Something Wonderful: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution


Todd S. Purdum - 2018
    Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play. Their songs and dance numbers served to advance the drama and reveal character, a sharp break from the past and the template on which all future musicals would be built.Though different in personality and often emotionally distant from each other, Rodgers and Hammerstein presented an unbroken front to the world and forged much more than a songwriting team; their partnership was also one of the most profitable and powerful entertainment businesses of their era. They were cultural powerhouses whose work came to define postwar America on stage, screen, television, and radio. But they also had their failures and flops, and more than once they feared they had lost their touch.Todd S. Purdum’s portrait of these two men, their creative process, and their groundbreaking innovations will captivate lovers of musical theater, lovers of the classic American songbook, and young lovers wherever they are. He shows that what Rodgers and Hammerstein wrought was truly something wonderful.

5 Days in May: The Coalition and Beyond


Andrew Adonis - 2013
    The talks ultimately resulted in failure for Labour amid recriminations on both sides and the accusation that the Lib Dems had conducted a dutch auction, inviting Labour to outbid the Tories on a shopping list of demands. Despite calls for him to give his own account of this historic sequence of events, Adonis has kept his own counsel until now. Published to coincide with the third anniversary of the general election that would eventually produce an historic first coalition government since the Second World War, 5 Days In May is a remarkable and important insider account of the dramatic negotiations that led to its formation. It also offers the author's views on what the future holds as the run-up to the next election begins. 5 Days in May presents a unique eyewitness account of a pivotal moment in political history.

Read Better Faster: How to Triple Your Reading Speed and Comprehension Without Speed Reading, Skimming, or Skipping


Debbie Drum - 2017
    These poor reading habits hold us back, and it’s why so many people don’t enjoy reading. You see, your brain is a lot like Goldilocks. When you read too slow, your mind wanders, you get distracted, and reading feels like a chore. When you try to read too fast, you can't comprehend what you're reading. The key is to read at the right speed using the best reading strategies for your learning type. In this short read, you’ll discover proven strategies to read faster without having to: Practice speed-reading techniques for hours and hours Skim text and risk missing crucial information Read cliff notes or shortened versions of a book This book combines the best lessons from speed reading techniques, neuroscience, and modern technology to allow you to read faster and comprehend more than you ever thought possible—and you can start to see the results today! Say Goodbye to Slow Reading Forever! I was always a slow reader. I could never focus long enough to read an entire book. I often forgot what I had just read, and had to re-read sentences over and over again. Reading was a frustrating, slow, and painful experience, so I tried to make up for my poor reading skills by studying more and working harder. But studying hard will only get you so far when you're using the wrong strategies. I wanted to be able to read more, learn more, and, most importantly, remember more of what I was reading. If you’ve quit reading more books than you can remember because of boredom or frustration, this book will change your life—and every book from now on will be a “quick read” for you. Everything changed when I developed a better way to read entire books very fast… Incredible Reading Results in 7 Days I was able to read four large books in my first week of using these methods. In Read Better Faster: How to Triple Your Reading Speed and Comprehension Without Speed Reading, Skimming, or Skipping you will discover: The exact methods anyone can use to read books faster than you ever imagined Never again struggle to finish a book, no matter how big or complex it is Start reading (and finishing) more books your friends and colleagues recommend to you How to guarantee laser-focused reading so you never have to re-read or forget what you just read How to comprehend and retain everything you read using a method that forces your brain to turn what you read into long-term memory storage How to accelerate your ability to learn more by reading faster and remembering more information than ever before This book is perfect for you if: You need to study for an exam, improve your grades, or do better in school You need to learn new business skills to improve your career or company You want to easily breeze through your favorite fiction books so you can enjoy reading even more You’ve always wanted to read more books but just can’t find the time or struggle to get through a book I encourage you to in

