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Author: Tito Ortiz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2009-05-05
Total Pages: 227
ISBN-13: 1439149747
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA self-portrait of the UFC light-heavyweight champion discusses the street life that shaped his early years, his relationship with adult film star Jenna Jameson, and the colorful showman persona attributed to his character.
Author: David L. Hudson Jr.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Published: 2009-05-13
Total Pages: 408
ISBN-13: 0313343845
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFistic combat represents the greatest human drama in all of sport. Roman gladiators thrilled citizens and emperors alike when they entered the octagon to face an intense, life-threatening experience. Boxing, the sport of kings, also has its roots in the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome. Banned in 500 A.D. by the Emperor Theodoric, it resurfaced twelve centuries later in England. John Milton praised it as a noble art for building character in young men, and sports writer A.J. Leibling dubbed it the Sweet Science. Many of its major protagonists - men such as Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali - have become transcendent, near-mythic heroes. But boxing is not the only combat sport, and mixed martial arts, in all their ferocious beauty, represent the fastest growing sports genre in the world. Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) has joined boxing in paying seven figures to some of its champions, and draws millions in its pay-per-view events. This book details leading figures in boxing, sumo wrestling, kickboxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, and mixed martial arts (including organizations such as Ultimate Fighting, PRIDE, K-1, Total Combat, and SportFighting). Over 150 entries cover champions, contenders, and other famous combatants from all over the world, as well as legendary promoters, managers, trainers, and events. Also included in this encyclopedia are sidebars on controversies, highlights, brief bios, and other noteworthy events, along with a general timeline. .
Author: M. Keith Booker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Published: 2012-03-09
Total Pages: 745
ISBN-13: 0313391998
DOWNLOAD EBOOKFrom television, film, and music to sports, comics, and everyday life, this book provides a comprehensive view of working-class culture in America. The terms "blue collar" and "working class" remain incredibly vague in the United States, especially in pop culture, where they are used to express and connote different things at different times. Interestingly, most Americans are, in reality, members of the working class, even if they do not necessarily think of themselves that way. Perhaps the popularity of many cultural phenomena focused on the working class can be explained in this way: we are endlessly fascinated by ourselves. Blue-Collar Pop Culture: From NASCAR to Jersey Shore provides a sophisticated, accessible, and entertaining examination of the intersection between American popular culture and working-class life in America. Covering topics as diverse as the attacks of September 11th, union loyalties, religion, trailer parks, professional wrestling, and Elvis Presley, the essays in this two-volume work will appeal to general readers and be valuable to scholars and students studying American popular culture.
Author: Marc Shapiro
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
Published: 2017-10-11
Total Pages: 94
ISBN-13: 1626014108
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMary Tyler Moore was a legendary television and film performer who was much loved and lauded by millions as the personification of sweetness and innocence filtered through a sanitized television world. But as fate would have it, Moore was so much more than that. Coming of age at a time when feminism and women’s rights were on the march across the land, Moore’s roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show proved a flashpoint and a flag bearing influence to countless women who had decided in Mary Richards there was the possibility of so much more. In You’re Gonna Make It After All: The Life, Times and Influence of Mary Tyler Moore (Riverdale Avenue Books), New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro digs deep into her much-celebrated and often turbulent life as filtered through the coming of age of women’s rights led by such luminaries as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and their triumphs and historical breakthroughs which were often influenced by Moore and her culturally important sitcoms. How the actress reacted to being cast as a feminist icon, her often contrary issues with the women’s movement, how her greatest television hits often brought home important liberal points in a stealth manner and her own political and social values form the backbone of a sociological, political and, yes, traditional celebrity biography that tells more than one expected from a book on somebody the world knows so well. In this thoroughly researched and documented biography, readers will discover… The truth behind the alleged relationship between Mary Tyler Moore and Elvis Presley. What happened on the date between Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner Why Mary Tyler Moore’s mother’s alcoholism led to Moore’s physical appearance. How Moore got her revenge on a neighbor who molested her at age six. “Mary Tyler Moore was an important entertainment personality,” author Shapiro states. “But she was also so much deeper than that. Her life and times are already well known. I felt that putting this reluctant feminist in the ring with the coming of equal rights for women would give the picture a different and ultimately insightful twist.”
