Why do we shop and buy the way we do? In a work that will explain much about the American character, Eisenberg chronicles the dynamics of selling and buying from almost every angle. Neither a cheerleader for consumption nor an anti-consumerist scold, he explores with boundless curiosity the vast machinery aimed at inducing us to purchase everything from hair mousse to a little black dress. He leads us, with understated humor, into the broad universe of marketing, retailing, advertising, and consumer and scientific research--an arsenal of powerful forces that combine to form what he calls "The Sell Side."

Through the rest of the book, Eisenberg leads us through the "Buy Side" -- a journey directly into our own hearts and minds, asking among other questions: What are we really looking for when we buy? Why are we alternately excited, guilt-ridden, satisfied, disappointed, and recklessly impulsive? What are our biases, need for status, impulses to self-express, that lead us individually to buy what we buy?

Are you a classic buyer (your head wants to do the right thing), or a romantic buyer (your heart just wants to have fun)? How do men and women differ in their attitudes towards shopping, and does the old cliche -- "Women shop, men buy" -- apply any longer?

Of special interest are the author's findings on the subject of What Makes a Good Buy? We all purchase things that we sooner or later regret, but what are the guidelines for making purchases that we'll never regret? What, for instance, defines the perfect gift?

Brimming with wit and surprise, Shoptimism will be delightful and instructive reading for anyone with a credit card and a healthy curiosity about American culture, through good times and bad. For here, in one vivid journey, is a memorable, panoramic portrait of our everyday self-delusions, desires, and dreams. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/9781439160619/Eisenberg,-Lee-Shoptimism:-Why-the-American-Consumer-Will-Keep-on-Buying-No-Matter-What-(Mobipocket).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/9781439160619/Eisenberg,-Lee-Shoptimism:-Why-the-American-Consumer-Will-Keep-on-Buying-No-Matter-What-(Mobipocket).html
A complete update to the hit book on the real physics at work in comic books, featuring more heroes, more villains, and more science

