How did workers experience cut glass during its cultural heyday? Rather than privilege the stories of factory owners or wealthy consumers, Undercut: Cut Glass in Working-Class Life During the Long Gilded Age refracts the medium’s history through the labors required to make and maintain these dazzling artifacts as well as popular representations of this work, from demonstrations at world's fairs to images of domestic workers with finished pieces in their charge. Cut glass and the m...

“Who knew the humble pocket could hold so much history? In this enthralling and always surprising account, Hannah Carlson turns the pocket inside out and out tumble pocket watches, coins, pistols, and a riveting centuries-long social and political history.” ―**Jill Lepore, author of These Truths: A History of the United StatesPockets "showcases the best features of cultural history: a lively combination of visual, literary and documentary evidence...

A powerhouse of architectural biography by Pulitzer Prize winning critic Ada Louise Huxtable of America's greatest architectRenowned architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable's biography Frank Lloyd Wright looks at the architect and the man, from his tumultuous personal life to his long career as a master builder. Along the way she introduces Wright's masterpieces, from the tranquil Fallingwater to Taliesin, rebuilt after tragedy and murder-not only explorin...

"A wonderfully readable account of Chicago's early history" and the inspiration behind PBS's American Experience (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times).Depicting its turbulent beginnings to its current status as one of the world's most dynamic cities, City of the Century tells the story of Chicago—and the story of America, writ small. From its many natural disasters, including the Great Fire of 1871 and several cholera epidemics, to its winner-tak...

**WINNER OF THE 2023 HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS BOOK CIRCLE AWARD IN NONFICTIONNAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES • THE GLOBE AND MAIL • GRANTA • THE NEW YORKER • CBC • VULTUREA TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE ATLANTIC • KIRKUS REVIEWS • PUBLISHERS WEEKLY • BARNES AND NOBLEThe critically acclaimed author of In the Wak...

The first major biography of the irrepressible woman who changed the way we view and live in cities, and whose influence can still be felt in any discussion of urban planning to this day.Eyes on the Street is a revelation of the phenomenal woman who raised three children, wrote seven groundbreaking books, saved neighborhoods, stopped expressways, was arrested twice, and engaged at home and on the streets in thousands of debates--all of which she won. Here ...

A lively account of the dinosaur's role in Gilded Age America, examining the connection between business, paleontology, and museums.Although dinosaur fossils were first found in England, a series of dramatic discoveries during the late 1800s turned North America into a world center for vertebrate paleontology. At the same time, the United States emerged as the world's largest industrial economy, and creatures like Tyrannosaurus, Brontosaurus, and

A love for reading is one of the most precious gifts that we can give children. It nurtures their imagination and creativity, lets them explore other worlds, and opens their minds to new truths and knowledge in appealing, inspiring ways. But how can we sort through thousands of children's books to discover the really worthwhile ones? Elizabeth Wilson offers us a newly revised, comprehensive guide to the very best in children's literature. Just as in the original volume, she comments on the t...

Surrounded by mechanical appliances and electronic gadgets, today’s woman devotes as much time to housework as a woman living in the early decades of the 20th century. This book explains why.“This work won the 1984 Dexter Prize of the Society for the History of Technology. It is a history of housework and household technology from the 17th century to the present. Ruth Schwartz Cowan contends that households were not industrialized the way other workplaces were in the 19th century a...

This monumental work of cultural history was nominated for a National Book Award. It chronicles America's transformation, beginning in 1880, into a nation of consumers, devoted to a cult of comfort, bodily well-being, and endless acquisition. 24 pages of photos.

“American Eden moves luminously through landscapes of history, literature, biography, and design theory. . . . fusing sharp-edged analysis and graceful American prose.” —Kevin Starr, author of Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge“Informative and absolutely engrossing.” —Ross King, author of Brunelleschi's DomeGarden designer and historian Wade Graham offers a unique vision of the story of America in this riveting exploration of the nation’s gardens a...

Eggleston, the iconoclastic and colorful groundbreaker, imbues the mundane with vibrancy.This article appears in the Summer 2011 issue of Southern Cultures:The Photography Issue. “When the color photographs of William Eggleston first appeared at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976, the boldness of Eggleston’s palette and his disregard for the conventions of black-and-white photography were shocking; nearly all the major critics were scornful, and Ansel Adams wrote a scathing letter of protest...