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A book of classic, hilarious &“OK, Boomer&”-isms, a perfect gift for the Baby Boomers we all know and love. Going…
to the bank. Leaving voicemails. Making Jell-O molds. Using encyclopedias. Wallpapering bathrooms. There are dozens of ridiculously antiquated items, activities, and phrases that Baby Boomers love—and don&’t realize have been outdated for more than a decade.And for some reason, no matter how hard Millennials and Gen Zers try to bring Boomers into the 21st century, they still don&’t seem to get it. They just can&’t let go of eating meatloaf, going on cruises, or buying fuzzy toilet seat covers. So rather than try to explain something to the Baby Boomers in your life, it might be time to just say, &“OK, Boomer.&”Containing more than fifty of the most common, cliched, and cringe-worthy Boomer-isms, OK, Boomer is a perfect gift for any exasperated Millennial or any Boomer willing to poke fun at themselves.Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film
Par Patton Oswalt. 2015
The instant New York Times bestseller from author, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a “heartfelt and hilarious” (USA TODAY) memoir…
about coming of age as a performer during the late 1990s while obsessively watching classic films at a legendary theater in Los Angeles. “[Oswalt has] a set of synapses like a pinball machine and a prose style to match” (TheNew York Times).Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships.Set in the nascent days of LA’s alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiend chronicles Oswalt’s journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way. “Clever and readable...Oswalt’s encyclopedic knowledge and frothing enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies, to cliché-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector” (TheBoston Globe). More than a memoir, this is “a love song to the silver screen” (Paste Magazine).Planet Funny: How Comedy Ruined Everything
Par Ken Jennings. 2018
A KirkusReviews Best Book of the YearThe witty and exuberant New York Times bestselling author and record-setting Jeopardy! championKen Jennings…
relays the history of humor in &“lively, insightful, and crawling with goofy factlings,&” (Maria Semple, author of Where&’d You Go Bernadette)—from fart jokes on clay Sumerian tablets to the latest Twitter gags and Facebook memes.Where once society&’s most coveted trait might have been strength or intelligence or honor, today, in a clear sign of evolution sliding off the trails, it is being funny. Yes, funniness.Consider: Super Bowl commercials don&’t try to sell you anymore; they try to make you laugh. Airline safety tutorials—those terrifying laminated cards about the possibilities of fire, explosion, depressurization, and drowning—have been replaced by joke-filled videos with multimillion-dollar budgets and dance routines. Thanks to social media, we now have a whole Twitterverse of amateur comedians riffing around the world at all hours of the day—and many of them even get popular enough online to go pro and take over TV.In his &“smartly structured, soundly argued, and yes—pretty darn funny&” (Booklist, starred review) Planet Funny, Ken Jennings explores this brave new comedic world and what it means—or doesn&’t—to be funny in it now. Tracing the evolution of humor from the caveman days to the bawdy middle-class antics of Chaucer to Monty Python&’s game-changing silliness to the fast-paced meta-humor of The Simpsons, Jennings explains how we built our humor-saturated modern age, where lots of us get our news from comedy shows and a comic figure can even be elected President of the United States purely on showmanship. &“Fascinating, entertaining and—I&’m being dead serious here—important&” (A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically), Planet Funny is a full taxonomy of what spawned and defines the modern sense of humor.Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers
Par Matt Kaplan. 2015
“Filled with cool cocktail-party tidbits, Matt Kaplan considers how things that were once the stuff of legends could one day…
become reality” (The Atlantic) in this fun scientific inquiry into the mystical places and magical objects of ancient and contemporary lore—from the fountain of youth, to love potions, to Super Mario’s mushrooms.Can migrations of birds foretell our future? Do phases of the moon hold sway over our lives? Are there sacred springs that cure the ill? What is the best way to brew a love potion? How do we create mutant humans who regenerate like Wolverine?“In Science of the Magical, Matt Kaplan takes us on a journey spiced with the wonders of myth, history and art, leavened with impeccable research, endlessly fascinating. And the result is both a compelling read and a deeply thoughtful exploration of the world around us and the ways we seek to understand it” (Deborah Blum, author of The Poisoner’s Handbook). Like Ken Jennings and Mary Roach, Kaplan serves as a friendly armchair guide to the world of the supernatural. From the strengthening powers of Viking mead to the super soldiers in movies such as Captain America, Kaplan explores cultures and time periods to point out that there is often much more to these enduring magical narratives than mere fantasy. Informative and entertaining, Science of the Magical is “a sprightly survey” (The Wall Street Journal) and “a joy to read…highly recommended” (Library Journal, starred review).Baking Soda for Health: 100 Amazing and Unexpected Uses for Sodium Bicarbonate (For Health Ser.)
