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Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre

Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing (Paperback): Matthew Perry Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing (Paperback)
Matthew Perry; Foreword by Lisa Kudrow
R305 R272 Discovery Miles 2 720 Save R33 (11%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

'HI, MY NAME IS MATTHEW, although you may know me by my full name. My friends call me Matty.'

So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who travelled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us . . . and so much more.

In an extraordinary story that only he could tell - and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it - Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he's found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way.

Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humour, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fuelled it despite seemingly having it all.

Pigs Might Fly (Paperback): Jeremy Clarkson Pigs Might Fly (Paperback)
Jeremy Clarkson
R295 R263 Discovery Miles 2 630 Save R32 (11%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

Get tucked in to a third bestselling helping of Clarkson's Farm from our favourite wellie-wearing wannabe farmer, Jeremy Clarkson

Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. Since taking the wheel three years ago Jeremy's had his work cut out. And it's now clear from hard-won experience that, when it comes to farming, there's only one golden rule:

Whatever you hope will happen, won't.

Enthusiastic schemes to diversify have met with stubborn opposition from the red trouser brigade, defeat at the hands of Council Planning department, and predictable derision from Kaleb - although, to be fair, even Lisa had doubts about Jeremy's brilliant plan to build a business empire founded on rewilding and nettle soup. And only Cheerful Charlie is still smiling about the stifling amount of red tape that's incoming . . . But he charges by the hour.

Then there are the animals: the sheep are gone; the cows have been joined by a rented bull called Break-Heart Maestro;. the pigs are making piglets; and the goats have turned out to be psychopaths.

But despite the naysayers and (sometimes self-inflicted) setbacks, Jeremy remains irrepressibly optimistic about life at Diddly Squat. Because It's hard not to be when you get to harvest blackberries with a vacuum cleaner.

And, after all, it shouldn't just be Break-heart Maestro who gets to enjoy a happy ending . . .

Mellencamp (Paperback): Paul Rees Mellencamp (Paperback)
Paul Rees; Foreword by Nora Guthrie
R467 Discovery Miles 4 670 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This definitive biography of John Mellencamp is "a true coming-of-age story" (John Sykes, chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation) of an iconic American rock and roll original, featuring exclusive in-depth interviews and never-before-told details. Perfect for fans of Janis and Born to Run.

John Mellencamp is not your typical rock star.

With music inspired by the work of William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and other giants of American literature, he has experienced a colorful career unlike any other. Now, this fascinating biography fully charts the life of one of this country's most important voices in American music.

Mellencamp's story is also the story of the American heartland. His growth as an artist and evolution into legendary status directly reflected the major changes of the last fifty years. From the Summer of Love to the growing divisiveness of American politics and beyond, his music has served as the backdrop to this country for millions of fans.

Featuring exclusive interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, and exploring everything from the founding of Farm Aid to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is a fresh, expansive, and "inspirational" (Nora Guthrie, president of The Woody Guthrie Foundation) look at a true original.

The Pocket Selena Gomez (Hardcover): Gemini The Pocket Selena Gomez (Hardcover)
Gemini
R195 R174 Discovery Miles 1 740 Save R21 (11%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

A peak inside the life and career of Selena Gomez.

This unofficial and unauthorized pocket book to Selena Gomez is a must-have for all hardcore Selenators.

For more than two decades, Selena Gomez has charmed the world as one of the most influential celebrities.

Given the impossible task of trying to squeeze all of Selena’s successes into one small selection, The Pocket Selena Gomez reveals as much of this girl wonder’s greatest hits as possible, from major milestones to important dates, professional highs to personal lows, wisest quotes to funniest quips, and everything else in-between.

From her time as a Disney child star to her current status as an activist and makeup mogul, this pocket-sized guide celebrates the global icon’s triumphs as well as providing fans with an intimate portrait of her life.

Gemini Pockets
From little guides to soothe your soul to all-access passes to the lives of pop icons, and from quizzes and puzzles for literature lovers to books on food, nature, fashion and more, Gemini Pockets are the perfect fit for your life and interests.

