The 20th Century's Greatest Hits
The 20th Century's Greatest Hits

Author: Paul Williams

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2000-10-06

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 146683188X

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The book that will make you think about the 20th Century. This book lists and discusses the "top 40" artistic events of the 20th century, using a quirky and personal list created by Paul Williams, which is illuminated by forty short essays discussing his choices. That alone would suffice. But in addition, Williams has created an entertaining, readable book-length work on personal and subjective responses to art. Everybody loves top-40 lists: Will it have your own secret favorites on it? Or will there be some stuff you never heard of? Or hate? Bob Dylan? Sure, but what by Dylan? Every list provokes delight an danger and, if it is a good one, illumination and surprise. Paul Williams's lists mixes high art and popular culture, and is sure to leave no one who reads it unmoved. But a list only takes one page--and the rest of this book is Williams's thoughts on how everyday people connect with art and performance, subjects on which Williams is brilliant, insightful, and entertaining. This is a good and serious book that is fun to read. At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Hit Lit
Hit Lit

Author: James W. Hall

Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks

Published: 2012-04-10

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0812970950

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DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF WHAT MAKES A MEGA-BESTSELLER IN THIS ENTERTAINING, REVELATORY GUIDE What do Michael Corleone, Jack Ryan, and Scout Finch have in common? Creative writing professor and thriller writer James W. Hall knows. Now, in this entertaining, revelatory book, he reveals how bestsellers work, using twelve twentieth-century blockbusters as case studies—including The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jaws. From tempting glimpses inside secret societies, such as submariners in The Hunt for Red October, and Opus Dei in The Da Vinci Code, to vivid representations of the American Dream and its opposite—the American Nightmare—in novels like The Firm and The Dead Zone, Hall identifies the common features of mega-bestsellers. Including fascinating and little-known facts about some of the most beloved books of the last century, Hit Lit is a must-read for fiction lovers and aspiring writers alike, and makes us think anew about why we love the books we love.

Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century
Popular Songs of the Twentieth Century

Author:

Publisher: Paragon House Publishers

Published: 2000-08

Total Pages: 540

ISBN-13:

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Presents Top 20 music charts for the period and data on each song. Numerical chart ratings are approximate, based on sources that largely contained only prose or qualitative information about the songs of the day. Section I is an index of charted songs, and Section II contains month-by-month song charts. Section III breaks monthly charts into semi-monthly intervals and shows the chart activity of songs from a more detailed viewpoint. Section IV contains complete details for every song mentioned, with information on title, rank for the year, publisher at the time of popularity, publication date, and the month, year, and rank when peak popularity was attained, plus writers of the song and artists connected with the song, and shows or movies in which the song was featured. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

The Rest Is Noise
The Rest Is Noise

Author: Alex Ross

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2007-10-16

Total Pages: 706

ISBN-13: 1429932880

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Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year Time magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007 Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007 A Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2007 In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties; from Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies up to the present. Taking readers into the labyrinth of modern style, Ross draws revelatory connections between the century's most influential composers and the wider culture. The Rest Is Noise is an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.

The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century
The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century

Author: Harry Turtledove

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2004-12-28

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0345481909

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LEAP INTO THE FUTURE, AND SHOOT BACK TO THE PAST H. G. Wells’s seminal short story “The Time Machine,” published in 1895, provided the springboard for modern science fiction’s time travel explosion. Responding to their own fascination with the subject, the greatest visionary writers of the twentieth century penned some of their finest stories. Here are eighteen of the most exciting tales ever told, including “Time’s Arrow” In Arthur C. Clarke’s classic, two brilliant physicists finally crack the mystery of time travel—with appalling consequences. “Death Ship” Richard Matheson, author of Somewhere in Time, unveils a chilling scenario concerning three astronauts who stumble upon the conundrum of past and future. “Yesterday was Monday” If all the world’s a stage, Theodore Sturgeon’s compelling tale follows the odyssey of an ordinary joe who winds up backstage. “Rainbird” R.A. Lafferty reflects on what might have been in this brainteaser about an inventor so brilliant that he invents himself right out of existence. “Timetipping” What if everyone time-traveled except you? Jack Dann provides some surprising answers in this literary gem. . . . as well as stories by Poul Anderson • L. Sprague de Camp • Joe Haldeman • John Kessel • Nancy Kress • Henry Kuttner • Ursula K. Le Guin • Larry Niven • Charles Sheffield • Robert Silverberg • Connie Willis By turns frightening, puzzling, and fantastic, these stories engage us in situations that may one day break free of the bonds of fantasy . . . to enter the realm of the future: our future. Note: "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury and "I'm Scared" by Jack Finney are not included in this edition.

