{"title":"Popular culture Books","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"chonk-and-smol-9780008421113","title":"Chonk and Smol","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBork Bork! The definitive gift book for pet-lovers everywhereChonk and Smol celebrates adorable pets in all shapes and sizes! The book is full of hilarious pictures and heckin' cute captions for the doggo and cat lovers in your life.CHONK: An animal that is majestically solid and magnificently chunky.SMOL: An animal so small and adorable that you would immediately protect it with your life.CHONK AND SMOL: A celebration of the cutest, smollest and chonkiest creatures one book has ever contained. Dive into these pages of intense floofiness to find new frens who will zoom, tippy-tap, blep and mlem their way into your heart.WARNING: CONTAINS EXTREME CUTENESSChapters include: Mlem or Blep?: Tongues Explained Borking: Hear Us Loud and Clear Snugging: Micro-Naps and Super-Sleeps Making Frens: Best Friends Furever","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832480809303,"sku":"9780008421113","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780008421113.jpg?v=1710334010"},{"product_id":"food-of-the-cods-9780008628888","title":"Food of the Cods","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShortlisted for Debut Food Book of the Year at the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards 2024Guild of Food Writers 2024 Finalist, Food Book of the YearA lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what may be our greatest achievement: the chippy.' Stuart MaconieStep inside and unwrap this deliciously entertaining look at Britain's national dish.There is a corner of every town and city in Britain where the air is tangy with vinegar and the scent of frying. Following the irresistible lure, Daniel Gray ponders the magic of chippies and the delights they have sprinkled among us for the last 150 years as he investigates the social  and sociable  history of fish and chips.Travelling to chippies from Dundee to Devon via South Shields, Oldham, Bradford, Bethnal Green, the Rhondda Valley and more  Daniel Gray explores our fish-and-chip nation to show how chippies have helped emancipate women, promote equality for immigrants and shape local and national identity.Whether you were raised eat\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘This is a lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what, alongside The Beatles, Shakespeare and the NHS, may be our greatest achievement: the “chippy”. Fair warning, it will make you very hungry.’ \u003cstrong\u003eStuart Maconie\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'Daniel Gray writes with great humour and takes tender delight in the people he meets. His book is as warm and comforting as a bag of chips on a cold night.' \u003cstrong\u003ePeter Ross\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'Engaging … Sprinkled with a digestible amount of social history and commentary. Like the dish, leaves you with a warm feeling afterwards.' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Light bite rather than a full fish supper, this is a delightful mix of travelogue and fish-flavoured fact. Good fun.' \u003cstrong\u003eAnnie Gray\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Gray is a master at finding the universal in the local and the profound in the so-called everyday.' \u003cstrong\u003eIan McMillan\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘As satisfying and tangy as a pineapple fritter after the swimming baths.’ \u003cstrong\u003eHarry Pearson\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Witty, authoritative and timely. … Vivid, rich prose shimmering with warmth and a belief in the fundamental goodness of people.’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe New European\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘Warm, wise and witty.’ \u003cstrong\u003eCharlie Connelly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e'A highly entertaining, historically nuanced account. Wonderfully atmospheric.' \u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Martin\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘An affectionate appreciation of a great British institution. As tasty as a fresh cod.' \u003cstrong\u003eArthur Matthews\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e           \u003cp\u003e‘There's a fantastic musicality to Gray's writing. 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Fossi maps out van Gogh’s life in chronological order, weaving together letters, paintings, and images, along with contemporary photographs from De Marco and Dondero, who set out on a trip across Europe to photograph the geography and places that inspired his works...Insightful and illuminating, this poetic work will entrance historians, artists, and art lovers. — Publishers Weekly (starred review)  With this compact trove of contemporary photographs juxtaposed with Van Gogh’s artworks, homes, and friendly commentary, the intensity of the artist’s life will go down more easily. Van Gogh fans will enjoy walking in his footsteps, and it will surely inform new audiences as well. — Library Journal","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47832624529751,"sku":"9780063085176","price":22.1,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780063085176.jpg?v=1710336092"},{"product_id":"conspiracies-uncovered-9780241467626","title":"Conspiracies Uncovered","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnter a hidden world of mysteries, scandals, secrets, and lies\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePerhaps it is human nature to believe there is more to the world than meets the eye - that the greatest secrets and truths are hidden from us. Whatever the reason, conspiracy theories are a global phenomenon. \u003ci\u003eConspiracies Uncovered\u003c\/i\u003e delves into some of the most pervasive theories, from the The assassination of John F. 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How to Save the World\u003cbr\u003e Further reading\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003cbr\u003e Picture credits\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e   \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Quarto Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833355026775,"sku":"9780711279957","price":18.7,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780711279957.jpg?v=1710345614"},{"product_id":"the-aliens-are-coming-the-exciting-and-extraordinary-science-behind-our-search-for-life-in-the-universe-9780751545043","title":"The Aliens Are Coming The Exciting and","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDiscover the fascinating and cutting-edge science behind the greatest question of all: is there life beyond Earth? \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor millennia, we have looked up at the stars and wondered whether we are alone in the universe. 