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American Lightning
by Howard BlumIt was an explosion that reverberated across the country--and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.In American Lightning, acclaimed author Howard Blum masterfully evokes the incredible circumstances that led to the original "crime of the century"--and an aftermath more dramatic than even the crime itself. With smoke still wafting up from the charred ruins, the city's mayor reacts with undisguised excitement when he learns of the arrival, only that morning, of America's greatest detective, William J. Burns, a former Secret Service man who has been likened to Sherlock Holmes. Surely Burns, already world famous for cracking unsolvable crimes and for his elaborate disguises, can run the perpetrators to ground. Through the work of many months, snowbound stakeouts, and brilliant forensic sleuthing, the great investigator finally identifies the men he believes are responsible for so much destruction. Stunningly, Burns accuses the men--labor activists with an apparent grudge against the Los Angeles Times's fiercely anti-union owner--of not just one heinous deed but of being part of a terror wave involving hundreds of bombings. While preparation is laid for America's highest profile trial ever--and the forces of labor and capital wage hand-to-hand combat in the streets--two other notable figures are swept into the drama: industry-shaping filmmaker D.W. Griffith, who perceives in these events the possibility of great art and who will go on to alchemize his observations into the landmark film The Birth of a Nation; and crusading lawyer Clarence Darrow, committed to lend his eloquence to the defendants, though he will be driven to thoughts of suicide before events have fully played out.Simultaneously offering the absorbing reading experience of a can't-put-it-down thriller and the perception-altering resonance of a story whose reverberations continue even today, American Lightning is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.From the Hardcover edition.
American Lightning
by Howard BlumIt was an explosion that reverberated across the country--and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come.In American Lightning, acclaimed author Howard Blum masterfully evokes the incredible circumstances that led to the original "crime of the century"--and an aftermath more dramatic than even the crime itself. With smoke still wafting up from the charred ruins, the city's mayor reacts with undisguised excitement when he learns of the arrival, only that morning, of America's greatest detective, William J. Burns, a former Secret Service man who has been likened to Sherlock Holmes. Surely Burns, already world famous for cracking unsolvable crimes and for his elaborate disguises, can run the perpetrators to ground. Through the work of many months, snowbound stakeouts, and brilliant forensic sleuthing, the great investigator finally identifies the men he believes are responsible for so much destruction. Stunningly, Burns accuses the men--labor activists with an apparent grudge against the Los Angeles Times's fiercely anti-union owner--of not just one heinous deed but of being part of a terror wave involving hundreds of bombings. While preparation is laid for America's highest profile trial ever--and the forces of labor and capital wage hand-to-hand combat in the streets--two other notable figures are swept into the drama: industry-shaping filmmaker D.W. Griffith, who perceives in these events the possibility of great art and who will go on to alchemize his observations into the landmark film The Birth of a Nation; and crusading lawyer Clarence Darrow, committed to lend his eloquence to the defendants, though he will be driven to thoughts of suicide before events have fully played out.Simultaneously offering the absorbing reading experience of a can't-put-it-down thriller and the perception-altering resonance of a story whose reverberations continue even today, American Lightning is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.From the Hardcover edition.
American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, and the Birth of Hollywood
by Howard BlumIt was an explosion that reverberated across the country--and into the very heart of early-twentieth-century America. On the morning of October 1, 1910, the walls of the Los Angeles Times Building buckled as a thunderous detonation sent men, machinery, and mortar rocketing into the night air. When at last the wreckage had been sifted and the hospital triage units consulted, twenty-one people were declared dead and dozens more injured. But as it turned out, this was just a prelude to the devastation that was to come. In American Lightning, acclaimed author Howard Blum masterfully evokes the incredible circumstances that led to the original "crime of the century"--and an aftermath more dramatic than even the crime itself. With smoke still wafting up from the charred ruins, the city's mayor reacts with undisguised excitement when he learns of the arrival, only that morning, of America's greatest detective, William J. Burns, a former Secret Service man who has been likened to Sherlock Holmes. Surely Burns, already world famous for cracking unsolvable crimes and for his elaborate disguises, can run the perpetrators to ground. Through the work of many months, snowbound stakeouts, and brilliant forensic sleuthing, the great investigator finally identifies the men he believes are responsible for so much destruction. Stunningly, Burns accuses the men--labor activists with an apparent grudge against the Los Angeles Times' fiercely anti-union owner--of not just one heinous deed but of being part of a terror wave involving hundreds of bombings. While preparation is laid for America's highest profile trial ever--and the forces of labor and capital wage hand-to-hand combat in the streets--two other notable figures are swept into the drama: industry-shaping Filmmaker D. W. Griffith, who perceives in these events the possibility of great art and who will go on to alchemize his observations into the landmark film The Birth of a Nation; and crusading lawyer Clarence Darrow, committed to lend his eloquence to the defendants, though he will be driven to thoughts of suicide before events have fully played out. Simultaneously offering the absorbing reading experience of a can't-put-it-down thriller and the perception-altering resonance of a story whose reverberations continue even today, American Lightning is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.
