The Half That's Never Been Told


Book Description

A passionate memoir and fearless behind-the-scenes look at the personal lives of the biggest reggae stars in the world.




The Half That's Never Been Told: The Real-Life Reggae Adventures of Doctor Dread


Book Description

"Impassioned and engaging." --Booklist "A heartfelt tribute to Caribbean roots music and those who keep it alive." --Kirkus Reviews "In 1972, Gary Himelfarb...heard reggae music for the first time and fell in love. He embraced the music...with a passion that he matched with a genuine curiosity about Jamaican culture and sincere friendships with musicians there....There is a sweetness and sincerity to the best parts of the book....Dread's serious case of 'reggaemylitis' gave him some remarkable experiences." --Publishers Weekly "The book is a tale of business, family, ethics, health, and survival...an entertaining read." --Washington City Paper "A gem...Real music heads will truly enjoy this book....For anyone who is a fan of Reggae music, this book is a must-have." --Baltimore Times "A nice read...hilarious and spellbinding." --Caribbean Life "Doctor Dread may just prove to be as gripping a storyteller as he was a record producer. In this revelatory vignette-filled offering, he bends the rules with an unorthodox literary style, unveiling a torrent of chronicles that are spontaneous, colorful, richly authentic and brazen. This is a unique work on many levels. Doctor Dread does offer new and intimate insights into the legends of Jamaican culture....Highly recommended." --Jamaica Gleaner "Full of heart and soul as well as photos from many of the author's greatest moments, it is a must for anybody interested in reggae music and its cast of characters or the music business in general." --Reggaeville "This book should be on the shelf of any serious lover of reggae...Not only is Himelfarb a great storyteller...he is also a talented writer." --FDRMX "An inside perspective of the reggae music phenomenon...[Dread] explains how his decision to form the RAS label came at a tragic but important moment in music history, as the death of Bob Marley in 1981 led to a market eager for the earthy sounds of reggae. Dread also relates fine portrayals of legends like Philip 'Fatis' Burrell, the many Marleys, Freddie McGregor, and Bunny Wailer." --Insights "This easily readable memoir does far more than chart the label's ebbs and flows....Delightfully candid and brutally honest, this is a must-read for all reggae fans." --MOJO Magazine (UK) "Hugely compelling page-turner....a no-nonsense tome that gives intimate portraits of Jamaican music's most colorful characters, and sheds light on the individual world view of Doctor Dread, with many 'twilight zone' incidents, lots of confliction, and a good deal of redemption too....Recommended reading for all reggae fans." --Riddim Magazine (Germany) "Absolutely not to be missed!" --HotMC (Italy) With an introduction by Bunny Wailer. Doctor Dread has committed his life to producing reggae music and releasing it on his label, RAS Records. He has become one of the world's foremost reggae producers, and has worked with almost all the genre's icons: Bunny Wailer, Black Uhuru, Ziggy and Damian Marley, Gregory Isaacs, etc. This book, full of behind-the-scenes stories, has shocking chapters that will reveal aspects of reggae never before explored.




Dust & Grooves


Book Description

A photographic look into the world of vinyl record collectors—including Questlove—in the most intimate of environments—their record rooms. Compelling photographic essays from photographer Eilon Paz are paired with in-depth and insightful interviews to illustrate what motivates these collectors to keep digging for more records. The reader gets an up close and personal look at a variety of well-known vinyl champions, including Gilles Peterson and King Britt, as well as a glimpse into the collections of known and unknown DJs, producers, record dealers, and everyday enthusiasts. Driven by his love for vinyl records, Paz takes us on a five-year journey unearthing the very soul of the vinyl community.




A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again


Book Description

These widely acclaimed essays from the author of Infinite Jest -- on television, tennis, cruise ships, and more -- established David Foster Wallace as one of the preeminent essayists of his generation. In this exuberantly praised book -- a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner -- David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted readers of his fiction, including the bestselling Infinite Jest.




