An insider's account of the battle to build the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 1971.

“Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand.” —Stevie Wonder, “Sir Duke” In 2003, young professor Ferentz LaFargue traveled to Paris, where his fiancée, Tricia, declared she wasn’t happy with their relationship, ending what he thought was a wonderful engagement. After days of “craying”—“that sorrow-laden blend of crying and praying delivered in perfect pitch by those in mourning”—Ferentz happened upon Stevie Wonder’s 1976 classic double album Songs in the Key of Life. Listening to it anew was a healing, spiritual trip down memory lane, helping him to come to terms with his breakup and reflect on how songs in general have been linked to his life. In this book, Ferentz invites us to get cozy and listen as he hits PLAY on meaningful tracks from Wonder and others, including Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, LL Cool J, Beenie Man, Sheryl Crow, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, and Black Sabbath. He recalls: How the fusion of rock and rap in the breakthrough Run-D.M.C./Aerosmith video “Walk This Way” helped to change an adolescent Ferentz from outcast to authority figure How Michael Jackson’s Thriller brought back a traumatic childhood experience How Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” speaks to the tension between his Christian beliefs and his need to rip it up in clubs as a hip-hop head In the tradition of Nick Hornby’s Songbook¸ these words paint a portrait of a life framed by sounds, allowing all of us to think about what songs have been key in our own lives.

In this book, Dennis Smith argues that we need to look afresh at globalization. So far analysts have seen globalization in terms of three logics. Yet these approaches ignore important historical and human aspects of globalization.

One of The Telegraph's Best Music Books 2011 We live in a pop age gone loco for retro and crazy for commemoration. Band re-formations and reunion tours, expanded reissues of classic albums and outtake-crammed box sets, remakes and sequels, tribute albums and mash-ups . . . But what happens when we run out of past? Are we heading toward a sort of culturalecological catastrophe where the archival stream of pop history has been exhausted? Simon Reynolds, one of the finest music writers of his generation, argues that we have indeed reached a tipping point, and that although earlier eras had their own obsessions with antiquity—the Renaissance with its admiration for Roman and Greek classicism, the Gothic movement's invocations of medievalism—never has there been a society so obsessed with the cultural artifacts of its own immediate past. Retromania is the first book to examine the retro industry and ask the question: Is this retromania a death knell for any originality and distinctiveness of our own?

The stars of the YouTube channel Kent Rollins Cowboy Cooking, authors of the hit cookbook A Taste of Cowboy, serve up spins on southern and western favorites, with a side of spiritual values Real-life cowboy Kent Rollins captivates fans from Branson, Missouri, to the Big Apple with his maverick cooking, country humor, and wisdom. In their heartfelt new book, Kent and Shannon Rollins invite everyone to sit a while at their table. Honey-Chipotle Chicken is hot off the grill. There's Cracklin' Cornbread in the skillet and Cool Cucumber Dill Salad from the garden. Save room for the Homemade Cherry Almond Ice Cream. But first, it's time for grace. Out here, there's no Wi-Fi--just family and friends. The food is lively, but the recipes are relaxed. Kent's inspirational sayings, tales of the range, and cowboy poetry combined with Shannon's stunning photos and quotes from scripture capture faith, hope, and appreciation of life's blessings. So praise the Lord and pass the Cheddar-Jalapeño Biscuits!

Rivals is both the ultimate directory of football derbies and a collection of the stats that 'really matter' for the English League Clubs. Forget the dry and oft-quoted football facts, 'Rivals' arms the reader with a completely new set of fan-based stats. Find out which club has the highest 'nutter rating' (arrests per 1,000 attendance), or the worst 'Your ground's too big for you' ranking! Which club offers their supporters the worst 'Fans' value-for-money' (admission price as a ratio of 5 year league position!) There are many intriguing, often funny, stories behind the web of little publicised, though frequently intense, rivalries between clubs and fans. With many contributions from supporters, the book examines the extraordinary cult of British Football Derbies, looking at the inter-town and regional biases, stereotypes, and opinions that fans have about their footballing rivals. At 240pp, Rivals is a light-hearted collection of statistics, fans' testimony and boundless trivia. The book uncovers the amusing, bizarre, and sometimes alarming portraits of the intensity of fans' feelings, and the way in which they perceive other teams, towns and cities. It has a clear format pulling together diverse facts. Attractively designed with information given under headings allowing the reader to compare various facts on a club-to-club basis, the text can be read from cover to cover or dipped into.

Christians know that God loves them, but can easily feel that he is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. As a result, they focus a lot—and rightly so—on what Jesus has done to appease God’s wrath for sin. But how does Jesus Christ actually feel about his people amid all their sins and failures? This book draws us to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. The gospel flows from God’s deepest heart for his people, a heart of tender love for the sinful and suffering. These chapters take readers into the depths of Christ’s very heart for sinners, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of who Christ is and encouraging readers with the affections of Christ for his people. His longing heart for sinners comforts and sustains readers in their up-and-down lives.

Once upon a time I was falling apart. Now I'm always falling in love. Pick up the microphone. When Rob Sheffield moved to New York City in the summer of 2001, he was a young widower trying to start a new life in a new town. Behind, in the past, was his life as a happily married rock critic, with a wife he adored, and a massive collection of mix tapes that captured their life together. And then, in a flash, all he had left were the tapes. Beyoncé , Bowie, Bon Jovi, Benatar . . . One night, some friends dragged him to a karaoke bar in the West Village. A night out was a rare occasion for Rob back then. Turn around Somehow, that night in a karaoke bar turned into many nights, in many karaoke bars. Karaoke became a way out, a way to escape the past, a way to be someone else if only for the span of a three-minute song. Discovering the sublime ridiculousness of karaoke, despite the fact that he couldn't carry a tune, he began to find his voice. Turn around And then the unexpected happened. A voice on the radio got Rob's attention. The voice came attached to a woman who was unlike anyone he'd ever met before. A woman who could name every constellation in the sky, and every Depeche Mode B side. A woman who could belt out a mean Bonnie Tyler. Bright Eyes Turn Around Bright Eyes is an emotional journey of hilarity and heartbreak with a karaoke soundtrack. It's a story about finding the courage to move on, clearing your throat, and letting it rip. It's a story about navi- gating your way through adult romance. And it's a story about how songs get tangled up in our deepest emotions, evoking memories of the past while inspiring hope for the future.