By shattering preconceptions about the kinds of stories the medium should tell, The Sopranoslaunched our current age of prestige television, paving the way for such giants as Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones. As TV critics for Tony Soprano’s hometown paper, New Jersey’s The Star-Ledger, Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz were among the first to write about the series before it became a cultural phenomenon.  To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show’s debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produce The Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors’ archival writing on the series, The Sopranos Sessions explores the show’s artistry, themes, and legacy, examining its portrayal of Italian Americans, its graphic depictions of violence, and its deep connections to other cinematic and television classics.

    Men from Aristotle to Freud have insisted that women are freakish creatures, capable of immense destruction. Maybe they are. And maybe that’s a good thing.... Sady Doyle, hailed as “smart, funny and fearless” by the Boston Globe, takes readers on a tour of the female dark side, from the biblical Lilith to Dracula’s Lucy Westenra, from the T-Rex in Jurassic Park to the teen witches of The Craft. She illuminates the women who have shaped our nightmares: Serial killer Ed Gein’s “domineering” mother Augusta; exorcism casualty Anneliese Michel, starving herself to death to quell her demons; author Mary Shelley, dreaming her dead child back to life. These monsters embody patriarchal fear of women, and illustrate the violence with which men enforce traditionally feminine roles. They also speak to the primal threat of a woman who takes back her power. In a dark and dangerous world, Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers asks women to look to monsters for the ferocity we all need to survive. “Some people take a scalpel to the heart of media culture; Sady Doyle brings a bone saw, a melon baller, and a machete.”—Andi Zeisler, author of We Were Feminists Once

    One of the chapters, for example, answers which race Kevin Costner was able to white savior the best, because did you know that he white saviors Mexicans in McFarland, USA, and white saviors Native Americans in Dances with Wolves, and white saviors Black people in Black or White, and white saviors the Cleveland Browns in Draft Day? Another of the chapters, for a second example, answers what other high school movie characters would be in Regina George's circle of friends if we opened up the Mean Girls universe to include other movies (Johnny Lawrence is temporarily in, Claire from The Breakfast Club is in, Ferris Bueller is out, Isis from Bring It On is out...). Another of the chapters, for a third example, creates a special version of the Academy Awards specifically for rom-coms, the most underrated movie genre of all. And another of the chapters, for a final example, is actually a triple chapter that serves as an NBA-style draft of the very best and most memorable moments in gangster movies. Many, many things happen in Movies (And Other Things), some of which funny, others of which are sad, a few of which are insightful, and all of which are handled with the type of care and dedication to the smallest details and pockets of pop culture that only a book by Shea Serrano can provide.

    From the Scottish Highlands to the courts of Versailles to the shores of America, Jamie and Claire's epic adventure is captured in gorgeous detail.Now travel even deeper into the world of Outlander with this must-have insider guide from New York Times bestselling author and television critic Tara Bennett. Picking up where The Making of Outlander: Seasons One & Two left off, this lavishly illustrated collectors' item covers seasons three and four, bringing readers behind the scenes and straight onto the set of the show. You'll find exclusive interviews with cast members, including detailed conversations with Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan (on-screen couple and real-life friends), as well as the writers, producers, costume designers, set decorators, technicians, and more whose hard work and cinematic magic bring the world of Outlander to life on the screen.Every page features gorgeous full-color photographs of the cast, costumes, and set design, including both official cast photography and never-before-seen candids from on set. The Making of Outlander: Seasons Three & Four is the perfect gift for the Sassenach in your life--and the only way to survive a Droughtlander!

    Kelly’s actions and their consequences, a reckoning two decades in the makingIn November 2000, Chicago journalist and music critic Jim DeRogatis received an anonymous fax that alleged R. Kelly had a problem with “young girls.” Weeks later, DeRogatis broke the shocking story, publishing allegations that the R&B superstar and local hero had groomed girls, sexually abused them, and paid them off. DeRogatis thought his work would have an impact. Instead, Kelly’s career flourished.No one seemed to care: not the music industry, not the culture at large, not the parents of numerous other young girls. But for more than eighteen years, DeRogatis stayed on the story. He was the one who was given the disturbing videotape that led to Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial, the one whose window was shot out, and the one whom women trusted to tell their stories—of a meeting with the superstar at a classroom, a mall, a concert, or a McDonald’s that forever warped the course of their lives.Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly is DeRogatis’s masterpiece, a work of tenacious journalism and powerful cultural criticism. It tells the story of Kelly’s career, DeRogatis’s investigations, and the world in which the two crossed paths, and brings the story up to the moment when things finally seem to have changed. Decades in the making, this is an outrageous, darkly riveting account of the life and actions of R. Kelly, and their horrible impact on dozens of girls, by the only person to tell it.

    What is the secret to BTS' exceptional worldwide popularity, referred as the "BTS Phenomenon"? Is it because of the seven members' X-factor, their amazing talent and explosive energy on stage? How can they be understood within and without the context of K-pop? What do the ARMYs, their loyal brigade of worldwide fans, mean by "BTS-Pop?"Youngdae Kim, a seasoned critic of Korean popular music, boldly tackles an unprecedented task: an in-depth review of BTS' entire discography. After all, the proper approach to give musicians their due respect is by listening to their music--it's the heart of their message and their route to the top.

    Trump, television has conquered America. In Audience of One, New York Times chief television critic James Poniewozik traces the history of TV and mass media from the Reagan era to today, explaining how a volcanic, camera-hogging antihero merged with America’s most powerful medium to become our forty-fifth president.In the tradition of Neil Postman’s masterpiece Amusing Ourselves to Death, Audience of One shows how American media have shaped American society and politics, by interweaving two crucial stories. The first story follows the evolution of television from the three-network era of the 20th century, which joined millions of Americans in a shared monoculture, into today’s zillion-channel, Internet-atomized universe, which sliced and diced them into fractious, alienated subcultures. The second story is a cultural critique of Donald Trump, the chameleonic celebrity who courted fame, achieved a mind-meld with the media beast, and rode it to ultimate power.Braiding together these disparate threads, Poniewozik combines a cultural history of modern America with a revelatory portrait of the most public American who has ever lived. Reaching back to the 1940s, when Trump and commercial television were born, Poniewozik illustrates how Donald became “a character that wrote itself, a brand mascot that jumped off the cereal box and entered the world, a simulacrum that replaced the thing it represented.” Viscerally attuned to the media, Trump shape-shifted into a boastful tabloid playboy in the 1980s; a self-parodic sitcom fixture in the 1990s; a reality-TV “You’re Fired” machine in the 2000s; and finally, the biggest role of his career, a Fox News–obsessed, Twitter-mad, culture-warring demagogue in the White House.Poniewozik deconstructs the chaotic Age of Trump as the 24-hour TV production that it is, decoding an era when politics has become pop culture, and vice versa. Trenchant and often slyly hilarious, Audience of One is a penetrating and sobering review of the raucous, raging, farcical reality show—performed for the benefit of an insomniac, cable-news-junkie “audience of one”—that we all came to live in, whether we liked it or not.

    From Audra McDonald to Liza with a "Z," this is a rythmic alphabet book featuring your favorite leading ladies of the Broadway stage!Start with "A" for six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, then sing and dance your way through the alphabet with entertainers like Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Lea Salonga, and Liza Minnelli!

     The Battle Island mailman is missing, and only one person in the whole world can save him. Unfortunately, that person is done being a hero. Pete Kartson never asked for his island home to turn into a battle royale warzone. He’d certainly prefer that people in goofy costumes didn’t hack through his ceiling every morning at 7 a.m. And he really doesn’t feel like facing off against a crazed madman again. But Pete might not have a choice. Strange things are going on at Battle Island, and it’s looking like Mailman Dale is at the center of everything. Can Pete and his friends solve the mystery before it’s too late for everyone? The Monster of Battle Island is the second in a series of funny, action-packed battle royale adventures. It's a great way to convince reluctant readers to set down the controller for a few minutes and pick up a book. The Monster of Battle Island is perfect for fans of video game books for kids like the Trapped in a Video Game series and Cube Kid books.

    Before he became the revered master of science fiction, Rod Serling was a just a writer who had to fight to make his voice heard. He vehemently challenged the networks and viewership alike to expand their minds and standards―rejecting notions of censorship, racism and war. But it wasn’t until he began to write about real world enemies in the guise of aliens and monsters that people lent their ears. In doing so, he pushed the television industry to the edge of glory, and himself to the edge of sanity. Rod operated in a dimension beyond that of contemporary society, making him both a revolutionary and an outsider.

    When they aren’t keeping humanity safe from all kinds of otherworldly threats, Dean and Sam often take time to eat and devise their next steps for hunting monsters at a small-town diner. This complete culinary guide features some of the brothers’ favorite dishes, such as Dean’s breakfast Pigs ‘N A Poke, cheeseburger and fries, angel food cake, Sam’s salads—and, of course, pie! Featuring other recipes inspired by characters and locations and complete with illustrations, recipe modifications, and mouthwatering full-color photos, this cookbook will inspire you to not wait for your next road trip and prepare your own delicious feast.

