Entertainment Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of the most captivating and influential actors in Hollywood writes not just about his life, but about life itself.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisTo absorb Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash is to be taken on a wild voyage with a cast of downtrodden revolutionaries. Despite this notion, the epic themes of the Pogues' second full length record have been overlooked by both critics and biographers. This book discusses the record's articulation of what it is to be magnificently downtrodden.Trade Review"It was only a matter of time before a clever publisher realized that there is an audience for whom Exile on Main Street or Electric Ladyland are as significant and worthy of study as The Catcher in the Rye or Middlemarch...The series, which now comprises 29 titles with more in the words, is freewheeling and eclectic, ranging from minute rock-geek analysis to idiosyncratic personal celebration--The New York Times Book Review Ideal for the rock geek who thinks liner notes just aren't enough - Rolling Stone One of the coolest publishing imprints on the planet--Bookslut A brilliant series...each one a word of real love - NME (UK) Religious tracts for the nock 'n' roll faithful - Uncut (UK)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisDescribed as 'the one authentic masterpiece of rock 'n' roll writing' by Peter Guralnick, this portrait of the 60s has cemented itself in the literary and musical canonTrade ReviewStanley Booth's book is the only one I can read and say, 'Yeah, that's how it was' -- KEITH RICHARDSIf you've never bought a book about rock and roll, no matter - this is the one you've been waiting for * * Playboy * *The most brutally compelling book about rock'n'roll and its casualties ever written * * Guardian * *An epic, behind-the-scenes record of life with the greatest rock band in the world, capturing both the carnivalesque excess and the mundane grind of the rock tour * * Observer * *Stanley Booth's affection for the band did not keep him from writing about the seamy underside of the Stones' world in the Sixties . . . It is the only book about the Stones that I would recommend both to the general reader and to the most devoted fan. Booth will find an epiphany on almost every page * * New York Times Book Review * *By far the best book on its subject (including Richards's own well received effort), Booth's book is also easily the most convincing account of life inside the monster created by the rock revolution of the 1960s * * Guardian * *Shattering . . . Booth has found his voice and momentum with a pitch and passion I've never seen equalled in pop journalism . . . His book outdistances anything the Stones have wrought since Let It Bleed * * Los Angeles Herald Examiner * *Remains one of the most gripping accounts ever written about the band . . . so awash with tumult and drama it at times has much in common with reportage from the front lines of the war in Vietnam, like Michael Herr's Dispatches * * Uncut * *Booth's strong, sound prose brings to life the out-of-control process through which an age intoxicated by its own passions found a hard-driving music to live hard by. In all the annals of the '60s, there is nothing on paper that so evokes those days and nights * * Salon * *Astonishing . . . part oral history and part midnight diary in a world where midnight goes on forever * * Los Angeles Reader * *One of the truly great rock books * * Hot Press * *A marvellous book, Booth is a fine writer, and has a strong style that perfectly complements his engaging subject. Canongate have also included an introduction from Greil Marcus, a fine writer in his own right, which just adds to the value of this fine book. Highly recommended to anyone who now only loves music, but an engaging story well told * * Destructive Music * *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis epoch-making record of the late '80s effortlessly combines dense swathes of guitar noise and dance music. This turned out to be their last record, guitarist and studio maestro Kevin Shields having set their standards so high it was impossible to surpass them. Shields is now playing with Primal Scream.Trade Review"'A brilliant idea' The Times; 'Neat' Nick Hornby; 'Pocket-size books about favourite albums is a nice idea, akin to TV's Classic Albums and with an equal amount of care and attention.' The Guardian (Friday Review)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis title is one of many in a series of books which focus on epic albums of our time. Here, Joe Pernice looks at The Smith's album "Meat is Murder".Trade Review...this short, unassuming novella of 102 small pages captures more of youth, with all its painful, mad obsessions and enthusiasms, and all its longueurs, than any number of much longer books. If you've ever been young and in love with a band, you have to read Meat is Murder. * Bookslut, 3/9/05 *Joe Pernice's take on the Smiths' Meat is Murder might be the best in the series thus far...Part Dazed and Confused and part Virgin Suicides, the book is a funny, elegiac rumination on the pains and perils of adolescence—and the anodyne that certain albums can be to an outsider being smothered by dullness and angst...By fashioning his criticism as fiction, Pernice comes closest to evoking the transporting and restorative effect a song can have. * The Boston Phoenix, 7/8/04 *Meat is Murder is as droll as any of his songs, as its asthmatic narrator recounts his days in a Catholic high school outside Boston in 1985 and how his life was changed by the discovery of the Smith's third album-on cassette, of course. His descriptions of friends are priceless and sweet... * Kathleen Wilson, The Stranger, November 19, 2003 *Pernice writes about the album the only way a true teenager would-clumsily, overflowing with enthusiasm and praise, and beautifully... the novella is a wonderfully brief, swift read that nevertheless is as powerful as the greatest of EPs. * Andrew Unterberger, Stylus magazine *My personal favorite of the batch has to be Joe Pernice's autobiographic-fiction fantasia on The Smiths' Meat Is Murder. Stirring, evocative reading, and like the other two books, it made me want to seek out and hear the music again. * Michael Layne Heath, Tangents *His (Pernice's) perceptive, poetic ear for unpicking the workings of troubled inner lives is exceptional. * Uncut *What is it about the Smiths that prompts otherwise sane men to take an 80s youth that heaven knows was miserable then and turn it into a memoir? This singer-songwriter pens a pleasant semi-autobio about how this witty band's least-witty moment saved him from Catholic school, Reaganism and playing the bass poorly... * Austin American-Statesman, 10/17/04 *The story never reaches a true resolution, but that's part of the pleasure of it...Pernice takes pains to capture a teenage voice, although the language refrains from self-pity...the dramatic uncertainty of the language holds together the narrative. * The Columbia Spectator *However autobiographical this story might be, it's never predictable or less than heartfelt. The narrator's classmates are sketched fondly, his teachers with a little healthy malice and the music with great affection. * Newsday *An essential purchase for any fan of good new rock-write in general - a slim, confessional novella equal to anything written by Nick Hornby * Bandoppler Magazine *It is beautifully written. * The Times (London) *Continuum... knew what they were doing when they asked songwriter Joe Pernice to pay homage to the Smith's Meat is Murder. * Austin American-Statesman *Fans of Pernice's lyrical work in the Pernice Brothers and Scud Mountain Boys will find the same qualities of his lyrical wordplay used here, equal parts bitter and sweet...Pernice excels at evoking the feeling that almost any listener of underground music first has when encountering it, of stumbling onto a vein of something previously unknown, but far more immediate than anything that's come before. * Tobias Carroll, Earlash *Meat is Murder is a page-scorcher, especially when you see Pernice's own experiences practically oozing from the text. * Filter magazine *Effectively captures the crushing blows and dizzying triumphs of adolescence, particularly the sense of urgency involved in matters of young love. * The Berlin Daily Sun *Pernice captures the essence of the anglophile UK indie lovers that exist in little groups all over North America...Pernice's novella captures [the] feelings of the despair of possibility, of rushing out to meet the world and the world rushing in to meet you, and the price of that meeting. As sound tracked by the Smiths. * Drowned in Sound *The novella by the leader of the lush, sad-eyed indie-pop band the Pernice Brothers is full of mordant wit and real heartache. And his fictional (though heavily autobiographical) tale of a tortured Massachusetts high school student who finds solace by listening to Morissey is a dead-on depiction of what it feels like when pop music articulates your pain with an elegance you could never hope to muster...[H]is tale of a lonesome boy, a Walkman, and Meat is Murder does a brilliant job of capturing how, in a world that doesn't care, listening to your favorite album can save your life. * The Philadelphia Inquirer *With his astute perceptions and graceful language, the guy [Pernice] can write circles around most of the popular novelists today, and then whack them in the head later on with his melody. * Nighttimes.com *Local singer/songwriter and now first-time novelist Joe Pernice seems to have near total emotional recall, in the same way a great athlete possesses top-notch muscle memory. The result is that the bulk of his creative output proves to be as viscerally convincing as it is deeply felt...His emotionally precise imagery can be bluntly, chillingly personal...His well-developed sense of character, plot and pacing shows that he has serious promise as a novelist. * Weekly Dig *

