Most Popular Books by David Ritz

Op zijn vijfde won Lang Lang het Shenyang Pianoconcours, en op negenjarige leeftijd ging hij naar het conservatorium. Inmiddels wordt hij wereldwijd tot de grote pianisten gerekend. Het succes van Lang Lang is in vele artikelen gedocumenteerd, maar minder bekend is het hartverscheurende verhaal dat eraan voorafging: zijn ontwikkeling van een arme arbeiderszoon in het noorden van China tot een van de grootste pianisten van deze tijd. Van Oost naar West is het opmerkelijke en inspirerende verhaal van Lang Langs jeugd in China en zijn bliksemcarrière in de internationale muziekwereld.

A powerful chronicle of the sixteen weeks leading up to King of Pop Michael Jackson''s death Michael Jackson''s final months were like the rest of his short and legendary life: filled with deep lows and soaring highs, a constant hunt for privacy, and the pressure and fame that made him socially fragile and almost--ultimately--unable to live. With the insight and compassion that he brought to his bestselling telling of Martin Luther King, Jr.''s final year, Tavis Smiley provides a glimpse into the superstar''s life in this emotional, honest, yet celebratory book. Readers will witness Jackson''s campaign to recharge his career--hiring and firing managers and advisors, turning to and away from family members, fighting depression and drug dependency--while his one goal remained: to mount the most spectacular series of shows the world had ever seen. BEFORE YOU JUDGE ME is a humanizing look at Jackson''s last days.

From one of the most influential officeholders in Texas and power brokers in Washington over the last seventy years, lifetime Democrat Ben Barnes, an intimate and unexpected look behind the corridors of power. Ben Barnes started out as a whistleblower. He was only nineteen when he uncovered corruption in the Health Department in Austin, Texas, and testified against the culprits. He felt empowered—a guy like him could make a difference. Now at eighty-seven, despite his impressive career, he is trying to go more places and solve more problems than any other time in his life. Barnes is ready to share his decades of political experience and remind readers that there is a way to keep going and keep fighting, even in the golden years. The golden years are a fine time to get things done. In Get It Done, Ben Barnes details never-before-heard stories of the most consequential politicians of the past several decades, including Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, John Connally, Hubert Humphrey, Ross Perot, Barbara Jordan, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump. He sheds new light on pivotal political events, including the Kennedy assassination, the Anwar Sadat assassination, the Vietnam War, and the Iranian hostage crisis. Further, Barnes offers actionable lessons to successfully face, combat, and thwart the consequences of the second Trump term.

Few artworks have been the subject of more extensive modern interpretation than Melencolia I by renowned artist, mathematician, and scientist, Albrecht Dürer (1514). And yet, did each of these art experts and historians miss a secret manifesto that Dürer included within the engraving? This is the first work to decrypt secrets within Melencolia I based not on guesswork, but Dürer''s own writings, other subliminal artists that inspired him (i.e., Leonardo da Vinci), the Jewish and Christian Bibles, and books that inspired Dürer (De Occulta Philosophia and the Hieorglyphica).

Born to a music-loving family, the Neville brothers grew up immersed in the sounds and culture of New Orleans, and the blended rhythms of the city are reflected in their wide range of musical styles. The result, like their native city, is a rich gumbo of flavors: Art, with his keyboard wizardry; Aaron, with his angelic voice; Charles, a spiritual seeker and jazz devotee; and Cyril, whose passion for music matches the intensity of his politics. In The Brothers, each tells his story candidly, recounting the early hits, the problems with drugs and the law, and the circuitous route to success. Along the way, the brothers tell the story of the New Orleans culture as well—the birth of rhythm and blues, the folklore behind the fabulous Mardi Gras Indians, the painful racial climate, and the family whose legacy is now a part of our musical history.

The determination of two childhood sweethearts, Gabriella Lotta and Marco Pucenza, to become a successful screenwriter and actor, respectively, threatens to destroy their relationship

Ray Charles is one of the most gifted and influential musicians of our century. By combining gospel, jazz, blues, and country, he helped invent what would become known as soul. An "unsparingly personal document that bears a striking resemblance to Ray Charles sitting around with close friends rapping" "(L.A. Times), Brother Ray is as engaging, frank, and soulful as Charles'' music.