Alan J. Pakula's political thriller All the President's Men (1976) was met with immediate critical and commercial success upon its release, finishing second at the box office and earning seven Academy Award nominations.Through a close reading of key scenes, performances and stylistic decisions, Christian Keathley and Robert B. Ray show how the film derives its narrative power through a series of controlled oppositions: silence vs. noise; stationary vs. moving camera; dark ...

Provocative and illuminating essays on Thoreau's masterwork, shedding new light on its enduring inspiration and philosophical depth.In 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved from his parents' house in Concord, Massachusetts, to a one-room cabin he built himself on the land of his mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson. He described his time there, just over two years, as an experiment in "living deliberately." His daily journal entries became the source material for Walden,...

Robert B. Ray examines the ideology of the most enduringly popular cinema in the world--the Hollywood movie. Aided by 364 frame enlargements, he describes the development of that historically overdetermined form, giving close readings of five typical instances: Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Godfather, and Taxi Driver. Like the heroes of these movies, American filmmaking has avoided commitment, in both p...

After over a century of existence, the cinema still has its mysteries. Why, for example, is the job we call movie stardom unlike any other in the world? How do films provide so much unconcealed information that we fail to notice? What makes it hard to define what counts as “acting”? How do movies like Casablanca and Breathless store the film and world histories of their generations? How can we reconcile auteurism’s celebration of the movie director’s authority wi...

Speaking about the kind of filmmaking now known as Classic Hollywood, the most popular and influential cinema ever invented, Vincente Minnelli once gave away its secret: "I feel that a picture that stays with you is made up of a hundred or more hidden things. They're things that the audience is not conscious of, but that accumulate." What are those hidden things? Can we invent a method that will enable us to discover them? Robert Ray attempts to answer those questions by looking closely at...

Mystery short stories twisted in fantasy or science fiction settings. Straight detective fiction or a cozy like no other cozy before it.Ten great mystery and crime stories that could only have come from the pages of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine.As far as answering the question of “whodunnit” with a crime. Sure, the authors in this volume do their best, but not in any way you might expect in a regular mystery. Of course nothing ever seems “regular” in Pulphouse Fi...

This anthology, designed for use in undergraduate courses in environmental ethics, includes new and classic readings by leading writers in the field, full-length case studies, and many short discussion cases. Introductions and discussion questions are provided for all the essays, with each chapter introduced by a summary of the issues and appropriate philosophic, historical and scientific background. Exploring ethical theory, environmental ethics, science and the environmental movement, Ea...

Red Frontier is the ultimate journey to the most fascinating world in classic science fiction. Spanning more than 30 hours of listening, this extraordinary collection brings together sixty unforgettable stories that explore Mars as only the greatest writers of the golden age could imagine it—a world of forgotten civilizations, dangerous frontiers, mysterious ruins, and endless possibilities.Featuring timeless adventures from Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Di...

If you're part of a financial brand marketing, sales, or leadership team, you know the entire industry is in the midst of exponential change fueled by new technologies. Consumers now make purchase decisions long before they walk into a physical branch location, if they walk into a branch at all, while mobile banks, digital lenders, and fintechs have transformed traditional growth models rooted in legacy broadcast marketing and branch sales strategies. Up to this point you've only dabbled i...

SummaryWhispers from the Beyond: Ghosts of India is a journey into the rich and diverse supernatural folklore of India, exploring the ghost stories, haunted places, and rituals that have captivated the country for centuries. Spanning both urban legends and rural folklore, the book delves into the unique cultural and religious beliefs that shape India's understanding of the spirit world.The book opens with a look at how different Indian religions—including Hinduism, Islam, a...

Condemned Without Cause delves into the tragic and deeply unjust world of wrongful convictions, exploring how innocent individuals find themselves condemned for crimes they didn't commit. Through a comprehensive examination of real-life cases, author Ray Roberts exposes the systemic failures within the justice system—ranging from eyewitness misidentification and coerced confessions to prosecutorial misconduct and flawed forensic science.The book offers readers a deep understanding ...

Summary of A House Divided: The American Civil War: Causes, Battles, and ConsequencesA House Divided explores the profound impact of the American Civil War, a conflict that forever shaped the United States. The book traces the roots of the war, beginning with the growing tensions between North and South over slavery, states' rights, and economic differences. Key events such as the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the election of Abraham Lincoln are highlighted as p...