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Books > Biography > Film, television, music, theatre
This memoir from the bestselling author of "Postcards from the
Edge" and "Wishful Drinking" gives you an intimate, gossip-filled
look at what it's like to be the daughter of Hollywood royalty.
Told with the same intimate style, brutal honesty, and uproarious
wisdom that locked "Wishful Drinking" on the "New York Times"
bestseller list for months, "Shockaholic" is the juicy account of
Carrie Fisher's life. Covering a broad range of topics--from
never-before-heard tales of Hollywood gossip to outrageous moments
of celebrity desperation; from alcoholism to illegal drug use; from
the familial relationships of Hollywood royalty to scandalous
run-ins with noteworthy politicians; from shock therapy to talk
therapy--Carrie Fisher gives an intimate portrait of herself, and
she's one of the most indelible and powerful forces in culture at
large today. Just as she has said of playing Princess Leia--"It
isn't all sweetness and light sabers"--Fisher takes readers on a
no-holds-barred narrative adventure, both laugh-out-loud funny and
poignant.
The music world has seen some of the most iconic partnerships of
all time the reader feels almost on a first-name acquaintance with
many of them: Sonny and Cher, Mick and Marianne, Elvis and
Priscilla, Ike and Tina...Rock n Roll Love Stories looks at 14 of
the best, taking us from the 1950s all the way up to the early
2000s. Along the way we see behind the public face of a whole range
of relationships, from the straightforwardly romantic to the
messily divided, and from the famous (and infamous) to the
relatively unknown. All are engaging, full of contemporary detail,
and come imbued with the energy and the spirit of the music world
over the last half century.
Legendary founding KISS drummer Peter "Catman" Criss has lived an
incredible life in music, from the streets of Brooklyn to the
social clubs of New York City to the ultimate heights of rock 'n'
roll success and excess. KISS formed in 1973 and broke new ground
with their elaborate makeup, live theatrics, and powerful sound.
The band emerged as one of the most iconic hard rock acts in music
history. Peter was the heartbeat of the group. From an elevated
perch on his pyrotechnic drum riser, he had a unique vantage point
on the greatest rock show of all time, with the KISS Army looking
back at him night after night.
Peter Criscuola had come a long way from the homemade drum set he
pounded on nonstop as a kid growing up in Brooklyn. He endured lean
years, street violence, and the roller-coaster music scene of the
sixties, but he always knew he'd make it. Now Peter tells of his
eye-opening journey from the pledge to his ma that he'd one day
play Madison Square Garden to doing just that. He also faced the
perils of stardom and his own mortality, including drug abuse,
treatment in 1982, near suicides, two broken marriages, and a
hard-won battle with breast cancer. "Makeup to Breakup" is the
heartfelt account of one of music's most iconic figures, and the
importance of faith and family. Rock 'n' roll has been chronicled
many times, but never quite like this. "A must-read for all past
and present KISS fans and fans of no-holds-barred rock 'n' roll
tell-alls."
Best known by her stage name, La Goulue (the Glutton), Louise Weber
was one of the biggest stars of fin de siecle Paris, renowned as a
cancan dancer at the Moulin Rouge. The subject of numerous
paintings and photographs, she became an iconic figure of modern
art. Her life, however, has consistently been misrepresented and
reduced to a footnote in the stories of men such as Henri de
Toulouse-Lautrec. Where most accounts dismiss her rise and fall as
brief and rapid, the truth is that her career as a performer
spanned five decades, during which La Goulue constantly reinvented
herself-as a dancer, animal tamer, sideshow performer, and muse of
photographers, painters, sculptors, and filmmakers. With Beyond the
Moulin Rouge, the first substantive English-language study of La
Goulue's career and posthumous influence, Will Visconti corrects
persistent myths. Despite a tumultuous personal life, La Goulue
overcame loss, abusive relationships, and poverty to become the
very embodiment of nineteenth-century Paris, feted by royalty and
followed as closely as any politician or monarch. Visconti draws on
previously overlooked materials, including medical records, media
reports across Europe and the United States, and surviving pages
from Louise Weber's diary, to trace the life and impact of a woman
whose cultural significance has been ignored in favor of the men
around her, and who spent her life upending assumptions about
gender, morality, and domesticity in France during the fin de
siecle and early twentieth century.
From one of the hottest stand-up comedians, Nate Bargatze brings his
everyman comedy to the page in this hilarious collection of personal
stories, opinions, and confessions.
Nate Bargatze used to be a genius. That is, until the summer after
seventh grade when he slipped, fell off a cliff, hit his head on a
rock, and “my skull got, like, dented or something.” Before this
accident, he dreamed of being “an electric engineer, or a doctor that
does brain stuff, or a math teacher who teaches the hardest math on
earth.” Afterwards, all he could do was stand-up comedy.* But the
“brain stuff” industry’s loss is everyone else’s gain because Nate went
on to become one of today’s top-grossing comedians, breaking both
attendance and streaming records.
In his highly anticipated first book, Nate talks about life as a
non-genius. From stories about his first car (named Old Blue, a clunky
Mazda with a tennis ball stick shift) and his travels as a Southerner
(Northerners like to ask if he believes in dinosaurs), to tales of his
first apartment where he was almost devoured by rats and his many
debates with his wife over his chores, his diet, and even his
definition of “shopping.” He also reflects on such heady topics as his
irrational passion for Vandy football and the mysterious origins of
sushi (how can a California roll come from old-time Japan?).
BIG DUMB EYES is full of heart. It will make readers laugh out loud and
nod in recognition, but it probably won’t make them think too much.
*Nate’s family disputes this entire story.
Rick Bucklers autobiography is the first from a member of The Jam,
who some considered were the ultimate Mod band. Rick tells The Jam
story from growing up in Woking and meeting fellow members Paul
Weller and Bruce Foxton at school, through their formation in 1972
and tells of the band's early years before signing to Polydor
records. He provides a year by year account of The Jam's progress
whilst describing what it was like being a part of the music
industry during the 70's and 80's and some of the characters who he
met along the way including the Ramones, John Enwistle, Sid
Vicious, Blondie, Boy George and Paul McCartney. Rick shares his
own experiences and thoughts about what it was like to be in one of
the UK's most successful bands who spent a great deal of time
recording, performing and touring. Following The Jam's split in
1982, Rick gives a candid account of how he coped and his
subsequent relationship with Paul and Bruce. All three members of
The Jam stayed within the music industry and Rick takes the reader
through his years in Time UK and various other bands up until
forming From the Jam. A must read for any Jam fan.
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