{"title":"Paul Grogan","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"barbed-wire-babushkas-book-paul-grogan-9780753509388","title":"Barbed Wire \u0026 Babushkas","description":"Victor was clearly concerned about our plans to travel along the border, promising that the guards would shoot us on sight: 'They will be made heroes, with medals from Moscow,' he thundered, slapping his chest, ' but you will be dead!' And with that, he moulded his hands around an imaginary machine gun and sprayed our chests with an impressive salvo of spittle. For years they'd dreamed of packing in their day-jobs and travelling one of the world's greatest rivers, so long as it was somewhere warm. Siberia seemed like the obvious choice...Starting from high in the mountains of northern Mongolia, Paul Grogan and travelling companion Richard Boddington set out to make the first source-to-sea descent of Siberia's 4,400km Amur River, known in China as The Black Dragon. After wading up-stream for five days to reach the source, they begin their epic, four-month journey knowing virtually nothing about the region they'll be travelling through, or even where they'll be able to find food along the way. One of the few things they do know about the river is that for almost 2,000km if forms the long-disputed border between Russia and China. the scene of armed conflict up until the late 1980's, it's still considered off-limits, even to Russians. Never sure if they'll be able to continue around the next bend, the pair face guns, gunboats and arrest at every turn, and are forbidden to even set foot in Chinese territory. But beyond this fascade of military might they find a generous, warm-hearted people with a wicked sense of humour and an unhealthy predilection fir poetry, pig fat and home-made vodka. With sun, sauna's and dancing girls also high on the agenda, they are soon swept along by life on the river and the occasional 4 a.m. flood.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49518654554385,"sku":"GOR001385738","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51548112453905,"sku":"GOR004166469","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52397321847057,"sku":"GOR003490659","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0753509385.jpg?v=1751452376"},{"product_id":"comeback-cities-book-paul-grogan-9780813339528","title":"Comeback Cities","description":"America's inner cities, recovering from pervasive crime and social disorder that plagued them only a decade ago, are now revived - producing results beyond expectations and reawakening America's toughest neighborhoods","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50457685557521,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50457689293073,"sku":"CIN0813339529VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52105719808273,"sku":"CIN0813339529G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52334270513425,"sku":"NLS9780813339528","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0813339529.jpg?v=1751011071"},{"product_id":"comeback-cities-book-paul-grogan-9780813368139","title":"Comeback Cities","description":"How and why Americas inner cities have begun recovering from the pervasive crime and social disorder that plagued them only a decade ago.. Comeback Cities shows how innovative, pragmatic tactics for ameliorating the nations urban ills have produced results beyond anyones expectations, reawakening Americas toughest neighborhoods. In the past, big  government and business working separately were unable to solve the inner city crisis. Rather, a blend of public-private partnerships, grassroots nonprofit organizations, and a willingness to experiment characterize what is best among the new approaches to urban problem solving. Pragmatism, not dogma, has produced the charter school movement and the polices  new focus on quality-of-life issues. The new breed of big city mayors has welcomed business back into the city, stressed performance and results at city agencies, downplayed divisive racial politics, and cracked down on symptoms of social disorder. As a consequence, Americas inner cities are becoming vital communities once again. Comeback Cities shows how innovative, pragmatic tactics for ameliorating the nations urban ills have produced results beyond anyones expectations, reawakening Americas toughest neighborhoods. In the past, big government and business working separately were unable to solve the inner city crisis. Rather, a blend of public-private partnerships, grassroots nonprofit organizations, and a willingness to experiment characterize what is best among the new approaches to urban problem solving. Pragmatism, not dogma, has produced the charter school movement and the polices new focus on quality-of-life issues. The new breed of  big city mayors has welcomed business back into the city, stressed performance and results at city agencies, downplayed  divisive racial politics, and cracked down on symptoms of social disorder. As a consequence, Americas inner cities are becoming vital communities once again.There is much yet to be done, but Grogan and Proscio base their optimism on a number of trends that could dramatically multiply the impact of the  grassroots community development industry. The authors point to unprecedented access to capital and credit, astonishing  reductions in violent crime, and substantial overhauls of public housing, welfare, and public schools already underway as harbingers of an inner-city revival. Through a mixture of  analysis and storytelling, Grogan and Proscio argue convincingly that the conditions are ripe - the infrastructure is in place - to turn a source of national shame into a source of national pride.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50467385016593,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50467386753297,"sku":"CIN0813368138G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0813368138.jpg?v=1750785976"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-paul-grogan.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}