Search results for ""author holly"
Little, Brown Book Group Key Of Light: Number 1 in series
The pleasure of your company is desired for cocktails and conversation. 8pm, 4th September. Warrior's Peak. You are the Key. The lock awaits. When Malory Price is issued with the above invitation she is naturally suspicious, especially as Warrior's Peak is a local mansion house straight out of a Hollywood horror movie. But with her overdraft at crisis limit and on the verge of losing her job at a local art gallery, she has little to lose by attending the event. But Malory is about to get more than she bargained for. At Warrior's Peak she finds that she and two other women are the only guests of their mysterious hosts. They are told an amazing story of magic, gods and goddesses; and of three demi-goddesses who have been cast into an eternal sleep, their mortal souls placed under lock and key. And in every generation, three women are born who alone have the power to free them - if they are prepared to accept the challenge. Three women. Three keys to find. If one fails, they all lose. If they all succeed - money, power and a new destiny awaits. It will take more than intellect, more than determination. They will have to open their hearts, their minds, and believe that everything and anything is possible.
£9.99
Penguin Books Ltd Chaplin: His Life And Art
David Robinson's definitive and monumental biography of Charlie Chaplin, the greatest icon in the history of cinema, who lived one of the most dramatic rags to riches stories ever told. Chaplin's life was marked by extraordinary contrasts: the child of London slums who became a multimillionaire; the on-screen clown who was a driven perfectionist behind the camera; the adulated star who publicly fell from grace after personal and political scandal. This engrossing and definitive work, written with full access to Chaplin's archives, tells the whole story of a brilliant, complex man. David Robinson is a celebrated film critic and historian who wrote for The Times and the Financial Times for several decades. His many books include World Cinema, Hollywood in the Twenties and Buster Keaton. 'A marvellous book . . . unlikely ever to be surpassed' Spectator 'I cannot imagine how anyone could write a better book on the great complex subject . . . movingly entertaining, awesomely thorough and profoundly respectful' Sunday Telegraph 'One of the great cinema books; a labour of love and a splendid achievement' Variety 'One of those addictive biographies in which you start by looking in the index for items that interest you . . . and as dawn breaks you're reading the book from cover to cover' Financial Times
£19.99
Orion Publishing Co Eagles - Dark Desert Highway: How America’s Dream Band Turned into a Nightmare
'This could be heaven or this could be hell...'So sings Don Henley on their biggest hit, 'Hotel California', and it is true that the Eagles story was one that blurred the ultimate Hollywood highs and subterranean LA lows beyond recognition. The band that embodied the American dream with globe-straddling success, impossibly luxurious lives, almost supernatural talent also descended into nightmare with bloodletting betrayal, hate-filled hubris, the skeletons of perceived enemies, brutally discarded lovers and former band mates left unburied on the road behind them. The story of the Eagles is a truly gothic American fable: one of ultimate power and rivers of money; of sex and drugs at a time when both were the lingua-franca of sophisticated So-Cal living; of a band who sang of peaceful easy feelings in public while threatening to kill each other in private.Now, for the first time, esteemed music biographer Mick Wall will provide the definitive insight into America's bestselling band of all time, a band who have sold more records than Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones combined, exploring their meteoric rise to fame and the hedonistic days of the 70s music scene in LA, when American music was taking over the world.
£22.50
Hodder & Stoughton Nora Goes Off Script: The unmissable summer romance for fans of Beth O'Leary and Rosie Walsh!
'Smart, fresh and romantic . . . I loved this book with my whole heart' BETH O'LEARY'Absolutely irresistible - funny, addictive and deliciously romantic' ROSIE WALSH*****Nora's life is about to get a rewrite . . .Nora Hamilton knows the formula for love better than anyone. As a romance channel screenwriter, it's her job. But when her husband leaves her and their two kids, Nora turns the collapse of her marriage into the best script of her life. When it's picked up for the big screen and set to film on location at her picturesque Hudson Valley home, Nora's life will never be the same - especially after world-famous Hollywood actor and former 'Sexiest Man Alive' Leo Vance is cast as her ex-husband.The morning after the crew leaves, Nora finds Leo on her porch with a half-empty bottle of tequila and a proposition. He'll pay a thousand dollars a day to stay for an extra week. Seven days: it's the blink of an eye or an eternity, depending on how you look at it. It's enough time to fall in love. Enough time to break your heart . . .Filled with warmth, wit, and wisdom, Nora Goes Off Script is the best kind of love story - the real kind where love is complicated by work, kids, and the emotional baggage that comes with life. For Nora and Leo, this kind of love is bigger than the big screen.*****Readers love Nora Goes Off Script!'You will want to read this in one sitting! Gorgeous!'***** Reader Review'A perfect beach read'***** Reader Review'A five-star rom com!'***** Reader Review'This book will have you laughing one minute and shedding a tear the next'***** Reader Review'A lovely treat of a read'***** Reader Review
£19.80
John Blake Publishing Ltd Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops
With his twinkling eyes, boundless energy and unrivalled natural wit, Robin Williams was the comedian who brought laughter to a generation. Through roles in cherished films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Aladdin and Hook, he became the genial face of family comedy. His child-like enthusiasm was infectious, sweeping viewers away. Allied to his lightning-quick improvisation and ability to riff lewdly off any cue thrown at him, Robin was that rare thing - a true comic genius who appealed to adults and children equally. He could also play it straight, and empathetic depth came to him naturally. A poignant performance in Good Will Hunting won him an Academy Award whilst his masterfully chilling turn in psychological thriller Insomnia shocked audiences and hinted at a darker side. What truly caught the imagination, though, was his good-heartedness. Warmth radiated from him on-screen, but he was legendary for his off-screen acts of selfless generosity. Where most Hollywood A-listers demand outrageous pampering in their contract riders, he always insisted that the production company hire a full quota of homeless people to help make his movies. But behind the laughter lay a deeply troubled man, and tragedy would follow. At midday, on 11 August 2014, Robin Williams was pronounced dead at his California home. The verdict was suicide. He had battled depression and addiction for many years and was allegedly beset by financial difficulties. Emily Herbert's sensitive and thoughtful biography celebrates his genius and warmth, but also attempts to understand what could have driven such a gentle and gifted man to so tragic an end. This is Robin Williams, the life, the laughter, and the deep sorrow of the man who made the world smile.
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers
By the time Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke entered the studio to begin work on this album, they were basically falling apart at the seams. 'Ladyfriend', a song written by Crosby, had just failed miserably as a chart single despite the fact that he lobbied hard to get it released. This - coupled with the fact that he made what the rest of the band considered an embarrassing political speech onstage during their set at the Monterey Pop Festival, and then sat in with rivals the Buffalo Springfield the following day - pushed McGuinn and Hillman in particular to the limits of their patience. A few too many studio flare-ups later, and McGuinn and Hillman finally screeched up into the Hollywood Hills in their Jaguars and fired Crosby on the spot. Also brooding during this period was drummer Michael Clarke, who had always borne the brunt of the other band members' rage while recording. He was by far the least accomplished member of the band musically, and when they suggested bringing in a studio drummer to embellish some tracks (Jim Gordon, later of Derek and the Dominos fame), he finally declared he'd had enough and moved to Hawaii to get away from the music scene altogether. So, McGuinn and Hillman were left to cobble together an album with the help of producer Gary Usher (known for his work with Brian Wilson, the Millennium, Sagittarius and many others). The fact that it turned out to be one of the defining albums of the 60s psychedelic pop experience was either a sheer stroke of luck, or testament to McGuinn and Hillman's determination to prove that they didn't need Crosby's help to construct their masterpiece.
£9.99
Transworld Publishers Ltd You, With a View: A hilarious and steamy enemies-to-lovers road-trip romcom
'An electrifying debut, and the perfect summer read... A million out of five stars!' Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis'Swoony, sexy, funny, and profoundly moving' Ava Wilder, How to Fake it in Hollywood'This road trip romance is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet!' Amy Lea, Set on You'Stunningly heartfelt and sexy beyond words' Rachel Lynn Solomon, The Ex Talk---Two weeks on the road... stuck in a car with your high-school enemy.Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her gram's past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information - and it goes viral.Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother's secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on.Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There's just one problem - Paul's grandson is Noelle's frustratingly handsome high-school rival Theo.And Theo has to come, too.It's only two weeks. Surely Noelle can survive that long? But with one car between them - and often only one bed - it doesn't take long for things to heat up...---Readers are loving You, With a View'I can't wait for everyone to scream about this... Absolute romance perfection''This was a couldn't-put-it-down/read-almost-in-one-sitting read for me... A true romance novel where my heart was left a mushy happy mess''EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK IS PERFECT TO ME''An absolute stunner of a debut. The banter between the two characters is top-notch and hilarious''Do yourself a favour and add this to your TBR immediately!'
£9.99
Oxford University Press Inc The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation
"The American Dream" is one of the most familiar and resonant phrases in our national lexicon, so familiar that we seldom pause to ask its origin, its history, or what it actually means. In this fascinating short history, Jim Cullen explores the meaning of the American Dream, or rather the several American Dreams that have both reflected and shaped American identity from the Pilgrims to the present. Cullen begins by noting that the United States, unlike most other nations, defines itself not on the facts of blood, religion, language, geography, or shared history, but on a set of ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence and consolidated in the Constitution. At the core of these ideals lies the ambiguous but galvanizing concept of the American Dream, a concept that for better and worse has proven to be amazingly elastic and durable for hundreds of years and across racial, class, and other demographic lines. Cullen then traces a series of overlapping American dreams: the quest for of religious freedom that brought the Pilgrims to the "New World"; the political freedom promised in the Declaration; the dream of upward mobility, embodied most fully in the figure of Abraham Lincoln; the dream of home ownership, from homestead to suburb; the intensely idealistic-and largely unrealized-dream of equality articulated most vividly by Martin Luther King, Jr. The version of the American Dream that dominates our own time--what Cullen calls "the Dream of the Coast"--is one of personal fulfillment, of fame and fortune all the more alluring if achieved without obvious effort, which finds its most insidious expression in the culture of Hollywood. For anyone seeking to understand a shifting but central idea in American history, The American Dream is an interpretive tour de force.
£14.99
Running Press,U.S. The Recipe for Radiance: Discover Beauty's Best-Kept Secrets in Your Kitchen
Want to know the secret to growing gorgeous hair or how your favourite celebrities have such flawless skin? Introducing the power of food into your beauty routine in a whole new way, you'll uncover the recipes that promote beauty from within (with beauty-boosting foods you'll salivate for!) as well as topical DIY beauty recipes (for facial masks, body scrubs, and more that are, well, good enough to eat,literally!). Dubbed the Female Beauty MacGyver" by Access Hollywood, Alexis Wolfer shares with you 131 easy, all-natural, affordable, and effective recipes that feed your beauty. Combining the best recipes from her personal archives with DIY beauty secrets and food recipes shared with her by chefs, beauty editors, and celebrities (including Kristen Chenoweth, Brooklyn Decker, Vanessa Williams, Molly Sims, Byrdie Bell, Donna Karan, and more), The Recipe For Radiance will take you into your kitchen to discover the food-based beauty secrets even the most well-pampered women rely on to look their best. Each chapter in The Recipe for Radiance addresses a different beauty concern,acne, fine lines and wrinkles, brittle nails, lackluster hair, sun spots, cellulite, chapped lips, under-eye circles, and more,giving you the inside scoop on the causes and symptoms of the most common beauty concerns along with their food-based solutions. Sample recipes include:Strawberry + champagne serum to fight wrinklesAvocado + oatmeal revival mask to heal dry skinSweet potato chips + cumin dip to even skin toneCreamy kale and walnut salad to reduce under-eye circlesSweet watermelon serum to soothe sunburn Be prepared to cook yourself beautiful, all the while saving money on products and keeping your beauty routine chemical free.
£16.19
APA Publications Insight Guides Explore Los Angeles (Travel Guide with Free eBook)
Insight Explore Guides: pocket-sized books to inspire your on-foot exploration of top international destinations. Experience the best of Los Angeles with this indispensably practical Insight Explore Guide. From making sure you don' tmiss out on must-see attractions like Disneyland and Hollywood, to discovering hidden gems, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will help you plan your trip, save you time, and enhance your exploration of this thrilling city.· Practical, pocket-sized and packed with inspirational insider information, this will make the ideal on-the-move companion to your trip to Los Angeles· Enjoy over 15 irresistible Best Routes to walk, from Downtown LA, Little Tokyo and the Arts District to Beverley Hills and Santa Monica· Features concise insider information about landscape, history, food and drink, and entertainment options· Invaluable maps: each Best Route is accompanied by a detailed full-colour map, while the large pull-out map provides an essential overview of the area· Discover your destination's must-see sights and hand-picked hidden gems· Directory section provides invaluable insight into top accommodation, restaurant and nightlife options by area, along with an overview of language, books and films · Includes an innovative extra that's unique in the market - all Insight Explore Guides come with a free eBook· Inspirational colour photography throughoutAbout Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as phrasebooks, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.
£8.99
Surrey Books,U.S. The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story: An Illustrated History, with Relish
In The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story: An Illustrated History, with Relish, the third in his popular series, Ron Faiola invites readers to pull up a chair as he regales us with more than a century of history behind this beloved dining tradition, guiding readers from London to Hollywood, to New York City, and finally, to his own home state. The journey begins with the world’s very first supper clubs, which emerged in London in the mid-1800s. The phenomenon was adopted by New York’s restaurant and saloon owners in the late 1800s, and soon spread to suburban and rural areas. Across the United States, supper clubs enhanced culinary and dining traditions, and greatly influenced the evolution of live entertainment such as cabaret, comedy, and jazz, and dance crazes such as “The Charleston,” “Turkey Trot,” and the eyebrow-raising “Wiggle Wiggle.” Faiola unfolds the history of Wisconsin’s supper clubs with stories of its most iconic establishments, such as Ray Radigan’s, Hoffman House, and Fazio’s on Fifth. He reveals the remarkable durability of the supper club tradition as it withstood WWI, the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWII, as well as the mid-twentieth century advent of fast food franchises and casual dining chains. Through their innovation and determination, supper club owners and their staff have managed not only to survive, but to maintain generations-spanning restaurants that remain prominent features of their communities to this day. Bursting with full-color photographs, newspaper clippings, and first-hand interviews, The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story: An Illustrated History, with Relish offers a hearty buffet of the history of Wisconsin’s most iconic supper clubs and the folks who keep the cocktails poured, the relish trays fresh, and ensure there’s always an open seat at the table.
