This edited volume rethinks Masculinity Studies by breaking away from the notion of the perpetual crisis of masculinity. It argues that not enough has been done to distinguish patriarchy from masculinity and proposes to detox masculinity by offering a collection of positive representations of men in fictional and non-fictional texts. The editors show how ideas of hegemonic and toxic masculinity have been too fixed on the exploration of dominance and subservience, and too little on the men (and the male characters in fiction) who behave following other ethical, personal and socially accepted patterns. Bringing together research from different periods and genres, this collection provides broad, multidisciplinary insights into alternative representations of masculinity.

Most documentaries deal with men, but what do they actually say about masculinity? In this groundbreaking volume Sara Martin analyses more than forty 21st century documentaries to explore how they represent American men and masculinity. From Jennifer Siebel Newsom's The Mask You Live In to Raoul Peck's I Am not Your Negro, this volume explores sixteen different faces of American masculinity: the good man, the activist, the politician, the whistleblower, the criminal, the sexual abuser, the wrongly accused, the dependent man, the soldier, the capitalist, the adventurer, the sportsman, the architect, the photographer, the musician, and the writer. The collective portrait drawn by the documentaries discloses a firm critical stance against the contradictions inherent in patriarchy, which makes American men promises of empowerment it cannot fulfill. The filmmakers' view of American masculinity emphasizes the vulnerability of disempowered men before the abuses of the patriarchal system run by hegemonic men and a loss of bearings about how to be a man after the impact of feminism, accompanied nonetheless by a celebration of resilient masculinity and of the good American man. Firmly positioning documentaries as an immensely flexible, relevant tool to understand 21st century American men and masculinity, their past, present, and future, this book will interest students and scholars of film studies, documentary film, American cultural studies, gender and masculinity.

Masculinity and Patriarchal Villainy in the British Novel: From Hitler to Voldemort sits at the intersection of literary studies and masculinity studies, arguing that the villain, in many works of contemporary British fiction, is a patriarchal figure that embodies an excess of patriarchal power that needs to be controlled by the hero. The villains' stories are enactments of empowerment fantasies and cautionary tales against abusing patriarchal power. While providing readers with in-depth studies of some of the most popular contemporary fiction villans, Sara Martin shows how current representations of the villain are not only measured against previous literary characters but also against the real-life figure of the archvillain Adolf Hitler.

Masculinity and Patriarchal Villainy in the British Novel: From Hitler to Voldemort sits at the intersection of literary studies and masculinity studies, arguing that the villain, in many works of contemporary British fiction, is a patriarchal figure that embodies an excess of patriarchal power that needs to be controlled by the hero. The villains' stories are enactments of empowerment fantasies and cautionary tales against abusing patriarchal power. While providing readers with in-depth studies of some of the most popular contemporary fiction villans, Sara Martin shows how current representations of the villain are not only measured against previous literary characters but also against the real-life figure of the archvillain Adolf Hitler.

The entire second series of the BBC crime drama starring Ben Miller. In this series, now firmly esconced on the tropical Caribbean island of Saint-Marie, DI Richard Poole (Miller) struggles to come to terms with both his growing love for the island, though he'd never admit it, and his feelings for Camille (Sara Martins). Meanwhile, Fidel (Gary Carr) feels the pressure mounting as he studies for his sergeants' exams, and Dwayne (Danny John-Jules) has to extricate himself when he lays on the love a little too thickly.

Volume 18 is the final volume of the Papers of John Adams wholly devoted to Adams' diplomatic career. It chronicles fourteen months of his tenure as minister to Great Britain and his joint commission, with Thomas Jefferson, to negotiate treaties with Europe and North Africa. With respect to Britain, Adams found it impossible to do "any Thing Satisfactory, with this Nation," and the volume ends with his decision to resign his posts. His diplomatic efforts, Adams thought, were too much akin to "making brick without straw." John Adams' ministerial efforts in London were disappointing, but other aspects of his life were not. He and Jefferson failed to finalize treaties with Portugal and Great Britain, but they did, through agent Thomas Barclay, conclude a treaty with Morocco. Barclay's letters are the earliest and most evocative American accounts of that region. Adams witnessed the marriage of his daughter, Abigail 2d, to William Stephens Smith, promoted the ordination of American Episcopal bishops, and toured the English countryside, first with Thomas Jefferson and then with his family. Most significant perhaps was the publication of the first volume of Adams' Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America. This work is often attributed to concern over Shays' Rebellion, of which Adams knew little when he began drafting. In fact, it was Adams' summer 1786 visit to the Netherlands that provoked his work. There, Dutch Patriot friends, involved in their own revolution, expressed interest in seeing "upon paper" his remarks "respecting Government."

All episodes from the first series of the BBC crime drama starring Ben Miller. Attempting to solve a murder case on the tropical Caribbean island of Saint-Marie, DI Richard Poole (Miller) would rather swap the sun for his home in rainy London. As his investigations get underway, however, more killings occur and it seems that his boss has reasons for keeping him on the island.

The entire fourth series of the BBC crime drama set on the tropical Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. With D.I. Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) now chief investigator following the death of his predecessor Richard Poole, he is tasked with solving the various crimes that continually plague the small island. With help from D.S. Camille Bordley (Sara Martins), Goodman must investigate a seemingly supernatural case and solve the murder of a bride-to-be who died on the morning of her wedding day.

The entire third series of the BBC crime drama set on the tropical Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. When DI Richard Poole (Ben Miller) is discovered murdered the island is shaken to its core. DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) arrives to lead the investigation into his predecessor's death and has a number of suspects in mind. Elsewhere, one of Fidel (Gary Carr)'s old school friends is murdered, prompting another investigation on the lush island.

Vice President John Adams and the US government faced a turbulent world of rebellion in this volume of the Papers of John Adams, which chronicles the period from March 1791 to January 1797. The grim shadow of the French Revolution and the whirlwind of a massive European war left political leaders like Adams struggling to uphold the young nation's neutrality. "I Suffer inexpressible Pains, from the bloody feats of War and Still more from those of Party Passions," he observed. With the federal system newly in place, fresh challenges crept in on all sides. Adams and his colleagues sought to bolster the government against the effects of the Whiskey Rebellion, a seething partisan press, a brutal yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia, and violent clashes with Native peoples on the Ohio frontier. Working with George Washington and an increasingly fractious cabinet, Adams approached a set of issues that defined US foreign policy for decades to come, including the negotiation, ratification, and funding of the controversial Jay Treaty, as well as the awkward cultivation of ties with France. Revealing exchanges to Adams from son John Quincy, a junior statesman who sent rich reports from war-torn Europe, underline the family's enduring commitment to public service. Pausing on the cusp of his presidency, John Adams amplified his lifelong dedication to sustaining democracy, amid bouts of internal and external crisis: "I am happy that it has fallen to my share to do some thing towards setting the Machine in motion," he wrote.