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The Grand Tour: The Life and Music of George Jones
by Rich KienzleIn the vein of the classic Johnny Cash: The Life, this groundbreaking work explores the wild life and extraordinary musical career of “the definitive country singer of the last half century” (New York Times), who influenced, among others, Bob Dylan, Buck Owens, Emmylou Harris, John Fogerty, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Garth Brooks.In a masterful biography laden with new revelations, veteran country music journalist/historian Rich Kienzle offers a definitive, full-bodied portrait of legendary country singer George Jones and the music that remains his legacy. Kienzle meticulously sifted through archival material, government records, recollections by colleagues and admirers, interviewing many involved in Jones’s life and career. The result: an evocative portrait of this enormously gifted, tragically tormented icon called “the Keith Richards of country.”Kienzle chronicles Jones’s impoverished East Texas childhood as the youngest son of a deeply religious mother and alcoholic, often-abusive father. He examines his three troubled marriages including his union with superstar Tammy Wynette and looks unsparingly at Jones’s demons. Alcohol and later cocaine nearly killed him until fourth wife Nancy helped him learn to love himself. Kienzle also details Jones’s remarkable musical journey from singing in violent Texas honky tonks to Grand Ole Opry star, hitmaker and master vocalist whose raw, emotionally powerful delivery remains the Gold Standard for country singers.The George Jones of this heartfelt biography lived hard before finding contentment until he died at eighty-one—a story filled with whiskey, women and drugs but always the saving grace of music.Illustrated with eight pages of photos.
The Grand Union: Accidental Anarchists of Downtown Dance, 1970–1976
by Wendy PerronThe Grand Union was a leaderless improvisation group in SoHo in the 1970s that included people who became some of the biggest names in postmodern dance: Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, Steve Paxton, Barbara Dilley, David Gordon, and Douglas Dunn. Together they unleashed a range of improvised forms from peaceful movement explorations to wildly imaginative collective fantasies. This book delves into the "collective genius" of Grand Union and explores their process of deep play. Drawing on hours of archival videotapes, Wendy Perron seeks to understand the ebb and flow of the performances. Includes 65 photographs.
The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High-Minded about Love and Haight
by Steven GimbelTwenty philosophical essays about the Grateful Dead phenomenon evaluates the band, its lyrics, and its influence from a variety of ancient and modern perspectives to consider how it fits into broader trends of American thought.
The Grateful Dead by Jim Marshall: Photos and Stories from the Formative Years, 1966–1977
by Jim Marshall David Gans Amelia DavisOne of the greatest bands of all time and one of the greatest music photographers in history meet in this incredible visual archive featuring exclusive never-before-seen photos.Jim Marshall took over ten thousand photos of the Grateful Dead throughout their career—from Woodstock to the last free concert on Haight Street and beyond. Marshall’s magnificent images chronicle the band’s trajectory as hairstyles changed, relationships came and went, and the music evolved into the sound that would become beloved by generations to come. Marshall’s instinctive eye matched the Dead’s improvisational style, and he was welcomed into its family as he immersed himself in San Francisco’s counterculture scene throughout the 1960s and ’70s. He documented casual domestic scenes and transcendent concerts alike, offering a nuanced and intimate portrait of the band. The striking images in this book—a third of which have never been published—are printed in the rich, high-contrast tones that Marshall favored. They include glimpses of remarkable moments like the Newport Pop Festival, Woodstock, and the Human Be-In. Quotes from contemporaries, collaborators, and members of the wider Dead community bring the images alive, while longer essays contextualize this photographic archive. Whether you were there from the beginning or wish you had been, this is your chance to see a glorious era of music history as you’ve never seen it before, through the eyes of a visionary artist.PHOTOGRAPHY ICON: Jim Marshall is the great rock-and-roll photographer, as his images of the Grateful Dead prove. In addition to being a legendary artist, he was a peer, colleague, and friend to the musicians and documented countless iconic musical moments throughout the 1960s and 1970s. NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN IMAGES: From electrifying photos of the band playing live onstage to more intimate portraits of rehearsals, this collection showcases an amazing array of images. One-third of the photos have never before been published, making The Grateful Dead by Jim Marshall an exclusive treat for any Deadhead or photography fan. THE ULTIMATE DEADHEAD COLLECTIBLE: Many books and documentary films have been created about the Grateful Dead, but Marshall's photographs offer an unmatched time capsule of the Dead and their era. Published to coincide with the band's 60th anniversary, this book is a perfect gift for anyone who's interested in music history or nostalgic for the counterculture of the ’60s and ’70s.Perfect for: Fans and followers of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia, and Dead & Company Jim Marshall fans Classic rock devotees and musicians Photographers and photography book collectors Holiday shoppers looking for a great present for music lovers Birthday or any special occasion gift-giving to any devoted fan of the Dead and iconic American rock bands
The Great Acting Teachers and Their Methods
by Richard BrestoffIt is vital for actors to understand how their craft evolved and in what tradition they stand. A global understanding of the past and present orients one better towards the future. It is important to know that realism in acting came as a reaction to the falseness that had gone before. Knowing this, one can anticipate that realism too will be overthrown in its turn. For example, in many private studios and at universities today, body training and mask work is in the ascendancy. Making one's way through the maze of actor training is a daunting task. This book is designed to help you understand the most important ideas about acting, where they came from, and how they are used in training programs today. With this knowledge, you will be prepared to make wise choices about your own path through this rewarding, frustrating, astonishing art.