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhen Twin Peaks debuted on the ABC network on the night of April 8, 1990, thirty-five million viewers tuned in to some of the most unusual television of their lives. Centered on an eccentric, coffee-loving FBI agent's investigation into the murder of a small town teen queen, Twin Peaks brought the aesthetic of arthouse cinema to a prime time television audience and became a cult sensation in the process.Part of Twin Peaks' charm was its unforgettable soundtrack by Angelo Badalamenti, a longtime musical collaborator of film director and Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch. Badalamenti's evocative music, with its haunting themes and jazzy moodscapes, served as a constant in a narrative that was often unhinged and went on to become one of the most popular and influential television soundtracks of all time. How did a unique collaborative process between a director and composer result in a perfectly postmodern soundtrack that ran the gamut of musical styles from jaTrade ReviewThe Soundtrack from Twin Peaks book is thoroughly enjoyable. It is music I know backwards, but it gives me all kinds of new trajectories and connections ... This is the strength of the [33 1/3] series. * Manchester Review of Books *Norelli clearly has an enormous love for the subject and is skilled in being able to identify how Lynch has used the music to heighten the emotional impact of his show. The book is as much for the film student as it is the music lover ... [It] offers an excellent way to find one’s way back into the woods and enjoy a truly unique and evocative aural experience. * We Are Cult *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Track Listing Welcome to Twin Peaks Beautiful Darkness There’s Always Music in the Air Falling Wrapped in Plastic She’s Full of Secrets Freshly Squeezed I’ll See You Again in 25 Years Notes Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisBruce Springsteen goes back on the road in 1984. Weinberg hits his drums with a two-fisted physicality that cut through the swelling chords. Springsteen sings with the throat-scraping desperation of a man with his back against the wall. When he reaches the crucial lines, the guitars and bass dropped out and Weinberg switches to just the hi-hat.Trade Review"'A brilliant series of pocket-sized books focussing on a classic album. Each one a work of real love.' NME"

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresents an illustrated oral history of the Magnetic Fields' 1999 triple album, "69 Love Songs" - an album that was afforded "classic" status - as told by participants, fans and others. It also includes studio anecdotes, performance notes from the album shows in New York and London, rare and unpublished images, personal memorabilia, and others.Trade ReviewLD Beghtol's 69 Love Songs provides a lovingly written account of the wonderful Magnetic Fields and their magnum opus. Beghol utilises an obsession to succint detail over 158 pages, which fits perfectly with the ethic of the group's two-and-a-half-minute pop masterpieces. -- Andrew Free * Record Collector *Regardless of your appreciation for the music, LD Beghtol's book is a fun, passionate, and wonderfully peculiar dissection of the excellent album it lovingly explores. -- Michael Keefe * Pop Matters *

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Songs in the Key of Life" is different from the four albums that preceded it; it's a maddeningly ambitious encapsulation of all the progress Stevie Wonder had made in that short space of time. This work covers Stevie Wonder's excessive work habits and recording methodology, his reliance on synthesizers, and other aspects.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis essential guide to Rogue One: A Star Wars Storybrings the brand new Star Wars movie to life, withdetailed information and extensive images depicting thecharacters and worlds explored in Rogue One, as well aspresenting unseen concept art and unique behind-thescenesimagery.Trade Review"This is no mere cash-grab or pointless tie-in book; this enriches everything you saw in the film, tempting you into wanting to watch it again, this time with new eyes. What a treat." - San Francisco Book Review & Seattle Book Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisDiscover everything you''ve ever wanted to know about Star Wars in this complete history of the most famous franchise in movie history.Painstakingly researched and superbly illustrated, Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, New Edition presents a unique Star Wars timeline-the full history of the amazing Star Wars phenomenon as you''ve never seen it before.This stunning visual journey features trivia and cultural cornerstones from director George Lucas'' early life through to the iconic movie stills, comic books, novels, toys, video games, and theme parks that have spawned from five decades of seminal film making. Fully updated and expanded, this edition encompasses all nine episodes of the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, along with the standalone movies Rogue One and Solo, and the acclaimed television series, The Mandalorian. Produced in full collaboration with Lucasfilm and written by renowned Star Wars experts, Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual History, New Edition is ideal for Star Wars fanatics and newbies alike. & 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTHE ART AND CRAFT OF MAKING CLASSICAL GUITARS

