An eighteen-month contract coaching soccer skills to the affluent communities of rural New Jersey brings a young British lad to one of the greatest metropolitan districts in the world-New York City. The minute Jonny Carter has his passport stamped in the United States, he gives himself permission to roam and to document the thoughts and observances of a foreigner abandoned in the Big Apple. In his delightful collection of vignettes, Jonny interjects humor and sarcasm as he fumbles and forages through life in a vastly different culture. From across the North Atlantic, Jonny brings a Brit's contagious love of soccer as he describes his "twelve little honeys," an all-girls soccer team in small-town New Jersey where he spends his days teaching stepovers and squeezy pushes. In his off season, Jonny explores the city and soon discovers idiot drivers, a drab bar scene, smoking prohibition, ethnicity and the agonizing process at the DMV. He will keep you smiling as he tells of his visit to the Brooklyn Bridge and his encounters with American girls. With a brilliant mixture of cynicism and wit, Jonny shares his fresh and entertaining perspective of life in New York City.

A keen observer of British manners and mores, Mike Leigh has been hailed as a celebrator of 'ordinary' people. Comparing and contrasting all his films from Bleak Moments and High Hopes through Naked, the Oscar nominated Secrets and Lies and Topsy Turvy to All or Nothing, Garry Watson considers this claim, examining both their influence and their effect. Through careful textual detail and wider social and literary comparison with the works of Charles Dickens and T.S. Eliot, he argues ultimately for the aritistic and cultural significance of Leigh's work as one of Britain's most respected film-makers.

Although television critics have often differed with the public with respect to the artistic and cultural merits of television programming, over the last half-century television has indubitably influenced popular culture and vice versa. No matter what reasons are cited--the characters, the actors, the plots, the music--television shows that were beloved by audiences in their time remain fondly remembered. This study covers the classic period of popular television shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, focusing on how regular viewers interacted with television shows on a personal level. Bridging popular and scholarly approaches, this book discovers what America actually watched and why through documents, footage, visits to filming locations, newspapers, and magazine articles from the shows' eras. The book features extensive notes and bibliography.

A lively social history of popular wartime songs and how they helped America's home front morale.

Harold Rome was a composer and lyricist on Broadway, starting with Pins and Needles in 1937. His biggest hits included Call Me Mister, Wish You Were Here, Fanny, Destry Rides Again, and I Can Get It for You Wholesale and he continued on Broadway through 1965 with The Zulu and the Zayda. His early career, after two Yale degrees, featured songs of "social significance," lyrics for the common man filled with satire. His later works were songs well adapted to the book musicals of the day, and his words and music became more lyrical. Rome worked with Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman, Jerome Weidman, Joshua Logan, David Merrick and others, and wrote songs for such stars as Pearl Bailey, Ezio Pinza, Walter Slezak and Barbra Streisand (among many). Politically involved, and left-wing, he attracted the attention of conservative organizations and the FBI. His song writing contributed to the home front efforts for World War II, as a civilian and then as a corporal in the Army. Showing yet another side, his paintings were critically praised and he amassed an impressive collection of African art.

What is the historical appeal of football? How diverse are its players, supporters and institutions throughout the world? What are its various traditions and how are these affected by pressures to modernize?? In what ways does the game help to reinforce or overcome social differences and prejudices? How can we understand football’s subcultures, especially football hooligan ones? The 1994 World Cup Finals in the United States have again demonstrated the conflicts which exist around football over its international future. The multi-media age beckons new audiences for top-level matches, but worries remain that the historical and cultural appeal of football itself may be the real loser. The global game? has a breadth of skills, playing techniques, supporting styles and ruling bodies. These are all subject to local and national traditions of team play and fan display. Modern commercial influences and international cultural links through players and fan styles, are accommodated within the game to an increasing extent. Yet, football’s ability to differentiate remains: at local, regional, national and even continental levels. In some cases the game’s traditions ensure that these differences are becoming as oppositional today as is modern football hooliganism. But, the overall picture is one of a game without frontiers - rich in historical and cultural detail, pluralistic in its traditions and identities. This volume brings together essays by leading academics and researchers writing on world football. Their studies draw on interdisciplinary researches in England, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Argentina and Australia. The book will be of interest to students of sports science, cultural studies and social science and to all those who simply enjoy football as the world's greatest sporting passion.

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