Tommy Me

Now in paperback, after five hardcover printings, Tommy James’s wild and entertaining true story of his career—part rock & roll fairytale, part valentine to a bygone era, and part mob epic—that “reads like a music-industry version of Goodfellas” (The Denver Post). Everyone knows the hits: “Hanky Panky,” “Mony Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” “Crimson and Clover,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion.” All of these songs, which epitomize great pop music of the late 1960s, are now widely used in television and film and have been covered by a diverse group of artists from Billy Idol to Tiffany to R.E.M. Just as compelling as the music itself is the life Tommy James lived while making it. James tells the incredible story, revealing his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with Roulette Records and Morris Levy, the legendary Godfather of the music business. Me, the Mob, and the Music is a fascinating portrait of this swaggering, wildly creative era of rock ’n’ roll, when the hits kept coming and payola and the strong-arm tactics of the Mob were the norm, and what it was like, for better or worse, to be in the middle of it.

The ancient land of the Aztecs becomes vividly real as seen through the eyes of Tommy Hopps, a young American time traveler from the present day. It begins when a ghostly intruder attacks Tommy's family, stabbing his father. The intruder transports Tommy to the Aztec Empire in the year 1521, the time of the Spanish invasion. Tommy is left all alone in a warrior society. To his amazement, the Aztecs and even their gods seem to recognize him -- as someone else. Pursued by Aztec warriors, strange creatures, and a mysterious woman who claims to be his wife, Tommy must rely on himself to survive while searching for a way to return to the present. Can Tommy return to his own time to save his parents? Why was Tommy taken back in time to witness an ancient civilization soon to be destroyed? And could there be more to Tommy's identity than he himself knows? The novel accelerates toward the resolution of these mysteries in a surprise ending. Stunning full-color illustrations by Jesse 2 Staints.

THE STORY: Constructed as a series of vignettes, skits and brief incidents, the play portrays the life and attitude of one Tommy Flowers--irrepressible cut-up, determined freeloader and disenchanted rebel against society. In the course of his advent

Tommy Lasorda believed that winning wasn't about being the best, but about believing you are the best and that philosophy runs throughout Tommy Lasorda: My Way. Author Colin Gunderson takes readers through Lasorda's days as a player and the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, including their two World Series Championships in 1981 and 1988. It also provides fans with a peek at what makes Lasorda tick: his relationship with his father, Sabatino, whom he emulated; his childhood growing up in Norristown, Pennsylvania, working odd jobs; and his unfailing work ethic. That work ethic helped him become one of baseball's most successful managers as he won the World Series twice, won four National League pennants and eight division titles with the Dodgers. In this book, fans will recall some of their favorite Lasorda anecdotes, and will also be privy to new information and rich background on this national baseball treasure, including memories from an All-Star roster of Dodgers stars.

O.P. Pym, the colossal Pym, that vast and rolling figure, who never knew what he was to write about until he dipped grandly, an author in such demand that on the foggy evening which starts our story his publishers have had his boots removed lest he slip thoughtlessly round the corner before his work is done, as was the great man's way—shall we begin with him, or with Tommy, who has just arrived in London, carrying his little box and leading a lady by the hand? It was Pym, as we are about to see, who in the beginning held Tommy up to the public gaze, Pym who first noticed his remarkable indifference to female society, Pym who gave him——But alack! does no one remember Pym for himself? Is the king of the Penny Number already no more than a button that once upon a time kept Tommy's person together? And we are at the night when they first met! Let us hasten into Marylebone before little Tommy arrives and Pym is swallowed like an oyster.

Tommy Thompson arrived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1963, smitten by folk and traditional Appalachian music. In 1972, he teamed with Bill Hicks and Jim Watson to form the nontraditional string band the Red Clay Ramblers. Mike Craver joined in 1973, and Jack Herrick in 1976. Over time, musicians including Clay Buckner, Bland Simpson and Chris Frank joined Tommy, who played with the band until 1994. Drawing on interviews and correspondence, and the personal papers of Thompson, the author depicts a life that revolved around music and creativity. Appendices cover Thompson's banjos, his discography and notes on his collaborative lyric writing.