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Bond. James Bond." The iconic line from James Bond's first big-screen scene has been endlessly quoted and imitated since, and the memorable dialogue and witty one-liners stand alongside the glamorous locations, breath-taking stunts and creative gadgets as one of the many reasons the films are so beloved the world over. The Wit & Wisdom of James Bond includes the very best quotes, quips and pearls of wisdom from all 25 films. From "Shocking. Positively shocking," to "Choose your next witticism carefully, Mr Bond. It may be your last," (Goldfinger) this official book collects the greatest killer one-liners from the world's most famous "licensed troubleshooter", as well as M, Q, Moneypenny, Bond villains and more.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor many, Blue Velvet is David Lynch's masterpiece. It represents a unique act of cinema: an 80s Hollywood studio film as radical, visionary and cabalistic as anything found in the avant-garde; a mysteriously symbolic and subterranean 'cult' movie that nevertheless has recognisable stars and was broadly distributed; a genre piece with the ambience of a fearsome, hyper-composed nightmare; an American 'art film' by Hollywood's only reputable 'art film' director. Michael Atkinson’s intricate and layered reading of the film shows how crystallises many of Lynch’s chief preoccupations: the evil and violence underlying the surface of suburbia, the seedy by-ways of sexuality, the frightening appearance of the adult world to a child's eyes, presenting it as the definitive expression of the traumatized innocence which characterizes Lynch's work. In his afterword to this new edition, Atkinson situates Blue Velvet within a culture that has changed drastically in the 35 years since its release, and in doing so, he considers the film's lasting significance as it slowly turns from contemporary phenomenon to an interpretable artifact.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments 2021 Foreword 'Blue Velvet' Notes Credits Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisUtilising fewer tools, this manual makes the violinmaking process easy for the everyday crafter. Using step-by-step instructions and hundreds of detailed drawings and colour photographs, the obscure language and unfamiliar techniques of instrument-making are given a populist overhaul in this newly revised and expanded resource. Requiring only basic tools and everyday woods, aspiring luthiers can begin each new project with full-size component cut-outs, which are included for each instrument piece. An inspiring full-colour gallery of violins made by other amateur crafters is also included. From cutting and shaping each piece to assembly and performance, the theory that only elite crafters can make wood instruments is debunked.Trade ReviewPacked with full-size patterns, step-by-step instructions - a nice departure from the usual use of photographs - you too can craft a wonderful instrument.I suspect that the book that Bruce Ossman has written, is the book he wishes he had available to him when he first fell in love with the violin while a student at Penn State University in the 1950s. It wasn't long before he self-taught himself to make his first instrument. As the sub-title of the book indicates, this book is not intended for the serious luthier making concert level instruments. Ossman's book is aimed at the average woodworker or motivated musician wishing to build a decent sounding, playable violin on his or her first attempt. The book begins with an overview of the entire 30-step building process utilizing many line drawings and sparse text. It's an excellent way to convey, to the novice builder, the violin in its deconstructed state and the logical sequence of steps necessary to pull it all together. This is followed by a gallery of color photos of the work of five makers, some amateurs and some professional. If one needs some inspiration before beginning a project, this section will provide it. The first chapter is devoted to the violin's anatomy and acoustics. Although there is enough literature on these topics alone to float a battleship, Ossman manages to cover the absolute bare-bone basics in just a few pages. The second chapter covers the materials which go into a violin as well as some of the preparatory steps necessary to build an instrument, including the fashioning of some simple tools like spool clamps, the body form and carving table. However, the discussion of tone woods, which one would expect in almost any other book on violin making, is almost non-existent here. The author's focus is definitely on construction. The heart of the book is chapter three, where Ossman takes the builder through the nuts and bolts of building a violin. He relies on a great many line drawings and straightforward text. Being so brief, there is no room for an in-depth discussions of why he opted for one method, approach, or material over any number of other options available to him. For example, the matter of finish is a topic about which countless books, articles, and scientific papers have been written, but Ossman simply instructs the builder to apply several coats of varnish with a sanding between coats. That's it. Still, he knows that if the reader follows his instructions, the end result will be a decent instrument, first time out. The appendix includes templates and full-sized plans, some of which are printed over two facing pages with the binding down the middle, but with registration marks so that when photocopied at full-size, they can be taped together. There is no instrument which is more steeped in mythology and lore than the violin, where grown men and women swear that the best instruments are made by the light of the August Moon, using 100 year old German spruce, harvested from the leeward sides of mountains and finished with shellac using some approximation of Stradivarius's mysterious recipe. Serious luthiers like these can discuss ad nauseum the merits of absolutely any aspect of the violin from the shape of the f-holes, to the types of strings used, to the glues employed, to the placement of the sound-post, and more. This is a different kind of book. For the first time builder, there is much to be said for Ossman's straightforward approach, where he has avoided many of the kinds of issues that more experienced builders delight in debating, but which might distract the novice from simply getting on with it.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA CLASH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024A lively, subversive history of the new UK jazz wave, encapsulating its revolutionary spirit and tracing its foundations to birth of the genre itself.''Not solely a book about jazz, or even a nascent cultural shift; it's a record of a pivotal moment in UK history.'' BIG ISSUEBy the end of the last century, jazz music was considered by many to be obsolete and uncool, a genre appreciated only by out of touch white men with deeply questionable taste. And yet, by 2019, a new generation of UK jazz musicians was selling out major venues and appearing on festival line-ups around the world. How has UK jazz rehabilitated its image so totally in twenty-five years? And how did it ever become uncool in the first place?Reaching back to the roots of jazz as the unapologetic expression' of oppressed peoples, shaped by the forces of slavery, imperialism and globalisation, Andre Marmot places this new wave within the wider context of a divided, postcolonial Britain navigating its identity in a new world order. These artists have crafted a sound which reflects the nation as it is today a sound connected to the very origins of jazz itself.Drawing on eighty-six interviews with key architects of this jazz renaissance and those who came before them from Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd to Gilles Peterson, Courtney Pine and Cleveland Watkiss Unapologetic Expression captures the radical spirit of a vital British musical movement.''A breathless run through of an inspiring era in British music, Unapologetic Expression contains deft character sketches and vivid memories, pausing to nail ineffable moments from recording sessions and gigs. Andre Marmot's role as an insider . . . grants the book a degree of intimacy other writers may have lacked.''CLASH

