Wes Wolfe's Books

Inside Our National Parks And Monuments

A Perilous Fight

By: Wes Wolfe

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Inside Our National Parks And Monuments

A Perilous Fight

By: Wes Wolfe

Our national parks and monuments reflect the heart and soul of the United States. We cannot allow selfish government policies and actions to desecrate these national treasures. We need your support to protect and preserve the very best of our country. We must leave the national parks and monuments unimpaired for our children, their children, their children's children and their children, ad infinitum.

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274

Publisher

Page Publishing Inc

Published Date

ISBN 10

1644620499

ISBN 13

9781644620496

Kinds of American Film Comedy

Six Core Genres and Their Literary Roots

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Kinds of American Film Comedy

Six Core Genres and Their Literary Roots

By: Wes D. Gehring

This groundbreaking film study begins with a survey of American print humorists from eras leading up to and overlapping the advent of film--including some who worked both on the page and on the screen, like Robert Benchley, Will Rogers, Groucho Marx and W. C. Fields. Six comic film genres are identified as outgrowths of a national tradition of Cracker Barrel philosophers, personality comedy, parody, screwball comedy, romantic comedy and dark comedy. Whether it is Mark Twain or a parody film involving Steve Martin, comedy is most often about blowing "raspberries" at the world, and a reminder you are not alone.

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Page Count

243

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476650497

ISBN 13

9781476650494

New Monasticism and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism

By: Wes Markofski

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New Monasticism and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism

By: Wes Markofski

For most of the last century, popular and scholarly common sense has equated American evangelicalism with across-the-board social, economic, and political conservatism. However, if a growing chorus of evangelical leaders, media pundits, and religious scholars is to be believed, the era of uncontested evangelical conservatism is on the brink of collapse-if it hasn't collapsed already. Combining vivid ethnographic storytelling and incisive theoretical analysis, New Monasticism and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism introduces readers to the fascinating and unexplored terrain of neo-monastic evangelicalism. Often located in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, new monastic communities pursue religiously inspired visions of racial, social, and economic justice-alongside personal spiritual transformation-through diverse and creative expressions of radical community. In this account, Wes Markofski has immersed himself in the paradoxical world of evangelical neo-monasticism, focusing on the Urban Monastery-an influential neo-monastic community located in a gritty, racially diverse neighborhood in a major Midwestern American city. The resulting account of the way in which this movement reflects and is contributing to the transformation of American evangelicalism challenges entrenched stereotypes and calls attention to the dynamic diversity of religious and political points of view which vie for supremacy in the American evangelical subculture. New Monasticism and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism is the first sociological analysis of new monastic evangelicalism and the first major work to theorize the growing theological and political diversity within twenty-first-century American evangelicalism.

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Page Count

377

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190236493

ISBN 13

9780190236496

New Roots for Agriculture

By: Wes Jackson

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New Roots for Agriculture

By: Wes Jackson

The plowshare may well have destroyed more options for future generations than the sword," writes Wes Jackson in a review of practices that have brought U.S. agriculture to the edge of disaster. Tillage has hastened the erosion of irreplaceable topsoil everywhere and a technology based on fossil fuels has increased yields for short-term profits, leaving crops ever more vulnerable to diseases, pests, and droughts. Such, says Jackson, is "the failure of success." As high-technology agriculture becomes more wasteful and expensive, more farmers are being forced off the land or into bankruptcy. ø Jackson's major solution calls for the development of plant combinations that yield food while holding the soil and re-newing its nutrients without plowing or applying fossil-fuel-based fertilizers or pesticides. His new way of raising crops, by working with the soil's natural systems, would keep the world's bread-basket producing perpetually.

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Page Count

172

Publisher

U of Nebraska Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0803275625

ISBN 13

9780803275621

Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s

Twelve American Films

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s

Twelve American Films

By: Wes D. Gehring

This examination of dark comedies of the 1970s focuses on films which concealed black humor behind a misleading genre label. All That Jazz (1979) is a musical...about death--hardly Fred and Ginger territory. This masking goes beyond misnomer to a breaking of formula that director Robert Altman called "anti-genre." Altman's MASH (1970) ridiculed the military establishment in general--the Vietnam War in particular--under the guise of a standard military service comedy. The picaresque Western Little Big Man (1970) turned the bluecoats vs. Indians formula upside-down--the audience roots for the Indians instead of the cavalry. The book covers 12 essential films, including Harold and Maude (1971), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Being There (1979), with notes on A Clockwork Orange (1971). These films reveal a compounding complexity that reinforces the absurdity at the heart of dark comedy.

