This is the first biography of Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, a key figure in the early development of airpower, whose significant and varied achievements have been overlooked because of his subsequent involvement in the fall of Singapore. It highlights Brooke-Popham’s role in developing the first modern military logistic system, the creation of the Royal Air Force Staff College and the organizational arrangements that underpinned Fighter Command’s success in the Battle of Britain. Peter Dye challenges longstanding views about performance as Commander-in-Chief Far East and, based on new evidence, offers a more nuanced narrative that sheds light on British and Allied preparations for the Pacific War, inter-service relations and the reasons for the disastrous loss of air and naval superiority that followed the Japanese attack. “The Man Who Took the Rap” highlights the misguided attempts at deterrence, in the absence of a coordinated information campaign, and the unprecedented security lapse that betrayed the parlous state of the Allied defenses.
Throughout his career, Derrick Parker worked on some of the biggest criminal cases in rap history, from the shooting at Club New York, where Derrick personally escorted Jennifer Lopez to police headquarters, to the first shooting of Tupac Shakur. Always straddling the fence between "po-po" and NYPD outsider, Derrick threatened police tradition to try to get the cases solved. He was the first detective to interview an informant offering a detailed account of Biggie Smalls's murder. He protected one of the only surviving eyewitnesses to the Jam Master Jay murder and knows the identity of the killers as well as the motivation behind the shooting. Notorious C.O.P. reveals hip-hop crimes that never made the paper—like the robbing of Foxy Brown and the first Hot 97 shooting—and answers some lingering questions about murders that have remained unsolved. The book that both the NYPD and the hip-hop community don't want you to read, Notorious C.O.P. is the first insider look at the real links between crime and hip-hop and the inefficiencies that have left some of the most widely publicized murders in entertainment history unsolved.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The stunning debut novel from one of the most creative artists of our generation, Bobby Hall, a.k.a. Logic. “Bobby Hall has crafted a mind-bending first novel, with prose that is just as fierce and moving as his lyrics. Supermarket is like Naked Lunch meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest—if they met at Fight Club.”—Ernest Cline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player One Flynn is stuck—depressed, recently dumped, and living at his mom’s house. The supermarket was supposed to change all that. An ordinary job and a steady check. Work isn’t work when it’s saving you from yourself. But things aren’t quite as they seem in these aisles. Arriving to work one day to a crime scene, Flynn’s world collapses as the secrets of his tortured mind are revealed. And Flynn doesn’t want to go looking for answers at the supermarket. Because something there seems to be looking for him. A darkly funny psychological thriller, Supermarket is a gripping exploration into madness and creativity. Who knew you could find sex, drugs, and murder all in aisle nine?
He has to get her back. Antony Kyle can’t believe what’s happening to him. First, Ella Webb—the head of security at his gaming company—quits on him. Then…she kisses him as if she’s never wanted anyone more. They spend one incredible night together—a night that brands him to his core—and he wakes to find her gone. Gone. No, not happening. Antony is not about to lose her now. Not when he’s been obsessed with her for years. He can’t have a taste and then lose…everything. She’s done with his lies. Ella has been in love with her gorgeous, genius boss for far too long. And she’s put up with his lies and secrets…for far too long! She’d fallen for his helpless act, thought that the man needed her, but now she has learned the truth. Antony Kyle is a secret spy, more than capable of looking after himself and taking out a whole army of bad guys. So, she gives in to the need that she’s always felt for him, she allows herself one, unforgettable night with him, then she walks away. But he follows her. Antony can’t lose Ella—not when he’s finally had the woman he’s wanted so desperately. But she’s got a new job at Wilde—an elite protection and security firm—and he has to figure out a way to woo her back. So, he hires Wilde. Says that he needs protection. He pulls some strings (because the owner of Wilde happens to owe him about a dozen favors), and Antony gets Ella assigned as his bodyguard. He thinks his plan is brilliant. He’ll have Ella in close proximity again, and Antony is sure that he’ll able to convince her that they belong together. Though some groveling—and a whole lot of seduction—may just be involved in his master plan. Except…the danger turns out to be real. Someone is gunning for Antony, and he doesn’t know if his enemy is from the spy world or the business world. He just knows that a big target is on his back. Now he and Ella have to unmask the threat that they never saw coming, before it’s too late. As they fight to track the bad guy, Antony has to prove to Ella that he can be honest with her, and, if she gives him a shot…he just might be a man she can love. Because if he loses her again, Antony knows there will be no second chances. Author’s Note: Their sexual tension can’t be held in check. When Ella and Antony are close, they ignite. But with so many secrets and lies, can they find a happy ending? It will take a master spy—and one very savvy new Wilde agent—to bring down the bad guy in this case. Wilde times are ahead again. Let’s see where these two lovers lead as they fight for each other.
