Can capitalism ever truly be environmentally conscious? Green Capitalism? Business and the Environment in the Twentieth Century provides a historical analysis of the relationship between business interests and environmental initiatives over the past century.

Beauty seems simple; we know it when we see it. But of course our ideas about what is attractive are influenced by a broad range of social and economic factors, and in Beauty and Business leading historians set out to provide this important cultural context. How have retailers shaped popular consciousness about beauty? And how, in turn, have cultural assumptions influenced the commodification of beauty? The contributors here look to particular examples in order to address these questions, turning their attention to topics ranging from the social role of the African American hair salon, and the sexual dynamics of bathing suits and shirtcollars, to the deeper meanings of corsets and what the Avon lady tells us about changing American values. As a whole, these essays force us to reckon with the ways that beauty has been made, bought, and sold in modern America.

The Avon Lady acquired iconic status in twentieth century American culture. This first history of Avon tells the story of a direct sales company that was both a giant in its industry and a kitchen-table entrepreneurial venture. With their distinctive greeting at the homes across the country--Ding Dong! Avon Calling!--sales ladies brought door-to-door sales of makeup, perfume, and other products to American women beginning in 1886. Working for the company enabled women to earn money on the side and even become financially independent in a respectable profession while selling Avon's wares to friends, family, and neighborhood networks. Ding Dong! Avon Calling! is the story of women and entrepreneurship, and of an innovative corporation largely managed by men that empowered women to exploit networks of other women and their community for profit. Founded in the late nineteenth century, Avon grew into a massive international direct sales company in which millions of "ambassadors of beauty" sat in their customers' living rooms with a sample case, catalogue, and a conversational sales pitch. Avon was unique in American business history for its reliance on women as representatives, promising them not just sales positions, but a chance to have a business of their own. Being an Avon Lady avoided the stigma that was often attached to middle-class women's work outside the home and enabled women to maintain the delicate balance of work and family. Drawing for the first time on company records she helped acquire for archives, Katina Manko illuminates Avon's inner workings, uncovers the lives of its representatives, and shows how women slowly rose into the company's middle and upper management. Avon called itself "The Company for Women" and championed its high flyers, but its higher echelons remained dominated by men well into the 1990s. Avon is more than perfumes and toiletries, but a brand built on women knocking on doors and chatting up neighbors. It thrived for more than a century through the deceptively simple technique of women directly selling beauty to women at home.

One of "The Most Fascinating Books WIRED Read in 2020" "One part science book, one part historical narrative, one part memoir . . . harrowing and inspiring.”—The Wall Street Journal How a determined scientist cracked the case of the first successful—and disastrous—submarine attack On the night of February 17, 1864, the tiny Confederate submarine HL Hunley made its way toward the USS Housatonic just outside Charleston harbor. Within a matter of hours, the Union ship’s stern was blown open in a spray of wood planks. The explosion sank the ship, killing many of its crew. And the submarine, the first ever to be successful in combat, disappeared without a trace. For 131 years the eight-man crew of the HL Hunley lay in their watery graves, undiscovered. When finally raised, the narrow metal vessel revealed a puzzling sight. There was no indication the blast had breached the hull, and all eight men were still seated at their stations—frozen in time after more than a century. Why did it sink? Why did the men die? Archaeologists and conservationists have been studying the boat and the remains for years, and now one woman has the answers. In the Waves is much more than just a military perspective or a technical account. It’s also the story of Rachel Lance’s single-minded obsession spanning three years, the story of the extreme highs and lows in her quest to find all the puzzle pieces of the Hunley. Balancing a gripping historical tale and original research with a personal story of professional and private obstacles, In the Waves is an enthralling look at a unique part of the Civil War and the lengths one scientist will go to uncover its secrets.

What does it look like for a congregation to give and receive hospitality by cultivating life-giving partnerships with people of peace and goodwill? In Eat What is Set Before You, Scott Hagley offers a vivid picture of the habits and postures necessary for congregations to join God's mission in the neighborhood. Drawing from congregational research and his own experience as a pastor and consultant, Hagley describes three different crisis moments that congregations must navigate practically and understand theologically as they learn to dwell with and within their neighborhood. In so doing, he unearths the tensions, temptations, and possibilities missional churches face in the current North American context.---Endorsements: "If your church sets out to become a life-giving presence in the neighborhood, you're in for a wild ride! It all seems simple enough, until you start doing it. That's why you need this book. It is going to give you astonishing insight into what you have been going through as a church. It is going to give you a rich practical theology for understanding how to improvise for what's coming next. And it is taken from a deeply personal and particular account of Scott Hagley's experience of participating in a neighborhood church, which makes it resonate deeply and concretely with your real experience. This is one of the most helpful guidebooks I have encountered in the past twenty years of parish ministry."- Paul SparksCo-Author of the award-winning book The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches Are Transforming Mission, Discipleship, and Community and Co-founding Director of the Parish Collective."Finally-a book that develops a usable congregational missiology! The author presents a biblically and theologically framed, yet profoundly practical missiology for any and every congregation to take seriously its participation in God's mission within its own local context..."- Dr. Craig Van GelderEmeritus Professor of Congregational Mission, Luther Seminary ..". This is an outstanding book, which I will use in my church, my networks and the classroom. It is full of stories and a depth of wisdom about how we may encourage people in our congregations to live out the gospel in our current contexts."- Dr. Cameron RoxburghVP of Missional Initiatives for NAB, National Director of Forge Canada, and Senior Pastor of Southside Community Church..". Hagley does theology in, with, under, against, and for a local church within a deep reading of contemporary culture. Good reading for teachers of theology and local lay and clergy leaders of the practice of missional church. Bravo!"- Patrick R. SeifertProfessor Emeritus of Systematic TheologyLuther Theological SeminaryPresident and Director of ResearchChurch Innovations Institute

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This original collection abandons culinary nostalgia and the cataloguing of regional cuisines to examine the role of food and food marketing in constructing culture, consumer behavior, and national identity.