Böcker av Sam Roberts

Flying pigs, retro hairstyles and hand grenades are among some of the images found in this book celebrating the art and craft of Cambodia's hand-painted advertising. The book introduces the signs, the people who paint them, and explores their links to Cambodian art, culture and history.The stories of the signs and their makers are inseparable from events in Cambodia over the last 40 years, notably the impact of the infamous Khmer Rouge regime. This crushed both art and commerce, the two spheres of activity straddled by these hand-painted signs. Their rise and gradual fall since this time takes the reader up to the current day and the uncertain future faced by this characteristic feature of Cambodia's streets.In considering the signs, the sign painters speak and share their thoughts, while others provide insights from the perspective of outsiders living and working in Cambodia. These include the author's reflections on his own engagement with the signs, and the stories they tell. This book is his tribute to this charming piece of Cambodian culture that has endured a turbulent past and faces similarly rough waters ahead.The signs featured in this book are given full English translations in a comprehensive notes section. A Khmer translation of the text is also available on the website, alongside a host of other bonus material including videos, additional photographs, and useful links: http: //kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk

A rich, illustrated - and entertaining -- history of the iconic Grand Central Terminal, from one of New York City's favorite writers, just in time to celebrate the train station's 100th anniversary.

A revealing view of America and its citizens at the dawn of a new century, by the author of the New York Times Notable Book Who We AreFor more than two centuries, America has taken stock every decade, producing a statistical self-portrait of our population. In Who We Are Now, Sam Roberts identifies and illuminates the trends and social shifts changing the face of America today. America is in the midst of a fundamental transformation. The nation's complexion changed significantly over the twentieth century, creating more varied and intermingled identities, and with the baby boomers nearing retirement and their children entering college, the graying of America has been balanced, precariously, by the youth culture. And in the wake of welfare reform in the 1990s, the fate of the working poor has become all the more tenuous. Roberts masterfully weaves stories of individuals from all corners of the country alongside the data from the latest U.S. census, creating a compelling guided tour of the places, personalities, and politics that will shape America as the new century stretches before us.