Empfehlungen basierend auf "What Does This Button Do? An Autobiography"

A deeply humane, inspiring memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal diagnosis that attempts to answer the questions: given that all organisms die, what makes a meaningful life? And, as a doctor, what does it mean to hold mortal - and moral responsibility for another person's identity?

'A monumental work filled with first-person accounts of the master's life and a dizzying array of never-before heard details' Michael Imperioli, author of The Perfume Burned His Eyes The most complete and penetrating biography of the rock master, whose stature grows every year. Since his death ten years ago, Lou Reed's living presence has only grown. The great rock-poet presided over the marriage of Brill Building pop and the European avant-garde, and left American culture transfigured. In Lou Reed: The King of New York, Will Hermes offers the definitive narrative of Reed's life and legacy, dramatizing his long, brilliant, and contentious dialogue with fans, critics, fellow artists, and assorted habitués of the demimonde. We witness Reed's complex partnerships with David Bowie, Andy Warhol, John Cale, and Laurie Anderson; track the deadpan wit, street-smart edge, and poetic flights that defined his craft as a singer and songwriter with the Velvet Underground and beyond; and explore the artistic ambition and gift for self-sabotage he took from his mentor Delmore Schwartz. As Hermes follows Reed from Lower East Side cold-water flats to the landmark status he later achieved, he also tells the story of New York City as a cultural capital. The first biographer to draw on the New York Public Library's much-publicized Reed archive, Hermes employs the library collections, the release of previously unheard recordings, and a wealth of recent interviews to give us a new Lou Reed-a pioneer in living and writing about nonbinary sexuality and gender identity, a committed artist who pursued beauty and noise with equal fervor, and a turbulent and sometimes truculent man whose emotional imprint endures.

New Zealand Listener 's Top 100 Books of 2018 For the first time, Steven Adams shares the story behind his meteoric rise from Rotorua to his emerging stardom in the NBA. Adams overcame the odds to become a top prospect in the 2013 NBA draft. From there he went on to secure a four-year contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder - making him New Zealand's highest-paid sportsperson ever - and forge a reputation for his intense, physical style of basketball. In this intimate account of his life story so far, the seven-foot centre reflects on his humble upbringing, the impact of his father's death when he was just 13, the multiple challenges and setbacks he has faced, early career-defining moments, and what basketball means to him. Told with warmth, humour and humility, My Life, My Fight is a gripping account from one of New Zealand's most admired sporting stars.

The New York Times bestseller based on the Oscar nominated documentary film In June 1979, the writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin embarked on a project to tell the story of America through the lives of three of his murdered friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. He died before it could be completed. In his documentary film, I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck imagines the book Baldwin never wrote, using his original words to create a radical, powerful and poetic work on race in the United States - then, and today. 'Thrilling . . . A portrait of one man's confrontation with a country that, murder by murder, as he once put it, "devastated my universe"' The New York Times 'Baldwin's voice speaks even more powerfully today . . . the prose-poet of our injustice and inhumanity . . . The times have caught up with his scalding eloquence' Variety 'A cinematic séance . . . One of the best movies about the civil rights era ever made' Guardian 'I Am Not Your Negro turns James Baldwin into a prophet' Rolling Stone

The first biography of a great American composer of the cinema age John Williams is one of the most important film composers of all time, having almost singlehandedly revived the Hollywood symphonic scoring tradition and helped restore the livelihood of American orchestras through the popularity of film music programming. His film music, in the words of director Oliver Stone, "came to stand for the American culture." In John Williams: A Composer's Life, the first biography of the composer, author Tim Greiving offers an engaging account of a man whose body of work is well-known but whose personal life has consistently remained very private. Williams wrote the memorable scores and hummable themes for a staggering number of popular touchstones across multiple generations--among them Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and the Harry Potter series--and earned more Oscar nominations than any individual artist in the history of the motion picture Academy. He also composed dozens of concerti, fanfares, and other concert works and was a national presence as music director of the Boston Pops for more than a decade. He inspired countless children to pursue a career in the orchestra and won the respect of the classical community worldwide. Seeking to understand what drove Williams's musical productivity and its effects on the lives of those close to him, Greiving delves deeply into the composer's decades-long career, uncovering countless new stories and revelations. Throughout, he analyzes and describes Williams' film scores, recalling them primarily in narrative and emotional terms rather than purely musicological ones, and in doing so emphasizes one of Williams's principle strengths: his musical storytelling. With unprecedented interview access to Williams and those close to him, Greiving presents the definitive portrait of a beloved but famously private doyen of twentieth-century pop culture. Featuring 175 exclusive interviews--including with Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, George Miller, Mia Farrow, Hans Zimmer, Yo-Yo Ma, session musicians, family members, and friends--John Williams: A Composer's Life is the first and last word on the great court composer of the cinema age, the musical conductor of our collective memory.

