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David Fincher: Films That Scar
by Mark BrowningFilm scholar Mark Browning offers the first detailed analysis of the work of David Fincher, director of the critically acclaimed films Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.David Fincher is one of the most exciting filmmakers working in Hollywood today. He has produced a string of groundbreaking films that have achieved both critical and commercial success, while constantly challenging audiences to rethink their expectations of generic boundaries. David Fincher: Films That Scar is the first truly analytical work on the films of this mysterious and complex filmmaker. This insightful book analyzes all of Fincher's feature films, as well as examples of his commercials and pop videos, tracing key influences that include his background in special effects. It considers how he creates roles for strong women, how he has extended the detective genre, and how he adapts cult texts. The book also questions whether Fincher's films, famous for their downbeat endings and "dark" visual style, are really bleak or just part of an unconventional approach to filmmaking. In the end, readers will understand the development of Fincher's individual films and appreciate how the films relate closely to each other.
David Petraeus: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Bradley T. Ph.D.This in-depth and forthright biography examines the personal and professional life of General David Petraeus, today's most prominent military leader.David Petraeus: A Biography offers an objective assessment of the life and career of the man who is arguably the most important military figure of the decade and certainly an officer who has had an enormous impact on U.S. military strategy and policy.The biography examines the full range of Petraeus's experiences, from his youth in New York to his involvement with the 101st Airborne Division to the 2007 MoveOn.org controversy. The author, a military historian and army strategist, explores the general's considerable influence on officer development, as well as the ways in which his integration of diplomatic, economic, and informational components into military campaigns have transformed the Department of Defense's approach to warfare. Readers will be able to clearly trace Petraeus's rise to prominence and discover how his actions have shaped, and been shaped by, current events in the United States and the Middle East.
Disney (Corporations That Changed the World)
by Stacy Mintzer HerlihySince its founding in 1923, the Walt Disney Company has become an American institution and one of the most successful businesses in history. This book takes an in-depth look at the evolution of this iconic and sometimes controversial corporation.It's hard to imagine a childhood without the ubiquitous presence of Disney. From classics like Cinderella and Bambi to such modern blockbusters as Mulan and Frozen, Disney's animated features have captivated audiences for decades. Visiting CaliforniA&Rsquo;s Disneyland or FloridA&Rsquo;s Disney World has become the quintessential family vacation. Children dress as their favorite Disney characters for Halloween, while young-at-heart adults collect all manner of Disney memorabilia. But how much do you really know about this integral piece of Americana?Part of Greenwood&’s Corporations That Changed the World series, this book provides readers with a richly detailed history of a company that has become synonymous with what it means to grow up as an American. It chronicles Walt Disney's early years and the evolution of the Walt Disney Company from animation studio to entertainment powerhouse. It also explores how Disney changed the landscape of animation and movie making forever. An unbiased look at the controversies that have surrounded Disney over the years will help readers better understand these contentious issues and how the company has responded.
The Earnhardts: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Gerry SouterThe story of NASCAR's preeminent family and the multibillion dollar sport they helped create.From mid-century dirt tracks to today's super speedways, The Earnhardts: A Biography tells the remarkable story of a racing family—Dale, his father Ralph, and son Dale Jr.—whose careers span the full history of NASCAR and whose accomplishments define this unique American motorsport.Drawing on extensive research, including interviews with friends, family, and sports writers covering the NASCAR scene, Gerry Souter follows the Earnhardts' story from Ralph's short track racing in cars he built himself to Dale's record-setting career and shocking death to Dale Jr.'s emergence as one of the sport's most popular figures today. Through the lives of the Earnhardts, and their unmatched legacy of hard work and victory, readers see American stock car racing evolve from its rural Southern roots into a nationwide phenomenon.
