Entertainment Books

Book SynopsisWhen secrets from Jason Bourne''s past come to light, he may be the next thing that''s buried. The latest thrilling instalment in the legendary New York Times bestselling series from the world of Robert Ludlum.It''s been over a decade since Nash Rollins recruited a brilliant, talented, but disaffected young man named David Webb to join Treadstone. Webb became the agent known as Cain - and later took on the identity of Jason Bourne.That violent winter - which included Cain's first mission for Treadstone - was also a story of betrayal in ways that David never knew. So after the injury that erased Bourne's whole life, Nash lied about the circumstances of David's recruitment to Treadstone. He was afraid that learning the truth might drive Bourne out of the agency forever.But now, when Bourne meets a woman who recognises him as David Webb, the secrets of those days begin to come out - and Bourne is forced to confront the dangerous ghosts of a past he

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Book SynopsisBob Dylan has helped transform music, literature, pop culture, and even politics. The World of Bob Dylan chronicles a lifetime of creative invention that has made a global impact. Leading rock and pop critics and music scholars address themes and topics central to Dylan''s life and work: the Blues, his religious faith, Civil Rights, Gender, Race, and American and World literature. Incorporating a rich array of new archival material from never before accessed archives, The World of Bob Dylan offers a comprehensive, uniquely informed and wholly fresh account of the songwriter, artist, filmmaker, and Nobel Laureate whose unique voice has permanently reshaped our cultural landscape.Trade Review'(The World of Bob Dylan) offers a comprehensive overview of Bobdom - musical influences from sea shanties and highland ballads to blues and gospel, his interest in Brecht and the Beat poets, the politics of the civil rights movement and the counterculture, and more.' Neil Spencer, The Observer'An illuminating read for both the fanatic and the more casual fan.' Ben Phillipson, Shindig!'Latham's symposium covers huge ground … (and) many of the contributions sing.' Danny Eccleston, Mojo'Crammed with insights into Dylan's world … fans will already have it on order.' Tony Burke, Record Collector'A book filled with scholarly scruple and imaginative audacity. A true Dylanfest.' Declan Kiberd, Irish Times'The World Of Bob Dylan kicks off an archival deep dive into the legacy and cultural importance of Dylan in thoroughly academic manner that remains enjoyable. This book pairs well with Dylan's expansive discography and will more than likely lead to a greater appreciation for the singer-songwriter.' Gerrod Harris, Spill Magazine'This is an excellent volume, and the different contributions are of a uniformly high standard. The range of aspects of Dylan studies covered is impressive.' Christopher Rollason, Dylan ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction Sean Latham; I. Creative Life: 1. A Chronology of Bob Dylan's Life Kevin Dettmar and Sean Latham; 2. The Biographies Andrew Muir; 3. Songwriting Sean Latham 4. The Singles: A Playlist for Framing Dylan's Recording Art Keith Negus; II. Musical Contexts: 5. Folk Music Ronald D. Cohen; 6. The Blues: 'Kill Everybody Ever Done Me Wrong' Greil Marcus; 7. Gospel Music Gayle Wald; 8. Country Music: Dylan, Cash, and the Projection of Authenticity Leigh H. Edwards; 9. Rock Music Ira Wells; 10. Roots Music: Born in a Basement Kim Ruehl; 11. The Great American Songbook: 'Better Duck Down the [Tin Pan] Alley Way, Lookin' for a New Friend' Larry Starr; III. Cultural Contexts: 12. American Literature Florence Dore; 13. World Literature Anne-Marie Mai; 14. The Beats Steven Belletto; 15. Theatre Damian A. Carpenter; 16. Visual Arts: Goya's Kiss Raphael Falco; 17. Borrowing Kevin Dettmar; 18. Judaism: Saturnine Melancholy and Dylan's Jewish Gnosis Elliot R. Wolfson; 19. Christianity: An Exegesis of Modern Times Andrew McCarron; IV. Political Contexts: 20. The Civil Rights Movement Will Kaufman; 21. The Counterculture Michael J. Kramer; 22. Gender and Sexuality: Bob Dylan's Body Ann Powers; 23. Justice Lisa O'Neill-Sanders; V. Reception and Legacy: 24. The Bob Dylan Brand Devon Powers; 25. The Nobel Prize: The Dramaturgy of Consecration James F. English; 26. Stardom and Fandom David R. Shumway; 27. The Bob Dylan Archive® Mark Davidson.

