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  The Band - Pioneers of Americana...

  Craig Harris

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  Includes previously unpublished interviews and photos: “His research is extensive, but the overall pace through these two hundred pages is breezy and entertaining.” —Vintage Rock   At a time when acid rock and heavy metal dominated popular music, The Band rebelled against the rebellion with tight ensemble arrangements, masterful musicianship, highly literate lyrics, and a respect for the musical traditions of the American South. Comprised of Canadians Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson, and Arkansas-born Levon Helm, The Band sparked a new appreciation for America’s musical roots, fusing R&B, jump blues, country, folk, boogie-woogie, swing, Cajun, New Orleans-style jazz, and rock, and setting the foundations for the Americana that would take hold thirty years later.   The Band: Pioneers of Americana Music explores the diverse influences on the quintet’s music, and the impact that their music had in turn on contemporary music and American society. Through previously unpublished interviews with Robbie Robertson, Eric Andersen, Pete Seeger, and the late Rick Danko, as well as numerous other sources, Craig Harris surveys The Band’s musical journey from sidemen for, among others, Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan to rock legends in their own right.    Touching on the evolution of rock and roll, the electrifying of folk music, unionism, the Civil Rights Movement, changes in radio formatting, shifting perceptions of the American South, and the commercializing of the counterculture, as well as drug dependency, alcoholism, suicide, greed, and the struggle against cancer, Harris takes readers from The Band’s groundbreaking albums, Music from Big Pink and The Band, through their final releases and solo recordings, as well as their historic appearances at Woodstock, the Isle of Wight Festival (with Dylan), Watkins Glen (with the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead), and the filmed final concert known as the Last Waltz (with an all-star cast). Sixteen previously unpublished photographs, by the author, are included.

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  Cultural Repercussions -...

  Bradley J. Birzer

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  A revised & expanded examination of the words and ideas of the man of letters and drummer extraordinaire of the rock band Rush. In January 2020, the world lost not only one of the greatest drummers, but also one of the most insightful lyricists. And a brilliant writer.  Though Neil Peart was universally lauded as drummer for legendary rock band Rush, few studies have been devoted to his writings. Yet, Peart was very much a man of his words. He wrote lyrics, travelogues, essays, cultural criticism, short stories, and fantasy novels. The themes in his writings are timeless: personal journeys, exploration, excellence, growth, philosophy, art, satisfaction and happiness, religion, politics, individualism, natural history, life, love, loss, redemption, and beauty.  Peart wanted every person to persevere through individual trials, find unique gifts and abilities and, ultimately, true happiness. He did not just profess such things; he lived them. Never satisfied with second best or any form of defeat, Peart challenged himself to live up to his own philosophy. And he always succeeded with grace, which earned him even more fervent admirers. Since his death in 2020, Neil Peart has continued to inspire thousands through his music, his words, and his example.  This book—revised and expanded to incorporate Peart’s final years—carefully examines the influence that his life, his witness, and his words have had on others. Neil Peart lived life to the fullest, and he made us each better for it. “Includes some of the strongest analysis of Peart’s lyrics that you’ll find, and does a rigorous job of nailing down the tenets of Peart’s ever-evolving philosophy.” —PROG Magazine

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  Tales of a Patchwork Life - A...

  Brighid 'Biddy' McLaughlin

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  Brighid 'Biddy' McLaughlin, the acclaimed Irish journalist and storyteller, has endured unthinkable tragedy—the murder of her beloved sister Siobhan and the devastating drowning of her husband. Yet, in the face of overwhelming grief, McLaughlin refuses to be consumed by darkness. From behind the half-door of her enchanting Dalkey cottage, in exquisite and honest prose, McLaughlin reflects upon the cherished memories evoked by the objects surrounding her, carrying the reader along on a journey of grief, resilience and hope. From the delicate Madeleine tray that whispers Siobhan's name to her own folk art illustrations that dance across the pages, McLaughlin's memoir is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of storytelling to heal even the deepest wounds.
  As the late John B. Keane once remarked, 'Biddy had been a storyteller all her life. In drawings, words and painting, she has captured the tales of common and not-so-common folk caught up in the maelstrom of life.' 
  McLaughlin's memoir celebrates the people, places, and passions that sustained her: her unconventional background, her bohemian friends, her love of art and cooking, and the solace found within the walls of her cottage.
  Tales of a Patchwork Life is a must-read for anyone seeking inspiration and comfort. It offers a powerful reminder of the extraordinary strength that lies within.

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  Carrie Kills A Man - A Memoir

  Carrie Marshall

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  Carrie Kills A Man* is about growing up in a world that doesn't want you, and about how it feels to throw a hand grenade into a perfect life. It's the story of how a tattooed transgender rock singer killed a depressed suburban dad, and of the lessons you learn when you renounce all your privilege and power.
  
  When more people think they've seen a ghost than met a trans person, it's easy for bad actors to exploit that – and they do, as you can see from the headlines and online. But here's the reality, from someone who's living it. From coming out and navigating trans parenthood to the thrills of gender-bending pop stars, fashion disasters and looking like Velma Dinkley, this is a tale of ripping it up and starting again: Carrie's story in all its fearless, frank and funny glory.
  
  *"Spoiler: That man was me." – Carrie
  "Nasty & funny! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED." - Patton Oswalt

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  Dreams From Bamboo

  Vernon E. Brewer II

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  Bamboo dreams is the story of a young man socially bullied who is in love with a high school mate. Told she is too good for him he observes how a tiny country in Southeast Asia is drawing America deeper into its civil war... and he sees the war as a chance to become "Good enough" for his unrequited love. He embarks to Vietnam as a Paratrooper assigned to an elite unit. While others do their best to get out of the jungle war, "Dewey" as the other Paratroopers nick named him, does his utmost to stay in the jungle where he delves into the psychological abyss that exist in the form of "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome", He comes home wounded in mind and in body but feels finally worthy of his unrequitted lover only to have a phone call from home while he lay in a military hospital telling him Karen had been murdered by a 14 year old child who beat her face in and raped her, before strangling her with a venetian blind cord. Did you ever wonder where PTSD comes from? How it eats into the heart and mind of warriors? This book answers that question and many others about wounded warriors. A must read for all those family members of Veterans that take their stories to their graves.

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  Disequilibria - Meditations on...

  Robert Lunday

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  Disequilibria: Meditations on Missingness is a hybrid memoir that recounts the 1982 disappearance of the author's stepfather, James Edward Lewis, a pilot and Vietnam veteran. Recounting his family's experiences in searching for answers, Lunday interrogates the broader cultural and conceptual responses to the phenomenon of missingness by connecting his stepfather's case to other true-life disappearances as well as those portrayed in fiction, poetry, and film. In doing so Disequilibria explores the transience in modern life, considering the military-dependent experience, the corrosive effects of war, and the struggle to find closure and comfort as time goes by without answers.

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