Ernesto "Tito" Puente born in 1923 in Spanish Harlem is a tale about an impoverished Puerto Rican boy who grew up with the advent of radio and American swing bands. At age ten he aspired to be a dancer: another Fred Astaire. An ankle injury gave him the opportunity to explore his talent as a musician. At fourteen he won the coveted Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa drum contest. Tito became a master percussionist. His instrument was the timbales, a pair of cylindrical drums beat upon with sticks. When he joined the dynamic Machito Orchestra at seventeen he saw a spiraling future until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 took him off to war. With the smell of kamikaze deaths, battle smoke, and torpedoes flying he sounded taps for the dead in the morning while he led a makeshift orchestra delivering lovable American wartime tunes in the afternoon. He returned home wounded, weary and jobless. Puente's tale should have been the story of every returning American GI, who went off to war, came home to his sweetheart, attended school on the GI Bill, raised a family and settled down in a white cottage. Things were not that way. After the war his obsession for Cuban music drove him to Havana. He attended secret meetings of Santeria, an Afro-Cuban religious cult with its roots steeped in mysticism often times referred to as black magic. With the lure of the sacred bata drum he discovered a world of rhythms never heard by a white mans ear. He found himself inside the beat, and thoroughly possessed. Soon Tito became a devotee of Santeria and used those drum patterns and calls, which were the mainstay and backbone of his music. Today this hot hypnotic music is known worldwide as salsa.

The first book to analyze and celebrate Baltimore's underappreciated jazz tradition, Music at the Crossroads shines new light on legends such as Eubie Blake and Cab Calloway, honors neglected figures such as Ellis Larkins, Hank Levy, and Ethel Ennis, pays tribute to the legacies of Pennsylvania Avenue and the Left Bank Jazz Society, and analyzes the current Baltimore jazz scene.

THE TOP FIVE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A BOOK OF THE YEAR ROUGH TRADE, THE TIMES, ROLLING STONE, CLASH, MOJO, UNCUT The memoir of international music icon Richard Thompson, co-founder of the legendary folk rock group Fairport Convention. 'I encourage everyone to read this wonderful book.' ELVIS COSTELLO 'Thompson could be said to be an English Dylan - only in some ways he's even better than that.' GUARDIAN Richard Thompson came of age during an extraordinary moment in 1960s Britain - as music began to reflect a great cultural awakening, the guitarist and songwriter co-founded Fairport Convention, ushering in the era of folk rock. An intimate memoir of personal discovery and creative intensity, Beeswing vividly captures the life of an international music icon in a world on the cusp of change 'Gripping . . . A quiet joy of a memoir.' GUARDIAN 'Thompson writes exceptionally well . . . If you love music in all its myriad forms, you'll love this book.' NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS 'An intimate, revealing tome, Beeswing is the voice of a figure at the heart of the British counter-culture.' CLASH 'Perceptive, lyrical, amiable and seemingly effortless . . . required reading.' CAUGHT BY THE RIVER

Though he appeared in only six films, James Dean is still frequently discussed some 30 years after his death in an accident at the age of 24. This book provides full production information, plot synopses, review excerpts, and critical commentary for Dean's roles in Fixed Bayonets (1951), Sailor Beware (1951), Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952), East of Eden (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Giant (1956). It also details his stage, radio, and television work, and includes an extensive annotated bibliography. This comprehensive guide synthesizes the tremendous amount of information available about Dean's life and legacy. Included are chapters on his work in stage, film, radio, and television; entries in each chapter provide production information, plot synopses, review excerpts, and critical commentary about each of his performances. The book also examines his unrealized projects and his survival in various tributes and recordings. An extensive annotated bibliography directs the reader to sources of additional information about Dean's fascinating hold on the American imagination.

