Follow that road! Speed off on an eventful bicycle ride along the bold yellow road that cuts through town, by the sea, and through the country. Ride up and around, along and through, out and down. Frank's striking graphic style is executed in just five joyous colors, and his spare, rhythmic language is infectious. Hit a bump? Get back on track! Reach the end? Start again!
A leading music journalist’s riveting chronicle of how beloved band Pearl Jam shaped the times, and how their legacy and longevity have transcended generations. Ever since Pearl Jam first blasted onto the Seattle grunge scene three decades ago with their debut album, Ten, they have sold 85M+ albums, performed for hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, and have even been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack Of A Generation, music critic and journalist Steven Hyden celebrates the life, career, and music of this legendary group, widely considered to be one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. Long Road is structured like a mix tape, using 18 different Pearl Jam classics as starting points for telling a mix of personal and universal stories. Each chapter tells the tale of this great band — how they got to where they are, what drove them to greatness, and why it matters now. Much like the generation it emerged from, Pearl Jam is a mass of contradictions. They were an enormously successful mainstream rock band who felt deeply uncomfortable with the pursuit of capitalistic spoils. They were progressive activists who spoke in favor of abortion rights and against the Ticketmaster monopoly, and yet they epitomized the sound of traditional, male-dominated rock ‘n’ roll. They were looked at as spokesmen for their generation, even though they ultimately projected profound confusion and alienation. They triumphed, and failed, in equal doses — the quintessential Gen-X tale. Impressive as their stats, accolades, and longevity may be, Hyden also argues that Pearl Jam’s most definitive accomplishment lies in the impact their music had on Generation X as a whole. Pearl Jam’s music helped an entire generation of listeners connect with the glory of bygone rock mythology, and made it relevant during a period in which tremendous American economic prosperity belied a darkness at the heart of American youth. More than just a chronicle of the band’s career, this book is also a story about Gen- X itself, who like Pearl Jam came from angsty, outspoken roots and then evolved into an establishment institution, without ever fully shaking off their uncertain, outsider past. For so many Gen-Xers growing up at the time, Pearl Jam’s music was a beacon that offered both solace and guidance. They taught an entire generation how to grow up without losing the purest and most essential parts of themselves. Written with his celebrated blend of personal memoir, criticism, and journalism, Hyden explores Pearl Jam’s path from Ten to now. It's a chance for new fans and old fans alike to geek out over Pearl Jam minutia—the B-sides, the beloved deep cuts, the concert bootlegs—and explore the multitude of reasons why Pearl Jam’s music resonated with so many people. As Hyden explains, “Most songs pass through our lives and are swiftly forgotten. But Pearl Jam is forever.”
The End was just the beginning of the new world… Only six weeks have passed since a super-EMP attack devastated the United States, but already, life has changed dramatically. Most of America has become a wasteland filled with starving bands of people, mobs and gangs. Millions are dead and millions more are suffering, with no end in sight. For Gordon, Samantha, Sebastian, Cruz and Barone, the turmoil and chaos they dealt with in the early weeks after the attack will seem trivial in comparison to the collapse of society that plays out before their eyes. Uncertainty abounds as they all travel different paths in search of a safe place to call home. The only thing that is definite is that The Long Road will take its toll on all of them. For readers of Going Home by A. American, Lights Out by David Crawford, Lucifer’s Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and One Second After by William Forstchen
Documents the two-day firefight in Sadr City that began the Iraqi insurgency, during which eight 1st Cavalry Division soldiers were killed and numerous others wounded, an engagement that was vigilantly monitored by their loved ones back home.
Traces the author's 2011 road trip from the southernmost to the northernmost points of the United States to experience firsthand the country's diversity and political tensions in the face of a historic economic recession.
