History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shocked the Nation

Average customer rating:

After nearly five decades, enlightenment at last
Anatomy of a Train Wreck
A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The American Dream or the American Nightmare...
Information Overload

Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shocked the Nation
Elizabeth Jacoway
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

A Life Is More Than a Moment: The Desegregation of Little Rock's Central High
Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign
Ike's Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality
The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir
There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights, 1945-1975 (Vintage)

ASIN: 0743297199

Book Description

In September 1957, the nation was transfixed by nine black students attempting to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in the wake of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision. Governor Orval Faubus had defied the city's integration plan by calling out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from entering the school. Newspapers across the nation ran front-page photographs of whites, both students and parents, screaming epithets at the quiet, well-dressed black children. President Eisenhower reluctantly deployed troops from the 101st Air-borne, both outside and inside the school.

Integration proceeded, but the turmoil of Little Rock had only just begun. Public schools were soon shut down for a full year. Black students endured outrageous provocation by white classmates. Governor Faubus's popularity skyrocketed, while the landmark case Cooper v. Aaron worked its way to the Supreme Court and eventually paved the way for the integration of the south.

Betsy Jacoway was a Little Rock student just two years younger than the youngest of the Little Rock Nine. Her "Uncle Virgil" was Superintendent of Schools Virgil Blossom. Congressman Brooks Hays was an old family friend, and her "Uncle Dick" was Richard Butler, the lawyer who argued Cooper v. Aaron before the Supreme Court. Yet, at the time, she was cocooned away from the controversy in a protective shell that was typical for white southern "good girls." Only in graduate school did she begin to question the foundations of her native world, and her own distance from the controversy.

Turn Away Thy Son is the product of thirty years of digging behind the conventional account of the crisis, interviewing whites and blacks, officials and students, activists and ordinary citizens. A tour de force of history and memory, it is also a brilliant, multifaceted mirror to hold up to America today. She knows what happened to the brave black students once they got inside the doors of the school. She knows how the whites' fear of "race mixing" drove many locals to extremes of anger, paranoia, and even violence. She knows that Orval Faubus was only a reluctant segregationist, and that her own cousin's timid tokenism precipitated the crisis.

Above all, Turn Away Thy Son shows in vivid detail why school desegregation was the hottest of hot-button issues in the Jim Crow south. In the deepest recesses of the southern psyche, Jacoway encounters the fear of giving black men sexual access to white women. The truth about Little Rock differs in many ways from the caricature that emerged in the press and in many histories -- but those differences pale in comparison to the fundamental driving force behind the story. Turn Away Thy Son is a riveting, heartbreaking, eye-opening book.

Customer Reviews:

After nearly five decades, enlightenment at last.......2007-07-31

I attended Little Rock Central High School as a sophomore in the 1957-58 school year, and during the intervening five decades I have often attempted to make sense of the bewildering events that occurred at my school then and that gained such massive international attention. After all of these years, a talented and meticulous historian has finally created the definitive history of this crucial episode in recent American life. Drawing upon her exhaustive research of the primary documents and by conducting a huge number of interviews with most of the principal participants in the Central High crisis, Elizabeth Jacoway has written the book that should achieve recognition as the single work requiring citation whenever a future historian undertakes a serious examination of the integration of Central High. In this volume readers will encounter the naivete, bumbling ineptitude, treachery, malevolence, sporadic acts of grace and heroism, or misguided policies and decisions of so many of the major community, state, and national leaders and officials of the 1950's. Congratulations to Professor Jacoway for possessing the dedication, courage, and persistence necessary to produce this seminal work of history.

Charles Chappell
Professor of English
Hendrix College
Conway, Arkansas

Anatomy of a Train Wreck.......2007-07-19

This wonderful piece of scholarship is not in keeping with our time. Today, we are asked to look to crack-pot talking heads on television who are experts-on-nothing with opinions on everything, and who think every issue can be reduced to an eight-second sound bite, plus three more seconds for the personal insult. This incredible work is nothing like that. Dr. Jacoway approaches the subject matter like the trained historian that she is: fairly, dispassionately, and factually. Her uncle is a key player, and even he gets no pass. This is the story of a train wreck - the Little Rock desegregation crisis. The characters are huge. There is Harry Ashmore, editor of the editorial page of the Arkansas Gazette, who was always the darling of Little Rock's goat cheese liberals, but who in fact was self-important, self-congratulatory, and self-absorbed. When he wasn't editorializing, he was giving speeches to Democratic Party groups, conduct which would be considered appalling by what little passes as journalistic standards today. There is Virgil Blossom, school superintendent (and the author's uncle) who comes across as a nervous and manic Mr. Whipple of please-don't-squeeze-the-Charmin fame. There is Congressman Brooks Hays, trying very hard to be the peace maker between Faubus and Eisenhower, but who in fact was unsuccessful in doing so, and accordingly, had to resort to making it up as he went along. There is the Establishment, school board members and attorneys, all claiming to be doing the right thing, but some of whom had noses so high in the air they would drown in a drizzle. There is Jim Johnson, a lieutenant of Gerald L.K. Smith, and an unreconstructed racist who, along with his wife, had more in common with Juan and Eva Peron than main-stream white middle class Americana. There is U.S. District Judge John Miller whose ex parte communications with the school district attorneys would get him in serious ethical trouble by today's standards. And then, there is Orval Eugene Faubus. I have often characterized Faubus as the Darth Vadar of Southern politics. This book brings that image home in a more authentic way than I had ever imagined. It reinforces the point made by Roy Reed in his magnificent biography, that Faubus's journey to the dark side was uncomplicated and breathtakingly political. Without pointing fingers, the author reports that Faubus accused Blossom and others of "double-crossing" him in publicly down-playing the facts and circumstances of the "crisis" and the extent of potential violence, thereby failing to give Faubus cover. Whether as a consequence of their public views or whether it was strictly retaliatory to gain political advantage (my personal view), or whether for some other reason, the author does not say. To do so would be an attempt to read the mind of a mastermind of politics. But,the author reports that the next thing that happened, quite literally, was Faubus's calling out the National Guard. The rest, as they say, is history. But not quite. Eisenhower sent in the 101 Airborne Division, the Little Rock Nine were escorted into the front door of Central High, and the rest is history. Well, not quite. A year later, the schools didn't open at all. Faubus was elected to a third term in a campaign uncharacteristically filled with race hatred. I say uncharacteristic because in '54 and '56, he had run as the liberal populist reformer, accused by his opponent of being a communist, with Ashmore as his chief water carrier and speech writer. Ashmore took a leave of absence from the Gazette to serve as Adlai Stevenson's spinmeister in '56. Faubus headed the Arkansas delegation to the convention, and would not deliver Arkansas's support to Stevenson on the first ballot. Ashmore remained bitter toward Faubus for years after that, and the author invites speculation, but does not opine herself, that the resentment may have been the reason for the "Ashmore-Gazette" version of events at Central High.
This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the history of the American civil rights movement. As a liberal Democrat, I had difficulty with some of the material - not because I didn't think the material was true, but because I knew in my heart and mind that it was true. But there is nothing here for the conservative, either. Those who want to go back to a time when "everybody was good" and American values were "held high" should read this book. Segregation, racial discrimination, bigotry, and hatred are not American values. There are no conservative heroes, and very few liberal heroes (Daisy Bates, Elizabeth Eckford, Wiley Branton). In the aftermath of this train wreck, bodies are strewn up and down the track. It's very bloody. History is that way sometimes.

