Search results for ""globe pequot press""

Hailed as groundbreaking by David Donachie, author of the John Pearce Naval Series and the Privateersman Mysteries— "All sea stories should tell you something new, and The Bermuda Privateer meets that criterion in spades. Fast paced and covering an area new to me; I was enthralled by the author's encyclopedic knowledge of the Caribbean. There are battles and conspiracies galore, with engaging characters and thrilling actions." Nicholas Fallon is captain of the schooner Sea Dog, a privateer that is fast, beautiful and deadly. Unbound by Royal Navy tradition, Fallon enjoys total independence in where he goes, how he fights, and whom he takes as crew. A woman—Beauty McFarland—is his first lieutenant. It's 1796, and Sea Dog's owner, Ezra Somers, employs Fallon to protect his Caribbean salt trade from French privateers and pirates. Wicked Jak Clayton is especially ruthless. When the two meet just off the Bahamas, even Fallon's cunning can't overcome their mismatch in firepower and desertion by a cowardly ally. Later, in Bermuda, Fallon is enlisted by the Royal Navy to intercept a Spanish flotilla carrying gold and silver to France. But a massive hurricane halts the British attack on the Spanish transports, driving several ships, including Fallon's, onto the Florida shore. Held by Spanish soldiers, Fallon and the surviving crew escape by turning enemies into friends. Once free, only one mission remains. Wicked Jak Clayton must die! The Bermuda Privateer is an action-filled sea story with layered storylines and a modern storyteller's voice.

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Continuing the adventures of Quintus Honorius Romanus (a.k.a. Taurus)—legendary gladiator of ancient Rome—this second book in the series picks up in AD 68, when the emperor is dead, and the throne is up for grabs. Three contenders square off to take control of the government, and as civil unrest begins to build, Quintus and his friends, the beast hunter Lindani and the gladiatrix Amazonia, are forced to fight with the legionnaires of Rome in what will soon become bloody civil war. Meanwhile, in a remote corner of the empire, Quintus’ former slave, Lucius Calidius, plots another rise to power—and not even Quintus will stand in his way.

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This first book in the series introduces Matty Graves, midshipman in the early years of the United States Navy. In 1799, the young U.S. Navy faces France in an undeclared Quasi-War for the Caribbean. Matty Graves is caught up in escalating violence as he serves aboard the Rattle-Snake under his drunken cousin, Billy. Matty already knows how to handle the sails and fight a ship. Now, with the sarcastic Lieutenant Peter Wickett as his mentor and nemesis, he faces the ironies of a war where telling friend from foe is no mean trick.

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Nearly every Saturday and Sunday morning at Steamboat Landing, you will see the faithful browsing the nationally renowned Ithaca Farmer's Market in search of the freshest and most beautiful produce, filling bags and baskets with fixings for the week's home meals, encouraging farmers and growers to extend their culinary reach. Celebrating a historic milestone at the Market's current Pavilion location, Ithaca Farmers Market captures the energy and history of the market through colorful narratives, vivid historical and contemporary photos, detailed recipes, and helpful shopping and prep guides. A far cry from the rag-tag brigade selling off the backs of pick-up trucks in 1973, today's bustling pavilion hosts an array of social enterprises, meeting the demand for fresh, locally grown vegetables and fruits, meat from pastured animals, and handcrafted wines.Farmers and growers engage in sustainable practices to produce healthy food for those ofus who are concerned wi

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A book of brief essays, illustrative art, and photography from often obscure historical and ethnological studies of Apache history, life, and culture in the last half of the nineteenth century. These snippets of history and culture provide insights into late nineteenth century Apache culture, history, and supernatural beliefs as the great western migration after the Civil War swept over the Apache bands in the late nineteenth century resulting in immense pressure for their cultures to change or vanish.

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How Did Pioneers in the Old West Do It? Living in the Old West required not only stamina, but innovation. Imagine putting a cake together without fresh supplies, measuring spoons, or a dedicated work area; imagine baking that cake without a thermometer, steady heat, or a timer. Sourdough Biscuits and Pioneer Pie shares the baking secrets of Native American ranch house cooks, chuck wagon chefs, and wagon train homemakers, with over a hundred Old West recipes—updated and kitchen tested. Classic dutch-oven and cast-iron techniques are also included. Laced among classic baked goods recipes such as Sourdough Biscuits, Apple Brown Betty, and Concord Grape Pie are dozens of anecdotes and fun facts on how our ancestors were so successful with so little.

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Classic Photographs from the Farm Security Administration Featuring photographs by such renowned photographers as Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, Russell Lee, and several others, this book documents ranching culture in western states during the Great Depression and leading up to World War II. This was a period of great change in the ranching West that included the introduction of the automobile, electricity, radio, the telephone, and other technologies that drastically transformed the lives and work of ranching people, and some of the best documentation exists in the powerful documentary photographs by this remarkable group of photographers. CHARLIE SEEMANN is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. He holds an M.A. in Folklife Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles.

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Frank Mildmay is a rogue and a rascal who cuts a memorable swath as he move up the ranks of the early 19th-century Royal navy. Whether seducing pretty girls ashore, braving hurricanes at sea or scrambling aboard a French privateer with cutlass bared, Mildmay and his adventures live on!

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On May 17, 1876, Elizabeth Bacon Custer kissed her husband George goodbye and wished him good fortune in his efforts to fulfill the Army's orders to drive in the Native Americans who would not willingly relocate to a reservation. Adorned in a black taffeta dress and a velvet riding cap with a red peacock feather that matched George's red scarf, she watched the proud regiment ride off. It was a splendid picture. This new biography of Elizabeth Bacon Custer relates the story of the famous and dashing couple's romance, reveals their life of adventure throughout the west during the days of the Indian Wars, and recounts the tragic end of the 7th cavalry and the aftermath for the wives. Libbie Custer was an unusual woman who followed her itinerant army husband's career to its end--but she was also an amazing master of propaganda who tried to recreate George Armstrong Custer's image after Little Bighorn. The author of many books about her own life (some of which are still in print) she was one of the most famous women of her time and remains a fascinating character in American history.

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I CAN'T REMEMBER IF I CRIED: ROCK WIDOWS ON LIFE, LOVE, AND LEGACY

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The Everly Brothersaka Don and Phil to fans with an intimate appreciation for themseemed to exist almost as an apparition. Emerging within the formative era for young Baby Boomer during the blandly regimented 50s, they were a ubiquitous presence, clad in snug suits and skinny ties, hair neatly Brylcreemed, never raising their voices when they sang. The two prim-looking country boys with dark, curiously penetrating eyes and perfectly merged, honey-dipped harmonies, were oddly but comfortably settled as sentimental, soothing, sometimes lovelorn voices of a still-uncharted cultural turf.Magnificent as the duo was, they have until now never received a definitive biography. In Long Time Gone: The Perfect Harmony and Imperfect Lives Of the Everly Brothers, the details, small and great, roll along on the mighty Mississipp, in near novel-like fashion, revealing facts drawn from exhaustive research and first-hand interviews that trace the character and influences of these hardy but fl

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The Golden Age of Ironwork, by Henry Jonas Magaziner, covers ironwork from roughly 1840 to 1930. Thus, it includes cast iron, which prevailed during the nineteenth century and hand wrought iron, which triumphed from about 1900 to 1930. With 173 photographs by Robert Golden the books describes this golden period. There are also a few examples of contemporary ironwork

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Who doesn’t want to be a rockstar? After years of producing rock tours throughout the world and working with icons like Roger Daltrey, Ringo Starr, Joe Walsh, and so many more, David Fishof wanted to capture the rock ‘n’ roll experience for everyone. He was inspired to create the one-of-a-kind Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, where over the past twenty-five years 6,000 campers and counselors have lived, played, and become family with rockstars. Campers get to meet and jam with their musical idols—including Joe Perry, Vince Neil, Jack Bruce, and Jeff Beck—in such legendary venues like Abbey Road Studios in London, Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, and Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.Rock Camp: An Oral History shares the history of the camp through interviews from the people who got to live out their dreams. Fishof gives a behind-the-scenes look at the origins, early struggles, and challenges he faced to meet the level of excellence he envisioned for the campers and rockers. With original photos and illustrations, the camp experience comes to life and celebrates the heart of its mission: ordinary fans right in the middle of it all!A portion of the proceeds from the book directly benefit the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp Foundation.

