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History & Criticism eBooks

If you like History & Criticism eBooks, then you'll love these top picks.
Showing 73 - 96 of 1279 Results
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  • The Walking Dead

    The Untold History of Television

    Series series The Untold History of Television
    The Untold History of Television provides an exciting glimpse behind the scenes of the groundbreaking series that have defined the landscape of popular culture.Based on the wildly popular comic by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead is a riveting drama about experiencing a zombie apocalypse—and living to tell the tale. It explores the survivors’s fate and questions who poses the greater threat: the ... Read more

    $1.99 USD

  • When Variety Was King

    Memoir of a TV Pioneer

    A television producer’s “fascinating” memoir of the golden age of the variety show (Kirkus Reviews).A humble Canadian boy who grew up to create iconic American TV shows featuring the Hollywood celebrities of the day, Frank Peppiatt made his breakthrough by developing the rock TV show Hullabuloo with his partner, John Aylesworth. That led to a writing gig for Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé—and then ... Read more

    $12.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek

    How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television

    by Thea Glassman ...
    The untold stories of seven revolutionary teen shows (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee) that shaped the course of modern television and our pop cultural landscape forever.The modern television landscape is defined by influential and ambitious shows for and about teenagers. Groundbreaking series like Euphoria< ... Read more

    $14.99 USD

  • Masterpiece

    America's 50-Year-Old Love Affair with British Television Drama

    by Nancy West ...
    "The definitive guide for scholars and fans alike to all things Masterpiece and Mystery**!"** Library Journal**, Starred Review**On a wintry night in 1971, Masterpiece Theatre debuted on PBS. Fifty years later, America’s appetite for British drama has never been bigger. The classic television program has brought its fans protagonists such as The Dowager Countess ... ... Read more

    $30.99 USD

  • Alternate Channels

    Queer Images on 20th-Century TV (revised edition)

    Alternate Channels explores the fight for lesbian and gay visibility on 20th-century American television, as gay activists faced off with powerful, often vicious "traditional values" crusaders, with TV executives caught in the crossfire.It documents countless programs, characters, and political skirmishes, examining lesbian and gay portrayals and the few pioneering depictions of bisexual and trans ... Read more

    $7.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • It's Not TV

    The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO

    **“A read so riveting, it's not hard to imagine watching it unfold on Sunday nights.” —The Associated Press“An incisive account that is more than a rosy victory lap for one of TV’s most influential channels.” —Eric Deggans, NPR’s “Books We Love”“It’s Not TV proves to be a lively companion to all these shows.” —Andrew O’Hagan, The New York Review of BooksThe inside story of HBO, the start-up ... Read more

    $7.99 USD

  • Maggie Smith: A Biography

    A Biography

    This perfect gift book for fans of Downton Abbey will take them behind the scenes of the Grand Dame who brings the Dowager Countess to life.No one does glamour, severity, girlish charm or tight-lipped witticism better than Dame Maggie Smith. Michael Coveney's biography shines a light on the life and career of a truly remarkable performer, one whose stage and screen career spans six decades.From ... Read more

    $11.99 USD

  • Surviving Cissy

    My Family Affair of Life in Hollywood

    Kathy Garver, the teenage heartthrob from the hit series Family Affair (1966–1971), was no one-hit wonder, but a journeywoman actress who appeared in such classic films as Night of the Hunter and The Ten Commandments long before she became a television icon.This memoir is a recollection of a working actress’s experiences, from the many films, television shows, and stage plays in which she ... Read more

    $9.99 USD

  • The Last Days Of Letterman

    On May 20, 2015, Dave said, "Thank you and goodnight." The Foo Fighters sang "Everlong," and Late Show with David Letterman ended its run. The final six weeks of the series had guests like Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, and the Obamas. All names you have heard many times. But it was the people behind the scenes who pulled off these twenty-eight unforgettable episodes of late-night ... Read more

    $7.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Friday Night Lights

    The Untold History of Television

    Series series The Untold History of Television
    The Untold History of Television provides a captivating glimpse behind the scenes of the groundbreaking series that have both defined and changed the pop culture landscape.Honest, compelling and full of heart, Friday Night Lights brought small-town Texas football into the lives of television viewers across North America. From book to movie to the small screen, Friday Night Lights struggled against ... Read more

    $1.99 USD

  • Perry Mason

    by Thomas Leitch ...
    An exploration of the enduring popularity of the television series Perry Mason and its universal reputation as the most formulaic program in the history of broadcast television. ... Read more

    $15.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Star Trek: A Post-structural Critique of the Original Series

    Media critic Michael Hemmingson offers a history and critique of the original Star Trek TV series, and the impact it has had on our culture, language, and science. Using the post-strctural lens, this study offers an insightful examination of sexual politics, colonial expansion, the human superiority over aliens, military action and the prime directive within the Star Trek realm. ... Read more

