Central Kansas Library System

Music Is History combines Questlove's deep musical expertise with his curiosity about history, examining America over the past fifty years. Focusing on the years 1971 to the present, Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapes- try, whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped Black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to Black genius. And, these critical inquiries are complemented by...

A music lesson in alphabet form that includes instruments, terms, composers, and music styles.

"Crime fiction expert Susanna Lee tracks the evolution of the hard-boiled character type over time and media in the United States. She shows how crime fiction rose in popularity at times of national conflict. Readers and viewers crave the sort of grit and independence that the hard-boiled detective offers when reality may leave them feeling they lack control over their own lives. This is a study of literature and film and also a work of cultural studies"--...

Based on a decade of research and reporting, Author in Chief tells the story of America's presidents as authors--and offers a delightful new window into the public and private lives of our highest leaders. Presidential books have made an enormous impact on American history, catapulting their authors to the national stage and even turning key elections. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, the first presidential book to...

Who is considered the world's first science fiction author? How did American science fiction begin? What sci-fi novel is the all-time best-seller? What were the "Pulps" and how did they predict with uncanny accuracy the 21st century world around us? The answers are here, along with detailed chapters dedicated to the founders of the genre and their modern-day successors. Discover the origins of your favorite page-to-screen science fiction movies, marvel...

"Tracing the careers of hip-hop's three most dynamic stars, this deeply reported history brilliantly examines the entrepreneurial genius of the first musician tycoons: Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z"--Amazon.com. Greenberg traces the careers of three rap artists: Diddy, Dr. Dre, and Jay-Z. In examining their entrepreneurialism, he traces the history of rap-- and how it made three successful musicians into the three richest American musicians. -- Adapted...

Jesus and History examines the historical background of the four Gospels. Can we identify their authors and dates, or were they later forgeries? Are the people and places in the Gospels historical or mythological? -- Did Jesus do the miracles and make the claims attributed to him, or did early Christians exaggerate his life? Who is he? Also, included in the appendix is rare historical research on abortion in the ancient world and the response by the...

"Millie danced to jazz in her Italian neighborhood. Pedro danced to Latin songs in his Puerto Rican neighborhood. It was the 1940s in New York City, and they were forbidden to dance together . . . until first a band and then a ballroom broke the rules. Machito and His Afro-Cubans hit the scene with a brand-new sound, blending jazz trumpets and saxophones with Latin maracas and congas creating Latin jazz, music for the head, the heart, and the hips....

"A virtuoso performance by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, Jazz celebrates the music of America -- from blues and ragtime to swing, bebop and fusion. With Jazz, Ken Burns reaches the high note of his epic trilogy on American life that began with 'The Civil War' and continued with 'Baseball'" -- Container.