A pioneer in the strange art and ambiguous science of zo phagy-that is, of studying animals by eating them-British natural historian FRANCIS TREVELYAN BUCKLAND (1826-1880) was a wildly popular speaker and writer of the Victorian era. In his classic four-volume Curiosities of Natural History, published between 1857 and 1872, he shared his love of creatures exotic and mysterious with readers who devoured his charming and erudite essays much in the same way he devoured his animal subjects. "If there is one person that I would have expected to have captured a sea serpent in the 19th century for the sole purpose of eating it, it would be Frank Buckland," writes cryptozoologist Loren Coleman in his new introduction to Buckland's series. One of the founding grandfathers of cryptozoology, the discipline that investigates animal mysteries, Buckland was not "a wild-eyed 'true believer' in anything strange," insists Coleman, but brought, instead, "a skeptical, open-minded approach" to his work. Indeed, here, in the "third series" of Curiosities of Natural History, Buckland's erudition is clear in his animated discussions of, among many other things, a monster lobster, a zoological auction, traps for wild monkeys, the sensation of camel-riding, and determining the temperature of a porpoise's breath. This new edition, a replica of the 1888 "Popular Edition," is part of Cosimo's Loren Coleman Presents series. LOREN COLEMAN is author of numerous books of cryptozoology, including Bigfoot : The True Story of Apes in America and Mothman and Other Curious Encounters.

The body has been the focus of much recent critical attention, but the clothed body less so. In answering the need to theorize dress, this book provides an overview of recent scholarship and presents an original theory of what dress means in relation to the body. Identity relies on boundaries to individuate the self. Dress challenges boundaries: it frames the body and serves both to distinguish and connect self and 'Other'. The authors argue that clothing is, then, both a boundary and not a boundary, that it is ambiguous and produces a complex relation between self and 'not self'. In examining the role of dress in social structures, the authors argue that clothing can be seen as both restricting and liberating individual and collective identity. In proposing that dress represents 'a deep surface, ' a manifestation of the unconscious at work through apparently superficial phenomena, the book also questions the relationship between surface and depth and counters the notion of dress as disguise or concealment. The concept of the gaze and the role of gender are approached through a discussion of masks and veils. The authors argue that masks and veils paradoxically combine concealment and revelation, 'truth' and 'deception'. Here the body and dress are both seen as forms of absence, with dress concealing not the body, but the absence of the physical body.This provocative book is certain to become a landmark text for anyone interested in the intersection of dress, the body and critical theory.

From the rise of the Fashion Cafe to the phenomenon of the supermodel, from "House of Style" to "Unzipped," the world of fashion has taken center stage in contemporary culture, for better or for worse. In turn, although the idea of fashion has been in circulation since time immemorial, not until recently has its profound and variegated effects-on economic activity, on social and sexual mores, and on aesthetic and psychological formulations-been fully considered.

With delicacy and wit, Fashion: An Introduction investigates the different sides of recent debates over the production, marketing, and consumption of fashion. Drawing on economics, art, psychology, commerce, history, and the everyday, Joanne Finkelstein considers fashion in its various guises-as body decoration and costume, as a language and a form of display, as an expression of sexuality and as part of the urban experience. In so doing, she has given us the perfect introduction to fashion's social, economic, and aesthetic impact on the way we think and act."

_______________ 'An autobiographical meditation on feminism, power and womanhood ... Full of Isabel's wisdom and warm words' - Grazia 'In her small, potent polemic . . . Isabel Allende writes about the toxic effects of "machismo", combining wit with anger as she picks apart the patriarchy' - Independent 'Allende has everything it takes: the ear, the eye, the mind, the heart, the all-encompassing humanity' - New York Times An Independent, Guardian and Grazia Highlight for 2021 _______________ The wise, warm, defiant new book from literary legend Isabel Allende - a meditation on power, feminism and what it means to be a woman When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating. As a child, Isabel Allende watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children. As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the first wave of feminism. She has seen what has been accomplished by the movement in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one's sexuality. So what do women want? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will 'light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.' _______________ 'Her thoughts, language and ideas traverse fluidly through ideas of gender, historic injustices, her marriages and bodily experiences and literary references . . . Allende's love for women is palpable' - Sydney Morning Herald

With great care and judicious inclusion of noteworthy material, Gunde has provided a one-stop reference on the contributions of the Chinese and their way of life. In one volume, the essence of China--past and present--is brilliantly captured. The extensive coverage includes chapters on the land, history, and people; thought and religion; literature and art; music and dance; food and clothing; architecture and housing; family and gender; and holidays and leisure activities. The volume is further enhanced by a chronology, guide to pronunciation, glossary, suggested readings, numerous photos, and volume map.

China is ever-important on the global stage as the world's second-largest and most populous country. Up-to-date and written with warmth, eloquence, and authority, "Culture and Customs of China" will be a popular source for students and the interested reader seeking to understand the modern people and culture in the context of an ancient history.