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Whether George Romero’s implacable, slow-moving monstrosities or the fleet-footed terrors of 28 Days Later, over the last several decades the zombie has ascended into the upper echelon of the of the movie monster pantheon—an elite tier once reserved only for vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein’s monster. Featuring over 500 posters, lobby cards, pressbooks, stills, and props from zombie movies across the whole of cinema history, The Art of the Zombie Movie is an eye-popping, entertaining visual history of zombie films written by six-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author Lisa Morton. Included here is the story of the origin and global reach of the zombie feature film; special features, quotes, and interviews from key creators; a survey of such varied subgenres as Blaxploitation, sci-fi, cowboy, and comic zombie films; and a selection of foreign zombie movies from Mexico, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Japan, and other countries. With unprecedented range and detail, this comprehensive collection of zombie movie art begins in 1932 (when The White Zombie, the first true entrant in the genre, was released), explores the renaissance that was launched by George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and traces the countless variations, innovations, and reinventions that continue to ensure that the zombie genre will never truly die.

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The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes and Disagreements is purposely meant to start arguments and to settle them. Broadway musical fans won’t always agree with the conclusions musical theater judge Peter Filichia reaches, but the best part of any drama is the conflict. Among lovers of musical theater, opinions are never in short supply, and Filichia addresses the most dividing questions and opinions in one book. What will you say when he asks, “What is the greatest opening number of a Broadway musical?” Will your answer be “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King, “Heaven on Their Minds” from Jesus Christ Superstar, or “Beautiful Girls” from Follies? Will you agree with his answer to “Whose Broadway performance in a musical was later best captured on film?” Did you immediately think of Robert Preston in The Music Man or Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl? More questions that will add to the fire include “What song from a musical is the most beloved?” and “What’s the worst song that a Broadway musical ever inflicted on us?”They’re all in The Book of Broadway Musical Debates, Disputes and Disagreements. Let the arguments begin!

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It began as an artist’s desperate desire to express himself inside a worldwide pandemic, but in one year’s time it has grown into a theater industry and country-wide outlet for healing, grief, justice, and hope in the theater community.The Covid-19 pandemic revealed what a world without live performance looks and feels like. This book captures a small fraction of the powerful and transcendent internal heartbeat that never went away within the theater community. When the Lights Are Bright Again immortalizes the stories, struggles, and successes of an industry that was the first to be shut down and one of the last to return.Andrew Norlen weaves more than 200 letters from Broadway theater veterans, devout theatergoers, teenage dreamers aching for their day in the spotlight, long-time ushers, designers, creatives, and countless other arts workers with a brand-new, breathtaking photo series by Broadway photographer Matthew Murphy.Not only has the creation of this book allowed the theater community to grieve and express themselves in a new way, but for every copy purchased, a portion of the profits will directly benefit The Actors Fund. This book will continue to help support arts workers to thrive and receive financial stability for decades to come with every copy sold.When The Lights Are Bright Again is a love letter to the arts community and every theatergoer, but, above all else, it is a meditation on the human experience. There is something for every broken, tired, and angry soul inside this book: hope.There is light in all of us—there always has been!

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WORDS AND MUSIC: THE ADVENTURES OF AN OPTIMIST

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Broadway, once upon a time. A place where people buy tickets at the box office, with cash; where patrons dress for theatre, with no sneakers, no water bottles, and no backpacks; and the only text messages are the ones put there by the playwright. A place where iconic legends of stage and screen can be found in plain view, smiling politely or egotistically preening. Where three dollars will get you a balcony seat at the biggest hit—or the lowliest flop—in town. And a place where an innocent teenager from the suburbs can buy a ticket, slip through the stage door, and wander o'er the threshold into the magical world backstage.Steven Suskin introduces Broadway, once upon a time, in Offstage Observations: Tales of the Not-So-Legitimate Theatre. The drama critic and noted chronicler of Broadway takes the reader through a decade's worth of adventures, working his way from a menial pencil sharpener for producer David Merrick toward a career as a full-fledged manager, producer, and drama critic. The book follows the author's progress from the wintry night after his sixteenth birthday, when he unexpectedly finds himself alone on the empty stage of a Broadway theatre, peering out at the silent, empty auditorium lit only by a solitary ghost light to the matinee eight summers later when he finds himself accidentally and uncomfortably acting in a Broadway musical, bombarded by roars of laughter from a houseful of playgoers. A keen observer of the impertinent with an ear for amusing anecdotes, whimsical curiosities, and exaggerated tales of life upon the wicked stage, Suskin draws a portrait of a not-so-long-ago theatre world that has all but vanished.

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Since the early days of the movie industry, filmmakers have created visions of what the presidency of the United States is like. Several have been biographical studies of famous individuals who have served, such as Lincoln, Kennedy, and Nixon. Many movies have also displayed fictional presidents, in roles big and small, in dramatic tales that displayed them at their best—and sometimes even at their worst.Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago: The U.S. Presidency Through Hollywood, Real and Unreal examines the ways Hollywood has portrayed the presidency over the years. Pop culture expert Dale Sherman examines famous presidents and their movies, detailing historical information for each and how or if the filmmakers and artists came close to telling the real story. But let us not forget the many imagined examples of presidents that have appeared in movies and television, as well: presidents have battled aliens, fought monsters, and have even been caught on the wrong side of the law.Lincoln, Thirteen Days, Air Force One, Independence Day, All the President's Men, The President's Analyst, Escape from New York, and several of our favorite movies about real and fictional presidents are included in Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago: The U.S. Presidency Through Hollywood, Real and Unreal.

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This magnificent companion to The Art of Horror looks at the entire history of the horror film, from the silent era right up to the latest releases and trends. This revised edition includes more films, rare images, and in-depth explorations to bring this award-winning book completely up to date, cementing its position as the definitive and essential guide to horror movies. Through a series of informative chapters and fascinating sidebars chronologically charting the evolution of horror movies for more than a century, profusely illustrated throughout with over 600 rare and unique images including posters, lobby cards, advertising, promotional items, tie-in books and magazines, and original artwork inspired by classic movies, this handsomely designed hardcover traces the development of the horror film from its inception and celebrates the actors, filmmakers, and artists who were responsible for scaring the pants off successive generations of moviegoers! Edited by multiple award-winning writer and editor Stephen Jones and boasting a foreword by director and screenwriter John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), this volume brings together fascinating and incisive commentary from some of the genre's most highly respected experts. With eye-popping images from all over the world, The Art of Horror Movies: Revised Edition is the definitive guide for anyone who loves horror films and movie fans of all ages.

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As Nick and Nora Charles in the six Thin Man movies from 1934 to 1947, the husband-and-wife team of William Powell and Myrna Loy showed that marriage didn’t have to mean the end of the romantic comedy. From the comedic delight that was the initial The Thin Man through its five sequels as well as eight other films (including the Oscar-winning The Great Ziegfeld and Manhattan Melodrama), Powell and Loy were cemented in the public imagination as Hollywood’s happiest married couple.In Becoming Nick and Nora, comedy writer and Hollywood historian Rob Kozlowski follows the winding path that Powell and Loy’s screen personas took over their careers. Studios originally cultivated the two as villains in the silent era: Powell as a mustachioed, swashbuckling fiend and Loy as an “exotic” adversary. With the rise of talkies, the two managed to broaden their range beyond villainous stereotypes, but it took several false starts before they achieved their lasting legacy as Nick and Nora. Packed with behind-the-scenes details and memorable characters, this is a lively look at two tinseltown icons and a film series that remains beloved nearly a century later.

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The Map: An Actors' Guide to On-Camera Acting teaches on-camera acting in a practical yet technical way, helping new actors understand the "foreign language" of being on camera and apply that language to their acting skills. The book gives actors a step-by-step technique on how to audition for on-camera acting jobs and what to do on set after booking them.Told from the perspective of a day player, this guide offers a working actor's perspective on the industry. Sharing stories from his experiences on set, the author tells aspiring actors what he wishes someone would have told him before walking on set for the first time. The Map, in addition to teaching actors a solid on-camera acting technique, is a funny and encouraging perspective from an actor who takes a beginner's approach to what an actor can expect when just starting out.Many on-camera acting books are written by established movie stars and aren't geared toward actors in an undergraduate acting program or just starting to audition for on-camera jobs. Stef Tovar shares with actors a proven on-camera audition technique, teaches them how to make the perfect self-tape, and prepares them for life on set—detailing the differences between working in the theater vs. working in television and film. The author peppers the text with his own stories from set as examples, including auditioning for Lee Daniels and working with Matt Damon, Steven Soderbergh, and many others.

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Riley Fitzhugh is temporarily assigned as officer in charge of the naval guard on board the SS Carlota, a merchant ship assigned to deliver bombs and aviation fuel to the Sebou River during Operation Torch. The Atlantic crossing was supposed to be in convoy, but Carlota breaks down after surviving a U-boat attack and is forced to limp along alone. At the mouth of the Sebou River, Riley rejoins the anti-U-boat vessel Nameless, which has come down from her refit in Scotland to join the Torch attack. When the Nameless is tasked with delivering a company of Army Rangers to capture the French air force base, she and her crew must force their way through the boom guarding the mouth of the river and pass through the gunfire from the French fort on the hills above. Along the way, Riley runs into an old flame or two—one an enemy agent, the other a war correspondent from Cuba.

