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Steve Kerr: A Life
by Scott Howard-Cooper"Thrilling." —Publishers Weekly (starred) | "Riveting." —Library Journal (starred) | "A fascinating look at a fascinating life." —Roland Lazenby, author of Michael JordanThe definitive biography of Steve Kerr, the championship-winning basketball player and head coach of the record-breaking Golden State WarriorsFew individuals have had a career as storied, and improbable, as Steve Kerr. He has won eight NBA titles—five as a player and three as a coach—for three different franchises. He played alongside the best players of a generation, from Michael Jordan to Shaquille O’Neal to Tim Duncan, and learned the craft of basketball under four legendary coaches. He was an integral part of two famed NBA dynasties. Perhaps no other figure in basketball history has had a hand in such greatness.In Steve Kerr, award-winning sports journalist Scott Howard-Cooper uncovers the fascinating life story of a basketball legend. Kerr did not follow a traditional path to the NBA. He was born in Beirut to two academics and split his childhood between California and the Middle East. Though he was an impressive shooter, the undersized Kerr garnered almost no attention from major college programs, managing only at the last moment to snag the final scholarship at the University of Arizona. Then, during his freshman season at Arizona, tragedy struck. His father, Malcolm, then the president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated in Lebanon by terrorists. Forged by the crucible of this family saga, Steve went on to chart an unparalleled life in basketball, on the court and on the sidelines.The only coach other than Red Auerbach to lead a team to the Finals five consecutive seasons, Kerr seems destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Steve Kerr is his incredible story, offering insights into the man and what it takes to be—and make—a champion. Drawing upon Scott Howard-Cooper’s years covering Warriors, deep archival research, and original interviews with more than one hundred of the central characters in Kerr’s life, this is basketball biography at its finest.
Steve McQueen: A Biography
by Marc EliotSteve McQueen is one of America's legendary movie stars best known for his hugely successful film career in classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, and The Towering Inferno as well as for his turbulent life off-screen and impeccable style. His unforgettable physical beauty, his soft-spoken manner, his tough but tender roughness, and his aching vulnerability had women swooning and men wanting to be just like him. Today--nearly thirty years after he lost his battle against cancer at the age of fifty--McQueen remains "The King of Cool." Yet, few know the truth of what bubbled beneath his composed exterior and shaped his career, his passions, and his private life. Now, in Steve McQueen, New York Times bestselling author, acclaimed biographer, and film historian, Marc Eliot captures the complexity of this Hollywood screen legend. Chronicling McQueen's tumultuous life both on and off the screen, from his hardscrabble childhood to his rise to Hollywood superstar status, to his struggles with alcohol and drugs and his fervor for racing fast cars and motorcycles, Eliot discloses intimate details of McQueen's three marriages, including his tumultuous relationships with Neile Adams and Ali MacGraw, as well as his numerous affairs. He also paints a full portrait of this incredible yet often perplexing career that ranged from great films to embarrassing misfires. Steve McQueen, adored by millions, was obsessed by Paul Newman, and it is the nature of that obsession that reveals so much about who McQueen really was. Perhaps his greatest talent was to be able to convince audiences that he was who he really wasn't, even as he tried to prove to himself that he wasn't who he really was. With original material, rare photos, and new interviews, Eliot presents a fascinating and complete picture of McQueen's life.From the Hardcover edition.
Steve McQueen: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)
by Geoffrey LokkeSteve McQueen: Interviews is the first collection of conversations with the acclaimed filmmaker, and one that spans his career to date. Included are McQueen’s discussions with such artists, critics, curators, and public intellectuals as Donna De Salvo, Paul Gilroy, David Olusoga, Tricky, and Cornel West. In these conversations, McQueen (b. 1969) discusses some of his preoccupations and recurring themes throughout his oeuvre including nationalism, martyrdom, and violence; obsession and desire; and the intertwined histories of racism, surveillance, and carceral politics. Most interestingly, he also talks about his love for his fellow artists, past and present, including Miles Davis, Jean-Luc Godard, Prince, Yvonne Rainer, Paul Robeson, Jean Vigo, and Andy Warhol.McQueen is one of the most celebrated British filmmakers of his generation, an artist as committed to avant-garde film and lyric forms of documentary as he is to producing landmark historical dramas. A deeply humane artist with a clear ethical drive, McQueen nevertheless explores the sublime sense of scale that cinema affords its viewers in his films. While he remains best known for his feature film 12 Years a Slave—winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture—McQueen has been a fixture of major contemporary museum and gallery exhibitions for decades, beginning with the short experimental works that garnered him the prestigious Turner Prize in 1999. His acclaimed installations include the diptychs Caribs’ Leap/Western Deep and Gravesend/Unexploded, works that interrogate film form as they challenge documentary norms, not unlike his recent four-and-a-half-hour epic Occupied City that investigates the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam.
Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon
by Greg LaurieJoin Greg Laurie as he takes a cross-country drive in his 1968 Highland Green Ford Mustang 390 GT through the canyons of Malibu, the alleys of Hollywood, the wide and open roads of the Midwest, and the streets of New York as he traces the woolly geography of actor Steve McQueen's life, relationships, career, and spiritual journey. This iconic muscle car was the vehicle McQueen drove in his most raucous and enduring film, Bullitt. In the 1960s, McQueen was, according to box office receipts, the biggest movie star of his generation and one of the coolest men to ever walk the planet. Greg Laurie was a teen at the time and an ardent fan of "The King of Cool," first mesmerized by McQueen in 1963's The Great Escape. Like millions of cinema fans, Greg developed a lifelong fascination with the actor. Now he has a chance to tell McQueen's story. McQueen was a complex, contradictory man who lived the same way he drove his motorcycles and cars: fearlessly, ruthlessly and at top speed. After a lifetime of fast cars, women, and drugs, McQueen took a surprising detour. In this book, Laurie thoughtfully interviews Steve McQueen's friends, co-stars, associates, widow, and pastor to tell of the dramatic life-change for the actor in the spring of 1979 - six months before McQueen was diagnosed with terminal cancer. What were the critical steps that led McQueen to make such a life-altering decision? Perhaps more importantly, why is that part of his story so rarely told? This book answers these questions. Greg Laurie will follow the seeds of Christianity that were sown throughout McQueen's improbable life where a Light finally shone into the darkness of his troubled life. These seeds miraculously germinated, allowing McQueen to see that redemption through Jesus Christ is a lasting truth more glittering and real than any magic of the entertainment industry.
Steve Mcqueen: The Life and Legend of a Hollywood Icon
by Marshall Terrill Peter O. WhitmerSteve McQueen takes us on a journey as his harrowing and painful childhood is laid bare, through his glittering career, and right up to his heroic battle with cancer and dramatic death in Mexico. It chronicles the good with the ugly, revealing the great power McQueen wielded. It features numerous behind-the-scenes stories from some of his cinema's greatest films, including The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, The Getaway, and Papillon. The book's triumph is the way in which the author explores McQueen in full through his larger-than-life exploits but as important, the lesser known, humanitarian side of the Hollywood legend. It also captures the fundamental essence of what made McQueen cinema's grave King of Cool.
Steve Nash: The Unlikely Ascent of a Superstar
by Dave Feschuk Michael GrangeFrom the authors of the national bestseller Leafs AbomiNation, the story behind the success of one of Canada's greatest athletes, NBA all-star Steve Nash. A small man in a big man's game, a white man in a game dominated by black men, a rare Canadian in a US-based industry, the unlikely rise of Steve Nash, from Victoria high school to Hollywood hardwood, is compelling proof that great things await those who refuse to accept less of themselves. Nearly 2 decades into a Hall of Fame-bound career, Nash is a 2-time MVP, an 8-time all-star and wearer of one of the league's top-selling jerseys. And no one but Nash saw it coming.With the combination of wit and comprehensive reporting that distinguished Leafs AbomiNation, Feschuk and Grange tell the extraordinary story of drive, confidence, commitment and learning to do without that post-game beer that turned a Canadian's improbable NBA dream into the stuff of sporting legend. They convincingly bust a host of oft-repeated myths. That Nash is an inferior athlete is one: he might be one of the best athletes in the world, when factors like coordination, vision, balance and work ethic are given weight alongside size, speed and power. The myth that he overcame his upbringing in Canada to make it in the NBA is another: Growing up in Victoria, B.C., in the mid-1980s was more likely why he turned into the player he did.Revealing, playful and a perfect read for any sports fan, Steve Nash is the inspiring story of the consummate athletic outlier.
Steve Tasker's Tales From the Buffalo Bills
by Steve Tasker Scott PitoniakIn this book, Steve Tasker, the former special teams standout for the Buffalo Bills, discusses his NFL career and profiles many of the players, coaches and front office personnel who made it possible for the Bills to play in four straight Super Bowls.