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When fashion runways shone with British talent, Young British Artists became household names, football was ''coming home'' and British film went worldwide. From Old Labour''s defeat in 1992 through to New Labour''s historic landslide in 1997, \u003ci\u003eDon''t Look Back In Anger\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles the Cool Britannia age when the country united through a resurgence of patriotism and a celebration of all things British. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut it was also an era of false promises and misplaced trust, when the weight of substance was based on the airlessness of branding, spin and the first stirrings of celebrity culture. 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It's so original to read about the 90s that takes in all those different perspectives - politics, art, sport, media etc. - and doesn't just paint a picture of a heap of cocaine with Noel Gallagher in the middle of it -- MARK ELLEN, author of ROCK STARS STOLE MY LIFE!\u003cbr\u003eA fascinating step back to right before the web, smartphones and streaming changed the face of culture * STYLIST *\u003cbr\u003eI tore through it, savouring every high and low point of this hazy, hard-to-define epoch * EVENING STANDARD *\u003cbr\u003eThe story of Cool Britannia: from the ecstasy fuelled euphoria of the summer of love to the moment the serotonin ran out -- TOM SUTCLIFFE * BBC RADIO 4 *\u003cbr\u003eI very much enjoyed reminiscing with Daniel about the 90s and the extraordinarily rich and diverse period for British culture. The political landscape was also interesting as I recall!  - a great book\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e * TONY BLAIR *\u003cbr\u003eAn excellent book, superbly put together. 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How do strange subcultures on reddit affect our local shopping centres, what do night gyms owe to Twitter, and where can we really go to get some decent sleep? Our every move online is watched, but can we see ourselves?   In these wide-ranging, witty essays, Roisin Kiberd offers immersive insight into the strange worlds, habits and people who have grown up with the internet, and shows the way our world is changing to fit the online fever-dream. Unsettling, clear-sighted and perversely fun, she traces the lines between Netflix and nap hotels, vaporwave music and camgirls, self-optimisation and insomnia, dating apps and a grand unified theory of Monster Energy Drinks. 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A long overdue message delivered by a writer with a first-rate intellect and curiosity who's unafraid to turn heat-vision on the self and, thus, all selves. -- Jarrett Kobek, author of 'I Hate the Internet'\u003cbr\u003eSpectacular. A book that takes on, makes sense of, and triumphs over that shapeless techno-dread with which we're now so sickeningly familiar. It's lion-hearted in its honesty, and insightful to the point of brilliance. All I'd hoped for and exactly what I needed. -- Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies\u003cbr\u003eAs deep as it is wide-ranging, The Disconnect is a smart, timely, and beautifully intimate investigation into how the internet is turning us all inside-out. -- Ian Maleney, author * Minor Monuments *\u003cbr\u003eOne of our brightest young writers. -- Martin Doyle * Irish Times *\u003cbr\u003eIt's sharp, sad and funny ... 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She also explores the strange and sometimes surprising histories of Irish death practices,","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48088089362775,"sku":"9781844885237","price":15.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781844885237.jpg?v=1713545168"},{"product_id":"brave-new-weed-9780062499929","title":"Brave New Weed","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe former editor-in-chief of \u003cem\u003eDetails \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eStar\u003c\/em\u003e adventures into the fascinating \"brave new world\" of cannabis, tracing its history and possible future as he investigates the social, medical, legal, and cultural ramifications of this surprisingly versatile plant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"One of the most fascinating accounts of the state of marijuana. 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Brave New Weed provides a fresh perspective and demonstrates just how little we know about this ubiquitous, multifaceted, and ancient plant.\" -- Dr. Andrew Weil, author of Mind Over Meds: How to Protect Yourself from Overmedication by Knowing When Drugs Are Necessary and When Alternatives May Be Better \"The ultimate 'Just Say Yes!' book. I got a contact high from reading it.\" -- John Waters \"Part travelogue, part cultural inquiry, part state-of-the-art scientific and medical survey, Joe Dolce's engaging and entertaining book provides an image makeover for cannabis that's long overdue.\" -- Dr. Julie Holland, author of Moody Bitches and editor of The Pot Book \"A fresh, clear-eyed, and lucidly reported travel guide to the rapidly expanding American subcontinent of medical and not-so-medical marijuana. Dolce is our de Tocqueville for Weed 2.0.\" -- Brad Gooch, author of Smash Cut \"A superb book, Brave New Weed delivers a sharp, funny, incredibly interesting assessment of modern cannabis. A terrific writer, Dolce examines the scientists and the quacks, the heroes and the hucksters, the cops and the crooks converging in the great game of marijuana.\" -- Michael Backes, author of Cannabis Pharmacy, The Practical Guide to Medical Marijuana \"A thoroughly enjoyable and highly informative romp through the politics, science, industry and culture of cannabis.\" -- Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance \"Brave New Weed, a loving rethink of all things marijuana, is likely to be a trusted hitchhiker's guide to this new universe.\" -- New York Times Book Review \"Fresh, engaging, and thoughtful...The finely-tuned prose is infused with a marvelous sense of curiosity and in-depth journalism. Dolce won me over immediately and held my attention from one page to the next, following him around the world as he explored the past, present and future of cannabis...An engaging, worthwhile read no matter what side of the cannabis argument you happen to be on.\" -- Green Flower \"Dolce weaves a fascinating tale of the twisted history-and even more twisted pretzel logic-behind marijuana prohibition...Equal parts travelogue, existential discovery and historical exegesis...A well-spun narrative and a damn fun, breezy read about the ubiquitous weed...Dolce writes with clarity and expertise about the plant and its utility to mankind.\" -- The Fresh Toast","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732103967063,"sku":"9780062499929","price":13.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}]},{"product_id":"feel-9780091897543","title":"Feel","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChris, also an investigative news-writer, has written for Rolling Stone, Details, the Telegraph and The Sunday Times amongst many others. 