The daughter of a humble ranch hand, Skye McCory grew up dreaming of dating Keefe McGovern, heir to the famous McGovern cattle empire and way out of her league. Now a high-flying lawyer, Skye is back and not afraid to tell Keefe how she feels. But the words die on her lips when a long-kept secret is revealed: Skye and Keefe coming together would blow their families apart….

Outback Constable Jack By: Shirley Richards Starting a new chapter in his life, Outback Constable Jack has a deep empathy for the locals, a commitment to justice, and a longing for companionship. His world revolves around solving crimes, helping people, and finding lost folks in Bullocky Hole. Although he feels his duties are pretty straightforward, he is constantly being asked to grow beyond these responsibilities and immerse himself in the locals’ culture. Jack quickly finds himself a regular at the secondary school, teaching the children through his original ditties, captivating stories, and dashing personality. As Outback Constable Jack solves squabbles and finds lost loved ones (some human, some not) he begins to feel himself put down roots in Bullocky Hole. He becomes a respected member of the local community, determined to help all those in need. After solving the problems of the locals, he begins to do some searching of his own: for a loyal dog and a good woman to keep him company. With the stars aligned and a teacher who is brand new in town, Jack might just be able to find the woman for whom he’s always been searching...

Is reality TV a coherent genre? This book addresses this question by examining the characteristics, contexts and breadth of reality TV through a history of its programming trends. Paying attention to stylistic connections as well as key concepts, this study breaks reality television down into three main 'generations': the camcorder generation, the competition generation and the celebrity generation. Beginning with a consideration of the applicability of the term 'genre' for this televisual hybrid, the book takes a transnational approach to investigating the forms and formats of reality TV framed by relevant popular and critical discourses.

This book documents hundreds of customs and traditions practiced in countries outside of the United States, showcasing the diversity of birth, coming-of-age, and death celebrations worldwide. From the beginning of our lives to the end, all of humanity celebrates life's milestones through traditions and unique customs. In the United States, we have specific events like baby showers, rites of passage such as Bat and Bar Mitzvahs and "sweet 16" birthday parties, and sober end-of-life traditions like obituaries and funeral services that honor those who have died. But what kinds of customs and traditions are practiced in other countries? How do people in other cultures welcome babies, prepare to enter into adulthood, and commemorate the end of the lives of loved ones? This three-volume encyclopedia covers more than 300 birth, life, and death customs, with the books' content organized chronologically by life stage. Volume 1 focuses on birth and childhood customs, Volume 2 documents adolescent and early-adulthood customs, and Volume 3 looks at aging and death customs. The entries in the first volume examine pre-birth traditions, such as baby showers and other gift-giving events, and post-birth customs, such as naming ceremonies, child-rearing practices, and traditions performed to ward off evil or promote good health. The second volume contains information about rites of passage as children become adults, including indigenous initiations, marriage customs, and religious ceremonies. The final volume concludes with coverage on customs associated with aging and death, such as retirement celebrations, elaborate funeral processions, and the creation of fantasy coffins. The set features beautiful color inserts that illustrate examples of celebrations and ceremonies and includes an appendix of excerpts from primary documents that include legislation on government-accepted names, wedding vows, and maternity/paternity leave regulations.

Long before Mount Bachelor became one of the country's largest ski areas, the booming timber mills drew workers to Oregon's forested hills. In the late 1920s, Scandinavian immigrants started a community ski club, and their passion for the mountains creat

Reality programming—a broad title for unscripted shows that involve non-actors—is really an updated version of a classic television genre that had its first successes decades before The Real World or Survivor made their premieres. NBC launched Try and Do It, a show in which audience members attempted to complete tasks such as whistling with a mouthful of crackers, in 1949. In the 1950s Queen for a Day crowned the most down-trodden of its four contestants, draping her in a sable-trimmed robe and granting a previously declared wish. The wild success reality television has achieved of late has pushed the envelope of such programming ever further away from the genre's innocuous beginnings. The time is now ripe for a look back on how this genre has developed, what it reveals about us, and what has transformed it into one of the most powerful forms of entertainment on television today. Reality programming—a broad title for unscripted shows that involve non-actors—is really an updated version of a classic television genre that had its first successes decades before The Real World or Survivor made their premieres. NBC launched Try and Do It, a show in which audience members attempted to complete tasks such as whistling with a mouthful of crackers, in 1949. In the 1950s Queen for a Day crowned the most down-trodden of its four contestants at the end of each show, draping her in a sable-trimmed robe and granting a previously declared wish. The wild success reality television has achieved of late has pushed the envelope of such programming ever further away—from the genre's innocuous beginnings. The time is now ripe for a look back on how this genre has developed, what it reveals about us, and what has transformed it into one of the most powerful forms of entertainment on television today. Using interviews with network insiders, reality producers, and other experts, Richard Huff supplies fascinating insights into the diverse content and often erratic development of reality television programming, augmenting this information with illuminating general connections between the past and present forms these shows assume. From Queen for a Day through Extreme Makeover, from Cops to Fear Factor, the genre is placed before us in this exhaustive and many-sided account, an account that uncovers the foundations and the future potential of the compelling and dominating phenomenon that is reality television.