"From a beloved comedy critic, a wisecracking, heartfelt, and overdue chronicle of comedy's boom-and its magic"--

Celebrate the merriest season of the year with award-winning author and music journalist Annie Zaleski's collection of the most popular and beloved holiday songs of all time.

"In a publishing partnership with True West Magazine, Henry C. Parke brings together previously published content as well as some new material in a single package for True West readers and lovers of the "Greatest Westerns" alike"-- "The Greatest Westerns Ever Made and the People Who Made Them provides an eclectic review of the Western film and television genre, from John Ford's classic, black and white films, to Deadwood and indie darlings. Screenwriter...

"A playful, highly visual exploration of novelistic structure and how novels are created, How to Draw a Novel is a meditation on literary craft that muses on how and why novels communicate with readers. In this witty and finely wrought collection of essays, Martín Solares opens the hood of how fiction operates, exploring the conventions of form, the novel as a house that one must build brick by brick, and the objects and characters that build out...

With entries by experts in the field of Japanese animation, this guide provides a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at the history and impact of these unforgettable anime.

"Provocative and compulsively readable, on the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the landmark blockbuster The Exorcist comes the definitive, fascinating story of its lasting impact as one of the most shocking, influential, and successful adventures in the history of film"--Jacket.

"Chicago is recognized around the world for its place in the history of jazz, gospel, and the blues. Far less known is the surprisingly important role Chicago played in country music and the folk revival. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and deep archival research, Mark Guarino tells a forgotten story of music in Chicago and reveals how the city's institutions and personalities influenced sounds we today associate with regions further south. It is...

"A love letter to the hard-rocking, but often snubbed, music of the era of excess: the 1980s There may be no more joyous iteration in all of music than 1980s hard rock. It was an era where the musical and cultural ideals of rebellion and freedom of the great rock 'n' roll of the '50s, '60s, and '70s were taken to dizzying heights of neon excess. Attention to songcraft, showmanship, and musical virtuosity (especially in the realm of the electric guitar)...

Discover the power of music and be inspired by cultures from all over the world with the Children's Book of Music. You'll find out how instruments are made and played and learn about the fascinating lives and achievements of great composers and musicians, from Bach to Bowie, Bjork, and Beyonce. The book is packed with facts and photos highlighting musical styles from around the globe, from the very earliest music through classical and blues, via reggae,...

"Now available in paperback, William C. Banfield's acclaimed collection of interviews delves into the lives and work of forty-one Black composers. Each of the profiled artists offers a candid self-portrait that explores areas from training and compositional techniques to working in an exclusive canon that has existed for a very long time. At the same time, Banfield draws on sociology, Western concepts of art and taste, and vernacular musical forms...