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Frank Sinatra was only one of a handful of popular entertainers who dominated Western popular culture for six decades.

This absorbing book unravels the reasons for the enduring respect and reverence that Muhammad Ali commands long after the end of his athletic career. It will appeal to those teaching and studying cultural studies, social theory, sports studies, and sociology, as well as to general readers interested in Muhammad Ali.

* A sympathetic and critical study of one of the enduring stars of popular music: a global superstar. * This culturally sensitive re-reading of the life, image and music of David Bowie offers a detailed understanding of his importance to modern times.

Undisputedly one of the world's most famous men, Beckham has transcended sport to become an all-purpose cultural icon for the twenty-first century.

Is Bob Marley the only third world superstar? How did he achieve this unique status? This study sheds fresh light on issues such as Marley's contribution as a musician and public intellectual, how he was granted access to the global media system, and what his music means in cultural and political terms.

* A major new examination of the ways in which Vidal's writings on history, politics, sex and religion throw into focus our understandings of the United States. * Ranges widely - from Vidal's defence of homosexuality in his earliest works to his most recent writings on the war in Iraq.

Beast. Monster. Savage. Psycho. The glowering menace of Mike Tyson has spooked us for almost two decades. And still we remain fascinated. Why? Ellis Cashmore's answer is disturbing: white society has created Tyson as vengeance for the loss of privilege produced by civil rights. Cashmore's eviscerating analysis of Tyson's life and the culture in which he grew up, rose to prominence and descended into disgrace provokes the reader into re-thinking the role of one of the most controversial and infamous figures of recent history. Told as an odyssey-style homeward journey to Tyson's multi-pathological origins in the racially-explosive ghettos of the 1960s, Tyson's story is part biography, part tragedy and part exposition. His associations with people like Al Sharpton, Don King and Tupac Shakur shaped his life; and events, such as the O J Simpson trial and the Rodney King riots, formed a turbulent background for the Tyson psychodrama. Over the course of an epic boxing career, Tyson was transformed from the most celebrated athlete on earth to a primal, malevolent hate-figure. Yet, even after being condemned as a brute, Tyson retained a power - a power to captivate. Cashmore reveals that the sources of that power lie as much in us as in Tyson himself.

Bob Dylan s contribution to popular music is immeasurable. Venerated as rock s one true genius, Dylan is considered responsible for introducing a new range of topics and new lyrical complexity into popular music. Without Bob Dylan, rock critic Dave Marsh once claimed, there would be no popular music as we understand it today. As such an exalted figure, Dylan has been the subject of countless books and intricate scholarship considering various dimensions of both the man and his music. This book places new emphasis on Dylan as a rock star. Whatever else Dylan is, he is a star iconic, charismatic, legendary, enigmatic. No one else in popular music has maintained such star status for so long a period of time. Showing how theories of stardom can help us understand both Bob Dylan and the history of rock music, Lee Marshall provides new insight into how Dylan s songs acquire meaning and affects his relationship with his fans, his critics and the recording industry. Marshall discusses Dylan s emergence as a star in the folk revival (the spokesman for a generation ) and the formative role that Dylan plays in creating a new type of music rock and a new type of star. Bringing the book right up to date, he also sheds new light on how Dylan s later career has been shaped by his earlier star image and how Dylan repeatedly tried to throw off the limitations and responsibilities of his stardom. The book concludes by considering the revival of Dylan over the past ten years and how Dylan s stardom has developed in a way that contains, but is not overshadowed by, his achievements in the 1960s.