Captured by the City


Book Description

Captured by the City: Perspectives in Urban Culture Studies is a collection of eighteen essays on urban places, people, and phenomena. In it, cities in North America, Europe, and Asia offer themselves as dynamic encounters to those who study them and to those who live in them on a daily basis. Different disciplines-Sociology, Anthropology, Performance Studies, Architectural History, Linguistics, Media Studies, Documentary Poetics, to name just a few-intersect here to help shape a unique field of inquiry-that of Urban Culture Studies. This multi-perspectival approach grants us a more wholesome understanding of how we inscribe cities and how cities inscribe us in return: as we plan, inhabit, remember them-in reality or in dreams.




Alpha City


Book Description

How London was bought and sold by the Super-Rich, and what it means for the rest of us Who owns London? Today, the city is the epicentre of the world’s financial markets, an elite cultural hub, and a place to hide one’s wealth. In Alpha City, Rowland Atkinson tells the story of eager developers, sovereign wealth, and grasping politicians, all of which paved the way for the plutocratic colonisation of the cityscape. Atkinson moves through the gated communities and the mega-houses of the urban elite, charting how the rich live and their influence on the disturbing rise in evictions and displacements from the city. The book, fully updated, also looks at the capital’s prospects in the aftermath of Brexit and the pandemic, showing how the super-rich may capitalise on the crisis, increasing inequality and hardship.




The Mob and the City


Book Description

Forget what you think you know about the Mafia. After reading this book, even life-long mob aficionados will have a new perspective on organized crime. Informative, authoritative, and eye-opening, this is the first full-length book devoted exclusively to uncovering the hidden history of how the Mafia came to dominate organized crime in New York City during the 1930s through 1950s. Based on exhaustive research of archives and secret files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, author and attorney C. Alexander Hortis draws on the deepest collection of primary sources, many newly discovered, of any history of the modern mob. Shattering myths, Hortis reveals how Cosa Nostra actually obtained power at the inception. The author goes beyond conventional who-shot-who mob stories, providing answers to fresh questions such as: * Why did the Sicilian gangs come out on top of the criminal underworld? * Can economics explain how the Mafia families operated? * What was the Mafia's real role in the drug trade? * Why was Cosa Nostra involved in gay bars in New York since the 1930s? Drawing on an unprecedented array of primary sources, The Mob and the City is the most thorough and authentic history of the Mafia's rise to power in the early-to-mid twentieth century.




The Magic City Captured by Miami Vice, Scarface, Movies, and Burn Notice a guide to 80s Locations and Culture


Book Description

This illustrated guide is unique. Fans of Miami Vice, Scarface, Burn Notice, and 80s Miami movies will appreciate it. The guide will also interest students of Miami history and Art Deco as well as those nostalgic about Miami in the 80s. It explains for the first time that these shows are really a time capsule of long gone Miami scenes. They serve as a record of when Miami was 1980s America on steroids. Burn Notice, an innovative show in its own right, followed Miami Vice's lead. When compared to similar scenes from Vice, recent TV shows reveal the distinctiveness of the 80s. These TV shows also provide a window into today's Miami. The guide shows where views of long gone iconic locations and typical Miami scenes can be found on the DVDs. The value of Miami Vice to South Florida is explained. Personal observations are provided by the author who lived there during the Vice years. All music played on Miami Vice is listed as well as key locations in all Vice, movies, and recent TV episodes.




Before and After Alexander


Book Description

In the arc of western history, Ancient Greece is at the apex, owing to its grandeur, its culture, and an intellectual renaissance to rival that of Europe. So important is Greece to history that figures such as Plato and Socrates are still household names, and the works of Homer are regularly adapted into movies. The most acclaimed hero of all, though, is Alexander the Great.While historians have studied Alexander’s achievements at length, author and professor Richard A. Billows delves deeper into the obscure periods of Alexander’s life before and after his reign. In the definitive Before and After Alexander, Billows explores the years preceding Alexander, who, Billows argues, without the foundation laid by his father, Philip II of Macedon. would not have had the resources or influence to develop one of the greatest empires in history. Alexander was groomed from a young age to succeed his father, and by the time Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, his great empire was already well underway.The years following Alexander's death were even more momentous. In this ambitious new work, Richard Billows robustly challenges the notion that the political strife that followed was for lack of a leader as competent as Alexander, pointing out instead that there were too many extremely capable leaders who exploited the power vacuum created by Alexander's death to carve out kingdoms for themselves.Above all, in Before and After Alexander, Billows eloquently and convincingly posits a complex view of one of the greatest empires in history, framing it not as the achievement of one man, but the culmination of several generations of aggressive expansion toward a unified purpose.




