Other books that might interest you

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  King Lear

  William Shakespeare

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  “When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.” 
  King Lear has lived a long and difficult life as a king and decides that he wants to retire of his duties. To absolve himself of power, Lear decides to split his kingdom among his three daughters based on their affections toward him. While two of his daughters flatter their father and declare their fealty and respect, his third daughter refuses to flatter his ego and declares that she only loves him because he is her father. This disrespect causes Lear to leave her nothing. 
  People in search of power can be duplicitous though, and as King Lear learns that the two flatterers were false in their declarations, his anger sparks a descent into madness that in turn sparks a chain of murders and betrayals that spread through many kingdoms and people rapidly. 
  King Lear, while written with beautiful poetry and language, is dark and brutal, with lessons of loyalty and the value of family bonds that still ring true centuries later.

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  Music - A Very Short Introduction

  Nicholas Cook

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  What is music? How is it constructed? How is it consumed? Why do you enjoy it at all? In Music: A Very Short Introduction, Nicholas Cook invites us to really think about music and the role it plays in our lives and our ears. Drawing on a number of accessible examples, the author prompts us to call on our own musical experiences in order to think more critically about the roles of the performers and the listener, about music as a commodity and an experience, what it means to understand music, and the values we ascribe to it.This Very Short Introduction, written with both humor and flair, begins with a sampling of music as human activity and then goes on to consider the slippery phenomenon of how music has become an object of thought. Covering not only Western and classical music, Cook touches on all types from rock to Indonesian music and beyond. Incorporating musical forms from every continent, Music will be enjoyable for beginner and expert alike.

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  Fantastic Planets Forbidden...

  Douglas Brode

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  Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George Méliès’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time. Brode’s list ranges from today’s blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film’s creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and “so bad they’re great” classics—as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies (“those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil”). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

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  Searching for Harry Chapin's...

  Pat Fenton

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  In "Searching for Harry Chapin’s America: Remember When the Music," journalist Pat Fenton describes his road trips to the towns and people that inspired Harry Chapin’s most renowned songs. While Fenton’s account includes exclusive interviews with Chapin’s family and associates, and an excerpt from Chapin’s unpublished writings, the audio adaptation includes actual cuts from Chapin's best-known songs. Composer and multi-instrumentalist David Amram, who narrates Fenton's chronicle, performs his own brief interludes of "incidental music," where he was inspired to do so.Harry Chapin (1942-1981) was a legendary top-charting American songwriter in the 1970s and ’80s. During his lifetime, Chapin was nominated twice for a Grammy Award: in 1972 for Best New Artist, and in 1974 for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance. In 2011, thirty years after his untimely death, Chapin’s Number One-charting song, “Cat’s In the Cradle,” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. "Searching for Harry Chapin’s America" was published on July 16, 2021, and is a fortieth-year commemoration of this musical icon’s tragic death in a car crash on July 16, 1981.  The audio adaptation follows a year later, in July, 2022, and extends the tribute to Chapin's legacy of songs and philanthropy."Like 'Don Quixote,' or 'On the Road,' Pat Fenton’s classic book takes you on an unforgettable series of journeys and makes you feel that you are now welcome to be with the people and places that Harry Chapin memorialized in his timeless songs."—David Amram, composer/multi-instrumentalist/author “A portrait of an age as well as an artist. Chapin was an American original who combined Walt Whitman’s lyric realism with Woody Guthrie’s passionate truth-telling. Fenton’s blend of sympathy, honesty, and insight gives us the man in full. Fenton’s talents as a master storyteller have never been on better display.” 	 —Peter Quinn, novelist/political historian

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  The Italian Traditions & Puccini...

  Nicholas Baragwanath

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  “A major contribution . . . not only to Puccini studies but also to the study of nineteenth-century Italian opera in general.” —Nineteenth-Century Music Review   In this groundbreaking survey of the fundamentals, methods, and formulas that were taught at Italian music conservatories during the 19th Century, Nicholas Baragwanath explores the compositional significance of tradition in Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Boito, and, most importantly, Puccini. Taking account of some 400 primary sources, Baragwanath explains the varying theories and practices of the period in light of current theoretical and analytical conceptions of this music. The Italian Traditions and Puccini offers a guide to an informed interpretation and appreciation of Italian opera by underscoring the proximity of archaic traditions to the music of Puccini.   “Dense and challenging in its detail and analysis, this work is an important addition to the growing corpus of Puccini studies. . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice

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  Classic Dining - Discovering...

  Peter Moruzzi

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  Take an illustrated tour of America’s stylish and historic mid-century restaurants in this volume of color photographs and vintage ephemera.   Over the years, the softly lit wood-paneled interiors, starched tablecloths, curved booths, tuxedoed captains, and tableside service that once defined continental-style fine dining have given way to more contemporary trends. Yet in American cities large and small, a few historic restaurants have maintained their classic character and old-school ambiance.    With vivid new color photography and fascinating vintage ephemera, Classic Dining celebrates the great mid-century restaurants that continue to thrive in New York, the greater Miami area, New Orleans, Las Vegas, the Chicago area, Los Angeles, and across the United States. This volume also includes a directory of mid-century restaurants across America.

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