culture

Softcover. Washington DC, National Gallery of Art, 1st, 2011, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 224 pages. Headline-making in every sense, the myriad works of art in which Andy Warhol used or referenced tabloids throughout his career are explored in this book as a coherent body for the first time. Obsessed with contemporary culture, Warhol celebrated the sensational as well as the mundane in every facet of society. His headline works, which were realized in a range of formats--from two-dimensional to time-based media such as film, video, and television--chart in real time the great shift in the technological means employed to deliver the news from the 1950s until the artist's death in 1987. This companion volume to a riveting exhibition brings together more than 80 works, from Warhol's earliest drawings and paintings of newspaper headlines, to his screen-printed canvases, photographs, and electronic media, and concluding with collaborative works he produced with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Featuring illuminating essays and abundant reproductions of the headline works, as well as source materials and examples of Warhol's private scrapbooks of clippings, this unique and powerful volume demonstrates the rich intersection of mainstream media and fine art.

Softcover. Seattle , Fantagraphics Books, 1st, 1994, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 88 pages. The Friedman brothers go after Tor Johnson, Leave It to Beaver, Bela Lugosi, Joey Heatherton, comic shop clerks, and ugly white guys. A thrilling, appalling trip through the backwaters of American culture.

Honesdale, PA, Boyds Mills Press, 1st, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 192 pages, Black & white illustrations by Christoher Zhong-Yun Zhn. Review copy. An intimate look at family and village life in southeastern China, approximately 50 years ago. Ying, 10, is raised by her beloved grandmother. Ah Pau is thrifty, wise, and firmly rooted in her culture's traditions and superstitions. She guides Ying and her cousins with a firm and loving hand. As in First Apple (Boyds Mills, 1994), in which the little girl was a year younger, Ying must raise an ambitious amount of money. This time, she must bargain with her mercenary cousin Kee, and deal with the class bully.

Hardcover. Guilford CT, TwoDot, 1st, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, pictorial boards, 159 pages, b&w photos throughout. Classic Photographs from the Farm Security Administration 1936-1943. Featuring images by such renowned photographers as Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, Russell Lee, and several others, this book documents ranching culture in western states during the Great Depression and leading up to World War II. This was a period of great change in the ranching West that included the introduction of the automobile, electricity, radio, the telephone, and other technologies that drastically transformed the lives and work of ranching people, and some of the best documentation exists in the powerful documentary photographs by this remarkable group of photographers. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Glitterati, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 176 pages. illustrated in color and b&w. A visual survey of Black style from the 1940s through the 1970s. In publisher's shrinkwrap. This is the 2006 first printing with a different cover than the later reprint.

Softcover. Berkeley CA, University of California Press, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 284 pages, b&w illustrations. Written with uncommon grace and clarity, this extremely engaging ethnography analyzes female agency, gendered violence, and transactional sex in contemporary Papua New Guinea. Focusing on Huli "passenger women," (women who accept money for sex) Wayward Women explores the socio-economic factors that push women into the practice of transactional sex, and asks how these transactions might be an expression of resistance, or even revenge. Challenging conventional understandings of "prostitution" and "sex work," Holly Wardlow contextualizes the actions and intentions of passenger women in a rich analysis of kinship, bridewealth, marriage, and exchange, revealing the ways in which these robust social institutions are transformed by an encompassing capitalist economy. Many passenger women assert that they have been treated "olsem maket" (like market goods) by their husbands and natal kin, and they respond by fleeing home and defiantly appropriating their sexuality for their own purposes. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1st, 1979, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, a pictorial history of the wedding ritual. INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR on front fly leaf. Very clean and tight copy.

Softcover. New York, Abbeville Press, 1st US, 1984, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 160 pages, illustrated throughout in b&w. Previous owner's sticker on front end paper, light edgewear and soil to wrappers. Clean, tight copy. The pictures assembled here show how this artistic culture originated in the aftermath of the First World War and the unsettled early years of the Weimar Republic, uneasily balanced between revolutionary pretensions and the desire for order. The montage of images--photographs, paintings, drawings, collages, books, and film stills--evokes the period with shocking vividness.

Hardcover. NY, Abbeville Press, 1st, 2015, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 408 pages, b&w illustrations. This remarkable collection of stories, hand-picked from the archive of legendary New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons by his son, film critic Jeffrey Lyons, will transport readers back to the sparkling peak of New York City nightlife. This was the time when notables of every sort--film producers and stars, writers, politicians, comedians, athletes, and artists--gathered nightly at such famed restaurants and nightclubs as Sardi's, the Stork Club, and the Copacabana. From 1934 to 1974, Leonard Lyons was a fixture at these clubs, befriending celebrities of all stripes and gathering exclusive tidbits for his syndicated newspaper column, The Lyons Den. What a Time It Was! offers candid portraits of stars and statesmen at work and at play--especially at play--but still, effortlessly, larger than life. Illustrated with snapshots and glamour shots, it offers a unique window onto the lives of iconic figures from Ethel Barrymore and Muhammad Ali to Tennessee Williams and Jackie Kennedy, as well as their favorite haunts. Here are four decades of popular culture seen from the front row, by a man who said, "Give me lights and sound and people, and music into the night. Late into the night!"

