Elite Class

School may be on vacation, but the scheming never stops! Christmas draws near, and Karuizawa and Satou compete for Ayanokouji's affections while new student council president Nagumo makes his first sinister moves.

Ayanokouji's relationship with Karuizawa deepens, while the aftershock of his perfect mathematics score ripples through the school. Horikita asks to join the student council, and is accepted by Nagumo. And summer vacation brings with it no rest, but another special exam--a reprise of the earlier deserted island test. Except this time, it'll be a battle royale with all three grade levels duking it out against each other!

Despite the school's tampering, Class C made it through the special exam without anyone being expelled. Now, they face the final event of their first year--the graduation ceremony. Horikita struggles to decide what to say to her brother before he leaves, while Ayanokouji puts in motion his plan to deal with Tsukishiro, seeking allies in the form of the other homeroom instructors. Meanwhile, his classmates' suspicions about him grow--including one girl who might be getting a little too fascinated by him.

The second half of the special summer test finds the students duking it out aboard a luxurious cruise ship. Divided into 12 groups patterned after the signs of the Zodiac, all four classes are faced with a devilishly difficult test of their thinking skills. They may have survived the island, but they're not out of hot water yet!

“Identity politics” is everywhere, polarizing discourse from the campaign trail to the classroom. But the “identity politics” so compulsively referenced bears little resemblance to the concept as first introduced by the radical Black feminist Combahee River Collective. While the Collective articulated a political viewpoint grounded in their own position as Black lesbians with the explicit aim of building solidarity across lines of difference, “identity politics” is now frequently weaponized as a means of closing ranks around ever-narrower conceptions of group interests.

The grueling summer vacation special tests are finally at an end. As the clock ticks down on the last glorious days of summer, the students of the Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School frantically try to squeeze in all the things they've left undone and unsaid. Get a glimpse into the secret lives of supporting characters and watch romantic confessions and poolside drama unfold in this volume of short stories that bridges crucial gaps between the end of first semester--and the start of the second.

There's upheaval in the air as another special exam approaches and Nagumo officially replaces Horikita Manabu as student council president. Meanwhile, Ryuuen is out for blood, and he's set his sights on Horikita Suzune as the next possible candidate for Class D's mysterious mastermind!

Class D has conquered the midterms, but their celebration is cut short when three Class C students falsely accuse Sudou of assaulting them! With their friend facing expulsion, and the class’s points on the line, Ayanokoji, Horikita, and Kikyou must team up to gather evidence to prove his innocence.

It's spring, and for the first time in the school's history, no one has been expelled after the third semester exams. As a result, the Advanced Nurturing High School sets a cruel test--each class must choose one of their own members to be expelled. Chaos consumes the first-years as Hirata tries and fails to keep the class from turning on each other, Ichinose strikes a costly bargain with Nagumo, and Ryuuen's classmates seem ready to throw him to the wolves. Can Class C make it out of this unscathed--or will they be undone by traitors within?

The third semester kicks off in high gear with a special boot camp deep in the mountains. Forcibly separated into groups along grade and gender lines, the first, second and third years alike must work together to survive the rugged terrain. Even worse? The leader of the group that comes in last will be expelled. Can Class D make it back to campus intact, or is this where they finally say goodbye to one of their own?

Sakayanagi puts her plan to crush Ichinose into motion, spreading rumors of her alleged criminal history through the school like wildfire. With Class B at a loss, and Ichinose herself uncharacteristically reluctant to fight back, can Ayanokouji step in to save her reputation? Meanwhile, Kushida makes contact with student council president Nagumo in what might prove to be a very dangerous alliance, indeed.

Getting in is only half the battle. The Privileged Poor reveals how - and why - disadvantaged students struggle at elite colleges and explains what schools can do differently if these students are to thrive. The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors - and their coffers - to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In The Privileged Poor, Anthony Jack reveals that the struggles of less privileged students continue long after they've arrived on campus.

As one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, has long been the exclusive domain of America's wealthiest sons. But times have changed. Today, a new elite of boys and girls is being molded at St. Paul's, one that reflects the hope of openness but also the persistence of inequality. In Privilege, Shamus Khan returns to his alma mater to provide an inside look at an institution that has been the private realm of the elite for the past 150 years.

It is an axiom of American life that advantage should be earned through ability and effort. Even as the country divides itself at every turn, the meritocratic ideal - that social and economic rewards should follow achievement rather than breeding - reigns supreme. Both Democrats and Republicans insistently repeat meritocratic notions. Meritocracy cuts to the heart of who we are. It sustains the American dream.

Society has never been more egalitarian—in theory. Prejudice is taboo, and diversity is strongly valued. At the same time, social and economic inequality have exploded. In We Have Never Been Woke, Musa al-Gharbi argues that these trends are closely related, each tied to the rise of a new elite—the symbolic capitalists.

Over the past decade, Americans watched in bafflement and rage as one institution after another - from Wall Street to Congress, the Catholic Church to corporate America, even Major League Baseball - imploded under the weight of corruption and incompetence. In the wake of the Fail Decade, Americans have historically low levels of trust in their institutions; the social contract between ordinary citizens and elites lies in tatters. How did we get here? Christopher Hayes offers a radically novel answer.

The selection began with 35 girls. Now, with the group narrowed down to the Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's love is fiercer than ever. The closer America gets to the crown, the more she struggles to figure out where her heart truly lies. Each moment she spends with Maxon is like a fairy tale, filled with breathless, glittering romance. But whenever she sees her first love, Aspen, standing guard, she's swept up in longing for the life they'd planned to share.

Christophe Guilluy, a French geographer, makes the case that France has become an "American society" - one that is both increasingly multicultural and increasingly unequal. The divide between the global economy's winners and losers in today's France has replaced the old left-right split, leaving many on "the periphery".

In both Europe and North America, populist movements have shattered existing party systems and thrown governments into turmoil. The embattled establishment claims that these populist insurgencies seek to overthrow liberal democracy. The truth is no less alarming but is more complex: Western democracies are being torn apart by a new class war. In this controversial and groundbreaking new analysis, Michael Lind, one of America’s leading thinkers, debunks the idea that the insurgencies are primarily the result of bigotry and reveals the real battle lines.

Throughout human history the art of warfare has evolved into many forms across numerous theatres, gradually becoming more sophisticated and strategised as the centuries have progressed. From the Spartans of ancient Greece with their code of valour fighting to the last man to the US Navy SEALs who operate using the latest technology of the 21st century. Across the vast array of military campaigns and battles one can see that the majority of organised armies have been comprised of enlisted men who would have their basic training.