Cultures of Darkness

Book excerpt: A teacher of working-class and social history, and editor of the Canadian journal Labour/Le Travail, Palmer chronicles those who defied authority, choosing to live dangerously outside the defining cultural constraints of early insurgent--and later dominant--capitalism. They include peasants, religious heretics, witches, pirates, runaway slaves, prostitutes and pornographers, frequenters of taverns and fraternal society lodge rooms, revolutionaries, blues and jazz musicians, beats, and contemporary youth gangs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR