- Table View
- List View
A Choice of Weapons
by Gordon Parks Wing Young HuieGordon Parks (1912-2006)--the groundbreaking photographer, writer, composer, activist, and filmmaker--was only sixteen in 1928 when he moved from Kansas to St. Paul, Minnesota, after his mother's death. There, homeless and hungry, he began his fight to survive, to educate himself, and to fulfill his potential dream. This compelling autobiography, first published in 1966, now back in print by popular demand and with a new foreword by Wing Young Huie, tells how Parks managed to escape the poverty and bigotry around him and to launch his distinguished career by choosing the weapons given him by "a mother who placed love, dignity, and hard work over hatred. " Parks, the first African American to work at Life magazine and the first to write, direct, and score a Hollywood film, told an interviewer in 1999, "I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera. "
Choices: To the Hills and Back Again
by Audrina PatridgeFrom the star of MTV&’s The Hills and The Hills: New Beginnings, a candid and insightful reflection on aughts tabloid fame, the powerlessness and loss of self in toxic situations, and the life-changing power of even our smallest choices.If you know Audrina Patridge from one of the most successful reality shows ever, MTV&’s The Hills, you know that she doesn&’t pull punches. For years, she hid the challenges she faced, but now, she&’s finally sharing her full story for the first time—and it&’s not a neat little story, tied with a bow. This is the unvarnished truth about being young and carefree in Los Angeles, filming The Hills, and getting access to the most exclusive parties, decadent restaurants, and VIP clubs. It&’s also the unvarnished truth about darker days, when she lost her confidence, her voice, and even her self-worth as she was pushed to the brink of losing almost everything. Just like The Hills, Audrina is back and better than ever. In Choices, she&’s baring it all: the nearly soul-crushing struggles, the beauty of finally reclaiming her power, and the incredible experiences and behind-the-scenes details of The Hills. This is the story of an eighteen-year-old girl who took a chance and had the experience of a lifetime on a reality TV phenomenon that made her a household name and tabloid regular. But it&’s also the story of a thirty-six-year-old woman and mother who regained her voice after years in a series of unfulfilling and even toxic relationships. Deeply insightful and wonderfully entertaining, Choices is a story of redemption, renewed strength, and reckoning with the choices we make.
Choices...Changes
by Joni Eareckson TadaJoni writes with refreshing transparency about making the movie about her life and her subsequent move to L.A. and establishment of the Joni and Friends ministry.
The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever
by David YooIn this brutally honest collection of often cringe-inducing episodes, David Yoo perfectly captures the cycle of failure and fear from childhood through adulthood. Whether he's wearing four layers of clothing to artificially beef up his slim frame, routinely testing highlighters against his forearm to see if he indeed has yellow skin, or preemptively sabotaging promising relationships to avoid being compared to former boyfriends, Yoo celebrates and skewers the insecurities of anxious people everywhere.
