Why do so many people care so much about celebrities? Who decides who gets to be a star? What are the privileges and pleasures of fandom? Do celebrities ever deserve the outsized attention they receive? In this fascinating and deeply researched book, Sharon Marcus challenges everything you thought you knew about our obsession with fame. Icons are not merely famous for being famous; the media alone cannot make or break stars; fans are not simply passive...

This history of German women in the Holocaust reveals their roles as plunderers, witnesses, and actual executioners on the Eastern front, describing how nurses, teachers, secretaries, and wives responded to what they believed to be Nazi opportunities only to perform brutal duties. This account of the role of German women on the World War II Nazi eastern front powerfully revises history, proving that we have ignored the reality of women' s participation...

Orators take ordinary words and weave them into brilliant speeches. It takes a substantial amount of skill to be a great orator. History is full of leaders who have given inspiring speeches. Learn about twelve famous speeches from leaders such as Cesar Chavez, Ronald Reagan, Pat Summitt, Justin Trudeau, and Martin Luther King Jr. This diverse collection of speeches will open your eyes and ears to the power of the spoken word! Packed with fun facts,...

In this infamous work, Sorel fiercely advocates for violent revolution as the only means of effecting lasting social change. He details such factors as the role of violence and force in revolutionary movements; the use of insurrection and general strikes; and mythmaking as a key in spurring on and sustaining revolutions. A major influence on Benito Mussolini, the book is still considered controversial and provocative more than 100 years after its...

Just like national identities, European identity may be viewed as an imagined community, constituted by different levels of inclusion and exclusion along various border markers as those between included and excluded, between culturally dominating and dominated or between center and periphery, natives and exiled. This book by researchers within the field of art and architecture, theatrical performance, literature and history, is an important contribution...

A “vastly entertaining” history of urban centers—from the ancient world to today (Time).
 
From the earliest example in the Ancient Near East to today’s teeming centers of compressed existence, such as Mumbai and Tokyo, cities are home to half the planet’s population and consume nearly three-quarters of its natural resources. They can be seen as natural cultural artifacts—evidence...

For centuries the Atlantic world has been a site of encounter and exchange, a rich point of transit where one could remake one's identity or find it transformed. Through this interdisciplinary collection of essays, Laura R. Prieto and Stephen R. Berry offer vivid new accounts of how individuals remapped race, gender, and sexuality through their lived experience and in the cultural imagination. Crossings and Encounters is the first single volume to...

"Describes ancient history, medieval lore, and modern portrayals of zombies in today's popular culture"--

In the country, holidaymakers were a rarity. The railways could take you almost anywhere, but it was only the middle classes who went. So there were no crowds, and many of our pictures show tourist hotspots before they were hot, before there was any such thing as a car park. The text provides local knowledge and background to the photographs and is an enjoyable read in itself, but the real pleasure is in seeing Brighton, Margate, Scarborough, Broadstairs,...

Human modification of the environment always carries a risk of accident and folly. Explore the causes and consequences of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Guided by compelling questions such as, "What led to this disaster?," "Who was impacted by it?," and "What changed in its aftermath?" the interdisciplinary content blends social studies and science. Ultimately, it pushes students to consider how humans can meet their...