'I'm going to camp out on the land … try and get my soul free'. So sang Joni Mitchell in 1970 on 'Woodstock'. But Woodstock is only the tip of the iceberg. Popular music festivals are one of the strikingly successful and enduring features of seasonal popular cultural consumption for young people and older generations of enthusiasts. From pop and rock to folk, jazz and techno, under stars and canvas, dancing in the streets and in the mud, the pleasures and politics of the carnival since the...

In Circular Breathing, George McKay, a leading chronicler of British countercultures, uncovers the often surprising ways that jazz has accompanied social change during a period of rapid transformation in Great Britain. Examining jazz from the founding of George Webb’s Dixielanders in 1943 through the burgeoning British bebop scene of the early 1950s, the Beaulieu Jazz Festivals of 1956–61, and the improvisational music making of the 1960s and 1970s, McKay reveals the connections o...

Given the explosion in recent years of scholarship exploring the ways in which disability is manifested and performed in numerous cultural spaces, it’s surprising that until now there has never been a single monograph study covering the important intersection of popular music and disability. George McKay’s Shakin’ All Over is a cross-disciplinary examination of the ways in which popular music performers have addressed disability: in their songs, in their live performances, and in ...

In 'George Muller of Bristol' by Arthur T. Pierson, readers are taken on a journey through the life of George Muller, a remarkable figure known for his faith and dedication. Pierson's detailed account not only showcases Muller's philanthropic works but also delves into the religious and social context of 19th-century England. The book's narrative style is engaging and informative, providing readers with insights into Muller's unconventional methods and unwavering beliefs. Pierson masterful...

Drop the Rope in Your Tug-of-War with AngerIf you've tried to control problem anger before with little success, this book offers you a fundamentally new approach and new hope. Instead of struggling even harder to manage or eliminate your anger, you can stop anger feelings from determining who you are and how you live your life. Based on a revolutionary psychological approach called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), the techniques in ACT on Life Not on Anger ...

Winner of an Abraham Lincoln Institute Book AwardThough not blind to Abraham Lincoln's imperfections, Black Americans long ago laid a heartfelt claim to his legacy. At the same time, they have consciously reshaped the sixteenth president's image for their own social and political ends. Frederick Hord and Matthew D. Norman's anthology explores the complex nature of views on Lincoln through the writings and thought of Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Mc...

No Future. Punk is Dead. That is what was sung and said. Yet as we approach 50 years of punk rock, it still endures, and sometime thrives. From 'White riot' to Pussy Riot, Never Mind the Bollocks to Nevermind, DIY to never gonna die, punk rock has marked or stained-it marks or stains-our musical and cultural history and practice. Here key established writers as well as emerging scholars from around the world offer critical views on punk practice and legacy, in a timely re-evaluati...

So many of us postpone pursuing our goals and dreams because we think we'll get to them later, when we have more time or feel we're worthy of them. As a result, many of us go through life feeling weighed down by daily responsibilities and our own self-doubts, entirely disconnected from a sense of real purpose.Based in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and powerful mindfulness practices,Your Life on Purpose is about doing what matters to you every day...

A masterful new novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling Longmire seriesWhen Pepper McKay, one of the most hated men in Absaroka County, is found murdered on his ranch in Crazy Woman Canyon, suspects aren’t in short supply. But Sheriff Walt Longmire’s attention is on those who had gathered for a family meeting that evening, McKay’s very different sons: a smooth-talking charmer, a cosmopolitan journalist, a reclusive...

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poet...

The courteous reader in tracing the fate of Tecumseh, as depicted in the pages of his life, will not fail to observe the strong analogy between the religious sentiments of the chief of the forest, and those of the ancient Hebrews. The language as uttered by Tecumseh is not written by the pen of fiction, merely to uphold a theory of the brain, but gathered from the archives of a people's history, to support a theory of apparent truth. The present writer will not yield to any man in the firm...

Poems for Middle and High School StudentsRead by Connie Dangel and Martin Siemienski