This deeply felt memoir is a love letter to Washington, DC. Lancaster, a third-generation Washingtonian, takes readers on a tour of the capital from its swamp-infested beginnings to the present day, with an insider's view of the gritty politics, environment, society, culture, and larger-than-life heroes that characterize her beloved hometown.

Modern Jerusalem, a city central to Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religious imaginaries and the political epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, is to put it mildly a highly contested space. More surprising, perhaps, is that its musical landscape not only reflects these rifts but also helped to define them as the ancient city transitioned to modernity during the twentieth century. In City of Song: Music and the Making of Modern Jerusalem, author Michael A. Figueroa argues that musical renderings of Jerusalem have been critical to the formation of Israeli political consciousness. The book demonstrates how Israeli songwriters helped to shape their public's territorial imagination-- creating images of a city at once heavenly and earthly, that dwells in longing, that must not be forgotten, that compels one to bereave the dead, that represents the fulfilment of prophecy, and that is the site of immense cultural diversity. The dynamic history of its representation in lyrics and music helps dispel any notion that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is timeless, intractable, and based on static, essential identities; while there are continuities across historical divides, radical change constantly transpires. City of Song combines analyses of musical meaning, political discourse, and public performance over the long twentieth century (1880s-2010) to reveal how the Israeli-Palestinian crisis' territorial fixation on Jerusalem has been constructed, historically contingent, and subject to artistic intervention in modernity. Through a musical history of Jerusalem, Figueroa introduces a novel, humanities-centered approach to one of the world's most contested cities, and one of the defining cultural and political questions of our era.

John Burton is a co-founding member of the notorious band Doug and The Slugs. Introduced to Doug Bennett by John ‘Wally’ Watson in the summer of 1977, Doug and the author quickly formed the personal and musical chemistry that led to the meteoric rise of the band from a basement Halloween party to national recognition in less than two years. Doug and The Slugs—50,000 Slug Fans Can’t be Wrong is a real page turner written in a conversational style and definitely the author’s own voice. There is humility and humour, triumph and tragedy, defeat and redemption in this compelling read of the legendary party band’s rise, fall, and rise again. The memoir has larger than life characters one would expect from the entertainment industry. Especially interesting is the intel into how the records were made, where they were made and with whom. Burton’s analysis of the finished recorded products and marketing is equally engaging for both readers familiar with and not familiar with the music business. As you might expect there is insider information only someone with Burton’s experience could share about some giants of the industry like Ritchie Cordell, Levon Helm, Sam Feldman and Denise Donlon. From cover to cover Doug and The Slugs--50,000 Slug Fans Can’t be Wrong is a good read. The narrative is well illustrated by amusing and nostalgic photographs with captions throughout. All in All Highly Entertaining!