Economic Thinkers: A Biographical Encyclopedia
by David A. DieterleWho are the individuals whose novel ideas, writings, and philosophies have influenced economics throughout history—and in doing so, have helped change the world? This encyclopedia provides a readable study of economics by examining the great economists themselves.This book presents biographies of 200 economic thinkers throughout history, supplying a one-stop reference about the men and women whose ideas, writings, and philosophies created the foundation of our current understanding of economics. Depicting their subjects within the contexts of history, development economics, and econometrics, these biographies provide an insightful overview of the world of economics through the economists of significance and the many subdisciplines, topics, eras, and philosophies they represent.Economic Thinkers: A Biographical Encyclopedia begins by describing economic thinkers in ancient Greece and Rome, moves through history to cover economists in the 15th through 19th centuries, and addresses economic theory in the 20th century and the modern era. Written to be easily accessible and highly readable, the work will appeal to students, scholars, general readers, and anyone interested in learning about the historical and philosophical foundation of economics.
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life in American History (Women Making History)
by Keri F. DearbornEleanor Roosevelt was an American influencer. Using her own words, personal documents, past perspectives, and new biographical research, this book introduces young adult readers to Roosevelt not only within her own historical context, but connected to contemporary issues.Using Eleanor Roosevelt's own words, personal correspondences, private documents, and a wide range of past perspectives and new biographical research, this book tells the intimate story of a real woman who struggled with a lack of self confidence but built a supportive network of like-minded activist women to realize change. One hundred years ago, Roosevelt was drawn into politics and public service by events that seem ripped from current events—an opiate crisis, a global pandemic, unsafe working conditions for immigrant women, and the human costs of war. Roosevelt's story mirrors the challenges of the 21st century and offers real examples of how change is possible.For students of history, politics, and women's studies, this book brings together past perspectives with new biographical scholarship, primary resources, and Roosevelt's own words to understand the female role models who shaped her and how Roosevelt in turn built a women's network of friends and activists that changed U.S. politics and society.
Elvis Presley, Reluctant Rebel: His Life and Our Times
by Glen Jeansonne David Luhrssen Dan SokolovicThis fresh interpretation explains how an untutored musician changed music while at the same time playing an inadvertent role in the youth rebellion that has shaped the Baby Boomer generation into the 21st century.Elvis Aaron Presley was born in a two-room house in Tupelo, MS, on January 8, 1935. He died at his Memphis home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977. In those 42 years, Elvis made an indelible impression on pop culture the world over. Elvis Presley, Reluctant Rebel: His Life and Our Times probes both the man and his influence, delving deeply into the personality of its protagonist, his needs and motivations, and the social and musical forces that shaped his career.Elvis's musical talents and liabilities are explored, as are his records, films, and live performances and his relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, whom he allowed to manipulate him as a money-making machine. Readers will learn about Elvis's personal life, his devotion to conventional religious and political beliefs, and his decline into self-destruction and death. Finally, the book explores Elvis's impact on the musical and racial revolutions of the 1950s and 1960s, his legacy, and his importance in shaping a generation of Baby Boomers.
Eminem: The Real Slim Shady (Hip Hop in America)
by Marcia Alesan DawkinsOffering a fresh way to look at one of the best-selling hip hop artists of the early 21st century, this book presents Eminem's words, images, and music alongside comments from those who love and hate him, documenting why Eminem remains a cultural, spiritual, and economic icon in global popular culture.Eminem: The Real Slim Shady examines the rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor who has become one of the most successful and well-known artists in the world. Providing far more than a biography of his life story, the book provides a comprehensive description, interpretation, and analysis of his personas, his lyrical content, and the cultural and economic impact of Eminem's work through media. It also contains the first in-depth content analysis of 200 of the rapper's most popular songs from 1990 through 2012.The book is organized into three sections, each focusing on one of the artist's public personas (Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Eminem), with each section further divided into chapters that explore various aspects of Eminem's cultural, spiritual, and economic significance. Besides being a book that every fan of Eminem and pop music will want to read, the work will be valuable to researchers in the areas of race and ethnicity, communication, cultural and musical studies, and hip hop studies.