The Great American Recipe Cookbook: Regional Cuisine and Family Favorites from the Hit TV Show
by The Great American RecipeThis beautiful cookbook showcases the best of American regional cooking from the cooks and judges featured in PBS&’ The Great American Recipe In the first season of The Great American Recipe, 10 home chefs representing distinct culinary backgrounds brought with them a rich collection of recipes. Some were secret family recipes passed down through the generations, some were new twists on regional classics, and others were their own deeply personal recipes crafted with love . . . and, together, they represent the dynamic story of America told through the diversity of its food. Now, you can bring all the fun of this new series to your kitchen with more than 100 delicious, easy-to-follow recipes from the cast, host, and judges. These recipes are accessible and taste like home—evoking nostalgia while inspiring you to explore new flavors with your loved ones. Inside, you&’ll find new staples and rediscover family favorites, such as: Southern Smoke Mac and Cheese Red Chilaquiles Rhode Island–Style Fried Calamari Shakshuka with Chive Flatbread Chicken and Waffle Sandwiches Pizza Calabrese L&’Italiano Burgers Crowd-Pleaser Tostadas Korean-Style Meatloaf and Potatoes Cast Iron Ribeye with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Steak Sauce Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies with Sour Cream Frosting Cannoli Dip Packed with amazing dishes and warm personal stories, and illustrated with gorgeous food photography and stills from the series, The Great American Recipe Cookbook is a must-have for fans of the show, food lovers, and every person who believes that food tells the story of who we are.
The Great American Whatever
by Tim Federle<p>From the award-winning author of <i>Five, Six, Seven, Nate!</i> and <i>Better Nate Than Ever</i> comes "a Holden Caulfield for a new generation" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). <p>Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old smart aleck and Hollywood hopeful whose only worry used to be writing convincing dialogue for the movies he made with his sister Annabeth. Of course, that was all before--before Quinn stopped going to school, before his mom started sleeping on the sofa...and before the car accident that changed everything. <p>Enter: Geoff, Quinn's best friend who insists it's time that Quinn came out--at least from hibernation. One haircut later, Geoff drags Quinn to his first college party, where instead of nursing his pain, he meets a guy--okay, a hot guy--and falls, hard. What follows is an upside-down week in which Quinn begins imagining his future as a screenplay that might actually have a happily-ever-after ending--if, that is, he can finally step back into the starring role of his own life story.
The Great Ball Game: How Bat Settles the Rivalry between the Animals and the Birds; A Circle Round Book (Circle Round)
by Rebecca SheirA classic folktale with roots in the traditional stories of many Indigenous peoples in North America, The Great Ball Game is adapted for today's kids by Rebecca Sheir, host of the award-winning Circle Round podcast. The stunning art of Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, an Ojibwe woodland artist, along with creative activities, make this an engaging picture book that also fosters storytelling and promotes the values of diversity, acceptance, and understanding of others.
The Great Big One
by J. C. GeigerWith natural disasters and nuclear war threatening their small town, two twin brothers find themselves enraptured by mysterious music that could change the course of their lives.Everyone in Clade City knows their days are numbered. The Great Cascadia Earthquake will destroy their hometown and reshape the entire West Coast—if they survive long enough to see it. Nuclear war is increasingly likely. Wildfires. Or another pandemic. To Griff, the daily forecast feels partly cloudy with a chance of apocalyptic horsemen.Griff&’s brother, Leo, and the Lost Coast Preppers claim to be ready. They&’ve got a radio station. Luminous underwater monitors. A sweet bunker, and an unsettling plan for &“disaster-ready rodents.&” But Griff&’s more concerned about what he can do before the end times. He&’d like to play in a band, for one. Hopefully with Charity Simms. Her singing could make the whole world stop.When Griff, Leo, and Charity stumble upon a mysterious late-night broadcast, one song changes everything. It&’s the best band they&’ve ever heard—on a radio signal even the Preppers can&’t trace. They vow to find the music, but aren&’t prepared for where their search will take them. Or for what they&’ll risk, when survival means finding the one thing you cannot live without.
