A searing portrait of small-time crooks and immigrant gangs in Argentina's capital... When an armed robber shoots a British tourist in Buenos Aires, Lucas's life changes forever. A humble watch-seller moonlighting for the gang behind the robbery, he wants to go straight but instead gets pulled into extortion work for the Xiezhi Triad.

Beggars, outcasts, urchins, waifs, prostitutes, criminals, convicts, madmen, fallen women, lunatics, degenerates—part reality, part fantasy, these are the grotesque faces that populate the underworld, the dark inverse of our everyday world. Lurking in the mirror that we hold up to our society, they are our counterparts and our doubles, repelling us and yet offering the tantalizing promise of escape. Although these images testify to undeniable social realities, the sordid lower depths make up a symbolic and social imaginary that reflects our fears and anxieties—as well as our desires. In Vice, Crime, and Poverty, Dominique Kalifa traces the untold history of the concept of the underworld and its representations in popular culture. He examines how the myth of the lower depths came into being in nineteenth-century Europe, as biblical figures and Christian traditions were adapted for a world turned upside-down by the era of industrialization, democratization, and mass culture. From the Parisian demimonde to Victorian squalor, from the slums of New York to the sewers of Buenos Aires, Kalifa deciphers the making of an image that has cast an enduring spell on its audience. While the social conditions that created that underworld have changed, Vice, Crime, and Poverty shows that, from social-scientific ideas of the underclass to contemporary cinema and steampunk culture, its shadows continue to haunt us.

."..Arturo Perez-Reverte delivers an epic historical tale following the dangerous and passionate love affair between a beautiful high society woman and an elegant thief. A story of romance, adventure, and espionage, this novel solidifies Perez-Reverte as an international literary giant."--Provided by publisher.

Shows how Latin America was the crucible of the global human rights revolution of the 1970s.

Traces the more than two-thousand-year history of the Triads, the one-time Chinese secret society that has evolved into an international criminal fraternity, bound by ritual and archaic oaths, involved in world-wide extortion, gambling, prostitution, money laundering, fraud, narcotics, immigrant smuggling, and other criminal enterprises. Reprint.

The motivation of this book is simple, yet fundamental: No complete understanding of the modern economy is possible without a thorough grounding in the field of innovation as an economic activity. The book, as its title emphasizes, aims at helping readers to gain a comprehension of two inextricably linked issues: challenging innovation and the future of human work. To this end, the book integrates a triad of topics: innovation as an economic activity, modus operandi of an innovation-driven economy, and the persistent progression toward automation of human jobs. The main message conveyed by this book is that a creative economy will converge to an economy governed by smart machines aka robots, but will produce benefits if addressed in a rational manner. As to the salient features of this book, Accessibility: Accessible to readers with only cursory knowledge (if any) in economics Style: Adherence to a discursive, non-mathematical style Brevity: Covers material in a succinct, easily understandable manner, drawing upon real world examples Appendices: Each chapter is supplemented with appendices that elaborate upon pertinent real world examples and applications Self-contained: All the key concepts are defined and exemplified within the book Applicability: Uses examples that resonate with a wide audience of readers concerned about the advance of robots Non-mathematical diagrams: Provides accessible and readily understandable figures/graphs Protective stance: Contains a rational response to the march of the robots which is useful for workers of all ages

"Modern Argentine Masculinities gathers essays that explore the social construction of gender from the nineteenth century to the present. Authors analyze literary and cinematic texts, as well as contemporary popular songs, and offer a wide-ranging picture of the performance of masculinity as it has evolved and adapted since the consolidation of Argentina as a modern nation. This captivating interdisciplinary volume sheds new light on the construction of heterosexual and queer Argentine masculinities."--Page 4 of cover.