Best Selling Books by Brian Martin

How might the entire citizenry of a country make the decisions that affect them? Carson and Martin provide the first accessible and comprehensive overview of random selection as a possible process for transforming our modern political systems. Building on the theoretical work of the likes of John Burnheim and Fred Emery and drawing on their own work with social action groups, they outline a set of methods that go beyond the mere tapping of community opinion to reveal not only preferences but a more active role in creating the community. Random selection, as Carson and Martin show, has been used in community participation in short-term decision making and long-term planning. It can be a powerful tool in the development of local, federal, and international policy. An important and innovative look at government decision making, this will be of primary interest to scholars and researchers in political theory and electoral systems, as well as political activists and reformers.

The Detroit Tigers were founding members of the American League and have been the Motor City''s team for more than a century. But the Wolverines were the city''s first major league club, playing in the National League beginning in 1881 and capturing the pennant in 1887. Playing in what was then one of the best ballparks in America, during an era when Detroit was known as the "Paris of the West," the team battled hostile National League owners and struggled with a fickle fan base to become world champions, before financial woes led to their being disbanded in 1888. This first-ever history of the Wolverines covers the team''s rise and abrupt fall and the powerful men behind it.

Attacks can backfire on attackers_sometimes spectacularly. Examples include the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police in 1991, the surveillance of Ralph Nader in 1965, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Attackers often inhibit adverse reactions by covering up the attack, ...

The story about baseball''s being invented in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839 by Abner Doubleday served to prove that the U.S. national pastime was an American game, not derived from the English children''s game of rounders as had been believed. The tale, embraced by Americans, has long been proven false but to this day, Cooperstown is celebrated as the birthplace of baseball. The story has captured the hearts of millions. But who spun that tale and why? This book provides a surprising answer about the origins of America''s most durable myth. It seems that Abner Graves, who espoused Cooperstown as the birthplace of the game, likely was inspired by another story about an early game of baseball. The stories were remarkably similar, as were the men who told them. For the first time, this book links the stories and lives of Graves, a mining engineer, and Adam Ford, a medical doctor, both residents of Denver, Colorado. While the actual origins of the game of baseball remain subject to debate and study, new light is shed on the source of baseball''s durable creation myth.

Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was one of the most eminent and controversial figures of the 19th Century. His conversion of the Church of Rome sparked one of the most bitter and divisive controversies of the Victorian age. His religious thought helped to lay the foundations for the second Vatican Council.Brian Martin''s sympathetic study is a critical biography of Newman that surveys his life from his brilliant Oxford career to his eventual elevation to the Cardinalate. His relations with other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain are examined, and his major works are discussed in the context of his life.

This book addresses the power of popular nonviolent action against repression, aggression, and oppression. A crucial aspect to effective nonviolent action is communication. Activists need to be able to contact each other and to mobilize support from other parts of the world. However, within the nonviolence literature, communication has been almost entirely neglected, while within the communication literature, nonviolent action is seldom mentioned. This is the first major study to focus on the joint dynamics of nonviolence and communication. Three case studies are examined: the popular action that forced the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto in 1998, the successful people''s resistance to the Soviet coup in 1991, and the successful internationally coordinated campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment in 1988. In each case, special attention is given to the role of communication in the struggle. Attention is then turned to theory. Surveys are made of nonviolence and communication theories, probing for insights relevant to the nonviolence-communication nexus. Gradually a model for analyzing people''s communication is developed. The insights from theory are then used to prose a set of steps by which activist groups can analyze communication and develop effective communication strategies

This is a book for how to improve what you are already doing well. How to improve your writings as an academic, playing skills as a musician, jogging as a runner or honour codes as a good citizen and friend.

Climate change, psychiatric drugs, genetically modified organisms, nuclear power, fluoridation, stem cell research - these are just a few of the hundreds of issues involving science and technology that are vigorously debated. If you care about an issue, how can you be more effective in arguing for your viewpoint and campaigning in support of it? The Controversy Manual offers practical advice for campaigners as well as plenty of information for people who want to better understand what''s happening and to be able to discuss the issues with friends. The Controversy Manual provides information for understanding controversies, arguing against opponents, getting your message out, and defending against attack. Whether experts are on your side or mostly on the side of opponents, you''ll find advice for being more effective. While not taking sides on individual controversies, the emphasis is on fostering fair and open debate and opposing those who use power and manipulation to get their way.

