Popular culture Books

Book SynopsisThis ground-breaking book explores the moral dimensions of sexual imagery in contemporary, general-release Asian films. It examines debates that arise over aesthetic styles and the cultural and traditional influences that determine the content and impact of these films. The social and regulatory environments for filmmakers across Asia reflect distinct national and cultural differences. In just the past decade, for instance, Indian cinema has rapidly moved from representations of coy and submissive female protagonists to highly eroticized leading ladies unafraid of flaunting their sexuality. On the other hand, the cinema emerging from the Chinese mainland has been much more circumspect in its representations of overt sexuality, at times in conflict with other Chinese cinemas from Hong Kong and Taiwan. This use of sexual imagery or morally questionable film content raises on-going debates into censorship and the use of state or industry controls to protect certain sectors of society froTrade Review’Pugsley offers fresh perspectives on how contemporary Asian cinemas are transforming by challenging the cultural policy regimes that historically have shaped the ways in which their films represent gender and sexuality on screen. This book is key reading for anyone interested in peering into the rise and transformation of Asia and learning more about a bevy of dynamic filmmakers and films that are pushing the boundaries of self-expression and cultural diversity in the region.’ Brian Yecies, University of Wollongong, Australia; author of The Changing Face of Korean Cinema, 1960-2015Table of ContentsList of Figures viiList of Tables ixAcknowledgements xiIntroduction 11 Indian Cinema’s New Aesthetic 132 Visual Decorum and Chasteness in Chinese Film 413 Maintaining Respectability in Singaporean and Malaysian Cinema 734 An Open Mind: Japanese Cinema’s Sexual Revolution 995 Culture, Tradition and Sexuality in South Korean Cinema 117Conclusion 131Films Cited 141Bibliography 149Index

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Book SynopsisThe good feminist's guide to being hot. And cool. And fit (all senses). And maybe - just maybe - a little bit thinner. Or firmer (all senses). And definitely extremely well-dressed. And uncompromised. And right.

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Book Synopsis''Personal and engaging . . . anyone who agrees that Star Wars was a defining moment of our collective childhood will love this book'' - The Times''Funny and affectionate'' - Time Out''Will have you hitching aboard the Millennium Falcon to a galaxy overflowing with infinite possibilities. ****'' - Metro*************In 1981, the eight-year-old Bob Fischer was entranced by Daleks, Vogons and crack Imperial Stormtroopers. Almost three decades later, Bob decides to rekindle the affair with a tour of the UK''s sci-fi and cult TV conventions. Freewheeling from Doctor Who to Discworld, Star Wars to Star Trek and Robin of Sherwood to Red Dwarf, he combines misty-eyed memories with a terrifying travelogue of terrible, torturous . . . terror. Or something. In space, no one can hear you scream. And don''t expect much sympathy in Peterborough, either.Trade ReviewPersonal and engaging . . . anyone who agrees that "Star Wars; was a defining moment of our collective childhood" will love this book * The Times *Will give anyone from the era of Spam fritters and Blue Riband biscuits a Prustian rush . . . a witty, heartwarming exploration of the light side of SF fandom * SFX magazine *Amiable and amusing . . . a glimpse into the world of fandom cranked up, on holiday, given licence to be sillier than usual * Daily Telegraph *Funny and affectionate * Time Out *Guaranteed to make you yearn for days of yore . . . don't be surprised to find yourself laughing at more in-jokes than you care to admit. **** * Focus *An amiable read * Independent *Will have you hitching aboard the Millennium Falcon to a galaxy overflowing with infinite possibilities. **** * Metro *A joyous, irreverent celebration of Britain's secret love of the bizarre * Gay Times *It's hilarious . . . For anyone who has ever liked any of this stuff, there's laughter and nostalgia aplenty * Nottingham Evening Post *Personal and engaging . . . anyone who agrees that "Star Wars; was a defining moment of our collective childhood" will love this book * The Times *Will give anyone from the era of Spam fritters and Blue Riband biscuits a Prustian rush . . . a witty, heartwarming exploration of the light side of SF fandom * SFX magazine *Amiable and amusing . . . a glimpse into the world of fandom cranked up, on holiday, given licence to be sillier than usual * Daily Telegraph *Funny and affectionate * Time Out *Guaranteed to make you yearn for days of yore... don't be surprised to find yourself laughing at more in-jokes than you care to admit * Focus**** *An amiable read * Independent *Will have you hitching aboard the Millennium Falcon to a galaxy overflowing with infinite possibilities * Metro**** *A joyous, irreverent celebration of Britain's secret love of the bizarre * Gay Times *It's hilarious . . . For anyone who has ever liked any of this stuff, there's laughter and nostalgia aplenty * Nottingham Evening Post *

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Book SynopsisExplores the return of the 'epic' in 21st century cinema. Why did the epic come back, and why did it fall out of fashion? Are these the same kinds of epics as the 1950s and 60s, or are there aesthetic differences? Can we treat Kingdom of Heaven, 300 and Thor indiscriminately as one genre? Are non Western histories like Hero and Mongol epics, too?

