Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

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  Rude Talk in Athens - Ancient...

  Mark Haskell Smith

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  In ancient Athens, thousands would attend theatre festivals that turned writing into a fierce battle for fame, money, and laughably large trophies. While the tragedies earned artistic respect, it was the comedies—the raunchy jokes, vulgar innuendo, outrageous invention, and barbed political commentary—that captured the imagination of the city.The writers of these comedic plays feuded openly, insulting one another from the stage, each production more inventive and outlandish than the last, as they tried to win first prize. Of these writers, only the work of Aristophanes has survived and it’s only through his plays that we know about his peers: Cratinus, the great lush; Eupolis, the copycat; and Ariphrades, the sexual deviant. It might have been the golden age of Democracy, but for comic playwrights, it was the age of Rude Talk.Watching a production of an Aristophanes play in 2019 CE and seeing the audience laugh uproariously at every joke, Mark Haskell Smith began to wonder: what does it tell us about society and humanity that these ancient punchlines still land? When insults and jokes made thousands of years ago continue to be both offensive and still make us laugh?Through conversations with historians, politicians, and other writers, the always witty and effusive Smith embarks on a personal mission (bordering on obsession) exploring the life of one of these unknown writers, and how comedy challenged the patriarchy, the military, and the powers that be, both then and now. A comic writer himself and author of many books and screenplays, Smith also looks back at his own career, his love for the uniquely dynamic city of Athens, and what it means for a writer to leave a legacy.

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  Bringing Home the White House -...

  Melissa Estes Blair

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  In Bringing Home the White House, Melissa Estes Blair introduces us to five fascinating yet unheralded women who were at the heart of campaigns to elect and reelect some of our most beloved presidents. By examining the roles of these political strategists in affecting the outcome of presidential elections, Blair sheds light on their historical importance and the relevance of their individual influence. 
   
   
   
  In the middle decades of the twentieth century both major political parties had Women's Divisions. The leaders of these divisions—five women who held the job from 1932 until 1958—organized tens of thousands of women all over the country, turning them into the "saleswomen for the party" by providing them with talking points, fliers, and other material they needed to strike up political conversations with their friends and neighbors. The leaders of the Women's Divisions also produced a huge portion of the media used by the campaigns—over 90 percent of all print material in the 1930s—and were close advisors of the presidents of both parties. 
   
   
   
  In spite of their importance, these women and their work have been left out of the narratives of midcentury America. In telling the story of these women, Blair reveals the ways that women were central to American politics from the depths of the Great Depression to the height of the Cold War.

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  Threads - Clothes and the...

  Paul Galvin

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  Taking the clothes they wore as a starting point, Paul Galvin skilfully weaves together a collection of stories of Irishmen who defined the culture and mood of their time.
  In Push, he tells the story of the legendary Walker Brothers – cyclists and soldiers who pedalled through a storm for Ireland at the 1912 Stockholm Games and subsequently served as rebel bike couriers during the 1916 Rising. In Born Mad, discover another side to Samuel Beckett – sartor and prolific sportsman who had knockout power as a champion school's boxer. In Boland, we learn about Harry Boland's background as a trained tailor, and in Jack, we encounter Jack B. Yeats at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.
  These are just some of men who have inspired Paul's own fashion collections and whom he writes about here in a fascinating collection that shines a light on how history is woven into the clothes Irishmen wear.

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  Tiny Hot Dogs - A Memoir in...

  Anonimo

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  From awkward schoolgirl to Caterer to the Stars, Mary Giuliani weaves together a collection of hilarious memories, from professional growing pains to her long journey to motherhood, never losing her sense of humor and her love for everyone's favorite party food, pigs in a blanket.Mary's utterly unremarkable childhood was everything she didn't want: hailing from a deeply loving yet overprotective Italian family in an all-Jewish enclave on Long Island. All she wanted was to fit in (be Jewish) and become famous (specifically a cast member on Saturday Night Live). With an easy, natural storytelling sensibility, Mary shares her journey from a cosseted childhood home to the stage and finally to the party, accidentally landing what she now refers to as "the breakthrough role of a lifetime" catering to a glittery list of stars she once hoped to be part of herself.Fresh, personal, and full of Mary's humorous, self-deprecating, and can-do attitude against all odds, you'll want to see where each shiny silver tray of hors d'oeuvres takes her next. You never know when the humble hot dog will be a crucial ingredient in the recipe for success, in building a business or simply making life more delicious.

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  Charlemagne - King of the Franks...

  Kelly Mass

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  From 768 to 800, Charlemagne, also referred to as Charles the Great, was King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, and Emperor of the Romans. Charlemagne combined many western and main Europe at the time of the Early Middle Ages. Since the fall of the Western Roman Empire 3 centuries before, he was the first acknowledged emperor to rule from western Europe. The Carolingian Empire is the name given to Charlemagne's broadening Frankish world. Antipope Paschal the Third later canonized him.Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon had an oldest child, Charlemagne, who was born before their main marriage.Following his dad's death in the year 768, he ended up being king of the Franks, at first as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I till the latter's death in the year 771. He followed his dad's position to the papacy as sole king and became its protector, driving the Lombards out of northern Italy and leading an attack into Muslim Spain. He waged a project against the Saxons to his east, requiring them to convert to Christendom or face death, resulting in events like the Massacre of Verden. He reached the peak of his power in the year 800, when Pope Leo the Third crowned him "Emperor of the Romans" on Christmas Day at Rome's Old St. Peter's Basilica.

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  Lowdown - The Music of Boz Scaggs

  Jude Warne, David Paich

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  Boz Scaggs has always been a musical artist of complexity. 
    
  Boz Scaggs founded his connection to music through the blues, but his lasting legacy is one of glamorous and romantic pop songwriting. He possessed a somewhat shy and sensitive demeanor never totally at home in the public eye, yet his claim to several chart-topping singles and albums, particularly the millions-selling and critically acclaimed Silk Degrees (1976), demanded constant exposure. The persona he expressed through his music was laid back, effortlessly cool, sophisticated, stylish, romantically charming, and suave. But the immense success he achieved in his career pointed in part to the driven and determined artist within. 
    
  Lowdown: The Music of Boz Scaggs examines the uniqueness of these contradictions and Boz Scaggs’s sixty-plus-year career and his rich and diverse musical catalogue. Over the decades, Scaggs collaborated with an array of talented heavies, from the Steve Miller Band to the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (which included a young Duane Allman) on Boz Scaggs (1969), from the session players on Silk Degrees (1976) who would form the hit band Toto to Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald on the Dukes of September's 2010 Rhythm Revue tour. 
    
  This first-ever book on Boz is constructed around intensely thorough analysis of his complete discography, and new and exclusive in-depth interviews with a selection of Scaggs’s associated colleagues from his vast career. 
    
  “In the world of popular music the hardest thing to be is a true original. Boz is that and much more. He is a national treasure.”—Gerry Beckley, America the band

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