Book Description
Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman's groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining controlof our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding book - must read.......2007-09-27
One of the best books on the danger posed by entertainment to our civic community.
Important read.......2007-09-04
This book asks questions that we need to be asking but aren't. How can we not at least question the media and technology that we take in like oxygen? It's an important read and I recommend it to anyone who isn't apathetic.
The Audio Was Great.......2007-09-03
If you like people like Colin Wilson, you will love this well written and well thought out book. It is like listening to Colin Wilson without the references to literature but the lessons are intact.
Another "Thin" Classic From Postman.......2007-06-22
This is Postman's most famous and widely read book (as is attested by the more than 100 customer reviews here on Amazon) and it is, as other reviewers have suggested, a classic in the Media Studies field. The songwriter Roger Waters was inspired enough to title his album "Amused to Death" after reading Postman's book (although Postman states in one of his later works that he himself would never stoop to listening to the likes of a "Roger Waters").
Instead of giving the usual plot synopsis here as other reviewers have done, I would like instead to perform for you a Media Studies reading of the book. That is to say, instead of reviewing the book's contents, I would like to draw your attention to the medium and format of the book itself, and in doing so, point out what this reveals about Postman as a philosopher.
To begin with the most important point: there are no pictures. Anywhere. And not only is this true of Amusing Ourselves to Death, it is true of every single one of Postman's books. This should alert us to something very important here about Postman: he is iconophobic. He is engaged in a battle against images of any, and every, kind. Not even Marshall McLuhan was so antipathetic to the use of images and illustrations, for his very first book, The Mechanical Bride, is a series of commentaries upon advertisements. In the age old battle of the Word vs. the Image -- a battle which goes way, way back before the twentieth century to the Iconoclastic debates amongst the Greek Byzantines whose iconophobes were in fact influenced by the aniconism of Islam, an entire religion which, like Judaism, had been based upon a rejection of images -- Postman, in this tradition, definitely aligns himself on the side of the Word against the iconophiles, be they Catholics or Hindus or lovers of comic books, or whomever.
Also, you will not find any references to works of art of any kind in this book. Postman apparently has an antipathy to painting and imagery of any kind whatsoever, be it "classical" or electronic. It is important to point this out because it reveals, in the tradition of Harold Innis, Postman's essential "bias" in this book. Indeed, Postman's dialogue with Camille Paglia, published in an old issue of Harper's, underlines this point, for Paglia is as much an iconophile as Postman is an iconoclast. "In the beginning was the Word," Postman quotes, as though to clarify his own personal theology, before proceeding onward with his dialogue with Paglia.
The next thing to notice about the book is its brevity. It is very short, as in fact, are all Mr. Postman's books, for Postman has been quoted as saying that he does not believe in writing long books, and that if one cannot express oneself in two hundred pages or less, then one has no business writing a book. The bibliography, accordingly, is also short, and so apparently Mr. Postman did not feel the need to read many books in order to write this book.
For Postman really only has a single point to make here, and it is an important point which he argues persuasively and eloquently: television is taking over our culture, and all our thought patterns in every aspect or division of our culture is taking its cue from the syncopated, discontinuous and ahistorical "mentality" of television. How this has affected our reading habits, and whether those reading habits still continue, albeit in a changed manner, Postman fails to address. For people have not stopped reading books; instead, they continue to read books, but their expectations of the book have changed. The brevity of Postman's book is itself perhaps an example of what happens to sustained intellectual discourse in the Electronic Age: books get shorter because our attention spans (Postman's included) have shrank. Nobody wants to wade through books on the scale and magnitude of Spengler's Decline of the West or Hegel's Phenomenology of the Spirit. I notice, furthermore, that the sorts of books which Postman exhibits in his Bibliography are, one and all, short books.
Thus, here is the secret of Postman's book: Postman himself suffers from the very same attention deficit disorder that he castigates others for having suffered at the hands of Electronic Society.
Hmm. One would expect a professor of Media Studies who was as well read and thoughtful as Postman to engage our attention for a while longer. If this book is the greatest thing Postman ever wrote, then we must confess, alas, that Postman's work does not contain a single magnum opus on the level of a Gutenberg Galaxy or an Understanding Media. Perhaps this fact in itself is evidence of a general decline in intellectual and literary ability in our culture during the latter half of the twentieth century.
The reader should not understand that I am saying that there is anything wrong with Amusing Ourselves to Death. But we should learn to understand its limitations in order to appreciate its place in the pantheon of Media Studies classics, upon which list, after all is said and done, Amusing Ourselves to Death places relatively low.
--John David Ebert, author Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons: Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society
Deserves to be Called a Classic.......2007-06-19
It seems unlikely that a book labeled "Current Affairs" could have a shelf life of more than a few years. It seems preposterous that a book dealing with television and referring to Dallas and Dynasty could have anything to see twenty two years after being published. Yet Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, now in it's "20th Anniversary Edition" continues to be read and studied and to hold influence. Even today it is used as required reading in many high school and college level courses. Though written by a man who made no claim to Christianity, few modern books written by an unbeliever have been more widely read and quoted by Christians. It truly is a remarkable little book.
Postman had that rarely quality of being able to see behind a fad, behind what was late and great. He saw the significance of the rise of the image and the fall of the word, the rise of amusement and the decline of discourse. He saw that television would soon saturate every area of our lives and taint the way we understand politics, religion, education and every other area of importance. As we now transition from a television-based culture to a computer-based culture the image remains central. Perhaps we have already amused ourselves past the point of no easy return. Television is remarkably effective at doing what it does best--entertaining. Postman had no argument with television is a tool of entertainment. In fact, the best things on television are its junk and no one is seriously threatened by this. Where television fails is in attempting to do the more serious work that has traditionally been carried by the written word.
Postman makes it his goal in this book to make the epistemology of television visible, demonstrating that television's way of knowing is hostile to typography's way of knowing, and not only that, but it is inferior to it. "Serious television" is a contradiction in terms for television speaks only in the voice of entertainment, never of serious, weighty, discourse--the kind of discourse that is essential to politics, religion and education. Television's influence has been relentless, transforming our culture so that every area is now considered a venue for entertainment.
Electronic media, led by television but being superseded by the computer, has changed the way we view the world and the way we carry on any kind of public discourse. Gone are the days when content was of overwhelming importance. Instead we deal with sound bites, with discordant images torn from any kind of context, and with style when in former days we relied on substance. Politicians win and lose election campaigns not on the basis of what they say, but on the basis of how they look when they say it.
