Can a song change a nation? In 1964, Marvin Gaye, record producer William “Mickey” Stevenson, and Motown songwriter Ivy Jo Hunter wrote “Dancing in the Street.” The song was recorded at Motown’s Hitsville USA Studio by Martha and the Vandellas, with lead singer Martha Reeves arranging her own vocals. Released on July 31, the song was supposed to be an upbeat dance recording—a precursor to disco, and a song about the joyousness of dance. But events overtook it, and the song became one of the icons of American pop culture. The Beatles had landed in the U.S. in early 1964. By the summer, the sixties were in full swing. The summer of 1964 was the Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, the beginning of the Vietnam War, the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and the lead-up to a dramatic election. As the country grew more radicalized in those few months, “Dancing in the Street” gained currency as an activist anthem. The song took on new meanings, multiple meanings, for many different groups that were all changing as the country changed. Told by the writer who is legendary for finding the big story in unlikely places, Ready for a Brand New Beat chronicles that extraordinary summer of 1964 and showcases the momentous role that a simple song about dancing played in history.
Retiring to live on a group of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, the author humorously describes how he learned through experience, from the first essential of handling a boat without danger to himself and others to his ultimate achievement of establishing an organic farm on the shore of a distant lagoon. Interspersed with vignettes of the local culture, the account gives an insight to the challenges facing Gringos when pursuing dreams of life on a tropical island. Covering a span of six years from the beginnings of the growth of a tourist industry to a time when the islands were clearly destined to become a major tourist destination, "Don't Kill the Cow Too Quick" records a passing era.
Winner of the Books Are My Bag Readers Award Aya is eleven years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher spots her exceptional talent and believes that Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the same time, Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya's father - separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria. With beautiful, captivating writing, wonderfully authentic ballet detail, and an important message championing the rights of refugees, this is classic storytelling - filled with warmth, hope and humanity. "Wise and kind and unputdownable." - Hilary McKay, Costa Book Prize-winning author of The Skylarks' War "A perfect balance of tragedy and triumph." - Natasha Farrant, author of The Children of Castle Rock "A moving story about one of the big issues of our time, told with wonderful clarity, and incredibly touching." - Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo "A moving, textured story ... Ballet Shoes for the 21st century" - The Times
"Traditions of the Tinguian: a Study in Philippine Folk-Lore" by Fay-Cooper Cole is a collection of myths that the author collected during a stay of sixteen months with the Tinguian, a pagan tribe of northwestern Luzon in the Philippines. Fay-Cooper Cole was a professor of anthropology and founder of the anthropology department at the University of Chicago and his fascination with human cultures sent him on research trips around the world.
The author says, "I'm just an ordinary human being whose curiousity about human existence beyond death led me to extraordinary experience. . . . If there is any difference between you and me it is only that my curiousity has already led me to exlore and know what lies beyond death in the Afterlife." This fascinating volume recounts the story of some of his voyages past the edge of life, using techniques learned at The Monroe Institute. Moen describes for the reader how to access this knowledge for themselves and to learn what the Afterlife really is.
Further Steps 2 brings together New York’s foremost choreographers – among them MacArthur ‘Genius’ award winners Meredith Monk and Bill T. Jones – to discuss the past, present and future of dance in the US. In a series of exclusive and enlightening interviews, this diverse selection of artists discuss the changing roles of race, gender, politics, and the social environment on their work. Bringing her own experience of the New York dance scene to her study, Constance Kreemer traces the lives and works of the following choreographers: Lucinda Childs, Douglas Dunn, Molissa Fenley, Rennie Harris, Bill T. Jones, Kenneth King, Nancy Meehan, Meredith Monk, Rosalind Newman, Gus Solomons jr, Doug Varone, Dan Wagoner, Mel Wong and Jawole Zollar.