How to Be Idle


Book Description

Yearning for a life of leisure? In 24 chapters representing each hour of a typical working day, this book will coax out the loafer in even the most diligent and schedule-obsessed worker. From the founding editor of the celebrated magazine about the freedom and fine art of doing nothing, The Idler, comes not simply a book, but an antidote to our work-obsessed culture. In How to Be Idle, Hodgkinson presents his learned yet whimsical argument for a new, universal standard of living: being happy doing nothing. He covers a whole spectrum of issues affecting the modern idler—sleep, work, pleasure, relationships—bemoaning the cultural skepticism of idleness while reflecting on the writing of such famous apologists for it as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Johnson, and Nietzsche—all of whom have admitted to doing their very best work in bed. It’s a well-known fact that Europeans spend fewer hours at work a week than Americans. So it’s only befitting that one of them—the very clever, extremely engaging, and quite hilarious Tom Hodgkinson—should have the wittiest and most useful insights into the fun and nature of being idle. Following on the quirky, call-to-arms heels of the bestselling Eat, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss, How to Be Idle rallies us to an equally just and no less worthy cause: reclaiming our right to be idle.




La Finca


Book Description

At age forty, Parker surrendered to her Swept Away meets Swiss Family Robinson fantasy of running an inn far from her home in the Pacific Northwest. For the next twenty-plus years Parker ran La Finca Caribe, an eco-lodge in Vieques, Puerto Rico. What started as a rough-and-tumble dream grew into a paradise enjoyed by guests from around the world. Sketchbook in hand, Parker chronicled her daily adventures living with the land. La Finca is a lively graphic memoir about a woman creating a new life amid countless challenges, including hurricanes that led her to reconsider everything. It is a story about trusting oneself, self-discovery, accepting disappointment and loss, and falling in love with a place.




Overthrow


Book Description

An award-winning author tells the stories of the audacious American politicians, military commanders, and business executives who took it upon themselves to depose monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers of other countries with disastrous long-term consequences.




Bob Marley


Book Description

A journalist’s access to the music icon gives this account an “authenticity that sets the book apart from other biographies about the man and the legend” (Steve Richards, The Independent). The man who introduced reggae to a worldwide audience, Bob Marley was a hero figure in the classic, mythological sense. From humble beginnings, with talent and religious belief his only weapons, the Jamaican recording artist applied himself with unstinting perseverance to spreading his prophetic musical message across the globe. In 1980, on tour, Bob Marley and the Wailers played to the largest audiences a musical act had ever experienced in Europe. Less than a year later, Marley would die, only thirty-six years old. Sales of Marley’s albums before his death were spectacular; in the years since he died, they have been phenomenal. Chris Salewicz interviewed Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1979. Now, for the first time, in this thorough, detailed account of Marley’s life and the world in which he grew up and which he came to dominate, Salewicz brings to life not only the Rastafari religion and the musical scene in Jamaica, but also the spirit of the man himself. Interviews with dozens of people who knew Marley and have never spoken before are woven through the narrative as Salewicz seeks to explain why Marley has become such an enigmatic and heroic figure, loved by millions all over the world. “As gritty, entertaining, and starry-eyed as Marley himself.” —Publishers Weekly “The definitive account of the man and the myth.” —Steve Richards, The Independent “[Salewicz] invades and illuminates Marley’s privacy more effectively than previous biographers.” —Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times (London)




How to Change Your Mind


Book Description

Now on Netflix as a 4-part documentary series! “Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and New York Times Notable Book A brilliant and brave investigation into the medical and scientific revolution taking place around psychedelic drugs--and the spellbinding story of his own life-changing psychedelic experiences When Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book. But upon discovering how these remarkable substances are improving the lives not only of the mentally ill but also of healthy people coming to grips with the challenges of everyday life, he decided to explore the landscape of the mind in the first person as well as the third. Thus began a singular adventure into various altered states of consciousness, along with a dive deep into both the latest brain science and the thriving underground community of psychedelic therapists. Pollan sifts the historical record to separate the truth about these mysterious drugs from the myths that have surrounded them since the 1960s, when a handful of psychedelic evangelists inadvertently catalyzed a powerful backlash against what was then a promising field of research. A unique and elegant blend of science, memoir, travel writing, history, and medicine, How to Change Your Mind is a triumph of participatory journalism. By turns dazzling and edifying, it is the gripping account of a journey to an exciting and unexpected new frontier in our understanding of the mind, the self, and our place in the world. The true subject of Pollan's "mental travelogue" is not just psychedelic drugs but also the eternal puzzle of human consciousness and how, in a world that offers us both suffering and joy, we can do our best to be fully present and find meaning in our lives.




Deal


Book Description

A ground-breaking rock and roll memoir by one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead