National Ambition: Reconstructing Nigeria, leverages on the example and experience of Nigeria - a sub-Saharan African Country in West Africa - to discuss National Ambition within the context of national social and economic aspirations, and the impact of corruption on governance, development and peace. The book uses credible sources of information from secondary research to offer a reasoned perspective on core issues and contains concrete pragmatic and common-sense proposals and models that Nigeria and other developing countries especially in Africa can adapt to their environment in the short to long term to improve conditions. It addresses issues on Global Justice and the intersections with Sustainable Development Goals - the responsibility of the global community in improving collaboration and cooperation among nations; creating opportunities for local people; reducing inequality and inequity within countries; promoting greater inclusion and interconnection among diverse peoples; and investing in people to strengthen communities and individuals to fully unleashed human potential for a much better world. The book is compelling with positive, progressive and positive-sum messages. It has been written in a way that is simple to read and easy to understand for a wider audience. Sadly, many people become rich by creating problems. It should be the other way round, solving problems. Grand corruption resulting in 'state capture' increases the vulnerability of citizens and inflicts the most pain on the population. Corruption is the single most important threat to Domestic Policies in Nigeria. It distorts the evidence base and misinforms legislations, policies, regulations, programmes, projects and the activities that drive them. It compromises the impact of social interventions; confusing markets; and business environment. It weakens social, economic, political and environmental systems and leaves Nigerians and Nigeria weak. Corruption is the Master Problem, fuelled by excessive greed, patronage and loyalty networks operating at the expense of national interest. This book proposes the Triple Lock against corruption, contributing new perspectives to addressing fundamental structural deficits that provide the incentives, motivations and opportunities to express corrupt behaviour. Nigeria requires a systematic, holistic and integrated approach to radically reduce the corruption burden that drags Nigeria back. With a large population of young people and huge natural capital, Nigeria potentially has unique assets and opportunities to build a fairer and more progressive country and to tap into the hardwork, ingenuity and resilience of its diverse population. But Nigeria will have to work differently to realise THE FULL POTENTIAL for which it is capable. Working differently would mean unlocking value chains currently locked-in in all the sectors of the Nigerian economy, to improve quality and drive demand and supply of locally made goods and services; promoting enterprise; creating decent jobs; pursuing progressive taxation policies; and building a self-sustaining country that can pay its way and voice its own worldview. The possibilities are enormous, but first, Nigeria needs a smarter government and governance intelligence that knows every Nigerian to invest in them as most important assets; drive efficiency and innovation; operating transparent and accountable systems; joining up government and reducing silo-vertical working that promotes opacities; removing bottlenecks that stifle creativity and ideas to markets; reducing inequalities and inequities; ensuring social justice and solidarity; and enabling the best of Nigeria to emerge and to altogether, thrive. This is the big challenge right now, to define the future!

“Fascinating. . . . Williams tells the story of La Guardia and Roosevelt with insight and elegance.”—Edward Glaeser, New York Times Book Review

Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction finalist Winner of the 2014 National Book Award in nonfiction. As the Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, Evan Osnos was on the ground in China for years, witness to profound political, economic, and cultural upheaval. Age of Ambition provides a vibrant, colorful, and revelatory inner history of China during a moment of profound transformation. From abroad, we often see China as a caricature: a nation of pragmatic plutocrats and ruthlessly dedicated students destined to rule the global economy-or an addled Goliath, riddled with corruption and on the edge of stagnation. What we don't see is how both powerful and ordinary people are remaking their lives as their country dramatically changes. In Age of Ambition, Osnos describes the greatest collision taking place in that country: the clash between the rise of the individual and the Communist Party's struggle to retain control. He asks probing questions: Why does a government with more success lifting people from poverty than any civilization in history choose to put strict restraints on freedom of expression? Why do millions of young Chinese professionals-fluent in English and devoted to Western pop culture-consider themselves "angry youth," dedicated to resisting the West's influence? How are Chinese from all strata finding meaning after two decades of the relentless pursuit of wealth? Writing with great narrative verve and a keen sense of irony, Osnos follows the moving stories of everyday people and reveals life in the new China to be a battleground between aspiration and authoritarianism, in which only one can prevail. An Economist Best Book of 2014. Winner of the bronze medal for the Council on Foreign Relations’ 2015 Arthur Ross Book Award

Leading politicians, diplomats, clerics, planters, farmers, manufacturers, and merchants preached a transformative, world-historical role for the Confederacy, persuading many of their compatriots to fight not merely to retain what they had but to gain their future empire. Impervious to reality, their vision of future world leadership—territorial, economic, political, and cultural—provided a vitally important, underappreciated motivation to form an independent Confederate republic. In Colossal Ambitions, Adrian Brettle explores how leading Confederate thinkers envisioned their postwar nation—its relationship with the United States, its place in the Americas, and its role in the global order. Brettle draws on rich caches of published and unpublished letters and diaries, Confederate national and state government documents, newspapers published in North America and England, conference proceedings, pamphlets, contemporary and scholarly articles, and more to engage the perspectives of not only modern historians but some of the most salient theorists of the Western World in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An impressive and complex undertaking, Colossal Ambitions concludes that while some Confederate commentators saw wartime industrialization as pointing toward a different economic future, most Confederates saw their society as revolving once more around coercive labor, staple crop production, and exports in the war’s wake.

For anyone seeking to live life to its fullest potential, Blind Ambition is an eye-opening account of a tech industry executive who overcame fear and hopelessness to turn his blindness disability into a powerful, competitive strength. While most people were preparing for the adventure of adult life, Chad E. Foster was watching the world he grew up with fade to black but that didn’t stop him from becoming the first blind person to graduate from the Harvard Business School leadership program and climbing the corporate ladder as a successful finance/sales executive. With determination, ambition, and drive, Chad created what Oracle said would be impossible. He gave millions of people the ability to earn a living by becoming the first to create customer relationship software for the visually impaired. Even if you've been robbed of your self-identity and dreams for the future, you can change your story and achieve your goals. In Blind Ambition, readers and listeners will: Be inspired by Chad’s story of how he transformed the loss of his vision into a gift with unique strengths and abilities he did not have before. See how we choose the stories we tell ourselves about our circumstances and how this either limits us or propels us toward our goals. Gain new perspective on what is possible when you shift your mindset, give up making excuses, and decide that you oversee who you want to be. Learn the mental model that Chad uses to quickly overcome frustrations and stressors. Overcoming the challenges of blindness improved Chad’s perspective, making him more resilient and grateful for the life that he has. Ultimately, Chad's unforgettable lessons and outlook will inspire listeners to overcome their perceived limitations and explore new possibilities where they once may have only seen obstacles. Blind Ambition will teach you how to take advantage of your disadvantages.

But in general, Reiss suggests, nuclear weapons may have come to be viewed as expensive and dangerous anachronisms.