The Great Book of Mobile Talk: You Like Mashed Potato, Don’t you?
by Andrew BarrowOverheard mobile pronouncements are a modern phenomenon. In the street, in the park, in supermarkets, buses, waiting rooms and even, heaven help us, in libraries, it’s quite impossible to get away from these tasty or repellent fragments of other people’s private lives. Wherever you lurk, their outbursts of despair or irritation ring out: mega-tantrums, in-jokes, celebrity spottings, instant post-mortems, office politics, whoops of joy and anger, weather reports, devilishly dull domestic details, parental problems, health issues, holiday plans, money matters, dinner menus, ultimatums, gossip, sporting news, amorous overtures, business deals – and any number of time-wasting pleasantries.From the stunningly mundane to the shockingly direct, the sublime to the ridiculous, here is a brilliantly curated collection of overheard mobile conversational gems.
The Great Houdini: World Famous Magician & Escape Artist (Step into Reading)
by Monica Kulling Anne ReasHarry Houdini was a great escape artist, but perhaps his greatest trick was becoming the famous magician that we have come to know. As a child, Houdini worked hard--and even quit school--to help support his family. But his dream always was to become a great magician and performer. He practiced day and night, thinking up new tricks and more and more dangerous stunts. His intense ambition paid off, and soon Harry Houdini became known worldwide! This kid-appealing Step 3 traces Houdini's life from his poor beginnings to his eventual success as the most famous mystical magician and escape artist of all time.
The Great Illusionists
by Derek TaitHoudini and beyond: a historic magical mystery tour of the great showmen who inspired the likes of David Blaine, Penn & Teller, and Siegfried & Roy. Today, Harry Houdini stands as the most famous illusionist and escape artist in history. But from the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century, magicians and escapologists who inspired—and were inspired by—Houdini packed vaudeville houses and local theaters across the globe. The Great Illusionists reveals the careers, lives, and sometimes shocking on-stage deaths of the greatest showmen to ever wow the world. In addition to the astounding accomplishments of Houdini, marvel at the feats of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, the “Father of Modern Conjuring”; the Davenport Brothers, music hall mediums and devotees of the Spiritualist movement; the “Dean of American Magicians” Harry Kellar; master illusionists, the Great Raymond, David Devant, the Great Lafayette, and Chung Ling Soo; the novelty performances of The Human Fly and Datas, “The Living Encyclopedia”; and many more. From vanishing acts and public seances to harrowing bullet-tricks and psychic wizardry, The Great Illusionists brings to life a unique history of entertainment.
The Great Movies
by Roger EbertReprints 100 essays published in the between 1996 and 2001. Revisiting classic films that have been largely forgotten as well as more recent masterpieces, Ebert breaks down each film's plot, its directorial style, and its place in film history. Black and white stills. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
The Great Movies
by Roger EbertAmerica's most trusted and best-known film critic Roger Ebert presents one hundred brilliant essays on some of the best movies ever made. For the past five years Roger Ebert, the famed film writer and critic, has been writing biweekly essays for a feature called "The Great Movies," in which he offers a fresh and fervent appreciation of a great film. The Great Movies collects one hundred of these essays, each one of them a gem of critical appreciation and an amalgam of love, analysis, and history that will send readers back to that film with a fresh set of eyes and renewed enthusiasm-or perhaps to an avid first-time viewing. Ebert's selections range widely across genres, periods, and nationalities, and from the highest achievements in film art to justly beloved and wildly successful popular entertainments. Roger Ebert manages in these essays to combine a truly populist appreciation for our most important form of popular art with a scholar's erudition and depth of knowledge and a sure aesthetic sense. Wonderfully enhanced by stills selected by Mary Corliss, film curator at the Museum of Modern Art, The Great Movies is a treasure trove for film lovers of all persuasions, an unrivaled guide for viewers, and a book to return to again and again. The Great Movies includes: All About Eve * Bonnie and Clyde * Casablanca * Citizen Kane * The Godfather * Jaws * La Dolce Vita * Metropolis * On the Waterfront * Psycho * The Seventh Seal * Sweet Smell of Success * Taxi Driver * The Third Man * The Wizard of Oz * and eighty-five more films.From the Hardcover edition.
