“Religion” is a term that the media often use without any clarification. But it is a loaded word that encompasses hundreds of different beliefs. Religion can be seen as a source of war and peace, love and hate, dialogue and narrow-mindedness. The globalization of communications has raised awareness of religious conversion, with more people than …

In this updated edition of the No-Nonsense Guide to Democracy, Richard Swift explores how democracy has been constricted and deformed by economic power-brokers and a self-serving political class from Birmingham to Bangalore.

The book includes chapter-length discussions of topics such as the economic meltdown, Barack Obama, eco-democracy, democratiz …

One of the few up-to-date works on the whole of the arms trade, this No-Nonsense Guide explores not just the movement of weaponry across borders, but also the problematic activities that sustain the trade, such as espionage, government corruption, and shady taxpayer subsidies.

This Guide reveals that despite Western governments’ preaching of the e …

?Meltdown,? “crisis,? “downturn,? and the dreaded “R-word?: recession. These words have migrated from business sections to headline news.

From barter to coins, from the origins of banking to today's credit crunch, this highly topical book explores cash, borrowing, and lending, and delves into the dark side of the global financial system.

But as …

“?World music”? is an awkward phrase. Used to describe the hugely multifaceted nature of a range of, typically, non-English language popular musics from the world over, it’s a tag that throws up as many problems as it does solutions.

Louise Gray’s No-Nonsense Guide to World Music attempts to go behind the phrase to explore the reasons for th …

In Reasoning Otherwise, author Ian McKay returns to the concepts and methods of “reconnaissance” first outlined in Rebels, Reds, Radicals to examine the people and events that led to the rise of the left in Canada from 1890 to 1920. Reasoning Otherwise highlights how a new way of looking at the world based on theories of evolution transformed s …

Has the battle for women?’s rights been won? As Niki van der Gaag points out, “it is easy to forget just how recently so many women’s rights have been won; and how many women still face violations of their rights on a daily basis.”

In this No-Nonsense Guide, van der Gaag offers a status report on the women of the world by examining issues li …

Gold Dust on His Shirt is an evocative telling of the experience of a Scandinavian immigrant family of hard-rock miners at the turn of the century and up to World War II. Based on fascinating historical research, these are tales of arriving in ‘Amerika,’ blasting the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, work in the mines, and domestic life and labour …

Terrorism and counter-terrorism have become key points in political talk and government policy. This No-Nonsense Guide has been revised and updated to take account of the major changes in global terrorism over the past seven years.

Jonathan Barker presents a highly accessible history of terrorism that looks at examples from the Middle East and else …

In the first book to distill the entire history of the United Nations into one accessible volume, Maggie Black explains how this complex organization works. In doing so, she explores its successes, failings, and limitations.

This No-Nonsense Guide addresses the U.N.?s creation and early history, how it is structured, and whether it can effectively f …

Some Like It Cold plunges headlong into the political conundrum of Canada's climatechange debate. Focusing on the past responses of both Liberal and Conservative governmentsto the looming crisis—ranging from negligence to complicity and connivance—Paehlke illuminatesthe issues surrounding compliance with global regulations such as Kyoto, includ …

Virtually any commodity can move around the world to satisfy demand, but human beings have far less freedom. Many would-be migrants are forced to risk life and limb traveling illegally. Yet most rich countries are short of workers, have shrinking populations, and need more immigrants.

The No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration is a timely prim …

IN RECENT YEARS Canadians have become more and more concerned about the origins oftheir food and the environmental impacts of pesticides in agriculture. What is less well knownis that pesticide corporations such as Monsanto and Du Pont have bought their way into the seed industry and are taking control of what was once the exclusive domain of farme …

“Overseas aid” and “international development” are catch-all terms that cover a multitude of activities — and abuses. Building dams in India, planting treesin Burkina Faso, and rescuing street children in Brazil are images of development with which we can all identify. But what few people realize is that the terms “aid” and “develop …

Why are there so many people who are poor in a world that’s richer than ever before? Something must be wrong with conventional thinking about wealth and poverty. In this No-Nonsense Guide, Jeremy Seabrook summarizes his celebrated work on the meaning of poverty and draws on the experiences of people living in poverty all over the world.

Seabrook a …

The world is changing and especially so for lesbians, gays, and people who are bisexual and transgendered. In some countries, hard-won battles for equality are bearing fruit in non-discrimination legislation. In others, being gay incurs the death penalty.

