For the first time in paperback: The story of the legendary drummer whose beat created modern rock and roll.

From dealing blackjack in the small-time gangster town of Steubenville, Ohio, to carousing with the famous "Rat Pack" in a Hollywood he called home, Dean Martin lived in a grandstand, guttering life of booze, broads, and big money. He rubbed shoulders with the mob, the Kennedys, and Hollywood's biggest stars. He was one of America's favorite entertainers. But no one really knew him. Now Nick Tosches reveals the man behind the image--the dark side of the American dream. It's a wild, illuminating, sometimes shocking tale of sex, ambition, heartaches--and a life lived hard, fast, and without apologies.

The autobiography of one of the foremost jazz clarinetists who is well known for his recordings with Edward 'Kid' Ory and the Louis Armstrong All Stars. Darensbourg was born in Baton Rouge, LA, in 1906 and heard many early New Orleans jazz bands as a young boy. For most of his life he lived on the West Coast and the book is a first-rate reference source for students of jazz and popular music in the urban centres of Seattle and Los Angeles.

This biography of Louis Armstrong gives a vivid and informative description of his personality, encompasses jazz history along with his life, and traces his musical development by way of numerous easy-to-grasp analyses and insights into his music.