Read more less

Book SynopsisUNBREAKABLE: THE ENDURING LEGACY OF BRUCE WILLIS ON FILM

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the War on Hippies to the Great Rock ''n'' Roll Swindle, the story of Modern Lovers is a high octane tale of Brutalist architecture, rock ''n'' roll ambition and the struggle for identity in a changing world. One of punk rock's foundational documents, the archetype for indie obsession and all but disowned by its author, The Modern Lovers was an album doomed by its own coolness from day one. Powered by the two-chord wonder Roadrunner and its proclamation that I'm in love with rock ''n'' roll,The Modern Lovers is the essential document of American alienation, an escape route from the cultural wasteland of postwar suburbia. The Modern Lovers is the bridge connecting the Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols; they were peers of the New York Dolls and friends with Gram Parsons and they would splinter into Talking Heads, The Cars, and The Real Kids. But The Modern Lovers was never meant to be an album. A collection of demos, recorded in fits anTrade Review[Maloney] gives us concise, incredibly perceptive examinations of each song in turn that fans will devour ... A sensitive portrayal of knowing outsiderdom that steers clear of cliché and enriches the album in question. * Record Collector *[33 1/3] has been flying the flag for quality, book-length music criticism and commentary for some time now ... This book is certainly one of the most memorable and rewarding additions to the 33 1/3 canon; it takes a much loved album that for many is a solitary love affair, so intimate are its songs, and does not dispel its magic but offers the reader a greater appreciation of its merits. * We Are Cult *Table of ContentsIX. Acknowledgments X. Introduction 1. Roadrunner (Once) 2. Astral Plane 3. Old World 4. Pablo Picasso 5. I'm Straight 6. She Cracked 7. Hospital 8. Someone I Care About 9. Girlfriend 10. Modern World 11. Dignified and Old 12. Government Center 13. Roadrunner (Twice) Bibliography Discography Filmography

Read more less

Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER “This funny, insightful, and deliciously dishy memoir” (Town & Country) from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, and Glory, creator of thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, “takes its place alongside Adventures in the Screen Trade and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls as one of the indispensable behind-the-scenes books for fans of movies and television” (Aaron Sorkin).“I’ll be dropping a few names,” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. “Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.” He has encountered these Hollywood types d

Read more less

Book SynopsisÊThe Great British Recording StudiosÊ tells the story of the iconic British facilities where many of the most important recordings of all time were made. The first comprehensive account of British recording studios ever published it is endorsed by and was written with the cooperation of the British APRS (Association of Professional Recording Services headed by Sir George Martin) to document the history of the major British studios of the 1960s and 1970s and to help preserve their legacy.ÞThe book surveys the era''s most significant British studios (including Abbey Road Olympic and Trident) with complete descriptions of each studio''s physical facilities and layout along with listings of equipment and key personnel as well as details about its best-known technical innovations and a discography of the major recordings done there. Seamlessly interweaving narrative text with behind-the-scenes anecdotes from dozens of internationally renowned record producers and a wealth of photogra

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Success is a state of mind... Success isn't about conquering something; it's being happy with who you are.' - Stylist Magazine, 2011.Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Britney Spears is one of the most successful and celebrated entertainers in pop history selling nearly 150 million records worldwide. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Britney started out as a dancer and gymnast, before landing a role at twelve years old in 'The All New Mickey Mouse Club'. She became a household name as a teenager when she released her first single '...Baby One More Time'.This collection of Britney's relatable, inspiring and hugely optimistic quotes reveals a caring, generous personality who champions following your dreams. Despite a very public and at times troubling life, this is a book which sparkles with positivity and happiness; the 'Princess of Pop' offers you the best advice and lifts you up when you're down.Sample Quotes:'Performing is my therapy, to become different people onstage.' USA Today, 2013 'I have my relationship with God and myself, and that's what matters to me. I really don't care what most people think.' - V Magazine, 2016Table of ContentsEarly Years • Baby One More TIme • Princess of Pop • Femme Fatale • Circus • Glory.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRole Models is a wild and witty self-portrait of John Waters, America''s ''Pope of Trash'', told through intimate profiles of his favourite personalities - some famous, some unknown, some criminal, some surprisingly middle of the road. From Esther Martin, owner of the scariest bar in Baltimore, to the playwright Tennessee Williams; from the atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair to the insane martyr Saint Catherine of Siena; from the English novelist Denton Welch to the timelessly appealing singer Johnny Mathis - these are the extreme figures who helped John Waters form his own brand of neurotic happiness.A paean to the power of subversive inspiration that delights, amuses and happily horrifies in equal measure...Trade ReviewA delirious descent into Waters World, Role Models is a true-life confessional from one of America's greatest ironists. John Waters is a man always ready and willing to say the unsayable. He is the dark mirror of contemporary culture. From haute couture to low culture, from literary outsiders to lapsed actors, he delivers razor-sharp pen portraits of the women and men who have perverted and inspired him by turns. And yet Waters's warped imagination is always humane, his judgments insightful. Role Models is as much a philosophical manifesto as it is an utterly hilarious and shamelessly entertaining read. -- Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan, or The WhaleDisarmingly unfiltered confessions that capture Waters' singular blend of weirdness and guileless honesty. * San Francisco Chronicle *John Waters has a great gift for appreciation - whether for toothless lesbian strippers in Baltimore or the most rarefied painters and writers of our day. He is a dandy who has done away with everyone else's hierarchies and created a new world that conforms only to his own taste for trash and the sublime. He is frank, funny, and (strangely enough) both sensible and outrageous. -- Edmund White, author of City Boy

Read more less

Book SynopsisGretsch electric guitars have a style all their own ä a glitzy wacky retro charm that over the years has drawn players from all kinds of popular music from timeless stars to unknown teens. The Beatles Chet Atkins Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer all made their mark with Gretsch and new bands continually discover and fall in love with the Falcons Gents 6120s Jets and the rest.ÞÊThe Gretsch Electric Guitar BookÊ comes right up to the present including Gretsch''s alliance to the powerful Fender company a move that has done wonders for the reliability and playability of the modern Gretsch axe. Every great model is here but the book also tells the story of the lesser-known guitars and the projects that almost never happened. There are archival and fresh interviews with Gretsch personnel over the years and with many leading Gretsch players including Chet Atkins Billy Duffy Duane Eddy and Brian Setzer.ÞIn the tradition of Tony Bacon''s best-selling series of guitar books his upd