Throughout the book is an interesting interplay between Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984. In the latter an oppressive regime dominates the world while in the former the people allow themselves to be overcome by levity, by entertainment and by pleasure so that they have no need of an oppressive regime. They were controlled by their amusements. Huxley, Postman argues, had it right. And I would tend to agree.
Amusing Ourselves to Death is a good read, a disturbing read, a thought-provoking read and, dare I say it, a must-read. It deserves its status as a classic and, though already two decades out of date, it is as timely as ever.
Book Description
People who are single are changing the face of America. Did you know that:
* More than 40 percent of the nation’s adults---over 87 million people---are divorced, widowed, or have always been single.
* There are more households comprised of single people living alone than of married parents and their children.
* Americans now spend more of their adult years single than married.
Many of today’s single people have engaging jobs, homes that they own, and a network of friends. This is not the 1950s---singles can have sex without marrying, and they can raise smart, successful, and happy children. It should be a great time to be single. Yet too often single people are still asked to defend their single status by an onslaught of judgmental peers and fretful relatives.
Prominent people in politics, the popular press, and the intelligentsia have all taken turns peddling myths about marriage and singlehood. Marry, they promise, and you will live a long, happy, and healthy life, and you will never be lonely again.
Drawing from decades of scientific research and stacks of stories from the front lines of singlehood, Bella DePaulo debunks the myths of singledom---and shows that just about everything you’ve heard about the benefits of getting married and the perils of staying single are grossly exaggerated or just plain wrong. Although singles are singled out for unfair treatment by the workplace, the marketplace, and the federal tax structure, they are not simply victims of this singlism. Single people really are living happily ever after.
Filled with bracing bursts of truth and dazzling dashes of humor, Singled Out is a spirited and provocative read for the single, the married, and everyone in between.
You will never think about singlehood or marriage the same way again.
Singled Out debunks the Ten Myths of Singlehood, including:
Myth #1: The Wonder of Couples: Marrieds know best.
Myth #3: The Dark Aura of Singlehood: You are miserable and lonely and your life is tragic.
Myth #5: Attention, Single Women: Your work won’t love you back and your eggs will dry up. Also, you don’t get any and you’re promiscuous.
Myth #6: Attention, Single Men: You are horny, slovenly, and irresponsible, and you are the scary criminals. Or you are sexy, fastidious, frivolous, and gay.
Myth #7: Attention, Single Parents: Your kids are doomed.
Myth #9: Poor Soul: You will grow old alone and you will die in a room by yourself where no one will find you for weeks.
Myth #10: Family Values: Let’s give all of the perks, benefits, gifts, and cash to couples and call it family values.
“With elegant analysis, wonderfully detailed examples, and clear and witty prose, DePaulo lays out the many, often subtle denigrations and discriminations faced by single adults in the U.S. She addresses, too, the resilience of single women and men in the face of such singlism. A must-read for all single adults, their friends and families, as well as social scientists and policy advocates.”
---E. Kay Trimberger, author of The New Single Woman
Customer Reviews:
A great consciousness-raiser.......2007-10-05
I just finished this book (which I had checked out from the library) and will be purchasing a copy. A number of reviewers have provided good literary/scholarly coverage of this book, which allows me to present a more personal view. Recently and very unexpectedly divorced after nearly 30 years of marriage, this book came into my life at the perfect time. I (embarrassingly) recognized myself within the pages as one of those who had unknowingly had the cultural advantages and self-satisfied attitudes of couplehood/marriage. Now newly single and coping quite well under the circumstances, this book has taken me to a new level of understanding - for which I'm incredibly thankful. Ms. DePaulo's writing is clear, insightful, and humorous. (I found her humor wry or sly, not at all sarcastic or bitter.) She is right-on in her analysis of cultural views of both singlehood and coupledom. Aided by the perspective of this book, I am no longer simply accepting life as a single, but looking forward to creating a life as rich, fulfilling, and compassionate as possible. I now feel that my unexpected singlehood is a blessing that allows me to direct my love and energies into new avenues, including deepening my friendships and providing community service. This book has almost single-handedly redirected my outlook.
Somewhat disappointing.......2007-08-01
A friend sent me DePaulo's chapter headings and they are hilarious! I looked forward to reading her book as an interesting exploration of the devaluation of singlehood. The book's concept is thought provoking. The writing, however, is sarcastic (to the detriment of DePaulo's message), at times embittered, and sometimes tedious (e.g., she'll describe at length another writer's work and then pick it apart bit by bit; she could have instead made her point more clearly and persuasively if she wasn't just reacting to other material). All in all, I was disappointed.
"Don't worry, honey, your turn to divorce will come....".......2007-06-23
DePaulo's book is brilliant, but it made me so angry. Angry at how many couples (from here on, "marrieds") stereotype, stigmatize, and ignore singles, of course! I already knew that marrieds feel sorry for singles because they're "incomplete," "lonely," and "unfulfilled." But not everyone wants the same thing, not everyone wants the conventional, predictable married life. I enjoy solitute tremendously, and marriage has never been my life goal. I'd rather focus on my career, which is more fulfilling than any relationship I've had. I also enjoy traveling on the weekends whenever I want, spending my money how I want, hanging out with single friends (fortunately I still have several of them). Most marrieds don't plan a weekend to go visit a good college friend (well, maybe they will if it's a couple and not merely a single person) and spend money "selfishly" on food, entertainment, and going to take photographs of old nuclear power plants or other unique trips. Does this mean I'm not grown up? no! It means I know what I like to do, so I do it. It's that simple. I feel like I have to put so much energy into defending my contented state, while marrieds are assumed to be content (although I know that isn't always the case, especially since marriage ends in divorce half the time).
I am almost 26 so it's still "acceptable" for me to be single, but people still ask why I don't have a boyfriend. "Don't you want to get married one day?" "Are you dating anyone?" "Don't you want to have children?" "You're attractive, why aren't you with anyone?" (there must be something wrong with you!) I used to feel inferior when asked those kinds of questions, especially in college when people were frantically getting engaged, much like a Baskin Robbins gets raided on the day they sell ice cream for 31 cents per scoop. Better get some before it runs out, ya know. But gradually, I became confident in my singleness by my junior year. This book really reinforced my feelings and it was as if DePaulo was reading my mind for most of it. Especially the chapter about why anybody should CARE if we're single of not? Get a life, marrieds..perhaps you should worry about decreasing your divorce rate instead.
