Essential Elton


Book Description




Me


Book Description

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life. Me is the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time. The Sunday Times bestseller with a new chapter bringing the story up to date. 'The rock memoir of the decade' – Daily Mail 'The rock star's gloriously entertaining and candid memoir is a gift to the reader' – Sunday Times ______________ Christened Reginald Dwight was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend. ______________ 'Self-deprecating, funny . . . You cannot help but enjoy his company throughout, temper tantrums and all' – The Times 'Racy, pacy and crammed with scurrilous anecdotes - what more could you ask from the rocket man' – Guardian (Book of the Week) 'Chatty, gossipy, amusing and at times brutally candid' – Telegraph




Elton


Book Description

One of music’s true global superstars and most admired figures, Elton John has sold an estimated 200 million albums worldwide to date, and continues to appear regularly in the singles charts, thanks largely to a series of high-profile collaborations with new faces. But he is loved as much for his outrageous personality and witty outspokenness as for his music: recent memorable outbursts have included a public comment that "people who charge �75 and lip-sync should be shot” and calling some pushy photographers "rude, vile pigs.” He has even admitted that, in one of his more comedic cocaine-fueled moments, he phoned one of his management team "to tell him to do something about the wind outside my hotel room.” Such shamelessness and sheer silliness rivals anything uttered by punk rockers, yet it is so typically Elton: honest and wittily intemperate. Tragedy and heartbreak have played a large part in his life too. Behind the parties, the hedonism, the lavish stage costumes and silly glasses lies a more somber story. There have been disputes with managers, legal wranglings, splits with partners, and a divorce. Added to that there have been serious health problems, a very public battle with his expanding waistline and receding hairline, drug addictions, and spells when he wanted to quit the music business altogether. But now, at 60 years old, Elton enjoys a stable relationship with his husband David Furnish. His demons have been overcome. His commercial and critical stock is rising. With popular acts like the Scissor Sisters sounding more like Elton than Elton himself, Elton John is finally cool again. Drawing on many firsthand interviews with his associates and musical collaborators, this page-turning story of high drama and prodigious talent traces Elton’s astonishing journey through life as the colossus of camp, while also offering a critical history of his work and analyzing afresh his contribution to popular music.




The Essential Naturalist


Book Description

Like nearly every area of scholarly inquiry today, the biological sciences are broken into increasingly narrow fields and subfields, its practitioners divided into ecologists, evolutionary biologists, taxonomists, paleontologists, and much more. But all these splintered pieces have their origins in the larger field of natural history—and in this era where climate change and relentless population growth are irrevocably altering the world around us, perhaps it’s time to step back and take a new, fresh look at the larger picture. The Essential Naturalist offers exactly that: a wide-ranging, eclectic collection of writings from more than eight centuries of observations of the natural world, from Leeuwenhoek to E. O. Wilson, from von Humboldt to Rachel Carson. Featuring commentaries by practicing scientists that offer personal accounts of the importance of the long tradition of natural history writing to their current research, the volume serves simultaneously as an overview of the field’s long history and as an inspirational starting point for new explorations, for trained scientists and amateur enthusiasts alike.




The Essential Jane Austen Volume One


Book Description

Three books in one volume by the author beloved for her smart, witty novels of Regency England. This collection of Jane Austen’s novels includes three timeless classics. Sense and Sensibility: Torn between reason and passion, obligation and impulse, two sisters search for love in eighteenth-century England. Mansfield Park: A shy young woman of modest means is sent to live with her wealthy relatives—and discovers her true power—in this poignant love story. Emma: This enchanting romantic comedy stars one of literature’s most delightful heroines, meddling matchmaker Emma Woodhouse.




BUSINESS Essential


Book Description

The abridged, updated edition of international bestseller BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource. This essential guide to the world of work and careers is crammed with top-quality content from the world's leading business writers and practitioners. Now in a handy paperback format, it is ideal for time-pressed managers, small business owners and students alike. A free eBook will be available for purchasers of the print edition. This book includes: Actionlists: more than 200 practical solutions to everyday business and career challenges, from revitalising your CV to managing during difficult times. Management library: time-saving digests of more than 70 of the best and most influential business books of all time, from The Art of War to The Tipping Point. We've read them so you don't have to. Best Practice articles: a selection of essays from top business thinkers. Business Dictionary: jargon-free definitions of thousands of business terms and concepts. Gurus: explanations of the lives, careers, and key theories of the world's leading business thinkers




Return to Essentials


Book Description

This volume contains the text of the three Cook Lectures, which review various current doubts and queries concerning the writing of reasonably unbiased history.