Elinor Remick Warren's distinguished career as a composer, concert pianist, and accompanist for renowned singers spanned seventy-five years of American musical history. She began writing music in 1904 at age four. Her first published composition, a song, was accepted by G. Schirmer in 1916. Thereafter, her compositions appeared regularly through 1990. Her full oeuvre is cataloged here along with performance information, discography, and review and critical commentary, all of which is carefully documented, cross-referenced, and indexed. A biographical sketch is supplemented by a long interview conducted by the author with Warren four years before the composer's death in 1991. Among the useful appendixes are textual sources for Warren's many vocal compositions.

The extraordinary story of African American composer Edmond Dede, raised in antebellum New Orleans, and his remarkable career in France In 1855, Edmond Dede, a free black composer from New Orleans, emigrated to Paris. There he trained with France's best classical musicians and went on to spend thirty-six years in Bordeaux leading the city's most popular orchestras. How did this African American, raised in the biggest slave market in the United States, come to compose ballets for one of the best theaters outside of Paris and gain recognition as one of Bordeaux's most popular orchestra leaders? Beginning with his birth in antebellum New Orleans in 1827 and ending with his death in Paris in 1901, Sally McKee vividly recounts the life of this extraordinary man. From the Crescent City to the City of Light and on to the raucous music halls of Bordeaux, this intimate narrative history brings to life the lost world of exiles and travelers in a rapidly modernizing world that threatened to leave the most vulnerable behind.

What keeps you from overcoming obstacles in your life and walking in peace and joy in the Lord? Can you free yourself from the bondage of your past mistakes and learn to develop an identity in Christ? After a lifetime of regret, Robert "Stonewall" Jackson asked himself these hard questions, and the answers he found radically altered his world.

With writing that is honest and self-disclosing, The Life and Legend of Robert "Stonewall" Jackson reveals how Jackson overcame drugs, addiction, and mental and physical war trauma to emerge a survivor. What's more, it shares the awesome power of how developing a relationship with Christ held the key to his success.

From his stint playing with the Oakland Raiders to his time in prison for drug dealing, Jackson uses personal anecdotes to illustrate how God has worked in his life. He explores the doubts, fears, and perplexities he experienced and demonstrates how he found comfort and guidance in his faith. Today an award-winning bodybuilder and caregiver to his grandchildren, Jackson is committed to a close relationship with Christ and a strong dedication to total body fitness.

No matter what age or life journey you are currently experiencing, God's grace and the value of believing in yourself can turn things around. Let Jackson's story inspire and motivate you to change your life

View, through the eyes of a child and teenager, the scene of growing up in the glamorous Hollywood of the 1930s and 1940s During childhood, the author visited or auditioned at almost every major movie studio in Tinseltown. What was it like to work on the set of Hal Roach's Little Rascals? To be given a screen test with one of Hollywood's greatest directors? To be told "never again to call" the office of Columbia Pictures studio boss, Harry Cohn? To receive from one of the Marx Brothers, the gift of a camera? Author Laura June Kenny experienced all this and more. Her memoir provides a unique look at a Hollywood and a Southern California that is no more, and cannot be replaced. Born disadvantaged in the worst year of the Great Depression, her fate was to be discovered and to be loved by a disparate group of people who inspired her to reach for the "real stars," and thereby find her stardom. Filled with rare photos from the author's own collection, this is the story of a Hollywood moppet turned teacher, writer, public speaker, emcee, wife, mother, grandmother, and what she learned along the way

