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Last Man Standing: Mort Sahl and the Birth of Modern Comedy
by James CurtisA Times Literary Supplement 2017 Book of the YearOn December 22, 1953, Mort Sahl (1927–2021) took the stage at San Francisco's hungry i and changed comedy forever. Before him, standup was about everything but hard news and politics. In his wake, a new generation of smart comics emerged—Shelley Berman, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, Lenny Bruce, Bob Newhart, Dick Gregory, Woody Allen, and the Smothers Brothers, among others. He opened up jazz-inflected satire to a loose network of clubs, cut the first modern comedy album, and appeared on the cover of Time surrounded by caricatures of some of his frequent targets such as Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Adlai Stevenson, and John F. Kennedy. Through the extraordinary details of Sahl's life, author James Curtis deftly illustrates why Sahl was dubbed by Steve Allen as “the only real political philosopher we have in modern comedy.”Sahl came on the scene the same year Eisenhower and Nixon entered the White House, the year Playboy first hit the nation's newsstands. Clad in an open collar and pullover sweater, he adopted the persona of a graduate student ruminating on current events. “It was like nothing I'd ever seen,” said Woody Allen, “and I've never seen anything like it after.” Sahl was billed, variously, as the Nation's Conscience, America's Only Working Philosopher, and, most tellingly, the Next President of the United States. Yet he was also a satirist so savage the editors of Time once dubbed him “Will Rogers with fangs.”Here, for the first time, is the whole story of Mort Sahl, America's iconoclastic father of modern standup comedy. Written with Sahl's full cooperation and the participation of many of his friends and contemporaries, it delves deeply into the influences that shaped him, the heady times in which he soared, and the depths to which he fell during the turbulent sixties when he took on the Warren Commission and nearly paid for it with his career.
Lasting Impressions: The Legacies of Impressionism in Contemporary Culture (Literature Now)
by Jesse MatzImpressionism captured the world's imagination in the late nineteenth century and remains with us today. Portraying the dynamic effects of modernity, impressionist artists revolutionized the arts and the wider culture. Impressionism transformed the very pattern of reality, introducing new ways to look at and think about the world and our experience of it. Its legacy has been felt in many major contributions to popular and high culture, from cubism and early cinema to the works of Zadie Smith and W. G. Sebald, from advertisements for Pepsi to the observations of Oliver Sacks and Malcolm Gladwell. Yet impressionism's persistence has also been a problem, a matter of inauthenticity, superficiality, and complicity in what is merely "impressionistic" about culture today. Jesse Matz considers these two legacies—the positive and the negative—to explain impressionism's true contemporary significance. As Lasting Impressions moves through contemporary literature, painting, and popular culture, Matz explains how the perceptual role, cultural effects, and social implications of impressionism continue to generate meaning and foster new forms of creativity, understanding, and public engagement.
LeBron James: Building a Hollywood Empire
by Anita ElberseIt is June 2016. Superstar basketball player LeBron James and his childhood friend and business partner Maverick Carter are celebrating James’ third NBA championship. The duo will soon have to decide on a strategy for their media businesses—their film and television production company SpringHill Entertainment as well as their digital sports platform Uninterrupted. In 2015, Carter and James negotiated a first-of-its-kind, three-year agreement with Hollywood studio Warner Bros. Entertainment that gave SpringHill Entertainment a first-look movie deal, an exclusive television deal, significant development resources that also could be used for the creation of digital content, and space on the studio lot. Later that year, Warner Bros. signed on as a lead investor in Uninterrupted. Were Carter and James right to partner with Warner Bros. in this manner? And with renewal negotiations just around the corner, how could they make the most of the opportunity?
Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker
by Stephen GallowayThe definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, shares behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms, and explains what inspired her to walk away from it all to start the Sherry Lansing Foundation.When Sherry Lansing became the first woman ever to be named president of a major studio, the news ricocheted around the world. That was just the beginning of an extraordinary run that saw her head two studios, make hundreds of films, produce classic pictures such as Fatal Attraction and rule for twenty-five years as the most powerful woman Hollywood has ever known. Award-winning writer Stephen Galloway takes us behind the scenes of Lansing's epic journey—inside the battles; up close with the stars; and into the heart of a creative world populated by the likes of Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda, Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise. He shows us the velvet touch that masked the iron hand, and the roller-coaster drama behind such movies as Titanic, Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan. Above all, he takes us into the mind of Lansing, creating a revealing portrait of a dynamic, driven woman who overcame unimaginable odds, pushed boundaries and left Hollywood at the peak of her power to achieve the life she wanted.
Left-Wing Melancholia: Marxism, History, and Memory (New Directions in Critical Theory #17)
by Enzo TraversoThe fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War but also the rise of a melancholic vision of history as a series of losses. For the political left, the cause lost was communism, and this trauma determined how leftists wrote the next chapter in their political struggle and how they have thought about their past since. Throughout the twentieth century, argues Left-Wing Melancholia, from classical Marxism to psychoanalysis to the advent of critical theory, a culture of defeat and its emotional overlay of melancholy have characterized the leftist understanding of the political in history and in theoretical critique.Drawing on a vast and diverse archive in theory, testimony, and image and on such thinkers as Karl Marx, Walter Benjamin, Theodor W. Adorno, and others, the intellectual historian Enzo Traverso explores the varying nature of left melancholy as it has manifested in a feeling of guilt for not sufficiently challenging authority, in a fear of surrendering in disarray and resignation, in mourning the human costs of the past, and in a sense of failure for not realizing utopian aspirations. Yet hidden within this melancholic tradition are the resources for a renewed challenge to prevailing regimes of historicity, a passion that has the power to reignite the dialectic of revolutionary thought.
Legends of Hollywood Forever Cemetery
by E. J. Stephens Kim StephensFounded in 1899, scenic Hollywood Forever Cemetery—the only cemetery located within the city of Hollywood—serves as the “permanent home” for many of Hollywood’s most famous (and infamous) characters. Hollywood Forever Cemetery boasts a fascinating history surpassed only by the compelling stories of its famous residents. Behind its iron gates are the graves of Cecil B. DeMille, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer, Tyrone Power, Nelson Eddy, Marion Davies, Fay Wray, Mel Blanc, Johnny Ramone, Don Adams, Bebe Daniels, Bugsy Siegel, and a host of others whose memorials tell the history of Tinseltown in stone.
Lessons I've Learned
by Davina MccallWith her trademark humour, warmth and honesty, Davina McCall shares her life experiences."I am a work in progress. There are times when I feel in control and like I know what I'm doing . . . and there are times (quite a few) (actually lots) when I've got no idea what's going on, where to turn, what to do, how to behave, and those are the times I've sought help!I have been helped by some extraordinary people. I've been supported and counselled through my recovery from drugs and alcohol. I've been hypnotised to get me through my ultimate fears. I've read a squibillion (that's a lot) of fantastic self-help books and I have shared and shared with the greatest girlfriends and family of all time. These nuggets of wisdom have, at times, literally kept me going, so I thought I'd pay it forward and share them with you . . ."In this long-awaited book, Davina McCall shares the tips and wisdoms learned on her 'work-in-progess' journey through life.Warm, engaging, honest and generous, this book will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. Lessons I've Learned is the closest thing to a Davina hug and we all need one of those . . .
Lessons from the Prairie (Sometimes Just) Survival I Learned on America's Favorite Show: The Surprising Secrets To Happiness, Success, And (sometimes Just) Survival I Learned On America's Favorite Show
by Melissa FrancisMelissa Francis was only eight years old when she won the role of a lifetime: playing Cassandra Cooper Ingalls on the world's most famous prime-time soap opera, Little House on the Prairie.Now in Lessons from the Prairie, she shares behind-the-scenes stories from the set, and lessons learned from the show's dynamic creator, Michael Landon, that have echoed throughout Melissa's adult life. With novel insights on hard work, making mistakes, and even spirituality, Francis shares inspirational and practical life lessons that will appeal both to her current TV fans, and fans of one of the most adored TV shows of all time.
Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night
by Jason ZinomanNew York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman delivers the definitive story of the life and artistic legacy of David Letterman, the greatest television talk show host of all time and the signature comedic voice of a generation.In a career spanning more than thirty years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In Letterman, Jason Zinoman, the first comedy critic in the history of the New York Times, mixes groundbreaking reporting with unprecedented access and probing critical analysis to explain the unique entertainer’s titanic legacy. Moving from his early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman goes behind the scenes of Letterman’s television career to illuminate the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences, and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality. Zinoman argues that Letterman had three great artistic periods, each distinct and part of his evolution. As he examines key broadcasting moments—"Stupid Pet Tricks" and other captivating segments that defined Late Night with David Letterman—he illuminates Letterman’s relationship to his writers, and in particular, the show’s co-creator, Merrill Markoe, with whom Letterman shared a long professional and personal connection.To understand popular culture today, it’s necessary to understand David Letterman. With this revealing biography, Zinoman offers a perceptive analysis of the man and the artist whose ironic voice and caustic meta-humor was critical to an entire generation of comedians and viewers—and whose singular style ushered in new tropes that have become clichés in comedy today.
Lewd Looks: American Sexploitation Cinema in the 1960s
by Elena GorfinkelOne of the most fascinating phenomena of 1960s film culture is the emergence of American sexploitation films—salacious indies made on the margins of Hollywood. Hundreds of such films were produced and shown on both urban and small-town screens over the course of the decade. Yet despite their vital importance to the film scene, and though they are now understood as a gateway to the emergence of publicly exhibited hardcore pornography in the early 1970s, these films have been largely overlooked by scholars.Defined by low budgets, quick production times, unknown actors, strategic uses of nudity, and a sensationalist obsession with unbridled female sexuality, sexploitation films provide a unique window into a tumultuous period in American culture and sexual politics. In Lewd Looks, Elena Gorfinkel examines the social and legal developments that made sexploitation films possible: their aesthetics, their regulation, and their audiences. Gorfinkel explores the ways sexploitation films changed how spectators encountered and made sense of the sexualized body and set the stage for the adult film industry of today. Lewd Looks recovers a lost chapter in the history of independent cinema and American culture—a subject that will engross readers interested in media, sexuality, gender, and the 1960s. Gorfinkel investigates the films and their contexts with scholarly depth and vivid storytelling, producing a new account of the obscene image, screen sex, and adult film and media.
Libertyland (Images of Modern America)
by John R. V Jimmy OgleNestled in the heart of Memphis, Tennessee, the Libertyland theme park debuted on America�s bicentennial: July 4, 1976. The quaint park celebrated America�s history, heritage, and culture. Not only was it home to Elvis Presley�s favorite roller coaster, Libertyland also offered guests rides on the historic Grand Carousel, exciting shows, gift shops selling handcrafted souvenirs, delicious food, and much more. The park�s themed areas�Colonial Land, Frontier Land, and Turn-of-the-Century Land�paid tribute to some of the country�s most historically significant eras. From its opening in 1976 until its closure in late 2005, Libertyland was a first roller coaster ride, a first date, a family reunion, a summer job, or simply a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the real world.
Life Hacks for Kids
by Sunny KellerLife Hacks for Kids, a top-rated YouTube show starring Sunny Keller, comes alive in the pages of this completely original and unique book. Packed with 35 popular "hacks" from the show, plenty of original photographs, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of the creation of the show, this book is sure to be a hit with fans of the show as well as kids who love to make something out of nothing. Hacks include purrrfect pet hacks, delicious snack hacks, awesome room hacks, ridiculous rainy-day hacks, and much, much more!
Life Is Like a Musical: How to Live, Love, and Lead Like a Star
by Tim FederleA Self-Help Guide--with Jazz Hands! Life is Like a Musical features 50 wry, witty tips on getting ahead in life and love--all learned in the showbiz trenches. "Hilarious, wise, and one-of-a-kind. This book is so damn brilliant I'm surprised it didn't already exist." -- Sarah Knight, bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck Before Tim Federle became a bestselling author and a Broadway playwright, he worked as a back-up dancer at the Super Bowl, a polar bear at Radio City, and a card-carrying chorus boy on Broadway. Life is Life a Musical features 50 tips learned backstage, onstage, and in between gigs, with chapters such as "Dance Like Everyone's Watching" and "Save the Drama for the Stage." This charming and clever guide will appeal to all ages and inspire readers to step into the lead role of their own life, even if they're not a recovering theater major.