Explorers of the American East: Mapping the World through Primary Documents (Mapping the World through Primary Documents)
by Kelly K. Chaves Oliver C. WaltonFocusing on ten key figures whose careers illuminate the history of the European exploration of North America, this book presents compelling first-person narratives that bring to life the challenges of historical scholarship in the academic classroom.Explorers of the American East: Mapping the World through Primary Documents covers 280 years of North American exploration and colonization efforts, ranging geographically from Florida to the Arctic. Arranged thematically and mononationally, the work focuses on a selection of 10 explorers who represent the changing course of North American exploration during the early modern period. The use of biography to narrate this history draws in readers and makes the work accessible to both a specialized and general audience. The dozens of primary source documents in this guided source reader span travel accounts, autobiographies, letters, official reports, memoirs, patents, and articles of agreement. This wide variety of primary sources serves to bring to life the failures and triumphs of exploring a newly discovered continent in the early modern period.This work focuses on ten explorers, including those who are well known, including John Cabot, John Smith, Jacques Cartier, and Samuel de Champlain, as well as discoverers who have slipped from our modern historical consciousness, such as George Waymouth, John Lawson, and J.F.W. Des Barres. The documents that narrate the voyages of these adventurers are arranged chronologically, vividly telling the story of historical events and presenting different voices to the reader. This variety of viewpoints serves to heighten readers' critical engagement with historical source material. The vast variety of primary source materials present students with the opportunity to read and engage critically with different types of historical documents, thereby growing their analytical skillsets.
The Forgotten History of African American Baseball
by Lawrence D. HoganThis text gives readers the chance to experience the unique character and personalities of the African American game of baseball in the United States, starting from the time of slavery, through the Negro Leagues and integration period, and beyond.For 100 years, African Americans were barred from playing in the premier baseball leagues of the United States—where only Caucasians were allowed. Talented black athletes until the 1950s were largely limited to only playing in Negro leagues, or possibly playing against white teams in exhibition, post-season play, or barnstorming contests—if it was deemed profitable for the white hosts. Even so, the people and events of Jim Crow baseball had incredible beauty, richness, and quality of play and character. The deep significance of Negro baseball leagues in establishing the texture of American history is an experience that cannot be allowed to slip away and be forgotten.This book takes readers from the origins of African Americans playing the American game of baseball on southern plantations in the pre-Civil War era through Black baseball and America's long era of Jim Crow segregation to the significance of Black baseball within our modern-day, post-Civil Rights Movement perspective.
Geek Heroines: An Encyclopedia of Female Heroes in Popular Culture
by Karen M. WalshGeek Heroines not only tells the stories of fictional and real women, but also explores how they represent changes in societal views of women, including women of color and the LGBTQ community.Geek culture stems from science and technology and so is frequently associated with science fiction. In the beginnings of science fiction, the genre was tied to "magic" and dystopic outcomes; however, as technology turned "geek" into "chic," geek culture extended to include comics, video games, board games, movie, books, and television. Geek culture now revolves around fictional characters about whom people are passionate.Geek Heroines seeks to encourage women and young girls in pursuing their passions by providing them with female role models in the form of diverse heroines within geek culture. Carefully curated to incorporate LGBTQ+ identities as well as racial diversity, the book defines geek culture, explains geek culture's sometimes problematic nature, and provides detailed fiction and nonfiction biographies that highlight women in this area. Entries include writers and directors as well as characters from comic books, science fiction, speculative fiction, television, movies, and video games.
George W. Bush: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Clarke RountreeThis biography examines the life of George W. Bush—one of the most controversial U.S. presidents in recent history—before, during, and after his two terms in the White House.George W. Bush served as president of the United States through some of the most pivotal and memorable events in our nation's history, including the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; Hurricane Katrina; and the devastating economic downturn at the end of his second term. It is still too soon to decide how history will judge his administration. Despite suffering much ridicule and scorn for his linguistic gaffes, which became known as "Bushisms," the fact remains that this Yale graduate eventually rose to become a two-term Texas governor and a two-term U.S. president.George W. Bush: A Biography provides a comprehensive view of Bush's life, beginning with his childhood and education, then examining his life as a businessman; his governorships of Texas; his tumultuous, two-term presidency of the United States; and his life after leaving the White House.
George Washington Carver: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Gary R. KremerThis book strips away the myths surrounding the famed scientist George Washington Carver and portrays him as a brilliant, creative man who nonetheless possessed very human peculiarities and frailties.This insightful work chronicles the life of George Washington Carver, the renowned African American scientist and teacher. George Washington Carver: A Biography begins with a discussion of the political and social circumstances in Missouri where Carver was born into slavery, circa 1864. Readers will follow Carver through his formal education to his decision to accept Booker T. Washington's offer to teach and do research at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.The bulk of the volume focuses on Carver's career at Tuskegee, a career that spanned nearly five decades, from 1896 until Carver's death in January 1943.The book highlights Carver's major achievements, including his championing of crop rotation and the hundreds of products he created from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other plants native to the South. In addition to Carver the scientist, students will meet Carver the man, who, for example, loved art and painted throughout his life.
Geronimo: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Mary A. StoutThe first biography of Geronimo aimed at the high school and undergraduate student audience, this book provides a balanced account of Geronimo's life in the context of key historical and cultural events of his lifetime.A revered Apache spiritual and military leader and a recurring figure in pop culture lore, Geronimo was a key figure during the settlement of the American Southwest. He led one of the last major independent Indian uprisings and personified the struggle of Native Americans during westward expansion. Geronimo: A Biography explores the life of this legendary leader, a man who has become an icon of the courageous—and doomed—struggle of the Native Americans.This biography follows Geronimo's life from his traditional Apache upbringing to his final days as a celebrity prisoner of war. It discusses the historical and social forces at work during the period, including Native American traditions and lifeways. It also shows how Geronimo's surrender in 1886 marked the end of the traditional Native American way of life. No longer free to roam the lands of their forefathers, Indians faced a future of captivity and a struggle to maintain their identity and traditions.
Gloria Steinem: A Life in American History (Women Making History)
by William H. IIIThis book details the life and activism of Gloria Steinem, using her life as a lens through which readers can examine the evolution of women's rights in the United States over the past half-century.This work traces the life and career of feminist activist Gloria Steinem, providing an examination of her life and her efforts to further equal opportunity among all people, especially women, in the United States from the second half of the 20th century to the present. It follows Steinem in a primarily chronological fashion to best convey the impact of her own efforts as well as the changing nature of women's status in American society during Steinem's half-century as an active reformer and public figure. The book notably includes her work with Ms. Magazine and details of her personal life.This book's wider coverage of Steinem's life, from her early childhood to the present, adds to previous works, which tend to stop with the end of the heyday of the women's movement and the rise of the Conservative movement in the early 1980s. With one of the defining aspects of Steinem's work being her lifelong commitment to women's rights and human equality, the treatment of her whole life helps readers understand the full extent of both her commitment and impact.
Green Day: A Musical Biography (The Story of the Band)
by Kjersti EgerdahlHere is an up-to-date, thoroughly researched biography of the world's most popular pop-punk band.Green Day is almost certainly the world's most popular pop-punk band. How they got there is the subject of Green Day: A Musical Biography, the first book to follow the band from their beginnings through the spring 2009 release of 21st Century Breakdown. Tracing the band's evolution from fiercely independent punks to a global powerhouse, Green Day starts with the members' earliest musical influences and upbringing and the founding of the punk club 924 Gilman Street that shaped their sense of community. Discussion of their conflicted feelings about signing to a major label explores the classic rock 'n' roll conundrum of "selling out," while details of their decline and 2004 rebirth offer an inspirational story of artistic rejuvenation. Interviews with the band members and key figures in their lives, excerpted from punk 'zines and other publications, offer a perspective on their methods of self-promotion and the image they have chosen to project over time.
