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The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued . . .
Par Rick Mercer. 2023
THE INSTANT #1 BESTSELLERRick Mercer is back—again!—with the eagerly awaited sequel to his bestselling memoirAt the end of his memoir…
Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. Having overcome a serious lack of promise as a schoolboy and risen through the showbiz ranks—as an aspiring actor, star of a surprisingly successful one-man show about the Meech Lake Accord, co-founder of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, creator and star of the dark-comedy sitcom Made in Canada—he was about to tackle his biggest opportunity yet. The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants. But Rick and his partner, Gerald Lunz, were also determined to do something that comedy tends to avoid as too challenging: they would emphasize the positive. Rick would travel from coast to coast to coast in search of everything that’s best about Canada, especially its people. He found a lot to celebrate, naturally, and was rewarded with a huge audience and a run of 15 seasons. The Road Years tells the inside story of that stupendous success. A time when Rick was heading to another town—or military base, sports centre, national park—to try dogsledding, chainsaw carving, and bear tagging; hang from a harness (a lot); ride the “Train of Death;” plus countless other joyous and/or reckless assignments. Added to the mix were encounters with the country’s great. Every living prime minister. Rock and roll royalty from Rush to Randy Bachman. Olympians and Paralympians. A skinny-dipping Bob Rae. And Jann Arden, of course, who gets a chapter to herself. Along the way he even found the time to visit several countries in Africa and co-found and champion the charity Spread the Net, which has gone on to protect the lives of millions. Join the celebration, and revive a wealth of happy memories, with what is Rick Mercer’s funniest, most fascinating book yet.Inside a Thug's Heart
Par Angela Ardis. 2004
An intimate and revealing window into one of modern culture&’s most iconic figures, this twentieth-anniversary re-release of Inside a Thug&’s…
Heart celebrates the gifted and impassioned yet vulnerable and uncertain human behind the legend of Tupac Shakur. In 1995, one year before Tupac Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas, he was jailed for two months inside New York City&’s notorious Rikers Island. While there, he received a letter from a stranger—Angela Ardis, acting on a casual bet with her friends. She included her photo and phone number . . . and soon found herself answering a call from Tupac himself. Remarkably, their near-daily contact grew into a complex kinship of souls that neither could define—and touched both in unexpected ways. Alive in letters and original poems—some available nowhere else—Tupac&’s ever-relevant heart beats within these pages. Playful, sensual, and serious, he gives insightful observations on music, prison, and life&’s uncertainties—and his dreams for a future that would soon be tragically cut short. In this moving, one-of-a-kind tribute, generations of fans can experience a profound connection to the mind and unbroken spirit of a passionate, unpredictable musical icon.Political Parties: A Kid's Guide (Kids' Guide to Elections)
Par Cari Meister. 2020
Right or left. Blue or red. Donkeys or elephants. What are political parties all about? Readers learn all about the…
different politcal parties in America an how they play a part in our elections.Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power
Par Devon Price. 2024
Learn to identify—and combat—Systemic Shame, the feeling of self-hatred and disempowerment that comes from living in a society that blames…
individuals for systemic problems, with this invaluable resource from the social psychologist and author of Unmasking Autism.&“Stop doomscrolling and read this book. You&’ll feel better, I promise.&”—Celeste Headlee, journalist and bestselling authorSystemic Shame is the socially engineered self-loathing that says we are solely to blame for our circumstances. It tells us that poverty is remedied by hard-working people pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, that marginalized people are personally responsible for solving the problem of their own oppression, and that massive global crises like climate change can be solved with individual action. Feeling overwhelmed? That&’s your problem, too. The more we try and ultimately fail to live up to impossible societal standards of moral goodness, the more shame we feel—and the more we retreat into isolation and despair.Social psychologist Dr. Devon Price knows firsthand the destructive effects of Systemic Shame; he experienced shame and self-hatred as he grappled with his transgender identity, feeling as if his suffering was caused by his own actions rather than systems