All In


Book Description

To have any hope of succeeding as a manager, you need to get your people all in. Whether you manage the smallest of teams or a multi-continent organization, you are the owner of a work culture—congratulations—and few things will have a bigger impact on your performance than getting your people to buy into your ideas and your cause and to believe what they do matters. Bestselling authors of The Carrot Principle and The Orange Revolution, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton return to answer the most overlooked leadership questions of our day: Why are some managers able to get their employees to commit wholeheartedly to their culture and give that extra push that leads to outstanding results? And how can managers at any level build and sustain a profitable, vibrant work-group culture of their own? These leading workplace experts teamed up with research giant Towers Watson to analyze an unprecedented 300,000-person study, and they made a groundbreaking finding: managers of the highest-performing work groups create a “culture of belief.” In these distinctive workplaces, people believe in their leaders and in the company’s vision, values, and goals. Employees are not only engaged but also enabled and energized (termed the three Es), which leads to astonishing results—average annual revenues three times higher than for organizations lacking such a positive culture. And this was true during a period that included this most recent recession. Based on their extensive consulting experience and in-depth interviews with leaders and employees at exceptional companies such as American Express, Cigna, Avis Budget, Pepsi Bottling, and Hard Rock, the authors present a simple seven-step road map for creating a culture of belief: define a burning platform; create a customer focus; develop agility; share everything; partner with your talent; root for each other; and establish clear accountability. Delving into specific how-tos for each step, they share eye-opening stories of exceptional leaders in action, vividly depicting just how these powerful methods can be implemented by any manager. All In draws on cutting-edge psychology and all of the creative genius that have made Gostick and Elton a must-read for leaders worldwide. This vital resource will empower managers everywhere to inspire a new level of commitment and performance.




Essential Leadership


Book Description

What if what is often taught about leadership today is wrong? With today’s mass amount of information in books, blogs, social media, and videos, many people are calling leadership many things – and much of what they say about leadership is false. Essential Leadership is about clarifying what leadership is, what it is not, and what it takes to be a great leader. This book will help you lead well, whether you are an executive, a CEO, a manager, a small business owner, a boss, or even if you don’t have a position but just want to learn how to lead. Essential Leadership dives into: - The basics of what leadership is, its purpose, and the difference between leadership and management - The right mentality to have as a leader (and the common ones that you should avoid) - The misconceptions many have about leadership (and the truths you need to know) - The truth about leadership styles that many miss - Why your preferences and strengths don’t matter as much as you think they might - How to communicate effectively so that you build greater trust and get greater results - How to show appreciation and give feedback effectively - The importance of culture and the building blocks of building a great one - What it really takes to motivate your employees - How to hire and fire well - How leaders mess up decision-making, and how to do it well - How to run effective meetings - How to deal with mistakes the right way - The habits and traps that will hurt you as a leader - How many get delegation wrong and how to do it right - Why charisma isn’t needed for leadership - Why consensus is not your friend - Where bureaucracy comes from and what to do instead - And more In Essential Leadership, Thomas weaves his experiences as a leader and a follower with insights pulled from many great authors and speakers including Jocko Willink, Simon Sinek, Michael Abrashoff, David Marquet, Jim Collins, Julie Zhou, Adam Grant, John Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni, Alex Hormozi, Kim Scott, Charles Duhigg, Kevin Kruse, Jim McCormick, Daniel Pink, General Stanley McChrystal, Brené Brown, Ray Dalio, and more. If you want to know the truth about leadership and what it really takes to be a great leader, or if you want to help your team and managers learn to lead well, make sure to get this book ASAP.




Elton John


Book Description

A beautifully produced celebration of the iconic and beloved rock star, Elton John features live onstage and candid offstage photography, an entertaining history, and timeline. Few rock artists continue to gather more and more adulation with age than Sir Elton Hercules John. In this re-release of Elton John at 75 (2022), veteran rock journalist Gillian Gaar provides a unique examination of Elton’s life and career through the lens of 75 career accomplishments and life events—from his first steps as a solo artist to the breakthrough album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road to his flamboyant stage presence, and beyond. Key studio albums are featured, of course, as are a curated selection of his earworm singles. But Gaar delves deeper to reveal the events that helped chart the course of Elton’s career: Key performances such as his breakthrough performance at LA’s Troubadour, and the historic Soviet Union and Dodger Stadium concerts Legendary collaborations with the likes of Dua LIpa, Billy Joel, and Kate Bush His many film and television roles, including Tommy and The Muppet Show Tireless work on behalf of AIDS research Notable awards and honors, including knighthood And of course his collaboration with longtime cowriter Bernie Taupin Every page is illustrated with stunning photography, including gig posters and more. The result is a fitting tribute to one of the most admired stars in rock.