Our democracy today is fraught with political campaigns, lobbyists, liberal media, and Fox News commentators, all using language to influence the way we think and reason about public issues. Even so, many of us believe that propaganda and manipulation aren't problems for us--not in the way they were for the totalitarian societies of the mid-twentieth century. In How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley demonstrates that more attention needs to be paid....

"America's Favorite Holidays explores how five of America's culturally dominant holidays--Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and Thanksgiving--came to be what they are today, combinations of seasonal and religious celebrations heavily influenced by modern popular culture. Distilling information from a wide range of sources, Bruce David Forbes reveals the often surprising history behind the traditions of each holiday. The book offers a...

Reaching back to Mark Twain and forward to contemporary masters such as David Sedaris, Roy Blount, and Bernie Mac, this book is an exclusive collection of the very best American comic writing.

"Explores circus history from 1793 to the present and addresses the cultural forces pushing big top shows toward "circus ballet." Numerous photographs and in-depth interviews conducted with show owners, performers and directors reveal a contrast between circuses of yesterday and today, and honor the outstanding performers who created and sustained the appeal of the circus"--Provided by publisher.

A 2011 inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Tom Waits returns with his highly anticipated new album, his first new studio release in seven years. Bad as Me finds him at the height of his songwriting powers and in the finest voice of his career.

Passing, an act usually associated with disguising race, also relates to disability. Whether a person classified as mentally ill struggles to suppress aberrant behavior to appear "normal" or a person intentionally takes on a disability identity to gain some advantage, passing is a pervasive and much-discussed phenomenon. This anthology examines this issue. Focusing on the United States from the nineteenth century to the present, the editors and contributors...

A history of Riot Grrrl, a radical feminist movement that was started in the 1990s by young women who were fed up with sexism and harassment and decided to make some noise.

In this exceptional new book, Dawson Barrett calls our attention to the post-1960s period, in which US economic, cultural, and political elites turned the tide against the protest movement gains of the previous forty years and reshaped the ability of activists to influence the political process. For much of the last half-century, policymakers in both major US political parties have been guided by the "pro-business" tenets of neoliberalism. Dubbed...