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Mezrich's latest focuses on two Harvard students who tried to build an online database of girls...and created Facebook * GQ *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732289958231,"sku":"9780099551232","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780099551232.jpg?v=1719996283"},{"product_id":"johnson-s-everything-bad-is-good-for-you-9780141018683","title":"Johnson S Everything Bad is Good for You","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWe''re constantly being told that popular culture is just mindless entertainment - but, as Steven Johnson shows in \u003ci\u003eEverything Bad is Good for You\u003c\/i\u003e, it''s actually making us more intelligent.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Steven Johnson puts forward a radical alternative to the endless complaints about reality TV, throwaway movies and violent video games. 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Levitt, co-author, Freakonomics","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732399141207,"sku":"9780141030913","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141030913.jpg?v=1719996711"},{"product_id":"a-certain-je-ne-sais-quoi-9780141041674","title":"A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eVocabulary alone isn''t enough. To survive in the most sophisticated - and the most scathing - nation on Earth you will need to understand the many peculiarities of the (very peculiar) French culture. 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His headline-grabbing bestseller opened up a whole new area of cultural study and remains essential reading, both as a historical document, and as a commentary on class, poverty and the media.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732432892247,"sku":"9780141191584","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141191584.jpg?v=1719996856"},{"product_id":"the-great-british-dream-factory-9780141979304","title":"The Great British Dream Factory","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Delightfully good ... an exuberant and learned celebration of British culture ... full of love for and fascination with everything from the origins of heavy metal in the metal-bashing industries of the West Midlands to John Lennon''s and Damien Hirst''s lust for money'' Nick Cohen, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Terrific ... I defy you not to be swept up in a narrative that''s as colourful as it is dramatic'' - John Preston, \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Dramatic, perceptive and often extremely funny'' \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e, Books of the Year\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBritain''s empire has gone. We no longer matter as we once did. And yet there is still one area in which we can legitimately claim superpower status: our popular culture. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is extraordinary to think that one British writer, J. K. Rowling, has sold more than 400 million books; that \u003ci\u003eDoctor Who\u003c\/i\u003e is watched in almost every developed country in the world; that James Bond has been the central character in the longes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDelightfully good ... an exuberant and learned celebration of British culture -- Nick Cohen * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eNot only thoroughly entertaining, but crammed with as many serious insights as a shelf-ful of academic studies. -- Alwyn W Turner * The Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eRelentlessly entertaining -- Daisy Goodwin * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eI read it in less than two days, my attention never flagging ... It is dramatic, perceptive and often extremely funny -- John Preston * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eI read it in less than two days, my attention never flagging ... Embracing everything from Black Sabbath's guitarist, Tony Iommi, losing his fingers in a sheet metal press to the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, it's dramatic, perceptive and often extremely funny. * Books of the Year, Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eIt was hard to find a more convincing read ... a highly entertaining look at everything from The Avengers to Harry Potter that proclaims Britain as the champion of culture, spreading words and songs internationally like no other * Books of the Year, Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eSandbrook's hugely enjoyable analysis of why we continue to punch above our weight in this area ... covers everything from boarding school tales (Tom Brown to Harry Potter) to country house tales (Brideshead and Downton), the works of Tolkien to the 2012 Olympics. * Books of the Year, Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eTerrific fun ... Sandbrook isn't like other historians ... He heads off down strange, neglected byways, teasing out unexpected connections, with the results often proving far more illuminating - and enjoyable - than conventional narratives ... I defy you not to be swept up in a narrative that's as colourful as it is dramatic. -- John Preston * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eEngrossing ... delightful ... a book that relishes an argument and likes to challenge received opinion ... not only thoroughly entertaining, but crammed with as many serious insights as a shelf-ful of academic studies. -- Alwyn Turner * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eWitty ... enthusiastic ... a passionate and admirable defence of coach-party musical theatre, large-print historical fiction, wedding reception rock, Orc sagas, To the Manor Born, Arnold Bennett, Billy Bunter and Billy Elliot ... The hot core of his story, though, is made of the most thrillingly unlikely material. -- Matthew Sweet * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eSplendid ... Sandbrook is always an engaging and perceptive writer and the subject lends itself to his eye for a story and his ability to connect with the reader. This is, after all, a book about the very things that, over the past century, we have most enjoyed, from Hercule Poirot to Sgt Pepper. -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eSparkling ... fascinating ... always enlightening ... as usual with Sandbrook, there are some lovely vignettes and incongruous details ... Academic writers could certainly learn something from his lightness of touch and ability to build an argument. -- Joe Moran * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eBeautifully written ... wonderfully counter-intuitive ... with an excellent feel for the contemporary pulse and the surprising killer detail ... I, too, have left out loads that Sandbrook has cleverly and incisively included. -- Nick Curtis * London Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eA marvellous read ... juicy, irresistible, restoring the past with all its delight, defeats and energy to the ageing spectator ... He delights in the sheer, tumbling crowdedness of British popular culture over the past