Author: Pradeep K. Mitra
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821381148
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 275
Book Description
The transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, among all emerging- and developing-economy regions, have been hardest hit by the global economic crisis of 2008-09. This is partly due to the region s deep integration into the global economy across many dimensions trade, financial, and labor flows. Attempts by countries that came later to the transition to catch up rapidly to Western European living standards at a time when global liquidity was unusually abundant, together with some policy weaknesses, made them vulnerable to reversals in market sentiment. Written on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 'Turmoil at Twenty' analyzes the run-up to the current crisis and addresses a number of key questions related to vulnerability to the recession, expected recovery, and necessary reforms in the region: Did the transition from command to market economies, and the period during which this took place, plant the seeds of vulnerability that made transition countries more prone to crisis than other developing countries? Did the choices made on the road from plan to market shape the ability of crisis-hit countries to recover? What combination of domestic policy reform and international collective action is needed to bring about a recovery and minimize the humanitarian cost of the crisis? What structural reforms are needed today to address the most binding constraints on growth in a world where capital fl ows to transition and developing countries are expected to be considerably lower than before the crisis? 'Turmoil at Twenty' will be of interest to policy makers and their advisers, researchers, and students of economics who seek lessons from the current economic crisis, as well as scholars of the transition.
Turmoil at Twenty
Author: Pradeep K. Mitra
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821381148
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 275
Book Description
The transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, among all emerging- and developing-economy regions, have been hardest hit by the global economic crisis of 2008-09. This is partly due to the region s deep integration into the global economy across many dimensions trade, financial, and labor flows. Attempts by countries that came later to the transition to catch up rapidly to Western European living standards at a time when global liquidity was unusually abundant, together with some policy weaknesses, made them vulnerable to reversals in market sentiment. Written on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 'Turmoil at Twenty' analyzes the run-up to the current crisis and addresses a number of key questions related to vulnerability to the recession, expected recovery, and necessary reforms in the region: Did the transition from command to market economies, and the period during which this took place, plant the seeds of vulnerability that made transition countries more prone to crisis than other developing countries? Did the choices made on the road from plan to market shape the ability of crisis-hit countries to recover? What combination of domestic policy reform and international collective action is needed to bring about a recovery and minimize the humanitarian cost of the crisis? What structural reforms are needed today to address the most binding constraints on growth in a world where capital fl ows to transition and developing countries are expected to be considerably lower than before the crisis? 'Turmoil at Twenty' will be of interest to policy makers and their advisers, researchers, and students of economics who seek lessons from the current economic crisis, as well as scholars of the transition.
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821381148
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 275
Book Description
The transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, among all emerging- and developing-economy regions, have been hardest hit by the global economic crisis of 2008-09. This is partly due to the region s deep integration into the global economy across many dimensions trade, financial, and labor flows. Attempts by countries that came later to the transition to catch up rapidly to Western European living standards at a time when global liquidity was unusually abundant, together with some policy weaknesses, made them vulnerable to reversals in market sentiment. Written on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 'Turmoil at Twenty' analyzes the run-up to the current crisis and addresses a number of key questions related to vulnerability to the recession, expected recovery, and necessary reforms in the region: Did the transition from command to market economies, and the period during which this took place, plant the seeds of vulnerability that made transition countries more prone to crisis than other developing countries? Did the choices made on the road from plan to market shape the ability of crisis-hit countries to recover? What combination of domestic policy reform and international collective action is needed to bring about a recovery and minimize the humanitarian cost of the crisis? What structural reforms are needed today to address the most binding constraints on growth in a world where capital fl ows to transition and developing countries are expected to be considerably lower than before the crisis? 'Turmoil at Twenty' will be of interest to policy makers and their advisers, researchers, and students of economics who seek lessons from the current economic crisis, as well as scholars of the transition.
