READING CONTEMPORARY TELEVISION

This is the definitive, most comprehensive, serious, entertaining book on 'The Sopranos', edited by the top man on contemporary US television.

Apart from its brilliance as television, it's amazing what "Deadwood" gets away with. This acclaimed series from HBO, which premiered in 2004, is set in the teeming outlaw camp of 'Deadwood'. It has been described by "Variety" as 'a vulgar, gritty, at times downright nasty take on the Old West brimming with all the dark genius that series creator and sceenwriter extraordinaire David Milch has at his fingertips'. All this and more. The international cast of authoritative contributors assess "Deadwood's" many facets: its profane language, its characters, from Al Swearengen (who lives up to his name) and Calamity Jane, to B.B. Farnham and Mr. Wu, its place in the western genre, "Deadwood" and serial fiction, prostitution, the making of American civil society, "Deadwood's" Chinese, the opening credits, Reverend Smith and much more. Episode and character guides complete the book - the "Deadwood" companion for fans and students to swear by.

Attracting nearly 17 million viewers regularly, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is America's number one show. With two spin-off series, the CSI franchise has sparked an unprecedented global television success. Reading CSI brings together for the first time critical discussions of all three shows from a wide range of perspectives, with contributions from journalists, television critics and pathology experts. Including a series by series episode guide for each program, this in-depth, comprehensive study seeks to understand what the CSI phenomenon means to contemporary television culture.