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Book SynopsisTake a (violin) bow and let your inner musician shine! You don't have to be a genius to start fiddling around!ViolinForDummieshelps budding violinists of all ages begin to play. If you've never read a note of music, this book will show you how to turn those little black dots into beautiful notes. Start slow as you learn how to hold the instrument,use thebow, finger notes, and play in tune. Watchyourselfblossom into a musician withtips ontechnique and style. When you're ready to go further, this book will help you find the people and resources that can help you get just a little closer to virtuoso! Your own private lessons are right inside this book, with the included online video and audio instruction, plus recordings that will help you develop your ear. This book takes the guesswork out of learning an instrument, so you'll be ready to join the band when the time comes! Choose a violin and learn the basics of holding the instrument and playinTable of ContentsIntroduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: So You Want to Play the Violin 5 Chapter 1: Introducing the Violin 7 Meeting the String Family 7 Tuning up 8 Holding on 9 Bowing Out Some Sounds 9 Looking closely at the bow 9 Using both your hands 10 Making Music with or without Notation 10 Knowing the notes 11 Getting rhythm 11 Digging Deeper into Music 11 Scales and key signatures 11 Harmony 12 Playing with Style 12 Dazzling technique 12 Multicultural music 13 Having Your Own Violin 13 Chapter 2: Getting Started with the Violin 15 Examining the Violin 16 How Violins Work 19 String vibration and string length 19 Using both hands to make a sound 19 How the bow helps 20 Unpacking Your Violin and Putting It Away Safely 21 Taking the violin out of its case 21 Putting the violin away 22 Protecting your violin 23 Getting Your Violin in Tune 23 Working the pegs and fine tuners 24 Tuning with the piano 28 Using an electronic tuner 29 Getting close with a pitch pipe 31 Finding A with a tuning fork 32 Troubleshooting Guide to Dealing with Pegs and Fine Tuners 33 Peg problems 33 Fine tuner problems 35 Chapter 3: Holding Up Well 37 Understanding the Importance of a Good Violin Hold 37 When standing 38 When sitting 41 Reading from a Music Stand 42 Finding a Good Fit: Chinrests and Shoulder Rests 43 Chinrests 43 Shoulder rests 46 Fixing Common Problems with the Violin Hold 48 Keeping the scroll afloat 48 Watching the horizontal angle 48 Keeping your elbow under 49 Relaxing the shoulder 50 Part 2: Getting Started: The Basics 51 Chapter 4: Taking a Bow 53 Saying Hello to the Bow 54 Treating Your Bow Well 55 Tightening and loosening the horsehair 56 Using rosin on the bow 57 Getting to Grips with Your Bow Hold 59 The famous diva method 59 The hidden treasures method 60 Conquering common problems with the bow hold 62 Putting Bow to Strings 62 Bowing on different strings 63 Understanding bowing symbols 65 Playing Your First Concert 65 Bowing in the Styles of Mr Smooth and Mr Clean 67 Chapter 5: Getting the Left Hand Right 69 Shaping Up Your Arm and Fingers 69 Getting your arm in shape 70 Taking your fingers to tap dancing class 71 Framing your left hand 72 Relaxing your thumb 74 Putting Your Fingers on the Strings 74 Getting groovy fingertips 74 Counting your fingers 75 Knowing which finger to use for what note 76 Lifting and placing your fingers 76 Taping Training Wheels on the Fingerboard 76 Preparing Your Pizzicato 80 Putting Finger 2 to Work 82 Chapter 6: All Together Now 87 All Together Now: Putting Both Hands to Work 87 Getting into playing position 88 Practicing with hands together 88 Crossing Over to a Different String 91 Changing strings with the bow 91 Moving your fingers to different strings 95 Playing Music with Both Hands 98 Warming up to the task 98 Topping the charts: Two simple songs 100 Expanding Your Bow Strokes 101 Using more bow, gradually 102 Preparing to play Pachelbel 102 Part 3: Reading Music for the Violin 105 Chapter 7: Translating Five Lines onto Four Strings 107 Lining Up the Music 107 Setting the pitch with the clef 108 Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge (and so do girls!) 110 Climbing the ledger lines 110 Naming Your Notes, String by String 111 17 basic notes 112 A string 112 E string 113 D string 114 G string 115 Meeting the Sharps, Flats, and Naturals 116 Identifying sharps, flats, and naturals 116 Playing sharps and flats 117 Playing Music by Reading the Notes 118 Getting Louder or Softer — Dynamite Dynamics! 119 Playing loudly 120 Making soft sounds 121 Adding crescendo and diminuendo 121 Chapter 8: Making Rhythm Count 125 Dissecting a Musical Note 126 Adding Up the Value of Notes 127 Whole notes 127 Half notes 128 Quarter notes 129 Eighth notes 130 Sixteenth notes 131 Triplets 131 Counting In-Between Notes 132 Dotted half notes 133 Dotted quarter notes 133 Taking a Rest 134 You’ve Got Rhythm: Pieces to Play! 135 Chapter 9: Measuring Up: A Guide to Meter 139 Keeping Measure of the Beats 140 Counting Beats: Time Signatures 141 Tapping into the beat 142 Counting rests 143 Emphasizing the right beat 144 Regulating Your Speed with a Metronome 145 Mechanical metronomes 145 Electronic metronomes 147 Making friends with your metronome 148 Making Music in 4/4 Meter 150 Counting and Playing in Threes 151 Doing (Just About) Everything Else from Fours and Threes 153 2/4 time 153 6/8 time 155 Getting Up to Speed: What Those Tempo Markings Mean 156 Time for Some Songs 157 Part 4: Musicianship and Harmony 161 Chapter 10: Weighing In on Scales 163 Climbing Up and Down 163 Marching through the Major Scales 164 Building major scales 165 Major scales you need to know 166 A major scale 167 G major scale, upper octave 170 G major scale, two octaves 171 E major scale 172 A major scale, two octaves 175 F major scale 176 Casting Light on Those Minor Scales 177 Building a minor scale 177 Playing A melodic minor scale 178 Playing A harmonic minor scale 179 Meeting Other Scales in Brief 180 Natural minor scales 181 Pentatonic scales 181 Chromatic scales 181 Harping On about Arpeggios 183 A major arpeggio 183 A minor arpeggio 184 Major (and Minor) Achievements 184 Chapter 11: Cracking Key Signatures 187 The Keys to Reading Music 187 Getting keyed up about key signatures 187 Reading the key signatures for major keys 188 Keeping order 190 Unlocking the Music with the Right Key 190 Finding the Minor Key for Each Major 191 Forming the relative minor 191 Recognizing minor keys when reading music 192 Having the Last Dance 192 Chapter 12: Making Sweet Music Together: Harmony 195 Combining Notes with Chords and Harmony 196 Playing in the Big Leagues: Major Chords 197 Finding the primary triads 197 Breaking out in chords 198 Unearthing the Minor Chords 200 Making the Most of Major and Minor Chords 201 Meeting the Bossy Chords: Dominant 7ths 202 Harmonizing in Thirds and Sixths 203 Part 5: Taking It Up a Notch: Techniques and Styles 205 Chapter 13: Becoming Fluent in the Language of Bowing 207 Fitting Two or More Notes into One Stroke: Slurred legato 208 Changing bow direction smoothly 209 Starting to slur two notes 210 Slurring across strings 214 Playing three notes in a bow stroke 217 Fitting four notes in a bow stroke 220 Planning Bow Division 221 Deciding how much bow to use on a note or measure 222 Doing the math: Dividing the bow by note values 223 Dividing the bow strokes in anticipation of the next note 224 Adjusting the amounts of bow for dynamics 224 Mais Oui, Maestro: Taking On Ze Accents 225 Accenting the positive 226 Hammering it out: Martelé 227 Meeting the Fanciest Bowings 230 Slurred staccato 230 Meet the off-the-string family 231 Chapter 14: Putting Your Finger on It 237 Two Notes Are Better Than One: Easy Double Stops 237 Preparing your bow for double stops 238 Going from one string to two and back again 240 Ballet dancing with your fingers on the lower string 243 Playing double stops where both notes use fingers 244 Playing double stops galore 245 Pulling Out All the Stops: Three- and Four-Note Chords 246 Three-note chords 247 Four-note chords 248 A grand finale with chords 249 Getting into the First Four Positions 250 Finding first position 250 Smoothing out the second position 251 Putting second position to work 252 Playing in third position 254 Venturing forth in fourth position 256 Knowing what position you’re in 259 Changing Position 259 Easing into shifting positions 260 Getting to know the four kinds of shifts 262 Changing position to go to a different string 268 Playing a shifty song 269 All Aquiver: Vibrato 270 Getting started with vibrato 271 Good vibrations: Using your vibrato in a real song 275 Tapping into Trills 276 Building speed of repetition 276 Speeding from finger to finger 277 Trilling techniques 278 Chapter 15: Playing with Style 281 Fiddling Around with Country Music 281 Familiarizing yourself with fiddle music 282 Sounding like a fiddler 285 Fiddling your way to songs 288 Grooving to Jazz 290 Getting the jazz sound 290 Listening to some jazz violin 293 Jazzing up your violin 294 Enchanting with Gypsy Violin 296 Romancing the violin 296 Listening to some great gypsy violin 301 Playing in the gypsy style 302 Part 6: Getting Into Gear, Staying In Gear 305 Chapter 16: Finding the Right Violin and Bow for You 307 Picking a Violin That’s Right for You 308 The price is right 308 Tip-top condition 310 Old news 311 Sound advice 312 All about appearance 313 Sizing Up the Violin 314 Buying the Best Bow 315 What bows are made of 316 How the bow feels 316 Buying or Renting Your Violin 318 Buying 318 Renting 320 Renting to buy 321 Finding Your Violin 321 Getting Plugged into Electric Violins 323 Acoustic pickups 324 Electric violins 325 Chapter 17: Protecting Your Assets: Violin Care and Maintenance 327 Cleaning Up 328 Daily dusting 328 Cleaning the strings 329 Polishing the wood 330 Changing Strings 331 Taking off the old strings 332 Prepping the pegs and string 334 Putting on strings attached at the tailpiece 335 Putting on strings attached to fine tuners 336 Tightening the strings 337 Protecting Your Violin 338 Practicing safety at rehearsals 339 Traveling with your violin 339 Upgrading Your Case 341 The makings of a good case 341 Testing a case 344 Looking at extra features 344 Changing Chinrests 345 Taking off the old chinrest 345 Attaching the new chinrest 346 Rehairing the Bow 347 Finding Useful Accessories 348 Necessities 348 Extras 349 Part 7: The Part of Tens 353 Chapter 18: Ten Top Performers — and Their Recordings 355 Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) 355 Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) 356 Jascha Heifetz (1899–1987) 357 Stéphane Grappelli (1908–1997) 357 David Oistrakh (1908–1974) 358 Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) 358 Itzhak Perlman (1945–) 359 Nigel Kennedy (1956–) 360 Natalie MacMaster (1973–) 360 Rachel Barton Pine (1974–) 360 Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Go Beyond This Book 363 Subscribing to a Magazine 363 Attending Concerts 364 Joining a Community Orchestra 365 Going to Summer Camps 366 Playing in Small Groups 367 Participating in Festivals 368 Local music festivals (competitive and noncompetitive) 368 International music festivals 369 Building a Music Collection 369 Watching and Collecting Videos and DVDs 370 Visiting Competitions 371 Performing at Hospitals and Seniors’ Homes 372 Chapter 20: Ten (Or So) Tips on Finding a Teacher 373 Networking 373 Calling the Local Orchestra 375 Inquiring at Music Schools 375 Checking Out Community Colleges 376 Asking at the University 377 Hearing Students Play 378 Asking at the Music Store 379 Mentioning Your Quest Everywhere 379 Checking Out Violin Lessons on the Internet 380 Looking for a Good Gut Feeling before You Start 380 Meeting a Teacher for the First Time 382 Auditioning 382 Planning lessons 382 Making business arrangements 383 Appendix: Audio Tracks and Video Clips 385 What You Find on the Audio Tracks 385 Looking at What’s in the Video Clips 391 Customer Care 394 Index 395