The Great Movies II
by Roger EbertFrom America's most trusted and highly visible film critic, 100 more brilliant essays on the films that define cinematic greatness.Continuing the pitch-perfect critiques begun in The Great Movies, Roger Ebert's The Great Movies II collects 100 additional essays, each one of them a gem of critical appreciation and an amalgam of love, analysis, and history that will send readers back to films with a fresh set of eyes and renewed enthusiasm--or perhaps to an avid first-time viewing. Neither a snob nor a shill, Ebert manages in these essays to combine a truly populist appreciation for today's most important form of popular art with a scholar's erudition and depth of knowledge and a sure aesthetic sense. Once again wonderfully enhanced by stills selected by Mary Corliss, former film curator at the Museum of Modern Art, The Great Movies II is a treasure trove for film lovers of all persuasions, an unrivaled guide for viewers, and a book to return to again and again.Films featured in The Great Movies II12 Angry Men · The Adventures of Robin Hood · Alien · Amadeus · Amarcord · Annie Hall · Au Hasard, Balthazar · The Bank Dick · Beat the Devil · Being There · The Big Heat · The Birth of a Nation · The Blue Kite · Bob le Flambeur · Breathless · The Bridge on the River Kwai · Bring Me the Head of Alfredo García · Buster Keaton · Children of Paradise · A Christmas Story · The Color Purple · The Conversation · Cries and Whispers · The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie · Don't Look Now · The Earrings of Madame de . . . · The Fall of the House of Usher · The Firemen's Ball · Five Easy Pieces · Goldfinger · The Good, the Bad and the Ugly · Goodfellas · The Gospel According to Matthew · The Grapes of Wrath · Grave of the Fireflies · Great Expectations · House of Games · The Hustler · In Cold Blood · Jaws · Jules and Jim · Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy · Kind Hearts and Coronets · King Kong · The Last Laugh · Laura · Leaving Las Vegas · Le Boucher · The Leopard · The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp · The Manchurian Candidate · The Man Who Laughs · Mean Streets · Mon Oncle · Moonstruck · The Music Room · My Dinner with Andre · My Neighbor Totoro · Nights of Cabiria · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest · Orpheus · Paris, Texas · Patton · Picnic at Hanging Rock · Planes, Trains and Automobiles · The Producers · Raiders of the Lost Ark · Raise the Red Lantern · Ran · Rashomon · Rear Window · Rififi · The Right Stuff · Romeo and Juliet · The Rules of the Game · Saturday Night Fever · Say Anything · Scarface · The Searchers · Shane · Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs · Solaris · Strangers on a Train · Stroszek · A Sunday in the Country · Sunrise · A Tale of Winter · The Thin Man · This Is Spinal Tap ·Tokyo Story · Touchez Pas au Grisbi · Touch of Evil · The Treasure of the Sierra Madre · Ugetsu · Umberto D · Unforgiven · Victim · Walkabout · West Side Story · Yankee Doodle Dandy
The Great Movies III
by Roger EbertRoger Ebert has been writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times for over four decades now and his biweekly essays on great movies have been appearing there since 1996. As Ebert noted in the introduction to the first collection of those pieces, “They are not the greatest films of all time, because all lists of great movies are a foolish attempt to codify works which must stand alone. But it’s fair to say: If you want to take a tour of the landmarks of the first century of cinema, start here. Enter The Great Movies III, Ebert’s third collection of essays on the crème de la crème of the silver screen, each one a model of critical appreciation and a blend of love and analysis that will send readers back to the films with a fresh set of eyes and renewed enthusiasm—or maybe even lead to a first-time viewing. From The Godfather: Part II to Groundhog Day, from The Last Picture Show to Last Tango in Paris, the hundred pieces gathered here display a welcome balance between the familiar and the esoteric, spanning Hollywood blockbusters and hidden gems, independent works and foreign language films alike. Each essay draws on Ebert’s vast knowledge of the cinema, its fascinating history, and its breadth of techniques, introducing newcomers to some of the most exceptional movies ever made, while revealing new insights to connoisseurs as well. Named the most powerful pundit in America by Forbes magazine, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Roger Ebert is inarguably the most prominent and influential authority on the cinema today. The Great Movies III is sure to please his many fans and further enhance his reputation as America’s most respected—and trusted—film critic.