Choking on Marlon Brando: A Film Critic's Memoir About Love and the Movies
by Antonia QuirkeIn this witty and bittersweet memoir, the film critic shares her misadventures as a lover of film stars who seeks movie romance in the real world. Antonia Quirke was ten years old when she first saw Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. It was the first film she ever saw, and her reaction was so intense that her parents called an ambulance. So began her lifelong love of movies—an obsession that has brought as much drama and comedy to her actual life as she sees on screen. In Choking on Marlon Brando, Quirke offers a window into her life as a film critic, her unabashed infatuation with male screen idols, and her many real-life romances that never quite make the cut. We learn of her personal ad seeking Tom Cruise, and her bungled interview with Jeff Bridges; the writer boyfriend who never brushed his teeth, and the actor boyfriend whose family showed up nude to a party. Along the way, Quirke provides witty insight into the nature of celebrity, fandom, the movies we all love, and how different they are from reality. “Fans of snappy writing, movie actors and dead-end romance will find Quirke’s book a treat.” —Publishers Weekly
The Chomsky Effect: A Radical Works Beyond the Ivory Tower (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Robert F BarskyNoam Chomsky as political gadfly, groundbreaking scholar, and intellectual guru: key issues in Chomsky's career and the sometimes contentious reception to his ideas.“People are dangerous. If they're able to involve themselves in issues that matter, they may change the distribution of power, to the detriment of those who are rich and privileged.”—Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky has been praised by the likes of Bono and Hugo Chávez and attacked by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Alan Dershowitz. Groundbreaking linguist and outspoken political dissenter—voted “most important public intellectual in the world today” in a 2005 magazine poll—Chomsky inspires fanatical devotion and fierce vituperation. In The Chomsky Effect, Chomsky biographer Robert Barsky examines Chomsky's positions on a number of highly charged issues—Chomsky's signature issues, including Vietnam, Israel, East Timor, and his work in linguistics—-that illustrate not only “the Chomsky effect” but also “the Chomsky approach.”Chomsky, writes Barsky, is an inspiration and a catalyst. Not just an analyst or advocate, he encourages people to become engaged—to be “dangerous” and challenge power and privilege. The actions and reactions of Chomsky supporters and detractors and the attending contentiousness can be thought of as “the Chomsky effect.” Barsky discusses Chomsky's work in such areas as language studies, media, education, law, and politics, and identifies Chomsky's intellectual and political precursors. He charts anti-Chomsky sentiments as expressed from various standpoints, including contemporary Zionism, mainstream politics, and scholarly communities. He discusses Chomsky's popular appeal—his unlikely status as a punk and rock hero (Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is one of many rock and roll Chomskyites)—and offers in-depth analyses of the controversies surrounding Chomsky's roles in the “Faurisson Affair” and the “Pol Pot Affair.” Finally, Barsky considers the role of the public intellectual in order to assess why Noam Chomsky has come to mean so much to so many—and what he may mean to generations to come.
CHOOSE STRONG: The Choice That Changes Everything
by Sally McRaeKnown worldwide for her mental fortitude, hardcore training tactics, and an ability to push through extreme discomfort, pro athlete Sally McRae’s strength wasn’t built in the gym. For the first time, McRae candidly tells her shocking story of abuse, loss, and wild resilience that laid the foundation for the woman she is today. In this powerful memoir, Sally bypasses the often loud sea of motivational quotes and hyped ideas about what it means to be strong and cuts right to the core of every human with her gentle, yet firm reminders that we are ALL strong! Honest, relatable, and raw, every reader will connect with Sally’s story and see how they too can overcome even the most difficult situations in life and sport. Choose Strong is a story for everyone from every age and walk of life looking to live their strongest life.
Choose Your Own Disaster
by Dana SchwartzA hilarious, quirky, and unflinchingly honest memoir about one young woman's terrible and life-changing decisions while hoping (and sometimes failing) to find herself, in the style of Never Have I Ever and Adulting. Join Dana Schwartz on a journey revisiting all of the terrible decisions she made in her early twenties through the internet's favorite method of self-knowledge: the quiz. Part-memoir, part-VERY long personality test, CHOOSE YOUR OWN DISASTER is a manifesto about the millennial experience and modern feminism and how the easy advice of "you can be anything you want!" is actually pretty fucking difficult when there are so many possible versions of yourself it seems like you could be. Dana has no idea who she is, but at least she knows she's a Carrie, a Ravenclaw, a Raphael, a Belle, a former emo kid, a Twitter addict, and a millennial just trying her best.
