Most Popular Books by Tony Kushner

A children''s opera from the creators of Angels in America and Where the Wild Things Are.

An imaginative investigation into a historical crime that sheds new light on Jewish history. In 1734 a pedlar turned smuggler named Jacob Harris slit the throats of three people in a pub in Sussex. This triple-murder, for which he was hanged and gibbeted, remains the most violent crime ever committed by a British Jew. Yet today it is all but forgotten. In The Jewish pedlar, Tony Kushner goes in search of the enigmatic Harris. Digging into a remarkable range of sources, from law records and newspaper reports to ballads and folktales, he follows the traces of Harris’s legend across three hundred years of British history. In doing so, he reconstructs the world of Jewish pedlars and criminals across many continents. The lives these figures eked out at the margins of society paint a picture of persistent antisemitism – but also of remarkable integration. Intellectually bold and deeply humane, The Jewish pedlar takes a new, grassroots approach to the history of Jews in the modern world, shedding light on everyday lives from the Enlightenment to the Holocaust and beyond.

We Europeans is the first book-length study of the original mass observation project. It is also the first detailed historical study of the formation of ordinary people''s ''racial'' attitudes in Britain. Drawing upon historical, literary, cultural and anthropological approaches, this book examines the sources of cultural identity in Britain in the twentieth century, and how these were shaped through the influences of family, education, and everyday ''high'' and ''low'' culture. The examination focuses on the archives of the British social-anthropological organization Mass-Observation, and is the first detailed history of it to be published. Founded in the 1930s by poets, psychoanalysts, surrealists, and sociologists, among others, the purpose of the organization was to create an anthropology of the British people by the ''natives'' themselves, through the use of diaries, directives and special surveys. The organization was active from 1937 to 1951, then revived in the 1980s, when a new group of Mass-Observers were recruited to keep diaries and respond to directives. Both the historical archive of Mass-Observation and the more recent material provide fascinating insight into the everyday lives and formation of identities of ordinary people in Britain. Kushner places the material from these archives in the context of other contemporary writings; through them he explores grassroots identities in Britain in relation to the outside world, especially Europe but also the former Empire and the USA. This study will be of interest to scholars of sociology, cultural studies, literary studies and history who are particularly interested in ''race'', race relations, immigration and cultural difference.

"Dissent is an essential part of keeping democratic societies healthy, and our ability as citizens to voice our opinions is not only our privilege, it is our responsibility. Most importantly, it is a human right, one which must be fervently fought for, protected, and defended. Many of the issues and conflicts visited in the first edition of this book remain vividly present today. They are reminders of how democracy and social change are often incremental, requiring patience, diligence, hope, and the continuing brave voices of designers whose skillful imagery emboldens in the face of struggle. The 160-plus new works in this edition document the Arab Spring, the Obama presidency, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, the election of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin’s continuing influence, the Women’s March, the ongoing refugee crises, the environment, and much more. This powerful collection, totaling well over 550 images, stands not only as a testament to the power of imagery, but also as an urgent call to action. This edition includes the original Foreword by Tony Kushner as well as Steven Heller''s interview of Milton Glaser entitled, "Dissenting Conditions.""--provided by Amazon.com.

Anglo-Jewry since 1066: Place, locality and memory is a study of the history and memory of Anglo-Jewry from medieval times to the present and is the first to explore the construction of identities, both Jewish and non-Jewish, in relation to the concept of place. The introductory chapters provide a theoretical overview focusing on the nature of local studies then moves into a chronological frame, starting with medieval Winchester, moving to early modern Portsmouth and then chapters covering the evolution of Anglo-Jewry from emancipation to the twentieth century. Emphasis is placed on the impact on identities resulting from the complex relationship between migration (including transmigration) and settlement of minority groups. Drawing upon a wide range of approaches, including history, cultural and literary studies, geography, Jewish and ethnic and racial studies, Kushner uses extensive sources including novels, poems, art, travel literature, autobiographical writing, official documentation, newspapers and census data. This book will appeal to scholars interested in Jewish studies and British history

An epic farce about death and primitive capital accumulation, HYDRIOTAPHIA chronicles the final hours of Sir Thomas Browne, an English physician and writer known for his attempts to reconcile Christian values with scientific knowledge.

In 2000, Theater Communications Group published Death & Taxes which contained the following one-acts: REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION, G DAVID SCHINE IN HELL, NOTES ON AKIBA, TERMINATING and EAST COAST ODE TO HWARD JARVIS. In 2009 the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, under the title Tiny Kushner, produced FLIP FLOP FLY, TERMINATING, EAST COAST ODE TO HOWARD JARVIS, DR ARNOLD A HUTSCHNECKER IN PARADISE, and ONLY WE WHO GUARD THE MYSTERY SHALL BE UNHAPPY. This book, for the first time, collects all these one-acts in one place.

This pioneering study of migrant journeys to Britain begins with Huguenot refugees in the 1680s and continues to asylum seekers and east European workers today. Analyzing the history and memory of migrant journeys, covering not only the response of politicians and the public but also literary and artistic representations, then and now, Kushner’s volume sheds new light on the nature and construction of Britishness from the early modern era onwards. It is an essential tool for those wanting to understand why people come to Britain (or are denied entry) and how migrants have been viewed by state and society alike. The journeys covered vary from the famous (including the Empire Windrush in 1948) to the obscure, such as the Volga German transmigrants passing through Britain in the 1870s. While employing a broadly historical approach, Kushner incorporates insights from many other disciplines and employs a comparative methodology to highlight the importance of the symbolic as well as the physical nature of such journeys.

''A bright room called day'' is set in Germany in 1932 and 1933, and concerns a group of friends caught up in the events of the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The illusion is a play adapted from Pierre Corneille''s seventeenth-century comedy, L''Illusion Comique. It follows a contrite father, Pridamant, seeking news of his prodigal son from the sorcerer Alcandre.

Maurice Sendak ranks as one of the best-known & most respected children''s book artists in the world. However, his oeuvre includes much more than picture books. Tracing Sendak''s life & work from 1980 to the present, this richly illus. vol. is filled with projects in various mediums, both inside & outside the children''s book arena. Reproduced here are lavish set & costume designs for a number of theatrical & dance productions, from The Nutcracker” to The Magic Flute” to The Love for Three Oranges.” Also represented is artwork for numerous posters, CD covers, book jackets, & adult books, as well as children''s picture books. A singular portrait of a man with burning passion, acute sympathy, & a hunger for beauty.”

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Angels in America" presents a major collection of short plays written over the past few yeas.

''Widows'' is set in an unnamed country in South America. The war is over, the army is trying to restore normality. But the women have lost their menfolk, and their resentment is an impenetrable barrier. Then broken bodies are washed up by the river.