Men have been dressing as women on stage for hundreds of years, dating back to the thirteenth century when the Church forbade the appearance of female actors but condoned that of men and boys disguised as the opposite sex. Forms of travestism can be traced back to the dawn of theatre and are found in all corners of the world, notably in China and Japan.

In recent years, of course, drag has witnessed a dramatic and widespread revival. Newsday recently observed, People are talking about all those fabulous heterosexual film idols who now can't seem to wait to get tarted up in drag and do their screen bits as fishnet queens. Drawing on a cinematic tradition popularized by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot, Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie) and Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire) have each delighted mainstream audiences with their portrayals of women. Even former drag queens have experience newfound fame; witness the recent popularity of the late Divine, renowned for her oddly compelling appearances in underground John Waters films.

Music, too, has been profoundly influenced by drag sensibility, from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Rocky Horror Picture Show to Boy George and RuPaul (the self- proclaimed Supermodel of the World).

Tracing drag tradition from the Golden Age of stage transvestism during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I in England to the current quasi-drag inclinations of American grunge bands, Drag is an entertaining overview of this popular and complex medium.

This book gives a self- contained treatment of linear algebra with many of its most important applications. It is very unusual if not unique in being an elementary book which does not neglect arbitrary fields of scalars and the proofs of the theorems. It will be useful for beginning students and also as a reference for graduate students and others who need an easy to read explanation of the important theorems of this subject.It presents a self- contained treatment of the algebraic treatment of linear differential equation which includes all proofs. It also contains many different proofs of the Cayley Hamilton theorem. Other applications include difference equations and Markov processes, the latter topic receiving a more thorough treatment than usual, including the theory of absorbing states. In addition it contains a complete introduction to the singular value decomposition and related topics like least squares and the pseudo-inverse.Most major topics receive more than one discussion, one in the text and others being outlined in the exercises. The book also gives directions for using maple in performing many of the difficult algorithms.

Men have been dressing as women on stage for hundreds of years, dating back to the thirteenth century when the Church forbade the appearance of female actors but condoned that of men and boys disguised as the opposite sex. Forms of travestism can be traced back to the dawn of theatre and are found in all corners of the world, notably in China and Japan. In recent years, of course, drag has witnessed a dramatic and widespread revival. Newsday recently observed, People are talking about all those fabulous heterosexual film idols who now can't seem to wait to get tarted up in drag and do their screen bits as fishnet queens. Drawing on a cinematic tradition popularized by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot, Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie) and Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire) have each delighted mainstream audiences with their portrayals of women. Even former drag queens have experience newfound fame; witness the recent popularity of the late Divine, renowned for her oddly compelling appearances in underground John Waters films. Music, too, has been profoundly influenced by drag sensibility, from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and the Rocky Horror Picture Show to Boy George and RuPaul (the self- proclaimed Supermodel of the World). Tracing drag tradition from the Golden Age of stage transvestism during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I in England to the current quasi-drag inclinations of American grunge bands, Drag is an entertaining overview of this popular and complex medium. Author of books on Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe, the late Roger Baker wrote on a wide range of cultural topics for an equally wide range of publications, from The Times to Gay News and Gay Times.

More than simply presenting a treatment regimen to post-traumatic stress, this guide also presents strategies to preventing the disorder in the first place Drawing on 20 years of research and clinical practice, this informative self-help guide explains the many symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and lays out a self-help program called Emotional Processing Therapy that can defuse the distressing memories of trauma and reduce the occurrence of flashbacks, nightmares, and tensions. Trauma is a term that many might find alienating and clinical; however, it's something most people encounter at some point in their life, and post-traumatic stress, far from being a mental disorder, is a normal reaction to abnormal events: even breaking a bone or witnessing a car crash. Showing how to overcome PTSD as well as presenting key strategies to help prevent it in the first place, this guide is full of real-life case studies and is essential reading for trauma sufferers, their family and friends, and specialists alike.

A new way of handling emotional pain and hurts. Based on groundbreaking psychological research. 'It's as if the body has a second immune system, an emotional system, devoted not to physical protection, but to protection from emotional hurt and trauma.' Dr Roger Baker. Is there a way of harnessing our emotions, of living in harmony with them and finding meaning and fulfilment through them? In Emotional Processing, Dr Roger Baker offers a new psychological approach. Basing his writing on twenty years of experience in therapy and the groundbreaking research he has undertaken with his research team, he explains how emotional processing works. He begins by examining the meaning and purpose of emotions, affirming the crucially important role they play in a full and healthy life. They are, he says, an advanced information system, not an opponent of rational thought. He then goes on to show how we have a sort of second immune system, able to absorb and break down emotional hurts and stress just as our first immune system deals with viruses and bacteria. When we move with this system of emotional processing, instead of blocking or hindering it, life's troubles and traumas can be so much more easily absorbed. Illustrated throughout with examples from patients in psychological therapy and from everyday life, Emotional Processing offers all of us new and important insights into the path to emotional well-being.