This book centralizes powerful leisure stories that may otherwise be understood as myths-sometimes recognized, often less so-that circulate in the field of leisure studies and beyond. In everyday use, a myth perpetuates a popularly held belief that is false or untrue. However, in social and cultural theories, myths are more complex as partial truths that privilege particular versions of a shared social reality. We see myth as having an "absent presence" in leisure studies, and want to know what myths are, what they do, and how they circulate and shape people's leisure lives. Myths can do more than obfuscate; they often animate people's lives, motivate collective action, and inspire change. As the chapters in this edited volume explore in further detail, leisure myths and mythmaking involve complex relations in the gaps between reality and imagination-from the shared myths of musical legends to myths of placemaking and communities, as well as from origin myths of sport practices to fantasy and festivals, to the importance of storytelling as mythmaking in tourism. In different ways, each of these chapters alerts the readers to the "absent presence" of myths and mythmaking in leisure research. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Leisure Sciences.

Mona Kuhn: Works is the first retrospective by one of the most respected and widely exhibited contemporary art photographers of today. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, Kuhn's underlying theme involves humanity's longing for spiritual interconnectivity. She is renowned for developing close relationships with her subjects, resulting in images of remarkable intimacy. Kuhn employs a range of playful visual strategies that reveal glimpses into the psyche as it is expressed through the human form, ultimately reinterpreting the nude in the canon of contemporary art. This new volume features images from throughout Kuhn's career, including previously unseen work, and will introduce her distinct aesthetic to a wide, popular audience. Accompanied by insightful texts by Rebecca Morse, Chris Littlewood, Darius Himes and Simon Baker and an interview with Elizabeth Avedon, the reader is provided with insights into Kuhn's creative process and the ways in which she works with her subjects and settings, and achieves the visual signature of her imagery. Mona Kuhn: Works is an essential volume for anyone with an interest in the human form in contemporary art. With 155 illustrations in colour

BIOS Instant Notes in Microbiology, Fourth Edition, is the perfect text for undergraduates looking for a concise introduction to the subject, or a study guide to use before examinations. Each topic begins with a summary of essential facts-an ideal revision checklist-followed by a description of the subject that focuses on core information, with clear, simple diagrams that are easy for students to understand and recall in essays and exams. BIOS Instant Notes in Microbiology, Fourth Edition, is fully up-to-date and covers: * The Microbial World * Systematics * Microbiology * Microbial Growth * Microbial Metabolism * Prokaryotic DNA and RNA Metabolism * Industrial Microbiology * Eukaryotic Microbes: An Overview * The Fungi and Related Phyla * Archaeplastida, Excavata, Chromalveolata and Amoebozoa * The Viruses

The definitive monograph on the iconoclastic painter George Condo. With his arresting, unsettling style, George Condo emerged out of the dynamism of the New York art scene in the early 1980s, and he has been restlessly painting, drawing and sculpting - bringing forms into the world in one way or another - ever since. With his 'fake' Old Masters, reconfigured Manets, impossibly intricate paintings that seem abstract only from a distance, fractured and multifaceted 'psychologically Cubist' portraits, and the orgiastic misdemeanours of a host of butlers, bankers and priests, Condo has invented, mastered and expanded not just one painterly language but an entire lexicon. Working closely with Condo, Simon Baker has combined biographical, chronological and thematic approaches to survey the artist's work and career to date. An introductory essay on Condo's contradictory nature and a chapter exploring his phenomenal early career are followed by three thematic chapters that look at the years from 1984 to the present, tracing Condo's systematic reconstruction of the techniques of painting, exploring his relationship to the concept of abstraction, and probing the darker side of his psychological iconography in drawing, painting, sculpture and writing. George Condo is the definitive monograph about a unique artist that will appeal to artists, art students and those with a general interest in art.

Divorced Dad's can make good mothers too- if they have to and these days that is becoming the case more often than not. Furthermore, every Dad, deep in his heart, wants to be the Best Dad he can be but some of the guys out there just don't have a clue as to how to make it happen. They need guidance and this book can provide just what they need. This book contains so much information. It covers cooking right, proper clothing, health, school issues, relationships, weekends, and entertaining. It will really help Dad understand what a child needs.

Tense drama which follows the personal struggles of high-ranking employees of an investment bank during a 24-hour period at the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore and Jeremy Irons, the film opens with a trader, Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), passing on a project he describes as high-risk to Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto). When Peter discovers just how high-risk the project is - its failure would lead to losses greater than the company's assets - he becomes alarmed and raises the issue with his boss, Sam Rogers (Spacey). As the issue gets passed further and further up the company ladder - ultimately to CEO John Tuld (Irons) - surprising information emerges about how much senior figures at the bank already knew about the risk and the things they might be prepared to do to escape from the fix...

Born in New York in 1975, Taryn Simon is at the forefront of contemporary photography practice. Her artistic medium is based around three equal elements: photography, text, and graphic design, which combined investigate the limitations of absolute understanding, examining the gaps between each element and how this can lead to disorientation and ambiguity. In the last ten years she has created a suite of projects which deal with a number of theoretical and visual concerns. Her formal interest in arrangement and cataloguing has seen her experiment with different methods of presentation and display, particularly in A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters (2008-11) in which she travelled around the world researching bloodlines: splitting each work in the final piece up into three segments, she presented large portrait sequences of related individuals on the left, a text panel containing details and narratives in the centre, and 'footnote images' on the right of fragmented pieces of established narratives and other photographic evidence. Simon has also skilfully and poetically tackled aspects of the underbelly of American life.Her 2009 project, Contraband, saw her systematically photograph thousands of items received through customs and the international postal service at JFK airport, categorising them into often grotesque and bizarre groupings. In An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Taryn Simon documents spaces that are integral to America's foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. Taryn Simon has been the subject of a number of monographic exhibitions, including MoMA, New York (2012), Tate Modern, London (2011), Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2011) and the Whitney Museum, New York (2007). Taryn's work was recently featured in the 2013 Carnegie International. Published in close collaboration with the artist, this brand new book will provide a complete overview of her practice to date. With new and re-published essays by amongst others Salman Rushdie, Homi Bhabha, Daniel Baumann, Tim Griffin, Tina Kuklieski, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Elisabeth Sussman. With an introduction by Simon Baker, Curator of Photography at Tate Modern.

For seven thrilling, intriguing seasons, Special Consultant Patrick Jane has tapped his razor-sharp skills of observation and psychological manipulation to solve serious crimes in a manner that leaves his counterparts baffled.

While assisting the California Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, Jane uses his wit, charm and mentalist mind games to sidestep the system, cope with his tragic past and bring the serial killer Red John to justice.

From starting a new career to starting a new life, the full arc of Jane's charming and complex character is here in The Mentalist: The Complete Series.

After a year of marriage a pair of newlyweds begin to suspect that they've made the wrong choice in this British comedy from first-time director Dan Mazer. Nine months after the wedding that all their friends thought wasn't such a great idea, Nat (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Rafe Spall) are beginning to recognise that perhaps the naysayers were right after all. But as they both agree to try and make a go of it, neither wanting to be the one to admit defeat, Nat begins to fall for the charms of Guy (Simon Baker), one of her clients, whilst Josh realises that he still has the hots for his ex, Chloe (Anna Faris).