The Choosing: A Rabbi's Journey from Silent Nights to High Holy Days
by Andrea MyersA young Lutheran girl grows up on Long Island, New York. She aspires to be a doctor, and is on the fast track to marriage and the conventional happily-ever-after. But, as the Yiddish saying goes, "Man plans, and God laughs. " Meet Andrea Myers, whose coming-of-age at Brandeis, conversion to Judaism, and awakening sexual identity make for a rich and well-timed life in the rabbinate. In The Choosing, Myers fuses heartwarming anecdotes with rabbinic insights and generous dollops of humor to describe what it means to survive and flourish on your own terms. Portioned around the cycle of the Jewish year, with stories connected to each of the holidays, Myers draws on her unique path to the rabbinate--leaving behind her Christian upbringing, coming out as a lesbian, discovering Judaism in college, moving to Israel, converting, and returning to New York to become a rabbi, partner, and parent. Myers relates tales of new beginnings, of reinventing oneself, and finding oneself. Whether it's a Sicilian grandmother attempting to bake hamantaschen on Purim for her Jewish granddaughter, or an American in Jerusalem saving a chicken from slaughter during a Rosh Hashanah ritual, Myers keeps readers entertained as she reflects that spirituality, goodness, and morality can and do take many forms. Readers will enthusiastically embrace stories of doors closing and windows opening, of family and community, of integration and transformation. These captivating narratives will resonate and, in the author's words, "reach across coasts, continents, and generations. "
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
by Angela JoyA picture book biography of the mother of Emmett Till, and how she channeled grief over her son's death into a call to action for the civil rights movement. <p><p>Mamie Till-Mobley is the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old boy who was brutally murdered while visiting the South in 1955. His death became a rallying point for the civil rights movement, but few know that it was his mother who was the catalyst for bringing his name to the forefront of history. <p><p>In Choosing Brave, Angela Joy and Janelle Washington offer a testament to the power of love, the bond of motherhood, and one woman's unwavering advocacy for justice. It is a poised, moving work about a woman who refocused her unimaginable grief into action for the greater good. Mamie fearlessly refused to allow America to turn away from what happened to her only child. She turned pain into change that ensured her son's life mattered. <p><p>Timely, powerful, and beautifully told, this thorough and moving story has been masterfully crafted to be both comprehensive and suitable for younger readers.
Choosing Courage: Inspiring True Stories of What It Means to Be a Hero
by Peter CollierHow does an ordinary person become a hero? It happens in a split second, a moment of focus and clarity, when a choice is made. Here are the gripping accounts of Medal of Honor recipients who demonstrated guts and selflessness on the battlefield and confronted life-threatening danger to make a difference. <P><P>There are the stories of George Sakato and Vernon Baker—both of whom overcame racial discrimination to enlist in the army during World War II (Sakato was a second-generation Japanese American, Baker an African American) and went on to prove that heroes come in all colors—and Clint Romesha, who led his outnumbered fellow soldiers against a determined enemy to prevent the Taliban from taking over a remote U.S. Army outpost in Afghanistan. <P>Also included are civilians who have been honored by the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation for outstanding acts of bravery in crisis situations, from a school shooting to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Adding depth and context are illuminating essays on the combat experience and its aftermath, covering topics such as overcoming fear; a mother mourning the loss of her son; and “surviving hell” as a prisoner of war.
Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore
by Albert MudrianThis exciting history, featuring an introduction by famed DJ John Peel, tells the two-decade-long history of grindcore and death metal through the eyes and ringing ears of the artists, producers, and label owners who propelled them.
Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance
by Francesca T. RoysterChoosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance is a brilliant literary memoir of chosen family and chosen heritage, told against the backdrop of Chicago’s North and South Sides. As a multiracial household in Chicago’s North Side community of Rogers Park, race is at the core of Francesca T. Royster and her family’s world, influencing everyday acts of parenting and the conception of what family truly means. Like Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts, this lyrical and affecting memoir focuses on a unit of three: the author; her wife, Annie, who’s white; and Cecilia, the Black daughter they adopt as a couple in their 40s and 50s. Choosing Family chronicles this journey to motherhood while examining the messiness and complexity of adoption and parenthood from a Black, queer, and feminist perspective. Royster also explores her memories of the matriarchs of her childhood and the homes these women created in Chicago’s South Side—itself a dynamic character in the memoir—where “family” was fluid, inclusive, and not necessarily defined by marriage or other socially recognized contracts. Calling upon the work of some of her favorite queer thinkers, including José Esteban Muñoz and Audre Lorde, Royster interweaves her experiences and memories with queer and gender theory to argue that many Black families, certainly her own, have historically had a “queer” attitude toward family: configurations that sit outside the white normative experience and are the richer for their flexibility and generosity of spirit. A powerful, genre-bending memoir of family, identity, and acceptance, Choosing Family, ultimately, is about joy—about claiming the joy that society did not intend to assign to you, or to those like you.