American Masculinities in Contemporary Documentary Film: Up Close Behind the Mask (Routledge Advances in Film Studies)
by Sara MartínMost documentaries deal with men, but what do they actually say about masculinity? In this groundbreaking volume Sara Martín analyses more than forty 21st-century documentaries to explore how they represent American men and masculinity. From Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s The Mask You Live In to Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro, this volume explores sixteen different faces of American masculinity: the good man, the activist, the politician, the whistleblower, the criminal, the sexual abuser, the wrongly accused, the dependent man, the soldier, the capitalist, the adventurer, the sportsman, the architect, the photographer, the musician, and the writer. The collective portrait drawn by the documentaries discloses a firm critical stance against the contradictions inherent in patriarchy, which makes American men promises of empowerment it cannot fulfill. The filmmakers’ view of American masculinity emphasizes the vulnerability of disempowered men before the abuses of the patriarchal system run by hegemonic men and a loss of bearings about how to be a man after the impact of feminism, accompanied nonetheless by a celebration of resilient masculinity and of the good American man. Firmly positioning documentaries as an immensely flexible, relevant tool to understand 21st-century American men and masculinity, their past, present, and future, this book will interest students and scholars of film studies, documentary film, American cultural studies, gender, and masculinity.
American Media and the Memory of World War II (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies)
by Debra RamsayFor three generations of Americans, World War II has been a touchstone for the understanding of conflict and of America’s role in global affairs. But if World War II helped shape the perception of war for Americans, American media in turn shape the understanding and memory of World War II. Concentrating on key popular films, television series, and digital games from the last two decades, this book explores the critical influence World War II continues to exert on a generation of Americans born over thirty years after the conflict ended. It explains how the war was configured in the media of the wartime generation and how it came to be repurposed by their progeny, the Baby Boomers. In doing so, it identifies the framework underpinning the mediation of World War II memory in the current generation’s media and develops a model that provides insight into the strategies of representation that shape the American perspective of war in general.
American Militarism on the Small Screen (Routledge Advances in Television Studies)
by Anna Froula Stacy TakacsAnna Froula is Associate Professor of Film Studies in the Department of English at East Carolina University, USA Stacy Takacs is Associate Professor and Director of American Studies at Oklahoma State University, USA
American Musical Theatre
by Steven PorterFirst Published in 1987. Split into four parts, this book seeks to inform the reader, teachers, directors and students about American Musical Theatre. Part I is a brief history of the American Musical Theatre, for it is only in the context of history that the material on which you work can be fully judged and mastered. Part II is a brief discussion of the elements of production. Knowing what ought to take place in a well-planned show can go a long way toward counteracting what does not take place in a poorly planned one. Part III is a brief discussion of how to evaluate the elements of craftmanship one expects to find in the writing and performing of a musical. The knowledge here is indispensable to the performer. It is the feel of the plane to the pilot, the touch of the key to the pianist. It is, in fact, the very life blood of the art form. Finally, Part IV provides an opportunity to put into practice what previous study has taught.
