A Man Called Destruction

A Man Called Destruction
Author: Holly George-Warren
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2014-03-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0698151429

The first biography of the artist who “essentially invented indie and alternative rock” (Spin) A brilliant and influential songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist, the charismatic Alex Chilton was more than a rock star—he was a true cult icon. Awardwinning music writer Holly George-Warren’s A Man Called Destruction is the first biography of this enigmatic artist, who died in 2010. Covering Chilton’s life from his early work with the charttopping Box Tops and the seminal power-pop band Big Star to his experiments with punk and roots music and his sprawling solo career, A Man Called Destruction is the story of a musical icon and a richly detailed chronicle of pop music’s evolution, from the mid-1960s through today’s indie rock.

Transformation Through Destruction

Transformation Through Destruction
Author: David R. Fontijn
Publisher: Sidestone Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 9088901023

Over a 1000 tiny bronze artefacts were found alongside the remains of a man in a Dutch barrow that was excavated in laboratory conditions. The objects had been dismantled and taken apart, all to be destroyed by fire in what appears to have been a pars pro toto burial. In essence, a person and a place were being transformed through destruction. Based on the meticulous excavation and a range of specialist and comprehensive studies of finds, a prehistoric burial ritual now can be brought to life in surprising detail. This Iron Age community used extraordinary objects that find their closest counterpart in the elite graves of the Hallstatt culture in Central Europe.

Burning the Books

Burning the Books
Author: Richard Ovenden
Publisher: Belknap Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2020-11-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0674241207

A Wolfson History Prize Finalist A New Statesman Book of the Year A Sunday Times Book of the Year “Timely and authoritative...I enjoyed it immensely.” —Philip Pullman “If you care about books, and if you believe we must all stand up to the destruction of knowledge and cultural heritage, this is a brilliant read—both powerful and prescient.” —Elif Shafak Libraries have been attacked since ancient times but they have been especially threatened in the modern era, through war as well as willful neglect. Burning the Books describes the deliberate destruction of the knowledge safeguarded in libraries from Alexandria to Sarajevo, from smashed Assyrian tablets to the torching of the Library of Congress. The director of the world-famous Bodleian Libraries, Richard Ovenden, captures the political, religious, and cultural motivations behind these acts. He also shines a light on the librarians and archivists preserving history and memory, often risking their lives in the process. More than simply repositories for knowledge, libraries support the rule of law and inspire and inform citizens. Ovenden reminds us of their social and political importance, challenging us to protect and support these essential institutions. “Wonderful...full of good stories and burning with passion.” —Sunday Times “The sound of a warning vibrates through this book.” —The Guardian “Essential reading for anyone concerned with libraries and what Ovenden outlines as their role in ‘the support of democracy, the rule of law and open society.’” —Wall Street Journal “Ovenden emphasizes that attacks on books, archives, and recorded information are the usual practice of authoritarian regimes.” —Michael Dirda, Washington Post

The Voice of Destruction

The Voice of Destruction
Author: Hermann Rauschning
Publisher: Pelican Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2003
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781589801363

A frequent guest of Hitler for long periods of time, Rauschning resigned from his post as president of the Danzig senate in 1934 and severed his ties with the Nazi Party. He transcribed conversations with Hitler from 1932 to 1934 as he speaks clearly of destroying all that stands in the way of German supremacy.

The Incredible True Story of the Making of the Eve of Destruction

The Incredible True Story of the Making of the Eve of Destruction
Author: Amy Brashear
Publisher: Soho Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1616959045

"Though the story takes place in the '80s, it feels eerily timely."—Bustle Arkansas, 1984: The town of Griffin Flat is known for almost nothing other than its nuclear missile silos. MAD—Mutually Assured Destruction—is a fear every local lives with and tries to ignore. Unfortunately that’s impossible now that film moguls have picked Griffin Flat as the location for a new nuclear holocaust movie, aptly titled The Eve of Destruction. When sixteen-year-old Laura Ratliff wins a walk-on role (with a plus-one!) thanks to a radio call-in contest, she is more relieved than excited. Mingling with Hollywood stars on the set of a phony nuclear war is a perfect distraction from being the only child in her real nuclear family—which has also been annihilated. Her parents are divorced, and her mother has recently remarried. Her father, an officer in the Strategic Air Command, is absent . . . except when he phones at odd hours to hint at an impending catastrophe. But isn’t that his job? Laura’s only real friend is her new stepbrother, Terrence. She picks him as her plus-one for the film shoot, enraging her fair-weather friends. But their anger is nothing compared to what happens on set after the scripted nuclear explosion. Because nobody seems to know if a real nuclear bomb has detonated or not.

