This major study of the composer's life and work follows thecourse of Bach's career in rich detail - from his humble beginningsas an organ tuner and self-taught musician, to his role asKapellmeister and cantor of St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig. Itexplores Bach's relations with the German aristocracy, the Churchand contemporary theological debates, his perfectionism, and hisrole as the devoted head of a large family. The author alsocarefully analyses Bach's innovations in harmony and counterpoint,placing them in the context of European musical and socialhistory.

A wild, lyrical, and anguished autobiography, in which CharlesMingus pays short shrift to the facts but plunges to the verybottom of his psyche, coming up for air only when it pleases him.He takes the reader through his childhood in Watts, his musicaleducation by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, andCharlie Parker, and his prodigious appetites--intellectual,culinary, and sexual. The book is a jumble, but a glorious one, bya certified American genius.

The first account—prodigiously researched, richly detailed—ofthe last remarkable twenty-five years of the life and art of one ofAmerica’s greatest and most beloved musical icons. Much has been written about Louis Armstrong, but most of itfocuses on the early and middle stages of his long career. Now,Ricky Riccardi—jazz scholar and musician—takes an in-depth look atthe years in which Armstrong was often dismissed as a buffoon?ish,if popular, entertainer, and shows us instead the inventiveness anddepth of expression that his music evinced during this time. These are the years (from after World War II until his death in1971) when Armstrong entertained crowds around the world andrecorded his highest-charting hits, including “Mack the Knife” and“Hello, Dolly”; years when he collaborated with, among others, EllaFitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck; when he recorded withstrings and big bands, and, of course, with the All-Stars, hisprimary performing ensemble for more than

In his acclaimed book Lincoln's Virtues , William LeeMiller explored Abraham Lincoln's intellectual and moraldevelopment. Now he completes his "ethical biography," showing howthe amiable and inexperienced backcountry politician wastransformed by constitutional alchemy into an oath-bound head ofstate. Faced with a radical moral contradiction left by thenation's Founders, Lincoln struggled to find a balance between theuniversal ideals of Equality and Liberty and the monstrousinjustice of human slavery. With wit and penetrating sensitivity, Miller brings together thegreat themes that have become Lincoln's legacy—preserving theUnited States of America while ending the odious institution thatcorrupted the nation's meaning—and illuminates his remarkablepresidential combination: indomitable resolve and suprememagnanimity.

An enraged man abducts his estranged wife and child, holes upin a secluded mountain cabin, threatening to kill them both. Aright wing survivalist amasses a cache of weapons and resists callsto surrender. A drug trafficker barricades himself and his familyin a railroad car, and begins shooting. A cult leader in Waco,Texas faces the FBI in an armed stand-off that leaves many dead ina fiery blaze. A sniper, claiming to be God, terrorizes the DCmetropolitan area. For most of us, these are events we hear abouton the news. For Gary Noesner, head of the FBI’s groundbreakingCrisis Negotiation Unit, it was just another day on the job. In Stalling for Time, Noesner takes readers on a heart-poundingtour through many of the most famous hostage crises of the pastthirty years. Specially trained in non-violent confrontation andcommunication techniques, Noesner’s unit successfully defused manypotentially volatile standoffs, but perhaps their most hard-wonvictory was earning the recognition and respect of the

As he magnificently combines meticulous scholarship withirresistible narrative appeal, Richardson draws on his closefriendship with Picasso, his own diaries, the collaboration ofPicasso's widow Jacqueline, and unprecedented access to Picasso'sstudio and papers to arrive at a profound understanding of theartist and his work. 800 photos.

