Welcome to Shondaland: An Unauthorized Biography Shonda Rhimes is the reigning Queen of Network Television. On the strength of the hit television series Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, she has turned the staid and repetitive halls of network television on its collective ear with shows that feature tough and realistic storylines, expertly drawn characters and, perhaps most importantly, have featured women in predominant lead roles. For Shonda, getting to the top has not been easy. She has met and conquered long held stereotypes of race and gender, has fought to singlehandedly raise the realistic and creative bar in media and has ultimately won over the viewing masses with her straight-forward middle-American attitude that has successfully cut through the B.S. and misconceptions like a knife through butter. In Welcome To Shondaland: The Unauthorized Biography of Shonda Rhimes, New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro follows the trail of a young idealistic girl who grew up on hopes, dreams and possibilities, would not take no for an answer, and found that success is the ultimate weapon in silencing doubters. Shonda Rhimes has proven a success story of classic proportions, a life that finally inspires and encourages, a life that tells the world to follow their passion. Welcome To Shondaland: The Unauthorized Biography Of Shonda Rhimes tells the reader that it is okay to meet life head on and to take a chance.

The Works of Shonda Rhimes, the first book in Bloomsbury's Screen Storytellers series, brings together a collection of essays that look critically at the works of this award-winning writer, producer, and CEO of the global media company, Shondaland. Shonda Rhimes's television series, and those created and produced through Shondaland, have left an important imprint on television history. Beginning with her groundbreaking series Grey's Anatomy, the series created under the umbrella of Rhimes's brand, including Private Practice, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, For the People, Station 19, Bridgerton, Inventing Anna, and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, have delighted global audiences with their innovative storytelling, dynamic characters, and the inclusion of contemporary social issues woven throughout the storylines. In this collection of essays, screenwriting and television studies scholars explore the ways in which Rhimes's series have been at the forefront of change in the television landscape in the past two decades, including discussions of the representation of women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ characters; inclusivity in casting; innovations in pilot and series development; variations on genre; and disruptive business and marketing practices. This collection of essays offers emerging screenwriters and informed consumers of television insights into the cultural impact of Rhimes's work as well as how one of the most powerful television creators and showrunners in the history of the medium has crafted and shaped screen stories that speak to viewers spanning all demographics across the globe.

Feminism in Practice uses feminism as a blueprint for exploring change strategies. It features twenty contemporary feminists from diverse arenas, including activists, comedians, musicians, politicians, poets, and showrunners. The women come to life through line drawings, brief biographies, extensive quotations, their definitions of feminism, and the change strategies they employ. Questions for reflection encourage readers to think through their own relationship to feminism and change. Chapter 1 defines feminism, raising issues with the typical definition of feminism as the effort to achieve equality between women and men. It concludes with a description of over twenty types of feminism. Chapter 2 describes the triggering events, happening places, and key ideas of the four waves of feminism. The opening chapters provide a comprehensive understanding of the diversity and complexity of feminist movement. The book is organized around five primary objectives that animate contemporary change efforts—proclaiming identity, naming a problem, enriching a system, changing a system, and creating an alternative system. Each objective is developed through theoretical assumptions and twelve change strategies that show it at work in feminist movement. Feminism in Practice also serves as a practical handbook that readers can use to experiment with the strategies and expand their toolkits for creating change in their lives and worlds. The authors are uniquely qualified to explore issues of feminism and change. Karen Foss and Sonja Foss are second wave feminists who have written extensively on alternative change strategies, feminist communication, and feminist theory. Alena Ruggerio brings to the project the standpoint of a third wave feminist at home in pop culture. Her scholarship lies at the intersection of rhetoric, feminism, and religious studies. To learn more about Feminism in Practice, listen to the authors’ October 2021 interview on The Jefferson Exchange.

Talented actor. Charismatic celebrity. Woman magnet. Author. A free thinker and an independent soul. That’s the shorthand when it comes to the worldwide perception of Keanu Reeves. But there’s more to the real Keanu than pop culture talking points and, in Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure: An Unauthorized Biography by New York Times bestselling author Marc Shapiro, the star of Speed, John Wick, Point Break and countless big and small films proves to be a lot more contrary and anti-establishment than most Hollywood cookie cutter celebrities. Equal parts biography and character study, Keanu Reeves’ Excellent Adventure: An Unauthorized Biography is an ink blot/rat in a maze journey as the actor deals with his life and times in straightforward, often philosophical and spiritual manner. He can be shy, self -effacing, an introvert and somebody who has been a pain in the side of the Hollywood establishment. He’s also found time to be an all around good guy as he deals with life’s ups and downs. But at the end of the day, Keanu Reeves is nothing less than human. He’s dealt with the deaths of those he’s loved the most. He makes no bones about the fact that he comes from a dysfunctional upbringing. He’s walked away from big-budget studio films in favor of doing Hamlet for peanuts. And, early on, he didn’t think twice about starring in the overtly gay-themed way out of the mainstream theater production Wolfboy. He’s readily admits to having done drugs and has had his run ins with the law. And along the way his risen to that rarified air of international star.