Read more less

Book SynopsisI think the best way to start when somebody says something can t be done, just look at them and say: why not? Frank Zappa, Los Angeles, 1990. Co de Kloet and Frank Zappa were friends for many years, and during that time Co recorded nearly every conversation the two men had. They also corresponded frequently about life, music, politics, and much more besides and this book offers a unique chronicle of their friendship, from their first meeting in 1977 to Zappa s death in 1993. Co is renowned as an expert on Zappa s music, but this book is about far more than that, and is unlike any other collection of interviews. As his son Dweezil writes in his foreword, Frank was a reluctant and sometimes combative interviewee, yet his conversations with Co were open and wide-ranging. Through more than two decades of these discussions, Frank & Co reveals a thoughtful, sensitive, and expansive Zappa, offering readers new insights into the life and career of one of the great masters of twentieth-century American music. It also includes Co s favourite memories of Frank, as well as interviews Zappa alumni Flo & Eddie, Jimmy Carl Black, Pamela Zarubica, and Don van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart.Trade ReviewWith this book, the Zappa fan will get a glimpse into Frank that I don t believe any other book written by him or about him expresses. And us Zappa fans love that. Thank you, Co. - Steve Vai

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Coveney is the only writer who could get under Smith''s skin, capturing her steeliness and vulnerability'' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAYFrom her days as a star of West End comedy and revue, Dame Maggie''s path has led to international renown and numerous accolades including two Academy Awards. Recently she has been as prominent on our screens as ever, with high-profile roles as the formidable Dowager Countess of Grantham in DOWNTON ABBEY, as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the HARRY POTTER movie franchise and as the eccentric Miss Shepherd in the film version of THE LADY IN THE VAN by Alan Bennett. Paradoxically she remains an enigmatic figure, rarely appearing in public and carefully guarding her considerable talent. Drawing on personal archives, interviews and encounters with the actress, as well as conversations with immediate family and dear friends, Michael Coveney''s biography is a captivating portrait of the real Maggie Smith.Trade ReviewFrom early days in the theatre to Miss Jean Brodie and Downton's formidable Dowager, Maggie Smith has endeared herself to millions. This engaging and fascinating biography reveals the life and career of one of our finest actresses * WOMAN & HOME *Dame Maggie Smith - now 81 - is a national treasure, her unforgettable asperity a delight in every role ... [Coveney's] knowledgeable, elegant biography examines the qualities of the woman in the spotlight ... But he also gently probes Smith's closely guarded privacy, with revealing anecdotes from friends, fellow thespians and Smith's sons, the actors Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens -- Jane Shilling * DAILY MAIL *A satisfying read ... [P]leasantly gossipy and a very valuable addition to the history of British theatre -- Mary McEvoy * IRISH INDEPENDENT *[A] solid and admiring portrait of a beloved actor's craft and career -- Patricia Nicol * INDEPENDENT *Michael Coveney's affectionate [biography] provides the best account we are likely to get of this reserved grand dame, who surely stands alone in having her 'witty' elbows and wrists so often singled out for praise * EVENING STANDARD, Books of the Year *The conundrum of what Smith does haunts Coveney's Maggie Smith: A Biography, on a brilliant journey from Shakespeare's Viola to J.K. Rowling's Professor McGonagall. Coveney's admiration is never in doubt, being of a rare critical type that cares for the actor's craft with infectious enthusiasm -- Michael Joseph Chance * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *Coveney has written a magnificent book that beautifully illuminates the talent and the irreducible personality of a great artist -- Peter Craven * THE AUSTRALIAN *Inspiring stuff - BOOK OF THE WEEK * NEW magazine *BOOK OF THE WEEK * DAILY MAIL *[A] revealing biography of the sublime life and loves of Maggie Smith -- Gerald Isaaman * CAMDEN NEW JOURNAL *Wonderful insight into the life of a wonderful actress - READERS' CHOICE FOR BEST MEMOIR OF THE YEAR * WOMAN & HOME *Michael Coveney isn't afraid to elucidate on her reputation for being difficult, but there's much more here, from a revelatory Hedda Gabler to The Lady In The Van. Coveney is the only writer who could get under Smith's skin, capturing her steeliness and vulnerability. -- Christopher Fowler * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, Cinema Books of the Year *Steeped in theatre history, and with full cooperation from Smith; her husband, actor Beverley Cross; family and colleagues, including her close friend Judi Dench, Coveney seamlessly melds Smith's personal and professional lives into an engrossing narrative ... An authoritative and perceptive portrait. * KIRKUS REVIEWS *Coveney enticingly lists and quotes from her most remarkable roles, and forbears to intrude on Smith's determinedly private life. Hers is a fascinating story, a true swan hatched from the unlikely nest of a dour Methodist accountant mother and a lab technician father who moved to Oxford during the war. -- Christina Hardyment * THE TIMES *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisNow for the first time, Eric tells the story of his personal and professional journeys in this pungent, witty and painfully honest autobiography.These are the memoirs of a survivor, someone who has reached the pinnacle of success, who has had it all, but whose demons have never left him.Trade ReviewEric Clapton has produced a gem of a rock memoir, in which he lays bare the painful roots of his music. Clapton speaks honestly and touchingly not only about the external course of his life but of what music has meant to him. That makes it much the best of this season's rock memoirs. Clapton delivers himself profoundly. It's extremely moving. * Evening Standard *Clapton relates what happened with painful honesty. In other rock stars, such plump contentment might seem hypocritical, even vulgar. But with Eric Clapton, you feel that a little comfort is the least he deserves. * Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday (4 star review) *This is an essential read * Observer *It's a raw and remarkable piece of self-exposure * Daily Telegraph *It is a pity more autobiograophers don't have Clapton's grounding in the blues. * Sunday Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAntigone, Interrupted explores the intertwined history of law, politics, gender and humanism through a new reading of Sophocles' classical tragedy. Studying the play in its fifth-century and modern contexts, Bonnie Honig argues for an Antigone committed not just to dissidence but to a positive politics of counter-sovereignty and solidarity.Trade Review'Honig's sweeping consideration of how the 'Antigone' is read and misread offers us a new way to approach the pauses, the ellipses, and the frank interruptions that punctuate this classic text. We have all struggled so hard to make the words mean in this or that way that we have perhaps forgotten the more dramatic features of the text in which relationships rupture, words trail off, and events still language. This book offers a trenchant analysis of sovereignty, belonging, and freedom through a perspective at once dramatic, literary, and political. Honig's sustained engagement with contemporary criticism shows how important the figure and text of Antigone is for any effort to think about the risks and the necessity of contestatory democratic culture.' Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley'Bonnie Honig provides a stunning, capacious and intensely 'political' reanimation of the 'Antigone'.' Simon Critchley, The New School for Social Research'Many books pride themselves on being 'provocative' - but this is the real thing! Engaged and engaging, sophisticated and polemical, Antigone, Interrupted interrupts the critical mainstream with real political urgency and edge.' Simon Goldhill, King's College, Cambridge'Bonnie Honig's Antigone, Interrupted shows how central Sophocles' play is to recent and current philosophical, political, cultural, psychoanalytical and gender theory debates in Europe and the USA. The book is not primarily an analysis of these debates (though one learns a great deal about them along the way), but an attempt to make a striking intervention in them.' Craig Hannaway, Bryn Mawr Classical Review'When a leading theorist of agonistic democracy writes a book on Antigone, it seems fitting to acknowledge the accomplishment by contesting its core claims. Bonnie Honig's Antigone, Interrupted, offers much to praise and is certainly a book worth reading, contesting, and interrupting for all interested in contemporary political theory. It demonstrates the ongoing significance and contestability of Antigone, for democratic theory, feminist theory, and political thought more generally.' Paul E. Kirkland, Review of Politics'Antigone, Interrupted is a significant book. Like all of Honig's work, it is theoretically sophisticated, erudite, and engaging, furnishing both a trenchant critique of prior interpretations of Antigone and an original, provocative, and highly political revisioning of the play. In so doing, it asks significant questions not only about the political consequences and risks of privileging mortality and vulnerability as ontological facts of the human condition but also about the terms of democratic political engagement. It deserves to be widely read.' Moya Lloyd, Perspectives on Politics'Honig's book [offers] a very useful critical map of current thinking while providing a reappraisal - and 'interruption' - of all Antigones that have gone before.' Morning Star'One of the great virtues of Antigone, Interrupted (and there are many) is its systematic disruption of these, now conventional, conceptions or receptions of Antigone as an isolated, heroic figure of mourning and resistance. … Honig's readings of the text … are inventive, unexpected and, in some parts, nothing short of inspired.' Paul Muldoon, History of Political ThoughtTable of ContentsPreface; Introduction; Part I. Interruption: Introduction to Part I: 1. Tragedy, maternalism, ethics: toward an agonistic humanism; 2. 