Choosing Hope
by Ginny Dennehy Shelley FralicA chronicle of family love, unspeakable loss, and the power of healingGinny Dennehy was living the dream: a good marriage, two wonderful teenagers, a fulfilling career. Life in Whistler, B.C., seemed tailor-made for her outgoing, athletic family of four. But in 2001, the world turned upside down when her son, Kelty, committed suicide at the age of seventeen, hanging himself in the loft of their family home.Lost in a fog of grief, Ginny found the strength to go on. She poured her energy into the Kelty Patrick Dennehy Foundation, raising both funds and awareness to fight depression-related suicide by young people. And then, just eight years after losing Kelty, another unfathomable tragedy: her daughter Riley died of a heart attack in Thailand. She was just twenty-three.Candid and deeply moving, Ginny's powerful story will serve as an inspiration for others struggling with the weight of grief.
Choosing Hope
by Robin Gaby Fisher Kaitlin Roig-Debellis<P>Kaitlin Roig-Debellis is the first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School who saved her entire class of fifteen six- and-seven-year-olds from the tragic events that took place on December 14, 2012, by piling them into a single-occupancy bathroom within her classroom, mere feet from the brutal and indiscriminate massacre taking place outside the door. <P>Since then, despite the unimaginably painful experiences she endured, she has chosen to share her experience with others, in the hope that they too can find light in dark moments. <P>Choosing Hope is a lot of things. A written witness to a tragedy that will never be forgotten. A gripping firsthand testament to the power of good over the power of destruction. <P>An inspirational memoir by a brave young woman whose story is one of courage, heroism, faith, and resilience. And a celebration of all the people who make the choice to pass along their hope and positivity to young ones--parents, mentors, and especially teachers. <P>There is no moving on, but there is always moving forward. And how we move forward is a choice.
Choosing Mercy: A Mother of Murder Victims Pleads to End the Death Penalty
by Antoinette BoscoWhen journalist and mother of a large family Antoinette Bosco's son and daughter-in-law were murdered, she was left with grief that remains to this day. Yet as she sought healing for her deep sorrow she could not accept that taking another life would be the answer to her pain. Her strong Catholic faith and connections with many others who are personally impacted by murder and the death penalty aided her as she struggled with an issue that had become deeply personal. She began to speak out about her convictions in print and in person and work to end the death penalty. Over time she learned more and more about what goes on in our prisons, how our flawed justice system puts to death the poor and convicts the innocent, and the pain that the families of the inmates who are executed suffer which is so often ignored by society. The more she learned, the more passionate and convicted she became about this highly controversial topic. Honest in its portrayal of her experiences, deeply spiritual and compassionate in its portrayal of how murder and the death penalty effect us all, Choosing Mercy is a compelling book that gives a human face to a divisive issue. The stories and quotes from families, victims, clergy, and prisoners are used to help make her points and support her position, but she responds with empathy and sensitivity to those who feel differently about this issue, particularly to other families of murder victims. She references relevant organizations and resources, as well. All these things make Choosing Mercy much more than just a memoir of one woman's journey. It is informative and thought-provoking, as well as packing an emotional punch. Choosing Mercy is a challenging but important piece of nonfiction.