There's a lot people don't know about John McCain. They know the war hero, the prisoner of war. Those are the things that have made the headlines and the history books. But there is also the John McCain, working statesman, who has spent two terms in the House of Representatives and six terms in the Senate, going about the business of creating bills and fighting the good fight on the Senate floor for the benefit of the people and the country. It is from that McCain that this book takes its cue as it ventures into the specifics of his decades as the ultimate statesman doing the country's business. Written by New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro, John McCain: A View From The Hill delves into McCain's character, demeanor, his ability to craft bills and legislation that he cares about and ramrod them through the slippery slope of politics and into law. Through extensive research and exclusive one-on-one interviews with McCain's colleagues and foes, award-winning journalists and, in one instance, the observations of a man who had a front row seat for McCain's most challenging political moment, Shapiro probes McCain's ability to get along with Republicans and Democrats alike. The book looks at his uncompromising willingness to fight the presidential powers that be if he did not agree with them, the two rough and tumble presidential campaigns he lived through at a time when politics was entering a particularly ugly phase, and the long simmering feud with current President Donald Trump which finally exploded. If you think you know the life of John McCain, it is time to check your preconceptions. Because John McCain: A View From The Hill is about to take you deep inside a place you've never been before: How a historically significant man and politician has earned his stripes as a statesman for the ages. John McCain knew how to take care of business and this is how he did it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda created the Broadway hit-musical of the decade in Hamilton. His earlier production In The Heights set theater audiences dancing to a hip hop/ Latin beat. And if you have children or are a child at heart, you know all about the music of Moana. But there’s a lot you don’t know about this pop culture genius. Miranda’s story is the classic American Dream on full display. The son of Puerto Rican immigrants, Miranda’s life-long obsession with music, theater and the possibilities of creating for The Great White Way drove him through the ups and downs of the highly competitive world of Broadway and, through sheer drive, determination and an abundance of creative talent has made his way to the top of the entertainment world. Through extensive research in a number of widely divergent sources, Shapiro has pieced together the life and times of Lin-Manuel Miranda, replete with all the large and small moments that comprise the character of a literal creative renaissance man, composer, actor, culturally and socially savvy and multi-Tony-Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning giant of the Broadway stage whose future is only limited by his imagination which is always on the go and creating worlds to come Renaissance Man: The Lin Manuel Miranda Story is a blueprint for success, an inspirational guide to following one’s dreams and, perhaps most important, the answer to the question of what following your dreams can bring.

Mary Tyler Moore was a legendary television and film performer who was much loved and lauded by millions as the personification of sweetness and innocence filtered through a sanitized television world. But as fate would have it, Moore was so much more than that. Coming of age at a time when feminism and women’s rights were on the march across the land, Moore’s roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show proved a flashpoint and a flag bearing influence to countless women who had decided in Mary Richards there was the possibility of so much more. In You’re Gonna Make It After All: The Life, Times and Influence of Mary Tyler Moore (Riverdale Avenue Books), New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro digs deep into her much-celebrated and often turbulent life as filtered through the coming of age of women’s rights led by such luminaries as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and their triumphs and historical breakthroughs which were often influenced by Moore and her culturally important sitcoms. How the actress reacted to being cast as a feminist icon, her often contrary issues with the women’s movement, how her greatest television hits often brought home important liberal points in a stealth manner and her own political and social values form the backbone of a sociological, political and, yes, traditional celebrity biography that tells more than one expected from a book on somebody the world knows so well. In this thoroughly researched and documented biography, readers will discover… The truth behind the alleged relationship between Mary Tyler Moore and Elvis Presley. What happened on the date between Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner Why Mary Tyler Moore’s mother’s alcoholism led to Moore’s physical appearance. How Moore got her revenge on a neighbor who molested her at age six. “Mary Tyler Moore was an important entertainment personality,” author Shapiro states. “But she was also so much deeper than that. Her life and times are already well known. I felt that putting this reluctant feminist in the ring with the coming of equal rights for women would give the picture a different and ultimately insightful twist.”