This No-Nonsense Guide gives an overview of sexual diversity and reveals the hidden histories o …

Here is a clear, wide-ranging introduction to the worldwide state of human health. Starting with a brief history of modern medical progress, Shereen Usdin then untangles the knot created by poverty and globalization to show that where you live, how wealthy you are, and your gender all have a bearing on the diseases you may encounter in your lifetim …

Deindustrialization is not simply an economic process; it is also a social and cultural phenomenon. The rusting detritus of our industrial past-the wrecked halls of factories, abandoned machinery too large to remove, and now-useless infrastructures-has for decades been a part of the North American landscape. Through a unique blend of oral history, …

Fun & Games & Higher Education ranges from Wayne’s World to hot-rodding, from automobility to the popular phenomenon know as the tailgate party, from German sociologist George Simmel to Canadian Media Guru Marshall McLuhan–all in the interests in exploring North American obsession with play-and particularly the intersection between education, w …

Many people like to take a break by exploring somewhere new, whether it’s with just a backpack or with a fleet of luggage. But there is more to a holiday that visiting “attractions,” sampling local foods, and napping in a hammock. Being a tourist is easy - tourism is complex.

In this No-Nonsense Guide, Pamela Nowicka explores the third largest …

An in-depth study of European immigrants to Canada during the Cold War, Gatekeepers explores the interactions among these immigrants and the “gatekeepers”–mostly middle-class individuals and institutions whose definitions of citizenship significantly shaped the immigrant experience. Iacovetta’s deft discussion examines how dominant bourgeoi …

Feminist, educator, Quaker, and physicist, Ursula Franklin has long been considered one of Canada’s foremost advocates and practitioners of pacifism. The Ursula Franklin Reader: Pacifism as a Map is a comprehensive collection of her work, and demonstrates subtle, yet critical, linkages across a range of subjects: the pursuit of peace and social j …

Our inalienable human rights were enshrined over 50 years ago in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, what does that mean to someone who is tortured, denied education or work, or unable to find asylum?

This No-Nonsense Guide looks at the theories of rights and universalism. It explores the difficult task of protecting human rights in …

The protection of animal rights is more than a modern, western phenomenon. In fact, there is a long history of concern for animals around the world, and it is this concern that underlies today’s animal rights movement.

The No-Nonsense Guide to Animal Rights explains the key issues, charts the growth of the movement, looks at welfare and protectio …

We live in a culture of choice. But, in an age of corporate dominance, our freedom to choose has taken on new meaning. Upset with your local big box store? Object to unfair hiring practices at your neighbourhood fast food restaurant? Want to protest the opening of that new multinational coffeeshop? Vote with your feet!

What if it’s not that simple …

As the war on terror dominates world headlines and conflicts of all kinds abound, this No-Nonsense Guide provides a refreshing antidote. Can conflict be prevented? If not, how can it be contained?

Drawing on the authors’ wide range of experience, from the UN to the local village, Conflict and Peace will help readers to understand why conflicts per …

Iconoclast David F. Noble traces the evolution and eclipse of the biblical mythology of the Promised Land, the foundational story of Western Culture. Part impassioned manifesto, part masterful survey of opposed philosophical and economic schools, Beyond the Promised Land brings into focus the twisted template of the Western imagination and its fait …

Science is still the great intellectual adventure, but now it is also seen as an instrument of profit, power, and privilege. Wrongly used, it might yet make the 21st century our last.To make sense of all this, we need to let go of old ideas and assumptions.

In the No-Nonsense Guide to Science, Jerome Ravetz introduces the “post-normal” way of th …

“Nothing is going to go wrong.” -Mike Harris, 2001

Privatization of power soon became one of the biggest political disasters in Ontario history. Hydro reveals a train wreck that was decades in the making. First there was blind faith in the nuclear option, steeped in ecological arrogance. Then came the promise of marketplace magic.

Jamie Swift and …

An Unauthorized Biography of the World explores the practice of engaged oral history: the difficult, sometimes dangerous work of recovering fragments of human story that have gone missing from the official versions.

Michael Riordon has thirty years’ experience as a writer and broadcaster in the field. Readers will encounter a gallery of brave, pa …

“An Action A Day Keeps Global Capitalism Away,” according to Mike Hudema, describing his action guide for the 21st century. This lively, challenging, and decidedly fun book is designed for activists and concerned citizens who want to change the world. Hudema introduces readers to a variety of issues, including social action, organizing, theatri …

Even before September 11, 2001, Muslims were often framed by Western media and many non-Muslims as enemies of “freedom” and “progress.” Like other religions, Islam is not without its ongoing tensions and struggles. However, like other religions, there is a depth and richness to the Islamic faith that is too often overlooked because of stere …

Memoirs of a Media Maverick is an insider's critical account of the modern media. Richardson tells the intriguing story of his travels as a journalist and filmmaker in New Zealand, Australia, India, Britain, and Canada.