Twenty Observations on a World in Turmoil
Author: Ulrich Beck
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745663001
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 129
Book Description
Translated by Ciaran Cronin. The world is a state of turmoil. From the financial crisis to the chaos in the eurozone, from the Arab uprisings to protests in Athens, Barcelona, New York and elsewhere, many of the familiar frameworks are collapsing and we have to find new ways to orient ourselves in a world undergoing rapid change. Of course, it is necessary for political leaders to address local issues and react to people’s specific demands, but without a cosmopolitan outlook, such a reaction is likely to be inadequate. Ulrich Beck’s Twenty-one Observations on a World in Turmoil is a demonstration of cosmopolitan politics in practice. It is more than a mirror: it is a magnifying glass that brings into focus the processes that are transforming our world and highlights the great challenges we face today. ‘Global domestic politics’, the concept introduced and developed by Beck, is much more than a political theory, a philosophical utopia (or dystopia), a governance programme or a mental state: it is the reality of our times. Beck turns the argument that ‘global domestic politics’ is an unrealistic ideology on its head, arguing that it is the proponents of the national who are the idealists. They view reality through the obsolete lenses of the nation-state and thus cannot see the profound global changes that are transforming our reality. Global domestic politics is therefore a perspective, a political reality and a normative idea. And it is the critical theory of our times since it challenges the most profound truths which we hold dear: the truths of the nation.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745663001
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 129
Book Description
Translated by Ciaran Cronin. The world is a state of turmoil. From the financial crisis to the chaos in the eurozone, from the Arab uprisings to protests in Athens, Barcelona, New York and elsewhere, many of the familiar frameworks are collapsing and we have to find new ways to orient ourselves in a world undergoing rapid change. Of course, it is necessary for political leaders to address local issues and react to people’s specific demands, but without a cosmopolitan outlook, such a reaction is likely to be inadequate. Ulrich Beck’s Twenty-one Observations on a World in Turmoil is a demonstration of cosmopolitan politics in practice. It is more than a mirror: it is a magnifying glass that brings into focus the processes that are transforming our world and highlights the great challenges we face today. ‘Global domestic politics’, the concept introduced and developed by Beck, is much more than a political theory, a philosophical utopia (or dystopia), a governance programme or a mental state: it is the reality of our times. Beck turns the argument that ‘global domestic politics’ is an unrealistic ideology on its head, arguing that it is the proponents of the national who are the idealists. They view reality through the obsolete lenses of the nation-state and thus cannot see the profound global changes that are transforming our reality. Global domestic politics is therefore a perspective, a political reality and a normative idea. And it is the critical theory of our times since it challenges the most profound truths which we hold dear: the truths of the nation.
Out of Control
Author: Zbigniew Brzezinski
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439143803
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
Brzezinski provides a stark and realistic look at the world's economy and moral crisis in a brilliant analysis of today's geopolitical order. If America is to reassert its moral legitimacy, Brzezinski argues, it must address its basic dilemmas, including deepening poverty, inadequate health care and education, a greedy wealthy class opposed to progressive taxation, and the mass media's promotion of sex and violence. In the new world of rival global power clusters, Brzezinski urges a greater role for the United Nations and "redistribution of responsibilities" within the trilateral nexus of Europe, America and East Asia (Publisher’s Weekly).
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439143803
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
Brzezinski provides a stark and realistic look at the world's economy and moral crisis in a brilliant analysis of today's geopolitical order. If America is to reassert its moral legitimacy, Brzezinski argues, it must address its basic dilemmas, including deepening poverty, inadequate health care and education, a greedy wealthy class opposed to progressive taxation, and the mass media's promotion of sex and violence. In the new world of rival global power clusters, Brzezinski urges a greater role for the United Nations and "redistribution of responsibilities" within the trilateral nexus of Europe, America and East Asia (Publisher’s Weekly).
