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Joe Hill: A Biographical Novel
by Wallace StegnerBlending fact with fiction in this masterful historical novel, National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Wallace Stegner retells the story of Joe Hill--the Wobbly bard who became the stuff of legend when, in 1915, he was executed for the alleged murder of a Salt Lake City businessman. Organizer, agitator, "Labor's Songster"--a rebel from the skin inwards, with an absolute faith in the One Big Union--Joe Hill fought tirelessly in the frequently violent battles between organized labor and industry. But though songs and stories still vaunt him, and his legend continues to inspire those who feel the injustices he fought against, Joe Hill may not have been a saintly crusader and may have been motivated by impulses darker than the search for justice. Joe Hill is a full-bodied portrait of both the man and the myth: from his entrance into the short-lived Industrial Workers of the World union, the most militant organization in the history of American labor, to his trial, imprisonment, and final martyrdom. His famous last words: "Don't waste time mourning. Organize."
Joe Louis: Hard Times Man
by Randy RobertsA &“humbling, inspiring . . . deeply emotional&” biography of the boxing legend who held the heavyweight world championship for more than eleven years (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Known as the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title an astonishing twenty-five times. Through the 1930s, he got more column inches of newspaper coverage than President Roosevelt. At a time when the boxing ring was the only venue where black and white could meet on equal terms, Louis embodied Black America&’s hope for dignity and equality. And in 1938, his politically charged defeat of German boxer Max Schmeling made Louis a national hero on the world stage. Through meticulous research and first-hand interviews, acclaimed biographer Randy Roberts presents a complete portrait of Louis and his outsized impact on sport and country. Digging beneath the simplistic narratives of heroism and victimization, Roberts reveals an athlete who carefully managed his public image, and whose relationships with both the black and white communities—including his relationships with mobsters—were deeply complex. &“Roberts is a fine match with his subject. He supports with powerful evidence his contention that Louis&’s impact was enormous and profound.&” —The Boston Globe
Joe Rochefort's War
by Elliot Ward CarlsonThis is the first biography of Capt. Joe Rochefort, the Officer in Charge of Station Hypo the U.S. Navy's decrypt unit at Pearl Harbor and his key role in breaking the Imperial Japanese Navy's main code before the Battle of Midway. It brings together the disparate threads of Rochefort's life and career, beginning with his enlistment in the Naval Reserve in 1918 at age 17 (dropping out of high school and adding a year to his age). It chronicles his earliest days as a mustang (an officer who has risen from the ranks), his fortuitous posting to Washington, where he headed the Navy's codebreaking desk at age 25, then, in another unexpected twist, found himself assigned to Tokyo to learn Japanese.This biography records Rochefort's surprising love-hate relationship with cryptanalysis, his joyful exit from the field, his love of sea duty, his adventure-filled years in the '30s as the right-hand man to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, and his reluctant return to codebreaking in mid-1941 when he was ordered to head the Navy's decrypt unit at Pearl (Station Hypo).The book focuses on Rochefort's inspiring leadership of Hypo, recording first his frustrating months in late 1941 searching for Yamamoto's fleet, then capturing a guilt-ridden Rochefort in early 1942 mounting a redemptive effort to track that fleet after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor . It details his critical role in May 1942 when he and his team, against the bitter opposition of some top Navy brass, concluded Midway was Yamamoto's invasion target, making possible a victory regarded by many as the turning point in the Pacific War.The account also tells the story of Rochefort's ouster from Pearl, the result of the machinations of key officers in Washington, first to deny him the Distinguished Service Medal recommended by Admiral Nimitz, then to effect his removal as OIC of Hypo. The book reports his productive final years in the Navy when he supervises the building of a floating drydock on the West Coast, then, back in Washington, finds himself directing a planning body charged with doing spade work leading to the invasion of Japan.The Epilogue narrates the postwar effort waged by Rochefort's Hypo colleagues to obtain for him the DSM denied in 1942-a drive that pays off in 1986 when President Reagan awards him the medal posthumously at a White House ceremony attended by his daughter and son. It also explores Rochefort's legacy, primarily his pioneering role at Pearl in which, contrary to Washington's wishes, he reported directly to Commander in Chief, US Fleet, providing actionable intelligence without any delays and enabling codebreaking to play the key role it did in the Battle of Midway.Ultimately, this book is aimed at bringing Joe Rochefort to life as the irreverent, fiercely independent and consequential officer that he was. It assumes his career can't be understood without looking at his entire life. It seeks to capture the interplay of policy and personality, and the role played by politics and personal rifts at the highest levels of Navy power during a time of national crisis. This bio emerges as a history of the Navy's intelligence culture.