Steve Williams: How Dr. Death Became Dr. Life
by Steve Williams"Dr. Death" Steve Williams was given a second chance. In the prime of his life, Steve was diagnosed with T-4 throat cancer. With God by his side, Steve overcame all odds and survived this deadly disease. Now, Steve is committed to giving his testimony to the people from the wrestling ring. As an athlete, Steve has "done it all." In 1978, he graduated from Lakewood High in Colorado. Recruited heavily by many major colleges, the star athlete eventually accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. Steve is one of very few legitimate wrestlers to make the transition from the amateur ranks to the professional wrestling ring. While at the University of Oklahoma, he was a two-time Big Eight free-style wrestling champion. As a collegiate football player, he was also a two-time Big Eight champion. Under legendary coach Barry Switzer, Steve went to three major Orange Bowls, the Sun Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl. He also played professional football as a defensive nose guard for the New Jersey Generals in the United States Football League (USFL). Because of his amateur wrestling background, Steve was generally regarded as one of the most dangerous "shooters" in the business. This tough reputation earned him the nickname "Dr. Death." For the past 20-plus years, he has worked for all major wrestling promotions throughout the world, including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Steve has held numerous titles and received a plethora of accolades during his career. In 1985, he was named Most Improved Wrestler and First Runner-Up, Tag Team of the Year (with Ted DiBiase). One year later, he defeated the One Man Gang at the 21:43 mark in Houston, Texas, to become the winner of the $50,000 Pro Wrestling Illustrated/UWF Challenge Cup Tournament. In 1991, Steve and his partner, Terry Gordy, became the first American tag team to win All Japan's annual tag-team tournament in consecutive years. Most recently, in 2003, Steve won the NWA Heavyweight title from Terry Taylor in China. Steve is also an Asian wrestling icon, for he is the only American who has ever worked for two major companies at the same time in Japan--New Japan and All Japan.
Steve and Me
by Terri IrwinFew celebrities touched the world as Steve Irwin did. He was loved by people from all walks of life and his vast efforts at conservation continue to make a difference all over the globe. His wife Terri's commitment to continuing his legacy is admirable and inspirational to so many who can benefit from her strength and conviction. Steve and Terri's story is not just one of taking a noble cause to a new height, but is also a fairytale love affair. When Terri, an American tourist in Australia, first laid eyes on Steve, she saw a real-life action hero. She was, however, disappointed to hear that his heart belonged to another. Steve offered to introduce her to his girlfriend, whistled and presented his best girl: a Staffordshire bull terrier called Sui. Later, Steve took Terri on a remarkable first date - a canoe ride through the swamp at night. Terri describes the luminescent eyes of the crocodiles flashing in the beam of her torchlight. When Steve then confidently climbed out of the boat and into the water, she knew she would never feel unsafe again. Steve and Terri married in June 1992 and the footage of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. Together, Steve and Terri changed the perception of conservation and sparked global interest in the animals of the Australian bush. This is their story.
Steven Gerrard: My Liverpool Story
by Steven GerrardSteven Gerrard is a genuine Liverpool legend.Captain at the age of 23.Two FA Cups.Three League Cups.One UEFA Cup.And that Champions League win.Gerrard embodies the spirit and passion of Liverpool football club like no other in the modern era.From the raw but talented youngster who made the jump from the Melwood training ground and took to the famous Anfield turf at 18, to the talismanic skipper who has led his beloved club through thick and thin, this stunningly illustrated book, complete with exclusive new photographs, is the story of his fifteen momentous seasons at Liverpool FC.Along with a foreword from Kenny Dalglish, this is Steven Gerrard's Liverpool story in his own words.
Steven Gerrard: My Liverpool Story
by Steven GerrardSteven Gerrard is a genuine Liverpool legend.Captain at the age of 23.Two FA Cups.Three League Cups.One UEFA Cup.And that Champions League win.Gerrard embodies the spirit and passion of Liverpool football club like no other in the modern era.From the raw but talented youngster who made the jump from the Melwood training ground and took to the famous Anfield turf at 18, to the talismanic skipper who has led his beloved club through thick and thin, this stunningly illustrated book, complete with exclusive new photographs, is the story of his fifteen momentous seasons at Liverpool FC.Along with a foreword from Kenny Dalglish, this is Steven Gerrard's Liverpool story in his own words.