Author: Marc Shapiro
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
Published: 2018-05-10
Total Pages: 97
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLin-Manuel Miranda created the Broadway hit-musical of the decade in Hamilton. His earlier production In The Heights set theater audiences dancing to a hip hop/ Latin beat. And if you have children or are a child at heart, you know all about the music of Moana. But there’s a lot you don’t know about this pop culture genius. Miranda’s story is the classic American Dream on full display. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Miranda’s life-long obsession with music, theater and the possibilities of creating for The Great White Way drove him through the ups and downs of the highly competitive world of Broadway and, through sheer drive, determination and an abundance of creative talent has made his way to the top of the entertainment world. Through extensive research in a number of widely divergent sources, Shapiro has pieced together the life and times of Lin-Manuel Miranda, replete with all the large and small moments that comprise the character of a literal creative renaissance man, composer, actor, culturally and socially savvy and multi-Tony-Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning giant of the Broadway stage whose future is only limited by his imagination which is always on the go and creating worlds to come Renaissance Man: The Lin Manuel Miranda Story is a blueprint for success, an inspirational guide to following one’s dreams and, perhaps most important, the answer to the question of what following your dreams can bring.
Author: Marc Shapiro
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
Published: 2017-04-20
Total Pages: 105
ISBN-13: 1626013659
DOWNLOAD EBOOK“The Tragically Hip… the soundtrack our lives.” – Justin Trudeau On August 20th, 2016 11.7 million Canadians stood transfixed, watching the final concert of The Tragically Hip, and the rest of the world asked, “Who is this band?” New York Times Bestselling pop journalist Marc Shapiro answers that question in the first American book about this Canadian rock band that largely shunned the spotlight but has become the standard bearer of a resurgent sense of Canadian pride and patriotism. What is Hip? The Life And Times Of The Tragically Hip delves deep beneath the surface of this rock and roll story to discover how a band that spent more than three decades in the rock and roll trenches selling millions of albums and opening for the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin’s Page & Plant, remained almost unknown outside their home country, even as they rose to the level of rock royalty in Canada. What Is Hip: The Life And Times Of The Tragically Hip reveals: • The behind the scenes story of how the band took over The Horseshoe Tavern and made it their own • How a high up political personality was instrumental in landing the band their manager • The day-to-day, often unforgiving, spirit-grinding days of life on the road in Canada • The ins and outs of opening for three of the biggest groups in the history of rock and roll The Tragically Hip are not cartoon rockers. They are real men who live by their creativity and their principles. Through extensive research and a couple of well-placed sources, author Marc Shapiro has put together a complete look at The Tragically Hip’s rise: from their humble Kingston, Ontario roots, to endless tours, to their internal struggles to keep their music fresh, to the fanatic loyalty they fostered in millions of Canadian fans. These fans shed more than a few tears when it was announced that singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with brain cancer, and that The Hip were about to embark on what might be their final tour. Marc Shapiro is the author of more than 75 books. His most recent releases include Trump This! The Life And Times Of Donald Trump and Hey Joe: The Unauthorized Biography Of A Rock Classic. When he is not working, which is rare, he can usually be found mowing the lawn, taking out the trash and walking the dog.
Author: Marc Shapiro
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
Published: 2016-02-26
Total Pages: 106
ISBN-13: 1626012636
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWho is Donald Trump? Even after a yearlong presidential campaign, and constant media coverage, many Americans don’t know if he’s for real or just a businessman turned showman turned politician who has become President of the United States. His path to the White House, from early childhood through the 2016 campaign and Election are laid bare in Trump This! The Life And Times of Donald Trump: An Unauthorized Biography written by New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro. Bringing insight into the psychology and motivation of Donald Trump was the equivalent of solving a mystery. What guides Trump to the decisions he makes? Is his personality real or just a caricature driven smokescreen? Is he the living embodiment of a brand or does a heart and soul lurk beneath his flamboyant and often-bullying exterior? In answering those questions many heretofore unknown facts came to life. Trump’s grandfather ran brothels during The Gold Rush years. His father allegedly ran with The Ku Klux Klan. Trump punched out a teacher in the second grade. Trump lived a wild, sexually charged life at Studio 54. The true story of how Trump avoided the draft. The affair that wrecked his first marriage. Why Trump sued a man because he had the same last name. His biggest business successes and failures. If you only discovered Donald Trump with the television show The Apprentice or with his race for President of the United States, the chances are you think you know quite a bit about Donald Trump. But the reality is that, like all larger than life personalities, Trump has cultivated his public image well. He’s been selective in what he’s let out and, when pressed, he’s been quick to deny. Trump This! The Life And Times of Donald Trump: An Unauthorized Biography has dug deep into the truth that is Donald Trump. And this is what we’ve found.