I also liked the part criticizing how society gives a hard time to singles who still live with their parents. I still live with mine but am not "mooching" off them. I pay rent, my car payments, my car insurance, my phone bill, my college loans, and other expenses. I am saving up for my own condo (not because it screams "Single person!" but because it's the only thing I can afford in my area). I have a good relationship with my parents and I give a lot back to the economy, much like the Japanese women. I know that I go out and have a social life more than a lot of marrieds I know. And I'm not going out just to look for a husband either, grrrrr!
I have a good male friend in his late 30s. Some people have asked me if he's ever been married. When I answer No, one of them remarked, "There must be something wrong with him." Actually, there isn't. He just doesn't believe that marriage would improve his life. It's overrated and not a "fix-all" solution. He likes being single! He's happy being single. Is that so difficult to understand? Apparently, it is.
Sure, sometimes I think it would be nice to be married, to have that one person who is supposed to be your best friend, lover, etc. But I'm not going to go around actively looking for it because it's not worth it. If it happens, it happens, but I know I wouldn't mind being single for the rest of my life. I don't need another person to make me feel complete. I'm not going to waste time obsessively searching for the right person (dating is much more of a waste than being contentedly single). Ooh, I must be bitter with this attitude! Sometimes I am, but usually I just think, why try to change my life when I love how it is right now? And marriage could also make my life much worse - you never know if it will work out or not, and you could end up devastated by infidelity, abuse, etc (also true in serious unmarried relationships, i know, but people generally have higher expectations of a fairytale perfect marriage, especially with all that commitment). I know a few married men at work who are cheating on their spouses. Obviously, not all marrieds even respect marriage. How then, can this type of person look down on singles as inferior?
I was especially disgusted with Chris Matthews' treatment of Nader. How dare he imply that because Nader did not consume as much as the marrieds (such as no house, no car), that he was less of a person, less responsible? He is really a thousand more times responsible than Newt Gingrich or Bill Clinton, who have made a mess of their marital relationships. Nader is responsible enough to never embarrass a wife (or any other woman, for that matter) on international television. HE never made a mockery of the all-important marriage as others have done. And he is environmentally responsible for not owning a car because, wow!, he doesn't need one, which makes perfect sense (although not to Matthews). Singles rarely get credit for their accomplishments. I admire him and politicians like Condi Rice all the more because of their singleness.
How are people more "grown up" just because they're married? Nineteen year olds get married and are no more grown up than 19 year old singles. In fact, I argue that 19 years old marrieds are much more stupid and insecure than singles their age.
Have to mention one more thing. Once I was invited on a weekend trip where I would be set up with some guy. But I immediately turned it down because I was buying my new car that weekend. An organizer of the trip then asked me, "Which would you rather have, a new boyfriend or a new car?"
"A new car." Of course. I needed a car, but I didn't need a boyfriend...and still don't.
Singe Edition.......2007-06-13
I had been anticipating the arrival of Bella DePaulo's book for months and read it within a day upon receiving it. Ms. Depaulo could not have said it better when she indicates that not all singles are desperately waiting to be rescued by a mate. In fact many are completely satisfied in their solo state while those who are married may not necessarily be fulfilled. Increasingly individuals are choosing to remain single and Ms. Depaulo helps shatter the stereotypical portrait that has been painted. Bookstores today are replete with kitschy chic lit tales, dating propaganda or stories that glorify mommies but Singled Out is a power piece that raises the individual to the positive and realistic rank they merit. I am thankful for the contribution Ms. Depaulo has made and applaud the sincere and courageous stance she has made in putting forth her writings.
Sherri Langburt
The Last Socially Accepted Prejudice.......2007-06-11
This book is about one of the last forms of prejudice that is still socially acceptable, the stigmatization of people who are single. Contrary to some of the comments made, the author makes it clear from the start that this is not a book about putting down people who are married. The criticism is of married people and others who portray marriage as the only valid lifestyle choice for a mature adult and stereotype single people in such a way that they are portrayed as lesser human beings. I have observed that often, pioneers in exposing stigma of an out group get personally attacked for their "tone", especially if they present compelling arguments that are difficult to reasonably refute.
This is not a book about victims, but rather, a book about the resiliency of single people who have managed to prosper in spite of the negative stereotypes and discrimmination. In each chapter, DePaulo exposes and systematically refutes myths about singles that many in our culture have taken for granted. One of the most prevalent myths is that singles don't "have anybody" when research shows that always single people, especially women have the strongest social support networks. She illustrates how our culture has belittled any relationships other than marriage as unimportant when in fact, friendships and relationships with siblings are just as important and often longer lasting.
The book also exposes how legitimate research can be misinterpreted in the popular media, especially when the data violate cherished beliefs and assumptions. The truth is that singles comprise a higher percentage of households than the traditional married couple with children. While the traditional household is a fulfulling choice for some people, when it comes to marriage, given the high divorce rate and the growing percentage of people who choose to be single and remain happy, clearly one size does not fit all. It is time to stop blaming and pathologizing people for failure to conform to the expectations of society that we all must marry and begin to recognize that differences in civil status are often due to normal, healthy differences in personality and temperament. I have written a lengthier review of this book on my blog:
[...]
Book Description
An encyclopedic look at several dozen of the most well known "people" of literature, television, mythology, and film.
From detectives and criminals (Dick Tracy, Perry Mason, and Norman Bates) to the greats of theater (Hamlet, Shylock, Romeo, and Juliet), the book covers and uncovers the history and influences of major characters of fiction.
The three writers use a variety of styles and approaches, (one essay is told from a canine's point of view), and the tone ranges from scholarly to open comedy.
Customer Reviews:
A great concept-- but not particularly well done.......2007-05-19
I read a review of this book in a magazine, and I was intrigued by the concept: Michael Hart's "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History" deals with actual people; wouldn't it be possible and useful to do the same with fictional characters? Yes, it would, but, unfortunately, the authors don't execute the concept very well.