Steven Soderbergh: Interviews, Revised and Updated (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)
by Anthony KaufmanThe long and prolific career of Steven Soderbergh (b. 1963) defies easy categorization. From his breakout beginnings in 1989 with sex, lies, and videotape to 2013, when he retired from big-screen studio movie making to focus on other pursuits including television, the director's output resembles nothing less than an elaborate experiment. Soderbergh's Hollywood vehicles such as the Ocean's Eleven movies, Contagion, and Magic Mike appear just as risky and outside-the-box as low-budget exercises such as Schizopolis, Bubble, and The Girlfriend Experience. This updated edition details key career moments: his creative crisis surrounding his fourth film, The Underneath; his rejuvenation with the ultra-low-budget free-style Schizopolis; the mainstream achievements Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the Ocean's Eleven films; and his continuing dedication to pushing his craft forward with films as diverse as conspiracy thrillers, sexy dramas, and biopics on Che Guevara and Liberace. Spanning twenty-five years, these conversations reveal Soderbergh to be as self-effacing and lighthearted in his later more established years as he was when just beginning to make movies. He comes across as a man undaunted by the glitz and power of Hollywood, remaining, above all, a truly independent filmmaker unafraid to get his hands dirty and pick up the camera himself.
Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short
by Olivier Bousquet Arnaud Devillard Nicolas SchallerA first-of-its-kind deep dive into Steven Spielberg's decades-long career, covering everything from early short films and television episodes to each of his more than 30 feature length-films. Organized chronologically and covering every short film, television episode, and blockbuster movie that Steven Spielberg has ever directed, Steven Spielberg All the Films draws upon years of research to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of how each project was conceived, cast, and produced; from the creation of the costumes to the search for perfect locations; details about Spielberg's work with longtime collaborators like George Lucas, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and composer John Williams; and of course, the direction of some of Hollywood's most memorable scenes. Spanning more than fifty years, this book details the creative processes that resulted in numerous classic films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Color Purple, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan (to name just a few). Newer work like Lincoln, The Post, and The Fabelmans is also featured alongside awards stats, original release dates, box office totals, casting details, and other insider scoops that will keep fans turning pages. Celebrating one of cinema's most iconic artists, Steven Spielberg All the Films is the authoritative guide to the man who invented the Hollywood blockbuster.
Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films
by Molly HaskellA film-centric portrait of the extraordinarily gifted movie director whose decades-long influence on American popular culture is unprecedented “Everything about me is in my films,” Steven Spielberg has said. Taking this as a key to understanding the hugely successful moviemaker, Molly Haskell explores the full range of Spielberg’s works for the light they shine upon the man himself. Through such powerhouse hits as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones, to lesser-known masterworks like A.I. and Empire of the Sun, to the haunting Schindler’s List, Haskell shows how Spielberg’s uniquely evocative filmmaking and story-telling reveal the many ways in which his life, work, and times are entwined. Organizing chapters around specific films, the distinguished critic discusses how Spielberg’s childhood in non-Jewish suburbs, his parents’ traumatic divorce, his return to Judaism upon his son’s birth, and other events echo in his work. She offers a brilliant portrait of the extraordinary director—a fearful boy living through his imagination who grew into a man whose openness, generosity of spirit, and creativity have enchanted audiences for more than 40 years.
Steven Spielberg: A Little Golden Book Biography (Little Golden Book)
by Geof SmithDream big with a Little Golden Book biography about Hollywood's most famous director Steven Spielberg. It's the perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers—as well as fans of all ages!This Little Golden Book about Steven Spielberg—the Academy Award-winning director of iconic films such as Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and the Indiana Jones original film trilogy—is an inspiring read-aloud for young children and fans of any age.Look for more Little Golden Book biographies:Betty WhiteDwanye JohnsonOprah WinfreyCarol BurnettJulie Andrews
Steven Spielberg: Get to Know the Extraordinary Filmmaker (People You Should Know)
by Judy GreenspanSteven Spielberg has changed the cinematic world with his hugely popular films. Testing out new technology, telling dramatic stories, and collaborating with successful directors, actors, and producers helped build Spielberg's reputation as a director and producer.
