Elvis and the Birth of Rock and Roll

Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo's amazing illustrated journal documents the last ten years of her turbulent life. These passionate, often surprising, intimate records, kept under lock and key for some 40 years in Mexico, reveal many new dimensions in the complex personal life of this remarkable Mexican artist. The 170-page journal contains the artist's thoughts, poems, and dreams, many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera along with 70 mesmerizing watercolor illustrations. The text entries, written in Frida's round, full script in brightly colored inks, make the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Her writing reveals the artist's political sensibilities, recollections of her childhood, and her enormous courage in the face of more than 35 operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of 18. This intimate portal into her life is sure to fascinate fans of the artist, art historians, and womens culturalists alike.

Elizabeth Taylor is known internationally as one of the most beautiful and talented women ever to grace the silver screen. She has won two Academy Awards and starred in over sixty films. She is just as well known for her tempestuous personal life, marrying eight times and suffering through innumerable health problems. A cultural icon, she has been written about before . . . but never like this. This moving book traces for the first time Elizabeth's journey through the dark and often lonely world of a fame unparalleled in the 1960s and 1970s, a time during which alcohol and drugs played a major part in her life. It would be with her fifth (and sixth) husband Richard Burton (with whom she made twelve movies, including Cleopatra) that she would learn life lessons about love and loyalty that would inform the rest of her life and, finally, be the catalyst for her recovery from alcoholism in the 1980s. This book also details her philanthropic work as an AIDS activist in the 1990s as well as her stunning success as a business woman today (with a multi-million-dollar fragrance). Based on years of research, this is not just a star's biography . . . it's an unforgettable woman's story.

The first biography written with Paul McCartney's approval and with access to family members and friends closest to him. Superbly evoking half a century of popular music and culture, Paul McCartney is the definitive life of a long-misunderstood genius. In this masterly biography, history's most successful songwriter, a man of seemingly effortless talent, beauty and charm, is revealed as a complex, insecure workaholic who still feels as great a need to prove himself in his seventies as when he was a teenager. We learn how his boyhood was blighted by the death of his mother, Mary - later the inspiration for 'Let It Be' - but redeemed by his remarkable father, Jim, a Liverpool cotton-salesman who was his only music-teacher and whose influence has permeated his career. We understand as never before the creative symbiosis between John Lennon and himself that unlocked the extraordinary treasury of their songs for the Beatles when they were barely into their twenties, and the fierce rivalry which lasted beyond the band's break-up to the end of John's life - and still haunts and inspires Paul to this day. Here for the first time is the full story of Paul post-Beatles: his trauma after being brutally sidelined by John, George and Ringo over the appointment of their last manager, Allen Klein; his near-breakdown on his remote Scottish farm and dogged determination to build a new band, Wings, into as big a name in the 1970s as the Beatles had been in the 1960s. Here too is the first inside story of his marriage to Linda Eastman, much criticised at the outset but destined to become the longest and strongest in rock until her death from cancer. Here are the traumatic post-Linda years when his charmed life seemed temporarily to crack up: his whirlwind romance with Heather Mills ending after four years' marriage in one of the most expensive and rancorous divorces in British legal history. As richly fascinating and dramatic as its subject, Paul McCartney: The Biography is the last word on a man whose music has lit up the world.

A fascinating biography of the Renaissance artist and inventor, and gallery of paintings and drawings.

The renowned Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn was born in the 17th century at a time known as the Golden Age of Dutch Art. After leaving university to study painting, he worked on scenes of contemporary life in Amsterdam that soon demonstrated his mastery of light and shade, as well as his rich sense of colour. Quickly becoming established as a giant in the art world, he was equally skilled at producing etchings, portraits, self-portraits, landscapes and drawings. Although successful in his work, Rembrandt's personal life was marred by sadness; three of his four children died young, as did his wife, in 1642. In the same year, he painted The Night Watch, a brilliant work depicting city guardsmen and capturing the vitality, movement and personality of each person. Despite his enormous success, Rembrandt lived beyond his means and had to resort to auctioning his house at 4 Jodenbreestraat and its contents to pay his debts. However, he continued painting, and to this day still inspires younger artists and admirers all over the world. The first part of this richly illustrated volume explores Rembrandt's early life in Leiden in The Netherlands, his friends and family, his education and relationships, and his attempt at bringing up his own family. From his birth in 1606, it details the progression of his prodigious talent, his mastery of chiaroscuro and his amazing artistic skill. This volume presents shows many drawings and etchings, including some that illustrated stories in the Bible; several were large, dramatic canvases in the elaborate Baroque style. Rembrandt was fascinated by the work of many Italian artists, especially Caravaggio, whose new Baroque style inspired and influenced many young painters. Caravaggio's disciples became known as the "Caravaggisti". Some hint of this style is seen in Rembrandt's grand Biblical scenes, such as Moses Smashes the Tablets of the Law or Return of the Prodigal Son. Rembrandt's achievements and influences are traced through his life story, through archive and contemporary images and through examples of his paintings. In the second part of the book, a comprehensive gallery shows more than 300 significant works of Rembrandt, from The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632 and The Holy Family, c.1645, to Self Portrait with Two Circles, c.1665-9 and The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, 1633. These wonderful paintings are accompanied by an informed description of each painting or drawing, the techniques used, and their context in the artistЖs life and body of work as a whole. This beautiful volume is indispensable for anyone who wants to learn more about this intriguing artist and to enjoy looking at hundreds of his most iconic works in one glorious collection. An expert and in-depth reference book on the life and works of the influential Dutch painter and etcher, Rembrandt van Rijn A fascinating biography explores his early years, his personal life and the historical context of the early 17th century Describes his creative progress and the artistic influences that led him to develop his art from the grand Baroque to a less exuberant style Includes a stunning gallery of all his greatest and most significant works, with expert analysis of his style and technique Beautifully illustrated with 500 reproductions of paintings and drawings.