Banksy's Bristol: Home Sweet Home


Steve Wright - 2007
    The images were taken when Banksy joined Bristol's radical football team The Easton Cowboys on a tour of Mexico to play football against the Zapatista freedom fighters. The new edition also contains sections on the Banksy vs Bristol Museum show, Exit Through The Gift Shop, The Tesco Value Petrol Bomb, an interview with John Nation and more. The book is a celebration of Banksy's street art in his home city of Bristol and places him in the context of 3D, John Nation from the Barton Hill Youth Club, Inkie, Nick Walker and the other artists and musicians who were instrumental in linking Bristol to the original New York hip-hop scene. It is the most revealing account of Banksy's formative years and contains more than one hundred images of his Bristol art, as well as pictures of Banksy at work, many of which have never been published before. Steve Wright, traces Banksy's roots back to the rave culture of the Nineties and draws a rounded picture of an artist who is most famous for being anonymous.

At My Grandmother's Knee: Recipes & Memories Handed Down By Women of the South


Faye Porter - 2011
    If her roots are in the South, your grandmother's recipe box probably includes a dish or two you've longed to recreate.How about her legendary chicken and dumplings or the loaves of zucchini bread she always baked from her garden's summertime bounty? Does your mouth water when you think back on her Sunday pot roasts or the hash brown casserole she always made on Thanksgiving morning? You remember the strawberry pudding cake she whipped up for special birthday dinners? The meals you enjoyed at your grandmother's table may very well have been your first exposure to the notion of Southern hospitality and the idea that we really can show our love through food.Faye Porter's "At My Grandmother's Knee" celebrates grandma's cooking and the stories from the grandchildren whose own memories are sure to spark a few of your own. Throughout this collection, you'll sit at the tables of dozens of Southern grandmas and sample recipes that have made them famous with their family for decades. Don't be surprised if you see a few of your own family favorites along the way.

The Legacy Letters: Messages of Life and Hope from 9/11 Family Members


Tuesday's Children - 2011
    They are first- generation Americans, citizens of other nations, and lifelong New Yorkers. But they all share one thing: They honor their loved ones by living their lives with purpose, and a promise to never forget.These courageous family members share their grief and loss-and hope- speaking in their own words, with love, courage, and strength enough to inspire us all.

Portraits: John Berger on Artists


John Berger - 2015
    In Portraits, Berger connects art and history in revolutionary ways, from the prehistoric paintings of the Chauvet caves to Randa Mdah’s work about contemporary Palestine. In his penetrating and singular prose, Berger presents entirely new ways of thinking about art history, and artists both canonized and obscure, from Rembrandt to Henry Moore, Jackson Pollock to Picasso. Throughout, Berger maintains the essential connection between politics, art and the wider study of culture. A beautifully illustrated walk through many centuries of visual culture from one of the contemporary world's most incisive critical voices.

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)


Andy Warhol - 1975
    A loosely formed autobiography by Andy Warhol, told with his trademark blend of irony and detachmentIn The Philosophy of Andy Warhol—which, with the subtitle "(From A to B and Back Again)," is less a memoir than a collection of riffs and reflections—he talks about love, sex, food, beauty, fame, work, money, and success; about New York, America, and his childhood in McKeesport, Pennsylvania; about his good times and bad in New York, the explosion of his career in the sixties, and his life among celebrities.

That Close: a memory of combat in Vietnam


Robert Driskill - 2017
    The memoir tells his story starting from the ambivalence he had about being drafted through the firefights and wounds he experienced in Vietnam to the estrangement he felt as he walked out of Walter Reed hospital into a civilian world not very interested in a faraway war. It also tells a tale of the commonplace courage of the twenty-year-old infantrymen of Charley Company, 5th of the 12th, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and of the cowardice and character flaws of a Lieutenant more interested in his own glory and advancement than the well-being of his platoon. The good, the bad, and the ugly of a country and an army fighting a distant war for unclear purposes are all on display in this account focused on nine months of war in 1969.

The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers


Mick Minas - 2016
    Author Mick Minas goes behind the scenes-- interviewing players, coaches, and front office personnel--to create the first in-depth look at the history of the Clippers.The Curse is filled with drama: the unauthorized relocation of the franchise that led to the NBA filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Clippers, the disruption of the team's first playoff appearance by the Los Angeles riots, the bold but unsuccessful attempt to sign Kobe Bryant at the peak of his career, and the scandal that ultimately resulted in owner Donald Sterling being banned from the NBA for life. Featuring some of basketball's biggest names, including World B. Free, Elgin Baylor, Danny Manning, Doc Rivers, Larry Brown, Dominique Wilkins, Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul, The Curse delves into the disasters of the past and the complications of the present. This is the definitive history of the NBA's most dysfunctional franchise.