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251

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476622515

ISBN 13

9781476622514

Chaplin's War Trilogy

An Evolving Lens in Three Dark Comedies, 1918-1947

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Chaplin's War Trilogy

An Evolving Lens in Three Dark Comedies, 1918-1947

By: Wes D. Gehring

The book examines Charlie Chaplin's evolving perspective on dark comedy in his three war films, Shoulder Arms (1918), The Great Dictator (1940), and Monsieur Verdoux (1947). In the first he uses the genre in a groundbreaking manner but yet for a pro-war cause. In Dictator dark comedy is applied in an antiwar way. In Monsieur Verdoux Chaplin embraces the genre as an individual in defense against a society out to destroy him. All three are pivotal films in the development of the genre in film, with the latter two movies being very controversial for their time.

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241

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476616302

ISBN 13

9781476616308

Killed by a Traffic Engineer

Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System

By: Wes Marshall

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Killed by a Traffic Engineer

Shattering the Delusion that Science Underlies our Transportation System

By: Wes Marshall

In the US we are nearing four million road deaths since we began counting them in 1899. The numbers are getting worse in recent years, yet we continue to accept these deaths as part of doing business. There has been no examination of why we engineer roads that are literally killing us. Fixing the carnage on our roadways requires a change in mindset and a dramatic transformation of transportation. This goes for traffic engineers in particular because they are still the ones in charge of our streets. In Killed by a Traffic Engineer, civil engineering professor Wes Marshall shines a spotlight on how little science there is behind the way that our streets are engineered, which leaves safety as an afterthought. While traffic engineers are not trying to cause deliberate harm to anyone, he explains, they are guilty of creating a transportation system whose designs remain largely based on plausible, but unproven, conjecture. Thoroughly researched and compellingly written, Killed by a Traffic Engineer shows how traffic engineering “research” is outdated and unexamined (at its best) and often steered by an industry and culture considering only how to get from point A to B the fastest way possible, to the detriment of safety, quality of life, equality, and planetary health. Marshall examines our need for speed and how traffic engineers disconnected it from safety, the focus on capacity and how it influences design, blaming human error, relying on faulty data, how liability drives reporting, measuring road safety outcomes, and the education (and reeducation) of traffic engineers. Killed by a Traffic Engineer is ultimately hopeful about what is possible once we shift our thinking and demand streets engineered for the safety of people, both outside and inside of cars. It will make you look at your city and streets—and traffic engineers— in a new light and inspire you to take action.

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Page Count

426

Publisher

Island Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1642833312

ISBN 13

9781642833317

Will Cuppy, American Satirist

A Biography

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Will Cuppy, American Satirist

A Biography

By: Wes D. Gehring

Back in the golden age of humor books (late 1920s-early 1950s), when wits of the pantheon like Robert Benchley, James Thurber, and S.J. Perelman were producing their signature works, there was another singular satirist who more than held his own with such fast company: Will Cuppy (1884-1949). This factual funnyman's metier is dark comedy that flirts with nihilism. His agenda is baldly stated in such classic Cuppy book titles as How to Be a Hermit (1929), How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes (1931), and The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (1950). This biography doubles as a critical study of a satirist whose shish-kebabing of humanity was often done through the veiled anthropomorphic use of animals. For a biographer, Will Cuppy represents a treasure trove of possibilities. He was a great humorist, and most of his best work is still in print, but until now he has never been the subject of a book-length study. His mesmerizingly complex and eccentric private life almost trumps the comic accomplishments of his public persona.

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223

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786469617

ISBN 13

9780786469611

Monsters and their Meanings in Early Modern Culture

Mighty Magic

By: Wes Williams

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Monsters and their Meanings in Early Modern Culture

Mighty Magic

By: Wes Williams

To call something 'monstrueux' in the mid-sixteenth century is, more often than not, to wonder at its enormous size: it is to call to mind something like a whale. By the late seventeenth 'monstrueux' is more likely to denote hidden intentions, unspoken desires. Several shifts are at work in this word history, and in what Othello calls the 'mighty magic' of monsters; these shifts can be described in a number of ways. The clearest, and most compelling, is the translation or migration of the monstrous from natural history to moral philosophy, from descriptions of creatures found in the external world to the drama of human motivation, of sexual and political identity. This interdisciplinary study of monsters and their meanings advances by way of a series of close readings supported by the exploration of a wide range of texts and images, from many diverse fields, which all concern themselves with illicit coupling, unarranged marriages, generic hybridity, and the politics of monstrosity. Engaging with recent, influential accounts of monstrosity - from literary critical work (Huet, Greenblatt, Thomson Burnett, Hampton), to histories of science and 'bio-politics' (Wilson, Céard, Foucault, Daston and Park, Agamben) - it focusses on the ways in which monsters give particular force, colour, and shape to the imagination; the image at its centre is the triangulated picture of Andromeda, Perseus and the monster, approaching. The centre of the book's gravity is French culture, but it also explores Shakespeare, and Italian, German, and Latin culture, as well as the ways in which the monstrous tales and images of Antiquity were revived across the period, and survive into our own times.

