The breakout star of Discovery’s hit automotive restoration show Fast N’ Loud takes readers on an entertaining ride through his wild life and behind the scenes of his hit show in this memoir and automotive handbook, revving with outrageous details and jaw-dropping stories, and injected with the quick-witted, foul-mouthed charm viewers love. “If we’re gonna have fun, it better have a motor!” In Fast N’ Loud, Richard Rawlings pushes into high gear, sharing the story of his rise to success, his show, and the automotive know-how that has made him famous. He begins with his own story—how he went from flat broke to a seat at the table with some of history’s most iconic car guys. His road to the top is full of dangerous twists and hilarious turns, with a few precipitous cliffs in between, including getting shot defending his beloved 1965 Mustang fastback from carjackers, blowing out of town Fear-and-Loathing style, and picking up chicks and vagrants along the way. Rawlings then takes readers behind the scenes of Fast N’ Loud, the series, sharing details on everything from the toughest car to restore to the easiest, his favorite restorations, travel and war anecdotes, and the best and worst cars to make it to the small screen. He finishes with a handy guide for classic and antique car enthusiasts that includes insider tricks of the trade. Want to know how to find a Model-T in mint condition? Need a carburetor for your ’73 Ford Mustang? Want to meet other ’60s Porsche owners? The answers are all here.

It all began in the late 1960s when Lobby Loyde was blowing up amplifiers on such a regular basis that equipment had to be specially constructed. King of the Sunbury festivals, former child star Billy Thorpe then took massive amplification to another level, making history along the way when his band the Aztecs pulled as many as 300,000 people to the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.

In More Blood, Sweat and Beers, World Cup-winning rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio shares his favourite stories from his time at International rugby's greatest tournament. With razor-sharp wit and good humour he lets the reader behind the closed doors of the tournament, to see what happens on and off the pitch when the cameras aren't looking. All the great names are here - Blanco, Lomu and Pienaar among them - and in his time Dallaglio has shared pints or blows (or both) with them all and has lived to tell the stories. Funny, frank and fully loaded with quick-fire banter these are the best of the best tales of the legends of the International stage.

Blood Sweat and Beer is a tale of an innocent and naive little boy, born during post war austerity to a lower working class family. Told initially through the eyes of a toddler it goes on to describe in great detail his struggle to make sense of an ever changing world, through childhood and adolescence, into adulthood and beyond. Determined to live a life less ordinary the story is a roller coaster ride of adventure, love, violence, and tragedy. Several years as a soldier including a tour of Ireland, serious illness and injury, a bad marriage, a life of biking and finally the finding of happiness, all peppered with a liberal dose of irrepressible humour and honesty. This is the better, store quality version of the paperback book.

A sweeping history of our enduring passion for diamonds—and the exploitative industry that fuels it. Blood, Sweat and Earth is a hard-hitting historical exposé of the diamond industry, focusing on the exploitation of workers and the environment, the monopolization of uncut diamonds, and how little this has changed over time. It describes the use of forced labor and political oppression by Indian sultans, Portuguese colonizers in Brazil, and Western industrialists in many parts of Africa—as well as the hoarding of diamonds to maintain high prices, from the English East India Company to De Beers. While recent discoveries of diamond deposits in Siberia, Canada, and Australia have brought an end to monopolization, the book shows that advances in the production of synthetic diamonds have not yet been able to eradicate the exploitation caused by the world’s unquenchable thirst for sparkle.

“The only book you need to understand the world’s most popular beverage. I swear on a stack of these, it’s a thumping good read.”––John Holl, editor of All About Beer Magazine and author of The American Craft Beer Cookbook Imagine sitting in your favorite pub with a friend who happens to be a world-class expert on beer. That’s this book. It covers the history: how we got from gruel-beer to black IPA in 10,000 years. The alchemy: malts, grains, and the miracle of hops. The variety: dozens of styles and hundreds of recommended brews (including suggestions based on your taste preferences), divided into four sections––Ales, Wheat Beers, Lagers, and Tart and Wild Ales––and all described in mouthwatering detail. The curiosity: how to read a Belgian label; the talk of two Budweisers; porter, the first superstyle; and what, exactly, a lager is. The pleasure. Because you don’t merely taste beer, you experience it. Winner of a 2016 IACP Award “Covers a lot of ground, from beer styles and brewing methods to drinking culture past and present. There’s something for beer novices and beer geeks alike.”––Ken Grossman, founder, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “Erudite, encyclopedic, and enormously entertaining aren’t words you normally associate with beer, but The Beer Bible is no ordinary beer book. As scinitillating, diverse, and refreshing as man’s oldest alcoholic beverage itself.”––Steve Raichlen, author of Project Smoke and How to Grill

Short-listed for the North American Society for Sport History Book Award 2003. Alcohol is never far from sporting events. Although popular thinking on the effects of drinking has changed considerably over time, throughout history sport and alcohol have been intimately linked. The Victorians, for example, believed that beer helped to build stamina, whereas today any serious athlete must abstain from the demon drink. Yet despite current prohibitions and the widespread acceptance of alcohols deleterious effects, the uneasy alliance of sport with alcohol remains culturally entrenched. It is common for sporting celebrities to struggle with alcoholism, and teams are often encouraged to bond by drinking together. Indeed, many of todays major sporting sponsors are breweries and manufacturers of alcoholic drinks. From hooliganism to commerce, from advertising and sponsorship to health and fitness, if there is one thing that brings athletes, fans and financial backers together it must be beer. This cultural history of drinking and sport examines the roles masculinity, class and regional identity play in alcohol consumption at a broad range of matches, races, courses and competitions. Offering a fresh perspective on the culture and commerce of sporting events, this book will be essential reading for cultural historians, anthropologists and sociologists, and anyone interested in sport.

A rock 'n roll classic back in print updated and revised. One of the funniest rock memoirs ever Al Kooper's legendary Backstage Passes is available again] Al's quirkly life from would'be teenage rocker to crashing Bob Dylan's recording session an

Covering the Cold War era from 1960-1980 with a strong focus on humor, Gangway, Regular Navy! is a historically and militarily accurate portrayal of world events during that time period. M3283HB - $25.00

In the 1980s, the San Francisco Bay Area was heaven for hardcore headbangers. Shunning Hollywood hairspray and image in favor of a more dangerous street appeal, the Bay Area thrash metal scene was home toExodus,Metallica,Testament,Possessed,Death Angel,Heathen,Vio-Lence,Attitude Adjustment, Forbidden, andBlind Illusion -- and served as a second home to like-minded similar bands likeSlayer,Mercyful Fate,Anthrax,Megadeth, and more. Beginning as teenagers taking snapshots of visiting heavy metal bands during the 1970s, Brian "Umlaut" Lew and Harald "O." Oimoen documented the birth and growth of the local metal scene. Featuring hundreds of unseen live and candid color and black-and-white photographs,Murder in the Front Row captures the wild-eyed zeal and drive that madeMetallica,Slayer, andMegadeth into legends, with over 100 million combined records sold.