A History of Costume


Carl Köhler - 1946
    Includes many clear, measured patterns for reproducing historic costumes. Full text. 595 illustrations. "Landmark in the field of Western European costume . . . exceptional value for its price." — American Artist.

Warrior Women: 3000 Years of Courage and Heroism


Robin Cross - 2011
    Fighting to the last under a relentless bombardment as government troops stormed the city, they died like men too.History has seen many such arts of courage, daring, and self-sacrifice by women like these. These traits are to be found today, in the opening years of the 21st century, in such women as US Army helicopter pilot Major Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs when her Black Hawk was shot down in Iraq in 2004 and Colonel Martha McSally who flew A-10 ground-attack missions in Afghanistan and became the first woman to command a United States Air Force combat squadron.

The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies


Jason Surrell - 2003
    The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies will illustrate how the Mansion's 999 "grim grinning ghosts" moved from sketches to reality, evolving from earliest story concepts through adaptations and changes as it moved into each of the parks, to the very latest ideas for show enhancements. This book will also confirm or dispel the various myths and rumors that surround the mysterious Mansion's story. In recent years, The Walt Disney Company has seen the demand for theme park attraction-specific merchandise explode, and the Haunted Mansion resides at the top of the list. Fans are waiting with super(natural) anticipation for the upcoming movie, and this book will also explore the latest technology developed to bring the Mansion's inhabitants to an afterlife like never before.

A History of Modern Europe, Volume 2: From the French Revolution to the Present


John M. Merriman - 1996
    A full 10% shorter than its predecessor, the Second Edition has tightened organization throughout to make room for recent research and descriptions of the current issues and events that define Europe's role in the world today.

Rockin' in Time: A Social History of Rock-And-Roll


David P. Szatmary - 1986
    Rockin' in Time intrigues students by providing a social history of Rock and Roll music and explaining its influence. Story: This book was written to address an area that seldom has been discussed. Rather than a compellation of the many bands in rock history or a guide to teach the musical notation of rock, this book uncovers the reasons for the various trends and types of rock and roll. It places rock and roll in the context of the social issues that surround and shape it, dealing with the influence on rock music of such trends as technological advances, the development of the music business, demographic change and the baby boom, economic shifts, and the civil rights movement.

A Modern Method for Guitar: Volumes 1, 2, 3 Complete


William Leavitt - 1999
    Now guitarists can have all three volumes of this classic guitar method in one convenient book! Created by popular demand, this new edition of the method used as the basic text for the renowned Berklee College of Music guitar program is a complete compilation of the original Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Innovative solos, duets and exercises progressively teach melody, harmony and rhythm. Perfect for the serious guitar student and instructor alike.

The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven


Charles Rosen - 1971
    Drawing on his rich experience and intimate familiarity with the works of these giants, Charles Rosen presents his keen insights in clear and persuasive language. For this expanded edition, now available in paperback for the first time, Rosen has provided a new, 64-page chapter on the later years of Beethoven and the musical conventions he inherited from Haydn and Mozart. The author has also written an extensive new preface in which he responds to other writers who have commented on his ideas.

Why Mahler?: How One Man and Ten Symphonies Changed Our World


Norman Lebrecht - 2010
    “Pages of dreary emptiness,” sniffed a leading American conductor. Yet today, almost one hundred years later, Mahler has displaced Beethoven as a box-office draw and exerts a unique influence on both popular music and film scores. Mahler’s coming-of-age began with such 1960s phenomena as Leonard Bernstein’s boxed set of his symphonies and Luchino Visconti’s film Death in Venice, which used Mahler’s music in its sound track. But that was just the first in a series of waves that established Mahler not just as a great composer but also as an oracle with a personal message for every listener. There are now almost two thousand recordings of his music, which has become an irresistible launchpad for young maestros such as Gustavo Dudamel. Why Mahler? Why does his music affect us in the way it does?  Norman Lebrecht, one of the world’s most widely read cultural commentators, has been wrestling obsessively with Mahler for half his life. Pacing out his every footstep from birthplace to grave, scrutinizing his manuscripts, talking to those who knew him, Lebrecht constructs a compelling new portrait of Mahler as a man who lived determinedly outside his own times. Mahler was—along with Picasso, Einstein, Freud, Kafka, and Joyce—a maker of our modern world. “Mahler dealt with issues I could recognize,” writes Lebrecht, “with racism, workplace  chaos, social conflict, relationship breakdown, alienation, depression, and the limitations of medical knowledge.” Why Mahler? is a book that shows how music can change our lives.

