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Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life Of Bill Monroe, Father Of Bluegrass
by Richard A. SmithFrom the book jacket: Elvis Presley chose one of his songs, "Blue Moon of Kentucky," for his first single. A young Jerry Garcia traveled crosscountry to audition for his band. Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, and even Frank Sinatra were fans. Considering the range of stars and styles that claim him as an influence, no single artist has had as broad an impact on American popular music as Bill Monroe. Born in 1911 in rural Kentucky, Monroe melded the fiddle tunes, ballads, and blues of his youth into the "high lonesome" sound known today as bluegrass, making him perhaps the only performer to create an entire musical genre. His distinctive bluegrass style profoundly influenced country, early rock 'n' roll, and the folk revival of the 1960s. A Grand Ole Opry star for almost sixty years, Monroe was a searing mandolinist who redefined the instrument, a haunting high-range vocalist, and a godlike figure to generations of admirers who became famous in their own right. When Monroe died in 1996, he was universally acclaimed as "the Father of Bluegrass," but the personal life of this taciturn figure remained largely unknown. His childhood feelings of isolation and abandonment- "lonesomeness" he called it-fueled his reckless womanizing in adulthood and inspired his most powerful compositions. From his professional breakthrough in the Monroe Brothers duet act to his bitter rivalry with former sidemen Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to his final days as a revered elder statesman of bluegrass, Monroe's career was filled with trials and triumphs. Now, veteran bluegrass journalist Richard D. Smith has interviewed a multitude of Monroe's surviving friends, lovers, colleagues, and contemporaries to create a three-dimensional portrait of this brilliant, complex, and contradictory man. Compel lingly narrated and thoroughly researched, Can't You Hear Me Callin' is the definitive biography of a true giant of American music. RICHARD D. SMITH is a journalist whose work has appeared in a number of national publications, including the NewYork Times, Bloomberg magazine, and the Journal of Country Music. The author of Bluegrass: An Informal Guide, he is also a reviewer for Bluegrass Unlimited magazine and plays mandolin and guitar. He lives in Rocky Hill, New Jersey.
Campbell's 1-2-3 dinner
by Publications International Ltd.Most recipes involve three easy steps and make four servings. Flash Roasted Crispy Ranch Chicken--oh, so good! Polynesian Pork Chops--mmmm! Buffalo-Style Burgers--I think you are getting the picture: just reading this book will make you hungry. And, teens, when it is your turn to cook, you can't go wrong with the recipes and serving suggestions in this book.
Blind Man Running: A Product of the Ozark Mountains - The Story of a Blind Man's Quest for the Joy of Life
by Michael McintireAutobiography of a blind man's journey through life as a traveling musician
The Portable Radio in American Life
by Michael Brian SchifferHistory of the development of the portable radio over the years.
Tricks of the Podcasting Masters
by Rob Walch Mur LaffertyThis book gives detailed instructions for putting together your own podcasts. It also reviews the history of podcasting. Everything you ever wanted to know about podcasts is probably here.
Holidays in Hell
by P. J. O'RourkeThe author travels to hellholes around the globe, looking for trouble, the truth, and a good time.
Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie
by Ed CrayA patriot and a political radical, Guthrie captured the spirit of his times in his enduring songs. From Booklist Although Woody Guthrie has been a favorite topic of children's books in recent years, there has not been a substantive adult biography written about him since Joe Klein's definitive Woody Guthrie (1980). Cray (Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren, 1997) may well supplant Klein, as he was given access to the Woody Guthrie Archives, which contain previously unpublished letters, diaries, and journals. Although his narrative is sometimes too thick with details, Cray eloquently sums up the Okie songwriter's sorrowful life, during which he endured his sister's and daughter's deaths by fire, his mother's committal to an insane asylum, and his own diagnosis and death from Huntington's disease. Cray is especially insightful on Guthrie's politics and his deep empathy for Depression-era migrant workers. A man of contradictions, the songwriter emerges as an intellectual who took pains to hide his intellect and as a crusader for social justice who neglected his own family. His second wife, Marjorie, takes on near-heroic stature as the caregiver who, though they were long divorced, looked after him during the last decade of his debilitating illness. Joanne Wilkinson Copyright © American Library Association.
How to Make Yourself Miserable
by Dan Greenburg Marcia JacobsHow to be miserable by yourself, to lose friends, to lose your job, to avoid or destroy romantic relationships, etc.