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Book SynopsisA fresh, innovative interpretation of the life, work and lasting influence of the twentieth century's most iconic filmmaker.Trade Review"A provocative new way of thinking about biography... The radial structure vibrates, like Hitchcock’s best films, with intuition and mystery." -- Parul Sehgal - The New York Times"Edward White’s The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock is a pinata of literary pleasures. Learned and graceful, thoughtful and provocative, White cracks the Hitchcock code with deft analysis and fine writing. It’s a high-stepping performance full of humor and depth. Walking a tightrope between criticism and biography, White places both the man and his myth in the cultural landscape of his times. In the process, he returns us to the films with a much more informed eye. A book to keep and to return to." -- John Lahr, author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh"Perceptive and gracefully written, “The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock” is a bracing study of the master of suspense... It is a rare book that could pleasurably be twice as long." -- The Economist"[The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock] is full of such sharp observations, offering a Hitchcock whose art endures alongside—and in some ways depends upon—his insecurities and mistakes." -- Farran Smith Nehme - The Wall Street Journal"White combines his interpretive zest with sensitivity, clarity and knife-sharp phrasing, smartly dedicating each of his 12 chapters to a different facet of the director's personality: the voyeur, the entertainer, the womaniser, the family man… Anatomising someone of Hitchcock's stature risks an equally chaotic frenzy of stabs, but with these 12 scalpel strokes White cuts close to his subject's heart." -- Victoria Segal - The Sunday Times"... innovative biography of Alfred Hitchcock... Tracking Hitchcock's contemporary influence, White is an enterprising tour guide... I was happy to be reminded of Cornelia Parker’s PsychoBarn, constructed in 2016 on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum in New York... And thanks to White, I went on an excursion to Leytonstone, Hitchcock’s birthplace in east London... I was also pleased to learn from White about the lewd Hitchcock tribute in Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By." -- Peter Conrad - The Observer"The great strength of “The Twelve Lives” is that a reader comes away from it with a vivid sense of how Hitchcock ignited screen masterpieces with the fires of his inner discord and contradictions." -- Alexander Kafka - The Washington Post"... a fascinating new study... [The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock] is overflowing with anecdotes, memories and curiosities… the book offers lots of insights into what made him such a revolutionary director of masterpieces such as North by Northwest and Rear Window." -- Martin Chilton, Books of the Month May 2021 - The Independent"Rather than forcing Hitchcock’s often contradictory guises into a coherent whole, this deft account takes them as a starting point. The result is a nuanced and frequently unfamiliar portrait. Essays on the director’s sartorial and culinary preoccupations and his penchant for publicity—chapter headings include “The Fat Man” and “The Dandy”—yield new perspectives on a multifaceted career." -- Briefly Noted - The New Yorker"... masterful study... There have been thousands of books about Hitchcock. This is the best of the bunch, a brilliant investigation of a man full both of ego and fragile self-esteem, a sour mixture of self-disgust and self-regard. Hitchcock was aware that under anyone’s calm surface, dark forces were ‘springing and swirling within'. To investigate these notions, White chops up his book into a dozen highly original chapters homing in on such themes as Hitchcock the Fatty, the Dandy, the Voyeur, the Cockney, and so forth." -- Roger Lewis - The Daily Mail"Using an approach that manages to balance chronology and theme, [White] presents the subject from a dozen angles, many of them in implicit opposition… his use of sources is inventive, and he exhibits breezy authority on a range of relevant themes, from dietetics and mid-century slimming to Catholic prayer." -- Leo Robson - New Statesman"Running the gamut from 'The Boy Who Couldn't Grow Up' to 'The Man Of God', White's book... deftly divvies up the director's 80 years into a dozen readable chunks. If Hitch was, as this author suggests, "a codex of his times," this is as good a way as any to decipher him." -- Neil Smith - Total Film"White’s book is a perceptive, plainspoken, and vigorous portrait of an exceedingly strange, complicated, and perhaps deeply wounded man." -- John Banville - New Republic"It's an elegant, divertingly readable performance... it's the affinities, the connecting threads and evocative side-glances with which White salts his text that repeatedly spark new insights into both the man and his work... as this entertaining and provocative book shows, a lot of satisfaction can be derived from exploring the mystery." -- Philip Kemp - Sight & Sound"It feels a fresh way to organise a familiar story… [The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock] allows White to examine the binaries that run through Hitchcock’s life; the man who had both an enormous ego and fragile self-esteem, the uxorious husband who was also lecherous, the dandy in the body of a fat man and the end-of-the-pier entertainer who could also be framed as an avant-garde artist." -- Teddy Jamieson - The Herald"While Hitchcock has been the subject of more books than any other filmmaker, the man behind the titillating, terrifying mask remains an enigma… Edward White’s answer to this conundrum is to dismember Hitchcock into a dozen parts." -- Christopher Bray - The Mail on Sunday"The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock by Edward White considers the many different aspects of the great film-maker’s life and work, including family man, Londoner, pioneer and dandy, and how they often intertwined." -- Choice"[The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock] is an original, absorbing study which captures the contradictory nature of ‘the Master of Suspense’." -- Book of the Week - The Week"... elegant and erudite biography… More than 100 books have been written about the Hitchcock phenomenon, but this must be one of the most straightforwardly enjoyable. More a collection of essays than a full-blown biography... [The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock] will send readers back to the films with renewed appreciation." -- Andrew Lynch - The Business Post"The number of tomes written about Alfred Hitchcock could fill a large bookcase, but Edward White takes a novel approach. In The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock, he looks at a dozen aspects of the great director's life, work and influence. It's a ploy to entertain and enlighten even those of us who think we know Hitch inside out. White offers new interpretations of some of his most celebrated films but seeks to uncover the man beneath the myth that Hitchcock, himself, so carefully curated." -- Summer Reads - The Irish Independent"White writes with the contemporary moment in mind yet avoids twisting his subject’s accomplishments to suit new tastes. His book is entirely accessible without being glib or sensationalist; it is well-researched and wide-ranging in its cultural references without being pedantic or effete. I know of no other book on Hitchcock that wears its breadth of knowledge so lightly... One completes this book feeling one knows Hitchcock as well as he could be known, and with renewed respect for his gifts and his influence on culture." -- Paula Marantz Cohen - Times Literary Supplement

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Book SynopsisThe countries surrounding the Baltic Sea - Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden - have experienced immense social and political change, from the territorial maneuverings of Sweden, Russia, and Denmark, the reunification of Germany, to more recent moves towards independence of Eastern Bloc countries as the Soviet Union crumbled. Tensions surrounding the Baltic Sea have not dissipated but rather new challenges and contentions have emerged, resulting in a multicultural and multilingual region. Dance in the region has been tightly interwoven with political trends and events, yet the dance history of the region to date has focused almost entirely on state sponsored folk and classical dance. Dance, Diversity and Difference presents contemporary stories of dance, revealing the diverse voices of dance practitioners and demonstrating the ways in which dance has connections with families, societies, governments, the economy and can oTrade ReviewThis book brings to light, through a prism of dance, a world that has undergone enormous political and cultural change … Perhaps of equal importance, the scholarship embedded within this book is a reminder that dance is at once personal and global, intimate and shared, a way of being in and knowing of a world that has no boundaries. * Journal of Dance Education *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Beginnings 2 Learning 3 Making 4 Performing 5 Teaching and teachers 6 Relationships, family, and meetings 7 Heritage and history 8 Change and turning points 9 Travelling 10 Futures, challenges and questions References Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisWinner of the STR Theatre Book Prize 2024Featuring contributions from over eighty original cast members, creatives, crew and audience members, Out For Blood pieces together the surprising, hilarious and often-moving inside story of Carrie The Musical to discover how this horror of a Broadway musical' lived, died and was subsequently resurrected as a mainstream success story.In 1988, following the success of its production of Les Misérables and in the wake of the commercial success of mega-musicals such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Chess, the Royal Shakespeare Company agreed to co-produce a musical based on Stephen King's Carrie, written by the team behind Fame. The result was one of Broadway''s most infamous disasters. Plagued by technical problems, on-stage chaos and a critical savaging, Carrie would soon become the by-word for musical theatre flops. But thanks to the efforts of a vocal army of fans and the impact of Trade ReviewIf a book could catapult you into a rehearsal room from your own home, then Out for Blood would have you watching in the front row … A real page-turner, just like the King original … Adams’s comprehensive text is both approachable and teeming with information. * Musicals Magazine *The Broadway production of CARRIE has long been the poster child of notorious flop Broadway musicals. In this fascinating tome author Chris Adams handily reveals the whole grizzly story of how a show that had the promise and pedigree to so much right went so terribly wrong. * Stephen Purdy, author of 'Flop Musicals of the Twenty-First Century' *A fascinating book about an extraordinary show I’m proud to have been part of. So many memories both good and bad…the story of Carrie lives on * Linzi Hateley, original Carrie on Stratford and Broadway *As someone who is in his third decade of Carrie obsession, I can say, without any hyperbole, that this is the book I’ve been waiting for my entire life. Chris’s writing is honest, surprising, insightful, heartbreaking, and heartfelt and Out For Blood provides us (finally!) with the definitive account of the creation and legacy of this infamously misunderstood musical. The book is a love-letter to misfit theater, the fearless artists who create it, and the passionate weirdos who care about it. There’s never been a theatre book like her. * Joe Iconis, composer, lyricist, and playwright *My bucket overfloweth - Chris Adams has created an un-put-downable deep dive into the creation, reception and subsequent re-evaluation of one of the most infamous Broadway legends of all time. * Christopher Oram, two-time Tony Award-winning designer *Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements Images Cast of Characters Introduction: The Sound of Distant Thunder I: THE CREATION Chapter 1: Page to Stage Chapter 2: The Road to Rehearsals Chapter 3: Stratford: Doesn’t Anybody Ever Get It Right? Chapter 4: Broadway: They Will Laugh At You, They Will Break Your Heart II: THE SHOW Chapter 5: Act One: Bras, Cars and Unitards Chapter 6: Act Two: Shit! Look at all these Pigs! III: THE LEGACY Chapter 7: Are You a Friend of Carrie? Chapter 8: Cancelling the Curse: Reviving Carrie Chapter 9: Back from the Dead: Carrie’s Big Comeback Chapter 10: Epilogue: When Did Everyone Decide I’m the One Who’s the Flop? Bibliography and Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThe final volume in Methuen Drama''s acclaimed series of work by Arthur Miller who, during his lifetime, was acknowledged as the greatest American dramatist of our age (Evening Standard). Featuring two plays from the 1990s and his final two plays (2002 and 2004), it offers the first ever publication of Miller''s final play, Finishing the Picture. Inspired by his experience during the filming of The Misfits with his then wife Marilyn Monroe, the play was completed and produced at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, just months before the playwright''s death in February 2005.Broken Glass (1994) is set in Brooklyn in 1938 and intertwines a woman''s obsession with the news from Germany that government thugs are smashing Jewish stores, with her strange relationship with her husband. It balances private lives with public morality. . . it is also an amazingly full-blooded piece, bursting with pain and passion. (Daily Telegraph). Mr Peters'' Connections (199