American Myths in Post-9/11 Music
by Daniele CuffaroAfter September 11, 2001, the void left following the attack on the Twin Towers in the heart of New York was the visible symbol that there was to be a breaking point with the past. The attacks dramatically changed the everyday lives of the American people and the new devastating landscape led people to seek to restore the certainties that had been so suddenly shattered. In doing this, Americans went back to the historical myths in their culture. This book explores the collective memory and historical American myths like, for example, the myth of the innocent nation and the frontier myth, and shows how some of these nationally considered historical truths have not disappeared, but were indeed exhumed in the music produced post-9/11.
American Outlaw
by Jesse JamesThe New York Times bestselling self-portrait of a flawed but determined everyman: rebel, outlaw, gearhead, artist, entrepreneur, lost son, and fiercely committed father Jesse James is everything you imagined him to be-- and more than you ever expected. He has led a violent life. He's survived lower depths, faced harder times, and beaten down more private demons than most--and lived to tell his story with honesty, introspection, and humility. He's tough as nails and riding hard through life, with plenty of wisdom to share about taking a hit and coming back up. In American Outlaw, Jesse reveals all: from his volatile upbringing and troubled relationship with his father to his wild days of car thieving and juvenile detention; from knocking heads as a rock 'n' roll bodyguard to his destructive drinking and barroom brawling; from building an empire from the ground up to marriages marked with both happiness and gut-wrenching pain; from living inside the hottest level of paparazzi hell to rehab and making peace with his past.
American Political Movies: An Annotated Filmography of Feature Films (Routledge Library Editions: Cinema)
by James CombsEssays here explore the relationship between politics and explicitly political feature films from the beginning of the movie industry to World War I, and for each decade through to the 1980's. The included filmography is particularly useful. Originally published in 1990, the method of inquiry put forward in this text is nonetheless extendable to the decades following its publication.
American Politics Film Festival: Understanding US Politics through Film
by Thomas E.Cronin Michael A.GenoveseThis is an innovative and inspirational examination of films and documentaries that helps us explain the evolution of, struggles of, and aspirations of the American experiment. This book sorts politics into categories and then identifies films, TV shows, and documentaries that illuminate various aspects of that category. For each chapter, the authors list and discuss an impressive variety of films, documentaries, and television shows. This accessible book is designed for course use and general readers interested in how American politics and history has been portrayed in media.
American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy To Mp3
by Larry Starr Christopher WatermanIn American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3, Second Edition, Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman examine popular music in the United States from its beginnings into the 21st century, offering a comprehensive look at the music, the cultural history of the times, and the connections between them. Using well-chosen examples, insightful commentaries, and an engaging writing style, this text traces the development of jazz, blues, country, rock, Motown, hip-hop, and other popular styles,highlighting the contributions of diverse groups to the creation of distinctly American styles. It combines an in-depth treatment of the music itself--including discussions of stylistic elements and analyses of musical examples--with solid coverage of the music's attendant historical, social, and cultural circumstances. The authors incorporate strong pedagogy including numerous boxed inserts on significant individuals, recordings, and intriguing topics; coverage of early American popular music; and a rich illustration program. Detailed listening charts explain the most important elements of recordings discussed at length in the text. The charts are complemented by two in-text audio CDs and--new to this edition--an iMix published at iTunes, which makes most of the songs immediately available to students and instructors. Features of the Second Edition * Integrates full color throughout * Provides more coverage of women artists, with new material on women in rock 'n' roll inChapter 8 and a box on Queen Latifah in Chapter 14 * Reorganizes the discussion of post-1970s music: disco is now included with mainstream 70s pop, while hip-hop is treated in two chapters (12 and 14) in order to emphasize its significance and diversity * Adds new material on the recent alternative country music explosion * Includes new developments in music technology in the thoroughly revised concluding chapter * Offers revised and more vivid visual elements, including more than 100 new photos (most in full color) and an illustrated timeline * Provides redesigned listening guides, enhanced by an iMix published at iTunes (accessible at www. oup. com/us/popmusic) * Supplemented by a Companion Website at www. oup. com/us/popmusic (containing both student and instructor resources) and an Instructor's Manual and a Computerized Test Bank on CD * FREE with the purchase of this book: a 6-month subscription to Grove Music Online (www. grovemusic. com)--a $180 value Remarkably accessible,American Popular Music, Second Edition, is ideal for courses in American Popular Music, the History of Popular Music, Popular Music in American Culture, and the History of Rock 'n' Roll. Its welcoming style and warm tone will captivate readers, encouraging them to become more critically aware listeners of popular music.
