In this examination of the monster as cultural object, Judith Halberstam offers a rereading of the monstrous that revises our view of the Gothic. Moving from the nineteenth century and the works of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray to contemporary horror film exemplified by such movies as Silence of the Lambs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Candyman. Skin Shows understands the Gothic as a versatile technology, a means of producing monsters that is constantly being rewritten by historically and culturally conditioned fears generated by a shared sense of otherness and difference. Deploying feminist and queer approaches to the monstrous body, Halberstam views the Gothic as a broad-based cultural phenomenon that supports and sustains the economic, social, and sexual hierarchies of the time. She resists familiar psychoanalytic critiques and cautions against any interpretive attempt to reduce the affective power of the monstrous to a single factor. The nineteenth-century monster is shown, for example, as configuring otherness as an amalgam of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Invoking Foucault, Halberstam describes the history of monsters in terms of its shifting relation to the body and its representations. As a result, her readings of familiar texts are radically new. She locates psychoanalysis itself within the gothic tradition and sees sexuality as a beast created in nineteenth century literature. Excessive interpretability, Halberstam argues, whether in film, literature, or in the culture at large, is the actual hallmark of monstrosity.

In While England Slept Winston Churchill revealed in 1938 how the inadequacy of Britain's military forces to cope with worldwide responsibilities in a peaceful but tense era crippled its ability to deter or even adequately prepare for World War II. In While America Sleeps , historians Donald and Frederick W. Kagan retrace Britain's international and defense policies during the years after World War I leading up to World War II, showing how self-delusion and an unwillingness to face the inescapable responsibilities on which their security and the peace of the world depended cost the British dearly. The Kagans then turn their attention to America and argue that our nation finds itself in a position similar to that of Britain in the 1920s. For all its emergency interventions the U.S. has not yet accepted its unique responsibility to take the lead in preserving the peace. Years of military cutbacks—the "peace dividend" following the buildup and triumph over Communism of the Reagan years—have weakened our armed forces and left us with too few armed forces to cover too many possible threats. This has caused us to bank everything on high tech "smart" weapons—some of which have not yet been invented and others that we are not acquiring or deploying—as opposed to the long-term commitment of money, fighting men and women, and planning that the deterrence of a major war would require. This failure to shape a policy and to commit the resources needed to maintain peace has cost valuable time in shaping a peaceful world and has placed America's long-term security in danger. The policies of the Bush and Clinton administrations have left us in a position where we cannot avoid war and keep the peace in areas vital to our security. Neither have the post-Cold War policies sent clear signals to would-be aggressors that the U.S. can and will resist them. Tensions in the Middle East, instability in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan, the development of nuclear weapons and missile by North Korea, and the menacing threats and actions of China, with its immense population, resentful sense of grievance and years of military buildup, all hint that the current peaceful era will not last forever. Can we make it last as long as possible? Are we prepared to face its collapse? While America Sleeps is a sobering work of history that poses a thoughtful challenge to policy-makers.

"The mid-1970s was England's darkest, dreariest hour. The UK was sliding deeper into unemployment, reeling from strike after strike, power cuts, the three-day work week, and IRA bombs. It was time for a new order and in London's restless streets a handful of snotty young men, feisty females, and first generation Jamaican musicians created the UK's punky revolution. They made it up as they went along and it touched every corner of the Disunited Kingdom. For a few glorious years the UK was the center of the cultural universe." --Vivien Goldman When punk first rocked, the rough and rugged style on the streets was a world away from the super-slick music videos and corporate stylists that were to follow. And photographer Janette Beckman was on the front line of that hyper-energized time, capturing "the look" of the musicians and kids who were loudly defining an era. Collected for the first time in Made in the UK , Beckman's powerful portraits celebrate the music and the attitude of Punk, Mod, Skinhead, 2 Tone, and Rockabilly culture in the UK. Made in the UK: The Music of Attitude, 1977-1983 documents a time when British music pushed every boundary. Beckman began her career working for Melody Maker , one of London's premier weekly music papers. She soon had extraordinary access to the musicians topping the UK charts--icons of an era when music had an agenda--including The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Undertones, The Specials, The Beat, The Police, The Ramones, The Rockats, The Raincoats (Kurt Cobain's inspiration), Billy Idol, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Among these groups, this generation still had the radical idea that each and every punk, skin, mod, rude boy, and ted was just as important as the bands. Janette Beckman's gritty aesthetic placed her on good footing among the kids on the street--and the portraits she made prove that attitude never dies.