The problem for me isn't the rankings. After, all, they're admittedly subjective, and in the end, they don't matter that much any way. The thing that I found jarring at first-- and then grating as I read on-- was the uneven quality of the essays. I suspect that this was in part due to the simple fact that there are three co-authors. It would be very difficult to coordinate the styles and lengths of the essays.
More seriously, though, they clearly didn't attempt to coordinate the point of the essays. That is, some of them are straight biographies. Some are pop-cultural analyses of the significance of the characters. Some are political screeds. Some are failed attempts to be cutsie, best illustrated by the essay supposedly written by an author's dog. Many of the essays read as though they were responses to homework assignments that were written at the last second by a student hoping that his teacher will mistake generalities and clever wordplay for content.
Now, this isn't to say that I hated the book; in fact, I actually liked it. It's just that it disappointed me. With a little more authorial discipline-- or maybe stronger editorial control-- it could have been a GREAT book.
So, in summary, I think it's worth reading, and it's entertaining, but I believe it could have been so much better.
Okay Bathroom book........2007-03-21
My sister bought me this book and I was really excited to read it because my friends and I would sit around and discuss topics such as this. It appears that a group of people took advantage of an idea most of us have had and did not deliver anything more than essays that remind me of papers I wrote 3 hours before they were due. Sometimes I never understood why they thought the character was influential, sometimes their influence seemed extremely exaggerated and sometimes I was not sure whether they undertsood influence. The only reason I gave the book 2 stars is because it reignited my desire to have discussions a=on topics such as this.
Don't Get It..........2007-02-16
A list that includes such potentially fleeting charactors as Buffy The Vampire Slayer as high as #44 and the demotion of a universally recognised near 70 year old charactor such as Superman to #64 is highly doubtful in its seriousness or its intention.
I don't believe they would write the same list even 12 months from now.
A bathroom is where this book belongs........2007-02-05
I found the book title to be very fascinating and looked forward to reading about people who have shaped our society and ourselves. What I found was self-indulgent humor that was not particularly funny and in fact often times trite. Were the authors drunk when they wrote this?! It's full of side bars and I guess what they consider jokes; though none were funny. The #24 person they listed was Odysseus who they claim tried to avoid the Trojan War by pretending to be insane; that plan having failed, he tried to join the Air National Guard in Texas. The book eventually wound up being a politial satire to slam our government I guess.
Then the authors suggest having a St. Lupercalia'a Day in which we have a day to celebrate orgies to keep the clergy happy. What?! Are you kidding me? This book is completely inappropriate. It would have been a wonderful book if the authors could have kept from drinking while writing it.
Could have been better.......2007-01-09
I had read an article that excerpted some of the essays in this book and loved the concept. It's fascinating that 101 of the most influential people who have shaped our society were not even real people. However, this book was a bit of a disappointment. After reading through 2 or 3 articles, I just skimmed the rest. To be honest, the title was much more compelling than the essays were.
Book Description
Since the early 1990s, while mainland China’s state-owned movie studios have struggled with financial and ideological constraints, an exciting alternative cinema has developed. Dubbed the “Urban Generation,” this new cinema is driven by young filmmakers who emerged in the shadow of the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989. What unites diverse directors under the “Urban Generation” rubric is their creative engagement with the wrenching economic and social transformations underway in China. Urban Generation filmmakers are vanguard interpreters of the confusion and anxiety triggered by the massive urbanization of contemporary China. This collection brings together some of the most recent original research on this emerging cinema and its relationship to Chinese society.
The contributors analyze the historical and social conditions that gave rise to the Urban Generation, its aesthetic innovation, and its ambivalent relationship to China’s mainstream film industry and the international film market. Focusing attention on the Urban Generation’s sense of social urgency, its documentary impulses, and its representations of gender and sexuality, the contributors highlight the characters who populate this new urban cinema—ordinary and marginalized city dwellers including aimless bohemians, petty thieves, prostitutes, postal workers, taxi drivers, migrant workers—and the fact that these “floating urban subjects” are often portrayed by non-professional actors. Some essays concentrate on specific films (such as Shower and Suzhou River) or filmmakers (including Jia Zhangke and Zhang Yuan), while others survey broader concerns. Together the thirteen essays in this collection give a multifaceted account of a significant, ongoing cinematic and cultural phenomenon.
Contributors. Chris Berry, Yomi Braester, Shuqin Cui, Linda Chiu-han Lai, Charles Leary, Sheldon H. Lu, Jason McGrath, Augusta Palmer, Bérénice Reynaud, Yaohua Shi, Yingjin Zhang, Zhang Zhen, Xueping Zhong
Book Description
There is perhaps no bigger or more important issue in America at present than youth violence. Jonesboro; Paducah; Pearl, Mississippi; Stamps, Arkansas; Conyers, Georgia; and, of course, Littleton, Colorado. We know them all too well, and for all the wrong reasons: kids, some as young as eleven years old, taking up arms and, with deadly, frightening accuracy, murdering anyone in their paths. What is going on? According to the authors of
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, there is blame to be laid right at the feet of the makers of violent video games (called "murder trainers" by one expert), the TV networks, and the Hollywood movie studios--the people responsible for the fact that children witness literally thousands of violent images a day.
Authors Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano offer incontrovertible evidence, much of it based on recent major scientific studies and empirical research, that movies, TV, and video games are not just conditioning children to be violent--and unaware of the consequences of that violence--but are teaching the very mechanics of killing. Their book is a much-needed call to action for every parent, teacher, and citizen to help our children and stop the wave of killing and violence gripping America's youth. And, most important, it is a blueprint for us all on how that can be achieved.
In Paducah, Kentucky, Michael Carneal, a fourteen-year-old boy who stole a gun from a neighbor's house, brought it to school and fired eight shots at a student prayer group as they were breaking up. Prior to this event, he had never shot a real gun before. Of the eight shots he fired, he had eight hits on eight different kids. Five were head shots, the other three upper torso. The result was three dead, one paralyzed for life. The FBI says that the average, experienced, qualified law enforcement officer, in the average shootout, at an average range of seven yards, hits with less than one bullet in five. How does a child acquire such killing ability? What would lead him to go out and commit such a horrific act?
Customer Reviews:
Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill.......2007-05-17
This book hits upon a topic that has become severe in this country; youth violence. It discusses many avenues that contribute to our youth using violence against each other. It brings to light numerous strategies that parents, teachers, and other adult agencies can use to decrease, if not completely vanish, the violence seen in our youth. Fantastically written, this book is a must read for anyone who has kids, deals with kids, or is just a member of our society.
