Few music lovers realize that the arrangement of notes ontoday’s pianos was once regarded as a crime against God and nature,or that such legendary thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, da Vinci,Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and Rousseau played a role inthe controversy. Indeed, from the time of the Ancient Greeksthrough the eras of Renaissance scientists and Enlightenmentphilosophers, the relationship between the notes of the musicalscale was seen as a key to the very nature of the universe. In this engaging and accessible account, Stuart Isacoff leads usthrough the battles over that scale, placing them in the context ofquarrels in the worlds of art, philosophy, religion, politics andscience. The contentious adoption of the modern tuning system knownas equal temperament called into question beliefs that hadlasted nearly two millenia–and also made possible the music ofBeethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, and all who followed. Filledwith original insights, fascinating anecdotes, and portraits ofsome of th

In this compulsively readable, fascinating, and provocativeguide to classical music, Norman Lebrecht, one of the world's mostwidely read cultural commentators tells the story of the rise ofthe classical recording industry from Caruso's first notes to theheyday of Bernstein, Glenn Gould, Callas, and von Karajan. Lebrechtcompellingly demonstrates that classical recording has reached itsend point-but this is not simply an expos? of decline and fall. Itis, for the first time, the full story of a minor art form,analyzing the cultural revolution wrought by Schnabel, Toscanini,Callas, Rattle, the Three Tenors, and Charlotte Church. It is thestory of how stars were made and broken by the record business; howa war criminal conspired with a concentration-camp victim to createa record empire; and how advancing technology, boardroom wars,public credulity and unscrupulous exploitation shaped the musicalbackdrop to our modern lives. The book ends with a suitable shrineto classical recording: the author's critical selectio

For more than 100 years, National Geographic has set thestandard for nature, culture, and wildlife photography. Now, inThrough the Lens, 250 spectacular images—some famous, others rarelyseen—are gathered in one lavish and beautiful volume. Through the Lens is dividedinto geographical regions—Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East,the Americas, and Oceans and Isles—with a special section devotedto space exploration. Each geographical section features anoutstanding array of photographs that exemplifies the area’s uniquepeople, wildlife, archaeology, culture, architecture, andenvironment, accompanied by brief but informative captions. FromBarry Bishop’s heroic Mount Everest climb in the 1950s to theglorious wildlife of Asia and Africa, from ancient Maya culture tothe Afghan girl found 17 years after her piercing green eyescaptivated the world, these are some of the finest and mostimportant photographs ever taken. Featuring master photographers fromthe late 1800s to today, including Fr

Whether Gould's subject is Boulez, Stokowski, Streisand, orhis own highly individual thoughts on performance and creation ofmusic, the reader will be caught up in his intensity, intelligence,passion and devotion.

The bumpin' book for hip-hop disciples (a.k.a. fiends),songwriters, all other writers, pop culture fans, linguists, andparents who are just trying to figure out what their kids aresaying. The inventive sounds of hip-hop (which became America'snumber two music genre in 2001, outselling country) have echoed farfrom their Bronx beginnings of twenty years ago. Making its wayfrom Compton sidewalks to suburban malls, garnering commentary from"The Wall Street Journal "alongside "Vibe," hip-hop by definitiondelivers its messages in the most creative language possible.Celebrating hip-hop's boon to the realm of self-expression, "HipHoptionary"(TM)" "translates dozens of phrases like "marinating inthe rizzi with your road dawg" (relaxing in your car with yourfriend), including: - Big bodies: SUVs or luxury vehicles-Government handle: registered birth name- 411: the latest scoop orinformation- Bling-bling: diamonds, big money, flash and cash-Brick City: Newark, New Jersey- 1812: war, fight (as in War of1812) In ad

An illustrated, inside look at the rock group Nirvana offers acandid look the band's members, chronicling their rapid rise in themusic world and revealing the true story of the drug-abuse rumorssurrounding them.

Preserved by Arabic mathematicians and canonized by Christianscholars, Aristotle’s works have shaped Western thought, science,and religion for nearly two thousand years. Richard McKeon’s TheBasic Works of Aristotle –constituted out of the definitiveOxford translation and in print as a Random House hardcover forsixty years–has long been considered the best available one-volumeAristotle. Appearing in paperback at long last, this editionincludes selections from the Organon, On the Heavens, The ShortPhysical Treatises, Rhetoric, among others, and On the Soul, OnGeneration and Corruption, Physics, Metaphysics, NicomacheanEthics, Politics, and Poetics in their entirety.