Andrew Jackson, his intimate circle of friends, and histumultuous times are at the heart of this remarkable book about theman who rose from nothing to create the modern presidency. Belovedand hated, venerated and reviled, Andrew Jackson was an orphan whofought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to hiswill in the cause of democracy. Jackson’s election in 1828 usheredin a new and lasting era in which the people, not distant elites,were the guiding force in American politics. Democracy made itsstand in the Jackson years, and he gave voice to the hopes and thefears of a restless, changing nation facing challenging times athome and threats abroad. To tell the saga of Jackson’s presidency,acclaimed author Jon Meacham goes inside the Jackson White House.Drawing on newly discovered family letters and papers, he detailsthe human drama–the family, the women, and the inner circle ofadvisers–that shaped Jackson’s private world through years of stormand victory. One of our most significant

There is a superstition that if an emptied theater is ever leftcompletely dark, a ghost will take up residence. To prevent this, asingle "ghost light" is left burning at center stage after theaudience and all of the actors and musicians have gone home. FrankRich's eloquent and moving boyhood memoir reveals how theateritself became a ghost light and a beacon of security for a childfinding his way in a tumultuous world. Rich grew up in the small-townish Washington,D.C., of the 1950s and early '60s, a place where conformity seemedthe key to happiness for a young boy who always felt different.When Rich was seven years old, his parents separated--at a timewhen divorce was still tantamount to scandal--and thereafter he andhis younger sister were labeled "children from a broken home."Bouncing from school to school and increasingly lonely, Rich becameterrified of the dark and the uncertainty of his future. But therewas one thing in his life that made him sublimely happy: theBroadway theater. Rich's parents w

Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, and important book. THE NEW YORK TIMES If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle,and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man wasMalcolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is the result of a uniquecollaboration between Alex Haley and Malcolm X, whose voice andphilosophy resonate from every page, just as his experience and hisintelligence continue to speak to millions.

The Secretary of Defense for the Kennedy and Johnsonadministrations provides an account of how and why America becameinvolved in Vietnam and discusses the long-term ramifications ofdecisions made during the 1960s. Reprint. 125,000 firstprinting.

The 22-year old James Boswell first met Johnson, who was then aged 54, in 1763. Nine years later he wrote in his journal of his 'constant plan to write the life of Mr Johnson'. Boswell was tireless in his search for authenticated proof, and his training as a lawyer helped him sift the evidence of friends and to operate forensically on Johnson himself. Boswell drew him out as no one else could, and although three-quarters of the book concerns the last twenty years of Johnson's life, his skill in constructing the early years is remarkable. The text of this complete and unabridged edition is that of the 1791 first edition, and it remains, by common consent, the greatest biography in the English language. Johnson's centrality in 18th century letters is established not only by Boswell's record of his life and conversations, but also by the success of the work in placing him in a literary and cultural context. James Boswell (1740-95) was educated at Edinburgh and Glasgow universities as a lawyer. He moved to

This comprehensive, original portrait of the life and work ofone of America's greatest poets--set in the social, cultural, andpolitical context of his time--considers the full range of writingsby and about Whitman, including his early poems and stories, hisconversations, letters, journals, newspaper writings, and daybooks. of photos.

Fully documented and highly detailed, this is the biographythat Sinatra tried but failed to stop. A runaway #1 bestseller. HC:Bantam. (Nonfiction)

Michael Jackson: The Making of "Thriller" is an illustratedtribute to the King of Pop and his groundbreaking music video, withnever-before-seen photos of its creation. The book features over200 exclusive, behind-the-scenes photographs of the artist on setduring the 1983 production of the Grammy award winning videodirected by John Landis. Considered to be the most successful project of all time,"Thriller" is beloved the world over, inspiring imitation and acult-like following of millions of fans. Documenting the creationof the most popular and iconic music video of all time, this bookcelebrates the artist and his music at the top of his career. Famed photographer Douglas Kirkland and journalist Nancy Griffinwere the only members of the media allowed on the set of the video.The resulting photos capture Jackson both in high performance modeand relaxing on the set and depict his transformation into thecharacters in the video as well capturing the public and privatefaces of Michael Jackson.

V. S. Naipaul has always faced the challenges of "fitting onecivilization to another." In A Writer's People , he takes usinto this process of creative and intellectual assimilation, whichhas shaped both his writing and his life. Naipaul discussesthe writers to whom he was exposed early on—Derek Walcott, GustaveFlaubert, and his father, among them—and his first encounters withliterary culture. He illuminates the ways in which the writings ofGandhi, Nehru, and other Indian writers both reveal and conceal theauthors themselves and their nation. And he brings the samescrutiny to bear on his own life: his early years in Trinidad; theempty spaces in his family history; his ever-evolving reactions tothe more complicated India he would encounter for the first time atage thirty.

