jonathan Arlan was nearing thirty. Restless, bored, and daydreaming of adventure, he comes across an image on the Internet one day: a map of the southeast corner of France with a single red line snaking south from Lake Geneva, through the jagged brown and white peaks of the Alps to the Mediterranean sea—a route more than four hundred miles long. He decides then and there to walk the whole trail solo. Lacking any outdoor experience, completely ignorant of mountains, sorely out of shape, and fighting last-minute nerves and bad weather, things get off to a rocky start. But Arlan eventually finds his mountain legs—along with a staggering variety of aches and pains—as he tramps a narrow thread of grass, dirt, and rock between cloud-collared, ice-capped peaks in the High Alps, through ancient hamlets built into hillsides, across sheep-dotted mountain pastures, and over countless cols on his way to the sea. In time, this simple, repetitive act of walking for hours each day in the remote beauty of the mountains becomes as exhilarating as it is exhausting. Mountain Lines is the stirring account of a month-long journey on foot through the French Alps and a passionate and intimate book laced with humor, wonder, and curiosity. In the tradition of trekking classics like A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, The Snow Leopard, and Tracks, the book is a meditation on movement, solitude, adventure, and the magnetic power of the natural world.
Publisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1510709762
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
A New York Times best summer travel book recommendation A nonfiction debut about an American’s solo, month-long, 400-mile walk from Lake Geneva to Nice. In the summer of 2015, Jonathan Arlan was nearing thirty. Restless, bored, and daydreaming of adventure, he comes across an image on the Internet one day: a map of the southeast corner of France with a single red line snaking south from Lake Geneva, through the jagged brown and white peaks of the Alps to the Mediterranean sea—a route more than four hundred miles long. He decides then and there to walk the whole trail solo. Lacking any outdoor experience, completely ignorant of mountains, sorely out of shape, and fighting last-minute nerves and bad weather, things get off to a rocky start. But Arlan eventually finds his mountain legs—along with a staggering variety of aches and pains—as he tramps a narrow thread of grass, dirt, and rock between cloud-collared, ice-capped peaks in the High Alps, through ancient hamlets built into hillsides, across sheep-dotted mountain pastures, and over countless cols on his way to the sea. In time, this simple, repetitive act of walking for hours each day in the remote beauty of the mountains becomes as exhilarating as it is exhausting. Mountain Lines is the stirring account of a month-long journey on foot through the French Alps and a passionate and intimate book laced with humor, wonder, and curiosity. In the tradition of trekking classics like A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, The Snow Leopard, and Tracks, the book is a meditation on movement, solitude, adventure, and the magnetic power of the natural world.
A Tale of the Ragged Mountains
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Publisher: Lindhardt og Ringhof
ISBN: 8726586975
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 17
Book Description
An example of Poe’s mystery-laden and dream-oriented short stories, "A Tale of the Rugged Mountains" offers unique perspective on important notions at the time – mesmerism, alternative medicine, and time-travel. Throughout the narrative, the reader is constantly bombarded with picturesque descriptions, bizarre occurrences, and eerie sounds, turning the storytelling into some sort of a mesmeric procedure. Often criticized for its lack of lucidity and increasing reliance upon ambiguity, Poe’s short story is a perfect supernatural work that can also trick the reader into believing that the happenings are quite real. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, author, and literary critic. Most famous for his poetry, short stories, and tales of the supernatural, mysterious, and macabre, he is also regarded as the inventor of the detective genre and a contributor to the emergence of science fiction, dark romanticism, and weird fiction. His most famous works include "The Raven" (1945), "The Black Cat" (1943), and "The Gold-Bug" (1843).
Publisher: Lindhardt og Ringhof
ISBN: 8726586975
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 17
Book Description
An example of Poe’s mystery-laden and dream-oriented short stories, "A Tale of the Rugged Mountains" offers unique perspective on important notions at the time – mesmerism, alternative medicine, and time-travel. Throughout the narrative, the reader is constantly bombarded with picturesque descriptions, bizarre occurrences, and eerie sounds, turning the storytelling into some sort of a mesmeric procedure. Often criticized for its lack of lucidity and increasing reliance upon ambiguity, Poe’s short story is a perfect supernatural work that can also trick the reader into believing that the happenings are quite real. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American poet, author, and literary critic. Most famous for his poetry, short stories, and tales of the supernatural, mysterious, and macabre, he is also regarded as the inventor of the detective genre and a contributor to the emergence of science fiction, dark romanticism, and weird fiction. His most famous works include "The Raven" (1945), "The Black Cat" (1943), and "The Gold-Bug" (1843).
