Tim Brooks – författare

The Batmaker of Copenhagen is the inspiring story of a cricketing hero who defied the German occupation to keep cricket alive throughout the Nazi occupation of Denmark during the Second World War.With Copenhagen under the iron grip of the Gestapo, and German U-boats preventing any supplies coming in from England, a humble cricket scorer sets out on an improbable and dangerous quest to find willow and produce his own cricket bats.Scouring the length and breadth of the country, hounded by Gestapo spies, and risking everything for the game he loves, the 'Batmaker' undertakes his mission under the very noses of the city's oppressors.His nemesis, a Gestapo chief by the name of 'Lucifer', begins a quest of his own to crush the resistance in a battle of wills that shapes the course of the war. Based on a true story, this uplifting tale of passion and patriotism brings cricket and espionage together in a unique and gripping thriller.

A groundbreaking history of African Americans in the early recording industry, Lost Sounds examines the first three decades of sound recording in the United States, charting the surprising roles black artists played in the period leading up to the Jazz Age and the remarkably wide range of black music and culture they preserved. Drawing on more than thirty years of scholarship, Tim Brooks identifies key black recording artists and profiles forty audio pioneers. Brooks assesses the careers and recordings of George W. Johnson, Bert Williams, George Walker, Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, W. C. Handy, James Reese Europe, Wilbur Sweatman, Harry T. Burleigh, Roland Hayes, Booker T. Washington, and boxing champion Jack Johnson, plus a host of lesser-known voices. Many of these pioneers struggled to be heard in an era of rampant discrimination. Their stories detail the forces––black and white––that gradually allowed African Americans to enter the mainstream entertainment industry.Lost Sounds includes Brooks's selected discography of CD reissues and an appendix by Dick Spottswood describing early recordings by black artists in the Caribbean and South America.

AMERICA’S #1 BESTSELLING TELEVISION BOOK WITH MORE THAN HALF A MILLION COPIES IN PRINT–NOW REVISED AND UPDATED!PROGRAMS FROM ALL SEVEN COMMERCIAL BROADCAST NETWORKS, MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED CABLE NETWORKS, PLUS ALL MAJOR SYNDICATED SHOWS!This is the must-have book for TV viewers in the new millennium–the entire history of primetime programs in one convenient volume. It’s a guide you’ll turn to again and again for information on every series ever telecast. There are entries for all the great shows, from evergreens like The Honeymooners, All in the Family, and Happy Days to modern classics like 24, The Office, and Desperate Housewives; all the gripping sci-fi series, from Captain Video and the new Battle Star Galactica to all versions of Star Trek; the popular serials, from Peyton Place and Dallas to Dawson’s Creek and Ugly Betty; the reality show phenomena American Idol, Survivor, and The Amazing Race; and the hits on cable, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Top Chef, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Project Runway, and SpongeBob SquarePants. This comprehensive guide lists every program alphabetically and includes a complete broadcast history, cast, and engaging plot summary–along with exciting behind-the-scenes stories about the shows and the stars.MORE THAN 500 ALL-NEW LISTINGS from Heroes and Grey’s Anatomy to 30 Rock and Nip/Tuck UPDATES ON CONTINUING SHOWS such as CSI, Gilmore Girls, The Simpsons, and The Real WorldEXTENSIVE CABLE COVERAGE with more than 1,000 entries, including a description of the programming on each major cable networkAND DON’T MISS the exclusive and updated “Ph.D. Trivia Quiz” of 200 questions that will challenge even the most ardent TV fan, plus a streamlined guide to TV-related websites for those who want to be constantly up-to-dateSPECIAL FEATURES!• Annual program schedules at a glance for the past 61 years • Top-rated shows of each season • Emmy Award winners • Longest-running series • Spin-off series • Theme songs • A fascinating history of TV “This is the Guinness Book of World Records . . .the Encyclopedia Britannica of television!”–TV GuideFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