half century or so, crams in at a terrific pace the innumerable stories of its successes, and lends the status of heroism to his favourite figures. The author catches with infectious excitement the cracking pace and headlong productivity of this teeming crowd. -- Fred Inglis * Times Higher Education Supplement *\u003cbr\u003eMasterly ... lively and stimulating ... He loves to debunk received opinion. -- Robert Low * Standpoint *\u003cbr\u003eA vivid, endlessly fascinating account of the numerous achievements of this country's national imagination. This book is my personal dream factory ... so invigorating and exciting. -- Jessie Thompson * Huffington Post *\u003cbr\u003eDefiantly populist ... Dominic Sandbrook zestfully charts the route that has taken Britain from 'workshop of the world' to 'cultural superpower' ... as Sandbrook rightly insists, 'we still live in the shadow of the Victorians -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant. -- A N Wilson * The Tablet *\u003cbr\u003eAn engaging and very accessible history book about our modern artistic achievements that, provocatively, also debunks some of the very icons it praises. -- Simon Copeland * The Sun *\u003cbr\u003eI loved this book about British culture, partly because there's so much in it, and partly because of the brilliant way the author joins the dots ... Sandbrook gets us thinking about cinema, art, country houses, Tolkein, Doctor Who, and, superbly, much more. -- William Leith * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eAn entertaining trawl through British culture ... [Sandbrook] has produced a book that is not only thoroughly enjoyable to read, but also crammed with as many serious insights as a shelf of academic studies * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eIt's a great premise, and I dived into, and splashed around in, this book gleefully at first. Here were lucid and often amusing expositions on the work of Lennon and McCartney, Ian Fleming, JRR Tolkien, Christie ... in his books on Britain in the 1950s and 60s, Sandbrook has covered some of this ground before. But he doesn't repeat himself, and his scope is wider than heretofore - he notices, for instance, how ingrained Charles Dickens's influence is, still, in popular entertainment ...  It would be impossible to please everyone. But when Sandbrook is pleasing, he is very pleasing indeed. -- Nick Lezard * Guardian *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732498919767,"sku":"9780141979304","price":15.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141979304.jpg?v=1719997151"},{"product_id":"the-age-of-earthquakes-9780141979564","title":"The Age of Earthquakes","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePlanet Earth needs a self-help book, and this is it\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe future is happening to us far faster than we thought it would \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eand this book explains why\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFifty years after Marshall McLuhan''s ground breaking book on the influence of technology on culture \u003ci\u003eThe Medium is the Massage\u003c\/i\u003e, Shumon Basar, Douglas Coupland and Hans Ulrich Obrist extend the analysis to today, touring the world that''s redefined by the Internet, decoding and explaining what they call the ''extreme present''.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Age of Earthquakes\u003c\/i\u003e is a quick-fire paperback, harnessing the images, language and perceptions of our unfurling digital lives. The authors invent a glossary of new words to describe how we are truly feeling today; and ''mindsource'' images and illustrations from over 30 contemporary artists. Wayne Daly''s striking graphic design imports the surreal, juxtaposed, mashed mannerisms of screen to page. It''s like a culturally prescient, all-kno\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrainy book that will rock your world * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eAbsolutely amazing -- Jon Snow * Channel 4 News *\u003cbr\u003eAn email-like, culturally-perceptive exploration of our digital realities... a mix between a dystopian modern glossary, Internet memes, multiple-choice dropdowns, mindsourced images and a fair bit of wisdom, it is a self-help book for the \"last generation that will die\" * AnOther Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eA philosophical \u003ci\u003eAnarchist Cookbook\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003efor the online era, when we are in touch with everyone at once all the time, or like to feel that we are... Like Marshall McLuhan's iconic dictum \"the medium is the message\" or the staccato bursts of meaning of George W.S. Trow's essay-book \u003ci\u003eIn the Context of No Context\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Earthquakes\u003c\/i\u003e is an abstract representation of how we feel now about how we are now. It's a book insistently engaged with the present tense... Perhaps it is the 21st century's first book-meme * Pacific Standard *\u003cbr\u003eMany of us feel like technologies of the future are arriving too slowly, but a new philosophy-cum-modern-self-help book suggests that, in fact, it's dawning on us faster than we ever thought possible * Vice *\u003cbr\u003eA pocket-sized primer on our blossoming obsolescence -- Kate Sutton * Art Forum *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAge of Earthquakes\u003c\/i\u003e = panic-inducingly addictive -- Penny Martin, editor of The Gentlewoman\u003cbr\u003eIt's a fun, visual and easy read. Verdict: In the future all books will be written this way -- Sultan Saood Al Qassimi\u003cbr\u003eAn abstract representation of how we feel about our digital world * Hello! *\u003cbr\u003eI don't know about you but I would very much like a guide to this brave new world * Huck *\u003cbr\u003eAddictive... A fun read. But one that makes you question how you read, why you read and just how much the internet has restructured our brains... It is a book not only inspired by the internet, but seemingly written by the internet. It is as if the internet gained not only artificial self-consciousness but wisdom - and then became your pal -- Tod Wodicka * National *\u003cbr\u003eI think everyone should read it -- Mike Pinnington * Double Negative *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Age of Earthquakes \u003c\/i\u003eseeks to induce paradoxical visions of the contemporary, both ambivalent and critical * V Magazine *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732499149143,"sku":"9780141979564","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141979564.jpg?v=1719997154"},{"product_id":"hit-makers-9780141981598","title":"Hit Makers","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat makes a hit a hit? In \u003ci\u003eHit Makers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAtlantic\u003c\/i\u003e Senior Editor Derek Thompson puts pop  culture under the lens of science to answer the question that every  business, every producer, every person looking to promote themselves and  their work has asked. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Drawing on ancient history and modern  headlines - from vampire lore and Brahms''s Lullaby to Instagram -  Thompson explores the economics and psychology of why certain things  become extraordinarily popular. With incisive analysis and captivating  storytelling, he reveals that, though blockbuster films, Internet memes  and number-one songs seem to have come out of nowhere, hits actually  have a story and operate by certain rules. People gravitate towards  familiar surprises: products that are bold and innovative, yet instantly  comprehensible. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhether he is uncovering the secrets of JFK  and Barack Obama''s speechwriters or analysing the unexpected reasons for  the success of \u003ci\u003eFifty Shades of Gr\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732500918615,"sku":"9780141981598","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"white-girls-9780141987293","title":"White Girls","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''I defy you to read this book and come away with a mind unchanged''  John Jeremiah Sullivan\u003cbr\u003e''Als has a serious claim to be regarded as the next James Baldwin'' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e''I see how we are all the same, that none of us are white women or black men; rather, we''re a series of mouths, and that every mouth needs filling: with something wet or dry, like love, or unfamiliar and savory, like love''\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhite Girls\u003c\/i\u003e is about, among other things, blackness, queerness, movies, Brooklyn, love (and the loss of love), AIDS, fashion, Basquiat, Capote, philosophy, porn, Louise Brooks and Michael Jackson. Freewheeling and dazzling, tender and true, it is one of the most highly acclaimed essay collections in years. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A voice that''s new, that comes as if from a different room. I defy you to read this book and come away with a mind unchanged'' John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of \u003ci\u003ePulphead\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Effortless, honest and fearless'' Rich Benjamin, \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA rhapsodic and provocative collection of essays on race, class, sexuality and identity in America * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003eAls has a serious claim to be regarded as the next James Baldwin * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eEffortless, fearless and honest * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe first time you read Hilton Als, it's a revelation ... you wonder where this guy has been all your life ... He is both a startlingly insightful intellectual and a friendly, open and generous-spirited companion. It is the authenticity of his voice which makes him so compelling. That and the sheer dazzling brilliance of his writing, visceral and poetic, big-hearted, hot-headed and fierce' * Big Issue *\u003cbr\u003eEnlightening... a book you should read now * VICE *\u003cbr\u003eThe variations he plays on the themes of identity, intimacy and race achieve a fugue-like complexity and power * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eBeautiful and deeply intelligent * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eA stunning analysis of contemporary culture ... undoubtedly one of the most important books of our times * DAZED *\u003cbr\u003ePioneering ... a mosaic of thoughts and observations, taking in the landscape of a New York ravaged by AIDS and his private grief for his lost lover, imagining silent film star Louise Brookes' drawling inner life, and examining his own complicated relationship with his sexuality and blackness * AnOther Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eMagnificent * Los Angeles Times *\u003cbr\u003eStunning * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003eExhilarating ... Audacious * San Francisco Chronicle *\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant * Boston Globe *\u003cbr\u003eMesmerising * Los Angeles Review of Books *\u003cbr\u003eThis will be debated for years * Entertainment Weekly *\u003cbr\u003eThis book will change you * Chicago Tribune *\u003cbr\u003eI defy you to read this book and come away with a mind unchanged -- John Jeremiah Sullivan\u003cbr\u003eAn intersectional masterpiece of race and sexuality, fact and fiction, memoir and polemic. The book that allowed a generation to make radicalism full of beauty and emotion * I-D Magazine *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732507930967,"sku":"9780141987293","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141987293.jpg?v=1719997191"},{"product_id":"bunker-9780141987552","title":"Bunker","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW STATESMAN\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ''An extraordinary achievement . . . gripping, grim and witty'' Robert MacFarlane\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ''Unputdown-able ... No book could be more timely'' Richard J Evans \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Today, the bunker has become the extreme expression of our greatest fears: from pandemics to climate change and nuclear war. And once you look, it doesn''t take long to start seeing bunkers everywhere.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e, acclaimed urban explorer and cultural geographer Bradley Garrett explores the global and rapidly growing movement of ''prepping'' for social and environmental collapse, or ''Doomsday''. From the ''dread merchants'' hustling safe spaces in the American mid-West to eco-fortresses in Thailand, from geoscrapers to armoured mobile bunkers, \u003ci\u003eBunker \u003c\/i\u003eis a brilliant, original and never less than deeply disturbing story from the frontlines of the way we live now: an illuminating reflection on our age of disquiet and \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow prescient and timely\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003cb\u003eThis is a tartly thoughtful work, by turns witty and philosophical, with an undercurrent of anger at the way we are governed and the commodification of existential fear.\u003c\/b\u003e He writes pacily, bringing to vivid life a gallery of survivalist wingnuts, conmen and evangelists. -- Nick Curtis * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA kind of apocalyptic \u003ci\u003eSuper Size Me\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, in which the author force feeds himself a steady diet of paranoia, conspiracy, eschatology and end-times architecture. -- Chris Hall * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis baseball-cap wearing academic is the world's leading expert on survivalists\u003c\/b\u003e ... But he never expected \u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e to be so topical. -- Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eBrilliant ... \u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e, self-evidently a work for our times,\u003cb\u003e shimmers with a Ballardian imagery of disaster and melt-down.