This major new textbook introduces students to the key changes in current global politics in order to help them make sense of major trends that are shaping our world. The emphasis on change in global politics helps students to recognize that genuinely new developments require citizens to change their beliefs and that new problems may appear even as old ones disappear. It is designed to encourage students to think ahead in new, open-minded ways, even as they come to understand the historical roots of the present.

"Culture and Politics" provides a comprehensive introduction to the enduring phenomenon of culture and its impact on contemporary society and politics. Combining a substantial theoretical overview with intricate comparative empirical research, it assesses the complex interplay of ethnicity, religion, history and values on macro- and micro-level outcomes. Striking a judicious balance between the use of global data on the topic and their selection of six key in-depth country studies, the book draws extensively on statistical material and 'hard data' rather than the literary evidence usual in studies of this kind.

 Be amazing
 Who says you can't? It's time to get off the couch and take your life to the next level.

Step one: stand on the shoulders of geniuses

What good are the world's greatest geniuses if you can't muddy their shoulder pads and use their accomplishments as a step stool? mental_floss has combed through every success story in history to deliver this ultimate how-to guide for climbing your way to greatness.

Step two: bask in the glow of admiring fans

Whether you want to glow in the dark, swallow a sword, quit smoking, find Atlantis, live forever, get out of jury duty, buy the Moon, sink a battleship, stop global warming, become a ninja, or simply be the center of the universe, Be Amazing covers all the essential life skills. Just absorb a few pages, then let the hero worship begin!

Mitch, the hurricane that devastated Central America in 1998, was one of the most savage storms of the century, however, research shows that, overall, hurricanes are not growing fiercer or more frequent. With the intensification of climate research in recent years and rising concern that humans may be altering the global climate, funding agencies have increased the resources available for evaluating the evidence of global warming and its likely consequences. Hurricanes, Revised Edition is a fully revised, authoritative guide to hurricanes. It contains new and updated sidebars explaining concepts from atmospheric science, such as potential temperature; the link between the jet stream and mid-latitude depressions; why the wind blows; and the conservation of angular momentum - the principle that explains the way hurricane winds accelerate as air spirals inward. Measurements are given in familiar units, such as pounds, feet, miles, and degrees Fahrenheit, and in each case the metric or scientific equivalent has been added. Appendices list some of the most notorious hurricanes of the past and the set of names that are used to identify tropical cyclones in different parts of the world. Also, suggestions for relevant further reading have been added at the end of each section as well as in a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the book. Sources include useful books and a large number of web addresses.

Featuring a wide range of exercises, examples, and images, this textbook provides a practical way of analysing the discourses of the global media industries. Building on a comprehensive introduction to the history and theory of global media communication, specific case studies of lifestyle and entertainment media are explored with examples from films, global women's magazines, Vietnamese news reporting and computer war games.