In Lost in the American City , Jeremy Tambling looks at European reactions to America and American cities in the nineteenth-century. Dickens visited America in 1842 and his American Notes and Martin Chuzzlewit set the agenda for future discussions of America. Lost in the American City looks at the Dickens legacy through Henry James in The American Scene , through H.G. Wells in The Future in America , and through Kafka, whose novel America (or The Man Who Was Never Heard of Again ) tried to re-write Dickens. Lost in the American City explores the changes in American nineteenth century urban culture which made America so different and so impossible to map for the European, and which made American modernity so unreadable and challenging.

William Madison Wood was a gifted and successful Portuguese-American industrialist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His rags-to-riches story is the fulfillment of the American Dream: • His accomplishments in textile manufacturing were known throughout the world. • His dedication to American patriotism and his extreme investment in the work of wool manufacturing gave rise to accomplishments that were acknowledged worldwide. • His wealth, position, and power of influence rivaled those of other great leaders of the Gilded Age. But this great man became lost to history. Why? His work-driven philosophy of life, his obsessive drive to acquire and develop, his internal struggle with grief and anguish, his lost ethnic background, his need to rule alone, and his tragic and socially unacceptable manner of death were all part of the identity and life story of William Madison Wood. Bob Fournier unpacks Wood’s story with finesse, showing how this esteemed man fell prey to the material trappings of a life of excessive labor, power, and wealth, and the inability to temper these forces for well-being. While Wood was a man true to his era, his life story offers much to consider in today’s world. The characters may have changed, but many of the issues remain the same—race, ethnicity, autocracy, abuse of power, and immigration. Fournier enables William Wood to speak from the grave in a way he was unable to speak in life about himself, his relationships with others, and his relationship with the world.

In American Mojo: Lost and Found, Peter D. Kiernan, award-winning author of New York Times bestseller Becoming China’s Bitch, focuses on America’s greatest challenge—and opportunity—restoring the middle class to its full promise and potential. Our educated, skilled and motivated middle class was the cornerstone of America’s postwar economic might, but the country’s dynamic core has struggled and changed dramatically through the last three decades. Kiernan’s extensively researched story, told through individual histories, shows how the middle class flourished under unique circumstances following World War II; and details how our middle class has been rocked and shaped by events abroad as much as at home. By excluding too many Americans, the middle class we reverently recall was fractured from the beginning. What emerges through his storytelling is a picture of middle class decline and opportunity that is fuller, more moving and profound, and ultimately more useful in terms of charting a path forward than other examinations. His unique global perspective is a vital ingredient in charting the way ahead. This new frontier thesis shows that middle class greatness is again within our grasp—if we take some powerful medicine and seize the global opportunity. America possesses the skills and talent the world needs. Americans must embrace what brought our middle class to prominence in the first place—our American Mojo—before it is too late and other countries steal the march. All that is at stake is the soul of our nation.

People of African descent were some of Galveston's earliest residents, and although they came to the island enslaved, they retained mastery of their culinary traditions. As Galveston's port prospered and became the "Wall Street of the South," better job opportunities were available for African Americans who lived in Galveston and for those who migrated to the island city after emancipation, with owner-operated restaurants being one of the most popular enterprises. Staples like Fease's Jambalaya Café, Rose's Confectionery and the Squeeze Inn anchored the island community and elevated its cuisine. From Gus Allen's business savvy to Eliza Gipson's oxtail artistry, the Galveston Historical Foundation's African American Heritage Committee has gathered together the stories and recipes that preserve this culinary history for the enjoyment and enrichment of generations, and kitchens, to come.

What is the relationship between the road movie, American experimental filmmaking and the body?