Now the big time calls, and Jim accepts an offer to become head of A&R at industry giant WorldWide Records, founded and still run by the legendary maverick Wild Bill DeGaul. Little by little, though, it dawns on Jim that he has walked into a vipers' nest, and he must choose between picking up a dagger in a bloody palace coup against DeGaul or standing by him and losing everything.         Never before in fiction has the music business been so thoroughly nailed, but A&R is as much Julius Caesar as it is The Player: for all its great wit and dead-on insider texture, it's as wise about human nature as it is about one very dysfunctional industry.

    There's nothing sexier than a bad boy who becomes tame for the woman he loves, and it takes some special women to tame these boys! USA TODAY BESTSELLER Playing Patience Perfecting Patience Finding Faith Convincing Constance Having Hope "Breathtaking, heart-wrenching, and beautiful." ~Prisoners of Print "This was one of the best books I've read this year." ~Ana's Attic Book Blog "The moments of beauty and tenderness interspersed throughout a story of such cruelty, emotional turmoil, and heartache will remain with you for a long time to come." ~Totally Booked Blog

    He can be elegant as a slow blues." The Nick Tosches Reader is the author's own selection of his best work over the past thirty years, including fiction, poetry, interviews, rock writing, investigative journalism, and criticism. First published in major magazines, obscure underground periodicals, and his own best-selling books, many of these selections deal with rock 'n' roll and cultural icons—but there are also pieces on everything from William Faulkner to organized crime to heavyweight boxing, including the Vanity Fair feature that gave rise to Tosches's major new book on Sonny Liston, published by Little, Brown. Here is "a unique and darkly impressionistic cultural history" of the last three decades as only Nick Tosches could write it.

    He answered questions such as how do porcupines mate, what exactly does Barney Rubble do for a living, and where is Einstein's brain? His answers changed your life. Or at least settled a bet with a loved one. But surely, you are thinking, all the salient facts of the universe have been ascertained by now. Ha! Get a load of the mysteries The Master explores in this landmark volume:, If Teflon is such a nonsticky substance, how do they get it to stick to the pan? , Is the Great Cabal implanting microchips in our brains?, Do fluorescent lights cause cataracts?, What do Scotsmen wear under those kilts?, Can some people extinguish street lamps by force of their bodily emanations? , Is the U.S. Government really hiding alien spaceships?

    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.

    But long before he was a Backstreet Boy, he was my boy--and I want to share his whole exciting story with you.

    Maybe they're not destined to be together, but their affair is red hot! Just how far is Liz willing to go to follow her fascinating new lover? And what does Sacha really want from here? Enter the extraordinary world of Lisa Swann's new saga...will Liz succumb to the lure of luxury and pleasure? Will Sacha be able to satisfy the burning desire of this young woman? Rocked by a Billionaire: the saga that will make you forget about Fifty Shades of Grey!

    When the rising band’s problems threaten to derail the tour and Jonas slips and reveals their relationship, the lead singer demands that Rhiannon choose between music and love.When Rhiannon is hired as a back-up singer for Killer Valentine, the hottest breakout rock band on the planet, her contract includes an iron-clad no-fraternization clause. However, it doesn’t take her long to figure out that Killer Valentine is falling apart from the stresses of touring and promotion. The band’s manager Jonas Rees, a green-eyed starmaker, is frantically trying to prevent them from self-destructing during their grueling tour and right before their first major-label record deal, but neither Jonas nor Rhiannon can deny the attraction that flares between them.When the band’s problems threaten to derail the tour and Jonas slips and reveals their relationship, the lead singer demands that Rhiannon choose between music and love.

    The Anarchists' Convention is his first short story collection, providing a prism of America through fifteen stories. These everyday people -- a kid on the road heading west, aging political activists, a lonely woman in Boston -- go about their business with humor and resilience, dealing more in possibility than fact. In the widely anthologized and O. Henry Award-winning "I-80 Nebraska," Sayles perfectly renders the image of a pill-popping trucker who has become a legend of the road.

    David Gans, a self-professed Deadhead and host of "The Grateful Dead Hour," asked Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and the rest of the band the questions their fans would have asked if given the chance. And Gans reaches far beyond the musicians, talking with such often-overlooked key players as the recording engineer, sound man, and road crew—those who have had the coveted opportunity to witness the Dead's decades of music-making. This updated and expanded edition includes a rare, never-before-published interview with Seastones composer Ned Lagin and a new introduction by the author. With a readable combination of intensity, inquisitiveness, and candor, Gans has created an unprecedented portrait of a band who, after more than thirty years of music-making, has earned a unique place in American culture.