like cissexism. And it doesn&’t just end with internal feelings of anguish. It causes us to judge other people the same way we fear being judged, which blocks us from seeking out the acceptance and support we need and discourages us from trying to improve our communities and our relationships.In Unlearning Shame, Dr. Price explores how we can deal with those hard emotions more effectively, tackling the societal shame we&’ve absorbed and directed at ourselves. He introduces the antidote to Systemic Shame: expansive recognition, an awareness of one&’s position in the larger social world and the knowledge that our battles are only won when they are shared. He provides a suite of exercises and resources designed to combat Systemic Shame on a personal, interpersonal, and global level through rebuilding trust in yourself, in others, and in our shared future.By offering a roadmap to healing and a toolkit of actionable items, Unlearning Shame helps us reject hopelessness and achieve sustainable change and personal growth.Celebrating 25 years of The Sopranos: The executive producer of The White Lotus shares how he got his start in…
film and television production on &“the greatest TV show of all time&” (Rolling Stone)An inside look at the film industry for fans, students, and aspiring professionals — featuring a foreword by Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning creator of The White Lotus, Mike WhiteThis page-turning account of starting at the lowest rung on the production ladder among enormously famous & outrageously demanding people will be devoured for its insights, gossip, humor, & storytelling. Married and with a child, the author takes unpaid gigs to get a foot in the door, and eventually ends up working on all seasons of The Sopranos, often named the best TV show ever.The show's setting and its creator's insistence on accuracy placed the native New Jersey author in the right place at the right time to become part of television history, and to witness the effects of sudden fame and acclaim on the show's principal players.Includes many stories about guest stars like Steve Buscemi, Peter Bogdanovich, and Lauren Bacall, as well as the beloved cast, including new tales of James Gandolfini, who Kamine first meets after David Chase casts him as the Dean of Admissions in the classic first season "College" episode. Later, after he&’s been promoted, Kamine gets the calls from Gandolfini when he's hungover, or still drunk, and might or might not make it to the shoot that day. One night, Kamine tries to prevent Gandolfini from taking a swim in the ocean after they've been drinking all night, telling him it could be dangerous but Jim doesn't listen.Woven in is a personal story of home life and strife, achievement and frustration, anxiety and accomplishment. The book's epilogue brings readers up to the moment as the author, after many more years as an anonymous everyman, eventually enjoys outsize professional success as executive producer of the HBO hit series created by Mike White, The White Lotus.Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro
Par Bobbi Brown. 2008
This is the book that Bobbi Brown's fans have been waiting for: her 25-plus years of makeup styling experience distilled…
into one complete, gorgeous book. Bobbi looks at everything from skincare basics to every aspect of facial makeup--from how to find the right color and type of foundation for any skin tone to how to apply every detail of eye makeup (Brows, Eye Liner, Eye Shadow, and Eye Lashes) no matter your eye color and shape. Of course there are never-before-seen tips on blush, bronzer, lip liners, lipstick, etc. And Bobbi looks beyond the face with informative chapters on "Hands and Feet" and "Body Skin Care." Each chapter has thorough step-by-step basic directions for makeup application and easy-to-follow photographs and line drawings, along with Bobbi's expert, yet assuring, advice. Plus, there's a groundbreaking section of the book that will be of special interest to women who've wanted to know how makeup stylists do what they do: the top beauty secrets only these artists know, essential equipment to keep on hand, how to break into the business, and how to work with photographers and celebrities. Breathtaking photos of the finished faces-from everyday looks to exotic runway style-along with advice on putting it all together for every woman, make this a book like no other.Bobbi Brown's Makeup Manual will be the only book any woman will need to look absolutely fabulous.The Boys and Me: My Life in the Country Music Supergroup Sawyer Brown
Par Mark Miller. 2024
The Boys and Me is the behind-the-scenes, untold story of front man and lead singer Mark Miller and his band—country…
