“If you’re a fan of the hit show Empire and its characters Cookie, Lucious, Hakeem, Jamal, and Andre, then you have to check out Terrance Dean’s provocative memoir Hiding in Hip Hop. Dean writes a compelling story about black gay men in Hip Hop and Hollywood, and what it takes for them to make it the entertainment industry.” – JL King, New York Times bestselling author of On The Down Low Celebrated blogger and former MTV insider Terrance Dean reveals a hidden side of Hollywood and hip hop in this explosive and illuminating memoir. Terrance Dean worked his way up for more than ten years in the entertainment industry from intern to executive and has lived the life of glitz and bling along with Hollywood and Hip Hop’s most glamorous heavy hitters. As a gay man immersed within the world of the famous and the fabulous, Dean knows well the industry’s secrets and the façade that is kept, that for men, promotes machismo and heteronormative behavior. Most of what Dean unveils in this book is fascinating and salacious, but all of it is true. He also shares his own secrets, and an account of the pain of his mother’s addiction, and the poverty and molestation he experienced as a child. Hiding in Hip Hop is not a traditional tell-all. It’s personal. It’s poignant. It’s a provocative and honest look at stardom and sexuality.

You want a revolution? So did Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers! America has fallen in love again with Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers. Here is a popping fresh collection of facts and forgotten trivia surrounding the American Revolution and our forefathers – from those you’d expect (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and Hamilton, of course) to those you may never have heard of, but you probably should have (who the heck was Rufus King?): Alexander Hamilton was born on foreign soil and became an American hero - the founder of the U.S. Mint and the U.S. Coast Guard. The naval communication book he wrote was still being used by the US Navy and Coast Guard through the Cuban Missile Crisis. Roger Sherman (of Connecticut) was one of only two Founding Fathers who signed the three bulwark documents of our republic: The Declaration of Independence, the Articles of the Confederation, and the Constitution. (Give props to this guy.) By the time he was thirty, George Washington had had smallpox, pleurisy, dysentery, and malaria. Readers will be left with a greater appreciation and deeper respect for these human beings who were just trying to accomplish the incredible: create the greatest nation in history. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

A journalist and word aficionado salutes the 100-year history and pleasures of crossword puzzles Since its debut in The New York World on December 21, 1913, the crossword puzzle has enjoyed a rich and surprisingly lively existence. Alan Connor, a comic writer known for his exploration of all things crossword in The Guardian, covers every twist and turn: from the 1920s, when crosswords were considered a menace to productive society; to World War II, when they were used to recruit code breakers; to their starring role in a 2008 episode of The Simpsons. He also profiles the colorful characters who make up the interesting and bizarre subculture of crossword constructors and competitive solvers, including Will Shortz, the iconic New York Times puzzle editor who created a crafty crossword that appeared to predict the outcome of a presidential election, and the legions of competitive puzzle solvers who descend on a Connecticut hotel each year in an attempt to be crowned the American puzzle-solving champion. At a time when the printed word is in decline, Connor marvels at the crossword’s seamless transition onto Kindles and iPads, keeping the puzzle one of America’s favorite pastimes. He also explores the way the human brain processes crosswords versus computers that are largely stumped by clues that require wordplay or a simple grasp of humor. A fascinating examination of our most beloved linguistic amusement—and filled with tantalizing crosswords and clues embedded in the text—The Crossword Century is sure to attract the attention of the readers who made Word Freak and Just My Type bestsellers.

An innovative new puzzle book adventure has arrived! Over 75 puzzles packed into an adventure as large as the legend itself Puzzle types include word, logic, spatial, visual, relational and more Online hint and solution system 15 narrative chapters each culminating in a metapuzzle Watch the video trailer on the author page to catch gold fever "Journal 29 is the golden standard for these books. . . THIS might rival it." -Watch It Paint It "A good mix of activity types keeps brazen sleuths on their toes throughout the journey...the sense of adventure keeps the pages turning quickly." -Escape Authority "...the story and puzzles have been developed in tandem, something which we always look for and take note of." -The Escape Room Guys "One minute, you could be in a tunnel and the next, in a secret area behind a poker room." -ESCAPETHEROOMers "an enjoyable experience and a really good way to spend a full day inside." -Opinionated Gamer The Legend As gangster Dutch Schultz lay dying from gunshot wounds in 1935, he rambled on incoherently. His final words are believed to contain directions to the location of millions he buried when the law was cracking down on him. Armed with a promising new clue, you must solve the puzzles to get to the bottom of a decades old mystery. Untold riches can be yours! Mob Treasure is an original puzzle adventure book you can play from anywhere. It's packed with puzzles and fun challenges. Get on your trilby hats and hunt a legendary treasure that's still at large! Visit www.cruxclubhq.com for more info.