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Book SynopsisReveals the history of how the emergence of the DVD market changed cultural and industrial attitudes about horror movies and film ratings. This title presents a re-evaluation of the history of the horror film from an industry studies perspective. It also features an exploration of the relationship between DVDs and film ratings.

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates the different ways gender and sexuality intersect with nationhood and national forms of belonging, and explores the role of queerness within the constitution of an Irish national culture.

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Book SynopsisBased on detailed onsite observation of documentary production, circulation practices and the analysis of film texts, this book identifies independence as a 'tactical practice', contesting the normative definitions and functions assigned to culture, cultural production and producers in a neoliberal economic system.

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Book SynopsisFocuses on binge-watching and its role in contemporary television studies.Trade Review"This book is a welcome addition to research into binge watching. By connecting scholars with each other, it develops a complex picture of what really goes on: that Netflix both disrupts television with its bingeable texts and genres, but that its texts, press coverage and audiences also continue to shape Netflix as television as we know it." -Elke Weissmann, Edge Hill University

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Book SynopsisConsiders the challenges of historical audience research in the field of screen studies.Trade Review"Egan, Smith and Terrill have produced an ambitiously constructed, extensively researched and a truly exciting edited volume. The book offers a wealth of invaluable insights into screen audiences and film cultures more broadly, while showcasing a rich and diverse range of methodologies, periods, settings and contexts. An indispensable contribution to audience historiography." -Daniela Treveri Gennari, Oxford Brookes University

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Book SynopsisOmar Sayfo textually analyses around 40 animation productions in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, from the 1930s until recently, showing how cartoons have engaged in the making and remaking of religious and political identities

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Book SynopsisExamines the bicycle as a literary device and a cultural phenomenon at the turn of the century in Britain and France.

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Book SynopsisExamines how the making, marketing and performance of new Islamic music genres relate to Islamic discourse and thought, through a case study of Awakening, an Islamic media company formed in London.Trade Review"[...] an excellent example of how popular culture can be taken seriously in the study of contemporary religion [...] opens a rich understanding of a diverse field without diminishing the actors and arguments by forcing them into neat categories easily labelled as liberal or traditional." -Ruth Illman, bo Akademi & Uppsala Universit

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Book SynopsisObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.Bread is an object that is always in process of becoming something else: flower to grain, grain to dough, dough to loaf, loaf to crumb. Bread is also often a figure or vehicle of social cohesion: from the homely image of breaking bread together to the mysteries of the Eucharist. But bread also commonly figures in social conflict sometimes literally, in the bread riots that punctuate European history, and sometimes figuratively, in the ways bread operates as ethnic, religious or class signifier. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the scriptures to modern pop culture, Bread tells the story of how this ancient and everyday object serves as a symbol for both social communion and social exclusion.Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.Trade ReviewScott Shershow is a writer of beautiful sentences that convey the ambiguity of a thing we often take as a bland lump to be smeared with fats and oils. In prose as crystal as bread isn’t, and as sensual as it is, Shershow reveals how deeply political and philosophical issues concerning hospitality (aka the breaking of bread) are fueled and interrupted by bread itself. All other bread books are now toast. * Timothy Morton, Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English, Rice University, USA , and author of Dark Ecology: For a Logic of Future Coexistence *Anyone who spends serious time weighing a name for his starter has crossed over to the other side, but Shershow is comfortable there, too, at home with the philosophers and poets of bread. * Robert Pisor, Founder of Stone House Bread, Leland, Michigan *For Shershow, bread is everywhere because it is a miracle, and miraculous because it is everywhere. To know bread, he argues, one must work with it. Learning to bake teaches the baker just how much is beyond his control. … Shershow’s Bread treats its object much like a critical theorist does language, as a human invention that exceeds human control. * Los Angeles Review of Books *Eye opening. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsBread Book Bread Dance Bread Flower Bread Dread (1) Bread Breakings Bread Line Bread Dread (2) Bread / Dead Daily Bread Acknowledgements Notes

