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.

Robert Plant is one of the few genuine living rock legends. Frontman of Led Zeppelin, musical innovator and seller of millions of records, Plant has had a profound influence on music for over four decades. But the full account of his life has barely been told ... until now. Robert Plant: A Life is the first complete and comprehensive telling of Plant's story. From his earliest performances in folk clubs in the early 1960s, to the world's biggest stages as Led Zeppelin's self-styled 'Golden God', and on to his emergence as an emboldened solo star. The sheer scale of Zeppelin's success is extraordinary: in the US alone they sold 70 million records, a figure surpassed only by the Beatles. But their success was marred by tragedy. These pages contain first-hand accounts of Plant's greatest highs and deepest lows: the tragic deaths of his son Karac and his friend, Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Told in vivid detail, this is the definitive story of a man of great talent, remarkable fortitude and extraordinary conviction.

This inspirational book from Kew Gardens' cacti and succulents expert is the perfect guide to growing and maintaining a wide variety of these fascinating plants. Indoors or outside, in the smallest spaces or as features in large gardens, succulents and cacti are popular in homes and gardens all across the world, regardless of climate. They're resilient, beautiful and easy to care for as long as you're armed with the right knowledge. Packed with information and inspiration, and with the guiding authority and expertise of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this book teaches you everything you need to know about 50 speciments of succulents and cacti, from ideal humidity, light and temperature, to maintenance instructions so that your plants can thrive. This book also contains 12 easy-to-follow projects for you to carry out at home, so you can grow a vibrant array of succulents and cacti for your home, whether you are a complete beginner or a keen enthusiast. Combining beautiful botanical illustrations and practical advice, The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Succulents and Cacti is the definitive introduction to growing these wonderful plants. This book is from the Kew Experts series, in which the top gardeners and botanical scientists from Royal Botanic Kew Gardens offer up advice and information as well as suggesting handy projects on a range of gardening topics. Other titles include: Companion to Medicinal Plants, Guide to Growing Bulbs, Guide to Growing Fruit, Guide to Growing Orchids, Guide to Growing Herbs, Guide to Growing Roses, Guide to Growing Trees, Guide to Growing Vegetables and Guide to Growing House Plants.

An understanding of applied ecology and conservation is an important requirement of a wide range of programmes of study including applied biology, ecology, environmental science and wildlife conservation. This book is a study and revision guide for students following such programmes. It contains 600 multiple-choice questions (and answers) set at three levels - foundation, intermediate and advanced - and grouped into 10 major topic areas: History and foundations of applied ecology and conservation Environmental pollution and perturbations Wildlife and conservation biology Restoration biology and habitat management Agriculture, forestry and fisheries management Pest, weed and disease management Urban ecology and waste management Global environmental change and biodiversity loss Environmental and wildlife law and policy Environmental assessment, monitoring and modelling The book has been produced in a convenient format so that it can be used at any time in any place. It allows the reader to learn and revise the meaning of terms used in applied ecology and conservation, study the effects of pollution on ecosystems, the management, conservation and restoration of wildlife populations and habitats, urban ecology, global environmental change, environment law and much more. The structure of the book allows the study of one topic area at a time, progressing through simple questions to those that are more demanding. Many of the questions require students to use their knowledge to interpret information provided in the form of graphs, data or photographs.

An understanding of animal behaviour and welfare is an important requirement of a wide range of programmes of study including biology, zoology, animal welfare, animal behaviour, psychology and zoo biology. This book is intended as a study and revision guide for students following programmes of study in which animal behaviour and welfare are an important component. It contains 600 multiple-choice questions (and answers) set at three levels - foundation, intermediate and advanced - and grouped into 10 major topic areas: 1. Foundations and history of animal behaviour and welfare 2. Basic concepts and mechanisms in behaviour 3. Biological basis of behaviour 4. Learning, memory and training 5. Territoriality, navigation and migration 6 Animal cognition and communication 7. Behavioural ecology and social behaviour 8. Measuring, recording and analysing animal behaviour and welfare 9. Animal exploitation and welfare 10 Animal rights, ethics and law The book has been produced in a convenient format so that it can be used at any time in any place. It allows the reader to learn and revise the meaning of terms used in the study of animal behaviour and welfare, methods of recording behaviour and assessing welfare, the physiology of behaviour, learning, memory, cognition, behavioural ecology, animal rights and much more. Many of the questions require students to use their knowledge to interpret information provided in the form of graphs, data or photographs.

