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Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger
by Anita SilveyPete Seeger, the iconic folk musician and multiple Grammy winner, discovered early in life that what he wanted to do was make music. His amazing career as singer, songwriter, and banjo player spanned seven decades, and included both low points (being charged with contempt of Congress) and highlights (receiving the Kennedy Center Honor from President Clinton). An activist and protester, Seeger crusaded for the rights of labor, the rights of people of color, and the First Amendment right to let his voice be heard, and launched the successful campaign to clean up the Hudson River. Archival photographs and prints, source notes, bibliography, index.
Let it Bleed: The Rolling Stones, Altamont, and the End of the Sixties
by Gerard Van Der Leun Ethan A. RussellLET IT BLEED takes you where no Rolling Stones book has before. Author and photographer Ethan Russell was one of only sixteen people--including the Rolling Stones--who made up the 1969 tour. He was with them in their hotel rooms, at rehearsals, and on stage. He tells the story of this monumental and historic tour firsthand, including recollections from band members, crew, security, and other sixties icons--like Abbie Hoffman and Little Richard--they met along the way. And he also includes amazing photos of the performers who toured with the Stones that year: the legendary Tina Turner and B. B. King. Through vivid quotes taken from his interviews with the band and crew, and through more than 220 revealing photographs, Russell takes you behind the scenes for an uncensored look inside the Rolling Stones' world at the end of the sixties. It was an idealistic time, with an overarching belief that music could bring us all together. But the events that led to the terrible violence and stabbing death at Altamont would change rock and roll forever.
Let the Good Times Roll: My Life in Small Faces, Faces, and The Who
by Kenney Jones“Jones, the drummer for the Who after Keith Moon died, recalls his musical life in this modest and self-effacing rock and roll memoir.” —Publishers WeeklyFrom the Mod revolution and the British Invasion of the 1960s, through the psychedelic era of the 1970s, and into the exuberance and excesses of stadium rock in the 1980s, Kenney Jones helped to build rock and roll as we know it. He was the beat behind three of the world’s most enduring and significant bands.He wasn’t just in the right place at the right time. Along with Keith Moon, John Bonham, and Charlie Watts, Jones is regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time, sought after by a wide variety of the best-known and best-selling artists to bring his unique skill into the studio for the recording of classic albums and songs—including, of course, the Rolling Stones’s “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It).”And Jones is no shallow rock star. He may play polo with royalty from across the globe now, but this is the story of a ragamuffin from the East End of London, a boy who watched his bandmates, friends since his teens, die early, combated dyslexia to find a medium in which he could uniquely excel, and later found a way through the wilderness years when the good times seemed to have gone and he had little to fall back on.Kenney Jones has seen it all, played with everyone, and partied with all of them. Let the Good Times Roll is a breathtaking immersion into music past that leaves readers feeling as if they lived it too.
Let the Law Catch Up: Thurgood Marshall in His Own Words
by Cathy CambronA collection of US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall&’s legal writings spanning his career, including his arguments, opinions, and dissents. The US Constitution promised much to Black citizens with its post–Civil War amendments designed to eliminate the stigma of slavery and create equality between all races, but unfortunately it delivered little justice. Thurgood Marshall spent his life working to make the Constitution live up to its promises. In the 1940s and &’50s, Marshall worked as an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), facing threats and harassment as he argued cases before the Supreme Court. His efforts culminated in the Brown v. Board of Education case, where the Supreme Court&’s ruling outlawed &“separate but equal&” public schools. After serving as a judge for the US Court of Appeals and as the first Black US solicitor general, Marshall became the nation&’s first Black Supreme Court Justice in 1967. Marshall believed the Constitution was a living document and a work in progress, and his career and legacy demonstrate it is indeed just that. Only through struggle, suffering, sacrifice, amendment, argument, and interpretation can the Constitution be made better. Marshall committed decades of his life to this effort, focused on his vision of what America could be. Let the Law Catch Up collects Justice Marshall&’s words from over the course of his career, from his advocacy with the NAACP to his arguments as solicitor general and his Supreme Court opinions and dissents. With introductions providing historical and legal context, this book paints a powerful portrait of a fearless man and his life&’s work.
