In "The Right to Be Lazy, and Other Studies," Paul Lafargue offers a provocative examination of labor and leisure within the capitalist framework, critiquing the cult of work that dominated 19th-century socio-economic thought. Employing a satirical yet erudite literary style, Lafargue challenges prevailing notions of productivity and virtue associated with hard work, arguing instead for the human right to enjoy leisure. The text is steeped in the context of Marxist theory, interweaving phi...

Stephen Barlay's gripping Cold War drama about the threat of nuclear warLaid up in a CIA hospital, recovering from a gunshot wound, British agent Maxon is about to have his peaceful convalescence shattered. As the radio DJ introduces In the Mood, the swinging sound of Glenn Miller is cut off by a shrill, insistent alarm - one signalling imminent, universal death. America's brand new Global Early Warning System has detected an approaching nuclear missile fr...

This essay collection is a wide-ranging exploration of Vikings, the television series that has successfully summoned the historical world of the Norse people for modern audiences to enjoy. From a range of critical viewpoints, these all fresh essays explore the ways in which past and present representations of the Vikings converge in the show's richly textured dramatization of the rise and fall of Ragnar Loobrok--and the exploits of his heirs--creating what many viewers label a "tr...