Joe Salsberg
by Gerald TulchinskyThis book follows the life and intellectual journey of Joseph Baruch Salsberg, a Polish-Jewish immigrant who became a major figure of the Ontario Left, a leading voice for human rights in the Ontario legislature, and an important journalist in the Jewish community. His life trajectory mirrored many of the most significant transformations in Canadian political and social life in the twentieth century.Award-winning historian Gerald Tulchinsky traces Salsberg's personal and professional journey - from his entrance into Toronto's oppressive garment industry at age 14, which led to his becoming active in emerging trade unions, to his rise through the ranks of the Communist Party of Canada and the Workers' Unity League. Detailing Salsberg's time as an influential Toronto alderman and member of the Ontario legislature, the book also examines his dramatic break with communism and his embrace of a new career in journalism.Tulchinsky employs historical sources not used before to explain how Salsberg's family life and surrounding religious and social milieu influenced his evolution as a Zionist, an important labour union leader, a member of the Communist Party of Canada, and a prominent member of Toronto's Jewish community.
Joe Simon: My Life in Comics
by Joe SimonIn his own words, this is the life of Joe Simon, one of the most important figures in comics history, and half of the famous creative team Simon and Kirby. Joe Simon co-created Captain America, and was the first editor in chief of Marvel Comics (where he hired Stan Lee for his first job in comics). Simon began his prolific career in the Great Depression, and this book recounts his journey to New York City, his first comic book work, his meeting with Jack Kirby, and the role comics played in wartime America. He remembers the near-death of the comics, and the scramble to survive. And he reveals what it was like to bring comics out of their infancy, as they became an American art form.
Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox
by Joel M. Podolny Anne M. Mulcahy Charles D. Ellis"Charley Ellis has written a magnificent portrait, capturing the indomitable spirit of Joe Wilson and his instinctive understanding of the need for and commercial usefulness of a transforming imaging technology. Joe Wilson and his extraordinary team, which I had the good fortune to first meet in 1960, epitomized the wonderful observation of George Bernard Shaw who said, 'Some look at things that are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were and ask why not?'Xerox and xerography are not only a part of our vocabulary, but part of our everyday life. Charley Ellis gives the reader a poignant understanding of just how this happened through the life, adventures, critical business decisions, and dreams of Joseph Wilson and a cadre of remarkable individuals.This book will surely join the library of memorable biographies that capture the building of America into a risk-tolerant, technologically sophisticated, idea-oriented society that thrives by understanding what Charles Darwin really said:'Survival will be neither to the strongest of the species, nor to the most intelligent, but to those most adaptable to change.'"--Frederick Frank, Vice Chairman, Lehman Brothers Inc.
Joel
by Gregg Lewis Joel SonnenbergJoel Sonnenberg solo tenía dos años cuando un camión de dieciocho ruedas chocó contra el auto de su familia. En el infierno que siguió su cuerpo se quemó en más de un ochenta y cinco por ciento. Esta es su historia como solo él puede contarla. Experimente el mundo desde la perspectiva de Joel, mientras lo lleva a una travesía personal con más trama que una película de Hollywood. Su vida ha sido de grandes logros y sufrimientos. Prepárese para enamorarse de este joven llamado Joel.