Let the More Loving One Be Me: My Journey from Trauma to Freedom
by Judy ForemanIn this compelling tale, Judy Foreman reveals the terror she felt every night as a girl as she lay in bed frozen in dread, listening for her father&’s footsteps coming down the hall. She recalls his mostly naked body, his stale smell, his silhouette in the bedroom doorway. Worse, in some ways, was her mother&’s denial—her insistence that this man was wonderful, her refusal to acknowledge his drinking or his rage. It wasn&’t until Foreman spent a high school summer as an exchange student with a Danish family that she began to see how unsafe her own family was; it wasn&’t until she went to an all-women&’s college that she realized that women had value. Ultimately, this book shows that with time and therapy, it is possible to heal from serious childhood trauma and lead a life of deep fulfillment, rewarding work and, most wonderfully, love. It is a book about the power of emotional courage to change one&’s own inner and outer experience of the world, and about what matters most in life: cultivating healthy connections to other people.
Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards
by Jan ReidThis intimate biography of the pioneering Texas governor is “required reading for political junkies—and for women considering a life in politics” (Booklist).When Ann Richards delivered the keynote of the 1988 Democratic National Convention and mocked President Bush—“Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth”—she became an instant celebrity and triggered a rivalry that would alter the course of history. In 1990, she won the governorship of Texas, becoming the first ardent feminist elected to high office in America. Richards opened pathways for greater diversity in public service, and her achievements created a legacy that transcends her tenure in office.In Let the People In, Jan Reid offers an intimate portrait of Ann Richards’s remarkable rise to power as a liberal Democrat in a deeply conservative state. Reid draws on his long friendship with Richards, as well as interviews with family, personal correspondence, and extensive research to tell the story of Richards’s life, from her youth in Waco, through marriage and motherhood, her struggle with alcoholism, and her shocking encounters with Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter.Reid shares the inside story of Richards’s rise from county office to the governorship, as well as her score-settling loss of the governorship to George W. Bush. Reid also describes Richards’s final years as a mentor to a new generation of public servants, including Hillary Clinton.
Let the People In: The Life and Times of Ann Richards
by Jan ReidWhen Ann Richards delivered the keynote of the 1988 Democratic National Convention and mocked President George H. W. Bush—“Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth”—she instantly became a media celebrity and triggered a rivalry that would alter the course of American history. In 1990, Richards won the governorship of Texas, upsetting the GOP’s colorful rancher and oilman Clayton Williams. The first ardent feminist elected to high office in America, she opened up public service to women, blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, gays, and the disabled. Her progressive achievements and the force of her personality created a lasting legacy that far transcends her rise and fall as governor of Texas. In Let the People In, Jan Reid draws on his long friendship with Richards, interviews with her family and many of her closest associates, her unpublished correspondence with longtime companion Bud Shrake, and extensive research to tell a very personal, human story of Ann Richards’s remarkable rise to power as a liberal Democrat in a conservative Republican state. Reid traces the whole arc of Richards’s life, beginning with her youth in Waco, her marriage to attorney David Richards, her frustration and boredom with being a young housewife and mother in Dallas, and her shocking encounters with Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter. He follows Richards to Austin and the wild 1970s scene and describes her painful but successful struggle against alcoholism. He tells the full, inside story of Richards’s rise from county office and the state treasurer’s office to the governorship, where she championed gun control, prison reform, environmental protection, and school finance reform, and he explains why she lost her reelection bid to George W. Bush, which evened his family’s score and launched him toward the presidency. Reid describes Richards’s final years as a world traveler, lobbyist, public speaker, and mentor and inspiration to office holders, including Hillary Clinton. His nuanced portrait reveals a complex woman who battled her own frailties and a good-old-boy establishment to claim a place on the national political stage and prove “what can happen in government if we simply open the doors and let the people in. ”
Let the People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary
by Geoffrey CowanThe exhilarating, prescient story of the four-month campaign that changed American politics forever. Let the People Rule tells the exhilarating story of the four-month campaign that changed American politics forever. In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge his close friend and handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, for the Republican Party nomination. To overcome the power of the incumbent, TR seized on the idea of presidential primaries, telling bosses everywhere to “Let the People Rule.” The cheers and jeers of rowdy supporters and detractors echo from Geoffrey Cowan’s pages as he explores TR’s fight-to-the-finish battle to win popular support. After sweeping nine out of thirteen primaries, he felt entitled to the nomination. But the party bosses proved too powerful, leading Roosevelt to walk out of the convention and create a new political party of his own. Using a trove of newly discovered documents, Cowan takes readers inside the colorful, dramatic, and often mean-spirited campaign, describing the political machinations and intrigue and painting indelible portraits of its larger-than-life characters. But Cowan also exposes the more unsavory parts of TR’s campaign: seamy backroom deals, bribes made in TR’s name during the Republican Convention, and then the shocking political calculation that led TR to ban any black delegates from the Deep South from his new “Bull Moose Party.” In this utterly compelling work, Cowan illuminates lessons of the past that have great resonance for American politics today.
Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993
by Sarah SchulmanA New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. "This is not reverent, definitive history. This is a tactician’s bible." --Parul Sehgal, The New York Times"A masterpiece of historical research and intellectual analysis that creates many windows into both a vanished world and the one that emerged from it, the one we live in now." --Alexander Chee Twenty years in the making, Sarah Schulman's Let the Record Show is the most comprehensive political history ever assembled of ACT UP and American AIDS activism In just six years, ACT UP, New York, a broad and unlikely coalition of activists from all races, genders, sexualities, and backgrounds, changed the world. Armed with rancor, desperation, intelligence, and creativity, it took on the AIDS crisis with an indefatigable, ingenious, and multifaceted attack on the corporations, institutions, governments, and individuals who stood in the way of AIDS treatment for all. They stormed the FDA and NIH in Washington, DC, and started needle exchange programs in New York; they took over Grand Central Terminal and fought to change the legal definition of AIDS to include women; they transformed the American insurance industry, weaponized art and advertising to push their agenda, and battled—and beat—The New York Times, the Catholic Church, and the pharmaceutical industry. Their activism, in its complex and intersectional power, transformed the lives of people with AIDS and the bigoted society that had abandoned them. Based on more than two hundred interviews with ACT UP members and rich with lessons for today’s activists, Let the Record Show is a revelatory exploration—and long-overdue reassessment—of the coalition’s inner workings, conflicts, achievements, and ultimate fracture. Schulman, one of the most revered queer writers and thinkers of her generation, explores the how and the why, examining, with her characteristic rigor and bite, how a group of desperate outcasts changed America forever, and in the process created a livable future for generations of people across the world.
Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
by Stephen B. Oates“The most comprehensive, the most thoroughly researched and documented, the most scholarly of the biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr.” —Henry Steele Commanger, Philadelphia InquirerWinner of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book Award * A New York Times Notable Book of the YearBy the acclaimed biographer of Abraham Lincoln, Nat Turner, and John Brown, Stephen B. Oates's prizewinning Let the Trumpet Sound is the definitive one-volume life of Martin Luther King, Jr. This brilliant examination of the great civil rights icon and the movement he led provides a lasting portrait of a man whose dream shaped American history.“Drawing on interviews with those who knew King, previously unutilized material at Presidential libraries, and the holdings of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta, Mr. Oates has written the most comprehensive account of King’s life yet published. . . . He displays a remarkable understanding of King’s individual role in the civil rights movement. . . . Oates’s biography helps us appreciate how sorely King is missed.” —Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review
Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home: A Memoir
by Natalie GoldbergA powerful memoir from Natalie Golderg--the woman who changed the way writing is taught in this country--sharing her experience with cancer grounded in her practice of writing and Zen.Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home begins at the grave of Katagiri Roshi, Natalie's Zen teacher, in Japan. Twenty years after Katagiri's death and Natalie's return to New Mexico, she is permanently settled in Santa Fe with her partner, Yukwan. Except that, as Buddhism teaches us, nothing is permanent. Natalie learns that she has CLL, a potentially fatal form of blood cancer.For two years, Natalie dances with her cancer--visiting doctor after doctor, attempting treatment after treatment. Nothing helps; in fact, one of the treatments only feeds the cancer and encourages its growth. Then Natalie's partner, Yukwan discovers that she, too, has cancer--breast cancer--as well as an off-the-charts oncotype score that requires her to have surgery immediately. The cancer twins, as Natalie calls herself and Yukwan, now must each navigate her own illness, carve out her own cancer territory. Each can provide only limited emotional and physical energy for the other. And, somehow, they both need to find a way to stay together, to stay in love--and to heal.As the title expresses, Let the Whole Thundering World Come Home is so much more than a cancer memoir. Through a direct and grounded narrative, Natalie illuminates a path through illness: that we need to be in love with the lives we have, to embrace the dark and the light in our lives. For Natalie, writing and painting represent the light, and her cancer takes her deeper into her art practices. Balanced with a Zen practice that helps to her face death, this book is a moving meditation on living life in full bloom.