Seeds of Destruction

Seeds of Destruction
Author: F. William Engdahl
Publisher:
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2007
Genre: History
ISBN:

This skillfully researched book focuses on how a small socio-political American elite seeks to establish control over the very basis of human survival: the provision of our daily bread. "Control the food and you control the people." This is no ordinary book about the perils of GMO. Engdahl takes the reader inside the corridors of power, into the backrooms of the science labs, behind closed doors in the corporate boardrooms. The author cogently reveals a diabolical World of profit-driven political intrigue, government corruption and coercion, where genetic manipulation and the patenting of life forms are used to gain worldwide control over food production. Engdahl's carefully argued critique goes far beyond the familiar controversies surrounding the practice of genetic modification as a scientific technique. The book is an eye-opener, a must-read for all those committed to the causes of social justice and World peace.

Openness to Creative Destruction

Openness to Creative Destruction
Author: Arthur M. Diamond
Publisher:
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2019
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0190263660

Life improves under the economic system often called "entrepreneurial capitalism" or "creative destruction," but more accurately called "innovative dynamism." Openness to Creative Destruction: Sustaining Innovative Dynamism shows how innovation occurs through the efforts of inventors and innovative entrepreneurs, how workers on balance benefit, and how good policies can encourage innovation. The inventors and innovative entrepreneurs are often cognitively diverse outsiders with the courage and perseverance to see and pursue serendipitous discoveries or slow hunches. Arthur M. Diamond, Jr. shows how economies grow where innovative dynamism through leapfrog competition flourishes, as in the United States from roughly 1830-1930. Consumers vote with their feet for innovative new goods and for process innovations that reduce prices, benefiting ordinary citizens more than the privileged elites. Diamond highlights that because breakthrough inventions are costly and difficult, patents can be fair rewards for invention and can provide funding to enable future inventions. He argues that some fears about adverse effects on labor market are unjustified, since more and better new jobs are created than are destroyed, and that other fears can be mitigated by better policies. The steady growth in regulations, often defended on the basis of the precautionary principle, increases the costs to potential entrepreneurs and thus reduces innovation. The "Great Fact" of economic history is that after at least 40,000 years of mostly "poor, nasty, brutish, and short" humans in the last 250 years have started to live substantially longer and better lives. Diamond increases understanding of why.

The Eve of Destruction

The Eve of Destruction
Author: James T. Patterson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2012-11-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 0465013589

Argues that 1965, not 1968, was the most transformative year of the 1960s, discussing attacks on civil rights demonstrators, increased African American militancy, the Watts riots, anti-war protests, and a growing national pessimism.

Crack City Rockers

Crack City Rockers
Author: John Gentile
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2021-08-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9781644281109

An oral history in the vein of Please Kill Me Leftöver Crack is a band of drug abusing, dumpster diving, cop-hating, queer positive, pro-choice, crust punks that successfully blend ska-punk, pop, hip-hop and death metal genres. They've been banned from clubs, states and counties and kicked off multiple record labels. They've received teen-idol adoration and death threats from their fans. They've played benefits for a multitude of causes while leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. But, if you dig below the crusty, black metal-patch encased surface, you'll find a contemplative, nuanced band that, quite literally, permanently changed the punk rock community. By combining catchy ska-punk with lyrics that referenced political theorist Michael Parenti, drug usage, and suicide, the band formed a unique mélange that was both provocative and challenging. In fact, the band's hooks were so sharp that after releasing their debut LP, Mediocre Generica, an entire culture of "Crack City Rockers" grew around the band, pushing the youth towards both the positive and negative aspects of extreme punk rock. Of course, being the combustible band that they are, the band has gotten involved in its far share of fiascoes: full-scale riots in Phoenix and NYC, getting punched out by their own fans, showing up to tour Florida with machetes after receiving death threats from the local gang. Architects of Self-Destruction: An Oral History of Leftöver Crack traces the band's entire history by speaking to the band members themselves, fellow musicians, their fans, and of course, those that still hold a grudge against the LoC... FYI, that's a lot of people.

Seeds of Destruction

Seeds of Destruction
Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2010-05-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1429945079

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is one of the foremost spiritual thinkers of the twentieth century. Though he lived a mostly solitary existence as a Trappist monk, he had a dynamic impact on world affairs through his writing. An outspoken proponent of the antiwar and civil rights movements, he was both hailed as a prophet and castigated for his social criticism. He was also unique among religious leaders in his embrace of Eastern mysticism, positing it as complementary to the Western sacred tradition. Merton is the author of over forty books of poetry, essays, and religious writing, including Mystics and Zen Masters, and The Seven Story Mountain, for which he is best known. His work continues to be widely read to this day.