Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisWhat do ancient Shaolin monks, NASA astronauts, and the Mafia have in common? How did the rites of passage that have shaped groups ranging from the U.S.Marines to the Swiss Guard influence the way those elite organizations operate today? And what can modern leaders learn from the crucibles that shape the members of the world's most formidable organizations?InCrucibles: How Rites of Passage Shape the World's Most Elite Organizations, readers will encounter the unique initiation rituals of fourteen elite groupsboth historical and contemporarythat have shaped civilizations, fortified leaders, and made lasting impacts on culture and power dynamics in societies around the globe and across time. From the grueling physical trials of traditional warrior castes to the intellectual challenges faced by members of secret societies,Cruciblesdelves deep into the tests such groups design and deploy to separate aspirants from the chosen few. Why are people willing to endure such demanding trials? What do these crucible experiences reveal about human nature and commitment? And how do these crucibles shape the organizations that require themboth for better and worse? This book uncovers the universal principles behind these rites of passage and offers insights that modern organizations can use to design their own rigorous processes, fostering excellence while remaining ethical and relevant in today's world. With practical lessons for leaders in business, education, and beyond,Cruciblesis an in-depth journey into understanding how elite groups are forged. Readers will discover how these time-honored practices can inform and inspire the next generation of leaders. If you are curious about how elite groups have marshaled these experiences to shape human excellence as they define it,Cruciblesoffers a provocative exploration of the unique and sometimes hidden role played by such initiation rituals.

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Book SynopsisDespite controversies over current educational practices, Texas boasts a rich and vibrant bilingual tradition - and not just for Spanish-English instruction, but for Czech, German, Polish, and Dutch as well. Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Texas educational policymakers embraced, ignored, rejected, outlawed, and then once again embraced this tradition. In ""The Strange Career of Bilingual Education in Texas, 1836-1981"", Carlos Kevin Blanton traces the educational policies and their underlying rationales, from Stephen F. Austin's proposal in the 1830s to ""Mexicanize"" Anglo children by teaching them Spanish along with English and French, through the 1981 passage of the most encompassing bilingual education law in the state's history. Drawing on primary materials, Blanton presents the Texas experience in light of national trends and movements, such as Progressive Education, the Americanization Movement, and the Good Neighbor Movement. By tracing the many changes that eventually led to the re-establishment of bilingual education in its modern form in the 1960s and the 1981 passage of a landmark state law, Blanton reconnects Texas with its bilingual past.

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Book SynopsisHuman geography, taught with live, interactive maps and data for a unique geographic perspective.The essential concepts and theories of human geography are brought to life thanks to the innovative integration of modern web maps.Introduction to Human Geography Using ArcGIS Online, second edition, explains topics such as migration, race and ethnicity, food and agriculture, manufacturing and services, urban geography, and cultural geography. Unlike traditional textbooks, this book approaches geography through the use of ArcGIS® Online and provides exercises for interacting with, analyzing, and creating maps. ArcGIS Online is a browser-based geographic information system (GIS) that allows users to explore thousands of geographic datasets and interactive maps.Students using this book use live data and maps to ground their understanding of how the world is organized and how human and physical features interact to create unique places and regions. Each chapter includes ArcGIS Online exercises that reinforce geographic concepts.This second edition features updated maps, figures, and charts reflecting the latest data and includes new text on contemporary issues, from race, ethnicity, and political geography to pollution and climate change.Designed for undergraduate college and AP high school students, Introduction to Human Geography Using ArcGIS Online, second edition, uses the latest geospatial data and web-based technology to teach critical thinking and evaluate the diversity of people within their environments and their global impact.Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1 IntroductionChapter 2 PopulationsChapter 3 MigrationChapter 4 Race and ethnicityChapter 5 Urban geographyChapter 6 Food and agricultureChapter 7 ManufacturingChapter 8 ServicesChapter 9 DevelopmentChapter 10 Culturual geography -- folk and popular culture, language, religionChapter 11 Political geographyChapter 12 Climate changeIndex

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Book SynopsisDuring their ascendancy and subsequent occupation of much of Europe, the Nazis plundered the documents and cultural treasures of Jewish organizations as well as other groups and individuals they deemed to be enemies of the Reich. When the Nazis were crushed, many of these looted collections, as well as records of Nazi state agencies that persecuted and murdered Jews, were discovered by the Soviet Army, then transferred to Moscow and held for decades in closed, secret archives. This catalog and guide supplies the first comprehensive, collection-by-collection English-language description of this historical and cultural documentation, which the Nazis meant to be among the only vestiges of the millions of victims they annihilated. Scholars and lay researchers will find this reference a unique and indispensable guide to the invaluable remains of a rich world brutally destroyed.