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Rylan is pure class and so is his book. Big attitude, big teeth, big heart.' - Louis TherouxFunny and outspoken, Rylan is one of the UK's most-loved presenters and a true household name. Rylan first emerged on our screens in September 2012 and in the ten years since then has become a one-of-a-kind national treasure. In this brand-new memoir, Rylan invites us deeper into his world to reflect on all the things he's learnt from a decade in the limelight, whilst also pulling back the curtain on his personal journey. Covering everything from fame and celebrity to his mental health and identity, family and relationships to his love of reality TV, he recounts his life lessons with humour, candour and a huge amount of heart. From the moments that have shaped him to the mistakes that have made him, and the unusual pastimes that have obsessed him along the way. With unforgettable stories about his rise to fame, his biggest regrets and his special bond wiTrade Review'Rylan writes humbly, honestly and with laugh-out-loud humour, his personality coming across in the chatty writing style... It would be a cold heart that wasn't warmed by Rylan' - Charlotte Heathcote, Daily Express/Daily Mirror'Honest, real and just so uplifting. Rylan is the most authentic man I know, This made me cry, laugh and I just couldn't put it down from the moment I picked it up!' - Alison Hammond'Rylan is pure class and so is his book. Big attitude, big teeth, big heart.' - Louis Theroux

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Book Synopsis*THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER!*Champion dancer and Strictly Come Dancing professional Johannes Radebe has captured our hearts with his mesmerising talent, bringing joy to millions of fans and wowing the most critical of judges. He is loved not only for his dancing, but for his beautiful, infectious spirit and energy.Jojo: Finally Home is his never-before-told story, where he shares the experiences and challenges he''s faced - from growing up in Zamdela, a township in South Africa, as a young boy with a passion for dance (and playing with Barbies), to becoming the star he is today. Dance transformed Jojo''s future, giving him a tool to express himself - but as you will learn, this was not always easy.Captivating and moving, these are Jojo''s tales of euphoric highs and all-time lows, of making history, of grief, love, family and opportunity. It is a celebration of him finally feeling at home in his own skin. These are

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Book SynopsisBetween 1935 and 1938, Stanislavski did his final work in Moscow with a group of 11 young actors and directors trained in his special system. This volume contains a full translation of verbatim transcriptions of Stanislavski's notes and practical exercises from these sessions.

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Book SynopsisNikki Sixx is one of the most respected, recognizable, and entrepreneurial icons in the music industry. As the founder of Mötley Crüe who is now in his twenty-first year of sobriety, Sixx is incredibly passionate about his craft and wonderfully open about his life in rock and roll, and as a person of the world.Born Franklin Carlton Feranna on December 11, 1958, young Frankie was abandoned by his father and partly raised by his mother, a woman who was ahead of her time in some ways and deeply troubled in others. Frankie ended up living with his grandparents, bouncing from farm to farm and state to state. He was an all-American kid-hunting, fishing, chasing girls, and playing football-but underneath it all, there was a burning desire for more, and that more was music. He eventually took a Greyhound bound for Hollywood.In Los Angeles, Frank lived with his aunt and his uncle-the president of Capitol Records. But there was no short path to the top. He was soon on his own.

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Book Synopsis*Nominated for Best Book at the 2025 Chortle Awards*''Really funny & engaging. A breeze and a pleasure to read'' Katherine Ryan''As hilarious and outrageous as you might expect'' Rosie Ramsey''Funny. Poignant. Fascinating. Just the sort of hilarious, disrespectful, ribald book I love to get stuck into'' Jo Brand***How did little Jenny Hargreaves become Jenny Eclair and elbow her way into the male dominated world of 1980s stand-up?Daughter of Major Derek Hargreaves (spy?) and June Hargreaves (spy''s wife?) sister of Sara (born to be Head Girl) and Ben (the usurper), Jenny''s comedy career took off via drama school, cider, sausage rolls, sleeping with men who looked like they lived under a carpet, punk poetry, anorexia, bedsit misery, waitressing and not really having a clue about anything.This was a world before microphones, mobile phones, before everyone gave up smoking or started taking coke. Jenny Eclair was on the comedy circuit before there really was a comedy circuit and was the first woman to win the Perrier Award along the way.Still gigging to sell-out crowds forty years later, Jenny Eclair''s memoir charts her childhood, her career and the changing face of women in comedy, all told with hilarious brilliance in Jokes, Jokes, Jokes, her very funny memoir.MORE PRAISE FOR JOKES, JOKES, JOKES''''Laugh out loud and moved to tears. Highly recommended'' Josie Lawrence''Rude, honest and funny'' Dom Joly''I love this book!'' Helen Lederer''A tonic for the soul'' Jennie Godfrey''Hilarious'' Julian Clary''You''ll love it!'' Anthea Turner

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Book Synopsis''Exhilarating'' - Sunday Times''Funny and moving'' - Jarvis CockerMusic critic and writer Paul Morley weaves together memoir and history in a spiralling tale that establishes classical music as the most rebellious genre of all. Paul Morley had stopped being surprised by modern pop music and found himself retreating into the sounds of artists he loved when, as an emerging music journalist in the 70s, he wrote for NME. But not wishing to give in to dreary nostalgia, endlessly circling back to the bands he wrote about in the past, he went searching for something new, rare and wondrous and found it in classical music. A soaring polemic, a grumpy reflection on modern rock, and a fan's love note, A Sound Mind rejects the idea that classical music is establishment; old; a drag. Instead, the book reveals this genre to be the most exciting and varied in music. A Sound Mind is a multi-layered memoir of Morley's shifting musical tastes, but it is also a compeTrade ReviewAn alternately funny and moving book about the most important art form on Planet Earth. Destined to become a classic (pun intended) -- Jarvis CockerAn exhilarating shredding of received wisdom, provocatively casting pop music on the side of the stagnant and conservative – a bit last century – while stressing classical music’s dynamic revolutionary potential … Morley remains a brilliant conductor – of music, of ideas, of inexplicable flashes of lightning. He knows the score -- Victoria Segal * Sunday Times *In this boundary-pushing book, the music journalist charts his increasing immersion in classical music – not as a lurch towards “maturity”, but a recognition of its revolutions and revelations -- Best Music Books of the Year * Sunday Times *His passion for centuries of music – both celebrated and obscure – is infectious * Irish Independent *

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Book Synopsis''Last Of the Giants is the mad, funny, dark and often painful story of a lost band from a now-distant time'' CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINEINCLUDES BRAND NEW CHAPTER COVERING GUNS N'' ROSES EPIC WORLD TOUR''Any story about Guns is worth reading. But when the author is Mick Wall it''s absolutely essential'' KERRANGMany millions of words have already been written about Guns N'' Roses, the old line-up, the new line-up. But none of them have ever really gotten to the truth. Which is this: Guns N'' Roses has always been a band out of time, the Last of the Giants. They are what every rock band since the Rolling Stones has tried and nearly always failed to be: dangerous. At a time when smiling, MTV-friendly, safe-sex, just-say-no Bon Jovi was the biggest band in the world, here was a band that seemed to have leapt straight out of the coke-smothered pages of the original, golden-age, late-sixties rock scene.''Live like a suicide'',Trade ReviewLast Of the Giants is the mad, funny, dark and often painful story of a lost band from a now-distant time.Any story about Guns is worth reading. But when the author is Mick Wall it's absolutely essential. * Kerrang! *After years of writing from their inner circle - with some accounts more controversial than others - Mick Wall has penned the ultimate biography that sets out to tell the true story. * Huffington Post *

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Book SynopsisNOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMA, AVAILABLE TO WATCH ON BBC THREE NOW''An essential read for anyone with the slightest interest in the birth of Grime'' The Wire''Sharp and nostalgic'' The ObserverA group of kids in the 90s had a dream to make their voice heard - and this book documents their seminal impact on today''s pop culture. DJ Target grew up in Bow under the shadow of Canary Wharf, with money looming close on the skyline. The ''Godfather of Grime'' Wiley and Dizzee Rascal first met each other in his bedroom. They were all just grime kids on the block back then, and didn''t realise they were to become pioneers of an international music revolution. A movement that permeates deep into British culture and beyond. Household names were borne out of those housing estates, and the music industry now jumps to the beat of their gritty reality rather than the tune of glossy aspiration. Grime has shaken the world and Target is reveaTrade ReviewAn essential read for anyone with the slightest interest in the birth of Grime * THE WIRE *Sharp and nostalgic * OBSERVER *

