When even his friends refer to him as 'a balding, bug-eyed opportunist with the looks of a beach ball, the charisma of a glove-puppet and an ego the size of a Hercules supply plane,' the odds of Toby Young scoring - in any sense - appear to be slim. But then HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS, his memoir about failing to take Manhattan, becomes an international bestseller. Now Tinseltown beckons. After receiving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from a Hollywood producer, Toby sets his sights anew on a hi...

Opera Remixed critically examines operatic hybridity and considers the opportunities and challenges of disrupting traditional paradigms of classical singing. Accounts of crossover forms like 'popera' and musical theatre explore alternative approaches to operatic vocality, examining how entrenched genre ideologies are challenged by creative agents, practices, and technologies at work near opera's borders. To illustrate these dynamics, the second half of the Element presents a case study of ...

In 1995 high-flying British journalist Toby Young left London for New York to become a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Other Brits had taken Manhattan-Alistair Cooke then, Anna Wintour now-so why couldn't he? But things didn't quite go according to plan. Within the space of two years he was fired from Vanity Fair, banned from the most fashionable bar in the city, and couldn't get a date for love or money. Even the local AA group wanted nothing to do with him. How to Lose Friends and Al...

There are as many ways of creating music as there are composers in the world, with a vast array of possible methods and practices. This book provides essential critical and practical tools for composers as they try to navigate this complex landscape, whilst also offering provocations for practitioners discovering their own voices and solidifying their place in their musical communities. Designed to be a companion in the truest sense, the book offers practical support throughout the creativ...

This volume of essays examines the empirical evidence on school choice in different countries across Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It demonstrates the advantages which choice offers in different institutional contexts, whether it be Free Schools in the UK, voucher systems in Sweden or private-proprietor schools for low-income families in Liberia. Everywhere experience suggests that parents are ‘active choosers’: they make rational and considered decisions, drawi...

The bestselling, step-by-step guide to the primary school curriculum from Toby Young and Miranda Bondy.What is your child learning each day in school? How can you tell if they are doing well or badly? And what can you do to help?This practical, detailed and user-friendly manual contains absolutely everything you need to know about primary schooling and the UK curriculum, ensuring your child will succeed and flourish every step of the way. Taking us...

Electronic dance music is increasingly the focus of a multitude of academic research projects around the world but has been drastically under-represented in accessible core published material. This innovative scholarly collection provides an important 'first stop' for researchers and students wishing to work in this area. It examines the key features of numerous electronic dance music scenes and (sub)genres alongside discussions of the musical, social and aesthetic experiences of participa...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • NOW IN DEVELOPMENT AS AN HBO LIMITED SERIESFrom the acclaimed author of Gone Girl, “a riveting tale of true horror by a writer who has all the gifts to pull it off” (Chicago Tribune)“Sensuous and chilling . . . a propulsive and twisty mystery.”—Entertainment WeeklyLibby Day was seven when her mother and two ...

**Spirited and whip-smart, these laugh-out-loud autobiographical essays are "a masterpiece" from the Emmy Award-winning actress and comedy writer known for 30 Rock, Mean Girls, and SNL" (Sunday Telegraph).Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a come...

More than six million copies sold worldwide!A larger-than-life old man with a fondness for vodka goes on an unexpected adventure in this whimsical internationally bestselling novel—perfect for fans of Forrest Gump and A Man Called Ove**.**After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he'...

**#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time “One of the Best Books of the Decade”)—now featuring never-before-published deleted scenesTHE NEW YORK TIMES’S BEST THRILLER OF THE CENTURY • ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ...

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING FIRST NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF GONE GIRL“Riveting.”—PEOPLE“A terrific debut . . . elevated by sharp writing and sharper insights.”—STEPHEN KING“Keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.”—CHICAGO TRIBUNEFresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: sh...