Archive for Items Categorized 'Biography', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Norbert Singer – My Racing Life with Porsche 1970–2004

by Norbert Singer & Wilfried Müller

He almost became a rocket scientist. He almost went to Opel instead of Porsche. His very first assignment helped win Le Mans at a crucial time. No looking back now—his entire career was spent at Porsche, which would go on to win 16 overall race victories with cars in which he played a key role.

Racer

by John Andretti & Jade Gurss

You wouldn’t know from just the book title that this story does not have a good ending, at least not in the conventional sense. Good will surely come from reading it and one would like to think that good came to the man who had the courage to write it.

The International Harvester Company

by Chaim M. Rosenberg

And you thought farm equipment is boring…! Well, it may be, to some, but this book isn’t about the machinery but the machinations of the people at the helm of one of America’s biggest firms.

A Grand Complication

by Stacy Perman

This gripping social commentary and fine character study pins two men against each other who yearn to add the most complicated watch ever to their collections.

Take Five, the Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond

by Doug Ramsey

A serious, thoughtful biography of a jazz saxophonist by a jazz critic and musician who knew his subject personally. This spells real insight, and, in fact, this book ought to be a model to all biographers.

Sticky Fingers

by Joe Hagan

At the best of times, Rolling Stone magazine was, and once more is, so much more than merely a chronicle of the music industry or popular culture. It showcased heavy-hitting political reporting and writers who would become literary luminaries. This masterful biography offers a look behind the curtain.

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.

Thelonious Monk

by Robin D.G. Kelly

Being an “original” usually comes at a price. Lauded by some, dismissed by others, misunderstood by most. Monk, dissonant in his music and his life, stayed true to his vision; this book explains how.

Under Their Thumb

by Bill German

The author must be one of the few teens who knows exactly what he wants to do when he grows up. His elders (betters?) discouraged him; he stuck with it anyway—and so became a Stones insider.

Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown’s First Superstar

by Peter Benjaminson

Each in its own way, the rapid rise and the long fall are emblematic of the life of the superstar who flies too close to the sun. The “Queen of Motown” lived only 49 years but helped define a new sound.

Eric Gill: Autobiography

Introduction by Fiona MacCarthy

You’ve seen a Land Rover? A Rolls-Royce? Ever wondered about the crisp lettering of the logos? Wonder no more—Eric Gill’s your man.