Important as Today's Headlines.......2007-03-19
Lt Col Grossman spent a lifetime studying what made soldiers more efficient killers in combat and able to survive. His work extended in to the world of police officers. With a worldwide reputation Grossman is the goto guy.
And then Grossman turned his focus on the army of deadly young killers. Killers who achieve far better performance than police officers in combat. Somewhere in their "training" was a mechanism that turned off the moral control system and honed their responses. As one young killer explained why he first killed his enemies and then his friends, he was on a roll.
Bound to be opposed by Hollywood, the electronic games folks and others, Grossman has the credentials that demand attention from balanced readers.
Grossman documents the effectiveness of "games" which give potential killers the motor skills, training and discipline to be cold blooded mass killers, without any training whatsoever on real firearms. Games, TV and the movies have sanitized shooting and death. The first bullet ever fired by the youngster is a head shot and just like he has done in thousands of games he quickly turns to make the next shot , the next and the next , just as he has been so well trained to do.
In contrast the young person familiar with firearms is far more likely to stop after one shot, devastated by what they have done.
One of the truly worrisome details highlighted by the book is that the only reason murders and murder rates have declined is the higher quality of emergency medicine available in most areas of the country. Without these improvements in emergency medicine the murder rate would have increased significantly.
Today April 16, 2006 his message is more relevant than ever before. Give knowledge a chance. The pattern of the Virginia school shootings follows the warning pattern described by Grossman. If we fail to heed the message we condemn hundreds to their deaths at the hands of these killers we have raised in our communities.
Highly recommended.
This book should be widely read.......2005-12-06
This book approaches the phenomenon of media violence in three parts. First, it points to the rising crime rate in America, during a period of declining racial violence, soaring incarceration rate, terrific advances in police technology, advanced medical technology, faster first-response medical help, and an increasingly educated populace. Yet violent crime has skyrocketed (Aggravated assault, to take one example, was 80/100,000 in 1960, and is about 400/100,000 today), and the muder rate has remained level. To see how far medical advances have come and to illustrate how the murder rate should be declining, the authors point out that that a wound that 9 times out of 10 killed in WWII was survived 9 times out of 10 in Vietnam.
The relationship between these trends and violent media is not one of pure speculation, but of methodical study. There have been thousands of studies on the relation, virtually all of which have concluded a link between violent media and violent behavior. One of the most interesting studies related took place in an area where there were four villages, all without television. Researches went in and observed for two weeks children on the playgrounds in these villages, and recorded all instances of physical aggression. Then televisions were brought into two of the villages. New researchers, unaware of the goal of their research, were brought in to again observe the children. Levels of aggression remained constant in the villages without television, and increased 160% in the villages with television.
The second part of this book talks about how watching violent media actually affects us. It does so in 3 ways:
1. It incites fear in us. Violent crimes are much, much more common in TV-world than in the real world. We subconsciously internalize this danger, and become more fearful of others than we would be if we weren't so hyperaware of violence, and didn't expect violence to be so common.
2. It desensitizes us. The more violence we watch, the less is affects us physically. The level of violence that excites a person's body to a certain point must continually increase to keep effecting the same reaction. As we become hardened to violence and horror on the screen, we also become jaded, without realizing it, to real-life violence.
3. It makes us more aggressive. A person who watches violent media, when presented with a conflict situation, is more liable to think of a violent solution as a viable one, and quicker to resort to such a solution
The third part of this book deals with video games, which have much the same effect as violent TV and movies. Further, however:
1. They train players to kill. Michael Carneal, a 14 year old kid who had never fired a gun before, went on a spree one day. 8 shots to 8 people, all in the head or upper torso. This inexperienced kid killed like a Special Forces vet. Video games didn't make him kill, but he (and many others) could never have been so deadly without them.
2. Video Games lower the resistence to killing. One of the greatest innovations in military technology between WWII (where on average 15% of soldiers actually fired at the enemy) and Vietnam (90% fire rate) was the movement from bulleyes to silouhettes in targeting practice. Video games are even better. Playing them, one becomes used to shooting at human figures. A first person shooter player just doesn't have same the resistence to shooting another human as a non-player.
In sum, video games don't make people kill, but they do make them damn good at it, and they do lower internal resistences which might otherwise prevent someone from killing.
I said that there were three parts in this book, but there is actually a fourth. Both authors are parents, and end the book in practical advice about how to talk to kids about simulated violence.
If you watch a lot of violent media or play a lot of violent video games, this book does call for some self-examination. It is difficult, however. How can you tell if you are desensitized? How can you tell if you are fearful, or aggressive? I can only say that I have, long before reading this book, been finding myself more senstive to violence, less aggressive, and less fearful of other's aggression since I have stopped watching TV and stopped playing video games.
The most Eye Opening Book on children and violence.......2005-09-07
This book is definitely an eye opener for parents and future parents. Mr. Grossman has packed this book full of knowledge that will "without a doubt" keep your child more safe and less likely to turn to violence. He gives you excellent statistics, knowledge, case studies, and powerful tips that WILL keep your child safe and on the road to success. This book is the best violence+children book I have read. Excellent work and a must read for all parents.
Highly credible with an interesting approach.......2005-05-27
The authors explore the possibility that violence committed by young people results from what they learn through television, movies, and video games. They cite scientific studies and research to emphasize that children actually learn how to kill by viewing these games and programs. It takes an in-depth look at media violence, but does not touch on the other media-related social problems.
Book Description
CELLULOID MIRRORS is an exciting new survey of major developments in American filmmaking since 1945. Coverage includes changes in film content, alterations in the business structure of Hollywood, shifts in theater design, the impact of television, and Hollywood's enduring mystique. This supplement is appropriate for a variety of courses, including American History Survey courses, Modern America History courses, American Cultural History, Film History, and Popular Culture.
Customer Reviews:
Informative but oddly confusing too--.......2002-04-12
"Celluloid Mirrors: Hollywood and American Society since 1945," is a small, dense, compact book designed to give a concise history of the relationship between Hollywood and American culture since 1945. The book does is premised on a statement in the Preface: "During the decades since World War II, the entertainment industry has reflected shifting American values and business practices." While not arguing for this proposition in the formal sense, this guiding assertion is an accurate reflection of the tone and tenor of this book.
