This book was completed just as a major economic decline hit the global economy. People with poor ethics convinced people with wants greater than their actual needs, and wealth to borrow money, that they could not reasonably pay back to the financial institutions whose greedy and high paid executives did not really care because they then bundled these financial products for sale to other institutions with executives whose salaries and bonuses far exceeded the type of prudence that bankers historically possessed. Politicians, professors and media who should all have been blowing the whistles were too caught up in benefiting from this system, obtaining funding, grants, advertising and the like. Economic historians will no doubt analyze why all of this happened, as we inevitably deal with the repercussions for years to come. Surely, some of the important reasons that will be discussed are the culture of greed, the culture of consumerism, and the culture of debt that came to predominate in the United States, and elsewhere around the developed world. Canadian financial institutions were more prudent, and better regulated, and so they did not proceed down the same path of doomed residential mortgage lending. In our global economy however, economies are so linked together that problems in the larger economies quickly affect the rest of the world. What was of interest to the author, more than the economics and the financial analysis of what went wrong, was how the cultures of greed, narcissism, consumerism and debt came to be so widely accepted. Why are there so many people in their 70s and 80s living modestly at the same time they have bank balances in the millions of dollars? And why are there so many people from subsequent generations living in luxury when their bank balances are far exceeded by their debts? According to Rotberg, the answer is Culture, or put another way, Ideology. The patterns of thought and the values people hold, are what govern their choices of lifestyle, politics, economics, and which essential choices they make in the way they live their lives. To analyze the politics and urban planning of any city requires a preliminary inquiry. It is that preliminary inquiry that is attempted by this book. That inquiry is to analyze the ideology and values, or lack of values, that exist in a certain area, as a precondition to understanding the municipal planning and political policies adopted within that area. The great Canadian journalist and writer on all things political and economic in Canada, Peter C. Newman, wrote a column in the October 11, 2008 issue of one of Canada's leading business newspapers, The Globe &amp; Mail, in which he got to the essence of the matter: “What we need is new gods, freshly minted mentors motivated by values as the source of their experience – instead of experience as the source of their values.” Accordingly, we explore Vancouverism: The Political Culture of Canada’s Lotus Land. In a time of economic and political challenges, it is key that before we know where to go in the future, we understand where we are now, based on the ideologies and values that have predominated in the last few years. This book is Rotberg's contribution to furthering that understanding.

Exploring Vancouverism: The Political Culture of Canada's Lotus Land

History

Rotberg, Howard

Americas

Mantua Books

Tolerism

Howard Rotberg

This collection of essays is a follow up to the critically acclaimed, The Big Lie: On Terror, Antisemitism and Identity. The author brings his insights from a long career as a writer and cultural critic to navigate through the culture wars and geo-political minefields concerning the State of Israel. Drawing on historical, cultural and ideological analysis, he clarifies the role of antiSemitism in the Left's betrayal of the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. He examines the hostility to Israel from diverse sectors such as nations, non-governmental organizations, unions, and academia - while he unveils the shoddy and sometimes antisemitic assumptions lying below the surface of such critics. Solway is one of the most literate defenders of Israel and a brave voice among an intellectual class complicit in half-truths and outright distortions concerning Israel's situation among the terrorists and Iranian proxies surrounding it. This is an extraordinarily well-written book.

Hear, O Israel!

Solway, David

Middle East

Forty-something year old Jennifer Moran spends a lot of time on the couch, eating chocolate. Widowed at an early age, she has brought up her daughter and taught a generation of Jerusalem adolescents the difference between If you see / If you saw / If you had seen. Now her child is an adult, and the finer points of English grammar have lost their allure. The Second Intifada is raging in Israel, and Jennifer turns her attention to the news, and the handsome British A2Z reporter who presents it. But when the reporter himself becomes the news, Jennifer s life takes a stunning turn. She seems to have bitten off more than she can chew; and that s in addition to the chocolate. This new novel about the tribulations of a modern Israeli woman will stir readers with its evocative story and characterizations of a life lived with the violence towards civilians based on the demonization of Israel by its enemies.

For the Love of God and Virgins

Literature & Fiction

Peled, Pamela

World Literature

Canada is a land of many immigrants, with many stories to tell. This book contains the story of two Jews who settled in Montreal, bringing with them a story of the twentieth century. Motl and Chienke were raised in an Eastern European small town or shtetl where the impoverished Jews faced many hardships and dangers, including anti-Semitism and political turmoil. Motl and Chienke longed to escape that world and become halutzim or pioneers in the communal farms called "kibbutzim", in pre-independence Israel, then called Palestine. Their memoirs trace their journey and their hard work and sacrifice as part of the Zionist movement to rebuild the Jewish homeland. Finally, they join family members in Montreal Canada and this third phase of their lives becomes the most permanent.  In the small towns of Eastern Europe, it was not customary for people to call each other by their family names. If a husband had more prominence and his name was Joseph and his wife's name was Sarah, she was called Joseph's Sarah. If the reverse was true, he was called Sarah's Joseph. As the main personalities in this story were equally prominent, their tale is titled, "Chienke's Motl and Motl's Chienke."  Their son, Dr. Jacob Sivak, has edited their memoirs and provided fascinating commentaries, with historical and sociological context. This is a book that will appeal to all readers interested in the Jewish experience in the twentieth century, which for Jews was a time of tragedy, but also hope and new beginnings.

Chienke's Motl and Motl's Chienke: A Twentieth Century Story

Biographies & Memoirs

Sivak, Max

Sivak, Jennie

Sivak, Jacob G

Historical

An excerpt from the introduction to "Delectable Lies": “In our time the ideology of multiculturalism - the set of ideas that all cultures are equal and deserving of equal treatment in a liberal democracy such as Canada - is linked to the pressing demand for equality in Western societies as these become increasingly multi-ethnic due to immigration and open borders. “When first proposed, the idea of an “official” multiculturalism program to be sponsored by the state, supported by taxpayers, and monitored and enforced by thought-police (human rights commissions) was at best dubious, and at worst is by its very nature poised against Western liberalism. Moreover … it was based on the false idea - another official lie, really - that all cultures are equal. However, that is an orthodoxy of the last century increasingly dismissed by serious thinkers. That is because there are established criteria making it possible to judge the achievements of all cultures, whether in the arts and literature, religion, philosophy, technology, modes of governance, or science; but the primary criterion that makes possible all human achievement is freedom. “My point is that although multiculturalism once seemed a very good idea, at least to politicians and others smitten with the ambition for unity, it is increasingly shown to be a lie - a delectable lie, perhaps, yet a lie nevertheless - that is destructive of the West’s liberal democratic heritage, tradition, and values based on individual rights and freedoms. This could have been foretold, as indeed those philosophers and historians of ideas who viewed freedom as immeasurably more important than equality in the development of the West did foretell. They admonished people against the temptation to abridge freedom in pursuit of equality.”

Delectable Lie: a liberal repudiation of multiculturalism

Politics & Social Sciences

Salim Mansur

Social Sciences

Why do some Christians vilify Israel, yet some are amongst Israel’s strongest supporters? Why does Christianity have such divergent views on Jews and Israel? What is the basis of the quarrel between some of the older denominations and the newer evangelical or fundamentalist denominations? On what exactly are the Christian Zionists basing their support for Israel? "Those That Bless You, I Will Bless: Christian Zionism in Historical Perspective" by Professor Paul C. Merkley attempts to answer these and other fascinating questions. Merkley examines the origins of Christian Zionism and recalls the story of Christian attitudes towards the Jews over the two millennia since the destruction of the Second Temple and provides a scholarly overview of Christian Zionism and a deeper understanding of Christian attitudes towards Israel. In Several books and many more articles and public lectures, Professor Paul Merkley has described the part that Christian friends of Israel played in bringing about the creation of the State in 1948 and sustaining it against its enemies ever since. Now he takes us back to the origins of Christian Zionism in exegesis of Scripture. Confronting the historical distortions of the anti-Zionists, he provides a calm, proud and scholarly defense of Christian Zionism. For readers seeking a deeper understanding of Christian attitudes towards Israel, this is a must read.

Those That Bless You, I Will Bless: Christian Zionism in Historical Perspective

Religion & Spirituality

Merkley, Paul C.

Christian Books & Bibles

Set against the glamorous backdrop of the Iranian National Ballet Company in 1970s Tehran, awash with money thanks to the generous patronage of the Shah’s wife Farah Pahlavi known as the Shahbanu, ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION is the true story of Clair Symonds, a naïve 19 year old Jewish ballet dancer who grew up in South Africa during the era of apartheid and who sets off to Iran without even knowing where that country is, let alone anything about its rich history and culture. Within a few months of her arrival she has met and fallen in love with Arash Alizadeh, a dashing student of architecture five years her senior and whose passion in life, much to his father’s disdain, is classical dance - in addition to being a fierce critic of the Shah’s dictatorial regime. Nothing, it seems, can prevent Clair and Arash’s romance from moving rapidly towards marriage - even the opposition of their respective fathers. Having been seduced by the charm and allure of her dashing Iranian knight, Clair fails to take a stand against the Alizadeh family’s policy of keeping her Jewishness strictly under wraps. There were dark mutterings, even from Arash, of the Holocaust being a myth to justify the existence of Israel and to dampen down sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians. Not that such grand issues are of much concern to Clair - she is preoccupied with dancing the role of Zarema in The Fountain of Bakhchesarai and the great ballet classics which are part and parcel of the company’s lavish repertoire. Besides, she is hopelessly in love and any criticisms of Arash’s increasingly erratic behaviour fall on deaf ears. But Arash proves to be considerably more charming in courtship and seduction than in wedlock and matrimony - Clair seeing herself thrown into the arms of her new family rather than those of her husband. And in accepting the status quo she reluctantly becomes more sister than wife. Undeterred, Clair decides to marry Arash for a second time. Does love conquer all? Are religious and cultural differences insurmountable, as many would have us believe, meaning that any union between Jew and Muslim is doomed to failure from the outset?

Romance and Revolution: A Leap of Faith at the Iranian National Ballet

Symonds, Clair

Arts & Literature

In High Noon for America: The Coming Showdown, Dr. Jamie Glazov, a respected Conservative commentator who is editor of Fronpagemag.com, has compiled a scintillating series of symposia featuring an impressive array of prominent Conservative thinkers to address these and other vital contemporary issues. Over the course of eight years, Dr. Glazov gathered together some of the great minds of our time to participate in these symposia for Frontpage Magazine. Some of the distinguished participants include Robert “Bud” McFarlane, Michael Ledeen, Richard Pipes, Natan Sharansky, Theodore Dalrymple, Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa, Vladimir Bukovsky, Robert Spencer, Zuhdi Jasser and Paul Hollander. Together, this formidable group engage in lively and thought provoking discussions about a variety of timely topics and shed light on fundamental issues that affect the future of America and the world.

High Noon for America: The Coming Showdown

Glazov, Jamie

Politics & Government

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

Books by Mantua Books