The Contemporaries: Travels in the 21st-Century Art World


Roger White - 2015
    Since then, painting has been declared dead several times over, and contemporary art has now expanded to include just about any object, action, or event: dance routines, slideshows, functional hair salons, seemingly random accretions of waste. In the meantime, being an artist has gone from a join-the-circus fantasy to a plausible vocation for scores of young people in America.But why--and how and by whom--does all this art get made? How is it evaluated? And for what, if anything, will today's artists be remembered? In The Contemporaries, Roger White, himself a young painter, serves as our spirited, skeptical guide through this diffuse creative world.White takes us into the halls of the RISD graduate program, where students learn critical lessons that go far beyond how to apply paint to canvases. In New York, we meet the neophytes who assist established artists--and who walk the fine line between "assistance" and "making the art." In Milwaukee, White trails a group of friends trying to create a viable scene where rent is cheap, but where the spotlight rarely shines. And he gives us an intimate perspective on three wildly different careers: that of Dana Schutz, an emerging star who is revitalizing painting; Mary Walling Blackburn, whose challenging art defies market forces; and Stephen Kaltenbach, a '70s wunderkind who is back on the critical radar, perhaps in spite of his own willful obscurity.From young artists trying to elbow their way in to those working hard at dropping out, White's essential book offers a once-in-a-generation glimpse of the inner workings of the American art world at a moment of unparalleled ambition, uncertainty, and creative exuberance.

Dear Theo


Vincent van Gogh - 1914
    Van Gogh's letters lay bare his deepest feelings, as well as his everyday concerns and his views of the world of art.

Kraftwerk: Publikation


David Buckley - 2011
    This is a new and major biography of the first-ever all-electronic pop group and one of the most influential bands in popular music history, Kraftwerk.

Alias Olympia


Eunice Lipton - 1992
    But had this bold and spirited beauty really descended into prostitution, drunkenness, and early death--or did her life, hidden from history, take a different course altogether? Eunice Lipton's search for the answer combines the suspense of a detective story with the revelatory power of art, peeling off layers of lies to reveal startling truths about Victorine Meurent--and about Lipton herself.

Unwelcomed Songs: Collected Lyrics 1980-1992


Henry Rollins - 2002
    A must for all Rollins fans.

The Last Days Of Letterman


Scott Ryan - 2018
    The final six weeks of the series had guests like Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, and the Obamas. All names you have heard many times. But it was the people behind the scenes who pulled off these twenty-eight unforgettable episodes of late-night television.Author Scott Ryan conducted over twenty interviews with the staffers of David Letterman. Most of the participants had never given interviews before. The writers, directors, producers, and stage managers offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like to work on these shows. Find out what it takes to write a Top Ten list, book a president for a guest spot, and what it was like working at the Ed Sullivan Theater.Long time Letterman writer Bill Scheft penned the foreword for the book. Included are over 100 color photos from staffers' personal collections, as well as publicity photos from the show. Get the first truly inside look at creating an episode of Late Show.Pre-order the book at lastdaysofletterman.com Interviews with:Barbara Gaines - Executive Producer; Sheila Rogers - Supervising Producer/ Talent Executive; Randi Grossack - Associate Director; Kathy Mavrikakis, Supervising Producer; Rick Sheckman, Associate Producer; Brian Teta - Supervising Producer/Segment Producer; Sheryl Zelikson - Music Producer; Jay Johnson - Creative Director, Digital Media; Jerry Foley - Director; Michael Barrie - Writer; Lee Ellenberg - Writer; Jim Mulholland - Writer; Joe Grossman - Writer; Jeremy Weiner - Writer; Steve Young - Writer; Vincent Favale - Executive of Late Night Programing; Eddie Valk - Stage Manager; Bill Scheft - Writer; Janice Penino - Vice President, Human Resources; Jill Goodwin - Writer; and Mike Buczkiewicz - Senior Producer/Segment Producer; Rupert Jee - Hello Deli Owner.Author Scott Ryan (thirtysomething at thirty: an oral history, The Blue Rose, Scott Luck Stories) weaves together memories from the staff with moments from the show in this new book recounting the final six weeks of Letterman's historic thirty-three-year reign as late-night talk show host.Pre-order the book at lastdaysofletterman.com

Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife


Pamela Bannos - 2017
    They revealed her to be an inadvertent master of twentieth-century American street photography. Not long after, the news broke that Maier had recently died and had no surviving relatives. Soon the whole world knew about her preternatural work, shooting her to stardom almost overnight.   But, as Pamela Bannos reveals in this meticulous and passionate biography, this story of the nanny savant has blinded us to Maier’s true achievements, as well as her intentions. Most important, Bannos argues, Maier was not a nanny who moonlighted as a photographer; she was a photographer who supported herself as a nanny. In Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife, Bannos contrasts Maier’s life with the mythology that strangers—mostly the men who have profited from her work—have created around her absence. Bannos shows that Maier was extremely conscientious about how her work was developed, printed, and cropped, even though she also made a clear choice never to display it. She places Maier’s fierce passion for privacy alongside the recent spread of her work around the world, and she explains Maier’s careful adjustments of photographic technique, while explaining how the photographs have been misconstrued or misidentified. As well, Bannos uncovers new information about Maier’s immediate family, including her difficult brother, Karl—relatives that once had been thought not to exist.   This authoritative and engrossing biography shows that the real story of Vivian Maier, a true visionary artist, is even more compelling than the myth.

Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art


Sean Cliver - 2004
    Longtime skateboard artist Sean Cliver put together this staggering survey of over 1,000 skateboard graphics from the last 30 years, creating an indispensable insiders' history as he did so.Alongside his own history, Sean has assembled a wealth of recollections and stories from prominent artists and skateboarders such as: Andy Howell, Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Steve Caballero, and Tony Hawk.The end result is a fascinating historical account of art in the skateboard subculture, as told by those directly involved with shaping its legendary creative face.