Steven Spielberg: Interviews, Revised and Updated (Conversations with Filmmakers Series)
by Steven SpielbergMore than four decades after the premiere of his first film, Steven Spielberg (b. 1946) continues to be a household name whose influence on popular culture extends far beyond the movie screen. Now in his seventies, Spielberg shows no intention of retiring from directing or even slowing down. Since the publication of Steven Spielberg: Interviews in 2000, the filmmaker has crafted some of the most complex movies of his extensive career. His new movies consistently reinvigorate entrenched genres, adding density and depth. Many of the defining characters, motifs, tropes, and themes that emerge in Spielberg’s earliest movies shape these later works as well, but often in new configurations that probe deeper into more complicated subjects—dangerous technology rather than man-eating sharks, homicidal rather than cuddly aliens, lethal terrorism instead of rampaging dinosaurs. Spielberg's movies continue to display a remarkably sophisticated level of artistry that matches, and sometimes exceeds, the memorable visual hallmarks of his prior work. His latest series of films continue to demonstrate an ongoing intellectual restlessness and a willingness to challenge himself as a creative artist. With this new collection of interviews, which includes eleven original interviews from the 2000 edition and nine new interviews, readers will recognize the themes that motivate Spielberg, the cinematic techniques he employs to create his feature films, and the emotional connection he has to his movies. The result is a nuanced and engaging portrait of the most popular director in American cinema history.
Steven Tyler: The Biography
by Laura JacksonSteven Tyler is one of life's natural born survivors. With an exhaustively vibrant personality, this dynamic lead singer has been one of the most distinctive figures in rock music for more than three decades. Raised in a close, loving family, Tyler survived a tough upbringing in the Bronx. His inherent passion for performing and a talent for playing instruments propelled him into rock music as a teenager. He fronted a succession of local bands before meeting the guys with whom he would form Aerosmith in 1970. Laura Jackson reveals the stories behind Tyler's relationships with band members and the many women in his life, his battle with Hepatitis C, and his drug-fuelled meltdown during the late '70s and early '80s when he was snorting pure heroin. She also explores his visits to rehab in the 1980s which saved his life. Tyler has lived a roller coaster life of excess - spending over a million dollars on drugs - but is miraculously still performing. Steven Tyler: the biography tells his incredible story.
Stevens' Poetry of Thought
by Frank DoggettOriginally published in 1966. Stevens' Poetry of Thought is the first full-length study of Wallace Stevens as a thinker. With original insight, Mr. Doggett provides many detailed interpretations of individual poems in examining Steven's imagery. This is a pertinent treatment of Stevens' inherent affinity with the philosophic imagination of his time, showing how firmly this poet was linked through his images with the leading thinkers of the age just passed—especially Schopenhauer, Bergson, Santayana, Whitehead, William James, Jung, and Cassirer. The clear and perceptive reading of a great many of the poems in this book should illuminate the work of Stevens for all the readers who admire his language and wish for further insight into its significance. Beyond being a definitive exposition of Steven' poetry and a meaningful act of faith in the intellectual sophistication of Stevens, this is an exciting study of the human imagination which satisfies the need for distinction between poetry and philosophy while illuminating one by the other. Mr. Doggett demonstrates how the poetry of Stevens is a representative voice of the ideas of his age and illustrates Stevens own statement: "Poets and philosophers often think alike, as we shall see." Wallace Stevens is now recognized as one of the most important American poets of the twentieth century. His first volume of poems, Harmonium was published in 1923, and since then seven volumes of his work have appeared. He was awarded the Bollingen Prize in Poetry of the Yale University Library for 1949. In 1951 he won the National Book Award in Poetry for The Auroras of Autumn. The Collected Works of Wallace Stevens was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1955. From 1916 to his death in 1955 he was associated with the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company, of which he became vice-president in 1934.
Steve Jobs: From Apples to Apps (Extraordinary Success with a High School)
by Jaime SebaIn the last few decades, more and more people are going to college to further their education. It's hard to become a scientist, a professor, or a businessperson without getting some sort of college degree--but college isn't always necessary to achieve success. Some people are ready to enter the workforce right after high school. Steve Jobs was one of these people. The inventor and businessman changed the way the world uses technology with devices like the iPod, iPad, and iPhone. The company he helped found in a garage years ago is now one of the most successful companies in the world, and Jobs was the face of the technology giant right up until his death in 2011. Few people have changed the world as much in the twenty-first century as Steve Jobs. And what's most amazing about his story is that he did it all without a college degree!
Stewart L. Udall: Steward of the Land
by Thomas G. SmithAs a three-term member of Congress and as the secretary of the interior in the Kennedy and Johnson cabinets (1961–1969), Stewart L. Udall (1920–2010) was a distinguished public servant and one of the great environmental leaders in US history. This book, the first biography of Udall, introduces his work to a new generation of Americans concerned with the environment. The author traces the influences on Udall&’s career, the evolution of his views on conservation, and his setbacks as well as his triumphs.In addition to his efforts to preserve wilderness areas and protect the planet, Udall advocated reforming the seniority system in Congress, limiting the production and testing of nuclear weapons, promoting coexistence with the Soviet Union, and helping oppressed peoples in emerging nations. A visionary leader, Udall was inspired by his pioneering Mormon forebears who helped settle the Arizona high plateau, where he first connected with the natural world.
Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self
by Lori Gottlieb"I wish to be the thinnest girl at school, or maybe even the thinnest eleven-year-old on the entire planet," confides Lori Gottlieb to her diary. "I mean, what are girls supposed to wish for, other than being thin?" For a girl growing up in Beverly Hills in 1978, the motto "You can never be too rich or too thin" is writ large. Precocious Lori learns her lessons well, so when she's told that "real women don't eat dessert" and "no one could ever like a girl who has thunder thighs," she decides to become a paragon of dieting. Soon Lori has become the "stick figure" she's longed to resemble. But then what? Stick Figure takes the reader on a gripping journey, as Lori struggles to reclaim both her body and her spirit. By turns painful and wry, Lori's efforts to reconcile the conflicting messages society sends women ring as true today as when she first recorded these impressions. "One diet book says that if you drink three full glasses of water one hour before every meal to fill yourself up, you'll lose a pound a day. Another book says that once you start losing weight, everyone will ask, 'How did you do it?' but you shouldn't tell them because it's 'your little secret. ' Then right above that part it says, 'New York Times bestseller. ' Some secret. " With an edgy wit and keenly observant eye, Stick Figure delivers an engrossing glimpse into the mind of a girl in transition to adulthood. This raw, no-holds-barred account is a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of living up to society's expectations.
Stick It!: My Life of Sex, Drums, and Rock 'n' Roll
by Rod Stewart Carmine Appice Ian GittinsCarmine Appice has enjoyed a jaw-dropping rock-and-roll life--and now he is telling his scarcely believable story. Appice ran with teenage gangs in Brooklyn before becoming a global rock star in the Summer of Love, managed by the Mob. He hung with Hendrix, unwittingly paid for an unknown Led Zeppelin to support him on tour, taught John Bonham to play drums (and helped Fred Astaire too), and took part in Zeppelin's infamous deflowering of a groupie with a mud shark. After enrolling in Rod Stewart's infamous Sex Police, he hung out with Kojak, accidentally shared a house with Prince, was blood brothers with Ozzy Osbourne and was fired by Sharon. He formed an all-blond hair-metal band, jammed with John McEnroe and Steven Seagal, got married five times, slept with 4,500 groupies--and, along the way, became a rock legend by single-handedly reinventing hard rock and heavy metal drumming. His memoir, Stick It!, is one of the most extraordinary and outrageous rock-and-roll books of the early twenty-first century.
Stickeen
by John MuirA great dog story, a well-told tale -- the naturalist and adventurer John Muir recounts how he and his companion, a dog named Stickeen, each, alone, confronted and conquered their fears of an icy Alaskan glacier in 1880.
Sticking It Out: From Juilliard to the Orchestra Pit: A Percussionists's Memoir
by Patti Niemi&“By turns reflective and dramatic, poignant and hilarious, Sticking It Out offers an irresistible portrait of the artist as a young percussionist&” (San Francisco Chronicle). When Patti Niemi was ten years old, all the children in her school music class lined up to choose their instruments. Boy after boy chose drums, and girl after girl chose flute—that is, until it was Patti&’s turn. From that point onward, Patti devoted her life to mastering the percussive arts. Cymbals, snare drum, marimba, timpani, chimes: she practiced them all, and in 1983, she entered Juilliard, the most prestigious music conservatory in in the world. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing New York City in the 1980s, Sticking It Out recounts Patti&’s years mastering her craft and struggling to make it in a cutthroat race to a coveted job in an orchestra. Along the way, she has to compete with friends, face her own crippling anxiety, and confront the delicate, and sometimes perilous, balance of power between teachers and their students. Bringing us inside a world that most of us never get to see, Patti&’s vivid memoir is &“an eye-opening tale of demanding teachers, grueling practice schedules, severe performance anxiety and bias against &‘girl drummers&’—a funny, poignant first-person account of the fierce commitment it takes to succeed in classical music&” (San Jose Mercury News). &“One of the funniest-ever classical-music books . . . and certainly among the best written.&” —The Philadelphia Inquirer &“A shattered-mirror insight into the bizarre world of hitting things with sticks.&” —Neil Peart, bestselling author, lyricist, and drummer for Rush