Over the last hundred years, Russia has undergone a succession of failed projects of state construction - from Tzarist modernisation to Soviet state socialism to liberal democratic market capitalism. This new book introduces these vastly different projects and explains their failure in order to illuminate the common problems of balancing social and economic transformation with political stability that Russia's rulers have faced during the twentieth century.
Russia: A State of Uncertainty traces Russia's complex historical development in the last century, as well as its recent...

A brand new collection of darkly entertaining short stories from Neil Robinson, loosely based on the theme 'Is There Anybody There?' From the coldly terrifying to the search for someone to love - and not forgetting all the existential questions we ask ourselves - these compelling tales explore the possibilities. So, if you'd really like to know whether there's anybody there, and are looking to be amused, chilled and entertained as you find out, this volume has all the answers. ...Or does it?

'Rejecting Jesus: Why You Should', is a sparkling series of irreverent, funny and, yes, blasphemous blog posts from the successful RejectingJesus.com blog by Neil Robinson. With their satirical pictures - a popular feature of the blog - they're now collected together under one cover for the first time. (A few have previously been available in print). Each serves as a little antidote to the virus that holds millions in its delusional thrall. With over 2 billion adherents worldwide, Christianity is still the most popular and insidious belief system in the world. But it makes truth claims and...

The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Politics presents in one volume an authoritative overview of the theoretical, methodological, and substantive elements of comparative political science. The 28 specially commissioned chapters, written by renowned comparative scholars, guide the reader through the central issues and debates, presenting a state-of-the-art guide to the past, present, and possible futures of the field.

Jesus said that anyone who called him Lord but didn't do as he told them wouldn't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This book explores just how much today's Christians follow their Lord's exacting instructions and finds that most of them don't, preferring instead the undemanding spirituality of modern faith. Replacing Jesus' teaching with a whole range of preposterous and non-biblical beliefs, Christians presume to tell the rest us how to live. 'Why Christians Don't Do What Jesus Tells Them To... And What They Do Instead' shows us why we should strenuously resist their efforts.

A collection of very short stories; some funny, some serious but all with a twist in the tail. Short and curly all the way