Life of a Song: The fascinating stories behind 50 of the worlds best-loved songs
by David Cheal Jan DalleyWho knew that Paul McCartney originally referred to Yesterday as 'Scrambled Eggs' because he couldn't think of any lyrics for his heart-breaking tune? Or that Patti LaBelle didn't know what 'Voulez-vous couches avec moi ce soir?' actually meant?These and countless other fascinating back stories of some of our best-known and best-loved songs fill this book, a collection of the highly successful weekly The Life of a Song columns that appear in the FT Weekend every Saturday. Each 600-word piece gives a mini-biography of a single song, from its earliest form (often a spiritual, or a jazz number), through the various covers and changes, often morphing from one genre to another, always focusing on the 'biography' of the song itself while including the many famous artists who have performed or recorded it.The selection covers a wide spectrum of the songs we all know and love - rock, pop, folk, jazz and more. Each piece is pithy, knowledgeable, entertaining, full of anecdotes and surprises. They combine deep musical knowledge with the vivid background of the performers and musicians, and of course the often intriguing social and political background against which the songs were created.
Lightfoot
by Nicholas JenningsThe definitive, full-access story of the life and songs of Canada's legendary troubadourGordon Lightfoot’s name is synonymous with timeless songs about trains and shipwrecks, rivers and highways, lovers and loneliness. His music defined the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and ‘70s, topped charts and sold millions. He is unquestionably Canada’s greatest songwriter, and an international star who has performed on the world’s biggest stages. While Lightfoot’s songs are well known, the man behind them is elusive. He’s never allowed his life to be chronicled in a book—until now.Biographer Nick Jennings has had unprecedented access to the notoriously reticent musician. Lightfoot takes us deep inside the artist’s world, from his idyllic childhood in Orillia, the wild sixties, and his canoe trips into Canada’s North to his heady times atop the music world. Jennings explores the toll that success took on his personal life—including his troubled relationships, his battle with alcohol and his near-death experiences—and the extraordinary drive and tenacity that pulled him through it all.Rich in voices from fellow musicians, close friends, Lightfoot’s family and the singer’s own reminiscences, the biography tells the stories behind some of his best-known love songs, including “Beautiful” and “Song for a Winter’s Night,” as well as the infidelity and divorce that resulted in classics like “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind.” Kris Kristofferson has called Lightfoot’s songs “some of the most beautiful and lasting music of our time.” Lightfoot is an unforgettable portrait of a treasured singer-songwriter, an artist whose work has been covered by everyone from Joni Mitchell, Barbra Streisand and Nico to Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley and Gord Downie. Revealing and insightful, Lightfoot is both an inspiring story of redemption and an exhilarating read.
Lights, Camera, Cook!
by Charise Mericle Harper Aurélie Blard-QuintardA zesty series for fans of MasterChef Jr. and Kids Cook-off! It's “lights, camera, cook!” for four tween contestants—energetic Tate, charming Rae, worldly Caroline, and hyper-competitive Oliver—who are all about to enter a televised cooking competition. What will the kids cook up? How will they all get along on- and off-camera? Which junior chef will have the grit—and maybe the grits—to make it through each challenge? And which junior chef will have to hang their apron up for good? Bonus: Includes real cooking techniques for the aspiring young chef!
Lights, Camera, Lions: Memoirs of a Real-Life Dr. Doolittle
by Hubert Geza WellsA unique and entertaining memoir of training and working with animal actors. Lights, Camera, Lions tells the remarkable story of Hungarian Hubert Geza Wells, who defects to America during the communist era and goes on to make a name for himself as one of the most sought-after animal trainers in Hollywood. With tales from his long career, which included filming on five continents and working on over a hundred films including Out of Africa and Born Free, his hair-raising memoir (pun intended) also provides insight into training animals that has never been revealed before.