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of the origins, influences, and legacy of the scandalous Hell-Fire Clubs of the 18th century and beyond • Reveals the club’s origins in the work of Rabelais and the magical practices of John Dee and how their motto, “Do What You Will,” deeply influenced Aleister Crowley • Explores the cross-fertilization of liberty and libertinage within these clubs that influenced both U.S. and French Revolutions • Examines the debaucherous activities and famous members of many Hell-Fire Clubs, including Sir Francis Dashwood’s Monks of Medmenham Mention the Hell-Fire Clubs and you conjure up an image of aristocratic rakes cutting a swath through the village maidens. Which is true, but not the whole truth. The activities of these clubs of upper-class Englishmen revolved around not only debauchery but also blasphemy, ritual, quasi-magical pursuits, and political intrigue. Providing a history of these infamous clubs, Geoffrey Ashe reveals their origins in the work of François Rabelais and the activities of John Dee. He shows how the Hell-Fire Clubs’ anything-goes philosophy of “Do what you will”--also Aleister Crowley’s famous motto--and community template were drawn directly from Rabelais. The author looks at the very first Hell-Fire Club, founded by Philip, Duke of Wharton, in 1720 and then at the Society of the Dilettanti, a fraternity formed in 1732. Ashe examines the life, travels, and influences of Sir Francis Dashwood, founding member of the Society of the Dilettanti and the scandalous Permissive Society at Medmenham, also known as the Monks of Medmenham. He also explores other Hell-Fire clubs the movement inspired throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland, including the violence-prone Mohocks and the Appalling Club. He shows how many illustrious figures of the day were members of these societies, such as Lord Byron. He also examines the rumors that Benjamin Franklin was a member, an allegation that can be neither confirmed nor denied. Exploring the political and magical ideas that fueled this movement, the author shows how the cross-fertilization of liberty and libertinage within the Hell-Fire Clubs went on to influence both the U.S. and French revolutions, as well as the hippie movement of the 1960s, the Church of Satan founded by Anton LaVey, and the motorcycle club known as the Hell’s Angels. The legacy of the Hell-Fire Clubs continues to impact society, beckoning both elite and outsider to cast aside social norms and “do what you will.”Trade Review“Geoffrey Ashe, one of Britain’s most outstanding historians, paints a vivid picture of Francis Dashwood’s Hell-Fire Club and other similar secret societies in this page-turning review of one of England’s most audacious periods of history.” * Andrew Collins, bestselling author of Göbekli Tepe *“A sweeping history of libertinism seen through the lens of the English ‘clubs’ of the eighteenth century. Precise and cogent, it also freely wanders the halls of infamy, painting portraits of some of the subject’s most notorious figures. The motto ‘do what thou will’ defines a stance through this history, one that pulls at the Gordian knots of pain and pleasure, freedom and destiny.” * Jesse Bransford, associate professor of visual arts and chair of the Department of Art and Art Profe *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPreface to the 2019 Edition Prologue “Hell Is the Place for Me” PART ONE Speculation 1 The Abbey of All Delights 2 Occult Wife-SwappingPART TWO Realization 3 Whigs and Rakes4 A Dukedom in Hell 5 Whatever Is, Is Right 6 Bubb and Fred 7 Castle Building8 Medmenham 9 The Favorite and the Maverick 10 The Hell-Fire Ministry11 AftermathPART THREE Nightmare 12 The Gothic Plunge13 The Divine Marquis 14 End or Beginning?A Note on Sex Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisFocusing on San Diego in the post-Civil Rights era, Linda Trinh Vo examines the ways Asian Americans drew together despite many differences within the group to construct a community that supports a variety of social, economic, political, and cultural organizations. Using historical materials, ethnographic fieldwork, and interviews, Linda Trinh Vo traces the political strategies that enable Asian Americans to bridge ethnicity, generation, gender, language, and class differences, among others. She demonstrates that mobilization is not a smooth, linear process and shows how the struggle over ideologies, political strategies, and resources affects the development of community organizations. Vo also analyzes how Asian Americans construct their relationship with Asia and how they forge relationships with other racialized communities of color. Vo argues that the situation in San Diego illuminates other localities across the country where Asians face challenges trying to organize, find sufficient resources, create leaders, and define strategies. Linda Trinh Vo is Associate Professor of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine; she is the co-editor with Rick Bonus of "Contemporary Asian American Communities: Intersections and Divergences" (Temple). She also co-edited with Marian Sciachitano "Asian American Women: The 'Frontiers' Reader" and co-edited with Gilbert Gonzalez, Raul Fernandez, Vivian Price, and David Smith "Labor Versus Empire: Race, Gender, and Migration".Trade Review"Linda Vo makes a timely and original contribution to the literature on Asian American activism and also to the sociology of social movements and mobilization. She provides a nuanced and fine-grained analysis of the mobilization of Asian Americans in San Diego during a crucial period of demographic change in the Asian American population."-Evelyn Nakano Glenn, University of California, Berkeley, and author of Unequal Freedom: How Race and Gender Shaped American Citizenship and Labor "Linda Trinh Vo's study offers a powerful critique of simplistic notions of assimilation by demonstrating how race is understood and used as a basis for political mobilization among both immigrants and native-born Asian Americans. Rather than simply disappearing as economic and social status increase, Vo demonstrates how and why racial identities continue to have significance in their everyday lives."-Leland T. Saito, Associate Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity, University of Southern California "Innovative, well written, and accessible...Vo meet[s] the challenges of Asian America in the twenty-first century, incorporating both the new theories and methodologies coming out of ethnic studies as well as the dynamic new characteristics of this now largely immigrant community, with its rapid growth in size and complex internal diversity."-Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Professor of History and Ethnic Studies, and Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, Brown University "Remarkable as research and explanation, Mobilizing an Asian American Community demystifies the exhilarating processes of intellectual labors and identity formations as they engage interactively shifting demographies, racializations, political economies, and representations. A singular achievement."-Gary Y. Okihiro, author of Common Ground: Reimagining American History "[The book] provides a fresh perspective of the Asian-American issues to the reader... Vo re-enforces the need of continuing changes in a community with new or different demands."-Korean Quarterly "[T]he book is positive, coherent, and strives mightily to be non-judgmental. Vo's book would prove especially valuable to the API community's younger members..."-Asia "If you are interested in non-fiction and the process of mobilization, whether you are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hispanic, African American, Caucasian, all or none of the above, Mobilizing An Asian American Community will shed some light on this continual process of community kinship, and perhaps inspire the activist in you."-ChopBlock.com "[Vo] has written an important book that explores the complicated processes of community organization and identity formation. Written in an accessible style, Vo's book makes important contributions to understanding the Asian American movement outside larger cities and to countering misconceptions of Asian Americans as apathetic and apolitical. Summing Up: Highly recommended."-ChoiceTable of ContentsAcknowledgments1. Introduction: Paths of Resistance and Accommodation for Asian Americans2. Asian Immigration and Settlement in San Diego3. The Politics of Social Services for a "Model Minority": The Union of Pan Asian Communities4. Cultural Images and the Media: Racialization and Oppositional Practices5. Economic Positioning: Resources, Opportunities, and Mobilization6. "Where Do We Stand?" Politics, Representation, and Leadership7. Mapping Asian America: In Search of "Our" History and "Our" Community8. Ambiguities and Contradictions: Narratives of Identity and Community9. Conclusion: Milestones and Crossroads for Asian AmericansList of IntervieweesNotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisHow a protest galvanized a cultural identity for Filipino AmericansTrade Review"[Habal's] analysis of the shifting alliances among local politicians, tenant rights groups, and the I-Hotel leadership is particularly insightful as is her analysis of [the Union of Democratic Filipinos]... Habal has provided an invaluable study of an important movement struggle." -Journal of American HistoryTable of ContentsIntroduction "Coming Home to a Fresh Crop of Rice"; 1 Manilatown, Manongs, and the Student Radicals; 2 A Home or a Parking Lot: Human Rights vs. Property Rights, 1968-1969; 3 Peace with a Lease, 1969-1974; 4 The Tiger Leaps: Fighting the Four Seas Investment Corporation, 1974-1977; 5 "Makibaka! Dare to Struggle!" The IHTA and the KDP, 1977; 6 People's Power vs. Propertied Elites, 1977; 7 The Fall of the I-Hotel, 1977-1979; Conclusion: The Rise of the I-Hotel, 1979-2005

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Book SynopsisThis volume in the Perspectives in American Social History series reveals the long reach of the Industrial Revolution into the work lives and self-perceptions of average Americans.Industrial Revolution: People and Perspectives offers a well-informed look at the impact of new labor practices in the 1800s. It analyzes this pivotal moment in the broader context of the nation’s economic development, measuring its consequences for Americans as both workers and consumers in all regions of the country.Industrial Revolution examines what industrialization meant for American artisans, women workers, slaves, and manufacturers. It shows how this new working world led to sharpening class divisions and expanded consumerism. Throughout, groundbreaking social historians draw on 19th-century primary documents and the latest research to show how the Industrial Revolution transformed the life the average American. Primary documents including Alexander Hamilton’s "Report on Manufactures," poetry from the labor newspaper, The Voice of Industry, and William Gregg’s “Practical Results of Southern Manufactures” A chronology highlighting key developments in the Industrial Revolution, including the invention of the cotton gin, the steamship, the telegraph, and the sewing machine Trade Review"While certainly useful to scholars, this is a work for a general audience that would be a worthwhile addition to high school and university libraries." - ARBA"Goloboy’s volume incorporates biographies in the chapters that cover the individual’s lifetime, whereas Wyatt offers more detailed biographies in a separate section. Both books detail the lifestyle changes that characterized the era and offer numerous viewpoints on it. They are worthy general purchases depending on need. While Goloboy focuses on the Industrial Revolution in the United States, Wyatt also looks at the period prior to it and addresses global ramifications." Reviewed with The Industrial Revolution by Lee Wyatt. - School Library Journal"Serious effort was made to match the coverage of these volumes to high school curriculum standards. This set is perfect historical analysis beyond the textbook. Each volume is carefully researched and documented. The thoughtful essays, presenting content unavailable in other sources, are ripe for analysis by upper level students. Our AP US History teacher was thrilled to see them! Books contain black and white illustrations. Brief biographies are scattered through the text. Highly recommended.' Reviewed Together Cheathem, Mark R., ed. Jacksonian and Antebellum Age: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2008. 978-1-59884-017-9. 234p. $85.00. Gr. 10+. Goloboy, Jennifer L., ed. Industrial Revolution: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. 2008. 978-1-59884-065-0. 315p. $85.00. Gr. 10+. Frank, Andrew K., ed. Early Republic: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. 2009. 978-1-59884-019-3. 300p. $85.00. Gr. 10+. Grigg, John A., ed. British Colonial America: People and Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. 2008. 978-1-59884-025-4. 276p. $85.00. Gr. 10+." - Pennsylvania School Librarians Association

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Book SynopsisUlrich Bonnell Phillips (1877–1934) established a reputation as one of the early twentieth century's foremost authorities on the history of African American slavery and the Old South. An empiricist, Phillips approached his subjects analytically and dispassionately, and his scholarship shaped historical investigation of the South for decades. Phillips was an empiricist and based his writing on an array of primary sources, including a growing collection of photographs he accumulated during his research. These images of plantation crops and machinery, agricultural scenes, distinctive architecture, white southerners, and former slaves and their descendants collectively record much about the life and labour in the rural South three decades before the Farm Security Administration undertook its own documentary projects during the New Deal.In Seeing the New South, photography historian Patricia Bellis Bixel and Phillips scholar and historian John David Smith delve into the visual record Phillips left behind, publishing many of these photographs for the first time, and integrating his photographic archive with his research and teachings on the history of the South. For example, his Life and Labor in the Old South, published in 1929, was well illustrated with useful photographs. The bulk of Phillips's papers resides in the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University. The collection includes sixty lantern slides and many photographic prints that Phillips employed in his work. Bixel and Smith uncovered another five hundred images that greatly expanded Phillips's visual archive. Taken between 1904 and 1930, these images provide glimpses of a Southern landscape rarely seen and even more rarely photographed, offering a striking visual account of early-twentieth-century life in the rural South.Phillips deliberately sought out images of buildings and agricultural scenes emblematic of the South, representative portraits of white and black southerners, and distinctive depictions of farm and town life. Some photographs reinforce Phillips's arguments about the general backwardness of an impoverished rural South and about the limitations of the region's agricultural and industrial economies. But his images also documented active independent black and white communities with diverse economic practices and subcultures. This first-ever collection of Phillips's photographs provides dramatic documentation of economic and social life during an era seldom captured on film, yielding striking visual portraits of human dignity in black and white.

