Zinester, author, maturing hipster, and graduate of the prestigious Wesleyan University, Pagan Kennedy first captured the hearts of America with her personal zine Pagan's Head. Drawing from this source, she presents not only the zine-world standards (an interview with the ever-beguiling Lisa Suckdog, articles on dumpster diving, and eight-track collecting), but also includes some helpful dating tips, such as "Pretend to go to the bathroom and never come back." Indeed, only Kennedy seems to have noticed the bizarre visual similarity between avant-pop neo-beatnik author Kathy Acker and hyperactive fitness guru Susan Powter. In articles and cartoons that address the difficulty of staying hip, Kennedy provides a welcome alternative to People magazine and the later works of Hegel. Cruise through this book only if you want an extremely entertaining read and the opportunity to develop an unhealthy fixation on the fabulous Queen of the Zines. Originally published in 1997, this new edition features "Where are they now" updates.

Find out where great ideas come from in this “delightful account of how inventors do what they do” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). A father cleans up after his toddler and imagines a cup that won’t spill. An engineer watches people using walkie-talkies and has an idea. A doctor figures out how to deliver patients to the operating room before they die. By studying inventions like these—the sippy cup, the cell phone, and an ingenious hospital bed —we can learn how people imagine their way around “impossible” problems to discover groundbreaking answers. Pagan Kennedy reports on how these enduring methods can be adapted to the twenty-first century, as millions of us deploy tools like crowdfunding, big data, and 3-D printing to find hidden opportunities. Inventology uses the stories of inventors and surprising research to reveal the steps that produce innovation. Recent advances in technology and communication have placed us at the cusp of a golden age; it’s now more possible than ever before to transform ideas into actuality. Inventology is a must-read for designers, artists, makers—and anyone else who is curious about creativity. By identifying the steps of the invention process, Kennedy reveals the imaginative tools required to solve our most challenging problems. “There’s ample interest here even for readers who aren’t actively inventing anything.” —The Boston Globe

"An important artifact from the underground past...an inspiration for any aspiring artist or anyone else who has ever felt trapped by mainstream society." -- Amazon Customer A unique and hilarious autobiography of a pioneer of the 1990s zine movement, containing all 8 issues of "Pagan's Head." A young woman named Pagan, having just graduated from a writing program at a very prestigious university, is left with a single burning question: Now what? She then takes an unusual step by deciding to invent her new self—the one the public will know—by starting her own magazine, one that will be written, created, and star none other than herself.

"Once a brilliant historian with a promising academic future, Win Duncan is at a cross roads in his career (and his marriage) when he is mysteriously summoned by Litminov, a wild but brilliant outlaw he knew in grad school at Columbia. Litminov has made millions since, and has bought a pharmaceutical company solely to develop Mem, an experimental drug that gives the user the ability to live inside his memories with crystal clarity. Duncan becomes a beta tester and loses himself to the most delicious moments of his past - until he finds that the present pales by comparison."--BOOK JACKET.

A largely untold story of an extraordinary historical figure, this biography sheds light on the life of William Sheppard, a 19th-century African American who, for more than 20 years, defied segregation and operated a missionary run by black Americans in the Belgian Congo. This work shows how Sheppard returned to the United States periodically, and traveled the country telling tales of his adventures to packed auditoriums. An anthropologist, photographer, big-game hunter, and art collector, the man billed as the &“Black Livingstone&” helped expose the atrocities that occurred under the reign of King Leopold, and this stirring work tells how he eventually helped to break Belgium's hold on the Congo.

In the 1920s, when Laura Dillon felt like a man trapped in a woman's body, there were no words to describe her condition; transsexual had yet to enter common usage. And there was no known solution to being stuck between the sexes. In a desperate bid to feel comfortable in her own skin, she experimented with breakthrough technologies that ultimately transformed the human body and revolutionized medicine. Michael Dillon's incredible story, from upper-class orphan girl to Buddhist monk, reveals the struggles of early transsexuals and challenges conventional notions of what gender really means.

A largely untold story of an extraordinary historical figure, this biography sheds light on the life of William Sheppard, a 19th-century African American who, for more than 20 years, defied segregation and operated a missionary run by black Americans in the Belgian Congo. This work shows how Sheppard returned to United States periodically, and traveled the country telling tales of his adventures to packed auditoriums. An anthropologist, photographer, big-game hunter, and art collector, the man billed as the “Black Livingstone” helped expose the atrocities that occurred under the reign of King Leopold, and this stirring work tells how he eventually helped to break Belgium’s hold on the Congo.