An in-depth look at California's remarkable 21st century turnaround, focusing on the role played by the state government under Jerry Brown.
In the most economically important state in the country―and the 7th largest economy in the world―a political revolution of historic importance has occurred which has not been sufficiently covered by the media. In the state where the Reagan Revolution was born, there has recently occurred a remarkable progressive revolution under the leadership of another governor, four-term Democrat Jerry Brown. 
Over the past several decades, as it has evolved from a red state to solid blue, California has boldly reinvigorated the notion that government is not a dirty word but rather an instrument for uniting people and improving their lives.
From raising taxes on those with annual incomes over $250,000, to shifting money toward the schools in low-income communities, from seeking environmental alliances with other countries to limit climate change, to the rejection of militaristic solutions to illegal immigration, California has been a laboratory of innovation. Californians have rejected the "race to the bottom" right-wing philosophy that catapulted conservative politics in recent years. That model of endorsing privatization, deregulation, reductions in government spending, and a tax system that disproportionately favors the wealthy, is exemplified by conservative governors and rejected by the pragmatic liberal Jerry Brown.
In California Comeback, award-winning journalist Narda Zacchino, who has covered California politics for over three decades, clearly lays out the history of California's initial experiments with progressivism under Brown, its swing to the right under Reagan, near financial collapse under Schwarzenegger, and recent return to stability―bulwarked but the progressive policies made possible by the second coming of Jerry Brown. This progressive mindset, forged in the crucible of the tumultuous last half century, is California's true contribution not only to the country, but to the world.

California Comeback: How A "Failed State" Became a Model for the Nation

Business & Money

Zacchino, Narda

Economics

Thomas Dunne Books

Pat Tillman was seen by many as an American hero. A star college football player turned pro, he walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract after the 9/11 attacks, choosing to enlist in the U.S. Army. He graduated from their elite Ranger school and was deployed to Iraq in 2003. On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan. The administration and the Pentagon immediately portrayed his death as the result of a dramatic gun battle with the enemy, and Pat was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and a promotion in recognition of his bravery. But as would later emerge, Army officials were all along hiding the truth: Pat was killed by his fellow Rangers. The Tillmans discovered this fact five weeks after Pat's death, and six separate investigations have since been launched, largely due to the family's passionate insistence. But even now, the true circumstances remain murky and fraught with contradictions. Here is Mary Tillman's story, as she describes her attempts to uncover the truth about what happened to Pat and why the government went to such great lengths to keep the circumstances secret. In the process, she paints an indelible portrait of her son, a man of remarkable character who followed a set of guiding principles that ultimately led him to Afghanistan and, in death, into the hearts and minds of people all over the world. Written to coincide with the release of the feature film The Tillman Story, Mary Tillman's explosive new foreword describes her family's ongoing appeals to President Obama, the Pentagon, and members of Congress to get to the bottom of what happened and hold accountable the senior military officials responsible for the cover-up of Pat's death. "McChrystal's actions should have been grounds for firing. That is why it was so disturbing to us when President Obama instead promoted McChrystal to the position of top commander in Afghanistan.... On June 22, 2010, General Stanley McChrystal was forced to retire after remarks he and his staff made to a Rolling Stone reporter, Michael Hastings. I found myself feeling strangely validated." —Mary Tillman

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: The Life and Death of Pat Tillman

Biographies & Memoirs

Tillman, Mary

Leaders & Notable People

Tantor Media, Inc.

