Bøger udgivet af McFarland & Company

Wells' novel, a "scientific romance," attained perhaps its greatest fame in another form, the infamous realistic 1939 radio broadcast "Invasion from Mars" by the redoubtable Orson Welles. It was also notably made into an early fifties science fiction adventure movie (and there have been other adaptations as well). So indelible is the association that the novel, like the panic inducing broadcast and the Hollywood flick, now is taken as little more than a light fantasy of outerspace terror and human heroism, far from the author's original vision. The War of the Worlds is a philosophical tale and as such, is profoundly ideological. The world of the Martians represents the progressive future of humanity in a cultural war with our world of tradition and reaction--these are the two worlds in question. The Mars from which the invaders come is united by a planet-wide system of irrigation canals; for Wells this indicates a socialist world-state. The red planet is red in more than one sense, pointing the direction of terrestrial progress. The Martians in the novel are octopoidal monsters, bodily anticipating the tentacular, all-controlling totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century.

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) wrote some of the great classics of speculative fiction in English, including The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), which might be said to be about unholy genetics. The work's biological and sociopolitical ideas are still current (such were the range and depth of Wells' ideas). Wells continued to work on Doctor Moreau for nearly thirty years after its initial publication in London (the New York first edition added a subtitle A Possibility), finally letting go of the work after the publication of the Atlantic Edition in 1924. Annotated by the premier Wellsian scholar, this is an exhaustive critical edition, examining the historical, medical, philosophical and literary contexts of the story.

The Time Machine is one of the most enduring works of the English language. A hundred years after it was first published, the book continues to be studied. The 1895 London first edition is used as a basis for the exhaustive annotations and other critical apparatus of the world's foremost Wellsian scholar. The widely reprinted version of 1924 is also fully accounted for. For most students, one of the chief points of interest is what the novel signified to readers when it was first published and how it relates to Wells's later works. Accordingly, the annotations focus on these questions. The introduction gives in great depth the background of the work and its complex bibliographical history, and a synopsis of the literary conventions that Wells used.

This book studies Los Angeles County and its government since World War II. A special focus is given to the "Titans of Temple Street," the five-member Board of Supervisors that determines policies and actions for many issues throughout the county, especially for residents who do not live in the county's 88 cities. It is the largest of all U.S. counties, with a population of more than 10 million, more residents than 41 states, and an annual budget of more than $44 billion, more than all but 19 states. It has served as an innovative example of county government since the early 1900s.

In 2010, Cartoon Network debuted a new animated series called Adventure Time, and within just a few short years the show became both a pop culture phenomenon and a critical darling. But despite all the admiration, not many works of scholarship have assessed the show through a critical lens. This anthology is an attempt to fill this scholarly oversight and spark a wider conversation about the show's deeper themes. Across 15 scholarly essays, this book's contributors study Adventure Time from a variety of angles, proving just how insightful the series really is. From a consideration of BMO's queer identity to a psychoanalytic reading of Lemongrab and an examination of how anime has impacted the show, the topics explored in this anthology are diverse and unique and are likely to appeal to scholars and fans alike.

From its birth in 1913 to its abolition in 2021, film censorship marked the history of Italian cinema, and its evolution mirrored the social, political, and cultural travail of the country. During the Fascist regime and in the postwar period, censorship was a powerful political tool in the hands of the ruling party; many films were banned or severely cut. By the end of the 1960s, censors had to cope with the changing morals and the widespread diffusion of sexuality in popular culture, which led to the boom of hardcore pornography. With the crisis of the national industry and the growing influence of television, censorship gradually changed its focus and targets. The book analyzes Italian film censorship from its early days to the present, discussing the most controversial cases and protagonists. These include such notorious works as Last Tango in Paris and Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, and groundbreaking filmmakers such as Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini, who pushed the limits of what was acceptable on screen, causing scandal and public debate.

Featuring interviews with the creators of 37 popular video games--including SOCOM, Shadow of the Colossus, Tekken Tag Tournament and Sly Cooper--this book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of some of the most influential and iconic (and sometimes forgotten) games of the original PlayStation 2 era. Recounting endless hours of painstaking development, the challenges of working with mega publishers and the uncertainties of public reception, the interviewees reveal the creative processes that produced some of gaming's classic titles.

