Examining the dynamics of hip-hop from every region & in every form -- mainstream & underground current & classic -- this compelling how-to discusses everything from content & flow to rhythm & delivery in relation to the art & craft of rap. Compiled from the most extensive research on rapping to date this first-of-its-kind guide delivers countless candid & exclusive insights from more than 100 of the most critically acclaimed artists in hip-hop -- including Clipse Cypress Hill Nelly Public Enemy Remy Ma Schoolly D A Tribe Called Quest & will.i.am -- unravelling the stories behind their art & preserving a wealth of the genres history through the words of the legends themselves. Exhaustively detailing the many complex aspects of rapping -- such as utilising literary tools & devices to strengthen content battling imagery similes metaphors analogies slang performing both live & in the studio word play controversial content & punchlines & constructing beats singles & free-styling -- with emphasis on enunciating & breathing for unique vocal style this remarkable book will benefit beginners & pros alike with its limitless wealth of rapping lore & insight. ...

How to Read a Book " originally published in 1940 has become a rare phenomenon a "living" classic. It is the best & most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. & now it has been completely rewritten & updated. You are told about the various levels of reading & how to achieve them -- from elementary reading through systematic skimming & inspectional reading to speed reading you learn how to pigeonhole a book X-ray it extract the author's message criticize. You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books imaginative literature plays poetry history science & mathematics philosophy & social science. Finally the authors offer a recommended reading list & supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills comprehension & speed." ...

Richard Gilman referred to How to Read a Film as simply the best single work of its kind." & Janet Maslin in The New York Times Book Review marveled at James Monacos ability to collect "an enormous amount of useful information & assemble it in an exhilaratingly simple & systematic way." Indeed since its original publication in 1977 this hugely popular book has become the definitive source on film & media. Now James Monaco offers a special anniversary edition of his classic work featuring a new preface & several new sections including an " Essential Library: One Hundred Books About Film & Media You Should Read" & " One Hundred Films You Should See." As in previous editions Monaco once again looks at film from many vantage points as both art & craft sensibility & science tradition & technology. After examining films close relation to other narrative media such as the novel painting photography television & even music the book discusses the elements necessary to understand how films convey meaning & more importantly how we can best discern all that a film is attempting to communicate. In addition Monaco stresses the ever-evolving digital context of film throughout--one of the new sections looks at the untrustworthy nature of digital images & sound--and his chapter on multimedia brings media criticism into the twenty-first century with a thorough discussion of topics like virtual reality cyberspace & the proximity of both to film. With hundreds of illustrative black-&-white film stills & diagrams How to Read a Film is an indispensable addition to the library of everyone who loves the cinema & wants to understand it better." ...

Death is the one certainty in life yet with the decline of religion in the West we have become collectively reluctant to talk about it. Our contemporary rituals seek to sanitise death & distance us from our own inevitable fate. If we want to know how previous generations dealt with death graveyards (famous & not) tell us the history -- if we are able to read them. If we want to know how we struggle today with understanding or facing up to death then graveyards provide a starting point. & if we want to escape the present taboo on acknowledging our mortality & contemplate our own end then graveyards offer a rare welcome. From Neolithic mounds to internet memorials via medieval corpse roads & municipal cemeteries war graves & holocaust memorials Roman catacombs Pharaonic grave-robbers Hammer horrors body-snatchers Days of the Dead humanist burials & flameless cremations Stanford shows us how to read a graveyard what to look out for in our own & how even the most initially unpromising exploration can enthral. ...

Latin is very much alive in the poetry written by the great Latin poets & this book is about their poetry their language & their culture. Fitzgerald shows the reader with little or no knowledge of the Latin language how it works as a unique vehicle for poetic expression & thought. Moving between close analysis of particular Latin poems & more general discussions of Latin poets literature & society Fitzgerald gives the un-Latined reader an insider's view of how Latin poetry feels & what makes it worth reading even today. His book explores what can be said & done in a poetry & a language that are both very different from English & yet have profoundly influenced it. He takes the reader through the whole range of Latin poetry from the trivial obscene & vicious to the sublime the passionate & the uplifting. Individual chapters focus on particular authors (such as Vergil & Horace) or on themes (love hate civil war) & together they explain why we should care about what the poets of ancient Rome had to say. If you have ever wondered what all the fuss was about see for yourselves! ...

Ian Jeffrey is a superb guide in this profusely illustrated introduction to the appreciation of photography as an art form. ...

Richard Taylor author of the best-selling How to Read a Church" joins forces with garden historian Andrew Eburne to produce the ultimate guide to historic & modern gardens. Gardens are amongst the fastest-growing visitor attractions today
- in the UK alone 15 million people will visit a garden this year. " How to Read an English Garden" is the essential book for every garden lover. It provides an account of the different elements of gardens of all ages & explains their meaning & their history. Here you'll find the answer to such questions as: when were tulips introduced into our gardens & what was 'tulip-mania'? What is a knot-garden & what was the origin of its design? Who was ' Capability' Brown & how did he get his name? & why are mazes such a common feature in English garden design? In addition the book explains how lawns flowerbeds trees & ponds came to be a feature not just of grand houses but of gardens everywhere. Among the many subjects covered are: garden design plant introductions & collectors kitchen gardens water gardens & garden styles from around the world
- English American Chinese & Moorish to name just a few. Clearly laid out & beautifully illustrated " How to Read an English Garden" brings historic & modern gardens to life: a book to accompany garden visitors everywhere or to be enjoyed & dipped into at home."

...

A new book by Americas leading literary critic on the uses of deep reading. Practical inspirational & learned How to Read & Why is Blooms manifesto for the preponderance of written culture. In the vastly influential The Western Canon Harold Bloom outlined what we should read to understand a greater depth of the individual self. How to Read & Why continues the argument & focusses on how we use literature in order to gain deeper self-awareness. Poems stories novels plays & parables are all analysed as forms of writing as immersion the language of individuality & inwardness: Shakespeares sonnets the short stories of Hemingway & de Cervantes the novels of Proust & Calvino Sophocless Oedipus Rex & Marks Gospel. Harold Bloom also addresses the idea of why we read: increased individuality respite from visual bombardment a return to deep feeling & deep thinking. How to Read & Why is an essential book for any reader an introduction to the world of written culture an inspirational self-help book for students & teachers alike. ...

How to Read Bridges is a practical introduction to looking at the structure & purpose of bridges. It is a guide to reading the structural clues embedded in every bridge that allows their variety & ingenuity to be better appreciated. Small enough to carry in your pocket & serious enough to provide real answers this comprehensive guide:
- analyses & explores all types of bridges from around the world from the first millennium to the present day.
- explores fundamental concepts of bridge design key materials & engineering techniques.
- provides an accessible visual guide with intelligent text using detailed illustrations & cross-sections of technical features.


...

This book is a practical primer to looking at architecture & all the elements that are included in buildings from cornices & friezes to columns & porticos
- all facets of buildings are included. Each chapter takes an architectural element & looks at its variety across various historical periods & geographical locations. Examples are shown through dozens of fine engravings with extended captions creating a dip-in read & an effective I-Spy guide. Additional sections look at the clues offerred by history geography & religion (with a timeline showing how & where architectural elements have been introduced) & at the significance of the ornaments.
...