    With the birth of radio in the 1920s, the songs moved from small towns, mountain hollers, and the wide-open West to become the music of an entire nation--a diverse range of sounds and styles from honky tonk to gospel to bluegrass to rockabilly, leading up through the decades to the music's massive commercial success today.But above all, Country Music is the story of the musicians. Here is Hank Williams's tragic honky tonk life, Dolly Parton rising to fame from a dirt-poor childhood, and Loretta Lynn turning her experiences into songs that spoke to women everywhere. Here too are interviews with the genre's biggest stars, including the likes of Merle Haggard to Garth Brooks to Rosanne Cash. Rife with rare photographs and endlessly fascinating anecdotes, the stories in this sweeping yet intimate history will captivate longtime country fans and introduce new listeners to an extraordinary body of music that lies at the very center of the American experience.

    Featuring spectacular photographs from the production, interviews with the cast and crew, and a look into the historical and geographical backdrop of the film, this official guide to the Downton Abbey film is made to be treasured and loved by fans across the globe.The film revolves around the King and Queen making an official visit to Downton in 1927, and not only sees the return of all the main cast from the final television series, but also introduces some great British actors to the world of Downton, as we meet the royal family and their retinue. The accompanying book is lavishly illustrated with stunning shots from both behind and in front of the camera, which capture some wonderful off-guard moments during filming, as well as the original costume illustrations.

    Comedy legends and A-list actors. Supermodels and centerfolds. Moguls and mobsters. A president.Over his unrivaled four-decade career in radio, Howard Stern has interviewed thousands of personalities—discussing sex, relationships, money, fame, spirituality, and success with the boldest of bold-faced names. But which interviews are his favorites? It’s one of the questions he gets asked most frequently. Howard Stern Comes Again delivers his answer.This book is a feast of conversation and more, as between the lines Stern offers his definitive autobiography—a magnum opus of confession and personal exploration. Tracy Morgan opens up about his near-fatal car crash. Lady Gaga divulges her history with cocaine. Madonna reminisces on her relationship with Tupac Shakur. Bill Murray waxes philosophical on the purpose of life. Jerry Seinfeld offers a master class on comedy. Harvey Weinstein denies the existence of the so-called casting couch. An impressive array of creative visionaries weigh in on what Stern calls “the climb”—the stories of how they struggled and eventually prevailed. As he writes in the introduction, “If you’re having trouble finding motivation in life and you’re looking for that extra kick in the ass, you will find it in these pages.”Interspersed throughout are rare selections from the Howard Stern Show archives with Donald Trump that depict his own climb: transforming from Manhattan tabloid fixture to reality TV star to president of the United States. Stern also tells of his Moby Dick-like quest to land an interview with Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the 2016 election—one of many newly written revelations from the author. He speaks with extraordinary candor about a variety of subjects, including his overwhelming insecurity early in his career, his revolutionary move from terrestrial radio to SiriusXM, and his belief in the power of psychotherapy.As Stern insightfully notes in the introduction: “The interviews collected here represent my best work and show my personal evolution. But they don’t just show my evolution. Gathered together like this, they show the evolution of popular culture over the past quarter century.”

    But no sitcom has ever come close to the series that started it all, spawning iconic looks like "the Rachel" and timeless catchphrases like "How you doin'?" while creating a cultural sensation that catapulted the cast members to instant mega-stardom.Throughout the show's ten- season run, viewers watched Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, and Joey navigate their twenties and thirties with unwavering friendship, determination, and, of course, plenty of sarcasm. Friends Forever takes fans back to the set where it all began with exclusive photos of the sitcom that won four Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, eleven People's Choice Awards, and a Golden Globe for Jennifer Aniston for Best Lead Actress in a Television Series. This fully illustrated episode guide will treat readers to nostalgic flashbacks of the top one hundred episodes and sneak peeks of how popularly referenced lines from the show came to be. Friends Forever also boasts new interviews with show creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman on how the show got its start and set designer John Shaffner who reveals his inspirations behind the iconic looks behind Monica’s and Rachel’s apartment and Central Perk.It's no wonder why the Friends cast was chosen by TV Guide readers as the Best Comedy cast of all time, while countless other publications such as Vanity Fair　named the show one of the best sitcoms of all time.Fun, hilarious interactives include:Joey’s fake resume vs real oneCountdown to the funniest Thanksgiving foodsTrivia game Q&A from "The One with the Embryos" (Seriously, what is Chandler Bing’s job?)Follow Ross’s infidelity trail from "The One with the Morning After"Who’s that celebrity? A comprehensive guide to some of the most famous celebrity guest stars from all ten seasons

    punk scene—and includes fifty rare photos.Picking up where Under the Big Black Sun left off, More Fun in the New World explores the years 1982 to 1987, covering the dizzying pinnacle of L.A.'s punk rock movement as its stars took to the national—and often international—stage. Detailing the eventual splintering of punk into various sub-genres, the second volume of John Doe and Tom DeSavia's west coast punk history portrays the rich cultural diversity of the movement and its characters, the legacy of the scene, how it affected other art forms, and ultimately influenced mainstream pop culture. The book also pays tribute to many of the fallen soldiers of punk rock, the pioneers who left the world much too early but whose influence hasn't faded.As with Under the Big Black Sun, the book features stories of triumph, failure, stardom, addiction, recovery, and loss as told by the people who were influential in the scene, with a cohesive narrative from authors Doe and DeSavia. Along with many returning voices, More Fun in the New World weaves in the perspectives of musicians Henry Rollins, Fishbone, Billy Zoom, Mike Ness, Jane Weidlin, Keith Morris, Dave Alvin, Louis Pérez, Charlotte Caffey, Peter Case, Chip Kinman, Maria McKee, and Jack Grisham, among others. And renowned artist/illustrator Shepard Fairey, filmmaker Allison Anders, actor Tim Robbins, and pro-skater Tony Hawk each contribute chapters on punk's indelible influence on the artistic spirit.In addition to stories of success, the book also offers a cautionary tale of an art movement that directly inspired commercially diverse acts such as Green Day, Rancid, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wilco, and Neko Case. Readers will find themselves rooting for the purists of punk juxtaposed with the MTV-dominating rock superstars of the time who flaunted a "born to do this, it couldn't be easier" attitude that continued to fuel the flames of new music. More Fun in the New World follows the progression of the first decade of L.A. punk, its conclusion, and its cultural rebirth.

    The Matrix. Office Space. Election. The Blair Witch Project. The Sixth Sense. Being John Malkovich. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. American Beauty. The Virgin Suicides. Boys Don’t Cry. The Best Man. Three Kings. Magnolia. Those are just some of the landmark titles released in a dizzying movie year, one in which a group of daring filmmakers and performers pushed cinema to new limits—and took audiences along for the ride. Freed from the restraints of budget, technology (or even taste), they produced a slew of classics that took on every topic imaginable, from sex to violence to the end of the world. The result was a highly unruly, deeply influential set of films that would not only change filmmaking, but also give us our first glimpse of the coming twenty-first century. It was a watershed moment that also produced The Sopranos; Apple’s Airport; Wi-Fi; and Netflix’s unlimited DVD rentals. Best. Movie. Year. Ever. is the story of not just how these movies were made, but how they re-made our own vision of the world. It features more than 130 new and exclusive interviews with such directors and actors as Reese Witherspoon, Edward Norton, Steven Soderbergh, Sofia Coppola, David Fincher, Nia Long, Matthew Broderick, Taye Diggs, M. Night Shyamalan, David O. Russell, James Van Der Beek, Kirsten Dunst, the Blair Witch kids, the Office Space dudes, the guy who played Jar-Jar Binks, and dozens more. It’s the definitive account of a culture-conquering movie year none of us saw coming…and that we may never see again.

    In between, Nick de Semlyen takes us on a trip through the tumultuous '80s, delving behind the scenes of movies such as Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and dozens more. Chronicling the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Belushi, et al, it's got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes, and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S. Thompson, while tied to a lawn chair. What's not to like?Based on candid interviews from the stars themselves, as well as those in their immediate orbit, Wild and Crazy Guys is a fantastic insider account of the friendships, feuds, triumphs, and disasters experienced by these iconic funnymen, and reveals the hidden history behind the most fertile period ever for screen comedy.

    But marginalized fan groups are never given appropriate credit. Frequently derided, their worlds and communities are self-contained and rarely investigated by cultural historians and commentators. Yet without these people, in the past, records would have gathered dust on shelves, unsold and forgotten. Now, concerts wouldn't sell out and revenue streams from merchandising would disappear, changing the face of the music industry as we know it. In Fangirls: Scenes From Modern Music Culture, journalist Hannah Ewens is on a mission to give these individuals their rightful due. A dedicated music lover herself, she has spoken to hundreds of fans from the UK to Japan to trace their path through recent pop and rock history. She's found the untold stories behind important events and uncovered the ups, the downs and the lengths fans go to, celebrating the camaraderie and lifelines their fandoms can provide.

    Even the circumstances of its recording, purportedly in an abandoned cinema and a cave formed from Icelandic lava, have achieved legendary status among their ever-loyal fanbase. Have a Bleedin Guess tells the story of the album, including how each song was written, performed and recorded. It also includes new interviews with key players. Author Paul Hanley, who was one of The Fall's two drummers when Hex was created, is uniquely placed to discuss the album's impact, both when it was released and in the ensuing years.

