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A user's guide to opera--Matthew Aucoin, the most promising operatic talent in a generation (The New York Times Magazine), describes the creation of his groundbreaking new work, Eurydice, and shares his reflections on the past, present, and future of opera
From its beginning, opera has been an impossible art. Its first practitioners, in seventeenth-century Florence, set themselves the unreachable goal of reproducing the wonders of ancient Greek drama, which no one can be sure was sung in the first place. Opera's greatest artists have striven to fuse multiple art forms--music, drama, poetry, dance--into a unified synesthetic experience. The composer Matthew Aucoin, a rising star of the opera world, posits that it is this impossibility that gives opera its exceptional power and serves as its lifeblood. The virtuosity required of its performers, the bizarre and often spectacular nature of its stage productions, the creation of a whole world whose basic fabric is music--opera assumes its true form when it pursues impossible goals. The Impossible Art is a passionate defense of what is best about opera, a love letter to the form, written in the midst of a global pandemic during which operatic performance was (literally) impossible. Aucoin writes of the rare works--ranging from classics by Mozart and Verdi to contemporary offerings of Thomas Adès and Chaya Czernowin--that capture something essential about human experience. He illuminates the symbiotic relationship between composers and librettists, between opera's greatest figures and those of literature. Aucoin also tells the story of his new opera, Eurydice, from its inception to its production on the Metropolitan Opera's iconic stage. The Impossible Art opens the theater door and invites the reader into this extraordinary world.
How identity politics failed one particular identity.
'A must read and if you think YOU don't need to read it, that's just the clue to know you do' SARAH SILVERMAN
'A masterpiece' STEPHEN FRY
Jews Don't Count is a book for people on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly, racism. People, possibly, like you.
It is the comedian and writer David Baddiel's contention that one type of racism has been left out of this fight. In his unique combination of reasoning, polemic, personal experience and jokes, Baddiel argues that those who think of themselves as on the right side of history have often ignored the history of anti-Semitism. He outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don't count as a real minority.
From a trans rights activist and athlete, an urgent guide that changes the conversation about gender identity. Anti-transgender legislation is being introduced in state governments around the United States in record-breaking numbers. Trans people are under attack in sports, healthcare, school curriculum, bathrooms, bars, and nearly every walk of life. He/She/They compassionately addresses fundamental topics, from why being transgender is not a choice and why pronouns are important, to more complex issues including how gender-affirming healthcare can be lifesaving. With a relatable narrative rooted in science, and history, Schuyler helps restore common sense and humanity to a discussion that continues to be divisively coopted and deceptively politicized. He/She/They is more than a book on allyship; it also speaks to trans folks directly, celebrating radical trans joy. National Bestseller Winner, 2023 Porchlight Business Book Awards Longlisted, 2024 Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Nonfiction Forbes 30 Under 30
The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice - A hugely entertaining history of baseball and New York City, bursting with larger-than-life figures and fascinating stories from the game's beginnings to the end of World War II. "You're going to beg for extra innings. Without missing a scandal or a sensation, with an eye on how assimilation transforms the picture, Kevin Baker has written a buoyant, double coming-of-age story. "--Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Baseball is "the New York game" because New York is where the diamond was first laid out, where the bunt and the curveball were invented, and where the home run was hit. It's where the game's first stars were born, and where everyone came to play or watch the game. With nuance and depth, historian Kevin Baker brings this all vividly back to life: the still-controversial, indelible moments--Did the Babe call his shot? Was Merkle out? Did they fix the 1919 World Series? Here are all the legendary players, managers, and owners, in all their vivid, complicated humanity, on and off the field. In Baker's hands the city and the game emerge from the murk of nineteenth-century American life--driven by visionaries and fixers, heroes and gangsters. He details how New York and its favorite sport came to mirror one another, expanding, bumbling through catastrophe and corruption, and rising out of these trials stronger than ever. From the first innings played in vacant lots and tavern yards in the 1820s; to the canny innovations that created the very first sports league; to the superb Hispanic and Black players who invented their own version of the game when white baseball sought to exclude them. And all amidst New York's own, incredible evolution from a raw, riotous town to a new world city. The New York Game is a riveting, rollicking, brilliant ode to America's beloved pastime and to its indomitable city of origin.
An in-depth, authoritative, and timely look at the unprecedented economic war the US and its European allies are waging against Russia after Putin's invasion of Ukraine--written by a veteran journalist with unparalleled access to Western and Russian sources. Undeterred by eight years of timid US sanctions, Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the hours that followed across the world, Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. What followed was an undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the world into a devastating recession. The end goal was simple: to sap the strength of Putin's war machine and damage the Russian economy--once the eleventh largest on the planet. Here, Russian expert and veteran journalist Stephanie Baker explains in fascinating detail how this furious shadow-war unfolded: its causes, how it is being executed, and its ability to affect Russia and the course of history. From seizing superyachts to manipulating the global price of oil to trying to block the sale of military technology to Russia, we learn how the White House coordinated with top officials in London and Brussels to freeze a staggering $300 billion in foreign currency reserves accumulated in the West by Russia's central bank. Mobilizing an army of white collar-crime investigators and experts on international law, Baker explores how the West has cracked down on illicit Russian money by targeting oligarchs, one superyacht at a time, and their enablers around the world. Filled with propulsive, fly-on-the-wall details, Punishing Putin takes us into the frantic backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of carefully calculated "economic statecraft" and shows how these new strategies are already radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today, and for generations to come.
