234 results for "History"

The Fractured Mirror - Nathan Rabin's Happy Place's Definitive Guide to American Movies About Filmmaking

Nathan Rabin
From Nathan Rabin, former staff writer for The A.V. Club and The Dissolve and the author of Weird Al: The Book, You Don't Know Me But You Don't Like Me, and The Weird Accordion to Al, comes The Fractured Mirror, an exhaustively researched exploration of American movies about filmmaking. This loving deep dive chronicles, with humor, wit, and affection, a solid century of cinema about cinema, with illustrations from Felipe Sobreiro ( The Return of the Blues Brothers ) and a foreword from legendary filmmaker Joe Dante ( Gremlins, Matinee ). As an homage to The Golden Turkey Awards, which included a fake movie along with a plethora of real-life stinkers, Rabin got bad movie luminaries like How Did This Get Made's Paul Scheer, Dan McCoy of The Flop House, Andrew Jupin of We Hate Movies and Author/Humorist Mike Sacks to create blurbs for movies that exist only in their imaginations. The Fractured Mirror covers over 500 movies, from internationally beloved classics to notorious flops. It documents Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star and Burden of Dreams, and everything in between. Movie history has never been so much fun! Praise for The Fractured Mirror "Nathan Rabin doesn't just write about Hollywood, he rewires how you watch it. The Fractured Mirror channels the same brilliance he brought to My Year of Flops and points it straight at showbiz itself. Every chapter left me itching to rewatch movies I'd written off, this time with brand-new eyes."- Paul Scheer "In this sparkling and essential compendium, one of America's all-time greatest cultural critics turns his keen eye and full heart to movies about American filmmaking, and thank goodness. This "casual epic," to paraphrase Rabin on Tarantino, deserves a spot on your shelf between Kael's FOR KEEPS and Peary's CULT MOVIES." - Julie Klausner, " The Fractured Mirror is an absolute feast for movie lovers, especially movie lovers who enjoy movies about making movies. And man, is it comprehensive! Possibly obsessive. But so much fun. Rabin's writing is smart, witty, and lively throughout."- Bill Corbett " The Fractured Mirror is such a fun, engaging read. Nathan's work always has a certifiable uniqueness and introspection that delivers laughs and deeper ways to rethink our views on film and pop culture."- Greg Sestero "Nathan Rabin's "The Fractured Mirror" sent me down a Proustian memory hole, bringing to mind not only how many of these titles our Tenna-Rotor (tm) brought in from distant New York, but of how films about filmmaking planted the absurd dream in my mind that I could someday join that crazy circus, myself. Hats off to Nathan - and to the next generation of filmmakers, his lovingly curated list will inspire!"- Steven E. DeSouza, screenwriter, 48 Hours, Commando, Die Hard
Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp 2025-11-19 550 pages

Specters of Marx - The State of the Debt, the Work of Mourning and the New International

Jacques Derrida
Published shortly after the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet regime, Specters of Marx is one of Derrida's most interesting and prophetic books. Whilst many in the West heralded the triumph of liberal democracy and "the end of history", Derrida takes several steps back to argue that whilst Communism may have disappeared in much of the world, the questions posed by Marx continue to haunt us. In his customary provocative style, he asks some uncomfortable questions: after the fall of Communism, can we preserve Marx's legacy of radicalism? How do we continue his philosophy of responsibility? Uncannily anticipating many of the challenges facing us today, Derrida argues that the capitalist system is plagued by a multitude of ills, including aggression, trade wars, debt, the exploitation of migrant labour and ethnic conflict. This Routledge Classics edition is a translation of the revised French edition and includes a debate between Derrida and Étienne Balibar on Marx and Marxism, published here in English for the first time. It also includes new corrections and additions to the text and footnotes made by Derrida after the book's initial publication in French. Translated by Peggy Kamuf and with a new Foreword by Peter Salmon, this Routledge Classics edition retains the original Editors' Introduction by Bernd Magnus and Stephen Cullenberg.
Routledge, Chapman & Hall, Incorporated 2026-02-16 320 pages

Miss Manners Rescues Civilization

Judith Martin
In an era of American history that has shown a heightened sensitivity toward the ideals of democracy, self-expression, freedom, and individual rights, we are paradoxically experiencing a breakdown in our nation's ability to function as a civil people. From athletes who shout obscenities on national television to surgeons who blast their favorite music while operating, from gang members who kill those who've "dissed" them to mourners who treat funerals casually, we trample over the rights of others in a savage pursuit of individual agendas. We have cashed in etiquette (yes, the "E word") for a generous helping of self-importance, and the exchange is crippling our ability to function as a civil society. In her ground-breaking new book, MISS MANNERS RESCUES CIVILIZATION: From Sexual Harassment, Frivolous Lawsuits, Dissing and Other Lapses in Civility , Judith Martin puts etiquette on the public agenda in response to our nation's cry for a return to civility. A thought-provoking book that calls on etiquette to champion the quest for civil decency, MISS MANNERS RESCUES CIVILIZATION discusses the futility of using the law to correct our ever-increasing list of societal offenses cluttering the courts and declaring new laws has proved to be both costly and ineffective. However, a rebirth of good manners places the privileges and challenges of a civil society back where it belongs in the hands of the individual. This witty, thoughtful, and timely book responds to the public cry for a return to civility and puts etiquette on an equal plane with morality as society's most powerful guiding force.
Random House Value Publishing 1998-11-17

