Books about Skelter from Amazon.com

Hawaii's own Grammy-nominated musician was carving out a growing reputation as a professional surfer when an accident left him too injured to compete at the highest level. Jack Johnson switched to making surf movies but gradually found his voice as a singer-songwriter.

Initially a cult favorite among surfers, he has now crossed over to the mainstream, acclaimed as a "Dylan for the twenty-first century." His third album, 2005's In Between Dreams, sold over two million copies worldwide and continues to ride high in album charts, and he has just picked up a BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act.

Acclaimed George Harrison biographer Marc Shapiro has conducted hours of new interviews with those who knew Johnson both as a surfer and a musician, to produce a compelling portrait of one of rock's most original new stars.

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Price: $12.03 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Acclaimed Marillion biographer Jon Collins draws on hundreds of hours of new interviews to tell the full in-depth story of the enduring Canadian trio who refused to compromise their music and avoided the typical rock and roll lifestyle. From early days in Canada to platinum albums, stadium shows, and the world's stage, taking in tragedy, triumphs, and a wealth of great music, this is the meticulous and definitive study of one of rock's great enigmas. From early triumphs such as the classic concept album 2112, on to their first hit single "Spirit of Radio" and beyond to Moving Pictures, "Tom Sawyer," and more pop-oriented 1990s material, Rush have continued to make groundbreaking and original music that has sold in the millions.

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Price: $19.77 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Cure are one of the most respected and well-loved of rock's survivors, traceable right back to punk's fabled Bromley Contingent. In Between Days is the first book to make sense of a uniquely versatile band who are far more than the goth band, documenting their development from the new wave of 1979's Boys Don't Cry, the existential rock of Seventeen Seconds, the joyous pop of Wish, the dark beauty of Disintegration-right up to the majesty of Bloodflowers and 2004's The Cure, consecutive twenty-first-century masterpieces.

In Between Days also studies Robert Smith's brilliant interweaving of literary influences, from Mervyn Peake and Coleridge to Albert Camus and Jean Cocteau, to make a fascinating album-by-album, track-by-track study.

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Price: $8.05 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Charles Manson - Helter Skelter and Beyond is a biography of Charles Manson, the infamous convict charged with murder and conspiracy to murder in the late 1960's. Manson formed and led the "Manson Family" to heinously commit the Tate-LaBianca murders. Helter Skelter, a reference to a Beatles song, is forever connected to the Manson murders; but by his own account, Helter Skelter was a term Manson used to predict and produce an apocalyptic racial war between whites and blacks. Charles Manson and the Manson Family murders have become a symbol of evil, bloody violence, and the macabre which continues to fascinate us today. Charles Manson - Helter Skelter and Beyond is highly recommended for those interested in the chilling account of Charles Manson and the Manson Family and for those interested in the unusual connection the murders have with the rock/pop culture from then and now..
Price: $9.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Paolo Hewitt, celebrated rock journalist and biographer of Oasis, The Jam and The Small Faces, has collected some of the best writings ever on mod: the music, the fashions, and the entire way of life. .
Price: $20.65 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Brian Jones was initially the Stones' creative driving force, but by the late '60s, he was drinking too much and strung out on drugs. He left the band in 1969 and three weeks later was found dead in his swimming pool. Acclaimed author Terry Rawlings draws on new interviews to document Brian's ill-fated final days and hours and names his murderer.

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Price: $12.67 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Initially contemporaries of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Billy Corgan's Smashing Pumpkins outgrew and outlived the grunge scene with hugely acclaimed commercial triumphs like Siamese Dream, which legitimised heavy metal, and number one album Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Pumpkins were able to withstand internal problems and keep selling records, emerging as the longest-lasting and most successful alternative band of the early '90s. Though drugs and other problems led to the band's final demise, Corgan's recent return with Zwan is a reminder of how awesome the Pumpkins were in their prime. Seattle-based Hanson has followed the band for years and this is the first in-depth biography of their rise and fall.

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Price: $40.37 [Notify me when price goes down.]