The first text of its kind to trace the combined history of Latino groups in the United States from 1500 to the present day. Latinos have lived in North America for over 400 years, arriving decades before the Pilgrims and other English settlers. Yet for many outside of Latino ethnic groups, little is known about the cultures that comprise the Latino community ... surprising considering their increasing presence in the U.S. population-over 50 million individuals at the latest census. This book explores the heritage and history of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, and Central and South Americans. Unlike similar history surveys on these communities, this book places the 500 years of Latino history into a single narrative. Each chapter discusses the collective group within a particular time period-moving chronologically from 1500 to the present-revealing the shared experiences of community building and discrimination in the United States, the central role of Latinas and Latinos in their communities, and the diversity that exists within the communities themselves. Features a timetable of major events in Latina/o history Emphasizes the bonds between different groups rather than their differences Includes images and illustrations to reinforce learning Connects the shared histories of various Latino communities

From Martin Luther King Day to Waitangi Day, this collection surveys the gamut of national holidays. The celebrations analyzed include anniversaries of independence, religious observances, and government holidays. The analysis of each national day revolves around the role that communications play in uniting a country's citizenry. Entries cover individual countries but intertwine to provide a holistic view of the topic of national days. Countries covered: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Japan, Kuwait, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the Ukraine, and the United States.

Ever since the Middle Ages the Otherworld of Faerie has been the object of serious intellectual scrutiny. What science in the end dismissed as airy nothings was given a local habitation and a name by art. This book presents some of the main chapters from the history and tradition of otherworldly spirits and fairies in the folklore and literature of the British Isles and Northern Europe. In eleven contributions different experts deal with some of the main problems posed by the scholarly and artistic confrontation with the Otherworld, which not only fuelled the imagination, but also led to the ultimate redundancy of learned perceptions of that Otherworld as it was finally obfuscated by the clarity of an enlightened age. Contributors include: Henk Dragstra, John Flood, Julian Goodare, Tette Hofstra, Robert Maslen, Richard North, Karin E. Olsen, David J. Parkinson, Rudolf Suntrup, Jan R. Veenstra, and Helen Wilcox.

The Druids and the Arthurian legends are all most of us know about early Britain, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age (4500 BC-AD 43). Drawing on archaeological discoveries and medieval Welsh texts like the Mabinogion, this book explores the religious beliefs of the ancient Britons before the coming of Christianity, beginning with the megaliths-structures like Stonehenge-and the role they played in prehistoric astronomy. Topics include the mysterious Beaker people of the Early Bronze Age, Iron Age evidence of the Druids, the Roman period and the Dark Ages. The author discusses the myths of King Arthur and what they tell us about paganism, as well as what early churches and monasteries reveal about the enigmatic Druids.

This unique and fascinating volume features every type of deity from every culture in all regions of the world, from prehistory to the present. Guide to the Gods features the familiar gods and goddesses of the ancient Near East, as well as those of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas: deities associated with creation, with the heavens, with the earth, with the weather, and with nearly every aspect of human life-from love, sex, marriage, and economic endeavors to prophecy, ritual, magic, and healing. The deities are categorized by function and attribute, and entries are alphabetized within each category. Every entry includes at least one citation to a printed primary or secondary source. Guide to the Gods represents a major contribution to the fields of anthropology, religious studies, and folklore. Students, scholars, researchers, and writers will find it an invaluable research tool. This work is an entertaining and important reference source that will be a necessary addition to public, academic, and school library collections. A-Z entries in each category that include at least one citation to a printed primary or secondary source

A pioneer in the strange art and ambiguous science of zo phagy-that is, of studying animals by eating them-British natural historian FRANCIS TREVELYAN BUCKLAND (1826-1880) was a wildly popular speaker and writer of the Victorian era. In his classic four-volume Curiosities of Natural History, published between 1857 and 1872, he shared his love of creatures exotic and mysterious with readers who devoured his charming and erudite essays much in the same way he devoured his animal subjects. "If there is one person that I would have expected to have captured a sea serpent in the 19th century for the sole purpose of eating it, it would be Frank Buckland," writes cryptozoologist Loren Coleman in his new introduction to Buckland's series. One of the founding grandfathers of cryptozoology, the discipline that investigates animal mysteries, Buckland was not "a wild-eyed 'true believer' in anything strange," insists Coleman, but brought, instead, "a skeptical, open-minded approach" to his work. Indeed, here, in the "second series" of Curiosities of Natural History, Buckland's erudition is clear in his animated discussions of, among many other things, a dish of fossil fish, a gamekeeper's museum, the gypsy mode of cooking hedgehogs, and practical uses for whale bones. This new edition, a replica of the original 1871 seventh edition, is part of Cosimo's Loren Coleman Presents series. LOREN COLEMAN is author of numerous books of cryptozoology, including Bigfoot : The True Story of Apes in America and Mothman and Other Curious Encounters.