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Ian Thomson * The Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e is a thoughtful study into the nature of paranoia and the people who try to profit from it - and it makes for \u003cb\u003ea page-turning read\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Nathan Brooker * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA scary, unputdown-able account ... No book could be more timely\u003c\/b\u003e as we stay in our own little bunkers to avoid infection, strip the supermarket shelves of loo paper, and squirrel away supplies of food to see us through the shortages that many fear will follow a no-deal Brexit. -- Richard J Evans * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eThis study of bunker sites and the people preparing for the worst couldn't be better timed. -- Andrew Anthony * The Observer *\u003cbr\u003eGarrett's research has involved hanging out with millenarian fruitcakes, disaster profiteers and the uber-rich, not to mention tooled-up, swivel-eyed anarcho-libertarians from America to Australia ... \u003cb\u003eHis sense is that disaster gives us an opportunity to rethink how we live. What will we learn?\u003c\/b\u003e -- Stuart Jeffries * The Guardian *\u003cbr\u003eThis is \u003cb\u003ea gripping and timely book\u003c\/b\u003e about both the 'architecture of dread' and its multi-billion dollar industry, and what the growing appetite for bunkers reveals about the social conditions in which we live. * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eGarrett is a bright and buoyant guide and \u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e rattles briskly along ... \u003cb\u003eA necessary read.\u003c\/b\u003e * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eBradley Garrett spent three years meeting doomsday preppers for his book \u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e ... If we work together, he thinks, there is no reason that a future global catastrophe has to become an apocalypse. Well, that's something. -- Luke Mintz * Sunday Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ean extraordinary achievement; a big-thinking, deep-diving, page-turning study\u003c\/b\u003e of fear, privilege and apocalypse told through the space of the bunker. Garrett has written a gripping, grim, witty work of geography and ethnography, which he completed - with eerie timeliness - in the first weeks of the COVID pandemic. A book about prepping and prognostication, then, which had already foretold its own future. -- Robert MacFarlane\u003cbr\u003eGarrett's book forces readers to reassess other assumptions about bunkers and those who own them. -- Jack Grove * Times Higher Education *\u003cbr\u003eThere are many strands in this book ... \u003cb\u003e[Garrett] brings sharp insight to a subject that no longer seems so remote or speculative.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Mika Ross-Southall * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA highly addictive book\u003c\/b\u003e ... What makes Garrett's book fascinating is his portrayal of the balance between fringe thinking and the real world. -- Nick Smith * E\u0026amp;T Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBunker\u003c\/i\u003e benefits from the mere fact of taking its protagonists seriously as humans and as members of society, rather than as outlandish characters. -- Julian Sayarer * openDemocracy *\u003cbr\u003eGarrett spent several years travelling the world, going down into bunkers and talking to their owners and tenants. His book is an incredible record of that journey, and also functions as \u003cb\u003ea philosophical or psychological disquisition about space, about freedom, about survival. \u003ci\u003eBunker \u003c\/i\u003eis an incredible read\u003c\/b\u003e and will surely sell in quite enormous numbers, assuming the human race remains intact and can still read. -- Steve Braunias * New Zealand Herald *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732508848471,"sku":"9780141987552","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141987552.jpg?v=1719997194"},{"product_id":"talking-to-strangers-9780141988498","title":"Talking to Strangers","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Compelling, haunting, tragic stories  . . . resonate long after you put the book down'' James McConnachie, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eThe routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger''s motives?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUsing stories of deceit and fatal errors to cast doubt on our strategies for dealing with the unknown, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI love this book . . . \u003cb\u003ereading it will actually change not just how you see strangers, but how you look at yourself, the news - the world\u003c\/b\u003e. Reading this book changed me. * Oprah Winfrey *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFascinating\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003eyou should read the book\u003c\/b\u003e . . .\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eHe's tackling the dark side of human nature - what do we ever know about other people? -- Sathnam Sanghera * The Times Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eNow that practically everybody seems to be spoiling for a fight, \u003cb\u003eI have found Malcolm Gladwell's \u003ci\u003eTalking to Strangers\u003c\/i\u003e invaluable \u003c\/b\u003e. . . His moral - to approach new people with caution and humility - has become my motto. * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTaut, provocative, smart . . . \u003c\/b\u003eGladwell's \u003cb\u003ecool, playful intelligence \u003c\/b\u003ehas made him\u003cb\u003e one of our leading public thinkers\u003c\/b\u003e * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eA book examining the ways we misinterpret or fail to communicate with one another \u003cb\u003ecould not feel more necessary\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003ethe page-turning urgency of a thriller\u003c\/b\u003e -- Chris Barton * Los Angeles Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSuperb writing. Masterful . . . \u003c\/b\u003ebears all the marks that have made Gladwell \u003cb\u003eone of the most successful non-fiction authors of his generation\u003c\/b\u003e. -- Pilita Clark * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA dazzling book . . . \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eGladwell is a rock star of nonfiction\u003c\/b\u003e . . .  