Hamilton: The Revolution - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeffrey Seller, Jeremy McCarter

Staff Pick

Over the past year, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, Hamilton, has won a bevy of awards, sold out shows across the country, and dominated pop-culture like no other show in recent memory—or maybe ever. In Hamilton: The Revolution (Grand Central, $45), Miranda and theater critic Jeremy McCarter provide a detailed look into the show’s gestation from a single rap about the founding fathers to a full blown Broadway phenomena. The book includes detailed liner notes, deleted songs, photographs, interviews (including several with President Obama), and a guide to the show’s many hip hop references. The juicy behind the scenes details and anecdotes are sure to be catnip for theater nerds. But the insight into the multi-talented Miranda’s creative process is a fascinating read for both fans and newcomers alike.

Hamilton: The Revolution By Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter Cover Image
$50.00
ISBN: 9781455539741
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Grand Central Publishing - April 12th, 2016

Kill 'em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul - James McBride

Staff Pick

Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul (Spiegel & Grau, $28; paper, $17) intertwines two of author James McBride’s greatest passions and talents – writing and music – in this biography of legendary soul singer James Brown. To those of us who grew up listening to his music in the 1960s, James Brown was the Godfather of Soul and the musical father of Black Pride. He did his own version of the moonwalk in high-heeled boots! He did the splits in a suit! He had faux fainting spells! And his cape! Brown had, the author contends, as profound an influence on American social history as Harriet Tubman or Frederick Douglass. But much of his reputation and legacy became tangled up in unflattering impressions and tragic incidents from his life, too often leaving him marked and misinterpreted as more of a simple caricature than the complicated cultural icon and enormously talented artist he truly was. McBride, the 2013 National Book Award winner for fiction (The Good Lord Bird) tells Brown’s story, in one reviewer’s words, as “a furious ode.”

Kill 'em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul By James McBride Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780812993509
Availability: Special Order—Subject to Availability
Published: Spiegel & Grau - April 5th, 2016

Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul By James McBride Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780812983739
Availability: Not On Our Shelves—Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Random House - November 1st, 2016

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

Staff Pick

Bruuuuuce! The long-awaited memoir from the Boss has finally arrived, with a whirlwind tour of a life in rock and roll. In Born to Run (Simon & Schuster, $32.50) Bruce Springsteen takes us from his humble beginnings in working-class Freehold, New Jersey, all the way to the pinnacle of his superstar performance at the Super Bowl—and everything in between. Springsteen is not one to shy away from any subject, including his difficult, distant, and sometimes emotionally abusive relationship with his father; failed bands and a failed first marriage, and the deaths of fellow band members and close friends. But mostly, this memoir is about the music: the feeling in his hands of the first guitar he ever bought, those early live shows at run-down, seedy bars on the beaches of Asbury Park, the cutting of each album along the way and what the writing and recording process was like, and the meaning behind many of the characters and lyrics we have grown to love. The prose reads as if you are listening to a Bruce song, sitting in the front row at one of his legendary concerts. It’s a ride you’ll hope never ends. Check out the companion CD as well, which features some top tracks and previously unreleased early recordings.

Born to Run By Bruce Springsteen Cover Image
$32.50
ISBN: 9781501141515
Availability: Backordered
Published: Simon & Schuster - September 27th, 2016

Born to Run By Bruce Springsteen Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781501141522
Availability: In Stock—Click for Locations
Published: Simon & Schuster - September 5th, 2017

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