Back In The Day

Melvyn Bragg's first ever memoir - an elegiac, intimate account of growing up in post-war Cumbria, which vividly evokes a vanished world. In this captivating memoir, Melvyn Bragg describes his life from childhood to adulthood in the Cumbrian market town of Wigton, from the early years alone with his mother while his father fought in the war to the moment he left for university. It is the tale of a working-class boy who grew up in a pub and expected to leave school at 16, then won two scholarships to Oxford; who happily roamed the streets and raided orchards with his friends yet had a breakdown when he was 13; and who was deeply embedded in a close-knit community but had to choose whether to leave it and the girl he loved behind. It is equally the tale of the place that shaped him; an elegy to a proud northern town steeped in the old ways but on the cusp of change, with the new NHS and council estates beginning to take effect. Bragg paints vivid portraits of his parents, relatives and the people he grew up with, from vicars to gypsies, teachers to rogues, and evokes such enduring rituals as the horse fair, hound-trailing and potato-picking week. The result is an engrossing, beautifully written memoir, which gives an unusual insight into one of the most renowned figures in the arts and poignantly recreates a vanished era.

A star during his lifetime, a legend after a bullet killed him at the age of twenty-five, Tupac Shakur was the most influential rap musician of his day–and the most misunderstood. Far from being the insolent “gangsta” that the press put forth, Tupac was a committed and fearless visionary determined to make a difference not only on the music scene but in the black community at large. Darrin Bastfield grew up with Tupac in a rough Baltimore neighborhood, rapped with him, fought with him, and performed by his side. Now in this vivid, highly personal memoir featuring never-before-seen photos of the rap artist, Darrin shows the world what Tupac Shakur was really like as a teenager destined for greatness. In tight, edgy prose, Darrin follows Tupac through the seven years of their friendship. In Roland Park Middle School in the mid-1980s, rap was a kind of underground movement, and the kids with real talent always found each other. Tupac–new in town, a skinny thirteen-year old with shabby clothes and lopsided hair–may have looked uncool, but it soon became clear that he had the gift. When Tupac teamed up with Mouse, king of the beatbox, they blew the school away in their performance as the Eastside Crew. It was the first in a series of increasingly electrifying performances. When Tupac went to the Baltimore School for the Arts, then it really started to happen. A new group called Born Busy, unforgettable performances at the Beaux Arts Balls, an eye-opening backstage encounter with Salt-N-Pepa, their tight friendship with John, known among black kids as “the cool white boy,” a series of love affairs with adoring girls, the wild nights of the 1988 senior prom–Tupac and Darrin lived though it all together, and in this memoir Darrin makes it all come alive again. From the start, Darrin knew Tupac was a marked man, singled out by his charismatic gift. So it came as no surprise that Tupac made it big when rap went mainstream. What stunned Darrin was the violent turn Tupac’s life took once he relocated to L.A.–and how swiftly that violence engulfed and destroyed him. Vibrant, gritty, alive with the tension and spontaneity of rap music, this memoir of Tupac’s teenage years is a haunting portrait of one of the most important artists of our day.

Now in a more compact format, Back in the Day is a timeless and nostalgic collection of photographs documenting the skateboarding scene in the 1970s. William Sharp began taking surfing photographs in southern California in the early seventies and was quickly drawn into the nascent skateboard scene, shooting friends emulating surfing moves on pavement. By 1975 he was brought in as a staff photographer for the magazine Skateboard World. During the next five years he documented the meteoric rise of the movement, capturing thousands of photographs along the way. Back in the Day features hundreds of Sharp's astounding photos from this era. The work is priceless, not only for its documentary value, but for the beautiful and poetic images captured and later developed by Sharp himself (many in black and white). Pipes in Arizona, aqueducts in California, pools all over the place, the locales and images must be seen to be believed. Ozzie Ausband signed on as an editor of the project, collecting present day quotes and assisting with the paring down of Sharp's massive photo archive. Sharp's epic photos are populated by the vanguard of the scene such as Tony Alva, Jay Adams, Jerry Valdez, Steve Caballero, and Jay Smith, among many others. This is a must have for fans and collectors of the original large format released in 2017.

Back In The Day By: Steve Heuton We all shook hands and watched as Andy bent down and ran for the chopper. He jumped on, turned to us, and flashed the peace sign as it lifted off. We watched for a second from the jeep. Then Ed started the engine and we headed back. Suddenly, we heard a loud explosion. I jumped from the jeep and looked back as we slid to a stop, watching in horror as the chopper, engulfed in flames, plummeted to the ground. Back In The Day by Steve Heuton transports you to the late 1960s to experience life as it actually was “back in the day.” Steve’s powerful descriptions of the life of Jimmy Reno are founded partially in the experiences had by himself and loved ones who scarified for our country during Viet Nam. We come to know Jimmy during the innocence of high school and we fall in love with him as he meets Angela for the first time. But, he too must deal with the reality of the impending draft. Living through the intense emotions caused by the perils of war forces Jimmy to grow up too fast. Run-ins with the law and bar fights aren’t the only things weighing Jimmy down. Will he be able to prevail and come to grips with these inner demons threatening to annihilate all that he loves?

My personal views of life on the street as a teenage drug dealer in Hollywood and San Francisco before getting my life together and making something of myself.

Back in the Day 3: The Final Chapter starts in more modern day and is designed to take you back almost 3 decades to where Back in the Day 2: The College Years left off. Through the use of reflection you go from more current time back to 1978 where the 2nd book of the Trilogy leaves off and eventually comes to an end. The story tells of good times and sad times and what the characters did to make it through it all.

Excerpt from Back in the Day 2: The College Years With the little strength he had, Thomas told us he wanted to go camping one last time. "Consider this my dying wish and honor it, please?" Later that night Thomas began to use the bucket more frequently than he had been. He said he had one last thing he wanted. He told Chris he wanted to sit on his lap and have Chris sing his favorite song to him. They looked into each other's eyes as Chris started to sing "I see trees of green, red roses too". We all knew what that song was. When Chris got to the part that says "They're really sayin' I love you", Thomas forced out the words to Chris. "I love you" and with that Thomas closed his eyes and drew his last breath. Thomas got everything he wanted in his final days and hours. We could see Chris just sitting there rocking Thomas' lifeless body. Reviews for Back in the Day: Anthony Larson Phoenix, AZ It is rare that a book speaks to me in the way this book did. It has been a long time since I was so taken by a book that i had to literally force myself to put it down in order to do things like sleep and eat. I had only gotten as far as the second paragraph when I first had the thought that this could just as well be my story. As it turns out I would have that thought more times than I could count. I am by no means easily moved to tears by something I am reading; however, this book moved me to tears a number of times. If only every teenager who sees his or her self as being "different" in any way could have parents like John and Sara Kendall this world would be a much better place. Jeff Milyard Arizona The excerpt from your book strikes home as a dear friend was beaten by both his mother and father after discovering a love letter from his boyfriend. While I tried to ease his pain that incident placed fear in my heart and I never did come out.

Back in the day intertwines the process of four teenagers coming to grips with their sexuality. It takes you on their journey to love who they choose, to be loved back and be accepted for who they are. Along that journey the story shows how they managed when tragedy struck, personal relationships are tested and how family life was for these young men. Many of us who were teens during those years can identify with a number of issues that present themselves in the book. Take the journey with Mike, Kirk, Kyle and Philip beyond how society looked upon their road to finding out who they are and what they look for in life.