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Book SynopsisThe Adirondack region is trapped in a cycle of conflict. Nature lovers advocate for the preservation of wilderness, while sports enthusiasts demand infrastructure for recreation. Local residents seek economic opportunities, while environmentalists fight industrial or real estate growth. These clashes have played out over the course of the twentieth century and continue into the twenty-first.Through a series of case studies, historian Jonathan D. Anzalone highlights the role of public and private interests in the region and shows how partnerships frayed and realigned in the course of several key developments: the rise of camping in the 1920s and 1930s; the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics; the construction of a highway to the top of Whiteface Mountain; the postwar rise of downhill skiing; the completion of I-87 and the resulting demand for second homes; and the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Battles of the North Country reveals how class, economic self-interest, state power, and a wide range of environmental concerns have shaped modern politics in the Adirondacks and beyond.

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Book SynopsisInterweaving American history, dramatic family chronicle and searing episodes of memoir, On Juneteenth recounts the origins of the holiday that celebrates the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States. A descendant of enslaved people brought to Texas in the 1850s, Annette Gordon-Reed, explores the legacies of the holiday. From the earliest presence of black people in Texas—in the 1500s, well before enslaved Africans arrived in Jamestown—to the day in Galveston on 19 June 1865, when General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery, Gordon-Reed’s insightful and inspiring essays present the saga of a “frontier” peopled by Native Americans, Anglos, Tejanos and Blacks that became a slaveholder’s republic. Reworking the “Alamo” framework, Gordon-Reed shows that the slave-and race-based economy not only defined this fractious era of Texas independence, but precipitated the Mexican-American War and the resulting Civil War. A commemoration of Juneteenth and the fraught legacies of slavery that still persist, On Juneteenth is a stark reminder that the fight for equality is on-going.Trade Review"If this book is a departure for [Gordon-Reed], it’s still guided by the humane skepticism that has animated her previous work. In a series of short, moving essays, she explores ‘the long road’ to June 19, 1865, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced the end of legalized slavery in Texas, the state where Gordon-Reed was born and raised… No matter what she’s looking at, Gordon-Reed pries open this space between the abstract and particular… Gordon-Reed acknowledges that origin stories matter, even if they often have more to say about “our current needs and desires” than with the facts of history, which are often stranger and less assimilable than any self-serving mythology will allow… One of the things that makes this slender book stand out is Gordon-Reed’s ability to combine clarity with subtlety, elegantly carving a path between competing positions, instead of doing as too many of us do in this age of hepped-up social-media provocations by simply reacting to them. In ‘On Juneteenth’ she leads by example, revisiting her own experiences, questioning her own assumptions — and showing that historical understanding is a process, not an end point." -- Jennifer Szalai - The New York Times"'The Education of Henry Adams’ is the second most influential memoir in American letters, after Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. Annette Gordon-Reed’s insightful, often touching reflection on the Black experience in Texas, starting with her own, lands between these two." -- H.W. Brands - The New York Times Book Review"Juneteenth was a day long-celebrated by many Black communities in Texas and across America, but only in the past year or two has it become a more widely recognized holiday. In her slim but potent book, Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning historian and Harvard professor Annette Gordon-Reed explores the story of that day and all the ways that Black and Native people’s lives have been obscured in culture. As a Texas native, Gordon-Reed offers a book that is both profound and personal in its exploration of the ways history shapes our lives and becomes distorted and reinvigorated over time. " -- The Best Books of 2021 So Far - TIME Magazine"... Gordon-Reed offers a timely history lesson. She does so with beautiful prose, breathtaking stories and painful memories. Like the story of Juneteenth itself, the history she tells is one of yarns woven, dark truths glossed over and freedom delayed." -- Daina Ramey Berry - The Washington Post"... Gordon-Reed is the textbook definition of public intellectual; and yet she gets personal in this slender, evocative memoir, blending gorgeous details from her small-town Texas girlhood with the unofficial celebration of slavery’s demise and the broader canvas of race in America..." -- 20 of the Best Books to Pick Up This May - Oprah Daily"In a book that is part memoir, part history, Gordon-Reed (who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for “The Hemingses of Monticello”) recounts her continuing affection for her home state of Texas, despite its reputation for violence and racism, writing that ‘the things that happened there couldn’t have happened in other places." -- 100 Notable Books of 2021 - The New York Times

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Book SynopsisThis deeply-reported narrative illuminates the battle for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Boy Scouts of America, a decades-long struggle led by teenagers, parents, activists, and everyday Americans.Weaving in his own experience as a scout and journalist, Mike De Socio’s Morally Straight tells a story that plays out over the course of nearly forty years, beginning in an era when gay rights were little more than a cultural sideshow; when same-sex marriage was not even on the radar; and when much of the country was recommitting to conservative social mores. It was during this treacherous time that accidental activists emerged, challenging one of America’s most iconic institutions in a struggle that would forever change the country’s view of gay people and the rights they held in society. In Morally Straight we meet James Dale, the poster child of Scouting who took his fight for inclusion to the Supreme Court; Steven Cozza, the 12-year

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Book SynopsisBadass Victorian Women“Wild Women is a delightful collection of riveting stories about our independent, iconoclastic, and utterly outrageous foremothers.” – Vicki Leon, author of Uppity Women of Ancient Times.#1 New Release in Politics & Social Sciences, ReferenceEnjoy a fascinating and sometimes humorous glimpse into the lives of over one hundred, 19th-century Victorian era American women who refused to whittle themselves down to the Victorian model of proper womanhood. Included in Wild Women are 50-black-and-white photos from the era.During the Victorian era a woman’s pedestal was her prison.“Women should not be expected to write, or fight, or build, or compose scores. She does all by inspiring man to do all.” ─ Ralph Waldo Emerson“There is nothing more dangerous for a young woman than to rely chiefly upon her intellectual powers, her wit, her imagination, her fancy.” ─ Godey’s Lady’s Book magazineBut, scores of nineteenth-century American women chose to live life on their terms. In this book you will meet women who refused to remain on a Victorian pedestal. In San Francisco a courtesan appeared as a plaintiff in court, suing her clients for fraud. In Montana a laundress in her seventies decked a gentleman who refused to pay his bill. A forty-three-year-old schoolteacher plunged down Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. A frail lighthouse keeper pulled twenty-two sinking sailors out of the ocean off Rhode Island. A pair of Colorado madams fought a public pistol duel over their mutual beau. Two lady lovebirds were legally wed in Michigan. An ad hoc abolitionist spirited away scores of slaves on the Underground Railroad. A Secessionist spy swallowed a secret message as she was arrested, claiming that no one could capture her soul.Readers of books for women such as Women Who Run with the Wolves or Badass Affirmations will love this book about Victorian women who refused to accept the gender roles of their day.Table of ContentsA Word to the Reader Flamboyant Flirts and Lascivious Libertines Tough Lovers and Fiery Sirens Brazen Brides and Wicked Wives Twisted Sisters and Mortifying Mothers Maidens a la Mode Hatchet Queens and Pistol Packers Dreaded Desperados and Gutsy Gamblers Radical Rescuers and Militant Feminists Utterly Fearless Frontierswomen Audacious Artists and Ad Hoc Architects Shocking Scholars and Wanton Wordsmiths Controversial Curers and Ingenious Invalids Alarming Litigious Ladies Outrageous Orators and Sassy Suffragists Rabble Rousers and Muckrakers Holy Terrors and Pope Perturbers Shameless Exhibitionists and Notable Narcissists Scandalous Socialites and Hellraising Heiresses Southern Rebels and Capital Offenders Totally Triumphant Travellers Bibliography Wild Woman Association