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Book SynopsisObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.The mall near Mat thew Newton's childhood home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of the state's first enclosed shopping malls. Like all malls in their heyday, this one was a climate-controlled pleasuredome where strangers converged. It boasted waterfalls, fish ponds, an indoor ice skating rink larger than Rockefeller Center's, and a monolithic clock tower illuminated year-round beneath a canopy of interconnected skylights. It also became the backdrop for filmmaker George A. Romero's zombie opus Dawn of the Dead. Part memoir and part case study, Shopping Mall examines the modern mythology of the mall and shows that, more than a collection of stores, it is a place of curiosity, ritual, and fantasy.Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.Trade ReviewA smart and empathetic look at this waning icon of 20th-century American consumer culture. * Pittsburgh City Paper *Matthew Newton evokes the American mall as symbol of white flight, aspirational fantasy, and shop-till-you-drop consumerism of the late 1980s. These are striking tales of suburban isolation in which Newton reveals life from the employee side of the counter to the idealistic architects' designs. Above all, he takes an aging mainstream phenomenon and makes it personal and present. * Yona Harvey, author of Hemming the Water *The best passages are those about the actual idea of the mall, designed by figures such as the Viennese Victor Gruen as a new sort of civic space that could replace the lost town square in a post-WWII America reshaped by the rise of suburbia. Newton wraps up with evocative reflections on instances of violence in shopping malls and questions about a possible renewal for these spaces, the popularity of which has flagged since their heyday nearly 30 years ago. To put it into the vernacular, this book about the mall is at its best when it’s, like, totally about the mall. * Publishers Weekly *Shopping Mall is for anyone who enjoys intelligent, thoughtful writing. It is surprisingly emotional for a book nominally about an impersonal space. It’s safe to say this is the very best book I have ever read about a mall. * Pittsburgh Magazine *This series really gets better and better. Newton linking his own life to the malls he knew growing up, and telling not only his story, but the fall of a very American institution, is engaging and profound. * Jason Diamond, author of Searching for John Hughes *Newton explores the life of the shopping mall from the first ground-breaking, in the 1950s, through the chaos and excess of the 1980s to the present, including the death rattle of many malls … In exploring a personal connection to the mall, he reveals a good bit about himself. The memoir elements of the book are eloquent and intimate, detailing his struggles with depression and anxiety. They also provide a reader with a walking bridge, an avenue for connection to the mall itself. * Pittsburgh City Paper *Newton succeeds in parsing out the different histories of the mall, from both personal and societal perspectives … The mall, like so many other taken-for-granted parts of the built environment, holds memory and nostalgia for millions of suburbanites and shoppers. By leaving a trail of bittersweet crumbs of nostalgia, Newton spares the reader from the doom that others have cast over this cultural change. Rather than focusing on a dystopia of self-absorbed individuals doing their shopping and finding entertainment online, we are able to warmly recall the shopping mall and the lifeways in which it played a central roll [sic], not only for consumption but also for construction of self and community. * PopMatters *Shopping Mall is both history of and paean to the once-ubiquitous American shopping centers. Essayist Matthew Newton combines his fond memories of his local mall, outside Pittsburgh, with anecdotes about the first one built in the United States, the Mall of America and others, using the specific to pull out the larger story of late-20th-century suburban commercialism that these edifices represent … He isn't interested in defending shopping malls, but in showing how his--and many other people's--lives would be entirely different without them. * Shelf Awareness *Matthew Newton lets you know by Page 10 that he was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder as a teenager. These days, he’s a productive and well-adjusted married man and dad, doing great work at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and his skills as an inquisitive writer and thinker are evident from his latest work. But knowing that part of his makeup helps the reader accept his obsessive compulsion with shopping malls — particularly Monroeville Mall, the Valhalla of his childhood — and appreciate the insights that spill forth in this brief cultural study/memoir … Newton is the person to write this book because “the shopping mall, more than any other place, electrified my imagination” as a kid. His readers are beneficiaries of his experience seeing the mall “as a sacred place of curiosity and wonder. * Pittsburgh Quarterly *Table of ContentsPrologue Part One: Childhood 1. Eternal Spring 2. Paradise Unknown 3. Spaces Between 4. Shopping is a Feeling Part Two: Adolescence 5. Little Boxes 6. White Denim 7. Mall Madness 8. Neon Hallways 9. Young Love Part Three: Adulthood 10. Homecoming 11. Ghost Malls 12. Utopia Interrupted 13. New Futures Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisStart your personal planning any time of the year with this stylish, undated weekly calendar. Start your personal planning any time of the year with this undated weekly calendar that features sixty customizable pages. Perfect for home or the office, it has plenty of space each day of the week to schedule appointments and meetings or to jot down important to-dos or notes.