The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music


Jim Miller - 1976
    Considine and many others.The photography in the Illustrated History is superlative, representing the works of the most celebrated photographers along with rare snapshots and long-lost photos from the early days of rock. Complete with detailed discographies on every important performer and genre, The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll is an indispensable reference for every fan.

The Beatles Lyrics: The Stories Behind the Music, Including the Handwritten Drafts of More Than 100 Classic Beatles Songs


Hunter Davies - 2014
    For the Beatles, writing songs was a process that could happen anytime -- songs we all know by heart often began as a scribble on the back of an envelope or on hotel stationery. These original documents have ended up scattered across the world at museums and universities and with collectors and friends. Many have never been published before. More than 100 songs and lyrics are reproduced in The Beatles Lyrics, providing Hunter Davies a unique platform to tell the story of the music. The intimacy of these reproductions -- there are sections crossed out and rewritten, and words tossed into the final recordings that were never written down -- ensures that The Beatles Lyrics will be a treasure for musicians, scholars, and fans everywhere.

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory


John Seabrook - 2015
    The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider’s look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters—alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean—this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners’ brains. You’ll never think about music the same way again.A Wall Street Journal Best Business Book

Royal Panoply: Brief Lives of the English Monarchs


Carolly Erickson - 2003
    Royal Panoply recaptures the event-filled, often dangerous, always engaging lives of England’s kings and queens, set against the backdrop of a thousand years of Britain’s past.

The Savvy Musician


David Cutler - 2009
    What next? The professional marketplace is flooded with outstanding musicians, forced to compete for a shrinking number of ""traditional"" opportunities. The Savvy Musician helps balance three overriding aspects of your professional musical life: (1) building a career, (2) earning a living, and (3) making a difference. Filled with clearly articulated concepts, detailed strategies, and 165 vignettes about actual musicians working to create a meaningful and prosperous career, this book examines critical elements often overlooked or misunderstood by musicians, and helps you take control of your career. Discover how to build an immediately recognizable ""brand,"" capitalize on technology—from Internet tools to the new recording paradigm, expand your network, and raise money to fund your dreams. The Savvy Musician is an invaluable resource for performers, composers, educators, students, administrators, industry employees, and others interested in a thriving musical future.

Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation


Philip Norman - 1981
    Now brought completely up to date, this epic tale charts the rise of four scruffy Liverpool lads from their wild, often comical early days to the astonishing heights of Beatlemania, from the chaos of Apple and the collapse of hippy idealism to the band's acrimonious split. It also describes their struggle to escape the smothering Beatles’ legacy and the tragic deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison. Witty, insightful, and moving, Shout! is essential reading not just for Beatles fans but for anyone with an interest in pop music.

Listen to This


Alex Ross - 2010
    Listen to This, which takes its title from a beloved 2004 essay in which Ross describes his late-blooming discovery of pop music, showcases the best of his writing from more than a decade at The New Yorker. These pieces, dedicated to classical and popular artists alike, are at once erudite and lively. In a previously unpublished essay, Ross brilliantly retells hundreds of years of music history—from Renaissance dances to Led Zeppelin—through a few iconic bass lines of celebration and lament. He vibrantly sketches canonical composers such as Schubert, Verdi, and Brahms; gives us in-depth interviews with modern pop masters such as Björk and Radiohead; and introduces us to music students at a Newark high school and indie-rock hipsters in Beijing.Whether his subject is Mozart or Bob Dylan, Ross shows how music expresses the full complexity of the human condition. Witty, passionate, and brimming with insight, Listen to This teaches us how to listen more closely.