Popular Culture

The highly anticipated new book from Malcolm Gladwell, No.1 international bestselling author of The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw and David and Goliath In July 2015, a young black woman named Sandra Bland was pulled over for a minor traffic violation in rural T...exas. Minutes later she was arrested and jailed. Three days later, she committed suicide in her cell. What went wrong? Talking to Strangers is all about what happens when we encounter people we don't know, why it often goes awry, and what it says about us. How do we make sense of the unfamiliar? Why are we so bad at judging someone, reading a face, or detecting a lie? Why do we so often fail to 'get' other people? Through a series of puzzles, encounters and misunderstandings, from little-known stories to infamous legal cases, Gladwell takes us on a journey through the unexpected. You will read about the spy who spent years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon, the man who saw through the fraudster Bernie Madoff, the suicide of the poet Sylvia Plath and the false conviction of Amanda Knox. You will discover that strangers are never simple. No one shows us who we are like Malcolm Gladwell. Here he sets out to understand why we act the way we do, and how we all might know a little more about those we don't.
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Kiwiana is an essential guide for both New Zealanders and overseas visitors, identifying and celebrating some of the more colourful and durable aspects of this country's popular culture. Known as Kiwiana, these are characterful objects and customs that define the New Zealand way ...of life. They have become distinctive to this country, frequently illustrating a response to its climate, geography and location in the southwest corner of the Pacific. Some of these examples of Kiwiana had their origins in the nineteenth century and others emerged more recently, while most reflected the development of a local ingenuity, an uncanny ability to `make do'. With the growth of international travel and trade in the late twentieth century, many distinctive features of the New Zealand way of life became increasingly vulnerable in the face of overseas influences. This collection therefore celebrates some of the more hardy examples of Kiwiana, those classics that have endured over the years, while also acknowledging a nostalgia for the recent past, a period recalled with amusement and affection. At the same time, these so-called icons of Kiwiana will be of interest to overseas visitors, representing a quirky and colourful resource unique to New Zealand, and is priced as an ideal keepsake from their visit.
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What if Rey hadn't grown up all alone on dusty planet Jakku, but instead had a galaxy of friends to play with? The New York Times-bestselling author of the Darth Vader and Son series returns with a collection of brand-new adventures starring young Rey and Kylo, Finn and Poe, Hux ...and Phasma, Rose and BB-8--all under the watch of Luke, General Leia, Han, and Chewie.ewie.
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By the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Alexander Turnbull Library, this glorious, fully illustrated discovery of New Zealand's key times brings history to life. Each day of the year features a story ranging from the nation-forming to the quirky. Born on this Day boxes s...cattered throughout provide details on around 100 significant figures.
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Uplifting, joyous and charming, A Road for All Seasons is a vivid, social and cultural snapshot of 21st-century Britain.