Twenty Observations on a World in Turmoil
Author: Ulrich Beck
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745676146
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
Translated by Ciaran Cronin. The world is a state of turmoil. From the financial crisis to the chaos in the eurozone, from the Arab uprisings to protests in Athens, Barcelona, New York and elsewhere, many of the familiar frameworks are collapsing and we have to find new ways to orient ourselves in a world undergoing rapid change. Of course, it is necessary for political leaders to address local issues and react to people’s specific demands, but without a cosmopolitan outlook, such a reaction is likely to be inadequate. Ulrich Beck’s Twenty-one Observations on a World in Turmoil is a demonstration of cosmopolitan politics in practice. It is more than a mirror: it is a magnifying glass that brings into focus the processes that are transforming our world and highlights the great challenges we face today. ‘Global domestic politics’, the concept introduced and developed by Beck, is much more than a political theory, a philosophical utopia (or dystopia), a governance programme or a mental state: it is the reality of our times. Beck turns the argument that ‘global domestic politics’ is an unrealistic ideology on its head, arguing that it is the proponents of the national who are the idealists. They view reality through the obsolete lenses of the nation-state and thus cannot see the profound global changes that are transforming our reality. Global domestic politics is therefore a perspective, a political reality and a normative idea. And it is the critical theory of our times since it challenges the most profound truths which we hold dear: the truths of the nation.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745676146
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
Translated by Ciaran Cronin. The world is a state of turmoil. From the financial crisis to the chaos in the eurozone, from the Arab uprisings to protests in Athens, Barcelona, New York and elsewhere, many of the familiar frameworks are collapsing and we have to find new ways to orient ourselves in a world undergoing rapid change. Of course, it is necessary for political leaders to address local issues and react to people’s specific demands, but without a cosmopolitan outlook, such a reaction is likely to be inadequate. Ulrich Beck’s Twenty-one Observations on a World in Turmoil is a demonstration of cosmopolitan politics in practice. It is more than a mirror: it is a magnifying glass that brings into focus the processes that are transforming our world and highlights the great challenges we face today. ‘Global domestic politics’, the concept introduced and developed by Beck, is much more than a political theory, a philosophical utopia (or dystopia), a governance programme or a mental state: it is the reality of our times. Beck turns the argument that ‘global domestic politics’ is an unrealistic ideology on its head, arguing that it is the proponents of the national who are the idealists. They view reality through the obsolete lenses of the nation-state and thus cannot see the profound global changes that are transforming our reality. Global domestic politics is therefore a perspective, a political reality and a normative idea. And it is the critical theory of our times since it challenges the most profound truths which we hold dear: the truths of the nation.
The Foundry
Author: Frank C Dravis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A storm of greed and global domination is rolling across the planet Dianis. The assault crashes against the walls of Wedgewood, an idyllic mountain town. Over the walls, Paleowright soldiers and their troglodyte allies climb and meet the Human defenders. In a staggering retreat, the defenders fight the first battle to save their planet from tyranny and galactic exploitation. Outnumbered, the citizens and mercenaries of Wedgewood stand shoulder to shoulder and send a rallying call to their brethren. For IDB Chief Inspector Achelous, if Wedgewood falls the plans to protect the planet from Nordarken Mining collapse as well. Those plans rest on the forge in Wedgewood's foundry. Ruthless in its insatiable demand for a rare mineral, Nordarken Mining ignores federation law: the Universal Law of Unclaimed Planets (ULUP), that protects the isolated, primitive planet. Destroying whole cultures to satisfy the Nordark avarice is the cost of doing business. Not so for Achelous, a ULUP enforcer; it's his job to protect the defenseless. The politics authorizing ULUP are complex, and the Nordarks are masters of manipulation. Ordered to leave Dianis, Achelous and his team face an excruciating dilemma: obey orders or go rogue and become what they fight against, extrasolars. In a twist within a twist, Achelous learns he is not alone against the global and galactic powers. Marisa, a trader princess, and Christina, an Ascalon Defender, respond to Wedgewood's rally call, but as unlearned provincials, they are ill-accustomed to stellar intrigue. The defense of liberty starts here, in The Foundry.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A storm of greed and global domination is rolling across the planet Dianis. The assault crashes against the walls of Wedgewood, an idyllic mountain town. Over the walls, Paleowright soldiers and their troglodyte allies climb and meet the Human defenders. In a staggering retreat, the defenders fight the first battle to save their planet from tyranny and galactic exploitation. Outnumbered, the citizens and mercenaries of Wedgewood stand shoulder to shoulder and send a rallying call to their brethren. For IDB Chief Inspector Achelous, if Wedgewood falls the plans to protect the planet from Nordarken Mining collapse as well. Those plans rest on the forge in Wedgewood's foundry. Ruthless in its insatiable demand for a rare mineral, Nordarken Mining ignores federation law: the Universal Law of Unclaimed Planets (ULUP), that protects the isolated, primitive planet. Destroying whole cultures to satisfy the Nordark avarice is the cost of doing business. Not so for Achelous, a ULUP enforcer; it's his job to protect the defenseless. The politics authorizing ULUP are complex, and the Nordarks are masters of manipulation. Ordered to leave Dianis, Achelous and his team face an excruciating dilemma: obey orders or go rogue and become what they fight against, extrasolars. In a twist within a twist, Achelous learns he is not alone against the global and galactic powers. Marisa, a trader princess, and Christina, an Ascalon Defender, respond to Wedgewood's rally call, but as unlearned provincials, they are ill-accustomed to stellar intrigue. The defense of liberty starts here, in The Foundry.