'Antigone versus Oedipus', I: feminist theory and the turn to Antigone; 3. 'Antigone versus Oedipus', II: the directors' agon in Germany in Autumn; Part II. Conspiracy: Introduction to Part II: 4. Mourning, membership, and the politics of exception: plotting Creon's conspiracy with democracy; 5. From lamentation to logos: Antigone's conspiracy with language; 6. Sacrifice, sorority, integrity: Antigone's conspiracy with Ismene; Conclusion.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSkyhorse Publishing is proud to revive Playing Piano for Pleasure. With the wonderful writing one would expect from a longtime New Yorker reporter, Piano aficionado Charles Cooke, offers concrete routines for improving your piano performance. A pleasant and constant cheerleader, Cooke asks readers to practice every day, suggesting that they work through just that section time and again until it is perfect. In addition to his own thoughts, Cooke includes material from his interviews with master pianists, artists, and writers. The result is a book that should be cherished for years to come.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisNoted organist and scholar Anthony Hammond tells the full story, for the first time, of one of the great organists of the twentieth century. Described by his teacher Marcel Dupré as "a phenomenon without equal in the history of the contemporary organ," Pierre Cochereau is considered one of the twentieth century's greatest French organists.This book tells, for the firsttime, the full story of of his extraordinary life and glittering, worldwide career. In 1955 Cochereau was appointed Organiste Titulaire at Notre-Dame de Paris, where he restored the cathedral's musical glory and oversawa far-reaching and controversial transformation of its organ. As a recitalist, he toured South America, Australia, Asia, Canada, and Europe in addition to twenty-five tours of the United States. He was the first western organist to perform in the former Soviet Union., played with many major orchestras under the batons of distinguished conductors, participated in numerous music festivals in Europe, made over eighty recordings, and was one of the founders of the Chartres International Organ Competition. He was honored several times for his achievements, including being named an Officer of the Legion of Honor (1978). A tireless campaigner for standards in music education, Cochereau also served as director at many of France's prominent conservatories, including Le Mans, Lyons, and Nice, which under his directorhsip became one of the leading music schools in France. Biographer AnthonyHammond draws from a variety of of prominent primary sources, notably Marcel Dupré's papers in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, but also from Cochereau's surviving family and friends, and uses recordings and previously overlooked archive films in the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel, France to construct this definitive account and critical appraisal of one of France's most distinguished organists. Anthony Hammond is an English concert organist, improviser, and musicologist who specializes in French Romantic and twentieth-century organ music.Trade ReviewA layered and affectionate portrait. . . Figure 4.4, modestly described as 'summariz(ing) the essential features of Cochereau's style, is in fact a tiny masterpiece. . . . Hammond's manner of discussing improvisation is readable and practical. . . . His writing is sharp and deeply knowledgeable, [with] inspiring originality and enormous energy. Anthony Hammond makes me think of a young Charles Rosen, enthusiastic and sincere, . . . an advocate for performance as an intellectual act. -- Christina Linklater * MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES *A compelling read for all organists and, especially today, for the new breed of improvisers. . . . . In the discussions of Cochereau the improviser the story really comes to life. . . . A fine tribute to one of the 20th century's true musical geniuses--and a great read. -- Rollin Smith * THE AMERICAN ORGANIST *Fascinating and welcome. . . . Daring, brave, and brilliant. . . . Defines and reintroduces us to a spectacular church musician, organist, educator, and 'Premier Prix' in all his accomplishments. . . . Be sure to read this charming and intelligent book. -- William Tortolano * PASTORAL MUSIC *Fascinating. . . . A most respectful account of his compositions, at a length and thoroughness to satisfy anyone as keen on the French conception of organ-music and organ-playing as he clearly is. -- Peter Williams * MUSICAL TIMES *Hammond here offers a thorough account of the work of this passionate, attractive, and generous artist, . . . showi[ng] how Pierre Cochereau's legacy would inspire generations to come. . . . Can be consulted with great interest even by non-English-speakers. -- Carolyn Shuster Fournier * ORGUES NOUVELLES *In this most welcome first biography of Pierre Cochereau, Anthony Hammond gives us just what one would hope for: a detailed account of Cochereau's life, a thorough look at the influences that shaped his work, a valuable assessment of his craft as an interpreter, and new understanding of his art as an improviser. --Lawrence Archbold, Carleton College * . *'A model of scholarly research, Pierre Cochereau's legendary career is extensively recounted and the influence forming his mature style as an improviser and composer expertly documented. The post-1955 history of the Notre-Dame organ is by far the most accurate account in print today. -- Jesse Eschbach, University of North TexasTable of ContentsIntroduction Cochereau: The Life and Career of the Organist of Notre-Dame An Apostolic Succession?-Studies with Marcel Dupré Pierre Cochereau as Interpreter The Musical Language of Pierre Cochereau The Improvisations of Pierre Cochereau In Conclusion: The Legacy of Pierre Cochereau Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJ. Randy Taraborrelli is one of our most highly acclaimed biographers, and the author of thirteen books including the major bestsellers Madonna: An Intimate Biography, Michael Jackson: The Magic and the Madness, and Once Upon a Time: The Story of Princess Grace, Prince Rainier and their Family. His most recent biography is The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs part of the ever-growing, increasingly popular Drama Games series, Jessica Swale returns with another dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book, packed with dozens of drama games that can be used in the process of devising theatre. The games will be invaluable to directors and theatre companies at all levels who are creating new pieces of theatre from scratch and need lively, dynamic games to fire the imagination. They will particularly appeal to school, youth theatre and community groups where devising is a growing trend – and a core element of the drama curriculum. Written with clear instructions on How to Play, notes on the Aim of the Game, and illuminating examples from professional productions, the games cover every aspect of the devising process and develop all the skills required: generating ideas, creating characters and scenarios, using stimuli, structuring the piece, and creating an ensemble. Mike Leigh, the most dedicated and celebrated creator of devised work, hails the book in his foreword as 'highly original and massively useful'. 'A remarkable compendium of games and exercises… a lively starting point for rich invention' Mike Leigh, from his ForewordTrade Review'Very useful' * British Theatre Guide *'This new volume is packed full of activities to help the work of teachers, as well as directors.. Any drama teacher, youth leader or play director seeking to develop skills in text-free environments is likely to find practical inspiration here' * Teaching Drama *'A brilliant collection of starting points and structures that can be used again and again' * DramaResource.com *'A book which fairly fizzes with ideas' * The Stage *

