Cultural Literature

Arthur Briggs's life was Homeric in scope. Born on the tiny island of Grenada, he set sail for Harlem during the Renaissance, then to Europe in the aftermath of World War I, where he was among the first pioneers to introduce jazz music to the world...

From the end of postwar Reconstruction in the South to an analysis of the rise and fall of Black Power, acclaimed historian Adam Fairclough presents a straightforward synthesis of the century-long struggle of black Americans to achieve civil rights and...

(Signature Licks Guitar). Learn and explore the music of one of the most respected and pioneering jazz guitar players of our time. This book includes a hands-on analysis of 13 great performances: Affirmation * Billie's Bounce (Bill's Bounce) * Body Talk...

(Guitar Recorded Versions). 14 of this blues/rock axe master's transcriptions, from his Thin Lizzy days as well as his solo career. Songs: Bad for You Baby * Cold Day in Hell * Empty Rooms * The Loner * Midnight Blues * Oh Pretty Woman * Out in the...

A beautiful genre-bending tribute to the larger-than-life blues singer Bessie Smith. Scotland's National Poet blends poetry, prose, fiction, and nonfiction to create an entirely unique biography of the Empress of the Blues. There has never been anyone...

(Berklee Guide). This chord dictionary from the assistant chair of Berklee's guitar department includes 100+ chord forms, from basic 7th chords to guide tone chords and triads over bass notes. It is organized to reveal chord relationships and help...

Jennifer Jones is a native of Houston, Texas who now resides in Arlington, TX with her family. She is a loving, caring, outspoken, mother of 3 beautiful children who she absolutely adores. Upon entering the workforce, she began her career in security...

Bass player extraordinaire Charles Mingus, who died in 1979, is one of the essential composers in the history of jazz, and Beneath the Underdog, his celebrated, wild, funny, demonic, anguished, shocking, and profoundly moving memoir, is the greatest...

The story of the decades-long fight to bring justice to the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, culminating in Sen. Doug Jones' prosecution of the last living bombers. On September 15, 1963, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham,...

In her powerful and inspiring memoir, Cookie Johnson, wife of NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, shares details of her marriage, motherhood, faith, and how an HIV diagnosis twenty-five years ago changed the course of their lives forever. On November 7,...

Believers is a scientist's answer to attacks on faith by some well-meaning scientists and philosophers. It is a firm rebuke of the "Four Horsemen"--Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens--known for writing about religion...

Cleveland, Ohio, has been the U.S. hub for all things related to Hungary and Hungarians since the nineteenth century. Today, Cleveland's Hungarian community remains vibrant and continues to value and preserve its heritage despite the ongoing impact of...

Annemarie Shrouder has written a book to help leaders step into awareness of the damage "race" and racism cause and have caused. Her journey illustrates the deep divide that this social construct has created in bodies, in societies-and the world as a...

Being Black Not Much Has Changed: Then, Now and the Way Forward is about the movement of black people from Africa to North and South America, their enslavement, emancipation and their great contribution to their new home. The colonization of Africa,...

Over the last 100 years, perhaps no segment of the American population has been more analyzed than black males. The subject of myriad studies and dozens of government boards and commissions, black men have been variously depicted as the progenitors of...

Originally published in 1868--when it was attacked as an "indecent book" authored by a "traitorous eavesdropper"--Behind the Scenes is the story of Elizabeth Keckley, who began her life as a slave and became a privileged witness to the presidency of...