'Elliott was one of the best songwriters of our day and a formidable musician.' - Beck 'There's an undercurrent of real sadness in a lot of his music ... and that's just really the way he was.' - Steve Drozd, Flaming Lips 'I'm the wrong kind of person to be really big and famous.' - Elliott Smith, speaking in 1997 In 2003, Steven 'Elliott' Smith died from two stab wounds to the heart. To this day, the autopsy evidence remains inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted or the result of homicide. Either way, this tragic end to Elliott's short-lived though prodigiously talented life became the dark denouement of a story riddled with depression, mental illness, addiction and chronic substance abuse. Yet it is also a story of worldwide critical acclaim, of Oscar nominations and of some of the finest recorded music of the late twentieth century. Now, two decades after Elliott's death, Shooting Star seeks to encapsulate the many complexities of this shy, funny, engaging, enigmatic musician and his desperately troubled soul. With contributions from those closest to Elliott who have not previously spoken about their friend, this masterful biography places the singer-songwriter's vulnerabilities and decline within the broader context of all that he achieved: the sheer, stark beauty of the records he made and the resounding impact they went on to have across a whole spectrum of contemporary music. This is the definitive account of Elliott Smith - a once-in-a-generation artist.

This book contains the first English translations of The Origin of the Moral Sensations and Psychological Observations, the two most important works by the German philosopher Paul Ree. These essays present Ree's moral philosophy, which influenced the ideas of his close friend Friedrich Nietzsche considerably. Nietzsche scholars have often incorrectly attributed to him arguments and ideas that are Ree's and have failed to detect responses to Ree's works in Nietzsche's writings. Ree's thinking combined two strands: a pessimistic conception of human nature, presented in the French moralists' aphoristic style that would become a mainstay of Nietzsche's own writings, and a theory of morality derived from Darwin's theory of natural selection. Ree's moral Darwinism was a central factor prompting Nietzsche to write On the Genealogy of Morals and the ground-work for much of today's "evolutionary ethics." In an illuminating critical introduction, Robin Small examines Ree's life and work, locating his application of evolutionary concepts to morality within a broader history of Darwinism while exploring Ree's theoretical and personal relationship with Nietzsche. In placing Nietzsche in his intellectual and social context, Small profoundly challenges the myth of Nietzsche as a solitary thinker.

An understanding of ecology is an important requirement of a wide range of academic areas, including biology, zoology and environmental science. This book is a study and revision guide for students following programmes of study in which ecology is an important component. It contains 600 multiple-choice questions (and answers) set at three levels - foundation, intermediate and advanced - and grouped into 10 major topic areas: * The history and foundations of ecology * Abiotic factors and environmental monitoring * Taxonomy and biodiversity * Energy flow and production ecology * Nutrient and material cycles * Ecophysiology * Population ecology * Community ecology and species interactions * Ecological genetics and evolution * Ecological methods and statistics The book has been produced in a convenient format so that it can be used at any time in any place. It allows the reader to learn and revise the meaning of ecological terms, the basic processes operating in ecosystems, the dynamics of populations, ecological genetics and the process of evolution, the methods used in ecological surveys, and much more. The structure of the book allows the study of one topic area at a time, progressing through simple questions to those that are more demanding. Many of the questions require students to use their knowledge to interpret information provided in the form of graphs, data or photographs, providing a useful tool for independent study.

