Kristen R. Ghodsee's Books

Everyday Utopia

What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

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Everyday Utopia

What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

A “fascinating” (The Wall Street Journal), “spirited and inspiring” (Jacobin) tour through the ages in search of the thinkers and communities that have dared to reimagine how we might better live our daily lives. In the 6th century BCE, the Greek philosopher Pythagoras—a man remembered today more for his theorem about right-angled triangles than for his progressive politics—founded a commune in a seaside village in what’s now southern Italy. The men and women there shared their property, lived as equals, and dedicated themselves to the study of mathematics and the mysteries of the universe. Ever since, humans have been dreaming up better ways to organize how we live together, pool our resources, raise our children, and determine who’s part of our families. Some of these experiments burned brightly for only a brief while, but others carry on today: from the Danish cohousing communities that share chores and deepen neighborly bonds, to matriarchal Colombian ecovillages where residents grow their own food; and from Connecticut, where new laws make it easier for extra “alloparents” to help raise children not their own, to China where planned microdistricts ensure everything a busy household might need is nearby. One of those startlingly rare books that upends what you think is possible, Everyday Utopia provides a “powerful reminder that dreaming of better worlds is not just some fantastical project, but also a political one” (Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad). This “must-read” (Thomas Piketty, New York Times bestselling author of A Brief History of Equality) offers a radically hopeful vision for how to build more contented and connected societies, alongside a practical guide to what we all can do in the meantime to live the good life each and every day.

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Page Count

239

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

198219023X

ISBN 13

9781982190231

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

And Other Arguments for Economic Independence

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

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Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

And Other Arguments for Economic Independence

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

A “brilliant,” “engaging,” and “valuable,” (Financial Times) exploration of why capitalism hurts women and how socialism, when done right, can bring economic independence, better labor conditions and, yes, even better sex. In a witty, irreverent op-ed piece that went viral, Kristen Ghodsee argued that women had better sex under socialism. The response was tremendous — clearly she articulated something many women had sensed for years: the problem is with capitalism, not with us. Ghodsee, an acclaimed ethnographer and professor of Russian and East European Studies, spent years researching what happened to women in countries that transitioned from state socialism to capitalism. She argues here that unregulated capitalism disproportionately harms women, and that we should learn from the past. By rejecting the bad and salvaging the good, we can adapt some socialist ideas to the 21st century and improve our lives. She tackles all aspects of a woman's life - work, parenting, sex and relationships, citizenship, and leadership. In a chapter called "Women: Like Men, But Cheaper," she talks about women in the workplace, discussing everything from the wage gap to harassment and discrimination. In "What To Expect When You're Expecting Exploitation," she addresses motherhood and how "having it all" is impossible under capitalism. Women are standing up for themselves like never before, from the increase in the number of women running for office to the women's march to the long-overdue public outcry against sexual harassment. Interest in socialism is also on the rise -- whether it's the popularity of Bernie Sanders or the skyrocketing membership numbers of the Democratic Socialists of America. It's become increasingly clear to women that capitalism isn't working for us, and Ghodsee is the informed, lively guide who can show us the way forward.

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Page Count

189

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Bold Type Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1568588895

ISBN 13

9781568588896

Everyday Utopia

What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

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Everyday Utopia

What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

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239

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

198219023X

ISBN 13

9781982190231

Red Hangover

Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism

By: Kristen Ghodsee

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Red Hangover

Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism

By: Kristen Ghodsee

In Red Hangover Kristen Ghodsee examines the legacies of twentieth-century communism twenty-five years after the Berlin Wall fell. Ghodsee's essays and short stories reflect on the lived experience of postsocialism and how many ordinary men and women across Eastern Europe suffered from the massive social and economic upheavals in their lives after 1989. Ghodsee shows how recent major crises—from the Russian annexation of Crimea and the Syrian Civil War to the rise of Islamic State and the influx of migrants in Europe—are linked to mistakes made after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc when fantasies about the triumph of free markets and liberal democracy blinded Western leaders to the human costs of "regime change." Just as the communist ideal has become permanently tainted by its association with the worst excesses of twentieth-century Eastern European regimes, today the democratic ideal is increasingly sullied by its links to the ravages of neoliberalism. An accessible introduction to the history of European state socialism and postcommunism, Red Hangover reveals how the events of 1989 continue to shape the world today.

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Page Count

245

Publisher

Duke University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

082237241X

ISBN 13

9780822372417

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

And Other Arguments for Economic Independence

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

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Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

And Other Arguments for Economic Independence

By: Kristen R. Ghodsee

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189

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Bold Type Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1568588895

ISBN 13

9781568588896

Red Valkyries

Feminist Lessons From Five Revolutionary Women

By: Kristen Ghodsee

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Red Valkyries

Feminist Lessons From Five Revolutionary Women

By: Kristen Ghodsee

The lives of five socialist women and their legacy for modern-day feminists Red Valkyries explores the history of socialist feminism in Eastern Europe. Through the revolutionary careers of five prominent socialist women active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—the aristocratic Bolshevik Alexandra Kollontai; the radical pedagogue Nadezhda Krupskaya; the polyamorous firebrand Inessa Armand; the deadly sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko; and the partisan, scientist, and global women’s activist Elena Lagadinova—Kristen Ghodsee tells the story of the personal challenges faced by earlier generations of radicals. None of these women was a perfect leftist. Their lives were filled with inner conflicts, contradictions, and sometimes outrageous privilege. But they managed to fight for their own political projects with perseverance and dedication. Always walking a fine line between the need for class solidarity and the desire to force their sometimes callous male colleagues to take women’s issues seriously, these women pursued novel solutions with many lessons for those who might follow in their footsteps.

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Page Count

225

Publisher

Verso Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1839766638

ISBN 13

9781839766633

Twilight

By: Kristen Heitzmann

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Twilight

By: Kristen Heitzmann

Laurie returns back home with two kids in tow to begin a new life. Now she must face Cal, who she turned her back on and who is strugling with his own problems.

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Page Count

351

Publisher

Bethany House

Published Date

ISBN 10

0764226053

ISBN 13

9780764226052

Book's by Kristen R. Ghodsee

Everyday Utopia

Everyday Utopia

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

Everyday Utopia

Everyday Utopia

Red Hangover

Red Hangover

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism

Red Valkyries

Red Valkyries

Twilight

Twilight

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