In the 1980s, Jane Collier revisited a village in Andalusia, where she and others had conducted fieldwork twenty years earlier, to investigate changes in family relationships and to explore the larger question of the development of a "modern subjectivity" among the people. Whereas the villagers she met in the sixties stressed the importance of meeting social obligations, the people she interviewed more recently emphasized the need to think for oneself: status concerns in choosing a spouse had apparently been replaced by romantic love, patriarchal authority by partnership marriages, parental demands for obedience by hopes of earning children's affection, mourners' respect for the dead by personal expressions of grief. In each of these areas, the author detected a modern concern for "producing oneself," which emerged with changes in how villagers experienced social inequality. Collier notes that when inheritance appeared to determine social status, villagers protected family reputations and properties by demonstrating concern for "what others might say." Once villagers began participating in the national job market, where individual achievement appeared to determine a worker's income, they focused on realizing their inner abilities and productive capacities. Sensitivity to one's feelings, thoughts, and aptitudes, along with "rational" assessments of the costs and benefits entailed in "choosing" how to use them, testified to a person's unceasing efforts to realize inner potentials. The author also traces shifts in the meaning of "tradition," suggesting that although "modern" people cannot "be" traditional, they must have traditions in order to produce themselves.

As she set sail with her family that beautiful July day on the ill-fated voyage of the Andrea Doria, eight-year-old Rita Esposito’s life was about to change forever. Her last view of her beloved Naples was of the abundant flowers and stately fountain, but only days later Rita was overwhelmed with horror when the ocean liner sank. Separated from her mother, Rita was among the lucky survivors rescued by a nearby ship and brought to the docks at New York, where her first exposure to the city was one of chaos, desperation, and unfathomable sadness. Faced with a new reality of foster care and life in an orphanage controlled by a heartless Mother Superior, Rita awaited news of her mother. Unbroken Chain of Love is the story of growing up as an Italian immigrant in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s—from bullying and indifferent teachers, to compassion and support from those who recognized the young woman’s abilities and determination. Her journey weaves through the Italian neighborhoods of New York City, to the Tuscany wine region in Italy, the introduction of the underworld, and the joy and heartbreak that comes with the undying love of two devoted men.

The perpetually insouciant glaze of his characters belies the sharp verbal and visual wit of Furie, who delivers a stoner classic for the Tumblr generation. In fact, Furie's wildly popular teenage weirdos became an overnight internet sensation when Pepe the Frog was widely adopted by users of 4chan and remixed ad infinitum from there (including uses by pop stars like Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry), giving Boy's Club built-in recognition with many.