21st century

Through the long, hot summer of 2019, Hong Kong burned. Anti-government protests, sparked by a government proposal to introduce a controversial extradition law, grew into a pro-democracy movement that engulfed the city for months. Protesters fought street battles with police, and the unrest brought the People's Liberation Army to the very doorstep of Hong Kong. Driven primarily by students and youth protesters with their 'Be Water!' philosophy, borrowed from hometown hero Bruce Lee, this leaderless, technology-driven protest movement defied a global superpower and changed Hong Kong, perhaps forever. But it also changed China, and challenged China's global standing. In City on Fire, Antony Dapiran provides the first detailed account of the protests, reveals the protesters' unique tactics, explains how the movement fits into the city's long history of dissent, and looks at what the protests will mean for the future of Hong Kong, China, and China's place in the world.

"The Arab uprisings that engulfed the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) produced domestic shocks to a regional state system known for its authoritarian durability and resistance to democracy. Beginning in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spreading to Egypt, Morocco, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, the uprisings differed in degree and scope, resulting in divergent outcomes for the people and places of the region. As the uprisings grew, state responses varied significantly. Some regimes were overthrown following decades of rule while others acquiesced to citizen demands by engaging in various concessionmaking processes. Several states repressed the protest movements to sustain their hold on power, and Egypt's authoritarianism reemerged following regime change. Only Tunisia embarked on a procedural and consensual democratic transition that won international accolades and a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for four civil society organizations called the National Dialogue Quartet"--.

"In a place where time is running out, sometimes the most radical act is remembrance. Hong Kong has long been known as a city of extremes: a former colony of the United Kingdom that today exists at the margins of an authoritarian, ascendant China; a cityrocked by mass protests, where residents take to the streets to rally against encroaching threats on their democracy and freedoms. But it is also misunderstood and often romanticized, its history and politics oversimplified in Western headlines. Drawing richly from her own experience, as well as countless interviews with the artists, protestors, students, and writers who have made Hong Kong their home, journalist Karen Cheung gives us an insider's view of this remarkable city, making the case along the way that we should look to Hong Kong as a warning sign for what lies ahead for other global democracies. Coming of age in the wake of Hong Kong's reunification with China in 1997, Cheung traverses the multifold identities available to her in childhood and beyond, whether that was at her English-speaking international schools, where her classmates were often the children of diplomats or corporate officers, or within her deeply traditional family. Along the way, Cheung gives a personal account of what it's like to seek out affordable housing and mental healthcare in one of the world's most expensive cities. She also takes us into Hong Kong's vibrant indie music and literary scenes--youth-driven spaces of creative resistance. Inevitably, Cheung brings us withher to the protests, where her understanding of what it means to belong to Hong Kong finally crystallized"--.

A history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict told from the Palestinian perspective, arguing the period since the Balfour Declaration of 1917 has amounted to a hundred years of colonial war against the Palestinians.

"An authoritative, illuminating look at America's future and the "tests" the United States must meet to maintain leadership and power in the 21st century-from the former US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe"--.

Zachary R. Wood, head of the college group Uncomfortable Learning, describes growing up as an African-American in a dangerous area and going to private school and explains his belief in open dialogue and free speech.

"In this book, young readers will learn about the devastating tornado that hit Oklahoma in May of 2013"--Provided by publisher.

Razia, a girl in Afghanistan, wants to attend Razia Jan's girls' school the Zabuli Education Center for Girls, but first she must get her father and brother's permission.

"Split between two periods in her life, 'Yasmeen' tells the story of an Iraqi girl's struggles to survive slavery in the ISIS terrorist regime in Mosul. In 2014, Yasmeen was a happy sixteen-year-old when she was captured by the ISIS invading army and is forced to find the courage within herself to endure slavery. Then, after surviving the horrific ordeal of two long years in captivity, she is freed but has become a different person. Unable to connect to the things that she once loved, she must endure a different kind of struggle as she tries to adjust to normal life with her family as refugees in a foreign country, America."--Back cover.

"A . . . first-person account by the sole survivor of Arizona's disastrous 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, which took the lives of 19 'hotshots'--firefighters trained specifically to battle wildfires"--Provided by publisher.