    $2.99 USD

  • Inside Gilligan's Island: From Creation to Syndication

    From Creation to Syndication

    While every new TV series has to face some problems, no show had to overcome greater obstacles than Gilligan's Island. In spite of that, no series has achieved greater success, as measured by the fact that Gilligan's Island has given rise to three TV movies, two animated series, and is the most rerun program in the entire history of television. Now, Sherwood Schwartz, creator, writer, and producer ... Read more

    $16.99 USD

  • This Is a Book About the Kids in the Hall

    by John Semley ...
    The first book to explore their history, legacy, and influenceThis is a book about the Kids in the Hall — the legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in Toronto in 1984 and best known for the innovative, hilarious, zeitgeist-capturing sketch show The Kids in the Hall — told by the people who were there, namely the Kids themselves. John Semley’s thoroughly researched book is rich with ... Read more

    $9.99 USD

  • The Physics of Star Trek

    How does the Star Trek universe stack up against the real universe?What warps when you're traveling at warp speed? What is the difference between a wormhole and a black hole? Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmother before I am born? Anyone who has ever wondered "could this really happen?" will gain useful insights into the Star Trek universe (and, incidentally, the real world ... Read more

    $11.99 USD

  • The Sopranos Sessions

    A Conversation with David Chase

    New York Times–Bestseller: “The authors’ interviews with Chase are endlessly illuminating . . . the definitive celebration of a show that made history.” —Kirkus ReviewsOn January 10, 1999, a mobster walked into a psychiatrist’s office and changed TV history. By shattering preconceptions about the kinds of stories the medium should tell, The Sopranos launched our current age of prestige television, ... Read more

    $17.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • You Might Remember Me

    The Life and Times of Phil Hartman

    by Mike Thomas ...
    Beloved TV comedic actor Phil Hartman is best known for his eight brilliant seasons on Saturday Night Live, where his versatility and comedic timing resulted in some of the funniest and most famous sketches in the television show's history. Besides his hilarious impersonations of Phil Donahue, Frank Sinatra and Bill Clinton, Hartman's other indelible characters included Cirroc the Unfrozen Caveman ... Read more

    $11.99 USD

  • Reality Bites Back

    The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV

    Nearly every night on every major network,"unscripted" (but carefully crafted) "reality" TV shows routinely glorify retrograde stereotypes that most people would assume got left behind 35 years ago.In Reality Bites Back, media critic Jennifer L. Pozner aims a critical, analytical lens at a trend most people dismiss as harmless fluff. She deconstructs reality TV's twisted fairytales to demonstrate ... Read more

    $10.99 USD

  • TV Goes to Hell

    As a natural heir to the long-running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural has risen to prominence with a strong cult following, and this collection of essays from contributors around the globe investigates the genre-bending series cultural footprint both in North America and abroad.The book explores topics such as folklore, religion, gender and sexuality, comedy, music, and ... Read more

    $9.99 USD

  • TARDIS Eruditorum An Unofficial Critical History of Doctor Who Volume 3: Jon Pertwee

    Series series TARDIS Eruditorum
    In this third volume of essays adapted from the acclaimed blog TARDIS Eruditorum you'll find a critical history of the Jon Pertwee years of Doctor Who. TARDIS Eruditorum tells the ongoing story of Doctor Who from its beginnings in the 1960s to the present day, pushing beyond received wisdom and fan dogma to understand that story not just as the story of a geeky sci-fi show but as the story of an ... Read more

    $4.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

  • Hail to the Chin

    Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor

    New York Times bestsellerIntroduction by New York Times bestselling author and famous minor television personality John HodgmanOne of my dad’s favorite jokes about getting older was: “I went out for coffee when I was twenty-one and when I got back I was fifty-eight!”I get what he meant now. Time flies. My first book, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor, was published back in 2001 ... Read more

    $11.99 USD

  • The Platinum Age of Television

    From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific

    Television today is better than ever. From The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, Sex and the City to Girls, and Modern Family to Louie, never has so much quality programming dominated our screens. Exploring how we got here, acclaimed TV critic David Bianculli traces the evolution of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the Western, the animated ... Read more

    $13.99 USD

  • Three Blind Mice

    How the TV Networks Lost Their Way

    by Ken Auletta ...
    What happened to network television in the 1980s? How did CBS, NBC, and ABC lose a third of their audience and more than half of their annual profits?Ken Auletta, author of Greed and Glory on Wall Street, tells the gripping story of the decline of the networks in this epically scaled work of journalism. He chronicles the takeovers and executive coups that turned ABC and NBC into assets of two mega ... Read more

    $14.99 USD $10.99 USD

  • Textual Poachers

    Television Fans and Participatory Culture

    by Henry Jenkins ...
    The twentieth anniversary edition of Henry Jenkins’s Textual Poachers brings this now-canonical text to a new generation of students interested in the intersections of fandom, participatory culture, popular consumption and media theory.Supplementing the original, classic text is an interview between Henry Jenkins and Suzanne Scott in which Jenkins reflects upon changes in the field since the ... Read more

    $64.99 USD