Search results for ""Author Alice Randall""

An enthralling literary tour-de-force that pays tribute to Detroit's legendary neighborhood, a mecca for jazz, sports, and politics, Black Bottom Saints is a powerful blend of fact and imagination reminiscent of E.L. Doctorow's classic novel Ragtime and Marlon James' Man Booker Award-winning masterpiece, A Brief History of Seven Killings.From the Great Depression through the post-World War II years, Joseph “Ziggy” Johnson, has been the pulse of Detroit’s famous Black Bottom. A celebrated gossip columnist for the city’s African-American newspaper, the Michigan Chronicle, he is also the emcee of one of the hottest night clubs, where he’s rubbed elbows with the legendary black artists of the era, including Ethel Waters, Billy Eckstein, and Count Basie. Ziggy is also the founder and dean of the Ziggy Johnson School of Theater. But now the doyen of Black Bottom is ready to hang up his many dapper hats. As he lays dying in the black-owned-and-operated Kirkwood Hospital, Ziggy reflects on his life, the community that was the center of his world, and the remarkable people who helped shape it.Inspired by the Catholic Saints Day Books, Ziggy curates his own list of Black Bottom’s venerable "52 Saints." Among them are a vulnerable Dinah Washington, a defiant Joe Louis, and a raucous Bricktop. Randall balances the stories of these larger-than-life "Saints" with local heroes who became household names, enthralling men and women whose unstoppable ambition, love of style, and faith in community made this black Midwestern neighborhood the rival of New York City’s Harlem.Accompanying these “tributes” are thoughtfully paired cocktails—special drinks that capture the essence of each of Ziggy’s saints—libations as strong and satisfying as Alice Randall’s wholly original view of a place and time unlike any other.

Read more less

Alice Randall, award-winning professor, songwriter, and author with a “lively, engaging, and often wise” (The New York Times Book Review) voice, offers a lyrical, introspective, and unforgettable account of her past and her search for the first family of Black country music. Country music had brought Randall and her activist mother together and even gave Randall a singular distinction in American music history: she is the first Black woman to cowrite a number one country hit, Trisha Yearwood’s “XXX’s and OOO’s”. Randall found inspiration and comfort in the sounds and history of the first family of Black country music: DeFord Bailey, Lil Hardin, Ray Charles, Charley Pride, and Herb Jeffries who, together, made up a community of Black Americans rising through hard times to create simple beauty, true joy, and sometimes profound eccentricity. What emerges in My Black Country is a celebration of the most

Read more less

In Laura Lea Goldberg's new cookbook, The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook, the rubber of old-fashioned home-cooking meets the road of new healthy-food. With over 120 approachable, comforting, make-ahead recipes, this first cookbook from the creator of the popular "LLBalanced" website reaffirms that balance is possible: you can find the joy, relaxation, and healing of cooking for yourself, family, and friends during these frenetic times. All of the recipes in are simple, familiar, and no-fuss. The majority of the recipes come together in thirty minutes or less and all are appealing to kids and adults alike, can be modified for picky eaters or can be proudly served at a dinner party. The food isn't dogmatic: a little of everything is used and flexibility is the key. With a focus on quality and moderation, the healthy aspects don't hit you over the head. They just make you feel good. With helpful shopping lists and easy-to-follow menu plans, The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook will help any home cook create a foundation in the pantry and kitchen that will make the prospect of healthy cooking accessible and exciting, not stressful. It doesn't overthink things and focuses on consistency instead of perfection. In the end, The Laura Lea Balanced Cookbook will have you discovering the balance of cooking delicious, healthy meals at home while re-connecting with yourself, family, and friends.

Read more less