Ajamu Baraka

Did the U.S. really “save the world” in World War II? Should black athletes stop protesting and show more gratitude for what America has done for them? Are wars fought to spread freedom and democracy? Or is this all fake news? American Exceptionalism and American Innocence examines the stories we’re told that lead us to think that the U.S. is a force for good in the world, regardless of slavery, the genocide of indigenous people, and the more than a century’s worth of imperialist war that the U.S. has wrought on the planet. Sirvent and Haiphong detail just what Captain America’s shield tells us about the pretensions of U.S. foreign policy, how Angelina Jolie and Bill Gates engage in humanitarian imperialism, and why the Broadway musical Hamilton is a monument to white supremacy.

Einstein arrived in the United States in 1933, the year the Nazis rose to power in Germany. From that moment until he died in 1955, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI—with other agencies—feverishly collected “derogatory information” to undermine the renowned scientist’s influence and destroy his reputation. With material accessed under the Freedom of Information Act, Fred Jerome reveals the depth of, and the reasons for, this massive anti-Einstein campaign. He also uncovers Einstein’s strong political commitments that have been conveniently buried under the image of the absent-minded icon genius. Whereas Einstein said on several occasions, “My life is divided between equations and politics,” Jerome delves into his little-known political half-life. Einstein, Hoover… Trump Jerome’s preface to this new enriched edition of The Einstein File, traces the path of surveillance from J. Edgar Hoover, through McCarthyism, to the Trump era. The preface also presents new information gathered about the things that the FBI hated so much about Einstein: his very close friendship with Paul Robeson and their collaboration in fighting racism; and his studied position on Israel and Zionism that Israeli polticians do everything to hide.