£23.39
Hodder & Stoughton My Squirrel Days
Comedian and star of The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Ellie Kemper delivers a hilarious and uplifting collection of essays about one pale woman's journey from Midwestern naïf to Hollywood semi-celebrity to outrageously reasonable New Yorker.There comes a time in every sitcom actress's life when she is faced with the prospect of writing a book. When Ellie Kemper's number was up, she was ready. Contagiously cheerful, predictably wholesome, and mostly inspiring except for one essay about her husband's feet, My Squirrel Days is a funny, free-wheeling tour of Ellie's life-from growing up in suburban St. Louis with a vivid imagination and a crush on David Letterman to moving to Los Angeles and accidentally falling on Doris Kearns Goodwin.But those are not the only famous names dropped in this synopsis. Ellie will also share stories of inadvertently insulting Ricky Gervais at the Emmy Awards, telling Tina Fey that she has "great hair-really strong and thick," and offering a maxi pad to Steve Carell. She will take you back to her childhood as a nature lover determined to commune with squirrels, to her college career as a benchwarming field hockey player with no assigned position, and to her young professional days writing radio commercials for McDonald's but never getting paid. Ellie will guide you along her journey through adulthood, from unorganized bride to impatient wife to anxious mother who-as recently observed by a sassy hairstylist-"dresses like a mom." Well, sassy hairstylist, Ellie Kemper is a mom. And she has been dressing like it since she was four.Ellie has written for GQ, Esquire, The New York Times, McSweeney's and The Onion. Her voice is the perfect antidote to the chaos of modern life. In short, she will tell you nothing you need to know about making it in show business, and everything you need to know about discreetly changing a diaper at a Cibo Express.
£10.04
Thames & Hudson Ltd The Mysteries of Cinema: Movies and Imagination
People who saw the first moving pictures at the end of the nineteenth century were delighted by a new art that communicated without words – yet they were also alarmed to be witnessing events in a strange, mute, spectral realm, where the laws of time and space were suspended and magical transformations could occur. Some early commentators hailed cinema as a blessing and praised it for resurrecting the dead; others likened it to a hypnotic trance or a hallucinogenic drug. The medium has always been excited by speed, and it enjoys sending the body on furious kinetic chases; at the same time, it stealthily probes our minds, invading our dreams and titillating our desires. Although this is an art kindled by light and inflamed by colour, it is nurtured by darkness and can reduce life to an insubstantial shadow play. Either way, as Peter Conrad argues in this brilliant book, the movie camera has given us new eyes and changed forever our view of reality. The Mysteries of Cinema sets out to map this ambiguous territory by taking readers on a thematic roller-coaster ride through movie history. Directors and critics speculate about the nature of cinematic vision, and there are contributions to the debate from writers like Kafka, Virginia Woolf and Joan Didion, artists including Salvador Dalí, George Grosz and Fernand Léger, and the composers Arnold Schoenberg and Dmitri Shostakovich. The book begins from the audacious innovations of silent film, and examines the influence of French surrealism and German expressionism; it accounts for the appeal of Hollywood genres like the Western, the horror film and the musical, and ends by considering the fate of the moving image in our visually glutted society. Combining contagious enthusiasm with an eye for the subjective quirks of filmmakers and the allure of favourite performers, Conrad delivers an astonishing addition to the literature on the seventh art. With 61 illustrations
£22.50
Dorling Kindersley Ltd The Film Book: A Complete Guide to the World of Cinema
Immerse yourself into the world of cinema and discover action-packed chases, epic journeys, and tear-jerking moments.Get the popcorn popping and keep the movies coming! From box office hits and cult classics to romcoms and thrillers, this is your go-to guide to movies, directors, genres and styles.This ultimate movie guide profiles more than 100 of the most significant films ever made and brings cinema to life in true blockbuster fashion. Discover the behind-the-scenes stories about timeless classics like Citizen Kane and The Godfather, and take a front-row seat at lavish blockbusters like Star Wars or Titanic.- Lists of top 10 film recommendations - What to watch boxes that explore specific plot lines, scenes, and images- Trivia sections to test your knowledge on Oscar-winning movies, biggest flops and banned films- Explains complex methods of film-making in familiar, non-technical jargon- High-resolution photography and stills allow for a deeper understanding of the nature of film-makingEach page of this film book takes you on a journey through the ever-changing landscape of cinema - from Hollywood to Bollywood and everything in between. It includes every film-making school from across the globe, behind-the-scenes shots, profiles of 100 influential directors, and lists more than 100 of the greatest movies ever made!Lights. Camera. Action!Whether you enjoy art films or sci-fi, going to the cinema or watching movies on Netflix, The Film Book covers it all. It's perfect for inspiring your next movie night!This updated version covers the best films and directors of the last 10 years, along with new discoveries in the history of cinema since the last edition from 2011. It's the ultimate gift for any film buff or critic.
£20.00
Firefly Books Ltd Zeppelins: The Golden Age of Airships
Every day there are tens of thousands of transoceanic flights. In the 1930s, the invention of planes able to traverse the Atlantic changed the world. However, there were already aircraft crossing vast oceans over a decade earlier. Lighter than air, these vehicles were called dirigibles, or, as the Germans named them, Graf Zeppelins. Illustrated with period photographs, vintage travel posters, blueprints, advertisements and colorful brochures, Zeppelins: The Golden Age of Airships covers every aspect of these fascinating and oft overlooked airships, from their initial designs through to the height of their popularity during the Golden Age of Aviation. At the beginning of the 20th Century, dirigibles transported passengers, mail and other cargo from Europe to the Americas, forever changing the world’s concept of time and space. Zeppelins: The Golden Age of Airships is a thorough exploration of these awe-inspiring feats of aviation, including: The story of Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the Zeppelin, and his surprising involvement in the US Civil War; The military role of airships; much has been said about the aerial bombing of Britain in World War II, but little has been written of how, during the first World War, the Zeppelin was employed as a “terror weapon”; The expedition of the dirigible The Norge, the first craft to cross the North Pole; The many flights of the Graf Zeppelin, including the first ever round-the-world trip, funded largely by William Randolph Hearst; The dirigibles of the US navy and the United Kingdom; Hollywood’s fascination with dirigibles, and the role film played in romanticizing the aircrafts in the minds of the public; The infamous tragedy of the Hindenburg. Zeppelins is not simply the illustrated history of an aircraft; it is the story of a changing world. It is the story of the 20th Century, one of imagination, exploration, idealism and tragedy.
£31.50
HarperCollins Publishers Elizabeth Taylor: The Grit and Glamour of an Icon
The first authorised biography of eternal legend Elizabeth Taylor. Known for her glamorous beauty, soap-opera personal life and magnetic screen presence, Elizabeth Taylor was the twentieth century’s most famous film star. Including unseen photographs and unread private reflections, this authorised biography is a fascinating and complete portrait worthy of the legend and her legacy. Elizabeth Taylor captures this intelligent, empathetic, tenacious, volatile and complex woman as never before, from her rise to massive fame at the age of twelve in National Velvet to becoming the first actor to negotiate a million-dollar salary for a film, from her eight marriages and enduring love affair with Richard Burton to her lifelong battle with addiction and her courageous efforts as an AIDS activist. Using Elizabeth’s unpublished letters, diary entries and off-the-record interview transcripts as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family, Kate Andersen Brower tells the full, unvarnished story of the classic Hollywood star who continues to captivate audiences the world over.
£12.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Assassination Of Marilyn Monroe
This book is the fully documented story of Marilyn Monroe's death - a heart-stopping account of the events that led to the circumstances of 4th August 1962. To this day the Los Angeles police and the District Attorney's office have perpetuated a cover-up that was generated over 30 years ago. For the first time in 80 books and acres of newsprint, the complete story of her demise is revealed. It includes the reasons why so many joined the conspiracy of silence. Marilyn's universe is where the glitzy world of Hollywood, the sinister one of the Mafia and the secret one of Washington DC meet. Wolfe uses newly released FBI files and the information of insiders who have broken their silence to give us the resolution of one of this century's most enduring mysteries.From the opening description of the lifeless body to the moment-by-moment account of her final days and hours, THE ASSASSINATION OF MARILYN MONROE explodes every myth concerning her remarkable life and tragic death - as is attested by the generous acclaim of her rival biographers (see 'Reviews').
