A riveting look at the transformative year in the lives and careers of the legendary group whose groundbreaking legacy would forever change music and popular culture. They started off as hysteria-inducing pop stars playing to audiences of screaming teenage fans and ended up as musical sages considered responsible for ushering in a new era. The year that changed everything for the Beatles was 1966-the year of their last concert and their first album, Revolver, that was created to be listened to rather than performed. This was the year the Beatles risked their popularity by retiring from live performances, recording songs that explored alternative states of consciousness, experimenting with avant-garde ideas, and speaking their minds on issues of politics, war, and religion. It was the year their records were burned in America after John's explosive claim that the group was "more popular than Jesus," the year they were hounded out of the Philippines for "snubbing" its First Lady, the year John met Yoko Ono, and the year Paul conceived the idea for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. On the fiftieth anniversary of this seminal year, music journalist and Beatles expert Steve Turner slows down the action to investigate in detail the enormous changes that took place in the Beatles' lives and work during 1966. He looks at the historical events that had an impact on the group, the music they made that in turn profoundly affected the culture around them, and the vision that allowed four young men from Liverpool to transform popular music and serve as pioneers for artists from Coldplay to David Bowie, Jay-Z to U2. By talking to those close to the group and by drawing on his past interviews with key figures such as George Martin, Timothy Leary, and Ravi Shankar-and the Beatles themselves-Turner gives us the compelling, definitive account of the twelve months that contained everything the Beatles had been and anticipated everything they would still become.

As always, Steve Turner's poems present a fresh and quirky view on life. Many of the poems in this collection are about childhood: school and holidays, dreams and monsters, food, friends... Witty cartoons reflect the mood of the poems. Steve Turner is the award-winning author of 'The Day I Fell Down the Toilet'

In this collection - Steve's fifth children's poetry book - he returns to much of the word play and wit of the best-selling The Day I Fell Down the Toilet. Using the alphabet as a framework he has written three poems for each letter (including X and Z!). This highly entertaining book will delight all Turner fans and teachers will appreciate the varied poetry forms (shape, limerick, nonsense, free, rhyming etc). The fun, witty poems - often written from a thought-provoking point of view - cover such diverse subjects as aardvarks, cars, sausages, love and yo-yos, so there's sure to be something to interest both boys and girls.

Whacky poems that take a roller-coaster ride from the crazy corners of dreams to the big questions of life. Steve Turners first collection of poetry for children is regularly in the best-seller lists. The poems make an instant impact on children, and the themes and ideas in them give lots of food for thought.

Whilst recovering from his addiction to alcohol and valium, Steve began to put his thoughts and feelings into writing, encouraged by "Ingrebourne," the psychotherapy centre at his disposal. Drama, arts, literature, sports and group therapy were all available as a means to rediscover himself and accept who he really was. For Steve and other residents of the centre it was the start of a very deep and painful journey of discovery. After spending nearly sixteen months at Ingrebourne Steve returned to his normal life and family ( who had thankfully stood by him ) still capturing his emotions, thoughts and experiences with the written word. Becoming a more giving person he was able to encourage and guide his children, be grateful that his sensitivity enabled him to be a creative and loving human being. Steve also discovered his spirituality ( though not in a way he would have imagined ) which allowed him to search deeper into his own psyche Having collected this wealth of material the book became inevitable, as with his words, Steve felt a need to ignite a spark inside those suffering from this emotionally crippling illness, and to find the courage to embark on their own inner journey, because someone once gave him that spark, making him realise that he wasn't so alone with this desperately lonely malaise. Now take that journey with Steve through his mind and recovery, as he tells it with inspirational poetry and prose.

Adams County, Washington, is home to farmlands on the Columbia Plateau that produce more crops than might be expected of its semiarid soils. But while unique in its geography and history, it also faces many of the problems confronting farmers throughout rural America.

