Pubblicato nel 1995, mai più ristampato e finora inedito in Italia (ad eccezione di alcuni estratti inseriti in Saggezza Stellare, antologia di autori 'lovecraftiani' pubblicata da Einaudi nel 1997), l'esordio letterario di Michael Gira si snoda lungo una serie di racconti scritti tra il 1983 e il 1994. Il tema che attraversa entrambe le sezioni che compongono il libro è la brama di uomini e donne nel consumarsi, individualmente o a vicenda, spesso attraverso atti estremi, in una costante ricerca di compensazione delle proprie mancanze morali e spirituali. I personaggi che popolano l'universo narrativo di Michael Gira sono intrinsecamente fallibili, estremamente danneggiati, incapaci di elaborare sentimenti umani se non in forma altamente distorta; è sempre la sopraffazione a prevalere, il desiderio di riscatto è più importante della maniera in cui viene conseguito. Lo stile scelto risalta e amplifica le letture di Gira negli anni formativi: Camus, Ballard, Huysmans, de Sade, Kafka. La punteggiatura e la costruzione delle pagine restituiscono la stessa struttura dei dischi degli SWANS rendendola, se possibile, ancora più radicale e ineluttabile.

Sociological Review Monograph Featured on THINKING ALLOWED (Radio 4) on 29th January and 5th February 2014

Contributions from the most recent Sociological Review Monograph, SOCIOLOGIES OF MODERATION (edited by Alex Smith and John Holmwood), will feature on Radio 4's Thinking Allowed on 29 January and 5 February. While 'moderation' was once a potent social idea and ideal grounded in compelling cultural, intellectual and religious traditions, it has in recent decades fallen out of fashion as political forms engage with mass consumerism, neoliberal economics and religious fundamentalisms.
Against this background, and in an age characterised by excess and extremism, SOCIOLOGIES OF MODERATION offers a sociological reappraisal of the intellectual foundations and contemporary salience of moderation. The importance and timeliness of its arguments will be discussed on Laurie Taylor's programme.

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Arguing that disasters configure the political in new ways, this collection provides a truly international insight into how they can help us to understand the materiality and the pragmatics of politics. As events of radical disruption, disasters can also lead to a re-evaluation of the very definition of the political itself. In exploring these issues, the collection brings together disaster studies, with political theory and science and technology studies, to stimulate a more robust conversation between disciplines and feed into broader sociological debates.

• Takes an innovative approach to the relationship between disasters and the nature, composition, and effects of the political
• Leading experts scrutinize how events of radical disruption enable a re-evaluation and redefinition of the political, and the tools and processes through which this happens
• Comparative case studies give an unrivalled geographic scope, covering Australia, Europe, South America, and the United Kingdom and United States
• Brings together disaster studies, political theory, and science and technology studies to stimulate broader sociological debate
• Combines empirical and theoretical approaches to provide an essential teaching resource for graduate and postgraduate students and to open up this dynamic field for mainstream sociology researchers and academics