Bloomsbury Publishing USA

An essential, accessible guide to one of the most complex, controversial topics in the world, from a leading expert on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—now revised and updated.Israel—and its conflict with the Palestinians—is one of the hardest things in the world to understand, let alone talk about. And if talking about Israel has long been divisive, contentious, and controversial, it got a whole lot harder after the horrific events of October 7, 2023 and the catastrophic violence that followed. Daniel Sokatch regularly deals with this challenge as head of the New Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to equality and democracy for all Israelis, not just Jews. As Sokatch asks, is there any other topic about which so many intelligent, educated, and sophisticated people express such strongly and passionately held convictions, and about which they actually know so little?Can We Talk About Israel? is the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, grappling with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as, and indeed are, victims. And it’s an attempt to explain why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict inspires such extreme feelings. Complete with engaging illustrations by Christopher Noxon, Can We Talk About Israel? is an easy-to-read yet penetrating and original look at the history and basic contours of one of the most complicated conflicts in the world.

From New York Times-bestselling author Mark Kurlansky, a delectable novel following an ancient recipe for cheesecake as it spreads through the Upper West side-from the restaurant of a conniving landlord to the kitchens of the old-school New Yorkers he''s trying to force out-and to the parties, feasts, and apartments they''re not willing to give up that easily.The Katsikases have found a home in New York. A Greek cheesemaking family who immigrated in hopes of opening a restaurant, they''ve found the perfect storefront on the up-and-coming Upper West Side. They decide to call it The Katz Brothers. (Close enough, they think.) The diner becomes a neighborhood favorite-until Art Katsikas begins buying up all the real estate he can, forcing out their old ?regulars? and scheming to replace the neighborhood''s strudel shops and artists with ritzy boutiques and the nouveau riche.Meanwhile, at The Katz Brothers, the Katsikases rush to prepare for this new clientele by introducing a new ?modern classical cuisine,? changing the diner''s name to ?Mykonos,? and deciding to serve ?Cato''s Cheesecake,? an ancient Roman recipe known to be the oldest ever found. Sure enough, the enigmatic recipe is a hit, even minted by the New York Times restaurant critic. Soon the cheesecake is all over the Upper West Side, and wild interpretations of Cato''s vision appear at the parties, feasts, and bakeries of old New Yorkers struggling to keep their withering community alive. Sometimes laced with green M&Ms, sometimes with sage and spite, the cheesecake becomes a herald of change as the Upper West Side-and New York''s food scene-are transformed for good.

Beautiful Country meets I’m Glad My Mom Died in this hilarious, moving memoir by Argentine-American comedian Tamara Yajia about growing up between two worlds as an immigrant.From the day she was born, Tamara Yajia entered the world on a wave of absurdity. She was the newest member of a family no one would call normal, from her grandfather the salami obsessed poppers salesman, to her mother, the OnlyFans model. Not only is her family the type of people who’ll try anything once, like moving to the United States and becoming the owners of a food stand named “Sexy Chicken,” but they’ll try anything multiple times, like moving back to Argentina, then back to the United States, all while Tamara manages to achieve some success as a pre-teen child actress after a jaw dropping performance where she strips down to a garter belt in front of a crowd of rabbis. The road doesn’t get easier for a 12-year-old Argentinian Jew trying to make it big in Orange County. The disappointment of giving up her childhood career as a performer makes for a rather tumultuous coming of age. But through grit, hustle, and a series of creative endeavors like joining a girl band, and performing her own one-woman show, Cumming of Age, Tam has made it through, and she’s ready to spill some shit—figuratively and literally. Featuring an unlikely combination of comedy and tragedy, generational struggle, and filthy sex jokes, Tamara Yajia’s debut memoir is the messy, blazing story of a young Argentine trying to survive while holding on to her confidence, ambition, and sense of humor.

From acclaimed historian John Ferling, a major, global reappraisal of the Revolutionary War on its 250th Anniversary.In April 1775, British troops marched to Lexington, where an armed group of Yankees awaited them. Despite an order to disperse, shots rang out. Militiamen were killed. The British continued marching, only to find even greater trouble in Concord and all the way down the road back to Boston. The Revolutionary War had begun.Shots Heard Round the World is a bold, comprehensive rendering of the world war that erupted out of America’s battle for independence. Ferling highlights underestimated pivotal moments to reveal why the British should have put down the rebellion within a couple years of fighting. As European rivals France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic entered the fray, Britain’s problems grew, but after seven long years, the war’s outcome remained very much in doubt. Ferling assesses military and civilian leaders, the choices they faced, and the political, tactical, and strategic decisions they made as the war raged in North America, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Asia, and on the high seas, affecting peoples and countries miles from American soil.Long after the soldiers laid down their arms, future generations have reckoned with the Revolution and its far-reaching consequences. Shots Heard Round the World is the definitive account of the war and its monumental legacy.