ideas are slowly revealed until the reader arrives at a conclusion they didn't expect. Gladwell is advancing ideas and, sure, they are all open to challenge . . . but they are \u003cb\u003estimulating and convincing\u003c\/b\u003e - and \u003cb\u003eyou won't regret a minute\u003c\/b\u003e you spend mastering them * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA wonderful provocation\u003c\/b\u003e which Gladwell delivers like no other, an awakening to just one of the fascinations that lie in ordinary human experience . . . as ever, \u003cb\u003eGladwell's genius is in the telling\u003c\/b\u003e. * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003eMalcolm Gladwell made his name bringing intellectual sparkle to everyday subjects, and his new book - about how strangers talk to each other - is no exception. -- Sean O’Hagan * Observer *","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732509569367,"sku":"9780141988498","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780141988498.jpg?v=1719997196"},{"product_id":"the-beauty-of-the-houri-heavenly-virgins-feminine-ideals-9780190249342","title":"The Beauty of the Houri Heavenly Virgins Feminine","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA captivating look at the history of the pure females of Islamic paradise known as the houriThe fascination with the houri, the pure female of Islamic paradise, began long before September 11, 2001. Beauty of the Houri: Heavenly Virgins, Feminine Ideals demonstrates how the ambiguous reward of the houri, mentioned in the Qur?an and developed in Islamic theological writings, has gained a distinctive place in the cultural eye from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century.The houri had multiple functions in Islamic texts that ranged from caretaker, to pure companion, to personal entertainment. French, English, and American writers used the houri to critique Islam and Muslim societies, while also adopting the houri as a model of feminine beauty. Unlike earlier texts that presented different forms of the houri or universalized the houri for all women, writings about the houri after September 11th offer contradictory messages about Islam. In the twenty-first century, the image of the houri has come to symbolize a reward for violence and the possibility of gender parity.As a cosmic figure that inspires enduring questions about the promise of paradise and the idealized feminine form, the houri has a singular past and broad potential for future interpretation. The Beauty of the Houri narrates an intellectual history of the houri and offers a contemporary account of how theological ambiguity has led to different interpretations of this powerfully enduring Islamic concept.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Beauty of the Houri is a meticulously researched, elegantly written gem that offers much more than a survey of houris in the Muslim past. Drawing on sources from the Qur'an and Hadith, European poetry, and Islamist recruitment videos to US news items, Rustomji weaves analysis of texts with profound theoretical insights into gender constructions, changing eschatological expectations, text criticism, and contemporary US and Muslim politics. * J. Hammer, CHOICE *\u003cbr\u003eIn this revealing history... the overall sweep convinces. This comprehensive work will help scholars of Islam understand the evolving history of a powerful image. * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003eIn the Jesuit Spiritual Exercises, one reflects on the teaching that 'The profane is not divorced from the spiritual.' Rustomji has created a small masterpiece, meticulously researched and beautifully written, which helps us to understand both the spiritual and the profane elements of the Houri. * Amir Hussain, Chair and Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles *\u003cbr\u003eIn The Beauty of the Houri, a meticulously researched and elegantly written book, Rustomji offers us much more than a survey of houris in the Muslim past. Drawing on sources from the Qur'an and hadith, European poetry, and Islamist recruitment videos to US news items, the author weaves together analysis of texts with profound theoretical insights into gender constructions, changing eschatological expectations, text criticism, and contemporary US and Muslim politics. Highly recommended. * Juliane Hammer, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, UNC Chapel Hill *\u003cbr\u003eThis vivid, enthralling study offers readers a unique point of entry into a fascinating global history of feminine ideals of beauty, imagined by men and women, for this world and the next. The author traces the fluidity of this image, not just among Muslims, but also as it once impacted European -- and American -- Christians. A rare treat for those intrigued by gender and religion within and beyond the Islamic world. * Denise A. Spellberg, author of Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction Chapter 1. The Letter Chapter 2. The Word Chapter 3. The Romance Chapter 4. A Reward Chapter 5. The Promise Chapter 6. The Question Conclusion","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732535292247,"sku":"9780190249342","price":24.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780190249342.jpg?v=1719997319"},{"product_id":"pop-masculinities-the-politics-of-gender-in-twentyfirst-century-popular-music-9780190938802","title":"Pop Masculinities The Politics of Gender in","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Pop Masculinities, author Kai Arne Hansen investigates the performance and policing of masculinity in pop music as a starting point for grasping the broad complexity of gender and its politics in the early twenty-first century. Drawing together perspectives from critical musicology, gender studies, and adjacent scholarly fields, the book presents extended case studies of five well-known artists: Zayn, Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Take That. By directing particular attention to the ambiguities and contradictions that arise from these artists'' representations of masculinity, Hansen argues that pop performances tend to operate in ways that simultaneously reinforce and challenge gender norms and social inequalities. Providing a rich exploration of these murky waters, Hansen merges the interpretation of recorded song and music video with discourse analysis and media ethnography in order to engage with the full range of pop artists'' public identities as they emerge at the intersections between processes of performance, promotion, and reception. In so doing, he advances our understanding of the aesthetic and discursive underpinnings of gender politics in twenty-first century pop culture and encourages readers to contemplate the sociopolitical implications of their own musical engagements as audiences, critics, musicians, and scholars.