Poole's connection of the monster to American history is a kind of Creature Features meets American cultural history. Friday afternoon, July 17th & December, 5 months later. Monstrosities exist in us and therefore they are all around us. It's rarely happy news being reported. 2715 North Charles StreetBaltimore, Maryland, USA 21218. Sex and violence are the recurring themes of the book, but Poole always provides context for why they recur so often. Best Leonard Cohen Books Biographies and Books by the Songwriter. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Twelve Important Theology Books of 2021!!! Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. Instead of representing the "us vs them" mentality, monsters are much closer so home: they are us. Excellent study of the machinery of monsters and their meaning in American history. From Victorian-era mad scientists to modern-day serial killers, new monsters appear as American society evolves, paralleling fluctuating challenges to the cultural status quo. Dorothy Sayers Where to Start with her Mystery Novels? Available TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. . He also makes notes about his movie and about details he observes in court. Poole presents his findings methodically through well-documented facts and similar studies. If one would like to get into the spirit of monster mania during Halloween, no better place to begin is with the books that generated monster madness: Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. We've quickly looked at a wide variety of Native Cultures across the Americas. A.Universal white male suffrage B.Public education C.Child labor D.Temperance. No longer just something that goes bump in the night, Mr. Poole showcases that monsters have more meaning and shed more insight into society than one might have previously suspected. Poole invites us into an important and enlightening, if disturbing, conversation about the very real monsters that inhabit the dark spaces of America's past. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. The guards take the bleeding dude away. However, at times the overt political messages can be more aggressive than effective, the book frequently covers more breadth than depth, and I was left without a clear sense of how monsters in America (US, presumably, rather than hemispheric) differed from those in international nightmares--or how the globalization of monster culture influenced American culture. [Pooles] book is sufficiently clear and engaging for general readers to enjoy and would make a worthwhile addition to undergraduate course in American history or culture. Monsters in America: SparkNotes PLUS religious texts and newspaper accounts of "satanic panics" into a highly readable analysis of the concept of the devil in American cultural history. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. W. Scott Poole. Finally, in the new section "American Carnage," Poole challenges readers to assess what their own monster tales might be and how our sordid past horrors express themselves in our present cultural anxieties. American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America - Kindle edition by Godfrey, Linda S.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. You can find more scary stories from him on Twitter: @monstersamerica. Learn how your comment data is processed. Martin Luther King, Jr. His Prophetic Faith in 15 Quotes, Important Discipleship and Formation Books A Reading Guide Fall 2020, Frederick Buechner Books An Introductory Reading Guide. The tendency to view American monsters as primarily psychological archetypes ignores how closely they have reflected actual historical events and actual historical victims.". Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2012. They are manifestations of our society. If you've got an interest in horror, this is definitely worth a read. At the very end, Poole implies that for what has gone before, it could very well get worse. Please wait while we process your payment. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! Thanks to Poole's insights we see the ubiquity of the monster lurking in and around us. "Sick," published by Abrams/Amulet). Monsters in America does a phenomenal job examining American history through the lens of monsters and the monstrous. While Poole is an academic his book is anything but dry. 20% ! His transitions from movie metaphors to American social ills are often strained if not unconvincing. After readingMonsters in America, a reader will view monsters in a completely different light. for a customized plan. It is lively and engaging and well researched. Spring 2022 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers! On Being with Krista Tippett Top 10 Best Episodes! 2023 Baylor University Press. Whats worse is how these monster images exist even until today. Analysis The monster tells Victor:"You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being." Victor refuses and then later relents to the monster's wishes. See a complete Character List for Monster, as well as in-depth analysis of its most important characters. The atheist taught that inflicting suffering while enjoying the process is human nature. Want 100 or more? A must read for fans of horror and monsters! Detectives Karyl and Williams describe their arrival at the crime scene. Fall 2021 Most Anticipated Books for Christian Readers! This is an important book that Id recommend very highly. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Select a location to see product availability. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. Salvatore Zinzi, a prisoner at the Rikers Island jail, testifies that another prisoner, Wendell Bolden, told him about the drugstore robbery. Fifteen Important Theology Books of 2022!!! Monster is told as a first-person account by Steve Harmon, a Black teenager on trial for felony murder in New York. 1945-1960 2.) Steve worries about why OBrien turned away from him after winning the case. Component 2: Summary. I had to read this for a class (one I wasn't too stoked about, if I'm being honest) and went into it with a pretty closed mind. Author: W. Scott Poole Synopsis (Courtesy of Powell's Books ): "Monsters are not just fears of the individual psyche, historian Scott Poole explains, but are concoctions of the public imagination, reactions to cultural influences, social change, and historical events. If it bleeds, it reads. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Poole offers an insight on America's fascination with monsters. While I appreciate and agree with his argument that monsters are "real" because their effects on history / on people's lives have been real, I dislike his assumption that people in the past were the obvious victims of prejudice and misplaced fear and that they were not insightful or intelligent enough to realize what they were truly afraid of. Copyright 2023 That's What She Read. Monsters and American History W. Scott Poole offers many unique explanations for the creation and story telling of monsters in his essayMonsters in America.Poole examines the cultural history of the monster and how it intersects with American history. The book is rich in history, pop culture references, and analysis. Instead it's more about the social function of the monsterous and why people believe what they believe and how different folkloric monsters became popular at different times in history. I wasn't ready for the overtly sociological approach of the book, and was expecting a history, as alluded to in the title of the book. Historian W. Scott Poole distinguishes himself by focusing on the American context, providing a history told through the personified expressions of our anxieties and fears. More than mere metaphors, they are creations of human fears and human ignorance. Solely focused on the horrors, readers would think that no Christian or church stood against the aberration of Scriptural teaching; but such was the case with missionaries and abolitionists. Monsters refuse to be cordoned off in only one nationality, ethnicity, religion, or political mindset. Salem witches, frontier wilderness beasts, freak show oddities, alien invasions, Freddie Krueger. [Pooles] book is sufficiently clear and engaging for general readers to enjoy and would make a worthwhile addition to undergraduate course in American history or culture. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Reprinted by permission. It's organized well also: a chapter on one specific type of monster and era makes for a really focused and easy to digest historical examination. All Rights Reserved. Dont have an account? . ", In 2014 he published _Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror_ that looked at the life of 1950s horror host Maila Nurmi (a.k.a. You can find more scary stories from him on Twitter: @monstersamerica. In the follow-up to his first book, Satan in America, Poole has now turned his attention to the monsters that inhabit American cinema and American imaginations. It was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. Mary Oliver Essays 10 Prose Selections to Read for Free Online! I suppose history could be read into just about any object. I also think this could've used a second editor before being published as there are many typos and grammatical errors, as well as a few points that could've used some fact-checking. OBrien tells Steve that her job is to make him a human being in the eyes of the jury. I seem to be having bad luck with books lately, but the writing style just didnt connect with me. It is a frightening world we live in, yet the horrific things in our literature and culture play a vital part in helping us reach some understanding, and even some peace about them. A masterful survey of our grim and often disturbing past. The book won the John Cawelti prize from the Popular Culture Association for the best book published in pop culture history for 2011. Monsters are not just fears of the individual psyche, historian Scott Poole explains, but are concoctions of the public imagination, reactions to cultural influences, social change, and historical events. One Bear Place 97363, Waco, TX 76798-7363 1960-1980 3. does a bang-up job of demonstrating how our culture helps us achieve some sort of understanding about our world and our lives. This item: Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting by W. Scott Poole Paperback $34.99 The Monster Theory Reader by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock Paperback $45.11 On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma Paperback $28.95 What other items do customers buy after viewing this item? Steve testifies that he did not take part in the drugstore robbery or discuss it with anyone before it happened. I want to start out by saying that I absolutely love the notion behind this book. It is super nasty, and blood ends up everywhere. Willa Cather Short Stories Five Superb Stories to Read for FREE! While Poole is an academic his book is anything but dry. She continues to assert that Steve served as the lookout for the robbery and is as guilty as the others. Mr. Pooles evidence is as intriguing as it is informative. I found it informative, fascinating, thought-provoking and well-written. All rights reserved. His footnotes have left me with a massive pile Poole walks readers through the American history of monsters, matching horror trends to American epochs, where it turns out our sociopolitical climate influences the monsters we laud and follow in fiction, film, and the media. "Rue Morgue" magazine called it "the best biography of H.P. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. The two defense counsels, OBrien and Briggs, establish that the witnesses are testifying for the State in return for reduced sentences. Briggs makes the first closing argument in the case. Penn State folklorist Bill Ellis called the book "required reading for . Sophfronia Scott - The Seeker and the Monk [Review], James Atwood - Collateral Damage - Brief Review, Emily M.D. The Best C.S. Suppose someone wanted to trace American history through the common coffee cup. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Jos Delgado, an employee of the drugstore, tells how he found Mr. Nesbitts body and noticed that cash and cigarettes were missing. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Poole does justice to judgment; the focus of some horror films. Produced by Johns Hopkins University Press in collaboration with The Sheridan Libraries. Evil brutes exist inside and outside American neighborhoods. Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon, Baylor University Press (January 15, 2014). The Monster argues that his murderousness is not his fault. Even fewer scholars do so as adeptly and as entertainingly as W. Scott Poole. Satan in America tells the story of America's complicated relationship with the devil. | Poole has set the bar ridiculously high for any future research exploring the locus of historical and cultural studies, particularly as it pertains to the horrific. Monsters In America challenges, enlightens, and, quite honestly, frightens in its prescient view of American history, as well as the seeming ubiquity of the monsters of our past and probable future. Asa Briggs, Kings attorney, establishes that the police have no fingerprint evidence. Friedrich Nietzsche believed we are the monsters.