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Book SynopsisThe first book to comprehensively examine how the Black Panther Party has directly shaped the practices and ideas that have animated grassroots activism in the decades since its decline, Black Power Afterlives represents a major scholarly achievement as well as an important resource for today's activists. Through its focus on the enduring impact of the Black Panther Party, this volume expands the historiography of Black Power studies beyond the 1960s-70s and serves as a bridge between studies of the BPP during its organizational existence and studies of present-day Black activism, allowing today's readers and organizers to situate themselves in a long lineage of liberation movements.Trade Review“What Fujino and Harmachis have done with this collection of articles is comparable in scope to Charles Jones’ The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered), and Judson Jeffries’ Comrades, both superb and deeply critical anthologies, but with a provocative twist: what would be the historical impacts of the Black Panther Party half a century hence? As a young member of the original collective, I can say without contradiction, we were so busy, and often so nerve-wracked that we barely thought about the next 50 minutes, much less 50 years! Fujino and Harmachis show us that history is never done. It runs like a river, sometimes rushing, sometimes meandering, but always moving.” —Mumia Abu-Jamal, author of We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party“Black Power Afterlives constructs an urgently needed bridge between the Black Power era and the Black Lives Matter movements of today. Deftly side stepping well-trod ground, authors trace how the Panthers' international engagements, artistic practices, ideological frameworks and community organizing have continued to influence new generations of activists. By locating the Panthers' richest legacies in the work of students, poor Black folks and Black queer feminists and in the sustained commitment of political prisoners, it reminds readers of the transformative possibilities of struggle.” —Robyn C. Spencer, author of The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panthers Party in Oakland“The Black Panther Party’s 1966 armed actions against police brutality in Oakland’s black community reorganized mainstream consciousness in the US. The BPP exposed entrenched notions of gun-ownership as the exclusive right of white Americans. The Party’s armed cop-watch, aesthetic exaltation of blackness, and challenges to capitalism also released black resistance from the state’s ideological grip. Black Power Afterlives is the first book to explore this post-60s reorganization of black consciousness, resistance and humanity. Its intervention is as urgent and rich as the legacy of the Black Panthers.” —Johanna Fernández, author of The Young Lords: A Radical History“Black Power Afterlives gives us concrete insights into the continuing significance of the Black Panthers without the common iconization and stereotypes. Through carefully chosen writings and interviews we are reminded of the transformative power of movements and real people that envision a far more just and equitable future for humanity and the planet.” —Claude Marks, director, The Freedom Archives“The vivid, engaging, and compelling testimonies that Diane C. Fujino and Matef Harmachis have collected in Black Power Afterlives offer unparalleled insights about the origins, evolution, and continuing influence and impact of the Black Panther Party. This is an indispensable book, one that demonstrates how oppositional social movement organizations fuel future struggles long after they seem to have departed from the scene.” —George Lipsitz, author of How Racism Takes Place“Tender and determined, these meditations on the enduring afterlives of the Black Panther Party illuminate the incandescent dreams of freedom joining one revolutionary generation to another. The essays and conversations—on art and prison, ecology and the spirit—focus on the lessons rank-and-file Panthers have to offer today's rank and file. They remind us of the eternal dedication and determination required of us all.” —Dan Berger, author of Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era“Black Power Afterlives shares important insights about the Black Panther Party and radical activism. Examining an inheritance that bridges two centuries, it explores mobilizations against poverty, exploitation, imprisonment, violence and war. Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalitions sought to wrest victories from police in order to secure "Power to the People." With prescience, Hampton warned that he would not die slipping on icy Chicago streets, and that we either organize with radical intent or forget him. Black Power Afterlives remembers Fred and the sacrifices of those who fought and fight for their communities—especially political prisoners. Recognizing the need to free them all, and our communities, Black Power Afterlives builds an archive and a foundation for continued struggles.” —Joy James, author of Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics“There are more stories of the deep and continuing legacy of the Black Panthers than can be contained in any one book, but Black Panther Afterlives does a good job at beginning to fill the gap. Editors Fujino and Harmachis present us with a must-read book, essential to a true understanding of the positive ways in which Panther politics can and do enrich our lives today.” —Matt Meyer, secretary-general, International Peace Research Association; co-editor and author, Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st Century Revolutions“Black Power Afterlives is full of fascinating accounts of those carrying on the Panther legacy and makes a compelling case for a re-evaluation of the Black Panther Party's lasting political influence.” —Yonas Makoni, CounterfireTable of ContentsContentsForeword | Kathleen CleaverIntroduction | Diane C. Fujino and Matef HarmachisI. The Persistence of the Panther1. Assata Shakur: The Political Life of Political Exile | Teishan A. Latner2. “We Had our Own Community:” Hank Jones, Spaces of Confinement, and a Vision of Abolition Democracy | Diane C. Fujino3. Kiilu Taught Me: Letters to My Comrade | Tina BartolomeII. Sustainability and Spirituality4. A Spiritual Practice for Sustaining Social Justice Activism: An Interview with Ericka Huggins | Diane C. Fujino5. Serving the People and Serving God: The Everyday Work and Mobilizing Force of Dhameera Ahmad | Maryam Kashani6. EcoSocialism from the Inside Out | Quincy SaulIII. Sankofa: Pan-African Internationalism7. The (R)evolution from Black Panther to Pan-Africanism: David Brothers and Dedon Kamathi at the Bus Stop on the Mountain Top of Agit-Prop | Matef Harmachis8. States of Fugitivity: Akinsanya Kambon, Pan-Africanism, and Art-based Knowledge Making | Diane C. FujinoIV. Art, Revolution, and a Social Imaginary9. “Art that Flows from the People:” Emory Douglas, International Solidarity, and the Practice of Co-creation | Diane C. Fujino10. Poetic Justice: Fred Ho’s Music and Politics and the Influence of the Black Power Movement | Ben BarsonV. The Real Dragons Take Flight: On Prisons and Policing11. Legacy: Where We Were, Where We Are, Where We Are Going? | Sekou Odinga and dequi kioni-sadiki12. Black August Organizing to Uplift the Fallen and Release the Captive | Matef Harmachis13. The Making of a Movement: Jericho and Political Prisoners | Jalil Muntaqim14. Dialogical Autonomy: Michael Zinzun, the Coalition Against Police Abuse, and Genocide | João Costa VargasVI. Black Panther Legacies in a Time of Neoliberalism15. Black Student Organizing in the Shadow of the Panthers | Yoel Haile16. Black Queer Feminism and the Movement for Black Lives in the South: An Interview with Mary Hooks of SONG | Diane C. Fujino and Felice Blake17. The Impact of the Panthers: Centering Poor Black Folks in the Black Liberation Movement | Blake Simons18. The Chinese Progressive Association and the Red Door | Alex T. Tom

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Book SynopsisDopplegangbanger, rendered as the A- and B-sides of an album of poems, re-imagines and remixes American politics of the 90s, the Obama era, and today via a hip-hop blerd's investigation of a hi/lo culture of American crime.Trade ReviewPraise for Telepathologies: “Cortney Lamar Charleston's poems testify in the eternal court of history; he speaks, as Aime Cesaire once did, "for miseries that have no mouth" and to liberate "those who languish in the dungeon of despair." Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner and nine slain members of Mother Emanuel AME Church—voices silenced through institutionalized racism and the unchecked power of hate—form the nucleus of this powerful indictment of an America still suffering the legacy of its slave-trading past. Timely, immediate, imperative; this is poetry from inside the center of the storm; an urgent and articulate call for change.” —D.A. Powell, author of Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys “Cortney Lamar Charleston fills Telepathologies with his big-hearted, yet biting and clear-eyed analysis. These powerfully worded poems do not let us look away, neither from the ills and woes infecting contemporary black life nor from the role of media (news, social) in circulating them among us. We move from concrete poems to ghazals to familiar and unfamiliar forms of free verse. Charleston keeps us on our toes as we follow him into spaces of blackness—those that he inhabits and those that inhabit him. In these poems, even in the face of fatal violence, the black body lives and breathes, mourns and survives. I welcome this poet’s debut.” —Evie Shockley, author of the new black

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Book SynopsisIntroduction to Africana Demography: Lessons from Founders E. Franklin Frazier, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Atlanta School of Sociology brings together scholars from across the country to wed Black Sociology with critical demography within an Africana Demography framework. The volume's wide range of contributors lay out innovative ways to address pressing issues and in the process affords many scholars often denied their rightful place in the sociological and demographic canons the opportunity to build on one another's work. The book includes an introduction outlining Africana demography and chapters that provide a critique of conventional demographic approaches to understanding race and social institutions like the family, religion, and the criminal justice system. Contributors include: Lori Latrice Martin, Anthony Hill, Melinda Jackson-Jefferson, Maretta McDonald, Weldon McWilliams, Jack S. Monell, Edward Muhammad, Brianne Painia, Tifanie Pulley, David I. Rudder, Jas M. Sullivan, Arthur Whaley, and Deadric Williams.

