Books by Thomas Harrison

Greeks and Barbarians examines ancient Greek conceptions of the "other." The attitudes of Greeks to foreigners and there religions, and cultures, and politics reveals as much about the Greeks as it does the world they inhabited. Despite occasional interest in particular aspects of foreign customs, the Greeks were largely hostile and dismissive viewing foreigners as at best inferior, but more often as candidates for conquest and enslavement.

The year 1910 marks an astonishing, and largely unrecognized, juncture in Western history. This title addresses the extraordinary intellectual achievement of the time. It probes the themes and obsessions in the work of intellectuals as diverse as Egon Schiele, Georg Trakl, Vasily Kandinsky, Georg Lukacs, Georg Simmel and Dino Campana.

This fascinating overview of popular culture in the 1980s describes the decade of excess that resulted from the social, political, and economic conditions of the time, documenting why so many milestones in entertainment, arts, and technology occurred the 80s.Popular culture in the United States in the 1980s-as reflected in film, television, music, technology, and art-serves to illustrate the general feeling of American citizens during this decade that the sky was the limit, and the only thing better than "big" was "bigger." This title provides readers with an engaging, in-depth study of the 1980s and supplies the larger historical and social context of popular culture in an era when the extraordinary seemed normal and all the rules were being rewritten.The book's wide scope includes the concepts, fashions, foods, sports, television, movies, and music that became popular in the 1980s. Readers will see how specific elements of the decade, such as visual art and architecture, reflect the sense of change in the 1980s, often through excessive displays of expression that helped further movements into the avant-garde. The technological advances, entertainment developments, and "game changers" that were essential to establishing the popular culture of the decade are highlighted, as is the trend of how personal expression in the 80s began to penetrate a wider segment of American culture, spanning across all ages. The book also calls attention to the standout events and individuals who influenced society in the 1980s, with emphasis on the figures who intentionally used pop culture as an avenue for change as well as the influences from the 1980s that are still felt today.

Aeschylus' "Persions" is the first surviving Greek drama. This book provides aims to provide both a more satisfactory reading of the "Persians" and a richer picture of fifth-century history - the history both of events and ideology.

The spirit of the Beatles lives on in this satire on both the Beatles and their historians! This is a fun book for Beatles fans who are willing to laugh at the music and musicians they love. It's a humorous, irreverent romp, very tongue-in-cheek and not the least bit serious. While it poses as another stodgy analysis of all Beatles compositions, it really has more in common with the Monty Python flavored "Rutles" film. Old-time drawings make it more fun & visually stimulating. A pleasant time is guaranteed for all! Partial Cast: Steve Allen/Julie Andrews/Chet Atkins/Lucille Ball/Orson Bean/Chuck Berry/Victor Buono/Johnny Carson/Eric Clapton/Neil Diamond/Judy Garland/The Stones/LBJ/Tim Leary/Lancelot/Laurel & Hardy/Peggy Lee/Rich Little/Maharishi/Harpo Marx/Rev Moon/Moriarty/Nixon/Elliott Ness/Peter Noone/Elvis/Billy Preston/Claude Rains/Rocky & Bullwinkle/Phyllis Schlaffley/Sinatra/Phil Spector/Tiny Tim/Alan Watts/Tarzan/Lawrence Welk

During the 1990s, musical genres became more commercialized than ever-and that was just one of the many changes that characterized the decade. Music of the 1990s offers a detailed and wide-ranging view of the important music of the '90s, identifying the artists and the important compositions-popular, classical, and jazz-that helped shape the period. The book focuses on key artists in specific genres in popular music, including pop, hard rock/heavy metal, rock, and country. Specialized genres are examined as well, in a chapter that discusses prominent artists and composers in musical theater, jazz, popular Christian music, and classical music.Among other topics, the book looks at the growth of urban-based rap and other popular music in the context of the rise of music television. Hard rock and heavy metal are also examined within the music video idiom. New trends in mainstream rock and country music are explored as well.

Popular music in the United States during the 1980s is well known for imports from abroad, such as A-ha, Def Leppard, Falco, and Men at Work, as well as homegrown American rock acts such as Guns 'N Roses, Huey Lewis and the News, Bon Jovi, and Poison. But there were many other types of genres of music that never received airplay on the radio or MTV that also experienced significant evolutions or growth in that decade.Music of the 1980s examines the key artists in specific genres of popular music: pop, hard rock/heavy metal, rock, and country. No other reference book for students has previously explored the surprisingly diverse categories of hard rock and heavy metal music with such detail and depth. Additionally, a chapter focuses on the prominent artists and composers of less-mainstream genres for specialized audiences, including music theater, jazz, and classical music.

This book considers what the Greeks thought of foreigners and their religions, cultures and politics, and what these beliefs and opinions reveal about the Greeks.