Choosing Naia: A Family's Journey
by Mitchell ZuckoffChoosing Naia is a powerful story, based on an award-winning series of articles about a modern family and their Down syndrome baby. A dramatic and carefully detailed account of one family's journey through the maze of genetic counseling, medical technology, and disability rights
Choosing to Run: A Memoir
by Des LindenFeaturing both the story of an historic, unforgettable win and insight into the life of an indelible champion, Choosing to Run is a truly inspirational memoir from Boston Marathon winner and Olympian. Des Linden, sharing her personal story and what motivates her to keep showing up. <p><p>When Des woke up on April 16, 2018, the morning of the Boston Marathon, it was 39 degrees and raining, with high, gusty winds. The weather didn’t bother her. In fact, she thought it might be a blessing. She was far from peak form—recovering from illness and questioning her running future—and didn’t expect much of herself that day. But as she ticked off mile after mile in the brutal conditions, passing familiar landmarks on the course she knew by heart, something shifted. Opportunity unexpectedly presented itself. Des tapped into her inner strength and remembered all of the reasons she loved to race. Coming off Heartbreak Hill at Mile 22, Des took the lead and never relinquished it, becoming the 2018 Boston Marathon champion and the first American woman to win the race in thirty-three years. <p><p>Her career has always been defined by tenacity and an independent spirit, stretching back to her first competitive race in San Diego, when she beat better-outfitted, more experienced kids. Des was a two-time All-American at Arizona State University, and as her collegiate years wound down, she decided she wasn’t done with the sport. Des gambled on herself and moved to Michigan to give professional running a try. As she rose through the elite ranks, she became increasingly determined to do things her way in an industry often bound by the status quo. <p><p>In her first book, readers will learn the story behind that resolve: the way Des trains, the way she thinks, her relationships with other great runners of her generation, and how much she values her family and friends. They’ll read about her deep connection to the most famous marathon in the world, her two very different Olympic experiences, and how she defined new goals and set a world record at the 50-kilometer distance. Most of all, they’ll learn what makes her get up and run every day. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
Choosing to See: A Journey of Struggle and Hope
by Mary Beth Chapman Ellen VaughnFrom the beginning, Mary Beth Chapman's life was not how she planned. All she wanted was a calm, peaceful life of stability and control. Instead, God gave her an award-winning singer/songwriter husband, crazy schedules, and a houseful of creatively rambunctious children. Most difficult of all, God's plans for her also included tragedy. In Choosing to See, Mary Beth unveils her struggle to allow God to write the story of her life, both the happy chapters and the tragic ones. And as the story unfolds, she's been forced to wrestle with some of life's biggest questions: Where is God when things fall apart? Why does God allow terrible things to happen? How can I survive hard times? No matter where you find yourself in your own life story, you will treasure the way Mary Beth shows that even in the hard times, there is hope if you choose to SEE.
Chop Fry Watch Learn: Fu Pei-mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food
by Michelle T. KingA spirited new history of Chinese food told through an account of the remarkable life of Fu Pei-mei, the woman who brought Chinese cooking to the world. In 1949, a young Chinese housewife arrived in Taiwan and transformed herself from a novice to a natural in the kitchen. She launched a career as a cookbook author and television cooking instructor that would last four decades. Years later, in America, flipping through her mother’s copies of Fu Pei-mei’s Chinese cookbooks, historian Michelle T. King discovered more than the recipes to meals of her childhood. She found, in Fu’s story and in her food, a vivid portal to another time, when a generation of middle-class, female home cooks navigated the tremendous postwar transformations taking place across the world. In Chop Fry Watch Learn, King weaves together stories from her own family and contemporary oral history to present a remarkable argument for how understanding the story of Fu’s life enables us to see Chinese food as both an inheritance of tradition and a truly modern creation, influenced by the historical phenomena of the postwar era. These include a dramatic increase in the number of women working outside the home, a new proliferation of mass media, the arrival of innovative kitchen tools, and the shifting diplomatic fortunes of China and Taiwan. King reveals how and why, for audiences in Taiwan and around the world, Fu became the ultimate culinary touchstone: the figure against whom all other cooking authorities were measured. And Fu’s legacy continues. Her cookbooks have become beloved emblems of cultural memory, passed from parent to child, wherever diasporic Chinese have landed. Informed by the voices of fans across generations, King illuminates the story of Chinese food from the inside: at home, around the family dinner table. The result is a revelatory work, a rich banquet of past and present tastes that will resonate deeply for all of us looking for our histories in the kitchen.