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY.......2007-03-30

I am impressed with the depth of research, and I think Ms. Jacoway writes rather well. Given the extensive research, this book COULD HAVE have stood as the definitive study of the Little Rock Central High School episode. (Several other books on the crisis were written by the key figures themselves, and thus are not detached overviews of the episode. Also, Roy Reed's superb book on Faubus, since it is a biography, does not deal with Central High in as much detail as this book does.) I say "could have" because Ms. Jacoway allows her personal feelings about her uncle, Virgil Blossom, and about Governor Faubus to lead her to paint a distorted picture. Superintendent Blossom certainly had his faults, which the book identifies and then greatly overemphasizes. As for Faubus, it is absurd to argue, as the author does, that betrayal by Blossom and others left him with no choice but to defy the federal courts. This is revisionist history and a fatal flaw in the book. There are other omissions and misunderstandings, but those could be forgiven were it not for the fatal flaw. An example: The author misunderstands the role of Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Walker. Since he was the ranking Army officer in Arkansas (he was in charge of Army Reserve units in the state), protocol dictated that he be the nominal commander of the 101st Airborne units sent to Little Rock. But he was purely a front man, not a decision-maker as the book suggests. Although the end of the book follows other key figures through the years after the Central High crisis, it amazingly fails to note the irony that ex-Gen. Walker helped lead the charge against federal marshals during the desegregation of Ole Miss in 1962.

The American Dream or the American Nightmare..........2007-03-11

Even in politically-charged 2007, what Elizabeth Jacoway has written is an honest, behind-the-scenes look at one of the darkest periods of American history. This is a must read book, especially for African Americans, because it shows us why we should be steadfastly embracing educational and economic opportunities before us and not browbeating each other. Racism, segregation, etc., has left segments of our society forever scarred. "Turn Away Thy Son" is the American history that you won't get from a public school history book.

Information Overload.......2007-02-23

I was born shortly after the attempt to intergrate Central High School by using the Little Rock nine. The nine black students faced a firestorm that was years in the making. Elizabeth Jacoway has impressive family connections to many of the movers and shakers in the integration struggle. Many of us recognize the iconic photo of a dignified young black woman walking seemilnly alone, surrounded by white faces, the face of a young white woman behind her contorted with scorn. Jacoway peels away layer after layer of the actions and attitudes on all sides of the integration battle and lays it out for the reader to absorb, and encourages them to draw their own conclusion. There is also the little remembered episode of the closing of all the city's schools the following year when authorities said they couldn't (or wouldn't) keep the peace. The school administration has very few shining moments in this book.The heros were the black students, some teachers, Daisy Bates, parents and countless citizens who stepped out from the crowd to lend support, comfort and safety. In many cases,local women were not only trying to keep their children in school,keep their children safe, they are also the forces that nudged the general populace into doing the right thing. There are also examples of others who sought the spotlight to continue to threaten and bully their peers into keeping the status quo. I often wondered while reading this, what became of Sammie Dean Parker, is she still a bully? I went to school a decade later in a school system in the south that was still struggling with integration. I was more than familiar with the dynamics. I found Jacoway was more than familiar with the dynamics and uses all the information available, as well as the information gleened from family and political connections. That is where the book struggles. There is too much detail. Some parts of the saga simply fall away in the effort to stick to a liniar storyline. I closed the book feeling as if I had focused so much on the details that I had somehow lost sight of the overall picture.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath

Average customer rating:

I'm simply astonished
Not a literary masterpiece... but we are dealing with Sabbath here.
as comprehensive as it gets
Very Informative / Very Poorly Edited
Nothing New Here I'm affraid!

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath
Garry Sharpe-Young
Manufacturer: Zonda Books Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History
Off The Rails
How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew
The Dio Years
Heaven & Hell: Live from Radio City Music Hall

