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Mozart: A Life (Grandes Figures, Grandes Signatures Ser.)
By Peter Gay. 1999
A biography of the greatest musical mind in Western history Mozart's unshakable hold on the public's consciousness can only be…
strengthened by historian and biographer Peter Gay's concise and deft look at the genius's life. Mozart traces the development of the man whose life was a whirlwind of achievement, and the composer who pushed every instrument to its limit and every genre of classical music into new realms. .Life and Def
By Russell Simmons. 2001
Russell Simmons, the original and eternal hip-hop mogul, is one of the most innovative and influential figures in modern American…
business and culture. When no one outside of inner-city New York had even heard of hip-hop, Simmons saw the seeds of a global force that would change the way people talk, dress, listen to music, and choose the heroes they hang on their walls. Today, he oversees a sprawling, multimillion-dollar empire of culture-defining businesses in everything from music to fashion, advertising to film, and media to visual art. At the same time he's broadened his interests and influence and pushed hip-hop to new plateaus of power and relevance. Life and Def is a one-of-a-kind tale that interweaves the remarkable journey of Russell Simmons with the story of the culture he's transformed and been transformed by. In his own brash, compelling voice, Simmons chronicles his numerous business successes and occasional failures. He tells the story of the founding of the legendary Def Jam Records, whose roster stretches from original rap icons like L.L. Cool J, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys to today's top stars, including Jay-Z and DMX. He traces the launching of Def Comedy Jam, the long-running hit television series that introduced a new generation of black comedic stars to America, from Martin Lawrence and Bill Bellamy to Bernie Mac and Chris Rock. He spins hilarious tales of his adventures in Hollywood, where he's produced hit movies like Eddie Murphy's The Nutty Professor and worked with quirky geniuses like Abel Ferrara. He also tells the story of Phat Farm, the wildly successful pioneering urban clothing label whose origins lay in Russell's longtime fascination with fashion (and fashion models).Simmons's story is also one of personal transformation, from the driven man who in the heady days of early success indulged himself with drugs, sex, and world-class decadence to the husband and father he is today, a man who has found meaning in activism, philanthropy, and spiritual practice while never losing his passion for the social, political, artistic, and commercial potential of hip-hop.Through it all he relates telling anecdotes about the characters he's dealt with: models and gangsters, street poets and gurus, and major players like Donald Trump, Sean Combs, Jon Peters, and Tupac Shakur. Full of advice, opinions, and behind-the-scenes scoop, Life and Def is the story of the quintessential hip-hop life.From the Hardcover edition.Tank Warfare
By Kenneth Macksey. 2013
After its introduction during the First World War, the tank revolutionized warfare and proved to be a terrifying and efficient…
machine of war. Kenneth Macksey provides a study of the policy-makers and tank strategists, the technical and tactical development, as well as presenting the story of the tank on the battlefield--the split-second decisions, the battle-weary crews, and the endless mud in this fascinating and detailed account of tank warfare.Tank Warfare delves into the history of the tank, its formation and early prototypes, as well as how it came to be the master of the land battle, becoming Hitler's driving force for Blitzkrieg and changing the course of the battle of El Alamein.The Origins of World War I
By Holger H. Herwig, Richard F. Hamilton. 2003
This work poses a straightforward - yet at the same time perplexing - question about World War I: Why did…
it happen? Several of the oft-cited causes are reviewed and discussed. The argument of the alliance systems is inadequate, lacking relevance or compelling force. The arguments of mass demands, those focusing on nationalism, militarism and social Darwinism, it is argued, are insufficient, lacking indications of frequency, intensity, and process (how they influenced the various decisions). The work focuses on decision-making, on the choices made by small coteries, in Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France, Britain and elsewhere. The decisions made later by leaders in Japan, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, the Balkans, and the United States are also explored. The final chapters review the 'basic causes' once again. An alternative position is advanced, one focused on elites and coteries, their backgrounds and training, and on their unique agendas.State, society and mobilization in Europe during the First World War
By John Horne. 1997
This volume examines political and cultural mobilisation in the face of industrialised mass death during the First World War. Comparing…
Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, it generates arguments on mobilisation and 'total war' which have wider relevance. It explores 'national ideals' which cast the war as a crusade, the inclusive 'self-mobilisation' of sectional identities and private organisations behind national efforts, and the exclusion of suspect groups (the 'enemy within') from the mobilisation process. It also highlights the importance, and difficulty, of assessing the limits of mobilisation as well as the differing capacities of the state to sustain it, factors related to prior degrees of national integration and political legitimacy. Mobilisation in this sense was an important factor which determined the outcome and legacy of the war.Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed
By Paul Trynka. 2007
"Fellow rock stars, casual members of the public, lords and media magnates, countless thousands of people will talk of their…
encounters with this driven, talented, indomitable creature, a man who has plumbed the depths of depravity, yet emerged with an indisputable nobility. Each of them will share an admiration and appreciation of the contradictions and ironies of his incredible life. Even so, they are unlikely to fully comprehend both the heights and the depths of his experience, for the extremes are simply beyond the realms of most people's understanding." --from the Prologue. The first full biography of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest pioneers and legendary wild men. Born James Newell Osterberg Jr., Iggy Pop transcended life in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to become a member of the punk band the Stooges, thereby earning the nickname "the Godfather of Punk." He is one of the most riveting and reckless performers in music history, with a commitment to his art that is perilously total. But his personal life was often a shambles, as he struggled with drug addiction, mental illness, and the ever-problematic question of commercial success in the music world. That he is even alive today, let alone performing with undiminished energy, is a wonder. The musical genres of punk, glam, and New Wave were all anticipated and profoundly influenced by his work.Paul Trynka, former editor of Mojo magazine, has spent much time with Iggy's childhood friends, lovers, and fellow musicians, gaining a profound understanding of the particular artistic culture of Ann Arbor, where Iggy and the Stooges were formed in the mid to late sixties. Trynka has conducted over 250 interviews, has traveled to Michigan, New York, California, London, and Berlin, and, in the course of the last decade or so at Mojo, has spoken to dozens of musicians who count Iggy as an influence. This has allowed him to depict, via real-life stories from members of bands like New Order and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iggy's huge influence on the music scene of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, as well as to portray in unprecedented detail Iggy's relationship with his enigmatic friend and mentor David Bowie. Trynka has also interviewed Iggy Pop himself at his home in Miami for this book. What emerges is a fascinating psychological study of a Jekyll/Hyde personality: the quietly charismatic, thoughtful, well-read Jim Osterberg hitched to the banshee creation and alter ego that is Iggy Pop.Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed is a truly definitive work--not just about Iggy Pop's life and music but also about the death of the hippie dream, the influence of drugs on human creativity, the nature of comradeship, and the depredations of fame.The Facts Of Life and Other Dirty Jokes: and Other Dirty Jokes
By Willie Nelson. 2002
For more than 50 years, Willie Nelson has taken the stuff of his life -- the good and the bad…
-- and made it a permanent part of our musical heritage and kept us company through the good and the bad of our own lives. Born in 1933, Willie Nelson is one of the most popular, prolific, and influential songwriters and singers in the history of Amer. music. Long before he became famous as a performer, he was a songwriter, keeping his young family afloat by writing songs that other people turned into hits. So it's fitting that he has finally set down in his own words a book that does justice to his gifts as a storyteller. Here, Nelson reflects on what has mattered to him in life and what hasn't. Also tells some great dirty jokes. The result is a book as wise and hilarious as its author. B&W photos.Lawrence of Arabia
By Giuseppe Rava, David Murphy. 2011
Thomas Edward Lawrence, more popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, was one of the most iconic figures of the 20th…
century, immortalized on stage and screen, whose exploits in the Middle East in the second half of World War I helped shape the campaign in that part of the world. In the course of two brief years, Lawrence emerged as one of the main strategic and tactical minds behind the Arab Revolt. He went from being an obscure staff officer to the rank of full colonel and became one of the men who shaped the modern Middle East. From being a pure amateur, he also developed desert tactics that would be used throughout World War II and afterwards. This new Command title provides an in-depth analysis of every aspect of Lawrence's storied military career.From the Trade Paperback edition.Still Grazing: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela
By Hugh Masekela, D. Michael Cheers. 2004
Hugh Masekela, a prodigiously talented giant of jazz and world music and one of today's few living world-class artists narrates…
a magical journey around the world in this epic, music-soaked tale of love, excess, exile, and home. Unfolding against the backbeat of the most revolutionary musical movements of the last forty years and one of the most inspiring political transformations of the twentieth century, this is the utterly engrossing and deeply effecting chronicle of a remarkable, one-of-a-kind life.Selected Correspondence of Charles Ives
By Tom C. Owens. 2007
This volume of 453 letters written by and to composer Charles Ives (1874-1954) provides an insight into one of the…
most extraordinary and paradoxical careers in American music history. This book opens a direct window on Ives's complex personality and his creative process.Jascha Heifetz
By Alexandra Wiktorek, Galina Kopytova, Dario Sarlo. 2014
Notoriously reticent about his early years, violinist Jascha Heifetz famously reduced the story of his childhood to "Born in Russia.…
First lessons at 3. Debut in Russia at 7. Debut in Carnegie Hall at 17. That's all there is to say." Tracing his little-known upbringing, Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia uncovers the events and experiences that shaped one of the modern era's most unique talents and enigmatic personalities. Using previously unstudied archival materials and interviews with family and friends, this biography explores Heifetz's meteoric rise in the Russian music world--from his first violin lessons with his father, to his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with the well-known pedagogue Leopold Auer, to his tours throughout Russia and Europe. Spotlighting Auer's close-knit circle of musicians, Galina Kopytova underscores the lives of artists in Russia's "Silver Age"--an explosion of artistic activity amid the rapid social and political changes of the early 20th century.Kane County: The War Years (Images of America)
By Kevin J. Gaffney. 2017
The declaration of war in 1917 and the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, stirred…
the men and women of Kane County, Illinois, to action and service. In World War I, many in Kane County joined the Illinois National Guard 3rd Regiment, 65th and 66th Brigades, and 129th and 131st Infantries of the 33rd Infantry Division. Many of the men also served in the infantry regiments of the 1st Division, known also as the “Big Red One.” They trained for war in places like Camp Deneen in Elgin, Camp Grant in Rockford, and Camp Logan in Houston, Texas. In World War II, Kane County’s men performed on the war’s biggest stages, aiding in Operation Torch, Operation Husky, and the invasion of Normandy. The women of Kane County also served overseas in both world wars as Red Cross nurses and WAVES, and domestically, they worked in factories, supporting in many vital ways.The Canadian Corps in World War I
By Gerry Embleton, Rene Chartrand. 2007
In 1914 with a regular army of only 3,110 men Canada was ill-prepared to enter World War I (1914-1918). Yet,…
in a display of incredible unanimity thousands of young Canadians volunteered to fight for the Allied cause. Ultimately the Canadian contribution was the most important non-British contingent within the vast Allied armies with a total of nearly 700,000 Canadians in uniform. For a nation of only 8 million people this was a remarkable war effort and nearly one of every ten who fought in the war did not return. The Canadians served in all the major conflicts on the Western Front; they were the first troops to suffer a gas attack in 1915 and served at Ypres and the Somme. The Canadian Corps is most famously remembered for their victory at Vimy Ridge one of the major successes of the war. This victory was also a national coming of age, having started the war as a single division under British command, here for the first time the four divisions of the Canadian Corps had attacked and triumphed together. This national identity was reinforced by the use of their own uniforms, insignia, weapons and equipment which are superbly illustrated within this book. This book also includes a complete listing of units, battalion by battalion, summarizing their proud service record throughout the course of the war including their service on the Western Front, at sea and in the air. The poignant photographs, specially commissioned colour artwork and detailed service records will give a unique insight into the war experiences of the Canadian soldier which ultimately contributed to a real sense of Canadian national identity.Deadheads: Stories from Fellow Artists, Friends & Followers of the Grateful Dead
By Linda Kelly. 1995
"One of the best books on the Grateful Dead. " --Rolling Stone Just what was it about the Grateful Dead…
