True Believers and the Great Replacement explores the responses of segments of Western cultures who fear that changes in the racial, religious, and ethnic makeup of society threaten their way of life. The Great Replacement Theory (that suggests that the traditional character of Western society is being undermined by outsiders) is discussed. Analyzed with reference to the Critical Race Theory and the “Cancel Culture” movement, the author examines the anxieties and reactions of those who feel alienated by a world of rapid and disorienting change. Drawing upon the thought of Eric Hoffer and Emile Durkheim, these responses are discussed in terms of the concepts of anomie and the true believer in innovative and effective ways. Based on this analysis, strategic responses are suggested. The volume will appeal to scholars and practitioners involved with issues of race and ethnicity, business, and social and cultural analyses.

Withdrawing herself from consideration for Supreme Court Judgeship, distinguished judge Karen Hollander reflects on the reasons for her decision while remembering her coming of age in 1960s America, during which she experienced a formative event that reverberates in the cultural landscape of her present-day life. By the best-selling author of Heyday. 40,000 first printing.

Fans of the riveting mystery in Courtney Summers's Sadie and the themes of race and religion in Samira Ahmed's Internment will be captivated by this exploration of the intersection of Islamaphobia and white supremacy as an American Muslim teen is forced to confront hatred and hidden danger when she is framed for a terrorist act she did not commit. Salma Bakkioui has always loved living in her suburban cul-de-sac, with her best friend Mariam next door, and her boyfriend Amir nearby. Then things start to change. Friends start to distance themselves. Mariam's family moves when her father's patients no longer want a Muslim chiropractor. Even trusted teachers look the other way when hostile students threaten Salma at school. After a terrorist bombing nearby, Islamaphobia tightens its grip around Salma and her family. Shockingly, she and Amir find themselves with few allies as they come under suspicion for the bombing. As Salma starts to investigate who is framing them, she uncovers a deadly secret conspiracy with suspicious ties to her new neighbors--but no one believes her. Salma must use her coding talent, wits, and faith to expose the truth and protect the only home she's ever known--before it's too late.

Doves, Authoritarians or Protestors, Skeptics or Pragmatists are examined in biographical vignettes of such fascinating people as Bertrand Russell, Adolph Hitler, Linus Pauling, and Ayn Rand. The lives of Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman illustrate how people with similar values can follow different scripts, one ending in tragedy, the other transformation. The lives of Betty Friedan, Kate Millet, and Phyllis Schlafly show how different life scripts lead to varying.

The critically acclaimed true story about the human cost of hero worship in martial arts. Featured on numerous shows and podcasts, The True Believers struck a chord with both traditional and modern martial artists across the world when it was first published in 2017. Now, in this special second edition, readers can go further down the rabbit hole in this true story about rampant fanaticism taking over a worldwide martial arts organization, and the chaos that it sowed in the lives of its True Believers. True Believers is the story of how a small, California marital arts school grew into a new age religion. Promoting black belts in mere months to maintain an army of fanatical young converts, while creating a business of endless monetization, trapping the most dedicated students in a spiral of financial ruin. Follow the rise and fall through the eyes of a young student on a seven year journey, attaining one of the highest ranks in the system, while secretly doubting his own abilities and fearing that his dojo has become a cult. Along the way, he discovers the truth about the business of selling fantasy and creating a codependent community that is fearful of the outside world and increasingly reliant on their master for direction. The True Believers is about the darker side of martial arts that robs real people of years of training and tens of thousands of dollars. But it's ultimately a story of triumph, as a group of senior students take a stand against wrongdoing and cripple an organization, their senior students resigning in protest.

Bestselling author Joe Queenan's True Believers explores the world of sports fans in an attempt to understand the inexplicable: What does anyone get out of it? For Yankee, Cowboy, and Laker fans the answer is fairly clear: the return on investment is relatively high. But why do people root so passionately for formerly inept teams like the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, and the Philadelphia Phillies? Why do people organize their emotional lives around lackluster franchises such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Diego Padres, and the Phoenix Suns, of whom decades passed with only winning a single championship in their entire history? Is it pure tribalism? An attempt to maintain contact with one's vanished childhood? In True Believers, humorist and lifelong Philly fan Joe Queenan answers these and many other questions, shedding light on—and reveling in—the culture and psychology of his countless fellow fans. Making pilgrimages to such cradles of competition as Notre Dame Stadium, Fenway, and Wrigley Field, Queenan delves into every aspect of fandom in such illuminating chapters as Fans Who Love Too Much (men, like the author, who actually resort to psychotherapy to deal with their unhealthy addiction), Fans Who Run in Front (which meticulously delineates the differences between Retroactive, Municipal, and Vicarious Frontrunners), and Fans Who Misbehave (those who spill beer on women, moon other fans, or throw half-eaten sandwiches at innocent bystanders simply because they look like the current coach of the New York Jets). True Believers is a hilarious but also heartfelt look into the world of those fans who realize that it is, in fact, more than just a game.

The definitive, revelatory biography of Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee, a writer and entrepreneur who reshaped global pop culture—at a steep personal cost HUGO AWARD FINALIST • “A biography that reads like a thriller or a whodunit . . . scrupulously honest, deeply damning, and sometimes even heartbreaking.”—Neil Gaiman Stan Lee was one of the most famous and beloved entertainers to emerge from the twentieth century. He served as head editor of Marvel Comics for three decades and, in that time, became known as the creator of more pieces of internationally recognizable intellectual property than nearly anyone: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, Black Panther, the Incredible Hulk . . . the list goes on. His carnival-barker marketing prowess helped save the comic-book industry and superhero fiction. His cameos in Marvel movies have charmed billions. When he died in 2018, grief poured in from around the world, further cementing his legacy. But what if Stan Lee wasn’t who he said he was? To craft the definitive biography of Lee, Abraham Riesman conducted more than 150 interviews and investigated thousands of pages of private documents, turning up never-before-published revelations about Lee’s life and work. True Believer tackles tough questions: Did Lee actually create the characters he gained fame for creating? Was he complicit in millions of dollars’ worth of fraud in his post-Marvel life? Which members of the cavalcade of grifters who surrounded him were most responsible for the misery of his final days? And, above all, what drove this man to achieve so much yet always boast of more?