Relaxed & Forward: Relationship Advice from Your Horse


Anna Blake - 2016
    They evoke a full range of emotions like hope and courage and valor. They can gallop straight to you with neck arched and tail flagged, and then instantly melt to a stop—just to share your breath.” We’ve been besotted with horses since they had three toes. From the popular Relaxed and Forward blog comes training advice combining the everyday fundamentals of dressage with mutual listening skills. Blake writes with a profound respect for horses and an articulate voice for humans, blending equal parts inspiration and un-common sense. It’s serious training communicated with humor and lightness, because horses like us when we laugh. Most riders want to build a better relationship with their horse. These short essays are geared as much toward attitude as technique, and include topics ranging from reading calming signals from your horse to using breath as your best communication tool. Blake’s writing uses clear descriptions, storytelling, and humor to inspire meaningful, positive communication. Less correction and more direction. Horses are honest; they answer us in kind. If we want a better response, a more fluid conversation and relationship with a horse, we have to be the ones to change first. The other word for that is leadership. By the author of Stable Relation, A Memoir of One Woman’s Spirited Journey Home, by Way of the Barn. “Excitement and delight surge through me every time I see Anna Blake's name as an author. Her writing is filled with deep understanding and heart connection, seasoned with a lively dash of humor. Reading her work is like giving myself a gift...one I can open again and again.” --Kim Walnes, winning USET Three Day Eventer, Riding Instructor/Trainer, and Life Coach.

Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts


Carol Channing - 2002
    Her performance as the droll and leggy Lorelei Lee in the Broadway version of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" made her a star and launched a career that has spanned over fifty years and has included a number of Broadway plays, many television appearances, and two movies, including "Thoroughly Modern Millie," for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. Capping them all, of course, was her Tony award-winning signature performance as the irrepressible Dolly.Conversational in style, and written entirely by Miss Channing, this star-studded chronicle gives you the feeling that you are sitting down with this fascinating woman and having her delight you with tales from her long and amazing life, both personal and professional. You'll be invited behind the scenes for stories featuring an all-star cast of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand, Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Tallulah Bankhead, Gower Champion, Clint Eastwood, Julie Andrews, Marlene Dietrich, David Merrick, Noel Coward, Al Pacino, and Yul Brynner. And you'll learn of the not-so-glamorous times, too, as Miss Channing reveals her theatrical triumphs, her heritage, and her winning battle with ovarian cancer. Through it all, Carol Channing -- the real star of this story -- demonstrates with wit and candor how she kept up her spirits and forged fearlessly ahead.From the first page to its triumphant conclusion -- and including many never-before-seen photographs -- "Just Lucky I Guess" is perhaps Miss Carol Channing's most engaging performance yet.

Amber Earns Her Ears: My Secret Walt Disney World Cast Member Diary


Amber Michelle Sewell - 2013
    What’s it like to work at Walt Disney World?Amber Sewell spent two semesters “earning her ears” at the Happiest Place on Earth, first in the CareerStart Program and then in the better known Disney College Program.During her time backstage, as the Cast Member areas of the theme park are called, Amber kept a diary of her successes and her failures, her moments of delight and her moments of despair, and most of all, her discoveries about what happens when the pixie dust settles and the guests have gone home.Amber will never feel the same about Walt Disney World again.After you’ve read her book, neither will you.

Ten Golden Exercises: (As chosen by a 20 year Physical Therapist)


Daniel Philpot - 2018
    Learn not just what to do, but why it matters- and in simple terms. Presented here is the exercise foundation to preventing the most common biomechanical dysfunctions that we all may face. Whether young or old or somewhere in between- the information in this book will help you physically function better now and throughout your life.

Murder By The Books Vol. 1: Horrific True Stories


R.J. Parker - 2014
    895 pages. - Serial Killers Abridged (Encyclopedia of 100 Serial Killers) - Cold Blooded Killers - Parents Who Killed Their Children: Filicide Serial Killers Abridged The ultimate reference for anyone compelled by the pathology and twisted minds behind the most disturbing of homicidal monsters. From A to Z, starting with Ahmad Suradji and ending with Zhou Kehua, there are names you may not have heard of, but many you have, including, notorious names serial killers; John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, Aileen Wuornos, and Dennis Rader, just to name a few. This reference book will make a great collection for true crime enthusiasts. Cold Blooded Killers Cold Blooded Killers is a blood-curdling collection of some of the most famous and the least known multiple-murder cases including; school shootings, kids who killed their parent(s) and 'going postal' spree killers. Parents Who Killed Their Children: Filicide This collection of "Filicidal Killers" provides a gripping overview of how things can go horribly wrong in once-loving families. This book depicts ten of the most notorious and horrific cases of homicidal parental units out of control. People like--Andrea Yates, Diane Downs, Susan Smith, and Jeffrey MacDonald--who received a great deal of media attention. The author explores the reasons; from addiction to postpartum psychosis, insanity to altruism. "These are 3 books that you will want to keep in your library to read and read again. Every day we are faced with the news of another serial killer or a senseless murder. If for no other reason, read these to stay aware of the dangers that face us, and to watch out for those that may not can watch out for themselves. There are many stories told in this collection, each one horrific. Mr. Parker is a no nonsense writer, he gives the facts (as hard as they are to read) in a straight forward manner. A great deal on this box set." -- Amazon Customer "I love how these books are packed full of facts and details but also have that wonderfully descriptive quality of fiction that makes me lose myself in the story. Several of these stories have stuck with me and I find myself revisiting them time and again as well as sharing them with other readers. I heartily recommend not only for the content, but the economical price as well." -- Kelly Sons