American Prince: A Memoir
by Tony Curtis"All my life I had one dream and that was to be in the movies. " He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. A prince of the silver screen. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned him fame, women, and adulation--Elvis copied his look and the Beatles put him on their Sgt. Pepper album cover. But the Hollywood life of his dreams brought both invincible highs and debilitating lows. Now, in his captivating, no-holds-barred autobiography, Tony Curtis shares the agony and ecstasy of a private life in the public eye. No simple tell-all,American Princechronicles Hollywood during its heyday. Curtis revisits his immense body of work--including the unforgettable classics Houdini, Spartacus, and Some Like It Hot--and regales readers with stories of his associations with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Olivier, director Billy Wilder, and film industry heavyweight Lew Wasserman, as well as paramours Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe, among others. As forthright as he is enthralling, Tony Curtis offers intimate glimpses into his succession of failed marriages (and the one that has endured), his destructive drug addiction, and his passion as a painter. Written with humor and grace,American Princeis a testament to the power of living the life of one's dreams.
American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
by Leslie CarrollA behind-the-scenes look into the life of Meghan Markle and her romance with Prince Harry—a dishy, delightful must-read filled with exclusive insights for anyone obsessed with the Royal Family.Leslie Carroll’s books on royalty are “an irresistible combination of People Magazine and the History Channel.”—Chicago TribuneWhen Prince Harry of Wales took his American girlfriend, Meghan Markle, to have tea with his grandmother the queen, avid royal watchers had a hunch that a royal wedding was not far off. That prediction came true on November 27, 2017, when the gorgeous, glamorous twosome announced their engagement to the world. As they prepare to tie the knot in a stunning ceremony on May 19, 2018, that will be unprecedented in royal history, people are clamoring to know more about the beautiful American who captured Prince Harry’s heart. Born and raised in Los Angeles to a white father of German, English, and Irish descent and an African American mother whose ancestors had been enslaved on a Georgia plantation, Meghan has proudly embraced her biracial heritage. In addition to being a star of the popular television series Suits, she is devoted to her humanitarian work—a passion she shares with Harry. Though Meghan was married once before, Prince Harry is a modern royal, and the Windsors have welcomed her into the tight-knit clan they call “The Firm.” Even a generation ago, it would have been unthinkable, as well as impermissible, for any member of Great Britain’s royal family to consider marrying someone like Meghan. Professional actresses were considered scandalous and barely respectable. And the last time an American divorcee married into the Royal Family, it provoked a constitutional crisis!In American Princess, Leslie Carroll provides context to Harry and Meghan’s romance by leading readers through centuries of Britain’s rule-breaking royal marriages, as well as the love matches that were never permitted to make it to the altar; followed by a never-before-seen glimpse into the little-known life of the woman bringing the Royal Family into the 21st century; and her dazzling, thoroughly modern romance with Prince Harry.
American Profile Hometown Cookbook: A Celebration of America's Table
by Mary Carter Susan Fisher Candace Floyd"In this extraordinary cookbook, you'll find traditional American favorites with a unique twist alongside ethnic creations from around the world. Also included are helpful tips from American Profile's test kitchen as well as 30 articles on hometown festivals and fairs across the nation that give you a sneak peek into the lives of the ordinary citizens that make up hometown America. Whether it's a simple soup for the family or a full meal for visitors, the American Profile Hometown Cookbook has just the right recipe to make any gathering a special occasion."
