A raw, poignant, and often hilarious look inside the troubled life and mind of an American comic icon

From his harrowing childhood filled with physical and emotional abuse, to a lifetime of alcoholism and self-mutilation, psychiatric hospitalizations and misdiagnoses, to the peak of fame and success as the longest-tenured cast member of Saturday Night Live (where his hilarious dead-on impressions of Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Chris Matthews, and a hundred other prominent figures ushered him to the peak of stardom), Darrell Hammond delves into the darkest corners of his life, both in front of and behind the camera, with brutal honesty and fierce comic wit.

He believed the dog was immortal.

So begins Susan Orlean’s sweeping, powerfully moving story of Rin Tin Tin’s journey from orphaned puppy to movie star and international icon. From the moment in 1918 when Corporal Lee Duncan discovers Rin Tin Tin on a World War I battlefield, he recognizes something in the pup that he needs to share with the world. Rin Tin Tin’s improbable introduction to Hollywood leads to the dog’s first blockbuster film and over time, the many radio programs, movies, and television shows that follow. The canine hero’s legacy is cemented by Duncan and a small group of others who devote their lives to keeping him and his descendants alive.

    

At its heart, Rin Tin Tin is a poignant exploration of the enduring bond between humans and animals. But it is also a richly textured history of twentieth-century entertainment and entrepreneurship and the changing role of dogs in the American family and society. Almost ten years in the making, Susan Orlean’s first original book since The Orchid Thief is a tour de force of history, human interest, and masterful storytelling—the ultimate must-read for anyone who loves great dogs or great yarns.

Sure, he’s an excitable guy.
Sure, he loves to complain.
But Regis Philbin loves life . . . and with the wildly unpredictable one he’s led so far, who wouldn’t? After five decades in show business—and nearly 17,000 unforgettable hours on television—he has a lifetime’s worth of stories to share.

In this entertaining memoir, the irrepressible Reege—consummate talk-show host, man-about-town, loving husband, father, and yes, obsessive sports fan—looks back at his years in show business. How I Got This Way is filled with stories of lessons learned—and elbows rubbed—with extraordinary, and often unsuspecting, teachers: David Letterman; Donald Trump; George Clooney; Howard Stern; Jack Nicholson; legendary Notre Dame coaches Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, and Lou Holtz; and, of course, longtime cohosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly “Pippa” Ripa; as well as his own lovely wife, Joy—to name just a few.

Whether he’s revealing what really drove him “bonkers” on the set of Seinfeld, how he survived the first known bomb scare on live TV, what Jack Nicholson said about his beautiful leading ladies during their guys’ night out together, or poignant memories of his last moments with his idol and dear friend, Jack Paar, Regis packs every page with his signature heart, wit, dynamic energy, and gratitude for everything life has brought him.

Rosamond Bernier has lived an unusually full life—remarkable for its vividness and diversity of experience—and she has known many (one is tempted to say all) of the greatest artists and composers of the twentieth century.

In Some of My Lives, Bernier has made a kind of literary scrapbook from an extraordinary array of writings, ranging from diary entries to her many contributions to the art journal L’OEIL, which she cofounded in 1955. The result is a multifaceted self-portrait of a life informed and surrounded by the arts.

Through the stories of her encounters with some of the twentieth century’s great artists and composers—including Pablo Picasso, Leonard Bernstein, Max Ernst, Aaron Copeland, Malcolm Lowry, and Karl Lagerfeld—we come to understand the sheer richness of Bernier’s experiences, interactions, and memories. The result is pithy, hilarious, and wise—a richly rewarding chronicle of many lives fully lived.

When it was first published in 1993, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven established Sherman Alexie as a stunning new talent of American letters. The basis for the award-winning movie Smoke Signals, it remains one of his most beloved and widely praised books. In this darkly comic collection, Alexie brilliantly weaves memory, fantasy, and stark realism to paint a complex, grimly ironic portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation. These twenty-two interlinked tales are narrated by characters raised on humiliation and government-issue cheese, and yet are filled with passion and affection, myth and dream. Against a backdrop of alcohol, car accidents, laughter, and basketball, Alexie depicts the distances between Indians and whites, reservation Indians and urban Indians, men and women, and, most poetically, modern Indians and the traditions of the past.

Winner of the Nov. 2010 National Book Award

Just Kids   is Patti Smith's evocative, honest, and moving coming-of-age story. In it, Patti reveals her extraordinary relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe. Part romance, part elegy,  Just Kids  is about friendship in the truest sense, and the artist's calling.  It's a salute to New York City during the late sixties and seventies and to its rich and poor, its hustlers and hellions. A true fable,  Just Kids  is a portrait of two young artists’ ascent, a prelude to fame.

Patti Smith would evolve as a poet and performer, and Robert Mapplethorpe would direct his highly provocative style toward photography. It was a time of heightened awareness, when the worlds of poetry, rock and roll, art, and sexual politics were colliding and exploding. In this milieu, two kids made a pact to take care of each other. Scrappy, romantic, committed to create, and fueled by their mutual dreams and drives, they would prod and provide for one another during the hungry years.

