Mason: 1146 books

Today, the basic ideas underpinning democracy--that government exists for the benefit of the people, and that it must have their consent to be legitimate--may seem obvious. Even dictators pay lip service to these ideas. But the logic of democracy hasn't always been widely accepted. In fact, throughout...

The vast North African country of Algeria became independent in 1962 after a brutal eight-year-long war against France. Unfortunately, Algeria has not had a stable history, as various leaders have seized power through military coups. In 1991 a rising Islamist movement in the country led to a civil...

In the last few decades, more and more people are going to college to further their education. It's hard to become a scientist, a professor, or a businessperson without getting some sort of college degree--but college isn't always necessary to achieve success. Some people are ready to enter the workforce...

In the United States, people of all different backgrounds live together. Today, more than one in eight people in the United States are Hispanic, and Latino communities are an important part America. Hispanic Americans are people from different lands, cultures, and backgrounds—but they share some...

It was women who first picketed the White House for a political cause. In 1917, they held banners and signs calling for suffrage for women. They wanted the right to vote. These suffragists were continuing a protest that had begun in 1848. Elizabeth Cady Stanton helped found the suffrage movement....

Dictatorship is a form of government in which an individual or a small group wields power without legal or constitutional constraints. Dictators come in many varieties. Some are military officers who overthrow an elected government. Others are democratically elected politicians who, once in office,...

Find out what career assessments really mean... Career assessment tools can help you understand yourself and the world better by allowing you to match your interests and skills to the real-life world of employment. These tools include: •The Strong Interest Inventory; •The Campbell Interest and...

The United States' boundaries have expanded over the centuries—and at the same time, Americans' ideas about their country have grown as well. The nation the world knows today was shaped by centuries of thinkers and events. But some things have not changed. The basic framework of the American nation...

Television programs and feature films present criminal psychology and profiling as a blend of psychic visions, supernatural intuition, and evidence analysis. The reality, however, is quite different. Using true-crime case studies from history and the present, examples from current and former FBI profilers,...

Ever since Germany formed in 1871, it has been a major world player. It was even a founding member of the EU in 1952. Although Germany's 20th-century history was often dark, it is now one of the most prosperous and stable countries in the world. It has struggled during the global recession, but it...

Austria is a German-speaking country with a long history and rich cultural traditions, from kings and queens to musical composers. It has been a member of the EU since 1995. In today’s world, Austria welcomes immigrants and struggles to deal with the financial troubles sweeping through Europe. Discover more about this exciting, modern nation!

A century ago, people with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were sometimes institutionalized for life or treated with frightening operations such as frontal lobotomies. In the twentieth century, psychoanalysis and other types of therapies began to offer more treatment options. In this...

Find out what it takes to be a member of the military... The military has several branches: •Army, •Navy, •Air Force, and •Marines. Each branch offers a wide variety of opportunities, including the elite forces. Do you think you might like to dedicate a portion of your life to the service...

Libya is the third-largest state in Africa by area. Located in North Africa, it has no permanent rivers or streams, as the Sahara Desert covers most of the country. Yet just beneath the land's surface lie huge reserves of oil, which have provided vast wealth for Libya's political elite. Unfortunately,...