ASIN: 0958268428

Book Description

For over a full decade Black Sabbath had dominated Heavy Metal. As much as Led Zeppelin scorned the term Black Sabbath embraced it. In an age of bona fide supergroups Sabbath were unquestionably the heaviest thing stalking the planet and quite remarkably had remained a solid unit where others around them suffered ongoing membership fall outs and line-up reincarnations. Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward had weathered internal storms just as ferocious as every other band out on the circuit but had remained resolute. They had conquered the globe, sold close to 50 million albums and without concession had not pulled back one iota from delivering absolute, pure Heavy Metal. In 1977 the unthinkable happened. Ozzy Osbourne decamped. He would be lured back for one last album 'Never Say Die' before flying solo, rapidly building a band unit that would equal the repute of the mother-ship. Between 1979 and 1997 Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne were pitched against each other in a titanic struggle unprecedented in Rock n' Roll. Both stars would employ the very finest players of the genre in the conflict and produce some of the finest Heavy Metal of the generation in the process. Tony Iommi, the man who without question invented Heavy Metal, fronted up Sabbath with vocal legends such as Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin against Ozzy's awesome arsenal of guitar innovators Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde. Both Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne reinvented their bands time and time again. The huge array of elite players that travelled through the ranks is now a constant source of fascination and rumours for Sabbath fanatics. 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath' reforges the author's two previous landmark tomes 'Ozzy Osbourne: The Story of the Ozzy Osbourne band' & 'Black Sabbath: Never Say Die!' along with additional material into this one definitive Metal milestone. Complete with over 140 images, many never seen before, and unique interviews, including with the late Ray Gillen and Cozy Powell as well as the highly controversial figure of Jeff Fenholt and mysterious Dave Donato, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the definitive account of those years (1979 to 1997) before the reunion. Exclusive interview content with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Cozy Powell, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls, Rob Halford, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, Carmine Appice, Tommy Aldridge, Neil Murray, Dave Spitz, Eric Singer, David Donato, Jeff Fenholt, Bobby Rondinelli, Rudy Sarzo, Phil Soussan, Randy Castillo, Bernie Torme, Brad Gillis, Jo Burt, Pete Way, Dana Strum, Terry Chimes, Lita Ford, Steve Vai, Don Airey, Lindsey Bridgewater, Terry Nails and many, many more. Additional details: 8 page discography appendix detailing 264 career albums and singles from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Bill Ward, Geezer and Tony Iommi; plus 7 page index with 694 entries. Product Dimensions: 8.25 x 11.0 inches (210 x 279 mm). Weight: approximately 1.6 lbs (0.75 kg).

Customer Reviews:

I'm simply astonished.......2007-09-17

I'm simply astonished by the sheer amount pf information contained in this book. Dont'get it wrong: this is a HUGE book, with A4 paper format, more than three hundred pages with two columns in each one. But, if you're into Black Sabbath and Ozzy, you will read it really fast.

The books gives detailed information about almost everything. It has good taste without relaying in useless gossip. This was one of most gratifying readings I've had in years. Highly recommended!

Not a literary masterpiece... but we are dealing with Sabbath here........2007-05-27

If you're looking for a comprehensive account of the comings and goings of singers and drummers during the 80's and 90's, this book is very interesting. It's extremely detailed. Much of the information seems to come from Geoff Nichols, the unheralded keyboardist (unheralded to the point where he was off the stage half the time) who was with Sabbath for more years than anyone but Tony and Geezer.

As a piece of writing, this is not the best. It tends to read like a very long high school term paper. There is little concept of flow and readability. Every incident is given equal weight no matter how important or how insignificant. It seems like the author literally took every bit of information at his disposal and put it here, leaving some situations underappreciated and some boringly overdeveloped.

As stated before, the editing and production are also pretty abysmal. I'm not trying to be overcritical here but, let's face it, this is something they want us to pay for. If this information was something I came across on a free website I would be a little more forgiving.

That being said, if you're going to buy this book you are, more likely than not, a big fan. You'll find something here to justify the purchase. Just don't expect to sit next to the fire with this one sipping chardonnay and eating bon bons to achieve literary orgasm. It's not gonna happen.

as comprehensive as it gets.......2007-02-07

Everything you wanted to know about the history of Black Sabbath..and then some.The only criticism i have is that maybe it details just a little too deeply,but a good read and i learnt some things i didn't know before.

Very Informative / Very Poorly Edited.......2007-01-16

An excellent read for the most devoted of Sabbath fans. However, this is by far the worst editing I've ever seen of any publication in my entire life! Blatant mispellings & poor grammar abound.

Nothing New Here I'm affraid! .......2006-12-24

There is nothing new here in this book that has not already been said! Why does the author find that he needs to rehash what he has already written in two previous excellent publications, and submit it as a new title?
Dissapointed reader..

Blue Monday: Fats Domino And the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll

Average customer rating:

We waited...and finally saw...
Stunning research and compelling writing about one of the first great rock stars
IT'S ABOUT TIME FATS GOT HIS DUE
The Fat Man From New Orleans
The complete Fats Domino story.

Blue Monday: Fats Domino And the Lost Dawn of Rock 'n' Roll
Rick Coleman
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

The first ever biography of New Orleans rock 'n' roll legend Fats Domino by a writer who obtained exclusive access to the reclusive singer

Rock 'n' roll defined the last half of the twentieth century, and while many think of Elvis Presley as the genre's driving force, the truth is that Fats Domino, whose records have sold more than 100 million copies, was the first to put it on the map with such hits as "Ain't That a Shame" and "Blueberry Hill."

In Blue Monday, acclaimed R&B scholar Rick Coleman draws on a multitude of new interviews with Fats Domino and many other early musical legends (among them Lloyd Price, the Clovers, Charles Brown, and members of Buddy Holly's group, the Crickets) to create a definitive biography of not just an extraordinary man but also a unique time and place: New Orleans at the birth of rock 'n' roll. Coleman's groundbreaking research makes for an immense cultural biography, the first to thoroughly explore the black roots of rock 'n' roll and its impact on civil rights in America.

A true music lovers' biography, Blue Monday, includes new revelations about the politics behind the music labels of the 1930s and 1940s, and provides a searing indictment of the great white myths of rock 'n' roll. Coleman also brings the African-American culture of New Orleans to life, and his narrative is passionate, compassionate, and authoritative. Blue Monday is the first biography to convey the full scope of Fats Domino's impact on the popular music of the twentieth century.