The Book of Judges


Book Description




The Turkish Empire


Book Description

The Turkish Empire by Baron G. Shaw-Lefevre Eversley: Journey through the rich history and complex dynamics of the Ottoman Empire as Baron G. Shaw-Lefevre Eversley presents a comprehensive exploration of its rise, reign, and transformation, shedding light on its political, cultural, and social significance. Key points: Historical Depth: Delve into the vast history of the Ottoman Empire as Eversley offers a meticulous account of its origins, expansion, and eventual decline, tracing the empire's trajectory from its humble beginnings to its status as a global power. Cultural Heritage: Explore the multifaceted aspects of Ottoman culture, including its art, architecture, literature, and religion, as Eversley highlights the empire's rich cultural heritage and its enduring impact on the region and beyond. Geopolitical Significance: Gain insights into the geopolitical dynamics of the Ottoman Empire, as Eversley explores its interactions with neighboring powers, its influence on global trade routes, and its pivotal role in shaping the political landscape of the Middle East and Europe. The Turkish Empire by Baron G. Shaw-Lefevre Eversley: The Turkish Empire, penned by Baron G. Shaw-Lefevre Eversley, offers a comprehensive exploration of one of the most intriguing and influential empires in history. With meticulous research and an engaging narrative style, Eversley takes readers on a captivating journey through the rich tapestry of Turkish history, from its ancient origins to the modern era. Delving into the empire's political, cultural, and social developments, the book provides a deeper understanding of the forces that shaped the Turkish civilization. From the majestic splendor of the Ottoman Empire to the challenges of modernization and reform, Eversley's work sheds light on the complexities and achievements of this vibrant and enigmatic empire. The Turkish Empire is an invaluable resource for history enthusiasts, offering a nuanced perspective on a significant chapter in the world's historical mosaic.




Richard I


Book Description

"Eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historians such as Hume, Gibbon and Stubbs criticized Richard for his neglect of domestic government and policy, and cast him as a careless ruler and bad husband."--BOOK JACKET. "Harnessing the latest sources and interpretations, John Gillingham provides a new assessment of Richard I, looking at what matters in history as well as what matters in legend."--BOOK JACKET.




Shrinking Cities


Book Description

This book examines a rapidly emerging new topic in urban settlement patterns: the role of shrinking cities. Much coverage is given to declining fertility rates, ageing populations and economic restructuring as the factors behind shrinking cities, but there is also reference to resource depletion, the demise of single-company towns and the micro-location of environmental hazards. The contributions show that shrinkage can occur at any scale – from neighbourhood to macro-region - and they consider whether shrinkage of metropolitan areas as a whole may be a future trend. Also addressed in this volume is the question of whether urban shrinkage policies are necessary or effective. The book comprises four parts: world or regional issues (with reference to the European Union and Latin America); national case studies (the United States, India, China, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Romania and Estonia); city case studies (Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland, Naples, Belfast and Halle); and broad issues such as the environmental consequences of shrinking cities. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working in the fields of urban studies, economic geography and public policy.




City of a Million Dreams


Book Description

In 2015, the beautiful jazz funeral in New Orleans for composer Allen Toussaint coincided with a debate over removing four Confederate monuments. Mayor Mitch Landrieu led the ceremony, attended by living legends of jazz, music aficionados, politicians, and everyday people. The scene captured the history and culture of the city in microcosm--a city legendary for its noisy, complicated, tradition-rich splendor. In City of a Million Dreams, Jason Berry delivers a character-driven history of New Orleans at its tricentennial. Chronicling cycles of invention, struggle, death, and rebirth, Berry reveals the city's survival as a triumph of diversity, its map-of-the-world neighborhoods marked by resilience despite hurricanes, epidemics, fires, and floods. Berry orchestrates a parade of vibrant personalities, from the founder Bienville, a warrior emblazoned with snake tattoos; to Governor William C. C. Claiborne, General Andrew Jackson, and Pere Antoine, an influential priest and secret agent of the Inquisition; Sister Gertrude Morgan, a street evangelist and visionary artist of the 1960s; and Michael White, the famous clarinetist who remade his life after losing everything in Hurricane Katrina. The textured profiles of this extraordinary cast furnish a dramatic narrative of the beloved city, famous the world over for mysterious rituals as people dance when they bury their dead.