Simultaneously a literary movement, ultra-hip subculture and burgeoning cottage industry, Steampunk is the most influential new genre to emerge from the late twentieth century. Spinning tales populated with clockwork Leviathans, cannon-shots to the moon and coal-fired robots, it charts alternative histories in which the British Empire never fell or where the atom remained unsplit. Spectacularly illustrated and international in scope, this comprehensive history explores Steampunk’s many intricate expressions in fiction, cinema, television, comics and videogames, and traces its evolution into a truly global aesthetic, which has made its mark on art, architecture, fashion and even music. From the classic scientific romances of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and Mary Shelley, through the dystopian futurescapes of Cyberpunk, to the otherworldly imaginings of Hayao Miyazaki, Alan Moore and China Mieville, author Brian J. Robb sets the key works of Steampunk squarely under the lens of his brass monocle and ventures into a world where airships still rule the skies.

Price : £ 20

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Postmodernism has been a buzzword in contemporary society for the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this Very Short Introduction Christopher Butler challenges and explores the key ideas of postmodernists, and their engagement with theory, literature, the visual arts, film, architecture, and music. He treats artists, intellectuals, critics, and social scientists ‘as if they were all members of a loosely constituted and quarrelsome political party’ – a party which includes such members as Cindy Sherman, Salman Rushdie, Jacques Derrida, Walter Abish, and Richard Rorty – creating a vastly entertaining framework in which to unravel the mysteries of the ‘postmodern condition’, from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct.

Price : £ 5.92

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