Read more less

Book SynopsisPete Burns has found a new audience with his outrageous antics on Celebrity Big Brother. Whether being berated for wearing an alleged 'gorilla' coat, or destroying any one of his housemates with a withering putdown, he's the undoubted star of the show. But there's much more to Pete than meets the eye - and what with his extraordinary features and sense of fashion, that's really saying something. He became a star with the band Dead Or Alive, who had a huge hit with "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" in the mid-80s, but until now he has never told his own amazing story. It includes frank details of his affairs with major rock stars, his long-time marriage, how he had to sell his GBP 2m house to pay for the plastic surgery that went wrong and caused horrific injuries to his lips. He's had an amazing career and still commands a huge global following. When it came to going into the Big Brother house, Pete declared he was not going to be a team player - and this sensational book about his life shows how he's always been a true individual and a born star.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWith rare access to unpublished materials, this volume assesses Dr. Strangelove's narrative accuracy, consulting recently declassified Cold War nuclear-policy documents alongside interviews with Kubrick’s collaboratorsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Dr Strangelove Timeline Glossary Introduction: Stanley Kubrick's Atomic Antecedents 1. The Road to Strangelove: From Red Alert to The Delicate Balance of Terror and Beyond 2. Doctors Strangelove-a Character Evolution 3. 'Gentlemen, you can't fight in here': Brinksmanship Amongst the Authors and Producers of Dr Strangelove and Fail-Safe 4. Authentically Strange: Presidential Predelegation, Fail-safes and Doomsday Machines 5. Reconstructing Strangelove: Outtakes from the Cutting Room Floor Conclusion: Sons of Strangelove Bibliography Production Credits Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewPart of the pleasure of reading this lively, friendly, and truly unique book on academic writing is getting a sense of the pleasure with which the author obviously wrote it. With intelligence, generosity, and dare I say love, Eric Hayot makes us pay attention to that which we tend most to overlook or to give short shrift in scholarly practice-the act of style and its integral relation to critical thought-and moreover shows us how to enjoy the act of reclaiming it. Academic writers at all stages of experience will return to these pages again and again. -- Sianne Ngai, author of Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting My only criticism of The Elements of Academic Style is that it wasn't around thirty years ago, when I needed to learn everything, micro and macro, that this book teaches in its inimitable ways about the nature of scholarly writing. But I need it today just as much for its provocative suggestion that we unlearn what we believe we already know about seminar papers, chapters, dissertations, and books as kinds of writing. Challenging us to rethink what we ask our students to do (and why), Hayot links the demands of academic style to the possibilities of institutional reform. How long are seminar papers, and why do we need them anyway? Thanks to The Elements of Academic Style, we'll be debating these and many other questions for years to come. -- Andrew Parker, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Rutgers University The Elements of Academic Style is an utter tour de force, a guide to scholarly writing in the humanities that manages to be at once lively, funny, absorbing, rigorous, and immensely insightful. It offers a wealth of advice from the minute and grammatical to the disciplinary and career-changing, even as it probes deeply into the humanities as they are actually practiced, in the nitty gritty of our writing. Intended for graduate students, who will benefit in untold ways from its wisdom, it is a boon for faculty as well, so acute are its observations and so intelligent its maxims. Like its progenitor, Elements of Academic Style has sweep, lucidity, and pitch-perfect style. But what most distinguishes this remarkable book are more unexpected qualities: its intimacy, and especially its generosity. Eric Hayot has given us all a gift. -- Sarah Cole, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University For literary critical postgraduates and their teachers this is a useful book. Times Literary Supplement [The Elements of Academic Style] has the potential to transform how we teach and practice academic writing, and it invites the kind of reading and engagement that makes such a transformation possible... A book well worth reading and rereading. -- Carla Nappi New Books Network Seminar A needed contribution to the literature on academic writing, Hayot's book will be invaluable to any writer in the humanities. CHOICE Excellent... The book is a comprehensive, incisive, and staggeringly overdue guide to writing humanistic scholarship... Written in assured, engaging prose, possessed of personality but not overbearing, The Elements should be required reading for everybody-students, faculty, even administrators-in the orbit of a humanities Ph.D. program. -- Louis Bury HyperallergicTable of Contents1. Why Read This Book? Part I. Writing as Practice 2. Unlearning What You (Probably) Know 3. Eight Strategies for Getting Writing Done 4. Institutional Contexts 5. Dissertations and Books 6. A Materialist Theory of Writing 7. How Do Readers Work? Part II. Strategy 8. The Uneven U 9. Structure and Subordination 10. Structural Rhythm 11. Introductions 12. Don't Say It All Early 13. Paragraphing 14. Three Types of Transitions 15. Showing Your Iceberg 16. Metalanguage 17. Ending Well 18. Titles and Subtitles Part III. Tactics 19. Citational Practice 20. Conference Talks 21. Examples 22. Figural Language 23. Footnotes and Endnotes 24. Jargon 25. Parentheticals 26. Pronouns 27. Repetition 28. Rhetorical Questions and Clauses 29. Sentence Rhythm 30. Ventilation 31. Weight Part IV. Becoming 32. Work as Process 33. Becoming a Writer 34. From the Workshop to the World (as Workshop [as World]) 35. Acknowledgments Appendix: A Writer's Workbook Works Cited Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisLeonard Cohen's entire, fascinating story, featuring details of his brand new material and interviews with key Cohen associates.

