Klezmer is Yiddish music, the music of the Jews of Europe and America, music of laughter and tears, of weddings and festivals, of dancing and prayer. Born in the middle Ages, it came of age in the shtetl (the Eastern European Jewish country town), where "a wedding without klezmer is worse than a funeral without tears." Most of the European klezmorim (klezmer players) were murdered in the Holocaust; in the last 25 years, however, klezmer has been reborn,...

"The Last Word investigates the debased art of eulogy. Through insightful, surprisingly playful readings of famous eulogies (from a scene in Love Actually to Jacques Derrida's heart-rending essays on the deaths of his peers), Cooper argues against the socially sanctioned desire to avoid thinking about death that results in clichéd memorials, honouring neither the living nor the dead."-- Provided by publisher.

Praised by the Washington Post as a 'tough, unblinkered critic, ' James Lincoln Collier is probably the most controversial writer on jazz today. His acclaimed biographies of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman continue to spark debate in jazz circles, and his iconoclastic articles on jazz over the past 30 years have attracted even more attention.; Questioning everything we think we know about jazz - its origins, its innovative geniuses,...

"Co-Winner of the 2012 Wayland D. Hand Prize, History and Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society" "One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2012" Jack Zipes is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota and the author, translator, and editor of dozens of studies and collections of folk and fairy tales. His recent books include Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre,...

Nearly all of us have the capacity to enjoy classical music but too often we are put off by not knowing where to look, or what we are actually looking for. We feel the need of a guide to help navigate such vast and varied artistic terrain. With this delightful book, historian Tim Bouverie provides just this. Drawing on his lifelong passion for music, he has created a compilation of 100 classical masterpieces sure to move and be enjoyed by almost anyone....

"The musicals playing in 1924 were a stunning combination of the old and the new. William Everett reveals, in this compelling new book, a transnational network of stars, creators, producers and shows where established performers appeared alongside youthful talent that included George Gershwin, Gertrude Lawrence, and Fred and Adele Astaire"-- Provided by publisher.

"Investigating how Jewish thinkers from the biblical to the postmodern era have approached questions about God--e.g, "Is God like a person?," "Is God good?," "Does God redeem?"--and highlighting interplays between texts over time, Tuling elucidates many contradictory and sophisticated ways to think about God in Jewish tradition"-- Provided by publisher.

Despite its extraordinary popularity and worldwide influence, the world of rap and hip hop is under constant attack. Impressions and interpretations of its meaning and power are perpetually being challenged. Somewhere someone is bemoaning the negative impact of rap music on contemporary culture. In In the Heart of the Beat: The Poetry of Rap, bestselling author and scholar Alexs Pate argues for a fresh understanding of rap as an example of powerful...

"From Enemy to Friend blends ancient Jewish sacred texts on peacebuilding, real-life descriptions of conflict engagement--interpersonal, interreligious, intra-communal, and international--and contemporary conflict theory. The interweaving of personal story, sacred text, and theory demonstrates how relationships can move from estrangement and wounding, entrenched bigotry and fear, to positive, engaged encounter. What emerges is a portrait of peacemaking...