Urban Theory and the Urban Experience brings together classic and contemporary approaches to urban research in order to reveal the intellectual origins of urban studies and the often unacknowledged debt that empirical and theoretical perspectives on the city owe one another.From the foundations of modern urban theory in the work of Weber, Simmel, Benjamin and Lefebbvre to the writings of contemporary urban theorists such as David Harvey and Manuel Castells and the Los Angeles schoo...

Faith in the UK’s political system has reached new lows. Politicians and commentators are lining up to offer answers, but what if the problem goes beyond left and right, trust and bureaucracy? What if the system puts too much power in the hands of politicians in London and not enough in the hands of ordinary people?This important book addresses a key issue of our time: where should power and governance lie in our democracy? Simon Parker, a leading expert on public services and gove...

Steve works in a dead end job and feels he has never fitted in anywhere. He has had a disturbing and dysfuntional past, which still haunts him in the form of his venemous mothers spirit. He has been dealing with his inner demons for too long and is now growing to fulfill his life's true purpose; he has a job, a calling from a higher power, that requires a blood letting. What Steve doesn't know is that, that higher power is being challenged. In order to win a war, you must first know your e...

The New Italian Republic charts the breakdown of the old party system and examines the changed political climate that has allowed Berlusconi to rise as Italy's new master and subsequently precipitated his rapid fall from power.

"A truly inspiring journey that celebrates the healing power of adventure. A must-read." - Levison WoodThe remarkable and inspirational true story of how one man battled grief and anxiety, one pedal stroke at a time, on a 3,500-mile adventure around BritainIn March 2020, as Britain entered its first lockdown, Simon Parker's life fell apart; his travel journalism career vanished overnight and shortly afterwards he received the tragi...

Traditionally, the study of ‘power in the city’ was confined to the institutions of urban government and the actors involved in contesting and making political decisions in and for metropolitan societies. Increasingly, however, attention has turned to the function of the city not only as a centre of urban governance but as a major economic, social, cultural and strategic force in its own right.Cities, Politics and Power combines this traditional concern with how the cities...

The age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in Ruling the Void. The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form.First published in 2013, Ruling the Void presciently observed that the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class, and was fuelling populist mobilizations against it. Europe's political e...

The acclaimed account of post-Brexit British politics: a must-read for understanding how we've got to where we are today.'Richly argued and brilliantly written... a deeply thoughtful analysis that should be mandatory reading for anyone seeking to understand where we have gone wrong.' - FINANCIAL TIMESIn WTF? Robert Peston draws on his years of experience as a political, economics and business journalist to show us what has gone bad...

A dilemma, a deal… a date!Charmer Nate Mackenzie is in the middle of a plus-one dilemma for his friend’s wedding. Any of his recent dates would start dreaming of a solitaire for their own left hand. Worse, going stag will leave him at the mercy of a set-up by his ever-hopeful sisters. Discovering that Saskia Bloom is doing on-line dating research for a website, he strikes a deal. She’ll take the research rather than a relationship and he’ll get a fake date.There might be no...

Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in...

The first digital-only ebook taster of Unequal health: The scandal of our times by Danny Dorling. Competitively priced, it gives a flavour of one of the major themes: public health and contains three chapters from the book, preceded by an all-new introduction specially written by Danny Dorling. This ‘must-read’ will introduce an even wider readership to his work.

This classic textbook covers the social, economic and political history of Italy from unification in 1870 to the present time. This new edition brings students right up to date, with increased coverage of the the 1980's and 90's and a new section on the turbulent reign of Silvio Berlusconi. Other changes include updating the coverage of Liberal Italy and Fascism in the light of recent scholarship and changes in historiographical approach, additional material on Italian popular culture and ...