American Book Award Winner 2016The American Slave Coast offers a provocative vision of US history from earliest colonial times through emancipation that presents even the most familiar events and figures in a revealing new light.Authors Ned and Constance Sublette tell the brutal story of how the slavery industry made the reproductive labor of the people it referred to as "breeding women" essential to the young country's expansion. Captive African Ame...

This entertaining history of Cuba and its music begins with the collision of Spain and Africa and continues through the era of Miguelito Valdés, Arsenio Rodríguez, Benny Moré, and Pérez Prado. It offers a behind-the-scenes examination of music from a Cuban point of view, unearthing surprising, provocative connections and making the case that Cuba was fundamental to the evolution of music in the New World. The ways in which the music of black slaves transformed 16th-century Europe, how the ...

"An entertaining and informative glimpse of Bowie's public and private life, music and disappearance from this earth." — Shelf Media GroupDavid Bowie was a master of artifice and reinvention. In that same spirit, illustrator María Hesse and writer Fran Ruiz have created a vivid retelling of the life of David Robert Jones, from his working-class childhood to glam rock success to superstardom, concluding with the final recording sessions after his cancer dia...

A beautifully illustrated biography of the iconic lead singer of the British rock band, Queen.The music of Queen and powerhouse lead singer Freddie Mercury are best experienced with the volume turned all the way up. Alfonso Casas's Freddie Mercury delivers a sonorous homage to the formidable singer and the turning points that produced a game-changing body of music that continues to inspire fans around the globe.First published in Spain and now avai...

Arguing that pop music turns on moments rather than movements, the essays in Listen Again pinpoint magic moments from a century of pop eclecticism, looking at artists who fall between genre lines, songs that sponge up influences from everywhere, and studio accidents with unforeseen consequences. Listen Again collects some of the finest presentations from the celebrated Experience Music Project Pop Conference, where journalists, musicians, academics, and other culturemonge...

PARKER: A Miscellany is a nonfiction companion to John Connolly's bestselling Charlie Parker mysteries that uses music as a jumping-off point. The book includes introductions to each of the Parker novels, through A SONG OF SHADOWS; liner notes for each of the six CDs Connolly has compiled to go with hardcover editions of certain Parker novels; a long essay called “The Music Lover,” about his life as a fan; and revised versions of three previously published essays about Ch...

An expansive biography of David Bowie, one of the twentieth century’s greatest music and cultural icons.From noted author and rock ’n’ roll journalist Marc Spitz comes a major David Bowie biography to rival any other. Following Bowie’s life from his start as David Jones, an R & B—loving kid from Bromley, England, to his rise to rock ’n’ roll aristocracy as David Bowie, Bowie recounts his career but also reveals how much his music has influenced other musicians and forever changed t...

The authoritative portrait of one of Britain's greatest music icons: the late Freddie Mercury.'Exactly the sort of tribute Mercury himself would have wanted' - SPECTATORThis is the definitive biography of Freddie Mercury. Written by an award-winning rock journalist, Lesley-Ann Jones toured widely with Queen forming lasting friendships with the band. Now, having secured access to the remaining band members and those...

Ellen DeGeneres is a generous comedian, actress, talk show host, motivational speaker and business woman. Her career started in the 80`s when she was performing her stand up comedy acts in clubs and coffee shops. Her monologue a phone call to God opened many doors for her. She was invited to the Tonight Show and she never really looked back. In 1997, she made a bold move to admit on national television that she’s a lesbian. It had a huge effect on her life and career. Her talk show, “Ellen...

A definitive David Bowie biography, this intimate and richly detailed portrait explores the life, art, and enduring mystery of one of the most influential musicians and cultural icons of all time.From Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane to the Thin White Duke, David Bowie reinvented himself endlessly across five decades, shaping music, fashion, and popular culture while remaining perpetually ahead of his time. Gender-bending rebel, fearless songwriter, and visionary pe...

**THE DEFINITIVE, UP-TO-DATE BIOGRAPHY OF FREDDIE MERCURY**'An outstanding biography. . .a fitting testament to the creative genius' -- Daily Mail'Touches all manner of intriguing rock 'n' roll debauchery. . .fascinating reading' -- Time OutThis fascinating biography of Freddie Mercury has received outstanding acclaim from Queen and rock fans worldwide -- now revised and updated to coincide with th...

Originally collected in Chuck Klosterman IV and now available both as a stand-alone essay and in the ebook collection Chuck Klosterman on Rock, this essay is about Led Zeppelin.