Gus Van Sant: His Own Private Cinema (Modern Filmmakers)
by Vincent LoBruttoThis incisive book provides an in-depth critical and biographical study of the artistic range of film director Gus Van Sant.Arranged chronologically, Gus Van Sant: His Own Private Cinema provides a comprehensive overview of the life and art of this talented director, covering his mainstream, commercial, and avant-garde projects. More than a biography, the book examines Van Sant's incredibly diverse body of work, exploring the influence of his open homosexuality; of fine art, literature, and music; and of the range of cinema styles to which he has been exposed.Stressing Van Sant's wide-ranging content, genre, style, and cinematic presentation, author Vincent LoBrutto details the filmmaker's autobiographical tendencies and how he uses the film craft, literature, popular music, and fine arts to create his movies. The book dissects ways in which each of his films reflects Van Sant's sexual orientation, whether the individual film has a gay theme or not. Because of its importance to Van Sant's films, the book also offers a history of gay culture, past and present, covering its influence on art, music, theater, and dance, as well as community, activism, and prejudice.
Halle Berry: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Melissa Ewey JohnsonThe biographies in this series for high school students are both factual and fun to read; length and format are designed to meet educators' requirements and students' interests. This book in the series details the life of actress Halle Berry from childhood through adulthood, shedding light on her family background, her personal and professional influences, and her accomplishments and struggles in an industry where many of the parts she played were written with a white actress in mind. The book includes B&W photos of Berry throughout her career, a timeline, a filmography of film and TV appearances, and a list of major awards and nominations.
Harriet Tubman: A Life in American History (Black History Lives)
by Professor Kerry WaltersHarriet Tubman: A Life in American History is an indispensable resource for high school and college students about the life and times of anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman, who exemplifies how slaves took the initiative to free themselves and others.Harriet Tubman served a pivotal role in leading slaves to freedom in the decade before the Civil War. This biography offers a demythologized chronicle of her life and work with information about her life as a slave, role as conductor on the Underground Railroad, work as a military scout during the Civil War, and postwar activism for blacks and women.The book provides valuable context that situates Harriet Tubman against the backdrop of the slavery debate in antebellum America, and the hardships endured by ex-slaves in postbellum America. As such, the timeframe covers nearly a full century, from the first quarter of the 19th to the first quarter of the 20th. In addition to ten biographical chapters and a short timeline, Harriet Tubman includes an interpretive essay reflecting on her importance in American history. The volume also includes an appendix of primary documents about Tubman's life and work, a bibliography, and a number of sidebars and short commentaries embedded in the text, inviting readers to explore connections between Tubman's life and political, intellectual, and social culture.
Hatred of America's Presidents: Personal Attacks on the White House from Washington to Trump
by Lori Cox HanThis work examines expressions of personal hostility and animosity toward presidents—even beloved ones—throughout American history and their impact on policymaking, politics, and culture.People involved or simply interested in politics often ask whether today's political environment is more toxic than ever before. Hatred of America's Presidents: Personal Attacks on the White House from Washington to Trump presents an impartial and authoritative history of invective toward the White House so readers can determine the answer for themselves.The book focuses on the most representative and commonplace attacks of a vitriolic and personal nature, detailing who instigated and trafficked in the attacks and how presidents, administrations, and political parties defended themselves. It also illustrates how honest disagreements about policy—such as FDR's New Deal, Ronald Reagan's Central America policies, George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, and Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act—fueled expressions of hatred and condemnation. Finally, the book includes perspectives from both the right and the left on the legitimacy of these attacks and the victims' defenses as well as their impact on American politics and policy.
Helen Keller: A Life in American History (Women Making History)
by Meredith EliassenThis book provides new and exciting interpretations of Helen Keller's unparalleled life as "the most famous American woman in the world" during her time, celebrating the 141st anniversary of her birth.Helen Keller: A Life in American History explores Keller's life, career as a lobbyist, and experiences as a deaf-blind woman within the context of her relationship with teacher-guardian-promoter Anne Sullivan Macy and overarching social history. The book tells the dual story of a pair struggling with respective disabilities and financial hardship and the oppressive societal expectations set for women during Keller's lifetime. This narrative is perhaps the most comprehensive study of Helen Keller's role in the development of support services specifically related to the deaf-blind, as delineated as different from the blind.Readers will learn about Keller's challenges and choices as well as how her public image often eclipsed her personal desires to live independently. Keller's deaf-blindness and hard-earned but limited speech did not define her as a human being as she explored the world of ideas and wove those ideas into her writing, lobbying for funds for the American Federation for the Blind and working with disabled activists and supporters to bring about practical help during times of tremendous societal change.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)
by Meg GreeneThis full-length biography explores the multifaceted—and altogether fascinating—life, opinions, and accomplishments of African American scholar and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr.Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: A Biography is the first comprehensive volume about a man hailed as one of America's most influential scholars. Tracing Gates's life from his West Virginia birth, the book follows him through his undergraduate education at Yale and then to Cambridge, where he became the first African American to receive a doctorate. His current activities as a Harvard University professor, director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, and editor-in-chief of TheRoot.com, a daily, online magazine focusing on issues of interest to the African American community, are explored as well.The biography also provides insights into Gates's groundbreaking work as a critic, scholar, and author, probing his wide-ranging interests, his many accomplishments, and his invaluable revelations about the contributions of African Americans to the nation's literature and history. Most important, the book provides readers with a fuller understanding of African American history and literature—and of the nature of today's racial politics.
