This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos

The Sopranos is the ""richest and most compelling piece of television no, of popular culture that I've encountered in the past twenty years... [it's a] meditation on the nature of morality, the possibility of redemption, and the legacy of Freud,"" writes critic Ellen Willis in This Thing of Ours: Investigating The Sopranos. Edited by David Lavery, the book collects 18 essays by academics covering a range of subjects, such as the conflicting roles of men and women, obesity, ""Old Jersey"" versus ""Nouveau Jersey,"" food, music and more. The essays are at once entertaining and serious pieces of social criticism.