American Progress: Nerdkultur, akrobatische Komik und Commedia dell'arte (Serienkulturen: Analyse – Kritik – Bedeutung)
by Holger SchulzeDie Serie 30Rock wälzt die medialen Erzählungen ihrer Epoche (und der Serie selbst) unaufhörlich um: in bislang sieben Staffeln, 140 Episoden, von 30 Autoren für 14 SchauspielerInnen geschrieben - rund um die Erfinderin und Hauptdarstellerin Tina Fey. Dieser Band untersucht die überdrehte Gegenwartsdystopie, ihre Erzählungen, Bühnen und Personen. Markante Episoden werden im Zusammenhang zeitgenössischer Pop- und TV-Kultur untersucht und einzelne ProtagonistInnen in ihrem medialen Handeln und dessen Referenzen. Ein Tableau der Medien- und der Nerdkultur sowie der politischen Agitation entsteht in Form von akrobatischer Komik und Celebrityobsession: eine Form der Commedia dell'arte über den American Progress.
American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood
by Marc EliotAs an actor, he seduces us with his tough-guy charm. As a director and producer, he amazes us with his artistry and technical savvy. As a Hollywood icon, Clint Eastwood, one of film's greatest living legends, represents some of the finest cinematic achievements in the history of American cinema. In American Rebel, bestselling author and acclaimed film historian Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often-tumultuous arc of Clint Eastwood's life and career. Unlike past biographers, Eliot writes with unflinching candor about Eastwood's highs and lows, his artistic successes and failures, and the fascinating, complex relationship between his life and his craft. Eliot's prodigious research reveals how a college dropout and unambitious playboy rose to fame as Hollywood' s "sexy rebel," eventually and against all odds becoming a star in the Academy pantheon as a multiple Oscar winner. Spanning decades, American Rebel covers the best of Eastwood' s oeuvre, films that have fast become American classics–Fistful of Dollars, Dirty Harry, Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino. Filled with remarkable insights into Eastwood's personal life and public work, American Rebel is highly entertaining and the most complete biography of one of Hollywood's truly respected and beloved stars–an actor who, despite being the Man with No Name, has left his indelible mark on the world of motion pictures.From the Hardcover edition.
American Revenge Narratives: A Collection of Critical Essays
by Kyle WigginsAmerican Revenge Narratives critically examines the nation’s vengeful storytelling tradition. With essays on late twentieth and twenty-first century fiction, film, and television, it maps the coordinates of the revenge genre’s contemporary reinvention across American culture. By surveying American revenge narratives, this book measures how contemporary payback plots appraise the nation’s political, social, and economic inequities. The volume’s essays collectively make the case that retribution is a defining theme of post-war American culture and an artistic vehicle for critique. In another sense, this book presents a scholarly coming to terms with the nation’s love for vengeance. By investigating recent iterations of an ancient genre, contributors explore how the revenge narrative evolves and thrives within American literary and filmic imagination. Taken together, the book’s diverse chapters attempt to understand American culture’s seemingly inexhaustible production of vengeful tales.
American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee
by Karen AbbottWith the critically acclaimed Sin in the Second City, bestselling author Karen Abbott "pioneered sizzle history" (USA Today). Now she returns with the gripping and expansive story of America's coming-of-age--told through the extraordinary life of Gypsy Rose Lee and the world she survived and conquered. America in the Roaring Twenties. Vaudeville was king. Talking pictures were only a distant flicker. Speakeasies beckoned beyond dimly lit doorways; money flowed fast and free. But then, almost overnight, the Great Depression leveled everything. When the dust settled, Americans were primed for a star who could distract them from grim reality and excite them in new, unexpected ways. Enter Gypsy Rose Lee, a strutting, bawdy, erudite stripper who possessed a preternatural gift for delivering exactly what America needed. With her superb narrative skills and eye for compelling detail, Karen Abbott brings to vivid life an era of ambition, glamour, struggle, and survival. Using exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, she vividly delves into Gypsy's world, including her intensely dramatic triangle relationship with her sister, actress June Havoc, and their formidable mother, Rose, a petite but ferocious woman who seduced men and women alike and literally killed to get her daughters on the stage. American Rose chronicles their story, as well as the story of the four scrappy and savvy showbiz brothers from New York City who would pave the way for Gypsy Rose Lee's brand of burlesque. Modeling their shows after the glitzy, daring reviews staged in the theaters of Paris, the Minsky brothers relied on grit, determination, and a few tricks that fell just outside the law--and they would shape, and ultimately transform, the landscape of American entertainment. With a supporting cast of such Jazz- and Depression-era heavyweights as Lucky Luciano, Harry Houdini, FDR, and Fanny Brice, Karen Abbott weaves a rich narrative of a woman who defied all odds to become a legend--and whose sensational tale of tragedy and triumph embodies the American Dream.From the Hardcover edition.