Seasoned journalist Steve Turner, having spent time in Adams County as a young harvest hand, returned to the region to portray farm life and history in a land where change is a subtle but powerful constant. "Amber Waves and Undertow" interweaves family narratives, historical episodes, and Turner's own experiences to illuminate the transformation of rural America from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century.

Whether distilling the lore of wheat and potato agriculture or describing action at a combine demolition derby, Turner celebrates both the usual and the unusual among the local residents. He blends stories of pioneer settlers with vignettes of present-day life, introducing readers to the characters--the hardworking and the eccentric, the old-timers and the Latino newcomers--who populate this corner of America.

In the mode of John McPhee and Wendell Berry, Turner's lyrical prose conveys his affection for both the land and its inhabitants. "Amber Waves and Undertow" is a thoughtful depiction of an exceptional place that puts the difficulties of individual farmers in national and global contexts, showing us that only by understanding the past of rural America can we confront its future challenges.

Behind our most beloved hymn is a fascinating story spanning continents, cultures, and centuries. Inspired by the way "Amazing Grace" continues to change and grow in popularity, acclaimed music writer Steve Turner embarks on a journey to trace the life of the hymn, from Olney, England, where it was written by former slave trader John Newton, to tiny Plantain Island off the coast of Africa, where Newton was held captive for almost a year, to the Kentucky-Tennessee border and other parts of the South, where the hymn first began to spread.

Newton had been rescued from Africa by a merchant ship when, during an eleven-hour storm on the Atlantic, he converted to Christianity. Years later, as a minister, he wrote the hymn for use among his congregation. Through the nineteenth century, "Amazing Grace" appeared in more and more hymn books, and in the twentieth century it rose to a gospel and folk standard before exploding into pop music. It has been recorded by artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tiny Tim, Al Green, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, Chet Baker, and Destiny's Child. Amazing Grace closely examines this modern history of the hymn through personal interviews with recording artists.

From John Newton's incredible life story to the hymn's role in American spirituality and culture, Amazing Grace is an illuminating, thorough, and unprecedented musical history.

This volume provides a child's-eye view of the changing scenes and events through the course of a day and night. The poems follow the framework of the 24 hour clock and feature some predictable and not so predictable subjects.

Ten silly Santas At the north North Pole One Santa cracked the ice And fell down through a hole. Find out what happened to the nine other silly Santas in this brand-new, fun-filled collection of Christmas poems for children. Written by one of the nation's favourite children's poets, Ten Silly Santas captures both the joy and the angst of the Christmas season - making you laugh out loud while also prompting you to quietly reflect on the mystery that lies at the heart of it all.

"They kept it up to the very end. Only the engulfing ocean had power to drown them into silence. The band was playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee.' I could hear it distinctly. The end was very close." --CHARLOTTE COLLYER, TITANIC SURVIVOR

The movies, the documentaries, the museum exhibits. They often tell the same story about the "unsinkable" "Titanic," her wealthy passengers, the families torn apart, and the unthinkable end. But never before has "that glorious band"--the group of eight musicians who played on as the "Titanic" slipped deeper and deeper into the Atlantic Ocean--been explored in such depth. Steve Turner's extensive research reveals a fascinating story including dishonest agents, a clairvoyant, social climbers, and a fraudulent violin maker. Read what brought the band members together and how their music served as the haunting soundtrack for one of modern history's most tragic maritime disasters.

BOOK REVIEWS

"The Band that Played On" by Steve Turner is, surprisingly, the first book since the great ship went down to examine the lives of the eight musicians who were employed by the Titanic. What these men did―standing calmly on deck playing throughout the disaster―a chieved global recognition. But their individual stories, until now, have been largely unknown. What Turner has uncovered is a narrow but unique slice of history―one more chapter of compelling Titanic lore.

Turner, a music journalist, pursued living relatives of the band members and squeezed all that he could out of "inherited photographs, documents, and anecdotes" enabling him to sketch brief but poignant portraits of eight young (or at least youngish) men, all born in an optimistic era and all members of the rising middle class. To their parents, their girlfriends, and surely to themselves as well, the future must have seemed bright right up until the early morning hours of April 15, 1912...