Hillary Clinton: A Life in American History (Women Making History)
by Kathleen GronnerudThis single-volume resource for students and general audience readers provides an in-depth overview of the life experiences, influences, and personal views of Hillary Clinton from her childhood in 1950s suburban Chicago to her presidential run in 2016.While numerous volumes have been written about Hillary Clinton, many authors have devoted entire books to just one aspect of Clinton's public or private life. Yet few, if any, single volumes have provided a comprehensive look at her life in public service from an objective, scholarly viewpoint.Designed both for students doing research and general readers wanting to know more about Clinton's life and career, this book not only offers an overview of her education, family, career, and political views, but also provides historical context to her choices, accomplishments, and defeats. The volume's chapters present a chronological telling of her life story thus far including key experiences, influences, and the development of her political views. The volume also includes photographs and short sidebars, which help to tie Clinton's personal experiences to the contemporaneous culture of the nation. A lengthy bibliography provides assistance to readers interested in further research or reading.
The Historian's Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Reading Douglass's Autobiography as Social and Cultural History (The Historian's Annotated Classics)
by Robert FelgarTo celebrate the bicentenary of Frederick Douglass's birth in 2018, this new annotated edition of his classic autobiography shows how his insights on slavery, racism, and the pursuit of self-reliance are still highly relevant today in 21st-century America.Frederick Douglas was a slave, then a free man. He was an abolitionist, a writer, and an orator who became a great social reformer and statesman. Perhaps even more important, he served as a powerful counter-example to white Americans who believed black people could not be their equals. Douglass dedicated his life to the pursuit of freedom and equality for not just African Americans, but for all people, of all races, male and female.The Historian's Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Reading Douglass's Autobiography as Social and Cultural History covers the first decades of Frederick Douglass's life, from his childhood through his escape from slavery in 1838 and his early years as a fiery abolitionist speaker in the North. The book provides readers with the necessary biographical and historical context to better understand and fully appreciate the Douglass's classic memoir. Readers will learn about slavery, the abolitionist movement, efforts of resistance to slavery and escape from it, and the great importance of literacy in combating slavery. The book is written in accessible language that will engage high school and college students as well as general readers, but deals with challenging and provocative concepts.
Hooligans, Harlots, and Hangmen: Crime and Punishment in Victorian Britain (A Criminal History of Britain)
by David TaylorThis detailed study of the criminal justice system in Victorian Britain highlights the dilemmas facing those responsible for administering justice and protecting society from "the criminal."Encompassing the crimes of the never-identified Jack the Ripper, as well as many other equally intriguing criminals, Hooligans, Harlots, and Hangmen: Crime and Punishment in Victorian Britain is a detailed study of the criminal justice system as it evolved from the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 to the outbreak of the "Great War" in 1914. The first section of the book considers crimes and criminals, while the second looks at the ways in which the Victorians sought to explain this deviant behavior. The third section focuses on the creation of criminals through the work of the constabulary and the courts. The final section considers the changing ways in which criminals were punished as the scaffold gave way to the prison as the dominant means of punishment. A brief introduction and conclusion set Victorian crime into its broader sociopolitical context and relates the issues society grappled with then to those of the present day.