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Book SynopsisIn this heartfelt and unflinching memoir, two activists recount the nearly half century they’ve spent questioning authority while raising a family, building a self-reliant community, starting an organic farm, leading a farming organisation and experiencing the struggles and joys of living a purposeful life. Many Hands Make a Farm traces the journey of organic farming pioneers Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge from their early years of bright-eyed excitement, through the long slog for economic stability, to the formation of a thriving community and a growing natural farming movement. Along the way, they established relationships with farming leaders across the country during the creation of the National Organic Program. Julie and Jack met while working as community organisers in Boston. After falling in love and starting a family, they decided to use Jack’s irregular earnings as a board game designer to support a move to a rural area where they could grow healthy food and earn their living at home, so they could be present for their four children. What began as a family homestead soon grew into the small, diversified Many Hands Organic Farm. Julie and Jack have intentionally chosen to live their lives differently than the mainstream, prioritising minimising energy use, raising food organically, not relying on credit, favouring natural health care, participating in the arts, working creatively and instilling the values of hard work and responsibility in their children. In a time when society at large was ‘going along to get along,’ Julie and Jack stood out as leaders and iconoclasts. They believe that taking risks and making bold decisions can unlock one’s potential and lead to actions that enrich the spirit, the family, and the community. Many Hands Make a Farm will resonate with fans of original thinkers from Henry David Thoreau and Wendell Berry to Lynn Margulis and Adelle Davis. The book strongly conveys the message of finding roots in a community, respecting the Earth, and combining social justice work with the joys and challenges of raising a family. These themes shine through on every page, making this memoir a must-read for anyone seeking inspiration and guidance on finding meaning in their life.Trade Review“Many Hands Make a Farm might be the most delightful book I’ve read in a long time. Rare in its raw, practical, from-the-heart stories, every challenging lesson is cloaked in respect and humor, and every page blossoms with wisdom and can-do spirit. I can’t imagine a better way to present a small-farm life lived exuberantly. Julie and Jack are pioneer icons of the ecological food and farming movement.”—Joel Salatin, cofounder, Polyface Farm; author of Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal“In Many Hands Make a Farm, Jack and Julie masterfully weave together the threads of sustainable agriculture, the trials and triumphs of raising a family, the profound connections we build with loved ones, and the enduring strength of community bonds. Regeneration is fundamentally about regenerating relationships, at all levels. Jack and Julie give us a shining example of how to live regeneration.”—John Kempf, founder, Advancing Eco Agriculture; author of Quality Agriculture“Many Hands Make a Farm is a quintessential American story of pioneering, innovating, and bucking conventional wisdom. It is also a testimony to the simple, good life, with practical tips on everything from how to build a farm to how to raise a family. As a young man, I had the good fortune to get to know Julie and Jack as one of their first apprentices; now this extraordinary couple’s story is accessible to everyone in this heartfelt memoir.”—Lucian Kim, journalist“In this uplifting memoir, Jack Kittredge and Julie Rawson describe how they carved out a life of their dreams solidly based on the clarity of their values. Jack and Julie have touched the lives of thousands of people through their passion for building community and producing local and organic food. Their ability to incorporate new understandings, such as the importance of not tilling their soil, placed them at the cutting edge of innovation. They are visionary early leaders in the movement toward a more regenerative agriculture.”—Tim LaSalle, cofounder, Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems“Filled with practical advice, wise counsel, and entertaining stories, Many Hands Make a Farm is the story of love in action—love for the land, community, family, and each other. Jack and Julie’s latest collaboration chronicles the rewards and challenges of organic farming and living a life true to their convictions. It’s an inspiring story that I enjoyed very much and shows why Many Hands Organic Farm is representative of the best organic farms, anywhere.”—Mark Kastel, executive director, OrganicEye; cofounder, The Cornucopia Institute“Many Hands Make a Farm is an inspirational and engaging read by two of organic agriculture’s most respected leaders. Jack and Julie are steadfast champions of freedom and love. Their open-minded questioning has led them to a life full of nature’s insights, as well as the fortitude to say what needs to be said. Farming, raising children, community organizing, music, and health—they offer their wisdom and pointers on the practical application of ‘the good life.’ And when they say ‘many hands,’ they aren’t kidding. This family gets a whole lot done!”—Bryan O’Hara, author of No-Till Intensive Vegetable Culture“Hey, so you Gen Z folks wanna get back to the land? If you’re ready to work hard, find your own community, dance often, and pull rocks, then this book is for you. Julie and Jack have a remarkable story to tell. Read theirs and then go out and make one of your own!”—Bob Scowcroft, cofounder, Organic Farming Research Foundation; board member, Nell Newman Foundation“To read this book is to be touched by the beauty and wholeness of Many Hands Organic Farm. And so we are grateful to Jack and Julie for the way their lives—grounded in service, resilience, and reciprocity—have exemplified the inseparability of food, land, and community in creating a roadmap for those who have the courage to follow.”—Samuel and Elizabeth Smith, founders, Caretaker Farm“Jack Kittredge and Julie Rawson are builders—they built an organic farm, an influential organization (the Northeast Organic Farming Association, NOFA), sheds and barns, and even their own house—while creating a vibrant community dedicated to nontoxic farming and lasting values. Many Hands Make a Farm tells their story with humor and grace. Read and enjoy!”—Sally Fallon Morell, president, Weston A. Price Foundation“Many Hands Make a Farm is a great read, a page-turner that explores how Jack and Julie came to build their own organic farm and helped build an organic farming movement in the Northeast. It is thrilling to see how their deep love for each other and their children, as well as their love for community organizing and for organic farmers, fueled their passion through the years and resulted in magical happenings. They were committed to listening and to allowing others to speak and work out their truth for themselves, which could be uncomfortable for all concerned, but which bore fruit over time. Julie and Jack have lived what they taught, centered on their love of farming and the people that make it all possible."—Don Elmer, former senior organizer, Center for Community Change“Many Hands Make a Farm is a wonderfully honest and engaging book by two former community organizers who turned themselves into farmers—leaders in the organic farming movement—and also created a musically fulfilling family life.”—Joan Gussow, professor emerita of nutrition and education, Teachers College, Columbia University; author of This Organic Life“Over the decades, Jack and Julie have welcomed many people to the everyday pleasures of homegrown food and farming at Many Hands Organic Farm. In their wide-ranging memoir, they extend that welcome to a larger reading audience with the same mix of strong opinions, humor, and passion that have always infused their farm tours, CSA pickup days, state and federal advocacy for organic farmers, and their community music involvement.”—Margaret Christie, special projects director, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture"Told in complementary, alternating narratives between husband and wife, this informative and heartfelt memoir is uplifting from start to finish."—Booklist

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Book SynopsisAt the onset of the American Revolution, Britain’s North American colonies sought political independence but remained culturally dependent upon Europe. Among the many vast contributions of Thomas Jefferson, one of the most celebrated Founding Fathers, was a continuing admiration and lifelong affinity for all things Italian. Jefferson believed that the genesis of liberty followed a path from Ancient Rome, through the Italian Renaissance and Enlightenment, and toward a progressive future for the new American nation.While Jefferson’s affinity for Italy is well known, studying his role in assimilating Italian culture into the American project is a new venture. Surveying Jefferson as an Italophile reveals a wide spectrum of cultural appreciation. Ralph Giordano’s innovative new book will certainly appeal to those interested in American History and America’s emergence as a developing nation.

