Thomas Schwartz

In their Pulitzer Prize–winning books, Doris Kearns Goodwin and James M. McPherson argue that Abraham Lincoln became a master strategist during his presidency. But even before he became president, Lincoln was adept at recognizing and exploiting strategic opportunities. In How Lincoln Won, Darin DeWitt and Thomas Schwartz show that Lincoln's strategy of division and conquest, cleverly designed and artfully executed over two years, not only secured his victory in America's most consequential presidential election but also helped establish the Republican Party as the nation's second major political party. By 1858, Lincoln had grasped three essential truths. First, the Republican Party's moral opposition to the expansion of slavery commanded only minority support among the electorate. Second, in every presidential election since 1844, one party had won because the other had split on the slavery issue. Third, the Republican Party could win the presidency—without compromising its principled opposition to slavery's expansion—if it turned this recurring pattern into a deliberate strategy, that of division and conquest on the overriding issue of slavery. Lincoln employed this strategy during the 1858 debates for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. There, Lincoln repeatedly trapped his opponent into taking new and moderate positions on slavery that fractured the Democratic Party. As a direct result of those concessions, rival Democratic tickets were fielded—first in Illinois in 1858 and then nationwide in 1860. Besides dividing votes, this split decimated the Democratic Party's campaign machinery, making it exceedingly difficult for either faction to mobilize supporters or persuade marginal voters. Absent this division, Illinois Republicans would not have swept statewide offices in 1858, nor would Lincoln have won the presidency in 1860. Lincoln prevailed not only because he devised a clever strategy and executed it skillfully but also because history had positioned him and his allies to profit from it. In the end, his achievement reveals a novel model of transformative political change—one driven by strategic party division rather than by efforts of persuasion, moderation, or changing the issue agenda.

Sturkopfe wie Noah, Spotterinnen wie Sara, Choleriker wie Petrus oder schrage Vogel wie Johannes der Taufer - die Bibel ist voll von fehlbaren Anti-Helden. Auf den ersten Blick scheinen sie genau das Gegenteil dessen zu sein, was Gott gebrauchen kann: Menschen, die ihren Willen durchsetzen und nicht den Willen Gottes. In der Bibel begegnet man nicht nur Menschen, die brav und widerspruchlos Gottes Willen erfullen. Sie berichtet nicht nur von Mannern und Frauen, deren Leben als beispielhaft vorgestellt wird und die damit als Vorbild fur ein gutes Leben prasentiert werden. Es finden sich im Buch der Bucher mindestens genauso viele Menschen, die sich ganz anders verhalten, als man es fur gewohnlich von ihnen erwarten wurde. Sie schwimmen gegen den Mainstream ihrer Zeit und sind oft sogar richtige Querkopfe. Vielleicht kann man sogar sagen: Querkopfe sind der Normalfall biblischer Gestalten Originell, unterhaltsam und fundiert erzahlt Thomas Schwartz die Geschichte von Eva, Noah, Sara, Josef, Rut, Judit, Johannes der Taufer, Petrus, Maria Magdalena und Judas Iskariot. Die Bibel umfasst das ganze Feld menschlicher Erfahrungen und Lebenslagen und erzahlt, welche Rolle Gott im Leben spielen kann. Und auch die biblischen Hauptfiguren sind nicht nur weichgespult und konturlos. Ganz im Gegenteil Biblische Gestalten hatten Ecken und Kanten.

The centuries-old paradox of voting is that majorities sometimes prefer x to y, y to z, and z to x - a cycle. The discovery of the sources and consequences of such cycles, under majority rule and countless other regimes, constitutes much of the mathematical theory of voting and social choice. This book explores the big questions posed by the paradox of voting: positive questions about how to predict outcomes and explain observed stability, and normative questions about how to hold elections, how to take account of preference intensities, the relevance of social welfare to social choice, and challenges to formal 'rationality', individual and social. The overall lesson is that cycles are facts, ubiquitous, and consequential in non-obvious ways, not puzzles to be solved, much less maladies or misfortunes to be avoided or regretted.

Whether you're a casual jogger, a beginner looking to train seriously for the first time or an experienced runner hoping to improve your time, there is a better way to train than relentlessly pounding miles. Suitable for runners of any level training for any distance, Build Your Running Body includes: - Over 150 workouts, from weight-training to resistance work - Exercises to prevent injury - The best methods to rehabilitate common problems - Nutrition guidance - Almost 400 photos to make following the programme as easy as possible - Interviews and tips from leading runners and coaches - Strategy for the weeks leading up to a race For the beginner or the athlete looking for a personal best, Build Your Running Body is a comprehensive guide of coaching wisdom and accessible advice.