Hardcover. NY, Harper, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 672 pages. 16 pages of photos. What Becomes a Legend Most is the first definitive biography of this luminary--an intensely driven man who endured personal and professional prejudice, struggled with deep insecurities, and mounted an existential lifelong battle to be recognized as an artist. Philip Gefter builds on archival research and exclusive interviews with those closest to Avedon to chronicle his story, beginning with Avedon's coming-of-age in New York between the world wars, when cultural prejudices forced him to make decisions that shaped the course of his life. Compounding his private battles, Avedon fought to be taken seriously in a medium that itself struggled to be respected within the art world. Gefter reveals how the 1950s and 1960s informed Avedon's life and work as much as he informed the period. He counted as close friends a profoundly influential group of artists--Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Harold Brodkey, Renata Adler, Sidney Lumet, and Mike Nichols--who shaped the cultural life of the American twentieth century. It wasn't until Avedon's fashion work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 1970s that he became a household name. Balancing glamour with the gravitas of an artist's genuine reach for worldy achievement--and not a little gossip--plus sixteen pages of photographs, What Becomes a Legend Most is an intimate window into Avedon's fascinating world. Dramatic, visionary, and remarkable, it pays tribute to Avedon's role in the history of photography and fashion--and his legacy as one of the most consequential artists of his time.

Hardcover. NY, Harper, 1st, 2020, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 672 pages. 16 pages of photos. What Becomes a Legend Most is the first definitive biography of this luminary--an intensely driven man who endured personal and professional prejudice, struggled with deep insecurities, and mounted an existential lifelong battle to be recognized as an artist. Philip Gefter builds on archival research and exclusive interviews with those closest to Avedon to chronicle his story, beginning with Avedon's coming-of-age in New York between the world wars, when cultural prejudices forced him to make decisions that shaped the course of his life. Compounding his private battles, Avedon fought to be taken seriously in a medium that itself struggled to be respected within the art world. Gefter reveals how the 1950s and 1960s informed Avedon's life and work as much as he informed the period. He counted as close friends a profoundly influential group of artists--Leonard Bernstein, Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Harold Brodkey, Renata Adler, Sidney Lumet, and Mike Nichols--who shaped the cultural life of the American twentieth century. It wasn't until Avedon's fashion work was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the late 1970s that he became a household name. Balancing glamour with the gravitas of an artist's genuine reach for worldy achievement--and not a little gossip--plus sixteen pages of photographs, What Becomes a Legend Most is an intimate window into Avedon's fascinating world. Dramatic, visionary, and remarkable, it pays tribute to Avedon's role in the history of photography and fashion--and his legacy as one of the most consequential artists of his time.

Hardcover. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, green cloth with black and gilt stamping, 291 pages. Gift exchange plays a crucial role in the social and political organization of Mendi in Papua New Guinea. This book reveals how considerable light can be shed on Mendi society, particularly on its political economy, by examining both the well-known ceremonial exchange festivals and the hitherto relatively little-studied everyday gift-giving practices. The author shows that the latter are crucial for understanding inter-group politics, the process of leadership, male-female relationships and the status of women, and the production, distribution and circulation of wealth. Currently the only book available on this society, the work offers an unusual combination of a social structural analysis with a study of local history and change. It is also of interest for its integration of the study of gift exchange and politics with the study of gender roles and relationships. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. NY, Schocken Books, 1st, 2000, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 263 pages. Friedrich Nietzsche's aggressive independence, sarcasm, and celebration of strength have struck responsive chords in contemporary culture. But his ideas are often overshadowed by the myths and rumors that surround his sex life, his politics, and his sanity. In this lively volume, Nietzsche scholars Solomon and Higgins get to the heart of Nietzsche's philosophy, from his ideas on "the will to power" to his attack on religion and morality, to his infamous Ubermensch (superman). Clean copy.

Softcover. Charlotte VT, Garden Way Publishing, 1st, 1981, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 138 pages, b&w cartoons by Jeff Danzinger. An early volume by the Pulitzer Prize winning author. Stated first printing. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. New York, Clarion Books, 1st, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket, 199 pages. A brother & sister face the increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during WW II, which threatens to suppress their culture. WON JANE ADDAMS HONOR AWARD. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1st, 1976, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover. Non-paginated. Illustrated with full color photographs of group portraits. Dust jacket with a few small chips along edges - dust jacket now protected with clear plastic cover. Clean, tight copy.

