How does the United States compare when objectively measured shoulder-to-shoulder against the world’s two most influential autocracies? This full-color book provides a solid foundation to enable the reader to create informed opinions about China, Russia, and the United States through comparative examination of their global status and the quality of their peoples’ lives. Data resources—created by many respected organizations including the World Bank, the United Nations, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and Freedom House, to name a few—have been mined to provide direct comparisons between many key characteristics including health, wealth, poverty, education, employment, crime, imprisonments, freedoms, happiness, natural resources, infrastructure, debt, taxes, trade, military assets, and nuclear warheads. It is the author’s mission to present meaningful data—all with attributed sources—in an inviting, graphic format to convey much more information than would be possible in tabular form. By directly displaying data the usual biases and filters are bypassed enhancing your ability to draw your own conclusions. This visual approach very effectively reveals trends and makes differences between nations and their people self-evident. In the United States (2016): 64,100 people died of drug overdose and 2.2 million people were in prisons The top twenty percent of households received 51.5 percent of all income 1.2 trillion dollars were added to debt and 241 billion was paid in interest Foreigners held one-third of federal debt including 1.1 trillion by China In comparison with the United States Russia had: 12.5 years lower life expectancy for males born in 2016 (only 65.0 years) Double the homicide rate and 40 percent higher suicide rate 60 percent higher alcohol consumption per capita An economy one-fifth as large, measured by GDP in international dollars Equivalent number of nuclear warheads (approximately 7,000) Double the crude oil reserves and five times the natural gas reserves Repressive government—rated within the worst 10 percent by Freedom House 14 times as many residents (67,000) seeking asylum In comparison with the United States China had: An economy 15 percent larger, measured by GDP in international dollars Three times as many patent applications filed by residents One-fifth the homicide rate and one-half the poverty rate 58 percent more outbound international tourists 61 points higher scores in mathematics literacy for students aged 15 years Double the total carbon dioxide emissions Repressive government—rated within the worst 10 percent by Freedom House 44 times as many residents (212,000) seeking asylum

• A New Republic Best Book of the Year • The Globalist Top Books of the Year • Winner of the Maine Literary Award for Non-fiction Particularly relevant in understanding who voted for who during presidential elections, this is an endlessly fascinating look at American regionalism and the eleven “nations” that continue to shape North America According to award-winning journalist and historian Colin Woodard, North America is made up of eleven distinct nations, each with its own unique historical roots. In American Nations he takes readers on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, offering a revolutionary and revelatory take on American identity, and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and continue to mold our future. From the Deep South to the Far West, to Yankeedom to El Norte, Woodard (author of American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good) reveals how each region continues to uphold its distinguishing ideals and identities today, with results that can be seen in the composition of the U.S. Congress or on the county-by-county election maps of any hotly contested election in our history.

Groundbreaking new take on the growing rivalry between China, India and Japan-- and what it means for America, the global economy and the twenty-first century.

Focusing on the Tsarist and Soviet empires of Russia, Lieven reveals the nature and meaning of all empires throughout history. He examines factors that mold the shape of the empires, including geography and culture, and compares the Russian empires with other imperial states, from ancient China and Rome to the present-day United States. Illustrations.

Published in cooperation with the William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies, Southern Methodist University Ruins are as central to the image of the American Southwest as are its mountains and deserts, and antiquity is a key element of modern southwestern heritage. Yet prior to the mid-nineteenth century this rich legacy was largely unknown to the outside world. While military expeditions first brought word of enigmatic relics to the eastern United States, the new intellectual frontier was seized by archaeologists, who used the results of their southwestern explorations to build a foundation for the scientific study of the American past. In Ruins and Rivals, James Snead helps us understand the historical development of archaeology in the Southwest from the 1890s to the 1920s and its relationship with the popular conception of the region. He examines two major research traditions: expeditions dispatched from the major eastern museums and those supported by archaeological societies based in the Southwest itself. By comparing the projects of New York's American Museum of Natural History with those of the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles and the Santa Fe-based School of American Archaeology, he illustrates the way that competition for status and prestige shaped the way that archaeological remains were explored and interpreted. The decades-long competition between institutions and their advocates ultimately created an agenda for Southwest archaeology that has survived into modern times. Snead takes us back to the days when the field was populated by relic hunters and eastern "museum men" who formed uneasy alliances among themselves and with western boosters who used archaeology to advance their own causes. Richard Wetherill, Frederic Ward Putnam, Charles Lummis, and other colorful characters all promoted their own archaeological endeavors before an audience that included wealthy patrons, museum administrators, and other cultural figures. The resulting competition between scholarly and public interests shifted among museum halls, legislative chambers, and the drawing rooms of Victorian America but always returned to the enigmatic ruins of Chaco Canyon, Bandelier, and Mesa Verde. Ruins and Rivals contains a wealth of anecdotal material that conveys the flavor of digs and discoveries, scholars and scoundrels, tracing the origins of everything from national monuments to "Santa Fe Style." It rekindles the excitement of discovery, illustrating the role that archaeology played in creating the southwestern "past" and how that image of antiquity continues to exert its influence today.

Rivals for Power is a lively description of the power struggle between the president and Congress. In it, leading congressional and presidential scholars and knowledgeable former public officials consider the historical, political, and constitutional foundations of conflict between the two branches. The authors give practical advice about how to build cooperative policymaking between the president and Congress as they struggle over major crises in solving economic problems and addressing domestic issues and the challenges in defense and foreign policy making. The book features original academic research and practitioner knowledge from the White House and the Hill. This fourth edition includes all new essays with unique and critical viewpoints on the role of the president and Congress in the policy making process. Many of the essays focus on lessons learned about cooperation and conflict between the two branches from the Clinton and Bush presidencies. The essays include preliminary analyses of President Barack Obama's relationship with Congress. Because the authors have made major contributions as congressional and presidential scholars, and have played key roles in Congress, in the White House, in the media, and as lobbyists, each chapter presents a different perspective. The new edition of Rivals for Power is intended for students, scholars, public officials, the media, and the general public. Contributions by Gary Andres, Richard S. Conley, Roger H. Davidson, The Honorable Mickey Edwards, Louis Fisher, Patrick Griffin, The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, Mark J. Oleszek, Walter J. Oleszek, John E. Owens, James P. Pfiffner, Mark J. Rozell, Andrew Rudalevige, Barbara Sinclair, Mitchel A. Sollenberger, James A. Thurber, Stephen J. Wayne, and Joseph White.

Highly illustrated, exhaustively researched, and eminently readable, Riches, Rivals and Radicals describes the rise of the museums in America from the early 20th century to the early 21st--a story that parallels the historic changes in the United States. Through the decades, museums transformed themselves from cabinets of curiosity to centers of civic pride and prestige, stewards of who and what we are, our shared heritage, good and bad. The museum story is "filled with many notable and even some notorious characters," writes Marjorie Schwarzer, chair of the museum studies department at John F. Kennedy University. "How the American museum got to where it is today has required a long journey, sometimes arduous, often fascinating." Published in celebration of AAM's centennial and The Year of the Museum.