Chopin and His World
by Jonathan D. Bellman Halina GoldbergA new look at the life, times, and music of Polish composer and piano virtuoso Fryderyk ChopinFryderyk Chopin (1810–49), although the most beloved of piano composers, remains a contradictory figure, an artist of virtually universal appeal who preferred the company of only a few sympathetic friends and listeners. Chopin and His World reexamines Chopin and his music in light of the cultural narratives formed during his lifetime. These include the romanticism of the ailing spirit, tragically singing its death-song as life ebbs; the Polish expatriate, helpless witness to the martyrdom of his beloved homeland, exiled among friendly but uncomprehending strangers; the sorcerer-bard of dream, memory, and Gothic terror; and the pianist's pianist, shunning the appreciative crowds yet composing and improvising idealized operas, scenes, dances, and narratives in the shadow of virtuoso-idol Franz Liszt. The international Chopin scholars gathered here demonstrate the ways in which Chopin responded to and was understood to exemplify these narratives, as an artist of his own time and one who transcended it. This collection also offers recently rediscovered artistic representations of his hands (with analysis), and—for the first time in English—an extended tribute to Chopin published in Poland upon his death and contemporary Polish writings contextualizing Chopin's compositional strategies. The contributors are Jonathan D. Bellman, Leon Botstein, Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger, Halina Goldberg, Jeffrey Kallberg, David Kasunic, Anatole Leikin, Eric McKee, James Parakilas, John Rink, and Sandra P. Rosenblum. Contemporary documents by Karol Kurpiński, Adam Mickiewicz, and Józef Sikorski are included.
Chopin in Paris
by Tad SzulcChopin in Paris introduces the most important musical and literary figures of Fryderyk Chopin's day in a glittering story of the Romantic era. During Chopin's eighteen years in Paris, lasting nearly half his short life, he shone at the center of the immensely talented artists who were defining their time -- Hugo, Balzac, Stendhal, Delacroix, Liszt, Berlioz, and, of course, George Sand, a rebel feminist writer who became Chopin's lover and protector. Tad Szulc, the author of Fidel and Pope John Paul II, approaches his subject with imagination and insight, drawing extensively on diaries, memoirs, correspondence, and the composer's own journal, portions of which appear here for the first time in English. He uses contemporary sources to chronicle Chopin's meteoric rise in his native Poland, an ascent that had brought him to play before the reigning Russian grand duke at the age of eight. He left his homeland when he was eighteen, just before Warsaw's patriotic uprising was crushed by the tsar's armies. Carrying the memories of Poland and its folk music that would later surface in his polonaises and mazurkas, Chopin traveled to Vienna. There he established his reputation in the most demanding city of Europe. But Chopin soon left for Paris, where his extraordinary creative powers would come to fruition amid the revolutions roiling much of Europe. He quickly gained fame and a circle of powerful friends and acquaintances ranging from Rothschild, the banker, to Karl Marx. Distinguished by his fastidious dress and the wracking cough that would cut short his life, Chopin spent his days composing and giving piano lessons to a select group of students. His evenings were spent at the keyboard, playing for his friends. It was at one of these Chopin gatherings that he met George Sand, nine years his senior. Through their long and often stormy relationship, Chopin enjoyed his richest creative period. As she wrote dozens of novels, he composed furiously -- both were compulsive creators. After their affair unraveled, Chopin became the protÉgÉ of Jane Stirling, a wealthy Scotswoman, who paraded him in his final year across England and Scotland to play for the aristocracy and even Queen Victoria. In 1849, at the age of thirty-nine, Chopin succumbed to the tuberculosis that had plagued him from childhood. Chopin in Paris is an illuminating biography of a tragic figure who was one of the most important composers of all time. Szulc brings to life the complex, contradictory genius whose works will live forever. It is compelling reading about an exciting epoch of European history, culture, and music -- and about one of the great love dramas of the nineteenth century.
