MB Civic

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/Egan-t.html?ref=books&pagewanted=print

Coal River, by Michael Shnayerson

“Environmentalists are trying to keep coal-mining companies from removing entire mountaintops in West Virginia…The coal industry employs far fewer people by simply blowing up entire hillsides – mountain-ectomies.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/Heilbrunn2-t.html?sq=&pagewanted=print

Condoleezza Rice: An American Life, by Elisabeth Bumiller

“Condoleezza Rice was an obedient national security advisor…Her parents piled so many books by her bed that Rice ‘stopped reading for pelasure, and does not to this day.'”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/Glazer-t.html?ref=books&pagewanted=print

The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America, by Hugh Wilford

“In the 1950s, the CIA helped finance magazines, student groups and unions…The fronts the CIA created during the cold war involved a surprising collection of well-known Americans.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/diGiovanni-t.html?sq=&pagewanted=print

The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World, by Larry Diamond

“A well-traveled social scientist takes a worldwide look at the making and unmaking of the freedom to elect leaders…Can democracy take root only in rich and ecucated countries, or do all people want it?”