The Great Movies IV
by Roger Ebert Matt Zoller Seitz Chaz EbertNo film critic has ever been as influential--or as beloved-- as Roger Ebert. Over more than four decades, he built a reputation writing reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times and, later, arguing onscreen with rival Chicago Tribune critic Gene Siskel and later Richard Roeper about the movies they loved and loathed. But Ebert went well beyond a mere "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." Readers could always sense the man behind the words, a man with interests beyond film and a lifetime's distilled wisdom about the larger world. Although the world lost one of its most important critics far too early, Ebert lives on in the minds of moviegoers today, who continually find themselves debating what he might have thought about a current movie. The Great Movies IV is the fourth--and final--collection of Roger Ebert's essays, comprising sixty-two reviews of films ranging from the silent era to the recent past. From films like The Cabinet of Caligari and Viridiana that have been considered canonical for decades to movies only recently recognized as masterpieces to Superman, The Big Lebowski, and Pink Floyd: The Wall, the pieces gathered here demonstrate the critical acumen seen in Ebert's daily reviews and the more reflective and wide-ranging considerations that the longer format allowed him to offer. Ebert's essays are joined here by an insightful foreword by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz, the current editor-in-chief of the official Roger Ebert website, and a touching introduction by Chaz Ebert. A fitting capstone to a truly remarkable career, The Great Movies IV will introduce newcomers to some of the most exceptional movies ever made, while revealing new insights to connoisseurs as well.
The Great Peace: A Memoir
by Mena SuvariA memoir by award-winning actor Mena Suvari, best-known forher iconic roles in American Beauty, American Pie, and Six Feet Under.The Great Peace is a harrowing, heartbreaking coming-of-age story set in Hollywood, in which young teenage model-turned-actor Mena Suvari lost herself to sex, drugs and bad, often abusive relationships even as blockbuster movies made her famous. It's about growing up in the 90s, with a soundtrack ranging from The Doors to Deee-Lite, fashion from denim to day-glo, and a woman dealing with the lasting psychological scars of abuse, yet knowing deep inside she desires so much more from life.Within these vulnerable pages, Mena not only reveals her own mistakes, but also the lessons she learned and her efforts to understand and grow rather than casting blame. As such, she makes this a timeless story of girl empowerment and redemption, of somebody using their voice to rediscover their past, seek redemption, and to understand their mistakes, and ultimately come to terms with their power as an individual to find a way and a will to live—and thrive. Poignant, intimate, and powerful, this book will resonate with anyone who has found themselves lost in the darkness, thinking there's no way out. Ultimately, Mena's story proves that, no matter how hopeless it may seem, there's always a light at the end.
The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic
by Kinky FriedmanKinky Friedman, the original Texas Jewboy, takes us on a rollicking, rock-and-rolling tour of his favorite city: Austin. Maybe you want to know which restaurant President Bush rates as his favorite Austin burger joint. Or maybe you want a glimpse of Willie Nelson's home life (hint: Willie plays a lot of golf). Perhaps you want to get the best view of the Mexican free-tail bats as they make their nightly flights to and from the Congress Avenue Bridge. Or maybe you're itching to learn the history of a city that birthed Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and countless other music legends. It's all here in The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic, the slightly insane, amazingly practical, and totally kick-ass guide to the coolest city in Texas by none other than Kinky Friedman. This ain't no ordinary travel guide, neither. "Like most other busy cities these days, Austin is not very effectively traversed by foot," Kinky explains. "You must understand that 'a walk in Austin' is primarily a spiritual sort of thing. " As might be expected from this politically incorrect country-singer-turned-bestselling-mystery-author, the Kinkster's tour includes a bunch of stuff you won't ?nd in a Frommer's guide, from descriptions of Austin's notable trees and directions to skinny-dipping sites to lists of haunted places and quizzes and puzzles. So put on your cowboy hat and your brontosaurus-foreskin boots and head down south with the only book you need to get to the big heart of this great city. From the Hardcover edition.
The Great Radio Heroes
by Jim HarmonReminiscences of the heyday of radio programming, with insights on many of the favorite programs. Contains actor bios and more.
The Great TV Turn-Off (The Cul-De-Sac Kids #18)
by Beverly LewisIt's "TV Turn-Off Week" across America, and Eric Hagel proposes that the kids on Blossom Hill Lane--adults, too!--don't watch a speck of TV for seven days. But midway through the week, Eric catches Mr. Tressler sneaking a peek at his TV. What will they do now?