Patricia Lee ("Patti") Smith  is an American singer-songwriter poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called the "Godmother of Punk", her work was a fusion of rock and poetry.  Patti’s most widely known song, “Because the Night,” co-written with Bruce Springsteen, reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.  In 2005, Patti was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture.  In 2007,  Patti was inducted into the Rock and roll Hall of Fame.  Patti was the recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize.

Robert Mapplethorpe was born Nov. 4, 1946. He was an American photographer known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men. Mapplethorpe lived with his partner Patti Smith from 1967–1974. The couple created art together, and even after he realized he was gay they maintained a close relationship up until the time he died. Mapplethorpe died from complications of AIDS March 9, 1989 at the age of 42. But nearly a year before his death, the ailing Mapplethorpe helped found the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, Inc. Since his death, the Foundation has not only functioned as his official estate and helped promote his work throughout the world, it has also raised and donated millions of dollars to fund medical research in the fight against AIDS and HIV infection.

DID YOU KNOW?   Some of Mapplethorpe's photos appeared on the covers of Patti's music labels. 

"I'm not a businessman-I'm a business, man."
--Jay-Z

Some people think Jay-Z is just another rapper. Others see him as just another celebrity/mega-star. The reality is, no matter what you think Jay-Z is, he first and foremost a business. And as much as Martha Stewart or Oprah, he has turned himself into a lifestyle.

You can wake up to the local radio station playing Jay-Z's latest hit, spritz yourself with his 9IX cologne, slip on a pair of his Rocawear jeans, lace up your Reebok S. Carter sneakers, catch a Nets basketball game in the afternoon, and grab dinner at The Spotted Pig before heading to an evening performance of the Jay-Z-backed Broadway musical Fela! and a nightcap at his 40/40 Club. He'll profit at every turn of your day.

But despite Jay-Z's success, there are still many Americans whose impressions of him are foggy, outdated, or downright incorrect. Surprisingly to many, he honed his business philosophy not at a fancy B school, but on the streets of Brooklyn, New York and beyond as a drug dealer in the 1980s.

Empire State of Mind tells the story behind Jay-Z's rise to the top as told by the people who lived it with him- from classmates at Brooklyn's George Westinghouse High School; to the childhood friend who got him into the drug trade; to the DJ who convinced him to stop dealing and focus on music. This book explains just how Jay-Z propelled himself from the bleak streets of Brooklyn to the heights of the business world.

Zack O'Malley Greenburg draws on his one-on-one interviews with hip-hop luminaries such as DJ Clark Kent, Questlove of The Roots, Damon Dash, Fred "Fab 5 Freddy" Brathwaite, MC Serch; NBA stars Jamal Crawford and Sebastian Telfair; and recording industry executives including Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records.
He also includes new information on Jay-Z's various business dealings, such as:

* The feature movie about Jay-Z and his first basketball team that was filmed by Fab 5 Freddy in 2003 but never released.
* The Jay-Z branded Jeep that was scrapped just before going into production.
* The real story behind his association with Armand de Brignac champagne.
* The financial ramifications of his marriage to Beyonce.

Jay-Z's tale is compelling not just because of his celebrity, but because it embodies the rags-to-riches American dream and is a model for any entrepreneur looking to build a commercial empire.

The only music appreciation text on the market to include listening exercises throughout the book, Listening to Music (with Introduction to Listening CD-Rom), Sixth Edition, masterfully develops and refines your listening skills. Acclaimed for unparalleled clarity and accuracy, using Wright will help you study efficiently, do well on your tests and quizzes, and learn to enjoy many kinds of music. Wright covers traditional Western music from medieval to modern as well as popular music and its impact on musical globalization, and music from the Far East, the Near East and Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, drawing comparisons between Western and non-Western musical cultures. Learning to listen critically is at the heart of a music appreciation course, and Wright gives you the tools to develop and sharpen your listening skills in three important ways: First, Listening to Music is the only text to include detailed Listening Exercises throughout the book. These exercises, which ask questions just like the ones your instructor is likely to ask in quizzes, will help you focus on important musical elements and episodes and do well in the course. Second, a free "Introduction to Listening" CD is packaged with each copy of the text. This CD plays all of the music discussed in the music fundamentals chapters in Part I of the text to help you get a good start in the first few weeks of class. Third, interactive Active Listening Guides and listening quizzes, with streaming music for most of the selections in the text, are available on the Schirmer Cengage Learning website and multimedia eBook.

Filled with the grace, raw honesty, and haunting emotion of her hit songs, A Helluva High Note  is the soundtrack to Kara Dioguardi ’s life—an intimate anthem about living, creating, loving, stumbling, picking herself up again, and ultimately succeeding.  It's a moving chronicle of the experiences that have inspired her songs and given her the resilience and perspective to become the confidant, accomplished, adventurous warrior she is today.  