The Last Miles - The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991 (Hardcover): George Cole The Last Miles - The Music of Miles Davis, 1980-1991 (Hardcover)
George Cole
R1,607 Discovery Miles 16 070 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Miles Davis was one of the musical giants of the twentieth century. In a career that spanned more than five decades, Miles transformed the face of jazz four or five times and his music resonates far beyond the bounds of his genre. Miles made the most famous album in the history of jazz, Kind of Blue, formed one of the greatest jazz quintets in the 1960s and fused jazz with rock. Including unique interviews with dozens of Miles' closest colleagues, many of whom have never before been interviewed about their time with him, The Last Miles concentrates on the final period of Miles' life, after he had emerged from a five-year lay-off from the world of music. Right up until the end of his life, he was still searching, still exploring and still refusing to play it safe. The focus is on the music Miles recorded and played, and how it evolved in the eyes of the musicians he played with. Those interviewed include, George Duke, Teo Macero, Tommy LiPuma, Marcus Miller, Darryl Jones and Easy Mo Bee. There are also interviews with musicians who played with Miles before the 1980s, including Dave Liebman, Pete Cosey, Michael Henderson and Mike Zwerin, who give their own assessment of the music Miles played during the final period of his life. Cheryl Davies, Miles' only daughter, is also interviewed. The Last Miles is full of fascinating new facts and stories about Miles. For the first time, every member of the group of young musicians from Chicago who helped bring Miles back into the music scene gives their story. Music journalist George Cole also reveals for the first time the full story behind a lost Miles Davis album recorded in 1985, tells you about a song Miles co-wrote for Mick Jagger, how he worked with Prince, and discovers new and unreleased music that Miles recorded. If you've ever wanted to know how Miles recruited his band members, what it was like working with Miles in the studio or to play with him on-stage, The Last Miles has the answers. There is at least one chapter devoted to each album that Miles recorded during this period. Full track-by-track descriptions contain many new and interesting tales behind the songs including how Sting came to record on one of Miles' tracks, why Prince dropped a song slated to appear on the Tutu album, how Gil Evans helped Miles compose many of the tunes on the album Star People, what Splatch means and who Ursula was.

Trejo - My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood (Paperback): Danny Trejo, Donal Logue Trejo - My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood (Paperback)
Danny Trejo, Donal Logue
R428 R399 Discovery Miles 3 990 Save R29 (7%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
American Like Me - Reflections on Life Between Cultures (Paperback): America Ferrera American Like Me - Reflections on Life Between Cultures (Paperback)
America Ferrera
R509 Discovery Miles 5 090 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Elvis and Nashville (Hardcover): Don Cusic Elvis and Nashville (Hardcover)
Don Cusic
R697 Discovery Miles 6 970 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Elvis Presley was strongly connected to Nashville and recorded approximately 260 songs at RCA Studio B in Nashville. He also performed in several concerts in the area and, during his early days, often came to Nashville to confer with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who lived in Nashville.

A Thousand Threads (Hardcover): Neneh Cherry A Thousand Threads (Hardcover)
Neneh Cherry
R713 R618 Discovery Miles 6 180 Save R95 (13%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

A deeply personal and powerful memoir from beloved music icon Neneh Cherry

Top of the Pops, December 1988. The world sat up as a young woman made her debut: gold bra, gold bomber jacket, and proudly, gloriously, seven months pregnant. This was no ordinary artist. This was Neneh Cherry.

But navigating fame and family wasn't always simple. In this beautiful and deeply personal memoir, Cherry remembers the collaborations, the highs and lows, the friendships and loves, and the addictions and traumas that have shaped her as a woman and an artist. At the heart of it, always, is family: the extraordinary three generations of artists and musicians that are her inheritance and her legacy.

Musician. Songwriter. Collaborator. Activist. Mother. Daughter. Lover. Friend. Icon. This is her story.

