Monday, January 26, 2009

Blog from Bolivia: The book plug

Jim Schultz over at Blog from Bolivia (part of the Democracy Center) has lived in Bolivia for nigh on a decade and has been reporting from the country he loves (in award-winning style, it should be added) for longer than most of us knew the country existed. So if you want to know what's going on over there, what better way is there than to buy his new book (co-edited with Melissa Crane Draper) now available in the Americas? Here are all the details you need to know below, and details of the book tour that's about to hit the USA.

Buy yourself a book. Good for your brain and good for Jim, too.

Once again, please note that IKN gets zero kickback or commission from this recommend.
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Dignity and Defiance, Stories from Bolivia’s Challenge to Globalization

(University of California Press)

“This is the little-known story of a people that has dared to fight back against the most powerful economic forces on the planet, told by writers with the courage to dig relentlessly for the truth and the humility to stand back and let their subjects speak for themselves. Enraging, unsparing, inspiring.”

—Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine

As the U.S. enters a new political era, what can we learn from one nation’s battle to define its own way forward in a globalizing world?

Dignity and Defiance is the story of one country, Bolivia, but it is representative of many countries around the world. The book tells the story of Bolivia's citizen uprisings against the privatization of its natural resources. It travels to jungles and jails to trace the human impact of the U.S. war on drugs. It pedals by bike across the Bolivian highlands to document the disaster left behind by an Enron/Shell oil spill. It digs deep to trace how IMF economic policies led to bloodshed on the steps of the Bolivian Presidential Palace.

Dignity and Defiance also tells the story, from the ground up, of how people have fought courageously to keep globalization from swallowing their lives and to make it work to their benefit – as activists, workers, and immigrants. Ultimately the book is a story of inspiration, and it goes to the heart of what has drawn so much global attention to Bolivia.

HOW TO GET YOUR COPY OF DIGNITY AND DEFIANCE

Order the book today from (click the links):

Amazon.com

University of California Press

Powell's Books

WHERE TO HOOK UP WITH THE DEMOCRACY CENTER BOOK TOUR

"Globalization on the Ground -- What Bolivia Teaches Us"

As the U.S. enters a new political era, the lessons of one country speak volumes about how the government of the U.S., U.S. corporations, and international institutions dominated by the U.S. (the World Bank, IMF, etc.) impact the lives of people in Latin America. Join us as we visit cities coast to coast and in between to talk about these lessons and what lies ahead as U.S. citizens seek to reshape the U.S.’s role in the world. In addition to co-editors Jim Shultz and Melissa Crane Draper, we'll be joined by two great Bolivian friends, Leny Olivera of the Democracy Center, a terrific young activist, and Roberto Fernández Terán, a professor at the University of San Simón and one of our most thoughtful and insightful mentors.

Here are the main public events below. A full calendar of all the events, including a number of smaller ones not listed here, with a list of our sponsors, maps and downloadable flyers (that you can copy and post to help spread the word), can be found at this link.

February 2 — Berkeley, CA

When: 3:00 pm

Where: The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Goldberg Room. 2778 Bancroft Way @ Piedmont Ave.

February 3 — San Francisco, CA

When: 7:00 pm

Where: Mission Cultural Center, 2868 Mission St. (between 24th and 25th St.)

February 4 — Marin County, CA

When: 7:00 pm

Where: Redwoods Presbyterian Church, 110 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur

February 5 — Portland, OR

When: 6:00 pm

Where: Portland State University; Smith Memorial Student Union Building (SMSU) Multicultural Center, Room 228, 1825 SW Broadway, Portland

February 6 — Seattle, WA

When: 7:00 pm

Where: University of Washington, HUB 310

February 8 — Albuquerque, NM

When: 2:00 pm

Where: The University of New Mexico, Student Union Building (SUB), Film Center (lower level), 801 Yale NE, Albuquerque

[Part of the Sin Fronteras Film Festival]

February 9 — Santa Fe, NM

When: 6:00 pm

Where: El Museo Cultural, The Santa Fe Railyard

1615 Paseo De Peralta #B, Santa Fe

February 10 — Santa Fe, NM
When: 6:00 pm
Where: St John's College, Junior Common Room, 2nd Floor
Peterson Student Center, 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe

February 12 — Washington DC

When: 6:30 pm

Where: Busboys and Poets, 1390 V St NW @ 14th, Washington

February 13 — Washington DC

When: Noon

Where: George Washington University (The Elliott School), 1957 E St., Suite 505, NW Washington

February 17 — New York, NY

When: 6:00 pm

Where: The New School, 66 W. 12th St., New York

February 19 — Boston, MA

When: 7:00 pm

Where: Boston University, The Jacob Sleeper Auditorium CGS building,

871 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA

February 20 — Boston, MA

When: 7:00 pm

Where: The Jamaica Plain Forum

First Church in Jamaica Plain, UU

6 Eliot St. (across from the monument),

Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

February 21 — Northampton, MA

When: 3:00 pm

Where: Smith College, Neilson Browsing Room, Northampton

February 23 — St Paul/Minneapolis, MN

When: 7:00 pm

Where: Macalester College, John B Davis (JBD) Lecture Hall, Campus Center, Lower Level

February 24 — Chicago, IL

When: 6:00 pm

Where: The University of Chicago

International House, 1414 E. 59th St., Chicago

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THE DEMOCRACY CENTER

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BOLIVIA: Casilla 5283, Cochabamba, Bolivia
TEL: (415) 564-4767

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