Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that inequality never dies peacefully. Inequality declines when carnage and disaster strike and increases when peace and stability return. The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world. Ever since humans began to farm, herd livestock, and pass on their assets to future generations, economic inequality has been a defining feature of civilization. Over thousands of years, only violent events have significantly lessened inequality. The "Four Horsemen" of leveling--mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues--have repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich. Scheidel identifies and examines these processes, from the crises of the earliest civilizations to the cataclysmic world wars and communist revolutions of the twentieth century. Today, the violence that reduced inequality in the past seems to have diminished, and that is a good thing. But it casts serious doubt on the prospects for a more equal future. An essential contribution to the debate about inequality, The Great Leveler provides important new insights about why inequality is so persistent--and why it is unlikely to decline anytime soon.

The inspiring story of one of Canada's most remarkable and humble citizens who, in her mission of supporting equality and giving voice to those who had no voice, travelled much of the globe and met some of the greatest leaders of our age and some of the most vulnerable of citizens.

Krznaric reveals six practical ways we can retrain our brains to think of the long view. His aim is to shift our allegiance from this generation to all humanity, to save our planet and our future.

A joyful celebration of the LGBTQ+ community's development, history, and culture, packed with facts, trivia, timelines, charts, and illustrations.

In 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, wrote a short story about a war fought from underwater submersibles that included the sinking of passenger ships. At the time, it was dismissed by the British generals and admirals of the day not because the idea of submarines was technically unfeasible, but because no one could imagine that any nation would be so depraved as to sink civilian merchant ships. The future of war more often than not surprises us less because of some fantastic technical or engineering dimension but because of some human, political, or moral threshold that we had never imagined wanting to cross. As Lawrence Freedman shows, the future of war has a past and a present. Ideas of war, strategies for warfare and its practice, and organizing principles of war all have rich and varied origins which have shaped the minds of those who conceive the next war. Freedman shows how war can be studied systematically and empirically to provide a firm foundation for enlightened policy. The Future of War which covers civil wars to as yet unknown nuclear conflicts, proxy wars (real) to the Cold War (not), fashionably small wars to the War to End All Wars (it didn't)is filled with insight and fascinating nuggets of military history and culture from one of the most brilliant military and strategic historians of his generation.

Dr. Gary Chapman identifies five basic languages of love and then guides couples towards a better understanding of their unique languages of love. Learn to speak and understand your mate's love language, and in no time you will be able to effectively love and truly feel loved in return. Skillful communication is within your grasp!

Translated from Dutch to English, this collection of letters offers a unique perspective on the early pioneer years of the Dutch community in southeastern Alberta. The letters provide first-hand accounts of the preparations to immigrate, the hardships of the pioneer years, and the transformation from the most basic homesteading conditions to progressive rural communities, including the towns of Granum, Monarch, and Nobleford. In fact, within just a decade, new railroads, towns, churches, schools, and even telephone service had been established. Based on extensive research, the book also includes maps, archival photographs, and an appendix listing all the Dutch settlers in the region between the years of 1903 and 1914. The First Dutch Settlement in Alberta is an invaluable and fascinating collection of primary source material that offers a wealth of information for genealogists and historians, and celebrates the pioneering spirit of Alberta's early Dutch community.

National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward takes James Baldwin's 1963 examination of race in America, The Fire Next Time, as a jumping off point for this groundbreaking collection of essays and poems about race from the most important voices of her generation and our time. In light of recent tragedies and widespread protests across the nation, The Progressive magazine republished one of its most famous pieces: James Baldwin's 1962 "Letter to My Nephew," which was later published in his landmark book, The Fire Next Time. Addressing his fifteen-year-old namesake on the one hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Baldwin wrote: "You know and I know, that the country is celebrating one hundred years of freedom one hundred years too soon." Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward knows that Baldwin's words ring as true as ever today. In response, she has gathered short essays, memoir, and a few essential poems to engage the question of race in the United States. And she has turned to some of her generation's most original thinkers and writers to give voice to their concerns. The Fire This Time is divided into three parts that shine a light on the darkest corners of our history, wrestle with our current predicament, and envision a better future. Of the eighteen pieces, ten were written specifically for this volume. In the fifty-odd years since Baldwin's essay was published, entire generations have dared everything and made significant progress. But the idea that we are living in the post-Civil Rights era, that we are a "post-racial" society is an inaccurate and harmful reflection of a truth the country must confront. Baldwin's "fire next time" is now upon us, and it needs to be talked about. Contributors include Carol Anderson, Jericho Brown, Garnette Cadogan, Edwidge Danticat, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Mitchell S. Jackson, Honoree Jeffers, Kima Jones, Kiese Laymon, Daniel Jose Older, Emily Raboteau, Claudia Rankine, Clint Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Wendy S. Walters, Isabel Wilkerson, and Kevin Young.

"As Canadian universities work to increase access to graduate education, many are adopting blended modes of delivery for courses and programs. Within this changing landscape of higher education, The Finest Blend answers the call for rigorous research into these methods to ensure quality learning and teaching experience and presents case studies of French and English universities across Canada that are experimenting with blended learning models in graduate programs. Drawing on various research methods, the contributors to the volume investigate the sustainability of blended learning, shifts in pedagogical practices, and the role of instructional designers. They share key practices for both graduate students and instructors and emphasize the importance of institutional and departmental support for both students and faculty transitioning to blended delivery modes. Touching on theory, design, delivery, facilitation, administration, and evaluation, this book provides a comprehensive overview of current practices and opportunities for blended learning success."--