Book picks similar to
Into the Wilderness: An Artist's Journey by Stephen Lyman
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Earth Song: Inside Michael Jackson's Magnum Opus
Joseph Vogel - 2011
In both subject and sound, it was like nothing else on the radio. It defied the cynicism and apathy of Generation X; it challenged the aesthetic expectations for a "pop song" (or even a "protest song"), fusing blues, opera, rock and gospel; and it demanded accountability in an era of corporate greed, globalization and environmental indifference. A massive hit globally (reaching #1 in over fifteen countries), it wasn't even offered as a single in the United States. Yet nearly two decades later, it stands as one of Jackson's greatest artistic achievements. In this groundbreaking monograph, author Joseph Vogel details the song's context and evolution from its inception in Vienna in 1988, to its release and reception in 1995, to Jackson's final live performance in Munich in 1999. Based on original research, including interviews with the song's key participants, Earth Song: Inside Michael Jackson's Magnum Opus offers a fascinating reassessment of this prophetic musical statement.
Staring at Sound: The True Story of Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips
Jim DeRogatis - 2006
The album sold a million copies worldwide, introduced the Flaming Lips to a mass audience, and made them one of the best-known cult bands in rock history.Staring at Sound is the tale of the Flaming Lips's fascinating career (which, in reality, began in 1983) and the many colorful personalities in their orbit, especially Wayne Coyne, their charismatic and visionary founder. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with the band, it follows the Flaming Lips through the thriving indie-rock underground of the 1980s and the alternative-rock movement of the early '90s, during which they found fans in such rock legends as Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Robert Plant, and Devo, and respected peers in such acts as the White Stripes, Radiohead, and Beck. It concludes with exclusive coverage of the creation of the group's latest album, At War with the Mystics.
Just Don't Call Me Ma'am: How I Ditched the South, Forgot My Manners, and Managed to Survive My Twenties with (Most of) My Dignity Still Intact
Anna Mitchael - 2010
In fact, she may even be a lot like you. In her fast-moving world, she might be called on as a friend, coworker, daughter, girlfriend, confidante, brat, cynic, or domestic-goddess-in-training. She's willing to juggle pretty much anything that gets thrown her way, but the one label she simply won't embrace is ma'am.Like so many bright-eyed college graduates before her, Mitchael begins her twenties armed with the conviction that the world is hers for the taking. And she discovers that it is, mostly—only no one told her just how often she’d have to pick herself up off the floor along the way.Written for every woman who’s experienced the ups and downs of trying to figure out who you’re really meant to be, Just Don’t Call Me Ma’am is a story of one woman and the choices that add up to be her twentysomething life—and of how sometimes you have to remember where you came from before you can figure out where you’re going.
How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold: Simple Techniques for Expressive Painting
Patti Mollica - 2018
In this book, artist and workshop teacher Patti Mollica walks you through surprisingly simple and efficient strategies for achieving that kind of powerful composition, whatever your subject. Complete with timed exercises and start-to-finish painting demonstrations, this book is for any artist who feels overwhelmed by where to start or daunted by the urge to paint everything in sight. Patti Mollica's mindful approach will lead you to better, bolder results, as well as greater confidence and joy in the process. So load your palette with ample paint, grab some fat brushes and get ready to paint fast, paint loose, paint bold. Start with a strong, simple value statement Get expressive with color Be brave with your brushwork 5 technique exercises 5 start-to-finish painting demonstrations Paint fearlessly!
Babble
Charles Saatchi - 2013
From 'The hideousness of the art world', 'Being thick is no obstacle to being a successful artist' and 'Painting is a blind man's obsession'; to 'Socialising for party duds', 'Love may be blind, but marriage is an eye-opener' and 'If it can't be explained by science, try a seance'.
Tracking the Wild Coomba: The Life of Legendary Skier Doug Coombs
Robert Cocuzzo - 2016
Arguably the greatest adventure skier to ever live, Doug Coombs pioneered hundreds of first descents....