There have been many books written on the Hollywood legend, James Dean, but never before have we had a chance to hear from the real Jimmy Dean. Now, for the first time, Dean speaks in his own words as he is channeled through Patricia A. Leone, a long-time admirer of the motion picture star and metaphysical practicioner. James Dean/ The Lost Memoirs is an incrediably realistic look into Dean's life, transporting the reader to another place and time. As you read each entry in his journal you become closer than ever before to the man behind the legend. Five decades ago this farm boy took the world by storm, and the fascination with Dean continues to this very day. Now, through this book, we are privvy not only to this legendary actor's own words, but also his own most private and innermost thoughts. He writes with intensity about his insecurity concerning acting, his stormy relationship with Pierre Angeli, his broken heart over the death of his mother, his constant flirtation with death, and encounters with Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe, Shelly Winters, Rock Hudson, Martin Landau, Elizabeth Taylor and Sal Mineo. He also devuleges intimate details about others who had the opportunity to be called his friends. The author, in a remarkable series of channeled sessions with Dean that were conducted over the course of several months, was able to break through to the other side and give Dean this opportunity on the 50th anniversary of his death to share with us his own epiloge to his life. It is the real and intimate side of Jimmy Dean, one that has never been presented to the public before. This remarkable book is must reading for Dean fans. It is written in journal form just as the star, himself, might have written it, and includes his thoughts, memories, and opinions beginning with the death of his mother at age nine until the day just before his fatal motorcycle accident on September 30, 1955.

Dr. George Washington Sheafor was a Baptist evangelist and pastor who lived during the years that the United States was growing, the population was moving westward, and new territories and states were being added. His teaching and preaching ministry spanned seventy-six years, beginning in 1892 through his death at age 96 in 1968. His pioneer ministry began in Arizona while it was still a territory. As a young man he worked on a ranch taming wild horses off the range and preached to some of the ranch hands with whom he worked. He attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, and was mentored by Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist of his day. He also studied the life and teachings of Andrew Murray and patterned his life after this great English teacher and preacher. He began preaching revival meetings in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. During his pastoral ministry, he served in Comanche and Brownwood, Texas; Lawton, Oklahoma; and in Lancaster, Texas. Dr. Sheafor's pastoral ministry changed in 1941 when he became a Bible teacher at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. His name is synonymous with the teaching of Bible prophecy. In all of his teaching and preaching, Dr. Sheafor majored on the wonderful promises that God has given to every born-again believer. He presented the joy and the glory to be experienced by every believer in the Rapture, the Second Coming of Jesus, and the New Heaven and New Earth. His wealth of knowledge concerning prophecy was inimitable and he was loved and admired by all who heard him speak, including many of the professors at Dallas Theological Seminary and Dr. W.A. Criswell, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas for all of the twenty-three years that Dr. Sheafor taught the class that now bears his name.

Though chiefly remembered as the dance partner of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers had many other significant achievements in the entertainment world. She was a dancer, singer, comedienne, and Academy Award winning dramatic actress, as well as the highest paid Hollywood star in 1942. Miss Faris provides a detailed record of Ginger Roger's life and career, painting a picture of her as one of the most versatile performers in the United States. The volume begins with a short biography of Ginger Rogers, along with a succinct chronology of the major events in her life and career. These portions of the book provide a context for the chapters that follow, which contain annotated entries for her stage, film, radio, and television performances. The entries provide production information and cast listings, along with excerpts from reviews and critical commentaries. An extensive annotated bibliography lists books, magazine and newspaper articles, and movie trade publications that provide further information about Ginger Rogers's fascinating career.

The time is 1946. From Georgia O'Keeffe's old hacienda sitting on a bluff in Abiquiu, New Mexico, she could see my aunt and uncle, Helen and Winfield Morten's property across the Chama River. Georgia had begun the restoration of her property. The Mortens, in the final stages of purchasing land along the Chama River, had recently completed their restoration of another old hacienda they called Rancho de Abiquiu. As one of few Anglos in the Chama River valley, Georgia ventured over to Rancho de Abiquiu to introduce herself and a private friendship resulted with the Mortens and their family. In this close family circle, Georgia revealed herself and proved that beneath her bare face there was more to her than just an artist of legendary proportions. Nancy Hopkins Reily spent many of her childhood days walking the Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch land. She explored the canyons, the White Place, Echo Amphitheater, the mountains, and the Chama River by walking the trails worn by earlier moccasined feet. In a seamless, clear, and straightforward narrative of excerpts from their lives, Reily presents Georgia in a time-window of her age. The book features Reily's youthful experiences, letters from Georgia, glimpses of the family's memorabilia and photographic snapshots-all gracefully woven into the forces of the contemporaneous scene that shaped their friendship. In addition, there are insights into the land's beauty, times, culture, history and the people who surrounded Georgia, as well as many minute details that should be remembered and which are often overlooked by others when they speak of Georgia O'Keeffe. Nancy Hopkins Reily was born in Dallas, Texas, and attended Gulf Park College in Gulfport, Mississippi, for one year. She graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.B.A. in Retail Merchandising. Since childhood she has divided her time between Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. At a young age, the colorful New Mexico landscape captured her heart and gave her a sense of place. She continues to enjoy its beauty. Reily makes her home in Lufkin, Texas.

