Popular Culture Books - Page 12

BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine

Amazon Price: $10.88 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $6.88

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the wake of Sassy and as an alternative to the more staid reporting of Ms., Bitch was launched in the mid-nineties as a Xerox-and-staple zine covering the landscape of popular culture from a feminist perspective. Both unabashed in its love for the guilty pleasures of consumer culture and deeply thoughtful about the way the pop landscape reflects and impacts women’s lives, Bitch grew to be a popular, full-scale magazine with a readership that stretched worldwide. Today it stands as a touchstone of hip, young feminist thought, looking with both wit and irreverence at the way pop culture informs feminism—and vice versa—and encouraging readers to think critically about the messages lurking behind our favorite television shows, movies, music, books, blogs, and the like. BITCHFest offers an assortment of the most provocative essays, reporting, rants, and raves from the magazine’s first ten years, along with new pieces written especially for the collection. Smart, nuanced, cranky, outrageous, and clear-eyed, the anthology covers everything from a 1996 celebration of pre-scandal Martha Stewart to a more recent critical look at the "gayby boom"; from a time line of black women on sitcoms to an analysis of fat suits as the new blackface; from an attempt to fashion a feminist vulgarity to a reclamation of female virginity. It’s a recent history of feminist pop-culture critique and an arrow toward feminism’s future.

Design: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

John Heskett

Amazon Price: $9.56 List Price: $11.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Oxford University Press, USA Amazon Marketplace: 32 new & used starting at $6.30

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Instructional & How-To -> General

Editorial Review:

John Heskett wants to transform the way we think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal, and the car we drive to work in, to the medical equipment used to save lives. Design combines "need" and "desire" in the form of a practical object that can also reflect the user's identity and aspirations through its form and decoration. This concise guide to contemporary design goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalize objects. Heskett also reveals how simple objects, such as a toothpick, can have their design modified to suit the specific cultural behavior in different countries. There are also fascinating insights into how major companies such as Nokia, Ford, and Sony approach design. Finally, Heskett gives us an exciting vision of what design can offer us in the future, showing in particular how it can humanize new technology.

American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon

Stephen Prothero

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $7.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> Culture
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jesus the Black Messiah; Jesus the Jew; Jesus the Hindu sage; Jesus the Haight-Asbury hippie: these Jesuses join the traditional figure of Jesus Christ in American Jesus, which was acclaimed upon publication in hardcover as an altogether fresh exploration of American history--and as the liveliest book about Jesus to appear in English in years.

Our nation's changing images of Jesus, Stephen Prothero contends, are a kind of looking class into the national character. Even as most Christian believers cleave to a traditional faith, other people give Jesus a leading role as folk hero, pitchman, and countercultural icon. And so it has been since the nation's founding--from Thomas Jefferson, who took scissors to his New Testament to sort out true from false Jesus material; to the Jews, Buddhists and Muslims who fit Jesus into their own traditions; to the people who adapt Jesus for stage and screen and the Holy Land theme park. American Jesus is "a lively, illuminating and accessible survey that takes us into unexpected corners of our shared religious heritage" (Dan Cryer, Newsday).

Japan: Its History and Culture

W. Scott Morton, J. Kenneth Olenik, Charlton Lewis

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $7.68

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Anthropology -> Cultural
Subjects -> History -> Asia -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

corruption of information 1 out of 5 stars.
23 of 44 people found this review helpful.

This book was written by W. Scott Morton and J. Kenneth Olenik.
I never want to purchase anything from these authors again. The
material in the book contains very incorrect and slanderous information, as well as a failure to provide relevant information, concerning Nichiren Daishonin and Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. I know this for a fact because I am a member of the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, which is True Mahayana Buddhism, with the Head Temple based in Japan. I have been to the Head Temple twice before, and to the temples in the United States, several times since joining in 1984. The Nichiren Shoshu is NOT political, as the authors present in their book. And Nichiren Daishonin was not political, either, as the authors present. Nor do the authors present the material in a responsible and informative manner, which would be the only suitable manner, especially for persons of their standing in the educational field. To understand the times and the culture of the country at the time, and the circumstances that Nichiren Daishonin was contending with, and to obtain CORRECT information on the actual beliefs and practice, the only reliable source would be the Nichiren Shoshu temples themselves.
Considering the interwoven relationships of religion and politics, and their supportive or non-supportive roles in research, science, medical, etc., fields and their overrall effect on influencing societal behaviors, this is an extremely serious error of the authors.
Not only am I so very dissatisfied with the information they presented, I am also very dissatisfied with their presentation of it. Based on this, I cannot trust their other information either, especially in reference to comments concerning the corruption of U.S. contractors, and the Japanese government, and similiar topics. Even if the information presented on those topics were correct, my question then becomes "Who is the corruptive force behind it all?". I refuse to provide support of any kind to the authors.

