The No-nonsense Guide to Indigenous Peoples

The No-nonsense Guide to Indigenous Peoples
Author: Lotte Hughes
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781859844380

Indigenous peoples have long suffered from exoticization. Outsiders elevate their beauty, remoteness and difference and do not see beyond this to the real problems they face. The No-Nonsense Guide to Indigenous Peoples looks beyond the exotic images, tracing the stories of different indigenous peoples from their first (and often fatal) contact with explorers and colonizers. Much of this history is told here by indigenous people themselves.They vividly describe why land and the natural world are so special to them; how it feels to be snatched from your family as a child because the government wants to "make you white"; why they are demanding that museums must return the bones of their ancestors; how can they retain their traditional culture while moving with the times; and what kinds of development are positive. This short guide discusses all this and more, raising countless issues for debate.

The No-nonsense Guide to Water

The No-nonsense Guide to Water
Author: Maggie Black
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2004
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781844675098

Water sustains life: without it, humans cannot survive for more than a few days. And yet this precious fluid is becoming increasingly politicized as the debates about control and ownership of water itself, and of the many organizations which govern its use, gain force. Maggie Black explores the many roles water plays in human life and, as the defense of water rights looks set to become an explosive issue, provides a clear overview on the vital issues of distribution, technology, irrigation, land use and commodification.

The No-nonsense Guide to Global Media

The No-nonsense Guide to Global Media
Author: Peter Steven
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2003
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9781859845813

The power and influence of the mass media grows daily, crucially affecting the way all of us see and understand each other. The No-Nonsense Guide to Global Media introduces readers to the political economy of the major mediafilm, television, radio, recording, publishing and the Internet. Peter Steven looks at the ever greater concentration of ownership and at the convergence of technologies and media functions. At the same time, he emphasizes the diversity of local media production and media around the world. The media is more than the economics of ownership and the technology of production, he stresses; it is also audiences, in all their annoying and wonderful diversity.

The No-nonsense Guide to Terrorism

The No-nonsense Guide to Terrorism
Author: Jonathan Barker
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2003
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781859844335

Terrorist or freedom fighter? Analyzing the causes and contexts of terrorism the world over, Barker guides readers through the moral and political theories justifying and guiding terrorist acts.

The No-nonsense Guide to World Poverty

The No-nonsense Guide to World Poverty
Author: Jeremy Seabrook
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2003
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781859845660

At the turn of the new millennium, the United Nations determined that world poverty would be halved by 2015. International agencies are all committed to "poverty abatement." The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have renamed their structural adjustment policies "poverty reduction strategies." But can this work? No, argues Jeremy Seabrook, not if we fail to understand the meaning of poverty. Drawing on testimonies from around the world, as well as on the hard facts, he challenges the assumption that wealth overcomes poverty, and demonstrates that the opposite of "poor" is not "rich" but "self-reliant." Appealing passionately for a shared sense of "sufficiency," he gives verbal snapshots of people's lives to show how poverty shifts, changes and endures in response to the growth of wealth.

The No-nonsense Guide to Islam

The No-nonsense Guide to Islam
Author: Ziauddin Sardar
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2004
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781859844540

Even before 11 September 2001, Muslims were generally viewed in the West as enemies of "freedom" and "progress". Yet there is far more to Islam than the stereotypical Occidental view. This No-Nonsense Guide looks at how Islam, a complex faith and civilization, can reconcile itself with the twenty-first century. Critically minded Muslims everywhere are rethinking and reformulating Islam as a contemporary moral and ethical force. Merryl Wyn Davies and Zia Sardar explain the Islamic worldview, examining the Qur'an and Islamic law (sharia), Islam in history, Islam's relationship with the West and its contemporary nature. They analyse the struggle within the faith for a more humane and holistic interpretation of their religion; examine the issues surrounding women, democracy, and economic development; and suggest how we can all move forward after 9/11.

The No-nonsense Guide to HIV/AIDS

The No-nonsense Guide to HIV/AIDS
Author: Shereen Usdin
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 148
Release: 2003
Genre: AIDS (Disease)
ISBN: 9781859844595

Tells the story so far, looking at the origins of the desease, the way it spreads, and examining the profits made by drug companies, women's special vulnerability, and the positive action being taken by people and communities to fight back. [back cover].

The No-nonsense Guide to Women's Rights

The No-nonsense Guide to Women's Rights
Author: Nikki van der Gaag
Publisher: Verso
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2004
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781844675029

How much has life really changed for women during the last decade? Has the womens movement affected women all over the world? Has it changed womens relationships with men? Nikki van der Gaag answers these questions with hard, sometimes disturbing, evidence. Many women have made huge leaps forwardin legal rights, political representation, employment, education, healthbut beneath the surface the statistics are shocking. Vivid testimonies from women and men around the world explain why, especially in this post-feminist age, womens rights are still very much an issue for men and women alike. "She has made a special effort to correct many of the misconceptions and biases related to the feminist movement, to link the liberation of women who constitute half of society to the liberation of men and to the dispossessed majority living on earth." from the introduction by Nawal El Saadawi