For Guitar Players Only is one of the most unique books ever written for guitar. Legendary studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco shares his personal hints and exercises for improving picking technique and sight reading abilities, while offering countless other inside tips that will further your guitar career. The book includes actual parts that have been recorded for movies, television, albums, and commercials. Tedesco, and the story of his legendary studio sessions, has been featured in screenings around the country in the critically acclaimed film, The Wrecking Crew. See the film, buy the book, and learn the lessons from a true legend!

Tommy Shakes is a career criminal, and not a very good one. He earned his name as a heroin addict. Now he’s just a drunk, drinking so much that he spends much of his time in bathrooms, exploding from one end or the other. He’s in a marriage he wants to salvage. He convinces himself that his wife, Carla, will allow him to stay with her and their teenage son, Malik, if he can bring home enough money. She tells him that won’t do it, he needs to quit crime altogether, but Tommy gets a crack at a big heist and decides to pull the job. The job is ripping off a popular restaurant that runs an illegal sports book in back. A lot of money gets paid out on football Sundays; the plan is to pull the robbery on Saturday night. The back room has armed guards but, according to Smallwood, Tommy’s contact on the job, there’s no gang protection. Tommy recons the job and finds two problems: Smallwood’s plan will get them all killed or up on murder one, and one security guy works for a local gangster, Joey Lee. Tommy’s desperate for money and figures he can make his own plan. As to the gangster, there’s enough money that it’s worth the risk. They pull the robbery but one gang member gets gun happy and it turns into a bloodbath, which includes killing Lee’s man. Now they’re wanted for murder, and the law is the least of their problems. Praise for TOMMY SHAKES: “With his pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, his knack for crisp pacing, and his unerring eye for what might be called the milieu of functional dissolution, Rob Pierce has revealed himself in story after story as a poet of the luckless, the bard of the misbegotten. In the hero of his latest and best, Tommy Shakes, he has found his Frankie Machine.” —David Corbett, award-winning author of The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday “Tight as a drum, vicious as a pitbull. I don’t remember the last time I read something that scratched the scuzzy itch of noir as well as Tommy Shakes. Just, maybe don’t read it with a full stomach.” —Rob Hart, author of the Ash McKenna series “When you pick up Tommy Shakes, make sure you have nothing to do, because you’re not going to want to put this one down. Rob Pierce at the tip-top of his game. Watch out, y’all.” —Eryk Pruitt, author of What We Reckon “When I was in rehab, a psyche ward in Boston, I read the book Crime Novels: American Noir of the ’50s. Willeford, Goodis, Thompson, Highsmith, and Himes. Had it all. Wretchedness, duplicity, alcoholism, and hopelessness. Tommy Shakes by Rob Pierce would’ve slotted in there perfectly. Nobody does grim and grave better.” —Joe Clifford, author of Junkie Love and the Jay Porter Thriller Series “Rob Pierce writes the downtrodden like Rodin casts bronze, and Tommy Shakes is his masterpiece.” —Benjamin Whitmer, author of Cry Father and Pike “If you like the kind of noir that makes you want to break out the hand sanitizer, Rob Pierce is the King—and the King does not disappoint with Tommy Shakes. Hard and mean and in your face like noir ought to be.” —Todd Robinson, author of The Hard Bounce and Rough Trade “Pure noir prose. Dark, disturbing, devastating. A journey through Pierce’s Oakland is a hellish thrill-ride. Or thrilling hell-ride.” —Tom Pitts, author of 101 and American Static “Tommy can’t get a break, but it’s not like he’s out to give himself one. This book is as relentless as it is bleak, yet oddly inspiring. You won’t just root for an underdog, you’ll root for collapse!” —Nick Mamatas, author of I Am Sabbath and Providence