BiblioVault - Books about Practical Handbook

Coup d’État

A Practical Handbook

Edward N. Luttwak

Harvard University Press, 1979

The coup is the most frequently attempted method of changing government, and the most successful. Coup d’État outlines the mechanism of the coup and analyzes the conditions—political, military, and social, that gives rise to it. In doing so, the book sheds much light on societies where power does indeed grow out of the barrel of a gun and the role of law is a concept little understood.

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Coup d'État

A Practical Handbook, Revised Edition

Edward N. Luttwak

Harvard University Press, 2016

Coup d’État astonished readers when it first appeared in 1968 because it showed, step by step, how governments could be overthrown. Translated into sixteen languages, it has inspired anti-coup precautions by regimes around the world. In addition to these detailed instructions, Edward Luttwak’s revised handbook offers an altogether new way of looking at political power—one that considers, for example, the vulnerability to coups of even the most stable democracies in the event of prolonged economic distress.

The world has changed dramatically in the past half century, but not the essence of the coup d’état. It still requires the secret recruitment of military officers who command the loyalty of units well placed to seize important headquarters and key hubs in the capital city. The support of the armed forces as a whole is needed only in the aftermath, to avoid countercoups. And mass support is largely irrelevant, although passive acceptance is essential. To ensure it, violence must be kept to a minimum. The ideal coup is swift and bloodless. Very violent coups rarely succeed, and if they trigger a bloody civil war they fail utterly.

Luttwak identifies conditions that make countries vulnerable to a coup, and he outlines the necessary stages of planning, from recruitment of coconspirators to postcoup promises of progress and stability. But much more broadly, his investigation of coups—updated for the twenty-first century—uncovers important truths about the nature of political power.

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Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners, Second Ed.

A Practical Handbook

Keith S. Folse

University of Michigan Press, 2016

A MICHIGAN TEACHER TRAINING title

Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners: A Practical Handbook is not intended to be an exhaustive reference book about ESL grammar. Written for classroom teachers (K-12, ESL, EFL), this book teaches the most common ESL grammar points in an accessible way through real ESL errors together with suggested teaching techniques. Relevant grammar terminology is explained.

The four objectives of this book are to help teachers: (1) identify common ESL grammar points and understand the details associated with each one; (2) improve their ability to answer any grammar question on the spot (when on the “hot seat”); (3) anticipate common ESL errors by grammar point, by first language, and/or by proficiency level; and (4) develop more effective grammar/language learning lessons. These objectives are for all teachers, whether they are teaching grammar directly or indirectly in a variety of classes – including a grammar class, a writing class, a speaking class, an ESP class, or a K-12 class.

In the Second Edition, all chapters have been updated and substantively revised. The number of marginal (gray) boxes with tips and extra information has doubled. A 16th Key, on Negating, and three new appendixes have been added. One of the new appendixes provides a sample exercise from an actual ESL textbook plus relevant notes about the designing of grammar activities and suggestions for teaching each grammar point.

Also added to each Key is a section on the vocabulary items (e.g., collocations) that are related to the teaching of that particular grammar point. This information is unique to this edition and cannot be found elsewhere on the market.

The Workbook for the Second Edition (978-0-472-03679-0), available in 2017, includes numerous activities that practice the essentials of grammar and issues relevant to ESL teachers.

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Negotiation Skills in the Workplace

A Practical Handbook

Larry Cairns

Pluto Press, 1996

The Practical Handbook of Library Architecture

Creating Building Spaces that Work

Fred Schlipf

American Library Association, 2018