Gods Gangsters And Honour

From Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, an insider's account of the deals and the dodges inside the music and entertainment business over the last 30 years As the son of the legendary showbiz lawyer Marty Machat, Steven Machat grew up among such names as Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Frankie Valli, and Sam Cooke. Following in his father's footsteps, by the time he was in his late 20s he was proud to see his name alongside his father's on the brass plaque outside their Broadway offices. But there was a price--Steven discovered from a young age that the glitter and the glamour too often disguises a crude and cruel reality, and that those who are publicly perceived as gods can just as easily be seen as gangsters. He found himself wondering how to live with such contradictions, and whether it is possible to maintain any sense of honor inside such a world. This beautifully constructed memoir of a life inside a fascinating world of celebrity includes appearances by Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield, Sharon Osbourne, George Bush, Phil Collins, Suge Knight, Tupac, Biggie, Gianni Versace, Phil Spector, Joan Collins, Donny Osmond, Bobby Brown, and many more.

From Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, an insider's account of the deals and the dodges inside the music and entertainment business over the last 30 years As the son of the legendary showbiz lawyer Marty Machat, Steven Machat grew up among such names as Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Frankie Valli, and Sam Cooke. Following in his father's footsteps, by the time he was in his late 20s he was proud to see his name alongside his father's on the brass plaque outside their Broadway offices. But there was a price--Steven discovered from a young age that the glitter and the glamour too often disguises a crude and cruel reality, and that those who are publicly perceived as gods can just as easily be seen as gangsters. He found himself wondering how to live with such contradictions, and whether it is possible to maintain any sense of honor inside such a world. This beautifully constructed memoir of a life inside a fascinating world of celebrity includes appearances by Frank Sinatra, Leonard Cohen, Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield, Sharon Osbourne, George Bush, Phil Collins, Suge Knight, Tupac, Biggie, Gianni Versace, Phil Spector, Joan Collins, Donny Osmond, Bobby Brown, and many more.

The definitive biography of one of the most emigmatic, beloved, and celebrated artists of our time. Leonard Cohen's extensive and successful recent worldwide tour has demonstrated that his popularity across generations and borders has never been greater. Cohen's life is one of singular mystique. This major in-depth biography is the book Cohen's fans have been waiting for. Acclaimed writer/journalist Sylvie Simmons has interviewed more than 100 figures from Cohen's life and work, including his main muses; the women in his life -- from Suzanne and Marianne to Rebecca de Mornay and Anjani Thomas; artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, David Crosby, Judy Collins, and Philip Glass; his record producers; his closest friends, from childhood to adulthood; and many of the spiritual figures who have influenced his life. Cohen, notoriously private, has granted interviews himself. Thoroughly researched and thoughtful, penetrating and lively, fascinating and revealing of stories and facts never read before, I'm Your Man offers new perspectives on Cohen and his life. It will be one of the most talked-about books of the season, and for years to come.

Both Dylan and Cohen have been a presence on the music and poetry landscape spanning six decades. This book begins with a discussion of their contemporary importance, and how they have sustained their enduring appeal as performers and recording artists. The authors argue that both Dylan and Cohen shared early aspirations that mirrored the Beat Generation. They sought to achieve the fame of Dylan Thomas, who proved a bohemian poet could thrive outside the academy, and to live his life of unconditional social irresponsibility. While Dylan's and Cohen's fame fluctuated over the decades, it was sustained by self-consciously adopted personas used to distance themselves from their public selves. This separation of self requires an exploration of the artists' relation to religion as an avenue to find and preserve inner identity. The relationship between their lyrics and poetry is explored in the context of Federico García Lorca's concept of the poetry of inspiration and the emotional depths of 'duende.' Such ideas draw upon the dislocation of the mind and the liberation of the senses that so struck Dylan and Cohen when they first read the poetry and letters of Arthur Rimbaud and Lorca. The authors show that performance and the poetry are integral, and the 'duende,' or passion, of the delivery, is inseparable from the lyric or poetry, and common to Dylan, Cohen and the Beat Generation.

What if a nation was truly controlled by a purely capitalistic society? What if the symbol of that society came in the form of the modern gangster? In the country of Begistan, power belonged to the Marzins, a family with a criminal legacy that tries to hold on to everything they have as their patriarch, a former old-school mob boss turned president of the country, is assassinated. As some of his children seek revenge for his murder, they also form and break alliances that would end with a showdown among the remaining family members to become the number one criminal: the God of Gangsters.

Fantasy meets crime caper in the first book of a landmark, enduringly popular epic series about a roguish group of conmen, which George R. R. Martin has called “fresh, original, and engrossing . . . gorgeously realized.” An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges relentless danger, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentlemen Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.

Anthony Reynolds’ fascinating and detailed biography draws on scores of new interviews conducted with Cohen’s band members past and present, his business associates, editors, friends, fans, producers, colleagues, enemies and peers. As well as their revealing accounts, the author has gained access to hours of previously unpublished interviews with Cohen as well as video archive recordings from several decades. The book also includes an authoritative summary of every Cohen album, with insights and recollections supplied from the musicians who appeared on the recordings. Gradually, despite Cohen’s own good-natured evasiveness over the past 40 years, a surprisingly frank portrait begins to emerge of the legendary figure who commands unparalleled loyalty from his fans and followers, young and old. From the distant days of his penniless beginnings as a much-praised poet in Montreal, through the travels, affairs and religious crisis to his latest tours, Cohen’s extraordinary life and body of work is examined as never before. The book includes many previously unpublished photographs.