Lawrence Samuel: 21 books

Public sociology—an approach to sociology that aims to communicate with and actively engage wider audiences—has been one of the most widely discussed topics in the discipline in recent years. The Handbook of Public Sociology presents a comprehensive look at every facet of public sociology in theory...

Five seminal events occurred in New York City in the pivotal year 1964: the “British Invasion,” the arrival of the Beatles in February; the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens in March; the World’s Fair that ran in Queens between April and October; the “race riots” in Brooklyn and Harlem...

This book is a history of how television advertising rose to become a defining force in American culture in the two decades after World War II.

The great majority of startups fail, and most entrepreneurs who have succeeded have had to bounce back from serious mistakes. Entrepreneurs fumble key interactions because they don’t know how to handle the negotiation challenges that almost always arise. They mistakenly believe that deals are about...

American Fatherhood: A Cultural History traces changes in what it means to be a dad in America, from the 1960s through today. The book begins with an overview of fatherhood in America from the “founding fathers” through the 1950s and progresses to the role of fathers as they were encouraged to...

The American writer—both real and fictitious, famous and obscure—has traditionally been situated on the margins of society, an outsider looking in. From The Great Gatsby’s Nick Carraway to the millions of bloggers today, writers are generally seen as onlookers documenting the human condition....

The notion of one day disappearing from the earth forever is contrary to many of America’s defining cultural values, with death and dying viewed as “un-American” experiences. Arguing that death and dying may be our last major taboo, this book shows how death and dying became almost unmentionable...