American Science Fiction Television and Space: Productions and (Re)configurations (1987-2021)
by Joel Hawkes Alex Christie Tom NienhuisThis collection reads the science fiction genre and television medium as examples of heterotopia (and television as science fiction technology), in which forms, processes, and productions of space and time collide – a multiplicity of spaces produced and (re)configured. The book looks to be a heterotopic production, with different chapters and “spaces” (of genre, production, mediums, technologies, homes, bodies, etc), reflecting, refracting, and colliding to offer insight into spatial relationships and the implications of these spaces for a society that increasingly inhabits the world through the space of the screen. A focus on American science fiction offers further spatial focus for this study – a question of geographical and cultural borders and influence not only in terms of American science fiction but American television and streaming services. The (contested) hegemonic nature of American science fiction television will be discussed alongside a nation that has significantly been understood, even produced, through the television screen. Essays will examine the various (re)configurations, or productions, of space as they collapse into the science fiction heterotopia of television since 1987, the year Star Trek: Next Generation began airing.
American Showman: Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and the Birth of the Entertainment Industry, 1908–1935 (Film and Culture Series)
by Ross MelnickSamuel "Roxy" Rothafel (1882–1936) built an influential and prolific career as film exhibitor, stage producer, radio broadcaster, musical arranger, theater manager, war propagandist, and international celebrity. He helped engineer the integration of film, music, and live performance in silent film exhibition; scored early Fox Movietone films such as Sunrise (1927); pioneered the convergence of film, broadcasting, and music publishing and recording in the 1920s; and helped movies and moviegoing become the dominant form of mass entertainment between the world wars. <P><P>The first book devoted to Rothafel's multifaceted career, American Showman examines his role as the key purveyor of a new film exhibition aesthetic that appropriated legitimate theater, opera, ballet, and classical music to attract multi-class audiences. Roxy scored motion pictures, produced enormous stage shows, managed many of New York's most important movie houses, directed and/or edited propaganda films for the American war effort, produced short and feature-length films, exhibited foreign, documentary, independent, and avant-garde motion pictures, and expanded the conception of mainstream, commercial cinema. He was also one of the chief creators of the radio variety program, pioneering radio broadcasting, promotions, and tours.The producers and promoters of distinct themes and styles, showmen like Roxy profoundly remade the moviegoing experience, turning the deluxe motion picture theater into a venue for exhibiting and producing live and recorded entertainment. Roxy's interest in media convergence also reflects a larger moment in which the entertainment industry began to create brands and franchises, exploit them through content release "events," and give rise to feature films, soundtracks, broadcasts, live performances, and related consumer products. Regularly cited as one of the twelve most important figures in the film and radio industries, Roxy was instrumental to the development of film exhibition and commercial broadcasting, musical accompaniment, and a new, convergent entertainment industry.
American Story
by Bob DotsonThe host of the NBC Today Show's popular segment shares his favorite stories of citizens making a difference around the country For the six million people who watch the Emmy Award-winning "American Story with Bob Dotson" on NBC's Today Show, Bob Dotson's reports celebrate the inspirational stories of everyday Americans. Dotson has been crisscrossing the country for more than forty years--logging more than four million miles--in search of people who have quietly but profoundly changed our lives and our country for the better. Now, in American Story, he presents a road map to the unsung heroes with thoughtful solutions to problems we all face, incredible ideas that work, and blueprints to living our dreams. *The boss who came out of retirement to start a new company for his former employees who could not find work *The truck driver who taught microsurgery *The man you've never heard of who has 465 profitable patents, second only to Thomas Edison *The doctor who developed the vaccine to prevent whooping cough, who didn't retire until age 104 In the tradition of Tom Brokaw's New York Times bestseller The Time of Our Lives, American Story is a deeply moving and endlessly fascinating alternative narrative for everyone who yearns to feel good about America. .