Customer Reviews:

We waited...and finally saw..........2007-06-14

I guess if Antoine "Fats" Domino could keep the President and First Lady waiting, then he could keep us waiting for his first biography - this is a Natural Born book about a musical genius, intriquing personality, and unassuming cultural revolutionary.
The author tells his story and includes many entertaining anecdotes about life at home and on the road with several sets of support players - the greatest names of course being Dave Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty, and Lee Allen. We get a strong picture of the smiling, "safe" rock and roller, as the often defiant man's-man. And a complex artist/showman: he could sing The Rooster Song while flashing rings to make Freddie Blassie envious.
A great bunch of previously unpublished black and white photographs from Look magazine, among other handsome prints of lesser known shots really bolster the text.
A serious ommission for the audiophiles: not even a selected discography and no sessionography. [Though there are "Notes" in the back of the book on the mysterious Broadmoor recordings, including personnale and dates!]. Of course the '50s period sessions can be found as a booklet in the Bear Family 8-CD set, and in a European book, "Jazz Records"; also in a fairly recent issue of Goldmine magazine. But Fats Domino ABC-Paramount, Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise FD session data has never, to my knowledge, appeared in print, and what a fabulous component that would have made.
Speaking of the ABC-Paramount tracks, the author did not mention in the text a very important 4-CD set, "The Paramount Years", which included the *incredibly* rare fourth l.p. for that label, plus the 1980 "If I Get Rich" from another record company!
The idea that "The Fat Man" is the first R & R record also doesn't agree with me. Yes, the elements are there, the upbeat shuffle and bright lead vocal, but that powerful sound (and many others by Fats in that '49 to '54 period) were not *primarily* for the youth. The first discs to be produced for teenage tastes came much later. I wouldn't even include "Tutti Frutti" in that category, as it too, lyrically and instrumentally echoed an earlier, "swingin'" sound. [It was "Ready Teddy" folks which screamed out...Rock and Roll!!!].
Still, this book should be "required reading" for those dedicated followers of those Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Stunning research and compelling writing about one of the first great rock stars.......2007-06-07

From his first record in 1949 until his harrowing escape from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Antoine "Fats" Domino has defined New Orleans and its culture. This book puts Fats, his city, and his music into perspective in amazing detail. In the process, Rick Coleman convincingly demonstrates that Fats and his collaborators--especially songwriter/arranger Dave Bartholomew and producer Cosimo Matassa--have as solid a claim as Elvis, Carl, and Jerry Lee with Sam Phillips in Memphis or Wolf, Muddy, and Chuck with the Chess brothers in Chicago as the prime architects of rock 'n' roll. The product of more than 20 years of exhaustive research, this is, surprisingly, the first biography of one of the greatest early rock stars. Coleman had his work cut out for him; Fats is notoriously reclusive. Nevertheless, you come away from this book admiring Fats's talent and drive, and Coleman's exhaustive research and evocative writing. All the other great Louisiana rockers are here--the bayou wild men, backwoods musical savants, and forgotten honkers, shouters, string-benders, and drum-thumpers who helped create the Crescent City sound. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to understand the real, complete history of rock 'n' roll instead of the revisionist pap that passes for such. -Mark Hoffman, co-author of "Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf"

IT'S ABOUT TIME FATS GOT HIS DUE.......2007-03-13

Rick Coleman's new book "Blue Monday" is the first full biography of Fats Domino. Many interesting things are therein.
- Fats was the first black rock & roll star. His records made the pop charts before r&r's dawn in 1955.
- Kids did not buy albums in the 50s, but Fats' albums sold, meaning he had an adult following like Louis Armstrong's.
- Fats concerts were often scenes of teenage riots. He may be known for `Blueberry Hill,' but his fierce rolling piano ignited his audience.
- "Blueberry Hill" was the product of a botched session. Engineer Bunny Robyn edited together the best parts of several incomplete takes and simply repeated the chorus.
- The string-laden "Walkin' To New Orleans" was a big breakthrough which traditionalists lamented. But it hit R&B (#2) even higher than pop (#6).
- Roy Brown once ditched a plan to have Fats open for him on tour. Fats never forgot it, and refused to have Brown open shows for him when the tables were turned.

Of the Big Five (EP, FD, CB, JLL, LR), Fats is the least lionized because he was not a "rebel." Historians normally embrace only people with bold lifestyles.

The Fat Man From New Orleans.......2007-02-16

Boy ol Boy, Rick Coleman has written a great book on the TRUE story of Rock & Roll! I know as I was there and if you want to know what it was really like to be on the scene when true rock & roll was called race music on a juke box, Boogie Woogie and the down home blues was taking over the country then get this book and turn others on to it also. No one person was more responsible for the birth of R&R and R&B than the Fat Man! This was long before Elvis, Haley and the hand full of others came on the bandwagon. [...]

The complete Fats Domino story........2007-02-16

This book is so well documented! Rick Coleman did high quality research before writing this wonderful book about the most swinging rock 'n roller of them all.

Innocent When You Dream: The Tom Waits Reader

Average customer rating:

Keeping Track of Articles.
a must for tom waits fans.
Step Right Up and have a chat with the man himself.
Multiple perspectives on Waits
If Tom's Work Intrigues You....

Innocent When You Dream: The Tom Waits Reader

Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Orphans [Fold-out Digipak with 24-page booklet]
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ASIN: 1560256672

Book Description

Over the past three decades, Tom Waits has achieved the kind of top-shelf cult status most artists only dream about. In his varied career, he has acted alongside Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Lily Tomlin; his songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Sarah McLachlan, the Eagles, and the Ramones; he’s won two Grammys, a Golden Globe, and been nominated for an Oscar; he’s coined unforgettable phrases like “better a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy” and “champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends”; and he’s made anyone who’s ever listened to his music just that much cooler.

Here is Tom Waits in all his mischievous splendor. From a New Yorker “Talk of the Town” in 1976 to an interview by Terry Gilliam in 1999; from album reviews by Luc Sante and David Fricke to conversations with Elvis Costello and Roberto Benigni; from a recent profile in GQ to “20 Questions” in Playboy and reviews of Waits’s acclaimed new album, Real Gone, this is the must-have book for every fan of the artist Beck has described as a “luminary,” and for music fans everywhere.

Customer Reviews:

Keeping Track of Articles........2007-08-15

If you're a fan of an artist, it's difficult, time-consuming and expensive to keep track of all the interviews and articles written about your favourite artist. Fans of Tom Waits can rest assured - the most interesting articles and interviews are collected in this book, in chronological order, with a foreword by Frank Black of the Pixies.
Reading all these interviews and articles consecutively, you get a taste of the elusive Tom Waits - sometimes truthful, often wickedly confabulating and evading queries, but always amusing.
A must for Tom Waits' fans.

a must for tom waits fans........2007-02-10

this is a thoroughly enjoyable book consisting of all things tom waits: interviews, reviews, articles, and such. mr waits comments on his approach to songwriting were the most consistently interesting aspect of the book for me and should be of great interest (for freshness of/and or off-kilter approach to song building) to all aspiring songsters. lacking a biography or autobiography, the world, for now, will have to make do with this well done book for an insight into this amazing artist.