Over twenty-two months in 1979 and 1981 nearly two dozen children were unspeakably murdered in Atlanta despite national attention and outcry; they were all Black. James Baldwin investigated these murders, the Black administration in Atlanta, and Wayne Williams, the Black man tried for the crimes. Because there was only evidence to convict Williams for the murders of two men, the children's cases were closed, offering no justice to the families or the country. Baldwin's incisive analysis implicates the failures of integration as the guilt party, arguing, "There could be no more devastating proof of this assault than the slaughter of the children."
As Stacey Abrams writes in her foreword, "The humanity of black children, of black men and women, of black lives, has ever been a conundrum for America. Forty years on, Baldwin's writing reminds us that we have never resolved the core query: Do black lives matter? Unequivocally, the moral answer is yes, but James Baldwin refuses such rhetorical comfort." In this, his last book, by excavating American race relations Baldwin exposes the hard-to-face ingrained issues and demands that we all reckon with them.
"The term "Metaverse" is thirty years old, yet only recently entered mainstream conversation, attracting both fascinating and skepticism. While some have promised its imminent arrival, in fact it will take a series of technological and societal leaps to realize its full potential. In The Metaverse, pioneering theorist, former tech executive, and acclaimed entrepreneur Matthew Ball offers an expansive tour of the "next internet" he presents a comprehensive definition of the Metaverse (going far beyond mere virtual reality headsets), explains the technologies that will power it, addresses governance challenges, and predicts Metaverse winners and losers. Bringing clarity and authority to a frequently misunderstood concept, this revised and updated edition of Ball's authoritative work demonstrates how the Metaverse will radically reshape society.
"A comprehensive guide to every aspect of the metaverse."--John Thornhill, Financial Times
"Offers a better understanding of the metaverse than the novel that coined the term--1992's Snow Crash."--Cecilia D'Anastasio, Bloomberg
"A comprehensive guide to every aspect of the metaverse."--John Thornhill, Financial Times
"Offers a better understanding of the metaverse than the novel that coined the term--1992's Snow Crash."--Cecilia D'Anastasio, Bloomberg
An in-depth and fresh celebration of the award-winning, "unapologetic, authentic, and at times unfiltered" (The Sacramento Bee) sports podcast All the Smoke hosted by NBA champions Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, featuring exclusive photographs and more never-before-seen material. For over two hundred critically acclaimed episodes, famously outspoken and controversial NBA icons Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson have comprehensively explored the lives and most pressing issues facing today's basketball players both on and off the court. Now, the two dive deeper into the "riveting, absurdly profane, and often unexpectedly poignant" (Slate) podcast. From taking us behind the scenes of their greatest moments to eye-opening insights from their interviews with legends such as Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Curry, Snoop Dogg, and more, All the Smoke is a fascinating, sharp, and essential read for new and longtime fans.
A beautifully illustrated and definitive crash course on dinosaur fossils, from the Allosaurus that use their teeth and jaws to dismember prey to the Sinosauropteryx specimen that confirmed the existence of feathered dinosaurs For natural history buffs and Jurassic Park fans Dinosaurs have captivated the world since Megalosaurus was the first one named in 1824, and A History of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils features fifty of the most momentous dinosaur findings from the fossil record. From rare fossil embryos that provide a glimpse into the early stage of dinosaur growth and development, to the claw of a Deinonychus, the dinosaur that served as a template for Jurassic Park's terrorizing raptors, the book illustrates the enthralling evolutionary history of animals that ruled the Earth for more than 150 million years with 75 full-color illustrations. Each stunning fossil photograph, magnified for optimal detail, includes an entry explaining the importance of the discovery and the fossil's significance in the larger evolutionary timeline. Themed chapters build off each other to depict a full and incredible story, including content on: the origin and rise of dinosaurs an introduction to major groups biological characteristics like feeding, behavior, distribution, and locomotion the first fossil birds, including the legendary feathered dinosaur, Archaeopteryx, considered widely to be the world's first bird species
The book provides insight on what fossils tell us about dinosaur relationships, movement, diet, skin, teeth, and frills, and so much more. A History of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils compiles centuries' of the most exciting fossil findings that helped earn dinosaurs an enduring place in the public imagination. This authoritative and visually beautiful book will delight and inspire readers young and old, and help them understand the rise and fall of some of the most amazing creatures to roam Earth.
The book provides insight on what fossils tell us about dinosaur relationships, movement, diet, skin, teeth, and frills, and so much more. A History of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils compiles centuries' of the most exciting fossil findings that helped earn dinosaurs an enduring place in the public imagination. This authoritative and visually beautiful book will delight and inspire readers young and old, and help them understand the rise and fall of some of the most amazing creatures to roam Earth.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "The definitive account of the Murdaugh murders. Forget the podcasts, the TV specials, and the documentaries--this is the version of the story you'll want to read. And once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down."--John Carreyrou, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Bad Blood Power, privilege, and blood--this is the true story of Alex Murdaugh's violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case. Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator--the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers' association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family's law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family's 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect--and fear--for a hundred miles. When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex's world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who'd finally seen enough. Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex's ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina's Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul's last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs' now-shattered legacy. Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex's life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told.