No one explodes one of the longest-held misconceptions of music history better than Steve Lukather and his band Toto. The dominant pop-culture sound of the late-1970s and '80s was not in fact the smash and sneer of punk, but a slick, polished amalgam of rock and R&B that was first staked out on Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees. That album was shaped in large part by the founding members of Toto, who were emerging as the most in-demand elite session muso-crew in LA, and further developed on the band's self-titled three-million-selling debut smash of 1978. A string of hits followed for the band going into the '80s and beyond. Running parallel to this, as stellar session players, Lukather and band-mates David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro were also the creative linchpins on some of the most successful, influential and enduring records of the era. In The Gospel According to Luke, Lukather tells the Toto story: how a group of high school friends formed the band in 1977 and went on to sell more than 40 million records worldwide. He also lifts the lid on what really went on behind the closed studio doors and shows the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Don Henley, Roger Waters and Aretha Franklin. And yet, Lukather's extraordinary tale encompasses the dark side of the American Dream. Engaging, incisive and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir. It is the real thing . . .

The definitive no-holds-barred biography of John Entwistle, The Who's legendary bass guitarist It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that end, John Entwistle - the Who's beloved bassist - is also without question one of the most important and influential figures in the annals of rock. He is also among an even more rarefied few by virtue of his being such a fascinating, transfixing and gloriously oversized character. However, Entwistle has not been the subject of a major biography. Likely, this was due to no-one being able to gain close access to the subject himself: the still in many other respects enigmatic Entwistle's enduring legacy has been carefully guarded by his surviving family. With the full co-operation of the Entwistle family, The Ox will correct this oversight and in doing so, shine a long overdue light on one of the single greatest, and most impactful figures in rock history. Drawing on his own notes for an unfinished autobiography that he started before his death in 2002 (and which will be quoted from extensively), as well as his personal archives and interviews with his family and friends, The Ox will give readers a never-before-seen glimpse into the two very distinct poles of John Entwistle. On the one hand, he was the rock star incarnate, being larger than life, self-obsessed to a fault, and proudly and almost defiantly so. Extravagant with money, he famously shipped two vintage American cars across the Atlantic without having so much as a driver's license, built exponentially bigger and grandiose bars into every home he owned, and amassed an extraordinary collection of possessions, from arachnids, armor, and weaponry, to his patented Cuban-heeled boots. But beneath this fame and flutter, he was also a man of simple tastes and traditional opinions. He was a devoted father and family man who loved nothing more than to wake up to a full English breakfast, or to have a supper of fish, chips, and a pint at his local pub. After his untimely death, many of these stories were shuttered away into the memories of his family, friends, and loved ones, but now, for the first time, The Ox will introduce us to the man behind the myth-the iconic and inimitable John Entwistle.

An understanding of biodiversity is an important requirement of a wide range of programmes of study including biology, zoology, wildlife conservation and environmental science. This book is a study and revision guide for students following such programmes in which biodiversity is an important component. It contains 600 multiple-choice questions (and answers) set at three levels - foundation, intermediate and advanced - and grouped into 10 major topic areas: 1. Principles of classification and taxonomy 2. Comparative anatomy and physiology 3. Protoctists, monerans, fungi, lichens and acellular organisms 4. 'Lower' plants and pteridophytes 5. Seed-bearing plants 6. Sponges, cnidarians, nematodes and minor animal phyla 7. Platyhelminths, annelids and molluscs 8. Arthropods and echinoderms 9. Fishes, amphibians and reptiles 10. Birds and mammals The book has been produced in a convenient format so that it can be used at any time in any place. It allows the reader to learn and revise the meaning of terms used in animal and plant classification, the principles of comparative physiology, and the characteristics of, and diversity in, the major animal and plant taxa. The structure of the book allows the study of one topic area or group of taxa at a time, progressing through simple questions to those that are more demanding. Many of the questions require students to use their knowledge to identify organisms and biological structures from drawings or photographs.