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Book SynopsisThe trendy and sophisticated Posh: Planner Undated Monthly/Weekly Calendar is perfect for anyone who needs to stay organized, and prefers the traditional, hands-on method of planning. The fashionable Posh styling is complemented by features that planner users want: Includes 12 monthly and 52 weekly pages Reinforced monthly tabs Customizable Habit Trackers Sticker pages to customize your planner A convenient pocket Beautiful, sturdy cover Blue spiral Pink elastic band closure Sections to jot down notes, things to do, big ideas, contacts, celebrations/anniversaries, and more

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Book SynopsisStart your personal planning any time of the year with this stylish, undated monthly calendar. This desk pad features twelve customizable, perforated pages that offer plenty of room to schedule appointments or meetings each month, and useful space to jot down important to-dos or notes. It's a great way to stay organized throughout the year.

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Book SynopsisSome events that transform a nation are frozen in time. Others pass with little public awareness and we only appreciate their momentous nature long after they occurred. Regardless, these events are few and—almost always—far between. But 50 years ago, in 1969, four such events took place within the span of only 100 days. In this book, cultural historian Harlan Lebo looks back at the first Moon landing, Manson family murders, Woodstock, and the birth of the Internet to tell the story of how each event shaped the nation and how we perceive ourselves. Loaded with captivating anecdotes and insights based on extensive interviews to provide historical insight and contemporary context, 100 Days will fascinate readers who seek a deeper appreciation of how four seemingly unrelated events captured America’s emergence as the nation we have become.Trade ReviewLebo digs deeply into the context and history of each [event]: the political energy behind space exploration, Charles Manson’s psychology, the lives and experiences of Woodstock attendees, and the internet’s technical history and commercial influence. . . . [T]hose new to the period will find this account edifying. * Publishers Weekly *Just as Neil Armstrong rocketed towards the moon in July of 1969, Lebo boldly bursts through the past into the present. . . . As [Lebo] leads the reader through these 100 days, the reader comes to recognize that the many conveniences and ills which impact us today can be traced back to those four historic moments. * Booktrib *How can one author authoritatively and engagingly write about four such disparate events? Harlan Lebo tells the political, scientific, and popular story of how the United States came from behind to be the first nation to put footprints on the moon, then effortlessly shifts to true crime writer, describing how sociopath Charles Manson could suck lost young souls into his web of ultraviolence. Pivot again to Woodstock, the Baby Boom’s symbol of the utopian society that might have been, and finally to—wait for it—the invention of the Internet. Lebo deals with technical subjects with deftness and in a style that is at once succinct and entertaining. And, believe it or not, he connects the dots of these world-changing events that all happened in a span of 100 days in 1969. Far out! -- Wade LawrenceThere have been a number of books focused on the Moon Landing, Woodstock, the Manson Murders and the beginning of the of the Internet. Only Harlan Lebo has weaved those stories together as a master story teller to look at the common themes and how they define the end of the 1960s. Through Lebo's eyes, these events, coming a year after the nation's political and social fabric was torn apart in 1968, represent the beginning of a new age. These events share more than a calendar year; they signify the opening of a new chapter in American history. -- Jeffrey Cole, Director, Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg SchoolTable of ContentsContents Four events that shaped America, with only 100 days from first to last Author’s Note Part I: Moon Chapter 1: Challenging the Impossible Chapter 2: More than Bold Predictions Chapter 3: That Irresistible Charisma Chapter 4: The Sight of Whizzing Flashes Chapter 5: Beep Chapter 6: A Dull Thud Chapter 7: Three Steps ahead of a Pack of Hounds Chapter 8: No Choice but to be Pioneers Chapter 9: Go Chapter 10: A Magnificent Sight Chapter 11: A Sense of Possibilities Counterculture Part II: Manson Chapter 12: Like Moths to a Flame Chapter 13: Mesmerized Chapter 14: A Carnival Ride to the Apocalypse Part III: Woodstock Chapter 15: Grasshoppers in the Grain Fields Chapter 16: Overtaken by the Feeling Chapter 17: Coming from a Dream Part IV: Internet Chapter 18: Color and Flash Chapter 19: “LO” Chapter 20: How to Move the World from the Right Place Chapter 21: Gaining Momentum Chapter 22: On Hold Chapter 23: Pumpkins and Mice Chapter 24: All the Heavy Lifting Chapter 25: Dissolving Containers Epilogue Acknowledgements Resources Bibliography Notes About the Author