There is much that we do not know about the final hours of these men. Why did they make the decision to play on the deck that night? What was in their hearts and minds? ...

Even the Titanic survivors who witnessed their final performance quibbled over some details. Did the band march or did they kneel? Was their last number "Autumn" or was it "Nearer, My God, to Thee"? Did they stop playing during the final moments and pack their instruments away or were they still playing as the ship went down? All agreed, however, that all eight band members behaved with remarkable calm and courage. Within hours of the ship's sinking, their story was circulating and they had already become heroes...

For Turner, however, the undisputed hero of the book is Wallace Hartley, a fine musician with religious conviction and a powerful sense of duty who seems most likely to have been the force behind those final hours of heroism. In the last pages of the book, Turner reveals a surprising Hartley discovery―a turn of events which makes a fine ending for his worthy book, even as it leaves us hopeful that the Titanic may yet have a few mysteries she is willing to give up.

"--Marjorie Kehe, Book Editor, Christian Science Monitor"

. . . For those the least bit interested in the Titanic tale, this is another intriguing chapter in the legend.

"--Craig Wilson, USA Today"

This detailed and sympathetic portrait of the bandsmen will be appreciated by Titanic enthusiasts and casual readers alike. Steve Turner's new book admirably fills a gap in Titanic literature. There are few good books on the subject of Titanic and, until now, none on the band itself. Steve's impressive depth of research has allowed him to vividly flesh out the stories of each of the band members and he has set these narratives in a fascinating social, political, cultural and religious context. I only wish Steve's book had been around when I was researching Wallace Hartley for my role in James Cameron's movie

"--Jonathan Evans-Jones, who played band leader Wallace Hartley in the film Titanic."

Filling at last a historical gap, this is the definitive account of those neglected and abused heroic bandsmen. Steve Turner has done a fine and exhaustive job of research on those splendid souls who did exactly what musicians, as service providers, do best: soothe and give succor. I wish I'd had this book at hand when I put together my recording of the White Star Orchestra's music: I could have made the thing a lot more accurate A worthy, thrilling and moving book."--Ian Whitcomb, music advisor for the film Titanic, and producer of the Grammy Award winning CD, "Titanic--Music As Played On The Fateful Voyage" (Rhino Records, 1998.)"

Johnny Cash is one of the most influential figures in music and American popular culture today. While he was an icon to people of all ages during his life, Cash's legacy continues after his death. His remarkable story is captured in this exclusive authorized biography, addressing the whole life of Johnny Cash-not just his unforgettable music but also his relationship with June Carter Cash and his faith in Christ. His authenticity, love for God and family, and unassuming persona are what Steve Turner captures with passion and focus in this inspiring book.

Different from other books written about him, The Man Called CASH brings Cash's faith and love for God into the foreground and tells the story of a man redeemed, without watering-down or sugar-coating. The Man Called CASH will be a huge success with his millions of fans and will draw in many new fans with this inspiring story of faith and redemption.

Imagine art that is risky, complex, and subtle. Imagine music, movies, books, and paintings of the highest quality. Imagine art that permeates society, challenging conventional thinking and standard morals to their core. Imagine that it is all created by Christians! This is the bold vision of Steve Turner, who has worked among a wide variety of artists for decades. He believes Christians should confront society and the church using art's powerful impact. Art can faithfully chronicle the lives of ordinary people and express the transcendence of God. And Christians should be involved in every level of the art world and in every medium. In this revised and expanded edition of a contemporary classic, Turner builds a compelling case for Christians in the arts. If Jesus is Lord of all of life and creation, then art is part of his cultural mandate. It can and should be a way of expressing faith through creatively, beautifully, and truthfully arranged words, sounds, and sights. Now includes study questions for individual reflection or group discussion.