Saturday Night, Sunday Morning - Staying True to Myself from the Pews to the Stage (Paperback): PJ Morton Saturday Night, Sunday Morning - Staying True to Myself from the Pews to the Stage (Paperback)
PJ Morton
R265 R237 Discovery Miles 2 370 Save R28 (11%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

The son of pastors and gospel artists, PJ Morton grew up in church, singing gospel music, grounded by its soulful sound. As he was drawn to R&B and pop, PJ experimented in combining genres to create his own sound that record labels struggled to categorize. Pressured to align with industry standards but committed to his own dream of his original music, he defied expectations and risked launching his own label, Morton Records. Under it, he developed six self-released and self-produced albums that garnered twenty Grammy nominations and awards, and included collaborations with such acclaimed artists as Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin, and Lil Wayne.

PJ Morton is the rare artist who has straddled the tensions of life, whether in music or faith expressions, or in racial and cultural identities, while staying true to his New Orleans and Christian roots. A pioneer blazing his own path, he developed an independent sound without even knowing what that was in an industry he didn't fully understand, setting the way for artists who follow him. Saturday Night, Sunday Morning captures his powerful, courageous journey of combining his two worlds, showing readers how to overcome obstacles as they seek their own dreams.

10 Indelibles - Formidable Distinctive Individuals (Paperback): Philip A Brown 10 Indelibles - Formidable Distinctive Individuals (Paperback)
Philip A Brown
R332 Discovery Miles 3 320 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Softly, As I Leave You - Life After Elvis (Hardcover): Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Mary Jane Ross Softly, As I Leave You - Life After Elvis (Hardcover)
Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, Mary Jane Ross
R713 R551 Discovery Miles 5 510 Save R162 (23%) Ships in 9 - 17 working days

The long-awaited, candid memoir by Priscilla Presley chronicling her difficult, inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland and behind the elegant image the world sees. The Elvis legacy seen from the inside ...

Priscilla Presley's divorce from Elvis left his fans incredulous. How could she leave the man every woman wanted? From the outside, life in Elvis's mansion looked glamorous and enviable, and in many respects, it was. But inside the mansion, her husband was constantly surrounded by a male entourage while at the gates, lines of beautiful women waited hopefully for an audience with the King. From the time she was seventeen years old, that life was all Priscilla had known. During her ten years with Elvis, it became painfully apparent that she had no idea who she was outside Elvis's world. The only way to find herself was to leave that world and seek a new life of her own, because leaving was the only way to survive, for herself and for her daughter.

Softly, As I Leave You, is the deeply personal story of what Priscilla lost and what she found when she walked away from the man she loved. Despite the legal separation, their love for one another transformed into a touching and tender dynamic that endured until Elvis's untimely death four years later. Shattered by Elvis's passing, she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother of a talented, often headstrong daughter who never really recovered from her father's death. Priscilla's dedication to motherhood was enriched by the birth of her second child, and she gradually found her footing as a businesswoman, actress, designer, and legislative advocate. She transformed Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises. But the unexpected, shattering loss of three immediate family members years later brought Priscilla to her knees. She shares her journey with a quiet dignity that will comfort and reassure anyone who has suffered - and survived - seemingly unbearable loss.

A passionate, compassionate, and inspiring story of finding your place in the world, Softly, As I Leave You, is a sweet Southern melody that will take the reader with Priscilla on her long road home.

