Horse trading in the age of cars

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Nigel Harkness

"Whereas the centrality of femininity to nineteenth-century French fiction has been the focus of widespread critical attention, masculinity has, until recently, received little sustained treatment in either the literary or socio-historical domains. In this book, Nigel Harkness uses the fiction of George Sand (1804-76), the pre-eminent woman writer of the period, to explore questions of masculinity as they pertain to the nineteenth-century French novel, and to map out new approaches to the study of literary masculinity." "Drawing on contemporary theories of gender and narrative, Harkness reveals how Sand's novels repeatedly focus on a nexus of language, masculinity and power, in which narrative is both a vehicle for the expression of manhood, and a site where masculinity is discursively performed. Masculinity is thus reconfigured in Sand's fiction as an identity constituted as much through words as through actions. Analysis of these performances of masculinity offers fresh insights into gendered processes of literary representation in the nineteenth-century French novel."--Jacket.

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Chris Oxlade and Anita Ganeri

Offers a comprehensive and cross-curricular look at scientific inventions. This title explores the principal of one life changing invention, and traces its story from conception and prototypes, to revisions and the modern day.

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Simon Glen

"This book tells the definitive international story of the Volkswagen Type 3. Simon Glen writes from first-hand experience, having owned seven Type 3s - five Variants, a 1500 Notchback and a 1500S Karmann*Ghia - which have been driven through Africa, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.Covering the Type 3's 20 year production span, and detailing Type 3 Notchbacks, Fastbacks, Variants and the Karmann Ghia, this book provides a fascinating insight into the history and production of these classic cars."--Publisher's description.

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Guillermo Giucci

"From its invention in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century, the automobile crisscrossed the world, completely took over the cities, and became a feature of daily life. Considered basic to the American lifestyle, the car reflected individualism, pragmatism, comfort, and above all, modernity. In Latin America, it served as a symbol of distinction, similar to jewelry or fine clothing. In The Cultural Life of the Automobile, Guillermo Giucci focuses on the automobile as an instrument of social change through its 'kinetic modernity' and as an embodiment of the tremendous social impact of technology on cultural life. Material culture--how certain objects generate a wide array of cultural responses--has been the focus of much scholarly discussion in recent years. The automobile wrought major changes and inspired images in language, literature, and popular culture. Focusing primarily on Latin America but also covering the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa, Giucci examines how the automobile was variously adapted by different cultures and how its use shaped and changed social and economic relationships within them. At the same time, he shows how the 'automobilization' of society became an essential support for the development of modern individualism, and the automobile its clearest material manifestation."--Page 4 of cover.