In 1931, Diego Rivera was the subject of The Museum of ModernArt s second monographic exhibition, which set new attendancerecords in its five-week run. The Museum brought Rivera to New Yorksix weeks before the show s opening and gave him on-site studiospace. There he produced five "portable murals" --large blocks offrescoed plaster, slaked lime and wood that feature bold imagesdrawn from Mexican subject matter and address themes of revolutionand class inequity. After the opening, to great publicity, Riveraadded three more murals, now taking on New York subjects throughmonumental images of the urban working class and the city duringthe Great Depression. Published in conjunction with an exhibitionthat brings together key works made for Rivera s 1931 show, thiscatalogue casts the artist as a highly cosmopolitan figure whotraveled between Russia, Mexico and the United States and examinesthe intersection of artmaking and radical politics in the 1930s.Illustrated with reproductions of each panel as well as r

Few artists have created as much controversy or survived itwith greater fame than Edouard Manet. In his day, the avant-gardewas not only a challenge to the traditions of art, but it was alsoa gunshot fired at society as a whole. With his painting Olympia(1869), Manet was to become, to quote Degas, as famous asGaribaldi. Yet how the urbane and diffident son of a bourgeoisfamily became the father of both Realism and Impressionism is acomplex and fascinating story that has too often been reduced totextbook clichés. As Manet has become recognized as a touchstonefor historical change but also for interpretations of how thatchange came about, his individual story has become all the morerelevant to the study of art history. Moreover, far from being anartists to shrink behind his work, one of Manets mostcharacteristic practices was to leave an indelible trace of his ownpersonal identity within his paintings, as illustrated throughoutthe volume by eminent scholar James H. Rubin. This lavishlyillustrated volume

From its ancient status as the jewel of an empire to itsmodern incarnation as a troubled, yet culturally vibrant Europeancapital, Rome has compelled the imagination of artists for over twothousand years. Now, in "The History of Rome in Painting", that

This much acclaimed book, newly available in paperback, is thedefinitive retrospective of the most popular serious artist in theworld today, covering all media over almost fifty years. Presentedthematically to show the evolution and diversity of Hockney'sprolific paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and photography,it also features quotes from the artist himself that illuminate thepassionate thinking behind the works produced. Its hugeinternational success confirms Hockney's position as the world'smost popular living artist.

GET READY TO ROCK! In ten easy lessons, PLAY GREAT ROCK GUITAR will take you fromcloseted air guitarist to real-life rocker. Each lesson is linkedto audio files on the included CD, so you can hear exactly whatyou’re learning. Play along with the CD to get just what thosechords, riffs, and melodies are supposed to sound like. Soon you’llbe playing your favorite songs along with your favorite bands—or inyour own rock band! Including the basics of harmony and melody, riffs and solos, andthe fundamentals of blues, rock ‘n roll, classic rock, heavy metal,rhythm guitar, and alternative, PLAY GREAT ROCK GUITAR is foranyone who’s ever dreamed of playing popular music’s most supremelycool instrument—or who’s caught the “Guitar Hero” bug. With thehelpful CD, clear illustrations, and examples from the rock godsyou worship, PLAY GREAT ROCK GUITAR creates the world’s next mastershredder—you!

A huge gathering of the finest American and British song lyricsfrom 1910 to 1975. Robert Kimball, editor of the complete lyrics ofCole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart and next year's IrvingBerlin, and Robert Gottlieb, editor of the recent Reading Jazz,have collaborated to choose the 800 or more most distinguishedlyrics of the century, from early P.G. Wodehouse and the IrvingBerlin of Alexander's Ragtime Band through the greats of Broadwayand Hollywood -- Gershwin, Hart, Porter, Berlin, Oscar Hammerstein,Yip Harbourg, Dorothy Fields, Frank Loesser, Noel Coward -- to theearly triumphs of Stephen Sondheim. Plus many writers who arebarely remembered today -- Don Raye ("Mr. Five by Five", "I'llRemember April"), Bobby Troup ("Route 66", "Daddy") -- withsurprises like Ogden Nash, Maxwell Anderson, Dorothy Parker, andTruman Capote. Over 100 lyricists in all, each one introduced witha brief biography and commentary, and presented chronologically, sothat this big volume not only presents the core of an entireliterat

Paul Nicklen, a resident of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories,has lived nearly all his life in the far north. Trained as abiologist, he is an experienced wilderness guide, as well as aninternationally acclaimed photographer. Huge Brody is an associateof the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge University. Heis the author of several books, including Maps and Dreams, Indianson Skid Row, and Inishkillane: Change and Decline in the West ofIreland. He lives in London.

Vintage presents the paperback edition of the wild andbrilliant writings of Lester Bangs--the most outrageous and popularrock critic of the 1970s--edited and with an introduction by thereigning dean of rack critics, Greil Marcus. Advertising in RollingStone and other major publications.

“My mother prophesied years ago that my voice would take meplaces. She was certain that there was a reason I was able to sing.I am still discovering what that reason is, what it is that Godwants to happen.” –CLAY AIKEN, from Learning to Sing When he was a kid singing in his church choir, Clay Aiken neverdreamed of becoming a pop music star. His ambition was to be ateacher, maybe even a high school principal. But Clay’s mother wasright, and the music that was Clay’s joy in life was destined tolead him to unexpected triumphs. In Learning to Sing, Clay details what his astonishing successhas meant to him. He writes from the heart about his life beforeand since his instant stardom on American Idol, how he has changed,and how he struggles to adapt to life in the public eye. He speakscandidly about his lonely childhood: the father who abandoned him,the school bullies who tormented him, the mother who taught him tobe strong, and the friends and teachers who–more than they everkne