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Josephine Baker
by Jose-louis Bocquet
Entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker, who fled America to fame in Europe, remains one of the 20th century’s most fascinating figures, and this biography aims to capture why in encyclopedic detail. No era of her life is unexamined: we begin with her meager start in St. Louis and end with her death in 1975.
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Ultra-distance cycling: An expert guide to endurance cycling
by Simon Jobson
Ultra-distance events are among some of the greatest challenges a cyclist can face, with riders spending hundreds of miles in the saddle over a 24-hour period, battling the elements and overcoming both physical and mental hardships. The first mainstream book to offer practical, authoritative guidance to cyclists looking to step-up to long-distance endurance events, as well as expert advice to established competitors seeking a competitive advantage.
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Men of Style
by Josh Sims
A style guide with heft. Men of Style profiles the best-dressed men of recent centuries: from actors to statesman, playboys to painters, the iconic and the more unexpected.
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My lovely wife in the psych ward: A memoir
by Mark Lukach
A memoir of a young marriage that is defined by mental illness describes how the author's wife suffered mysterious psychotic breaks on either side of having a child, examining how the challenges of mental illness raise profound questions about love and responsibility.
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The cake and the rain
by Jimmy Webb
A superstar songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, Jimmy Webb shares his path to the high life. The son of an Oklahoma preacher, Webb arrived in L.A. a teetotaler (which didn't last long), and ended up being the youngest inductee into the National Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Frank and sometimes gossipy, this memoir drops names left and right, making it an excellent choice not only for Webb's many fans but for those interested in the machinery of music-making in the '60s.
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Unstoppable: My life so far
by Maria Sharapova
The five-time Grand Slam winner presents the remarkable story of how her father relocated her at the age of 7 from their native Russia to America to develop her tennis talents before she embarked on a record-setting career shaped by astonishing competitions, her provocative beliefs and her recent fight to return to the court.
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Jaguar: The iconic models that define the marque
by Colin Salter
Jaguar is a beautifully photographed guide to the best Jaguar sports and saloon cars stretching back to the pre-war roadster, the SS100. Featuring specially commissioned photography, the book is arranged in chronological order, starting with Sir William Lyons' nascent marque of the 1930s. It was only after the war when the work of aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer created the beautiful curves of the XK120 that the company became a world beater.
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Agatha Christie on screen
by Mark Aldridge
A comprehensive exploration of 90 years of film and television adaptations of the world’s best-selling novelist’s work. Drawing on extensive archival material, it offers new information regarding both the well-known and forgotten screen adaptations of Agatha Christie’s stories, including unmade and rare adaptations, some of which have been unseen for more than half a century.
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| Shirley Jackson: A rather haunted life by Ruth FranklinDrawing on new interviews and newly discovered correspondence, this comprehensive biography of the author of the chilling short story "The Lottery" (and the classic ghost story The Haunting of Hill House) sheds light on the rest of Shirley Jackson's life and work. Placing Jackson's literary suspense squarely in line with the American Gothic work of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe, author Ruth Franklin also points to her varied oeuvre as indicative of a time in which women had limited options. Insightful and engaging, this biography has won several awards, including a Bram Stoker Award, an Edgar Allan Poe Award, and a National Book Critics Circle Award. |
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| The lady and her monsters: A tale of dissections, real-life Dr. Frankensteins and the creation of Mary Shelley's masterpiece by Roseanne MontilloWhen Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818, the idea that the dead could be revived was taken seriously by natural philosophers, but it was thanks to her husband, poet Percy Shelley, that Mary became intrigued by the idea of immortality. Together, they belonged to an artistic and intellectual set that often went beyond the fringes of social acceptability, occasionally mixing scientific innovation with literary creation to explain the unexplainable. The Lady and her Monsters paints a fascinating portrait of Mary Shelley and her writing in this volatile social and scientific context, bringing to life the origins of her immortal novel -- now a classic horror story. |
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How to survive a horror movie: All the skills to dodge the kills
by Seth Grahame-Smith
Teaches readers how to cope with every kind of horror movie obstacle, from ax-wielding psychopaths to haunted Japanese VHS tapes, and is full of illustrated instructions on avoiding ghosts, serial killers, haunted cars, murderous pets, telekinetic prom queens, and countless other hazards.
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| Something in the blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker, the man who wrote Dracula by David J SkalIn Something in the Blood, author David Skal minutely examines all there is to know about Bram Stoker, creator of vampire legend Dracula. Making use of his own extensive research, previously published materials on Stoker, and detailed descriptions of Dracula productions through the years, Skal discusses Victorian beliefs and anxieties about sexuality and disease, as well as Stoker's connections to Oscar Wilde. An "enthralling work of biography" (Kirkus Reviews), enhanced with illustrations, Something in the Blood is sure to appeal to aficionados of Victoriana in addition to Stoker's own enduring fandom. |
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| Shock value: How a few eccentric outsiders gave us nightmares, conquered Hollywood and invented modern horror by Jason ZinomanRosemary's Baby. The Exorcist. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Carrie. These are just some of the films made between 1968 and 1976 that redefined the horror movie genre. And thanks to writers and directors like Wes Craven and George Romero, horror movies moved to mainstream theatres and are now a billion-dollar industry. In addition to explaining how (and why) these films were made, theatre critic, reporter, and horror-film fan Jason Zinoman explores how they gained popularity and what their creators went on to achieve. He also includes shot-by-shot descriptions of several films, which fans and newcomers alike will surely appreciate. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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