If These Halls Could Talk: A Historical Tour Through San Francisco Recording Studios takes an in-depth look at San Francisco's colorful and diverse music and music recording history, covering both the recordings and recording studios that housed the jazz and blues of the '50s and psychedelic rock of the '60s, to the rock and funk of the '70s, punk and new wave of the '80s, and the alternative rock, R&B and hip-hop of the '90s through today. Leading Bay Area artists, producers, engineers, and studio owners take readers on a guided tour through some of San Francisco's top recording studios, venturing behind the scenes of some of popular music's hottest albums. Readers will learn about the recording techniques, the magic, and often unusual experiences that went into a wide range of recordings, including works by Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Santana, the Pointer Sisters, Herbie Hancock, Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Chris Isaak, Faith No More, Green Day, and many more. In addition, If These Halls COuld Talk chronicles the history of the studios themselves. The book discusses the arrival, growth, and departure of studios in and around San Francisco, the myriad advancements in technology through the years and its effect on the recording industry, and how the San Francisco Bay Area's recording facilities have endured through economic ups and downs, increased competition, decreased demand, and the ever-changing, unpredictable music industry.

From the Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and BBC Television series including Lucy Worsley: Mozart's London Odyssey and Six Wives with Lucy Worsley, available on Netflix. “Worsley is a thoughtful, charming, often hilarious guide to life as it was lived, from the mundane to the esoteric.” -The Boston Globe Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two “dirty centuries”? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit? In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen, covering the history of each room and exploring what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove-from sauce stirring to breast-feeding, teeth cleaning to masturbating, getting dressed to getting married-providing a compelling account of how the four rooms of the home have evolved from medieval times to today, charting revolutionary changes in society.

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.