Other Non Fiction

If you ever needed proof that a magazine can have a love affair with a musician, you re holding it in your hands. For DownBeat, the (read more)

If you ever needed proof that a magazine can have a love affair with a musician, you re holding it in your hands. For DownBeat, the preeminent publication of the jazz world, Miles Dewey Davis was one of its most cherished subjects. Since it began covering the jazz scene in 1939, no other artist has been more diligently chronicled in its pages than Davis.

The beauty of this collection is seeing the development of an artist over time. The reviews of his music go from quietly introducing a new talent to revering, perhaps, the greatest jazz artist of his generation. The feature articles begin with a very young, very polite Davis lamenting, I ve worked so little.

Published:7 Oct 2018
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Dive into the wonderful world of innovative knitter, Sachiyo Ishii and create an ocean of fishy friends. This charming book contains (read more)

Dive into the wonderful world of innovative knitter, Sachiyo Ishii and create an ocean of fishy friends. This charming book contains over 30 fun, simple knitting patterns for a range of cute and cuddly underwater characters. Create simple nautical knits such as dolphins, whales, clownfish and sharks, and then try your hand at larger maritime toys, including a fishing vessel, a ship's crew, some magical mermaids and a yellow submarine.

The book is suitable for knitters of all skill levels, and all the patterns require only small amounts of readily available yarn. The book also contains a useful techniques section with step-by-step instructions for the necessary techniques, including stuffing and sewing up figures, creating crocheted fins, and all the embroidery stitches needed to create the facial features and details.

Pub Date:31/10/2016 (hide)

In the music world, there are dozens of talented photographers known for their images of flesh-and-blood rockers doing their thing (read more)

In the music world, there are dozens of talented photographers known for their images of flesh-and-blood rockers doing their thing for the audiences that love them. But there is only one Lisa S. Johnson.

She is the Annie Lebowitz of the musical ax, whose nuanced approach to still instrument photography has placed the veteran photographer in a league of her own. Armed with a macro lens, laser-focused eye for detail, and a unique, singular vision, Johnson's guitar art has become imbedded in pop culture's six-string consciousness. The follow-up to her 2013 debut book, 108 Rock Star Guitars, Johnson continues her journey photographing guitars that have rocked the world with Mortal and Immortal Guitars.

Published:15 Jul 2020
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Moss is all around us. While it is most often associated with damp, shady spaces, it can be found in the most unexpected and far-flung (read more)

Moss is all around us. While it is most often associated with damp, shady spaces, it can be found in the most unexpected and far-flung places, from deserts to Antarctica.

This book is a celebration of its quiet, unassuming beauty and a primer to understanding the secrets of the world's most ancient plant: * Discover the fascinating history of this soft and tactile plant * Learn how and where to identify and gather different moss species. * Take a tour of some of the most beautiful moss gardens in the UK, the US and Japan, where moss viewing has become a national phenomenon. * Learn how to cultivate moss, tie Japanese moss balls (kokedama) and plant moss landscapes in pots and terrariums. (hide)

Music as an Art begins by examining music through a philosophical lens, engaging in discussions about tonality, music and the moral (read more)

Music as an Art begins by examining music through a philosophical lens, engaging in discussions about tonality, music and the moral life, music and cognitive science and German idealism, as well as recalling the author's struggle to encourage his students to distinguish the qualities of good music. Scruton then explains - via erudite chapters on Schubert, Britten, Rameau, opera and film - how we can develop greater judgement in music, recognising both good taste and bad, establishing musical values, as well as musical pleasures. As Scruton argues in this book, in earlier times, our musical culture had secure foundations in the church, the concert hall and the home; in the ceremonies and celebrations of ordinary life, religion and manners.
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'From a very early age I loved the countryside as much as any garden and was fascinated by the life that I saw all around me from (read more)

'From a very early age I loved the countryside as much as any garden and was fascinated by the life that I saw all around me from trees, wildflowers, birds, insects and mammals. In a sense this book has been over sixty years in gestation. I have kept notebooks and journals ever since I could write and I have drawn upon these as well as the events of the past year.'

My Garden World by Monty Don is a celebration of every living creature that we all share.

This year has given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us. Whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty's observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us. My Garden World is Monty Don's personal journey through the natural year, month by month, season by season, observed from the immediate world around him. (hide)

Pub Date:04/08/2016 - Quirky and humorous, part poetry, part reflection, this is the story of the book told by none other than ...BOOK! (read more)

Pub Date:04/08/2016 - Quirky and humorous, part poetry, part reflection, this is the story of the book told by none other than ...BOOK! This extraordinary character begins by reminding us of his origins in oral story and clay tablets, then ponders on papyrus, parchment and paper, and on being a scroll who finally gets a spine. We see Book lovingly illuminated by monks in medieval monasteries, then witness the massive changes brought about by the invention of the printing press, and the coming of paperbacks and eBooks in the 20th century. But Book's not the straightforwardly chronological sort, and can't help musing - and those musings, whether they're on the evolution of the alphabet, libraries, book-burning or blurbs, are delightful and thought-provoking.

Sixteen years of reflection and observation have gone into this charming title. (hide)

The National Theatre Story is filled with artistic, financial and political battles, onstage triumphs - and the occasional disaster. (read more)

The National Theatre Story is filled with artistic, financial and political battles, onstage triumphs - and the occasional disaster. This definitive, authorized account takes readers from the National Theatre's 19th-century origins, through false dawns in the early 1900s and on to its hard-fought inauguration in 1963 at the Old Vic. There, Laurence Olivier was for ten years the inspirational leader of the NT Company, before it moved into its concrete, South Bank home, whose three theatres have since 1976 hosted more than 700 productions, premiering some of the 20th and 21st centuries' most popular and controversial plays, including Amadeus, The Romans in Britain, Closer, The History Boys and War Horse. (hide)

New Monologues for Women features forty monologues from plays published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama recently. The monologues are (read more)

New Monologues for Women features forty monologues from plays published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama recently. The monologues are selected by the editor, Geoffrey Colman, on account of their relevance to drama school students and recent graduates entering the profession. Each monologue is preceded by an introductory paragraph, written by the editor, outlining the setting, character type, and point in the plot.

Suggestions are offered for staging, character interpretation, points of significance in the text, and how to draw from decisions made in professional productions. This collection is the go-to resource for the auditioning actor with an insatiable appetite for new, original and excellent material. (hide)

Are you ready to change your life? Are you sick of always wearing black and getting undressed in the dark? Are you fixated with a (read more)

Are you ready to change your life? Are you sick of always wearing black and getting undressed in the dark? Are you fixated with a number on the scales? Are you afraid to step into the gym and commit to a routine? Is your confidence at an all-time low? Is all of this having a negative impact on your life, relationships and happiness? James Smith is armed with every tool you'll ever need to achieve incredible results - from dieting, training and staying in shape to identifying the fads, cons and nonsense that get inthe way of genuine lasting progress. (hide)