Saturday, 3pm: 50 Eternal Delights of Modern Football


Daniel Gray - 2017
    Sunday lunchtime kick-offs. Absurd ticket prices. Non-black boots. Football's menu of ills is long. Where has the joy gone? Why do we bother? Saturday, 3pm offers a glorious antidote. It is here to remind you that football can still sing to your heart.Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are fifty short essays of prose poetry dedicated to what is good in the game. These are not wallowing nostalgia; they are things that remain sweet and right: seeing a ground from the train, brackets on vidiprinters, ball hitting bar, Jimmy Armfield's voice, listening to the results in a traffic jam, football towns and autograph-hunters. This is fan culture at its finest, words to transport you somewhere else and identify with, words to hide away in a pub and luxuriate in.Saturday, 3pm is a book of love letters to football and a clarion call, helping us find the romance in the game all over again.

A Comma In A Sentence


R. Gopalakrishnan - 2013
    As time passed, railways were built and newspapers appeared, isolated villages like vilakkudi were exposed to social and cultural change. It is this transition that the author, Ranganathans great -great-great grandson, tries to trace through the story of his family.

In the Company of Legends


Joan Kramer - 2015
    These were recognized as high-quality, definitive film portraits, which revitalized the genre and made it a mainstay of television programming.This is their insiders’ view of the famous and the powerful: Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Lew Wasserman, Ronald Reagan, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Jane Fonda, Richard Dreyfuss, Audrey Hepburn, and Bette Davis, among others. Kramer and Heeley’s behind the scenes stories of the productions and the personalities involved are amusing, sometimes moving, often revealing, and have never been told before.

Brooklyn in Love: A Delicious Memoir of Food, Family, and Finding Yourself


Amy Thomas - 2018
    So when Amy finds herself turning forty, moving to Brooklyn, and making way for a baby with a new man in her life, she realizes that starting over may be her biggest opportunity yet.But how do you balance staying out all night dancing with staying up all night soothing a baby? Can a lifelong city girl trade in spontaneity for domesticity? Set amid the backdrop of Brooklyn and Manhattan's foodie scenes, Amy sets out to make her second act even sweeter than the first.

Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George


James Lapine - 2021
    In 1982, James Lapine, at the beginning of his career as a playwright and director, met Stephen Sondheim, nineteen years his senior and already a legendary Broadway composer and lyricist. Shortly thereafter, the two decided to write a musical inspired by Georges Seurat's nineteenth-century painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.Through conversations between Lapine and Sondheim, as well as most of the production team, and with a treasure trove of personal photographs, sketches, script notes, and sheet music, the two Broadway icons lift the curtain on their beloved musical. Putting It Together is a deeply personal remembrance of their collaboration and friend - ship and the highs and lows of that journey, one that resulted in the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning classic.

The Way I Was


Marvin Hamlisch - 1992
    One of the most gifted popular composers of our time, Marvin Hamlisch has written an unforgettable book--outrageously funny, witty, tender, and moving--about the remarkable career that brought him three Academy Awards and international fame by the age of thirty.

Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time


Frank Vlastnik - 2004
    Each listing includes expert commentary that sets the play in historical and cultural context, plus features on the creators and performers, plot synopses, cast and song lists, production details, backstage anecdotes, and more. Four or five beautifully reproduced photographs from each show--the majority never before published--accompany the text and make the shows leap off the page. Appendices and special features include cast albums, poster artists, revivals, guilty pleasures, Off-Broadway musicals, notable flops, and much more.