The Great War in American and British Cinema, 1918–1938: Art Amidst the Ashes (Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media)
by Ryan CoppingThis book recounts the reception of selected films about the Great War released between 1918 and 1938 in the USA and Great Britain. It discusses the role that popular cinema played in forming and reflecting public opinion about the War and its political and cultural aftermath in both countries. Although the centenary has produced a wide number of studies on the memorialisation of the Great War in Britain and to a lesser degree the USA, none of them focused on audience reception in relation to the Anglo-American ‘circulatory system’ of Trans-Atlantic culture.
The Great War in Hollywood Memory, 1918-1939 (SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema)
by Michael HammondThis is the definitive account of how America's film industry remembered and reimagined World War I from the Armistice in 1918 to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Based on detailed archival research, Michael Hammond shows how the war and the sociocultural changes it brought made their way into cinematic stories and images. He traces the development of the war's memory in films dealing with combat on the ground and in the air, the role of women behind the lines, returning veterans, and through the social problem and horror genres. Hammond first examines movies that dealt directly with the war and the men and women who experienced it. He then turns to the consequences of the war as they played out across a range of films, some only tangentially related to the conflict itself. Hammond finds that the Great War acted as a storehouse of motifs and tropes drawn upon in the service of an industry actively seeking to deliver clearly told, entertaining stories to paying audiences. Films analyzed include The Big Parade, Grand Hotel, Hell's Angels, The Black Cat, and Wings. Drawing on production records, set designs, personal accounts, and the advertising and reception of key films, the book offers unique insight into a cinematic remembering that was a product of the studio system as it emerged as a global entertainment industry.
The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical
by Warren HoffmanBroadway musicals are one of America’s most beloved art forms and play to millions of people each year. But what do these shows, which are often thought to be just frothy entertainment, really have to say about our country and who we are as a nation? Now in a new second edition, The Great White Way is the first book to reveal the racial politics, content, and subtexts that have haunted musicals for almost one hundred years from Show Boat (1927) to Hamilton (2015). This revised edition includes a new introduction and conclusion, updated chapters, as well as a brand-new chapter that looks at the blockbuster musicals The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. Musicals mirror their time periods and reflect the political and social issues of their day. Warren Hoffman investigates the thematic content of the Broadway musical and considers how musicals work on a structural level, allowing them to simultaneously present and hide their racial agendas in plain view of their audiences. While the musical is informed by the cultural contributions of African Americans and Jewish immigrants, Hoffman argues that ultimately the history of the American musical is the history of white identity in the United States. Presented chronologically, The Great White Way shows how perceptions of race altered over time and how musicals dealt with those changes. Hoffman focuses first on shows leading up to and comprising the Golden Age of Broadway (1927–1960s), then turns his attention to the revivals and nostalgic vehicles that defined the final quarter of the twentieth century. He offers entirely new and surprising takes on shows from the American musical canon—Show Boat (1927), Oklahoma! (1943), Annie Get Your Gun (1946), The Music Man (1957), West Side Story (1957), A Chorus Line (1975), and 42nd Street (1980), among others. In addition to a new chapter on Hamilton and The Book of Mormon, this revised edition brings The Great White Way fully into the twenty-first century with an examination of jukebox musicals and the role of off-Broadway and regional theaters in the development of the American musical. New archival research on the creators who produced and wrote these shows, including Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, and Edward Kleban, will have theater fans and scholars rethinking forever how they view this popular American entertainment.
The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum
by Candace FlemingThe life of showman Phineas Taylor Barnum gets show-stopping treatment in Fleming's latest biographical work. Presented as clever, resilient and ever-consumed with making a buck, the Barnum of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is brought to life in anecdotes over 11 chapters. Nicknamed Tale as a boy, he hated farmwork (I was always ready to concoct fun, or lay plans for money-making, but hand-work was decidedly not in my line). His personal struggles with alcohol and a less-than-happy marriage are detailed alongside his many public successes (and hoaxes). A tour of his famed American Museum and an account of a day at the circus (complete with descriptions of the human curiosities Barnum employed) set readers in the middle of the singular late 19th-century entertainment scene. As in a real circus, the large-format pages include plenty to grab readers' attention: white-on-black sidebars that put the entrepreneur's feats in context (African Americans were barred from entering Barnum's American Museum except on certain days), bw photos and advertising posters. Audiences will step right up to this illuminating and thorough portrait of an entertainment legend. Ages 8-12. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.