{"title":"Current Affairs \u0026 Issues","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"novacene","title":"Novacene","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nThe creator of the Gaia hypothesis and the greatest environmental thinker of our time has produced an astounding new theory about the future of life on Earth. James Lovelock argues that the anthropocene - the age in which humans acquired planetary-scale technologies - is, after three centuries, coming to an end. A new age - the novacene - has already begun.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nNew beings will emerge from existing artificial intelligence systems. They will think 10,000 times faster than we do and will regard us as we now regard plants. The cruel, violent machine takeover imagined by sci-fi writers will not happen: these hyper-intelligent beings will be as dependent on the health of the planet as we are. They will need the planetary cooling system of Gaia to defend from the increasing heat of the sun. Gaia depends on organic life. We will be partners in this project. It is crucial, Lovelock argues, that the intelligence of Earth survives and prospers. We are at present the only beings capable of understanding the cosmos, but he speculates that the novacene could be the beginning of a process that will see intelligence suffusing the entire cosmos. At the age 100, Lovelock has produced the most compelling work of his life.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n","brand":"James Lovelock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40307695124658,"sku":"9780141990798","price":240.01,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/6268_60dd0b83297f45.77426775_9780141990798_6c9d9449-3c07-48a7-82b9-fcd588d6f14b.jpg?v=1674654892"},{"product_id":"vortex-the-crises-of-patriatchy","title":"Vortex: The Crisis of Patriarchy","description":"","brand":"Spinifex Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42184914010290,"sku":"9781925950168","price":395.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/379659_62e315a8867f77.63234544_9781925950168.jpg?v=1680165783"},{"product_id":"the-hard-sell","title":"The Hard Sell (Paperback)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSOON TO BE THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE \u003ci\u003ePAIN HUSTLERS\u003c\/i\u003e STARRING EMILY BLUNT AND CHRIS EVANS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'A pacey crime caper set against the backdrop of the opioid crisis . . . When I tell you that reading \u003ci\u003eThe Hard Sell\u003c\/i\u003e is like watching a Scorsese film, you will assume I am exaggerating. Pick it up and tell me I'm wrong.' - Patrick Radden Keefe, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nIn the early 2000s, John Kapoor had already amassed a small fortune in pharmaceuticals when he founded Insys Therapeutics. A boom time for painkillers, he had developed a novel formulation of fentanyl, the most potent opioid on the market.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nKapoor, a brilliant scientist with relentless business instincts, was eager to make the most of his innovation. But there was a problem: the drug was a niche product, approved only for cancer patients in dire condition. So he recruited an avaricious team, who employed a variety of deceptive techniques, such as zeroing in on suspect doctors, falsifying patient records and deceiving insurance companies. Insys became a Wall Street sensation. That is, until insiders reached their breaking point and blew the whistle, sparking a sprawling investigation in the government's fight to hold the drug industry accountable in the spread of addictive opioids.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nWith colourful characters and true suspense, \u003ci\u003eThe Hard Sell\u003c\/i\u003e lays bare the pharma playbook. Evan Hughes offers a bracing look not just at Insys, but at how opioids are sold at the point they first enter the national bloodstream - in the doctor's office.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n","brand":"Evan Hughes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42970605060274,"sku":"9781035009701","price":340.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/391794_6414f2f5eb7b91.33517066_9781035009701_696e8aac-cc66-4eae-806b-55253760f206.jpg?v=1680017352"},{"product_id":"very-bad-people-the-inside-story-of-the-fight-against-the-worlds-network-of-corruption","title":"Very Bad People (Paperback)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*****\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'Reads like a John le Carre novel but is, in fact, very real.'\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003ci\u003eThe Big Issue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eVery Bad People \u003c\/i\u003ewould be a hugely enjoyable thriller if it wasn't all true.'\u003c\/b\u003e - Isabella Tree, author of \u003ci\u003eWilding\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'Global Witness are fearless.'