Memoirs Biographys Celebrity

Now fully revised and expanded, this new edition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison is the most comprehensive evaluation of George Harrison's musical career ever published. Treating each of Harrison's songs with unprecedented analysis, author Simon Leng reveals Harrison's eclectic approach – from teenage Nashville twang through Indian raga, psychedelia, gospel, soul, and pure pop – and thoroughly defines Harrison's role in the Beatles.

Ian Fraser Kilmister was born on Christmas Eve, 1945. Learning from an early age that chicks do appreciate a guy with a guitar, and inspired by the music of Elvis and Buddy Holly, Lemmy outgrew his local bands in Wales, choosing instead to head to Manchester to experience everything he could get his hands on. And he never looked back. White Line Fever, a headbanging tour of the excesses of a man being true to his music and his pleasures, offers a sometimes hilarious, often outrageous, but always highly entertaining ride with the frontman of the loudest rock band in the world.

Providing his thought-provoking insights on race, fame, and politics, a fascinating glimpse into the life and work of Dick Gregory, one of America's top comedians and civil rights workers, details the many challenges he has overcome and the many friends he has made along the way, including Dr. Martin Luther King and John Lennon.

A frank, funny, no-holds-barred memoir that reveals the Deal or No Deal host’s ongoing struggle with OCD and ADHD–and how it has shaped his life and career.

Howie Mandel is one of the most recognizable names in entertainment–respected by his peers and beloved by audiences as the host of the enormously popular prime-time game show Deal or No Deal. With a career that spans three decades and many different show-business platforms–he’s a renowned stand-up comedian who continues to perform more than 150 sold-out shows a year, he created the award-winning TV show Bobby’s World, he’s starred in feature films and the hit TV series St. Elsewhere, and he’s also hosted his own daytime talk show–he’s one of the most versatile performers anywhere. But there are aspects of his personal and professional life he’s never talked about publicly–until now.

Eleven years ago, Mandel first told the world about his “germophobia.” He’s recently started discussing his adult ADHD as well. Now, for the first time, he reveals the details of his struggle with these challenging disorders. He catalogs his numerous fears and neuroses and shares entertaining stories about how he has tried to integrate them into his act. “If I’m making myself laugh,” he writes, “then I’m distracted from all the other things going on in my head that are, at times, torturous.” And he speaks frankly and honestly about the ways his condition has affected his personal life–as a son, husband, and father of three.

Fans who’ve been dying to know “the deal” behind Mandel’s remarkable rise through the show-business ranks will be rewarded with many never-before-told anecdotes, each one generously leavened with Mandel’s trademark humor. There are tales from every phase of his colorful career–from his early days ...

Once upon a time in the beautiful land of Laguna Beach, California, lived a girl named Rachel. She was curious, clever, and like any hopeful heroine, committed to forging her own path in life. She yearned for more than an ordinary existence and a boring nine to five, so she joined the world of adult entertainment, where she finally felt fulfilled. However, her fairy tale began to crumble when at the mere age of twenty, her father passed away, leaving her evil step-mother in charge of his estate, and Rachel disowned.

From humble beginnings in Middlesex, where money was scarce but dreams were encouraged, to the award-winning godfather of electronica, Gary Numan has seen it all. The first: a stratospheric rise to success quickly followed by a painful decline into near obscurity. The second: a 20-plus year renaissance catalysed by a date with a super-fan. (R)evolution is the rollercoaster rise and fall (and rise) of one man, several dozen synthesisers, multiple issues and two desperately different lives.

This deeply personal memoir, cowritten by singer-songwriter, renowned mental health advocate, and recent Order of Canada recipient Séan McCann and wife Andrea Aragon, leaves no stone unturned. Detailing in powerful and lyrical prose a Newfoundland childhood indoctrinated in strict Catholic faith, the creation of the wildly successful Great Big Sea, and the battle with alcoholism that nearly cost them everything, McCann and Aragon offer listeners a story of reaching international fame and finding rock bottom.

No one family has more experience of travelling together than the Whitehalls. Indeed they've been allowing us a window to their escapades for the past five years in the hit Netflix show Travels with My Father, and in this hilarious book, they have now decided to pool their advice for fellow travellers. To lay out the pitfalls of family holidays. The dos and don'ts, the highs and lows. In doing so, they are sharing some of their best anecdotes.

In this luminous memoir, Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legend—and one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and two Emmys. Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto...

“KnoWhutImean?!” For millions, that one unforgettable phrase defined a generation of laughter—and the man behind it was so much more than Ernest P. Worrell. In this comprehensive biography, Jim Varney’s nephew Justin Lloyd pulls back the curtain on the complex, wildly talented actor who became a pop culture icon. From his early days in Kentucky dreaming of Shakespeare to becoming a beloved fixture in homes across America, Jim’s journey is full of heart, humor, and heartbreak.

In How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, veteran journalist Chris Taylor traces the series from the difficult birth of the original film through its sequels, the franchise’s death and rebirth, the prequels, and the preparations for a new trilogy. Taylor provides portraits of the friends, writers, artists, producers, and marketers who labored behind the scenes to turn Lucas’s idea into a legend.

In 1992, the Screaming Trees were expected to become the next big band to come out of the Seattle music scene during the heyday of grunge. Except it never happened. It wasn't because the band didn't have great songs—indeed, the Trees were revered for their ability to write a great song that was both artistically original and commercially viable, which is no easy task. Other Seattle bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden were fans of the Screaming Trees, playing shows with them and collaborating on albums, long before their own bands broke through into the mainstream.

She was the tempestuous, strong-willed woman who ignited the movie screen with her legendary performances in Of Human Bondage, Jezebel, and All About Eve. Off-camera, Bette Davis survived four disastrous marriages and earned a larger-than-life professional reputation as an actress to be reckoned with.

The two-time best-selling author, comedian, actor, and radio icon explains the philosophy that has kept his existence boredom-free since the age of 13 - the love of risk. An avid sports better and frequent card player, Lange believes that the true gambler gets high not from winning, but from the chaotic unknown of betting itself. He recounts some of his favorite moments, many of which haven't involved money at all. In this candid and entertaining memoir, he looks back at the times he's wagered the intangible and priceless things in life: his health, his career, and his relationships.

Only a handful of people embody the legacy of hip-hop and entrepreneurship like Jay Z. A modern-day King Midas, everything he touches - sports bars, streaming services, record labels, and cognac - turns to gold. How exactly did he do it? Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg reveals the story of Jay Z's legendary rise from the Marcy Projects of Brooklyn to stages and corner offices worldwide. He draws on more than 100 interviews with those who knew Jay Z from the beginning.

Having outlived his bandmates, Marky is the only person who can share the secrets and stories of the Ramones' improbable rise from obtuse beginnings to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But it wasn't all good times and hit songs, and Marky doesn't shy away from discussing his own struggles.

Formed in 1988, Lush were part of the London gig scene during one of the most vibrant and creative periods in UK music. Now, Miki Berenyi tells all. The audiobook begins with her childhood of extremes. From the bohemian lifestyle of her father's social circle to the privileged glamour of her mother's acting career, Miki's young life was a blur of travel, celebrities and private schooling. But frequent relocation, parental neglect and the presence of her abusive grandmother resulted in crippling shyness, mental-health issues and a vulnerability. The route out of this hole was music.

Steve Martin met his good friend Adam Gopnik three decades ago, and in that time, Gopnik has always marveled at Martin’s ability to flourish in a wide variety of artforms: magic, comedy, art collecting, writing, and music. In So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik creates a new type of profile: a year’s worth of conversations with Martin where Gopnik pulls back the curtain on his friend’s illustrious career.

You don't have to be a hunter or camper to enjoy this collection of hilarious stories by a writer who is often compared to Mark Twain and Garrison Keillor. In fact, the charm of Patrick F. McManus' work is that it provides plenty of reasons for staying indoors, surrounded by friendly appliances. You'll laugh aloud as McManus and his friends, including Rancid and Crazy Eddie, venture into the great outdoors to face formidable foes.

From award-winning sports broadcaster and actress Jayne Kennedy comes a compelling, inspirational, and unflinchingly honest memoir about her rise in Hollywood and beyond.