There is a particular flavor to the loneliness that comes from living in a city, surrounded by thousands of strangers. This roving cultural history of urban loneliness centers on the ultimate city: Manhattan, that teeming island of gneiss, concrete, and glass. How do we connect with other people, particularly if our sexuality or physical body is considered deviant or damaged? Does technology draw us closer together or trap us behind screens? Laing travels deep into the work and lives of some of the century's most original artists in a celebration of the state of loneliness.

Ten years ago, the massacre known as Fools’ Night claimed the lives of Batman, The Joker, Nightwing, and Commissioner Gordon…and sent Selina Kyle, the Catwoman, to prison. A decade later, Gotham has grown up-it’s put away costumed heroism and villainy as childish things. The new Gotham is cleaner, safer…and a lot less free, under the watchful eye of Mayor Harvey Dent and his Batcops. It’s into this new city that Selina Kyle returns, a changed woman…with her mind on that one last big score: the secrets hidden inside the Batcave! She doesn’t need the money-she just needs to know…who is “Orpheus”? Visionary creator Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman, Paper Girls) writes, draws, colors, and letters the story of a world without Batman, where one woman’s wounds threaten to tear apart an entire city! It’s an unmissable artistic statement that will change the way you see Gotham’s heroes and villains forever!

A LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER. NAMED A BEST CALIFORNIA BOOKS OF 2021 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES A provocative, exhilaratingly new understanding of the United States’ most confounding metropolis—not just a great city, but a full-blown modern city-state America is obsessed with Los Angeles. And America has been thinking about Los Angeles all wrong, for decades, on repeat. Los Angeles is not just the place where the American dream hits the Pacific. (It has its own dreams.) Not just the vanishing point of America’s western drive. (It has its own compass.) Functionally, aesthetically, mythologically, even technologically, an independent territory, defined less by distinct borders than by an aura of autonomy and a sense of unfurling destiny—this is the city-state of Los Angeles. Deeply reported and researched, provocatively argued, and eloquently written, Rosecrans Baldwin's Everything Now approaches the metropolis from unexpected angles, nimbly interleaving his own voice with a chorus of others, from canonical L.A. literature to everyday citizens. Here, Octavia E. Butler and Joan Didion are in conversation with activists and astronauts, vampires and veterans. Baldwin records the stories of countless Angelenos, discovering people both upended and reborn: by disasters natural and economic, following gospels of wealth or self-help or personal destiny. The result is a story of a kaleidoscopic, vibrant nation unto itself—vastly more than its many, many parts. Baldwin’s concept of the city-state allows us, finally, to grasp a place—Los Angeles—whose idiosyncrasies both magnify those of America, and are so fully its own. Here, space and time don’t quite work the same as they do elsewhere, and contradictions are as stark as southern California’s natural environment. Perhaps no better place exists to watch the United States’s past, and its possible futures, play themselves out. Welcome to Los Angeles, the Great American City-State.

If Selina Kyle is going to break into the Batcave at her advanced age, she’s going to need a crew to help…and luckily for her, some of Gotham’s craftiest former villains have time on their hands and bills to pay. But who is the mysterious OGBeast? And with political pressure mounting, how long will Mayor Harvey Dent let this cat stay out of the big house?

Although film noir is traditionally associated with the mean streets of the Dark City, this volume explores the genre from a new angle, focusing on non-urban settings. Through detailed readings of more than 100 films set in suburbs, small towns, on the road, in the desert, borderlands and the vast, empty West, the author investigates the alienation expressed by film noir, pinpointing its motivation in the conflict between desires for escape, autonomy and freedom--and fears of loneliness, exile and dissolution. Through such films as Out of the Past, They Live by Night and A Touch of Evil, this critical study examines how film noir reflected radical changes in the physical and social landscapes of postwar America, defining the genre's contribution to the eternal debate between the values of individualism and community.

An orphan poses nervously for a Renaissance maestro in medieval Siena, and an artist's servant girl in seventeenth-century Amsterdam snatches a moment away from her work to lose herself in tales of knights and battles. A woman reading in a Shoreditch bar catches the eye of a young man who takes her picture, and a Victorian medium holds a book that she barely acknowledges while she waits for the exposure.