Everybody's Grandpa: Fifty Years Behind the Mike
by Louis M. Jones Charles Wolfe Grandpa JonesBiography of country musician Grandpa Jones including a discography and bibliography
Such A Killing Crime
by Robert LoprestiIf you're not old enough to have lived through the folk scare, listening to folk music and reading this book will give you a sense of the time period and Greenwich Village. Joe Tally becomes involved in a murder of an up and coming folksinger.
History of Rock and Roll
by Thomas E. LarsonThis book was written by a college professor who teaches a class about the history and evolution of rock music over the past 55 years. Each chapter discusses an ear in rock history, pointing out the influences that shaped it and featuring key artists from that period. The book is rich in content and is so entertaining that you might forget it's a textbook until you see the study questions at the end of each chapter. The author provides suggestions for listening to songs that help you get an idea of the style he is describing.
Without Feathers
by Woody AllenFrom the book jacket: The Philadelphia Inquirer says: "Woody Allen is more than a household name. His one-liners are part of our oral history." From Without Feathers here are some new one-liners oral history has been waiting for ... Thought: Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food: frequently there must be a beverage. My Lord, my Lord! What hast Thou done, lately? On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done as easily lying down. Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable, with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embrace-able You" in spats. How wrong Emily Dickinson was! Hope is not "the thing with feathers." The thing with feathers has turned out to be my nephew. I must take him to a specialist in Zurich.
Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd
by Eugene B. BergmannComprehensive biography of Jean Shepherd, radio personality and raconteur.
Josiah
by Stephen Arterburn Angela Elwell HuntMeet a group of young believers who had the guts to live out their Christian faith. Some of them had to make tough decisions, others had to hold on to God's prom
Moondance
by Frank AschBear has a wish. He wants to dance with the moon. But he doubts she'll want to dance with him. Perhaps with some help from his friend, Little Bird, Bear's wish can come true. But not until he's seen fog for the first time and danced with the rain. In this Bear and Little Bird adventure Bear once again attempts the impossible and in spite of his naiveté (or perhaps because of it) achieves delightful results.
Tarzan Triumphant
by Edgar Rice BurroughsHidden from the teeming jungles of Africa by huge cloud banks, the lofty peaks of the mysterious, impenetrable fortresses of the forbidding Ghenzi Mountain range frown down on a thousand valleys never visited by man, in the crater of the highest peak lives a strange people, descendants of early refugees from Rome--half-mad, half-idiot--their religion a frightful travesty of what it once was. These are the Midianites--who now practice human sacrifice! And it is among these near-beasts in their crater surrounded by towering, unscalable escarpments that a young Englishwoman is trapped. Only Tarzan could possibly reach her. But Tarzan is hundreds of miles away tracking down a gang of slave-dealers, unaware that a helpless young life hangs by a thread...
I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!: And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny
by Bob NewhartMost comedians are committable. People say I'm the most normal of all comedians-and I'm still certifiable. -from Chapter One That stammer. Those basset-hound eyes. That bone-dry wit. There has never been another comedian like Bob Newhart. In this, his first book ever, Newhart gives his brilliant and bemused twist on a multitude of topics, including flying, the trials of a family holiday in a Winnebago, and more serious subjects, such as golf. And, of course, there are side-splittingly funny stories from his life and career. Who else has a drinking game named after him? ("Hi, Bob!") Newhart starts with his windy Chicago childhood: Like most kids, I didn't pay much attention in church. Until I was an adult, I thought that St. Christopher was the patron saint of magnetic feet because you stuck him on the dashboard and he wouldn't move. He writes of his few years as an accountant (he routinely grew so frustrated trying to reconcile petty cash that he would round up and down using his own pocket change). He describes his surprise at the groundbreaking success of his albums, starting with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which was the first comedy album ever to hit #1 on the charts and won the Grammy for Album of the Year (beating Sinatra). There are stories from the legendary television shows, which spent fifteen years on prime time, and tales of other comedy greats. And as counterpoint throughout, he provides excerpts from some of his classic routines, which revolutionized comedy: Abraham Lincoln's Press Agent: What else, Abe?... You changed "four score and seven" to "eighty-seven"?... I understand it means the same thing, Abe. That's meant to be a grabber... Abe, we test-marketed that in Erie and they went out of their minds..." This isn't a memoir like most memoirs. It's a book only Bob Newhart could have written, with his unique worldview and irrepressibly wry humor on every page. Oh, and there's a fair bit of plain silliness, too.