The definitive biography of The Beatles, hailed as "irresistible" by the New York Times, "riveting" by the Boston Globe, and "masterful" by Time.As soon as The Beatles became famous, the spin machine began to construct a myth--one that has continued to this day. But the truth is much more interesting, much more exciting, and much more moving--the highs and the lows, the love and the rivalry, the awe and the jealousy, the drugs, the tears, the thrill, and the magic to never be repeated. In this vast, revelatory, exuberantly acclaimed, and bestselling book, Bob Spitz has written the biography for which Beatles fans have long waited.

If there was any one man who articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in the 1960s, that man was Malxolm X.His autobiography is now an established classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial truth about our times.

From legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA master Rickson Gracie comes a riveting, insightful memoir that weaves together the story of Gracie's stunning career with the larger history of the Gracie family dynasty, showing how the connection between mind and body can be harnessed for success both inside and outside the ring. Undefeated from the late 1970s through his final fight in the Tokyo Dome in 2000, Rickson Gracie amassed hundreds of victories in the street, on the mat, at the beach, and in the ring. He has joined the pantheon that includes Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Jackie Chan as one of the most famous martial artists of the twentieth century. Jiu-Jitsu, the fighting style developed and pioneered by his family, has become one of the world's most prominent martial arts, and Vale Tudo, the "anything goes" style of Brazilian street fighting over which the Gracies had a monopoly, was an early precursor to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Simply put, without the Gracie family, there would be no sport of 'MMA', no 4-billion-dollar UFC empire, and no 'Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu' at strip malls all across America. In Breathe, for the first time, Rickson will share the full story of how his father and uncles came to develop Jiu-Jitsu, what it was like to grow up among several generations of world-renowned fighters from the Gracie clan, and the principles and skills that guided him to his undefeated record. From learning to assert himself on the streets of Rio to gaining fame and honour in Japan and emerging through heartbreaking tragedy, the martial arts master shares tales of overcoming challenges, extolling universal virtues and showing readers how pride and ego are the enemies of success. With never-before-seen photos and profound insights into the sport and way of life that only a studied legend can provide, Breathe is an entertaining and magnified view of an enduring legacy as well as an inspiring tale of weathering life's complexities and overcoming them with style and grace.

Calling all One Direction fans! This is the only official book from 1D, charting their journey over the last year and a half - from the places they've visited and fans they've met, to their thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams, highs and lows. It has been a phenomenal year - and this is a phenomenal story. This Christmas, there will be no other book that true One Direction fans will want! They've won dozens of awards. They've had a bigger US debut than the Beatles. They've played Madison Square Garden, the Royal Variety Show, and sold-out venues across the globe. One Direction - just five young guys from small British towns - has truly gone global. Now the lives of Louis, Liam, Harry, Zayn and Niall are changing beyond recognition. This year, with their own movie hitting theatres and a 133-date tour stretching across the globe, the 1D star is shining brighter than ever. How did they feel when they debuted twice at no. 1 in the US - and in 37 countries around the world? How have they kept themselves grounded? And now that they've come so far, what are their dreams for the future? In Where We Are, the boys offer you a chance to find out about this breathtaking chapter of their story, straight from the heart and in their own words. Packed with exclusive beautiful photos, backstage snapshots, hand-written annotations and brand new insights into the boys' world, Where We Are is a unique book that no fan's life is complete without - bringing the 1D story right up to date.

"Jeff Pearlman breaks down Tupac's life like a veteran sportswriter examining a dynasty. This detailed look at his life is the work of a writer who understands the ego of greatness."--Chuck D "Pearlman delivers rich, engrossing, and fascinating new details about Shakur's life and legacy--not just once or twice--but throughout each lively page...This is the type of needed journalism, reporting, and biography that finally and deservedly provides the definitive historic account on Shakur."--Jonathan Abrams, author of The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop Scrutinized in life, mythologized in death, Tupac Shakur remains a subject of immense cultural significance and speculation nearly thirty years after his murder. Despite a multitude of books, documentaries, and even a feature film, much about Tupac's story remains shrouded and misunderstood. Like many icons who died tragically young, Tupac the man has long been obscured--his edges sanded down, his complexity numbed--by the competing agendas that surround his legacy. In Only God Can Judge Me, accomplished biographer and New York Times bestselling author Jeff Pearlman tackles his most nuanced subject, telling the definitive story of Tupac Shakur in unprecedented depth. In this authoritative look at Tupac's life, Pearlman skillfully recreates West Coast hip hop in all its glory, going inside Death Row Records and on the sets of movies like Juice and Poetic Justice to offer the most clear-eyed rendering to date of the man who still casts a shadow over modern hip hop. But more than just a biography of a complicated figure, Only God Can Judge Me also captures the time and place in which Tupac rose, a singular moment in music history when West Coast hip hop became a phenomenon and transformed popular music. Featuring nearly seven hundred original interviews and never-before-published details from every corner of Tupac's life, the result offers a truly singular portrait of one of modern pop culture's most towering figures. Guided by the voices of those who knew and lived life alongside him, Only God Can Judge Me captures the layers of a man who, even thirty years after his death, remains as elusive as ever.