"Perhaps Mr. Stearn's greatest achievement . . . is that hehas given his subject such universality. The reader is left withthe firm conviction, not that Edgar Cayce was a unique'odd-man-out,' but that he spoke for the sleeping prophet that liesdormant in every human being." -- Noel Langley The life and story of Edgar Cayce is one of the most compellingin metaphysical literature. For more than forty years, the"Sleeping Prophet" closed his eyes, entered into an altered stateof consciousness, and spoke to the very heart and spirit ofhumankind on subjects such as health, healing, dreams, prophecy,meditation, and reincarnation. Now in a 30th Anniversary SpecialEdition printing, Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet is afascinating biography that will hold the reader spellbound andleaving him or her in wonder at the the potential of humankind. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out ofprint or unavailable edition of this title.

Tony Blair is a politician who defines our times. Hisemergence as Labour Party leader in 1994 marked a seismic shift inBritish politics. Within a few short years, he had transformed hisparty and rallied the country behind him, becoming prime ministerin 1997 with the biggest victory in Labour’s history, and bringingto an end eighteen years of Conservative government. He took Labourto a historic three terms in office as Britain’s dominant politicalfigure of the last two decades. A Journey is Tony Blair’s firsthand account of his years inoffice and beyond. Here he describes for the first time his role inshaping our recent history, from the aftermath of Princess Diana’sdeath to the war on terror. He reveals the leadership decisionsthat were necessary to reinvent his party, the relationships withcolleagues including Gordon Brown, the grueling negotiations forpeace in Northern Ireland, the implementation of the biggestreforms to public services in Britain since 1945, and hisrelationships with l

“You keep fighting, okay?” I whispered. “We’re in thistogether. You and me. You’re not alone. You hear me? You are notalone. ” 5:38 p.m. It was the precise moment Sean Manning was born and thetime each year that his mother wished him happy birthday. But justbefore he turned twenty-seven, their tradition collapsed. A heartattack landed his mom in the hospital and uprooted Manning from hislife in New York. What followed was a testament to a family’sindestructible bond—a life-changing odyssey that broke a boy andmade a man—captured here in Manning’s indelible memoir.

Here is the most important autobiography from RenaissanceItaly and one of the most spirited and colorful from any time orplace, in a translation widely recognized as the most faithful tothe energy and spirit of the original. Benvenuto Cellini was both a beloved artist in sixteenth-centuryFlorence and a passionate and temperamental man of action who wascapable of brawling, theft, and murder. He counted popes,cardinals, kings, and dukes among his patrons and was the adoringfriend of—as he described them—the “divine” Michelangelo and the“marvelous” Titian, but was as well known for his violent feuds. Atage twenty-seven he helped defend the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome,and his account of his imprisonment there (under a mad castellanwho thought he was a bat), his escape, recapture, and confinementin “a cell of tarantulas and venomous worms” is an adventure equalto any other in fact or fiction. But it is only one in a long lifelived on a grand scale. Cellini’s autobiography is n

When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked'What is a hero?' I remember the glib response I repeated somany times. My answer was that a hero is someone who commitsa courageous action without considering the consequences--a soldierwho crawls out of a foxhole to drag an injured buddy tosafety. And I also meant individuals who are slightly largerthan life: Houdini and Lindbergh, John Wayne, JFK, and JoeDiMaggio. Now my definition is completely different. Ithink a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength topersevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles: afifteen-year-old boy who landed on his head while wrestling withhis brother, leaving him barely able to swallow or speak; TravisRoy, paralyzed in the first thirty seconds of a hockey game in hisfreshman year at college. These are real heroes, and so arethe families and friends who have stood by them." The whole world held its breath when Christopher Reeve struggledfor life on Memorial Day, 1995. On the