Based on a true story: A magnificent portrayal of chaos, darkness, and adventure in Asia's Golden Triangle as the war wages in Vietnam Adrift at the end of the Vietnam War, Paul Roberts and his girlfriend, Fay, are arrested at the Burmese-Thai border for smuggling a couple of ounces of hashish. Stranded in a small Thai prison, they become part of a grisly contest played out by opium warlords, corrupt border patrol police, and two AWOL GIs. The war echoes through their intrigues and jailbreak attempts, especially when a regiment of North Vietnamese joins the skirmish. Transcending the adventure story, John Balaban’s lyric prose conjures beautiful and frightening images, evoking the Golden Triangle’s jungle as well as the complex hazards of the opium trade.

It is not surprising that Robert Gibbings, artist to his fingertips, has chosen the Seine to follow Sweet Thames and his other river books. For the Seine comprises Pairs, the natural heart of the artistic world. But when he undertook to navigate that quiet-sounding river, little did he dream what was in store for him, and the dangerous nature of his nature in a flimsy little boat on the flooded upper reaches of the river will be missed by none of his readers, despite his light-hearted way of describing it. While Coming Down the Seine is more serious in tone and mood at times than Mr. Gibbing’s last book, it loses none of its appeal because of that. The occasional pause for meditative comment or philosophic aside or discussion of the problems of painting takes nothing away from and, indeed, tends to enhance the characteristically gay tone. No opportunity for the humorous approach is ever missed, no opening for the apt story is lost, no ‘character’ ever fails to receive deft appreciation. From the source of the river to its mouth there can be few places worthy of note about which he does not find something interesting or amusing to relate, whether because of their historical importance, their artistic associations, their scenic peculiarities, or their local legends. He has captured the ‘atmosphere’ of Paris with effortless ease—Paris of the bridges, the pavement cafes, the art schools, and the ateliers, Paris of Montparnasse, ‘cité de toutes les gloires, citée de tous les dédains.’ Recurring through the book are passages of descriptive writing of great beauty, rich in imagery. More than fifty wood engravings illuminate the pages.

FOLLOW THE SILENCE: poems of passion and conscience Vol. 1 explores love and erotica as well as politics and social justice. This volume is the first half of his complete work of poetry of 770 poems.

December 3-4, 1969. Keith and Mick stood at the same microphone at Muscle Shoals, lights dimmed, splitting a fifth of bourbon, and simultaneously sang the melodies and harmonies on the three songs that they had recorded over three days: "Brown Sugar," "You Got to Move," and "Wild Horses." That's your rock ‘n' roll fantasy right there, pal. A six-piece band working in a tiny converted coffin factory across from an Alabama graveyard, on an eight-track recorder, with no computer editing or Autotune, recorded three songs, representing 30 percent of one of the greatest rock ‘n' roll records of all time. So tells Bill Janovitz of the making of the inimitable triple-platinum album, Sticky Fingers, which hit number one in the US and the UK in 1971, skyrocketing the band to superstardom. To Bill, all artists reveal themselves through their work and the Rolling Stones are no different: Each song exposes a little more of their soul. In Rocks Off, Janovitz reveals the forces at work behind the band's music by deconstructing their most representative tunes from their incredible fifty years of record making. Written by a Stones fanatic, this is a song-by-song chronicle that maps the landmarks of the band's career while expanding on their recording and personal history. Much like friends pouring over old records or having a barroom argument over the merits of certain songs, the book presents the musical leaps taken by the band and discusses how the lyrical content both reflected and influenced popular culture. The song choices are chronological and subjective; many of them are the classic hits; however, the book digs deeper into beloved album tracks and songs with unique stories behind them. Rocks Off is the ultimate listening guide and thinking man's companion that will spur you to dust off those old albums and listen in with a newfound perspective on one of the most famous and acclaimed rock 'n' roll bands of all time.