The Bastard Instrument chronicles the history of the electric bass and the musicians who played it, from the instrument’s invention through its widespread acceptance at the end of the 1960s. Although their contributions have often gone unsung, electric bassists helped shape the sound of a wide range of genres, including jazz, rhythm & blues, rock, country, soul, funk, and more. Their innovations are preserved in performances from artists as diverse as Lionel Hampton, Liberace, Elv...

U2’s success and significance are due, in large part, to finding inventive, creative solutions for overcoming obstacles and moving past conventional boundaries. As it has embraced change and transformation over and over again, its fans and critics have come to value and expect this element of U2. These new essays from the disciplines of organizational communication, music theory, literary studies, religion, and cultural studies offer perspectives on several ways U2’s dynamic of change has ...

Singular and star-studded writings on America’s neon-lit playgroundAt once a Technicolor wonderland and the embodiment of American mythology, Las Vegas exists at the Ground Zero of a reverence for risk-taking and the transformative power of a winning hand. Jake Johnson edits a collection of short essays and flash ideas that probes how music-making and soundscapes shape the City of Second Chances. Treating topics ranging from Cher to Cirque de Soleil, the contributo...

Institutions such as trade unions that were once relied upon to protect workers’ wages, conditions and job security are eroding. In response, new forms of worker protections are emerging.Protecting the Future of Work examines new forms of regulation that have emerged in response to increasing social concern about poor labour practices, growing inequality, and detrimental working conditions. It looks at how trade unions, community organisations and other actors have mobilis...

Kane was a detective in 1967 Toronto Canada. The summer of love was in full swing, and Toronto was a swinging city. At least that’s what the TV and newspapers said.In reality, Toronto had a nasty underbelly. And Kane got a firsthand look at it every day.From husbands stepping out on their wives to missing persons who turned out to be anything but. Step into Kane’s world. You never know what you’re going to find. Maybe you’ll even see a bit of yourself.

A challenge to the “end of the shari‘a” thesis in Islamic legal historiographyIn the second half of the nineteenth century, states across the Muslim World developed new criminal codes and reshaped their legal landscapes, laying the foundations of the systems that continue to inform the application of justice today. Influenced by colonialism and the rise of the modern state’s desire to control its populations, many have seen the introduction of these codes as a pivo...

Louise Mercier is the elder of two stepsisters. She has been the private secretary to a very demanding boss for years. Her half-sister, who is twenty years younger and a talented artist, dropped out of university to become a homeless wanderer. However, she is due to inherit a large legacy on her twenty-fifth birthday. The last Louise sees of her sister is a visit from her, accompanied by a young American. Louise thinks she has joined a closed community in Yorkshire, but they refuse to reve...

Let’s say you’re the manager of one of the most beloved franchises in Major League Baseball, with every past and current player available on your bench. Game time is approaching and the ump needs your line-up card. Who’s your starting pitcher? Fireballer Dwight Gooden, lights-out Tom Seaver, or run-stingy Jacob de Grom? Is Gary Carter behind the plate or Mike Piazza? Who’ll bat clean-up? Combining statistical analysis, common sense, and a host of intangibles, Brian Wright constructs an all...

Brigid of Kildare, Ireland, is uniquely venerated as both a goddess and a saint throughout Ireland, Europe and the USA. Often referred to as Mary of the Gael and considered the second most important saint in Ireland after St Patrick, her widespread popularity has led to the creation of more traditional activities than any other saint; some of which survive to this day. As a result of original historical and archaeological research Brian Wright provides a fascinati...

Kane was a detective in 1967 Toronto Canada. The summer of love was coming to an end though the hippies wished it wasn’t so.Kane still found cases that he was happy to take on, plus a few that he wanted nothing to do with. Kidnapping, murder and extortion. Which one to choose.

Much of the contemporary discussion of the Jesus tradition has focused on aspects of oral performance, storytelling, and social memory, on the premise that the practice of communal reading of written texts was a phenomenon documented no earlier than the second century CE. Brian J. Wright overturns that premise by examining evidence that demonstrates communal reading events in the first century. Wright disproves the simplistic notion that only a small segment of society in certain urban are...

Breaking the FrayBy: Brian D WrightIn the vivid, sweeping tale of Breaking the Fray, the seven deadly sins are brought to horrifying life as our hero Rhett navigates his world and battles forward to the best of his ability, all in the hopes of once again returning to his peaceful home.About the AuthorBrian D Wright has been a professionally licensed tattoo artist for the past sixteen years. He is a certified lifeguard and runs at least five miles a day. He i...