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Book SynopsisThe official book celebrating 100 years of the Grand Ole Opryan intimate, gorgeously illustrated behind-the-scenes look at the American institution and world-renowned stage for country music Since 1925, the Grand Ole Opry has left an undeniable mark on American culture. What began as an impromptu performance of old-time fiddle tunes has transformed into the longest-running radio broadcast in US history, as well as a live performance for millions of country music fans each year. Widely regarded as the show that made country music famous, the Opry has played an important role in the careers of country music's biggest starsincluding Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, and countless otherspopularizing and preserving some of the most beloved forms of American music. As country music has broadened and its audience continues to grow, the Grand Ole Opry has evolved alongside the genre itself. This centennial celebration showcases the venerable institution

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A virtuosic memoir . . . elegant, frank and well-structured, that entirely resists cliche . . . readable for both diehard classical music fans and complete newcomers alike . . . A rare feat.' - The GuardianA uniquely illuminating memoir of the making of a musician, in which renowned pianist Jeremy Denk explores what he learned from his teachers about classical music: its forms, its power, its meaning - and what it can teach us about ourselves.In this searching and funny memoir, based on his popular New Yorker article, renowned pianist Jeremy Denk traces an implausible journey. Life is difficult enough as a precocious, temperamental, and insufferable six-year-old piano prodigy in New Jersey. But then a family meltdown forces a move to New Mexico, far from classical music’s nerve centers, and he has to please a new taskmaster while navigating cacti, and the perils of junior high schoTrade ReviewDenk . . . has written a book that shows what it’s like to be a pianist, but also what it’s like to be Jeremy Denk. As if that were not enough, it is also about the elements of music, and beyond that an account of the ways in which music and life mirror each other. It is a book like none other. -- Simon Callow * New York Review of Books *I can't stop telling everyone I know about it . . . It's one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. * Los Angeles Review of Books *A treasure . . . Denk addresses quite complex issues with extraordinary clarity, illustrating musical points with (frequently very witty) similes and metaphors. He informs, reminisces and entertains in equal measure. -- Steven IsserlisWonderful . . . a lesson for the reader in how to listen with more care and wonder to what’s behind the notes we hear. It also makes a strong case for why classical music, with its beauty and ecstasy, matters more than ever. -- Stephen HoughJeremy Denk really is that rarest of finds . . . An absolute must read for beginners and experts alike who wish to further explore the soul of the greatest music ever written in the company of a fine and virtuoso guide. -- Edward DocxA love letter to the art of paying deep attention. -- Susan TomesA one-of-a-kind musical autobiography by one of our most brilliant and perceptive classical musicians. -- John Adams, composer of Nixon in ChinaAmong the many virtues of this funny and moving book - its frankness, its generous preservation of wisdom from mentors past, its breathtaking insights about how and why music affects us - one stands out above the rest: it makes me want to practice. -- Conrad TaoSometimes you read the first paragraph and know you’ll read to the end. They say writing about music is like dancing about architecture. Jeremy Denk’s book reminds us that dancing about architecture sounds sort of great. -- John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of PulpheadJeremy Denk’s writing is as engaged and probing as his playing. Every Good Boy Does Fine hits the spot - a scintillating account of his way into music. -- Ian BostridgeLike Bach . . . Denk knows how to spin rich counterpoint out of multiple lines. And like Mozart . . . Denk knows how to make art out of 'a love for the steps, the joys of growing and outgrowing and being outgrown'. * The New York Times *Denk . . . has thought deeply and creatively about what a memoir is, and how to write it. By turns hilarious, original, and painfully revealing, Every Good Boy Does Fine is both an open-hearted coming-of-age story and a meditation on music’s inner secrets . . . Denk . . . is a dizzyingly inventive writer . . . That inventiveness is evident in the book’s conceit — its use of the piano lesson as the vehicle with which to tell his story. * The Boston Globe *

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Book SynopsisNow Michael, you''re the son of a naval officer, you must behave like a naval officer at all times...What Captain William Rutherford told his seven-year-old son Michael was to stay with him all his life. Born in 1950, Michael was truly his father''s son, even serving in the naval section of the student cadet corps at one of England''s top public schools, Charterhouse. Mike''s future lay in the civil service: it was a subject that he discussed with his father at Captain Crawford''s gentlemen''s club. But then something happened. Mike discovered rock music. As one of the founder members of Genesis, Mike was to tour the world and achieve international fame. From unpromising beginnings - demonised by his teachers as a fomenter of revolution, driving to gigs in a bread van - Mike would go on to crisscross the globe with bandmates Peter Gabriel and, later, Phil Collins, playing to packed-out stadiums and achieving record sales of over 150 million. Swapping

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Book SynopsisNo one knows more about everything - especially everything rude, clever, and offensively compelling - than John Waters. The man in the pencil-thin mustache, auteur of the transgressive movie classics Pink Flamingos, Polyester, the original Hairspray, Cry-Baby, and A Dirty Shame, is one of the world''s great sophisticates, and in Mr. Know-It-All he serves it up raw: how to fail upward in Hollywood; how to develop musical taste from Nervous Norvus to Maria Callas; how to build a home so ugly and trendy that no one but you would dare live in it; more important, how to tell someone you love them without emotional risk; and yes, how to cheat death itself. Through it all, Waters swears by one undeniable truth: Whatever you might have heard, there is absolutely no downside to being famous. None at all.Studded with cameos of Waters''s stars, from Divine and Mink Stole to Johnny Depp, Kathleen Turner, Patricia Hearst, and Tracey Ullman, and iTrade ReviewThe essays are wildly discursive and funny. * The Guardian *There are walk-on parts for the likes of Kathleen Turner ("Sure, Kathleen liked a cocktail") and Justin Bieber (who drew a Waters moustache on to his own hairless upper lip), and freewheeling musings on music and food. Waters here is a raconteur on top form. * New Statesman *This is the work of a deliciously entertaining, irreverent genius * Attitude magazine *Even if you've never seen a single frame of the sublimely trashy oeuvre of director John Waters, Mr-Know-it-All is this year's standout film autobiography. * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis*The Sunday Times Bestseller*The brand new memoir from James Acaster: cult comedian, bestselling author of Classic Scrapes, undercover cop, receiver of cabbages.PERFECT SOUND WHATEVER is a love letter to the healing power of music, and how one man''s obsessive quest saw him defeat the bullshit of one year with the beauty of another. Because that one man is James Acaster, it also includes tales of befouling himself in a Los Angeles steakhouse, stealing a cookie from Clint Eastwood, and giving drunk, unsolicited pep talks to urinating strangers. January, 2017James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New York, his relationship over, a day of disastrous meetings leading him to wonder if comedy is really what he wants to be doing any more. A constant comfort in James''s life has been music, but he''s not listened to anything new for a very long time. Idly browsing ''best of the year'' lists, it dawns on him that 2016 mTrade ReviewImmensely comforting - a witty and wise account of the rejuvenating effect of opening yourself up the the creativity of others. * Record Collector *Loved James Acaster's memoir / epic listicle that posits his theory that 2016 was the best year for music. His dry wit I expected, but was impressed by the real life stories of so many musicians the world over. Paints a striking picture of what it means to be a modern musician. * Edgar Wright *honest, unaffected, poignant - and, yes, entertaining * Chortle *James is a phenomenally talented comedian and his music taste is second only to mine. * Romesh Ranganathan *If, as the pundits say, comedy is like jazz then I'm against it. I didn't drill power chords and feedback techniques just to go fannying about looking for the melody. James Acaster, though, is a bit of an outlier. He's a music wonk with a sense of the ridiculous and his controversial theory that 2016 was the greatest year for music ever is off by a mere five decades. Interesting take, though. * David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap *

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Book Synopsis''For a collection of good old-fashioned gags, it''s one of the best out there, a rich buffet of inventive wordplay that''s best savoured a little at a time to fully appreciate the joy of these perfectly-constructed morsels. For original, hilarious gags you''ll want to share, this is the real deal.'' - Chortle ''A rollicking joyride. . . Pundamentalist has puns for the whole family: rude ones, daft ones, deft ones, stinkers and absolute belters.'' - British Comedy GuideGary Delaney, one-liner extraordinaire, has appeared on shows like Mock the Week and written for the likes of Jimmy Carr, Jason Manford, and James Corden. Now, for the first time, comes the first collection of his finest jokes. Featuring the likes of: Garden centres can''t reopen fast enough for me, I''ve been living on borrowed thyme.We can''t even afford a garden, so when my girlfriend bought us a trampoline I hit the roof.<Trade ReviewA rollicking joyride. . . Pundamentalist has puns for the whole family: rude ones, daft ones, deft ones, stinkers and absolute belters. * British Comedy Guide *Quirky, silly, super-imaginative one-liners . . . For a collection of good old-fashioned gags, it's one of the best out there, a rich buffet of inventive wordplay that's best savoured a little at a time to fully appreciate the joy of these perfectly-constructed morsels. For original, hilarious gags you'll want to share, this is the real deal. * Chortle *