American Popular Music Business in the 20th Century
American Popular Music Business in the 20th Century

Author: Russell Sanjek

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13:

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This book is an abridgment of the third volume of American Popular Music and Its Business--The First Four Hundred Years by Russell Sanjek, my late father. It covers the years 1900 to 1984, a rich and provocative period in the history of American entertainment, one marked by persistent technological innovation, an expansion of markets, the refinement of techniques of commercial exploitation, and the ongoing democratization of American culture.

Architecture in the Twentieth Century
Architecture in the Twentieth Century

Author: Peter Go ssel

Publisher: Taschen

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 9783822811627

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After several pages of prologue summing up 18th century highlights--especially the rise in importance of geometry--some forty pages cover 1784-1916, focusing on the heavily fenestrated high-rises of the Chicago School and the iron and glass pavilions of Europe. The chapter spanning 1892-1925 concentrates on the many disputes over the trajectory of modernism: Nieuwe Kunst, Stile Liberty, Jugendstil, and Art Nouveau, all arguing the direction that the boom of prisons, hospitals, schools, town halls, and other institutional buildings would take. Three more time divisions follow and a concise compendium of architect biographies ends the volume. Along with an array of great pictures (par for Taschen), Gossel and Leuthauser--both active in the private sector--add a strong prose style attentive to debates among architects and the socioeconomic stage on which architects act. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury
The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury

Author: Janet Schulman

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Published: 1998-09-14

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0679886478

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Unparalleled in scope and quality and designed for reading aloud and sharing, this splendid anthology brings together some of the most memorable and beloved children's books of our time. Here are classics such as Madeline and Curious George; contemporary bestsellers such as Guess How Much I Love You and The Stinky Cheese Man; Caldecott Medal winners such as Make Way for Ducklings and Where the Wild Things Are; and family favorites such as Goodnight Moon, The Sneetches, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Alexander & The Terrible, No Good Very Bad Day, soon to be a motion picture. The selections range from concept books and wordless books to picture books and short read-aloud stories, and represent the complete array of childhood themes and reading needs: ABCs, number and color books, stories about going to bed and going to school; tales about growing up, siblings, parents, and grandparents; animal stories, fantasies; fables; magical stories; stories about everyday life--and more. This beautiful edition includes a recommended list of books published in the time since this anthology's original compilation, including Caldecott Honors Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Olivia, with descriptive annotations intended to guide parents to these new books and new voices of the 21st century. Also included are an introduction from editor Janet Schulman, capsule biographies of the 62 writers and artists represented in the collection, color-coded running heads indicating age levels, and indexes. As a gift, a keepsake, and a companion in a child's first steps toward a lifelong love of reading, The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury belongs in every family's bookcase.

Masterpieces
Masterpieces

Author: Orson Scott Card

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2004-03-02

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9780441011339

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A collection of the best science fiction short stories of the 20th century as selected and evaluated by critically-acclaimed author Orson Scott Card. Featuring stories from the genre's greatest authors: Isaac Asimov • Arthur C. Clarke • Robert A. Heinlein • Ursula K. Le Guin • Ray Bradbury • Frederik Pohl • Harlan Ellison • George Alec Effinger • Brian W. Aldiss • William Gibson & Michael Swanwick • Theodore Sturgeon • Larry Niven • Robert Silverberg • Harry Turtledove • James Blish • George R. R. Martin • James Patrick Kelly • Karen Joy Fowler • Lloyd Biggle, Jr. • Terry Bisson • Poul Anderson • John Kessel • R.A. Lafferty • C.J. Cherryh • Lisa Goldstein • Edmond Hamilton In much of the science fiction of the past, the twenty-first century existed only in the writers’ imaginations. Now that it’s here, it’s time to take a look back at the last one hundred years in science fiction through the works of the most celebrated and acclaimed authors of the century—to see where we’ve been and just how far we’ve come. Along with a critical essay by Orson Scott Card reassessing science fiction in the twentieth century, Masterpieces includes short fiction by writers who have forged a permanent place for science fiction in the popular culture of today...and tomorrow. It offers a glimpse of the greatest works that mixed science with fiction in trying to figure out humanity’s place in the universe. Featuring bold, brave, and breathtaking stories, this definitive collection will stand the test of time in both this century and those to come.

Twentieth-century Music
Twentieth-century Music

Author: Robert P. Morgan

Publisher: W W Norton & Company Incorporated

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 554

ISBN-13: 9780393952728

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Traces the currents that have shaped the development of music in the twentieth century and discusses the contributions of such composers as Mahler, Debussy, Stockhausen, Vaughan Williams, Bartok, and Stravinsky