“John Lechner is an amazingly bold reporter who has been to the key places where the Wagner Group fought, interviewing members, veterans, and victims to deliver a shrewd, granular sense of how Russian mercenary forces operate.”—ADAM HOCHSCHILDThe shocking inside story of how the Wagner Group rose to make private military companies inextricable from Russia’s anti-Western foreign strategy. In 2014, a well-trained, mysterious band of mercenaries arrived in Ukraine, part of Russia’s first attempt to claim the country as its own. Upon ceasefire, the “Wagner Group” faded back into shadow, only to reemerge in the Middle East, where they’d go toe-to-toe with the U.S., and in Africa, where they’d earn praise for “tough measures” against insurgencies yet spark outrage for looting, torture, and civilian deaths. As Russia gained a foothold of influence abroad, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s Chef,” went from caterer to commander to single greatest threat Putin has faced in his over-twenty-year rule.Dually armed with military and strategic prowess, the Wagner Group created a new market in a vast geopolitical landscape increasingly receptive to the promises of private actors. In this trailblazing account of the Group’s origins and operations, John Lechner—the only journalist to report across its many warzones—brings us on the ground to witness Wagner partner with fragile nation states, score access to natural resources, oust peacekeeping missions, and cash in on conflicts reframed as Kremlin interests. After rebelling, Prigozhin faced an epic demise—but Wagner lives on, its political, business, and military ventures a pillar of Russian operations the world over.Featuring exclusive interviews with over thirty Wagner Group members, Death Is Our Business is the terrfiying true tale of the renegade militia that proved global instability is nothing if not an opportunity.

"An indispensable citizen’s guide to the anti-democratic MAGA Right in America . . . This is a vibrant ideological ecosystem but Stewart explains why the vast majority of Americans must reject its dark vision and defeat its politicians."–Congressman Jamie RaskinThe acclaimed author of The Power Worshippers exposes the inner workings of the “engine of unreason” roiling American culture and politics. Why have so many Americans turned against democracy? In this deeply reported book, Katherine Stewart takes us to conferences of conspiracy-mongers, backroom strategy gatherings, and services at extremist churches, and profiles the people who want to tear it all down. She introduces us to reactionary Catholic activists, atheist billionaires, pseudo-Platonist intellectuals, self-appointed apostles of Jesus, disciples of Ayn Rand, women-hating opponents of “the gynocracy,” pronatalists preoccupied with the dearth of white babies, Covid truthers, militia members masquerading as “concerned moms” and battalions of spirit warriors who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about attacking democracy at its foundations. Along the way, she provides a compelling analysis of the authoritarian reaction in the United States. She demonstrates that the movement relies on several distinct constituencies, with very different and often conflicting agendas. Stewart’s reporting and comprehensive political analysis helps reframe the conversation about the moral collapse of conservatism in America and points the way forward toward a democratic future.

"A timeless queer love story and a meditation on power, capitalism, and the flow of history . . . This novel is a revelation and a joy.” —Anna North, New York Times bestselling author of OutlawedA classic in the making: a mesmerizing novel about marriage and ambition, sexuality and secrecy, and the true costs of building an empire.At the turn of the 20th century, Vivian Lesperance is determined to flee her origins in Utica, New York, and avoid repeating her parents’ dull, limited life. When she meets Oscar Schmidt, a middle manager at a soap company, Vivian finds a partner she can guide to build the life she wants—not least because, more interested in men himself, Oscar will leave Vivian to tend to her own romances with women. But Vivian’s plans require capital, so the two pair up with Squire Clancey, scion of an old American fortune. Together they found Clancey & Schmidt, a preeminent manufacturer of soap, perfume, and candles. When Oscar and Squire fall in love, the trio form a new kind of partnership. Vivian reaches the pinnacle of her power building Clancey & Schmidt into an empire of personal care products while operating behind the image of both men. But exposure threatens, and all three partners are made aware of how much they have to lose. For readers of Hernan Diaz’s Trust and Colm Tóibín’s The Magician, with echoes of Gustave Flaubert and E.M. Forster, Mutual Interest is a beguiling story of queer romance, empire, and power.