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Book SynopsisAn exuberant history of postwar Rome, as seen through the lenses of its burgeoning filmmakers and paparazzi.Trade ReviewShawn Levy's fascinating book takes you on a postwar tour of Rome at the birth of celebrity during the boomtime of Cinecittà, the studio responsible for the city's glory days reputation as 'Hollywood on the Tiber' ... Levy has achieved a feat in including so much in one volume - he pours a large bottle of chianti into a digestivo glass ... [A] beautifully written walk on the wild side ... [It] oozes nostalgic glamour -- Alex O'Connell * The Times Book of the Week *The energy of 1950s Rome fizzes in this epic biography of the city at the height of its filmic glory and postwar stylishness. The hub of the book is the Cinecitta studio, where stars from Hollywood and Europe worked and played, but it is beyond that complex where Levy paints his most vivid picture. Rome, as he tells it, was a place of power, sex and death - and the birthplace of the paparazzi that now dominate cultural life. His book is a nostalgic trip with an edgy underbelly - much like Rome itself, then -- Jonathan Dean * Sunday Times Stage & Screen Book of the Year *Something extraordinary in cultural terms happened in Italy in the postwar years, as Levy recounts with enthusiasm and colour ... [He] captures much of the excitement of that time and place in a prose style that is teeming with satisfying gossipy details ... This book would be just the thing to pack if you were intending a Hepburn-ish Roman holiday this summer -- Bee Wilson * Guardian *Uproariously readable ... [Levy] tells some terrific, if dreadful, stories about the convergence of noblemen and actresses ... Fans of La Dolce Vita will recognise many scenes from the film in these tales. Levy pulls all the threads of his story together in his discussion of the world-conquering movie. The author of Rat Pack Confidential, he is a master of the group biography, pacing his chapters for maximum suspense and revelation ... The climactic story is a humdinger ... Wickedly readable -- John Walsh * Sunday Times *Shawn Levy's absorbing, well-researched book exalts the intoxicating, beguiling dreaminess of Rome in its celluloid heyday -- Ian Thomson * Times Literary Supplement *Shawn Levy has composed an exuberant portrait of postwar Rome and the filmmakers, movie stars, fashion designers, journalists and paparazzi whose supreme hunger, energy and creativity transformed it into the most stylish city in the world. He brings an infectious and freewheeling enthusiasm to every page as he reintroduces us to the extravagant romanticism of fast cars, reckless hedonism, and beautiful people behind the resurrection of the Eternal City -- Glenn Frankel, author of The Searchers: The Making of an American LegendA fantastically gossip-filled but intelligent history of Italy's postwar film-making industry and the culture it spawned * Sunday Times Summer Reads *[A] zabaglione of a book -- Roger Lewis * Daily Mail Book of the Week *A palatable and stimulating engagement with an era that still functions as a powerful marketing tool for Italian exports ... This is an exciting account of a revolution in art and society ... Levy's snapshots of ruthless newshounds and voluble starlets show his flair for scene-setting. He takes us on a joyride through the photoshoots and exposés that gave birth to new, competitive media, and the ideas and freedom generated by democracy ... All roads led to Fellini's masterpiece of decadence, La Dolce Vita. Levy laps up the image that encapsulated an era: the blonde goddess Anita Ekberg lifting her skirts in the ancient well-spring of the Trevi -- Lilian Pizzichini * The Spectator *A sensational read -- John Cooper Clarke * Irish Examiner Books of the Year *An entertaining and exhaustive look at the glamorous world of 'Hollywood on the Tiber'. [Levy]'s a good man for the job as it was he who wrote the much-admired Rat Pack Confidential -- John Meagher * Irish Independent *A brisk, frothy narrative ... informative and fun -- Ben Downing * Wall Street Journal *Although it also covers the rise of Italian fashion and automobiles, the real heart of Dolce Vita Confidential, Shawn Levy's account of post-war Italian culture, is pure celluloid; from the emergence of Hollywood on the Tiber (resulting in films like Roman Holiday and Quo Vadis) to the rise of Italian directors such as Roberto Rosselini, Michelanglo Antonioni and, the book's real hero, Federico Fellini. Levy is enamoured of Italian sixties cinema and the way it reflected and refracted Il Boom years. Fellini's La Dolce Vita was both a response to and an advertisement for the emergence of paparazzi photographers on Via Veneto after all. But the pleasure of the book probably comes in the gossip; here are love affairs between actresses and aristocrats, a tragic murder or two and the inevitable starry feuds -- Teddy Jamieson * The Herald Best Film Books of 2017 *An account of the life-enhancing background from which sprang the masterpieces of Italian cinema in the 1960s -- Duncan Fallowell * The Spectator Books of the Year *Details the fashion and cinema of 1950s Rome - from Pucci to Peck - with love -- Sloan Crosley * Vanity Fair *

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Book Synopsis''Wonderful - such a terrific read. Brilliantly captures the passion, commitment, searing self-knowledge and dizzy happiness that comes with loving music. An enchanting book'' STEPHEN FRY***Following a formative encounter with the British pop movie Slade in Flame in 1975, Mark Kermode decided that musical superstardom was totally attainable. And so, armed with a homemade electric guitar and very little talent, he embarked on an alternative career - a chaotic journey which would take him from the halls and youth clubs of North London to the stages of Glastonbury, the London Palladium and The Royal Albert Hall. Hilarious and blissfully nostalgic, this is a riotous account of a bedroom dreamer''s attempts to conquer the world armed with nothing more than a chancer''s enthusiasm and a simple philosophy: how hard can it be? *** ''At the heart of this entertaining memoir is a little boy in his back garden in Finchley, banging out a rhythm on sauceTrade ReviewWonderful - such a terrific read. HOW DOES IT FEEL? hit me right between the eyes. It brilliantly captures the passion, commitment, searing self-knowledge and dizzy happiness that comes with loving music. An enchanting book -- STEPHEN FRYMark Kermode's warmly salubrious memoir reveals, unexpectedly, a teenager who found skiffle as addictive - and sometimes as dangerous - as crack -- CAITLIN MORAN[A] witty, self-deprecating account . . . at the heart of this entertaining memoir is a little boy in his back garden in Finchley, banging out a rhythm on saucepans with a couple of wooden spoons * Daily Mail *Mark Kermode's wonderful and wry book is a compelling combination of heartfelt enthusiasm, merciless self-analysis and a pleasingly full Rolodex of terrible band names. A true fan, he has the rare gift of making you want to discover things from the margins while never looking down on the mainstream. His writing feels like one of those letters you always wish to receive, one whose sole purpose seems to be to increase your zest for life -- RICHARD AYOADEMark Kermode deftly and winningly manages to have one foot in knotty film criticism and one in popular entertainment . . . If you enjoyed [Danny] Baker's various volumes of autobiography, Kermode's romp through his own 'back story' will appeal too, since he has much of his mentor's style: breezily anecdotal, big on dialogue and set-pieces * New Statesman *Kermode's insistent perfecting of musical failure is madly funny. I loved this book and cringed at every awful stage fail, but his passion shines through. His unrequited desire to be a rock star in a time when every idiot had a band is bum-clenchingly funny and forensically recalled. How life isn't always the movie in your mind -- GARY KEMPEntertaining . . . wry . . . rendered with self-deprecating humour. Overwhelmingly, what comes through every anecdote is the author's genuine enthusiasm for music * Spectator *A delight. If Nick Hornby's HIGH FIDELITY and the Kinks' greatest hits had a baby, and that baby could play skiffle, it would be this book -- HADLEY FREEMANAn entertaining read by anyone's standards, but if you've ever been in a band, if you understand the idea of throwing yourself body and soul into making music with the absolute surety that what you're doing amounts to genius, even - and especially - when it definitely, definitely doesn't, then it's a book you're going to adore * Drowned in Sound *Oh boy! A rocking whirlwind of a tale. People get into bands originally for the sheer love of the life and the music. Few manage to retain that dizzying adolescent crush like Mark Kermode -- DANNY BAKERAn engaging tribute to the under-sung glories of skiffle, written with the joyful enthusiasm of someone clearly dedicated to making music -- JONNY GREENWOODFrom a garden with one person and a cat, to the Barbican Concert Hall. From a cassette recorder in a bedroom in North London to the legendary Sun studios in Memphis, Mark Kermode's self-deprecatory wit exemplifies and celebrates the wonderful unstoppable force of innocence and youthful dreams. Part Spinal Tap, part Nick Hornby, a rock'n'rollercoaster memoir of never giving up on your passions -- SANJEEV BHASKARYou know when you read a biography of your favourite band? And the best bit is the first few chapters where they're chancing it, sleeping on floors, borrowing amps and not believing they've blagged their way onto a bill with Rick Wakeman. Well, imagine that breathless, innocent excitement lasted their whole career. That's what reading HOW DOES IT FEEL? is like. It's the biography of your favourite band who never quite got famous -- JOHN ROBINS

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Book Synopsis A sequel to Thrills Untapped: Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936, this volume provides coverage of over 150 feature films that contain genre elements but have been overlooked by most sources covering the history of horror, science fiction and fantasy movies. It covers feature length productions, serials and documentaries, detailing domestic and foreign films from both major and minor companies, along with independent outfits. For each title there are complete cast and credits, in-depth plot synopsis, an evaluation of the movie and contemporary critical reviews. Also included are a bibliography and index along with approximately 80 photographs and illustrative material. This volume aims to reintroduce these films to new audiences and give them the attention they have so long deserved.

