Amusing the Million
Title | Amusing the Million PDF eBook |
Author | John F. Kasson |
Publisher | Macmillan + ORM |
Pages | 160 |
Release | 2011-04-01 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 1429952237 |
Coney Island: the name still resonates with a sense of racy Brooklyn excitement, the echo of beach-front popular entertainment before World War I. Amusing the Million examines the historical context in which Coney Island made its reputation as an amusement park and shows how America's changing social and economic conditions formed the basis of a new mass culture. Exploring it afresh in this way, John Kasson shows Coney Island no longer as the object of nostalgia but as a harbinger of modernity--and the many photographs, lithographs, engravings, and other reproductions with which he amplifies his text support this lively thesis.
Amusing the Million
Title | Amusing the Million PDF eBook |
Author | John F. Kasson |
Publisher | Macmillan |
Pages | 130 |
Release | 1978 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 0809026171 |
Coney Island: the name still resonates with a sense of racy Brooklyn excitement, the echo of beach-front popular entertainment before World War I. "Amusing the Million" examines the historical context in which Coney Island made its reputation as an amusement park and shows how America's changing social and economic conditions formed the basis of a new mass culture. Exploring it afresh in this way, John Kasson shows Coney Island no longer as the object of nostalgia but as a harbinger of modernity--and the many photographs, lithographs, engravings, and other reproductions with which he amplifies his text support this lively thesis.
A Million Years in a Day
Title | A Million Years in a Day PDF eBook |
Author | Greg Jenner |
Publisher | Macmillan |
Pages | 369 |
Release | 2016-06-21 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 125008945X |
Who invented beds? When did we start cleaning our teeth? How old are wine and beer? Which came first: the toilet seat or toilet paper? What was the first clock? Every day, from the moment our alarm clock wakes us in the morning until our head hits our pillow at night, we all take part in rituals that are millennia old. Structured around one ordinary day, A Million Years in a Day reveals the astonishing origins and development of the daily practices we take for granted. In this gloriously entertaining romp through human history, Greg Jenner explores the gradual—and often unexpected—evolution of our daily routines. This is not a story of wars, politics, or great events. Instead, Jenner has scoured Roman rubbish bins, Egyptian tombs, and Victorian sewers to bring us the most intriguing, surprising, and sometimes downright silly historical nuggets from our past. Drawn from across the world, spanning a million years of humanity, this book is a smorgasbord of historical delights. It is a history of all those things you always wondered about—and many you have never considered. It is the story of your life, one million years in the making.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Title | Amusing Ourselves to Death PDF eBook |
Author | Neil Postman |
Publisher | Vintage |
Pages | 200 |
Release | 1986 |
Genre | Performing Arts |
ISBN |
Examines the effects of television culture on how we conduct our public affairs and how "entertainment values" corrupt the way we think.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Title | Amusing Ourselves to Death PDF eBook |
Author | Neil Postman |
Publisher | Penguin |
Pages | 250 |
Release | 2005-12-27 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 9780143036531 |
What happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? As our world begins to look more and more like Orwell's 1984, Neil's Postman's essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever. "It's unlikely that Trump has ever read Amusing Ourselves to Death, but his ascent would not have surprised Postman.” -CNN Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals. “A brilliant, powerful, and important book. This is an indictment that Postman has laid down and, so far as I can see, an irrefutable one.” –Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
The Kid of Coney Island
Title | The Kid of Coney Island PDF eBook |
Author | Woody Register |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 413 |
Release | 2001-10-18 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 0195349288 |
A generation before Walt Disney, Fred Thompson was the "boy-wonder" of American popular amusements. At the turn of the 20th century, Thompson's entrepreneurial drive made him into an entertainment mogul who helped to define the popular culture of his day. In this lively biography, Woody Register tells Thompson's remarkable story and examines the transformation of commerce and entertainment as American society moved into an era of mass marketing and large-scale corporate enterprise. Getting his start as a promoter of carnival shows at world's fairs, Thompson was one of the principal developers of Coney Island, where he created the majestic Luna Park. Register traces Thompson's career as he built the mammoth Hippodrome Theater in Manhattan, where he mounted many productions noted for their spectacular--and spectacularly costly--staging effects. Register shows how Thompson's fantasies appealed to the growing legions of Americans who found themselves in a world that seemed increasingly "businesslike" and profit oriented. He illustrates how Thompson aggressively marketed to adult consumers a world of make-believe and childlike play, carefully crafting his own public image as "the boy who never grew up." Colorful, well-written, and insightful, The Kid of Coney Island brings to life a kaleidoscopic era in New York history as well as one of its most striking characters.
Max Counts to a Million
Title | Max Counts to a Million PDF eBook |
Author | Jeremy Williams |
Publisher | Nosy Crow |
Pages | 133 |
Release | 2022-03-03 |
Genre | Juvenile Fiction |
ISBN | 1839947314 |
Do you like epic quests of amazing counting? Do you dislike global pandemics, being stuck at home, and the number 7? Then I have a story for you. It's about how I counted to a million during lockdown - with help from Mum and Dad, friends and neighbours, and Grandad. And some birds. And a bucket of marbles. And an awesome TV reporter. Sometimes, just keeping on going makes you a hero. Eight-year-old Max is counting to a million. Normally, school or having anything interesting to do would get in the way, but school is shut and everyone has to stay home because the UK is in its first lockdown. Max's dad works at the hospital and counting helps Max with missing him, but as the pandemic progresses and Max's grandad journeys through his own battle with the virus, what starts as a distraction turns into record-breaking effort that brings Max's community together. Suitable for readers aged 7 up, this funny, poignant, uplifting story reflects the experiences shared by so many during the Covid pandemic and celebrates how ordinary people accomplish epic things. £1 from the sale of every copy of this book will be donated to NHS Charities Together (Registered Charity Number 1186569)