Eric Alper

Discover the science and history of music with this engaging illustrated book. Explore the basics of sound and music, and how technology has transformed how we listen to it. Learn about the progression of recorded music, the creation of everyday items like headphones, and the science behind our experience of music. Playlists accompany each topic, featuring a range of artists and genres. Written by a team of well-known journalists and writers, this book is perfect for adolescents beginning to explore the subject. With cross-curriculum links to physical science, engineering, technology, music, and history, this book is a fascinating blend of education and entertainment. Includes a timeline, glossary, resources, and index.

"Blues All Around Me" is more than just a memoir. B.B. King, the undisputed blues king, shares his story of overcoming monumental odds to succeed as an artist in an often unfriendly world. He tells it straight from the heart, covering themes of tragedy, triumph, and everything in between. The book also explores how blues music changed during its migration from the Mississippi Delta to urban areas like Chicago. Don't miss this unique and true-to-life tale of one of the most influential musicians of all time.

This book tells the thrilling story of digital music piracy and how it forever changed the music industry. Written by journalist Stephen Witt, it features a cast of unforgettable characters including visionaries, criminals, and tech-savvy teenagers. Witt traces the secret history of piracy from the German engineers who invented the mp3 to a North Carolina factory worker who leaked nearly two thousand albums. Entwined with the history of the Internet itself, How Music Got Free is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of music and technology.

Discover the raw, unfiltered history of punk through the voices of its most infamous pioneers. Iggy Pop, Joey Ramone, and other punk icons share their stories in the first-ever oral history of this explosive movement. From its beginnings in the New York City art scene to its peak as a cultural revolution, this definitive account of punk is a must-read for music lovers and history buffs alike.

Discover the life story of the elusive and feared Lew Wasserman, the most powerful man in Hollywood for over 50 years. This extraordinary biography draws on interviews with over 350 colleagues, relatives, and rivals, as well as tens of thousands of pages of documents. Wasserman was guru to Hollywood legends like Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando, and mentored a new generation of filmmakers including Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. This thoroughly researched and engrossing portrait of a show business legend is not to be missed.

Female punk rock pioneer, Viv Albertine, gives a raw and thrilling account of her experiences in the male-dominated 1970s punk scene. From touring with The Clash to dating Mick Jones, and even inspiring their hit song “Train in Vain,” Albertine's memoir tells the story of a fearless musician who changed the discourse around music forever. A must-read for anyone interested in punk history, fashion, and the struggles of women in the industry.

"Black By Design" is a captivating memoir that charts the incredible journey of Pauline Black, lead singer of The Selecter, from her humble beginnings as a child adopted by a working-class family, to her rise as the Queen of British Ska. This book reflects on the themes of identity, music, race, family and the search for roots as Black shares hilarious and enlightening stories about touring with some of the biggest British bands of the era, as well as her venture into acting and broadcasting. Discover a story of courage, talent and perseverance!

Discover the fascinating story of the man behind some of the most iconic songs in pop music today. From Chic to David Bowie, Madonna to Michael Jackson, Nile Rodgers wrote and produced the songs that defined the 70s and 80s, selling millions of records in the process. In "Le Freak," Nile Rodgers takes us behind the velvet rope of the era's most glamorous clubs, and through the underground subcultures that influenced his music. An absorbing memoir from a brilliant storyteller, "Le Freak" is a celebration of pop music's most sparkling era, and the man who helped set it in motion.