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No one doubts that we are all flawed people, but in our social-media driven, polarized society, we often fall into the trap of categorising people as wholly good or wholly bad. In reality, everyone is a mix of the two. What's more, we realise that God loves and calls people in spite of their faults and failings, and that we're still not'good'enough to qualify. Drawing on years of careful study and pastoral ministry, Bishop of Plymouth James Grier reveals the ways in which the heroes of scripture are more like us than we realise, with both their God-given strengths and profound weaknesses. The book is in four parts: exploring the beginning of leadership in Genesis, through Moses, the first two Kings and finally Jesus'apostles. Bishop James, along with his wife Liz, adds to this teaching with insights and anecdotes from their own experiences. This is a book for anyone who is trying, with varying degrees of success, to follow Jesus, whether as a leader or simply as a follower. It will offer reassurance to those who have been shaken by the failure of a leader, aspire to step into leadership themselves or are just trying to lead where they are. It asks questions of our hearts and attitudes, and it provides practical encouragement as we seek to follow God and become more like him, despite our shortcomings.

Iran's prison system is a foundational institution of Iranian political modernity. The Incarcerated Modern traces the transformation of Iran from a decentralized empire with few imprisoned persons at the turn of the twentieth century into a modern nation-state with over a quarter million prisoners today. In policing the line between'bad criminal'and'good citizen,'the carceral system has shaped and reshaped Iranian understandings of citizenship, freedom, and political belonging. Golnar Nikpour explores the interplay between the concrete space of the Iranian prison and the role of prisons in producing new public cultures and political languages in Iran. From prison writings of 1920s leftist prisoners and communiqués of 1950s militant Islamists, to paintings of 1970s revolutionary guerrillas and mapping projects organized by contemporary dissident prisoners, carceral confinement has shaped modern Iranian political movements. Today, mass incarceration is a global phenomenon. The Incarcerated Modern connects Iranian history to transnational carceral histories to illuminate the shared architectures, economies, and techniques of modern punishment.