Let the Wind Speak: Mary de Rachewiltz and Ezra Pound
by Carol ShlossCarol Loeb Shloss creates a compelling portrait of a complex relationship of a daughter and her literary-giant father: Ezra Pound and Mary de Rachewiltz, Pound’s child by his long-time mistress, the violinist Olga Rudge. Brought into the world in secret and hidden in the Italian Alps at birth, Mary was raised by German peasant farmers, had Italian identity papers, a German-speaking upbringing, Austrian loyalties common to the area and, perforce, a fascist education.For years, de Rachewiltz had no idea that Pound and Rudge, the benefactors who would sporadically appear, were her father and mother. Gradually the truth of her parentage was revealed, and with it the knowledge that Dorothy Shakespear, and not Olga, was Pound’s actual wife. Dorothy, in turn, kept her own secrets: while Pound signed the birth certificate of her son, Omar, and claimed legal paternity, he was not the boy’s biological father. Two lies, established at the birth of these children, created a dynamic antagonism that lasted for generations.Pound maneuvered through it until he was arrested for treason after World War II and shipped back from Italy to the United States, where he was institutionalized rather than imprisoned. As an adult, de Rachewiltz took on the task of claiming a contested heritage and securing her father’s literary legacy in the face of a legal system that failed to recognize her legitimacy. Born on different continents, separated by nationality, related by natural birth, and torn apart by conflict between Italy and America, Mary and Ezra Pound found a way to live out their deep and abiding love for one another.Let the Wind Speak is both a history of modern writers who were forced to negotiate allegiances to one another and to their adopted countries in a time of mortal conflict, and the story of Mary de Rachewiltz’s navigation through issues of personal identity amid the shifting politics of western nations in peace and war. It is a masterful biography that asks us to consider cultures of secrecy, frayed allegiances, and the boundaries that define nations, families, and politics.
Let the World See You: How to Be Real in a World Full of Fakes
by Sam AchoNFL linebacker, speaker, podcaster, and humanitarian Sam Acho gives a blueprint for taking off our masks and living lives of genuine authenticity.Most of us hide. We play small and don't live up to our full potential. Sam Acho was one of those people. As an NFL linebacker, for example, he earned his MBA but told no one because he was afraid of what people might think if they found out that he cared about things that weren't "normal" for his profession. After many years of hiding himself, the person he had become had no connection to the real Sam. Only when he lost a friend and a mentor did he realize he was doing it all wrong--just like many us do, when we try to become someone we're not. All the while, we ignore the unique gifts and talents and personality we truly possess.But there is another way of living: Let the world see you. Your quirks, your passions, and your inner desires were not given to you by accident. And the world needs your gifts.In Let the World See You, Sam Acho shares lessons from his own life as well as stories from others to reveal how you can overcome your fears and discover your true selves. Being the real you pays big. No one else has what you have. No one else can share what you share. Let the World See You helps crack the shell of people who are in hiding and reveals the benefits of a lifestyle lived on purpose.
Let's All Hold Hands and Drop Dead: Three Generations One Story
by Elaine J. CooperQuietly step into a group therapy meeting and listen to the members and the celebrated group therapist struggle to connect in true relationship. Witness the Russian Revolution and famine through the eyes of a boy. Watch two Jewish children in East L.A. in the 50's, trying to make sense of their world. Go deep into the Social Unconscious and discover how these adventures are not only connected to each other but to YOU as well.