Chasing the Sun: Dictionary Makers & the Dicionaries They Made

Jonathon Green
This scholarly & readable history of lexicography celebrates the dictionary maker who is the interpreter & arbiter of language itself. The story begins 4,500 years ago in Sumeria, where the first lexicon was created to render the codes of a vanquished nation accessible to its inferior conquerors. He traces the evolution of the practice to Greece, Rome, & Byzantium before arriving at English-lang. dict. & todays computerized compendiums. From clay tablets to CD-ROMs, from the philosophy of a pure lang. in Nazi Germany to the banning of the Amer. Heritage Dict. in Texas, Green explores the influence that language has had on culture & vice versa.
Diane Pub Co 2000-09-28 510 pages

Amazing Words

Lederer, Richard
With fascinating etymologies and letter patterns for more than 1,000 everyday words, best-selling language writer Richard Lederer shines light on the most bedazzling, beguiling, and bewitching words in the English language. Chock-full of transfixing word histories, magical letter play, and hilarious puns, Amazing Words is an essential book for word lovers and verbivores. Dr. Lederer is the author of 60 books on language, history, and humor.
Waterside Productions 2022 241 pages

Minds wide shut: how the new fundamentalisms divide us

Morson, Gary Saul,Schapiro, Morton Owen
A timely exploration of intellectual dogmatism in politics, economics, religion, and literature—and what can be done to fight it Polarization may be pushing democracy to the breaking point. But few have explored the larger, interconnected forces that have set the stage for this crisis: namely, a rise in styles of thought, across a range of fields, that literary scholar Gary Saul Morson and economist Morton Schapiro call “fundamentalist.” In Minds Wide Shut , Morson and Schapiro examine how rigid adherence to ideological thinking has altered politics, economics, religion, and literature in ways that are mutually reinforcing and antithetical to the open-mindedness and readiness to compromise that animate democracy. In response, they propose alternatives that would again make serious dialogue possible. Fundamentalist thinking, Morson and Schapiro argue, is not limited to any one camp. It flourishes across the political spectrum, giving rise to dueling monologues of shouting and abuse between those who are certain that they can’t be wrong, that truth and justice are all on their side, and that there is nothing to learn from their opponents, who must be evil or deluded. But things don’t have to be this way. Drawing on thinkers and writers from across the humanities and social sciences, Morson and Schapiro show how we might begin to return to meaningful dialogue through case-based reasoning, objective analyses, lessons drawn from literature, and more. The result is a powerful invitation to leave behind simplification, rigidity, and extremism—and to move toward a future of greater open-mindedness, moderation, and, perhaps, even wisdom.
Princeton University Press 2023-01-31 307 pages

American Trivia Quiz Book

Richard Lederer Lederer,Caroline McCullagh
Recent surveys reveal that more Americans can name at least two members of the Simpsons cartoon family than can name the first four American presidents in order. Richard Lederer and Caroline McCullagh have written the American Trivia Quiz Book to make your knowledge of our nation and history at least match the nation and knowledge of The Simpsons.
ReadHowYouWant.com, Limited 2018-01-09 210 pages

Communities of violence: persecution of minorities in the middle ages

Nirenberg, David
In the wake of modern genocide, we tend to think of violence against minorities as a sign of intolerance or, even worse, a prelude to extermination. In Communities of Violence, David Nirenberg argues that violence in the Middle Ages functioned differently. In this provocative book, he focuses on specific attacks against minorities in fourteenth-century France and the Crown of Aragon. He argues that these attacks were often perpetrated not by irrational masses laboring under inherited ideologies and prejudices, but by groups that manipulated and reshaped the available discourses on minorities. Nirenberg shows that their use of violence expressed complex beliefs about topics as diverse as divine history, kinship, sex, money, and disease, and that their actions were frequently contested by competing groups within their own society. -- from back cover.
Princeton University Press 2015-05-26 301 pages

The Context of Scripture

William W. Hallo,K. Lawson Younger,David E. Orton
The Context of Scripture illuminatingly presents the multi-faceted world of ancient writing that forms the colorful background to the literature of the Hebrew Bible. Designed as a thorough and durable reference work for all engaged in the study of the Bible and the ancient Near East it provides reliable access to a broad, balanced and representative collection of Ancient Near Eastern texts that have some bearing on the interpretation of the Bible. Translations of recently discovered texts are included, alongside new translations of better-known texts and in some cases the best existing translations of such texts. The substantial, now four-volume work, with its specially designed page layout and large format, features full cross-referencing to comparable Bible passages, and new, up-to-date bibliographical annotations with judicious commentary. Its many distinct advantages over other collections will ensure the place of The Context of Scripture as a standard reference work for the 21st century.
Brill 2018-12-20

