E. Digby Baltzell

"Tennis is a high-stakes game, played by prodigies identified early and coached by professionals in hopes of high rankings and endorsements. This commercial world is far removed from the origins of the sport. Before 1968--when Wimbledon invited professional players to compete for the first time--tennis was part of a sportsmanship tradition that emphasized character over money. It produced well-rounded gentlemen who expressed a code of honor, not commerce. In this authoritative and affectionate history of men's tennis, distinguished sociologist E. Digby Baltzell recovers the glory of the age. From its aristocratic origins in the late ninteenth century, to the Tilden years, and through a succession of newcomers, the amateur era and its virtues survived a century of democratization and conflict. Sporting Gentlemen examines the greatest players and matches in the history of tennis. Baltzell explores the tennis code of honor and its roots in the cricket code of the late-nineteenth-century Anglo-American upper class. This code of honor remained in spite of the later democratization of tennis. Thus, the court manners of the Renshaw twins and Doherty brothers at the Old Wimbledon were upheld to the letter by Don Budge and Jack Kramer as well as Rod Laver, John Newcombe, and Arthur Ashe. Baltzell's final chapter on the Open Era is a blistering attack on the decline of honor and the obliteration of class distinctions, leaving only those based on money. For all who love the game of tennis, Sporting Gentlemen is both fascinating history and a badly needed analysis of what has made the sport great."--Provided by publisher

These essays address how various factors impact upon the modern community, including factories, corporations, churches, universities, the decline of the inner city and the growth of suburbs, and racial issues.

"It's Christmas Eve and there's so much to do, but Little Reindeer is fed up and doesn't want to join in. All the other reindeer help Santa with his preparations and Little Reindeer soon discovers it's quite lonely being grumpy!"--Back cover.

Eric is a perfectly ordinary boy - perfectly ordinary, that is, until the night he turns into a dog! This is the story of his adventures with his best friend, Roy, and their efforts to puzzle out the reason for his transformation.

Dutch photographer Marnix Goossens spent seven years documenting surrogate nature in somewhat run-down interiors, a recurrent theme reflecting our underlying yearning for the freedom inspired by exotic destinations and wide-open spaces. In place of the real thing, Goossens pictures palm-print wallpaper, false wood grain adhesive, flowery motifs and faded posters of snow-capped mountains. Otherwise mundane and overlooked details and decorative elements are appreciated anew and in unexpected ways through a profusion of detail, colour nuances, and careful lighting. The book is published on the occasion of a solo exhibition by Goossens at Foam, Amsterdam. Exhibition: Foam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (19.07.-06.10.2013).