Now Available:

Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov ~ World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond

written by Larry Loftis

published by Dutton Caliber

Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

On a cool August evening in 1941, a Serbian playboy created a stir at Casino Estoril in Portugal by throwing down an outrageously large baccarat bet to humiliate his opponent. The Serbian was a British double agent, and the money―which he had just stolen from the Germans―belonged to the British. From the sideline, watching with intent interest, was none other than Ian Fleming…

The Serbian was Dusko Popov. As a youngster, he was expelled from his London prep school. Years later, he would be arrested and banished from Germany for making derogatory statements about the Third Reich. When World War II ensued, the playboy became a spy, eventually serving three dangerous masters: the Abwehr, MI5 and MI6, and the FBI.
 
On August 10, 1941, the Germans sent Popov to the United States to construct a spy network and gather information on Pearl Harbor. He successfully made contact with the FBI in an attempt to warn the country, but J. Edgar Hoover blew his cover. Later, MI5 desperately needed Popov to deceive the Abwehr about the D-Day invasion, but they assured him that a return to the German Secret Service Headquarters in Lisbon would result in torture and execution. He went anyway…  
 
Into the Lion’s Mouth is a globe-trotting account of a man’s entanglement with espionage, murder, assassins, and lovers―including enemy spies and a Hollywood starlet. It is a story of subterfuge, seduction, patriotism, and cold-blooded courage. It is the story of Dusko Popov―the inspiration for James Bond.

Available Now:

The Illustrated Al:  The Songs of "Weird Al" Yankovic

Foreword by Emo Philips 

Z2 Comics

Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Five-time Grammy Award-winner and legendary musical satirist “Weird Al” Yankovic has written some ALL of the greatest songs of both the 20th and 21st centuries. Z2 has gathered some of the top cartoonists to express Al's “Yankovisions" visually within this book's pages. The great Al-merican songbook features 20+ classic songs interpreted by such artists as Bill Plympton, Aaron Augenblick, Peter Bagge, Steve Chanks, Danny Hellman, Felipe Sobreiro, Gideon Kendall, Michael Kupperman, Wes Hargis, and many more!  Cover art by Drew Friedman and Mike & Laura Allred, foreword by legendary comic Emo Philips with an accompanying illustration by master MAD alumnus Sam Viviano.

Now Available:

Whorephobia:  Strippers on Art, Work, and Life

by Lizzie Borden

Seven Stories Press

Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

No one knows more than strippers about being looked at: as objects of desire, objects of curiosity, as angels or Jezebels or hookers with hearts of gold. In this anthology, twenty-three dancers whose careers span decades, geographies, and identities demand to be seen. Through stories from first nights on the job to the day they hung up their sky-high heels—or decided they never will—these writers offer glimpses into lives of camaraderie and celebration, joy, pride, despair, frustration, self-doubt, and fear.
 
Their unfiltered perspectives on their lives, onstage and off, are a powerful counternarrative to the whorephobia that shrouds the conventional portrayals of strippers in crime movies, TV shows, music videos, newspaper articles, and legislative debates. Each of these illuminating essays and interviews peels away tired myths and salacious speculation and presents the naked truth: that sex work is real work and strippers are real people.
 
Contributors:

Cookie Mueller • Kathy Acker • Jo Weldon • Susan McMullen • Maggie Estep • Chris Kraus • Jodi Sh. Doff • Terese Pampellonne • Jill Morley • Susan Walsh • Debi Kelly Van Cleave • Elissa Wald • Essence Revealed • Sassy Penny • Jacq Frances • Reese Piper • Lindsay Byron • The Incredible, Edible Akynos • Antonia Crane • Lily Burana • A M Davies • Kayla Tange • Selena the Stripper

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Anatomy of 55 More Songs: The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock, Pop, and Soul

by Marc Myers

Grove Press

Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Songs that sell the most copies become hits, but some of those hits become something more—iconic recordings that not only inspire a generation but also change the direction of music. In Anatomy of 55 More Songs, based on his column for the Wall Street Journal, music journalist and historian Marc Myers tells the story behind fifty-five rock, pop, R&B, country, and soul-gospel hits through intimate interviews with the artists who wrote and recorded them.

Part oral history, part musical analysis, Anatomy of 55 More Songs ranges from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” to Dionne Warwick’s “Walk On By,” The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.” Bernie Taupin recalls how he wrote the lyrics to Elton John’s “Rocket Man;” Joan Jett remembers channeling her rage against how she had been unfairly labeled and treated as a female rocker into “Bad Reputation;” and Ozzy Osbourne, Elvis Costello, Bob Weir, Sheryl Crow, Alice Cooper, Roberta Flack, John Mellencamp, Keith Richards, Carly Simon, and many others reveal the emotions and technique behind their major works.

Through an absorbing chronological, song-by-song analysis of the most memorable post-war hits, Anatomy of 55 More Songs provides a sweeping look at the evolution of pop music between 1964 and today. This book will change how you listen to music and evaluate the artists who create it.

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Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges

by Michelle D. Gladieux

Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.

Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Raising your game as a communicator is one of the best ways to make a difference in the world, but it takes heart and courage to open up to others and invite them to open up to you. As a lifelong communication coach, Michelle Gladieux has discovered four sneaky obstacles that can keep you from becoming the best communicator you can be:

Hiding-Fear of exposing your supposed weaknesses
Defining-Putting too much stock into assumptions and being quick to judge 
Rationalizing-Using being realistic to shield yourself from taking chances, engaging in conflict, or doing other scary but potentially rewarding actions
Settling-Stopping at good enough instead of aiming for something better in your interactions

This book teaches us how to overcome mindsets that sabotage our efforts to earn respect and connect. Each chapter includes a real-world practice called a Pro Move and an exercise carefully crafted to help you overcome hang-ups and find more joy in communicating. Great communication is a full-body, full-mind, and full-heart effort. This book offers you and those you'll share it with motivation to grow as people and communicators.