Davis's intent is to sketch a broad series of trends that have affected Hollywood and its relationship to American culture. Most of these are fairly well known-the union strikes of 1945-46, the blacklisting of writers during the time of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Some of these are less well known-the rise of conglomeration in the industry, the advent of Norman Lear's rise in the television community of the early 1970's. All of these trends though, are described in detail and with enough contextual information to anchor film and television trends to issues of larger American culture. This is not to say that major issues are not skipped, such as the Cold War itself or the changing (?) roles of women on television.
More so than the particular cultural trends, though, is Davis's need to provide names and brief descriptions of movies and television shows that he believes had the most impact and relevancy to his discussion. Thus, his book reads more like a catalog of different movies, and when they were made. In this way Celluloid Mirrors functions well as an introductory text for those who wish to engage movies and American culture at a basic level.
On the other hand, the book suffers from two main problems. First, the author often outlines a chapter under different subject headings, including some that do not always flow together with other subjects in the same chapter, and at the end of each chapter, a conclusion is offered that rarely attempts to reprise the material at hand or link it to upcoming material. Because of this, the book is difficult to follow a get a sense of overall, even though it is easy to understand from page to page. Secondly, the author has a distinct tendency to project a narrative of moral decline on American society, a narrative that with exceptions (especially in the 80's) paints a steadily decaying picture of American society. At the same time, Davis sometimes claims that this represents a form of maturity for movies and television, most notably in the discussion of Norman Lear's situation comedies. However he is not consistent with his descriptions, and the odd nature of the chapters' internal economy of meaning makes it unable to be describes as hermeneutic tension, outright contradiction, or simply poor editing.
Davis's book is not bad, but it needs to be read through more than once (for clarity's sake) , and needs some better organization before it can be classified as truly helpful.
Christopher W. Chase, PhD Fellow , Michigan St. Univ.
History and the Cinema.......1999-12-01
"Celluloid Mirrors" is a great book for those who might be studying the history of the cinema or the motion-picture industry. The author, Ronald L. Davis, did a great job of summarizing the life of the motion-picture industry. His extensive research shows the enormous role that Hollywood has and does play in the reflecting and shaping of our society. "Celluloid Mirrors" is a very informative book that should be read by everyone who considers themself an avid movie buff or film historian.
Glenn Vaught
Book Description
Digital Play is a major study of the video and computer game industry, from its origins as a minor spin-off of the military-industrial complex to its contemporary position as a major global media business as big as Hollywood. It discusses how interactive games affect theoretical debates about the information society, gives an historical account of the rise and fall of companies such as Atari, Nintendo, and Sega and of today's savage competition between Microsoft and Sony, and offers critical analysis of gender and violence in games, the marketing strategies of game companies, intellectual property and work in the game industry, and the problems and possibilities of on-line games. Digital Play is a book for anyone interested in the cutting edge of virtual culture, or in a digital business that is transforming everyday life.
Customer Reviews:
Critical postmodern analysis.......2003-08-06
"Digital Play" critically analyzes the video and computer game industry and theorizes about its significance in contemporary society. The book is somewhat unusual in that it is the collaborative product of three authors, but the writing seems to blend perfectly and makes for a consistent and high-quality read. The end product is an accessible and entertaining book that could serve to introduce a wide audience to critical postmodern analysis.
Nick Dyer-Witheford of "Cyber-Marx" fame is one of the authors. Mr. Dyer-Witheford's influence is discernable in at least several sections where the post-Marxist themes of corporate control versus freedom that are evident in "Cyber-Marx" are used to very good effect. First, he deflates the wildly optimistic claims of techno-utopians such as Alvin Toffler, reminding us that technology remains in service to corporate profits and therefore narrows and limits the possibility of "choice, interactivity and empowerment" that digital games purportedly offer. Second, Mr. Dyer-Witheford points to piracy and hacking as evidence that freedom from corporate control and a return to "play" in its purest sense may yet remain possible.
The authors contend that video games are worthy of serious study because they represent the "ideal-type" postmodern commodity. So whereas the automobile is closely associated with the "industrial capitalism" of the Fordist era, the video game embodies the "information capitalism" of today's "perpetual innovation" society.
The ideal-type commodity does not mean that it avoids crisis, however. The authors posit that the accelerating "circuits" of technology, culture and marketing that drive postmodern society in general and the video game business in particular "can be broken or come into contradiction" in numerous ways. The authors go on to critique each of these three circuits and produce many pages of very thoughtful analysis.
For example, an interesting aspect of the industry that is often overlooked is manufacturing and the international division of labor. Electronic game equipment is often produced by proletariat labor in the poor countries of the South for the benefit of relatively wealthy consumers in the North. The authors point out that the game industry, like most capitalist enterprises that exploit the so-called free trade system in search of higher profits, will find it difficult to develop new markets for its products until it is willing to pay its third-world factory workers enough money to stimulate demand. In fact, the authors state that corporate managers should not be too surprised when intellectual property gets pirated by people who feel that they have been cheated by the economic system.
But probably the most stinging criticism concerns the close connection of games with Cold War research and development. The "militarized masculinity" that characterizes so many games originated here and has been perpetuated by corporate marketing in pursuit of profits. But the authors point out that if the industry fails to find successful alternative game genres and graphic violence continues to escalate, future interest in gaming may be jeopardized even as the potential damage to children exposed to such psychic intensity remains unknown.
In short, "Digital Play" is highly recommended to everyone interested in deconstructing the multi-faceted and increasingly fantastical world that has been brought to us by the "military and entertainment" complex.
A clever look at the global industry of interactive gaming.......2003-07-31
Books on electronic gaming and video game culture predominantly concentrate on the history of the industry or on nostalgic returns to retro gaming, often punctuated with coloured photos and screenshots. Digital Play is one of the few books currently available that provides an insightful look into the social, cultural, and economic relationships between game players, and the engaging game texts, technologies, and market forces of the information age. As interactive gaming continues to establish itself as a major global media business, it becomes increasingly important for us to employ a critical perspective of the blossoming industry. Kline, Witheford, and Peuter's Digital Play couldn't have arrived at a better time.
