An acclaimed music critic delves into the personal and cultural histories behind thirty-three of the twentieth century's most iconic protest songs.Dorian Lynskey is one of the most prominent music critics writing today. With 33 Revolutions Per Minute, he offers an engrossing, insightful, and wonderfully researched history of protest music in the twentieth century and beyond. From Billie Holiday and Woodie Guthrie to Bob Dylan and the Clash to Public Enemy a...

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A rich, captivating, and darkly humorous look into the evolution of apocalyptic thought, exploring how film and literature interact with developments in science, politics, and culture, and what factors drive our perennial obsession with the end of the world.As Dorian Lynskey writes, “People have been contemplating the end of the world for millennia.” In this immersive and compelling cultural history, Lynskey reveals how...

**"Rich and compelling. . .Lynskey’s account of the reach of 1984 is revelatory.”--George Packer, The AtlanticAn authoritative, wide-ranging, and incredibly timely history of 1984--its literary sources, its composition by Orwell, its deep and lasting effect on the Cold War, and its vast influence throughout world culture at every level, from high to pop.**1984 isn't just a novel; it's a key to understanding the modern world. George...

AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam SangheraWhat makes people believe in conspiracy theories? Why have they taken over our political sphere? And how do we counter them before it's too late?The world has always had conspiracy theories. From the Illuminati...

AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam SangheraWhy is 'fascist' used to describe everyone from dictators to parking wardens? Does the word 'fascism' describe a historical movement or an enduring ideology? And could we see it rise again today, in an age of populism?...

AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam SangheraWhy is 'fascist' used to describe everyone from dictators to parking wardens? Does the word 'fascism' describe a historical movement or an enduring ideology? And could we see it rise again today, in an age of populism?...

AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam SangheraA coherent political philosophy or a vacuous cop-out? A pragmatic middle way between the extremes of left and right or a cynical strategy to secure power and neuter debate?Politicians have long invoked centrism...

AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam SangheraWhat makes people believe in conspiracy theories? Why have they taken over our political sphere? And how do we counter them before it's too late?The world has always had conspiracy theories. From the Illuminati...

AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford'I wish I could make Ian and Dorian's work mandatory' Sathnam SangheraA coherent political philosophy or a vacuous cop-out? A pragmatic middle way between the extremes of left and right or a cynical strategy to secure power and neuter debate?Politicians have long invoked centrism...

One-of-a-kind cultural critic and New York Times bestselling author Chuck Klosterman explores villains, antiheroes, morality, and American popular culture in this provocative and funny collection of essays, offering “great facts, interesting cultural insights, and thought-provoking moral calculations in this look at our love affair with the anti-hero” (New York magazine).Chuck Klosterman, “The Ethicist” for The New York Times Magazine...

Woodstock, the moon landing, Charles Manson, Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, and more. A must-read for baby boomers and the generations that came after!Here is a rich, comprehensive narrative, chronicling an unparalleled year in American society in all its explosive ups and downs. 1969. The very mention of this year summons indelible memories.Woodstock and Altamont.Charles Manson and the Zodiac Killer.The televised moon landing

Harry Belafonte is not just one of the greatest entertainers of our time; he has led one of the great American lives of the last century. Now, this extraordinary icon tells us the story of that life, giving us its full breadth, letting us share in the struggles, the tragedies, and, most of all, the inspiring triumphs.Belafonte grew up, poverty-ridden, in Harlem and Jamaica. His mother was a complex woman—caring but withdrawn, eternally angry and rarely satisfied. His father was dis...