This book examines the important issue of British propaganda to France during the Second World War and aims to show the value of the propaganda campaign to the British war effort. British Propaganda to France is a unique contribution to the field, not only in its examination of one of the least well-studied areas of British activity during the Second World War but also in the breadth of its approach. It surveys the organisation, operation and nature of the British propaganda effort towards the French people, including both white propaganda (BBC broadcasts and leaflets dropped by the RAF) and black propaganda (secret broadcasting stations, documents purporting to come from the Germans in France or distributed in France using clandestine methods, and rumours). Finally it examines the contemporary British understanding of the French and German reception of and reaction to this propaganda material, to show whether the campaign was an effective and well-directed use of resources.Almost all examinations of British foreign propaganda during the Second World War have focused on propaganda directed towards Germany. British propaganda to France, which in terms of quantity of output was actually the most important area of British propaganda, has never been examined in depth until now. This book adds a further chapter to our knowledge of propaganda in the Second World War, especially in the conduct of psychological warfare. It also touches on better-known areas such as RAF Bomber Command and its Operational Training Units, which handled aerial dissemination of British white propaganda leaflets over France, and the Special Operations Executive in France, which worked closely with the Political Warfare Executive in delivering much black propaganda.

The minstrel show occupies a complex and controversial space in the history of American popular culture. Today considered a shameful relic of America's racist past, it nonetheless offered many black performers of the 19th and early 20th centuries their only opportunity to succeed in a white-dominated entertainment world, where white performers in blackface had by the 1830s established minstrelsy as an enduringly popular national art form.This book traces the often overlooked history of the "modern" minstrel show through the advent of 20th century mass media--when stars like Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Mickey Rooney continued a long tradition of affecting black music, dance and theatrical styles for mainly white audiences--to its abrupt end in the 1950s. A companion two-CD reissue of recordings discussed in the book is available from Archeophone Records at www.archeophone.com.

From sun-kissed olive groves to frosty pine glades, cricket is played in every corner of continental Europe. But the game is fragile at its frontiers, struggling for profile and participants on a football-obsessed continent. Cricket on the Continent reflects on how the sport was exported, introduced and developed in mainland Europe, and the challenges it faced (and continues to face). It examines what lies in store in an uncertain future; casts a critical eye at the role of the ICC, the game-changing opportunities the Olympics could bring and the unique origins and development in different countries. These fundamental questions are confronted head on in a tale of matches, machinations and miracles, and a voyage through a fascinating patchwork of cultural nuances, colourful characters and cricketing intrigue that form the map of cricket in Europe.

A Corner of Every Foreign Field is an innovative and thought-provoking take on the history of cricket, looking beyond the scorecards to the pivotal issues of class, politics and imperialism that have shaped the game today. It charts how cricket has vied with football for power, commercial muscle and global reach, growing from a simple boys' game in England to a modern worldwide sport. In exploring cricket's evolution, Tim Brooks calls on the views and anecdotes of greats like W. G. Grace, Don Bradman, Viv Richards and Virat Kohli. Along the way, he peers deep into the game's soul and poses questions on behalf of every cricket fan. Is cricket truly global? Why did the game take root in some countries but not in others? What are the threats and opportunities for the sport? Who are the next cricket superpowers? How do you strike a balance between honouring tradition and reforming to capture the imagination of future generations? Written by an expert in the global development of cricket, the book sets out a unique vision for the future.

The Englishman is the gripping story of an Edwardian hero who fights for the glory of his country on the Western Front – only to have his world torn apart. Set across Oxford, Cornwall, the Western Front and the Aegean, the book follows the fate of a cricketing prodigy with the world at his feet who leaves university to defend all he holds dear – only to find himself in the ranks of the lost generation in the war to end all wars. Can he find salvation and fulfil his destiny in the new world that emerges from the ashes of the old? In this moving tale of love, loss and redemption, Tim Brooks paints an evocative portrait of Edwardian high society and the golden age of cricket – an era abruptly ended by an inhuman war that changed England forever.