Digital Play is cleverly divided into three segments, each focusing on different bearings of interactive gaming but effectively converging into a single conclusive "coda." Discussion begins with a theoretical approach to analyzing gaming and its industry as it relates to circuits of interactivity including culture, technology, and marketing. Theoretical concepts collected from media theorists Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams, are successfully transferred to the medium of the videogame. What follows is a look at the existence of interactive gaming in a post-Fordist, and postmodern society of information technology and hyper-reality. This facilitates the understanding of historical circumstances of developing circuits of interactivity outlined in earlier chapters. While the first segment may seem theoretically and linguistically intense, it remains deeply involving and is ever mindful of the topic at hand: video games.
The second segment of Digital Play covers the historical background of games from their early beginnings in the military-industrial complex to the relentless corporate firefight known to many as the "console wars." However, unlike previous electronic gaming texts, the historical accounts are retold stressing the importance of technology, culture, and marketing. Digital Play thus provides a fresh and extremely entertaining parade through electronic gaming's past. What readers may find most absorbing in this stretch are the political-economic struggles endured by the gaming companies (Atari for example) who pioneered the industry only to meet with fierce competition and an unstable market for interactive entertainment.
The initial chapters of Digital Play concentrated on technology and communication studies, and the following chapters zeroed-in on history and marketing practices. However, this theoretical triad could not be complete without the presence of one more area of study: game culture as an industry and practice. In a chapter entitled "Workers and Warez" the authors examine gaming technologies on global levels of production and consumption, such as the exploitation of off-shore labourers and increasing levels of hacking, console "modding", and software piracy. Subsequent chapters provide studies in branding and licensing, violence and gender, and my personal favourite...political economy. Chapter 12 assembles the major themes of Digital Play, suggesting that Electronic Arts' best-selling game "The Sims" can be viewed as a microcosm of our own capitalist society, wrought with consumerist ideology. While we manipulate the digital Barbie dolls of our virtual technology, so too does a system of communication technologies, global enterprise, and postmodern digital culture manipulate our symbolic relationship with the logic of a capitalist system.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Digital Play and wouldn't hesitate to purchase any game-related books that any of the authors might publish in the future. Digital Play offers an engaging critical look at the gaming world's industry, technology, and culture, and should not be ignored by those looking to study interactive games from an academic viewpoint or by those simply looking for enjoyable reading.
Book Description
With the debut of Deadwood on HBO, a vision of the "Old West" emerged that was unlike anything done before on TV. David Milch, also the creator of NYPD Blue, imbued the series with his signature use of harsh language, complex storylines, and shocking acts of violence. The characters he created redefined the hackneyed stereotypes of the Western genre, from the harassed but defiant "Chinaman," Mr. Wu, to the murderous, ferociously funny Al Swearengen, to the whiskey-drinking Calamity Jane who's only too happy to help her friend run the new brothel in town. Reading Deadwood offers an entertaining and eye-opening look into everything from the use of profanity, the characters, and the way the show bends the genre, to subjects like prostitution, race, and the making of American civil society. Complete with episode and character guides, no fan of Deadwood-and no one interested in Westerns--should be without this book.
Customer Reviews:
Weak and herniated........2006-10-07
Like so many Lavery-edited works, the essays are works of hyper-extension, in which the essayists try ever so hard to find subliminal and subtextual meaning where there is none. It is the blight of popular culture studies that the so-called academics who endeavor to give extraordinary signficance to "art" that is meant more to entertain than to edify. I am not saying that "Deadwood" isn't one of the greatest shows ever to be sent over the airwaves (cable waves?), because it is every bit deserving of the attention this book presumes to give it. Unfortunately, the essays here focus more on the putative "hidden meanings" of the show instead of simply examining why "Deadwood" is, in fact, a great show. I have no trouble with an academic or intellectual approach to TV; in point of fact, James South's "[name of show, e.g., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files and The Simpsons] and Philosophy" series is a brilliant exercise in interpreting TV, because it takes the shows at face value, then applies various philosophical disciplines to the actual text of the show. Lavery's collection, here, endeavors, instead, to dig below the surface of this outstanding show, and mine for that which, very well, may not be there at all. In short, he fails to "find the color."
(I am reminded of the student who asked William Faulkner what the significance of the large pillars in front of the plantation house in one of his novels, to which, Faulkner replied, "Oh, by all means, the pillars have tremendous significance...they hold the roof up." Sometimes, the text is just the text, and that can be enough if you are imaginative enough to enjoy it and analyze it as is.)
And to the reviewer who touted Ms. Klein's essay on the opening credits, I thought her entire thesis was undermined by the fact she mistakened a prospector biting into a nugget to see if it was gold (gold is soft, and will dent when bitten) for a man pulling a rotted tooth out of his mouth. It is hard to give much credence to an essayist who bases her thesis upon such blatantly mistaken impressions of the material upon which she opines. Sloppy academics, indeed.
I gave the book two stars instead of one simply because there were a few bits of information about the show of which I was unaware.
Another great book in the Reading Contemporary Television series.......2006-09-22
This is the second title in the Reading Contemporary Television series I have read. Like READING SIX FEET UNDER: TV TO DIE FOR, this volume is a collection of thoughful essays written by academics and media scholars while the series was still in progress. The volume on DEADWOOD covers the first two seasons. This means the authors are not fully aware of all the plotlines that will be pursued in the life of the entire series; nor do they know the ultimate destination of individual characters' story arcs. In the case of DEADWOOD which lasted only three seasons (with rumors of possible movie-length follow-up episode or two), that's a pretty substantial number of episodes, so the authors have plenty to chew on.
Of the fourteen articles in the collection, five really stood out for me: Joseph Millichap's on "Robert Penn Warren, David Milch, and the Literary Contexts of Deadwood"; Sean O'Sullivan's "Old, New, Borrowed, Blue: Deadwood and Serial Fiction," which makes interesting connections to the serialized creations of Charles Dickens; Paul Wright and Hailin Zhou's "Divining the 'Celestials': The Chinese Subculture of Deadwood"; "What's Afflictin' You: Corporeality, Body Crises and the Body Politic in Deadwood"; and David Diffrient's "Deadwood Dick: The Western (Phallus) Reinvented."
The volume also contains an episode guide to the first two seasons, a Deadwood Encyclopedia (not as interesting, helpful, or comprehensive as the word "encyclopedia" implies), notes to some of the articles, and a bibliography/filmography. It does not include a list of characters with the names of the actors who play them, which is frustrating because the way HBO series list credits doesn't make it easy to put a name to a face (the DVDs of season one and two don't help in this regard either; the curious are forced to google the actors' names to find a picture and lists of other films and shows they've appeared in).