Joel
by Gregg Lewis Joel SonnenbergJoel Sonnenberg was only two years old when an 18-wheeler smashed into his family&’s car. In the inferno that followed, he was burned on over 85 percent of his body. This is his story as only he can tell it. Experience the world from Joel&’s perspective as he takes you on a personal journey with more twists and turns than a Hollywood movie. It&’s been a life of both great struggles and of tremendous achievement and honor. Yet Joel asserts, &“I am just an ordinary person whom people find extraordinary.&” Be prepared to fall in love with a young man named Joel. We have known Joel since he first moved to Montreat, North Carolina, eighteen years ago. What an incredible boy he was; what an incredible man he has become. His testimony will stir your heart and forever change you. Ruth and Billy Graham Joel is a dear friend. His story is truly remarkable. I encourage everyone to read it. It is truly inspiring! Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Head Coach, Duke University Basketball Joel is an American hero. True courage is demonstrated in every page. Bob Dole, Former United States Senator, Kansas The dictionary doesn&’t have enough adjectives to describe my love and admiration for Joel Sonnenberg. To spend time with Joel—whether in his book, at a soccer game, or over a soda—is to come away a different person simply because you&’ve been with him. Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder and CEO of Joni and Friends Joel Sonnenberg&’s story is more than just an uplifting tale of persistence and achievement. Rooted in tragedy, it&’s the story of a mother&’s love, a boy&’s courage, and the resilience of the human spirit. Bryant Gumbel, Television News Journalist His story is one all young people need to hear . . . optimistic, confident, and filled with faith. Dr. Jay Kesler, President Emeritus, Taylor University
Joel and Ethan Coen (Contemporary Film Directors)
by R. Barton PalmerWith landmark films such as Fargo, O Brother Where art Thou?, Blood Simple, and Raising Arizona, the Coen brothers have achieved both critical and commercial success. Proving the existence of a viable market for "small" films that are also intellectually rewarding, their work has exploded generic conventions amid rich webs of transtextual references. R. Barton Palmer argues that the Coen oeuvre forms a central element in what might be called postmodernist filmmaking. Mixing high and low cultural sources and blurring genres like noir and comedy, the use of pastiche and anti-realist elements in films such as The Hudsucker Proxy and Barton Fink clearly fit the postmodernist paradigm. Palmer argues that for a full understanding of the Coen brothers' unique position within film culture, it is important to see how they have developed a new type of text within general postmodernist practice that Palmer terms commercial/independent. Analyzing their substantial body of work from this "generic" framework is the central focus of this book.
Joel Barlow: American Citizen in a Revolutionary World
by Richard Buel Jr.Poet, republican, diplomat, and entrepreneur, Joel Barlow filled many roles and registered impressive accomplishments. In the first biography of this fascinating figure in decades, Richard Buel Jr. recounts the life of a man more intimately connected to the Age of Revolution than perhaps any other American.Barlow was a citizen of the revolutionary world, and his adventures throughout the United States and Europe during both the American and French Revolutions are numerous and notorious. From writing his epic poem, The Vision of Columbus, to plotting a republican revolution in Britain to negotiating the release of American sailors taken captive by Barbary pirates, Joel Barlow personified the true spirit of the tumultuous times in which he lived.No one witnessed more climactic events or interacted with more significant people than Joel Barlow. It was his unique vision, his unfailing belief in republicanism, and his entrepreneurial spirit that drove Barlow to pursue the revolutionary ideal in a way more emblematic of the age than the lives of many of its prominent heroes.Buel is a knowledgeable guide, and in telling Barlow’s story he explores the cultural landscape of the early American republic and engages the broader themes of the Age of Revolution. Few books explore in such a comprehensive fashion the political, economic, ideological, diplomatic, and technological dimensions of this defining moment in world history.
Joel Barlow: American Citizen in a Revolutionary World
by Richard . Buel Jr.An in-depth look at the life and times of the early American poet and polemicist.Poet, republican, diplomat, and entrepreneur, Joel Barlow filled many roles and registered impressive accomplishments. In the first biography of this fascinating figure in decades, Richard Buel Jr. recounts the life of a man more intimately connected to the Age of Revolution than perhaps any other American.Barlow was a citizen of the revolutionary world, and his adventures throughout the United States and Europe during both the American and French Revolutions are numerous and notorious. From writing his epic poem, The Vision of Columbus, to plotting a republican revolution in Britain to negotiating the release of American sailors taken captive by Barbary pirates, Joel Barlow personified the true spirit of the tumultuous times in which he lived.No one witnessed more climactic events or interacted with more significant people than Joel Barlow. His unique vision, his unfailing belief in republicanism, and his entrepreneurial spirit drove him to pursue the revolutionary ideal in a way more emblematic of the age than the lives of many of its prominent heroes.In telling Barlow’s story, Buel explores the cultural landscape of the early American republic and engages the broader themes of the Age of Revolution. Few books explore in such a comprehensive fashion the political, economic, ideological, diplomatic, and technological dimensions of this defining moment in world history.“No earlier biographer has given nearly as detailed and rich a portrait of Barlow’s perhaps singularly expansive role in the cultural life, commerce, politics, and intrigue of the age of revolution.” —TheGuardian (UK)
Joe's War: My Father Decoded
by Annette KobakThe intriguing history of a young girl's search for the man her father really was. A fascinating insight about WWII espionage - and a moving personal story.