Editorial Review:

Once a star of postwar industrial production and methods, Japan has encountered serious trouble with market forces in recent years. Social changes and departures from tradition are becoming more common in this conservative country. The revised edition of the popular work, Japan: Its History and Culture, Fourth Edition, documents and explains these changes. Seamlessly blending current events, politics, and cultural elements, the authors provide a riveting account of a nation often misunderstood by the West.

Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy

Dave Hickey

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Art Issues Press Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $8.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Criticism
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Another Guest for the Ideal Dinner Party 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

"Air Guitar" is Hickey's characterization of critical writing, it's direct relationship to its subject(s) being of approximately equal import as a person playing air guitar in his living room is to a rock concert. In the words of Vladimir Horowitz, the concert pianist, it is "the words without the music." That being said, it's damned interesting, all the same, especially when approached this way. Hickey's favorite technique is to take two seemingly disparate things and to discuss the way in which they inform each other, all the while examining the net effect on his life as your basic, educated, ambitious Joe trying to fill the "great gap of time" between birth and death with a mind boggling array of interesting experiences. In this way, they're more 'think pieces' than academic essays. I'll admit, there were moments when my brain hurt; but most of the time, I was enjoying his company and his facility for mental gymnastics -- and the obvious pleasure he took in it personally. I heard of this book on a radio interview (Fresh Air? Diane Rehm Show?) and bought it specifically so that I could have my own personal copy of "My Weimar" -- a spectacular, 'where am I in the grand sceme of things now' type touchstone. Reading the whole book as a part of a recent essay jag, I found it all equally challenging, equally enjoyable.

Editorial Review:

"As enjoyable and provocative a book of criticism as anyone has published in years."--Rolling Stone. "Hickey creates music of his own with the style of a good short-fiction writer and the insight of a first-rate thinker."--The Nation. "...a deliciously democratic style of prose."--The Boston Phoenix. "Air Guitar is naked pleasure, executing an unabashed literary seduction."--Los Angeles Times. Third Printing.

Discovering The News: A Social History Of American Newspapers

Michael Schudson

Amazon Price: $21.55 List Price: $23.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Basic Books Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $15.39

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Sociology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

need a new edition of this book 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Schudson gives a lively explanation of American newspapers, up to 1980. Much of the discussion is about how things worked in the 19th century, when reporting was far more partisan and less regulated by convention or professional codes.

As the 20th century proceeded, the quality of reporting tended to rise; to become more objective, at least on the surface. And even partisan newspapers like the Wall Street Journal improved the accuracy of their front page articles.

Alas, the book needs a serious updating [if the author is still around], to take into account the Web 2.0 and its effect on newspapers.

Editorial Review:

This instructive and entertaining social history of American newspapers shows that the very idea of impartial, objective “news” was the social product of the democratization of political, economic, and social life in the nineteenth century. Professor Schudson analyzes the shifts in reportorial style over the years and explains why the belief among journalists and readers alike that newspapers must be objective still lives on.

On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for

Rick Perry

Amazon Price: $17.13 List Price: $25.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Stroud & Hall Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 18 new & used starting at $13.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Political Science -> Political Doctrines -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Government -> Civics

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Renews my commitment 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful.

As a Scoutmaster I found this book outstanding.
It reassured me of why I still need to stay involved. The book provides clear examples that I can use to show my boys why they should be proud to wear the uniform of a Boy Scout.

Editorial Review:

In On My Honor, Texas governor Rick Perry, through the legacy of the Boy Scouts of America, takes dead aim at the moral relativism of the secular humanist movement, indicting its corrosive impact on the culture. Examining the left's legal assaults on the Boy Scouts of America - which span more than 30 years - Perry offers prescient insight into the multi-faceted war, which pits the proponents of traditional American values against the radical leftist movement that seeks to tear down our social foundations.

On My Honor underscores the depth to which the culture warriors of the left will go to force their secular humanist minority view upon American society and revered American institutions. It is a revealing look at a culture war that rages close to the surface of American life, and it is a must read for any American concerned that our society is slipping from the high moral ground of liberty to the valley of license.

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews And Christian Truth

Walt Mueller

Amazon Price: $12.24 List Price: $18.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: InterVarsity Press Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $11.41

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Parenting & Families -> Parenting -> Teenagers
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Christian Living -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I rarely give 5 stars, but this... 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture by Walt Mueller brings together the principles of cross-cultural communication and applies them to the cross-generational situations found in Christian youth work. He deals with modern v. post-modern worldviews and the need for understanding and listening to help understand the emerging generation in order to effectively minister and communicate the gospel to them. Those who have read books dealing with postmodernism may feel that it drags here but he is writing to parents as well as youth workers and is assuming that some have no idea what postmodernism is. Also, those familiar with cross-cultural mission authors will be familiar with the principles that he lays down in the book.