    Featured in Vanity Fair, New York Post and The Atlantic This riotously colourful book takes a photographic journey through Queen Elizabeth II’s ten decades of colour-blocked style.The photographs, which span the colours of the rainbow and a century of style, are gloriously accessorised with captions and commentary by journalist and broadcaster Sali Hughes.From the dusky pinks the Queen wore in girlhood all the way through to #NeonAt90, by way of that hat she wore on the announcement of Brexit, and not forgetting her trusty Launer handbag ever at her side, this must-have collection celebrates the iconic fashion statements of our longest reigning and most vibrant monarch.

    From the Avengers and Ant-Man to Black Panther and Doctor Strange, this book spans over a decade of action-packed Marvel Studios movie releases. Filled with interesting facts and key information, whether your favorite hero is Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, the Wasp, Iron Man or Gamora, you'll be able to find out all about their story, superpowers, weapons, and much more. It isn't all heroes though; this book includes powerful villains and their followers, sinister spies, brave soldiers, and even ordinary people who find themselves caught up in epic battles!Whatever it is that you want to know, Marvel Studios Character Encyclopedia will make you an instant Marvel Studios expert. Wondering what Thor's hammer is called*, or where Vision came from? How Iron Man builds his suits, or who Thanos is? Then this is the book for you!*Mjolnir, just in case you were wondering!© 2018 MARVEL

    The books that followed, among them Slow Days, Fast Company and Sex and Rage, have seduced generations of readers with their unfailing wit and impossible glamour. What is less well known is that Babitz was a working journalist for the better part of three decades, writing for the likes of Rolling Stone, Vogue, and Esquire, as well as for off-the-beaten-path periodicals like Wet: The Magazine of Gourmet Bathing and Francis Ford Coppola’s short-lived City. Whether profiling Hollywood darlings, getting to the bottom of health crazes like yoga and acupuncture, remembering friends and lovers from her days hobnobbing with rock stars at the Troubadour and art stars at the Ferus Gallery, or writing about her beloved, misunderstood hometown, Los Angeles, Babitz approaches every assignment with an energy and verve that is all her own.I Used to Be Charming gathers nearly fifty pieces written between 1975 and 1997, including the full text of Babitz’s wry book-length investigation into the pioneering lifestyle brand Fiorucci. The title essay, published here for the first time, recounts the accident that came close to killing her in 1996; it reveals an uncharacteristically vulnerable yet never less than utterly charming Babitz.

    Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval, two of the show’s stars, fell in love on the show and have stuck together through it all. They've been talking about writing a cocktail book on the show for a few seasons, and now they're finally delivering the goods with this book that has drinks for every situation. It features a mix of classy cocktails for fancy special occasions and trashier recipes for those times when you just have a few random ingredients in your kitchen and want to keep the buzz going. Shots and recovery recipes are also included, so your pregame and morning after will be covered too. Woven throughout are brand-new photos and behind-the-scenes stories crafted with the help of Bravo insider and co-author Danny Pellegrino, making this a true must-have for fans of the show.

    The BTS phenomenon reaches far beyond the typical achievements of pop stars: as Jiyoung Lee illustrates, the changes that have been shown by BTS and their fandom ARMY are not confined to the music industry, but symptomatically shows significant sociocultural changes and revolutionary mutations in art, as well as a Zeitgeist or the political unconscious of the present age. Lee argues that BTS has made fissures in the oppressive hierarchical structure of existing society and analyzes the socio-critical implications of BTS’ lyrics as a kind of patricide on a social level. Their tendency toward horizontality is not limited to their message, but further inspires fans’ grassroots movements to bring about diverse sociocultural changes. Examining the relation between BTS and their fandom as well as BTS’ online-network-based art form through the concept of Gilles Deleuze, “Rhizome,” she further proposes novel concepts, “network-image” and “sharing value,” which are crucial to understanding the contemporary era’s art form based on the mobile network platform.

    Amid the chaos and confusion of the airport, he accidentally boards the wrong plane and ends up alone (again!) in New York City. Kevin goes sightseeing, checks into a hotel, and enjoys limo rides, all courtesy of his dad's credit card. But then he makes a shocking discovery: the burglars who tried to rob his house last year are back, and this time they plan to rob a toy store on Christmas Eve! Can Kevin stop them and save Christmas with the help of some new friends? Charmingly illustrated by Kim Smith, this sweet and funny adaptation will delight fans of the Home Alone franchise, young and old alike.

    In this collection, including two never-before-published essays, Nussbaum writes about her passion for television that began with stumbling upon "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"—a show that was so much more than it appeared—while she was a graduate student studying Victorian literature. What followed was a love affair with television, an education, and a fierce debate about whose work gets to be called “great” that led Nussbaum to a trailblazing career as a critic whose reviews said so much more about our culture than just what’s good on television. Through these pieces, she traces the evolution of female protagonists over the last decade, the complex role of sexual violence on TV, and what to do about art when the artist is revealed to be a monster. And she explores the links between the television antihero and the rise of Donald Trump.The book is more than a collection of essays. With each piece, Nussbaum recounts her fervent search, over fifteen years, for a new kind of criticism that resists the false hierarchy that elevates one form of culture over another. It traces her own struggle to punch through stifling notions of “prestige television,” searching for a wilder and freer and more varied idea of artistic ambition—one that acknowledges many types of beauty and complexity, and that opens to more varied voices. It’s a book that celebrates television as television, even as each year warps the definition of just what that might mean.

    After complaining about cheerfulness for decades from his trash can on Sesame Street, Oscar now shares his secrets for making sure you're as curmudgeonly as possible, all day, every day.It's the perfect gift for your grouchy friends, your annoyingly upbeat friends who could stand to be a little grouchier, and even just yourself--because a bad day can always get worse.Now get lost! And have a rotten day!An Imprint BookPRAISE FOR THE PURSUIT OF GROUCHINESS"MMM, me LOVE this book. So tasty! (Might be fun to read, too.)" --Cookie Monster

    It's a return to the hassles of overdue homework, not knowing how to talk to girls and a never-ending merry-go-round of madness courtesy of the best rogues' gallery in comics, each one more incredible than the last. You'll love watching Spidey tangle with Doctor Octopus and dig Sandman, the walking beach. With these and more faces from Peter's past -both familiar and surprising figures -you'll remember what made Spider-Man the world's greatest hero in the first place!

    For thirty-five years, Carol Spencer enjoyed an unparalleled reign as a Barbie fashion designer, creating some of Barbie’s most iconic looks from the early 1960s until the late 1990s.Barbie’s wide-ranging wardrobe—including princess gowns and daisy-print rompers, flirty sundresses and smart pantsuits— combined fashion trends and haute couture with a liberal dose of fantasy. In Dressing Barbie, the successful and prolific designer reminisces about her time at Mattel working with legendary figures such as Ruth Handler, Barbie’s creator, and Charlotte Johnson, the original Barbie designer, and talks about her best and most beloved clothing designs from each decade. But Carol’s most impressive creation is her own life. As Handler famously said, “Barbie always represented the fact that a girl has choices”—a credo Carol epitomized. In Dressing Barbie, she talks candidly about how she broke free of the constraints of the late 1950s to pursue a dazzling career and an independent life for herself.Over the course of her successful and prolific career, Carol won many accolades. She was the first designer to have her signature on the doll, the first to go on a signing tour, the first to design a limited-edition Barbie Doll for collectors, and the designer of the biggest selling Barbie of all time. Now, Carol is the first member of the inner circle to take fans behind the pink curtain, revealing the fashion world of Barbie, the quintessential California girl, as never before.

    (1897–1953) and Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1909–1993) wrote, produced, and directed over 150 pictures. With Orson Welles, Herman wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane and shared the picture’s only Academy Award. Joe earned the second pair of his four Oscars for writing and directing All About Eve, which also won Best Picture. Despite triumphs as diverse as Monkey Business and Cleopatra, and Pride of the Yankees and Guys and Dolls, the witty, intellectual brothers spent their Hollywood years deeply discontented and yearning for what they did not have—a career in New York theater. Herman, formerly an Algonquin Round Table habitué, New York Times and New Yorker theater critic, and playwright-collaborator with George S. Kaufman, never reconciled himself to screenwriting. He gambled away his prodigious earnings, was fired from all the major studios, and drank himself to death at fifty-five. While Herman drifted downward, Joe rose to become a critical and financial success as a writer, producer, and director, though his constant philandering with prominent stars like Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, and Gene Tierney distressed his emotionally fragile wife who eventually committed suicide. He wrecked his own health using uppers and downers in order to direct Cleopatra by day and finish writing it at night, only to be very publicly fired by Darryl F. Zanuck, an experience from which he never fully recovered. For this first dual portrait of the Mankiewicz brothers, Sydney Ladensohn Stern draws on interviews, letters, diaries, and other documents still in private hands to provide a uniquely intimate behind-the-scenes chronicle of the lives, loves, work, and relationship between these complex men.

    Raised mostly by his mother with an occasional cameo from his gangster father, Warren had an affinity and talent for music at an early age. Taking to the piano and guitar almost instantly, he began imitating and soon creating songs at every opportunity. After an impromptu performance in the right place at the right time, a record deal landed on the lap of a teenager who was eager to set out on his own and make a name for himself. But of course, where fame is concerned, things are never quite so simple.Drawing on original interviews with those closest to Zevon, including Crystal Zevon, Jackson Browne, Mitch Albom, Danny Goldberg, Barney Hoskyns, and Merle Ginsberg, Nothing's Bad Luck tells the story of one of rock's greatest talents. Journalist C.M. Kushins not only examines Zevon's troubled personal life and sophisticated, ever-changing musical style, but emphasizes the moments in which the two are inseparable, and ultimately paints Zevon as a hot-headed, literary, compelling, musical genius worthy of the same tier as that of Bob Dylan and Neil Young.In Nothing's Bad Luck, Kushins at last gives Warren Zevon the serious, in-depth biographical treatment he deserves, making the life of this complex subject accessible to fans old and new for the very first time.

    Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding shift pop from the background to the foreground, illuminating the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs.In 1939, Aaron Copland published What to Listen for in Music, the bestseller that made classical music approachable for generations of listeners. Eighty years later, Nate and Charlie update Copland's idea for a new audience and repertoire: 21st century pop, from Britney to Beyonc�, Outkast to Kendrick Lamar. Despite the importance of pop music in contemporary culture, most discourse only revolves around lyrics and celebrity. Switched on Pop gives readers the tools they need to interpret our modern soundtrack. Each chapter investigates a different song and artist, revealing musical insights such as how a single melodic motif follows Taylor Swift through every genre that she samples, Andr� 3000 uses metric manipulation to get listeners to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee create harmonic ambiguity in "Despacito" that mirrors the patterns of global migration.Replete with engaging discussions and eye-catching illustrations, Switched on Pop brings to life the musical qualities that catapult songs into the pop pantheon. Readers will find themselves listening to familiar tracks in new waysand not just those from the Top 40. The timeless concepts that Nate and Charlie define can be applied to any musical style. From fanatics to skeptics, teenagers to octogenarians, non-musicians to professional composers, every music lover will discover something ear-opening in Switched on Pop.

    Hailed by the likes of Bono, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant, Grace showcased Buckley's voice, passion, and influences and pointed to an inordinately promising future. Three short years later, at the age of thirty, he tragically drowned in Memphis. But his legend and stature have only grown since; in recent years, everyone from Adele to Coldplay to Radiohead has spoken of the impact Buckley's music had on them.For much of his life, Buckley diligently kept journals recording his goals, inspirations, aspirations, and creative struggles. These diaries amount to one of the most insightful life chronicles any musical artist has left behind. Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice marks the first-ever publication of Buckley's handwritten account of his journey from his days in Los Angeles in the late '80s through shortly before his passing. Combined with reproductions of other memorabilia--including letters, notes, and unpublished lyrics--this book takes readers and fans deep into Buckley's mind and life.

    A young cop morphs into obsessed lover and lust-crazed avenger. The Dahlia claims him. She is the deus ex machina of a boomtown in extremis. The cop's rogue investigation is a one-way ticket to hell.The Big Nowhere blends the crime novel and the political novel. It is winter, 1950--and the L.A. County Grand Jury is out to slam movieland Reds. It's a reverential shuck--and the three cops assigned to the job are out to grab all the glory they can. A series of brutal sex killings intervenes, and the job goes all-the-way bad.L.A. Confidential is the great novel of Los Angeles in the 1950s. Political corruption. Scandal-rag journalism. Bad racial juju and gangland wars. Six local stiffs slaughtered in an all-night hash house. The glorious and overreaching LAPD on an unprecedented scale.White Jazz gives us the tortured confession of a corrupt cop going down for the count. He's a slumlord, a killer, a parasitic exploiter. He's a pawn in a series of police power plays and starting to see that he's being had. He's just met a woman. Thus, he's determined to claw his way out of the horrifying world he's created--and he's determined to tell us everything.The L.A. Quartet is a groundbreaking work of American popular fiction.

    From the impassioned speeches of bold activists Karl Ulrichs and Audre Lorde to the birth of Pride and queer pop culture, Rainbow Revolutions charts the dramatic rise of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and celebrates the courageous individuals who stood up and demanded recognition. With bold and beautiful illustrations by pop artist Eve Lloyd Knight.

    As he began making his name in music with The Invisible Girls, Dead Or Alive, and The Sisters Of Mercy, Wayne was at first seduced and then ultimately corrupted, swapping the repression of his religious upbringing for its polar opposite: a lifestyle of total hedonism. From his early days raised as a Mormon to being schooled in gender bending by Pete Burns, from his move to Liverpool in the late 1970s to his remaining fanaticism with Liverpool FC, Salad Daze is an all-encompassing account of Wayne's personal and musical journey up until the formation of The Mission.

    Featuring maps, cutaway illustrations, and fun insights that show would-be adventurers how to travel and survive in these fantastical settings, along with original illustrations and archival images, the book shines a spotlight down the dark, foreboding corners of the most infamous locations in the worlds of D&D. The perfect jumping-on point for young fans of fantasy looking to give D&D a try, the book also features prompts to encourage creative problem-solving skills in the dangerous situations you may find yourself in when on D&D adventures.

    He famously played concerts in prisons, where he sang both murder ballads and gospel tunes in the same set. It's this juxtaposition between light and dark, writes Richard Beck, that makes Cash one of the most authentic theologians in memory.In Trains, Jesus, and Murder, Beck explores the theology of Johnny Cash by investigating a dozen of Cash's songs. In reflecting on Cash's lyrics, and the passion with which he sang them, we gain a deeper understanding of the enduring faith of the Man in Black.

    In addition to Forrest J. Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland, he published Help!, a magazine created by MAD’s Harvey Kurtzman, which featured early work by John Cleese, Gloria Steinem, Terry Gilliam, Robert Crumb, and Diane Arbus; Creepy and Eerie magazines, with covers by painter Frank Frazetta and comics art by Steve Ditko, Wallace Wood, Bernie Wrightson, Al Williamson, and many others. His most famous co-creation, the character Vampirella, debuted in her own magazine in 1969, and continues to be published today.

    . . Released more than four decades ago, the film version of Grease is one of the highest-grossing musicals of all time and a bona fide global sensation with legions of devoted fans across generations. For the first time ever, the film’s director, Randal Kleiser, looks back at the making of this legendary cultural landmark.Created in conjunction with Paramount Pictures and authorized by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey (via his Estate), the creators of the original musical stage play, Grease: The Director’s Notebook features rare and never-before-seen imagery from the studio’s archives, as well as Kleiser's production notes, dialogue changes, and more. The book’s heart is Kleiser’s own heavily annotated shooting script, along with his storyboards and sketches—including lines from the play that were added to the film’s script. Grease: The Director’s Notebook is a fitting tribute to this revered international phenomenon and the one book the movie’s adoring fans will want.TM & © 2019 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.TM & © 2019 James H. Jacobs Trust and Trust Under The Will of Warren Casey. All Rights Reserved.

    This is the sweet story of a painter (Bob Ross) who helps his squirrel friend, Peapod, find the perfect home to live in. Bob paints an actual Ross painting, "Meadow Lake," in this charming tale about helping friends and embracing the serenity of life. Bob, along with Peapod, go through the various steps and processes to painting, including praising those "happy little accidents" that happen along the way.

    Now in her ninety-fourth year, this timely celebration sheds new light on the myriad attributes and personal qualities she brings to the nation. From fortitude in the face of adversity to standing as the nation's ambassador all over the world, no one could doubt the work ethic that powers this remarkable woman, even into her nineties. Equally, her love of family - from her rock of over sixty years' marriage, Prince Philip, to her great grandchildren - shines through. But what are the secrets of her success? How does she still approach her day-to-day with such vitality and aplomb, even when culture and society are changing rapidly all around her?The Queen on fame: When an MP commented that it must be a strain meeting so many strangers all the time, the Queen smiled, 'It is not as difficult as it might seem. You see, I don't have to introduce myself. They all seem to know who I am.'The Queen on fashion: In the late sixties when Mary Quant and the mini skirt came to epitomize all that was fashionable, Princess Anne suggested her mother might also consider shortening her hemline. The Queen was adamant, 'I am not a film star.' The Queen on family: As Great Britain's most famous great grandmother, it is no surprise that the Queen values family life. 'Marriage gains from the web of family relationships between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, cousins, aunts and uncles.'In this book Karen Dolby unpicks the key elements that make the Queen so special to - and so loved by - the nation and presents a guide to how you too could put into practice some of Her Majesty's traits to help overcome adversity, find inner strength and present yourself as wonderfully considered and calm, even when all about you seems in chaos.

    But nobody knows what was really going on behind those watchful eyes when Anarchy hit the UK. How did a ballet-mad girl from sleepy Sussex make her way, via the clandestine gay clubs of Brighton and London, to 430 King's Road and the eye of punk's storm? How could she share hair-raising adventures with McLaren and Westwood, The Sex Pistols, Adam and his Ants, Derek Jarman and Andy Warhol, and then just disappear? With commentary from key players including Vivienne Westwood, Paul Cook, Marco Pirroni, Holly Johnson, and her partner behind the SEX/Seditionaries counter, Michael Collins, plus a wealth of never-before-seen images from Simon Barker, Sheila Rock, and Harri Peccinotti, Jordan finally reveals her outrageous life story.