Hardcover. NY, Penguin Press, 1st, 2012, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 474 pages, b&w illustrations. "A "heroic" and "fascinating" biography of John Cage showing how his work, and that of countless American artists, was transformed by Zen Buddhism". (The New York Times). Where the Heart Beats is the story of the tremendous changes sweeping through American culture following the Second World War, a time when the arts in America broke away from centuries of tradition and reinvented themselves. Painters converted their canvases into arenas for action and gesture, dancers embraced pure movement over narrative, performance artists staged "happenings" in which anything could happen, poets wrote words determined by chance.

Hardcover. NY, Methuen Publishing , 1st, 1988, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket. 235 pages. Covers such subjects as black literature; the reconstruction of culture, changing arts, letters and sciences to include the topics of women and gender; and, the nature of family and the changing roles of women within society. As such, Catharine Stimpson employs a transdisciplinary approach, to encourage greater understanding of the differences among women, and thus socially-constructed differences in general. Where the Meanings Are tells of some of the arguments within feminism during the re-designing and designing of cultural spaces, as post-modernism began to change the boundaries of race, class, and gender. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Newtown CT, The Taunton Press, 1st, 2006, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 266 pages. The past has left behind only scattered clues that, on their own, provide little insight into how the people of early America lived and the details of their daily lives. The photographs in this book, the deeply informed narrative that accompanies them, and the eyewitness accounts of daily life that the author weaves throughout, provide a fresh perspective on our early American ancestors and the places they called home. This book is about how their houses and their life in them, from the wealthy to the impoverished, from New York City to the small farms and plantations of the South, from coastal fishing towns to the Western frontier of Indiana and Kentucky. The stories focus on the remarkably vivid differences from one part of the country to the next, class and culture, and the realities of everyday life for American families. These stories twine around a wide selection of HABS photographs of early houses, covering the variety and evolutions of house styles -- not by labeling the style but by explaining the style in the context of everyday life. Richly illustrated with handsome black-and-white photography of old houses from the Library of Congress Historic American Building Survey (HABS) collection and supplemented with period woodcuts, engravings, drawings, paintings, artifacts, and maps, the book is printed on a 4-color press for a depth of tone. Sidebar excerpts from diaries, journals, and letters inject graphic eyewitness descriptions, adding an additional layer of insight. The book also includes sidebars called Still Standing that traces the history of specific houses, from their origins to the present and includes information on the original family, how the house has evolved over the centuries, and how it's used today.

Softcover. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina, reprint, 2002, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 378 pages. Namias shows that visual, literary, and historical accounts of the capture of Euro-Americans by Indians are commentaries on the uncertain boundaries of gender, race, and culture during the colonial Indian Wars, the American Revolution, and the Civil War. She compares the experiences and representations of male and female captives over time and on successive frontiers and examines the narratives of captives Jane McCrea, Mary Jemison, and Sarah Wakefield. Clean copy.

Hardcover. New York, Glitterati, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. The book is the first to document the American punk scene to the public at large and now represents the epitome of the scene at the timeFeatures photographs of artistic and performance luminaries such as Man Ray, Tennessee Williams, Mick Jagger, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Zandra Rhodes, Divine, Lance Loud, and Marilyn Chambers, among others.

Hardcover. New York, Glitterati, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. The book is the first to document the American punk scene to the public at large and now represents the epitome of the scene at the timeFeatures photographs of artistic and performance luminaries such as Man Ray, Tennessee Williams, Mick Jagger, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Zandra Rhodes, Divine, Lance Loud, and Marilyn Chambers, among others.

Hardcover. Jackson MS, University Press of Mississippi, 1st, 2014, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, 240 pages. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. Cartoonist Winsor McCay (1869-1934) is rightfully celebrated for the skillful draftmanship and inventive design sense he displayed in the comic strips Little Nemo in Slumberland and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. McCay crafted narratives of anticipation, abundance, and unfulfilled longing. This book explores McCay's interest in dream imagery in relation to the larger preoccupation with fantasy that dominated the popular culture of early twentieth-century urban America.McCay's role as a pioneer of early comics has been documented; yet, no existing study approaches him and his work from an art historical perspective, giving close readings of individual artworks while situating his output within the larger visual culture and the rise of modernism. From circus posters and vaudeville skits to department store window displays and amusement park rides, McCay found fantastical inspiration in New York City's burgeoning entertainment and retail districts. Wide Awake in Slumberland connects McCay's work to relevant children's literature, advertising, architecture, and motion pictures in order to demonstrate the artist's sophisticated blending and remixing of multiple forms from mass culture. Studying this interconnection in McCay's work and, by extension, the work of other early twentieth-century cartoonists, Roeder traces the web of relationships connecting fantasy, leisure, and consumption. Readings of McCay's drawings and the eighty-one black and white and color illustrations reveal a man who was both a ready participant and an incisive critic of the rising culture of fantasy and consumerism.

Softcover. Seattle, WA, Fantagraphics Books, 1st paperback, 1994, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, 129 pages. Softcover. B/w illustrations throughout. Wrapper very good. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. A touch of soil (shelfwear) to edges.