Step Right Up and have a chat with the man himself........2007-01-16

Excellent book. This book is a collection of interviews, show reviews and magazine and newspaper articles spanning Waits's career. Most of the interviews are from the perspective of the average reporter who has no way of getting at the center of the Waits Tutsie Roll Pop ("How many licks does it take to get to the center?") and that provides an interesting perspective in that the reader gets to see how Waits chooses to portray himself. However, some of the interviews are done by close friends, like Elvis Costello and Jim Jarmusch ("Down by Law" and "Night on Earth"), and the reader gets a glimpse of maybe who the true Waits is. It's a great contrast even if it wasn't intended to be the focus of the collection.
Another captivating aspect of the book is that the reader is provided details about all the unique methods Waits uses to make his music. For example, on "The Earth Died Screaming", sound effects are made by having people bang sticks and 2x4s on the pavement of the studio parking lot.
A must have for any Waits fan!
And it's nearly 400 pages long!!

Multiple perspectives on Waits.......2006-06-03

In the absence of an autobiography, this collection of 38 interviews and profiles is essential for the Tom Waits fan. It opens with a foreword by Frank Black and an introduction by Mac Montandon.

Part One: Early Years, contains the following amongst many others: The 1974 press release for Heart Of Saturday Night by Waits himself; A short interview with Clark Peterson of Creem magazine from 1978 titled The Slime Who Came In From The Cold; from 1976, there is an article from Sweet & Sour, a long Zig Zag interview and a New Yorker article.

The 1977 Rolling Stone piece by David McGee is very informative and from 1979 there is a short Washington Post article. This section also contains a poem by Charles Bukowski with a short introduction noting that it captures the entire Waitsian world.

In Part Two: The Middle Years, I found the following to be the most compelling: Peter Sabbag's in-depth 1987 article from the Los Angeles Times Magazine, a long formal question and answer interview by Glen O'Brien in a 1985 Spin magazine, 20 Questions from a 1988 Playboy and another question and answer interview from 1989 with Elvis Costello in Option.

Part Three: These Days, offers inter alia the following informative pieces: A 1999 Billboard review of Mule Variations and a short 1999 live review by Jon Pareles from the New York Times. From the same year there is a short review by Luc Sante in The Village Voice and an engaging conversational piece by David Fricke in Rolling Stone. There is also a short question and answer session from a 2004 Vanity Fair.

This section concludes with Nirvana, a 1992 poem by Charles Bukowski. It was included because in an interview with Soma magazine in 2002, Waits referred to this as his favorite poem. The book concludes with a Discography and a Timeline from Waits' birth on 7th December 1949 to the release of his 2004 album Real Gone. The book documents his entire career and is perhaps better than any biography as it contain so many perspectives from so many different writers.

If Tom's Work Intrigues You...........2006-03-16

Tom Waits is enigmatic and flies under the commercial music radar. His work is interesting and deals with a part of life few people really care to discover. It's cool to read anything about Tom and try to discover what makes him tick. He's a human-interest story. The thing I think is weird about the book is that it seems most of the authors adopt a writing style imitative of Wait's work. It makes the authors seem pretentious and unauthentically(word?) bohemian. It is interesting reading because of the subject matter.

Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye

Average customer rating:

Worse than a root canal
Congrats to Prof. Michael Dyson
For the musicologist or sociologist, but not the rest of us
Disappointment
The Man and His Music: A Critical Analysis

Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye
Michael Eric Dyson
Manufacturer: Basic Civitas Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

African-American & Black | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye, My Brother
I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On and the Last Days of the Motown Sound
Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur

ASIN: 0465017703
Release Date: 2005-01-18

Book Description

From the critically acclaimed, best-selling author of Holler if You Hear Me, a fresh reassessment of the remarkable life, art, struggles, and death of an American icon.

Twenty years after his murder at the hands of his own father, Marvin Gaye continues to define the hopes and shattered dreams of the Motown generation. A performer whose career spanned the history of rhythm and blues, from doo-wop to the sultriest of soul music, Gaye's artistry magnified the contradictions that defined America's coming of age in the tumultuous 1970s. In his most searching and ambitious work to date, acclaimed critic Michael Eric Dyson illuminates both Marvin Gaye's stellar achievements and stunning personal decline--and offers an unparalleled assessment of the cultural and political legacy of R&B on American culture.

Through interviews with those close to Gaye--from his musical beginnings in a black church in Washington, D.C., to his days as a "ladies' man" in Motown's stable of young singers, from the artistic heights of the landmark album What's Going On? to his struggles with addiction and domestic violence--Dyson draws an indelible portrait of the tensions that shaped contemporary urban America: economic adversity, the drug industry, racism, and the long legacy of hardship.

Published to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of Gaye's death in 1984, and infused with the soulful prose that has become Michael Eric Dyson's trademark, Mercy, Mercy Me is at once a celebration of an American icon whose work continues to inspire, and a revelatory and incisive look at how a lost generation's moods, music, and moral vision continue to resonate today.

Customer Reviews:

Worse than a root canal.......2005-05-16

I thought the Publishers Weekly review was pretty accurate. This book read like a textbook. Maybe that is because Dyson is a college humanities professor. I could only get half way through before as Popeye said That's all I can stands, I can stands no more. Now I understand why I was able to purchase this book for 84 cents.