Why Bob Dylan Matters, Revised Edition (Paperback): Richard F. Thomas Why Bob Dylan Matters, Revised Edition (Paperback)
Richard F. Thomas
R400 R357 Discovery Miles 3 570 Save R43 (11%) Pre-order
I'm Your Huckleberry (Paperback): Val Kilmer I'm Your Huckleberry (Paperback)
Val Kilmer
R473 R444 Discovery Miles 4 440 Save R29 (6%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days
Steeds Mathys - Mathys Roets - my storie. Soos vertel aan Alita Vorster (Afrikaans, Paperback): Mathys Roets Steeds Mathys - Mathys Roets - my storie. Soos vertel aan Alita Vorster (Afrikaans, Paperback)
Mathys Roets
R10 Discovery Miles 100 Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In die verlede, was ek baie keer onseker oor myself, veral as ek in 'n moeilike situasie beland het of 'n krisis moes hanteer. Noudat ek vierkantig daarmee gekonfronteer word, is dit vir my lekker om te weet ek het nie moed opgegee nie. Mathys Roets het sy musiekloopbaan in 1989 begin toe hy met sy kitaar in die hand, in 'n winkelsentrum in Pretoria, vir fooitjies gesing het. In 1996 maak hy 'n belangrike deurbraak met sy debuutproduksie op die KKNK. In hierdie vertoning, Nokturne, sing hy die musiek van Koos du Plessis. Met sy donker fluweelstem het die musiek van Koos du Plessis, Mathys soos 'n handskoen gepas. Deur sy loopbaan het Mathys bekendheid verwerf vir sy sielvolle vertolkings van die wereld se mooiste ballades, veral die musiek van Leonard Cohen, Roger Whittaker en Neil Diamond. Die pad wat hy gestap het was nie maklik nie. Hy het harde bene gekou, self luidsprekers rondgedra en van restaurant na restaurant gegaan om daar te sing, maar toe hy uiteindelik raakgesien word, het dinge behoorlik vir hom vlam gevat. Op 6 April 2009, op pad na die KKNK in Oudtshoorn, ry Mathys met sy geel BMW motorfiets van die pad af. Vir dae lank hang sy lewe aan ? draadjie en uiteindelik reik die Rosepark Hospitaal ? verklaring uit: Mathys is verlam. Ten spyte van hierdie terugslag, besluit Mathys om vorentoe te kyk en steeds voluit te leef. Steeds Mathys is die inspirerende lewensverhaal van Mathys Roets, soos vertel aan Alita Vorster. Dis 'n verhaal wat lesers sal laat glimlag, maar ook aangryp en besiel. Na die lees van hierdie boek moet 'n mens wonder hoe jy enige uitdaging as te groot kan beskou!

Theroux The Keyhole - Diaries of a grounded documentary maker (Paperback): Louis Theroux Theroux The Keyhole - Diaries of a grounded documentary maker (Paperback)
Louis Theroux
R406 Discovery Miles 4 060 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Step inside Louis' life like never before as he turns his critical eye on himself, his home, and family and tries to make sense of our weird and sometimes scary world. His new autobiography is the perfect book for our uncertain times by the hilarious and relatable Louis Theroux. Louis started lockdown with a sense of purpose and determination. Like the generation who survived the Second World War, this was his chance to shine. Then reality set in, forcing him to ask: When did he start annoying his children? Why is home-schooling so hard? Has the kitchen become the new shed, a hideaway for men, where, under the guise of being helpful, you can just drink, listen to music and keep to yourself? And is his drinking really becoming a problem? He also describes his dealings with Joe Exotic and flies to the US to make a documentary on the Tiger King, discusses his Grounded podcast, jumps back into the world of militias and conspiracy theorists as he catches up with past interviewees for his Life on the Edge series, and wonders whether he could get rich if he wrote Trump: The Musical.

Percy Monkman - An Extraordinary Bradfordian (Paperback): Martin Greenwood Percy Monkman - An Extraordinary Bradfordian (Paperback)
Martin Greenwood
R687 Discovery Miles 6 870 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative, talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into a humble working-class family and attended school until he was nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic, dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society. His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford. Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90 images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.

