Popular Culture Books - Page 7

The Economic Naturalist: In Search of Explanations for Everyday Enigmas

Robert Frank

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> Theory
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Economics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Popular Economics -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why do the keypads on drive-up cash machines have Braille dots? Why are round-trip fares from Orlando to Kansas City higher than those from Kansas City to Orlando? For decades, Robert Frank has been asking his economics students to pose and answer questions like these as a way of learning how economic principles operate in the real world--which they do everywhere, all the time.Once you learn to think like an economist, all kinds of puzzling observations start to make sense. Drive-up ATM keypads have Braille dots because it's cheaper to make the same machine for both drive-up and walk-up locations. Travelers from Kansas City to Orlando pay less because they are usually price-sensitive tourists with many choices of destination, whereas travelers originating from Orlando typically choose Kansas City for specific family or business reasons.The Economic Naturalist employs basic economic principles to answer scores of intriguing questions from everyday life, and, along the way, introduces key ideas such as the cost benefit principle, the "no cash left on the table" principle, and the law of one price. There is no more delightful and painless way of learning these fundamental principles.

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

Diablo Cody

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 86 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

She was just a typist, why not be a stripper? 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

"A copy typist by day in Minnesota, Cody was hardly a likely candidate for entering an amateur stripping contest."

Why is that so unlikely? A "copy typist" is just someone that types documents from handwritten notes. Quick google search reveals they make between $7 and $12 a hour. Is it any wonder she turned to stripping for easy money?

I think the title's misleading and it's not a shock that someone making such a low income would become a stripper. Now if she was a successful doctor or lawyer then I would say it's unlikely, but a typist becoming a stripper isn't a stretch.

Editorial Review:

Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV’s The Late Show to be the pick of “Dave’s Book Club 2006,” Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn’t take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill.

This is Diablo’s captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen’s clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer’s keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.

Can't Stop Won't Stop : A History of the Hip Hop Generation

Jeff Chang

Amazon Price: $18.45 List Price: $27.95 Usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks By: St. Martin's Press Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $6.29

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> History & Criticism
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> Musical Genres -> Rap
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview, and transformed American politics and culture. But that epic story has never been told with this kind of breadth, insight, and style.

Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop's forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can't Stop Won't Stop chronicles the events, the ideas, the music, and the art that marked the hip-hop generation's rise from the ashes of the 60's into the new millennium. Here is a powerful cultural and social history of the end of the American century, and a provocative look into the new world that the hip-hop generation created.

The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World

Margaret C. Sullivan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

easy read 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

extremely helpful in understanding the times and actions of the Jane Austin books and movies. Understanding the why of things gives incite into the lives of the characters in the books and movies. Helped me to enjoy the movies much more.

Editorial Review:

Jane Austen published her first novel in 1811, but today she's more popular than ever. Film adaptations of her books are nominated for Academy Awards. Chick lit bestsellers are based on her plots. And a new biopic of Austen herself Becoming Jane arrives in theaters this spring.

For all those readers who dream about living in Regency England, The Jane Austen Handbook offers step-by-step instructions for proper comportment in the early nineteenth century. You'll discover:
How to Become an Accomplished Lady
How to Run a Great House
How to Indicate Interest in a Gentleman Without Seeming Forward
How to Throw a Dinner Party
How to Choose and Buy Clothing

Full of practical directions for navigating the travails of Regency life, this charming illustrated book also serves as a companion for present-day readers, explaining the English class system, currency, dress, and the nuances of graceful living.

The Office and Philosophy: Scenes from the Unexamined Life (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Television -> Guides & Reviews
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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Television -> Shows -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Just when you thought paper couldn't be more exciting, this book comes your way! This book--jammed full of paper--unites philosophy with one of the best shows ever: The Office. Addressing both the current American incarnation and the original British version, The Office and Philosophy brings these two wonders of civilization together for a frolic through the mundane yet curiously edifying worlds of Scranton's Dunder-Mifflin and Slough's Wernham-Hogg.


Is Michael Scott in denial about death? Are Pam and Jim ever going to figure things out? Is David Brent an essentialist? Surprisingly, The Office can teach us about the mind, Aristotle, and humiliation. Even more surprisingly, paper companies can allow us to better understand business ethics. Don't believe it? Open this book, and behold its beautiful paper...


Join the philosophical fray as we explore the abstract world of philosophy through concrete scenes of the unexamined life in The Office. You may discover that Gareth Keenan is secretly a brilliant logician, that Dwight Schrute is better off deceiving himself, that David Brent is an example of hyperreality, and that Michael Scott is hopelessly lost (but you probably already knew that!).

True Stories of Law & Order: SVU

Kevin Dwyer, Jure Fiorillo

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> True Accounts -> True Crime

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The real-life cases behind TV's hit crime drama-including photos!

The crimes, the suspects, the trials-as they really went down.

True Stories of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit focuses on twenty-five of the scandalous true crimes that real detectives have grappled with- the facts behind the fictionalized stories on the phenomenally popular TV show. Beyond the actual crimes, the entire criminal process is covered-from investigation and arrest to trial and verdict. This book reveals in-depth accounts of some of the most monstrous offenses recreated on the hit series, including the gripping story of a teenage love triangle that led to the murder of a young girl and the deadly confrontation between the FBI and David Koresh's cult that made national headlines.

