Harold James examines the vulnerability and fragility of processes of globalization, both historically and in the present. This book applies lessons from past breakdowns of globalizationÑabove all in the Great DepressionÑto show how financial crises provoke backlashes against global integration: against the mobility of capital or goods, but also against flows of migration. By a parallel examination of the financial panics of 1929 and 1931 as well as that of 2008, he shows how banking and monetary collapses suddenly and radically alter the rules of engagement for every other type of economic activity. Increased calls for state action in countercyclical fiscal policy bring demands for trade protection. In the open economy of the twenty-first century, such calls are only viable in very large statesÑprobably only in the United States and China. By contrast, in smaller countries demand trickles out of the national container, creating jobs in other countries. The international community is thus paralyzed, and international institutions are challenged by conflicts of interest. The book shows the looming psychological and material consequences of an interconnected world for people and the institutions they create.

In 1989, David Tsumura published a monograph entitled The Earth and the Waters in Genesis 1 and 2: A Linguistic Evaluation, in which he demonstrated that the oft-recited claim that the early chapters of Genesis betrayed a background or adaptation by Israel of mythological terms and/or motifs from other ancient Near Eastern literature could not be supported by a close examination of the linguistic data. Despite the book's positive reception, the notion that the Chaoskampf motif lies behind the early chapters of Genesis continues to be rehearsed in the literature as if the data were incontrovertible. In this revised and expanded edition of the 1989 book, Tsumura carries the discussion forward. In part 1, the general thesis of the original work is restated in a significantly revised and expanded form; in the second part of this monograph, he expands the scope of his research to include a number of poetic texts outside the Primeval History, texts for which scholars often have posited an ancient Near Eastern mythological substratum. Among the questions asked are the following: What are the functions of "waters" and "flood" in biblical poetry? Do the so-called chaos dragons in the Old Testament, such as Leviathan, Rahab, and Yam, have anything to do with the creation motif in the biblical tradition? What is the relationship between these poetic texts and the Ugaritic myths of the Baal-Yam conflict? Are Psalms 18 and 29 "adaptations" of Canaanite hymns, as suggested by some scholars? Among the conclusions that Tsumura reaches are these: (1) The phrase tohû wabohû has nothing to do with the idea of a chaotic state of the earth. (2) The term tehà ́m in Gen 1:2 is a Hebrew form derived from the Proto-Semitic *tiham-, "ocean," and it usually refers to the underground water that was overflowing and covering the entire surface of the earth in the initial state of creation. (3) The earth-water relationship in Gen 2:5-6 is different from that in Gen 1:2. In Gen 1:2, the earth was totally under the water; in Gen 2:5-6, only a part of the earth, the land, was watered by the 'ed-water, which was overflowing from an underground source. (4) The biblical poetic texts that are claimed to have been influenced by the Chaoskampf-motif of the ancient Near East in fact use the language of storms and floods metaphorically and have nothing to do with primordial combat.

This volume considers the American manufacturing industry, and develops a statistical portait of the microeconomic adjustments that affect business and workers. The authors focus on the employer rather than worker side of the process aiming to show the processes that will be relevant to economists.

"Words are more than hieroglyphs, constanents, and syllables. They hold power. They can build or destroy. Once spoken they cannot be taken back nor ignored." Paraphrased from Yuko Ichihara - xxxholic

Land Degradation explores the substantial decrease in an area's biological productivity or usefulness to humans due to human activities. The second edition of Johnson and Lewis's well-received text thoroughly examines this growing area of study using a global perspective, as well as up-to-date information. The various case studies cover the history of land degradation, look at local and regional effects of human interactions with the environment, and compare creative destruction with destructive creation.

How do objects that are worth little to nothing become valuable? Who is behind the creation of value, and which types of people find value and comfort in transient, durable, and rubbish objects? When his highly influential Rubbish Theory, first published in 1979, Michael Thompson launched the discipline of waste studies. It remains the most comprehensive analysis on the culture of waste to date. Thompson argues that there are two mutually exclusive cultural categories that are socially imposed on the world of objects: a transient category and a durable category. However, he identifies a region of flexibility, wherein a transient object that declines in value and life span can linger in a valueless and timeless limbo of rubbish, until it is discovered by a creative individual and transferred into something deemed durable. He links stability and change on one hand, with materiality on the other, providing a rich analysis of social and cultural dynamics. His instrumental theory of rubbish draws on case studies and anthropological fieldwork to highlight the ever-changing subtleties of object value and our complex relationship to waste. Bringing Rubbish Theory back into print, this updated edition includes a new introduction, preface, foreword, and afterword, thoroughly exploring how Thompson's key theories have affected our world in the four decades since it was first published and placing it in a contemporary context that shines light on the continued relevance of the book today

Cassie Harper is a disillusioned high school senior who is daily losing ground in a battle against her own nihilistic inclinations. When a beautiful new girl from California comes to town and attempts to befriend a reluctant Cassie, the two unlikely companions find common ground in a shared sorrow. Cassie lives with her mother and grandmother in a dilapidated house in a nameless Kansas town, where she is haunted nightly by dreams of a father who died before she was born. Amy Cole has just moved from California, where she recently lost her mother and brother in a car accident. When Amy finally breaks down the walls of Cassies self imposed solitude, the girls band together to avoid the common end of all high school students: inexorable assimilation into an increasingly empty and incomprehensible world. But as Amy and Cassie attempt to outrun fate, their pursuit will be cut short by an unexpected adversary, leading Cassie to devise a chilling and unimaginable revenge. Cassie Draws the Universe is a complex and tragic tale of friendship and betrayal, living and dying, human cruelty, and the terrible price of vengeance.