Can Openers

Can Openers

In his debut novel, Mal Jones raises concerns about the way the welfare system is run as a target-driven business, rather than as a caring and compassionate helping hand. This frustration is the motivation behind Can Openers, an intense dystopian thriller exploring our current systems and where they may lead us. Every aspect of peoples’ lives are determined by a rigid framework set down by the authoritarian Dependency Department – a department that organises people by an evidence-based science. Believing the poor are feckless, and self-reliance should be encouraged, Frederick Smyth is approaching the peak of his career. Currently the head of the district unit, Frederick’s ambitions of promotion are thwarted as a shocking and brutal murder turns his life upside-down. This darkly comic novel is full of surprising twists that keep the reader guessing. Set in a near-future society where survival of the fittest is state policy, this novel is a stark warning of where our society may be heading.

Casseroles, Can Openers, and Jell-O

Casseroles, Can Openers, and Jell-O provides insight on how American food culture developed during the early years of the Cold War. Highlighting gender roles, the promotion of democracy and capitalism, and the impact of mass market advertising, the book draws on cookbooks, popular magazines, television advertisements, government publications, and industry pamphlets to paint a vivid picture of what Americans ate and how food was enlisted as a symbol of America’s postwar dominance. Featuring eighty recipes, the book shows how the food industry promoted new processed foods to an increasingly industrialized nation. For anyone wanting to better understand how America’s food culture developed during the mid-twentieth century and for those who were raised on TV dinners and Campbell's soup, the book offers an engaging and evocative look at the story of American cuisine during the early years of the Cold War.

Electric Can Openers and Hair Dryers: Roto-Broil Corp. of America, Newark, N.J.