He sailed to the edge of the world to forget her. Fate brought her right back to him.To the crew of the legendary Captain Skull, he is Sir Charles of Riley—a daring pirate gentleman of the Caribbean and the Spanish Main. But before the lace, the plumes, and the flashing steel, he was just Charles: a young man who left his heart on the tropical island of Jamaica.Falling in love with Lady Rebecca Armstrong was his first mistake; discovering she was wed to his...

A KINGDOM ON THE BRINK. A CHÂTEAU OF SECRETS.France, 1627. The drums of war beat loudly, but inside the drawing-rooms of the elite, an entirely different battle is being waged.The cynical, beautiful Lucy Du Bois has no time for the romantic advances of François D'Ambry, a handsome but low-born soldier. But when whispers of conspiracy that extend to the highest levels of the royal court reach Lucy's ears, her pampered world begins to shatter. Guided by her c...

What if the foundational timeline of France's most famous Musketeer is built entirely on a twentieth-century error?For over a decade, mainstream historians have asserted that Charles de Batz de Castelmore—the real-life d'Artagnan—arrived in Paris around 1630. This consensus effectively consigns the legendary camaraderie between d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to the realm of total fiction, claiming they could never have served together.But the mainst...

Chasing the Rising Sun is the story of an American musical journey told by a prize-winning writer who traced one song in its many incarnations as it was carried across the world by some of the most famous singers of the twentieth century.Most people know the song "House of the Rising Sun" as 1960s rock by the British Invasion group the Animals, a ballad about a place in New Orleans -- a whorehouse or a prison or gambling joint that's been the ruin of many poor girls or boy...

The result of careful research, this stylish biography of infamous blues musician Robert Johnson reveals the real story behind the mythical talent that made him a musical legend. According to some, Robert Johnson learned guitar by trading his soul away to the Devil at a crossroads in rural Mississippi. When he died at age 27 of a mysterious poisoning, many superstitious fans came to believe that the Devil had returned to take his due. This diligent study of Johnson’s life debunks these myt...

From the acclaimed author of Last Train to Memphis, this is the definitive biography of Sam Cooke, one of most influential singers and songwriters of all time.Sam Cooke was among the first to blend gospel music and secular themes -- the early foundation of soul music. He was the opposite of Elvis: a black performer who appealed to white audiences, who wrote his own songs, who controlled his own business destiny.No biography has previously been writ...

A companion book to the PBS documentary series exploring the history of the blues and its contribution to American culture and music worldwide.A companion to the groundbreaking documentary series, this volume is a unique and timeless celebration of the blues, from writers and artists as esteemed and revered as the music that moved them.Included in this stunning collection are:Essays by David Halberstam, Hilton Als, Suzan-Lori Parks, Elmore Leona...

The legendary critic and author of Mystery Train "ingeniously retells the tale of rock and roll" ( Publishers Weekly, starred review).Unlike previous versions of rock 'n' roll history, this book omits almost every iconic performer and ignores the storied events and turning points everyone knows. Instead, in a daring stroke, Greil Marcus selects ten songs and dramatizes how each embodies rock 'n' roll as a thing in itself, in the story it tells, in...

Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan's life in music is revisited by his foremost interpreter -- weaving individual moods and moments into a brilliant history of their changing times.The book begins in Berkeley in 1968, and ends with a piece on Dylan's show at the University of Minnesota -- his very first appearance at his alma mater -- on election night 2008. In between are moments of euphoric discovery: From Marcus's liner notes for the 1967 Basement Tapes (pop music's m...

The life of blues legend Robert Johnson becomes the centerpiece for this innovative look at what many consider to be America's deepest and most influential music genre. Pivotal are the questions surrounding why Johnson was ignored by the core black audience of his time yet now celebrated as the greatest figure in blues history.Trying to separate myth from reality, biographer Elijah Wald studies the blues from the inside -- not only examining recordings but also the recollections of...

NPR Best Books of 2017In this sweeping history of popular music in the United States, NPR's acclaimed music critic examines how popular music shapes fundamental American ideas and beliefs, allowing us to communicate difficult emotions and truths about our most fraught social issues, most notably sex and race.In Good Booty, Ann Powers explores how popular music became America's primary erotic art form. Powers takes us from nineteenth-century New Orl...

Praised as "suave, soulful, ebullient" (Tom Waits) and "a meticulous researcher, a graceful writer, and a committed contrarian" (New York Times Book Review), Elijah Wald is one of the leading popular music critics of his generation. In The Blues, Wald surveys a genre at the heart of American culture. It is not an easy thing to pin down. As Howlin' Wolf once described it, "When you ain't got no money and can't pay your house rent and can't buy you no food, you've damn sure...