This series delves into American history and culture through the lens of iconic individuals, events, objects, or phenomena. Each book is crafted by leading scholars, critics, and writers, offering fresh and innovative perspectives. It explores the defining elements that have shaped the American experience. Readers will discover compelling new narratives about pivotal moments and enduring symbols.
This book explores Bob Dylan's significance in American music and culture through four lenses: his complex relationship with blackness, the often-overlooked impact of his singing style, and his intriguing portrayal in films.
First performed at the midpoint of the twentieth century, John Cage's 4'33, a composition conceived of without a single musical note, is among the most celebrated and ballyhooed cultural gestures in the history of modern music. This title offers the reader both an expert's analysis and highly personal interpretation of Cage's most divisive work.
As the New York Yankees' star centre fielder from 1936 to 1951, Joe DiMaggio is enshrined in America's memory as the epitome in sports of grace, dignity, and that ineffable quality called 'class'. But his career after retirement, starting with his nine-month marriage to Marilyn Monroe, was far... číst celé
One of the master stylists of American literature, Gore Vidal now provides us with his uniquely irreverent take on America's founding fathers, bringing them to life at key moments of decision in the birthing of the nation.
A portrait of America’s most graceful and elegant male dancer and how he came to represent the essence of style, suavity, and charmJoseph Epstein’s Fred Astaire investigates the great dancer’s magical talent, taking up the story of his life, his personality, his work habits, his modest pretensions, and above all his accomplishments. Written with the wit and grace the subject deserves, Fred Astaire provides a remarkable portrait of this extraordinary artist and how he came to embody for Americans a fantasy of easy elegance and, paradoxically, of democratic aristocracy.Tracing Astaire’s life from his birth in Omaha to his death in his late eighties in Hollywood, the book discusses his early days with his talented and outspoken sister Adele, his gifts as a singer (Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern all delighted in composing for Astaire), and his many movie dance partners, among them Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth, Eleanor Powell, and Betty Hutton. A key chapter of the book is devoted to Astaire’s somewhat unwilling partnership with Ginger Rogers, the woman with whom he danced most dazzlingly. What emerges from these pages is a fascinating view of an American era, seen through the accomplishments of Fred Astaire, an unassuming but uncompromising performer who transformed entertainment into art and gave America a new yet enduring standard for style.