Read more less

Book SynopsisMargaret Rutherford was without a doubt one of Britain’ s best-loved comic actresses. But behind the kindly, serene front Rutherford presented to the world lay a life of trauma and repeated nervous breakdown – the legacy of the legacy of family tragedy that saw her father murder her grandfather during a bout of mental illness and her depressive mother later kill herself. Andy Merriman’ s acclaimed biography intrigued and shocked readers with these revelations when it was published in hardback. Now out in paperback, it is also a portrait of one of our most individual actresses. Rutherford appeared in such thoroughly English classics as Blithe Spirit, The importance of Being Earnest, Passport to Pimlico and I’ m All Right, Jack! But above all she was Miss Marple, in four films – and entirely created for the screen the role of Agatha Christie’ s elderly and fearless private detective that subsequent actresses like Joan Hickson and Geraldine McEwan have continued. Rutherford first played Miss Marple at the age of 70, and insisted on wearing her own clothes to feel right in the part. Above all, this was a vulnerable woman whom no-one failed to like and respect, notable again and again for quiet acts of kindness, whose life story has great appeal to everyone who appreciates both classic English comedy and simple human decency.Trade Review‘...Madness, murder, suicide and odd sexual arrangements... An eccentric, delightful surprise.’`Merriman paints a fascinating picture of Margaret's emergence as a national treasure''[A] splendid biography'‘ ...Madness, murder, suicide and odd sexual arrangements... An eccentric, delightful surprise.’ `Merriman paints a fascinating picture of Margaret's emergence as a national treasure' '[A] splendid biography'

Read more less

Book SynopsisBicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette, 1948) is unarguably one of the most important films in the history of cinema. It is also one of the most beguiling, moving and (apparently) simple pieces of narrative ever made. The film tells the story of one man and his son, as they search fruitlessly through the streets of Rome for his stolen bicycle; the bicycle which had offered the possibility of escape from the poverty and humiliation of long-term unemployment. One of a cluster of extraordinary films to come out of post-war, post-Fascist Italy  - loosely labelled ''neorealist'' Bicycle Thieves won an Oscar in 1949, topped the first Sight and Sound poll of the best films of all time in 1952 and has been hugely influential throughout world cinema ever since. It remains a necessary point of reference for any cinematic engagement with the labyrinthine experience of the modern city, the travails of poverty in the contemporary world, the c

Read more less

Book SynopsisAdapted from a series of four lectures, originally delivered as the first of the Granada Northern Lectures Peter Brook''s The Empty Space is an exploration of four aspects of theatre, ''Deadly, Holy, Rough and Immediate'', published in Penguin Modern Classics.''I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage''In The Empty Space, groundbreaking director Peter Brook draws on a life in love with the stage to explore the issues facing any theatrical performance. Here he describes important developments in theatre from the last century, as well as smaller scale events, from productions by Stanislavsky to the rise of Method Acting, from Brecht''s revolutionary alienation technique to the free form Happenings of the 1960s, and from the different styles of such great Shakespearean actors as John Gielgud and Paul Scofield to a joyous impromptu performance in the burnt-out shell of the Hamburg Opera just after the war. Passionate, unconventional and fascinati

Read more less

Book SynopsisA riveting series of stories that portray the biopolitics of speaking and writing in a postcolonial world.Trade ReviewA critically important and intellectually exciting contribution to debates concerning voice and language in postcolonial studies. -- Zahid R. Chaudhary, Princeton University May become one of the classic texts of Anglophone postcolonial studies. -- Panivong Norindr, University of Southern California Not Like a Native Speaker reads like a great novel. Through a dazzling array of historical and contemporary scenes, Rey Chow makes yet another invaluable contribution to postcolonial and diaspora studies, this time by taking on the vexing, yet hugely important, issue of "languaging," the racialization of bodies via the loss of native languages or accented speech. She examines the losses and affects that befall subjects who find themselves in the interstices of unequal languages and political economies with the same unflinching honesty and intellectual rigor that her scholarship has accustomed us to. -- Smaro Kamboureli, Avie Bennett Chair in Canadian Literature, University of Toronto Rey Chow's book Not Like a Native Speaker is not only a brilliant and original reflection on the fate of language in the afterlife of colonialism, but also an authoritative statement on postcolonial theory; moving beyond the confinement of the politics of identity, it provides a unique map for the postcolonial criticism of the future, one informed by rigor and unafraid of judgment. -- Simon Gikandi, Princeton University How does colonial power deploy language?-a central question in postcolonial studies-is infused with new life by Rey Chow in this dazzling book. Chow poses other searching questions concerning identity and estrangement, memory and oblivion, bilingualism and aphasia, and offers acute discussions of language in Fanon, Benjamin, Derrida, Achebe, and Ngugi. Not Like a Native Speaker is provocative and indispensable. -- Roland Greene, Stanford University [Not Life a Native Speaker] offers new, thought-provoking insights into the social effects engendered by imperialism and the rapid development of new communication technologies. -- Andrea Riemenschnitter Modern Chinese Literature and CultureTable of ContentsNote on Non-English Sources Acknowledgments Introduction: Skin Tones-About Language, Postcoloniality, and Racialization 1. Derrida's Legacy of the Monolingual 2. Not Like a Native Speaker: The Postcolonial Scene of Languaging and the Proximity of the Xenophone 3. Translator, Traitor; Translator, Mourner (or, Dreaming of Intercultural Equivalence) 4. Thinking with Food, Writing off Center: The Postcolonial Work of Leung Ping-kwan and Ma Kwok-ming 5. The Sounds and Scripts of a Hong Kong Childhood Notes Index

Read more less