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Page Count

360

Publisher

OUP Oxford

Published Date

ISBN 10

019161789X

ISBN 13

9780191617898

Arrest-Proof Yourself

By: Dale C. Carson,Wes Denham

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Arrest-Proof Yourself

By: Dale C. Carson,Wes Denham

This essential “how not to” guide explains how to act and what to say in the presence of police to avoid unnecessary arrests for petty offenses or mistakes in judgment that can lead to permanent disqualification from jobs, financing, and education. From what to do if a cop asks to search the car to dealing with a racial slur or how to handle a roach in the ashtray, this handbook details the nuances of dealing with the police. This revised and expanded edition of Arrest-Proof Yourself includes more than 100 pages of new information to reflect changes in police technique and “proactive policing.” More than 50 pages are dedicated to weaponry—including how to legally own and handle guns and knives and which firearms to use for self-defense—and updates examine topics such as the current surveillance state and the ability of police to track movements and activities using data drawn from cell phones and computers. Sprinkled with not only moral outrage but also the weird humor that permeates law enforcement, this urgent, eye-opening exposé has stories from 30 years of case files, making it the go-to guide to police procedures for all Americans.

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Page Count

292

Publisher

Chicago Review Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1613748078

ISBN 13

9781613748077

Wes Cole's Healthy Habits

How to Change Your Diet and Exercise Habits for Lifelong Fitness

By: Wes Cole

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Wes Cole's Healthy Habits

How to Change Your Diet and Exercise Habits for Lifelong Fitness

By: Wes Cole

This dynamic wellness guide presents the definitive solution for taking control of diet and fitness, guaranteeing healthy changes for life. The detailed plan is broken down into four cycles, providing supportive guidance for gradually altering eating habits and eliminating harmful substances that promote weight gain. An active lifestyle is encouraged through realistic suggestions, until daily fitness becomes second nature. Formulating a patient and supportive approach to optimal health, this handbook promises a lifelong transformation, one proactive step at a time.

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Page Count

225

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1590136659

ISBN 13

9781590136652

Moonrise Kingdom

By: Wes Anderson

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Moonrise Kingdom

By: Wes Anderson

Moonrise Kingdom is set in 1965 on an island off the coast of New England. It's the end of the summer and the seasonal hurricanes loom on the horizon. Set against this background is a romance between two twelve-year-olds: Lucy Bishop, (who lives on the island with her parents [Bill Murray and Frances McDormand] and three younger brothers) and Sam (an orphan who is camping on the island with the Khaki Scout troop). Lucy and Sam hatch a secret plan to run away, and undertake a perilous journey though the woods and across the streams that criss-cross the island, to an isolated cove, where they set up their kingdom. They are pursued by the local sheriff (Bruce Willis) and the scout troop leader Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton). The follies of youth are matched by the compromises of age, and as the conflict between the generations escalates, the hurricane breaks upon the island putting all the characters at risk...

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Page Count

156

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Published Date

ISBN 10

0571296831

ISBN 13

9780571296835

Forties Film Funnymen

The Decade's Great Comedians at Work in the Shadow of War

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Forties Film Funnymen

The Decade's Great Comedians at Work in the Shadow of War

By: Wes D. Gehring

The twelve classic comedy films examined within these pages are distinguished by an equal number of defining comic performances. Ranging from The Great Dictator (1940) to A Southern Yankee (1948), each film focuses on the most central theme of "clown comedy": Resilience, the encouragement or hope that one can survive the most daunting of life's dilemmas--even during the war-torn 1940s. And each film can be regarded as a microcosm of the antiheroic world of its central clown (or clowns). Among the performers represented are Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny, Eddie Bracken, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, the Marx Brothers, Harold Lloyd and Red Skelton. This lavishly illustrated work includes an introduction by noted film critic and historian Anthony Slide.

