From one of the most trusted names in continuing education - the knowledge you need to unlock "the most abstract and sublime of all the arts." Whether you're listening in a concert hall or on your iPod, concert music has the power to move you. The right knowledge can deepen the ability of this music to edify, enlighten, and stir the soul. In "How to Listen to Great Music," Professor Robert Greenberg, a composer and music historian, presents a comprehensive, accessible guide to how music has mirrored Western history, that will tran... read more

Close to the Edge tells the stories of a global generation that came of age with hip hop. Part memoir, part social history, the book relates the author's experiences as she traverses the hop hop globe, from Australia to Detroit and from Havana to Caracas. The book explores the elements of hip hop culture - rapping, beat making, b-boying, d-jaying, and graffiti - around the world. Close to the Edge narrates a search for solidarities across borders, a document of the diverse histories, misunderstandings and fissures that hip hop enge... read more

After training as a teacher, Pete Postlethwaite started his acting career at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre where his colleagues included Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Antony Sher and Julie Walters. After routine early appearances in small parts for television programmes such as The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the acclaimed British film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He then received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Name of the Father in 1993. His performance as the mysterious l... read more

This extraordinary best-selling book had its genesis in a series of concerts first staged in 2004. Over four nights Paul Kelly performed, in alphabetical order, 100 of his songs from the previous three decades. In between songs he told stories about them, and from those little tales grew How to Make Gravy , a memoir like no other. Each of its hundred chapters, also in alphabetical order by song title, consists of lyrics followed by a story, the nature of the latter taking its cue from the former. Some pieces are confessional, some ... read more

Powerfully written by controversial author-broadcaster Ross Fitzgerald and comedy writer Rick Murphy, Austen Tayshus: Merchant of Menace is a no-holds-barred biography of Australia's edgiest comedian; a man rightly regarded as the nation's most dangerous and subversive performer. Austen Tayshus is the creation of Sandy Gutman, a shy, intelligent, highly cultured and observant son of Judaism; an actor and award-winning filmmaker, strict vegetarian and father. He retains a loyal following within the arts community and his fans includ... read more

From the remote outback to the world stage, the far from ordinary life so far of one of Australia's most talented and beloved singer-songwriters. Raised on the Nullarbor by her Seventh Day Adventist parents - her father hunted foxes for a living - young Kasey Chambers and her brother, Nash, would sometimes go for months without encountering another human being. Then, as part of the Chambers family group the Dead Ringer Band perform in rough-and-tumble outback pubs and sleep under the stars, in swags, by the side of the highway, pla... read more

In "She Always Knew How," her wonderful new biography of legendary actress Mae West, acclaimed biographer Charlotte Chandler draws on a series of interviews she conducted with the star just months before her death in 1980. From their first meeting, where West held out a diamond-covered hand in greeting and lamented her interviewer's lack of jewels, to their farewell, where the star was still gamely offering advice on how to attract men, Mae West and Charlotte Chandler developed a warm rapport that glows on every page of this biogra... read more

Drawing on George Harrison's personal archive of photographs, letters, diaries, and memorabilia, Olivia Harrison reveals the arc of his life, from his guitar-obsessed boyhood in Liverpool, to the astonishment of the Beatles years, to his days as an independent musician and bohemian squire. Here too is the record of Harrison's lifelong commitment to Indian music, and his adventures as a movie producer, Travelling Wilbury, and Formula One racing fan. This book is filled with stories and reminiscences from Harrison's friends, includin... read more

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This spectacular celebration of the ephemera and performance costumes worn by The Supremes, one of the most successful groups of the sixties, traces their career from the early days when they were known as The Primettes to the glamorous height of their fame in the 70s. Only the Beatles had more number one hits than The Supremes and their success story helped change racial perceptions during the time of the American Civil Rights movement. A magnificent collection of dresses worn by Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard for li... read more

This special edition slipcased package contains Paul Kelly's much-anticipated memoir How To Make Gravy along with the companion A-Z Recordings box set, which includes eight CDs of new live recordings of the songs that form the book's chapters, stripped back to their essentials as mesmerising solo or duo performances.

"Take it Easy." "Lyin' Eyes." "One of these Nights." "Hotel California." These songs are among the most memorable ever written and they all came from one amazing band: the Eagles. This gorgeous volume traces the history of the group from the late 1960s through to the present. Capturing the albums, the tours, the fights, the triumphs, the awards and the remarkable freezing over of hell (otherwise known as their 1994 reunion tour), "The Eagles" offers a truly unique look at how the group exported the Southern California lifestyle to ... read more

With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics and the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the original rock and roll life: taking the chances he wanted, speaking his mind, and making it all work in a way that no one before him had ever done. Now, at last, the man himself tells us the story of life in the crossfire hurricane. And what a life. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records as a child in post-war Kent. Learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger an... read more

The living embodiment of The Beatles and a musical juggernaut without parallel, Paul McCartney is undoubtedly the patriarch of pop. In this authoritative biography, acclaimed author and journalist Howard Sounes creates the most accurate and extensive profile of McCartney ever built, leaving no stone unturned, and no shadow unexplored. He is the torch-bearer of the Beatles -- the greatest band in pop -- and one of the most closely studied stars in show business. But surprises and secrets still linger in the life of Sir Paul McCartn... read more

With a recording career spanning five decades and a rep as one of the greatest guitarists to ever tread the planet, Eric Clapton looms large among music fans and musicians. Here at last is the first complete illustrated history of Clapton's career, from the Yardbirds in the early 1960s, up to the present. A chronological text covers all of Clapton's associated acts as well as his collaborations with artists like George Harrison, John Lennon, Frank Zappa, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, and more. Details of his personal life that have informe... read more

Lady Gaga is the only artist in history to have her first 5 singles hit number 1 on the Billboard Top 40 and it happened in less than a year. She began performing as part of the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side and quickly rose to fame after being discovered in 2007. Both her music and her over the top fashion sense is inspired by glam rock musicians such as David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, as well as pop artists such as Madonna and Michael Jackson. This book encompasses Lady Gaga's history and phenomenal rise to... read more

The Beatles' incomparable fashion sense takes centre stage in this unique look at how the world's most popular band influenced the fashion of the times.

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Pink Floyd's THE WALL is one of the most iconic and imaginative albums in the history of rock music, endlessly discussed and dissected. It is loosely based on the life and experiences of Roger Waters and the stage performances and film were created in close collaboration with Gerald Scarfe. Scarfe and Waters worked together on the new version of the stage show. Gerald retains all the imagery and from this massive archive the book includes hundreds of photographs of the creation, staging and filming of The Wall as well as the live s... read more

This is the first and only edition to be developed by and for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the world's leading Shakespeare theatre company. It is illustrated with photographs of performances chosen by RSC Directors. It is beautifully packaged, with clear, reader-friendly single-column page design on crisp white paper. It features outstanding on-page notes which explain words and phrases unfamiliar to a modern audience, including the slang, political references and bawdy humour often ignored or censored in competing editions. It i... read more