This book should be of interest to any serious fan of the show, as well as to people interested in the Western as a literary and cinematic genre and in American history/culture in general.
Well done.......2006-09-16
Great reading for fans of the show. Gets into the nitty gritty and makes points you might have missed. My favorite one was by Amanda Klein who opines about the opening credits. I didn't know that a wagon wheel in the mud could carry so much symbolism.
Book Description
Media and Society: An Introduction examines the role of the media in contemporary society and analyses representations of the world found in advertisements, film, television, photographs, language, and music. It clearly and simply presents theoretical approaches and includes many examples,
definitions, issues, questions, and explanations to aid students' understanding.
Customer Reviews:
Lots of Information, Boring to Read.......2003-11-04
This is the book for my "Introduction to Electronic Mass Media" class. It is VERY boring to read. The professor seldom refers to it, maybe 3 or 4 times in class. However, there are some very good sections, that even though they aren't interesting, they are useful. An example is the 2 sections on semiotics. There is an entire chapter that can be used as a outline for a semiotic analysis, as well as an appendix in the back of the book about a semiotic analysis, with pictures.
One thing that really stands out when you think of books that are used as college textbooks, this one doesn't have vocab words. Though a lot of students hate vocab because it is one more thing for the prof to put on the test, I think that it would be useful in this book because there are a lot of terms (i.e. semiotics, gender codes, etc.) that can be summed up in a sentence or two, so that the student will have a better understand and will be about to follow. It would also be nice to have the terms bold-faced for studying.
There is a lot of information in this book, but it is one of those books that you either have to be really into media or you have to force yourself to read.
Book Description
Fade to Black chronicles the lives and deaths of more than 1,200 movie personalities, Included are not just the big stars but a wealth of important characters from the history of film. Some achieved world fame or great power. Some were consigned to obscurity after one scandal too many. Other hid dark secrets that would only emerge after their deaths.
Customer Reviews:
Very helpful, but I'm still clueless.......2006-07-07
Yes, this book is a great help if you want to find out about your favorite stars, and the lesser stars, too. It even had Joan Marsh, I think. But if I recollect,no June Knight. I wanted to find out more about her, even if she didn't make a lot of movies. I've watched some of them: Take a Chance, Wake Up and Dream, Broadway Melody of 1936 (My favorite), Lilac Domino. But she wsn't in the book, I think. I wanted to find out more, so I was dissapointed. Still, the book helped me a whole lot, and some of the obituaries were fascinating. It's a great gude to classic stars, so go ahead and buy it. (P.S. Does anyone know what happened to Redheads on Parade with Dixie Lee and John Boles? I can't find it... is it lost? I can't find Ladies Must Love either... HEEEEEEELLLPPP MEEEEEEEEE!I heard that 'redheads' sucked anyway...)
Entertaining but not outstanding.......2006-01-08
Sort of an encyclopedic text on movie obits and mini-bios, with a typical Brit left-leaning approach (read the write up on Ronald Reagan and that becomes obvious.) Many (US) actors you would expect to see are, rather curiously, not listed - and there are many (mostly Brit and European) you've never heard of. Some of the material doesn't agree with more extensive (and presumably, extensively researched) biographies on some of the subjects. The author also seems to devote as much text to sexual preferences and affairs (rather a bit heavy on the gay emphasis) as to the movies the actors appeared in. Then again, what else would you write about in a book of obituaries? Lots of tidbits that make good party conversation. A decent casual read (or scan). In other words, a library loaner. (This is the 3rd edition - 2005)
Eccentric choices, but still useful and interesting.......2006-01-04
Although the film industry is primarily Hollywood-based, this book is useful in that it contains a healthy number of obits for British actors and actresses from the 1930s-60s (Felix Aylmer, Bernard Bresslaw) that most Americans have never heard of. The book's subtitle is "A Book of Movie Obituaries", and, yes, all the big names are in here: Monroe, Brando (a particularly lengthy article that could have been trimmed a bit: the adventures of his pet raccoon are as long on the entry on Roy Rogers), etc. But it's not just actors. Directors and producers are included. Pauline Kael, the film critic, gets an entry, as does Keiko the whale from FREE WILLIE (Lassie does not, but Rin Tin Tin does). Ronald Reagan is here, though if he had not been president, one wonders if he would have qualified. Murder, suicide, and scandal appear quite a lot, and sometimes it seems as if any connection to film will do if it will provide a "sexy" entry. Does John Lennon really qualify as a movie star? And Larry Linville (from M*A*S*H) seems to have been included just so that his various personal scandals could be detailed. Still, the author takes pains to clear Fatty Arbuckle's reputation. Mel Blanc, who provided the voice for Bugs Bunny and a host of cartoon characters, and in doing so changed the way cartoons were recorded (among other things) gets 13 lines, while Tex Avery, who directed many cartoons, gets a page and a half (most of which merely list the cartoon's names and dates).
Fade to Black.......2005-06-12
I picked this book up in my local library and was hooked from the get go. It took a year or two for me actually buy it, but Im so glad that now I can pick it up, pick a page at random and still find something that could be sad, shocking,or even heart warming. It contains a wealth of imformation about all aspects of hollywood: the actors, producers, directors. If you are interested in this sort of thing, I highly recommend that you get this. This is a book that no film buff should ever be without.
Fab compilation.......2004-09-07
A great film book....buy it, read it, treasure it and you will keep referring to it every time an old film appears on telly!
Books:
- Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
- ART OF POCAHONTAS, THE
- Behind The Wheel Spanish For Your Car / 8 One Hour Audiocassette Tapes / Complete Learning Guide and Tape Script (Cassette) (Behind the Wheel)
- Being Rita Hayworth: Labor, Identity, and Hollywood Stardom
- Billion-Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing
- Blind Eye: The Terrifying Story Of A Doctor Who Got Away With Murder
- Bond on Set: Filming Casino Royale
- Bond on Set: Filming Casino Royale
- Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery
- Complete Mage: A Player's Guide to All Things Arcane (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)
Books Index
Books Home
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- Allan King: Filmmaker
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Technical
| Video
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School
The Disappearance of Childhood
Teaching As a Subversive Activity
Building a Bridge to the 18th Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future
