Cultural Literature

"There has never been a better book about hip-hop...a record-biz portrait that jumps off the page."--A.V. Club THE INSPIRATION FOR THE VH1 SERIES THE BREAKSThe Big Payback takes readers from the first $15 made by a "rapping DJ" in 1970s New York to the...

On Highway 61 explores the historical context of the significant social dissent that was central to the cultural genesis of the sixties. The book is going to search for the deeper roots of American cultural and musical evolution for the past 150 years by...

A riveting account of one of the most remarkable episodes in American history. In his critically acclaimed history Freedom Summer, award- winning author Bruce Watson presents powerful testimony about a crucial episode in the American civil rights...

Probes the principal contradiction in the jazz world: that between black artistry on the one hand and white ownership of the means of jazz distribution -- the recording companies, booking agencies, festivals, nightclubs, and magazines -- on the other.

A galvanizing look at constitutional freedoms in the United States through the prism of attacks on the rights of American Muslims. American Muslim religious liberty lawyer Asma Uddin has long considered her work defending people of all faiths to be a...

A kaleidoscopic exploration that traverses history, literature, art, and science to reveal humans' unique and vibrant relationship with color. We have an extraordinary connection to color--we give it meanings, associations, and properties that last...

Our Musical Ambassador in Uganda, Abaho Gift Conrad, was raised in the local refugee camps. He was able to see how people who sing, drum and dance together are less likely to fight with one another so he joined Musical Ambassadors of Peace. This...

'A brave new voice that reaches out to us all' Miranda Doyle, author of A Book of Untruths 28-year-old Zeba Talkhani charts her experiences growing up in Saudi Arabia amid patriarchal customs reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, and her journey to find...

A senior editor at Mother Jones dives into the lives of the extremely rich, showing the fascinating, otherworldly realm they inhabit--and the insidious ways this realm harms us all. Have you ever fantasized about being ridiculously wealthy? Probably...

The true stroy of the longest-distance hijacking in American history. In an America torn apart by the Vietnam War and the demise of '60s idealism, airplane hijackings were astonishingly routine. Over a five-year period starting in 1968, the desperate and...

WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' PICK - A TODAY SUMMER READING LIST PICK - AN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY BEST DEBUT OF SUMMER PICK - A PEOPLE BEST BOOK OF SUMMER PICK A poetic and raw...

Radical glossary of the vocabulary of policing that redefines the very way we understand law enforcement It doesn't take firsthand experience to learn the meaning of pain compliance or rough ride. Police: A Field Guide is an illustrated handbook to the...

OURstory Unchained and Liberated from HIStory is a historical narrative that researches the lives and legacies of the slave ancestors of the first African American dean hired at Clemson University, uncovering unsuspecting ties between John C. Calhoun,...

In this examination of landscape and memory, four sites of American history are revealed as places where historical truth was written over by oppressive fiction--with profound repercussions for politics past and present. Popular narratives of American...

In this 'vital book for these times' (Kirkus Reviews), Don Lemon brings his vast audience and experience as a reporter and a Black man to today's most urgent question: How can we end racism in America in our lifetimes? The host of CNN Tonight with Don...

A guided tour of the physical Internet, as seen on, above, and below the city's streets What does the Internet look like? It's the single most essentail aspect of modern life, and yet, for many of us, the Internet looks like an open browser, or the...