Discover the secret lives of more than 30 extraordinary creatures that share our cities. From red foxes sneaking rides on London buses to leopards prowling the backstreets of Mumbai, this book explores the clever ways animals have adapted to the urban environment and explains how you can help protect our wild neighbours. Crammed with buildings, traffic and people, urban spaces are the last place you'd expect to see wildlife. But all kinds of animals live alongside us in the hidden corners of our towns and cities - from teeny ants living under pavement cracks to pick-pocketing monkeys and spotted hyenas being fed by locals. Within these pages, you'll travel from city to city, across six different continents, meeting just some of these amazing animals. There are tips on where and when you might see them, what signs to look for and how you can help make our cities more nature-friendly places. You'll also see the conservation status of each animal, from those of least concern to species which are endangered. About Lonely Planet Kids: Lonely Planet Kids - an imprint of the world's leading travel authority Lonely Planet - published its first book in 2011. Over the past 45 years, Lonely Planet has grown a dedicated global community of travellers, many of whom are now sharing a passion for exploration with their children. Lonely Planet Kids educates and encourages young readers at home and in school to learn about the world with engaging books on culture, sociology, geography, nature, history, space and more. We want to inspire the next generation of global citizens and help kids and their parents to approach life in a way that makes every day an adventure. Come explore! Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

Lonely Planet's bestselling The Cities Book is back. Fully revised and updated, it's a celebration of 200 of the world's most exciting urban destinations, beautifully photographed and packed with trip advice and recommendations from our experts - making it the perfect companion for any traveller deciding where to visit next. - Highlights and itineraries help travellers plan their perfect trip - Urban tales reveal unexpected bites of history and local culture - Discover each city's strengths, best experiences and most famous exports - Includes the top ten cities for beaches, nightlife, food and more - Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler shares his all-time favourite cities - Fully revised and updated with the best cities to visit right now About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

'Beautifully crafted, and so finely balanced that she holds the reader right up against the tender humanity of her characters.' Eimear McBride'A writer of rare elegance and beauty, Caldwell doesn't just get inside her characters' minds. She perches in the precarious chambers of their hearts, telling their stories truthfully and tenderly.' IndependentMultitudes is the beautiful debut story collection from the acclaimed, prize-winning novelist and playwright Lucy CaldwellFrom Belfast to London and back again the ten stories that comprise Caldwell's first collection explore the many facets of growing up - the pain and the heartache, the tenderness and the joy, the fleeting and the formative - or 'the drunkenness of things being various'. Stories of longing and belonging, they culminate with the heart-wrenching and unforgettable title story.

Do you know where in the world you can buy drinkable gold; why an 'elephant's foot' is one of the most dangerous objects in the world; or where you might have to swim to school? Discover the answers to these questions and loads more mindblowing facts in The Cities Book, where readers aged 8+ are taken on an incredible world tour through 86 of the world's greatest cities. Sister title to the bestselling The Travel Book, every page is packed with facts on city living, and gives kids a flavour of what it's like to grow up in each place featured. From food and festivals, to awesome architecture and amazing history - there's something for everyone. A mix of wow photography, beautiful illustrations and hand drawn maps bring each page to life. It's the perfect gift for curious kids everywhere. Contents: Toronto Montreal Vancouver San Francisco Los Angeles Las Vegas New Orleans Nashville Chicago New York Philadelphia Washington DC Miami Havana Kingston Mexico City Oaxaca City La Paz Cartagena Manaus Rio de Janiero Cuzco Buenos Aires Ushuaia Reykjavik Tromso Stockholm Copenhagen Edinburgh London Dublin Amsterdam Brussels Paris Berlin Munich Krakow Prague Vienna Moscow Pripyat Istanbul Athens Rome Vatican City Venice Madrid Barcelona Lisbon Marrakesh Cairo Timbuktu Dakar Addis Ababa Nairobi Zanzibar Town Cape Town Jerusalem Mecca Dubai Samarkand Mumbai Varanasi Thimphu Ulaanbaatar Beijing Chengdu Hong Kong Bangkok Singapore Hanoi Manila Tokyo Kyoto Pyongyang Seoul Darwin Perth Ballarat Melbourne Sydney Auckland Rotorua Queenstown Apia South Tarawa About Lonely Planet Kids: From the world's leading travel publisher comes Lonely Planet Kids, a children's imprint that brings the world to life for young explorers everywhere. With a range of beautiful books for children aged 5-12, we're kickstarting the travel bug and showing kids just how amazing our planet can be. From bright and bold sticker activity books, to beautiful gift titles bursting at the seams with amazing facts, we aim to inspire and delight curious kids, showing them the rich diversity of people, places and cultures that surrounds us. We pledge to share our enthusiasm and love of the world, our sense of humour and continual fascination for what it is that makes the world we live in the diverse and magnificent place it is. It's going to be a big adventure - come explore! Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.