£14.99
New Island Books The New Frontier: Reflections From the Irish Border
The New Frontier is a landmark publication of writing from the Irish Border, composed of non-fiction, fiction and poetry – it is a chorus of voices from some of the island’s greatest writers, that conveys in its multiplicity the true meaning of our border. At a time when the division of our shared island has once again become an international concern, the Border now a threshold between Europe and the United Kingdom, The New Frontier seeks to explore the meaning of this partition in the 21st century for those people that inhabit that divide. This collection of writing ultimately poses the question: What does it mean to be Irish, Northern Irish, or British in the modern age, and what does it mean to live on a threshold between a kingdom and a republic? The New Frontier will undoubtedly become a key cultural and literary touchstone. This anthology considers the border, and our historical divisions, through literature, by inviting writers from border areas to respond imaginatively and instinctively. By writing the land, writing the body, writing the lived experiences of this complex and misunderstood part of Ireland, The New Frontier looks to reclaim the border region from decades of misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Featuring writing from: Conor O’Callaghan, Darran Anderson, Garrett Carr, Luke Cassidy, Nidhi Zak, Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Michael Hughes, Séamas O’Reilly, Pat McCabe, Lias Saoudi, Maureen Boyle, Emily Cooper, Dean Fee, Jill Crawford, Annemarie ní Chuirrean, Peter Hollywood, John Kelly, Michelle Gallen, Marcel Krueger, Eoghan Walls, Orla McAlinden, Bronagh McAtasney, Mícheál McCann, Jess McKinney and Maria McManus
£19.99
Hodder & Stoughton Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians
'We're all now self-makers, whether we like it or not - and this witty, sceptical book is the thought-provoking story of how we got here' GUARDIAN'This funny, startling, insightful story of the selfie, from Dürer to the Kardashians, is a must read if you want to understand how we reinvent ourselves every time we reveal ourselves' PETER POMERANTSEVToday's defining celebrities have crafted public personae that walk the tightrope between authenticity and artificiality. Ordinary people now follow suit: lovingly tending our 'personal brands' for economic gain and self-expression alike.Instagram culture is part of a story that goes back centuries. The vision that we not only can but should 'make' our own selves to shape our own destiny is an inextricable part of the formation of the modern world.As traditional powers of pre-modernity - church and throne - waned, a new myth took their place: that of the 'self-made man', whose unique powers of personality - or canny self-presentation - give him not just the opportunity, but the obligation, to remake reality in the image of what he wants it to be.From the Renaissance genius to the Regency dandy, the American prophets of capitalism to the aspirational übermensch of European fascism, Hollywood's Golden Age to today's Silicon Valley, Self-Made takes us on a dazzling tour of modern history's most prominent self-makers, uncovering both self-making's liberatory power, and the dangers this idea can unleash.'Both revelatory and a warning about the ways that focus on the self distorts our individual lives and the broader society' FRANCIS FUKUYAMA
£19.80
John Murray Press Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER OF THE JAZZ AGE NOW AN AMAZON ORIGINALS SERIES STARRING CHRISTINA RICCI'If ever a couple ... became an era, it was F Scott Fitzgerald and his glamorous "flapper" wife, Zelda. They were the Jazz Age' Independent When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a country club dance in 1918, she is seventeen and he is a young army lieutenant. Before long, Zelda has fallen for him, even though Scott isn't wealthy or prominent or even a Southerner and keeps insisting, absurdly, that his writing will bring him both fortune and fame. When he sells his first novel, she optimistically boards a train to New York, to marry him and take the rest as it comes.What comes, here at the dawn of the Jazz Age, is unimagined success and celebrity that will make Scott and Zelda legends in their own time. Each place they go becomes a playground:New York City, Long Island, Hollywood, Paris, and the French Riviera - where they join the endless party of the glamorous, sometimes doomed Lost Generation that includes Ernest Hemingway, Sara and Gerald Murphy, and Gertrude Stein.Everything seems new and possible, but not even Jay Gatsby's parties go on forever. Who is Zelda, other than the wife of a famous - sometimes infamous - husband? With brilliant insight and imagination, Therese Anne Fowler brings us Zelda's irresistible story as she herself might have told it.'Utterly compulsive reading' Stylist'Brilliant' Daily Mail'Superb' Independent*Therese Anne Fowler's bestselling novel of the Gilded Age, A Well-Behaved Woman, is out now*
£9.99
teNeues Publishing UK Ltd Jeanne Lanvin: Fashion Pioneer
"This coffee table book is a visually stunning tribute and the only one available on the life and work of Jeanne Lanvin, perfect for fashion lovers and readers interested in strong female personalities." — Amica "One of the most entertaining and fascinating books to come out this season" — Hollywood Times Jeanne Lanvin was ahead of her time. The French fashion visionary and imaginative businesswoman from a poor background not only created the first designer fashion line for children - this was colourful and full of lightness, at a time when children were still dressed like adults - the first tailored men's collection and the first unisex eau de toilette, she also founded the longest-running fashion company in the world. This at times employed over 1000 people and included women's, children's and men's fashion, accessories, fragrances, furnishing textiles and decorative objects, and even its own paint factory. The self-taught Lanvin started as a hat maker with her own boutique and managed to become one of the greatest fashion designers of the 20th century with creative energy and inventiveness. She created art deco costumes for theatre and film productions, developed the legendary perfume Arpège and a special Lanvin blue, based on the shade Fra Angelico blue. This richly illustrated coffee table book is dedicated to the extraordinary life and work of this exceptional designer. Text in English and German.
£44.96
University of Minnesota Press The Modernist Corpse: Posthumanism and the Posthumous
An unconventional take on the corpse challenges traditional conceptions of who—and what—counts as human, while offering bold insights into the modernist project Too often regarded as the macabre endpoint of life, the corpse is rarely discussed and largely kept out of the public eye. In The Modernist Corpse, Erin E. Edwards unearths the critically important but previously buried life of the corpse, which occupies a unique place between biology and technology, the living and the dead. Exploring the posthumous as the posthuman, Edwards argues that the corpse is central to understanding relations between the human and its “others,” including the animal, the machine, and the thing.From photographs of lynchings to documentation of World War I casualties, the corpse is also central to the modernist project. Edwards turns critical attention to the corpse through innovative, posthumanist readings of canonical thinkers such as William Faulkner, Jean Toomer, W. E. B. Du Bois, Mina Loy, Djuna Barnes, and Gertrude Stein, offering new insights into the intersections among race, gender, technical media, and matter presumed to be dead. Edwards’s expansive approach to modernism includes diverse materials such as Hollywood film, experimental photography, autopsy discourses, and the comic strip Krazy Kat, producing a provocatively broad understanding of the modernist corpse and its various “lives.”The Modernist Corpse both establishes important new directions for modernist inquiry and overturns common thought about the relationship between living and dead matter.
£22.99
Oxford University Press Inc Caught on Tape: White Masculinity and Obscene Enjoyment
In a surveillance culture, the ubiquity of audio-visual recording devices has enabled the unprecedented documentation of private indiscretions, scandalous conversations, and obscene behaviors performed by both ordinary and high-profile people. From former President Donald J. Trump's lewd banter on the infamous Access Hollywood video and leaked audio of celebrity racist tirades to outburst of violent hate speech posted daily to YouTube, contemporary media culture is awash in obscene performances of transgressive white masculinity. Such exposés are screened and viewed under the assumption that revealing secret prejudices will necessarily realize the promises of democracy and bring about a postracial and postfeminist future. This book addresses why the culture of public revelations has failed to hold the perpetrators accountable. Caught on Tape illustrates how public revelations constitute a symbolic and imaginary world for the public that is preoccupied with the obscene enjoyment of transgressive white masculinity: a compulsively repetitive experience of ecstatic and excessive pleasure-in-pain that arises from encounters with that which disturbs, traumatizes, and interrupts illusory notions of our coherent selves and reality. Caught on Tape argues that addressing race and gender inequality with the promise of scandalous hot mics and obscene private videos transforms antiracism and gender justice into disempowering forms of spectatorship that ultimately conceal the structural nature of whiteness, white supremacy, and patriarchy. The central argument of this book is that the spectators are the ones really caught on tape.
£23.54
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
"Without a doubt, it is the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock and roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling, and utterly revolting". ("Rolling Stone"). Ten years ago, Motley Crue's bestselling "The Dirt" - penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss - set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication. The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of Motley Crue - the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first power ballad. Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty. Now, in time for Motley's 30th anniversary - and a new tour! - comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects - laden cover and all - new extra material from the band inside.
£18.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Film Pilot: From James Bond to Hurricane Katrina
When Jerry Grayson left the Royal Navy’s Search and Rescue helicopter fleet aged 25, he was the most decorated peacetime naval pilot in history. In terms of excitement, however, civilian life lacked spice – especially when the only real demand for helicopter pilots was as glorified chauffeurs for the very wealthy. Jerry had a passion for the movies and carved his way into a new career. Setting out to develop radically different ways of capturing dramatic aerial footage, Jerry pushed his helicopter to guarantee the most exciting, innovative and sometimes impossible shots that top film directors demanded. Over the past 35 years Jerry has become the go-to man for aerial filmmaking, shooting everything from music videos, car commercials and nature documentaries to the Athens Olympic Games and the landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. But it is in Hollywood that Jerry has really made his mark. He was barely out of his 20s when he worked on the airborne finale to the James Bond film A View to a Kill, and that helped cement his reputation for the decades since. Film Pilot is full of entertaining behind-the-scenes stories (some that almost ended in disaster for Jerry and an A-list actor or two…) and revelatory insights into just how this invisible sector of the film business operates. We all take aerial footage for granted, without appreciating the lengths gone, and danger endured, to shoot it. This is perhaps never more apparent than when Jerry’s skills are called upon to gather more important footage – the burning oilfields of Kuwait following the first Gulf War, and flooded New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
£12.99
Orion Publishing Co The Bodyguard: ‘A shot of pure joy’ EMILY HENRY
'My perfect ten of a book.' EMILY HENRY*The instant New York Times bestseller!*She's got his back. He's got her heart. They've got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she's an elite bodyguard and she's just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.Jack Stapleton's a Hollywood heartthrob - captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.When Jack's mom gets sick, he comes home to the family's Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn't want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah - against her will and her better judgment - finds herself pretending to be Jack's girlfriend as a cover.Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That's the hardest thing she's ever done...READERS LOVE THE BODYGUARD⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Like a virtual hug, totally feel-good and charming'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I just love the cinnamon roll heroes. Jack was the sweetest and I love him so much.'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'You can compare her to Emily Henry and Colleen Hoover! YES!! This book was that good!!!'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'OMG!!! I loved this book...I laughed out loud so often'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'Engaging, heartbreaking, romantic and genuinely funny'*An instant New York Times bestseller!*A USA Today bestseller!*An Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Books of the Year 2022 - Romance Category!*Named one of the funniest romance novels of the year in the Washington Post!*Nominated for Goodreads' Best Books of the Year 2022!*Nominated for 2022 Book of the Year at Book of the Month Club!
£9.99
Headline Publishing Group The Little Guide to Audrey Hepburn: Screen and Style Icon
Audrey Hepburn was one of the most admired and emulated women of the twentieth century, an Oscar-winning actress, a model and humanitarian. But Hepburn also had huge sadness in her life: two failed marriages, a broken engagement, and the crushing disappointment that occupied her triumph in My Fair Lady. Chronicling Hepburn's life, from her nearly dying in Hitler's occupied Europe, to her conquering, in just one year, the New York stage and the Hollywood screen, this fascinating tribute illustrates and illuminates all things Audrey Hepburn.While trapped in the Netherlands at the end of WW2, Audrey and her family received critical food and medical relief from UNICEF – an act of charity she never forgot, as later in life, Hepburn devoted much of her time to UNICEF, becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. From her early years as an ingénue to her status as an icon of elegance, in her Oscar-winning performance for Roman Holiday and the career high of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Hepburn's star quality resonates across the globe – even so long after her death. Few stars before or since are as beloved as Audrey Hepburn and The Little Guide to Audrey Hepburn details why.'My appearance is accessible to everyone. With hair tied in a bun, big sunglasses and black dress, every woman can look like me.' Audrey Hepburn'For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.' Audrey Hepburn'Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.' Audrey Hepburn
£7.15
Quercus Publishing Putting the Rabbit in the Hat: The fascinating memoir from the star of Succession
The long-awaited memoir by movie and theatre legend, Brian Cox.A Guardian, Times, Sunday Times and Independent Book of the Year*Featuring a foreword by the executive producer of Succession, Frank Rich*From Titus Andronicus with the RSC to media magnate Logan Roy in HBO's Succession, Brian Cox has made his name as an actor of unparalleled distinction and versatility. We know him on screen, but few know of his extraordinary life story.Growing up in Dundee, Scotland, Cox lost his father when he was just eight years old and was brought up by his three elder sisters in the aftermath of his mother's nervous breakdowns and ultimate hospitalization. After joining the Dundee Repertory Theatre at the age of fifteen, you could say the rest is history - but that is to overlook the enormous graft that has gone into the making of the legend we know today. This is a rags-to-riches life story like no other - a seminal autobiography that both captures Cox's distinctive voice and his very soul.'One of the best showbiz memoirs ever written... it's as funny as it is furious... Brian Cox has done everything and with this book he leaves everyone else standing' Mail on Sunday'Absolute heaven' Sunday Times'A hugely readable memoir from a giant of stage and screen' Mark Kermode'A life well lived and a story well told. From first page to last Brian Cox the great actor is Brian Cox the great storyteller, and nobody is spared his sharp eye and his caustic wit, himself and some big Hollywood names included' Alastair Campbell'Laced with his characteristic generosity, self-deprecation and cut-the-crap wisdom' Harriet Walter'Mesmerizing' Peter Biskind'Blisteringly brilliant' Bryony Gordon'Funny and irreverent' The Times
£12.99
Oxford University Press Inc In and Out of Sight: Modernist Writing and the Photographic Unseen
In a post-digital media landscape tracked endlessly by streams and feeds of images, it is clearer than ever that photography is an art poised between arresting singularity and ambiguous plurality. Drawing on work in visual culture studies that emphasizes the interplay between still and moving images, In and Out of Sight provides a provocative new account of the relationship between photography and modernist literature--a literature which has long been considered to trace, in its formal experimentation, the influence of modern visual technologies. Making pioneering claims about the importance of photography to the writing of Gertrude Stein, Jean Toomer, John Dos Passos, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Alix Beeston traverses the history of photography in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. From the composite experiments of Francis Galton to the epic portrait project of August Sander; from the surrealist self-fashioning of Claude Cahun to the reappropriation of lynching photographs by black activist groups; from the collectable postcards of Broadway stars to the glamour shots of Hollywood celebrities-these and other serialized photographic projects provide essential contexts for understanding the fragmentary, composite forms of literary modernism. In a series of richly detailed literary analyses, Beeston argues that the gaps and intervals of the composite literary text model the visual syntax of photography--as well as its silences, absences, and equivocations. In them, the social and political order of modernity is negotiated and reshaped. Moving in and out of these textual openings, In and Out of Sight pursues the fleeting, visible and invisible figure of the woman-in-series, who recasts absence and silence as forms of presence and witness. This shadowy figure emerges as central to the conceptual space of modernist literature--a terrain not only gendered but radically constructed around the instability of female bodies and their desires.
£30.62
Simon & Schuster Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise
Film historian and acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman has written the definitive, “captivating” (Associated Press) biography of Hollywood legend Cary Grant, one of the most accomplished—and beloved—actors of his generation, who remains as popular as ever today.Born Archibald Leach in 1904, he came to America as a teenaged acrobat to find fame and fortune, but he was always haunted by his past. His father was a feckless alcoholic, and his mother was committed to an asylum when Archie was eleven years old. He believed her to be dead until he was informed she was alive when he was thirty-one years old. Because of this experience, Grant would have difficulty forming close attachments throughout his life. He married five times and had numerous affairs. Despite a remarkable degree of success, Grant remained deeply conflicted about his past, his present, his basic identity, and even the public that worshipped him in movies such as Gunga Din, Notorious, and North by Northwest. This “estimable and empathetic biography” (The Washington Post) draws on Grant’s own papers, extensive archival research, and interviews with family and friends making it a definitive and “complex portrait of Hollywood’s original leading man” (Entertainment Weekly).
£11.69
North Star Editions Superhero Superstars: Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth captivated audiences as Marvel’s Thor. With compelling images, fun facts, and an Inside Hollywood special feature, this book provides an engaging overview of Hemsworth’s life, acting career, and experience playing Thor.
£28.79
Penguin Random House Children's UK Young Bond: Shoot to Kill
Before the man Became the Legend. Before the Boy Became the Man. James Bond hits Hollywood...Lights. Camera. Murder. Young Bond is back - in his most action-packed, explosive adventure yet.
£8.42
North Star Editions Superhero Superstars: Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa captivated audiences as DC's Aquaman. With compelling images, fun facts, and an Inside Hollywood special feature, this book provides an engaging overview of Momoa’s life, acting career, and experience playing Aquaman.
£10.99
Stone Bridge Press Forty-Seven Samurai: A Tale of Vengeance & Death in Haiku and Letters
A remarkable and true tale of loyalty, vengeance, and ritual suicide. . . . In the spring of 1701, the regional lord Asano Naganori wounded his supervising official, Kira Yoshinaka, during an important ceremony in the ruling shogunate's Edo Castle and was at once condemned to death. Within two years, in the dead of winter, a band of forty-seven of Asano's retainers avenged him by breaking into Yoshinaka’s mansion and killing him. Subsequently, all the men were sentenced to death but allowed to perform it honorably by seppuku. This incident—often called the Ako Incident—became a symbol of samurai honor andat once prompted stage dramatization in kabuki and puppet theater. It has since has been told and retold in short and long stories, movies, TV dramas. The story has also attracted the attention of foreign writers and translators. The most recent retelling was the 2013 Hollywood film 47 Ronin, with Keanu Reeves, though it was wildly and willfully distorted. What did actually happen and how has this famous vendetta resonated through history? Hiroaki Sato's examination is a close, comprehensive look at the Ako Incident through the context of its times, portraits of the main protagonists, and its literary legacy in the haiku ofthe avengers. Also included is Sato's new translation of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's short story about leader Oishi Kuranosuke as he awaited sentencing.
£14.99
Temple University Press,U.S. Sons And Daughters Of Los: Culture And Community In L.A.
Los Angeles. A city that is synonymous with celebrity and mass-market culture, is also, according to David James, synonymous with social alienation and dispersal. In the communities of Los Angeles, artists, cultural institutions and activities exist in ways that are often concealed from sight, obscured by the powerful presence of Hollywood and its machinations. In this significant collection of original essays, The Sons and Daughters of Los reconstructs the city of Los Angeles with new cultural connections. Explored here are the communities that offer alternatives to the picture of L..A. as a conglomeration of studios and mass media. Each essay examines a particular piece of, or place in, Los Angeles cultural life: from the Beyond Baroque Poetry Foundation, the Woman's Building, to Highways, and LACE, as well as the achievements of these grassroots initiatives. Also included is critical commentary on important artists, including Harry Gamboa, Jr., and others whose work have done much to shape popular culture in L.A. The cumulative effect of reading this book is to see a very different city take shape, one whose cultural landscape is far more innovative and reflective of the diversity of the city's people than mainstream notions of it suggest. The Sons and Daughters of Los offers a substantive and complicated picture of the way culture plays itself it out on the smallest scale-in one of the largest metropolises on earth-contributing to a richer, more textured understanding of the vibrancy of urban life and art.
£69.30
Scarecrow Press Alex North's A Streetcar Named Desire: A Film Score Guide
Alex North's A Streetcar Named Desire: A Film Score Guide examines the acclaimed score for Elia Kazan's much-celebrated adaptation of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Situating the score within the context of Alex North's life and career, the book begins with an overview of North's musical training and his works up to his first scores for Hollywood in 1950, demonstrating how his experience in writing music for stage, concert hall, dance, and documentaries each contributed to the skills necessary for film composition. Annette Davison uses examples from North's film career to identify and describe his scoring techniques. Using manuscript and archival research, Davison explores both the play's debut stage production and the film's production process, with a particular emphasis on the genesis and development of the music heard in the film. Considering the influence and changes imposed by the film's studio (Warner Bros.), the Production Code Administration, and the Catholic Legion of Decency on the film, Davison explores the impact of these changes on the interpretation of this finely balanced drama, comparing the different versions of the film and its scores. The book concludes with a full and detailed analysis of the jazz-inflected score, taking a holistic approach and using both musicology and film studies to investigate the ways it gives a dynamic shape to the film as a whole.
£40.00
Profile Books Ltd Fashion on the Ration: Style in the Second World War
In September 1939, just three weeks after the outbreak of war, Gladys Mason wrote briefly in her diary about events in Europe: 'Hitler watched German siege of Warsaw. City in flames.' And, she continued, 'Had my wedding dress fitted. Lovely.' For Gladys Mason, and for thousands of women throughout the long years of the war, fashion was not simply a distraction, but a necessity - and one they weren't going to give up easily. In the face of bombings, conscription, rationing and ludicrous bureaucracy, they maintained a sense of elegance and style with determination and often astonishing ingenuity. From the young woman who avoided the dreaded 'forces bloomers' by making knickers from military-issue silk maps, to Vogue's indomitable editor Audrey Withers, who balanced lobbying government on behalf of her readers with driving lorries for the war effort, Julie Summers weaves together stories from ordinary lives and high society to provide a unique picture of life during the Second World War. As a nation went into uniform and women took on traditional male roles, clothing and beauty began to reflect changing social attitudes. For the first time, fashion was influenced not only by Hollywood and high society but by the demands of industrial production and the pressing need to 'make-do-and-mend'. Beautifully illustrated and full of gorgeous detail, Fashion on the Ration lifts the veil on a fascinating era in British fashion.
£9.99
Faber & Faber The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan
A rare, intimate portrait of Hollywood's reigning 'blockbuster auteur' whose deeply personal billion-dollar movies have established him as the most successful director to come out of the British Isles since Alfred Hitchcock.Updated, with a chapter on Oppenheimer'A masterclass . . . brilliant. Immersive, detailed, meticulous, privileged inside-dope.' - Craig Raine More than just the tinkerings of a glass watchmaker, Christopher Nolan's films have an unerring grasp of the way time makes us feel. Time steals people away in his films, and he takes careful note of the theft. Time is Nolan's great antagonist, his lifelong nemesis. He seems almost to take it personally.Written with the full cooperation of Nolan himself, who granted Tom Shone access to never-before-seen photographs, storyboards and sketches, the book is a deep-dive into the director's films, influences, methods and obsessions. Here for the first time is Nolan on his dislocated, transatlantic childhood, how he dreamed up the plot of Inception lying awake one night in his dorm at school, his colour-blindness and its effect on Memento, his obsession with puzzles and optical illusions - and much, much more. Written by one of our most penetrating critics, The Nolan Variations is a landmark study of one of the twenty-first century's most dazzling cinematic artists.'Christopher Nolan is a wonderfully unlikely contemporary filmmaker. We're fortunate indeed to have him, and fortunate now to have this book.' - William Gibson
£18.00
Little, Brown & Company My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean
Growing up in Beverly Hills, the only child of a comedy writer and a fashion designer, Amy Dresner believed that everything was always funny and turned out right. And she needed to believe it. If you could snort it, smoke it, shoot it, or have sex with it, she did. It was never her dream to become an Olympic athlete of self-destruction, but that's what happened.Amy had managed to dodge any real repercussions of her 20-year battle with addiction despite 6 rehabs, 4 psych wards, 3 suicide attempts, and 20 grand mal seizures. But on Christmas Eve of 2011, that all changed. She was high on Oxycontin, in a shitty marriage, and she stupidly pulled a knife on her then husband. She was promptly arrested for felony domestic violence with a deadly weapon. Within a few months, she found herself in a psych ward, penniless, abandoned by her then husband, and looking at a sentence of 240 grueling hours of "community service." For the next two years she would sweep up condoms and syringes on Hollywood Boulevard in the grueling sun as she bounced from various rehabs to halfway houses, all while struggling with sobriety, sex addiction, and starting life over in her 40s. MY FAIR JUNKIE is the shameless, hilarious, and unfortunately--to Amy--true account of it all. A safari through the wild world of addiction, it's a raucous, inspiring story of redemption, and ultimately an insightful tale of courage and metamorphosis.
£13.99
Ebury Publishing She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy
‘A funny and brutally honest book about what it means to be a woman and what it takes to be a creator, She Wants It is deeply personal but always universal in its unapologetic recounting of a life lived and raw talent shared. Good. Detailed. Honest. Needed’ - Amy PoehlerOne morning, half-awake in a shame spiral about what a shitty mother you are because you’re letting your kid watch so much TV, the phone rings. ‘Jilly? Are you sitting down?’Are you sitting down? means something fucked up is coming…When Jill Soloway’s father, whom they had always understood to be male, came out as transgender, everything shifted. For one, the moment became the inspiration to push through the male-dominated landscape of Hollywood and create the award-winning TV series Transparent. Exploring identity, love, sexuality, and the blurring of boundaries, the show gave birth to a new cultural consciousness. But also, by eventually coming out as queer and non-binary, the lines on Jill’s own gender map began to be erased. This is the story of that journey.She Wants It charts Jill's intense and revelatory experience, growing from straight, divorced, mother of two – to non-binary genderqueer director, show creator, and activist. Written with wild candour and razor-edged humour, it examines who we are, how we make art – and ultimately, who we can become.
£9.99
Penguin Random House Children's UK Bloodlines: The Ruby Circle (book 6)
Bloodlines: The Ruby Circle is the epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's bestselling Bloodlines series , set in the world of Vampire Academy - NOW A MAJOR FILM. Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives.After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world . . . Praise for Richelle Mead:'Exciting, empowering and un-put-downable.' MTV's Hollywood Crush'We're suckers for it!' - Entertainment WeeklyAlso available in the Bloodlines series:Bloodlines (Book 1)Bloodlines: The Golden Lily (Book 2)Bloodlines: The Indigo Spell (Book 3)Bloodlines: The Fiery Heart (Book 4)Bloodlines: Silver Shadows (Book 5)Discover where the story began in the Vampire Academy series:*NOW A MAJOR FILM*Vampire Academy (Book 1)Vampire Academy: Frostbite (Book 2) Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss (Book 3)Vampire Academy: Blood Promise (Book 4)Vampire Academy: Spirit Bound (Book 5) Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (Book 6)
£9.04
Penguin Random House Children's UK Bloodlines (book 1)
The first book in Richelle Mead's bestselling Bloodlines series, set in the world of the international #1 bestselling Vampire Academy series - NOW A MAJOR SERIES ON SKY AND NOWTV.SYDNEY PROTECTS VAMPIRE SECRETS - AND HUMAN LIVES.Sydney belongs to a secret group who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the world of humans and vampires.But when Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, she fears she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. What unfolds is far worse. The sister of Moroi queen Lissa Dragomir is in mortal danger, and goes into hiding. Now Sydney must act as her protector. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one . . .'Exciting, empowering and un-put-downable.' MTV's Hollywood Crush'We're suckers for it!' - Entertainment WeeklyAlso available in the Bloodlines series:Bloodlines (Book 1)Bloodlines: The Golden Lily (Book 2)Bloodlines: The Indigo Spell (Book 3)Bloodlines: The Fiery Heart (Book 4)*And don't miss: Bloodlines: Silver Shadows (Book 5)*Discover where the story began in the bestselling Vampire Academy series:Vampire Academy (Book 1)Vampire Academy: Frostbite (Book 2) Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss (Book 3)Vampire Academy: Blood Promise (Book 4)Vampire Academy: Spirit Bound (Book 5) Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (Book 6)
£9.04
University of Illinois Press Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music
Through film composer Henry Mancini, mere background music in movies became part of pop culture--an expression of sophistication and wit with a modern sense of cool and a lasting lyricism that has not dated. The first comprehensive study of Mancini's music, Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music describes how the composer served as a bridge between the Big Band period of World War II and the impatient eclecticism of the Baby Boomer generation, between the grand formal orchestral film scores of the past and a modern American minimalist approach. Mancini's sound seemed to capture the bright, confident, welcoming voice of the middle class's new efficient life: interested in pop songs and jazz, in movie and television, in outreach politics but also conventional stay-at-home comforts. As John Caps shows, Mancini easily combined it all in his music. Mancini wielded influence in Hollywood and around the world with his iconic scores: dynamic jazz for the noirish detective TV show Peter Gunn, the sly theme from The Pink Panther, and his wistful folk song "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Through insightful close readings of key films, Caps traces Mancini's collaborations with important directors and shows how he homed in on specific dramatic or comic aspects of the film to create musical effects through clever instrumentation, eloquent musical gestures, and meaningful resonances and continuities in his scores. Accessible and engaging, this fresh view of Mancini's oeuvre and influence will delight and inform fans of film and popular music. John Caps is an award-winning writer and producer of documentaries. He served as producer, writer, and host for four seasons of the National Public Radio syndicated series The Cinema Soundtrack, featuring interviews with and music of film composers. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. A volume in the series Music in American Life
£16.99
HarperCollins Publishers Cack-Handed: A Memoir
The British comedian of Nigerian heritage and co-executive producer and writer of the CBS hit series Bob Hearts Abishola chronicles her odyssey to get to America and break into Hollywood in this lively and humorous memoir. According to family superstition, Gina Yashere was born to fulfil the dreams of her grandmother Patience. The powerful first wife of a wealthy businessman, Patience was poisoned by her jealous sister-wives and marked with a spot on her neck. From birth, Gina carried a similar birthmark – a sign that she was her grandmother’s chosen heir, and would fulfil Patience’s dreams. Gina would learn to speak perfect English, live unfettered by men or children, work a man’s job, and travel the world with a free spirit. Is she the reincarnation of her grandmother? Maybe. Gina isn’t ruling anything out. In Cack-Handed, she recalls her intergenerational journey to success foretold by her grandmother and fulfilled thousands of miles from home. This hilarious memoir tells the story of how from growing up as a child of Nigerian immigrants in working class London, running from skinheads, and her overprotective mum, Gina went on to become the first female engineer with the UK branch of Otis, the largest elevator company in the world, where she went through a baptism of fire from her racist and sexist co-workers. Not believing her life was difficult enough, she later left engineering to become a stand up comic, appearing on numerous television shows and becoming one of the top comedians in the UK, before giving it all up to move to the US, a dream she’d had since she was six years old, watching American kids on television, riding cool bicycles, and solving crimes. A collection of eccentric, addictive, and uproarious stories that combine family, race, gender, class, and country, Cack-Handed reveals how Gina’s unconventional upbringing became the foundation of her successful career as an international comedian.
£9.99
Cornerstone My Fight Your Fight: The Official Ronda Rousey autobiography
*WINNER British Sports Book Awards SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR*Ronda's new memoir OUR FIGHT is available on 4th April, in Hardback'I have this one term for the kind of woman my mother raised me not to be, and I call it a ‘Do-Nothing B-tch'. It’s the kind of chick that just tries to be pretty and be taken care of by somebody else. That’s why I think it’s hilarious when people say that my body looks masculine or something. Just because my body was developed for a purpose other than f-cking millionaires, doesn’t mean it’s masculine. I think it’s femininely badass as f-ck because there isn’t a single muscle on my body that doesn’t have a purpose because I’m not a ‘Do-Nothing B-tch.'When Ronda Rousey made this speech she inspired women everywhere. Beyoncé even played a recording on-stage and it went viral. But Rousey has been inspiring others her whole career.The journey to the top for the most dominant mixed-martial-arts fighter in history has been filled with challenges. From a childhood marked by speech problems to the painful loss of her father, she grew up repeatedly pushing her mind and body to the limit in order to win. She battled prejudice to become the first female fighter in UFC. Now she is the biggest name in the sport, breaking attendance levels and re-writing the history books with her astonishing knockout victories, most in under a minute. She has also forged a successful Hollywood career as an actor.In this honest and inspiring book, Rousey relives her greatest fights and shares her secrets for success and mental toughness. She reveals how we can all be at our best, even on our worst days, and how we can turn our limitations into opportunities. It will leave you ready to face your own challenges in life, whatever they may be.
£10.99
Hachette Books The Great Peace: A Memoir
THE GREAT PEACE is a harrowing, heartbreaking coming-of-age story set in Hollywood, in which young teenage model-turned-actor Mena Suvari lost herself to sex, drugs and bad, often abusive relationships even as blockbuster movies made her famous. It's about growing up in the 90s, with a soundtrack ranging from The Doors to Deee-Lite, fashion from denim to day-glo, and a sad young woman dealing with the lasting psychological scars of losing her virginity against her will at age 12, believing she has little more to offer than her body, yet knowing deep inside she has and desires so much more from life.Inspired by Mena's relatively recent discovery of diary writings and poetry she wrote during this troubled time and then put in storage for years, this book builds on these entries with gritty authenticity and hard-earned maturity. Despite many years of interviews and many miles on the red carpet, Mena has never revealed any part of her challenging adolescence and early career. After years of being taken advantage of by older, more powerful men--a photographer, a manager, a DJ--Mena finally learned how to stand on her own two feet, and reclaimed the power that had been locked inside her the whole time.Within these vulnerable pages, Mena not only reveals her own mistakes, but also the lessons she learned and her efforts to understand and grow rather than casting blame. As such, she makes this a timeless story of girl empowerment and redemption, of somebody using their voice to rediscover their past and redeem and understand their mistakes, and ultimately come to terms with their power as an individual to find a way and a will to live--and thrive. Poignant, intimate, and powerful, this book will resonate with anyone who has found themselves lost in the darkness, thinking there's no way out. Ultimately, Mena's story proves that, no matter how hopeless it may seem, there's always a light at the end.
£22.00
Princeton University Press The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright
Neil Levine's study of the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, beginning with his work in Oak Park in the late 1880s and culminating in the construction of the Guggenheim museum in New York and the Marin County Civic Center in the 1950s, if the first comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the architect's entire career since the opening of the Wright Archives over a decade ago. The most celebrated and prolific of modern architects, Wright built more than four hundred buildings and designed at least twice as many more. The characteristic features of his work--the open plan, dynamic space, fragmented volumes, natural materials, and integral structure--established the basic way that we think about modern architecture. For a general audience, this engaging book provides an introduction to Wright's remarkable accomplishments, as seen against the background of his eventful and often tragic life. For the architect or the architectural historian, it will be an important source of new insights into the development of Wright's whole body of work. It integrates biographical and historical material in a chronologically ordered framework that makes sense of his enormously varied career, and it provides over four hundred illustrations running parallel to the text. Levine conveys the meanings of the continuities and changes that he sees I Wright's architecture and thought by focusing successive chapters on his most significant buildings, such as the Winslow House, Taliesin, Hollyhock House, Fallingwater, Tailsen west, and the Guggenheim Museum. A new understanding of the representational imagery and narrative structure of Wright's work, along with a much-needed reconsideration of its historical and contextual underpinnings, gives this study a unique place in the writings on Wright. In contrast to the emphasis a previous generation of critics and historians placed on Wright's earlier buildings, this book offers a broader perspective that sees Wright's later work as the culmination of his earlier efforts and the basis for a new understanding of the centrality of his career to the evolution of modern architecture as a whole.
£52.20
Transworld Publishers Ltd Open the Cage, Murphy!: Hilarious tales of the rise of Lily Savage
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'With typical razor-sharp wit and candour, Paul tells of his rise to fame as Lily Savage . . . Riveting.' Daily MirrorFrom Britain's most beloved TV star, Open the Cage, Murphy is an action-packed roller-coaster ride through a decade of Paul O'Grady's life, stuffed full to the gunwales with hilarious stories, extreme situations and outrageous one-liners.A must read for any Paul O'Grady fan, Open the Cage, Murphy follows his brilliant comic creation Lily Savage as she embraces success and world domination beckons.From being involved in a plane crash, to getting caught up in the LA riots and a close encounter with Madonna, the stories come thick and fast. Paul takes us with him to a gay-themed weekend in Butlin's in Skegness, on a rowdy tour with Prisoner Cell Block H - the Musical and into the depths of the Australian rainforest, where he befriends a rare bird that can disembowel a man with a single kick. The dramatis personae include a family of dolphins, Charlton Heston and the ghost of Joan of Arc - and there's a starring role for a certain remarkable dog, Buster Elvis Savage.But whether he's writing about star-studded Hollywood parties, the devastating loss of close friends to AIDS, or late night shenanigans at the end of Blackpool Pier, Paul's wit and humanity never desert him.Open the Cage, Murphy is a genuine delight - all the more so for being delightfully genuine.Readers love Open the Cage, Murphy!' I couldn't put it down . . . Paul comes across as a very intelligent man . . . with a heart of gold under that naughty exterior.' *****'This is such a great read, Paul is excellent when describing things makes you feel as though you are there with him. His humour warmth and caring comes out in abundance.' *****'An excellent read. He takes you through the highs and lows of his life, you laugh and cry with him.' *****
£10.99