social science / popular culture

"Examines everything from broader phenomena like inequality, social media, and the news; to things closer to our daily lives, like how we sleep, how we exercise, and even the distinction we draw between our minds and our bodies"--OCLC.

The author, a queer woman and former suit-and-tie wearing Mormon missionary, takes a cross-country road-trip stretching from Provo, Utah, to the Rio Grande Valley to the Bible Belt to the Deep South to seek out LGBT culture in conservative "Red States," including drag shows, political rallies, and hubs of queer life across the heartland, introducing LGBT people working for change, from the first openly transgender mayor in Texas history to the manager of the only queer night club in Bloomington, Indiana, and many more, capturing profound cultural shifts underway in unexpected places.

Looks at the shocking extremes of the contemporary American food world, where animals never before considered or long since forgotten are emerging as delicacies, parts that used to be for scrap are centerpieces, and ash and hay are fashionable ingredients.

Explores how ways of living and the concepts of family and home are changing, discussing multi-generational homes to cohousing communities to tiny homes, and families of friends, single-living, married couples who live apart, and related topics.

For sixteen years and thirty-five seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in the lives of American television viewers. Since it premiered in 2002, the show's popularity and relevance have only grown. Bestselling writers and famous actors live-tweet about it. Die-hard fans -- dubbed 'Bachelor Nation' -- participate in fantasy leagues and viewing parties. And more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of 2017's season. Los Angeles Times journalist Amy Kaufman is a proud member of Bachelor Nation and has a long history with the franchise. ABC even banned her from attending show events after her coverage of the program got a little too real for its liking. She has interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans to give readers never-before-told details of the show's inner workings: what it's like to be trapped in the mansion 'bubble'; dark tales of producer manipulation; and revelations about the alcohol-fueled debauchery that occurs long before the Fantasy Suite. Kaufman also explores what our fascination means, culturally: what the show says about the way we view so-called ideal suitors; why we have a subconscious yearning for fairy-tale romance; and how this enduring television show has shaped society's feelings about love, marriage, and feminism by appealing to a marriage plot that's as old as the best of Jane Austen.

"This biography of Lance Armstrong surveys his cycling career as well as the details of his life outside of cycling"--Provided by publisher.

As the 1960s drew to a close, the United States was coming apart at the seams. From August 1969 to August 1970, the nation witnessed nine thousand protests and eighty-four acts of arson or bombings at schools across the country. It was the year of the My Lai massacre investigation, the Cambodia invasion, Woodstock, and the Moratorium to End the War. The American death toll in Vietnam was approaching fifty thousand, and the ascendant counterculture was challenging nearly every aspect of American society. Witness to the Revolution, Clara Bingham?s unique oral history of that tumultuous time, unveils anew that moment when America careened to the brink of a civil war at home, as it fought a long, futile war abroad.

"Surveys the common archetypes of Internet users--from geeks, nerds, and gamers to hackers, scammers, and predators--and assesses what these stereotypes reveal about our culture's attitudes regarding gender, technology, intimacy, and identity. Provides ... information about the interplay between media representations of Internet users and gender, politics, technology, and society... Presents findings that suggest that in spite of the Internet being so prevalent, technophobia is still an inherent subtext of many pop culture references to it. Considers how the vast majority of the portrayals of Internet user stereotypes are male--and evaluates how these male-dominated roles shape and are shaped by popular attitudes about sexuality, technology, intimacy, and identity"--Provided by publisher.

Discusses the popularity and importance of real, analog goods and ideas in the digital age, and reveals a deep truth about how humans shop, interact, and think.