Critical Entertainments Music Old and New

Charles Rosen
An extraordinarily gifted musician and writer, Charles Rosen is a peerless commentator on the history and performance of music. Critical Entertainments brings together many of the essays that have established him as one of the most influential and eloquent voices in the field of music in our time. These essays cover a broad range of musical forms, historical periods, and issues—from Bach through Brahms to Carter and Schoenberg, from contrapuntal keyboard music to opera, from performance practices to music history as a discipline. They revisit Rosen’s favorite subjects and pursue some less familiar paths. They court controversy (with strong opinions about performance on historical instruments, the so-called New Musicology, and the alleged “death” of classical music) and offer enlightenment on subjects as diverse as music dictionaries and the aesthetics of stage fright. All are unified by Rosen’s abiding concerns and incomparable style. In sum, Critical Entertainments is a treasury of the vast learning, wit, and insight that we have come to expect from this remarkable writer. It will delight all music lovers.
Harvard University Press 2001-11-30 328 pages

PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA.

RICHARD. LEDERER
From the beloved Richard Lederer comes another kind of trivia book-Presidential Trivia. In it you'll find all the details about the lives of the United States presidents. It answers such questions as: who was the first president to be assassinated; who was the first president to be born an American citizen; and, who was the first to be impeached. It also answers less important but certainly interesting questions such as: who was our fattest president; our tallest; who played golf; and, who played poker. Filled with games, anagrams, poems, speeches, and an abundance of tidbits, details, and fascinating facts, this book is perfect for the novice to the history buff. From politics and policy to presidential nicknames and White House pets, ''Presidential Trivia'' has everything you ever wanted to know about our presidents, and then some.
READHOWYOUWANT 2024 172 pages

The Jewish Woman in America

Charlotte Baum,Charlotte Brown,Paula Hyman,Sonya Michel
This encyclopedia provides the first standard reference work on the lives, history and activities of Jewish women in the United States. Covering a period which extends from the arrival of the first Jewish women in North America in 1654 to the present, this two-volume set presents the most comprehensive and detailed portrait of American Jewish women ever published, and brings together for the first time the wealth of recent scholarship on this subject. Includes: * Biographical entries on over 800 individual women. * 128 topical articles on organizations such as Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, Mizrachi, and the Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. * Major essays on Jewish women's participation in the movement for women's suffrage, social reform, civil rights, and the recent women's movement. * The activities of Jewish women in politics, business, education, the arts, and religion. * A readable, inviting format with over 500 large photographs. * Bibliographies at the end of each entry which include overviews of major scholarship in the field, complete citations of more general works and citations of additional bibliographical and reference sources. * The comprehensive index includes citations to every substantive discussion in the entries as well as all proper names appearing in the text, such as organizations, book, song and film titles, schools, and individuals. The "Encyclopedia" provides information on American Jewish women in all fields of endeavor, and pays special attention to the work of women in the arts, academics, law, the labor movement, education, science, medicine, journalism and publishing, and on the lives of ordinary Jewish women during all time periods and in all regions of the United States.
New American Library 1977 290 pages

The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia

Nat Fleischer
The Ring: Record Book And Boxing Encyclopedia is a comprehensive guide to the world of boxing, written by renowned sportswriter Nat Fleischer. This book is a must-have for anyone interested in the sport, as it provides a wealth of information on boxers, fights, and the history of the sport itself. The book is divided into several sections, each of which covers a different aspect of boxing. The first section provides an overview of the sport, including its history and how it has evolved over time. The second section focuses on the boxers themselves, with detailed profiles of some of the greatest fighters in history. The third section is a record book, which lists the career statistics of all the major fighters in the sport. This section is a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn more about the accomplishments of their favorite boxers. The fourth section of the book is an encyclopedia of boxing terms, providing definitions for all the key words and phrases used in the sport. This section is particularly useful for those new to boxing, as it can help them understand the language of the sport. Overall, The Ring: Record Book And Boxing Encyclopedia is a comprehensive guide to the world of boxing. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the sport, whether they are a casual fan or a serious student of the game.1955 Edition.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
Literary Licensing, LLC 2013-08 912 pages

Reason and Revolution

Herbert Marcuse
It is of the very definition of any "classic" work that it will not only introduce a new depth and direction of thought, but that its original insights endure. When it first appeared in 1940, Reason and Revolution by Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) was acclaimed for its profound and undistorted reading of Hegel's social and political theory. Today, the appreciation of Marcuse's work has remained high, more relevant now than ever before. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
Globe Pequot Press 2001-04-26 439 pages

Introduction to the Talmud

Mielziner Moses
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Creative Media Partners, LLC 2022-10-26 312 pages