This is the hardback version. Kansas City's KMBC was home to many country and western artists during radio's golden age but few could match the popularity and longevity of the Texas Rangers. Debuting in 1932, the Texas Rangers entertained America by radio, records, tours, motion pictures and television before finally disbanding in the 1950s. With few commercially released singles, the Texas Rangers were soon forgotten after their heyday except by the most devoted fans of the genre. Now, nearly six decades after the end of their performing years, The Texas Rangers: Two Decades on Radio, Film, Television, and State offers an in-depth history of the Texas Rangers. This book provides a rare look into the personalities and business dealings that kept the group performing before the public for more than twenty years.

A ten-year old boy hides at the top of a stairwell listening to his father tell his harrowing story-a story about almost being gassed to death in a Nazi concentration camp. He doesn't dare ask his father to explain. His dad offers no further details. Follow Mort Laitner's journey from childhood to retirement as he obsesses about his father, the Holocaust, Judaism, and life. Laitner learns about his father's nightmarish travels during World War II from his father's Holocaust tapes, from books describing how he worked as a doctor in slave labor camps, from a doctoral thesis on Holocaust studies, and from a transcript of his father's testimony at a US military tribunal which led to a Nazi commandant's death sentence. Clue by clue, missing details come to light describing that fateful day when his father stood naked and faced the gas chamber. Read the remarkable story of how Wolf Laitner was sent to Russia with a unit of 349 fellow Jewish prisoners in disguise. They were given German military training and uniforms bearing swastikas, then sent to Russia during Operation Barbarossa to work on the railway system. Hitch a ride across America, Europe, Asia and Africa, from the 1950s through the new millennium as Mort Laitner shares his family's stories about survival, prejudice, luck, love, and miracles.

Tiffany Haddish is back with her highly anticipated new essay collection, I Curse You With Joy.

It's been a minute. Readers last sat down with Tiffany in her bestselling debut The Last Black Unicorn. Since then, Haddish has catapulted to A-list fame as the breakout star of Girls Trip. She's walked the Oscars red carpet, released a hit stand-up special with Netflix, and made history as the first Black female comedian to host Saturday Night Live and Shark Week.

But it hasn't been all VIP parties and free diving with apex predators. In these humorous and heartfelt essays, Tiffany gets real about the highs and lows of life. Believe it or not, there was a time when Tiffany didn't totally know who Tiffany was. Before she found her groove, she was on stage dressed like her snobby airline coworkers telling halfhearted dick jokes. She tanked.

It took a fake penis, some help from friends, and a little encouragement from Bob Saget, but eventually Tiffany figured out Tiffany. I Curse You With Joy celebrates all the lessons she learned along the way--the joy and the pain. Tiffany reckons with the legacy of her childhood trauma, the challenges of being a Black woman in the entertainment industry, and her bittersweet reunion with her estranged father after twenty years apart. Don't worry, she's got plenty of advice to share, too.

I Curse You With Joy is Tiffany Haddish unfiltered. (We know what you're thinking...how much more unfiltered can she get?) These essays lay it all bare, bringing readers into Tiffany's inner circle where joy, honesty, humor, and heart are the order of the day.

Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us is a groundbreaking series of books which introduces you to the powerful stories of South African women who have all made their mark and cleared a path for women and girls. These books recognise, acknowledge and honour our heroines and elders from the past and the present. South African women are silent no more on the roles that we have played in advancing our lives as artists, storytellers, writers, politicians and educationists. The title 'Imbokodo' was been chosen as it is a Zulu word that means "rock" and is often used in the saying 'Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo!', which means "You Strike a Women, You Strike a Rock!" These books were made possible with the support of Biblionef and funding from the National Arts Council. In 10 Curious Inventors, Healers & Creators you will read about the women who shape our world through education, science and maths. You will read about women who became teachers, nurses, social workers, scientists and community workers, overcame obstacles and through their work fought for social change.

Top music writer Steve Turner traces the biography of 'Amazing Grace', the world's most recorded song. Versions of this hymn have been performed by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart and Destiny's Child. The book begins with the dramatic story of John Newton and his participation in the African slave trade through to his writing of 'Amazing Grace' and his campaigning against slavery. The second part of the book - picking up the thread in the years following Newton's death - tells the story of the song itself as it has spread and developed over the past 280 years and its recordings by artists from a wide variety of musical backgrounds. This includes the aftermath of September 11th when the hymn became an international anthem of hope and solidarity.

Nollywood is the general moniker for Nigeria's exciting and thriving film industry Behind its world-wide acclaim as an independent filming success story is an oft-ignored back story; the pains, push and perseverance of the major film-makers in the business. 'Nollywood till November' tells the insightful and exciting true story of Charles Novia, from his trudging days as a struggling film maker in the then cabal-styled Nollywood, to his eventual triumph And success as a major force in Africa's biggest film industry Novia's memoirs reveal a personal perspective of the monumental struggles each of the now-famous personalities in Nollywood must have faced on their road to fame. It is a brilliant and inspiring tale of succeeding against the odds in an industry that has been termed 'the third largest film industry in the world'

Offering a fresh way to look at one of the best-selling hip hop artists of the early 21st century, this book presents Eminem's words, images, and music alongside comments from those who love and hate him, documenting why Eminem remains a cultural, spiritual, and economic icon in global popular culture. Eminem: The Real Slim Shady examines the rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor who has become one of the most successful and well-known artists in the world. Providing far more than a biography of his life story, the book provides a comprehensive description, interpretation, and analysis of his personas, his lyrical content, and the cultural and economic impact of Eminem's work through media. It also contains the first in-depth content analysis of 200 of the rapper's most popular songs from 1990 through 2012. The book is organized into three sections, each focusing on one of the artist's public personas (Slim Shady, Marshall Mathers, Eminem), with each section further divided into chapters that explore various aspects of Eminem's cultural, spiritual, and economic significance. Besides being a book that every fan of Eminem and pop music will want to read, the work will be valuable to researchers in the areas of race and ethnicity, communication, cultural and musical studies, and hip hop studies. Includes never before conducted analysis of 200 of Eminem's most popular lyrics, presented visually with tables and charts Provides an up-to-date, combined discography, videography, and bibliography of the rapper's work