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHansen's conclusion is both an homage to masculinity in popular music studies and an invitation for future pop scholars to join him in this ever-expanding field of gender and performance. * Paxton Haven, The University of Texas at Austin, Journal of Popular Music Studies *\u003cbr\u003ePop music is a unique context in which the meanings of masculinities are being negotiated on an exceptional kind of display. In this interdisciplinary tour de force, Hansen provides rich and nuanced analyses that unpack just what it means to argue that enactments of gender sometimes simultaneously shore up and destabilize the very systems of inequality they may seem designed to challenge. Pop Masculinities provides new material for better understanding the flexibility of gender hegemony in a cultural arena that impacts all of us. * Tristan Bridges, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Co-editor of Men and Masculinities and Exploring Masculinities *\u003cbr\u003eWe often forget that men have gender too. And despite what a patriarchal ideology might frame as a natural structure, boys, no less than girls, struggle to forge their own subjectivities amid the many cultural pressures confronting them. In this dazzling and nuanced study, Kai Arne Hansen analyzes the ways several prominent young male entertainers have publicly negotiated their own coming of age by means of music, lyrics, fashion, and self-presentation. A beautifully written and deeply compelling study. * Susan McClary, Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music, Case Western Reserve University and Distinguished Professor Emerita, UCLA *\u003cbr\u003ePop music is a unique context in which the meanings of masculinities are being negotiated on an exceptional kind of display. In this interdisciplinary tour de force, Hansen provides rich and nuanced analyses that unpack just what it means to argue that enactments of gender sometimes simultaneously shore up and destabilize the very systems of inequality they sometimes seem designed to challenge. Pop Masculinities provides new material for better understanding the flexibility of gender hegemony in a cultural arena that impacts all of us. * Tristan Bridges, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Co-editor of Men and Masculinities and Exploring Masculinities *\u003cbr\u003eIn  Pop Masculinities, Hansen draws together a range of perspectives—age, class, race, sexuality, and more—to consider the complex manifestations of masculinity in twenty-first century popular music culture with an impressive intersectional nuance. He interweaves close readings of sonic and visual artefacts with a rich cultural-theoretical framework, to offer a timely analysis of the gender politics of commercial music culture. * Freya Jarman, Reader in Music, University of Liverpool *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Like Pinocchio  1. Separating the Men from the Boys: New Masculinities, Pop Music, and the Social Politics of Interpretation   2. Good Boy Gone Bad: Fashioning a Post Boy Band Masculinity   3. A Different Country? Lil Nas X, the Sound of the Internet, and Queering the Cowboy                                              4. Beyond Bieber Fever   5. Dangerous and (In)Vulnerable: Aestheticizing Violence and Dancing in Sin City   6. From Boy Band to Man Band: Take That, Age(ing), and the Display of Self-Irony Conclusion: Fade-Out   Bibliography   Index","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732551020887,"sku":"9780190938802","price":26.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780190938802.jpg?v=1719997388"},{"product_id":"pop-culture-politics-and-the-news-entertainment-journalism-in-the-polarized-media-landscape-journalism-and-pol-commun-unbound-series-9780197557594","title":"Pop Culture Politics and the News Entertainment","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book, supported by relevant fieldwork and interviews, is a thoughtful discussion of the role of entertainment journalism in circulating, inspiring, expanding, and sometimes simplifying and sensationalizing political discourses...Penney's insightful dissection of entertainment, politics, and journalism is deeply illuminating. * Choice *\u003cbr\u003eStudents will recognize the journalism and the political landscape described in this book. With discussions and interviews that address #MeToo, #OscarsSoWhite, and other debates that have been brought to the public via entertainment journalism, Pop Culture, Politics, and the News will remind readers that entertainment journalism is politically significant and that representation matters. I can't wait to use this book in journalism and media studies classes. * Lynn Schofield Clark, Director of the Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media, University of Denver *\u003cbr\u003eAre the political battles of the twenty-first century being won on the playing fields of popular culture? That certainly seems to be a credible claim in our era of polarized social media in which public attention seems monopolized by the weapons of mass distraction. Entertainment journalism as a shaper and reflection of contemporary life receives a long overdue examination in this theoretically nuanced and empirically grounded study. * Larry Gross, Professor of Communication, University of Southern California *\u003cbr\u003eIn this engagingly written and insightful book, Joel Penney addresses a dire need in the field by making a compelling case for the centrality of entertainment journalism as part of today's political communication landscape. Integrating the viewpoints of entertainment journalists from both left and right and the audiences who actively engage with their content, this book is a must-read for those seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the nexus of popular culture and politics today. * Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, Associate Professor of Communication and Journalism, Hebrew University of Jerusalem *\u003cbr\u003eJoel Penney offers compelling arguments for why 'soft news' should not be written off as frivolous or as having little public value, while also illuminating the potential dangers of conveying heated political issues via for-profit, click-bait-oriented entertainment journalism. Based on interviews with journalists and audiences, this insightful book will inspire lively class discussions about the colliding political and cultural spheres of our contemporary news media environment. * Regina Marchi, Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDedication  Acknowledgements  Introduction Chapter 1: Why Pop Culture News Matters: Theorizing and Historicizing Entertainment Journalism as Political Communication  Chapter 2: Progressing Hollywood: Left-Wing Entertainment Journalism and the Push for Diversity and Accountability Chapter 3: Pop Culture Warriors: Right-Wing Entertainment Journalism and the Fight Against \"Big Hollywood\" Chapter 4: Hot Takes and Clickbait: The Impact of Commercialism on the Pop Culture-Politics Beat  Chapter 5: Trending Outrage: How Social Media Impacts the Work of Journalists at the Pop Culture-Politics Nexus Chapter 6: Pop Culture News as a Bridge to Politics? Exploring the Audience Perspective Chapter 7: Conclusion: Assessing the Public Value of Journalism at the Pop Culture-Politics  Nexus  Notes References Index","brand":"Oxford University Press Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48732650307927,"sku":"9780197557594","price":23.27,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780197557594.jpg?v=1719997802"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/collections\/popular-culture.oembed?page=91","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}