Clive Barker, Tom Cruise, Larry Hagman, Laurell K. Hamilton, Stephen King, Brad Meltzer, Sir Ian McKellen, Carolyn See, Stuart Woods and many others describe their humorous and frequently touching journeys to success. This motivational volume is hosted by the ever-controversial 'Aunt Bessie, ' who some refer to as a dangerous cross between Eminem and Ann Landers.
The language of Hollywood resonates beyond the stage and screen because it often has inherent drama—or comedic effect. This volume contains a combination of approximately 100 expertly researched essays on words, phrases and idioms made famous by Hollywood along with the stories behind 30 or so of the most iconic—and ultimately often used—quotes from films. There are also sidebars that focus on other ways the entertainment world has changed language. For instance, stories behind stars whose names have been used for drinks (hello, Shirley Temple) or roses (there are ones named after Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland, among others). And, a sidebar on William Shakespeare’s unique contribution to the English language.
A photographic look into the world of vinyl record collectors—including Questlove—in the most intimate of environments—their record rooms. Compelling photographic essays from photographer Eilon Paz are paired with in-depth and insightful interviews to illustrate what motivates these collectors to keep digging for more records. The reader gets an up close and personal look at a variety of well-known vinyl champions, including Gilles Peterson and King Britt, as well as a glimpse into the collections of known and unknown DJs, producers, record dealers, and everyday enthusiasts. Driven by his love for vinyl records, Paz takes us on a five-year journey unearthing the very soul of the vinyl community.
A portrait of five Concord, Massachusetts, writers whose works were at the center of mid-nineteenth-century American thought and literature evaluates their interconnected relationships, influence on each other's works, and complex beliefs.
George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times
Whether fighting in Spanish Civil War or struggling against the anti-leftist bigotry of the 1950s, the characters in this memoir of a twentieth-century American family reveal the struggles of progressives in a conservative nation.