Let's Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Birthday
by Jacqueline WoodsonDescribes the life of the civil rights worker who is honored on Martin Luther King Day.
Let's Celebrate Presidents' Day (Holidays & Heros)
by Barbara deRubertisThe stories of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are told in a single book not only to celebrate the important February holiday, but also to compare and contrast the lives of these two towering Americans. Though they lived at different times, they shared similar problems, triumphs, and traits of leadership.
Let's Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood
by Jasper ReesTrapeze audiobooks presents an extraordinary multi-voice tribute to one of Britain's most talented and most loved entertainers: Victoria Wood.This audiobook features narration from some of the extraordinary voices who worked with Victoria over her career:Susie BlakeRichenda CareyCelia ImrieDuncan PrestonAnne ReidDaniel RigbyKate RobbinsDavid ThrelfallJulie WaltersJane WymarkWith an introduction read by Jasper Rees and two recordings of Victoria Wood's classic Ballad of Barry and Freda.'I was born with a warped sense of humour and when I was carried home from being born it was Coronation Day and so I was called Victoria but you are not supposed to know who wrote this anyway it is about time I unleashed my pent-up emotions in a bitter comment on the state of our society but it's not quite me so I think I shall write a heart-warming story with laughter behind the tears and tears behind the laughter which means hysterics to you Philistines...'From 'Pardon?' by Vicky Wood, Aged 14. Bury Grammar School (Girls) Magazine, 1967In her passport Victoria Wood listed her occupation as 'entertainer' - and in stand-up and sketches, songs and sitcom, musicals and dramas, she became the greatest entertainer of the age. Those things that might have held her back - her lonely childhood, her crippling shyness and above all the disadvantage of being a woman in a male-run industry - she turned to her advantage to make extraordinary comedy about ordinary people living ordinary lives in ordinary bodies. She wasn't fond of the term, but Victoria Wood truly was a national treasure - and her loss is still keenly felt. Victoria had plenty of stories still to tell when she died in 2016, and one of those was her own autobiography. 'I will do it one day,' she told the author and journalist Jasper Rees. 'It would be about my childhood, about my first few years in showbusiness, which were really interesting and would make a really nice story.' That sadly never came to pass, so Victoria's estate has asked Jasper Rees, who interviewed her more than anyone else, to tell her extraordinary story in full. He has been granted complete and exclusive access to Victoria's rich archive of personal and professional material, and has conducted over 200 interviews with her family, friends and colleagues - among them Victoria's children, her sisters, her ex-husband Geoffrey Durham, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Dawn French, Anne Reid, Imelda Staunton and many more. What emerges is a portrait of a true pioneer who spoke to her audience like no one before or since.
Let's Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr.!
by Peter Roop Connie RoopDr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made history. He became famous for his work helping African Americans get equal rights. Do you know that Martin Luther King was given a different name when he was born? Martin Luther King, Jr., was very active as a boy. Did you know he almost died in an accident? Martin Luther King, Jr., loved to play football. Do you know what other sports he played? Martin Luther King, Jr., grew up to be a Baptist minister. Do you know what other careers he considered? Martin Luther King, Jr., worked hard to make sure laws were fair for all Americans, especially African Americans. Did you know Dr. King broke unfair laws and went to jail many times? Dr. King gave hundreds of speeches. Do you know what his most famous speech was? Dr. King worked hard to settle problems peacefully. Do you know what famous award he received for his work? The answers to these questions lie in who Martin Luther King, Jr., was as a boy and as a young man. This book is about Martin Luther King, Jr., before he made history.