Stopping these criminals is only the beginning. Confronting the deep psychological scars left on their victims is the real challenge. This collection offers fans of the show and those interested in crime-solving techniques a glimpse of the real stories and real people behind some of the most notable, notorious, and gut wrenching cases of sexually-based crimes in recent history.

The Hundred-Year Lie: How Food and Medicine Are Destroying Your Health

Randall Fitzgerald

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Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Chemicals in everyday products are ruining your health-find out what you can do about it.

One hundred years ago, the promise of "a better living through chemistry" was given to consumers, setting us on a slippery slope that introduced thousands of man-made chemicals into our food, water, medicine and environment.

In The Hundred-Year Lie, investigative journalist Randall Fitzgerald shatters dozens of myths being perpetuated by the chemical, pharmaceutical, and processed foods industries. He shows how early advances led to a build-up of industry, and how the profit motive then led companies and even our own government to ignore troubling signs of widespread illness and disease.

Are we paying too high a price in our rush for progress? What happens when we blindly rely on the government to keep us safe? What does the future hold if we continue down this path? With a firm grasp on the latest scientific findings, Fitzgerald offers a clear-eyed view of a building crisis in public health.

Like Silent Spring and Fast Food Nation, this is a book that demands change. Fitzgerald not only sheds light on the problems we face from this unprecedented chemical onslaught, he tells us how we can turn the tide.

Pop Surf Culture: Music, Design, Film, and Fashion from the Bohemian Surf Boom

Brian Chidester, Domenic Priore

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Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> History
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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Pop Culture -> Art

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Obscure Surf images and history unearthed! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Who else to publish an eye-opening, history-breaking account of the beginnings of Surf culture than Sixties historian Domenic Priore and his Dumb Angel Gazette partner/publisher Brian Chidester.

Meticulously researched and packed full of incredible imagery, this book is a must for everyone from Pop culture history buffs to your average gremmie!

Buy a copy for every surfer friend for Christmas so they know their roots.

Editorial Review:

From original beachcomber personalities like the Waikiki Beachboys to the rise of Venice Beach as a creative center for music, art, and film, this insightful chronicle traces the roots of the surf boom and explores its connection to the Beat Generation and 1960s pop culture. Through accounts of key figures both obscure and popular, such as Mike Dormer, Rick Griffin, the Trashwomen, and the Beach Boys, the book illustrates why surf culture is a vital art movement of the 20th century. The entire spectrum of pop culture is covered, including discussions of the advent of surf magazines and the immense popularity of the “beach” movies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.

Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Interesting read 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Very interesting read. The various authors seem to have done their homework - not only on philosophical ideas, but on the Batman mythos as well, and actually do a really good job of citing their sources and backing their claims with actual Batman storylines.

It's not the easiest read in the world - if you are expecting a graphic novel, think again - but philosophy itself isn't an easy subject to cover.

I like the fact they bring well-known philosophers' work to bear on the subject (Nietzsche, Singer, Kierkegaard for instance) so I was able to learn a little bit about them as well.

Overall a fun read, I enjoyed it.

Editorial Review:

Why doesn't Batman just kill the Joker and end everyone's misery?

Can we hold the Joker morally responsible for his actions?

Is Batman better than Superman?

If everyone followed Batman's example,

would Gotham be a better place?

What is the Tao of the Bat?

Batman is one of the most complex characters ever to appear in comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. What philosophical trials does this superhero confront in order to keep Gotham safe? Combing through seventy years of comic books, television shows, and movies, Batman and Philosophy explores how the Dark Knight grapples with ethical conundrums, moral responsibility, his identity crisis, the moral weight he carries to avenge his murdered parents, and much more. How does this caped crusader measure up against the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Kierkegaard, and Lao Tzu?

Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the new mega-anthology from best-selling editor Russ Kick, more than fifty writers, reporters, and researchers invade the inner sanctum for an unrestrained look at the wild and wooly world of organized belief.

Richard Dawkins shows us the strange, scary properties of religion; Neil Gaiman turns a biblical atrocity story into a comic (that almost sent a publisher to prison); Erik Davis looks at what happens when religion and California collide; Mike Dash eyes stigmatics; Douglas Rushkoff exposes the trouble with Judaism; Paul Krassner reveals his "Confessions of an Atheist"; and best-selling lexicographer Jonathon Green interprets the language of religious prejudice.

Among the dozens of other articles and essays, you'll find: a sweeping look at classical composers and Great American Songbook writers who were unbelievers, such as Irving Berlin, creator of "God Bless America"; the definitive explanation of why America is not a Christian nation; the bizarre, Catholic-fundamentalist books by Mel Gibson's father; eye-popping photos of bizarre religious objects and ceremonies, including snake-handlers and pot-smoking children; the thinly veiled anti-Semitism in the Left Behind novels; an extract from the rare, suppressed book The Sex Life of Brigham Young; and rarely seen anti-religious writings from Mark Twain and H.G. Wells.

Further topics include exorcisms, religious curses, Wicca, the Church of John Coltrane, crimes by clergy, death without God, Christian sex manuals, the "ex-gay" movement, failed prophecies, bizarre theology, religious bowling, atheist rock and roll, "how to be a good Christian," an entertaining look at the best (and worst) books on religion, and much more.