And the enthusiasm of a barbershop connoisseur, Staten captures a world, both intimate and universal, that nearly every American man grew up with.

Where Men Hide is a spirited tour of the dark and often dirty places men go to find comfort, camaraderie, relaxation, and escape. Ken Ross's striking photographs and James B. Twitchell's lively analysis trace the evolution of these virtual caves, and question why they are rapidly disappearing. They find that for centuries men have met with each other in underground lairs and clubhouses to conduct business or to bond and indulge in shady entertainments. In these secret dens, certain rules are abandoned while others are obeyed. Twitchell connects the places men hide with figures like Hemingway and Huck Finn, Frederick Jackson Turner's theory of the American frontier, and the mythological interpretations of Joseph Campbell and Robert Bly. Documenting both traditional and contemporary male haunts, Twitchell and Ross examine the provenance, purpose, and appeal of this little-discussed and controversial phenomenon.

This popular volume on the culture of hair through human history and around the globe has been updated and revised to include even more entries and current information. How we style our hair has the ability to shape the way others perceive us. For example, in 2017, the singer Macklemore denounced his hipster undercut hairstyle, a style that is associated with Hitler Youth and alt-right men, and in 2015, actress Rose McGowan shaved her head in order to take a stance against the traditional Hollywood sex symbol stereotype. This volume examines how hair-or lack thereof-can be an important symbol of gender, class, and culture around the world and through history. Hairstyles have come to represent cultural heritage and memory, and even political leanings, social beliefs, and identity. This second edition builds upon the original volume, updating all entries that have evolved over the last decade, such as by discussing hipster culture in the entries on beards and mustaches and recent medical breakthroughs in hair loss. New entries have been added that look at specific world regions, hair coverings, political symbolism behind certain styles, and other topics.

Into the Sky With Diamonds captures the excitement of the 1960s, as it recounts the history of the Beatles and the U.S. - Soviet Race to the Moon.Beatle and Apollo Space enthusiasts, old and new, will discover riveting, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, while the not-yet-enthused discover what they've been missing.Join fictional NASA communication specialist Dutch Richtman and the very real Beatle roadie Mal Evans as they navigate the turbulence of the American Space program and the eye-popping ride of the Beatles.Roll up for the tour!

One small step for a man. One giant leap for rock 'n roll. NASA's race with the Russians to land a man on the moon. The meteoric rise of the Beatles, considered by many to have revolutionized the music industry. In the postwar era, each stood as an unprecedented cultural watershed. Together they captured the heady zeitgeist of the 1960s, and ignited the imagination of - just about everyone on the planet. Into the Sky with Diamonds is an exhilarating account of these two global phenomena, as seen through the eyes of Dutch Richtman, a young, enterprising NASA engineer who manages to snag a front row seat to both. Dutch's memoir takes us on the turbulent ride of breathtaking successes and harrowing failures that marked the early years of space travel - beginning with Projects Mercury and Gemini leading up to the Apollo program. We discover the thrills and sacrifices, personalities and politics involved in navigating these early space missions. And through Dutch's fictional correspondence with buddy Mal Evans (a character true to the Beatles' real-life roadie of the same name), we are introduced to a rock band of four working class lads from Liverpool who just happen to turn the music industry on its head and become the unwitting leaders of a youth movement for change. We witness it all: the band's electrifying rise, their unforgettable debut on the Ed Sullivan show, the social, political, and religious controversies they generated, and their painful dissolution, as John's fierce attachment to Yoko Ono forever alters the trajectory of the "Fab Four."

Chicken soup for the baseball lover's soul -- the inimitable Vince Staten takes you out to the ol' ballgame and answers all the baseball questions your dad hoped you wouldn't ask.

Practicing Culture seeks to revitalize the field of cultural sociology with an emphasis not on abstract theoretical debates but on showing how to put theoretical sources to work in empirical research. Culture is not just products and representations but practices. It is made and remade in countless small ways and occasional bursts of innovation. It is something people do – and do in rich variety and distinctive contexts as engaging case studies from the book reveal. For example: in Russia’s most Western city, Kaliningrad, residents dig for artifacts symbolizing a German past – even though their parents only migrated to what was once Konigsberg after WWII in the USA, fans of professional wrestling pride themselves on being smart enough to know how much is trickery and how the tricks work yet still believe in the contest. Practicing Culture will reshape and invigorate the sociology of culture, not only through internal development, but through enhanced connections to the interdisciplinary social theory and to related fields like the sociology of knowledge and ethnography. It will prove an essential tool for students and researchers of cultural theory, contemporary social theory and cultural sociology.