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For nearly sixty years, playwright Terrence McNally has been a force in American theater. His work, encompassing plays, musicals, teleplays, and opera, has been performed around the world. McNally is the consummate artist, delving into the human soul, fearlessly examining both the lighter and darker aspects of existence in an uncertain—and sometimes frightening—world. This book looks at McNally's life and work against the backdrop of a dynamic theatrical culture, tracing the ways in which an artist grows and responds to reality. Starting in the Off-Off-Broadway movement in the 1960s, McNally's work has continually reflected a changing culture, from opposition to the Vietnam War through the emergence of AIDS and the gay rights movement. Based on extensive interviews with McNally, it also features interviews with many of the artists—actors, designers, producers—with whom he’s collaborated, including Nathan Lane, Chita Rivera, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, Swoosie Kurtz, John Glover, Joe Mantello, Arin Arbus, Paul Libin, and many more. A Man of Much Importance presents a warm and affectionate look at the people and the practices that are unique to theater and performing arts. It goes beyond a traditional biography and illuminates the evolution of anartist—not merely as an individual creative force but also within the context of a collaborative, interdependent community of artists who inspire one another and give voice and dimension to the creative process.

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Anne & Emmett is an imaginary conversation between Anne Frank and Emmett Till, both victims of racial intolerance and hatred. Frank is the thirteen-year-old Jewish girl whose diary provided a gripping perspective of the Holocaust. Till is the fourteen-year-old African-American boy whose brutal murder in Mississippi sparked the modern American civil rights movement. The one-act play opens with the two teenagers meeting in memory, a place that isolates them from the cruelty they experienced during their lives. The beyond-the-grave encounter draws the startling similarities between the two youths’ harrowing experiences at the hands of societies that couldn't protect them. In memory, Anne recounts hiding in a cramped attic with her family after German dictator Adolf Hitler ordered the Nazi military to round up Jewish people throughout Europe, and put them in concentration camps in route to gas chambers. At the age of fifteen, Anne died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp in March 1945, a few weeks before British troops liberated the camp. Emmett tells Anne how he, in 1955, ended up being brutally attacked by two white racists who beat and tortured him before shooting him in the head and tossing his body into the Tallahatchie River with a cotton-gin fan tied to his neck. This happened after he whistled at a white woman while visiting his uncle in Money, Mississippi.

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This is the story of Fred Taylor, who since 1960 has been bringing entertainers and audiences together in Boston and New England in nightclubs, concert halls, and festival grounds. As the owner of the legendary Back Bay nightclubs Paul’s Mall and the Jazz Workshop, Taylor had a front-row seat for the greatest names in music and comedy in the 1960s and 1970s. As the entertainment director at Scullers Jazz Club for twenty-six years, he continues to present the best in contemporary music. Fred Taylor’s entertainment universe is peopled by pop superstars, jazz legends, and sparkling storytellers—a galaxy of singers, saxophonists, and stand-up comics. They’re all part of Taylor’s world, and you’ll learn about them—and the ups and downs of his utterly unpredictable career in the music business—in the pages of this book.

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In 1861, war between the United States and the Chiricahua seemed inevitable. The Apache band lived on a heavily traveled Emigrant and Overland Mail Trail and routinely raided it, organized by their leader, the prudent, not friendly Cochise. When a young boy was kidnapped from his stepfather’s ranch, Lieutenant George Bascom confronted Cochise even though there was no proof that the Chiricahua were responsible. After a series of missteps, Cochise exacted a short-lived revenge. Despite modern accounts based on spurious evidence, Bascom’s performance in a difficult situation was admirable. This book examines the legend and provides a new analysis of Bascom’s and Cochise’s behavior, putting it in the larger context of the Indian Wars that followed the American Civil War.

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Rocky Mountain Vegetable Gardening Guide is the definitive guide to vegetable gardening in the five states that comprise the Rocky Mountain region. Expert horticulturist, Cheryl Moore-Gough, addresses the unique growing conditions and challenges of this region from how to select, grow, and harvest a host of vegetables that will succeed to offering tips for extending the season. Rocky Mountain Vegetable Gardening Guide is the definitive guide to vegetable gardening in the five states that comprise the Rocky Mountain region. Professional horticulturist, Cheryl Moore-Gough, addresses the unique growing conditions and challenges of this region from how to select, grow, and harvest a host of vegetables that will succeed to offering tips for extending the season.