music icons Sawyer Brown!Before The Voice and American Idol, there was Star Search with Ed McMahon. In the first season, an eclectic and charismatic country-rock band called Sawyer Brown appeared on the show, taking America by storm. From ignored underdogs in Nashville to overnight rock stars from LA to New York, they swept the competition and won. Since 1984, &“the boys&” legendary live shows, along with their relentless drive to stay true to themselves, have captivated faithful fans around the world. As front man and lead singer of the band, Mark Miller&’s rise to fame wasn&’t exactly the path he envisioned for himself. After losing his father, Mark was raised by his mom whose solid faith and strong work ethic helped guide and shape him and his brother, Frank. With his sights set on playing pro basketball, Mark never dreamed of becoming an entertainer, especially considering he was terrified to stand on a stage. But God had a different plan. Now, forty years later, Sawyer Brown has eighteen studio albums to their name, multiple No. 1 singles, fifty-plus songs charting on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, and legendary award-winning videos. And they have no plans of stopping any time soon. The band&’s longevity is a testament to their strong songwriting, high-energy performances, and hard work. This is the behind-the-scenes, untold story of Mark Miller and &“the boys&”—country music icons Sawyer Brown!Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India
Par Avishek Ray, Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan, Usha Raman, Martin Web, Neha Gupta, Sai Amulya Komarraju, Anuja Premika, Riad Azam, Farhat Salim, Pranavesh Subramanian. 2024
The book examines the social and cultural role of selfies in India. It looks at how the selfie, unlike the…
photograph, which was a gesture towards an external reality, remains intimately self-referential, yet reconfigures social ordering, identity formation, agency, and spaces in curious ways. This volume approaches questions about the construction and performance of the self through the digital selfie and uses this situated, contextualized, and culturally specific phenomenon as a site to explore the themes of self-making, place-making, gender, subjectivity, and power. Highlighting the specific contexts of production, the authors examine the array of self-expressive capabilities realized in a multitude of uses of the selfie that simultaneously reconfigure the self, the space, and the world. An important study of visual social media culture, the volume will be useful for interpreting everyday media experiences and will be of interest to students and researchers of image studies, visual studies, photography studies, visual culture, media studies, culture studies, cultural anthropology, digital humanities, popular culture, sociology of technology, and South Asian studies.Long Lost Blues: Popular Blues in America, 1850-1920 (Music in American Life)
Par Peter C. Muir. 2010
Mamie Smith's 1920 recording of ""Crazy Blues"" is commonly thought to signify the beginning of commercial attention to blues music…
and culture, but by that year more than 450 other blues titles had already appeared in sheet music and on recordings. In this examination of early popular blues, Peter C. Muir traces the genre's early history and the highly creative interplay between folk and popular forms, focusing especially on the roles W. C. Handy played in both blues music and the music business. Long Lost Blues exposes for the first time the full scope and importance of early popular blues to mainstream American culture in the early twentieth century. Closely analyzing sheet music and other print sources that have previously gone unexamined, Muir revises our understanding of the evolution and sociology of blues at its inception.People Who Lunch: On Work, Leisure, and Loose Living
Par Sally Olds. 2024
A riveting investigation of the utopian experiments attempting to resist the unrelenting demands of late-stage capitalism—only to end up living…
comfortably alongside it What do post‑work politics, the cult of crypto, clubbing, and polyamory have in common? All have spawned thriving subcultures united in their rejection of the patriarchal capitalist order: from wage labor, to the reign of the shareholder class over capital markets, to romantic relationships that feel like contractual arrangements to be negotiated, and more.People Who Lunch is about hating work and needing to work, intimacy and technology, labor and leisure, and the challenge of living our ideals in a less than ideal world. In it, Sally Olds brings her &“unsparing scrutiny to bear…as she grapples with the sense of entrapment in the machinery of capitalism and remorseless logic of commodification&” (ABC Arts). In one essay, Olds&’s brief flirtation with post-monogamy forces her to confront the emotional prison of the &“open relationship&”; in another, a multi-hour viewing of a critically acclaimed performance art piece highlights how even the highest forms of culture exist to convert pleasure into capital. In the end, her forays into these colorful worlds betray a deep irony: escaping a system built on the exchange of wage labor is, quite simply, a lot of work.Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir
Par Walela Nehanda. 2024
A searing debut YA poetry and essay collection about a Black cancer patient who faces medical racism after being diagnosed…
with leukemia in their early twenties, for fans of Audre Lorde's The Cancer Journals and Laurie Halse Anderson's Shout.When Walela is diagnosed at twenty-three with advanced stage blood cancer, they're suddenly thrust into the unsympathetic world of tubes and pills, doctors who don&’t use their correct pronouns, and hordes of "well-meaning" but patronizing people offering unsolicited advice as they navigate rocky personal relationships and share their story online.But this experience also deepens their relationship to their ancestors, providing added support from another realm. Walela's diagnosis becomes a catalyst for their self-realization. As they fill out forms in the insurance office in downtown Los Angeles or travel to therapy in wealthier neighborhoods, they begin to understand that cancer is where all forms of their oppression intersect: Disabled. Fat. Black. Queer. Nonbinary.In Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir, the author details a galvanizing account of their survival despite the U.S. medical system, and of the struggle to face death unafraid.Moon Maine: Acadia National Park, Lobster & Lighthouses, Outdoor Adventures (Travel Guide)
Par Hilary Nangle, Moon Travel Guides. 2024
Explore the spruce-studded mountains, classic shoreline villages, and rugged character of the Pine Tree State with Moon Maine. Inside you'll…
find:Strategic itineraries ranging from an eleven-day road trip through the whole state to a week on the coast, with ideas for every season Must-see highlights and unique experiences: Sample wild blueberries, farmstead cheeses, and preserves from roadside farmers' markets or find the best beachfront lobster shack. Trace picturesque lighthouses down the coast, stop to smell the roses at the botanical gardens, and taste some of Maine's best wines, craft beer, and mead. Watch the boats sway in a quiet harbor, mingle with locals over a "chowdah suppah," and unwind on a sandy pocket beach Outdoor adventures: Hike through majestic timberland forests or summit the peak of Katahdin on the final stretch of the Appalachian Trail. Take a moose safari, experience the rush of whitewater rafting, or ski the slopes at Sugarloaf. Canoe down the Allagash, paddle a sea kayak along the serpentine coastline, and immerse yourself in the secluded wilderness of Acadia National Park Honest advice from born-and-raised Maine local Hilary Nangle on when to go, what to eat, and where to stay, from luxury hotels and historic inns to budget campgrounds Full-color photos and detailed maps throughoutEssential information including background on Maine's landscape, climate, wildlife, and culture With Moon Maine's practical tips and local insight, you can experience the best of the state. Hitting the road? Try Moon New England Road Trip. Sticking to the coast? Check out Moon Coastal Maine.About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.Moon Olympic Peninsula: Coastal Getaways, Rainforests & Waterfalls, Hiking & Camping (Travel Guide)
Par Jeff Burlingame, Moon Travel Guides. 2024
Charming small towns, verdant rainforests, rocky coastline, and mountain meadows: experience the surreal beauty and endless adventure of the Pacific…
Northwest with Moon Olympic Peninsula. Inside you'll find:Flexible itineraries, from a weekend in Olympic National Park to a weeklong tour of the peninsula Must-see highlights and unique experiences: Tour the oldest lighthouse on the Puget Sound, explore Kurt Cobain's hometown, or immerse yourself in the region's rich maritime history. Dig for a dinner of fresh razor clams and savor fresh-caught Dungeness crab. Stroll through a fragrant lavender farm, shop for unique handcrafted goods, or peruse small-town galleries for local art. Sample one-of-a-kind red blends and fruit wines or kick back with a local brew and some jazz music The best hikes of the Olympic Peninsula: Find your adventure with hike descriptions, directions, difficulty ratings, and elevation gains Outdoor adventures: Wander through the ethereal Hoh Rain Forest, marvel at the panoramic views from Hurricane Ridge, or hike through the old-growth forests of Olympic National Park. Take a waterfall-filled backpacking trek through the Sawtooth Mountains, camp on the banks of the Skokomish River, and soak in the restorative waters of the Olympic Hot Springs. Spot hundreds of species of birds on the largest natural sand spit in the world or study starfish and sea stacks on the rugged northern coast Local insight from Washington-born journalist Jeff Burlingame on when to go, where to stay, and what to bring Full-color photos and detailed maps throughoutHelpful background on the landscape, wildlife, climate, and local culture, plus tips for getting around the peninsula With Moon Olympic Peninsula's practical tips and expert advice, you can plan your trip your way. Want more of the great outdoors? Try Moon Washington Hiking. Exploring the Pacific Northwest? Try Moon Coastal Oregon or Moon Columbia River Gorge & Mount Hood.About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.Casablanca's Conscience