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Book SynopsisConcrete Utopia  conceptualizes the human rights project of the last two and a half centuries as a “backward-looking” endeavor, which, in order to move forward, must return to the utopian roots of its foundational documents.  Human rights advance by judging the ills of the present world from a standpoint in the future where they might no longer exist—a fundamentally utopian gesture. This peculiar character of human rights makes them continually ripe for reinvention and for responding to changing world circumstances. Looking at topics such as the Auschwitz trials in Frankfurt in the mid-1960s, public outrage to the Vietnam War, the US civil rights movement and the founding of Amnesty International in 1961, this book surveys the history of human rights and how they have been reconceived at different points in time. It closes by sketching the way th

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Book SynopsisThe deeply personal reflections of a giant of Jewish history. Scholar Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi (1932–2009) possessed a stunning range of erudition in all eras of Jewish history, as well as in world history, classical literature, and European culture. What Yerushalmi also brought to his craft was a brilliant literary style, honed by his own voracious reading from early youth and his formative undergraduate studies. This series of interviews paints a revealing portrait of this giant of history, bringing together exceptional material on Yerushalmi’s personal and intellectual journeys that not only attests to the astonishing breakthrough of the issues of Jewish history into “general history,” but also offers profound insight into being Jewish in today's world. Trade Review“[Yerushalmi's] profound insights into what it means to be a Jew in modern times comes out in these fascinating interviews.” * Jewish Link *Table of ContentsForeword to the English Edition by Alexander KayeNote to the French Edition by Ophra YerushalmiIntroduction – Sylvie Anne GoldbergI. Zakhor, From Memory to Reading HistoryII. Choosing HistoryIII. Back to ChildhoodIV. The Path to CardosoV. The Melody of HistoryVI. From Zakhor to FreudVII. DerridaVIII. New York: 1939-1945IX. Who Makes History?: Questions of InterpretationX. A Jewish Kid from the Bronx at Harvard and ColumbiaXI. Professor YerushalmiXII. Questions of History and HistoriographyXIII. The CollectorXIV. Gershom ScholemXV. The Ritual ExperienceXVI. Truth in History and Its AvatarsXVII. Messianism and ZionismXVIII. The State of Israel and Messianic SignificanceXIX. An American JewXX. From Yesterday to TomorrowWith “Clio and the Jews: Reflections on Jewish Historiography in the Sixteenth Century”Index

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Book SynopsisA pandemic-inspired sequel to the original The Weekender Effect, looking at the current and future challenges facing mountain communities.The pandemic, and the rapid introduction of technologies in its wake that enabled many to work from home, have put spectacular pressure on mountain and other resort communities that were already under siege by outside and foreign speculators and increasingly overwhelmed by owners of second and even third homes. Unmanageable development pressures and the explosion in property values fuelled by low interest rates and high incomes are undermining the very character of many communities and, by making where they live unaffordable, driving out the very locals who over decades established the charm, character, and sense of place and of belonging that now make their communities so attractive to weekenders and visitors alike.Swelling populations, out-of-control tourism, and associated recreational and other pressures are also pressing hard against ecological limits in these places just when, in the absence of effective global climate action, the threatening effects and dangerous impacts of climate change appear to have arrived 20 to 30 years earlier than projected.Fortunately, in the midst of this perfect storm of change there remains much that communities can do to maintain their identity. Major breakthroughs in science continue to unravel our society's mechanistic world view and point the way to reconciliation with one another and restoration of hope for the future. The sequel to an earlier book on the same concerns, The Weekender Effect II: Fallout is a passionate plea for considered development in these precious communities and for the necessary protection and restoration of landscapes and positive transformation of local values, identity, and sense of place, here and everywhere.

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Book SynopsisMore than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, but a billion of these people reside in neighbourhoods characterized by entrenched disadvantage. These neighbourhoods, known as 'slums', are often seen as a debilitating and even subversive presence within society. In reality, however, it is often the host societies and their public policies that are at fault. In this comprehensive global history, Alan Mayne explores the evolution and meaning of the word 'slum', from its origins in London in the early nineteenth century to its use to describe favela communities in the lead up to the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016. The word 'slum' has been extensively used for two hundred years to condemn and disperse poor communities. Mounting a case for the word's elimination from the language of progressive urban social reform, Slums is a must-read book for all those interested in social history and the importance of these vibrant and vital neighbourhoods.Trade Review'A tonic and rousing critique of the bad freight carried by the concept of "slum". Although an obvious offender in my own work, I'm entirely convinced by Mayne's passionate polemic. No more "s" word from me.' - Mike Davis, author of Planet of Slums; 'Mayne lacerates ... [the] war on the poor, with sweeping historical critique, instead demonstrating how the logics and policies that keep the "poor" unsettled, simultaneously pacified and volatile, constitute a deception, covering over the distorted productivity of inequality, spatial engineering, and the reliance upon those consigned to the margins to regenerate new forms of sociality in face of denigration.' - Professor AbdouMaliq Simone, Goldsmiths, University of London; 'Alan Mayne is a leading authority on the history of "slums". In his new book he turns his attention to the repetitions and continuities in society's attitudes and policies towards "slums" worldwide over the past 200 years, from 19th-century Britain to 21st-century Global South. His challenging, forthright book exposes how our continued use of the word "slum" is misleading, deceitful and downright wrong.' - Professor Richard Dennis, University College London

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Book SynopsisWhat makes Tony Soprano so likeable? Why would we rather leave the cannoli and take the gun? Do we truly want Scarface’s Tony Montana to succeed? Is Michael Corleone a misunderstood hero or a despicable villain? In The Mafia: A Cultural History, now available in paperback, Roberto M. Dainotto traces the complex and fascinating development of the mafia: its rural beginnings in Western Sicily; its growth into what has been aptly described as a global multinational of crime; and its parallel evolution in music, print and on the big screen. The book probes the tension between the real mafia – its brutal and often violent reality – and how we imagine it to be: a mythical assembly of codes of honour, family values and chivalric masochism. Rather than dismissing such mafia stereotypes as untrue, Dainotto sets out to understand what needs and desires, material and psychic longings, are satisfied by our mafia fantasies. Exploring the rich array of films, books, television, music and even video games portraying and inspired by the mafia, this book offers not only a social, economic and political history of the mafia but a new way of understanding our enduring fascination with what lurks behind the sinister omertà of the family business.Trade Review`Dainotto’s The Mafia: A Cultural History offers something unique in the somewhat overcrowded category of books about the Mafia and its pop culture representations: a Sicilian intellectual’s historically informed yet personal perspective on the enduring appeal of organized crime stories.’ – PopMatters

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Book SynopsisThe Highland Clearances stands out as one of the most emotive chapters in the history of Scotland. This book traces the origins of the Clearances from the eighteenth century to their culmination in the crofting legislation of the 1880s. In considering both the terrible suffering of the Highland people as well as the stark choices that faced landowners during a period of rapid economic change, it shows how the Clearances were one of many 'attempted' solutions to the problem of how to maintain a population on marginal and infertile land, and were, in fact, part of a wider European movement of rural depopulation. In drawing attention away from the mythology to the hard facts of what actually happened, The Highland Clearances offers a balanced analysis of events which created a terrible scar on the Highland and Gaelic imagination.Trade Review'required reading ... not to be missed for its fearless and comprehensive grasp of the past and its relevance for today' * Ileach *'Eric Richards is a fluent, lucid writer' * Herald *

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Book Synopsis'A gripping, heart-breaking account of the famine winter of 1847' - Rosemary Goring, The Herald Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize When Scotland’s 1846 potato crop was wiped out by blight, the country was plunged into crisis. In the Hebrides and the West Highlands a huge relief effort came too late to prevent starvation and death. Further east, meanwhile, towns and villages from Aberdeen to Wick and Thurso, rose up in protest at the cost of the oatmeal that replaced potatoes as people’s basic foodstuff. Oatmeal’s soaring price was blamed on the export of grain by farmers and landlords cashing in on even higher prices elsewhere. As a bitter winter gripped and families feared a repeat of the calamitous famine then ravaging Ireland, grain carts were seized, ships boarded, harbours blockaded, a jail forced open, the military confronted. The army fired on one set of rioters. Savage sentences were imposed on others. But thousands-strong crowds also gained key concessions. Above all they won cheaper food. Those dramatic events have long been ignored or forgotten. Now, in James Hunter, they have their historian. The story he tells is, by turns, moving, anger-making and inspiring. In an era of food banks and growing poverty, it is also very timely.Trade Review'Hunter adds to his remarkable body of work with a new and in-depth exploration of the impact of the potato famine on the north of Scotland. …Scene after scene of popular resistance and the state’s bungling responses are brought to life through Hunter’s clear prose. His loving attention to detail shines through' * The Bottle Imp (Best Scottish Books, 2019) *'Hunter never forgets that history is first of all narrative – and this book is rich in stories – or that is subject is the experience of individual men and women, creatures of flesh and blood, not abstractions. Insurrection is fascinating reading, both painful and uplifting' -- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *'A gripping, heart-breaking account of the famine winter of 1847. … Hunter’s pacily written history turns a telescope on the society and culture, and the economic and political predicament of these regions. Insurrection takes the generalisation and theories of [the communist manifesto] and puts a face to them. They stare out from this book – thousands upon thousands of them – gaunt and helpless with hunger' -- Rosemary Goring * Herald *'The Scottish potato famine was caused by the same blight that brought disaster to Ireland, … Insurrection describes how Scottish landowners were both the cause and cure of the famine' * Times *'Tells the story of a savage, brutal, largely forgotten episode in Scotland’s history through the human tales Hunter uncovered in his research' * Sunday Post *'No one has done more to help us understand the reality of life in the Highlands and Islands over the past few centuries. Graphs and statistical analyses he leaves to others – his focus has been to give individual Highlanders a voice. It is a deeply troubling yet quite uplifting tale that this most readable book tells' * Press and Journal *'Distinguished Highland historian Jim Hunter sheds light on a turbulent episode in the history of the north' * Caithness Courier *'Insurrection is an inspiring story of forgotten history' -- Martin Empson * ResoluteReader *