Antonio Gaudí: Master Architect
Juan Bassegoda Nonell - 2000
The text covers the full range of his oeuvre, describing early assignments in the 1870s as a draftsman for leading architects in Barcelona, the innovative buildings he created for the Güell Palace and Estate, daring new structural solutions at Bellesguard, architecture inspired by nature at the Casa Calvet and in the Park Güell, and the construction of his unfinished masterpiece, the Church of the Sagrada Familia, which occupied him until his death. The author traces all the influences that led to his definitive style, from his fascination with the Orient and neogothicism to his affinity for naturalism and specific geometric forms.Brilliantly illustrated, this incisive overview of Gaudí's visionary work is ideal for those who delight in his architecture as well as those who look forward to traveling to Spain to see his monumental legacy.
Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic
Adam Shoalts - 2019
A place where, in our increasingly interconnected, digital world, it's still possible to wander for months without crossing a single road, or even see another human being.Between his starting point in Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory, to his destination in Baker Lake, Nunavut, lies a maze of obstacles: shifting ice floes, swollen rivers, fog-bound lakes, and gale-force storms. And Shoalts must time his departure by the breakup of the spring ice, then sprint across nearly 4,000 kilometers of rugged, wild terrain to arrive before winter closes in.He travels alone up raging rivers that only the most expert white-water canoeists dare travel even downstream. He must portage across fields of jagged rocks that stretch to the horizon, and navigate labyrinths of swamps, tormented by clouds of mosquitoes every step of the way. And the race against the calendar means that he cannot afford the luxuries of rest, or of making mistakes. Shoalts must trek tirelessly, well into the endless Arctic summer nights, at times not even pausing to eat.But his reward is the adventure of a lifetime.Heart-stopping, wonder-filled, and attentive to the majesty of the natural world, Beyond the Trees captures the ache for adventure that afflicts us all.
No Turning Back: One Man's Inspiring True Story of Courage, Determination, and Hope
Bryan Anderson - 2011
Screwed
Ronnie Thompson - 2008
Being a prison officer was something I used to be proud of. I soon realised the truth of what its like working as a screw, though.It's afucking headache. Corruption, danger, violence. Welcome to my world.'Ronnie Thompson was just an ordinary guy. That is, until hebecame a prison officer. By the time he started work at HMP Romwell, he realised he was actually a nurse, a copper, a probation officer, a carer, a councillor, a social worker and, of course, an incarcerator all in one. Oh, and a punch bag for the cons and bosses.In SCREWED, Ronnie tells it like it is. Hereveals what really goes on behind bars-the times when force is necessary and used, and when it is unnecessary but still used.He exposes the underworld of bent screws, the drugs they traffic, the firms they work for and what they get paid for their sins.He shows how it is left down to a small group of officers to control an over-flowing prison, keep an eye out for corrupt govenors, and dodge the deluded human rights campaigners. Ultimately, he shows us that being a good screw doesnt always mean sticking to the rules...
Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs
Pete Souza - 2017
senator, in January 2005, and served as the chief official White House photographer for the President's full two terms. Souza was with President Obama more often, and at more crucial moments, than any friend or staff member, or even the First Lady--and he photographed it all. Souza captured nearly 2 million photographs of Obama, in moments ranging from classified to disarmingly candid.This large-format (12"x10"), exquisitely produced book presents more than 300 of Souza's favorite and most iconic images from these historic years; many have never been seen before. This seminal work on the Obama presidency documents moments of national importance--including the historic image of the President and his advisors watching tensely in the Situation Room as the Bin Laden mission unfolded--alongside unguarded moments with the President's family, his many encounters with children, and his time spent interacting with world leaders, members of Congress, White House staff, artists, musicians and more.The photographs are paired with captions and stories providing behind-the-scenes context for each, and offer insight into the special relationship Souza and the President forged during their time together. The result is a stunning record of a landmark era in American history.Souza's work enabled us to feel that we knew the President. This book puts us in the White House with him.