Chopin's Funeral
by Benita EislerBenita Eisler, author of the acclaimed biography Byron, offers a closely focused portrait of Chopin - the story of his last years, of his legendary affair with the novelist George Sand, and of nineteenth-century Parisian cultural life. Like his music, Chopin's life is heartbreaking. At twenty-one, he left embattled Warsaw for exile in Paris. After just two public concerts, he was a star of Parisian society, and an intimate of his great contemporaries, Schumann, Liszt and the painter Eugene Delacroix, who famously introduced him to George Sand and painted their double portrait. Ten years later, as Chopin lay destitute and dying of consumption in the arms of Sand's estranged daughter, revolution surged through the streets of Paris. Chopin's Funeral is an intimate close-up of the composer's last years - the story of the artist as exile, of a spectacular love affair, and of a nation on the cusp of the modern age. Artful and engaging, brilliantly compressed and atmospheric, it is a masterful interpretation of a great life.
Chopin's Piano: In Search Of The Instrument That Transformed Music
by Paul KildeaThe captivating story of Frédéric Chopin and the fate of both his Mallorquin piano and musical Romanticism from the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. In November 1838, Frédéric Chopin, George Sand, and her two children sailed to Majorca to escape the Parisian winter. They settled in an abandoned monastery at Valldemossa in the mountains above Palma where Chopin finished what would eventually be recognized as one of the great and revolutionary works of musical Romanticism: his twenty-four Preludes. There was scarcely a decent piano on the island (these were still early days in the evolution of the modern instrument), so Chopin worked on a small pianino made by a local craftsman, Juan Bauza, which remained in their monastic cell for seventy years after he and Sand had left. Chopin’s Piano traces the history of Chopin’s twenty-four Preludes through the instruments on which they were played, the pianists who interpreted them, and the traditions they came to represent. Yet it begins and ends with the Majorcan pianino, which assumed an astonishing cultural potency during the Second World War as it became, for the Nazis, a symbol of the man and music they were determined to appropriate as their own. After Chopin, the unexpected hero of Chopin’s Piano is the great keyboard player Wanda Landowska, who rescued the pianino from Valldemossa in 1913, and who would later become one of the most influential artistic figures of the twentieth century. Paul Kildea shows how her story—a compelling account based for the first time on her private papers—resonates with Chopin’s, simultaneously distilling part of the cultural and political history of mid-twentieth century Europe and the United States. After Landowska’s flight to America from Paris, which the Germans would occupy only days later, her possessions—including her rare music manuscripts and beloved keyboards—were seized by the Nazis. Only some of these belongings survived the war; those that did were recovered by the Allied armies’ Monuments Men and restituted to Landowska’s house in France. In scintillating prose, and with an eye for exquisite detail, Kildea beautifully interweaves these narratives, which comprise a journey through musical Romanticism—one that illuminates how art is transmitted, interpreted, and appropriated between generations.
Chords of Strength
by David ArchuletaSinging sensation and American Idol favorite David Archuleta tells his inspiring personal story. Includes full-color photos! A runner-up on American Idol and successful music artist, David Archuleta was named one of the "breakout stars of 2008" by Forbes magazine and landed the number two spot on the Billboard charts. In Chords of Strength David shares his unexpected and inspiring journey, including how he overcame vocal cord paralysis to achieve his dream of being a singer. He reveals insecurities he felt about his voice-before he realized that he loved the way singing made him feel more than he disliked the way he sounded. In this personal memoir, David opens up about the strength he draws from his unshakable faith and unyielding family. He pays tribute to those who continue to inspire him and through their example help him believe in himself, his talent, and his abilities. Intimate and uplifting, Chords of Strength allows a unique glimpse of the man behind the music and offers hope to anyone with a passion and a dream. Watch a video of David Archuleta at the printing of his new book Chords of Strength. Watch a Video .