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Book SynopsisWe think we know Betty and Veronica from Archie comics, but we don’t. Far more than just Archie’s girlfriends, this book shows how the girls adapted to be compelling, relevant characters for each new generation over the past eighty years. Betty, Veronica, and the rest of the Riverdale gang appear to be frozen in time in Archie comics. They are perpetual high schoolers, recycling the same basic plotlines over and over in their wholesome, small-town American world. However, there is much more to Betty and Veronica than the broad archetypes and clichéd storytelling suggests. In Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale, Tim Hanley explores the complexity behind these two iconic characters. We know Betty and Veronica as Archie's girlfriends, but that's just the beginning—they are their own women with evolving motivations and aims. From fighting over Archie to tackling women’s lib to chasing down serial killers on Riverdale, their friendship has endured and grown through decades of shifting characterizations and social change. Exploring their past offers unique insights into the ways life has progressed for young women over the past eighty years, and shows us the hidden strengths and secret depths of these pop culture icons. Featuring full-color comic book cover art that spans nearly eight decades of publishing—along with behind-the-scenes accounts of creative decisions, historical insights, and examinations of their different incarnations—this book provides a vibrant exploration of Betty and Veronica’s many adventures along their long, intriguing journey in popular culture.

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Book Synopsis"Indispensable history." -Sally Jenkins, bestselling author of The Right CallEvery decade brings change, but as Michael MacCambridge chronicles in THE BIG TIME, no decade in American sports history featured such convulsive cultural shifts as the 1970s. So many things happened during the decade-the move of sports into prime-time television, the beginning of athletes' gaining a sense of autonomy for their own careers, integration becoming-at least within sports-more of the rule than the exception, and the social revolution that brought females more decisively into sports, as athletes, coaches, executives, and spectators. More than politicians, musicians or actors, the decade in America was defined by its most exemplary athletes. The sweeping changes in the decade could be seen in the collective experience of Billie Jean King and Muhammad Ali, Henry Aaron and Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Joe Greene, Jack Nicklaus and Chris Evert, among others, who redefined the role of athletes and athletics in American culture. The Seventies witnessed the emergence of spectator sports as an ever-expanding mainstream phenomenon, as well as dramatic changes in the way athletes were paid, portrayed, and packaged. In tracing the epic narrative of how American sports was transformed in the Seventies, a larger story emerges: of how America itself changed, and how spectator sports moved decisively on a trajectory toward what it has become today, the last truly "big tent" in American culture.

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Book SynopsisSometimes the hardest part of having a vibrant prayer life is simply getting started. To help start that conversation in a quirky and non-threatening way, these prompts from author/artist Kelly Stanley open the door to creativity and are perfect for sharing on Instagram and other socials. With fun and colourful meme-like images, readers will be encouraged to ask God to shelter someone who is going through a storm, pray for someone who is full of hot air, pray for the last person who texted them and more. Each prayer prompt is designed to get attention on digital and paper pages alike.InstaPrayers includes these prayer prompts:- Pray for someone who crosses paths with you regularly.- Thank God for a mistake you learned from.- Pray for someone with an amazing brain.- Give praise to someone who is doing a great job.- Pray for someone who seems to have the perfect Instagram life.FEATURES:Bite-sized prayer prompts to reignite your prayer lifeFull-colour interior design using fun and vibrant coloursPresentation page for personalisationPerfect gift for hashtag-loving friend

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Book SynopsisAs typical as donor-conceived children have become, with at least a million such children in the US alone, their experiences are still unusual in many ways. In Scattered Seeds, journalist and writer Jacqueline Mroz looks at the growth of sperm donation and assisted reproduction and how it affects the children who are born, the women who buy and use the sperm to have kids, and the sperm donors who donate their genetic material to help others procreate. With empathy and in-depth analysis, Scattered Seeds explores the sociology, psychology, and anthropology surrounding those connected with fertility procedures today and looks back at the history that brought us to this point.The personal stories in this book will put a human face on the issues and help to illuminate this country's controversial and troubling unregulated fertility industry-an industry that has been compared to the Wild, Wild West, where anything goes. What is the human cost of our country's unregulated fertility industry? How are the lives of sperm-donor families changed? Scattered Seeds will answer those questions, considering carefully the social and psychological dynamics surrounding those connected with fertility procedures today.