Par Robert Weldon Whalen. 2024
A new look at a beloved classic film that explores the philosophical dynamics of CasablancaCelebrating its eightieth anniversary this year,…
Casablanca remains one of the world’s most enduringly favorite movies. It won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is still commonly quoted: “We’ll always have Paris” and “Here’s looking at you, kid” And who can forget, “You must remember this…a kiss is just a kiss.” Yet no one expected much to come of this little film, certainly not its blockbuster stars or even the studio producing it. So how did this hastily cranked-out 1940s film, despite its many limitations, become one of the greatest films ever made? How is it that year after year, decade after decade, it continues to appear in the lists of the greatest movies ever produced? And why do audiences still weep when Rick and Ilsa part? The answer, according to Casablanca’s Conscience, is to paraphrase Rick, “It’s true.”Much has already been written about the film and the career-defining performances of Bogart and Bergman. Casablanca is an epic tale of love, betrayal, and sacrifice set against the backdrop of World War II. Yet decades later, it continues to capture the imagination of filmgoers. In Casablanca’s Conscience, author Robert Weldon Whalen explains why it still resonates so deeply. Applying a new lens to an old classic, Whalen focuses on the film’s timeless themes—Exile, Purgatory, Irony, Love, Resistance, and Memory. He then engages the fictional characters—Rick, Ilsa, and the others—against the philosophical and theological discourse of their real contemporaries, Hannah Arendt, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Albert Camus. The relationships between fictional and historical persons illuminate both the film’s era as well as perennial human concerns. Both the film and the work of the philosophers explore dimensions of the human experience, which, while extreme, are familiar to everyone. It’s the themes that resonate with the viewer, that have sustained it as an evergreen classic all these years.Miles of Style: Eunice W. Johnson and the EBONY Fashion Fair
Par Lisa D. Brathwaite. 2024
A chic biography about Eunice W. Johnson who brought elegant and contemporary fashion to Black America through the annual EBONY…
Fashion Fair!Eunice W. Johnson believed in the power of fashion and beauty to inspire people. After she and her husband, John H. Johnson, founded EBONY magazine, it quickly became the premiere lifestyle publication for mid-century Black readers. Among the many hats she wore, Eunice delighted in writing a fashion column describing the latest styles. In 1958, Eunice launched a project that would change fashion forever--the EBONY Fashion Fair. In towns and cities across the United States, Black models walked the runway in the freshest trends that season and Black attendees got to see people who looked like them in bright colors and haute couture. To make the Fashion Fair happen every year, Eunice negotiated with snobby fashion houses in Europe and navigated racism back home in the US, to acquire the most show-stopping styles for her show. Decades later, her name remains a watchword for glamour and elegance in the Black community. Winner of Lee & Low's New Voices award, Miles of Style celebrates a visionary who used her influence to showcase the strength and beauty of the Black community.The Year's Work in Showgirls Studies (The Year's Work: Studies in Fan Culture and Cultural Theory)
Par Anna Breckon, Kara Keeling, Adrian Martin, Kieryn McKay, Jane Chi Park, Zahra Stardust, Billy Stevenson, Shawna Tang. 2024
The Year's Work in Showgirls Studies is a fan culture volume that deconstructs how and why Showgirls, a 1995 drama…
with a female lead bent on becoming a famous performer in Las Vegas, became a much-contested cult film despite being a critical failure when it released. The collection orchestrates a conversation between scholarly essay work and archival documentation offering a magnificent representation of the array of responses generated by the film, its makers, its promoters, and its audience. A multifaceted approach to the film, its popularity, and its social relevance results in a new text for understanding normative social hierarchies of sexuality, race, and gender. The Year's Work in Showgirls Studies engages with the figurative and actual place of sex work and feminized affective labor in our society.Who Was Langston Hughes? (Who Was?)