    Although he produced few finished works, it was Leonardo who singlehandedly created the defining features of Western art: a realism based on subtle shading; depth using atmospheric effects; and dramatic contrasts between light and dark.What has never been told before, however, is how these revolutionary inventions were inserted into the bloodstream of Western art—and how they made Leonardo the internationally-renowned icon he is today. This is the great mystery of Leonardo’s legacy: if his tangible output was so limited, how did his mystique as a solitary genius survive five centuries of European history? And why does it continue to fascinate us in modern times?The Da Vinci Legacy is the first book to unravel this mystery by taking an immersive journey through the art, literature, science, and politics of Europe, from the Renaissance to today. Through captivating text enhanced by one hundred color images, this book takes off where Walter Isaacson’s portrait of Leonardo left off. It captures not only the reason for the enduring allure of The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper but also explores the secrets of Leonardo’s creativity, and the strange phenomena that intervened to make sure Leonardo was not forgotten to the dusty pages of history.The release of the book will coincide with the broadcast of The Search for the Mona Lisa, a dramatized documentary produced by Pantheon Studios in Santa Monica, Calif., which optioned the rights to The Da Vinci Legacy. Scheduled for broadcast on Public Television in May of 2019, the film was shot on location in Italy and France with more than 60 actors and extras, including renowned Italian actor Alessandro Demcenko as Leonardo da Vinci. Pantheon Studios previously produced the feature-length documentary Walt: The Man Behind the Myth, the official biography of Walt Disney, now streaming on Netflix.

     *** " Anna-Marie is a true-lifer metalhead. She was around at a critical time for the music, and tells a fascinating story of those times. Take a ride with her in this great book! -- Brian Slagel, founder and CEO, Metal Blade Records. In 1990, Anna-Marie left her disappointing Midwestern childhood behind and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to pursue her heavy metal dreams on the Sunset Strip. Bands like Mötley Crüe, Megadeth, and Guns N’ Roses were at the height of their popularity, and she landed right in the middle of the heavy-metal music scene. Welcomed by sunshine and possibilities, her California adventure began the very first day she arrived in magical Laurel Canyon. Soon, she was working in the music industry, and then for Metal Blade Records. Working with her favorite bands and witnessing music history was a dream come true. But - things were not all as they seemed. Grunge music had arrived from Seattle, and it was taking over the metal scene. Los Angeles turned into a dark force, forcing her to make tough choices in order to survive. This is a story of big magic, following your heart, and starting over. Anna-Marie is a real-life librarian, and a lifelong fan of heavy metal and rock music. This is Adventures of a Metalhead Librarian.

    As well as covering all 714 officially licensed NES games, the book also includes more than 160 unlicensed games released during its lifespan, giving for the first time a definitive history of this important console's full library. Written by a retro gaming expert with 30 years of gaming experience and a penchant for bad jokes, the NES Encyclopedia promises to be both informative and entertaining.The NES continues to enjoy a strong cult following among Nintendo fans and gamers in general with wide varieties of officially licensed merchandise proving ever popular: both for older fans who remember it the first time around, and younger gamers discovering the system for the first time through Nintendo’s regular re-releases of its older games.Nintendo’s most recent console, the Switch, is the fastest selling video game console of all time in the United States and Japan. Nintendo will be launching a variety of classic NES games for download on the system later in 2018, meaning a new audience of gamers is due to discover the NES for the first time.

    A creaking hunter among dust and cobwebs, you prowl the night places, seeking the souls on which you feed. You have done this since time immemorial, or so you believe; you have no memories of living as a man-thing like those you catch and eat. But human traces linger; your fingers trace clever arabesques in the dirt of your grave-place and with the flourishes come whispered songs in a language you've forgotten. Far away, in a museum, hangs your portrait in oil by a master five hundred years dead - you might have been lovers but the diary you kept then is long lost.A multi-foiled hardback, digest-sized, 188 fancy color pages: play in a couple of hours or a couple of weeks, solo play, or optional group play.

    Including hundreds of pieces of never-before-seen concept art and exclusive artists' commentary, this masterfully designed and gorgeously printed volume offers readers the chance to take in the magic of these fantastical worlds and unforgettable characters like never before!

    Readers will get the inside story on their favorite shows and may even discover some new ones.

    This book focuses in on the fierce, strong, and independent heroes, along with the real-life women integral to their development.The gorgeously illustrated volume features Wonder Woman™, Lois Lane, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Amanda Waller, and many more.• A vivid celebration of the amazing and inspirational women of DC• Features lush illustrations of each Super Hero and Super-Villain• Offers fans an enjoyable, in-depth look at their favorite DC womenDC: Women of Action is a celebration of the Super Heroes who have inspired us to reach new heights, find strength in adversity, and access our inner power for decades.• The perfect gift for DC comic fans, Comic Con attendees, and anyone who loves pop culture and strong female heroes• Celebrates the women in the DC universe and those behind-the-scenes• Great for those who loved DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe by Matthew K. Manning and Alex Irvine, DC Super Hero Girls: Hits and Myths by Shea Fontana, and Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh BardugoAll DC characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. (s19)

    Hardly confining himself to celebrating what makes these catchy melodies so unforgettable, Kapilow delves deeply into how issues of race, immigration, sexuality, and appropriation intertwine in masterpieces like Show Boat and West Side Story. A book not just about musical theater but about America itself, Listening for America is equally for the devotee, the singer, the music student, or for anyone intrigued by how popular music has shaped the larger culture, and promises to be the ideal gift book for years to come.

    Between George Lucas's American Graffiti in 1973 and Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused twenty years later, lust-driven laugh riots on the order of Animal House, Porky's, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Revenge of the Nerds boomed at the box office and conquered pop culture by celebrating adolescent misbehavior run amok.Puberty-powered comedy classics including Meatballs, Caddyshack, Valley Girl, and The Last American Virgin fused hormonal overloads with anti-authority abandon and below-the-belt slapstick to create a genre that also unleashed the anarchic, sex-mad likes of The Swinging Cheerleaders, H.O.T.S., Hardbodies, Private School, Joysticks, Spring Break, and Zapped!--as well as the mainstream variations Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Pretty in Pink.All-seeing author Mike "McBeardo" McPadden (Heavy Metal Movies) passes righteous judgment over the entire genre, one boobs-and-boner opus at a time. In more than 350 reviews and dozens of bonus features, Teen Movie Hell lays the crucible of coming-of-age comedies bare, from party-hearty farces such as The Pom-Pom Girls, Up the Creek, and Fraternity Vacation to the extreme insanity exploding all over King Frat, Screwballs, The Party Animal, and Surf II: The End of the Trilogy.Tap the keg, tailor your toga, and belly flop hard into the exploitation inferno of bikinis beaches, locker rooms, summer camps, study halls, wayward teachers, cool camp counselors, wet-T-shirts, custom vans, sexy ESP, shower peepholes, and other overlooked penal code violations!

    With recipes for alcoholic versions of childhood favorites like Ecto-Cooler and Mondo as well as creative pop-culture inspired originals like the Rum and Stimpy and Semi-Warmed Kind of Cider, this is a clever concept that’s fully on trend. A perfectly giftable mix of humor, nostalgia, and tasty recipes.

    But, the Bible often doesn't speak directly to such issues. Even when it does, it can be confusing to know how best to apply the biblical teaching.In Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues authors Joshua D. Chatraw and Karen Swallow Prior first offer a broadly accessible framework for cultural engagement and then explore specific hot topics in current Western culture including:SexualityGender RolesHuman Life and Reproduction TechnologyImmigration and RaceCreation and Creature CarePoliticsWorkArtsWar, Weapons, and Capital PunishmentFeaturing contributions from over forty top thinkers, proponents of various views on the specific topics present their approaches in their own words, providing readers an opportunity to fairly consider options.Unique in how it addresses both big-picture questions about cultural engagement and pressing current issues, Cultural Engagement provides a thorough and broad introduction useful for students, professors, pastors, college ministers, and any believer wanting to more effectively exercise their faith in the public square.

    This nostalgic release features beautiful, full-color photographs that bring the event back to life, sharing insights on how the festival is still making an impact on pop culture.

    Some dynamic women are naughty and some are nice, but all of them buck the narrow confines of their expected gender role -- whether by taking small steps or revolutionary strides.Through engaging profiles and more than 100 photographs, Dynamic Dames looks at fifty of the most inspiring female roles in film from the 1920s to today. The characters are discussed along with the exciting off-screen personalities and achievements of the actresses and, on occasion, female writers and directors, who brought them to life.Among the stars profiled in their most revolutionary roles are Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck, Josephine Baker, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, Barbra Streisand, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Dorothy Dandridge, Katharine Hepburn, Pam Grier, Jane Fonda, Gal Gadot, Emma Watson, Zhang Ziyi, Uma Thurman, Jennifer Lawrence, and many more.

    Now, this comprehensive book details the process of bringing the story to the small screen with forty-five exclusive cast and crew interviews, backstage and set photography, concept art, costume design, and more.  Delve deep into the dystopia of Gilead as interviews with the show’s cast and creators provide insight into the inspiration behind the characters, settings, and themes, as well as its parallels to the real-world political climate. Showcasing striking visuals and insightful commentary, The Art and Making of The Handmaid’s Tale is the definitive exploration of one of television’s most critically acclaimed shows.