American Stranger: Modernisms, Hollywood, and the Cinema of Nicholas Ray (SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema)
by Will ScheibelHow does cinema culture imagine one of its favorite figures, the rebel? The reputation of the American director Nicholas Ray provides a particularly notable example. Most famous for Rebel Without a Cause, Ray has since been canonized as a "rebel auteur" and celebrated for seeking a personal vision and signature style under the industrial pressures of Classical Hollywood during its late studio period. In American Stranger, Will Scheibel reconstructs how Ray's reputation developed over time, analyzing the different historical practices of modernism that set new horizons for artistic rebellion in postwar cinema.Drawing on biographical legends, interviews, film reviews, articles in both national newspapers and international film magazines, and star promotion and publicity, Scheibel examines the contexts in which Ray's reputation was constructed. These include the consolidation of director-based film criticism and the rise of film studies as an academic discipline; star performances and personifications of the rebel male in Ray's films; the counterculture in which Ray promoted himself as a teacher and worked as a political avant-gardist; and the art cinemas of Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, and Jim Jarmusch, each of whom were influenced by Ray. In addition to Rebel Without a Cause, Scheibel also analyzes such classic films as The Lusty Men and In a Lonely Place, as well as collaborative, less-examined films from his later career outside of Hollywood, We Can't Go Home Again and Lightning Over Water. Reconstructing the evolution of Ray's place in cinema culture, this intellectual history measures the standards for both rebellion and convention, for the vanguard and the establishment, that determine an artistic reputation.
American Sucker
by David DenbyIn early 2000, the bottom dropped out of the life of New Yorker writer David Denby when his wife announced she was leaving him. To make matters worse, it looked as if he might lose the beloved New York apartment they shared with their children. Determined to hold on to his home and seized by the "irrational exuberance" of the stock market, then approaching its peak, Denby joined the investment frenzy with a particular goal: to make one million dollars so he could buy out his wife's share of their place. Denby gathered courage from stock analysts and from the siren song of CNBC. He listened both skeptically and raptly to dreaming tech gurus and boastful CEOs at investment conferences. He got to know such charming and persuasive New Economy stars as ImClone founder (and Martha Stewart buddy) Sam Waksal and Merrill Lynch Internet analyst Henry Blodget, both of whom would eventually be disgraced in scandals that affected millions of investors. Racing around the country, he struggled to understand the leading-edge technologies of fiber optics and anticancer biotech therapies. He plunged into a season of mania and was swept forward on the alternating currents of hope, greed, hucksterism, and American optimism that caught up so many in that era -- with cataclysmic results. American Sucker is a beautifully written, mesmerizing account of those years of madness. What begins as a money chase becomes an encounter with such eternal issues as envy, time, love, and death, leading to a slow recovery of sanity and happiness. This is a classic tale of the bubble related not by a market guru or an investment professional but by a witty, perceptive, and eloquent outsider. Book jacket.
American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema: The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre (Routledge Studies in Religion and Film)
by Anthony MillsStan Lee, who was the head writer of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, co-created such popular heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, and Daredevil. This book traces the ways in which American theologians and comic books of the era were not only both saying things about what it means to be human, but, starting with Lee they were largely saying the same things. Author Anthony R. Mills argues that the shift away from individualistic ideas of human personhood and toward relational conceptions occurring within both American theology and American superhero comics and films does not occur simply on the ontological level, but is also inherent to epistemology and ethics, reflecting the comprehensive nature of human life in terms of being, knowing, and acting. This book explores the idea of the "American monomyth" that pervades American hero stories and examines its philosophical and theological origins and specific manifestations in early American superhero comics. Surveying the anthropologies of six American theologians who argue against many of the monomyth’s assumptions, principally the staunch individualism taken to be the model of humanity, and who offer relationality as a more realistic and ethical alternative, this book offers a detailed argument for the intimate historical relationship between the now disparate fields of comic book/superhero film creation, on the one hand, and Christian theology, on the other, in the United States. An understanding of the early connections between theology and American conceptions of heroism helps to further make sense of their contemporary parallels, wherein superhero stories and theology are not strictly separate phenomena but have shared origins and concerns.