Books in the Greenwood Icons series

Discover how these contemporary food icons changed the way Americans eat through the fascinating biographical profiles in this book. Before 1946 and the advent of the first television cooking show, James Beard's I Love to Eat, not many Americans were familiar with the finer aspects of French cuisine.

Despite the popularity of comedic superstars like Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg, few books have looked at the work of African-American comedians, especially those who, like Godfrey Cambridge and Moms Mabley, dramatically impacted American humor. Icons of African American Comedy remedies that oversight. Beginning with an introduction that explores the history and impact of black comedians, the book offers in-depth discussions of 12 of the most important African-American comedians of the past 100-plus years: Bert Williams, Moms Mabley, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Godfrey Cambridge, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Damon Wayans, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle. Each essay discusses the comedian's early life and offers an analysis of his or her contributions to American entertainment. Providing a variety of viewpoints on African-American comedy, the book shows how these comedians changed American comedy and American society.

This title offers an examination of African Americans in sports, from a variety of perspectives and through a lively range of rhetoric styles, and illuminates the history of highly successful and influential individuals, athletes and teams who have transcended mere celebrity to come to represent a given Zeitgeist to a sizable part of the world.

Americans love talk shows. In a typical week, more than 13 million Americans listen to Rush Limbaugh, and 30 million watch Oprah Winfrey's syndicated program. Going behind the scenes, this volume showcases the techniques used to motivate audiences, and examines the talk show in all of its various formats, including sports-talk, and celebrity-talk.

The 24 entries in this book provide extensive coverage of some of the most notable figures in African American literature, such as Alice Walker, Richard Wright, and Zora Neale Hurston.

Discusses the ideas and impact of 27 atheists, agnostics, and secularists whose ideas have shaped society over the last 200 years. In the opinion of many critics and philosophers, we are entering an age of atheism marked by the waning of Christian fundamentalism and the flourishing of secular thought.