Born in Miami's notorious Liberty City, Luther Campbell witnessed poverty, despair, and crime firsthand. His uncle Ricky did not want him trapped by the "invisible chains" of systemic racism, so Ricky schooled him on the necessity of a black man running his own life, controlling his livelihood, and owning property. Embracing these lessons, Campbell discovered his gift for entrepreneurship: He created one of the first hip-hop record companies, Luke Records, which started out of a shed in his mom's backyard and grew into a multimillion-dollar enterprise. As a rapper on his own label, Luke became known as the "King of Dirty Rap" and helped pioneer the worldwide phenomenon of Miami Bass. He went on to become the front man and manager for the rap group 2 Live Crew, and was key to the success of the group's controversial platinum recording As Nasty As They Wanna Be. His hugely popular and provocative music infuriated the Man, and Luke was marked as public enemy number one when hip-hop crossed the color line into white America. Campbell would spend more than a million dollars of his own money fighting cops and prosecutors, and he went all the way to the Supreme Court to protect his—and every other artist's—right to free speech, setting landmark legal precedents that continue to shape the entertainment industry to this day. In Campbell's clear and honest voice, he shares unforgettable stories of his rise to celebrity status, including illicit tales from his raunchy concerts. He also breaks down how he lost his fortune, but in the process gained a better perspective on life. His father taught him to be responsible for his actions and to be proud of himself. Campbell expressed this by being cocky and holding his head up high, but, as he acknowledges, "America has never been an easy place for a black man who doesn't know how to apologize." Touching on some of the most pressing issues of our time, The Book of Luke is a raw and powerful memoir of how one man invented southern hip-hop, saved the First Amendment, and became a role model for the disenfranchised people of the city he calls home.
A New York Times–bestselling, in-depth exploration of the most pivotal moments in rap music from 1979 to 2014. Here’s what The Rap Year Book does: It takes readers from 1979, widely regarded as the moment rap became recognized as part of the cultural and musical landscape, and comes right up to the present, with Shea Serrano hilariously discussing, debating, and deconstructing the most important rap song year by year. Serrano also examines the most important moments that surround the history and culture of rap music—from artists’ backgrounds to issues of race, the rise of hip-hop, and the struggles among its major players—both personal and professional. Covering East Coast and West Coast, famous rapper feuds, chart toppers, and show stoppers, The Rap Year Book is an in-depth look at the most influential genre of music to come out of the last generation. Picked by Billboard as One of the 100 Greatest Music Books of All-Time Pitchfork Book Club’s first selection
HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is about, as it were, rap, but also some other things. It's a smart, fun, funny, insightful book that spends the entirety of its time celebrating what has become the most dominant form of music these past two and a half decades. Tupac is in there. Jay Z is in there. Missy Elliott is in there. Drake is in there. Pretty much all of the big names are in there, as are a bunch of the smaller names, too. There's art from acclaimed illustrator Arturo Torres, there are infographics and footnotes; there's all kinds of stuff in there. Some of the chapters are serious, and some of the chapters are silly, and some of the chapters are a combination of both things. All of them, though, are treated with the care and respect that they deserve. HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is the third book in the (And Other Things) series. The first two—Basketball (And Other Things) and Movies (And Other Things)—were both #1 New York Times bestsellers.
An insider in the world of gangsta rap reveals his experiences, and the dark and violent underbelly of the music world that ultimately killed his charge, Tupac Shakur.