This manual for people who speak out in the public interest tells you how to assess options, prepare for action, use official channels, build support and survive the experience. Written by the founder of Dissent Network Australia, and former national president of Whistleblowers Australia.

Scientific Knowledge in Controversy: The Social Dynamics of the Fluoridation Debate is a study of today''s most heated and long-lived health controversy as well as a study of the role of power in science. It uses the tools of sociology of knowledge and political economy to analyze battles over scientific evidence and the struggle for scientific credibility, the exercise of professional power to suppress opponents, and the role of corporate interests in the debate. The evidence from a variety of countries offers a new perspective on the fluoridation issue and also shows how to link the analysis of rhetoric in scientific disputes with the wider analysis of power in society.

Pelham Rigby is an investigative journalist for a London newspaper, and his travels take him around the world on missions that can never be discussed. Roxanne is the beautiful wife of a Spanish businessman with a dubious past, but she only has eyes for Rigby. Arne is the powerful CEO of Myrex, Inc., a corporation that is not all it seems. When Rigby''s newspaper sends him on a mission to Estonia, all four lives become entwined in an explosive series of events that threaten not only Rigby''s safety, relationships and career, but his life. Increasingly drawn into the clutches of both British and American security services, and the murky cauldron of Myrex, Rigby is forced to make decisions that compromise everything he''s ever believed in. Building up to a stunning dénouement, where the action shifts from a Soviet submarine base in Estonia to a smart London hotel, The Double Bind of Mr Rigby is an exciting, absorbing thriller which will not only take you places you''ve never been before, but make you question whether what you are reading is fact or fiction.

Despite his outstanding pitching record, James Francis "Pud" Galvin (1856-1902) was largely forgotten after his premature death. During his 18-year career with Pittsburgh, Buffalo and St. Louis, he was one of the best-paid players in the game--but died penniless. The diminutive hurler was the first to reach 300 wins (and only four pitchers have amassed more). A determined researcher documented Galvin''s record decades after his death and he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1965 with 365 wins. This book is the first comprehensive biography of Galvin and his use of a testosterone-based concoction--with eye-popping results--which earned him newfound attention as a pioneer of performance enhancing drugs.

At six-feet-six, the hulking Martin Leo Boutilier (1872-1944) was hard to miss. Yet the many books written about Babe Ruth relegate the soft-spoken teacher and coach to the shadows. Ruth credited Boutilier--known as Brother Matthias in the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier--with making him the man and the baseball player he became. Matthias saw something in the troubled seven-year old and nurtured his athletic ability. Spending many extra hours on the ballfield with him over a dozen years, he taught Ruth how to hit and converted the young left-handed catcher into a formidable pitcher. Overshadowed by a fellow Xavierian brother who was given the credit for discovering the baseball prodigy, Matthias never received his due from the public but didn''t complain. Ruth never forgot the father figure who continued to provide valuable counsel in later life. This is the first telling of the full story of the man who gave the world its most famous baseball star.

A young German immigrant, Barney Dreyfuss was an American success story in business and in baseball. He fell in love with the game after settling in Paducah, Kentucky, where he discovered he had a knack for assembling good players on the diamond. Relocating to Louisville, he became involved in the professional game with the Colonels. Faced with ouster from the National League, he took his players to Pittsburgh, where he became owner of the Pirates and forged a winning tradition, leading the club to six pennants and two World Series. This first biography of Dreyfuss chronicles the innovative career of the Hall of Famer executive who built Forbes Field--the National League''s first concrete-and-steel ballpark, into which he put $1 million of his own money--pushed for creation of the office of commissioner to govern the game and helped initiate the modern World Series.

Probability and Statistics for Physical Sciences, Second Edition is an accessible guide to commonly used concepts and methods in statistical analysis used in the physical sciences. This brief yet systematic introduction explains the origin of key techniques, providing mathematical background and useful formulas. The text does not assume any background in statistics and is appropriate for a wide-variety of readers, from first-year undergraduate students to working scientists across many disciplines. - Provides a collection of useful formulas with mathematical background - Includes worked examples throughout and end-of-chapter problems for practice - Offers a logical progression through topics and methods in statistics and probability