Lights, Camera, Middle School!
by Jennifer L. Holm Matthew HolmIt’s a new kind of book for Babymouse! Fans of Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and James Patterson’s Middle School books, this is going to be epic. . . . For Babymouse, middle school is like a monster movie. You can never be sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy, and the halls are filled with mean-girl zombies. Instead of brains, the zombies hunger for stuff—the perfect wedge sandals or the right shade of sparkly lip gloss—and they expect everyone to be just like them. But Babymouse doesn’t want to fit in—she wants to stand out! So she joins the film club to write and direct a sweeping cinematic epic. Will making the film of her dreams turn into a nightmare? Thanks to Babymouse, middle school gets schooled in this hilarious new series from bestselling authors Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm.
Liner Notes: On Parents & Children, Exes & Excess, Death & Decay, & a Few of My Other Favorite Things
by Loudon WainwrightLoudon Wainwright III, the son of esteemed Life magazine columnist Loudon Wainwright, Jr., is the patriarch of one of America’s great musical families. He is the former husband of Kate McGarrigle and Suzzy Roche, and father of Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and Lexie Kelly Wainwright. With a career spanning more than four decades, Wainwright has established himself as one of the most enduring singer-songwriters who emerged from the late 1960s. Not only does he perform regularly across America and in Europe, but he is a sought-after actor, having appeared in many movies and TV series. There is probably no singer-songwriter who has so blatantly inserted himself into his songs. The songs can be laugh-out-loud funny, but they also can cut to the bone. In this memoir, Wainwright details the family history his lyrics have referenced and the fractured relationships among generations: the alcoholism, the infidelities, the competitiveness—as well as the closeness, the successes, and the joy. Wainwright reflects on the experiences that have influenced his work, including boarding school, the music business, swimming, macrobiotics, sex, incarceration, and something he calls Sir Walter Raleigh Syndrome. Wainwright writes poignantly about being a son—a status that dominates many of his songs—but also about being a parent, a brother, and a grandfather. His lyrics are featured throughout the book, amplifying his prose and showing the connections between the songs and real life. Wainwright also includes selections from his father’s brilliant Life magazine columns—and, in so doing, reestablishes his father as a major essayist of his era. A funny and insightful meditation on family, inspiration, and art, Liner Notes will thrill fans, readers, and anyone who appreciates the intersection of music and life.
Live, Laugh, Love, Always Lydia
by Lydia BrightFrom girl-next-door to overnight TOWIE stardom this is Lydia Bright's fabulous story so far.She grew up on one of the UK's biggest, BAFTA award-winning TV shows but there's still a lot you won't know about Lydia Bright as the confident beauty shares all for the first time!From fond family memories, first kisses and travelling around the world, to her dreams of an even more dazzling future, this is Lydia's full story - her greatest adventures yet - and your bubbly guide to living life to the full!TOWIE Find out what it was really like to be an Essex It GirlRELATIONSHIPS Lydia opens her heart and shares 5 rules for a flawless first dateFITNESS The workout routine she follows to get bikini-ready, plus recipes!BEAUTY Get the look; with makeup tutorials, product tips and style secretsINSPIRATIONAL QUOTES What drives her positivity, motivation and success?BUSINESS From budding fashionista to launching her own boutique and 3 clothing collectionsADVENTURE Help from a fearless globetrotter to take your trip of a lifetimePacked with lots of extra surprises, crazy stories and even more reasons to fall in love with Lydia's unstoppable attitude, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS, LYDIA is the fairy-tale-turned-reality that's only just getting started!