Congrats to Prof. Michael Dyson.......2005-01-25

Michael Dyson is such a great author and activist. He really knows the ups and downs of Marvin Gaye's life. Oh that's such a blessing I think every Marvin Gaye fan should get this just b/c they wanna learn more 'bout this man. 2 me he's one of my idols I grew up 'cuz he's such an inspiration. This book tells it all from his days of sex, drugs, violence, threats between his dad, how he got involved in the resurrection of life and death and the coming side of R. Kelly's admirer of Gaye. You see Marvin never say "Give up on what u got". No he saids "Take it lightly and slowly when u dead and gone". That's why we need to check ourselves everyday to the fullest until we live this normal or martyred life. I haven't bought the book yet but I'll may go it ASAP once it's still here. This is such an interesting story from the man who did the lifetimes of Tupac Shakur, black women, black people, the culture of our nation and black music and now. Definitely recommend along w/ Mase's memoir and Miles' memoir.

For the musicologist or sociologist, but not the rest of us.......2005-01-21

Dyson has written a fascinating analysis of the life and career of the late Marvin Gaye, a book that will appeal even to readers who don't know Gaye's music all that well. That having been said, this is a weighty tome, which touches on the religious, cultural and social influences of the black community and how they shaped the singer.

For example, in examining the effect of childhood abuse on Gaye, Dyson traces the problem of domestic violence in the black family to slavery. While this is an interesting discussion, it sways quite a bit from the book's star. Some readers will find these diversions tedious.

Because Gaye's relationship with Motown founder Berry Gordy is discussed at length, anyone who has studied the studio and its music will find something of interest here. References to the black church and family will ensure this book's place in programs of African-American study. Finally, the last chapter is in large part about present-day soul star R. Kelly. Dyson's discussion of how both men merged concepts of spirituality and sexuality within their music is interesting. In short, this book is a real find for a musicologist or sociologist, but it's not a biography "for the rest of us."

Disappointment.......2004-10-22

The reason I didn't care for this book may partially be my fault--I did not realize it was an essay instead of a biography. But the rest of the reason is on this author--this book was pretty much fact-based, reasons for songs were thrown out sporadically, Tammy Terrell's name was all over the place but the beatings were danced around (and one speaker even plugged her own book--why is that even in there?) and the author went on a history lesson through Motown with other artists. The organization was terrible, there was no set subject pattern, and it was a dry read. I ended up just skimming the book after page 20.
And as big a fan as I am of R. Kelly, I did NOT want to read about HIM in a book with Marvin Gaye on the cover. It's like the author forgot who he was writing about through half the book; he starts talking about the Supremes, Gordy, R. Kelly, James Brown; stick to the man on the cover!

The Man and His Music: A Critical Analysis.......2004-08-09

Michael Eric Dyson is known for his critical analysis of such public African American figures as Martin Luther King and Tupac Shakur. He has also delighted his fans with an ode to black women in Why I Love Black Women. In this body of work, Mercy Mercy Me, he explores the arts loves and demons of Marvin Gaye, one of the greatest singers of all time. This however, is not a biography in the traditional sense of how biographies are usually constructed. While accounts of Gaye's life from birth to death are chronicled, this writing is more of an analysis of the life of a man who essentially plotted his own death. When Gaye's father pulled the trigger in April 1984, twenty years ago, ironically the gun was the one he gave his father for protection.

Marvin Gaye was a genius, born to a fanatically religious father who ruled his home and family as a dictator. He was cruel, issuing beatings for the smallest infraction to both his wife and children. While the others buckled under the heat, Marvin, the most talented, rebelled and received the lion's share of punishment. He both loved and reviled his father, who was sexually deviated, yet proclaimed to be holier than thou. Marvin was a victim of his total upbringing, a loving, beaten down-trodden mother who coddled him and a sadistic father, who withheld his love. We learn of the psychological and emotional background of his Pentecostal father, Rev. Marvin P. Gaye and of what really went on behind the scenes.

Marvin loved women; he married Berry Gordy's sister, Anna, but it was a troubled marriage complicated by their age differences and her inability to have children. Yet, a son was produced--- that was Marvin's child-- sanctioned by the Gordys who had their own code of conduct for living that did not adhere to society's acceptable rules. In Gaye, we see a tortured soul as we learn how religion, sex and race intersected and became as one in his music and his life. There were women and more women. There was Tammy Terrell and depending on whom you talk to they were lovers or they were brother and sister. Also, there was a second wife, Janice.

The album that brought Marvin Gaye into mainstream American, What's Going On, was at first rejected by Berry Gordy as too radical but it was not to be denied. With the war in Viet Nam, the civil rights and free love movements, this album spoke volumes about the world in which we lived and that Marvin embraced. His music was his life and his life was music. Through careful text, Dyson takes us through a journey of how each album came to be. Here My Dear, Trouble Man, Let's Get it On were works of labor from a genius who was in a constant state of emotional turmoil

If you are looking for a straight biography of Gaye and his life from birth to death, this is not the text. There are several biographies on the market and Dyson highly recommends a few. At times the writing was dense with scholarly criticism and clinical terminology. However, it is offset by revealing commentaries such as an excellent chapter on the comparison and contrast of Marvin Gaye and R. Kelley which this reviewer found fascinating. The similarities are surprising and alarming and quite revealing when looking into the black family and community. Additionally, critical review of African Americans' attitudes on slavery and how black women are viewed in the black community is forthright, stunning and at times shameful. This manuscript will be long remembered and studied as a tool for looking into the life of a man who was an enigma even to himself. As always, Dyson delivers in his own style.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub
Marcus Book Club (Oakland)

Metal: The Definitive Guide: Heavy * Thrash * Death * Black * Gothic * Doom * Power * Progressive

Average customer rating:

The Best "Metal Only" book out there.
Great organiziation of the different Genre, very complete
greatest most accurate metal guide yet!
An A-Z of key artists
Extensive sampling of "true" metal

Metal: The Definitive Guide: Heavy * Thrash * Death * Black * Gothic * Doom * Power * Progressive
Garry Sharpe-Young
Manufacturer: Jawbone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties
Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal
Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History
The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time
Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture

ASIN: 1906002010

Book Description

This is a comprehensive, illustrated book about one of the most enduringly popular forms of music. Combining biography, critical analysis, and detailed reference sections, it profiles all the major heavy metal artists as well as a huge selection of other niche acts from around the world. Metal: The Definitive Guide includes new firsthand interviews with many major metal musicians and detailed discographies. The definitive metal encyclopedia, with 300+ illustrations including artist photos and memorabilia such as posters, ticket stubs, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