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Book SynopsisCreatively and intellectually there is no other species that has ever come close to equalling humanity’s achievements, but nor is any other species as suicidally prone to internecine conflict. We are the only species on the planet whose ingrained habit of conflict constitutes the chief threat to our own survival. Human history can be seen as a catalogue of cold-hearted murders, mindless blood-feuds, appalling massacres and devastating wars, but, with developments in forensic science and modern psychology, and with raised education levels throughout the world, might it soon be possible to reign in humanity’s homicidal habits? Falling violent crime statistics in every part of the world seem to indicate that something along those lines might indeed be happening. Colin and Damon Wilson, who between them have been covering the field of criminology for over fifty years, offer an analysis of the overall spectrum of human violence. They consider whether human beings are in reality as cruel and violent as is generally believed and they explore the possibility that humankind is on the verge of a fundamental change: that we are about to become truly civilised. As well as offering an overview of violence throughout our history – from the first hominids to the twenty-first century, touching on key moments of change and also indicating where things have not changed since the Stone Age – they explore the latest psychological, forensic and social attempts to understand and curb modern human violence. To begin with, they examine questions such as: Were the first humans cannibalistic? Did the birth of civilisation also lead to the invention of war and slavery? Priests and kings brought social stability, but were they also the instigators of the first mass murders? Is it in fact wealth that is the ultimate weapon? They look at slavery and ancient Roman sadism, but also the possibility that our own distaste for pain and cruelty is no more than a social construct. They show how the humanitarian ideas of the great religious innovators all too quickly became distorted by organised religious structures. The book ranges widely, from fifteenth-century Baron Gilles de Rais, ‘Bluebeard’, the first known and possibly most prolific serial killer in history, to Victorian domestic murder and the invention of psychiatry and Sherlock Holmes and the invention of forensic science; from the fifteenth-century Taiping Rebellion in China, in which up to 36 million died to the First and Second World Wars and more recent genocides and instances of ‘ethnic cleansing’, and contemporary terrorism. They conclude by assessing the very real possibility that the internet and the greater freedom of information it has brought is leading, gradually, to a profoundly more civilised world than at any time in the past.

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Book SynopsisBillie Hunter and Nicky Leap spent several years interviewing dozens of mothers and retired midwives about their experiences of childbirth before the NHS. The result was The Midwife's Tale, an oral history of midwifery from the 1910s to the 1950s. The authors explore the very real poverty of the time; how woman coped with rearing large families; and the lack of knowledge of contraception and abortion. Gripping accounts of women's experiences are set against an informative background of events in the midwifery profession, particularly the transition from unqualified 'handywoman' to professional midwife in the 1930s.Trade Review"This important piece of cultural history has been reissued on the 20th anniversary of its first publication. The interviews Hunter and Leap conducted with women born between 1894 and 1923 who experienced pregnancy, birth and motherhood in the pre NHS early 20th century, means a vital piece of woman's history has been preserved. A fascinating collection." Times Higher Education

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Book SynopsisThe relationship between nation and queer sexuality has long been a fraught one, for the sustaining myths of the former are often at odds with the needs of the latter. This collection of essays introduces readers to important historical and cultural figures and moments in queer life, and it addresses some of the urgent questions of queer belonging that face Wales today.Table of ContentsI. The Queer Past Before 1900 Queer Loss: Felicia Hemans, (trans)nationalism, and the Welsh Bard Daniel Hannah ‘Gender difference is nothing’: Cranogwen and Victorian Wales Jane Aaron ‘Please don’t whip me this time’: The Passions of George Powell of Nant-Eos Harry Heuser From Huw Arwystli to Siôn Eirian: Representitive Examples of Cadi/Queer Life from Medieval to Twentieth Century Welsh Literature Mihangel Morgan II. Placing Queer Wales after 1900 ‘A queer kind of fancy’: women, same-sex desire, and nation in Welsh literature Kirsti Bohata ‘Not friends / But fellows in a union that ends’: Associations of Welshness and Non-heteronormativity in Edward Thomas Andrew Webb Fairy Tale Drag and the Transgender Nation in Rhys Davies, Erica Wooff, and Jan Morris. Huw Osborne III. Building Queer Wales Post-Devolution Lesbian Motherhood in the South Wales Valleys: A Narrative Exploration Alys Einion Living in Fear: Homophobic Hate Crime in Wales Matthew Williams and Jasmin Tregidga Heb addysg, heb ddawn (Without education, without gift): LGBTQ Youth in Educational Settings in Wales John Sam Jones IV. Performing Contemporary Queer Wales Omnisexuality and the City: Exploring National and Sexual Identity through BBC Wales’ Torchwood Rebecca Williams and Ruth McElroy Queer/Welsh and Welsh/Queer: Performing Hybrid Wales Stephen Greer

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Book Synopsis**THE ONLY DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST RACE - FULL OF EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH NIKI LAUDA, ROSS BRAWN, DAMON HILL, DAVID COULTHARD, SIR JACKIE STEWART, OLIVER PANIS AND 2016 WORLD CHAMPION NICO ROSBERG**Circuit de Monaco. Monte Carlo. The ultimate race in the Formula One calendar.When you think of Formula One, you think of Monaco. Once a year, yachts jam the harbour, celebrities fill the stands and luxury sports cars litter the streets as of thousands of people gather from across the world to watch the greatest, and one of the oldest, races in motorsport.Monaco is glamorous, prestigious and seductive. But for the drivers, it is the most demanding race of the year. The narrow streets, tight corners and sharp elevations make it the ultimate test of driving skill. It is physically draining and mentally exhausting.Proposed today, the race would not exist but it remains the jewel in the crown for every Formula One driver. There is simply no other race like it. Win at Monaco and your name is etched in history. You will join the likes of Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.With exclusive interviews and insight from drivers and a wealth of F1 insiders, award-winning sportswriter Malcolm Folley goes behind the scenes to discover what it's really like to drive and live and breathe this iconic circuit. He reveals along the way a unique and definitive portrait of the circuit, and recreates in thrilling detail its most extraordinary weekend, when only three cars finished.Trade ReviewOn no other modern circuit can the skill and commitment of a Grand Prix driver be observed at such close quarters and Malcolm’s book brings to life the most memorable exploits of our champion drivers and heroes from the Jazz Age to Modern Times in the delightful Springtime setting on the Cote d’Azur. -- Design and Development Director, McLaren Racing * Neil Oatley *A gripping evocation of glamour and danger and champion drivers -- Jonathan McEvoy * Sports Journalist Association *a true portrait of the iconic race * Sunday Sport *If you’re an F1 fan this book is a must read. But even if you’re just an occasional watcher and you tune-in just once a year to look at the boats and the apartments that you’d need a racing driver’s salary to afford, Monaco: Inside F1’s Greatest Race is more than worthy of its cover price * On Magazine *A wonderfully entertaining window into the history of F1’s greatest race * Monaco *