Pat Tillman was seen by many as an American hero. A star college football player turned pro, he walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract after the 9/11 attacks, choosing to enlist in the U.S. Army. He graduated from their elite Ranger school and was deployed to Iraq in 2003. On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan. The administration and the Pentagon immediately portrayed his death as the result of a dramatic gun battle with the enemy, and Pat was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and a promotion in recognition of his bravery. But as would later emerge, Army officials were all along hiding the truth: Pat was killed by his fellow Rangers. The Tillmans discovered this fact five weeks after Pat's death, and six separate investigations have since been launched, largely due to the family's passionate insistence. But even now, the true circumstances remain murky and fraught with contradictions.Here is Mary Tillman's story, as she describes her attempts to uncover the truth about what happened to Pat and why the government went to such great lengths to keep the circumstances secret. In the process, she paints an indelible portrait of her son, a man of remarkable character who followed a set of guiding principles that ultimately led him to Afghanistan and, in death, into the hearts and minds of people all over the world.Written to coincide with the release of the feature film The Tillman Story, Mary Tillman's explosive new foreword describes her family's ongoing appeals to President Obama, the Pentagon, and members of Congress to get to the bottom of what happened and hold accountable the senior military officials responsible for the cover-up of Pat's death. "McChrystal's actions should have been grounds for firing. That is why it was so disturbing to us when President Obama instead promoted McChrystal to the position of top commander in Afghanistan.... On June 22, 2010, General Stanley McChrystal was forced to retire after remarks he and his staff made to a Rolling Stone reporter, Michael Hastings. I found myself feeling strangely validated." —Mary Tillman

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman Library Edition

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman

Book by Tillman, Mary, Zacchino, Narda

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman (Thorndike Press Large Print Core Series)

Thorndike Pr

On April 22, 2004, Lieutenant David Uthlaut received orders from Khost, Afghanistan, that his platoon was to leave the town of Magarah and "have boots on the ground before dark" in Manah, a small village on the border of Pakistan. It was an order the young lieutenant protested vehemently, but the commanders at the Tactical Command Center disregarded his objections. Uthlaut split his platoon into two serials, with serial one traveling northwest to Manah and serial two towing a broken Humvee north toward the Khost highway. By nightfall, Uthlaut and his radio operator were seriously wounded, and an Afghan militia soldier and a U.S. soldier were dead. The American soldier was my son, Pat Tillman. The Tillman family was originally informed that Pat, who had given up a professional football career to serve his country, had been shot in the head while getting out of a vehicle. At his memorial service twelve days later, they were told that he was killed while running up a hill in pursuit of the enemy. He was awarded a Silver Star for his courageous actions. A month and two days after his death, the family learned that Pat had been shot three times in the head by his own troops in a "friendly fire" incident. Seven months after Pat's death, the Tillmans requested an investigation. Boots on the Ground by Dusk is a chronicle of their efforts to ascertain the true circumstances of Pat's death and the reasons why the Army gave the family and the public a false story. Woven into the account are valuable and respectful memories of Pat Tillman as a son, brother, husband, friend, and teammate, in the hope that the reader will better comprehend what is really lost when our sons and daughters are killed or maimed in war. In the course of three and a half years, there have been six investigations, several inquiries, and two Congressional hearings. The Tillmans are still awaiting an outcome.

Modern Times

How did a so-called “failed state” manage to revitalize itself as a socioeconomic superpower in just five years? In California Comeback, award-winning journalist Narda Zacchino credits four-term governor Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown and his progressive policies with the Golden State's return from the brink of economic collapse. Although California has a reputation for left-leaning ideology, Brown's first stint as governor in the 1970s and early '80s ushered in an era of conservatism bulwarked by Proposition 13. California drifted stutteringly rightward, and when Brown took office again in 2011, the state was teetering under a $27 billion deficit. By raising taxes on the wealthy while imposing rigorous environmental protections and humane immigration policies, Brown led California to adopt a different model, one in which fiscally sound government and social liberalism were status quo—and one in which California could outperform the rest of the nation. This book gives a resounding answer to the question of how a multicultural, democratic, and postindustrial society endures in the face of devastation.

California Comeback: The Genius of Jerry Brown

Heyday

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Zacchino, Narda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Zacchino, Narda

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Zacchino, Narda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

California Comeback: How A "Failed State" Became a Model for the Nation

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: The Life and Death of Pat Tillman

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman Library Edition

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman (Thorndike Press Large Print Core Series)

Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman

California Comeback: The Genius of Jerry Brown