Dorothy Dore was born in the Philippines to a British father who served there in the Spanish American War, and to a Filipina mestiza mother. This young woman was attending an exclusive private school when Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941. The Japanese Imperial Army made a swift invasion of the Philippines, and Dorothy's life became a nightmare. As recounted in this moving memoir, Dorothy studied nursing so that she could support the United States Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE). She spent the war years on the run, working for the USAFFE when she could, but abandoning those duties when her family was in need. Dorothy recalls the sacrifices of her family, the brutal treatment of civilians by the Japanese, and the vainglorious actions of some of the USAFFE guerrilla leaders. It is a compelling story of love, loss, family, courage, and survival during an especially horrifying time.

The alien abduction phenomenon is one of the enduring enigmas of our time. While the reality of alien abductions is a hotly debated topic among UFO researchers, scientists, skeptics and true believers alike, the phenomenon indisputably exists as an artifact of popular culture. This book analyzes more than 75 films that draw their inspiration from allegedly fact-based accounts of alien contact, from 1951's The Man from Planet X to Contactee in 2021. These films are examined in terms of both their cinematic qualities and their exploration of thematic elements derived from abduction reports. Abduction motifs that appear in science fiction classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2001 and Close Encounters are analyzed, as well as those in lesser-known films like The Stranger Within, Starship Invasions, Dark Skies and Proximity. Special attention is given to movies based on the famed experiences of abductees Betty and Barney Hill, Whitley Strieber and Travis Walton. The book also addresses skeptical theories about the origins of the phenomenon in science fiction and examines an uncanny prescience that appears to anticipate these inexplicable occurrences.

Superheroes are enjoying a cultural resurgence, dominating the box office and breaking out of specialty comics stores onto the shelves of mainstream retailers. A leading figure behind the superhero Renaissance is Grant Morrison, long-time architect of the DC Comics' universe and author of many of the most successful comic books in recent years. Renowned for his anarchic original creations--Zenith, The Invisibles, The Filth, We3--as well as for his acclaimed serialized comics--JLA, Superman, Batman, New X-Men--Grant Morrison has radically redefined the superhero archetype. Known for his eccentric lifestyle and as a practitioner of "pop magic," Morrison sees the superhero as not merely fantasy but a medium for imagining a better humanity. Drawing on a variety of analytical approaches, this first-ever collection of critical essays on his work explores his rejuvenation of the figure of the superhero as a means to address the challenges of modern life.

All-American quarterback Charlie Conerly's college career was interrupted by World War II. He started at University of Mississippi in 1942, fought in the Battle of Guam in 1944, then led Ole Miss to their first conference championship in 1947. He went on to play for the New York Giants from 1948 to 1961, ultimately leading them to an NFL title. A College Football Hall of Famer, Conerly was a professional All-Star and the lynchpin of the Giants offense at time when the team was loaded with Hall of Famers who unduly overshadowed him during his heyday. New York won repeat divisional crowns under the soft-spoken Conerly and participated in the suspenseful, first-ever sudden death NFL title game in 1958. This first-ever full-length biography chronicles his life and career in detail.

In 1932, The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff, introduced another icon to the classic monster pantheon, beginning a journey down the cinematic Nile that has yet to reach its end. Over the past century, movie mummies have met everyone from Abbott and Costello to Tom Cruise, not to mention a myriad of fellow monsters. Horrifying and mysterious, the mummy comes from a different time with uncommon knowledge and unique motivation, offering the lure of the exotic as well as the terrors of the dark. From obscure no-budgeters to Hollywood blockbusters, the mummy has featured in films from all over the globe, including Brazil, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, and even its fictional home country of Egypt--with each film bringing its own cultural sensibilities. Movie mummies have taken the form of teenagers, superheroes, dwarves, kung fu fighters, Satanists, cannibals and even mummies from outer space. Some can fly, some are sexy, some are scary and some are hilarious, and mummies quickly moved beyond horror cinema and into science fiction, comedy, romance, sexploitation and cartoons. From the Universal classics to the Aztec Mummy series, from Hammer's versions to Mexico's Guanajuato variations, this first-ever comprehensive guide to mummy movies offers in-depth production histories and critical analyses for every feature-length iteration of bandaged horror.

