Includes the plays Incarcerator, Five Visions of the Faithful, Silence and Violence, The Last Days of Desire, The Biggleswades. With an Introduction by David Pownall, and an essay by Peter Craze A volume of language-rich, theatrically-ambitious tragedies. Betts’ hugely popular verse drama Incarcerator (White Bear and BAC) was a Time Out Critics' Choice, while his Five Visions of the Faithful (White Bear), is a series of uncompromising narratives exploring freedom, faith, death and desire. In Silence and Violence the wife of a war hero seduces a much-reviled sculptor as Betts examines the artist’s quest for self-expression in a Philistine state. Betts’ first radio play, The Last Days of Desire, was commissioned by the BBC.
Move over, Moneyball -- this New York Times bestseller examines major league baseball's next cutting-edge revolution: the high-tech quest to build better players. As bestselling authors Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik reveal in The MVP Machine, the Moneyball era is over. Fifteen years after Michael Lewis brought the Oakland Athletics' groundbreaking team-building strategies to light, every front office takes a data-driven approach to evaluating players, and the league's smarter teams no longer have a huge advantage in valuing past performance. Lindbergh and Sawchik's behind-the-scenes reporting reveals: How undersized afterthoughts José Altuve and Mookie Betts became big sluggers and MVPs How polarizing pitcher Trevor Bauer made himself a Cy Young contender How new analytical tools have overturned traditional pitching and hitting techniques How a wave of young talent is making MLB both better than ever and arguably worse to watch Instead of out-drafting, out-signing, and out-trading their rivals, baseball's best minds have turned to out-developing opponents, gaining greater edges than ever by perfecting prospects and eking extra runs out of older athletes who were once written off. Lindbergh and Sawchik take us inside the transformation of former fringe hitters into home-run kings, show how washed-up pitchers have emerged as aces, and document how coaching and scouting are being turned upside down. The MVP Machine charts the future of a sport and offers a lesson that goes beyond baseball: Success stems not from focusing on finished products, but from making the most of untapped potential.
When Southern rock acts like the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynrd stormed American concert stages, detractors immediately came to the fore declaring the genre to be little more than a marketing gimmick. But those on stage themselves would have called its appearance not only inevitable but also a way of life. In the end, the musicians who played Southern rock reflected a robust and broad variety of influences, drawing deeply from the wellsprings of blues, rock, country, and even jazz. Listeners gravitated to the sounds of the New South, a place that had captured pop culture’s imagination amid the turbulence following President Nixon’s successful Southern strategy and silent majorities. Southern rock garnered a second wave of enthusiasm with the rise of the urban cowboy and Bill Clinton’s ascension to the presidency. For nearly half a century, Southern rock has captured and expressed the energy of the New South, inspiring a legacy that listeners can still hear from jam bands, indie acts, and mainstream country musicians. In Counting Down Southern Rock: The 100 Best Songs, C. Eric Banister considers the best songs to emerge from the bands who made Southern rock what it is. Banister examines the impact of the songs on the society and culture of devoted fans and delves deep into the history and production of each song. Featuring such well-known bands as the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd as well as less visible groups like Blackhorse and Heartsfield, this book is the perfect introduction for both newbies and dedicated fans.
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER New York Times bestselling author Alan Paul's in-depth narrative look at the Allman Brothers' most successful album, and a portrait of an era in rock and roll and American history. The Allman Brothers Band’s Brothers and Sisters was not only the band’s bestselling album, at over seven million copies sold, but it was also a powerfully influential release, both musically and culturally, one whose influence continues to be profoundly felt. Celebrating the album’s fiftieth anniversary, Brothers and Sisters the book delves into the making of the album, while also presenting a broader cultural history of the era, based on first-person interviews, historical documents, and in-depth research. Brothers and Sisters traces the making of the template-shaping record alongside the stories of how the Allman Brothers came to the rescue of a flailing Jimmy Carter presidential campaign and helped get the former governor of Georgia elected president; how Gregg Allman’s marriage to Cher was an early harbinger of an emerging celebrity media culture; and how the band’s success led to internal fissures. The book also examines the Allman Brothers' relationship with the Grateful Dead—including the most in-depth reporting ever on the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen, the largest rock festival ever—and describes how they inspired bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, helping create the southern rock genre. With exclusive access to hundreds of hours of never-before-heard interviews with every major player, including Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman, conducted by Allman Brothers Band archivist, photographer, and “Tour Mystic” Kirk West, Brothers and Sisters is an honest assessment of the band’s career, history, and highs and lows.