    You will see decisions artfully wrought, so as to fool some of the people long enough to get films into theaters. You will read what theater managers thought of such craftiness, and hear from fans as they applauded creativity or condemned crassness. You will see how these films caused a grass-roots movement to gain control of Hollywood-and why they were "forbidden" for fifty years.The book spotlights the twenty-two films that led to the strict new Code of 1934, including Red-Headed Woman, Call Her Savage, and She Done Him Wrong. You'll see Paul Muni shoot a path to power in the original Scarface; Barbara Stanwyck climb the corporate ladder on her own terms in Baby Face; and misfits seek revenge in Freaks.More than 200 newly restored (and some never-before-published) photographs illustrate pivotal moments in the careers of Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, and Greta Garbo; and the pre-Code stardom of Claudette Colbert, Cary Grant, Marlene Dietrich, James Cagney, and Mae West. This is the definitive portrait of an unforgettable era in filmmaking.

    Geek. Dungeon Master. These used to be derisive labels. But now, geek is the new chic.Humorist, cartoonist, and geek culture enthusiast Ellen Elliott invites you to embrace your inner Spock and boldly go where no devotional has gone before—on a righteous, pop culture-filled quest for truth, meaning, and authenticity.From Lost to Back to the Future to Minecraft, and worlds beyond, join Ellen as she searches for spiritual Easter eggs hidden all over the geek multiverse. Get a Kung Fu grip on what God's Prime Directive says on topics such as hardship, fear, courage, and more.And now, true believer, you know what this book is all about. And as you also know, knowing is half the battle.

    Also here are recollections from Steve Ditko, Wallace Wood, John Romita Sr., and more Marvel Bullpen stalwarts who worked with both Kirby and Lee. Rounding out this book is a study of the duo’s careers after they parted ways as collaborators, including Kirby’s difficulties at Marvel Comics in the 1970s, his last hurrah with Lee on the Silver Surfer Graphic Novel, and his exhausting battle to get back his original art―and creator credit―from Marvel. Stuf’ Said gives both men their say, compares their recollections, and tackles the question, “Who really created the Marvel Comics Universe?”.

    Drag artists have now sashayed their way to snatch the crowns as the Queens of mainstream entertainment.Through informative and witty essays chronicling over 100 years of drag, readers will embark on a Priscilla-like journey through pop culture, from television shows like The Milton Berle Show, Bosom Buddies, and RuPaul's Drag Race, films like Some Like It Hot, To Wong Foo..., and Tootsie, and Broadway shows like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, La Cage aux Folles, and Kinky Boots.With stops in cities around the globe, and packed with interviews and commentaries on the dramas, joys, and love that make-up a life in wigs and heels, Drag features contributions from today's most groundbreaking and popular artists, including Bianca del Rio, Miss Coco Peru, Hedda Lettuce, Lypsinka, and Varla Jean Merman, as well as notable performers as Harvey Fierstein and Charles Busch. It includes more than 100 photos--many from performers' personal collections, and a comprehensive timeline of drag herstory.

    

     He was a hardworking child actor in the early 1970s, appearing on dozens of popular films and TV programs. Then he was offered a chance to make a record and “Leif Garrett, teen idol” was born. Millions of teenage girls all over the world covered their walls with his picture. His face adorned hundreds of international magazine covers as he became one of the biggest and most desired heartthrobs in history. There were jet-setting tours, TV specials, and hit records, along with an endless supply of beautiful women, alcohol, and ultimately, the drugs that sent this shooting star into the darkest depths of addiction. Idol Truth is a harrowing survivor’s story as well as a charmed tale filled with compelling pop culture characters—from Michael Jackson and Brooke Shields to John Belushi, Freddie Mercury, and many more. It’s the first time ever that Leif Garrett has come clean about his life, revealing all the details of his spectacular journey.

    Paul: a saloon. Since then, bars, taverns, saloons, and speakeasies have been part of the cultural, social, and physical landscape of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Serving as neighborhood landmarks, sites of political engagement, welcoming centers for immigrants, hotbeds of criminal activity, targets of ire from church and state alike, and, of course, a place to get a drink, the story of the taverns and saloons of the Twin Cities is the story of the cities themselves. In Closing Time, Bill Lindeke and Andy Sturdevant dive into tales from famous and infamous drinking establishments from throughout Twin Cities history. Readers are led on a multigenerational pub crawl through speakeasies, tied houses, rathskellers, cocktail lounges, gin mills, fern bars, social clubs, singles bars, gastropubs, and dives. Featuring beloved bars like Matt's, Palmer's, the Payne Reliever, and Moby Dick's, the book also resurrects memories of long-forgotten establishments cherished in their day. Lindeke and Sturdevant highlight neighborhood dives, downtown nightspots, and out-of-the-way hideaways, many of which continue to thrive today. Closing Time brings together stories of these spaces and the people who frequented them.

    This time, their journey will take them through the Sleeping Worlds, where they must find the seven Keyholes to gain a new kind of power. But not long after their test begins, the two friends find themselves separated, journeying through different versions of each world. What's going on? And what awaits them at the end...?

    Discover every detail of the Millennium Falcon, look around the Death Star, examine Poe Dameron's X-wing starfighter, and find out about all your favorite LEGO Star Wars minifigures-from Rey to Darth Vader. Learn how the awesome sets are created in the Beyond the Brick chapter, which features concept art and an interview with the LEGO Star Wars creative team.The LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary - New Edition has been fully updated and expanded to cover the latest LEGO Star Wars sets, and to tell you everything there is to know about LEGO Star Wars. The book also comes with an exciting exclusive LEGO Star Wars minifigure!(c)2019 The LEGO Group. (c) & TM 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd.

    Trilogy. It's James Ellroy's pop history of the 1960s, his window-peeper's view of government misconduct, his dirty trickster's take on the great events of an incendiary era. It's a tour de force of the American idiom, and an acknowledged masterpiece. American Tabloid gives us Jack Kennedy's ride, seen from an insider's perspective. We're there for the rigged 1960 election. We're there for the Bay of Pigs fiasco. We're the eyes and ears and souls of three rogue cops who've signed on for the ride and come to see Jack as their betrayer. We're Jack's pimps and hatchet men, and we're there for that baroque slaying in Dallas.The Cold Six Thousand takes us from Dallas to Vietnam to Memphis to the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in L.A. We're rubbing shoulders with RFK and MLK, calamitous klansmen, noted mafiosi. We're forced to relive the American sixties--and we come away breathless.The first two books of the Underworld U.S.A. Trilogy revisit the most anarchic decade in our history. They are defined by their brutal linguistic flair and reckless panache.

    While extreme, these responses are far from unusual, with similar uproars around the female protagonists of the new Star Wars films to full-fledged geek culture wars and harassment campaigns, as exemplified by the #GamerGate controversy that began in 2014. Over the past decade, fan and geek culture has moved from the margins to the mainstream as fans have become tastemakers and promotional partners, with fan art transformed into official merchandise and fan fiction launching new franchises. But this shift has left some people behind. Suzanne Scott points to the ways in which the "men's rights" movement and antifeminist pushback against "social justice warriors" connect to new mainstream fandom, where female casting in geek-nostalgia reboots is vilified and historically feminized forms of fan engagement--like cosplay and fan fiction--are treated as less worthy than male-dominant expressions of fandom like collection, possession, and cataloguing. While this gender bias harkens back to the origins of fandom itself, Fake Geek Girls contends that the current view of women in fandom as either inauthentic masqueraders or unwelcome interlopers has been tacitly endorsed by Hollywood franchises and the viewer demographics they selectively champion. It offers a view into the inner workings of how digital fan culture converges with old media and its biases in new and novel ways.

    The Pokémon universe is comprised of a unique group of more than 700 creatures that players can find, capture, train, trade, collect, and use in battle against their rivals in the quest to become top Pokémon Trainers. Each Pokémon is classified by specific types--such as Fire, Water, Grass, Psychic, and Fighting--each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

    The Caped Crusader. The Dark Knight. The World's Greatest Detective. Whatever you call him, Bruce "The Batman" Wayne remains one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time. And to mark Batman's 80th anniversary, this volume encapsulates the most memorable moments that have left fans stunned, in awe, or heartbroken since his inception. While Gotham is perpetually in peril, the world in general is better with the Bat in it. Whether it's his sharp wit, his extravagant mansion, or extensive back catalog of vehicles and gadgets. From creator Bob Kane to Tom King's 100-issue run that started in 2018, Batman has morphed with the times. There's so much to love about Batman and the characters that surrounds them. His villains, his Robins, his love interests…they all find him as irresistible as the general public. The moral ambiguity that makes him one of the most relatable characters in DC's extended universe. Part of "The Big Three" and host to a slew of orphaned Robins, Batman is a pivotal part to many characters in the extended DCU. Batman has had many writers, his cowl has been worn by a plethora of different actors, and while many people have a favorite Batman, there's no doubt that he's the fan favorite.  No comic book nerd's collection is complete without Batman: 100 Greatest Moments. Also available from the 100 Greatest Moments of DC Comics series, explore the greatest moments of: Justice League, Super Heroines, Super-Villains, and Flash.

    From going with Princess Bubblegum on a band tour with the Scream Queens, to derby racing across the Ice Kingdom, to banding together with Finn and Jake to fight her monstrous dad Hunson Abadeer, Adventure Time™: Marceline collects all the stories that make the Eisner Award-winning series perfect for fans of all ages. Join an all-star cast of creators, including Faith Erin Hicks (Buffy: The High School Years), Hanna K (Adventure Time™ Storyboarder), S.M. Vidaurri (Steven Universe™: Harmony), Aatmaja Pandya (Elements: Fire), Jorge Monlongo (Over the Garden Wall™: Hollow Town), and more in this timeless collection of Marceline’s greatest Adventure Time™ stories.

