Archive for Author 'Bill Wolf', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Allen Klein

by Fred Goodman

Fred Goodman offers an account of the business end of Rock. For fans of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, he opens a window into the back rooms, the money rooms, of the music industry. The central figure, Allen Klein, is drawn fairly and in depth.

Columbia Noir, A Complete Filmography 1940–1962

by Gene Blottner

Film Noir fan? Gene Blottner offers a thoroughly researched reference book that will keep you up at night. Reams of information, great illustrations, all given by a man happily obsessed with this classic genre of filmdom.

45 RPM, A Visual History of the Seven-Inch Record

by Spencer Drate, editor

The fact that this compendium is published by the august Princeton Architectural Press alone shows that this is a far more elevated subject than one would think. Downloaders and cloud dwellers just don’t realize what they’re missing!

Yoko Ono, One Woman Show, 1960–1971

For many, Yoko Ono is merely John Lennon’s widow. But before she even knew about The Beatles, she was an artist in her own right. For decades, her standing in the art world has been on the fringe—until now: MoMA gave her her own show.

The Rum Diary, The Long Lost Novel

by Hunter S. Thompson

Thompson is best known for his Gonzo-Journalism—fame for his Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has not yet abated. But in his first novel, published decades after it was first written, we find something different, even a drop of tenderness. For those wary of his hyper-stylization but curious concerning the author, this would be a good introduction into Thompson’s worldview.

Son of a Beach Boy

by Scott Wilson with Karen Leslie Powell

Many still care deeply about Dennis Wilson, cofounder of The Beach Boys. Although this book doesn’t deny Wilson’s hedonistic behavior, it tells of the—often unconventional—devotion and affection he bestowed upon his stepson Scott. But the book, like its hero, has serious problems.

Dead Man’s Curve

by Berry, Christian, Kornfeld, Wilson

“The last thing I remember Doc, I started to swerve…”

Teenage tragedies, car songs, Jan Berry, Dean Torrence and Brian Wilson. 1964 was a heady time, and here at Speedreaders we miss nothing.

Audubon

by Constance Mayfield Rourke

At her alma mater, Vassar, this author pioneered the scholarly study of American culture. From P.T. Barnum to Davy Crockett to the vast subject of American Humor, her insightful observations haven fallen somewhat off the radar these days after years of being a de rigeur part of anthologies.

The Little Bastards

by Jim Lindsay

Blue collar boys yearning for the fast lane. Trading their bicycles for hot rods they experience beer, women, racing, male bonding, and assorted drama. A fictional story—but you know people who lived just that story.

The Medium is the Massage, An Inventory of Effects

by Marshall McLuhan & Quentin Fiore

A blast from the future past! What did the twenty-first century look like back in 1967? McLuhan’s classic book is no easier to read now than it was then even though some of his future is already our everyday present.

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin

A book cover with scalloped edges? Nope, this is . . . a postage stamp! Nothing escapes our attention, especially if it’s well designed and of some cultural import. So there.

The Story of Music, From Babylon to The Beatles

by Howard Goodall

Humans communicate—music is communication. But it’s also much more than that. Some 40,000+ years of musical ideas, forms, and trends in the Western world are discussed here to make sense of it all.

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