Par Britt Brandon. 2018
New in the popular For Health series, a guide to the affordable, all-natural healing, wellness, and beauty benefits of baking…
soda.Baking soda has been a kitchen staple for generations, but its uses extend far beyond cookie recipes and as refrigerator deodorizers. With its adsorptive and alkaline properties, baking soda is the perfect natural remedy for numerous health and beauty needs. Recent medical studies continue to reveal how baking soda contributes to good health by combatting chronic diseases, including cancer and kidney disease. It also provides all-natural relief for common ailments like the flu, coughs, sore throats, urinary tract infections, muscle pain and fatigue, stomach pain, and heartburn. Plus, baking soda can treat skin irritations, bug bites, and sunburn and naturally prevent body odor.Similar to apple cider vinegar, baking soda is an affordable, all-natural, non-toxic cure-all for body and home. Its all-natural beauty uses are renowned and widely celebrated and can whiten teeth, brighten and exfoliate skin, reduce acne, cleanse hair, treat split ends, soften feet, remove stains from fingernails, and more.With Baking Soda for Health, you will discover all the benefits this all-natural powder can bring—without dangerous chemicals or costly procedures.To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It!: A Memoir
Par Ed Begley Jr.. 2023
Beloved actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. shares hilarious and poignant stories of his improbable life, focusing on his…
relationship with his legendary father, adventures with Hollywood icons, the origins of his environmental activism, addiction and recovery, and his lifelong search for wisdom and common ground. Ed Begley Jr. is truly one of a kind, a performer who is known equally for his prolific film and television career and his environmental activism. From an appearance on My Three Sons to a notable role in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman to starring in St. Elsewhere—as well as films with Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and mockumentarian Christopher Guest—Begley has worked with just about everyone in Hollywood. His "green" bona fides date back to 1970, and have been the topic of two books, a reality show, countless media appearances, and even repeated spoofs on The Simpsons (in one episode, Begley's solar‑powered car stalls out on train tracks, but is saved when the train is revealed to be an "Ed Begley Solar‑Powered Train&”). In To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It!, Begley shares a fountain of hilarious and poignant stories throughout his life. The memoir is candid and endearing; in one chapter, he is summoned to Marlon Brando's house to discuss the practical uses of electric eels. In another, he tells the story of taking Annette Bening to the Oscars in &“an oddball kit-car that had gull wing doors, and was nearly impossible to get in or out of, unless you were a yoga master, which fortunately she was.&” Not to mention insightful and surprising tales about The Beatles, Monty Python, Richard Pryor, Cesar Chavez, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Waits, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carrie Fisher, and so many more luminaries. Begley&’s unmistakable voice is honest and revealing in a way that only a comic of his caliber can accomplish. Behind all the stories, Begley has wisdom to impart. This is a book about family, friends, addiction, failure, and redemption.Treat yourself to a DIY spa day with these simple, natural, and affordable recipes to replicate your favorite beauty products—from…
bath bombs to face masks!—from Lush, the Body Shop, and more. Do you love indulging in self-care with fun beauty products, but want to save some money? Or maybe you take comfort in knowing exactly what you&’re using on your skin. Or maybe you just love do-it-yourself projects!With DIY Beauty, you can learn to make your favorite beauty products from some of today&’s most popular brands. Try making face scrubs inspired by Sephora, a homage to The Body Shop&’s Body Butter, or a homemade version of Burt&’s Bees ever-popular lip balm. From bath bombs to rival Lush to skin care products like e.l.f.&’s blemish treatments, these inexpensive imitation recipes include easy step-by-step instructions to help you customize your beauty product routine. Find products that suit your unique skincare needs, modify your favorites for best results, and choose which organic or all-natural ingredients you prefer.Make your favorite must-have beauty products even better—by making them yourself!—with DIY Beauty.Thunder Song: Essays
Par Sasha LaPointe. 2024
The author of the award-winning memoir Red Paint returns with a razor-sharp, clear-eyed collection of essays on what it means…
to be a proudly queer indigenous woman in the United States todayDrawing on a rich family archive as well as the anthropological work of her late great-grandmother, Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe explores themes ranging from indigenous identity and stereotypes to cultural displacement and environmental degradation to understand what our experiences teach us about the power of community, commitment, and conscientious honesty.Unapologetically punk, the essays in Thunder Song segue from the miraculous to the mundane, from the spiritual to the physical, as they examine the role of art—in particular music—and community in helping a new generation of indigenous people claim the strength of their heritage while defining their own path in the contemporary world.Culture Change in India: Intellectual Traditions, Institutions and Regions
Par B.K. Nagla and Kameshwar Choudhary. 2024
This book studies the different dimensions of culture change in India. It covers important strands of the ancient and modern…
intellectual traditions of India and the socio-cultural changes that the country underwent during the colonial, post-independence modernization, and globalization periods in the country. In this context, the authors examine some of the major aspects of culture change observed at the institutional level across the country. They also touch upon cultural diversity and multiculturalism in India and Europe, as well as the dilemmas faced by diasporic Indians in North America.Lucid and topical, this book will be an essential read for students and scholars of sociology, sociology of culture, history, political science, cultural anthropology, Indian sociology, social anthropology, cultural studies, and South Asian studies.A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up
Par Margaret Wappler. 2024
An artful and contemplative tribute to the late actor famed for his role as Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210.Best…
known for playing loner rebel Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills 90210, Luke Perry was fifty-two years old when he died of a stroke in 2019. There have been other deaths of 90&’s stars, but this one hit different. Gen X was reminded of their own inescapable mortality, and robbed of an exciting career resurgence for one of their most cherished icons—with recent roles in the hit series Riverdale and Quentin Tarantino&’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood bringing him renewed attention and acclaim. Only upon his death, as stories poured out online about his authenticity and kindness, did it become clear how little was known about the exceedingly humble actor and how deeply he impacted popular culture. In A Good Bad Boy, Margaret Wappler attempts to understand who Perry was and why he was unique among his Hollywood peers. To do so, she uses an inventive hybrid narrative. She speaks with dozens who knew Perry personally and professionally. They share insightful anecdotes: how he kept connected to his Ohio upbringing; nearly blew his 90210 audition; tried to shed his heartthrob image by joining the HBO prison drama Oz; and in the last year of his life, sought to set up two of his newly divorced friends. (After his death, the pair bonded in their grief and eventually married.) Amid these original interviews and exhaustive archival research, Wappler weaves poignant vignettes of memoir in which she serves as an avatar to show how Perry shaped a generation&’s views on masculinity, privilege and the ideal of &“cool.&” Timed to the fifth anniversary of Perry&’s death, A Good Bad Boy is a profound and entertaining examination of what it means to be an artist and an adult.This book employs the figure of curation—the selection, arrangement, and display of objects, concepts, and things—to explore the cultures of…
platform capitalism. Considering its rise in the global art world as an authorial, meaning-making activity and an organizational-entrepreneurial endeavour, it looks at curation as the interweaving of innovative concepts, elaborate storytelling, and trusted experts leaking out from galleries to hashtags.Its logic encompasses diverse spheres ranging from high-brow art and the fashion world to low-brow experience economies and economies of authenticity, from confidence cultures and relationship gurus to algorithmic spectacles. More than an economy, “curate and be curated” is a diffused imperative amidst the disorienting spread of information that digital platforms enable: What to post, what to wear, what to eat, what friends to have, what music to hear, what films to watch, what places to visit, what socks to choose, and what opinion to have about serious issues like climate change, military coups, AI, genetics, space colonization, and cryonics, or everyday issues like football, fashion, and diet. Drawing on critical platform theory, material culture, and multi-sited ethnography, the book examines curated worlds of coolness, authenticity, and inspiration, including the luxury fashion brands Vetements and Balenciaga, Airbnb food experiences, and the figure of the life coach. The book argues that the curatorial imperative endorses an aspirational class imaginary and the idea that handling self-narratives is a strategic means of socialization that can assist upward mobilities as well as neoliberal narratives of well-being, promotion, and success.This book will be of key interest to academics, researchers, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of cultural studies, media studies, communication studies, curating, contemporary art theory, critical management studies, and art history, as well as to more general readers interested in new media, platforms, and digital culture.Fiscal Choices: Canada after the Pandemic (The Johnson-Shoyama Series on Public Policy)
Par Michael M. Atkinson, Haizhen Mou. 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that governments can quickly respond to a fiscal crisis without becoming mired in unproductive wrangling. But…
the pandemic has also revealed the limits of traditional policy instruments in stabilizing the economy, controlling inflation, and fostering economic growth. Fiscal Choices sheds light on the economic dimensions of COVID-19 and examines the state of Canada’s fiscal policy and fiscal health following the pandemic. The book covers a cluster of key fiscal policy topics: the overall capacity of government, the growth of inequalities, the management of sovereign debt, and the troubled institutions of federalism and parliamentary government. The book draws upon candid, in-depth interviews with over 70 former and current politicians, public servants, and academic experts who aim to establish a sustainable future within an accountable political system. The book argues that although those who are entrusted with the instruments of power are intelligent and well meaning, they are reluctant to take risks or abandon well-known, if poorly performing, formulas. It concludes with a set of predictions and prescriptions rooted in a realistic interpretation of Canada’s political economy. Ultimately, Fiscal Choices presents a sober assessment of federalism and parliamentary government as instruments of democratic accountability.Understanding American Politics, Third Edition
Par Stephen Brooks, Donald E. Abelson, Melissa Haussman. 2024
Understanding American Politics provides a unique introduction to the contemporary political landscape of the United States. Placing the study of…
American politics within a broader context of other western democracies, this textbook reinforces the idea that in order to understand the American system, students need to begin by understanding their own democracy. This balanced, comparative perspective is integrated throughout to better explain and highlight the ways in which American politics and government work in relation to other democracies. Streamlined to fit easily in today’s US politics courses, the third edition is fully updated and revised to engage with key issues in American politics while providing an accessible entry to the foundations of American government that detangles the polarized analysis characterizing so much information on the study of American politics. New chapters on special interest groups and the distinct American mediascape feature alongside up-to-date analysis on civil rights and inequalities incorporated in all chapters. Ultimately, this textbook enables non-American readers to understand the how and why of American politics by relating the subject to the experience and institutions of their own countries.On Stony Ground presents a historical ethnographic account of a generation of Mennonites from the Soviet Union who, following Russia’s…
revolution and civil war, immigrated to Manitoba during the 1920s. James Urry examines how they came to terms with a new land and with their new neighbours, including other Mennonites, Ukrainians, French Canadians, and Indigenous Peoples. The book discusses the impact of the Great Depression and how the immigrants struggled with their identity in Canada as Hitler and Stalin rose to power in Germany and the USSR. It reveals the immigrants’ desire to maintain their faith, language, and culture while encouraging their children to take advantage of an education conducted mainly in English. On Stony Ground explores how prosperity following the Second World War helped the immigrants to build a community in conjunction with others, including Mennonites and non-Mennonites, and to accept their new home in Canada.Friends and Enemies: Essays in Canada’s Foreign Relations
Par J. L. Granatstein. 2024
Friends and Enemies presents a collection of essays on Canadian foreign policy written by J.L. Granatstein, one of the leading…
political and military historians in the country. The essays cover a period primarily from the Second World War through to the early 2000s and examine policy under prime ministers Mackenzie King, Louis St. Laurent, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, and Pierre Trudeau. Based on interviews and extensive archival research, the essays reveal how Granatstein’s views shifted as he reacted to altered conditions in Canada, Canadian alliances, and the world situation.Ideology in Canadian Municipal Politics
Par Jack Lucas. 2024
One of the most peculiar features of municipal politics in Canada is how frequently local politicians, activists, and scholars disagree…