Par Billy Merrell, Who Hq. 2024
Find out how a young boy from the Midwest became one of the most important writers and activists of the…
Harlem Renaissance in this addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling series!Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, and was raised by his grandmother, who told him many stories of the Black American experience and taught him to be proud of his race from a young age. With her guidance, Langston went on to become a talented writer in high school, creating dramatic plays, poetry, and articles for the school paper. His career as a writer would continue to blossom. Langston pioneered Jazz Poetry and published nearly twenty poetry books during his lifetime as well as novels, books for children, nonfiction books, and plays. He was an activist and a major figure of the Harlem Renaissance period, alongside Zora Neale Hurston and Countee Cullen. Young readers can learn about Langston's beloved writing, including some of his most famous poems "Dreams" and "The Weary Blues," and his long-lasting legacy in this middle-grade biography.La formación de Yolanda la bruja: (The Making of Yolanda La Bruja Spanish Edition)
Par Lorraine Avila. 2023
Elizabeth Acevedo has said that reading Lorraine Avila feels like an "UPPERCUT to the senses." We couldn't agree more. We…
have never encountered an author with prose of this sensitivity and fire. Yolanda Alvarez is having a good year. She's starting to feel at home Julia De Burgos High, her school in the Bronx. She has her best friend Victory, and maybe something with Jose, a senior boy she's getting to know. She's confident her initiation into her family's bruja tradition will happen soon.But then a white boy, the son of a politician, appears at Julia De Burgos High, and his vibes are off. And Yolanda's initiation begins with a series of troubling visions of the violence this boy threatens. How can Yolanda protect her community, in a world that doesn't listen? Only with the wisdom and love of her family, friends, and community – and the Brujas Diosas, her ancestors and guides. The Making of Yolanda La Bruja is the book this country, struggling with the plague of gun violence, so desperately needs, but which few could write. Here Lorraine Avila brings a story born from the intersection of race, justice, education, and spirituality that will capture readers everywhere.Stravinsky and His World (The Bard Music Festival #33)
Par Tamara Levitz. 2013
A new look at one of the most important composers of the twentith centuryStravinsky and His World brings together an…
international roster of scholars to explore fresh perspectives on the life and music of Igor Stravinsky. Situating Stravinsky in new intellectual and musical contexts, the essays in this volume shed valuable light on one of the most important composers of the twentieth century.Contributors examine Stravinsky's interaction with Spanish and Latin American modernism, rethink the stylistic label "neoclassicism" with a section on the ideological conflict over his lesser-known opera buffa Mavra, and reassess his connections to his homeland, paying special attention to Stravinsky's visit to the Soviet Union in 1962. The essays also explore Stravinsky's musical and religious differences with Arthur Lourié, delve into Stravinsky's collaboration with Pyotr Suvchinsky and Roland-Manuel in the genesis of his groundbreaking Poetics of Music, and look at how the movement within stasis evident in the scores of Stravinsky's Orpheus and Oedipus Rex reflected the composer's fierce belief in fate. Rare documents—including Spanish and Mexican interviews, Russian letters, articles by Arthur Lourié, and rarely seen French and Russian texts—supplement the volume, bringing to life Stravinsky's rich intellectual milieu and intense personal relationships.The contributors are Tatiana Baranova, Leon Botstein, Jonathan Cross, Valérie Dufour, Gretchen Horlacher, Tamara Levitz, Klára Móricz, Leonora Saavedra, and Svetlana Savenko.Mirror, Mirror: The Uses and Abuses of Self-Love
Par Simon Blackburn. 2014
From the author of Think, an enlightening and entertaining exploration of narcissism and self-esteemEveryone deplores narcissism, especially in others. The…
vain are by turns annoying or absurd, offending us whether they are blissfully oblivious or proudly aware of their behavior. But are narcissism and vanity really as bad as they seem? Can we avoid them even if we try? In Mirror, Mirror, Simon Blackburn, the author of such best-selling philosophy books as Think, Being Good, and Lust, says that narcissism, vanity, pride, and self-esteem are more complex than they first appear and have innumerable good and bad forms. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, literature, history, and popular culture, Blackburn offers an enlightening and entertaining exploration of self-love, from the myth of Narcissus and the Christian story of the Fall to today's self-esteem industry.A sparkling mixture of learning, humor, and style, Mirror, Mirror examines what great thinkers have said about self-love—from Aristotle, Cicero, and Erasmus to Rousseau, Adam Smith, Kant, and Iris Murdoch. It considers today’s "me"-related obsessions, such as the “selfie,” plastic surgery, and cosmetic enhancements, and reflects on connected phenomena such as the fatal commodification of social life and the tragic overconfidence of George W. Bush and Tony Blair. Ultimately, Mirror, Mirror shows why self-regard is a necessary and healthy part of life. But it also suggests that we have lost the ability to distinguish—let alone strike a balance—between good and bad forms of self-concern.