Joey Smallwood: Schemer and Dreamer
by Ray ArgyleKnown as the "only living Father of Confederation" in his lifetime, Joey Smallwood was an entertaining, crafty, and controversial politician in Canada for decades. Born in Gambo, Newfoundland, Joseph ("Joey") Smallwood (1900–1991) spent his life championing the worth and potential of his native province. Although he was a successful journalist and radio personality, Smallwood is best known for his role in bringing Newfoundland into Confederation with Canada in 1949, believing that such an action would secure an average standard of living for Newfoundlanders. He was rightfully dubbed the "only living Father of Confederation" in his lifetime and was premier of the province for twenty-three years. During much of the last part of the twentieth century, Smallwood remained a prominent player in the story of Newfoundland and Labrador’s growth as a province. Later in life he put himself in debt in order to complete his Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, the only project of its kind in Canada up to that point. In Joey Smallwood: Schemer and Dreamer, Ray Argyle reexamines the life of this incredible figure in light of Newfoundland’s progress in recent years, and measures his vision against its new position as a province of prosperity rather than poverty.
Johan Cruyff: Always on the Attack
by Auke KokArgumentative, brilliant, arrogant, visionary. Johan Cruyff was one of the greatest footballers of all time, a worldwide phenomenon and arguably the most famous Dutchman of the twentieth century. Both on the pitch and from the sidelines as a coach, with his brand of Total Football he changed how the game was played and left a lasting legacy. Although Cruyff led a large part of his illustrious career and life in the spotlight, in many ways Cruyff the man and sportsman is still a complete mystery. Based on years of extensive research, this biography the first to cover all aspects of Cruyff&’s life and work, from his key influence in the great Ajax and Netherlands sides of the 1970s to his role in creating the modern footballing phenomenon that is Barcelona. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with friends from his childhood and school, coaches, teammates, on-pitch opponents, business associates and family members, Auke Kok has written the definitive biography of the skinny impish street footballer that became the genius player, inspirational manager, football philosopher and commercial pioneer that was Johan Cruyff.
Johan Reinhard - Discovering Ancient Civilizations
by National Geographic Learning Staff Rebecca L. JohnsonTravel to the Andes with cultural anthropologist Johan Reihard as he unearths Incan mummies and artifacts. Learn about this ancient civilization, the challenges of high altitude archaeology, and how modern technology is used to glean information.
Johan Santana (Superstars of Baseball)
by Luis GarcíaJohan Santana is a baseball star from a country better known for its soccer players. But Santana really shines as one of the best pitchers in baseball. His fastballs and changeups keep fans and batters guessing. His talent has made him a fan favorite. Read about how Santana fought his way to the top--from playing ball in the neighborhood to making it in the Big Leagues. His journey to the top hasn't always been smooth, but Johan Santana has fought hard to earn his place in baseball.
