Michael Hirsch

An excellent must-read for anyone about to deploy on anti-piracy operations (and for politicians and diplomats who ought to know about the practical aspects of dealing with pirates)." - Warships International Fleet ReviewNamed a "Notable Naval Book of 2012" by Proceedings magazine, Pirate Alley is now available in paperback. The book provides an in-depth look at every aspect of Somali piracy, from how the pirates operate to how the actions of a relative handful of youthful criminals and their bosses have impacted the world economy. It explores the debate over the recently adopted practice of putting armed guards aboard merchant ships, and focuses on the best management practices that are changing the ways that ships are outfitted for travel through what's known as the High-Risk Area. Readers will learn that the consequence of protecting high quality targets such as container ships and crude oil carriers may be that pirates turn to crime on land, such as the kidnapping of foreigners.

Wer den krisenhaften Stillstand unserer Gegenwart verstehen will, findet in diesem Buch nicht nur eine bestechende Kritik der Arbeitsgesellschaft, ihrer ideologischen Grundlagen und politischen Funktionslogik, sondern auch den Grundriss einer aufregenden emanzipatorischen Alternative. Das Festhalten an der Hegemonie der Erwerbsarbeit hat eine Ideologie der Beschäftigung und einen Staat der Arbeitsbeschaffung hervorgebracht. Der Autor analysiert diese Festlegung als zentralen Entwicklungsengpass der Gesellschaft. Vor diesem Hintergrund deutet er den Begriff der Arbeit neu und plädiert für eine Sozialordnung, die auf allgemeiner Arbeitszeitverkürzung und einem bedingungslosen Grundeinkommen beruht. Mit dieser Alternative vor Augen kann der Leser sehen, wie sich zahlreiche Dilemmata der Arbeits- und Sozialpolitik, der Familien- und Geschlechterpolitik, der Bildungs-, Wissenschafts- und Kulturpolitik, ja sogar der intellektuellen Arbeit selbst auflösen lassen und einer befreienden Praxis weichen können.

Named a "Notable Naval Book of 2012" by Proceedings MagazineRear Admiral Terry McKnight, USN (Ret.) served as Commander, Counter-Piracy Task Force-Gulf of Aden. He wrote the first draft of the Navy's handbook on fighting piracy while serving as the initial commander of Combined Task Force 151, an international effort to deploy naval vessels from several nations in a manner designed to prevent piracy in the Gulf of Aden and farther out into the Indian Ocean. McKnight personally commanded operations that disrupted several hijackings in progress, and resulted in the capture of sixteen Somali pirates. That's when he ran head-on into the bizarre U.S. policy of catch-and-release, and realized that there's a lot more to fighting piracy than just catching some skinny youngsters armed with AK-47s and RPGs. After his tour in the waters off the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, he retired from the Navy and began seriously researching the subject. As a result, he and his co-author, journalist Michael Hirsh, have put together a very readable book that serves as a comprehensive introductory course on the subject. Pirate Alley includes a behind-the-scenes look at the SEAL Team 6 takedown of the pirates who had kidnapped Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama. It also reveals what a young PhD candidate from Duke University found during three months on the ground in Somali pirate villages.Pirate Alley explores every aspect of Somali piracy, from how the pirates operate to how the actions of a relative handful of youthful criminals and their bosses have impacted the world economy. The book examines various answers to the question "How do you solve a problem like Somalia?" It explores the debate over the recently adopted practice of putting armed guards aboard merchant ships, and focuses on the best management practices that are changing the ways that ships are outfitted for travel through what's known as the High Risk Area. Readers will learn that the consequence of protecting high quality targets such as container ships and crude oil carriers may be that pirates turn to crime on land, such as the kidnapping of foreigners.Pirate Alley also focuses on the worldwide economic impact of piracy, noting that despite claims that piracy is costing as much as $13 billion a year, one of the largest commercial shipping companies argues that over-reaching national and international shipping regulations have a significantly greater negative effect on the world's economy than does piracy.In the book's conclusion, McKnight contends that, in the interest of justice, nations need to beef up their ability to prosecute and imprison captured pirates. And that the United States has no choice but to continue to hew to a policy that was first stated in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution: The Congress shall have Power…to define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations.

"Leon Stein's gripping narrative of the Triangle tragedy is one of the classics of American history. As the grandson of a onetime Triangle seamstress, I salute the reissue of a book that anyone who cares about labor, past or present, should read."—Michael Kazin, Georgetown University, author of The Populist Persuasion: An American History and other books Praise for the 1962 edition— "Stein recreates the tragic events of the fire in all their dramatic intensity. His moving account is a work of dedication."—New York Times Book Review "With commendable restraint, Stein uses newspapers, official documents, and the evidence of survivors to unfold a story made more harrowing by the unemotional simplicity of its narration."—Library Journal "Stein... suggests that the fire alerted the public to shocking working conditions all over the city and helped the unions organize the clothing industry, but his good taste keeps him from selling the reader any silver lining. A by-product of the careful research that has gone into this excellent narrative is an interesting sketch of the hard lives and times of working girls in the days when the business of America was business."—New Yorker March 25, 2011, marks the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 garment workers lost their lives. A work of history relevant for all those who continue the fight for workers' rights and safety, this edition of Leon Stein's classic account of the fire features a substantial new foreword by the labor journalist Michael Hirsch, as well as a new appendix listing all of the victims' names, for the first time, along with addresses at the time of their death and locations of their final resting places.