Mind-boggling Tales from the Old Dominion Part of our new and growing Myths, Mysteries and Legends series, Myths, Mysteries and Legends of Virginia explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in Virginia's history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in Virginia history. Stories include the mystery of why the gentle giant Peter Francisco, the strongest man in the Revolution, was kidnapped as a child in his native land before being abandoned by a ship along the Appomattox River; the suspicious (or natural?) death of eighty-year-old George Wythe, a professor, patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and rumors of a vampire-caused tragedy in the Church Hill Tunnel in Richmond on October 2, 1925.

'When an afflicted person is believed to be a victim of nazar, or the glance of the evil eye, a particular kind of incense, which is made of seeds of the wild rue, mixed with myrtle and frankincense, is burned at sunset; and while the smoke is curling about the head of the victim the following incantation is repeated...' The Wild Rue is a unique study of magic, myth and folklore in Iran. In this classic work, Bess Donaldson records the beliefs and superstitions of the country at a time when they were increasingly threatened by the Shah's programme of modernisation. This earlier way of life, with its belief in angels and the evil eye, and with its age-old rituals surrounding childbirth and burial, is recounted in a highly readable text. Among the wide variety of topics covered are cosmology, dreams, names and numbers, talismans and signs, oaths and curses, childbirth, angels, trees and plants, the evil eye, and the calendar. Long unavailable, The Wild Rue is indispensable to any serious student of Iran and will be welcomed by all with an interest in the country's culture and history.

Alcohol is not only big business, it has become an essential part of social relations in so many cultures that its global importance may be outdistancing its critics. Despite grim health warnings, its consumption is at an all-time high in many parts of the developed world. Perhaps because drinking has always played a key role in identity, its uses and meanings show no signs of abating. What does sake tell us about Japan or burgundy about France? How does the act of consuming or indeed abstaining from alcohol tie in with self-presentation, ethnicity, class and culture? How important is alcohol to feelings of belonging and notions of resistance?Answering these intriguing questions and many more, this timely book looks at alcohol consumption across cultures and what drinking means to the people who consume or, equally tellingly, refuse to consume. From Ireland to Hong Kong, Mexico to Germany, alcohol plays a key role in a wide range of functions: religious, familial, social, even political. Drinking Cultures situates its consumption within the context of these wider cultural practices and reveals how class, ethnicity and nationalism are all expressed through this very popular commodity. Drawing on original fieldwork, contributors look at the interplay of culture and power in bars and pubs, the significance of advertising symbols, the role of drink in day-to-day rituals and much more. The result is the first sustained, cross-cultural study of the profound impact alcohol has on national identity throughout the world today.

Why are we so ambivalent about alcohol? Are we torn between our love of a drink and the need to restrict, or even prohibit, alcohol? How did saloon culture arise in the United States? Why did wine become such a ubiquitous part of French culture? Alcohol: A Social and Cultural History examines these questions and many more as it considers how drink has evolved in its functions and uses from the late Middle Ages to the present day in the West. Alcohol has long played an important role in societies throughout history, and understanding its consumption can reveal a great deal about a culture. This book discusses a range of issues, including domestic versus recreational use, the history of alcoholism, and the relationship between alcohol and violence, religion, sexuality, and medicine. It looks at how certain forms of alcohol speak about class, gender and place. Drawing on examples from Europe, North America and Australia, this book provides an overview of the many roles alcohol has played over the past five centuries.

Fashion Writing and Criticism provides students with the tools to critique fashion with skill and style. Explaining the history and theory of criticism, this innovative text demonstrates how the tradition of criticism has developed and how this knowledge can be applied to fashion, enabling students to acquire the methods and proper vocabulary to be active critics themselves. Integrating history and theory, this innovative book explains the development of fashion writing, the theoretical basis on which it sits, and how it might be improved and applied. Through concise snapshot case studies, top international scholars McNeil and Miller analyse fashion excerpts in relation to philosophical ideas and situate them within historical contexts. Case studies include classic examples of fashion writing, such as Diana Vreeland at Harper's Bazaar and Richard Martin on Karl Lagerfeld, as well as contemporary examples such as Suzy Menkes and the blogger Tavi. Accessibly written, Fashion Writing and Criticism enables readers to understand, assess and make value judgments about the fascinating and changeable field of fashion. It is an invaluable text for students and researchers alike, studying fashion, journalism, history and media studies.

Fashion in Fiction examines the ways in which dress 'performs' in a wide range of contemporary and historical literary texts. Essays by North American, European and Australian scholars explore the function of clothing within fictional narratives, including those of film, television and advertising. The book provides a groundbreaking examination of the interconnected worlds of fashion and words, providing perspectives from socio-cultural, historical and theoretical readings of fashion and text-based communication. Covering a variety of genres and periods, Fashion in Fiction analyses fashion's role within a range of creative media, exploring the many ways that dress communicates, disrupts and modulates meaning across different cultures and contexts.