The Best "Metal Only" book out there........2007-09-20

I recently bought this book back in August and am stillreading it, its thatgood. First of all, this book only deals with "True Metal" bands only. There are no NuMetal, Grunge, hair,etc.What you get is different genres of Metal. American Thrash, British Thrash, Death, Black, Doom/Gothic, Power, American Heavy Metal, Swedish Heavy Metal, Japanese Metal, NWOBHM, NWOAHM, Brazilian Metal, etc. Band histories and discography are very well done. No longer will you have to buy individual Metal books. Its allhere. In fact, flipping through theAmerican Thrash section, I discovered several Canadian Thrash bands that totally shred. Ended up buying several of their cd's. Garry Sharpe Young has put together the best book on Metal out there for the True Metal fan. If you're a Metal Maniac, buy this now, trust me.

Great organiziation of the different Genre, very complete.......2007-08-22

My favorite still is the Encyclopedia of Metal as a generic guide, but when I saw this one come out this year, I picked up a copy, and it was well worth it. Not only is it also a complete guide, it divides the bands into Genres of metal, that way you can pick up the book, look at the contents and get organized alphabetical answers in each Genre. And all the big bands are included. Again, a great book to have for the Metal head. Check this one out.

greatest most accurate metal guide yet!.......2007-07-29

This is the best metal book ever assembled. This and the "Encyclopedia Of Heavy Metal" are the greatest metal books. nuff said everything that is metal is this book!

An A-Z of key artists.......2007-06-18

Fans of heavy metal who enjoy reading and learning about the genre will find appealing METAL: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE. It blends biography, history, critical analysis and a fine reference section to profile all the major heavy metal artists along with related niche acts around the world, and includes a interviews with many major heavy metal musicians, discographies, and more. It's packed into a survey which also features the sub-genres of heavy metal - goth, black, etc. - in an A-Z of key artists. Any lending collection strong in general-interest, contemporary music must have this.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Extensive sampling of "true" metal.......2007-05-19

This book does an excellent job of including biographies and listed discographies of many representative bands in metal separated by categories such as style of music (like Power Metal), geography (like South American Metal), combinations of these (like UK Trash) and a few others (like 70s Metal and Innovative Bands). So you will see a collection of bands from Black Sabbath to Lordi, from Metallica to Cirith Ungol, from Japanese Ezo to Italian Rhapsody (of Fire), from legends to obscure road warriors.

What you won't be seeing, though, are some controversial genres. I'm talking about Hair Metal, Grunge, Nu Metal and bands that the author perhaps thought were split between Hard Rock and Metal (the aforementioned 70s Metal category is rather short, but the bands there are very crucial to Metal's history). So there is no Motley Crue, no Nirvana, no Korn and no Deep Purple, for example. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since a book focusing in band biographies could be three times the size of this one and still leave out interesting bands. So, all the bands in this book are inarguably metal and reading this book can get you to know what kind of bands are (or were) out there.

However, the thing I expected a little more from this book was a general focus on the music itself, not only the story of the band. Yes, you will know what kind of sound is the trademark of every band (usually at the beginning of the entry) and if a band changed the face of metal in big or subtle ways that comes across in the text as well. But the entries can't have the same length (bands like Infernal Majesty never had the long career of Black Sabbath) and often I want to read more about which albums by Trouble are the classics, not what happened to them between albums or which bands they toured with.

Bottom line, this book is a great read (some cool photos as well) but if you want to expand your knowledge of the bands AND their music, pair this book with the ones by Martin Popoff's, most of which have excellent reviews of whole discographies, and even of individual songs.

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History

Average customer rating:

He rested on the Sabbath
Probably the best Sabbath book available, very complete.
Complete Sabbath History in Detail
Great book.
Great Book.

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History
Martin Popoff
Manufacturer: Ecw Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath
How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew
Off The Rails
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties
Heaven & Hell: Live from Radio City Music Hall

ASIN: 1550227319

Book Description

Containing much rare and previously unpublished material culled from Popoff’s interviews over the last decade with all the principal members of the band, Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose is an exhaustive song-by-song, album-by-album trek through the Sabs’ 37-year history. Numerous one-on-one conversations with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill, as well as ten interviews with Ronnie James Dio, and additional interviews with supporting musicians such as Tony Martin, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, and Neil Murray, make this full-colour retrospective a must for any fan.

The drugs, drink, depression, and doom surrounding this band from the start have imbued songs like “The Wizard,” “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” “War Pigs,” “Children of the Grave” and “Heaven and Hell” with an almost supernatural importance among lovers of dark music. In the wider realm, full albums such as Master of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, and Heaven and Hell show up with regularity on lists of greatest records of all time. Doom Let Loose explains how such classics came to be. It also deals with their tour history, documenting the places rocked, the bands who supported the Sabs, and most notably the trials and tribulations of the band and they tried to hold it together in the Satan-obsessed, drug-addled America of the Nixon era. Look for all manner of Sabbath photos and artefacts that make this examination of heavy metals fearsome foursome as feast for the eyes as well as the enquiring mind.

Customer Reviews:

He rested on the Sabbath .......2007-09-18

This comprehensive coffee-table book is a perfect gift for the die-hard Black Sabbath fan. Loaded with band-member photos, interviews and graphics in a chronological progression, it's easy to open to any page and find yourself engaged with the narrative. I gave this to a friend who claims he hasn't read a book in years, and he was really excited to get it.

Probably the best Sabbath book available, very complete........2007-08-22

I have looked at some of the other Sabbath Books, and this one caught my eye. I can say it is probably the most thourough history of sabbath in one book. I was expecting a few more photos, but the history still is killer. It has all of the good stuff, from ozzy leaving, to dio's first comeback and second leaving, and ozzy's return. The history does seem complete from what I gather, including all of the details in transition with the band's line-up over the later years. The picture are nice as well, although I was thinking there would be a few more, it's still good. A must have book for Sabbath fans. Check this one out.