that made them rock and roll’s most beloved band? In Deadheads, those with the real story, who were there and are still listening to the music, explain it all. Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow talks about his lifelong friendship with Dead guitarist Bob Weir. Cajun chef Rick Begneaud shares his memories of feeding the Dead. John Popper of Blues Traveler recalls playing with the Dead at Bill Graham’s memorial tribute, while publicist Dennis McNally shares some wild adventures of working with the band for more than thirty years. Author Linda Kelly recalls being dragged to her very first Dead show, hanging with Jerry in New York City, and more. First-show revelations, backstage adventures, parking lot hoopla, how-to-live-life philosophies, strange tangential experiences stemming from being in that certain place at that certain time--these intriguing anecdotes evoke wonderful images, lots of smiles, and a close look into a fascinating phenomenon in the history of music. This twentieth-anniversary edition of Deadheads celebrates fifty years of music and includes the best stories from the original 1995 edition, two new chapters, as well as new interviews with various friends, artists, and followers of the Grateful Dead.The Memory of All That: "George Gershwin, Kay Swift, and My Family's Legacy of Infidelities
By Katharine Weber. 2011
The Memory of All That is Katharine Weber's memoir of her extraordinary family. Her maternal grandmother, Kay Swift, was known…
both for her own music (she was the first woman to compose the score to a hit Broadway show, Fine and Dandy) and for her ten-year romance with George Gershwin. Their love affair began during Swift's marriage to James Paul Warburg, the multitalented banker and economist who advised (and feuded with) FDR. Weber creates an intriguing and intimate group portrait of the renowned Warburg family, from her great-great-uncle, the eccentric art historian Aby Warburg, whose madness inspired modern theories of iconography, to her great-grandfather Paul M. Warburg, the architect of the Federal Reserve System whose unheeded warnings about the stock-market crash of 1929 made him "the Cassandra of Wall Street." Her mother, Andrea Swift Warburg, married Sidney Kaufman, but their unlikely union, Weber believes, was a direct consequence of George Gershwin's looming presence in the Warburg family. A notorious womanizer, Weber's father was a peripatetic filmmaker who made propaganda and training films for the OSS during World War II before producing the first movie with smells, the regrettable flop that was AromaRama. He was as much an enigma to his daughter as he was to the FBI, which had him under surveillance for more than forty years, and even noted Katharine's birth in a memo to J. Edgar Hoover.Colorful, evocative, insightful, and very funny, The Memory of All That is an enthralling look at a tremendously influential--and highly eccentric--family, as well as a consideration of how their stories, with their myriad layers of truth and fiction, have both provoked and influenced one of our most prodigiously gifted writers.Mauser Military Rifles
By Peter Dennis, Neil Grant. 2015
The history of the iconic Mauser family of German bolt-action rifles is told here in extensive detail. Drawing on first-hand…
accounts of the weapons in combat and fascinating primary sources regarding their mechanical performance, this fully illustrated study charts the Mauser's origins, combat record and lasting influence. It explores the full range of Mauser rifles, beginning with the hugely successful Gew 98, which entered service in the time of the Kaiser, provided the basis for the US Springfield M1093 and equipped combatants as diverse as the South African Boers. It also investigates the Kar 98k, which was still in front-line use with Wehrmacht troops in 1945, saw use with Mexican and Yugoslavian forces, and even played a role in the 1990s Balkan conflicts in the hands of snipers. Featuring expert analysis, specially commissioned artwork and gripping first-hand accounts, this volume ideal for anyone seeking an understanding of these sturdy and accurate rifles' unique place in the history of small-unit tactics in the 20th century.Glow
By David Ritz, Rick James. 1979
Best known for his song "Super Freak," hitmaker, singer, innovator, producer, award-winning pioneer in the fusion of funk groove and…
rock, the late Rick James collaborated with music biographer David Ritz in this posthumously published, wildly entertaining, and profound expression of a rock star's life and soul.He was the nephew of Temptations singer Melvin Franklin; a boy who watched and listened, mesmerized from underneath cocktail tables at the shows of Etta James and Miles Davis. He was a vagrant hippie who wandered to Toronto, where he ended up playing with Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, and he became a household name in the 1980s with his hit song "Super Freak." Later in life, he was a bad boy who got caught up in drug smuggling and ended up in prison. But since his passing in August 2004, Rick James has remained a legendary icon whose name is nearly synonymous with funk music--and who popularized the genre, creating a lasting influence on pop artists from Prince to Jay-Z to Snoop Dogg, among countless others. In Glow, Rick James and acclaimed music biographer David Ritz collaborated to write a no-holds-barred memoir about the boy and the man who became a music superstar in America's disco age. It tells of James's upbringing and how his mother introduced him to musical geniuses of the time. And it reveals details on many universally revered artists, from Marvin Gaye and Prince to Nash, Teena Marie, and Berry Gordy. James himself said, "My journey has taken me through hell and back. It's all in my music--the parties, the pain, the oversized ego, the insane obsessions." But despite his bad boy behavior, James was a tremendous talent and a unique, unforgettable human being. His "glow" was an overriding quality that one of his mentors saw in him--and one that will stay with this legendary figure who left an indelible mark on American popular music.US Navy Dreadnoughts 1914-45