about how to describe the municipal arena. For some, municipal politics is distinct from other levels of government, a world of non-ideological elections, pragmatic and technical policymaking, and issue-by-issue policy coalitions. Others argue that municipal politics is similar to politics at other scales, with persistent axes of political disagreement and a recognizable “left” and “right.” This recurring debate features prominently in municipal election campaigns across Canada. In Ideology in Canadian Municipal Politics, Jack Lucas investigates municipal ideology in Canada. Using data from original surveys of municipal politicians and the Canadian public, the book reveals how municipal politics is clearly structured by left-right ideology. It shows that municipal politicians represent their constituents’ ideological preferences quite well: they understand their constituents’ ideological perspectives, they align with their constituents’ preferences, and they are elected in part because of their ideological alignment with voters. A lively and accessible study, Ideology in Canadian Municipal Politics will appeal to readers interested in municipal politics, political ideology, and political representation.Viking Heritage and History in Europe: Practices and Re-creations (Critical Heritages of Europe)
Par Sara Ellis Nilsson, Stefan Nyzell. 2024
Viking Heritage and History in Europe presents new research and perspectives on the use of the Vikings in public history,…
especially in relation to museums, re-creation, and re-enactment in a European context.Taking a critical heritage approach, the volume provides new insights into the re-creation of history, imagining the past, interpretation, ambivalence of authenticity, authority of History, remembrance and memory, medievalism, and public history. Highlighting the complexity of the field of public history today, the fourteen chapters all engage with questions of historical authenticity and authority. The volume also critically examines the public’s reception, engagement with, and interpretation of the Viking Age and the concepts of who these individuals were. Each chapter illuminates an aspect of these themes in relation to museums, leisure activities, politics, tourism, re-enactment, and popular culture – all from the vantage point of Viking cultural heritage.Viking Heritage and History in Europe is one of the first volumes to examine the use and role of the Vikings within the field of public history, both past and present. The book will be of interest to those engaged in the study of heritage, public history, history, the Vikings, vikingism, medievalism, and media history.A Brief History of America (Brief Histories)
Par Jeremy Black. 2024
The next in this series of admirably concise yet nevertheless comprehensive titles looks at the history of all Americans as…
well as America; its environmental history and its linkage to economic history; the political shaping of America; and America in the world, from being a colony to post-Cold War America.Black examines the environmental history of America and its linkage to economic history, crucially, the clearing of forests; the spread of agriculture; mineral, coal and iron extraction; industrialisation; urbanisation; and current and growing climate-crisis concerns.He explores the political shaping of America: indigenous American polities; free European and unfree African settlements; the creation of an American State, and its successes and failures from 1783 to 1861; Civil War; democratisation; the rise of the federal Government from the 1930s; the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s onwards, and tensions in more recent governance. The book considers America in the World: as a pre-colonial and colonised space; as a newly-independent power, then a rising international one, the Cold War and the USA as the sole superpower in the post-Cold-War world. These key themes are tackled chronologically for the sake of clarity, beginning with the geological creation of North America, human settlement and native American cultures to 1500; the arrival of Europeans and enslaved Africans to 1770 - the Spanish and French in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, the English and French, and the Dutch and Swedes further north.The focus then shifts to settler conflicts with native Americans and between European powers leading to a British-dominated North America by 1770. Then the end of European rule and the foundation of an American trans-continental state. The section dealing with the years from 1848 to 1880 looks at the Civil War between North and South, reconstruction and the creation of a new society.Between 1880 and 1920, the United States became an industrial powerhouse and an international power, also a colonial power - the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico - and a participant in the First World War.The interwar years, 1921 to 1945, brought turmoil: the Roaring Twenties; the growth of Hollywood; Prohibition; jazz; the Great Depression and the New Deal; finally the Second World War. 1945 to 1968 was the American Age, brimming with confidence and success as the world's leading power, but also the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Subsequent years to 1992 brought crisis and recovery: Watergate, the Reagan years and the USA as the sole world superpower.In bringing the book right up to the present day, Black looks at factors that divide American society and economy, though it remains a country of tremendous energy.A Brief History of America (Brief Histories)
Par Jeremy Black. 2024
The next in this series of admirably concise yet nevertheless comprehensive titles looks at the history of all Americans as…