Science fiction cinema, once relegated to the undervalued "B" movie slot, has become one of the dominant film genres of the 21st century, with Hollywood alone producing more than 400 science fiction films annually. Many of these owe a great deal of their success to the films of one defining decade: the 1950s. Essays in this book explore how classic '50s science fiction films have been recycled, repurposed, and reused in the decades since their release. Tropes from Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), for instance, have found surprising new life in Netflix's wildly popular Stranger Things. Interstellar (2014) and Arrival (2016) have clear, though indirect roots in the iconic 1950s science fictions films Rocketship X-M (1950) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), and The Shape of Water (2017) openly recalls and reworks the major premises of The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954). Essays also cover 1950's sci-fi influences on video game franchises like Fallout, Bioshock and Wolfenstein.

The legendary story of Beowulf comes to us in only one medieval manuscript with no illustrations. Modern comic book and graphic novel artists have created visual interpretations of Beowulf for decades, both illustrating and altering the classic story to pull out new themes. This book examines the growing canon of Beowulf comic books and graphic novels since the 1940s, and shows the remarkable emergence of new traditions--from re-envisioning the medieval look, to creating new plotlines, and even to transforming his identity. While placing Beowulf in a fantastical medieval setting, a techno-dystopia of the future, or modern-day America, artists have appropriated the tale to comment on social issues such as war, environmental issues, masculinity, and consumerism. Whether Beowulf is fighting new monsters or allying with popular comic book superheroes, these artists are creating a new canon of illustration that redefines Beowulf's place in our culture.

This volume is a fresh examination of the works of Jules Verne, the pioneering and enduringly popular science fiction writer. Essays study Verne's various novels--including Around the World in Eighty Days, The Mysterious Island and The Adventures of Captain Hatteras. Included essays offer analyses of literary responses to Verne's work, assessments of film adaptations of his novels and discussions of steampunk, the Verne-inspired science fiction subgenre that has influenced writers like Philip Jose Farmer, Caleb Carr and Adam Roberts.

Since World War I, nose art has adorned military aircraft around the world. Intended for friendly rather than enemy eyes, these images--with a wide range of artistic expression--are part of the personal and unit histories of pilots and aircrews. As civilian and military attitudes and rationales for war change from one conflict to the next, changes can also be seen in the iconography of nose art. This analysis from a cultural perspective compares nose art in the United States, Great Britain and France from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Warren Buffett famously invoked the metaphor of a tapeworm when describing what healthcare is to the American economy. The United States spends approximately 20% of its gross national product on healthcare, but it is unclear where the money goes or who is minding the store. This healthcare crisis is mostly about money--not lack of money, but rather misspending of money. From the perspective of a healthcare auditor and provider, this work describes the problems of American healthcare finance and proposes solutions. Extensive charts and graphs are used to trace where money goes in the American healthcare system, while other topics such as ethics in healthcare billing, un-auditable hospital costs and scams are discussed. There is evidence that clearly identifies where the money goes, and its destination may surprise the reader.

The Middle Ages in Western Europe extended from roughly 500 to 1500 c.e. During these thousand years, hundreds of monastic communities were founded and played important roles in religious, economic, social, literary and even military realms. Each had different emphases and goals, ranging from aristocratic monasteries and nunneries that offered comfort and security, to rural institutions that specialized only in the most ascetic lifestyles. This book has two goals. The first is to detail the most significant monastic and secular events of the Middle Ages in Western Europe, such as the decline of the Roman Catholic Church, the rise of Protestantism and the various types and purposes of monasteries and nunneries. The second is to introduce some notable (and unusual) individuals who made their mark upon the Middle Ages-- such as Eustache, the French monk who became a pirate and made a pact with the Devil.

