The Hard Sell of Paradise examines how mid-twentieth-century Hollywood, negotiating the rhetoric of the tourism industry, offered a complex and contradictory vision of "Hawai'i" for its audiences. From the classic studio system and elite tourism of the 1930s to a postwar era of mass travel, TV, and new leisure markets, the book explores how an eclectic group of populist media reflected the language of tourism not only through its narratives of leisure, but also through its complex engagement with larger cultural and historical questions, such as colonialism, world war, and statehood. Drawing on rare archival research, The Hard Sell of Paradise also explores the valuable role that tourism partners such as United Airlines, Matson Cruise Lines, and the Hawaii Tourist Bureau played in directly and indirectly influencing such films and television shows as Waikiki Wedding, Diamond Head, Blue Hawaii, The Endless Summer, and Hawaii Five-O.

Market pitchers routinely transform a patch of bare ground into a sea of eager purchasers using little more than their 'gift of the gab' and some homespun 'psychology' to convince passers-by to stop and buy their goods. Employing some of the world's most successful selling techniques, in one of the oldest and most difficult of all marketing situations, their rhetoric and social skills have to equal that employed by the most accomplished salespersons, politicians and professional persuaders. Between 1984 and 1994 sociologists Clark and Pinch recorded over 75 pitching routines on street markets and other sales sites throughout the UK, mainland Europe and the United States. Using examples of pitchers attracting a crowd, describing and demonstrating their goods, building bargains, cajoling the unconvinced to make a purchase and coping with problem customers, the authors reveal, for the very first time, the reasons for these traders' extraordinary success-both on and away from the markets. Comparing their findings with more orthodox sales situations-direct response TV home shopping and infomercials, as well as other forms of grass-roots selling (fly pitching, the mock auction sales con, street entertaining and urban 'hustling')-the authors highlight many important lessons that have relevance for everyone involved in all types of marketing, advertising and persuasion.In this revised, updated and extended edition the authors also reveal why, today, pitching on markets appears to have become a dying art. Original, authoritative and highly readable, The Hard Sell is an essential and often hilarious guide for anyone who wants to understand how real-life selling really works.

A lively examination of the classic 1960s American crime show. Hawaii Five-O, created by Leonard Freeman in 1968, is an American police procedural drama series that was produced by CBS Productions and aired for twelve seasons. Author Brian Faucette discusses the show's importance by looking at how it framed questions around the security and economy of the Hawaiian Islands in connection with law enforcement, the diversity of its population, the presence of the US military, and the influx of tourists. Faucette begins by discussing how the show both conformed to and adapted within the TV landscape of the late 1960s and how those changes helped to make it the longest-running cop show in American TV history until it was surpassed by Law and Order. Faucette argues that it was Freeman's commitment to filming on location in Hawaii that ensured the show would tackle issues pertinent to the islands and reflect the diversity of its people, culture, and experiences, while helping to establish a viable film and TV industry in Hawaii, which is still in use today. Faucette explains how a dedication to placing the show in political and social context of the late 1960s and 1970s (i.e., questions around policing, Nixon's call for "law and order," the US military's investment and involvement in the Vietnam War, issues of racial equality) rooted it in reality and sparked conversation around these issues. Another key element of the show's success is its connection to issues of tourism and the idea that TV can create a form of "tourism" from the safety of the home. Faucette concludes with discussion of how Hawaii Five-O led to the development of other shows, as well as attempts to reboot the show in the 1990s and in 2010. Faucette makes a strong argument for the series as a distinctive artifact of a time in US history that witnessed profound changes in culture, politics, and economics, one that will excite not only scholars and students of television and media studies but any die-hard fan of gripping police procedurals.

Presents a collection of stories focusing on the moments when bonds with nature become evident, including the story of a mother and son attempting to reclaim an African gray parrot and of a population control activist who longs to have a baby.

A writer is murdered at the Ritz on the night she wins an important literary prize, battered to death with the trophy she has just won. A satire of the Catalan literary scene dressed up as a hilarious murder mystery.

Mitchell Lauers is a twenty year old man taking on responsibilities for himself and others. Wholesome and unwholesome characters enter his life; he accepts them as they are. At twenty-three Mitchell is drafted into the army. Julia Holton is eighteen years old, wanting a better life; she joins the navy. During a Greyhound Bus ride back to her base, Mitchell befriends her. At the end of the trip, they trade mailing addresses. Mitchell and Julia write as pen-pals; their correspondence becomes extraordinary. However, Julia has learned not to trust strange men; which might even include the good-looking soldier. What will become of their special pen-pal friendship? Will she discontinue corresponding? Or will his letters convince her theyre destined to be together?

Dr. Kate Hartig writes "In his recently published first book From Barren Rocks to Living Stones Jon Magee recounts his teenage years living in Aden, Yemen, during the mid 1960s. In Paradise Island Jon travels back to an earlier period of his childhood. He reflects on his life as a young boy living with his family in Singapore during the 1950's. He discusses the trials and joy of British military family life living in what was once part of the British Empire. But like Jon’s memoirs of Aden, the 1950s in Singapore was also a period of considerable change as Britain was forced to accept the ending of its colonial powers in far away ‘exotic’ places. But for Jon, it was an ideal childhood full of adventure and new experiences, from new foods to strange plants and significantly new friends that cut across cultural barriers. Today, Singapore presents itself as a modern, bustling cosmopolitan city. With the kampongs (villages) and jungle areas now replaced by high- rise residential apartments and manicured parklands the perception of Singapore as a “paradise island” is possibly difficult to comprehend. But Jon’s memories brings back an earlier time when life was perhaps not so much simpler but different. So different that it was life changing. This story is set within the context of many journeys, Jon’s journey through early childhood, the family’s journeys between Singapore and Britain and most significantly his parents’ profound spiritual journey back to their saviour and God." Dr Kate Hartig (PhD) Jon Magee continues to reveal the wealth of story telling that is based upon life experiences within the world. This book, following on fom the action of Aden (Yemen),now details the search for truth, peace and sense of purpose lived out in Singapore in the 1950's.

Two murder cases take the Santa Barbara PI into the dark secrets that lurk beneath domestic bliss in this mystery thriller by the author of Girl Trap. Private investigator Madeline Dawkins has just received two cases, each concerning a grieving widow. One insists that she didn’t kill her much older husband. The other insists that her husband’s death was no suicide. Meanwhile, Madeline’s own history with troubled marriage is about to resurface—now that her ex-husband Steve has made parole. Madeline and her partner, Mike Delaney, peer into the once-beautiful lives of two dead husbands, discovering the dirty secrets each man took to his grave. As they dig deeper into the sordid tales of greed and betrayal, disturbing connections begins to emerge. And Madeline realizes that a killer may still be at large, ready to turn another wife into a widow.