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Book SynopsisThe lastest monograph from Sage Vaughn brings to light a selection of this Los Angeles based artist s amazing mixed-media envelope paintings.

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Book SynopsisArtist Moki branches out into new mediums in her latest monograph, which features flat yet evocative images picked out in black, white and many tones of unpainted wood that serves to make its audience question their own definition of shelter.

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Book SynopsisWhether you call them franks, wieners, or red hots, hot dogs are as American as apple pie, but how did these little links become icons of American culture? Man Bites Dog explores the transformation of hot dogs from unassuming street fare to paradigms of regional expression, social mobility, and democracy. World-renowned hot dog scholar Bruce Kraig investigates the history, people, décor, and venues that make up hot dog culture and what it says about our country. These humble sausages cross ethnic and regional boundaries and have provided the means for plucky entrepreneurs to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Hot dogs, and the ways we enjoy them, are part of the American dream. Man Bites Dog celebrates the power of the hot dog through a historical survey and profiles of notable hot dog purveyors. Loaded with stunning color photos by Patty Carroll, descriptions of neighborhood venues and flashy pushcarts from New York to Los Angeles, and recipes for cooking up hot dog heaven at home, this book is the ultimate source—informative, fun, and tasty—on the role of hot dogs in American culture. It’s a must-have for the dog fan, the foodie, the pop culture maven, and the street-cart obsessed.Trade ReviewIn this cleverly titled volume, Kraig takes a look at the American hot dog phenomenon, giving the history and folklore behind the foodstuff that became 'quintessential public dining treats—long before the rise of hamburgers—sold on streets, at fairs and festivals, at picnics (weenie roasts), and in fast food venues. . . .' Chapters on the simple pleasures of eating hot dogs and the numerous ways which they can be served pull readers back in. A fully loaded Chicago dog, for example, 'has mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, tomato slices, pickle slices, and small sport peppers jammed onto the bun.' And currywurst, first popular in Germany, is 'covered in a sweet-hot sauce' and 'served on paper plates.' Photographer Carroll includes images of old-school hot dog stands and pushcarts, helping to illustrate this sometimes disturbing but always bright tribute to an American food classic. * Publishers Weekly *Among the constantly changing stack of books on my bedside table are a trio of volumes always there for their timeless inspiration. Now joining On the Road, John Adams, and the Bible is Man Bites Dog. For a wiener lover like myself, it truly is biblical—full of history, drama, and wonder. It is a joy to browse at leisure and a solid read front to back, endlessly informative as well as entertaining. This ambitious ode to the most American food of all bolsters one's faith in our nation's taste, which, however it gets politicized, industrialized, or sanitized, remains full of character and mischief. -- Michael Stern, Roadfood.comIn Man Bites Dog, Bruce Kraig has taken us on a veritable Magical Mystery Meat Tour, replete with amusing arcana and delicious digressions on every page—with the possible exception of the many pages that pheature phantastic photos by Patty Carroll. Gimme one with everything. -- Gary Allen, author of Sausage: A Global HistoryAs a hot dog fanatic, I devour any reading material whatsoever having to do with the subject of hot dogs. Man Bites Dog is the best and most comprehensive book about hot dogs, their regional styles, history, and culture, and the people who serve, make, and enjoy America's favorite food. I heartily recommend this book for the casual hot dog eater as well as the hardcore hot dog aficionado. -- John Fox, hot dog expertMan Bites Dog looks to be a much deeper dive into the current state of hot dog culture in the United States. Definitely number one on my list this year. * Serious Eats *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Inside the Dog: Lore and History 2. Democratic Food and Popular Culture 3. Hot Dog People: Entrepreneurs, Experts, and Fans 4. Hot Dog Emporia: Signs and Meanings 5. Doggie Styles Recipes Notes Selected Bibliography Index About the Author and the Photographer