The Americans experienced great social change in the decade following World War I. They were restless, often discontented, searching for the good life--the one promised to the generation who, cheered on by patriotic slogans and propaganda, enlisted to fight on European battlefields. While young writers such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald romanticized the lives of Americans in postwar Europe and the U.S., a number of women authors in the 1920s looked through a darker lens. The novels of Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Margaret Wilson, Edna Ferber, Ellen Glasgow, Dorothy Scarborough and Dawn Powell--set mainly in the 19th century--searched the past for the origins of postwar upheaval, especially with respect to the status of women. Today, a few iconic male novelists of the 1920s are synonymous with the spirit and culture of the Jazz Age. This book focuses on their female contemporaries--largely neglected by both critics and readers--who remain relevant for their exploration of timeless social and psychological themes, the battle of the sexes and its tragic consequences.

Challenging the human understanding of life and death, the zombie figure represents a fragmentation of personhood. From its earliest appearances in literature, the zombie characterized a human being that was no longer an indivisible whole, embodying the ontological debate over which elements of personhood are most uniquely human. Through its literary evolution, the zombie's missing element gradually approached a finer definition, as narratives moved beyond highlighting metaphysically opaque concepts like "soul" or "will." Studying over a century of American literary history, this book explores how zombies translate cultural concepts and definitions of personhood. Chapters detail how literary zombies have long presented narratives of American cultural self-examination.

Although a major star in the 1910s, Theda Bara--known as "The Vamp"--was largely neglected until the 1990s, when her fame began to resurface. Since then, there have been biographies, documentaries and other works that have brought the silent film actress back into the spotlight, including a painstaking stills reconstruction of her lost epic Cleopatra. This is a complete examination of Bara's more than 40 films, as well as her theater and radio appearances, down to the smallest detail. With the vast majority of Bara's films considered lost, it is a particularly valuable resource for fans and scholars, and includes information about each film's genesis, director, plot, censorship problems, and critical and public reactions. Also included is a biographical overview, with many illuminating anecdotes.

Michael Jack Schmidt, in the minds of many the greatest third baseman of all time, was a Philadelphia institution. From 1973 to 1989 he led the Phillies to five National League championship series and two World Series. Twelve times an All-Star, Schmidt was perhaps baseball's premier power hitter during the 1970s and 1980s. His 548 home runs are seventh best all-time. In the field he was just as exceptional, winning ten Gold Gloves, more than any other third baseman besides Brooks Robinson. A three-time N.L. Most Valuable Player (1980, 1981 and 1986), Schmidt was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, his first year of eligibility. This book is the first serious account of Schmidt's celebrated career with the Philadelphia Phillies. Concentrating on contemporary newspaper accounts, periodicals, baseball histories and biographies by Schmidt's teammates, this long-overdue work is the full story of one of the game's greatest sluggers, and one of its true heroes and role models.

This book examines the history and influence of the Group Theatre, the most significant acting company in America. Founded during the Great Depression, the Group presented the first plays of Clifford Odets, Sidney Kingsley, and William Saroyan, and launched the careers of Franchot Tone, John Garfield, Elia Kazan, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Martin Ritt, and Luther Adler. The intense realism of their performances inspired generations of writers, actors, and directors in both theater and film. After the Group closed, its former members directed or produced the Broadway plays Brigadoon, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Camino Real, Bus Stop, The Music Man, Equus, and Yentl. In Hollywood, Group alumni produced, directed, or starred in the award-winning films On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Twelve Angry Men, Hud, Fail-Safe, 1776, Serpico, Network, Norma Rae, and The Verdict. Four of the nation's best-known acting teachers--Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Robert Lewis, and Stella Adler--came from the Group. The studios they established remain the most highly regarded acting schools in the world, with venues on four continents.

Taking a postmodern critical approach, this collection of new essays explores The CW Network's popular television drama The Vampire Diaries, taking in the complete original series (2009-2017), its spinoffs, source novels and fan fiction. Spanning three decades, TVD has engaged its predominantly teenage audience with storylines around love, friendship, social politics and gender roles. Contributors traverse the franchise's metamorphosis to suit the complex tastes of an early 21st century audience.

Without the proper all-around skills, no soccer player can reach his or her potential, and without skilled players, no team can play on the championship level. Players and coaches, then, need more than just a routine collection of offensive drills to be successful. In addition to goal scoring, players need instruction in ball or field control, perhaps the most important skill that needs to be mastered. This handbook is designed to help the soccer coach, amateur or expert, to instruct players in, first, the most elementary skills, building up to the drills for sophisticated "plays" common in higher levels of game play. This book illustrates the exact method for teaching each individual skill, showing correct body positions and the various progressive stages of each drill.

