Results by title

This unique auto-ethnographic study of life at the Coffee House Positano—a Bohemian coffee house in Malibu, California—during the late 1950s and early 1960s is a combination of historical reconstruction and personal memoir. An ebook consisting of a collection of memories expressed through multiple formats—text, image, audio, and video—it describes in illuminating detail the great range of people who frequented Positano and the activities that took place there over its short but influential existence.

As an ethnographer analyzing his own culture, author Jay Ruby uses a unique ethnographic method known as “studying sideways.” He combines the exploration of self and others with the theoretical framework of anthropology to provide deep insight into the counterculture of late 1950s and early 1960s America. He shares his connection to Positano, where he lived and worked from 1957 to 1959 and again in 1963, and reflects on Positano in the context of US counterculture and the greater role of countercultures in society.

This intimate and significant work will be of interest to anthropologists as well as scholars and the general reader interested in California history, Beat culture, and countercultural movements.

This expansive catalogue of ancient Greek painted pottery brings an important series into the digital age with a new open-access format. Cataloging some hundred thousand examples of ancient Greek painted pottery held in collections around the world, the authoritative Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (Corpus of Ancient Vases) is the oldest research project of the Union Académique Internationale. Nearly four hundred volumes have been published since the first fascicule appeared in 1922.
 
This new fascicule of the CVA—the tenth issued by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the first ever to be published open access—presents a selection of Attic red-figure column and volute kraters ranging from 520 to 510 BCE through the early fourth century BCE. Among the works included are a significant dinoid volute krater and a volute krater with the Labors of Herakles that is attributed to the Kleophrades Painter.

The free online edition of this open-access catalogue is available at www.getty.edu/publications/cva10/. Also available are free PDF, EPUB, and Kindle/MOBI downloads of the book, CSV and JSON downloads of the object data, and JPG downloads of the catalogue images.

This unique collection of essays offers a gripping exploration of the precarious beauty and peril of California’s iconic coastline. Through essays blending personal narrative, cultural analysis, and history, author Claire McEachern takes us behind the scenes of surf and celebrities to paint a vivid portrait of life on the edge —both literally and metaphorically. From the rugged Santa Monica Mountains to the shimmering Pacific, this work captures the paradoxes of Old Malibu: a place of luxury and risk, natural splendor and ecological vulnerability.

Some Like It Cold

chronicles the true story of twin brothers Lee and Larry Williams, whose love of surfing evolved in the most unlikely of geographies: off the shores of Lake Michigan. From their boyhood home in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the brothers trekked to the local beach with their longboards and their dreams to master the waves at spots like the Elbow and the Cove. The next six decades proved that their zeal for catching grinders and barrels was much more than a hobby.

Surfing in the cold had its challenges, and Lee and Larry recall stories of freak storms, ice-encrusted beaches, and near drownings, along with the usual hypothermia, helped but not cured by their customized cold-water wetsuits. Despite living nearly 2,000 miles from either coast, Lee and Larry have made a lifestyle out of freshwater surfing, recreating their hometown as "The Malibu of the Midwest" and gaining international fame as hosts of the Dairyland Surf Classic.

With humor and wit, author William Povletich brings their tale of revolutionizing surf culture to the page.