    In the 1950s the space race between the USA and the USSR was well and truly on, and was for both a matter of pride and propaganda. But before man ventured into the cosmos, his four-legged friends would pave the way for space exploration. The first canine cosmonaut was Laika, meaning 'barker'. The little stray could never have anticipated that she would one day float 200 miles above the Moscow streets. She would be canonized as a proletarian hero, appearing on stamps, postcards and souvenirs. Her successors were Belka and Strelka, the first dogs to successfully return safely to Earth, and with them, the cult of the space dog was born.In a regime that eschewed celebrating individual achievement, the space dogs became Soviet superstars, with a vast array of merchandise, books and films in their honor.A must for read for fans of Soviet Space Dogs by Olesya Turkina and Designed in the USSR: 1950-1989 by Moscow Design Museum..

    From Sticks and stones can break your bones. But cement pays homage to tradition, to Isn't it amazing how I can feel so bad, and still look so good? to As they say in St. Olaf: 'Helderbargenflergenflurfennerfen!', America's four favorite housemates share their hard-earned life lessons.

    The book offers step-by-step instructions, with full-color photographs of the finished projects. Over 30 years since its premier, The Golden Girls is more popular than ever. It's time to celebrate these four fabulous friends—and cross stitch is the perfect way to do it! Decorate your home with framed finished pieces or use the patterns to personalize household items like tea towels, pillowcases, and aprons.   This fabulous kit includes a bamboo embroidery hoop, embroidery needle, 6 skeins of embroidery floss, 2 pieces of cross stitch fabric, and the following patterns:Rose, Dorothy, Blanche, and Sophia with "Thank You for Being a Friend""Shady Pines, Ma!" with treesSophia portrait with "Picture It…Sicily!" Blanche portrait, a lipstick, and hearts with "Flirting is Part of My Heritage"Rose and bananas with "The Older You Get, the Better You Get. Unless You're a Banana."Hearts, palm trees, and flamingos with "East Dirt and Die, Trash."Dorothy on the phone with "No! No, I Will Not Have a Nice Day."Rose and Sophia with "Have I Given You Any Indication at All That I Care?""As They Say in St. Olaf…"Shoes, lipsticks, and mirror with "My beauty has always been a curse.""Dorothy & Rose & Blanche & Sophia"The Girls with "Everything I Know I Learned from Rose, Blanche, Dorothy & Sophia"

    Created by Nic Pizzolatto and starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, the show reinvigorated the detective genre on television, infusing it with philosophy, metaphysics, and macabre mystery. With this unique mix of elements, True Detective is more than a crime drama – it’s an examination of the illusory nature of self, the corruption of society, the malleable nature of reality, and the meaning (or lack thereof) of life.In Time is a Flat Circle, Melissa Milazzo examines cross-genre storytelling in the first season of True Detective, while also exploring the season’s literary, cinematic, musical, and comic-book influences. It is a must-have for any True Detective fan.From Sequart Organization. More info at http://sequart.org

    In The Art of Nothing: 25 Years of Mutts and the Art of Patrick McDonnell, the award-winning author and illustrator’s beloved comic strip is celebrated as well as his bestselling children’s classics, including Me . . . Jane, The Gift of Nothing, South, Just Like Heaven, Hug Time, and Wag!, all shot from the original art. Also included are rare and never-before-seen artwork, proposals, outtakes, and developmental work, along with autobiographical commentary, a brand-new, career-spanning interview conducted by artist Lynda Barry, and an introduction by Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose).

    You do thisso you can wake up in the morning and put onyour lipstick and high heels and pray to something up in the sky although you don’ttrust the sky anymore and really, the onlything you trust is a man named Foxbut even he disappoints you sometimes.

    Strange.An incredible artbook showcasing Spidey, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Daredevil, Millie the Model (!), and the ever lovin' blue-eyed Thing--and many marvelous more! Witty wordage, pulse-pounding patter, and zany zingers by Stan "The Man" Lee!

    In The Joker Psychology: Evil Clowns and the Women Who Love Them, Dr. Travis Langley, author of the bestselling Batman and Psychology, returns to Gotham City to explore the twisted psyche of this great supervillain, as well as the personalities who are inexorably drawn to it. Paying special attention to the strange dynamics of relationships like the one between The Joker and Harley Quinn, this collection of 15 chapters (including some very special interviews with the people who brought The Joker and Harley Quinn to life in comics and onscreen), this collection analyzes:Why a bright, laughing monster who looks like a clown could be the ultimate antagonist to a grim, brooding hero who looks like a monster.The relationship between a therapist and her patient—and what happens when a therapist crosses the line, as Harley Quinn does when she falls for The Joker.How a smart person could fall for the most dangerous of criminals.Why so many fans find Harley Quinn inspirational.How different kinds of therapy could (or could not) help twisted minds like Mister J and Harley Quinn.The development of a fictional character that so completely embodies psychopathy (including interviews with creators who have shaped The Joker's character over the years).

    From Classical Hollywood to alt-Nollywood, mumblegore to J-horror, 1000 Women in Horror considers figures whose work has left a significant mark on the genre, both behind and in front of the camera.

    From the late 1960s until it closed in 2008, Holloway House specialized in cheap paperbacks with page-turning narratives featuring black protagonists in crime stories, conspiracy thrillers, prison novels, and Westerns. From Iceberg Slim’s Pimp to Donald Goines’s Never Die Alone, the thread that tied all of these books together—and made them distinct from the majority of American pulp—was an unfailing veneration of black masculinity. Zeroing in on Holloway House, Street Players explores how this world of black pulp fiction was produced, received, and recreated over time and across different communities of readers.Kinohi Nishikawa contends that black pulp fiction was built on white readers’ fears of the feminization of society—and the appeal of black masculinity as a way to counter it. In essence, it was the original form of blaxploitation: a strategy of mass-marketing race to suit the reactionary fantasies of a white audience. But while chauvinism and misogyny remained troubling yet constitutive aspects of this literature, from 1973 onward, Holloway House moved away from publishing sleaze for a white audience to publishing solely for black readers. The standard account of this literary phenomenon is based almost entirely on where this literature ended up: in the hands of black, male, working-class readers. When it closed, Holloway House was synonymous with genre fiction written by black authors for black readers—a field of cultural production that Nishikawa terms the black literary underground. But as Street Players demonstrates, this cultural authenticity had to be created, promoted, and in some cases made up, and there is a story of exploitation at the heart of black pulp fiction’s origins that cannot be ignored.

    You'll also go behind the scenes of Tarantino's latest epic, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. As you make your way through Tarantino's incredible career, discover what inspired him, his working methods and the breadth of his talent.Packed with stunning pictures from the Kobal archives, this biography explores the genesis of Tarantino's unique directorial style and provides insight into his inspirations and his frequent collaborations with favoured actors.

     Originally recorded for the 2013 episodes of the horror fiction podcast, these essays are as varied as the horror genre itself. Some are funny, some disturbing, all are honest. After all, Pseudopod has stories for you and, as always, they promise they're true.

    It features over 200 high-resolution images that have been digitally-enhanced in order to give them maximum impact.) This 3-volume series of propaganda posters is focused on the vast amount of propaganda that was produced for World War One and World War Two, with the First World War representing the first time that governments had produced large-scale organized amounts of propaganda in order to influence public opinion and to encourage certain values and ideas among their populations. The propaganda poster became perhaps the most important and interesting form of propaganda produced by all the governments involved in the two world wars.  This series of Kindle Coffee Table Books consists of nearly 700 war propaganda posters, mostly from the United States (which produced nearly 200,000 different designs), but also from a number of other countries. The bulk of the collection is from World War Two, with a smaller number from World War One. Chapters have been organized to represent different themes. They include such things as encouraging people to buy war bonds, motivating workers in factories to produce more armaments and other war necessities, warning soldiers about the dangers of venereal diseases, creating a patriotic fervor among the populace and, of course, demonizing the enemy. Posters were placed in places such as factories, post offices, train stations, schools, restaurants, and stores. Many of the posters in this collection are rather dark and even gruesome, and one of the more troubling aspects of the posters is the vicious racist portrayals of the enemies, primarily the Japanese. Apparently, if you wanted to demonize the enemy in wartime, it was considered permissible to be over-the-top in depicting racist images.  But the main purpose of this series is to foster an appreciation for the art and the artists that created these remarkable posters. Competitions were held among government agencies, which would then choose the best designs. The artists were not compensated for their work, but perhaps saw it as their patriotic contribution to the war effort.

    Jean O'Malley Halley, a self-professed "horse girl," contends that this relationship and its cultural signifiers influence the manner in which young girls define their identity when it comes to gender. Halley examines how popular culture, including the "pony book" genre, uses horses to encourage conformity to gender norms but also insists that the loving relationship between a girl and a horse fundamentally challenges sexist and mainstream ideas of girlhood.Horse Crazy looks at the relationships between girls and horses through the frameworks of Michel Foucault's concepts of normalization and biopower, drawing conclusions about the way girls' agency is both normalized and resistant to normalization. Segments of Halley's own experiences with horses as a young girl, as well as experiences from the perspective of other girls, are sources for examination. "Horsey girls," as she calls them, are girls who find a way to defy the expectations given to them by society--thinness, obsession with makeup and beauty, frailty--and gain the possibility of freedom in the process.Drawing on Nicole Shukin's uses of animal capital theories, Halley also explores the varied treatment of horses themselves as an example of the biopolitical use of nonhuman animals and the manipulation and exploitation of horse life. In so doing she engages with common ways we think and feel about animals and with the technologies of speciesism.