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Book SynopsisVoodoo, D''Angelo''s much-anticipated 2000 release, set the standard for the musical cycle ordained as neo-soul, a label the singer and songwriter would reject more than a decade later. The album is a product of heightened emotions and fused sensibilities; an amalgam of soul, rock, jazz, gospel, hip-hop, and Afrobeats. D''Angelo put to music his own pleasures and insecurities as a man-child in the promised land. It was both a tribute to his musical heroes: Prince, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye, J Dilla...and a deconstruction of rhythm and blues itself. Despite nearly universal acclaim, the sonic expansiveness of Voodoo proved too nebulous for airplay on many radio stations, seeping outside the accepted lines of commercial R&B music. Voodoo was Black, it was definitely magic, and it was nearly overshadowed by a four-minute music video featuring D''Angelo''s sweat-glistened six-pack abs. The Video created an accentuated moment when the shaman lost control of the spell he Trade ReviewA part of the influential ‘33 1/3 Series’ ... Filmmaker and writer Faith Pennick’s new book is a pop culture passion project that digs deep into music, race, masculinity, and the enduring power of one particular music video. * LSA Magazine *Table of ContentsTrack Listing Acknowledgments Note on Text What Is Past Is Prologue 1. The Spell Is Cast 2. Home Cooking 3. Finding the Groove 4. The Means of Survival 5. The Feminine Mystique 6. Video (Almost) Killed the R&B Star 7. Radio Silence Epilogue Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDwight E. Brooks deep dives into Earth, Wind & Fire''s That''s The Way of the World. Alongside interview material from members Phillip Bailey and Verdine White, he analyses how this album shattered musical barriers, transcended genres, and paid homage to African and American traditions.Understanding TTWOTW requires appreciating EWF founder Maurice White's multifaceted vision for his band. White created a band that performed various styles of music that sought to uplift humanity. His musicians personified a new form of Black masculinity rooted in dignity that embraced diverse spiritualities and healthy living. A complete understanding of TTWOTW also necessitates an awareness of American racial dynamics and changes in the popular music industry in the 1960s and ''70s.EWF's landmark album TTWOTW presented hopeful messages about the world that were sorely needed at the time. TTWOTW did not tell listeners exactly how to live, but instead how they caTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Foreword by Dr. William C. Banfield Prologue: That World Today 1. Yearnin’ 2. Learnin’ 3. Revolving Doors 4. Presenting… Earth, Wind, & Fire! 5. Break Throughs 6. Interludes 7. International Anthem Epilogue Endnotes

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Book SynopsisImagery and figuration are not just figments of an artist's imagination. Perception and imagination are always shaped by what habit has taught us to discern. The visual path we spontaneously trace through the world depends on where we are situated in the four regions of the ontological archipelago: animism, naturalism, totemism or analogism. Each of these four regions corresponds to a way of conceiving the objects that make up the world, of perceiving the continuities and discontinuities in the folds of the world and of drawing the dividing lines between humans and nonhumans. From Alaskan Yup'ik masks and Aboriginal bark paintings to miniature landscapes from the Song dynasty and Dutch Golden Age interior scenes: each image reveals, through what it shows or fails to show, a certain figurative regime, identifiable by the formal means it uses and by the device through which it can unleash its power to act. The figurative regime enables us to grasp sometimes better than words can the contrasting ways of living that characterize the human condition and its relation to the nonhuman. By comparing a great diversity of visual images and artworks, Descola masterfully lays the theoretical foundations for an anthropology of figuration. One of the world's leading anthropologists, Philippe Descola has developed a comparative anthropology of relations between humans and nonhumans that has revolutionized both the human sciences and our ways of thinking about the great ecological issues of our time. His new book will be of great value to students and scholars of anthropology, visual art and art history and to anyone interested in art, culture and the relations between the human and nonhuman worlds.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘Delicious’ Nigella Lawson ‘Clever and beguiling’ Guardian ‘Sublime and immersive’ Jojo Moyes Erica is eighteen and ready for freedom. It’s the summer of 1960 when she lands on the sun-baked Greek island of Hydra where she is swept up in a circle of bohemian poets, painters, musicians, writers and artists, living tangled lives. Life on their island paradise is heady, dream-like, a string of seemingly endless summer days. But nothing can last forever. ‘A surefire summer hit ... At once a blissful piece of escapism and a powerful meditation on art and sexuality’ Observer ‘Heady armchair escapism ... An impressionistic, intoxicating rush of sensory experience’ Sunday Times ‘If summer was suddenly like a novel, it would be like this one. Immaculate’ Andrew O’HaganTrade ReviewSamson is an intensely sensual writer, conjuring up blue skies, the tang of wild herbs, the vivid splash of bougainvillea ... As good as a Greek holiday, and may be the closest we get this year * Financial Times *As dreamily nostalgic as Cohen’s song Famous Blue Raincoat -- Alex Preston * Observer, New Year Highlights *Sleazy, evocative, beautiful and entertaining -- Stuart Turton * Guardian Summer Reading Picks *A thoroughly enjoyable drama of hedonism, enchantment and emotional beastliness * Times Literary Supplement *A coming of age story set among a group of artists and poets, including Leonard Cohen, on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. She is so good at mentally indelible imagery -- Jojo Moyes * Guardian *This well-crafted novel beautifully captures the texture of a halcyon age in which anything seems possible * Mail on Sunday *Spellbinding … An immersive read, steeped in nostalgia. Samson’s poetic prose is so evocative that, by the end, you find yourself googling those entrancing images of Hydra, 1960, just to wallow further in the poignancy of it all * Vanity Fair *The novel has a lightly worn heft to it, as it probes freedom and creativity … By the end of this enjoyable novel, which makes vivid an interesting moment and place, you discover people have paid a price – a heavy one – for that freedom in the sun * The Times *Samson recreates one heady summer there with impeccably ripening prose …This is a slow, deliberately languorous novel that mixes real-life figures with fictional counterparts. It is sunbaked, stewed in alcohol, and wonderfully gossipy * i paper *Intoxicating ... Highly accomplished ... A testament to Samson’s transportive prose * Spectator *A surefire summer hit ... Feels at once like a gift and an escape route ... At once a blissful piece of escapism and a powerful meditation on art and sexuality – just the book to bring light into these dark days * Observer *Heady armchair escapism ... An impressionistic, intoxicating rush of sensory experience * Sunday Times *By the end the reader may be unable to decide whether Hydra enchanted or cursed those attracted by its primitive beauty, cheap rents and easy access to sex, drugs and performance poetry … A novel about the treatment of women by artistic men * The Times *Beautiful ... Perfect if you want to escape the drudgery of another lentil dinner and dream of 1960s Hydra with Leonard Cohen -- Dolly AldertonIt is a grand read and the prose falls translucently like the air ... Superb work and a delightful novel -- Thomas KeneallySuch a lyrical, elegant and beautifully told story -- Joanna CannonSo vivid that you can see the sun-washed white houses and blue seas * Good Housekeeping, Book of the Month *I cannot tell you how much I needed this beautiful book to transport me back to 1960s Greece! Lyrical, sexy, tender and sad in places. Highly recommended -- Erin KellyThis radiant novel will transport you straight to Greece - a blessing at a time when most of us are stuck in our homes * Cosmopolitan *Delicious -- Nigella LawsonThis well-crafted novel beautifully captures the texture of a halcyon age in which anything seems possible * Daily Mail *A coming of age story set among a group of artists and poets, including Leonard Cohen, on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960. She is so good at mentally indelible imagery -- Jojo Moyes * Guardian *Dreamily nostalgic * Observer, Fiction to look out for in 2020 *About real people living in Hydra in 1960. Steeped in nostalgia that's both sad and beautiful. It's fascinating, immersive and so MOVING -- Marian KeyesHands down the best book I've read all year. Luminous, immersive, gorgeous, profound -- Joanne HarrisHer best work yet, so evocative and alive with the scents and colours of a Greek summer ... Among the best prose writers of her generation. The writing is just delicious -- Cressida ConnollyI was utterly entranced. It feels entirely true and effortless and compelling – in the way that all great novels do -- Justine PicardieIf summer was suddenly like a novel, it would be like this one. Immaculate -- Andrew O'HaganA seductive story, suffused with nostalgia * Sunday Mirror *This is a sheer delight - I’ve never been to Hydra but this book transports you and miraculously, you are there in 1960 -- Jenny EclairA glorious novel -- Kate MosseA beautifully written, evocative, inspiring novel. I devoured it -- Kathy LettePolly Samson has created such a dazzling evocation of an era and its mindset. Here, the island of Hydra is a geographical place but a psychological one too, populated by beautiful and damaged characters who pull you down into its pages for another café gossip, another moonlit swim, another drink. This book is a bohemian idyll meticulously drawn, and unsparingly exposed. It is like going away to paradise, then coming back rather wiser. You don’t read this book – you live it -- Marina HydeA luscious seduction of a book -- Sofka ZinovieffSamson's story sizzles with the Greek sun and seduction * The i *Praise for The Kindness: ‘An addictive, cleverly structured and intriguing relationship story of lies and flawed communication * SUNDAY TIMES Book of the Week *Annoyingly close to perfection -- INDIA KNIGHT * SUNDAY TIMES *A story that entices you to revel in its languid, beautifully written prose while demanding that you turn the page to discover the secrets it holds * OBSERVER Paperback of the week *Beautifully written, with twists engineered like a thriller -- STEPHANIE MERRITT * OBSERVER Books of the Year *A book to cherish, to recommend, to return to * FINANCIAL TIMES *Brilliant, tender and beautiful -- ANDREW O'HAGANBeautifully written and plotted with serpentine cunning, Samson’s novel is what might be called a love story for adults: unsentimental, at times harsh, but ultimately uplifting * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Gorgeously chilling … Samson seems to write in colours * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *Shining, poetic and sumptuous … Polly Samson is a writer of great insight and sensitivity -- JOANNE HARRISA richly sensory writer … A sumptuous, serious story * DAILY MAIL *Lush, lyrical prose … The Kindness is to be read more than once, not merely to enjoy again the beauty of the writing and the considerable insights into human experience, but to test the earlier narrative with the knowledge of what is to come * INDEPENDENT *Compelling … Atmospheric and vividly told, the book is a poignant examination of love, guilt, betrayal and the deception that can lie at the heart of every relationship * TATLER *Family proves far from idyllic in this poetic, sensual story of betrayal and lies. Writer and lyricist Samson’s prose is dazzlingly evocative, as she explores how relationships are rarely what they seem * GLAMOUR *Secrets and misunderstandings fuel Polly Samson’s involving, melancholy and cleverly constructed second novel … This is a mature and haunting novel about love and loss that asks if we all, in the end, see what we want to see * METRO *This is elegant, witty writing, informed throughout by generosity and wise perceptiveness. Dealing with many kinds of love, and with misunderstanding, betrayal, grief and forgiveness, the novel dares to posit, ultimately, the possibility of redemption. It is a book to cherish, to recommend, to return to * FT WEEKEND *Intensely evocative … Samson treats this difficult subject with candour and compassion … The novel’s effortlessness, its readability, sweeps everything in its wake … This is a book to relax into * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Polly Samson’s mastery of the English language is powerful and impressive * DAILY EXPRESS *Fills the back of your eyes with light like an Aegean sky, and has that rare and lovely quality of making you nostalgic for something you never had ... It perfectly takes the reader into a different world. Which we could all do with -- Louisa Young

