David Maguire

The profile of prisoners across many Western countries is strikingly similar – 95% male, predominantly undereducated and underemployed, from the most deprived neighbourhoods. This book reflects on how similarly positioned men configure masculinities against global economic shifts that have seen the decimation of traditional, manual-heavy industry and with it the disruption of long-established relations of labour. Drawing on life history interviews and classical ethnography, the book charts a group of men’s experiences pre, during and post prison. Tracking the development of masculinities from childhood to adulthood, across impoverished streets, ‘failing’ schools and inadequate state ‘care’, the book questions whether this proved better preparation for serving prison time than working in their local, service-dominated, labour markets. It integrates theories of crime, geography, economics and masculinity to take into account structural and global economic shifts as well as individual long-term perspectives in order to provide a broad examination on pathways to prison and post prison.

The profile of prisoners across many Western countries is strikingly similar – 95% male, predominantly undereducated and underemployed, from the most deprived neighbourhoods. This book reflects on how similarly positioned men configure masculinities against global economic shifts that have seen the decimation of traditional, manual-heavy industry and with it the disruption of long-established relations of labour. Drawing on life history interviews and classical ethnography, the book charts a group of men’s experiences pre, during and post prison. Tracking the development of masculinities from childhood to adulthood, across impoverished streets, ‘failing’ schools and inadequate state ‘care’, the book questions whether this proved better preparation for serving prison time than working in their local, service-dominated, labour markets. It integrates theories of crime, geography, economics and masculinity to take into account structural and global economic shifts as well as individual long-term perspectives in order to provide a broad examination on pathways to prison and post prison.

There is no denying that Meir Zarchi’s I Spit on Your Grave (1978) deserves its title as one of the most controversial films ever made. While many condemn it as misogynistic, others praise it for raising uncomfortable issues about sexual violence. While its reputation as a cult film has undoubtedly been cemented by its unique position in the 1970s/80s exploitation era and the "video nasties" scandal, it has also become mythologized by its own official and unofficial franchises. David Maguire examines why the film still continues to provoke fierce debate forty years on, not only investigating the historical, social, and political landscape into which the film was first released—and condemned—but also examining how it is has inadvertently become ground zero for the rape-revenge genre because of its countless imitators. The book explores how academic study has reevaluated the film’s importance as a cultural statement on gender, the conflicting readings that it throws up, the timeless appeal of its story as examined through folklore and mythology, and its updating to reflect contemporary issues in a post-9/11 world of vengeance and retaliation.

This book of photo essays is a testimonial to Concord, Massachusetts, "one of the most important towns in the whole world" according to author David Maguire, "a place where the American Revolution began with the 'shot heard round the world, ' and a place where some of America's most famous authors (Alcott and Hawthorne) lived and wrote, and a place where the thinking of great American philosophers like Emerson and Thoreau influenced the world." To honor this amazing town where he was raised, Maguire put together this intriguing collection of photo essays consisting of his comments on various historic spots alongside photos of these spots, in most cases with Maguire himself inserted into the picture. Boston Globe columnist Bella English writes on the book's back cover that the result is "a lively tour of Concord, from Wright's Tavern where both colonialists and British troops plotted, to the shores of Walden Pond." Also included are photo essays of relevant monuments in Washington DC that Maguire feels "connect great men of American history (Jefferson and Lincoln) with the events in my hometown of Concord." The book is thus an extraordinary, intimate tour of significant periods of American history with the goal of making CONNECTIONS wherever possible --- connections to the American Revolution, and the terrible tragedy of slavery, with Concord's literary history and finally, uniquely, to Concord's proud history and the author's own family.

First Published in 1992. The last decade of the twentieth century has seen an unprecedented advocacy for the preservation of a safe environment, and the prevention of ill-health from toxic chemicals. Human activity, however, is responsible for introducing new toxins into the environment. In order to control competitors for human food sources, an armament of pesticides has been assembled and their widespread and largely uncontrolled application has been permitted. It is only when the health of the population begins to suffer from the effects of these chemicals that the efficacy of their use is questioned. Decision-makers whose roles involve the promotion and control of the environment must look to lessons that can be learnt from biosystems that include animals other than man. Toxins and Targets details the way in which organisms from diverse habitats in the plant and animal kingdoms have adapted to handle toxins safely. Part I, on the aquatic environment, highlights the means by which marine organisms have adapted their toxins to be effective in a world of high aqueous solubility and infinite dilution. Part II deals with venomous terrestrial organisms and the mechanisms by which they damage animal cells, and Part III considers the way in which human society attempts to investigate toxicity and to control both synthetic and naturally occurring poisons. The development of a safe environ­ment depends on increased knowledge and novel approaches to solving escalating problems. This book is a step towards this end.