Side Man

THE STORY: Set in 1953 and traveling to 1985, this lovely and poignant memory play unfolds through the eyes of Clifford, the only son of Gene, a jazz trumpet player, and Terry, an alcoholic mother. Alternating between their New York City apartment

"Narrative & Biography" winnner in the 2023 Porchlight Business Book Awards While most successful sidemen are lucky to spend a decade in the music business, multi-instrumentalist Mark Rivera is working on his fifth. Best known as Billy Joel’s saxophonist as well as Musical Director for Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Rivera has shared the stage with some of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s greatest performers, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Simon & Garfunkel, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Tony Bennett, Sheila E., Joe Walsh, Hall & Oates, and Peter Gabriel. How does he do it while avoiding the typical pitfalls—falling out of favor with the band, burnout, depression? A devoted father and husband for nearly forty years, Rivera’s recollections in Sideman demonstrate that while he struggled to balance the two worlds—a rock ‘n’ roller circling the globe and a regular guy worried about putting food on the table—his body’s compulsion to always be playing music kept him in constant pursuit of “the next gig.” The sideman is put to the test as he recounts his past from the confines of a global pandemic, and the man accustomed to “keeping up with the music” is forced to put down his instruments and reflect. Full of optimism, humor, and candor, Rivera turns the spotlight on the sideman’s life, revealing not only what it takes to climb the industry ladder (and stay there), but something more surprising: a bit of ourselves rocking out amongst all those superstars.

A riveting look at the scientific roots of male violence.

'Brilliant . . . twisting the tension tauter with each page' Guardian 'The dialogue crackles and the search for the killer has surprising twists and turns' Observer Inside a beautiful Victorian family home in Glasgow’s West End, a mother and her young son are found brutally murdered. DI Costello is furious and knows exactly who did it, George Haggerty, the husband and father. The only problem is that Haggerty has a cast-iron alibi – the police themselves caught him speeding on the A9 at the time of the murders. But Costello can’t let it go. Determined to expose Haggerty as a ruthless killer, she’s gone solo. DCI Colin Anderson has no time to ponder his partner of twenty years going rogue, as his own cases are piling up. But Costello’s absence becomes increasingly worrying. Has she completely disappeared following the tracks of a dangerous man?

Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Matthew's dad is the strongest man this side of Cremona. He can lift Matthew over fences, and when he shouts at the cows, they scatter. But while helping repair a fence on their dairy farm, Matthew encounters something stronger than his dad: a tornado sweeping a path of devastation across the prairie. Thanks to his dad's quick thinking, they survive the tornado. But it has left Matthew shaken, and their beautiful farm has been damaged almost beyond recognition. While friends gather to help rebuild, Matthew discovers that the love he and his father share must be the strongest thing of all.

The famous trombonist and arranger from the James Brown band and Parliament-Funkadelic tells his own story.

"A memoir, the purpose of which is to inform, stimulate and, in so far as possible, to entertain those with an interest in the intricacies, confusion, light and darkness of international relations as encountered occasionally at headquarters, but more often in turbulent/exotic circumstances in the field. Three quarters of the book is focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. Other chapters range across Bosnia, the UK, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine and Crete. The methodology is a mix of anecdotal and analytic."--