Inspired by James' exploits, this book covers both the stories behind a number of classic toys and the adventures in summer 2009 as James and his helpers, children and adults of all ages, build and recreate a range of toys in a series of Top Gear style escapades.

Takes a look at the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people. This work puts the English national character under the anthropological microscope, and finds a strange culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and byzantine codes of behaviour. It also discovers what these unwritten behaviour codes tell us about Englishness.

A scrutiny of one hundred pop lyrics. It includes pie charts, flow diagrams, checklists, graphs and graphics.

A practical guide to the charms of the Gallic people - from their daily routines to their peerless gesticulations, from their come-ons to their put-downs.

Once dismissed as the decade of avocado suites, the 1970s are now being enthusiastically mined for trends from the fashion, music, literature and vibe of the time. This work presents the 70s as an important period in the creative arts, which united such defining trends as the Art Deco craze of the 1920s and 1930s and the Pop movement of the 1960s.

A participatory journey through thriving worlds of fantasy and gaming - from good ol' Dungeons and Dragons to World of Warcraft, small live-action role-playing games to enormous make-believe medieval wars - filled with colourful characters and funny, poignant, and enlightening discoveries.

It is said that the Hell's Angels could paralyse whole towns with fear. This book explores the questions such as: How much of that reputation was myth and how much was brutal reality?

Illuminates a shift that can be felt in the crowded spoken-word joints in post-Katrina New Orleans, seen in the rise of youth-led organizations committed to social justice, and heard around the world chanting 'It's bigger than hip hop'.

From the jiving 1950s to the hip hopping 90s, the disco funky 70s to the booty shaking noughties, Bust A Move is your essential guide to dance crazes through the ages.

Coca-Cola and its logo are everywhere. In our homes, our workplaces, even our schools. It is a company that sponsors the Olympics, backs US presidents and even re-brands Santa Claus. A truly universal product, it has even been served in space. This title investigates the stories and people Coca-Cola's iconic advertising campaigns don't mention.

Describes the author's time living with the gangs on the Southside of Chicago. This book tells how in the Robert Taylor Homes projects on Chicago's South Side, he befriends JT, a gang leader for the Black Kings. It also tells how he gains JT's trust, and in order to convince the author of his CEO-like qualities, JT makes him leader of the gang.

The Politics and Culture of Decline. 'Not With a Bang But a Whimper' is a beautifully-written and thought-provoking collection of pieces on subjects as diverse as the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand controversy, violent crime on Britain's streets, the effects of the welfare state, modern architecture and the respective merits of Shakespeare and Dr Johnson. Theodore Dalrymple uses examples from his ...

A collection of essays on comic books, music, and other aspects of pop culture, focusing on a 10,000-word essay on the transformation of American film through the rise of the comic book movie.

A richly entertaining, compellingly readable survey of 21st-century England from a sharp-eyed American with a winningly humorous way with words.

Examines the ways in which culture is both embodied and challenged through the corporeal performance of gestures. Arguing against the constructivist metaphor of bodily inscription dominant since Foucault, this book maintains that kinesthetic experience, produced by acts of embodied gesturing, places pressure on the conditioning a body receives.

In China, women are having their legs broken and extended by 5cms. In Iran, behind the Hijab there are 35,000 cosmetic nose reconstructions a year. In Brazil breasts and bottoms are reshaped along with the face so that women there can reflect western norms of beauty. This book states that our body becomes the measure of our worth.

Presenting the history of global electronic dance music countercultures, this title explores the trajectories of post-rave. This book documents a network of techno-tribes, exploring their pleasure principles and cultural politics.

Alison Pressley has collected personal reminiscences from all over the country and from widely different backgrounds. The funny, poignant, sometimes sad vignettes will take you back to the 1950s childhood innocence and the fab days of the 1960s that we thought would never end.

Harvesting Nature's Best Pain Medication.

Strange Tales from the Apocalypse Culture.