Eighteen-yearr-old Charlie Ross does the one thing you should never so before going off to war - he falls in love. Before he is drafted to fight in Vietnam. Charlie falls head-over-heels for a beautiful girl named Anna Cochran. They spend the summer on the banks of the river where they fish, laugh, talk, and dream about the future. But as their magical summer draws to a close, and their time together slips away, they wonder of love will be enough to carry them through the trying times ahead -- Back cover.
After losing his leg—and his trademark helmet—B.D. returns home from Iraq to begin a remarkable journey of healing in this Doonesbury book. On a road outside Fallujah, an RPG blows apart a Humvee and upends the life of a former football star named B.D. As a medevac chopper swoops down, the wounded Guardsman hears “Not your time, bro. Not today”. The Long Road Home: One Step at a Time chronicles seven months of cutting-edge cartooning, during which B.D.—and readers of the strip—experienced the kind of personal transformation no one seeks. B.D. survives first-response Baghdad triage, evacuation to Landstuhl, and visits by innumerable celebs, both red and blue in hue. He's awed in turn by morphine, take-no-guff nurses, his fellow amps, high-tech prostheses that cost more than luxury cars, and his family, including the daughter who hand-delivers succor, one aspirin at a time. From rebuilding tissue to rebuilding social skills to rebuilding lives, B.D's inspiring, insightful, and darkly humorous story confirms that it can take a village, or at least a ward, to raise a soldier when he's gone down. “Thank you for getting blown up,” offers one of B.D.'s visiting players. Replies the coach, “Just doing my job.”
We have all been there. A point that can send our lives in one direction or the other. This is a point where we can either continue the way we have been living or branch out, take a chance, and seek more out of life. The Long Road North chronicles this juncture in Quentin Super’s life. His memoir takes us through various stages that many people have experienced: partying, promiscuity, emptiness, and eventually a desire for something more. For Super, this “something more” entailed riding his bicycle through the grueling Minnesota winter with his best friend during their spring break in March 2015. Together, they rode eight hundred miles from St. Cloud, Minnesota, into Canada, all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Once they finished their time in the major metropolis, they turned around and went all the way back. Captured in this book is just how difficult the journey was from a physical, mental, and emotional perspective. The raw honesty will draw tears. The mesmerizing storytelling will keep readers engaged. But the lengths Super went to find out more about himself and the world will inspire a generation.
From the former secretary of state and bestselling author -- a sweeping look at the global struggle for democracy and why America must continue to support the cause of human freedom. "This heartfelt and at times very moving book shows why democracy proponents are so committed to their work...Both supporters and skeptics of democracy promotion will come away from this book wiser and better informed." -- The New York Times From the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the ongoing struggle for human rights in the Middle East, Condoleezza Rice has served on the front lines of history. As a child, she was an eyewitness to a third awakening of freedom, when her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, became the epicenter of the civil rights movement for black Americans. In this book, Rice explains what these epochal events teach us about democracy. At a time when people around the world are wondering whether democracy is in decline, Rice shares insights from her experiences as a policymaker, scholar, and citizen, in order to put democracy's challenges into perspective. When the United States was founded, it was the only attempt at self-government in the world. Today more than half of all countries qualify as democracies, and in the long run that number will continue to grow. Yet nothing worthwhile ever comes easily. Using America's long struggle as a template, Rice draws lessons for democracy around the world -- from Russia, Poland, and Ukraine, to Kenya, Colombia, and the Middle East. She finds that no transitions to democracy are the same because every country starts in a different place. Pathways diverge and sometimes circle backward. Time frames for success vary dramatically, and countries often suffer false starts before getting it right. But, Rice argues, that does not mean they should not try. While the ideal conditions for democracy are well known in academia, they never exist in the real world. The question is not how to create perfect circumstances but how to move forward under difficult ones. These same insights apply in overcoming the challenges faced by governments today. The pursuit of democracy is a continuing struggle shared by people around the world, whether they are opposing authoritarian regimes, establishing new democratic institutions, or reforming mature democracies to better live up to their ideals. The work of securing it is never finished. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