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Page Count

235

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786456655

ISBN 13

9780786456659

Film Clowns of the Depression

Twelve Defining Comic Performances

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Film Clowns of the Depression

Twelve Defining Comic Performances

By: Wes D. Gehring

The 1930s are routinely considered sound film's greatest comedy era. Though this golden age encompassed various genres of laughter, clown comedy is the most basic type. This work examines the Depression decade's most popular type of comedy--the clown, or personality comedian. Focusing upon the Depression era, the study filters its analysis through twelve memorable pictures. Each merits an individual chapter, in which it is critiqued. The films are deemed microcosmic representatives of the comic world and discussed in this context. While some of the comedians in this text have generated a great deal of previous analysis, funnymen like Joe E. Brown and Eddie Cantor are all but forgotten. Nevertheless, they were comedy legends in their time, and their legacy, as showcased in these movies, merits rediscovery by today's connoisseur of comedy. Even this book's more familiar figures, such as Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, are often simply relegated to being recognizable pop culture icons whose work has been neglected in recent years. This book attempts to address these oversights and to re-expose the brilliance and ingenuity with which the screen clowns contributed a comic resiliency that was desperately needed during the Depression and can still be greatly appreciated today. The films discussed are City Lights (1931, Chaplin), The Kid From Spain (1932, Cantor), She Done Him Wrong (1933, Mae West), Duck Soup (1933, Marx Brothers), Sons of the Desert (1933, Laurel and Hardy), Judge Priest (1934, Will Rogers), It's a Gift (1934, W.C. Fields), Alibi Ike (1935, Brown), A Night at the Opera (1935, Marx Brothers), Modern Times (1936, Chaplin), Way Out West (1937, Laurel and Hardy), and The Cat and the Canary (1939, Bob Hope).

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Page Count

217

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786483520

ISBN 13

9780786483525

Irene Dunne

First Lady of Hollywood

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Irene Dunne

First Lady of Hollywood

By: Wes D. Gehring

Traces the life of the American film actress from her childhood days spent in Louisville, St. Louis, and Madison, Indiana, through her Hollywood career to her retirement, and receipt of the Kennedy Center Award in 1985.

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Page Count

252

Publisher

Scarecrow Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0810858649

ISBN 13

9780810858640

Robert Wise

Shadowlands

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Robert Wise

Shadowlands

By: Wes D. Gehring

Born in Winchester, Indiana, Robert Wise spent much of his youth sitting in darkened movie theaters enthralled by the swashbuckling heroics of screen legend Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Through these viewings, Wise developed a passion for film—a passion he followed for the rest of his life, making movies in Hollywood. Nationally known film historian Wes D. Gehring explores Wise’s life from his days in the Hoosier State to the beginning of his movie career at RKO studios working as the editor of Orson Welles’s classic movie Citizen Kane. Wise is best known for producing and directing two of the most memorable movie musicals in cinema history, West Side Story (co-director Jerome Robbins) and The Sound of Music, for which he won four Academy Awards—two Best Picture and Best Directors Oscars. But, as Gehring notes, other than Howard Hawks, Wise was arguably Hollywood’s most versatile director of various celebrated genre films.

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Page Count

351

Publisher

Indiana Historical Society

Published Date

ISBN 10

0871952963

ISBN 13

9780871952967

Joe E. Brown

Film Comedian and Baseball Buffoon

By: Wes D. Gehring

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Joe E. Brown

Film Comedian and Baseball Buffoon

By: Wes D. Gehring

As a young boy in the depths of the 1890s depression, Joe E. Brown had a job: making faces at the firemen on passing coal-burning trains so they would throw coal at him. As a child he also worked as a circus acrobat and newsboy. His inventiveness and spunk helped his family get through hard times but also fueled his fascination with entertainment, and he built up a repertoire of rubber-faced expressions and funny antics that would make his stage and screen work memorable. Baseball was a favorite pursuit in his life and thus a recurring theme in his films and skits. In this biography--the first on one of the top film comedians of the 1930s--the reader learns of Joe's challenging childhood and how it prepared him for later screen roles, and how his love of baseball translated into screen successes. His early career in vaudeville is discussed, his work as a Broadway comedian in the Roaring Twenties, his road to movie stardom, and how he parlayed his love of sports into big hits like 1930's Elmer the Great. The year 1935 gets its own chapter; its films are considered the pinnacle of Brown's career, including Alibi Ike, Bright Lights and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The final chapters reveal what happened after he left Warner Bros., including the bittersweet 1940s, when he entertained troops around the globe while mourning a son lost to the war. The book concludes with a comprehensive filmography of his features from 1928 to 1963.

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