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Book SynopsisFrom one of the stars of C4's Banged Up, this is Sid Owen's entertaining and poignant autobiography, as the troubled kid heading towards a life of crime found success in EastEnders.Sid Owen is best known for playing the hapless but loveable EastEnders character Ricky Butcher, one of Britain’s most enduring soap icons. What people don’t know is that Sid’s early life saw more drama than anything his character endured. His father was an armed robber who was sent to prison when Sid was very young. Sid went out 'on the rob' from an early age, breaking into shops and seeing it as a big adventure.Sid lived happily with his mum and siblings on a sprawling north London council estate until he was seven, when his mum died and the brothers were split up. Feeling confused, unloved and unhappy, Sid was heading towards a life of crime. Acting offered an escape from his troubled home life and his teen years played out between extremes – at thirteen he was working with Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland on the movie Revolution; at sixteen he was living in an Islington squat with his brothers when his work brought him to the attention of the EastEnders producers.From Rags to Ricky is Sid’s moving, unforgettable account of his north London childhood during the late 1970s and 80s. His natural storytelling skills, authentic voice, ear for dialogue and sharp eye for detail transform this story of loss and deprivation into a timeless tale of one individual’s struggle to defy the hand fate dealt him and come out winning.

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Book Synopsis'If you want to be more present, more reactive and have more fun - this book is for you' SARA PASCOE'Funny, insightful and inspiring' RACHEL PARRIS'Essential reading for anyone wanting to do life, but better' CARIAD LLOYD'A wonderfully witty, charmingly personal guide to the art of improvisation for the stage & life' DEBORAH FRANCES WHITEAn improviser's guide to embracing whatever life throws at you!PIPPA EVANS is an expert in saying Yes - and No. She's a master of thinking on her feet, but has also had to learn how to go with the flow. In this book she's passing on everything she's learnt from her award winning improv career, as both a performer and teacher, so YOU can take centre stage in your own life.In telling her story, delving into the craft of improvisation, and sharing fun exercises and practice you can do at home, Pippa will help you become fully yourself - realising your potential and ability to adapt to the ever changing world around you. It's dangerous, being yourself, but let's just take it one step at a time. Open the book, take a breath and get ready to say YES. (If it's a NO from you then perhaps consider buying for a friend, family member or enemy who you think needs some improv-ment)Trade ReviewPippa is one of the greatest improvisers I've ever seen on stage. To be in a show with her is a joy, to be taught by her is a privilege and now to have her thoughts all written down to digest, is a triumph. Essential reading for anyone wanting to do life, but better -- Cariad Lloyd'There's no short-cut' they used to say, but Pippa has sneakily written one. Whether you're already performing and want a guide to get you out of your head, or if you secretly wish you could be more creative- this book is for you. Pippa knows what is holding you back and if you want to be more present, more reactive and have more fun- this book is for you! -- Sara PascoeFunny, insightful and inspiring. This book will make you question yourself in the best possible way. Brings improv into your everyday life; this book really will change your life. -- Rachel ParrisA wonderfully witty, charmingly personal guide to the art of improvisation for the stage & life. Full of insights that'll kick you out of a rut & have you freewheeling with style like the glorious Pippa Evans herself. -- Deborah Frances WhiteThe most useful self-help book I have ever come across, practical, easy and very very funny - it's for anyone who gets completely stuck when it comes to life. Follow Pippa's advice, she is very wise and this book is a lot of fun to read. -- Luisa OmielanFor anyone who is an admirer of the art of improvisation, this is a wonderfully fun, easy to read, and inspiring insight into how to have fun, let go, and impro - from a pro! With lots of tips and useful exercises, it's also shows you how to turn improv into a very useful life-skill. Say yes, and buy it! -- Susie DonkinThis book is marvellous. A must have if you're into the wonderful world of improvisation. Written by one of the most talented improvisers around - the amazing Pippa Evans. I perform with her so I know! -- Josie LawrencePippa's beautiful book conveys both the sheer joy of the stage experience and how readily those simple practices can be applied to everyday life with uplifting results. Of course, the two arenas are not separate - they are both about embracing togetherness and fallibility. -- Neil MullarkeyI was very impressed with this book, it reminded me a bit of Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance -- Clive Anderson, Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4

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Book SynopsisGet ready for a deep-dive into the LIFE, LYRICS and LOOKS of Chappell Roan, our favorite Midwest princess and queer icon. Every now and then, an artist breaks out of the music industry and becomes a cultural Femininomenon. With her powerful vocals, emotive lyrics, and captivating stage presence, Chappell Roan has quickly become a global superstar admired by millions. In this beautifully designed and well-researched book, we explore Chappell's journey from small-town girl to international pop sensation, delving into her early life, the stories behind her lyrics, her musical influences, iconic fashion looks and the key moments that have shaped her glittering career. Author Nick Levine is a journalist who has interviewed Chappell twice for NME, and specializes in music, culture and LGBTQ issues. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in pop including Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and many others. With behind-the-scenes stories and incredible photos of her most iconic moments, this is a celebration of Chappell's dazzling world of drag, dreams, fearless self-expression and inspirational activism. This book is a one-way ticket to The Pink Pony Club and an essential gift for any fan.

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Book SynopsisThis book engages studentsâparticularly those who may not be very familiar with many playsâin the theatre experience by focusing on just four plays: the tragedy Macbeth, the landmark African American drama A Raisin in the Sun, the American comedy classic You Can't Take It with You, and the contemporary hip-hop musical Hamilton.

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Book Synopsis

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