In the first edition of Transatlantic Studies, Heidi Slettedahl Macpherson and Will Kaufman argued that a new field of studies was emerging from the separate fields of insular area studies such as American Studies, European Studies, and African Studies. Now that Transatlantic Studies is a recognized area of inquiry in its own right, Macpherson and Kaufman extend their analysis of it. New Perspectives in Transatlantic Studies aims to extend the definition of Transatlantic Studies and explore the implications of such a definition by supplying a critical perspective, which links the diverse constituents of this interdisciplinary field. Therefore, it engages with issues of "the contact zone" in relation to globalization, migration, and the law; examines transatlantic artistic and cultural representation; and explores the economic, philosophic, and political implications of the transatlantic area.

In this compelling tour through the world of anomalous research, Richard Milton makes clear what the scientific establishment takes pains to deny: plenty of hard experimental evidence already exists for such things as cold fusion, paranormal phenomena, bioenergy, and the effectiveness of alternative medicine. Because these subjects and those who dare to investigate them are continually denied legitimacy by what can only be called the "paradigm police," the public is led to believe that all claims made about such topics are completely groundless. With humor and an eye for the telling detail, the author describes many instances when the defenders of scientific orthodoxy acted with unscientific rigidity in the face of the evidence. Faraday, Roentgen, Edison, and even the Wright Brothers were thought to be charlatans by their contemporaries. Taking the broad view of the way science is done, Milton discusses the forces at work in the marginalization of unorthodox research, and makes the reader wonder if there is not something fundamentally wrong with the way that science is currently being practiced.