Let's Drive, Henry Ford!
by Peter Roop Connie RoopHenry Ford is famous. He made many different kinds of cars. Do you know that Henry did not invent the car? Henry was born on a farm in Michigan. Do you know that wolves could be heard in the woods when Henry was born? Henry worked hard on the family farm. Do you know that Henry was determined to find a way not to do all of that hard work? Henry loved to fix broken watches. Do you know that Henry repaired his neighbors' watches for free? Henry loved to tinker with toys. Do you know why his brothers and sisters wouldn't let him play with their toys? Henry was fascinated by the power of steam. Do you know that Henry made a steam whistle to scare his sister? Henry liked to learn. Do you know that he never finished high school? Henry left his family's farm to work with machines. Do you know he ran one of Thomas Edison's first electricity plants in Detroit? Henry was fascinated with the idea of designing a horseless carriage. Did you know that other inventors succeeded before he did? Henry dreamed of building a car to carry people. Do you know that he made millions of cars, trucks, and tractors? Henry had many ideas. Do you know it was his idea to build cars quickly and inexpensively on an assembly line? The answers to these questions lie in who Henry Ford was as a child and as a young man. This book is about Henry Ford before he made history.
Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls
by David SedarisA guy walks into a bar . . . From here the story could take many turns. A guy walks into a bar and meets the love of his life. A guy walks into a bar and finds no one else is there. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless. In Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, Sedaris delights with twists of humour and intelligence, remembering his father's dinnertime attire (shirtsleeves and underpants) his first colonoscopy (remarkably pleasant) and the time he considered buying the skeleton of a murdered pygmy. By turns hilarious and moving, David Sedaris masterfully looks at life's absurdities as he takes us on adventures that are not to be forgotten.
Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls
by David SedarisFrom the unique perspective of David Sedaris comes a new book of essays taking his readers on a bizarre and stimulating world tour. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.
Let's Fly!: Barrington Irving's Record-Breaking Flight Around the World
by Barrington Irving Chana StiefelThe true story of Barrington Irving, who broke records as the youngest person and first Black man to fly solo around the world—co-authored by Barrington and award-winning author Chana Stiefel, with art by New York Times bestselling illustrator Shamar Knight-JusticeAs a kid, Barrington Irving moved from Jamaica to Miami and played football—his ticket to success, he thought. But then Captain Gary Robinson swooped into his life. Barrington had never seen a Black pilot before. Captain Robinson showed Barrington a jet, a cockpit, and what it was like to actually fly a plane—WHOAAA!After that, Barrington had big plans, and two words:Let's Fly!Barrington Irving worked hard to become a pilot, and even harder to inspire other people to think big too. How big? A flight around the WORLD big. Climb aboard for the true story of how Barrington Irving went from tinkering kid to towering pilot and flew solo around the world—breaking records as the youngest person and first Black man ever to do it. With maps, labels, lists, and cool backmatter, including news of what Barring Irving is doing today, this book soars.Buckle up! Sky-high dreams ahead.&“Rich and inspiring . . . Will have young flying enthusiasts riveted.&” —SLJ &“High-octane [and] heroic. —Booklist.&“Uplifting . . . Will put the wind under readers&’ wings.&” —Kirkus
Let's Get Free: A Hip-hop Theory of Justice
by Paul ButlerPaul Butler was an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Harvard Law grad who gave up his corporate law salary to fight the good fight--until one day he was arrested on the street and charged with a crime he didn't commit.
Let's Get It On!
by Loretta Hunt Bas Rutten Big" John MccarthyAn intimate profile of the legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) referee, this first full-length autobiography of pop culture icon "Big" John McCarthy details every aspect of his life-from his strong-handed Los Angeles upbringing to his involvement in the naming of the sport, his role in its regulation, and MMA's rise in stature. The narrative follows "Big" John through his 22-year career as a Los Angeles police officer, where he taught recruits arrest and control procedures as well as survival tactics, then his 15-year career as MMA's premier official in the chain-linked cage. A fixture of the sport, "Big" John started refereeing at UFC 2 in 1994 when MMA was in its infancy and went on to officiate at every major UFC event but two until 2007. Following a one-year hiatus as a color commentator and on-camera analyst for MMA and boxing events, he returned to MMA refereeing in 2008. In his own words, "Big" John relates his insider's perspective from the midst of many of the sport's greatest moments-from Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock I at UFC 40 in 2002 to Randy Couture-Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March of 2007-along with his account of the birth of the sport in America, its evolution, and MMA's ongoing struggles for acceptance.