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Book SynopsisA collection of funny and thought-provoking poems inspired by surprising facts that will appeal to poetry lovers and poetry haters alike, from the author of the essay collection The Unreality of Memory, “a work of sheer brilliance, beauty, and bravery” (Andrew Sean Greer) Known to be both “casually brilliant” (Sandra Newman) and a “ruthless self-examiner” (Sarah Manguso), acclaimed writer Elisa Gabbert brings her “questing, restless intelligence” (Kirkus Reviews) to a new collection of poetry. By turns funny and chilling, these poems collect strange facts, interrogate language, and ask unanswerable questions that offer the pleasure of discovery on nearly every page: How does one suffer “gladly,” exactly? How bored are dogs? Which is more frightening, nothing or empty space? Was Wittgenstein sexy? The poems in this collection are earwormy, ultracontemporary, essayistic, aphoristic, and philosophical—invitations to eavesdrop on a mind paying attention to itself. Normal Distance is a book about thinking and feeling, meaning and experience, trees and the weather, and the boredom and pain of living through time.

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Book SynopsisA lively and engaging exploration of celebrity: why celebrities fascinate us, what it means to be famous today, and why celebrities are so important.

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Book SynopsisPublic expression in the United States has become increasingly coarse. Whether it’s stupid, rude, base, or anti-intellectual talk, it surrounds us. Popular television, film, music, art, and even some elements of religion have become as coarse, we argue, as our often-disparaged political dialogue. This book’s contention is that the U.S. semantic environment is governed by tactics, not tact. We craft messages that work—that perform their desired function. We are instrumental, strategic communicators. As such, entertainment and journalism that draw an audience, for instance, are “good.” This follows the logic that the marketplace, an aggregate of hedonically motivated individuals, decides what’s good. Market logic, when unencumbered by what some characterize as quaint human sentimentalities, liberates us to cynically communicate whatever and however we want. Whatever improves ratings, web traffic, ticket sales, concession sales, repeat purchases, and earnings is good. Embracing this communicative paradigm more fully necessitates the culture’s abandonment of collective notions of both taste and veracity, thus weakening the forces that keep individual desires in check. Our present communication environment is one that invites the hypertrophic expression of the ego, enabling elites to erode public communication standards and repeal laws and regulations resulting in immeasurable individual fortunes. Meanwhile, perpetual plutocratic rule is made even more certain by the cacophonous public noise the rest of us are busy making, leaving us incapable, disinterested, and unwilling to listen to one another.Trade ReviewDalton and Kramer argue that public discourse in the United States has become increasingly and dangerously coarser, due to market logic that "has us communicating instrumentally, modeling computers, seeking efficacy and efficiency, all at the expense of both the relationships of which we are aware and the neglected binds we have with strangers." After a theoretical overview, more specific topics are examined, including the role of opinion leaders in fomenting anti-intellectualism, the growing coarseness in US politics, Western art in crisis, postdenominational megachurches fostering selfishness, and the entertainment industry's enculturation of marketplace ideology. All chapters relate to the central thesis that "capitalism, as it manifests in the United States today, has helped foster and encourage a gross form of individualism, what we term 'hypertrophic individualism.'" The communication environment, Dalton and Kramer argue, contributes significantly to the growing "public's use of and acquiescence to vulgar, aggressive, and unreasonable messages." Some readers may want more discussion of cooperation and altruism that is also seen in the world, facilitated by new technologies, for example. Overall, an interesting and thought-provoking argument. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. * CHOICE *Dalton and Kramer’s book goes beyond arguing that we live in a less civil communication environment. Anyone observing the tenor of today’s national political discussion can see that. Instead, this book examines why public communication is coarser and what this coarseness means for our society and our democracy. . . . Dalton and Kramer’s book is a warning that we are headed in a dangerous direction. For our public communication to help build the communities we desire, then our attitudes must reflect an appreciation for the humanity in others – even those with whom we disagree. We must recognize that our messages are more than reflections of the communities we want. Our messages actually constitute the communities in which we live. -- Howard Dean, Former Vermont Governor and former Chairman of the DNCTable of ContentsContents Introduction: Atlas Slouched Chapter 1: Noise, Fragmentation, and Absurdity in U.S. Public Communication Chapter 2: Coarseness in the Public Sphere Chapter 3: Coarseness in U.S. Politics Chapter 4: Coarseness and Reason Chapter 5: Art and Cultivated Vulgarity Chapter 6: Post-Denominational Christianity and Coarseness Chapter 7: Entertainment and the Entertainment Market-as-Democracy Meme Conclusion: Our Age of Cynicism About the Authors Index

