When he emerged from the nightclubs of Greenwich Village, Bob Dylan was often identified as a "protest" singer. As early as 1962, however, Dylan was already protesting the label: "I don't write no protest songs," he told his audience on the night he debuted "Blowin' in the Wind." "Protest" music is largely perceived as an unsubtle art form, a topical brand of songwriting that preaches to the converted. But popular music of all types has long given listeners food for thought. Fifty years before Vietnam, before the United States entered World War I, some of the most popular sheet music in the country featured anti-war tunes. The labor movement of the early decades of the century was fueled by its communal "songbook." The Civil Rights movement was soundtracked not just by the gorgeous melodies of "Strange Fruit" and "A Change Is Gonna Come," but hundreds of other gospel-tinged ballads and blues. In Which Side Are You On, author James Sullivan delivers a lively anecdotal history of the progressive movements that have shaped the growth of the United States, and the songs that have accompanied and defined them. Covering one hundred years of social conflict and progress across the twentieth century and into the early years of the twenty-first, this book reveals how protest songs have given voice to the needs and challenges of a nation and asked its citizens to take a stand--asking the question "Which side are you on?"

Which Side Are You On?: 20th Century American History in 100 Protest Songs

Arts & Photography

Sullivan, James

Music

Oxford University Press

When he emerged from the nightclubs of Greenwich Village, Bob Dylan was often identified as a "protest" singer. As early as 1962, however, Dylan was already protesting the label: "I don't write no protest songs," he told his audience on the night he debuted "Blowin' in the Wind."\n"Protest" music is largely perceived as an unsubtle art form, a topical brand of songwriting that preaches to the converted. But popular music of all types has long given listeners food for thought. Fifty years before Vietnam, before the United States entered World War I, some of the most popular sheet music in the country featured anti-war tunes. The labor movement of the early decades of the century was fueled by its communal "songbook." The Civil Rights movement was soundtracked not just by the gorgeous melodies of "Strange Fruit" and "A Change Is Gonna Come," but hundreds of other gospel-tinged ballads and blues.\nIn Which Side Are You On?, author James Sullivan delivers a lively anecdotal history of the progressive movements that have shaped the growth of the United States, and the songs that have accompanied and defined them. Covering one hundred years of social conflict and progress across the twentieth century and into the early years of the twenty-first, this book reveals how protest songs have given voice to the needs and challenges of a nation and asked its citizens to take a stand--asking the question "Which side are you on?"

In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred. A critical biography, Seven Dirty Words is an insightful (and, of course, hilarious) examination of Carlin's body of work as it pertained to its cultural times and the man who created it, from his early days as amore-or-less conventional comedian to his stunning transformation into the subversive comedic voice of the emerging counterculture. Sullivan also chronicles Carlin's struggles with censorship and drugs, as well as the full-blown renaissance he experienced in the 1990s, both personally and professionally, when he became an elder statesman to a younger generation of comics who revered him. Seven Dirty Words is nothing less than the definitive biography of an American master who changed the world, and also a work of cultural commentary which frames George Carlin's extraordinary legacy.

7 Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Da Capo Press

Journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present in this definitive biography of the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred: George Carlin. Seven Dirty Words is a hilarious and insightful read, documenting the life and art of the legendary comic, provocateur, and social critic who fearlessly questioned the American way of life through the words we use.

Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin

In the fall of 1992, James Sullivan travels to Vietnam to bicycle from Saigon to Hanoi. He has just finished graduate school and has an assignment to write a magazine story about a country that is still subject to a U.S. trade embargo. But in Hue, the old imperial capital of Vietnam, the planned three-month bike trip takes a detour. Here, in a city spliced by the famed Perfume River and filled with French baroque villas, he finds himself bicycling over a moat to visit a beautiful shop girl who lives amid the ruins of the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam. She falls for him, but there's a catch. Several other suitors are vying for her hand, and one of them is an official with the city's police force. Over the Moat is the story of Sullivan's efforts to win Thuy's favor while immersing himself in Vietnamese culture, of kindly insinuating himself in Thuy's colorful and warm family, and of learning how to create a common language based on love and understanding.

Over the Moat: Love Among the Ruins of Imperial Vietnam

Travel

Asia

Picador

The Papers of Sir William Johnson

Johnson, William

Flick, Alexander Clarence

History

Franklin Classics

Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon

Since their appearance nearly 150 years ago, jeans have been worn by every facet of American society and exported around the world as an icon of our civilization. In Jeans, James Sullivan traces their evolution from a simple utilitarian garment into the very embodiment of the American ethos. Beginning with the adoption of front-buckled pants as a style of dress in nineteenth-century America (supposedly derided as “fornication pants” by Mormon leader Brigham Young), Sullivan documents how jeans took their place in our culture today—as worn by rappers, hipsters, and discount shoppers—becoming the standard dress in America and embodying the ideals of vastly different segments of society. Touching on the rise and fall of indigo, the mythos of the cowboy, American cultural imperialism, sex, advertising, and countless other topics wrapped in denim, Jeans is a history of popular American culture as told through its pants.

Decorative Arts & Design

Thorndike Pr

Pocket Reference to Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Calculations

Callahan, William

Architecture

Delmar Pub

Craft Beer Bar Mitzvah: How It Took 13 Years, Extreme Jewish Brewing, and Circus Sideshow Freaks to Make Shmaltz Brewing an International Success

In this witty and compelling tale of how the nation’s first and only Jewish Celebration beer came to fruition, founder Jeremy Cowan tells the story of Shmaltz Brewing’s evolution from an inside joke into a thriving and award-winning craft brewing company. Divulged are the small-business challenges and marketing strategies that helped Cowan go from hand-squeezing pomegranates and delivering beer in his grandmother’s Volvo to producing two of the most respected and unique craft beer brands in America: He'brew the Chosen Beer and Coney Island Craft Lagers. Included alongside the sage advice for entrepreneurs and the humorous personal anecdotes are suggested beer pairings for each chapter, a hangover rating system, and 16 pages of full-color photograph collages.

Business & Money

Cowan, Jeremy

Business Development & Entrepreneurship

Malt Shop Publishing

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Books by Sullivan, James