“The Tragically Hip… the soundtrack our lives.” – Justin Trudeau On August 20th, 2016 11.7 million Canadians stood transfixed, watching the final concert of The Tragically Hip, and the rest of the world asked, “Who is this band?” New York Times Bestselling pop journalist Marc Shapiro answers that question in the first American book about this Canadian rock band that largely shunned the spotlight but has become the standard bearer of a resurgent sense of Canadian pride and patriotism. What is Hip? The Life And Times Of The Tragically Hip delves deep beneath the surface of this rock and roll story to discover how a band that spent more than three decades in the rock and roll trenches selling millions of albums and opening for the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin’s Page & Plant, remained almost unknown outside their home country, even as they rose to the level of rock royalty in Canada. What Is Hip: The Life And Times Of The Tragically Hip reveals: • The behind the scenes story of how the band took over The Horseshoe Tavern and made it their own • How a high up political personality was instrumental in landing the band their manager • The day-to-day, often unforgiving, spirit-grinding days of life on the road in Canada • The ins and outs of opening for three of the biggest groups in the history of rock and roll The Tragically Hip are not cartoon rockers. They are real men who live by their creativity and their principles. Through extensive research and a couple of well-placed sources, author Marc Shapiro has put together a complete look at The Tragically Hip’s rise: from their humble Kingston, Ontario roots, to endless tours, to their internal struggles to keep their music fresh, to the fanatic loyalty they fostered in millions of Canadian fans. These fans shed more than a few tears when it was announced that singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with brain cancer, and that The Hip were about to embark on what might be their final tour. Marc Shapiro is the author of more than 75 books. His most recent releases include Trump This! The Life And Times Of Donald Trump and Hey Joe: The Unauthorized Biography Of A Rock Classic. When he is not working, which is rare, he can usually be found mowing the lawn, taking out the trash and walking the dog.

The song Hey Joe was a momentary blip on the pop music scene in 1965 courtesy of a Southern California band called The Leaves. It would be their only hit. But over the next 50 plus years, the quirky song about premeditated murder went on to become something special, a musical rite of passage for the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Patti Smith, Led Zeppelin and countless others. It was a perennial that any teen band worth their limited chops coveted and recorded and finally it was an entry in The Guinness Book of World Records when thousands of people got together to play the song as the ultimate jam. Part, history, part mystery and part memoir, the book Hey Joe: The Unauthorized Biography of a Rock Classic by New York Times bestselling author Marc Shapiro is, through extensive and exhaustive research that included the memories of countless well known musicians who were part of the Hey Joe odyssey, a detailed look at the history of Hey Joe, the song that few have ever thought to think deeply about and the rumors, legends and outlandish tales surrounding the song that ultimately culminate in the ultimate question… Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand? In Hey Joe: The Unauthorized Biography of a Rock Classic readers will learn… The family tree of songs that spanned decades and finally spawned Hey Joe. Who actually wrote the song? How close Hendrix came to not recording Hey Joe. The mystery of who actually recorded the first version of Hey Joe. No it was not The Leaves. Would you believe Kim Fowley? Or The Surfaris? What a very young Bruce Springsteen had to do with the song. Nearly 3000 versions of Hey Joe, familiar, obscure and, in many cases, downright impossible to find, have been recorded and released.

Lost and Found, the autobiography of N.Y. Times best-selling author Micky Neilson, a 20 year-veteran of the World of Warcraft franchise, is The Glass Castle meets Of Dice and Men. Lost and Found: An Autobiography of Discovering Family, is the harrowing and inspirational memoir of the successful contributor to World of Warcraft and N.Y. Times best-seller Micky Neilson, who was kidnapped by his schizophrenic father as a toddler, spending his earliest years on the run and his teenage years as a foster child. This autobiography chronicles Micky’s experience serving in the first Gulf War, the meteoric rise of Blizzard Entertainment and, most triumphantly, his reuniting with the family that was stolen from him as a child. “No one who reads my fiction today or plays the video games I've contributed to knows that I was kidnapped at eight months old, that I grew up with a schizophrenic father, that I didn't attend school until 7th grade, or that I never knew my true identity until I was reunited with my family after 38 years,” said the author. “It's such an honor to finally be able to share my life story.”