Other books that might interest you

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  Asuka Period - Buddhism Reform...

  Rolf Hedger

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  The Asuka Period (538–710) marks a pivotal era in Japan’s history, serving as the transitional phase between the ancient Kofun Period and the Nara Period. This era is often considered the birthplace of Japanese civilization, a time when the political, religious, and cultural foundations of the nation began to take shape. It was during this period that Japan first came into direct contact with continental Asia, particularly through the introduction of Buddhism, the establishment of a centralized government, and the adoption of Chinese-style political and legal systems. 
  The early years of the Asuka Period were dominated by the Soga clan, who played a crucial role in the political and religious developments of the time. Their influence can be seen in their advocacy for the adoption of Buddhism, which arrived in Japan from Korea around the mid-sixth century. Buddhism’s introduction, however, was met with resistance from the powerful native Shinto religious leaders and aristocracy, creating a conflict that would shape the religious landscape of Japan for centuries to come. 
  Despite early opposition, Buddhism gradually took hold in Japan. The Soga clan, with the support of the royal family, used Buddhism as a tool to consolidate power and gain legitimacy. By the late 6th century, the religion had become deeply integrated into the fabric of Japanese society, influencing not only spiritual practices but also politics, art, and culture.

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  The Glass Menagerie

  Tennessee Williams

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  Tennessee Williams’s iconic work is an evocative memory-play about an eccentric Southern family revolving around the domineering Amanda Wingfield and her grown children: the cynical Tom and the fragile Laura. This L.A. Theatre Works production reunites the cast of the Roundabout Theatre’s celebrated revival, which earned Drama Desk Awards for Kevin Kilner as Jim, and, in her Broadway debut, Calista Flockhart as Laura.
   
  
   
  Recorded at KCRW, Santa Monica in January 1996.
   
  
   
  Directed by Gordon House
   
  Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg
   
  
   
  An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast recording, starring:
   
  
   
  Calista Flockhart as Laura Wingfield
   
  John Goodman as The Narrator
   
  Julie Harris as Amanda Wingfield
   
  Zeljko Ivanek as Tom Wingfield
   
  Kevin Kilner as Jim
   
  
   
  Recording Engineer: Theo Mondle
   
  Stage Manager and Live Sound Effects: Jode Ryskiewicz
   
  
   
  A co-production with the BBC and KCRW, Santa Monica.

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  Age of Cage - Four Decades of...

  Keith Phipps

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  Icon. Celebrity. Artist. Madman. Genius. 
   
   
   
  Nicolas Cage is many things, but love him, or laugh at him, there's no denying two things: you've seen one of his many films, and you certainly know his name. But who is he, really, and why has his career endured for over forty years, with more than a hundred films, and birthed a million memes? 
   
   
   
  Age of Cage is a smart, beguiling book about the films of Nicolas Cage and the actor himself, as well as a sharp-eyed examination of the changes that have taken place in Hollywood over the course of his career. Critic and journalist Keith Phipps draws a portrait of the enigmatic icon by looking at—what else?—Cage's expansive filmography. 
   
   
   
  As Phipps delights in charting Cage's films, Age of Cage also chronicles the transformation of film, as Cage's journey takes him through the world of 1980s comedies (Valley Girl, Peggy Sue Got Married, Moonstruck), to the indie films and blockbuster juggernauts of the 1990s (Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off, Con Air), through the video-on-demand world of today. 
   
   
   
  Sweeping in scope and intimate in its profile of a fiercely passionate artist, Age of Cage is, like the man himself, surprising, insightful, funny, and one of a kind. So, snap out of it, and enjoy this appreciation of Nicolas Cage, national treasure.

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  Canaletto and Guardi - Views of...

  Lelia Packer, Charles Beddington

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  A gorgeous celebration of the beauty of Venice as conveyed in the paintings of Canaletto and his followers.
  Among the renowned Old Master paintings at the Wallace Collection in London is an important group of 27 eighteenth-century views of Venice, known as vedute, by Canaletto and his followers, including Francesco Guardi. They hang together in a dedicated gallery known as the Canaletto Room, but until recently the majority had not been cleaned since the nineteenth century and their original beauty was obscured by multiple layers of discoloured varnish.
  The paintings have now been restored and rephotographed, following a multi-year conservation and research project that has also led to a reappraisal of them. This book presents these pictures in their renewed splendour. It features essays and commentaries by Charles Beddington, the global expert on vedute, and by Wallace Collection curator Lelia Packer. Together they provide fresh insights into the artists' creative processes, the dating of pictures and their authorship.

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  Lies My Mother Told Me - Tall...

  Melissa Rivers

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  If you think Joan Rivers said funny, outrageous, and ridiculous things ONSTAGE, wait ’til you read the funny, outrageous, and ridiculous things she said OFFSTAGE … things that will make you laugh out loud … and keep Melissa in therapy for the foreseeable future. 
   
  The only thing my mother loved more than making people laugh was lying … or as she’d say, “embellishing.” Her motto was: “Why let the truth ruin a good story?” 
   
  This book contains some of those stories.

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  AC DC's Highway To Hell

  Joe Bonomo

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  Released in 1979, AC/DC's Highway To Hell was the infamous last album recorded with singer Bon Scott, who died of alcohol poisoning in London in February of 1980.  Officially chalked up to ""Death by Misadventure,"" Scott's demise has forever secured the album's reputation as a partying primer and a bible for lethal behavior, branding the album with the fun chaos of alcoholic excess and its flip side, early death.  The best songs on Highway To Hell achieve Sonic Platonism, translating rock & roll's transcendent ideals in stomping, dual-guitar and eighth-note bass riffing, a Paleolithic drum bed, and insanely, recklessly odd but fun vocals.Joe Bonomo strikes a three-chord essay on the power of adolescence, the durability of rock & roll fandom, and the transformative properties of memory. Why does Highway To Hell matter to anyone beyond non-ironic teenagers?  Blending interviews, analysis, and memoir with a fan's perspective, Highway To Hell dramatizes and celebrates a timeless album that one critic said makes "disaster sound like the best fun in the world."

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