In Victorian Britain, a group of eminent scientists got together to found a society expressly to prove the existence of ghosts. The age of Darwin represented the greatest scientific advances known to man. The tension between science and religion was exposed by Darwin's On the Origin of the Species in 1859, which challenged the basic tenets of belief. Yet many of those in the forefront of the scientific revolution could not give up the idea of a higher reality. Life after death was the unknown frontier. Victorian society was full of mediums claiming they could communicate with the spirits of the dead. Baffling psychic phenomena occurred every day at seances- mysterious rappings were heard, furniture moved, ghostly forms appeared, the mediums spoke in the altered voices of the dead with information only their nearest could possibly know. Pyschometry involving locks of hair and watches and children's toys; telepathy; ouija boards; apparitions; astral projection- all were commonplace. In 1882 the Society of Psychical Research was founded in London to investigate all these phenomena- it was a group led by some of the greatest scientists of the age but its membership also included Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Leslie Stephen, Virginia Woolf's father, John Ruskin, the Reverend Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Six months later William James, Professor of Psychology at Harvard, and the brother of Henry James visited London and went on to set up American branch. Their experiments went on for years. Many mediums, like the notorious Madame Blavatsky, were exposed as charlatans yet there were some mediums who continued to communicate directly with another world, who despite every rigorous scientific test seemed to prove that souls survived death. This is the story of this group of forward thinkers- many of whom were driven to the spirit world by personal tragedy, some whose feeling of loss lead to their own suicides. It is the story of the greatest ghost hunt of any age.

William Johnson was among the most powerful and romantic figures in early American history. Beginning as an impoverished eighteenth century Irish immigrant, he became the wealthiest and most influential Indian leader on the North American continent. Married to Molly Brant, sister of the celebrated Mohawk Joseph Brant, Johnson served as a mediator in the evolving clash of the European and Native American cultures. This new edition brings back into print a classic work that will be welcomed reading for all those interested in early American history and American-Indian relations.

In the year 1200, the English Government initiated regular series of record-archives; in 1640, the fall of Charles I's personal government led to the abolition of several central offices and their archives. These events, which both profoundly altered the state of the evidence for the historian, therefore set the limits of this book. For though those 450 years must be studied from a great variety of sources, to the historian they constitute above all the period for which he depends overwhelmingly on official records of all kinds. The core of this book, therefore, is an analysis and description of such materials - their origin, present state and usefulness. However, other materials are not ignored, from the chronicles which provide the main outline of the history that can be known, through the records of the law, private letters (almost non-existent before 1450, suddenly plentiful after 1550) and estate documents, to less familiar historical sources like books, buildings and landscape, and the contribution of the archaeologist.

An eminent economist warns that Western nations' economic expectations for the future are way out of sync with the realities of economic stagnation and stringent steps will be required to avoid massive political and economic upheaval. "It is alarmingly difficult to disagree with Stephen King. All one can say, perhaps, is that one of the great errors of human nature--strongly displayed before the credit crunch--is the belief that a prevailing trend will continue indefinitely. The crunch is surely a reminder that what goes up must come down."--Charles Moore, Daily Telegraph "[King] is dabbling in the financial equivalent of the horror genre. Perhaps even scarier, his is the stuff of nonfiction."--Michael J. Casey, Wall Street Journal

Today's antisemitism is difficult to recognize because it does not come dressed in a Nazi uniform and it does not openly proclaim its hatred or fear of Jews. This book looks at the kind of antisemitism which is tolerated or which goes unacknowledged in apparently democratic spaces: trade unions, churches, left-wing and liberal politics, social gatherings of the chattering classes and the seminars and journals of radical intellectuals. It analyses how criticism of Israel can mushroom into antisemitism and it looks at struggles over how antisemitism is defined. It focuses on ways in which those who raise the issue of antisemitism are often accused of doing so in bad faith in an attempt to silence or smear. Hostility to Israel has become a signifier of identity, connected to opposition to imperialism, neo-liberalism and global capitalism; the 'community of the good' takes on toxic ways of imagining most living Jewish people.

As quintessentially British as a plate of fish and chips or a British Bulldog, the boxy, utilitarian Land Rover Defender has become an iconic part of what it is to be British. It is said that for more than half the world's population, the first car they ever saw was a Land Rover Defender.

A journalist's account of the London trial of David Irving vs. Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt, held in January-April 2000, interspersed with reflections on Holocaust memory and denial. The case became a Holocaust trial, albeit without perpetrators and victims. It did not generate a new narrative of the Holocaust, a revisionist one, as Irving had hoped. Without endorsing Irving's views, defends his right to historical dissent and regrets that his reputation as an outstanding historian was undermined. Contends that the critics of Irving's views, including Lipstadt, misinterpreted his writing as an outgrowth of postmodern deconstruction; what Irving assaulted was not rationalism and history as a science, but the Jews. His main motive was antisemitism. Contends that the depoliticized myth of the "Nazi war against the Jews", characteristic of some historiographic works, made the deniers' task easier. Believes that the Jews are not immune to critical analysis of their history; however, Irving crossed the divide between legitimate criticism and prejudiced vilification of the Jews as a people.

The story of the fight to gain the vote for women is about much more than a peripheral if picturesque skirmish around the introduction of universal suffrage. It is an explosive story of social and sexual revolutionary upheaval, and one which has not yet ended. The movement for women's suffrage in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries prefigured to a startling extent the controversies which rage today around the role of women. Far from the stereotype of a uniform body of women chaining themselves to railings, the early feminist movement was riven by virulent arguments over women's role in society, the balance to be struck between self-fulfilment and their duties to family and children, and their relationship with men. Melanie Phillips' brilliant book tells the story of the fight for women's suffrage in a way which sets the high drama of those events in the context of the moral and intellectual ferment that characterised it.

