Winner of the 2014 John Collier Jr. Award Winner of the Jo Anne Stolaroff Cotsen Prize Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century cross-cuts the ranks of important books on social history, consumerism, contemporary culture, the meaning of material culture, domestic architecture, and household ethnoarchaeology. It is a distant cousin of Material World and Hungry Planet in content and style, but represents a blend of rigorous science and photography that these books can claim. Using archaeological approaches to human material culture, this volume offers unprecedented access to the middle-class American home through the kaleidoscopic lens of no-limits photography and many kinds of never-before acquired data about how people actually live their lives at home. Based on a rigorous, nine-year project at UCLA, this book has appeal not only to scientists but also to all people who share intense curiosity about what goes on at home in their neighborhoods. Many who read the book will see their own lives mirrored in these pages and can reflect on how other people cope with their mountains of possessions and other daily challenges. Readers abroad will be equally fascinated by the contrasts between their own kinds of materialism and the typical American experience. The book will interest a range of designers, builders, and architects as well as scholars and students who research various facets of U.S. and global consumerism, cultural history, and economic history.

Ten high achieving ladies are gathered together in the week between Christmas and the New Year, at the expensive Castle Spa, seeking, through Botox, aromatherapy and general all round pampering, a new beginning to their lives. The Ladies lounge around in the Jacuzzi, drinking champagne and eating chocolate telling each other the stories of their lives. Starting with the Trophy wife's tale: her spell in a Greek prison has left her in serious need of a makeover; the Brain Surgeon's tale: of twins and mistaken identity; the Judge's tale: of the sex change which allowed him to judge the pleasures of the bedchamber from both male and female perspectives. The manicurist, the public speaker, the journalist, the company director, the ex vicar's wife, the screenwriter, all share their stories, ending with the stepmother's tale, a reversal of Cinderella's fate, with the stepmother as victim... Sparkling, witty, always compassionate and occasionally libidinous, Fay Weldon's new novel recalls Boccaccio's late medieval masterwork, The Decameron. Boccaccio dedicated his book to the ladies of his time, who were forced to hide their amorous passions under a veil of discretion, while men were free to indulge theirs.

Sooth away stress, banish pain, and share the language of touch with the healing powers of massage What reduces pain, enhances athletic performance, job efficiency, improves the circulation, raises immune efficiency, promotes the healing of tissues, increases the functioning of the skin, enhances focus and emotional balance, and improves appearance? Right, massage! So what are you waiting for? Discover how to knead your way to relaxation and wellness with this fun guide to the art of massage. With the help of numerous step-by-step hands-on photos and illustrations, Massage For Dummies, 2nd Edition shows you, move by move, how to harness the healing power of touch. In no time you'll master the basics and learn how to give and receive a therapeutic massage. 25% new and expanded content in this edition Covers an array of techniques, from Swedish to Deep Tissue and sports massage to self-massage The newest strokes and techniques that can relieve specific painful conditions Hands-on and extremely practical, Massage For Dummies, 2nd Edition shows you how to integrate massage and its benefits into your everyday life.

Each summer between 1790 and 1860, hundreds and eventually thousands of southern men and women left the diseases and boredom of their plantation homes and journeyed to the healthful and entertaining Virginia Springs. While some came in search of a cure, most traveled over the mountains to enjoy the fashionable society and participate in an array of social activities. At the springs, visitors, as well as their slaves, interacted with one another and engaged in behavior quite different from the picture presented by most historians. In the leisurely and pleasure-filled environment of the springs, plantation society's hierarchies became at once more relaxed and more contested; its rituals and rules sometimes changed and reformed; and its gender divisions often softened and blurred. In Ladies and Gentlemen on Display, Charlene Boyer Lewis argues that the Virginia Springs provided a theater of sorts, where contests for power between men and women, fashionables and evangelicals, blacks and whites, old and young, and even northerners and southerners played out -- away from the traditional roles of the plantation. In their pursuit of health and pleasure, white southerners created a truly regional community at the springs. At this edge of the South, elite southern society shaped itself, defining what it meant to be a "Southerner" and redefining social roles and relations.

We all live incredibly busy and stressful lives. Most of us find it impossible to take even a little bit of time-out to hit the pause button, kick back, and just relax a little. Theres so much to do, too much to worry about, which can make indulging in a bit of me time nothing but a pipe dream. Believe me, I know how easy it is to not give your need for relaxationthe priority you should. After many years of burning the candle at both ends, I became completely burned out. How to Have a Day Spa at Home is based upon the journey I made myself to pick up the pieces and start again. Having a day spa at home is such a treat. Consider reading this book as an investment in your overall health and well-being. You will learn how to spend the day completely indulging, pampering, and nourishing yourself from head to toe with DIY natural beauty treatments, as well as nutritious healthy meals. You dont need to spend a lot of money buying creams and potions. A lot of what you need for a day spa at home is right in your kitchen!

Green lifestyles and ethical consumption have become increasingly popular strategies in moving towards environmentally-friendly societies and combating global poverty. Where previously environmentalists saw excess consumption as central to the problem, green consumerism now places consumption at the heart of the solution. However, ethical and sustainable consumption are also important forms of central to the creation and maintenance of class distinction. Green Consumption scrutinizes the emergent phenomenon of what this book terms eco-chic: a combination of lifestyle politics, environmentalism, spirituality, beauty and health. Eco-chic connects ethical, sustainable and elite consumption. It is increasingly part of the identity kit of certain sections of society, who seek to combine taste and style with care for personal wellness and the environment. This book deals with eco-chic as a set of activities, an ideological framework and a popular marketing strategy, offering a critical examination of its manifestations in both the global North and South. The diverse case studies presented in this book range from Basque sheep cheese production and Ghanaian Afro-chic hairstyles to Asian tropical spa culture and Dutch fair-trade jewellery initiatives. The authors assess the ways in which eco-chic, with its apparent paradox of consumption and idealism, can make a genuine contribution to solving some of the most pressing problems of our time.

As a very young boy in the Second World War the seeds were sown to fly in the blue sky. Terry made up his young mind with great determination to reach for that sky in a 'Spitfire'. He joined the RAF as a pilot but twists of fate caused him to become a nuclear bomber pilot. It was RAF policy not to change from that complicated role to another and yet he pushed for change; became an instructor and as a display pilot he made his final move to the single seat air defence Lightning. He instructed on the Lightning and commanded two squadrons. Terry's original dream came true and he reached the pinnacle of his ambition but it was complicated in a way that he had not envisaged. There were dangerous incidents, the loss of friends, the 31 moves of his family and the politics associated with senior rank. At the outset he had not understood the demands of a Cold War or the need for him to sail the major oceans of the world with a sea-going admiral and become his intelligence officer. The eventual compensation was a promotion and a two year tour on a tropical island with his family.