The bestselling commentator, hailed for his frank and fearless arguments on race, imparts a scathing look at the hypocrisy of hip-hop—and why its popularity proves that black America must overhaul its politics. One of the most outspoken voices in America’s cultural dialogues, John McWhorter can always be counted on to provide provocative viewpoints steeped in scholarly savvy. Now he turns his formidable intellect to the topic of hip-hop music and culture, smashing the claims that hip-hop is politically valuable because it delivers the only “real” portrayal of black society. In this measured, impassioned work, McWhorter delves into the rhythms of hip-hop, analyzing its content and celebrating its artistry and craftsmanship. But at the same time he points out that hip-hop is, at its core, simply music, and takes issue with those who celebrate hip-hop as the beginning of a new civil rights program and inflate the lyrics with a kind of radical chic. In a power vacuum, this often offensive and destructive music has become a leading voice of black America, and McWhorter stridently calls for a renewed sense of purpose and pride in black communities. Joining the ranks of Russell Simmons and others who have called for a deeper investigation of hip-hop’s role in black culture, McWhorter’s All About the Beat is a spectacular polemic that takes the debate in a seismically new direction.

The Mortal Jigsaw puzzle follows the struggles of a heroic urban vice principal, as he attempts to control a large high school teetering on the verge of chaos. During the course of an infamous day known as Fat Lip Friday, the ghetto principal tries valiantly to keep control of his school in the midst of a full blown gang war. Immersed in an environment replete with urban music, violence, verbiage, and dress, the reader is bombarded with shocking images of life in the modern hood. As the visceral educational conflagration unfolds, the protagonist, Jose Perez, unexpectedly catches glimpses of a diabolical conspiracy of which street gangs are just a small part. Thanks to his keen senses, Mr. Perez slowly collects the pieces to a profoundly disturbing global puzzle comprised of codes, lyrics, art, and symbols of Egyptian, Masonic, and satanic origin. While attempting to place the gratuitous carnage and depravity of the inner city into perspective, Mr. Perez accidentally stumbles upon an interdisciplinary mind control plan which draws upon religion, politics, economics, psychology, marketing, history, and the occult. Alarmed by his findings, Mr. Perez warns his community of their pending doom, only to be hunted down by the very debt cattle whom he tries to save from oblivion. In the end, both his community and his nation are condemned to fall under this nefarious plot, as this educators quixotic mission abruptly ends with an ominous knock on his front door.

It's Halloween night. The city is quiet. The city is still. But as the lights go down, the music comes up - and the guests start to arrive at the hip-hop Halloween ball! And oh, what a party it is. Told in hip-hop rhyming text, L'il Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Tom Thumb, and all of their fairy-tale friends come together for a rapping, stomping, shaking Halloween romp. Scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-wah. Yeah!

"From mansions to trap houses, office buildings to strip clubs, Atlanta is defined by its rap music. But this flashy and fast-paced world is rarely seen below surface-level as a collection not of superheroes and villains, cartoons and caricatures, but of flawed and inspired individuals all trying to get a piece of what everyone else seems to have. In artistic, commercial, and human terms, Atlanta rap represents the most consequential musical ecosystem of this century so far. Rap Capital tells the dramatic stories of the people who make it tick, and the city that made them that way."--

If asked to list the greatest innovators of modern American poetry, few of us would think to include Jay-Z or Eminem in their number. And yet hip hop is the source of some of the most exciting developments in verse today. The media uproar in response to its controversial lyrical content has obscured hip hop's revolution of poetic craft and experience: Only in rap music can the beat of a song render poetic meter audible, allowing an MC's wordplay to move a club-full of eager listeners. Examining rap history's most memorable lyricists and their inimitable techniques, literary scholar Adam Bradley argues that we must understand rap as poetry or miss the vanguard of poetry today. Book of Rhymes explores America's least understood poets, unpacking their surprisingly complex craft, and according rap poetry the respect it deserves.