well as America; its environmental history and its linkage to economic history; the political shaping of America; and America in the world, from being a colony to post-Cold War America.Black examines the environmental history of America and its linkage to economic history, crucially, the clearing of forests; the spread of agriculture; mineral, coal and iron extraction; industrialisation; urbanisation; and current and growing climate-crisis concerns.He explores the political shaping of America: indigenous American polities; free European and unfree African settlements; the creation of an American State, and its successes and failures from 1783 to 1861; Civil War; democratisation; the rise of the federal Government from the 1930s; the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s onwards, and tensions in more recent governance. The book considers America in the World: as a pre-colonial and colonised space; as a newly-independent power, then a rising international one, the Cold War and the USA as the sole superpower in the post-Cold-War world. These key themes are tackled chronologically for the sake of clarity, beginning with the geological creation of North America, human settlement and native American cultures to 1500; the arrival of Europeans and enslaved Africans to 1770 - the Spanish and French in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, the English and French, and the Dutch and Swedes further north.The focus then shifts to settler conflicts with native Americans and between European powers leading to a British-dominated North America by 1770. Then the end of European rule and the foundation of an American trans-continental state. The section dealing with the years from 1848 to 1880 looks at the Civil War between North and South, reconstruction and the creation of a new society.Between 1880 and 1920, the United States became an industrial powerhouse and an international power, also a colonial power - the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico - and a participant in the First World War.The interwar years, 1921 to 1945, brought turmoil: the Roaring Twenties; the growth of Hollywood; Prohibition; jazz; the Great Depression and the New Deal; finally the Second World War. 1945 to 1968 was the American Age, brimming with confidence and success as the world's leading power, but also the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Subsequent years to 1992 brought crisis and recovery: Watergate, the Reagan years and the USA as the sole world superpower.In bringing the book right up to the present day, Black looks at factors that divide American society and economy, though it remains a country of tremendous energy.A Brief History of America (Brief Histories)
Par Jeremy Black. 2024
The next in this series of admirably concise yet nevertheless comprehensive titles looks at the history of all Americans as…
well as America; its environmental history and its linkage to economic history; the political shaping of America; and America in the world, from being a colony to post-Cold War America.Black examines the environmental history of America and its linkage to economic history, crucially, the clearing of forests; the spread of agriculture; mineral, coal and iron extraction; industrialisation; urbanisation; and current and growing climate-crisis concerns.He explores the political shaping of America: indigenous American polities; free European and unfree African settlements; the creation of an American State, and its successes and failures from 1783 to 1861; Civil War; democratisation; the rise of the federal Government from the 1930s; the Civil Rights movement from the 1950s onwards, and tensions in more recent governance. The book considers America in the World: as a pre-colonial and colonised space; as a newly-independent power, then a rising international one, the Cold War and the USA as the sole superpower in the post-Cold-War world. These key themes are tackled chronologically for the sake of clarity, beginning with the geological creation of North America, human settlement and native American cultures to 1500; the arrival of Europeans and enslaved Africans to 1770 - the Spanish and French in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, the English and French, and the Dutch and Swedes further north.The focus then shifts to settler conflicts with native Americans and between European powers leading to a British-dominated North America by 1770. Then the end of European rule and the foundation of an American trans-continental state. The section dealing with the years from 1848 to 1880 looks at the Civil War between North and South, reconstruction and the creation of a new society.Between 1880 and 1920, the United States became an industrial powerhouse and an international power, also a colonial power - the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico - and a participant in the First World War.The interwar years, 1921 to 1945, brought turmoil: the Roaring Twenties; the growth of Hollywood; Prohibition; jazz; the Great Depression and the New Deal; finally the Second World War. 1945 to 1968 was the American Age, brimming with confidence and success as the world's leading power, but also the ongoing struggle for civil rights. Subsequent years to 1992 brought crisis and recovery: Watergate, the Reagan years and the USA as the sole world superpower.In bringing the book right up to the present day, Black looks at factors that divide American society and economy, though it remains a country of tremendous energy.