Author: Marc Shapiro
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
Published: 2021-07-14
Total Pages: 69
ISBN-13: 1626015902
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDetermination. Challenges met and triumphed over. Talent in the heart and soul of her words. And the drive to make history from a young woman who is wise and grown up beyond her years. These are all elements of the first feel good story of 2021, the triumph and history-making journey of Amanda Gorman. A journey, as chronicled in the biography of the young Black poetess whose happy ending concluded at the White House as the featured reader at President Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony, Word Up: The Life of Amanda Gorman by New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro. Word Up: The Life of Amanda Gorman tells the inspirational story of a young girl born to a single mother, her challenges involving a speech impediment and the ultimate drive and determination to become a National Poet Laureate. Gorman did all this while carrying a full class load at Harvard University and, through perseverance and an innate drive to succeed, used her talents and the power of the written word for the betterment of social and political justice around the world. And almost as an afterthought, she will tell anyone who listens that she may one day become the President of The United States. Amanda Gorman has, at the ripe old age of 23, set a high bar for the promise and future of generations to come. “It’s a story with a happy ending,” says author Marc Shapiro. “Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better. This is real life and an object lesson to all the young women out there who are looking for a role model to inspire them to their full potential. Amanda Gorman is that role model.” Word Up: The Life of Amanda Gorman is the true story of an amazing young woman who has made her mark on the world on her own terms.
Author: Chuck Liddell
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 340
ISBN-13: 9780525950561
DOWNLOAD EBOOKTraces the Ultimate Fighting Champion's journey from a bartending job in California to his forefront position as a top-ranked light-heavyweight fighter, describing his intellectual youth, training in martial arts, and numerous UFC victories.
Author: Mc Shapiro
Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
Published: 2015-09-10
Total Pages: 86
ISBN-13: 1626012202
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhere does reality stop and fantasy begin? In the case of The Walking Dead superstar Norman Reedus, the question is still very much up in the air. His Daryl Dixon is a very flawed, psychologically scarred character in a zombie-infested world. And there is much in his portrayal that is informed by a real life that is equally flawed and equally scarred. In Norman Reedus: An Unauthorized Biography: True Tales of the Walking Dead’s Zombie Hunter, the first detailed look at Norman Reedus’ life and times, you will get it all. The good, the bad and the ugly. This book chronicles his days as a defiant young man in a fractured but ultimately liberating family life, allegations of physical abuse from Reedus himself, to his struggles in the Los Angeles art underground, alcohol problems that saw him in AA and, for a time, homeless, his breakthrough in acting, modeling and the slow, steady and never boring journey through love, fatherhood and his often truly odd professional choices. You’ll discover why Reedus said thanks but no thanks to an offer to play opposite a reigning superstar, how he became Daryl Dixon and how The Walking Dead changed his life. Oh yes, there is that penchant for roadkill. New York Times Bestselling author Marc Shapiro has dug deep, tracking down people who knew him way back when as well as in the here and now for original interviews. They were willing to talk and they revealed stories about Reedus that even the most fanatic fans won’t know. The author’s research was relentless, digging into deep, dark and obscure corners. Norman Reedus’ world is about real life wrapped around a world of fantasy. Norman Reedus: The Unauthorized Biography: True Tales of the Walking Dead’s Zombie Hunter pulls no punches, tells only the truth and leaves the rest up to the reader. Which ultimately is the way Norman Reedus would want it.