Johann Cornies, the Mennonites, and Russian Colonialism in Southern Ukraine (Tsarist and Soviet Mennonite Studies)
by John R. StaplesIn the late eighteenth century, the Russian Empire opened the grasslands of southern Ukraine to agricultural settlement by new colonists, among them Prussian Mennonites. Mennonite colonization was one aspect of the empire’s consolidation and modernization of its multi-ethnic territory. In the colony of Molochnaia, the dominant personality of the early nineteenth century was Johann Cornies (1789–1848), a hard-driving modernizer and intimate of senior Russian officials whose papers provide unique access into events in Ukraine in this era. Johann Cornies, the Mennonites, and Russian Colonialism in Southern Ukraine uses the life story of Johann Cornies to explore how colonial subjects interacted with Russian imperial policy. The book reveals how tsarist imperial policy shifted toward Russification in the 1830s and 1840s and became increasingly intolerant of ethnocultural and ethnoreligious minorities. It shows that Russia employed the Mennonite settlement as a colonial laboratory of modernity, and that the Mennonites were among Russia’s most economically productive subjects. This microhistory illuminates the role of Johann Cornies as a mediator between the empire and the Mennonite colonists, and it ultimately aims to bring light to the history of nineteenth-century Russia and Ukraine.
Johann Gutenberg: the Inventor of Printing
by Victor ScholdererThis short book draws on legal documents surviving from the 15th century, in an attempt to piece together information about the life of the inventor of the printing press. When all is said and done, however, very little can actually be known about Gutenberg's life.
Johann Jakob Moser and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
by Mack WalkerAs the most learned and eminent public lawyer in Germany, a busy administrator, and a prolific writer, Moser (1701-85) lived and breathed the political order. His correspondence, memoranda, and manuscript autobiography reflect the intricate day-to-day operations of the empire, and his fascinating life is a microcosm of the life and style of the empire itself. The biography provided a comprehensive picture of the empire between the Thirty Years War and the revolutionary era.Originally published 1981.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Johann Scheibe: Organ Builder in Leipzig at the Time of Bach
by Lynn Edwards ButlerIn his nearly forty-year career, Johann Scheibe became Leipzig's most renowned organ builder and one of the late Baroque's masters of the craft. Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Kuhnau considered Scheibe a valued colleague. Organists and civic leaders shared their high opinion, for Scheibe built or rebuilt every one of the city's organs. Drawing on extensive research and previously untapped archival materials, Lynn Edwards Butler explores Scheibe's professional relationships and the full range of his projects. These assignments included the three-manual organ for St. Paul’s Church, renovations of the organs in the important churches of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas, and the lone surviving example of Scheibe's craft, a small organ in the nearby village of Zschortau. Viewing Scheibe within the context of the era, Butler illuminates the music scene of Bach's time as she follows the life of a gifted craftsman and his essential work on an instrument that anchored religious musical practice and community.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and Work
by Martin Geck John HargravesGeck (musicology, Dortmund U., Germany) provides a study of Johann Sebastian Bach's life and music. He traces the career path the composer followed, from his early education to role as Kapellmeister of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig and director of the collegium musicum. He then reserves half of the volume for an examination of Bach's music by genre, analyzing individual pieces and groups of vocal and instrumental works, and ends with brief discussions of specific topics such as Bach as a Christian, rhetoric and symbolism, proportion and numerical relations in his music, and theological research. The book has been translated from the German version by Hargraves (German language and literature, Yale U. and Connecticut College). Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Johann Sebastian Bach
by Rick MarschallTwo-and-a-half centuries after his death, the complex life of composer Johann Sebastian Bach continues to fascinate. Bach's colorful life was anchored in his belief that "music has been ordered by God's Spirit"?so much so that he began each composition by scrawling Jesu, juva (Jesus, help me) at the top of a blank page and concluded each with S.D.G. (short for Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be the glory). Through the eyes of noted music and culture writer Rick Marschall, the intensely personal yet boldly public faith that earned Bach the nickname "The Fifth Evangelist" takes on fresh meaning. From a survey of Bach's family and its deep Christian roots to a behind-the-scenes look at how he crafted his masterpieces, this book paints a picture of an astonishing figure and his relationship with his God.Marschall brings Bach's enduring music and influence to the postmodern world and to all who would draw inspiration from his relentless pursuit of divinely ordained creativity.
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician
by Christoph WolffPublished on the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, this life history portrays Bach as the human being that he was, while bringing to bear all the advances gained in the last half-century of Bach scholarship. Wolff (professor of music, and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard U.) demonstrates the intimate connection between the composer's life and his music, showing how Bach's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher. He also provides a look at Bach's life and his surroundings, as well as how he fit into the broader context of the institutions, traditions, and influences of his time. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Johanna Beyer
by Amy C. BealComposer Johanna Beyer's fascinating body of music and enigmatic life story constitute an important chapter in American music history. As a hard-working German émigré piano teacher and accompanist living in and around New York City during the New Deal era, she composed plentiful music for piano, percussion ensemble, chamber groups, choir, band, and orchestra. A one-time student of Ruth Crawford, Charles Seeger, and Henry Cowell, Beyer was an ultramodernist, and an active member of a community that included now-better-known composers and musicians. Only one of her works was published and only one recorded during her lifetime. But contemporary musicians who play Beyer's compositions are intrigued by her originality. Amy C. Beal chronicles Beyer's life from her early participation in New York's contemporary music scene through her performances at the Federal Music Project's Composers' Forum-Laboratory concerts to her unfortunate early death in 1944. This book is a portrait of a passionate and creative woman underestimated by her music community even as she tirelessly applied her gifts with compositional rigor. The first book-length study of the composer's life and music, Johanna Beyer reclaims a uniquely innovative artist and body of work for a new generation.
Johannes Brahms
by Jan SwaffordAn illuminating new biography of one of the most beloved of all composers, published on the hundredth anniversary of his death, brilliantly written by a finalist for the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award. Johannes Brahms has consistently eluded his biographers. Throughout his life, he attempted to erase traces of himself, wanting his music to be his sole legacy. Now, in this masterful book, Jan Swafford, critically acclaimed as both biographer and composer, takes a fresh look at Brahms, giving us for the first time a fully realized portrait of the man who created the magnificent music. Brahms was a man with many friends and no intimates, who experienced triumphs few artists achieve in their lifetime. Yet he lived with a relentless loneliness and a growing fatalism about the future of music and the world. The Brahms that emerges from these pages is not the bearded eminence of previous biographies but rather a fascinating assemblage of contradictions. Brought up in poverty, he was forced to play the piano in the brothels of Hamburg, where he met with both mental and physical abuse. At the same time, he was the golden boy of his teachers, who found themselves in awe of a stupendous talent: a miraculous young composer and pianist, poised between the emotionalism of the Romantics and the rigors of the composers he worshipped--Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. In 1853, Robert Schumann proclaimed the twenty-year-old Brahms the savior of German music. Brahms spent the rest of his days trying to live up to that prophecy, ever fearful of proving unworthy of his musical inheritance. We find here more of Brahms's words, his daily life and joys and sorrows, than in any other biography. With novelistic grace, Swafford shows us a warm-blooded but guarded genius who hid behind jokes and prickliness, rudeness and intractability with his friends as well as his enemies, but who was also a witty drinking companion and a consummate careerist skillfully courting the powerful. This is a book rich in secondary characters as well, including Robert Schumann, declining into madness as he hailed the advent of a new genius; Clara Schumann, the towering pianist, tormented personality, and great love of Brahms's life; Josef Joachim, the brilliant, self-lacerating violinist; the extraordinary musical amateur Elisabet von Herzogenberg, on whose exacting criticism Brahms relied; Brahms's rival and shadow, the malevolent genius Richard Wagner; and Eduard Hanslick, enemy of Wagner and apostle of Brahms, at once the most powerful and most wrongheaded music critic of his time. Among the characters in the book are two great cities: the stolid North German harbor town of Hamburg where Johannes grew up, which later spurned him; and glittering, fickle, music-mad Vienna, where Brahms the self-proclaimed vagabond finally settled, to find his sweetest triumphs and his most bitter failures. Unique to this book is the way in which musical scholarship and biography are combined: in a style refreshingly free of pretentiousness, Jan Swafford takes us deep into the music--from the grandeur of the First Symphony and the intricacies of the chamber work to the sorrow of the German Requiem--allowing us to hear these familiar works in new and often surprising ways. This is a clear-eyed study of a remarkable man and a vivid portrait of an era in transition. Ultimately, Johannes Brahms is the story of a great, backward-looking artist who inspired musical revolutionaries of the following generations, yet who was no less a prophet of the darkness and violence of our century. A biographical masterpiece at once wholly original and definitive.From the Hardcover edition.