You're Not a Kid Anymore...
by Jeff FoxworthyHow did this happen? Where did the years go? The irony of it all hit me not long ago, as my wife and I and several friends were looking through old photo albums. We came across some photos of yours truly decked out in my hottest disco threads (skin-tight, shiny copper pants and a cream colored silk shirt ... John Travolta, eat your heart out). Well, the rest of the group was laughing so hard the dryness of their underwear was in serious jeopardy. I just sat there thinking, "#*@!, that was probably the coolest I'll ever be in my life! Cool, not funny."
No Redneck Left Behind: Facing the Real World After Gettin' Your Diploma
by Jeff FoxworthyThey say your school years are your best years. That's a lie. There are plenty of good days ahead of you, unless you took so long to graduate that people thought you were in the seventeenth grade. Now it's time to take what you've learned in classes such as math, biology and introductory drywall hanging and make a success of your life. Okay, maybe you can at least stay off of COPS or Judge Judy. You might be a redneck if ... Your resume includes your high scores on video games. You think the ability to hold a job is overrated. You've asked a hairstylist for a "business at the front, party at the back" cut. You list "beginner's luck" as a skill on a job application. Your savings account is in the ashtray of your truck.
Games Rednecks Play
by Jeff Foxworthy Vic HenleyA humorous book by comedian Jeff Foxworthy about what Rednecks consider to be a sport.
Which President Killed a Man? Tantalizing Trivia and Fun Facts About Our Chief Executives and First Ladies
by James HumesFrom the Book jacket: Which president had the lowest approval rating in the twentieth century? Which president fathered a child at age seventy? Which first lady was responsible for bringing the cherry trees to Washington? Which president wrote bawdy limericks as a hobby? Who was the first president of the United States? (Hint: It's not George Washington.) Which president enlisted Elvis Presley in the war against drugs? Who was the only first lady to be committed to a mental institution? And, do you know ... WHICH PRESIDENT KILLED A MAN??? The commander in chief has always made headlines-but what about the tantalizing tidbits that don't make it into the history books? After serving several generations of presidents, author and former White House speechwriter James Humes now offers a delightful smorgasbord of little-known facts and figures about our presidents and their first ladies. James Humes was a White House speechwriter for Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. He assisted former President Ford in writing his memoirs, A Time to Heal, and is the author of more than thirty books, including his autobiography: Confessions of a White House Ghost Writer. Currently Ryals Professor of Leadership and Language at the University of Southern Colorado, he has appeared on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, "Larry King Live," and hundreds of radio shows. Humes makes his home in Pueblo, Colorado.
Ultimate Justice
by Mimi LattFrom the Back Cover. Edited. When gifted New York prosecutor Alexandra Locke puts her rising career on hold to be near her dying mother, she hesitatingly accepts a position in the office of her father, Thomas Kendall, the politically ambitious Los Angeles District Attorney. But their already strained father-daughter relationship grows far worse when Alexandra hears a shocking deathbed confession. . Flying in the face of her father's re election bid, Alexandra vows to investigate. . Alexandra joins forces with her handsome former lover and together they pry open a case that was once nailed shut.
How the People Sang the Mountains Up: How and Why Stories
by Maria LeachThis book tells some of the most famous how and why stories, such as Why Rabbit has a Short Tail?, How the Horse was created?, and Why man has dogs? These stories are collected from around the world and in many different cultures. There is a bibliography and notes on the different stories. Delightful book for all ages.
Here's Johnny!: My Memories of Johnny Carson, The Tonight Show, and 46 Years of Friendship
by Ed McmahonReading Here's Johnny! is like sitting with Ed and Johnny over lunch! The last time I saw Johnny Carson, we had chicken, a couple of glasses of red wine, and then we just reminisced, going back and forth the way we did on The Tonight Show. We talked about our kids, about our careers, about the state of America. We were just two lucky guys who loved each other talking about the good luck of our careers. For thirty years Ed McMahon fed questions to Carnac the Magnificent, performed in the Mighty Carson Art Players, chatted with Aunt Blabby and was even an usher at the wedding of Tiny Tim and Miss Vicky in the Church of Carson. Only Ed McMahon could tell the complete story of Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show. In fact, Ed was with Johnny even before The Tonight Show, when they both first appeared on Who Do You Trust? Now he finally shares the stories that only he knows. From the sofa at Johnny's right, to backstage, to their personal relationship, Ed McMahon provides a real view of the man who was so careful to show only one side of himself to the public. Brilliant in front of the camera, but shy in person, Johnny seldom gave interviews Only Ed tells the stories and provides the insights into the personality that made johnny Carson more of a friend we invited into our homes than a television star.
There's Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say
by Paula PoundstonePaula Poundstone takes a humorous look at history and other things