A Kingdom in Crisis
Author: Andrew MacGregor Marshall
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1783607807
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
'Perhaps the best introduction yet to the roots of Thailand's present political impasse. A brilliant book.' Simon Long, The Economist Struggling to emerge from a despotic past, and convulsed by an intractable conflict that will determine its future, Thailand stands at a defining moment in its history. Scores have been killed on the streets of Bangkok. Freedom of speech is routinely denied. Democracy appears increasingly distant. And many Thais fear that the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej is expected to unleash even greater instability. Yet in spite of the impact of the crisis, and the extraordinary importance of the royal succession, they have never been comprehensively analysed – until now. Breaking Thailand's draconian lèse majesté law, Andrew MacGregor Marshall is one of the only journalists covering contemporary Thailand to tell the whole story. Marshall provides a comprehensive explanation that for the first time makes sense of the crisis, revealing the unacknowledged succession conflict that has become entangled with the struggle for democracy in Thailand.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1783607807
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
'Perhaps the best introduction yet to the roots of Thailand's present political impasse. A brilliant book.' Simon Long, The Economist Struggling to emerge from a despotic past, and convulsed by an intractable conflict that will determine its future, Thailand stands at a defining moment in its history. Scores have been killed on the streets of Bangkok. Freedom of speech is routinely denied. Democracy appears increasingly distant. And many Thais fear that the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej is expected to unleash even greater instability. Yet in spite of the impact of the crisis, and the extraordinary importance of the royal succession, they have never been comprehensively analysed – until now. Breaking Thailand's draconian lèse majesté law, Andrew MacGregor Marshall is one of the only journalists covering contemporary Thailand to tell the whole story. Marshall provides a comprehensive explanation that for the first time makes sense of the crisis, revealing the unacknowledged succession conflict that has become entangled with the struggle for democracy in Thailand.
A Region in Turmoil
Author: Rob Johnson
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 9781861892577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Since 2001 there has been considerable interest in the individual conflicts that have engulfed the states of South Asia, from the long insurgency of Myanmar, through the struggle of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the Maoist insurgency in Nepal, the unrest in the Punjab and Assam, the Bangladeshi war of independence, the gruelling conflict in Kashmir, to the intractable conflicts of Afghanistan and the current War on Terror. In A Region in Turmoil: South Asian Conflicts since 1947, Rob Johnson explains and evaluates the historic and political roots of conflicts in South Asia in a systematic and thematic way.
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 9781861892577
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Since 2001 there has been considerable interest in the individual conflicts that have engulfed the states of South Asia, from the long insurgency of Myanmar, through the struggle of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the Maoist insurgency in Nepal, the unrest in the Punjab and Assam, the Bangladeshi war of independence, the gruelling conflict in Kashmir, to the intractable conflicts of Afghanistan and the current War on Terror. In A Region in Turmoil: South Asian Conflicts since 1947, Rob Johnson explains and evaluates the historic and political roots of conflicts in South Asia in a systematic and thematic way.