An understanding of the work of zoos and aquariums is central to many programmes of study in wildlife conservation and more specialised programmes in zoo and aquarium science and management. This book is intended as a study and revision guide for students following these programmes. It contains 600 multiple-choice questions (and answers) set at three levels - foundation, intermediate and advanced - and grouped into 10 major topic areas: 1. History of zoos and aquariums 2. Zoo and exhibit design 3. Aquariums and Aquatic exhibits 4 Visitor studies, zoo education and zoo research 5. Nutrition and food presentation 6 Reproductive biology and genetics 7. Conservation breeding and assisted reproductive technologies 8. Behaviour, training and environmental enrichment 9. Animal welfare and conservation medicine 10. Zoo organisation and regulation The book has been produced in a convenient format so that it can be used at any time in any place. It allows the reader to learn and revise the meaning of terms used in zoo and aquarium biology, the principles of animal husbandry and enclosure design, the behaviour of zoo visitors, the operation of captive breeding programmes, the international organisation of zoos, their legal regulation and much more. The structure of the book allows the study of one topic area at a time, progressing through simple questions to those that are more demanding. Many of the questions require students to use their knowledge to interpret information provided in the form of graphs, diagrams, data or photographs.

When Cyrille Regis became one of the first black players to be selected for the full England team, he was sent a package in the mail. Inside it was a silver bullet and a note that read: 'You'll get one of these through your knees if you step on our Wembley turf.' In the 1978/79 football season Regis' club West Bromwich Albion, an unglamorous and little publicised club from the West Midlands, became the first British football team to field three black players: Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson. They did so against the backdrop of the most divisive and poisonous racial tension in the UK's history - a time when the National Front movement was at its most virulent. This book will tell the story of a defining and groundbreaking chapter in the history of British football and the country as a whole. The story is one about sport but also as much one about social change.

'They call me a madman but compared to Pete Way, I'm out of my league.' - Ozzy Osbourne There are rock memoirs and then there is this one. A Fast Ride Out of Here tells a story that is so shocking, so outrageous, so packed with excess and leading to such uproar and tragic consequences as to be almost beyond compare. Put simply, in terms of jaw-dropping incident, self-destruction and all-round craziness, Pete Way's rock'n'roll life makes even Keith Richards's appear routine and Ozzy Osbourne seem positively mild-mannered in comparison. Not for nothing did Nikki Sixx, bassist with LA shock-rockers Motley Crue and who 'died' for eight minutes following a heroin overdose in 1988, consider that he was a disciple of and apprenticed to Way. During a forty-year career as founding member and bassist of the venerated British hard rock band UFO, and which has also included a stint in his hell-raising buddy Ozzy's band, Pete Way has both scaled giddy heights and plunged to unfathomable lows. A heroin addict for more than ten years, he blew millions on drugs and booze and left behind him a trail of chaos and carnage. The human cost of this runs to six marriages, four divorces, a pair of estranged daughters and two dead ex-wives. Latterly, Way has fought cancer, but has survived it all and is now ready to tell his extraordinary tale. By turns hilarious, heart-rending, mordant, scabrous, self-lacerating, brutally honest and entirely compulsive, A Fast Ride Out of Here will be a monument to rock'n'roll debauchery on an epic, unparalleled scale and also to one man's sheer indestructability.

Paul Ree (1849-1901), an interdisciplinary traveller and admirer of the French moralistes, but also of Schopenhauer and Darwin, was for a time one of the closest friends of Lou Andreas-Salome and Friedrich Nietzsche. With his publications, Ree wanted to convert moral philosophy into moral science. This edition presents his books Psychologische Beobachtungen (Psychological Observations) (1875), Der Ursprung der moralischen Empfindungen ( The Origin of Moral Sensations) (1877), Die Entstehung des Gewissens (The Genesis of Conscience) (1885) and Die Illusion der Willensfreiheit (The Illusion of Free Will) (1885). Together with a sketch of Ree's biography and the history of his works, which makes hitherto unknown documents accessible (such as the official record of Ree's fatal fall), Treiber reveals numerous sources for Ree's texts. In addition, he reproduces available contemporary reactions to the publications.