By Paul Wright, Ryan Noppen. 2014
When the United States went to war with Spain in April 1898, few European observers believed the small and relatively…
inexperienced American navy could achieve a decisive naval victory over an established European colonial power. In less than five months however, two Spanish naval squadrons lay at the bottom of the seas and the once great Spanish Empire ceded its last colonies in Asia and the New World to the upstart Americans. Admiral George Dewey, victor at the battle of Manila Bay, became a demigod in the eyes of the American media and public overnight and the excitement of new conquests overseas breathed new life into the traditional American expansionist doctrine of Manifest Destiny. The American naval hubris that developed in the wake of the Spanish-American War in reality rested on only a handful of modern battleships in a navy that was an obsolescent coastal defense force only ten years before. No one understood this better than Theodore Roosevelt. An expansionist who fought with distinction during the war with Spain and an advocate of the sea power theories of Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, Roosevelt knew the present American navy was not strong enough to defend American shores against the larger navies of Europe let alone those of a new empire. European powers still skirted the Monroe Doctrine as evidenced by the British-German-Italian blockade of Venezuela from 1902-03 and the Dutch FI Venezuela War of 1908, and the United States was increasingly threatened in the Philippines, Samoa, and the Caroline and Marshall Islands by the imperial ambitions of Germany and Japan. To remedy the lack of naval preparedness for America's sudden emergence as a world power, Roosevelt and the United States embarked on rapid naval building program. To emphasize America's growing naval prowess and to demonstrate his "speak softly and carry a big stick" approach to foreign policy, Roosevelt sent the Great White Fleet, a squadron composed of sixteen battleships (all commissioned after 1898), to circumnavigate the globe, a great technical and logistical feat for the time. As impressive as the spectacle of the Great White Fleet was, all of the ships in it were quickly being rendered obsolescent by the dreadnought-type battleships coming into service in Great Britain and Germany. This did not catch the United States off-guard however for as the Great White Fleet was completing its world cruise, the USS South Carolina, America's first dreadnought whose design pre-dated that of HMS Dreadnought, was already fitting out. By the beginning of World War I, the United States possessed the third largest navy in the world and had ten dreadnoughts in service with four more under construction.The Great War at Sea
By Lawrence Sondhaus. 2014
This is a major new naval history of the First World War which reveals the decisive contribution of the war…
at sea to Allied victory. In a truly global account, Lawrence Sondhaus traces the course of the campaigns in the North Sea, Atlantic, Adriatic, Baltic and Mediterranean and examines the role of critical innovations in the design and performance of ships, wireless communication and firepower. He charts how Allied supremacy led the Central Powers to attempt to revolutionize naval warfare by pursuing unrestricted submarine warfare, ultimately prompting the United States to enter the war. Victory against the submarine challenge, following their earlier success in sweeping the seas of German cruisers and other surface raiders, left the Allies free to use the world's sea lanes to transport supplies and troops to Europe from overseas territories, and eventually from the United States, which proved a decisive factor in their ultimate victory.Kenzie's Rules for Life: How to Be Happy, Healthy, and Dance to Your Own Beat
By Maddie Ziegler, Mackenzie Ziegler. 2018
An inspirational, upbeat collection of relatable lessons from the teen sensation, Mackenzie Ziegler—an award-winning dancer, singer/songwriter, and actress.Growing up is…
hard, but growing up in the spotlight is even harder. However, Mackenzie Ziegler is taking it all in stride, thanks to her positive attitude on life. From getting her start on Dance Moms, to her sold-out tour alongside Johnny Orlando, there’s nothing that she can’t do. In Kenzie’s Rules for Life, the dance prodigy, singer/songwriter, actress, and model offers her advice on friendship, family, fitness, style, and positivity. She shares lessons drawn from her own experiences for those navigating through their tween years on how to be happy, healthy, and confident in all aspects of their lives.