Inside Parkhurst: Stories of a Prison Officer
David Berridge - 2021
Riots. Cell fires. Medical emergencies. Understaffed wings. Suicides. Hooch. Weapons. It's all in a week's work at HMP Parkhurst.David Berridge has spent 28 years working as a prison officer, with 22 years at Parkhurst. A tough character with a big personality and a dark sense of humour, David has had to deal with it all - serial killers and gangsters, terrorists and sex offenders, psychopaths and addicts. Inside Parkhurst is his raw, uncompromising look at what really went on behind the massive walls and menacing gates of one of Britain's highest security prisons.David has been assaulted and abused, he has tackled cell fires and attempted suicides, riots and dirty protests; he has foiled escaped plans, talked inmates down from rooftop protests, witnessed prisoners setting fire to themselves, and prisoners ruthlessly murdering other prisoners. With this book he takes us inside this secret world for the first time. Thrown in at the deep end, David quickly had to work out how to deal with the most cunning and volatile of prisoners, and how to avoid their scams - and he's been doing this for nearly three decades. Reggie Kray, Gary Glitter, Robert Maudsley, Peter Sutcliffe, Ian Brady and several senior IRA leaders were among David's most high-profile charges.With this raw, searingly honest account, he guides us around the wings, the segregation unit, the hospital and the exercise yard, and gives vivid portraits of the drug taking, the hooch making, the constant and irrepressible violence, and the extraordinary lengths our prison officers go to everyday. Divided into three parts - the first from David's early years on the wings, the second the middle of his career, and the third his disillusioned later years - David will use an episodic format to take readers to the heart of life inside and shine a light on the escalating violence, the lack of support for officers and the impact the government cuts are really having on the wings.Both horrifying and hilarious, David's book will shock, entertain and inspire in equal measure.
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey
Peter Guralnick - 2003
But the powerful influence of the blues, with its dramatic, artful storytelling about the elemental experience of being alive, is found in the works of some of our most important literary voices as well. This volume -- a companion to the groundbreaking seven-part documentary series "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" -- represents a literary sampler every bit as vibrant and original and diverse as the films and music that inspired it. Included in this stunning collection are newly commissioned essays by David Halberstam, Hilton Als, Suzan-Lori Parks, Elmore Leonard, Luc Sante, John Edgar Wideman, and others; timeless archival pieces by the likes of Stanley Booth, Paul Oliver, and Mack McCormick; evocative color illustrations and rare vintage photography; illuminating and in-depth conversations and portraits of musicians, ranging from Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith to John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton; lyrics of legendary blues compositions; personal essays by the series directors Martin Scorsese, Charles Burnett, Richard Pearce, Wim Wenders, Marc Levin, Mike Figgis, and Clint Eastwood; and excerpts from such literary masters as James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, Eudora Welty and Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and William Faulkner. The result is a unique and timeless celebration of the blues, from writers and artists as esteemed and revered as the music that moved them. In these pages one not only reads about the blues, one hears them, feels them, lives them. "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues" is more than atimeless collection of great writing to be savored and shared: it is an unforgettable initiation into the very essence of American music and culture.
Settling the Wind
Kari August - 2018
Yet that is exactly what Henrietta Schodde determines she will do as she impetuously buys a cabin in the newly forming settlement of Estes Park. Despite assurances from Henrietta that the locals appear amiable, her relatives are concerned and recruit the assistance of long-time family friend Collan Wallace, who unbeknownst to Henrietta, has also just begun homesteading in the area.The last thing Collan desires is to watch over the woman who has been his nemesis since childhood. But the pair quickly realize that there is more than each other to fight about when they discover an unscrupulous Englishman, Lord Dunraven, is hungry for their land.Endearing and engaging, Settling the Wind, is historical fiction based on actual events that reveals the courage of Colorado’s pioneers in the face of more struggles than they could have imagined.
Humans of New York
Brandon Stanton - 2013
With four hundred color photos, including exclusive portraits and all-new stories, Humans of New York is a stunning collection of images that showcases the outsized personalities of New York.Surprising and moving, Humans of New York is a celebration of individuality and a tribute to the spirit of the city.