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Book SynopsisFor a few decades now, They Might Be Giants’ album Flood has been a beacon (or at least a nightlight) for people who might rather read than rock out, who care more about science fiction than Slayer, who are more often called clever than cool. Neither the band’s hip origins in the Lower East Side scene nor Flood’s platinum certification can cover up the record's singular importance at the geek fringes of culture. Flood’s significance to this audience helps us understand a certain way of being: it shows that geek identity doesn’t depend on references to Hobbits or Spock ears, but can instead be a set of creative and interpretive practices marked by playful excess—a flood of ideas. The album also clarifies an historical moment. The brainy sort of kids who listened to They Might Be Giants saw their own cultural options grow explosively during the late 1980s and early 1990s amid the early tech boom and America’s advancing leftist social tides. Whether or not it was the band's intention, Flood’s jubilant proclamation of an identity unconcerned with coolness found an ideal audience at an ideal turning point. This book tells the story.Trade ReviewAs always with books in this series[…] the read is highly recommended. It’s enthusiastic and, in many ways, fan-ish, but makes its case clearly, logically and in an engaging writing style. I learned a great deal about the band’s historical context and the decade build up to Flood. And, as I’ve already mentioned, reading it has led me to re-listen and notice details and connections I’ve never previously noticed. And that really has to be the aim of all writing about music – to inspire further and deeper listening. -- Adriane Elmer * Cyclic Defrost *Reed and Sandifer are clearly fans, and not just because they say so–their writing demonstrates a level of familiarity with TMBG that belongs to the long-time listener...Overall, Reed and Sandifer’s Flood is a neat book. It’s worth reading,not only if you’re a fan of TMBG and/or Flood, but also if you’re interested in geek culture and geek rock. * ProfAwesome.com *Table of ContentsPROLOGUE: THEME FROM FLOOD 1. WHO MIGHT BE GIANTS? 2. LINCOLN 3. BROOKLYN’S AMBASSADORS OF LOVE 4. AMERICA 5. FLOODING 6. CHILDHOOD 7. MEDIALITY 8. GEEK CULTURE 9. POST-COOLNESS EPILOGUE: AFTER THE FLOOD

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Book SynopsisObject Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. Hair, a primary marker of our mammalian nature, is an extraordinary indicator of economic and social standing, political orientation, religious affiliation, marital status, and cultural leanings, among other things. The meanings of hair are deep, powerful, and so strongly embedded in cultural conditioning that they are usually understood unconsciously (and all the more strongly for that). In untangling its myriad meanings, Scott Lowe reveals just how little we control our hair, no matter the style: each and every passer-by decides on its significance anew. From Hittites to hippies and Pentecostals to porn stars, Hair combs through a ubiquitous personal yet public object, a charged and carefully managed dead thing. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.Trade ReviewThe profundity of Hair is intertwined with its sheer simplicity. Scott Lowe has deconstructed a subject that defies deconstruction. This is a global, biological, socio-cultural consideration of a reality we all intuitively understand, yet rarely admit: Haircuts explain people. Which could come across as pedantic, were it not for the fact that Lowe is also effortlessly funny. Unless you're a barber, this is the only book on hair you need to read. * Chuck Klosterman, author of Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs *Hair is a hilarious, informative, and provocative look at the significance of hair in human culture. Part of Bloomsbury Academic’s Object Lessons, 'a book series about the hidden lives of ordinary things,' this short volume considers the biology, removal, styling, and fetishizing of hair as practiced by people around the world. It discusses the variety of religious reasons, and methods, for depilation and for hair cultivation. Scott Lowe was the perfect author for such a book, writing in his characteristic wit … This book would make an excellent addition to a course on material religion. * Nova Religio *An informative, often hair-raising (excuse the pun) journey about how the great religions of today as well as those that have faded away, or cultures, modern and old, have dealt with hair, or lack or length or style of it, both as a unifying, defining symbol as well as differentiating one, or of conformity. But Lowe, who tempers his insights with wit, is always respectful and non-judgmental … Above all, Lowe’s is a sobering account of how we can use something we have no control over naturally but can only manipulate to so many purposes. * BDC News *Table of ContentsI. Introduction II. Biology of Hair III. Responses to It Removal Covered Uncut Manipulated Magical Hair Cutting as Civilization, Control, and Marker of Domination Hair and Mourning IV. Conclusions: What Does It All Mean? Index

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