Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Iron Man

  Lynne Bryan

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  In Iron Man, Lynne Bryan writes movingly and candidly about disability, the vulnerability of the body and mind, and the frailty and strength of our corporeality. She writes insightfully and thought-provokingly about the ways in which women's access to head space and the physical and economic space for creativity can be restricted or blocked – sometimes by the people they love best and who love them best; and, of course, sometimes by themselves.

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  Saint Nicholas and Krampus: The...

  Charles River Editors

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  One of the most important figures constantly brought up during the Christmas season is Saint Nicholas, despite the fact most people know little about him. In the 21st century, Saint Nicholas (or as people often refer to him, “Jolly Old Saint Nick”) has been reduced to a pretend, adorably portly grandfather-type, a visual often accompanied by a fleet of magical reindeer and a bustling workshop staffed by endlessly cheerful elves. Most assume, quite understandably, that Saint Nicholas was the fount of inspiration that Santa Claus' myth weavers steadily drank from over the centuries. While this is accurate to some extent, it is important to remember that the parallels between Saint Nicholas and the present-day Santa Claus marketed by mass media are actually quite limited. 
  After Nicholas of Myra’s death, December 6 became his feast day, and over the centuries, children anticipated his appearance with gifts. However, other children, particularly those of the mischievous sort, trembled under their covers on December 6, because they could not look forward to tinkling sleigh bells or belly-shaking laughs. Instead, they feared the disconcerting sounds of heavy breathing, guttural growls, and rattling chains, all of which came from the terrifying Krampus. 
  Despite the best efforts of the Catholic Church and other conservative groups, Krampus is in the midst of a major Renaissance, penetrating not only modern literature, but even becoming a fixture of pop culture. This is evidenced by the creature's recent starring roles in the films Krampus, Night of the Krampus, and Mother Krampus, and its cameos in such TV shows and animations as Grimm, Supernatural, American Dad, and Venture Brothers.

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  The Trials of Madame Restell -...

  Nicholas L. Syrett

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  For forty years in the mid-nineteenth century, “Madame Restell,” the nom de guerre of the most successful female physician in America, sold birth-control medication, attended women during their pregnancies, delivered their children, and performed abortions in a series of clinics run out of her home in New York City. It was the abortions that made her famous. “Restellism” became the term her detractors used to indict her. Restell began practicing when abortion was largely unregulated in most of the United States, including New York. But as a sense of disquiet arose about single women flocking to the city for work, greater sexual freedoms, changing views of the roles of motherhood and childhood, and fewer children being born to white, married, middle-class women, Restell came to stand for everything that threatened the status quo. From 1829 onward, restrictions on abortion began to put Restell in legal jeopardy. For much of this period, she prevailed—until she didn’t. A story that is all too relevant to the current attempts to criminalize abortion in our own age, The Trials of Madame Restell paints an unforgettable picture of the changing society of nineteenth-century New York and brings Restell to the attention of a whole new generation of women whose fundamental rights are under siege.

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  Hans-Ulrich Rudel: The Life and...

  Charles River Editors

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  Few people personified the advancements, abilities, and tactical adeptness of the Luftwaffe like Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the most successful dive bomber in the history of warfare. Like hundreds of millions of others born in the early 20th century, his life was shaped by the Second World War, which started when he was just 23. He was born into and shaped by one of the most brutal and infamous regimes in history, and once indoctrinated, he fought determinedly and with real commitment in support of that regime. He flew over 2,500 combat missions, reportedly destroying over 500 Soviet tanks, 170 artillery pieces, 800 other vehicles, and a battleship on the way to becoming the highest-decorated Nazi soldier of World War II, receiving the Knight’s Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. He was shot down, or crash landed, multiple times, and even after having reportedly been told by Hitler to stop flying on several occasions, he insisted on returning to the front to fight with his comrades. He lost a leg to gunfire in early 1945 but carried on with his combat missions despite the pain and the practical difficulties of flying with one leg. There is no denying his bravery, however unpleasant the cause for which he fought. 
  Hans-Ulrich Rudel is therefore a challenging character to analyze. His autobiography, Stuka Pilot, was originally entitled Trotzdem (“In spite of everything”), pointing strongly to his continuing support, post-war, for the Nazi ideology. But his book remains a detailed, fascinating, largely credible (and mostly ideology-free) account of his wartime experiences, even as his final pages include references to his proud insistence on performing the Nazi salute in front of the American soldiers who had taken him prisoner and who were providing medical care to his amputated stump.

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  The Life and Times of Mark Twain

  Michael Shelden

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  Professor of English at Indiana State University and the author of the literary biography Mark Twain: Man in White, Michael Shelden is the perfect candidate to lead this series of lectures on one of the most important - and most influential - of all American authors. From Twain's early history through his landmark achievements and the defining moments of his extraordinary life, Shelden imparts a learned understanding of both the man and his astounding body of work.

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  Ziegfeld - The Man Who Invented...

  Ethan Mordden

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  Any girl who twists her hat will be fired! – Florenz ZiegfeldAnd no Ziegfeld girl ever did as she made her way down the gala stairways of the Ziegfeld Follies in some of the most astonishing spectacles the American theatergoing public ever witnessed.  When Florenz Ziegfeld started in theater, it was flea circus, operetta and sideshow all rolled into one.  When he left it, the glamorous world of "show-biz" had been created.  Though many know him as the man who "glorified the American girl," his first real star attraction was the bodybuilder Eugen Sandow, who flexed his muscles and thrilled the society matrons who came backstage to squeeze his biceps.  His lesson learned with Sandow, Ziegfeld went on to present Anna Held, the naughty French sensation, who became the first Mrs. Ziegfeld.  He was one of the first impresarios to mix headliners of different ethnic backgrounds, and literally the earliest proponent of mixed-race casting.  The stars he showcased and, in some cases, created have become legends: Billie Burke (who also became his wife), elfin Marilyn Miller, cowboy Will Rogers, Bert Williams, W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor and, last but not least, neighborhood diva Fanny Brice.  A man of voracious sexual appetites when it came to beautiful women, Ziegfeld knew what he wanted and what others would want as well.  From that passion, the Ziegfeld Girl was born. Elaborately bejeweled, they wore little more than a smile as they glided through eye-popping tableaux that were the highlight of the Follies, presented almost every year from 1907 to 1931.  Ziegfeld's reputation and power, however, went beyond the stage of the Follies as he produced a number of other musicals, among them the ground-breaking Show Boat.  In Ziegfeld: The Man Who Created Show Business, Ethan Mordden recreates the lost world of the Follies, a place of long-vanished beauty masterminded by one of the most inventive, ruthless, street-smart and exacting men ever to fill a theatre on the Great White Way : Florenz Ziegfeld.

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