From Albion To Shangri La

' ''Poet, young and busy, seeks cheap spacious rooms somewhere. Excellent references available . . .'' so reads a self-penned ad, a very early entry from Pete Doherty's journals. From the early books a fascinating and very entertaining picture emerges of the young poet, broke in London, serving popcorn at the Prince Charles Cinema, ruminating on Britpop, listening to Scott Walker, but dreaming of creating a band infused with 'the spirit of Albion'. The later books reflect Pete's rise to fame, his changing world, and are full of artwork, photographs, notes and thoughts. It is intimate, honest stuff, very readable and very funny in places; pretty dark in others. All in all it's the work of a serious artist, a complete antidote to most things written about Doherty. These twenty-odd books - edited and condensed into one volume - are filled with poems, drawings, personal reflections, lyrics and collages, and is a powerfully compelling collection.

An incredible love story, as well as a tale of hard-core rock and roll, The One & Only features an introduction by long-term fan John Cooper-Clarke, an extensive additional chapter, plus exclusive interviews with the reclusive Peter and his wife, Zena, and previously unseen photographs.Considered one of the great character studies in rock literature, few biographies get as close to their subject matter as The One & Only. Charting a musical career founded in criminality and impossible behaviour, alongside the survival of a now 40-year marriage despite both partners' chronic heroin addiction and Perrett's outrageous infidelity and pernickety expectations, this startling account of the enigmatic Peter Perrett and The Only Ones is shockingly candid and poignant. No ordinary rock n' roll story, Nina Antonia chronicles the ascent, retreat and eventual redemption of one of contemporary music's most ephemeral yet enduring figures. The One & Only also traces the dangerous rise of heroin use amongst a coterie of musicians surrounding Perrett, including Johnny Thunders and Sid Vicious.

14 and forlorn, Nina Antonia escaped the torment of her teens with dreams of Marc Bolan and the New York Dolls. They ruled supreme in her glam rock universe - until the night she saw Brett Smiley on The Russell Harty TV Show. Appearing to reside in very different worlds, Nina and Brett shared the same wish - transformation through music. The youngest child ever to play 'Oliver' on Broadway, Brett seemed poised for stardom and as the 70s went into orbit he found himself the protege of the Stones' Svengali, Andrew Loog Oldham...

Pete Doherty, erstwhile singer with The Libertines, is a British icon. Whether he is playing impromptu gigs in his front room or performing at Live 8, he possesses a sense of drama and expectation not seen in a performer since Sid Vicious. He is enigmatic, charismatic and thoroughly entertaining. Since leaving The Libertines, his life has become something of a rock 'n' roll soap opera where rumours of crack addiction abound, gossip about his relationship with Kate Moss is rife, and predictions for his future vary wildly. Written by Alex Hannaford, former rock and pop editor on the London Evening Standard, and with a brand new foreword by Pete's mum, Jackie Doherty, this is the definitive biography of Pete Doherty.

Lord Kraven, leader of Phileas Fogg's "League of Heroes," battles alongside Sherlock Holmes, Lord Greystoke, Captain Hook, and other colorful heroes to protect the mighty Empire of Albion from the dastardly villainy of Peter Pan, the Jade Mask, the deadly Doctor Fatal, and a host of other foes.

Winner of the 2005 New Jersey Author Award for Scholarly Non-Fiction from the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Long before Bruce Springsteen picked up a guitar; before Danny DeVito drove a taxi; before Jack Nicholson flew over the cuckoo's nest, Asbury Park was a seashore Shangri-La filled with shimmering odes to civic greatness, world-renowned baby parades, temples of retail, and atmospheric movie palaces. It was a magnet for tourists, a summer vacation mecca-to some degree New Jersey's own Coney Island. In Asbury Park's Glory Days, award-winning author Helen-Chantal Pike chronicles the city's heyday-the ninety-year period between 1890 and 1980. Pike illuminates the historical conditions contributing to the town's cycle of booms and recessions. She investigates the factors that influenced these peaks, such as location, lodging, dining, nightlife, merchandising, and immigration, and how and why millions of people spent their leisure time within this one-square-mile boundary on the northern coast of the state. Pike also includes an epilogue describing recent attempts to resurrect this once-vibrant city.