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Book SynopsisThe Olympics have a checkered, sometimes scandalous, political history. Jules Boykoff, a former US Olympic team member, takes readers from the event's nineteenth-century origins, through the Games' flirtation with Fascism, and into the contemporary era of corporate control. Along the way he recounts vibrant alt-Olympic movements, such as the Workers' Games and Women's Games of the 1920s and 1930s as well as athlete-activists and political movements that stood up to challenge the Olympic machine.Trade ReviewAn Olympic history that simply hasn't been told. -- Olympic medalist John Carlos, author of The John Carlos StoryShould be on every Olympian's bookshelf. -- Laurence Halsted, fencer and "Team GB" Olympian at Rio 2016[Boykoff's] jaunty polemic Power Games is billed as a political history of the Olympics. It is actually more of a call-to-arms to people faced with this giant intrusion. * Financial Times *As much a tool for activists as a work of scholarship, [Power Games] relentlessly attacks the hypocrisy of the Olympic myth. * Washington Post *A great irony is that the modern Olympics, first envisioned as an alternative to war, have themselves become a form of low-intensity warfare. As Jules Boykoff chronicles in this pathbreaking history, host cities have used the Games to leverage urban renewal, neighborhood demolition, and mass population displacement. The preparations for the Rio Olympics have gone one step further and become a literal urban counterinsurgency, as elite police units occupy and 'cleanse' one favela after another. -- Mike Davis, author of Planet of SlumsJules Boykoff takes us deep into the heart to of the Olympic industry to look at the experiences of the people who are affected most by these Games-you and me. This powerful book explores how individuals and groups-from Indigenous people, to athletes to the homeless-have opened our eyes to the possibility of a more humane world through the Olympics. Boykoff also makes it clear that the Olympics have amends to make with Indigenous people worldwide, whether in Canada, the United States, or Australia. Indigenous people have struggled to defend their lands and rights against the Olympic juggernaut, linking their struggles with those of the broader public, showing us how the Games could and should leave better legacies for all, not just the well-to-do. Power Games is an insightful chronicle of Indigenous activism in and against the Games, as well as an intellectual roadmap for how all of our interests are intertwined. In elevating Indigenous voices, Boykoff also exposes the problematic representations of Indigenous people that are frequently proffered by Olympic-controlled media. Power Games is an important and approachable work that should be on every bookshelf, a must read for anyone interested in the future of the Games. -- Janice Forsyth, former Director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at Western University in Ontario, member of the Fisher River Cree First NationEven since Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee has sought to deny the inherently political nature of the modern Olympic games. In Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics, Jules Boykoff, arguably the world's leading authority on the Olympic movement, exposes the IOC's claims of apoliticism as a sham. Through a carefully researched history of the Olympic Games, Boykoff skillfully details how the Olympics benefit political elites and corporate interests at the expense of local host cities and even democracy itself. But this is no pessimistic account. Boykoff ends by outlining how a more democratic and transparent Olympics is still possible, making Power Games essential reading for anyone wanting to understanding the power and importance of the modern Olympics. -- Ben Carrington, University of Texas at Austin, author of Race, Sport and PoliticsEnjoyable and informative, Power Games is an even more relevant read in the build-up to this summer's . Olympics. -- Jamie Johnson * Morning Star *An important read for those who will be watching this summer's contests in Rio. Even more importantly, though, it is a necessary text for those who live in cities the International Olympic Committee is eyeing for its next overpriced neoliberal capitalist extravaganza. The people of Boston sent the IOC packing in 2015 for many of the reasons elucidated in this history. Other cities would do well to do the same. This book explains why. -- Ron Jacobs * Counterpunch *This explosive book leaves us asking whether the IOC's insistence that sport is above such concerns as justice, liberty and human rights has not in fact been a fundamentally corrosive stance from the start. * Sunday Herald *[Power Games is] really two books in one: a historical overview of the Games' checkered history and a searing indictment of the IOC's hypocrisy and hubris...unrelentingly critical [and also] constructive. -- Houman Barekat * Jacobin *A truly inside-track critique of the fanfare, Boykoff addresses the games as a site of scandal and rebellion. -- Bailey Flynn * MobyLives! *A timely and depressing reminder of the grisly underbelly of the Olympic Games. -- Diarmaid Ferriter * Irish Times *By examining Olympic history from the revival of the Games in 1896 to the imminent Rio Olympics, Boykoff traces how the Olympics have developed into the behemoth that has transformed Rio over the past seven years. Beyond this, he also provides fantastic detail on many of the egregious abuses in the name of Rio 2016. -- Adam Talbot * RioOnWatch *To anyone who believes that the excesses of the Games over the past 50 years or so have betrayed a purer original legacy, [Power Games] by Jules Boykoff provides a bracing corrective. * Spectator *Jules Boykoff debunks any remaining myths associated with the 'spirit' and 'goodwill' of the Olympic 'movement' by attending closely to the machinations of this monopolistic, non-sovereign, and largely unaccountable organization and its beneficiaries. * Public Books *As sporting mega-events become the focus of a growing number of activists, Power Games provides the basis for those campaigns to be better informed and more effective. -- Malcolm Maclean * Red Pepper *Jules Boykoff's Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics is a smart, sharp, and critically balanced outline of the modern Olympic revival. -- Robert L. Kehoe III * Boston Review *Exhuastively researched and clearly written. -- Jon Day * Times Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis The journalist and critic Siegfried Kracauer is best remembered today for his investigations of film and other popular media, and for his seminal influence on Frankfurt School thinkers like Theodor Adorno. Less well known is his earlier work, which offered a seismographic reading of cultural fault lines in Weimar-era Germany, with an eye to the confrontation between religious revival and secular modernity. In this discerning study, historian Harry T. Craver reconstructs and richly contextualizes Kracauer’s early output, showing how he embodied the contradictions of modernity and identified the quasi-theological impulses underlying the cultural ferment of the 1920s.Trade Review “Harry Craver’s rich and nuanced study revisits Kracauer’s nonconformist views and underscores the religious context in which they emerged… In portraying Kracauer’s reflections on religious concepts as emblematic of post–World War I German intellectual life, Craver sets the stage for a novel, intriguing discussion of Weimar modernity and its crisis.” • American Historical Review “Reluctant Skeptic opens a window into a moment and a place in time through in-depth analysisof Kracauer’s polyphonic engagement with pressing contemporary questions and the role of the critic in assessing them. It makes no claim that Kracauer’s perceptions of secularization and religion offer the paramount vantage point from which to take the measure of the crises we associate with Weimar, and it acknowledges that Kracauer’s attentiveness to religion ebbed in the later 1920s. It succeeds admirably in creating an intellectual milieu analogous to the socio-cultural or socio-denominational milieus explored in studies of Weimar political culture It also offers a fresh perspective on the intellectual uncertainties of the post-war era.” • German History “In great and fascinating detail, Craver guides his readers through the confused intellectual landscape that was Weimar Germany and the confusing currents that swirled through Kracauer’s deeply fissured consciousness.” • Journal of European Studies “Unpretentiously written and based on a judicious interpretation of a wide range of materials, Reluctant Skeptic contributes to our understanding not only of Siegfried Kracauer’s intellectual development, but also of Weimar culture as a whole.” • Martin Jay, University of California, BerkeleyTable of Contents Preface Introduction: Kracauer on and in Weimar Modernity Chapter 1. “Location Suggests Content”: Kracauer on the Fringe of Religious Revival Chapter 2. Reading the War, Writing Crisis Chapter 3. From Copenhagen to Baker Street: Kracauer, Kierkegaard and the Detective Novel Chapter 4. Religion on the Street: Kracauer and Religious Flânerie Conclusion: Criticism in the Negative Church Afterword: From Don Quixote to Sancho Panza Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn this gripping memoir, Eamonn Mallie takes us on an extraordinary journey through his life as a journalist in Northern Ireland. From the frontlines of the Troubles to the corridors of power, Mallie? s fearless reporting and unrelenting pursuit of the truth have made him a legendary figure in Irish journalism.Having gained unparalleled access to key players, Mallie shares his reflections on his groundbreaking interviews with John Hume, Gerry Adams, Margaret Thatcher, Ian Paisley, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and a host of other influential figures involved in the peace process.From adrenaline-fuelled moments on the ground to frank conversations with political heavyweights, Eyewitness to War and Peace is a captivating read that sheds new light on the challenges and triumphs of navigating the world of journalism in a divided society. An unflinching testament to the power of investigative reporting and the enduring pursuit of peace, this is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Northern Ireland? s troubled past and its hopeful future.

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