Cosmos
Author: Alexander von Humboldt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 476
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Astronomy
Languages : en
Pages : 476
Book Description
Dividing Lines
Author: Adrian Caesar
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719033766
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
Caesar (English, U. of New South Wales) argues against the centrality of Auden in the milieu of British poets during the 1930s and describes a heterogeneity of ideology, style, class origin, and life experience. He reviews the prevailing interpretations of the period, and considers a wide range of major and minor poets and the literary magazines they published in. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719033766
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
Caesar (English, U. of New South Wales) argues against the centrality of Auden in the milieu of British poets during the 1930s and describes a heterogeneity of ideology, style, class origin, and life experience. He reviews the prevailing interpretations of the period, and considers a wide range of major and minor poets and the literary magazines they published in. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Building a Magnetic Culture: How to Attract and Retain Top Talent to Create an Engaged, Productive Workforce
Author: Kevin Sheridan
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 0071775110
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Attract top talent and energize your workforce with a MAGNETIC CULTURE “Sheridan outlines simple but powerful steps to take in creating and maintaining an organization that fosters an environment with similar attraction.” —Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D., international bestselling author of MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There “A compelling case for and guide to the creation of a high engagement/high performance workforce.” —Douglas R. Conant, retired president and CEO, Campbell Soup Company; New York Times bestselling author of TouchPoints “It’s impossible for any company to have a monopoly on talent. But it is possible to have the best culture. Sheridan shares insights and best practices for creating an engaging culture where associates can grow and thrive.” —Frits van Paassche n, president and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “A long time ago I discovered that when employees are passionate about their work, customers are passionate about the company. Kevin Sheridan knows that secret too. His insights on finding the right people and getting them engaged can change your culture forever.” —Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group, 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient “This book is filled with practical ideas, illuminating case stories, and fresh perspectives to stir employee engagement in any organization.” —Pamela Meyer, Ph.D., author of From Workplace to Playspace: Innovating, Learning and Changing through Dynamic Engagement About the Book: The perils of a disengaged workforce are well known—low productivity, high employee turnover, and failure to meet organization-wide goals. Less well known is what to do about it. How do you create a workforce that is always ready, able, and eager to take the organization to the next level? You have to create a MAGNETIC CULTURE. As CEO of leading employee survey and HR consulting firm HR Solutions, Inc., Kevin Sheridan knows how it’s done—and in Building a Magnetic Culture, he shares all his secrets. Building a Magnetic Culture explains what engages and motivates employees and how to create an environment in which employees can thrive. Drawing on years of research and real-world examples from his consulting experience, Sheridan gives you the strategies and tactics you need to transform your company by creating and sustaining a Magnetic Culture. Providing benchmarking and best practices, as well as interviews with executives and HR professionals at companies that boast the highest levels of employee engagement, Sheridan outlines an easy-to-follow plan that: Attracts the most talented people—and retains them Makes employees feel they are part of the value that their organization creates Increases Employee Engagement and drives productivity Boosts creativity and problem solving According to HR Solutions’ own employee survey results, actively engaged employees show four times more satisfaction in their work and are four times less likely to leave than disengaged employees are. Is there a reason not to make building a Magnetic Culture your top priority? Simply put, organizations that place a high value on actively cultivating a culture of engagement stand apart from their competition and enjoy superior business results.
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 0071775110
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Attract top talent and energize your workforce with a MAGNETIC CULTURE “Sheridan outlines simple but powerful steps to take in creating and maintaining an organization that fosters an environment with similar attraction.” —Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D., international bestselling author of MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There “A compelling case for and guide to the creation of a high engagement/high performance workforce.” —Douglas R. Conant, retired president and CEO, Campbell Soup Company; New York Times bestselling author of TouchPoints “It’s impossible for any company to have a monopoly on talent. But it is possible to have the best culture. Sheridan shares insights and best practices for creating an engaging culture where associates can grow and thrive.” —Frits van Paassche n, president and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. “A long time ago I discovered that when employees are passionate about their work, customers are passionate about the company. Kevin Sheridan knows that secret too. His insights on finding the right people and getting them engaged can change your culture forever.” —Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group, 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient “This book is filled with practical ideas, illuminating case stories, and fresh perspectives to stir employee engagement in any organization.” —Pamela Meyer, Ph.D., author of From Workplace to Playspace: Innovating, Learning and Changing through Dynamic Engagement About the Book: The perils of a disengaged workforce are well known—low productivity, high employee turnover, and failure to meet organization-wide goals. Less well known is what to do about it. How do you create a workforce that is always ready, able, and eager to take the organization to the next level? You have to create a MAGNETIC CULTURE. As CEO of leading employee survey and HR consulting firm HR Solutions, Inc., Kevin Sheridan knows how it’s done—and in Building a Magnetic Culture, he shares all his secrets. Building a Magnetic Culture explains what engages and motivates employees and how to create an environment in which employees can thrive. Drawing on years of research and real-world examples from his consulting experience, Sheridan gives you the strategies and tactics you need to transform your company by creating and sustaining a Magnetic Culture. Providing benchmarking and best practices, as well as interviews with executives and HR professionals at companies that boast the highest levels of employee engagement, Sheridan outlines an easy-to-follow plan that: Attracts the most talented people—and retains them Makes employees feel they are part of the value that their organization creates Increases Employee Engagement and drives productivity Boosts creativity and problem solving According to HR Solutions’ own employee survey results, actively engaged employees show four times more satisfaction in their work and are four times less likely to leave than disengaged employees are. Is there a reason not to make building a Magnetic Culture your top priority? Simply put, organizations that place a high value on actively cultivating a culture of engagement stand apart from their competition and enjoy superior business results.