\u003c\/b\u003e - Gordon Roddick, Campaigner and Co-Founder of the Body Shop\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'Part true crime tale, part investigative procedural, this is the account of the brilliant and necessary superheroes of Global Witness, whose superpower is the truth.' \u003c\/b\u003e- Edward Zwick, Director of \u003ci\u003eBlood Diamond\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eVery Bad People\u003c\/i\u003e reads like a non-stop high-speed chase as our fighters against corruption hunt down a litany of criminals and con-men.' \u003c\/b\u003e- David Farr, Screenwriter, \u003ci\u003eThe Night Manager\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'The story told in this book of three youthful idealists is simply riveting. Don't miss it.'\u003c\/b\u003e - Misha Glenny, author of \u003ci\u003eMcMafia\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'Alley has produced a clear-eyed account of a world poisoned by dark money, and a welcome reminder that resistance is possible. As it turns out, his book is even more timely than he could have hoped.' \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003e'This book is inspirational. It shows how young people with sufficient passion and intelligence have the capacity to go after some of the most powerful governments and corporations and shame, humiliate and just push governments to support important reforms that can make this a more decent world.'\u003c\/b\u003e - Frank Vogl, Co-Founder of Transparency International\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nArms trafficking, offshore accounts and luxury property deals. Super-yachts, private jets and super-car collections. Blood diamonds, suspect oil deals, deforestation and murder. This is the world of Global Witness, the award-winning organisation dedicated to rooting out worldwide corruption. And this is co-founder Patrick Alley's revealing inside track on a breath-taking catalogue of modern super-crimes - and the 'shadow network' that enables them.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nVERY BAD PEOPLE is about following the money, going undercover in the world's most dangerous places, and bringing down the people behind the crimes. Case by case we see maverick investigators pitched against warlords, grifters and super-villains who bear every resemblance to \u003ci\u003eThe Night Manager\u003c\/i\u003e's Richard Roper. One dictator's son spent $700 million in just four years on his luxury lifestyle.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nAs they unravel crooked deals of labyrinthine complexity, the team encounter well-known corporations whose operations are no less criminal than the Mafia. This network of lawyers, bankers and real estate agents help park dirty money in London, New York, or in offshore accounts, safe from prying eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nPatrick Alley's book is a brilliant, authoritative and fearless investigation into the darkest workings of our world - and an inspiration to all of us who want to fight back.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n","brand":"Octopus Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42973931798706,"sku":"9781913183509","price":240.01,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/391811_641a3a1bb7d011.71357536_9781913183509.jpg?v=1681302330"},{"product_id":"fate-of-abrahamn-pb","title":"The Fate Of Abraham (Paperback)","description":"\u003cb\u003eAs the Cold War faded into history, it appeared to have been replaced by a new conflict - between Islam and the West. Or so we are told. After the events of 9\/11 and the advent of the 'war on terror', this narrative seemed prophetic. But, as Peter Oborne reveals in this masterful new analysis, the concept of an existential clash between the two is a dangerous and destructive fantasy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\nBased on rigorous historical research and forensic contemporary journalism that leads him frequently into war-torn states and bloody conflict zones, Oborne explains the myths, fabrications and downright lies that have contributed to this pernicious state of affairs. He shows how various falsehoods run deep, reaching back as far as the birth of Islam, and have then been repurposed for the modern day. Many in senior positions in governments across the West have suggested that Islam is trying to overturn our liberal values and even that certain Muslims are conspiring to take over the state, while Douglas Murray claims in his new book that we face a 'War on the West'. But in reality, these fears merely echo past debates, as we continue to repeat the pattern of seemingly wilful ignorance.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cb\u003eWith murderous attacks on Muslims taking place from Bosnia in 1995 to China today, Oborne dismantles the falsehoods that lie behind them, and he opens the way to a clearer and more truthful mutual understanding that will benefit us all in the long run.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n ","brand":"Peter Oborne","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42984802812082,"sku":"9781398501058","price":380.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/products\/392383_64222277ec5d13.52197463_9781398501058_6e5112b3-ff3b-4810-8df8-26eb40e619a2.jpg?v=1683547066"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.wordsworth.co.za\/collections\/current-affairs-issues.oembed","provider":"Wordsworth Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}