Gods, Mongrels, and Demons 101 Brief But Essential Lives

by Calder, Angus

• ISBN13: 9781582344317
• ISBN10: 1582344310
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-01-17
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Endlessly entertaining and meticulously compiled,Gods, Mongrels, and Demonsis a delightful alternative Who's Who. Inspired by the author's belief that "oddballs, headbangers, saints, nutters, philosophers, freaks and such like deserve to be drawn away from the periphery to the center" of our consciousness,Gods, Mongrels, and Demonsuses the famous, the infamous, and the apparently marginal to tell us more about ourselves and our cultures than we'd find in the usual history book fare. In what other single volume could you find such eminent figures as the Japanese poet Basho; Ruth Handler, inventor of the Barbie doll; and the modernist artist Kurt Schwitters? Where else would Babe Ruth, Billie Holiday and Ludwig Wittgenstein rub shoulders with the likes of Anansi, Ganesh, the Queen of Sheba, the King of the Gypsies, Billy the Kid, and a Top Secret carrier pigeon named Winkie? Not to mention Henri Cochet - the sublime playboy tennis star who found himself two sets and fifteen-love down in the third set of the Wimbledon men's semifinal in 1927 and went on to win the championship. Not merely informative but also beautifully produced, featuring original lettering by Jeff Fisher,Gods, Mongrels, and Demonsis the perfect way to chase off the winter blues.

Author Biography

Angus Calder (b. 1942) has taught in schools all over the world, including several African universities, but mostly for the Open University in Scotland, from which he retired as reader in Cultural Studies in 1993. His many books include the seminal social history The People's War: Britain 1939-45 (1969) and Revolutionary Empire (1981). His hobbies include cooking, shopping for food, music, cricket, curling, and swimming in the sea.