     “It’s both an architecture and movie fan’s dream.” - Los Angeles Times "Strikingly designed." - Publishers Weekly “Explores the cinematic tradition of antiheroes with architecturally significant private spaces." - Architectural Digest “A fascinating gift for that highbrow nerd in your life.” - Syfy Wire Why do bad guys live in good houses? From Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to Nathan Bateman's ultra-modern abode in Ex Machina, big-screen villains often live in architectural splendor. From a design standpoint, the villain’s lair, as popularized in many of our favorite movies, is a stunning, sophisticated, envy-inducing expression of the warped drives and desires of its occupant. Lair: Radical Homes and Hideouts of Movie Villains, celebrates and considers several iconic villains’ lairs from recent film history.From futuristic fantasies to deathtrap-laden hives, from dwellings in space to those under the sea, pop culture and architecture join forces in these outlandish, primarily modern homes and in Lair, which features buildings from fifteen films, including: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Star Wars The Incredibles Blade Runner 2049 You Only Live Twice The Ghost Writer Body Double North by Northwest    Edited by acclaimed architect Chad Oppenheim with Andrea Gollin, Lair includes interviews with production designers and other industry professionals such as Ralph Eggleston, Richard Donner, Roger Christian, David Scheunemann, Gregg Henry, and Mark Digby. Contributors include director Michael Mann, cultural critic Christopher Frayling, museum director Joseph Rosa, and architect Amy Murphy. Architectural illustrations and renderings by Carlos Fueyo provide multiple in-depth views of these spaces.

    Independent of any one set value, memes are famously the mode of conveyance for the alt-right, the irony left, and the apoliticos alike, and they are impervious to many economic valuations: the attempts made in co-opting their discourse in advertising and big business have made little headway, and have usually been derailed by retaliative meming. POST MEMES: SEIZING THE MEMES OF PRODUCTION takes advantage of the meme's subversive adaptability and ripeness for a focused, in-depth study. Pulling together the interrogative forces of a raft of thinkers at the forefront of tech theory and media dissection, this collection of essays paves a way to articulating the semiotic fabric of the early 21st century's most prevalent means of content posting, and aims at the very seizing of the memes of production for the imagining and creation of new political horizons.With contributions from Scott and McKenzie Wark, Patricia Reed, Jay Owens, Thomas Hobson and Kaajal Modi, Dominic Pettman, Bogna M. Konior, and Eric Wilson, among others, this essay volume offers the freshest approaches available in the field of memes studies and inaugurates a new kind of writing about the newest manifestations of the written online. The book aims to become the go-to resource for all students and scholars of memes, and will be of the utmost interest to anyone interested in the internet's most viral phenomenon.ABOUT THE EDITORSALFIE BOWN is the author of several books including "The Playstation Dreamworld" (Polity, 2017) and "In the Event of Laughter: Psychoanalysis, Literature and Comedy" (Bloomsbury, 2018). He is also a journalist for the Guardian, the Paris Review, and other outlets.DAN BRISTOW is a recovering academic, a bookseller, and author of "Joyce and Lacan: Reading, Writing, and Psychoanalysis" (Routledge, 2016) and "2001: A Space Odyssey and Lacanian Psychoanalytic Theory" (Palgrave, 2017). He is also the co-creator with Alfie Bown of Everyday Analysis, now based at New Socialist magazine.

    In her latest body of work, collected in this new publication, Galembo turns to Mexico, where she captures cultural performances with a subterranean political edge. Using a direct, unaffected portrait style, Galembo captures her subjects informally posed but often strikingly attired in traditional or ritualistic dress. Masking is a complex tradition in which the participants transcend the physical world and enter the spiritual realm. Masks, costumes and body paint transform the human body and encode a rich range of political, artistic, theatrical, social and religious meanings on the body. In her vibrant color photographs, Galembo highlights the artistry of the performers, how they use materials from their immediate environment to morph into a fantastical representation of themselves and an idealized vision of a mythical figure. In a gorgeous, fascinating photographic survey of Mexico’s masking practices, Galembo captures her subjects suspended between past, present and future, with their religious, political and cultural affiliations—their personal and collective identifications—displayed on their bodies. Photographer Phyllis Galembo (born 1952) received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1977, and was Professor in the Fine Arts Department of SUNY Albany from 1978 to 2018. A 2014 Guggenheim Fellow, Galembo has photographs in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library. Her photographs of ritual masks in Africa, the Diaspora and beyond have been the subject of several monographic publications, including Maske (Aperture, 2016).

    Don't miss your chance to become a Battle Royale legend!

    Nowhere else can one find this curated collection of reviews with such special features as lists of best films by category and year, as well as unique recommendations and sidebars for the modern viewer--including what to watch and how: from DVD and Blu-Ray to streaming platforms.In an era when most students and fans of film simply rely on the Internet for information, this category killer will prove its worth as a relevant and indispensable gift and reference.

    It features over 200 high-resolution images that have been digitally-enhanced in order to give them maximum impact.) This 3-volume series of propaganda posters is focused on the vast amount of propaganda that was produced for World War One and World War Two, with the First World War representing the first time that governments had produced large-scale organized amounts of propaganda in order to influence public opinion and to encourage certain values and ideas among their populations. The propaganda poster became perhaps the most important and interesting form of propaganda produced by all the governments involved in the two world wars.  This series of Kindle Coffee Table Books consists of nearly 700 war propaganda posters, mostly from the United States (which produced nearly 200,000 different designs), but also from a number of other countries. The bulk of the collection is from World War Two, with a smaller number from World War One. Chapters have been organized to represent different themes. They include such things as encouraging people to buy war bonds, motivating workers in factories to produce more armaments and other war necessities, warning soldiers about the dangers of venereal diseases, creating a patriotic fervor among the populace and, of course, demonizing the enemy. Posters were placed in places such as factories, post offices, train stations, schools, restaurants, and stores. Many of the posters in this collection are rather dark and even gruesome, and one of the more troubling aspects of the posters is the vicious racist portrayals of the enemies, primarily the Japanese. Apparently, if you wanted to demonize the enemy in wartime, it was considered permissible to be over-the-top in depicting racist images.  But the main purpose of this series is to foster an appreciation for the art and the artists that created these remarkable posters. Competitions were held among government agencies, which would then choose the best designs. The artists were not compensated for their work, but perhaps saw it as their patriotic contribution to the war effort.

    And he showed great innovation with his determination to build his most inventive car--one completely made of soybeans.With a mind for ingenuity, Henry Ford looked to improve life for others. After the Great Depression struck, Ford especially wanted to support ailing farmers. For two years, Ford and his team researched ways to use farmers' crops in his Ford Motor Company. They discovered that the soybean was the perfect answer. Soon, Ford's cars contained many soybean plastic parts, and Ford incorporated soybeans into every part of his life. He ate soybeans, he wore clothes made of soybean fabric, and he wanted to drive soybeans, too. Award-winning author Peggy Thomas and illustrator Edwin Fotheringham explore this American icon's little-known quest.

    Drawing on the history and power of children’s fantasy literature, Re-Enchanted argues that magic, medievalism, and childhood hold the paradoxical ability to re-enchant modern life.   Focusing on works by authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Susan Cooper, Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, and Nnedi Okorafor, Re-Enchanted uncovers a new genealogy for medievalist fantasy—one that reveals the genre to be as important to the history of English studies and literary modernism as it is to shaping beliefs across geographies and generations. Maria Sachiko Cecire follows children’s fantasy as it transforms over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries—including the rise of diverse counternarratives and fantasy’s move into “high-brow” literary fiction. Grounded in a combination of archival scholarship and literary and cultural analysis, Re-Enchanted argues that medievalist fantasy has become a psychologized landscape for contemporary explorations of what it means to grow up, live well, and belong. The influential “Oxford School” of children’s fantasy connects to key issues throughout this book, from the legacies of empire and racial exclusion in children’s literature to what Christmas magic tells us about the roles of childhood and enchantment in Anglo-American culture.  Re-Enchanted engages with critical debates around what constitutes high and low culture during moments of crisis in the humanities, political and affective uses of childhood and the mythological past, the anxieties of modernity, and the social impact of racially charged origin stories.

    S. Lewis, Science Fiction astounds us with wonder. Science Fiction Grandmaster John C Wright here presents essays on topics both deep and trivial surrounding the strange and wonderful worlds of science fiction and fantasy. Thoughtful, humorous, deep, or absurd, Wright travels the width of the cosmos and plumbs the deeps of eternity through the lens of simple space adventure stories to say what these flights of fancy say about life on earth, and the secrets hidden in the human heart.

    They're on TV and in classrooms and museums, but it's sometimes hard to believe that dinosaurs once walked on the same ground as us. The poets in this anthology bring dinosaurs out of their cases and into your home, and ask them politely to be careful with the carpet.The poems in Dragons of the Prime tackle the big questions: what would a baby diplodocus pray for, and just how big is a dinosaur's egg? There are poems about dinosaurs in their Jurassic heyday, poems about new discoveries and the latest scientific knowledge, and poems about the history of how humans have imagined these amazing beasts.