More than half a century after the birth of rock, the musical genre that began as a rebellious underground phenomenon is now acknowledged as America's-and the world's-most popular and influential musical medium, as well as the soundtrack to several generations' worth of history. From Ray Charles to Joni Mitchell to Nirvana, rock music has been an undeniable force in both reflecting and shaping our cultural landscape.
Icons of Rock offers a vivid overview of rock's pervasive role in contemporary society by profiling the lives and work of the music's most legendary artists. Most rock histories, by virtue of their all-encompassing scope, are unable to cover the lives and work of individual artists in depth, or to place those artists in a broader context.
This two-volume set, by contrast, provides extensive biographies of the 24 greatest rock n' rollers of all time, examining their influences, innovations, and impact in a critical and historical perspective. Entries inside this unique reference explore the issues, trends, and movements that defined the cultural and social climate of the artists' music. Sidebars spotlight the many iconic elements associated with rock, such as rock festivals, protest songs, and the British Invasion. Providing a wealth of information on the icons, culture, and mythology of America's most beloved music, this biographical encyclopedia will serve as an invaluable resource for students and music fans alike.

With the abundance of children's literature available, librarians and teachers need to be able to identify the finest works. This reference book contains more than 500 entries on titles, authors, characters, settings, and other elements from 189 award-winning children's books by 136 twentieth-century authors. It is the second five-year supplement to the authors' Dictionary of American Children's Fiction, 1960-1984 (Greenwood, 1986) and a companion to their similar reference works on British children's fiction and children's literature from around the world. Included are alphabetically arranged entries for those works that critics have singled out to receive awards or have placed on citation lists during the five years covered by the volume. The reference also contains biographical entries for leading authors of children's fiction, with entries focusing on how the author's life relates to children's literature and to particular works in this dictionary. The volume provides a list of awards, along with an appendix classifying individual works by the awards they have won. An extensive index provides full access to the wealth of information in this book.

NTC's Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases is for persons who are seeking to improve their ability to speak, read, write, and understand American English, tt is a small, portable dictionary that will help learners with spelling, pronunciation, parts of speech, meaning, irregular forms, and the appropriate use of 12,000 common words and phrases.