The Fourth Turning
Author: William Strauss
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767900464
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have to play—now with a new preface by Neil Howe. First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history. William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next. Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0767900464
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Discover the game-changing theory of the cycles of history and what past generations can teach us about living through times of upheaval—with deep insights into the roles that Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials have to play—now with a new preface by Neil Howe. First comes a High, a period of confident expansion. Next comes an Awakening, a time of spiritual exploration and rebellion. Then comes an Unraveling, in which individualism triumphs over crumbling institutions. Last comes a Crisis—the Fourth Turning—when society passes through a great and perilous gate in history. William Strauss and Neil Howe will change the way you see the world—and your place in it. With blazing originality, The Fourth Turning illuminates the past, explains the present, and reimagines the future. Most remarkably, it offers an utterly persuasive prophecy about how America’s past will predict what comes next. Strauss and Howe base this vision on a provocative theory of American history. The authors look back five hundred years and uncover a distinct pattern: Modern history moves in cycles, each one lasting about the length of a long human life, each composed of four twenty-year eras—or “turnings”—that comprise history’s seasonal rhythm of growth, maturation, entropy, and rebirth. Illustrating this cycle through a brilliant analysis of the post–World War II period, The Fourth Turning offers bold predictions about how all of us can prepare, individually and collectively, for this rendezvous with destiny.
Citizenship in Times of Turmoil?
Author: Devyani Prabhat
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781788119207
Category : Citizenship
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
''When the exception becomes the norm, the power of the sovereign is arbitrary, just as in pre-democratic times. But such arbitrariness is not random: it is applied primarily to certain categories of what used to be called ''the lower orders'' of society - the undocumented immigrants and the racially ''other, '' regardless of prior citizenship status. The very notion of citizen becomes vague and the status can be lost through a Kafkaesque process in which the state is unfathomable and often acts behind the scenes. This book edited by Devyani Prabhat brings together academics and lawyers working in the field of nationality and immigration laws, and shows how what has long been a feature of the labor market, namely, the precarious nature of jobs, has now become a feature of basic rights of ''belonging.'' Citizenship is precarious too. The chapters in this volume lead us straight to the question: What is the rule of law in such state of indistinction? Societies in decadence, like the current Western powers, entwine retrenchment with resentment, the exceptional with the normal, the in-group with the out-group. Devyani Prabhat and her colleagues analyze with great precision the alarming advance of legal imprecision, the interests that are vested in categorical confusion, and the erosion of basic rights in societies like the UK and the US - notably the right of persons to reside in peace and without fear.' - Juan Corradi, New York University, US This innovative book considers the evolution of the contemporary issues surrounding British citizenship, integrating the social aspects and ideas of identity and belonging alongside its legal elements. With contributions from renowned lawyers and academics, it challenges the view that there are immutable values and enduring rights associated with citizenship status. The book is organised into three thematic parts. Expert contributors trace the life cycle of the citizenship process, focusing on becoming a British citizen, retaining this citizenship with its associated rights, and the potential loss of citizenship owing to immigration controls. Through a critical examination of the concepts and content of British citizenship, the premise that citizenship retracts from full membership in society in times of turmoil is questioned. Wide-ranging and interdisciplinary, Citizenship in Times of Turmoil? will be a key resource for scholars and students working within the fields of migration, citizenship and immigration law. Including details of legal practice, it will also be of benefit to practitioners.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781788119207
Category : Citizenship
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
''When the exception becomes the norm, the power of the sovereign is arbitrary, just as in pre-democratic times. But such arbitrariness is not random: it is applied primarily to certain categories of what used to be called ''the lower orders'' of society - the undocumented immigrants and the racially ''other, '' regardless of prior citizenship status. The very notion of citizen becomes vague and the status can be lost through a Kafkaesque process in which the state is unfathomable and often acts behind the scenes. This book edited by Devyani Prabhat brings together academics and lawyers working in the field of nationality and immigration laws, and shows how what has long been a feature of the labor market, namely, the precarious nature of jobs, has now become a feature of basic rights of ''belonging.'' Citizenship is precarious too. The chapters in this volume lead us straight to the question: What is the rule of law in such state of indistinction? Societies in decadence, like the current Western powers, entwine retrenchment with resentment, the exceptional with the normal, the in-group with the out-group. Devyani Prabhat and her colleagues analyze with great precision the alarming advance of legal imprecision, the interests that are vested in categorical confusion, and the erosion of basic rights in societies like the UK and the US - notably the right of persons to reside in peace and without fear.' - Juan Corradi, New York University, US This innovative book considers the evolution of the contemporary issues surrounding British citizenship, integrating the social aspects and ideas of identity and belonging alongside its legal elements. With contributions from renowned lawyers and academics, it challenges the view that there are immutable values and enduring rights associated with citizenship status. The book is organised into three thematic parts. Expert contributors trace the life cycle of the citizenship process, focusing on becoming a British citizen, retaining this citizenship with its associated rights, and the potential loss of citizenship owing to immigration controls. Through a critical examination of the concepts and content of British citizenship, the premise that citizenship retracts from full membership in society in times of turmoil is questioned. Wide-ranging and interdisciplinary, Citizenship in Times of Turmoil? will be a key resource for scholars and students working within the fields of migration, citizenship and immigration law. Including details of legal practice, it will also be of benefit to practitioners.