From literature, social chronicles, and family documents comes a study of the evolution and social role of the English country house since the Middle Ages

When Thomas Harding discovered that his mother's family had made money from the slave plantations worked by people of African descent, what began as an interrogation into the choices of his ancestors soon became a quest to learn more about Britain's role in slavery. It was a history that he knew surprisingly little about - the myth that we are often taught in schools is that Britain's role in slavery was as the abolisher, but the reality is much more sinister. In this book, Harding vividly brings to life the story of the uprising by enslaved people that took place in the British colony of Demerara (now Guyana) in the Caribbean in 1823.

The official companion to the second season of the PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria by award-winning creator and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin. More than 16 million viewers watched the first season of the Masterpiece presentation of Victoria, created and written by Daisy Goodwin—the highest-rated PBS drama in twenty years, second only to Downton Abbey . But what happened after the Queen married her handsome prince? Did they live happily ever after, or did their marriage, like so many royal marriages past and present, fizzle into a loveless round of duty? This all-new companion book by Daisy Goodwin and Sara Sheridan transports us to the private world of Victoria and Albert. Though first cousins, they could not have been more different: Victoria was impulsive, emotional, and capricious, Albert cautious, self-controlled, and logical. But together they forged a bond with each other and with their people that would change the world. Drawing on letters and diaries and fresh insights into royal history, this gorgeous book charts the constant ebb and flow of power within the couple’s surprisingly ardent and modern marriage. Sumptuously illustrated and full of rich insider detail, Victoria & Albert takes us behind the scenes of the magnificent TV drama, including fascinating, in-depth information on the actors, the props, and the costumes – and bringing an extraordinary royal marriage even more fully to life.

A clear-eyed view of Winston Churchill, the workings of his historical imagination, and his successes and failures as a statesman, by the celebrated historian of World War II and best-selling author of Five Days in London, May 1940 John Lukacs has spent a lifetime considering the complex personality and statesmanship of Winston Churchill. In previous books Lukacs has told the story of Churchill's titanic struggle with Adolf Hitler in the early days of World War II. Now, in Churchill: Visionary. Statesman. Historian., he turns his attention to Churchill the man and visionary statesman. Each chapter of this book provides an essential portrait of Churchill. Lukacs treats Churchill's vital relationships with Stalin, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower, as well as his complex, farsighted political vision concerning the coming of World War II and the Cold War. Lukacs also assesses Churchill's abilities as a historian looking backward into the origins of the conflicts of which he was so much a part. In addition, the author examines the often contradictory ways Churchill has been perceived by critics and admirers alike. The last chapter is a powerful and deeply moving evocation of the three days Lukacs spent in London attending Churchill's funeral in 1965. In Churchill: Visionary. Statesman. Historian., Lukacs deftly sets forth the essence of this towering figure of twentieth-century history with the consummate mastery of a great historian.

Elizabeth I is one of England's most admired and celebrated rulers. She is also one of its most iconic: her image is familiar from paintings, film and television. This wide-ranging interdisciplinary collection of essays examines the origins and development of the image and myths that came to surround the Virgin Queen. The essays question the prevailing assumptions about the mythic Elizabeth and challenge the view that she was unambiguously celebrated in the literature and portraiture of the early modern era. They explain how the most familiar myths surrounding the queen developed from the concerns of her contemporaries and yet continue to reverberate today. Published to mark the 400th anniversary of the queen's death, this volume will appeal to all those with an interest in the historiography of Elizabeth's reign and Elizabethan, and Jacobean, poets, dramatists and artists.

Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, reigned from 1558 until her death in 1603 and is remembered not only as a powerful, often ruthless and successful monarch but also as a virtuous, gracious, and caring ruler. This new biography of Elizabeth I, by a leading scholar, reveals a tough and determined "Virgin Queen", whose education, wit, and wisdom enabled her to succeed in the often turbulent and hostile world of her reign. Charting Elizabeth's childhood, schooling, and family life as well as her relationships with her ministers and suitors, Susan Doran discusses her motivation and the personal qualities that sustained her as queen. Her years in power were often dominated by political intrigue, marriage proposals, disputes over the succession, plots against her life, and warfare. Elizabeth made clever use of events, such as the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and unique interests and attributes, such as her love of theatrical pageant, to enhance her reputation and status. In an era of political and religious upheaval, Elizabeth I emerges as one of the most skillful and formidable monarchs in history. Illustrated throughout with portraits, rare historical documents, and letters in Elizabeth's own hand, this book provides an engaging, authoritative account of Queen Elizabeth I's life and times.

In the fifteenth century, two families of royal descent, the Houses of York and Lancaster, clashed in an epic series of civil wars to win and control the throne of England. The crown slipped precariously from one family to the other, and not until the destruction of both Houses and the rise of a new royal family, the Tudors, did peace and stability return to the country. Robert Silverberg, writing as Franklin Hamilton, brings the personalities, politics, and events of this complex and exciting period to vivid and relevant life.