This work examines the development and use of the polygraph, from its advent in American academic institutions in the late 1800s, through its gradual adoption in law enforcement and business by the 19
In this study of how America dealt with the problem of parking in the first half of the 20th century, cultural historian Seagrave contends that the methods for dealing with the problem laid the ground
During the last 20 years of the 19th century, cigarette smoking was transformed from a lower-class habit to a favored form of tobacco use for men and practically the only form available to women. The
? The electric vehicle seemed poised in 1900 to be a leader in automotive production. Clean, odorless, noiseless and mechanically simple, electrics rarely broke down and were easy to operate. An ele
Historically, American women have dressed as men for a number of reasons—to enter the military, to travel freely, to commit a criminal act, to marry other women—but most often to secure employment. Du
This history recounts the film industry's long, costly battle against unauthorized reproduction, box-office under-reporting, and practices such as "bicycling," where theaters screened films beyond the
Payola is as old as the music industry and continues today. Contrary to popular belief, the acceptance of payola is legal. (Only the nonreporting of it would be illegal.) The recipients of payola an
While sexual harassment of women in the workplace has been discussed for decades it is still a pervasive problem. This book looks at the history of that harassment from the 1600s (!) to the early 1990
"This book looks at all the attempts to organize film actors into a union, starting from the earliest attempt in 1912 when the Actors' Equity Association seemed the best platform for such an effort, t
"This book examines the history of policewomen from 1880 to 2012, particularly in the United States. It looks at the problems women had being accepted into the male police establishment and at the har
Segrave, author of several other books on American culture and social history, traces the history of the jukebox from its origins in the invention of the phonograph in the 1880s, to its disappearance
"Examines the history of sexual harassment in America's public places (public transit vehicles, on streets) 1880-1930, as response to the women's movement as females in America increased their efforts
"This volume details the ways in which scalping has changed over the years from a one-man business to an agency-controlled enterprise, from performances by Jenny Lind to Billy Joel. The book examines
This is the history of advertising in motion pictures from the slide ads of the 1890s to the common practice of product placement in the present. Initially, product placement was seen as a somewhat sl
"This history examines the twentieth century suntan as a social and scientific phenomenon. Beginning with the years 1900-1920, it debunks the myth that changing attitudes toward the tan sprang largely
Though the history of tipping can be traced to the Middle Ages, the practice did not become widespread until the late 19th century. Initially, Americans reviled the custom, branding it un-American an
This excursion into American cultural history looks at the toothpaste and toothbrush industries from 1900 to 2008. During these years, America moved from cleaning their teeth mostly with homemade pow
This text examines the eyewear industry in America from 1900 to 2008, a period which mirrors an increased demand for eyewear. Eyeglasses, sunglasses and contacts are discussed. Topics covered include
After writing social histories of baldness, tipping, movies at home, and other matters, British Columbia-based freelancer Segrave explores shoplifting from American retail stores over the past 140 yea
Examines age discrimination in employment in the US, looking at treatment by the media, the extent of age bias, attitudes toward older workers, the rationales presented by businesses for refusing to h
"Americans have come to realize that many of us may be under surveillance at any time. It all started 150 years ago on the battlefields of the Civil War, where each side tapped the other's telegraph l
"Americans began chewing gum long before 1850, scraping resin from spruce trees, removing any bits of bark or insects and chewing the finished product. Commercially-made gum was of limited availabilit
Segrave, a cultural historian and author from Canada, surveys the controversy in the US from the late 1880s to about 1920 over the hatpin. As it grew to accommodate larger hats, it was therefore seen
Independent scholar Segrave surveys the history of vending machines in America from the late 1880s to 2001. He examines the economic and social factors behind the success of certain types of vending m
Once the major Hollywood studios got over their loathing of television as an entertainment medium, they moved quickly to try to dominate both domestic and international programming. In the United Stat
It is at 31.4 years of age that the average woman multiple murderer kills the first of her 17 victims, whom she usually knows or is related to. The preferred method is poison, usually arsenic. She is
"This book profiles the lives and cases of selected women sentenced to capital punishment in America between 1840 and 1899, most of whom were executed by hanging. The book is divided into chapters by
This work offers a detailed history of American actors' attempts to unionize in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Actors' unions of this period faced a staggering amount of struggles
Hippocrates, one of history's earliest known physicians, once asserted, "Walking is man's best medicine." Over the last three centuries, people have endorsed walking for a variety of reasons-health a
A primarily American institution (though it appeared in other countries such as Japan and Italy), the drive-in theater now sits on the verge of extinction. During its heyday, drive-ins could be found
Each year, men spend an enormous amount of time and money searching for a cure to male pattern baldness. Numerous psychological assessments indicate that the reasons behind their futile efforts are s
The relationship of Hollywood and television, initially turbulent, has ultimately been profitable from the first sally in what was expected to be a war of attrition, up through the soliciting of movi
"This study concentrates on how the condition of obesity was viewed, studied, and treated from 1850 to 1939. It examines the images and stereotypes that were associated with fatness, the various remed
The case of Lizzy Borden stands out in the history of sensational criminal cases, but she was not the only person to be accused of killing her parents. Historically, about two percent of all murders
Between 1850 and 1950, at least 115 women were lynched by mobs in the United States. The majority of these women were black. This book examines the phenomenon of the lynching of women, a much more ra