Like some other recent authors who have written on the subject of the Church and culture, Mueller does a good job of explaining the two main relational errors we see in regards to youth culture: Fundamentalism and Syncretism. He warns of the fundamentalist error of cocooning away from culture and thus seeming out of touch with those you seek to reach. He also warned of theological and moral error that comes from compromising with culture and thus loosing the message of the true gospel and the moral authority to preach it.

I highly recommend this book to all Christian youth workers. I have read several boos on the subject and this book reflects a man who has spend decades of thoughtful work in youth ministry. As I read it, I felt like it was a fine, mature wine that had taken a long time to get to the way it was. The author has reflected and studied the Bible in relation to these issues for many years and the intellectual depth is evident. The author is 50 + and yet he naturally quotes from films and bands like Nine Inch Nails in a way that is not fake or forced.

The not only has Biblical and cultural depth, but I believe the book to be extremely relevant to a lot of the questions we are asking in the church at this time. Some may find little new here if they have been reading books dealing with these questions of culture, but Mueller brings these ideas together and applies specifically to the area of youth work. Long before words like "culture" and "engaging" became trendy in the Church, this man was pioneering the subject and applying the principles that the evangelical church in the West only now seem to be rediscovering. It is as if the message has been simmering in the man for decades waiting for such a time as this.

Editorial Review:

Before we can reach today's youth with the turth of the gospel, we need to see what they see and hear what they hear. We need to catch the messages encrypted in their culture and understand what's really being communicated.In Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture Walt Mueller, founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, helps us to navigate the troubling and confusing terrain of teen worldviews so that we can effectively and compassionately pass along good news: our God is their God, our Savior can be their Savior.

Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution

Howard Rheingold

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Basic Books Amazon Marketplace: 64 new & used starting at $2.81

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> General
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Business & Culture -> Culture
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Networking -> Networks, Protocols & APIs -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Remote Control To The World 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 15 people found this review helpful.

How many of you recall that EF Hutton commercial that started off by saying, "When EF Hutton talks, people listen". The same thought can be applied to Howard Rheingold.

Rheingold is veteran technology watcher and well-publised futurist. He has identified yet another transformative technology. In 'Smart Mobs' he describes in vivid detail how large, geographically dispersed groups connected only by thin threads of communications techology, such as text messaging, e-mail, cell phones, two-way pagers, and web sites, can draw together in the blink of an eye, groups of people together for a collective cause.

From various parts of the world, Rheingold, has gathered stories about engineers and inventors of all sorts, working feverishly to create ever-smaller and more powerful devices that contribute to this new paradigm.

In this book,Rheingold points out examples of Smart Mobs such as the swarms of demonstrators who used mobile phones, Web sites, laptops and handheld computers to coordinate their protests against the World Trade Organization in November of 1999.

Rheingold shows a concern of smart mobs other than describing the weath of new communications technology that is available and coming. He is also concerned about the social, political, economic, environmental and even genetic consequences of the ever-expanding and more intrusive plethora of multidirectional communications technology.

This book is a must read.

Editorial Review:

Smart Mobs takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next techno-cultural shift. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, wireless-paging, and Internet-access devices-that will allow us to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere.Rheingold offers a penetrating perspective on the new convergence of pop culture, cutting-edge technology, and social activism. He also reminds us that the real impact of mobile communications will come not from the technology itself but from how people use it, resist it, and adapt to it.

Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy : Manual for Activists

Kimberley A. Bobo, Steve Max, Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall

Amazon Price: $16.29 List Price: $23.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Seven Locks Press Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $12.29

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Labor & Industrial Relations
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> Industrial Relations
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

This is it! 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

This manual takes you through waht you need to know about organizing. From strategy development to research to implementation, this book shows you how to do it. Well written and simple to understand. Outstanding reference for novice to experienced organizer.

The best purchase you can make and you won't need to buy others.

Not as good as their old mimeographs 2 out of 5 stars.
17 of 20 people found this review helpful.

This book is disappointing. While it may help a college student or other really new person grasp some of the concepts of organizing it is not useful to practioners.

The Midwest Academy used to have a very good training manual covering many issues. As the book got slicker looking the information got worse.

Get Shel Trapp's old Basics of Organizing instead - much more useful, and free on the internet.

Editorial Review:

Compiled by members of the Midwest Academy this book is a bible for anyone who wants to effectively organize to change the quality of their lives or the lives of others. Now in its third edition this book has already sold 60,000 copies in all of its editions since 1991. With new information on the trends, technology, and concerns of the new millennium, this edition of Organizing for Social Change will help concerned citizens bring about needed changes by learning from the experiences of those who have succeeded.