Kara DioGuardi is an award-winning hitmaker, a savvy record executive, and a successful music publisher whose songs have been recorded by such superstars as Pink, Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Santana, Steven Tyler, CÉline Dion, and so many others. She was also the feisty fourth judge on  American Idol. But success wouldn’t have happened for this songwriter, artist, and producer without the dark times of defeat.  In this book, Kara opens up about everything from her struggles with debilitating stage fright and an equally paralyzing eating disorder, to the most devastating yet profoundly life-altering experience—caring for her mother during her fatal battle with cancer.  Kara writes about what it was like to collaborate with some of our favorite performing artists, and shares behind-the-scenes stories from her years on American Idol, and tells the real truth about her departure from the show. 

A Helluva High Note  is filled with memorable and inspirational tales from the heart and trenches of life, business, and the world of entertainment.  It is passionate, wise, funny, and down-to-earth, proving that finding, cultivating, and following your own true voice really is possible.

• Textbooks | Music Education - introduction to rock history
• Entertainment | Music | History & Criticism
• Entertainment | Music | Genres & Styles | Rock

The Second Edition of  What’s That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its History   offers a balanced, insightful look at the evolution of rock music from its roots to the present.  A “must have” for music fans.

 With innovative listening guides (both print and electronic), a rich visual program, and a strong support package, this text gives students a comprehensive and engaging introduction to rock history.

• All the major artists from the past hundred years in one compact volume.
• Gives a brief background on the culture and society of each decade before delving into various artists and the evolution of different genres.
• Interesting tidbits on concerts of major bands
•  Great photo insert.

Recognized for its focus on being “other-oriented” - a focal point that highlights the importance interpersonal interactions -Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Othersenhances communication competence in a variety of interpersonal relationships and interpersonal contexts. This sixth edition emphasizes the expanding role of technology in interpersonal communication and the implication of its use in our daily relationships and communication with others. Relating to Others also offers exceptional coverage of cultural diversity, to help readers understand and adapt to these differences while learning how to establish common links with other individuals enabling them to build and strengthen relationships in their everyday lives.

The Tenth Edition of THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE will inspire readers to become excited about theatre. The combined authorship of an authoritative theatre historian and his former student, an active theatre historian himself, provide an excellent understanding of the origins and development of the theatre--ideal for an introductory theatre course. In the 35 years since it was first published, THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE has established a reputation as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre in academia. Now in a new full-color format with many representations of current and classic performances, this book will encourage readers to become active theatergoers and fans. THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, 10e, works in tandem with its companion anthology, PLAYS FOR THEATRE, 10. The scripts in PLAYS serve as a foundation for discussion of the various types of theatrical experience explored in the book.

This lively introduction to theatre offers equal measures of appreciation of theatrical arts, history of performance, and descriptions of the collaborative theatrical crafts. The author’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of the current theatre, highlighted by contemporary production shots from around the world, put the students in the front row. The text includes extensive excerpts from seven plays: Prometheus Bound, Oedipus Tyrannos, The York Cycle, Romeo and Juliet, The Bourgeois Gentleman, The Three Sisters, and Happy Days, as well as shorter excerpts from The Rover and A Doll's House.

This dynamic introductory book takes readers on a vivid exploration into the major musical cultures of the world by first presenting a lively vignette of a musical occasion, and then placing that occasion in the context of a general description of the society and musical culture.

KEY TOPICS:  The book divides the world into ten major culture areas—and devotes a chapter to each, exploring the musical cultures of such fascinating lands as India, the Middle East, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. The presentation features a synthetic treatment of musical life and ideas about music, musical style, music history, and musical instruments; briefly describes additional musical genres or contexts; and considers recent developments. For individuals interested in the music of the world. 

Tori Spelling Reads Her Fabulous #1 New York Times Bestseller

She was television's most famous virgin -- and, as Aaron Spelling's daughter, arguably its most famous case of nepotism. Portraying Donna Martin of Beverly Hills 90210, Tori Spelling became one of the most recognizable young actresses of her generation, with a not-so-private personal life every bit as fascinating as her character's exploits. Yet years later the name Tori Spelling too often closed -- and sometimes slammed -- the same doors it had opened.

sTORI telling is Tori's chance to finally tell her side of the tabloid-worthy life she's led, and she talks about it all: her decadent childhood birthday parties, her nose job, her fairy-tale wedding to the wrong man, her so-called feud with her mother. Tori has already revealed her flair for brilliant, self-effacing satire on her VH1 show So NoTORIous and Oxygen's Tori & Dean: Inn Love, but her memoir goes deeper, into the real life behind the rumors: her complicated relationship with her parents; her struggles as an actress after 90210; her accident-prone love life; and, ultimately, her quest to define herself on her own terms.

From her over-the-top first wedding to finding new love to her much-publicized -- and misunderstood -- "disinheritance," sTORI telling is a juicy, eye-opening, enthralling look at what it really means to be Tori Spelling.