    In Masterful Marks, top illustrators—including Drew Friedman, Nora Krug, Denis Kitchen, and Peter Kuper—reveal how sixteen visionary cartoonists overcame massive financial, political, and personal challenges to create a new form of art that now defines our world.Superhero comics didn’t exist until two teenagers from Cleveland created the first superhero of all time: Superman. Advertising artist Theodor Geisel released his first book in 1937 as Dr. Seuss—and children’s literature was never the same. Charles M. Schulz’s perseverance and passion gave the world Peanuts, the world’s most famous comic strip. Featuring these tales, and profiling such giants as Walt Disney, Robert Crumb, and the creators of MAD, Tintin, and manga, Masterful Marks illustrates how graphic storytelling became such a rich and popular medium.Masterful Marks is a stunning portrait of the comic art’s aesthetic heritage and a powerful story of how creative vision can change the world.

    With their punk roots, state-of-the-art videos, and notoriously hedonistic lifestyle, they captivated audiences around the world. This new book traces their remarkable story: their rise to fame, their split in 1985, and the ensuing splinter groups, drug addiction, and rehabilitation. In 2001, the original five members regrouped and are enjoying a level of recognition and popularity that few serious music critics would have predicted. Their mixture of synth and swagger has ultimately triumphed due to the core friendships of the band, their flair for memorable pop hooks, and an ambition that dwarfed most of their contemporaries.

     Always straddling the fence between "po-po" and NYPD outsider, Derrick threatened police tradition to try to get the cases solved. He was the first detective to interview an informant offering a detailed account of Biggie Smalls's murder. He protected one of the only surviving eyewitnesses to the Jam Master Jay murder and knows the identity of the killers as well as the motivation behind the shooting. "Notorious C.O.P. "reveals hip-hop crimes that never made the paper--like the robbing of Foxy Brown and the first Hot 97 shooting--and answers some lingering questions about murders that have remained unsolved. The book that both the NYPD and the hip-hop community don't want you to read, "Notorious C.O.P. "is the first insider look at the real links between crime and hip-hop and the inefficiencies that have left some of the most widely publicized murders in entertainment history unsolved.

    He can teach anybody."-- Gay Talese, bestselling author of "Honor Thy Father""Scott Speck is a great communicator of classical music.... Concert audiences and readers alike can't help getting caught up in the joy of his subject."-- David Styers, American Symphony Orchestra LeagueOpera is weird. Everybody wears makeup and sings all the time. Even when they're singing your language, which is rare, you still can't understand the words. Women play men, men play women, and 45-year-olds play teenagers. All the main characters seem to get killed off. And when somebody dies, he takes ten minutes to sing about it. Yet, for all its weirdness, an operatic experience is an experience in breathtaking beauty. When you hear a soprano float a soft high C, or a tenor singing a love song, or a full-throated chorus in the climax of a scene's dramatic finale, you can't help getting goosebumps.Want to experience all that beauty for yourself, but don't know where to begin? "Opera For Dummies" is an excellent place to start. Written by an acclaimed conductor and a musical director, this friendly guide tells you what you need to know to: Understand opera from the Baroque and Roman periods through todayInterpret characters, orchestra, chorus, and other playersUnderstand what's happening, both on stage and offChoose the best seatsIdentify famous operasBuild a great collection of opera recordingsLocate opera sites and chat groups onlineWhether you're interested in attending a live opera, want to build a collection of recordings, or just want to be able to talk about opera intelligently, "Opera For Dummies" is for you. Among other things, you'll explore: The words, the music, and the people who sing itThe history of opera and the lives of the great composersGoing to the opera -- including tips for getting tickets, preparing for the opera, dressing for the opera, and moreMusical and theatrical conventions used in operaIn-depth synopses of the world's most beloved operasOn the bonus CD you'll find: More than 60 minutes of music compiled especially for the bookA multimedia piece for PC or MACWonder what it is about opera that can make a grown person cry like a baby? Find out in "Opera For Dummies.

    The newest Broadway musical by Pulitzer Prize-winning collaborators Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical, 1994.