For more than eight years, I lived and worked in the dark underworld of Las Vegas as an exotic dancer. Some things are worth repeating--others you try to forget. Unfortunately, you never forget. I decided it was time that somebody told the truth about what really happens in Las Vegas strip clubs and their VIP rooms. Is there "sex in the champagne room?" With the right dancer and for right price, there is anything you want in the champagne room! This book gives a lot of insight into what really happens when men are turned loose on the Las Vegas scene. I think men and women alike will be interested in reading about what really happens in Vegas. See what the dark twenty-four-hour world of Vegas is really like. See what an insider has to say about the life of an exotic dancer.

Peter Sellers's explosive talent made him a beloved figure in world cinema and continues to attract new audiences. With his darkly comic performances in Dr. Strangelove and Lolita and his outrageously funny appearances as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films, he became one of the most popular movie stars of his time. Sellers himself identified most personally with the character he played in Being There--an utterly empty man on whom others projected what they wanted, or needed, to see. In this lively and exhaustively researched biography, Ed Sikov offers unique insight into Sellers's comedy style. Beginning with Sellers' lonely childhood with a mother who wouldn't let go of him, through his service in the Royal Air Force and his success on BBC Radio's The Goon Show, Sikov goes on to detail his relationships with co-stars such as Alec Guinness, Sophia Loren, and Shirley MacLaine; his work with such directors as Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, and Blake Edwards; his four failed marriages; his ridiculously short engagement to Liza Minnelli; and all the other peculiarities of this eccentric man's unpredictable life. The most insightful biography ever written of this endlessly fascinating star, Mr. Strangelove is as comic and tragic as Peter Sellers was himself.

Journey of an American Muslim is an epic journey into the life of the author. It's a biography that is uncompromising in its authenticity and honesty. Muslims and non-Muslims will appreciate its candor as the author shares his experiences in the four phases of his development into his life as a Muslim in America. In this book you will discover: -The major influences that encouraged the Author to study and later become a Muslim. -How the Author transitioned from being a very "zealous" Muslim in the beginning; to discovering "spirituality" while taking more risks in his practice of the Muslim life; to becoming an open minded "truth seeker" who happens to be Muslim. -In candid detail how the Author survived multiple marriages (learning experiences), the loss of two good paying professional jobs, foreclosure of his home and working at Wal-Mart for 3 1/2 years earning what he considers "survival income." Journey of an American Muslim is a personal journey and an odyssey of major proportions for any human being. Muslim or non-Muslim, to have to experience. One wonders how on could survive such a personal drama, financial upheaval and professional setbacks. This author not only experienced the epic journey, but lived to tell about it.

In this wise, stimulating, and deeply personal book, an eminent jazz chronicler writes of his encounters with four great black musicians: Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Milt Hinton, and Nat "King" Cole. Equal parts memoir, oral history, and commentary, each of the main chapters is a minibiography, weaving together conversations Gene Lees had with the musicians and their families, friends, and associates over a period of several decades.
Lees begins the book with an essay that tells of his introduction to the world of jazz and his reaction to racism in the United States when he emigrated from Canada in 1955. The underlying theme in his book is the impact racism had on the four musicians' lives and careers and their determination to overcome it. As Lees writes, "No white person can even begin to understand the black experience in the United States. . . . All of the four jazz makers] are men who had every reason to embrace bitterness--and didn't."