Decorative Art, a British journal of design, furniture and anything related to modern interiors annually published a Studio Yearbook, beginning in 1906. Taschen now reissued the yearbooks of two decades, collected in separate volumes, here with emphasis on the 1950s and 1960s, respectively. As the original vintage journals are long out of print and hard […]
The Giallo Canvas: Art, Excess and Horror Cinema by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2021)
The genre of the “yellow” (in Italian: “giallo”) movie, that roughly surfaced in loud colors from the early 1960s, labels generally Italian productions whose plots, as a rule, ended badly for the female protagonists, has attracted many fans worldwide. They all appreciate the genre’s blend of tension, thriller elements, usually excellent and highly experimental soundtracks, […]
Amplified: A Design History of the Electric Guitar by Paul Atkinson (2021)
Roughly one hundred years ago, a certain instrument was modified, or rather, promoted from acoustic to electric, to become the most important tool for modern popular music. The electric guitar, depending on your source and information, was brought about around 1928, to be mass produced by another inventor in 1931, to make a comparatively quiet […]
The Star Wars Archives. 1999–2005 by Paul Duncan (2020)
The three original parts of the Star Wars saga (later renamed episodes IV, V and VI) were masterfully documented and praised in film historian Paul Duncan’s The Star Wars Archives. 1977–1983 in 2018. The new, second documentary volume on the space opera will enhance the view on the three prequel films. On 600 pages, Duncan’s […]
Excavating Indiana Jones. Essays on the Films and Franchise by Randy Laist (ed.) (2021)
The stories of the fictional archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr. drew millions to the movie theaters, as his tales, for one reason or another, satisfied a number of interests altogether. Such as 1930s style heroic high-paced action, stereotypical enemies, mysterious riddles, occult worship, exotic settings, and the unique chance to witness the […]
The Kinks: Songs of the Semi-Detached by Mark Doyle (2020)
For all of those Kinks fans interested in a biography or personal history of the Davies brothers: this book will not satisfy you. However, as there is no lack of either Ray Davies or Kinks biographies, this title has something else, something better to offer. Centered around the idea of conceptual pairs that differ tremendously […]
I Died a Million Times: Gangster Noir in Midcentury America by Robert Miklitsch (2021)
In his current title author Robert Miklitsch goes on a long excursion to introduce several classic 1950s movies to identify and, in a way, separate the gangster films of that period from the films noir. As not every gangster movie automatically was a film noir, neither did all contemporary noirs feature one or more gangsters. […]
Star Trek and the British Age of Sail: The Maritime Influence … by Stefan Rabitsch (2019)
The overwhelming success of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek stories to a large part is based on his good instincts to tell adventure stories in ways familiar to audiences, in this case man against nature (or the incalculable risks) while cruising uncharted regions not of the Pacific, but space. Author Stefan Rabitsch in eight chapters advocates […]
Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America by Wendy A. Woloson (2020)
To uncover the motivation behind the purchase of millions of basically purpose-free small “crap” objects, Wendy Woloson describes in great detail the giant industry behind the “novelties” and “labor saving inventions” that actually are little more than useless cutlery, buttons, dolls and other commodities. Objects that were originally produced only to convince buyers that they […]