The Twenty Days of Turin: A Novel
Author: Giorgio De Maria
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631492306
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 119
Book Description
An NPR Best Book of the Year Written during the height of the 1970s Italian domestic terror, a cult novel, with distinct echoes of Lovecraft and Borges, makes its English-language debut. In the spare wing of a church-run sanatorium, some zealous youths create "the Library," a space where lonely citizens can read one another’s personal diaries and connect with like-minded souls in "dialogues across the ether." But when their scribblings devolve into the ugliest confessions of the macabre, the Library’s users learn too late that a malicious force has consumed their privacy and their sanity. As the city of Turin suffers a twenty-day "phenomenon of collective psychosis" culminating in nightly massacres that hundreds of witnesses cannot explain, the Library is shut down and erased from history. That is, until a lonely salaryman decides to investigate these mysterious events, which the citizenry of Turin fear to mention. Inevitably drawn into the city’s occult netherworld, he unearths the stuff of modern nightmares: what’s shared can never be unshared. An allegory inspired by the grisly neo-fascist campaigns of its day, The Twenty Days of Turin has enjoyed a fervent cult following in Italy for forty years. Now, in a fretful new age of "lone-wolf" terrorism fueled by social media, we can find uncanny resonances in Giorgio De Maria’s vision of mass fear: a mute, palpitating dread that seeps into every moment of daily existence. With its stunning anticipation of the Internet—and the apocalyptic repercussions of oversharing—this bleak, prescient story is more disturbingly pertinent than ever. Brilliantly translated into English for the first time by Ramon Glazov, The Twenty Days of Turin establishes De Maria’s place among the literary ranks of Italo Calvino and beside classic horror masters such as Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. Hauntingly imaginative, with visceral prose that chills to the marrow, the novel is an eerily clairvoyant magnum opus, long overdue but ever timely.
Publisher: Liveright Publishing
ISBN: 1631492306
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 119
Book Description
An NPR Best Book of the Year Written during the height of the 1970s Italian domestic terror, a cult novel, with distinct echoes of Lovecraft and Borges, makes its English-language debut. In the spare wing of a church-run sanatorium, some zealous youths create "the Library," a space where lonely citizens can read one another’s personal diaries and connect with like-minded souls in "dialogues across the ether." But when their scribblings devolve into the ugliest confessions of the macabre, the Library’s users learn too late that a malicious force has consumed their privacy and their sanity. As the city of Turin suffers a twenty-day "phenomenon of collective psychosis" culminating in nightly massacres that hundreds of witnesses cannot explain, the Library is shut down and erased from history. That is, until a lonely salaryman decides to investigate these mysterious events, which the citizenry of Turin fear to mention. Inevitably drawn into the city’s occult netherworld, he unearths the stuff of modern nightmares: what’s shared can never be unshared. An allegory inspired by the grisly neo-fascist campaigns of its day, The Twenty Days of Turin has enjoyed a fervent cult following in Italy for forty years. Now, in a fretful new age of "lone-wolf" terrorism fueled by social media, we can find uncanny resonances in Giorgio De Maria’s vision of mass fear: a mute, palpitating dread that seeps into every moment of daily existence. With its stunning anticipation of the Internet—and the apocalyptic repercussions of oversharing—this bleak, prescient story is more disturbingly pertinent than ever. Brilliantly translated into English for the first time by Ramon Glazov, The Twenty Days of Turin establishes De Maria’s place among the literary ranks of Italo Calvino and beside classic horror masters such as Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. Hauntingly imaginative, with visceral prose that chills to the marrow, the novel is an eerily clairvoyant magnum opus, long overdue but ever timely.