Live, Laugh, Love, Always, Lydia
by Lydia BrightFrom girl-next-door to overnight TOWIE stardom this is Lydia Bright's fabulous story so far.She grew up on one of the UK's biggest, BAFTA award-winning TV shows but there's still a lot you won't know about Lydia Bright as the confident beauty shares all for the first time!From fond family memories, first kisses and travelling around the world, to her dreams of an even more dazzling future, this is Lydia's full story - her greatest adventures yet - and your bubbly guide to living life to the full!TOWIE Find out what it was really like to be an Essex It GirlRELATIONSHIPS Lydia opens her heart and shares 5 rules for a flawless first dateFITNESS The workout routine she follows to get bikini-ready, plus recipes!BEAUTY Get the look; with makeup tutorials, product tips and style secretsINSPIRATIONAL QUOTES What drives her positivity, motivation and success?BUSINESS From budding fashionista to launching her own boutique and 3 clothing collectionsADVENTURE Help from a fearless globetrotter to take your trip of a lifetimePacked with lots of extra surprises, crazy stories and even more reasons to fall in love with Lydia's unstoppable attitude, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS, LYDIA is the fairy-tale-turned-reality that's only just getting started!
Live, Laugh, Love, Always, Lydia
by Lydia BrightHello beauts, I am so beyond excited to finally share with you my big secret. I HAVE A BOOK COMING OUT!This book is about my journey from start to finish, right up to what I'm looking for in the future. What an adventure it has been to write! I have laughed, cried, cringed and beamed with pride recounting all the crazy stories I have put into it. The 'Love' chapter needed to be completely rewritten half way through which was tough ... but it worked a bit like therapy and has taught me so much about myself.I pinch myself all the time over how fortunate I have been. Not only was I born into the most magical family and given the most unique childhood - being part of a foster family full of love - but six years ago I landed a place on a little BAFTA award-winning show called TOWIE (I know, SIX years - crazy right?). Through it I have grown from a quiet, vulnerable teenager, who was honestly a bit lost in life, into an entrepreneur, fundraiser and worldwide adventurer all before my 22nd birthday.Alongside my story, I've shared everything I now know that I wish I had back then. From dating rules, to make-up routines and the amazing work-out that got me bikini-ready for my TOWIE return in 2014. I've even packed it full of my favourite inspirational quotes, recipes, and photos (the good, the bad and the ugly!). So fingers and toes crossed that you like it ;)Live, Laugh, Love,Always Lydia Written and Read by Lydia Bright(P) 2017 Orion Publishing Group
Live, Laugh, Love, Always, Lydia: My Story
by Lydia BrightLydia Bright has A LOT to shout about.From her childhood in a foster family full of love, to essentially growing up on one of the UK's biggest TV reality shows, in LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS LYDIA: MY STORY, Lydia leaves no stone un-turned. Sharing everything from first kisses, first times and first holidays to all the TOWIE goss and what really happened in her relationship with Arg, this is a story of adventure, fun and love from one of the nation's favourite TV stars.*LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS LYDIA: THE STORY is an abridged version of LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS LYDIA, first published in June 2017*
Live, Laugh, Love, Always, Lydia: My Story
by Lydia BrightLydia Bright has A LOT to shout about.From her childhood in a foster family full of love, to essentially growing up on one of the UK's biggest TV reality shows, in LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS LYDIA: MY STORY, Lydia leaves no stone un-turned. Sharing everything from first kisses, first times and first holidays to all the TOWIE goss and what really happened in her relationship with Arg, this is a story of adventure, fun and love from one of the nation's favourite TV stars.*LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS LYDIA: THE STORY is an abridged version of LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, ALWAYS LYDIA, first published in June 2017*
Locating Nordic Noir
by Anne Marit Waade Kim Toft HansenThis book is a comprehensive study of Nordic Noir television drama from the 1990's until today. The authors introduce the history of contemporary Nordic Noir from the perspective of place, production and location studies. The chapters include readings of well-known television crime dramas such as Beck, The Killing, Trapped and The Bridge as well as a range of other important Nordic Noir cases. The authors position the development of Nordic Noir in the global market for popular television drama and place the international attention towards Nordic crime dramas within regional development of drama production in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. Consequently, Nordic Noir is read as both a transnational financial and creative phenomenon and as a local possibility for community building. Offering a comprehensible, scholarly and methodologically original approach to the popularity of Nordic television crime dramas, this volume is aimed at readers with an in terest in crime drama as well as scholars and students of television drama.