Since 2001, James Kakalios has taught "Everything I Needed to Know About Physics I Learned from Reading Comic Books," a hugely popular university course that generated coast-to-coast media attention for its unique method of explaining complex physics concepts through comics. With The Physics of Superheroes, named one of the best science books of 2005 by Discover, he introduced his colorful approach to an even wider audience. Now Kakalios presents a totally updated, expanded edition that features even more superheroes and findings from the cutting edge of science. With three new chapters and completely revised throughout with a splashy, redesigned package, the book that explains why Spider-Man's webbing failed his girlfriend, the probable cause of Krypton's explosion, and the Newtonian physics at work in Gotham City is electrifying from cover to cover. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/9781101152362/Kakalios,-James-The-Physics-of-Superheroes:-Spectacular-Second-Edition-(Mobipocket).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/9781101152362/Kakalios,-James-The-Physics-of-Superheroes:-Spectacular-Second-Edition-(Mobipocket).html
With a widely eclectic variety of protest art in mediums such as relief, lithography, collagraph, and photography, this major collection of contemporary politically engaged printmaking showcases art that uses themes of social justice and global equity to engage community members in conversation. Based on an art exhibition that has traveled to more than a dozen cities in North America and including many do-it-yourself samples, this eye opening book contains works from more than 200 international artists. From the well established-Sue Coe, Swoon, Carlos Cortez-to street artists, rock poster makers, and up-and-comers such as Favianna Rodriguez and Chris Stain, this diverse collection is the work of artists who felt the need to respond to the monumental trends and events of modern politics. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862866/--Paper-Politics:-Socially-Engaged-Printmaking-Today-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862866/--Paper-Politics:-Socially-Engaged-Printmaking-Today-(Adobe-Reader).html
In-depth interviews with the main movers in the punk rock movement-Crass members Penny Rimbaud, Gee Vaucher, and Steve Ignorant-detail the face of the revolution founded by these radical thinkers and artists. When punk ruled the waves, Crass waived the rules by putting out their own records, films, and magazines and setting up a series of situationist pranks that were dutifully covered by the world's press. Not just another iconoclastic band, Crass was a musical, social, and political phenomenon: commune dwellers that were rarely photographed and remained contemptuous of conventional pop stardom. As detailed in this history, their members explored and finally exhausted the possibilities of punk-led anarchy. This definitive biography of the band not only gives backstage access to their lives, philosophies, and the movement that followed, but also to never-before-seen photographs and rare dialogues. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862319/Berger,-George-The-Story-of-Crass-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862319/Berger,-George-The-Story-of-Crass-(Adobe-Reader).html
Seeking to reclaim a history that has remained largely ignored by most historians, this dramatic and stirring account examines each of the definitive American cooperative movements for social change-farmer, union, consumer, and communalist-that have been all but erased from collective memory. Focusing far beyond one particular era, organization, leader, or form of cooperation, the expansive analysis documents the multigenerational struggle of the American working people for social justice. With an expansive sweep and breathtaking detail, the chronicle considers Native American times and follows the American worker from the colonial workshop to the modern mass-assembly line, ultimately painting a vivid panorama of those who built the United States and those who will shape its future. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862289/Curl,-John-For-All-the-People:-Uncovering-the-Hidden-History-of-Cooperation,-Cooperative-Movements,-and-Communalism-in-America-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862289/Curl,-John-For-All-the-People:-Uncovering-the-Hidden-History-of-Cooperation,-Cooperative-Movements,-and-Communalism-in-America-(Adobe-Reader).html
Truly fun for all ages, this unique coloring book subversively and playfully examines the female gender stereotypes that pervade daily life. A diverse group of pictures reinforce positive gender roles throughout the book and show that girls are thinkers, creators, fighters, and healers. Some of the characters who show the new face of the feminine include Rapunzel, who now has power tools and Miss Muffet, who tells the spider off and considers a career as an arachnologist. Deconstructing the homogeneity of gender expression has never been so colorful. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862165/Bunnell,-Jacinta,-Novak,-Julie-Girls-Are-Not-Chicks-Coloring-Book-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1604862165/Bunnell,-Jacinta,-Novak,-Julie-Girls-Are-Not-Chicks-Coloring-Book-(Adobe-Reader).html
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Part anthology and part travel guide, this book opens new worlds through intriguing real-life stories by travelers who have walked the walk of volunteer travel. The collection also includes a detailed volunteer guidebook section, listing charities needing volunteer assistance and organizations coordinating service-oriented travel. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0982549431/Kelsey,-Nola-Lee-The-Voluntary-Traveler:-Adventures-from-the-Road-Best-Traveled-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0982549431/Kelsey,-Nola-Lee-The-Voluntary-Traveler:-Adventures-from-the-Road-Best-Traveled-(Adobe-Reader).html
]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0472022571/Alter,-Nora-M.-Projecting-History:-German-Nonfiction-Cinema,-1967-2000-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0472022571/Alter,-Nora-M.-Projecting-History:-German-Nonfiction-Cinema,-1967-2000-(Adobe-Reader).html
]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0472022342/Sahlins,-Marshall-D.-Historical-Metaphors-and-Mythical-Realities:-Structure-in-the-Early-History-of-the-Sandwich-Islands-Kingdom-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/0472022342/Sahlins,-Marshall-D.-Historical-Metaphors-and-Mythical-Realities:-Structure-in-the-Early-History-of-the-Sandwich-Islands-Kingdom-(Adobe-Reader).html
Can Islam Be French? is an anthropological examination of how Muslims are responding to the conditions of life in France. Following up on his book Why the French Don't Like Headscarves, John Bowen turns his attention away from the perspectives of French non-Muslims to focus on those of the country's Muslims themselves. Bowen asks not the usual question--how well are Muslims integrating in France?--but, rather, how do French Muslims think about Islam? In particular, Bowen examines how French Muslims are fashioning new Islamic institutions and developing new ways of reasoning and teaching. He looks at some of the quite distinct ways in which mosques have connected with broader social and political forces, how Islamic educational entrepreneurs have fashioned niches for new forms of schooling, and how major Islamic public actors have set out a specifically French approach to religious norms. All of these efforts have provoked sharp responses in France and from overseas centers of Islamic scholarship, so Bowen also looks closely at debates over how--and how far--Muslims should adapt their religious traditions to these new social conditions. He argues that the particular ways in which Muslims have settled in France, and in which France governs religions, have created incentives for Muslims to develop new, pragmatic ways of thinking about religious issues in French society. ]]> http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1400831113/Bowen,-John-R.-Can-Islam-Be-French?:-Pluralism-and-Pragmatism-in-a-Secularist-State-(Adobe-Reader).html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 49:11:30 GMT http://www.ebooksabouteverything.com/ebooks/item/1400831113/Bowen,-John-R.-Can-Islam-Be-French?:-Pluralism-and-Pragmatism-in-a-Secularist-State-(Adobe-Reader).html
Plunder examines the dark side of the Rule of Law and explores how it has been used as a powerful political weapon by Western countries in order to legitimize plunder - the practice of violent extraction by stronger political actors victimizing weaker ones.

• Challenges traditionally held beliefs in the sanctity of the Rule of Law by exposing its dark side
• Examines the Rule of Law's relationship with 'plunder' - the practice of violent extraction by stronger political actors victimizing weaker ones - in the service of Western cultural and economic domination
• Provides global examples of plunder: of oil in Iraq; of ideas in the form of Western patents and intellectual property rights imposed on weaker peoples; and of liberty in the United States
• Dares to ask the paradoxical question - is the Rule of Law itself illegal?

• Offers a ground-breaking approach to central debates about globalization with chapters written by leading scholars from across the social sciences.
  
• Examines a range of phenomena that articulate broad structural transformations: technoscience, circuits of exchange, systems of governance, and regimes of ethics or values.
  
• Investigates these phenomena from the perspective of the "anthropological" problems they pose.
  
• Covers a broad range of geographical areas: Africa, the Middle East, East and South Asia, North America, South America, and Europe.
  
• Grapples with a number of empirical problems of popular and academic interest - from the organ trade, to accountancy, to pharmaceutical research, to neoliberal reform.

• An engrossing account of the Norte and Sur girl gangs - the largest Latino gangs in California
  
• Traces how elements of speech, bodily practices, and symbolic exchanges are used to signal social affiliation and come together to form youth gang styles
  
• Explores the relationship between language and the body: one of the most striking aspects of the tattoos, make-up, and clothing of the gang members
  
• Unlike other studies - which focus on violence, fighting and drugs - Mendoza-Denton delves into the commonly-overlooked cultural and linguistic aspects of youth gangs