James Gavin - Böcker

From his emergence in the 1950s - when an uncannily beautiful young man from Oklahoma appeared in the West Coast and became, seemingly overnight, the prince of 'cool' jazz - until his violent, drug-related death in Amsterdam in 1988, Chet Baker lived a life that has become an American myth. At once sexy and forbidding, the so-called 'James Dean of Jazz' struck a note of menace in the staid fifties. In this first major biography, the story of Baker's demise is finally revealed. So is the truth behind his tormented childhood. Behind Baker's icy façade lay something ominous, unspoken. The mystery drove both sexes crazy. But his only real romance, apart from music, was with drugs. Gavin brilliantly recreates the life of a man whose journey from golden promise to eventual destruction mirrored America's fall from post-war innocence - but whose music has never lost the power to enchant and seduce us.

Stormy Weather is a biography of Lena Horne, one Hollywood's stars, and one of the first Tony and Grammy winning stars, who opened doors for black female entertainers such as Eartha Kitt, Sarah Vaughn, Diahann Carroll, Aretha Franklin, and Diana Ross, to name a few. She was glamorous, seductive, and dignified. But under her well-crafted look of elegance and grace, lay a tidal wave of rage. By the 90s, as a defence mechanism, she had shut nearly everyone out of her life. James Gavin tells the story of Lena: the legend and the mystery. He has amassed an incredible collection of source material including: 60 hours of recorded conversations with the singer dating back to the early 50s. 40 hours of TV specials, guest appearances and other rare footage spanning her career. He has interviewed among many others: Johnny Mathis, Bobby Short, Abbey Lincoln, Ruby Dee, Carmen Delavallade, Geoffrey Holder, and Ms Horne herself.

George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image—that of a hypermacho sex god—loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid—for a time—the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to backfire. As one of the industry’s most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world.Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael’s metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s Wham!; he then details Michael’s sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael’s albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend.

“Gavin’s engrossing biography of the singer takes the measure of a gifted, tragic, and infuriating man.” —New York Times Book ReviewGeorge Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image—that of a hypermacho sex god—loomed large in the pop culture of his day. It also hid—for a time—the secret he fought against revealing: Michael was gay. Soon his obsession with fame would start to backfire. As one of the industry’s most privileged yet tortured men began to self-destruct, the press showed little sympathy. George Michael: A Life explores the compelling story of a superstar whose struggles, as well as his songs, continue to touch fans all over the world. Acclaimed music biographer James Gavin traces Michael’s metamorphosis from the shy and awkward Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou into the swaggering, dominant half of the leading British pop duo of the 1980s Wham!; he then details Michael’s sensational solo career and its subsequent unraveling. With deep analysis of the creative process behind Michael’s albums, tours, and music videos, as well as interviews with hundreds of his friends and colleagues, George Michael: A Life is a probing, definitive portrait of a pop legend.

"She made you think that she knew who you were, that she was singing only to you..." Miss Peggy Lee cast a spell when she sang. She purred so intimately in nightclubs that couples clasped hands and huddled closer. She hypnotized, even on television. Lee epitomized cool, but her trademark song, "Fever"-covered by Beyoncé and Madonna-is the essence of sizzling sexual heat. Her jazz sense dazzled Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. She was the voice of swing, the voice of blues, and she provided four of the voices for Walt Disney's Lady and the Tramp, whose score she co-wrote. But who was the woman behind the Mona Lisa smile? With elegant writing and impeccable research, including interviews with hundreds who knew Lee, acclaimed music journalist James Gavin offers the most revealing look yet at an artist of infinite contradictions and layers. Lee was a North Dakota prairie girl who became a temptress of enduring mystique. She was a singer-songwriter before the term existed. Lee "had incredible confidence onstage," observed the Godfather of Punk, Iggy Pop; yet inner turmoil wracked her. She spun a romantic nirvana in her songs, but couldn't sustain one in reality. As she passed middle age, Lee dwelled increasingly in a bizarre dreamland. She died in 2002 at the age of eighty-one, but Lee's fascination has only grown since. This masterful account of Peggy Lee's strange and enchanting life is a long overdue portrait of an artist who redefined popular singing.

Foundations of Professional Coaching With HKPropel Access is the essential guide to developing coaching skills and creating influential coaching relationships. Offering foundational concepts and underlying principles of coaching, this text will help all types of coaches cultivate a growth environment that encourages lasting change and maximizes each client’s potential in their personal and professional lives.Grounded in the International Coaching Federation's eight core competencies, the text covers the theoretical basis of professional coaching models and the application of those models in modern coaching. Readers will enrich their coaching skills as they learn to embody the coaching mindset:Understanding the journey of behavior change with key models on the change processEmploying inclusive frameworks for working with clients to set and pursue goals and overcome challengesAdhering to ethical protocols, such as how to appropriately respond to clients' identity, environment, values, and beliefsCultivating trust and safety in the coaching relationship with respect to power and relationship dynamicsEstablishing presence as a coach and developing a coach’s voiceCommunicating effectively, with active listening and appropriate areas of inquiryThroughout the text, personal stories offer insights into meaningful coaching engagements, providing context for the concepts and their application to a wide variety of coaching interests, including those related to health and lifestyle wellness, professional and career concerns, and leadership development. Additionally, downloadable resources, delivered through HKPropel, include practical tools-such as forms and checklists-for a successful coaching practice.Foundations of Professional Coaching provides a pathway to excellence in coaching practice, with practical guidance on how to partner with clients in overcoming obstacles and developing goal-directed strategies leading to sustainable change.Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.