Swan Dive - The Making of a Rogue Ballerina (Paperback): Georgina Pazcoguin Swan Dive - The Making of a Rogue Ballerina (Paperback)
Georgina Pazcoguin
R395 Discovery Miles 3 950 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Award-winning New York City Ballet soloist Georgina Pazcoguin, aka the Rogue Ballerina, gives readers a backstage tour of the real world of elite ballet - the gritty, hilarious, sometimes shocking truth you don't see from the orchestra circle. In this love letter to the art of dance and the sport that has been her livelihood, NYCB's first Asian American female soloist Georgina Pazcoguin lays bare her unfiltered story of leaving small-town Pennsylvania for New York City and training amid the unique demands of being a hybrid professional athlete/artist, all before finishing high school. She pitches us into the fascinating, whirling shoes of dancers in one of the most revered ballet companies in the world with an unapologetic sense of humour about the cutthroat, survival-of-the-fittest mentality at NYCB. Some swan dives are literal: even in the ballet, there are plenty of face-plants, backstage fights, late-night parties, and raucous company bonding sessions. Rocked by scandal in the wake of the #MeToo movement, NYCB sits at an inflection point, inching toward progress in a strictly traditional culture, and Pazcoguin doesn't shy away from ballet's dark side. She continues to be one of the few dancers openly speaking up against the sexual harassment, mental abuse, and racism that in the past went unrecognized or was tacitly accepted as par for the course - all of which she has painfully experienced firsthand. Tying together Pazcoguin's fight for equality in the ballet with her infectious and deeply moving passion for her craft, Swan Dive is a page-turning, one-of-a-kind account that guarantees you'll never view a ballerina or a ballet the same way again.

William Tillyer: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Hardcover): Bernard Jacobson William Tillyer: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Hardcover)
Bernard Jacobson
R554 Discovery Miles 5 540 Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Pick Yourself Up - Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Hardcover): Charlotte Greenspan Pick Yourself Up - Dorothy Fields and the American Musical (Hardcover)
Charlotte Greenspan
R1,251 Discovery Miles 12 510 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

In a career that spanned nearly five decades, Dorothy Fields penned the words to more than four hundred songs, among them mega-hits such as "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "If My Friends could See Me Now." While Fields's name may be known mainly to connoisseurs, her contributions to our popular culture--indeed, our national consciousness--have been remarkable.
In I Feel a Song Coming On, Charlotte Greenspan offers the most complete, serious treatment of Fields's life and work to date, tracing her rise to prominence in a male-dominated world. Born in 1904 into a show business family--her father, Lou Fields, was a famed vaudeville comedian turned Broadway producer--Fields first teamed with songwriter Jimmy McHugh in the late 1920s and went on to a series of Hollywood collaborations with Jerome Kern, including the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers classic Swing Time. With her brother Herbert, she co-authored the books for several of Cole Porter's Broadway shows, as well as for Irving Berlin's phenomenally successful Annie Get Your Gun. More stage hits would follow, among them Redhead and Sweet Charity, as Fields remained active right up to her death in 1974. Fields's lyrics--colloquial, urbane, sometimes slangy, sometimes sensuous--won her high praise from later generation songwriters including Stephen Sondheim and Fred Ebb, and her stellar career opened a path for other women in her profession, among them Betty Comden, Dory Previn, and Marilyn Bergman.
Meticulously researched and filled with sharp insights, this lively biography not only illuminates Fields's life but also offers unique insights into the golden ageof popular song.

MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson (Paperback): Knopper MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson (Paperback)
Knopper
R476 R451 Discovery Miles 4 510 Save R25 (5%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The definitive biography of Michael Jackson, a "vivid...gripping...authoritative account of a world-changing force of nature" (Rolling Stone), celebrating the King of Pop's legendary contributions to music, dance, and popular culture. From the moment in 1965 when he first stepped on stage--at age seven--in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson was destined to become the undisputed King of Pop. In a career spanning four decades, Jackson became a global icon, selling over four hundred million albums, earning thirteen Grammy awards, and spinning dance moves that captivated the world. Songs like "Billie Jean" and "Black and White" altered our national discussion of race and equality, and Jackson's signature aesthetic, from the single white glove to the moonwalk, defined a generation. Despite publicized scandals and controversy, Jackson's ultimate legacy will always be his music. In an account that "reminds us why Michael Jackson was, indeed, a 'genius' entertainer" (New York Newsday), Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper delves deeply into Jackson's music and talent. From the artist's early days with the Jackson 5, to his stratospheric success as a solo artist, to "Beat It" and "Thriller," "Bad" and "The Man in the Mirror," to his volatile final years, his attempted comeback, and untimely death, Knopper draws on his "critical and reportorial savvy in assessing Jackson's creative peaks and valleys," (USA TODAY) exploring the beguiling and often contradictory forces that fueled Michael Jackson's genius. Drawing on an amazing four hundred interviews--ranging from Jackson's relatives, friends, and key record executives to celebrities like will.i.am and Weird Al Yankovic--this critical biography puts his career into perspective and celebrates his triumph in art and music. This is "a thoughtful look at an artist who grew up in a segregated mill town and who, for the rest of his life, made music to bring down walls" (Chicago Tribune).

Percy Monkman - An Extraordinary Bradfordian (Hardcover): Martin Greenwood Percy Monkman - An Extraordinary Bradfordian (Hardcover)
Martin Greenwood
R821 Discovery Miles 8 210 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

By day Percy Monkman (1892 to 1986) worked in the same Bradford bank for 40 years, ending up as chief cashier. Everything else about Percy was totally unconventional. By night, at weekends, on holidays he transformed himself into an entertainer, actor, artist and cartoonist whose work was regularly acclaimed by the public and held in great respect by colleagues. Percy was highly creative, talented and energetic, a man who achieved high standards in all his artistic activities. The eldest of five boys, he was born into a humble working-class family and attended school until he was nearly 14. After a couple of office jobs, at 16 he passed a banking examination and started to work at Becketts Bank (later acquired by the Westminster Bank). Unexpectedly, the First World War gave Percy an opportunity for a new life that he grasped firmly with both hands. He spent much of the war as a comedian in an entertainment troupe that ran concert party shows for soldiers just behind the front line. Back in civilian life he continued his entertainment career with great success throughout the interwar years. In the Second World War he was back at entertaining the troops, this time groups of returning servicemen across Yorkshire. In 1935 Percy joined the Bradford Civic Playhouse and became a fixture in the cast for over 20 years. Here, in one of the best amateur theatres in the country, he played in many diverse productions, usually in comic roles. Alongside entertaining and acting, Percy developed his third creative passion of watercolour painting. He took advantage of every opportunity to paint, usually landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales. When he retired from the bank in 1952, he was able to devote all his time to this passion, which he described as 'fanatic, dedicated and impulsive'. Largely self-taught, he believed strongly in being part of a community of like-minded painters so that he could learn from them. The Bradford Arts Club gave him this network for all his adult life. He exhibited widely and sold most of his paintings. When the mood took him, he was also a talented cartoonist whose works were sometimes published. A committed family man, Percy also built a large number of life-long friends, who were a fascinating mixture of people from all walks of life, with similar passions for entertaining, acting and painting, often eccentrics and sometimes very well connected in Bradford society. His most significant friendship was with JB Priestley, his exact contemporary and England's most famous man of letters in the 20th century. Percy's extraordinary life of achievement is a unique record of social history, reflecting life in 20th century Bradford. Sadly, this is now largely a lost world. This affectionate and comprehensive biography by his grandson, illustrated with over 90 images, is both a visual delight and a joy to read, including high quality reproductions of some of Percy's most famous paintings.

Rural Hours - The Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann (Paperback): Harriet Baker Rural Hours - The Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann (Paperback)
Harriet Baker
R295 R263 Discovery Miles 2 630 Save R32 (11%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

In Rural Hours, Harriet Baker tells the story of three very different women, each of whom moved to the countryside and was forever changed by it. We encounter them at quiet moments – pausing to look at an insect on the windowsill; jotting down a recipe; or digging for potatoes, dirt beneath their nails. Slowly, we start to see transformations unfold: Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner, and Rosamond Lehmann emerge before us as the passionate, visionary writers we know them to be.

