Has the global phenomenon that is Pop Idol completely ruined pop music, or is it just the natural revolution of a genre of music that has always been manufactured? From Tin Pan Alley via The Monkees and finally to boy bands, this is the complete history of the most successful genre of music ever.;Manufactured acts have been the money-spinning mainstay of the pop industry for decades. "Bubblegum: The History of Plastic Pop" takes a decade-by-decade look at some of the music industry's more cynical creations from the 1950s to the 21st century, encompassing acts such as The Monkees, The Bay City Rollers and The Spice Girls, as well as the phenomenon that is Pop Idol and its siblings. This revealing study includes interviews with the movers and shakers of the pop world and the artistic armies behind their successes, including Chinn and Chapman, Stock, Aitken and Waterman, Simon Fuller, Paula Abdul and Cathy Dennis. The result is a comprehensive look back at some of the fly-by-nights of pop and a DIY guide to becoming a pop star, listing the dos and don'ts of making it in the pop music industry.

They call me the Headhunter...you may be familiar with my work.' It's Christmas and a machete-wielding predator with links to Kenya's most feared crime organisation is handing out severed heads as gifts. As The Headhunter's gruesome spree spreads to Mombasa, Inspector Daniel Jouma finds himself drawn once again into the island's toxic heart. Meanwhile, when an old friend becomes the killer's latest victim, fishing boat skipper Jake Moore decides it's personal - and sets out to avenge a grieving widow and her children. Two men. One target. Both set on a collision course with a conspiracy that threatens to turn Kenya into a tribal bloodbath. The stakes could not be higher. But can Jake and Jouma keep their heads - while all about them are losing theirs?

"A literate and thought-provoking story that runs a bit deeper than the standard crime thriller. Brownlee peels back the layers of modern-day Kenya with a skilled hand."

--"Deseret News "(Salt Lake City)Just when Inspector Daniel Jouma thought it was calm in Mombasa, all hell breaks loose. Bodies pile up in the morgue, his new boss wants answers...and the new mayor wants him out.
Meanwhile, the bulldozers are bearing down on Flamingo Creek, and fishing boat skipper Jake Moore is just one man against the corporate might of Kenya's most ruthless developer.
But soon a hideous secret, thought to be buried in the ashes of a deadly inferno, will bring the maverick crime-busting duo together once again. And Jake and Jouma are about to discover that when you play with fire, someone always gets burned...

Just when Inspector Daniel Jouma believes calm has returned to Mombasa, all hell has broken loose. Bodies are piling up in the morgue, Jouma's new boss wants answers - and the mayor wants him out. Meanwhile, bulldozers are hurtling towards Jake Moore's stomping ground. Ever the hero, the maverick cop turned fishing-boat skipper faces up to the might of Kenya's most ruthless - and dangerous - developer. Then a chilling secret, long thought to be buried in the ashes of a deadly inferno, brings the crime-busting duo together once again. And Jake and Jouma are about to discover that, when you play with fire, someone always gets burned . . .