User Error explodes the myth of computer technology as juggernaut. Multimedia educator Ellen Rose shows that there is no bandwagon, no out-of-control dynamo, no titanic conspiracy to overwhelm us. Instead, there is our own desire to join the fraternity of users, a fraternity that confers legitimacy and power on those who enter the brave new world. …

Michael Lynch, the central figure of this book, was a long-time gay activist and a dynamic force in organizing an early response to the AIDS epidemic. Lynch’s prescient articles in The Body Politic spoke to the gay communities of Toronto, New York, and San Francisco. His organizing efforts meant change and hope. AIDS Activist is a crisp and passi …

How is it that corporations are able to behave irresponsibly, criminally, and undemocratically? Wealth by Stealth is a scathing introduction to the operations of the modern corporation, written by a corporate lawyer. Many writers point to the growth of undemocratic corporate power. Glasbeek takes these observations further and outlines clearly how …

Rarely a week goes by when juvenile delinquency or the Young Offenders Act are not discussed in the dominant media. Are we witnessing a moral panic over youth crime or a spate of “child-blaming” driven by the politics of law and order? Sangster traces the history of young women and crime and in so doing punctures dozens of myths surrounding the …

Eating Fire follows in the steps of Riordon’s popular 1996 book Out our way, on gay and lesbian life in the country (BTL, 1996). This new set of tales examines the range in living patterns and relationships among queer families across Canada.

Eating Fire illuminates the rich diversity in which people negotiate their personal and public identities …

Based on years of practical experience in small towns, Carrel argues for municipal autonomy—for turning what are now “colonies” of the federal and provincial orders of government into independent, mature, and fully democratic entities. For Carrel, the citizen is the sole legitimate source of political power, and the best tool for citizen empo …

Jake is celebrating his tenth birthday. That’s a remarkable feat, because at birth he was given only three years to live. Miriam Edelson is his mother, a dedicated fighter for Jake and families in similar situations. Edelson poses some tough questions: How do parents cope with a child who has special needs? Are we failing, as a society, to care f …

Using colourful and detailed case material, Street-Level Democracy introduces a new method of researching everyday politics. It is a wide-ranging book that traces the conflicts between global power and local action. People in farming communities, town mosques, city markets, and fishing communities suffer the effects of wrenching change, but live fa …

In this concise, critical study of civil society, Jamie Swift sketches the history of the concept from its roots in the eighteenth century, to the present. Swift looks at its practical application in specific cases, such as Canada’s Victorian Order of Nurses, and with community-based groups in South Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Ba …

Historian Michael Dawson digs deep into the written and pictorial record to reveal how the RCMP, since its inception, has constructed and zealously guarded its public image. Drawing on previously untapped sources, Dawson documents how consultants and entrepreneurs deliberately transformed and modernized the traditional symbolism of the Mountie. His …

Based on in-depth oral interviews with local residents, and rich archival sources, We Lived A Life and Then Some relates the common person’s struggle to overcome harsh working conditions and government neglect. The unique culture of the hardrock mining town of Cobalt is exposed through the eyes of retired miners, young welfare mothers, and grade- …

McLuhan’s Children is an inside look at Greenpeace’s rise to global prominence through its savvy use of mass media imagery. From the flamboyant, guerilla-theatre approach to the emergence of environmentalism as a dominant international issue.

Michael Riordon celebrates the survival of ordinary, extraordinary people whose experiences are rarely reflected in the media. These stories of courage and humour were gathered in the course of two years and 27,000 kilometres of travel, and some three hundred in-person conversations.

Over the past seventeen years, trade union educator D’Arcy Martin has conducted hundreds of courses for Canadian workers. He has learned that there are people— “conscious romantics”— who dream of a more egalitarian world while confronting the obstacles that stand in the way of building it. This book provides a refreshing personal account …

Jamie Swift combines sharp-eyed journalism that brings out the nuances of daily life with a penetrating analysis of jobless recovery. He describes the emerging world of work through the eyes and experiences of people in Kingston and Windsor?two Ontario cities with roots in the pre-industrial past, places poised for the post-industrial information a …

A provocative discussion of the role of technology and its accompanying rhetoric of limitless progress in the concomitant rise of joblessness and unemployment.