Climate Change as Class War


Book Description

How to build a movement to confront climate change The climate crisis is not primarily a problem of ‘believing science’ or individual ‘carbon footprints’ – it is a class problem rooted in who owns, controls and profits from material production. As such, it will take a class struggle to solve. In this ground breaking class analysis, Matthew T. Huber argues that the carbon-intensive capitalist class must be confronted for producing climate change. Yet, the narrow and unpopular roots of climate politics in the professional class is not capable of building a movement up to this challenge. For an alternative strategy, he proposes climate politics that appeals to the vast majority of society: the working class. Huber evaluates the Green New Deal as a first attempt to channel working class material and ecological interests and advocates building union power in the very energy system we need to dramatically transform. In the end, as in classical socialist movements of the early 20th Century, winning the climate struggle will need to be internationalist based on a form of planetary working class solidarity.




Playback


Book Description

Suddenly, popular music resembles an alien landscape. The great common ground of 45s, LPs, and even compact discs is rapidly falling by the wayside to be replaced by binary bits of sound. In the 21st century, radical advances in music technology threaten to overshadow the music itself. Indeed, today the generations divide over how they listen to the music, not what kinds of music they enjoy.Playback is the first book to place the staggering history of sound reproduction within its larger social and cultural context. Concisely told via a narrative arc that begins with Edison's cylinder and ends with digital music, this is a history that we have all directly experienced in one way or another. From the Victrola to the 78 to the 45 to the 33 1/3 to the 8track to the cassette to the compact disc to MP3 and beyond (not to mention everyone from Thomas Edison to Enrico Caruso to Dick Clark to Grandmaster Flash to Napster CEO Shawn Fanning), the story of Playback is also the story of music, and the music business, in the 20th century.




Captain Ni'mat's Last Battle


Book Description

First published after the author’s death in 2008, this provocative novel charts the late-in-life sexual awakening of a retired air force pilot who begins a dangerous affair with a male servant. Captain Ni’mat, a reservist from the Egyptian army defeated by the Israelis in 1967, finds himself aging and idle, spending his days at a luxurious private club in Cairo with former comrades. One night, Captain Ni’mat has an exquisite, chilling dream: he sees pure beauty in the form of his Nubian valet. Awakened by these searing images, he slips into the hut where the young man sleeps. The vision of his naked body so deeply disturbs Captain Ni’mat that his monotonous existence is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to his wife, he comes to know physical love with his valet. In a country where religious fundamentalism grows increasingly prevalent every day, this forbidden passion will lead him to the height of happiness, at least for a time.




Boys of the World


Book Description







Pro Wrestling


Book Description

This book provides readers with an abundance of information and historical perspective as well as entertaining and memorable anecdotes about professional wrestling. Readers will also learn unusual snippets of trivia that will enhance their comprehension of the sport. This authoritative work on the history and culture of professional wrestling features the biggest names in the wrestling world since the sport emerged on the American sporting landscape. It comprises short biographies of all of the key players in the sport's evolution and rise to popularity—from old-timers to barrier breakers to household names such as Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Andre the Giant, and more—and includes not only men but also many women who have made a name in the sport. Surveying professional wrestling from its roots, dating centuries, to the modern era, pre–20th century and into the 21st century, the work tells the transformational stories of prominent wrestlers and the sport as a whole, in many cases bringing out the humor and outrageousness in the nature of an activity that has always straddled the line between show business and sport.




Mat Wars


Book Description




Immortal Films


Book Description

Introduction : the cultural biography of a film -- Listening to Casablanca : radio adaptations and sonic Hollywood -- Back in theaters : postwar repertory houses and cult cinema -- Everyday films : broadcast television, reruns, and canonizing old Hollywood -- Movie valentines : holiday cult and the romantic canon in VHS video culture -- Happy anniversaries : classic cinema on DVD/Blu-ray in the conglomerate age -- Epilogue : streaming Casablanca and afterthoughts -- Appendix one : Casablanca's first appearances on US platforms/formats -- Appendix two : Casablanca's physical format video rereleases.







Follow the Buzzards


Book Description

Industry expert Keith Elliot Greenberg chronicles pro wrestling through the most memorable, controversial, and polarizing period of the last two decades As a new decade dawned, 2020 was supposed to be the best year to be a wrestling fan. Finally, WWE had serious competition in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and there were viable secondary promotions and a thriving international indie scene. Few in the industry realized that in China, a mysterious virus had begun to spread. By the time a pandemic was declared in March, the business — and the world — was in disarray. For the first time, pro wrestling was no longer seen as escapism, as real-world events intruded on the fantasy. Still, when everything else shut down, wrestling never went away. Despite cancellations and empty arena shows, there were great innovations, like the cinematic match — battles shot to look like movies — and the “ThunderDome,” which replicated the live experience with fan faces surrounding the ring on LED screens. On the indie circuit, matches were held outdoors with spectators separated into socially distanced pods. The entire time, New York Times bestselling author and historian Keith Elliot Greenberg was chronicling the scene, juxtaposing pro wrestling developments with actual news events like the U.S. presidential election and Brexit. The result, Follow the Buzzards: Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19, captures the dread, confusion, and spontaneous creativity of this uncertain era while exploring the long-term consequences.