Complete Sabbath History in Detail.......2007-07-24

Martin Popoff knows his hard rock and heavy metal and this book is excellent. He goes into detail about every lp ever released and goes into depth about the songwriting at the time the songs were written. Tony Iommi's riffs are legendary and so are the details about the history of Black Sabbath in this book. This is a must read for any Black Sabbath or hard rock fan, it has everything, from Ozzy to Tony Martin from Dio to The late Ray Gillian to the legendary Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillian.
This book is the best Black Sabbath book out there bar none and Martin Popoff did a wonderful job. Buy this book.

Great book........2007-05-20

This is a great book of the Sabbath legacy. From humble beginnings to the god fathers of metal and when I saw that I mean all members....Iommi, Geezer, Bill, OZ, DIO, Gillan, Martin, Appice. If you want a very cool book, lots of great concert photos and great info and this amazing band this is for you.

Great Book........2007-05-12

This is a great book from the pen of Martin Popoff, His unique style and content flow from cover to cover.
Having read all available books on the Subject Black Sabbath, I do have to say that I really enjoyed this one.

That said, I would go further to say that there are some excellent books available on the subject matter, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; by Gary Sharpe-Young.

Also; I hasten to add, the excellent Road-crew memoirs 'How Black Was Our Sabbath; An unauthorised view from the crew' really sticks out (5 stars from me).

Average customer rating:

a CLASSIC must-read
Love, Drugs and Redemption
Smokin'!
Pat's Opinion
A True Must

Smokey: Inside My Life
Smokey Robinson
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

a CLASSIC must-read.......2005-07-19

Smokey Robinson is truly one of the most-gifted talented singers-songwriters, producers, writers, arrangers, composers, etc. ever been 'round in the music game since we grew up in the likes of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Satchmo, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Patti Labelle, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, etc. which we talked about alot in the world and creativity of music. Yet David Ritz is such a Fantastic music writer and critic (as MisterMaxx said in 2000) who talks about the lives, trials and temptations of various artists (i.e. Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, Etta James, etc.) incl. songwriters, producers, movie and TV stars, etc. He's truly one of my heroes and also my all-time favorite. I luv him to death. I dig him on permanent basis or else on frequent basis I mean. He maybe the sounds of world's famous authors out there who are ill and real underrated y'know that discusses what's going on between the music scene, the movie scene, politics, religion, education, etc. If u luv David Ritz, I recommend u'll luv some good I mean best well-known authors or book writers like Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, Kevin Powell, Mark Anthony Neal, Nelson George, Marc Eliot, Leonard Feather, Gene Lees, Gary Giddins, etc.

Ok back 2 what I said on the memoir by Smokey (whose real name is William Robinson) is b/c this book is very interesting and mostly good 2 read. He truly is the baddest man in the music world since Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, among others. It deals w/ his past as a music star, dealing w/ family problems incl. his mom leaving him behind at an earlier age, how did he created and formed the group SM & the Miracles, when did he met & worked w/ Berry Gordy, the founder and creator of Hitsville Records now known today as Motown, how he got addicted 2 drugs and soon gave his life up to the Lord and so on and on. He did had a gospel album put out last yr. so hopefully sooner or later I'll cop it. I 'member 1 time I wasn't into 'cuz that's not the gospel side of Smokey IMO, so I changed my mind 'bout that to see it's still good or not.

Books I recommend are:

1) Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye
2) Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story (get the '04 edition that incls. the final days of Bro. Ray written by author David Ritz himself)
3) The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman
4) Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
5) Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard
6) Emerging Church and Emerging Worship all by Dan Kimball
7) How to Make Friends and Influence People and How to Start Worrying and Start Living all by Dale Carniege
8) Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley (One of my fav. authors to date!)
9) The 7 Habits of Very Effective People by Stephen Covey
10) On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

There sum more I may add a lil bit later on. So enjoy the bk.

Love, Drugs and Redemption.......2005-01-30

Smokey has been such a major influence in R&B, and is such a prolific songwriter, that I don't see how you can not find his life interesting. I love his music, and liked the book. It's as though he recovered from drug addiction and was washing himself clean by spilling his guts. It covers the influence of his family upbringing in Detroit; his rise to fame; the MOTOWN years; love and loss. You feel close to this man after you read his story. He's not perfect but he has a whole lot of soul.

This book only takes you up to 1987...and it's 2005. Since he released an inspirational gospel lp- Food for the Spirit- in 2004 one can only assume the faith healing had a major impact. The writing is fast and breezy, an easy read. I'd buy it if I were you.

Smokin'!.......2004-07-10

Just returned from seeing Smokey in concert tonight. He is an awesome performer you should see if you get the chance! This book lets you see inside this man's mind as his music lets you see inside his heart.

Pat's Opinion.......2000-04-07

Smokey Robinson is not afraid to honestly and frankly outline the events that have transpired in his life. One has to appreciate the clarity and detail he uses in expressing the downfall of his marriage and his drift into drug use. Clearly a movie should be in the making.

A True Must.......2000-04-03

David Ritz is a Fantastic writer period and he does a Wonderful job with Smokey.now Smokey Robinson is one of The Greatest Artists ever.He has Written songs that are Timeless&are Musical Treasures.this Book is Very to the Point about the Highs&Lows of The Life.also Motown The Beautiful History of a Black Owned&Operated Label that was The Soundtrack for Many Peoples Lives.this is a Must Read.Also About Him&Berry Gordy which is History unto itself.A Great Overview not only on a Musical Genius&Legend but also a Very Together Brother.A Brother who Overcame alot and is still Bad to this day.

Petroleum Geology of the Devonian & Mississippian Black Shale of Eastern North America

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Petroleum Geology of the Devonian & Mississippian Black Shale of Eastern North America

Manufacturer: Diane Pub.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Product Description

This area is unique because of its geologic characteristics & economic potential. This report is the results of a continuing shale characterization study to evaluate the shale's gas potential & to enhance its gas production. 14 chapters cover: development history, detailed documentation, clay mineralogy relative to thermal history, basin analyses, petrographic character & reservoir quality, hydrocarbon potential & source rock assessment, etc. An estimate of the in-place natural gas resource is also presented. 13 plates in separate case.

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