Following long periods of creative uncertainty and private disappointment, each of Baker's subjects is invigorated by new landscapes, and the daily trials and small pleasures of making a home; slowly, they embark on new experiments in form, in feeling and in living that would resonate throughout the rest of their lives. In the country, each woman finds her path: to convalescence and recovery; to sexual and political awakening; and, above all, to personal freedom and creative flourishing.

In graceful, fluid prose, Baker vividly recreates these overlooked episodes, revealing how ‘rural hours’ defined the lives of three pioneering writers. In the end, she shows, their example is an invitation to us all: to recognize the radical and creative potential of rural places, and find new enchantment in the rituals of each day.

The Meaning Of Jungkook - The Triumph Of BTS And The Making Of A Global Pop Superstar (Hardcover): Monica Kim The Meaning Of Jungkook - The Triumph Of BTS And The Making Of A Global Pop Superstar (Hardcover)
Monica Kim
R653 R583 Discovery Miles 5 830 Save R70 (11%) Ships in 18 - 22 working days

Celebrate Jungkook, the once-in-a-generation talent at the center of BTS, in this illuminating look into the forces that have made him a global icon.

Jungkook is one of the world’s biggest stars, period. His first album, Golden, sold more than 2 million copies on the day of its release and stayed on the Billboard 200 for twenty-four consecutive weeks. How did a young prodigy from South Korea make music history?

The Meaning of Jungkook is an unofficial kaleidoscopic exploration of the forces that made Jungkook into the triumph he is today. The book does more than chronicle his humble beginnings in Busan and meteoric rise to fame. A lively narrative, it places Jungkook in a larger cultural and historical context, shedding light on the inner workings of the K-pop industry, internet culture, ARMY, and more. We learn that Jungkook’s ruthless work ethic is a symptom of Korean culture and its singular pursuit for excellence; his style of dance places him in the lineage of Michael Jackson; and “the soldout king” has a unique visual appeal that meets high Korean beauty standards but also subverts it with his irreverent piercings and tattoos.

Jungkook’s success is not an accident. Talent and training, the livestreams and good looks, globalization and timing all contributed to the making of Jungkook, “the Golden Maknae,” the South Korean pop superstar who overcame the odds, and through his success, changed the status quo. This is an unauthorized elevated tribute to the singer, for both his fans and others interested in the genre. Monica Kim has delivered a tour-de-force, filled with vivid detail, that makes sense of the world of a music icon who has captured the devotion of millions of fans worldwide.

Look Again (Paperback): David Bailey Look Again (Paperback)
David Bailey 1
R438 Discovery Miles 4 380 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Eye-opening and candid, David Bailey's Look Again is a fantastically entertaining memoir by a true icon.

David Bailey burst onto the scene in 1960 with his revolutionary photographs for Vogue. Discarding the rigid rules of a previous generation of portrait and fashion photographers, he channelled the energy of London's newly informal street culture into his work. Funny, brutally honest and ferociously talented, he became as famous as his subjects.

Now in his eighties, he looks back on an outrageously eventful life. Born into an East End family, his dyslexia saw him written off as stupid at school. He hit a low point working as a debt collector until he discovered a passion for photography that would change everything. The working-class boy became an influential artist. Along the way he became friends with Mick Jagger, hung out with the Krays, got into bed with Andy Warhol and made the Queen laugh.

His love-life was never dull. He propelled girlfriend Jean Shrimpton to stardom, while her angry father threatened to shoot him. He married Catherine Deneuve a month after meeting her. Penelope Tree’s mother was unimpressed when he turned up on her doorstep. ‘It could be worse, I could be a Rolling Stone,’ Bailey told her. He went on to marry Marie Helvin and then Catherine Dyer, with whom he has three children.

He is also a film and documentary director, has shot numerous commercials and has never stopped working. A born storyteller, his autobiography is a memorable romp through an extraordinary career.

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