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John Pearce faces a court martial, but will cowardly Toby Burns, chief witness, stand up to questioning? With the matter unresolved, HMS Hazard is put under the command of Horatio Nelson, with whom no cruise can be without incident. Sure enough, battle is joined with two Spanish frigates, though success is short-lived and flight in the face of a superior foe becomes the only option.In London, the government denies prize money for the cargo of silver Pearce took off the Santa Leocadia, claiming it as property of the Crown. Pearce’s prize agent seeks to fight this, only to be outmanoeuvred by devious Henry Dundas. Worse, some very bad pennies from the past have come back to haunt the life of Emily Barclay and the thief-taker Walter Hodgson.From Elba, Pearce is sent on a mission to collect fleeing members of the Corsican government: an assignment which looks simple but is anything but. Seeking a solution which will not risk his ship, he seeks the aid of a local clan chief, inadvertently putting himself, his crew, and his rescued charges in jeopardy. Pearce finds himself trapped in a deep Corsican bay, facing odds of two to one, which he can only overcome by employing devious tactics. And even successful, he will be forced to make a decision: to follow his instincts or to obey his orders.

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Being Gerry Mulligan: My Life in Music is an intimate chronicle of Gerry Mulligan’s life and career, told in his own words. This personal narrative reveals great insight into the musician’s complex personality. He speaks freely about the important milestones in both his personal and professional life, bringing a new understanding to the man behind the music.Gerry Mulligan was one of the most important figures in the history of jazz. He was extremely influential as both a composer/arranger and as an instrumentalist. His career spanned an amazing six decades, beginning in the 1940s and continuing up to his death in 1996. Within that time, he worked with almost every major jazz figure, including Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as his own illustrious groups that featured the likes of Chet Baker, Bob Brookmeyer, Art Farmer, and Chico Hamilton.As a composer, his music was distinct and original. His melodies were masterpieces, logically structured and filled with wit and humor. As an arranger, his linear approach and clever use of counterpoint helped define a new standard for modern jazz orchestration. As an instrumentalist, he is the most significant baritone saxophonist in the history of jazz. Gerry Mulligan single-handedly established the baritone saxophone as a solo voice. As one of the great jazz innovators, his writing and playing influenced entire stylistic movements, including cool jazz and bossa nova. This is his story, the way he wanted it told.

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A pianist in lounges and lobbies around the world, Robin Meloy Goldsby tells her warm-hearted stories by linking people she has met with places she has played. Along the way, she connects the humanity of her audiences—princes and paupers, dreamers and doers, moguls, mobsters, wanna-bes, and has-beens—with the quiet soundtrack of her peripatetic, melodic life. Goldsby's autobiographical stories and essays deliver insights into the art and craft of piano playing, the merits of live music, and how the right song at the right moment can add color and depth to a drab, one dimensional world. Music, it turns out, connects us in unpredictable ways.

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Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters is both a gonzo rush capturing the bristling energy of the Rolling Stones and the times in which they lived and a wide-eyed reflection on why the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World needed the world's greatest rock 'n' roll drummer. Across five decades, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has had the best seat in the house. Charlie Watts, the anti-rock star an urbane jazz fan with a dry wit and little taste for the limelight was witness to the most savage years in rock history, and emerged a hero, a warrior poet. With his easy swing and often loping, uneven fills, he found nuance in a music that often had little room for it, and along with his greatest ally, Keith Richards, he gave the Stones their swaggering beat. While others battled their drums, Charlie played his modest kit with finesse and humility, and yet his relentless grooves on the nastiest hard-rock numbers of the era (Gimme Shelter, Street Fighting Man, Brown Sugar, Jumpin' Jack Flash, etc.) delivered a dangerous authenticity to a band that on their best nights should have been put in jail. Author Mike Edison, himself a notorious raconteur and accomplished drummer, tells a tale of respect and satisfaction that goes far beyond drums, drumming, and the Rolling Stones, ripping apart the history of rock'n'roll, and celebrating sixty years of cultural upheaval. He tears the sheets off of the myths of music making, shredding the phonies and the frauds, and unifies the frayed edges of disco, punk, blues, country, soul, jazz, and R and B the soundtrack of our lives. Highly opinionated, fearless, and often hilarious, Sympathy is as an unexpected treat for music fans and pop culture mavens, as edgy and ribald as the Rolling Stones at their finest, never losing sight of the sex and magic that puts the roll in the rock the beat, that crazy beat! and the man who drove the band, their true engine, the utterly irreplaceable Charlie Watts.

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