By Jessica Schneider Jun 11, 2009, 10:48 GMT
A recent press release has just informed of some new releases, courtesy of Penguin Books. Some titles include:
GROUND CONTROL: Fear and Happiness in the Twenty-First Century City By Anna MintonTo be published by Penguin Books, paperback original, June 25th, £9.99 ”Britons are increasingly aware of living in a society plagued by fear and unhappiness. Could our towns and cities be the cause? GROUND CONTROL is an in-depth and passionate exploration of the state of Britain today, revealing how the market place has taken control from the local electorate. Untested urban planning has transformed not only our cities, but the very nature of public space, of citizenship, and of trust. Do we want to leave our high security gated development homes in the morning, go to work in sterile business districts, and shop in homogenous city centres? From Liverpool to Manchester, London to Newcastle, are examples of streets owned by private companies with the sole aim of making money, homes left to deliberately fall into dereliction so the land can be bought cheaply, imposing skyscrapers and fortress-like developments which not only provide physical barriers but engineer fear and mistrust. Yet, as Anna Minton argues, there is an alternative way which celebrates a socially cohesive and shared public space which will reinvigorate our civic engagement.”
THE IDEA OF JUSTICE By Amartya Sen Published in hardback by Allen Lane, 30th July 2009, £25 “This major philosophical work, by one of the world's leading public intellectuals, constructs a new theory of justice, not from abstract ideals or notions of what perfect institutions and rules might be, but from what the results of a system are practically, in the world. It highlights the importance of public reasoning and argues that a system of justice should require the agreement not just of the community which is making laws, but of outsiders who might be affected, or who might have valuable perspectives to offer.”
WHEN SKATEBOARDS WILL BE FREE: My Reluctant Political Childhood By Said Sayrafiezadeh -- to be published by Hamish Hamilton in trade paperback on June 25th, 2009.
”This is Said's memoir of being raised in Pittsburgh in the 1980s as a member of the Socialist Workers Party. It's a funny absurd account of the self-imposed poverty his mother chose for them as an 'authentic working class experience', and of his long absent father returning to his native Iran to quixotically run as SWP candidate for president there in 1979. The story is told with deadpan wisdom and without a hint of self pity.”
THE WISH MAKER By Ali Sethi To be published by Hamish Hamilton in hardback on July 2nd, 2009.
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