This is a book of biographies of 23 European women who were among the earliest arrivals in Colonial America. They came to found their homes in a wilderness or to carry out the work of their religious denomination. Most never got to return to visit their childhood homes or relatives, performing hard work daily the rest of their lives. Eliza Lucas Pinckney and others came looking for financial gain; some such as Ann Lee came to escape religious persecution; a few such as Margaret Brent came looking for adventure. Also profiled in this book are Priscilla Mullins Alden, Alice Carpenter S. Bradford, Margaret Tyndal Winthrop, Anne Marbury Hutchinson, Mary Barrett Dyer, Lady Deborah Dunch Moody, Penelope Van Princis Stout, Lady Frances Culpeper Berkeley, Margaret Hardenbroeck Philipse, Elizabeth Haddon Estaugh, Henrietta Deering Johnston, Susanna Wright, Sister Marie Madeleine Hachard, Elizabeth Timothy, Elizabeth Murray Smith, Margarethe Bechtel Jungmann, Mary Barnard Williams, Mary White Rowlandson, Jane Randolph Jefferson, and Anne Dudley Bradstreet.

Bismarck once said that God looked after drunkards, children and the U.S. of A. Some say that baseball should be added to the list. It must have been divine intervention that led the sport through a series of transformative challenges from the end of World War II to the game's first expansion in 1961. During this period baseball was forced to make a number of painful choices. From 1949 to 1954, attendance dropped more than 30 percent, as once loyal fans turned to other activities, started going to see more football, and began watching television. Also, the sport had to wrestle with racial integration, franchise shifts and unionization while trying to keep a firm hold on the minds and emotions of the public. This work chronicles how baseball, with imagination and some foresight, survived postwar challenges. Some of the solutions came about intelligently, some clumsily, but by 1960 baseball was a stronger, healthier and better balanced institution than ever before.

Ever since the English settled in America, extreme poverty and the inability of individuals to support themselves and their families have been persistent problems. In the early nineteenth century, many communities established almshouses, or "poorhouses," in a valiant but ultimately failed attempt to assist the destitute, including the sick, elderly, unemployed, mentally ill and orphaned, as well as unwed mothers, petty criminals and alcoholics. This work details the rise and decline of poorhouses in Massachusetts, painting a portrait of life inside these institutions and revealing a history of constant political and social turmoil over issues that dominate the conversation about welfare recipients even today. The first study to address the role of architecture in shaping as well as reflecting the treatment of paupers, it also provides photographs and histories of dozens of former poorhouses across the state, many of which still stand.

Since the early 1930s "MacPhail" has been a big name in baseball. Three generations of this one family have provided leadership, innovation and vision for the sport. Larry, Lee and Andy MacPhail, representing very different eras of American life, have each addressed baseball's needs and opportunities in his own way. During the 1930s and 1940s Larry MacPhail served as general manager and vice president of the Cincinnati Reds, executive vice president and president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and part owner and president of the New York Yankees. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978. Larry's son, Lee, worked for 13 years in the Yankee organization before serving as general manager and president of the Baltimore Orioles. Lee later served two five-year terms as president of the American League and two years as president of the Player Relations Committee. Lee was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, becoming the only son ever to join his father in the Hall. Lee's son, Andy, worked in management positions for the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins before becoming president and CEO of the Cubs.

Charlie Chaplin's remarkable life and comedic talent have been the focus of countless popular and scholarly studies. In this groundbreaking work, Chaplin's often underrated skills as a film director take center stage. Highlighting the screen icon's significance as a filmmaker, this study focuses on the heart of Chaplin's cinema--his silent works starring his alter-ego, Charlie--and examines both his great silent film features like The Kid, The Gold Rush and Modern Times, and his shorter, earlier films like The Immigrant, The Pawn Shop, The Pilgrim and A Dog's Life. An analysis of the formal properties of Chaplin's filmmaking reveals the merit of his cinema, the depth of its emotion and the extent of its meaning. Chaplin is among the great artists of any medium, in any time, with an ability to touch on very subtle aspects of the human condition.