They say everyone today wants to be a celebrity. Certainly, we're all happy to watch them. From reality television and talent shows to tabloid splashes and gossip magazines, the road to modern fame is littered with the hopeful, the misguided, and, occasionally, the downright cynical. It's often a tale of rags to riches and then back to rags again. So why can't we stop looking? And who exactly buys the T-shirt, wears the perfume, visits the salon?In...

"In the beginning was the word, and... ...you know the rest. Not like this you don't. In a new twist on a classic tale, Tom Carver re-imagines the Old Testament without the leading character. The Newer, More English Version takes an erudite look at the supporting players of the Pentateuch, with no Jehovah to steal the show. What's left is a varied cast of egomaniacs, revolutionaries, war criminals, genii and perverts: Joseph, smug careerist and part-time...

A fun and illuminating book full of surprising facts and amazing insights about how the laws of economics affect our everyday lives-perfect for fans of FreakonomicsDid you know that another 10 centimeters of height boosts your income by thousands of dollars per year? Or that natural disasters attract more foreign aid if they happen on a slow news day? Drawing on examples and data, Andrew Leigh shows how economics can be used to illuminate what happens...

A Northern Irish writer explores his adopted homeland through film in this irreverent yet moving journey through each of the 50 states. Set among a personal backdrop of immigration memoir, he takes on American myths in their most powerful form--the motion picture--by setting out to determine if a Kansas yellow brick road really does lead to the end of the rainbow, and whether it first has to pass through Colorado's Overlook Hotel. Amid the multipurpose...

When journalist and author Alison Stewart was confronted with emptying her late parents' overloaded basement, a job that dragged on for months, it got her thinking: How did it come to this? Why do smart, successful people hold on to old Christmas bows, chipped knick-knacks, and books they will likely never reread? Junk details Stewart's three-year investigation into America's stuff. Stewart rides along with junk removal teams like Trash Daddy, Annie...

One hundred million people have played World of Warcraft in the 12 years since its inception. Those people did more than play; they worked, they fought, they triumphed, they held entire game servers hostage, they even married each other in real life. They developed new identities, swapping their workaday selves for warriors, mages, assassins, and healers. Blood Plagues and Endless Raids explores a wild, incredibly complex culture partly through the...

"Rowdy Entrepreneurs and Insecure Dinosaurs is about invention and innovation in the context of postmodern society and information economy. It applies "popular culture" theory to such companies as Virgin, Microsoft, and Apple, to analyse their innovation strategies. This is the first book of its kind that mingles popular culture theory with innovation theory and entrepreneurship. It is written, true to the spirit of popular culture, in a lively style...

"Andrea Peyser is a godsend, and I can't start my day without her. -Sean Hannity Celebutards. A compound of celebrity, debutante, and retard, this blunt term describes lazy and egotistical stars with too much money, fame, leisure time, and media attention, but too little common sense or knowledge, who love to spout off on topics about which they have zero expertise. With razor-sharp wit, award-winning New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser explodes...

"Bad Girls Throughout History features some of the fiercest women of all time - the famous, the infamous, and the ones you haven't even heard of yet. Explore the notable works, impressive feats, and striking portraits of these wild women from around the globe who challenged the status quo"--

"Graphic novels have exploded off bookstore shelves into movies, college courses, and the New York Times book review, and comics historian and children's literature specialist Stephen Weiner explains the phenomenon in this groundbreaking book-the first history of graphic novels. From the agonizing Holocaust vision of Art Spiegelman's Maus to the teenage angst of Dan Clowes's Ghost World, this study enters the heart of the graphic novel revolution....