Literature - F

Factotum - Charles Bukowski (ISBN-13 : 978-0753518151)

Factotum follows Charles Bukowski's bestselling Post Office, his highly autobiographical first novel. Bukowski's Beat Generation writing reflects his slum upbringing, his succession of menial jobs and his experience of low life urban America.

He died in 1994 and is widely acknowledged as one of the most distinctive writers of the last fifty years.

Fantastic Sixties Trivia Book - Richard Hipgrave, Tony Hipgrave
(ISBN-13 : 978-0099453307)

We'd dabbled in putting on gigs, student journalism and record reviews in the 1960s and 70s, and we were both involved in pub quiz teams.
The book seemed an obvious way of capturing and organising the huge amount of trivial junk that we'd acquired in the 1960s.

Most of the junk was, of course, concerned in some way with pieces of plastic that rotated at 33 or 45 rpm and were treated with more reverence than anything covered by the school curriculum.

Using the trivia quiz book format gave us the chance to take a slightly off-the-wall approach to covering the social history of the 1960s, the politics, music and sport.

We really enjoyed the experience of working on it together - despite living at opposite ends of the world.

The book was well-received, and it has always been in demand in the second-hand market.

Knowing that someone laughs or learns from what you've written is a great motivator, and we thought that it would be fun to revise and extend the original hard copy book as an e-book.

As authors, the e-book model works well for us: it's nice to be free of the pressure of deadlines, and to have the control and flexibility that comes with e-book publishing and distribution.

For the book's cover we wanted something that captured the spirit of the 1960s - and something not too arty or pretentious.

People wore lots of badges in the 1960s which seemed to fit, and the badges on our cover also tell you something about what's going to be in the book

Fare Thee Well: The Final Chapter of the Grateful Dead's Long, Strange Trip - by Joel Selvin, Pamela Turley
(ISBN-13 : 978-0306903052)

The Grateful Dead rose to greatness under the inspired leadership of guitarist Jerry Garcia, but the band very nearly died along with him. When Garcia passed away suddenly in August of 1995, the remaining band members experienced full crises of confidence and identity. So long defined by Garcia's vision for the group, the surviving "Core Four," as they came to be called, were reduced to conflicting agendas, strained relationships, and catastrophic business decisions that would leave the iconic band in shambles. Wrestling with how best to define their living legacy, the band made many attempts at restructuring, but it would take twenty years before relationships were mended enough for the Grateful Dead as fans remembered them to once again take the stage.

Acclaimed music journalist and New York Times bestselling author Joel Selvin was there for much of the turmoil following Garcia's death, and he'll offer a behind-the-scenes account of the ebbs and flows that occurred during the ensuing two decades. Plenty of books have been written about the rise of the Grateful Dead, but this final chapter of the band's history has never before been explored in detail. Culminating in the landmark tour bearing the same name, Fare Thee Wellcharts the arduous journey from Garcia's passing all the way up to the uneasy agreement between the Core Four that led to the series of shows celebrating the band's fiftieth anniversary and finally allowing for a proper, and joyous, sendoff of the group revered by so many.

Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist 1968-1976 - Hunter S Thompson
(ISBN 13: 9780684873152)

From the king of “Gonzo” journalism and bestselling author who brought you Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes another astonishing volume of letters by Hunter S. Thompson.

Brazen, incisive, and outrageous as ever, this second volume of Thompson’s private correspondence is the highly anticipated follow-up to The Proud Highway. When that first book of letters appeared in 1997, Time pronounced it "deliriously entertaining"; Rolling Stone called it "brilliant beyond description"; and The New York Times celebrated its "wicked humor and bracing political conviction."

Spanning the years between 1968 and 1976, these never-before-published letters show Thompson building his legend: running for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado; creating the seminal road book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; twisting political reporting to new heights for Rolling Stone; and making sense of it all in the landmark Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. To read Thompson's dispatches from these years—addressed to the author's friends, enemies, editors, and creditors, and such notables as Jimmy Carter, Tom Wolfe, and Kurt Vonnegut—is to read a raw, revolutionary eyewitness account of one of the most exciting and pivotal eras in American history.

Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson (ISBN-13 : 978-0007881543)

Thompson’s barnstorming road trip across LA is the ultimate gonzo mind-bender, flush with addled hallucinogenic humour and demented vignettes. Controversial and crazed, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a wild ride like no other in American literature.

The First Third - Neal Cassady (ISBN-10 : 0872860051)

Immortalized as Dean Moriarty by Jack Kerouac in his epic novel, On the Road, Neal Cassady was infamous for his unstoppable energy and his overwhelming charm, his savvy hustle and his devil-may-care attitude.

A treasured friend and traveling companion of Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Ken Kesey, to name just some of his cohorts on the beatnik path, Cassady lived life to the fullest, ready for inspiration at any turn.

Before he died in Mexico in 1968, just four days shy of his forty-second birthday, Cassady had written the jacket blurb for this book: “Seldom has there been a story of a man so balled up. No doubt many readers will not believe the veracity of the author, but I assure these doubting Thomases that every incident, as such, is true."

As Ferlinghetti writes in his editor’s note, Cassady was “an early prototype of the urban cowboy who a hundred years ago might have been an outlaw on the range.” Here are his autobiographical writings, the rambling American saga of a truly free individual.

Neal Cassady (1926-1968) was a key figure and writer during the Beat Generation and is known as the inspiration for Jack Kerouac's immortalizing character Dean Moriarty.

In 1946, Cassady traveled to New York City where he met famous Beat poets and writers such as Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.

Cassady's works were never published during his lifetime.

Five Years Ahead of My Time: Garage Rock from the 1950s to the Present - Seth Bovey
(ISBN13 : 978-1789140651)

Five Years Ahead of My Time: Garage Rock from the 1950s to the Present tells of an explosive musical phenomenon whose continuing influence on popular culture is dramatic and deep.
The tale begins in 1950s America, when classic rock 'n' roll was reaching middle age and teenage musicians kept its primal rawness going with rough-hewn instrumentals. In the mid-1960s, the Beatles and the British Invasion conquered America, and soon every neighbourhood had its own garage band. Groups like the Sonics and 13th Floor Elevators burned brightly but briefly, only to be rediscovered by a new generation of connoisseurs in the 1970s. Numerous compilation albums followed, spearheaded by Lenny Kaye's seminal Nuggets, which resulted in garage rock's rebirth across the world during the 1980s and '90s.

Be it the White Stripes or the Black Keys, bands have consistently found inspiration in the simplicity and energy of garage rock. It is a revitalizing force, looking back to the past to forge the future. And this, for the first time, is its story.

For What It's Worth: The Story of Buffalo Springfield - John Einarson
(ISBN-13 : 978-0815412816)

For What It's Worth is a revealing insiders look at an influential and groundbreaking rock group whose remendous talents have gone on to achieve legendary status in the annals of rock music history. Besides chronicling Buffalo Springfield's roots and career, the book offers rare and personal glimpses into several seminal music scenes, notably the Greenwich Village foldk movement, the embryonic San Francisco scene, and LA's Sunset Strip along with a lesson in the pitfalls of the music industry. Written with founding member Richie Furay and including the insights, recollections, and reflections of band members, managers, close friends, associates, adn contemporaries, the book paints a unique portrait of one of rock music's most beloved groups. Updated edition includes new epilogue.

Future Days: Krautrock and the Birth of a Revolutionary New Music - David Stubbs
(ISBN 13: 9781612194745)

A sweeping history of the men and women who transformed postwar Germany--and created a musical genre that revolutionized rock and roll and gave birth to hip-hop.

West Germany after World War II was a country in shock: estranged from its recent history, and adrift from the rest of Europe. But this orphaned landscape proved fertile ground for a generation of musicians who, from the 1960s onwards, would develop the strange and beautiful sounds that became known as Krautrock.

Fuzz Acid and Flowers. A comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964 - 1975) - Vernon Joynson
(ISBN 13: 9781899855063)

A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-1975)

Fuzz Acid and Flowers Revisited: A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie-rock (1963-1977) - Vernon Joynson (ISBN-13 : 978-1899855186)

Regarded as one of the most definitive series for real music aficionados, FUZZ ACID AND FLOWERS returns in an expanded addition collecting every important fact about this iconic period in music history. This bible is not for imitators or fakers. It has been assembled by the inimitable knowledge developed by avid record collectors around the world. This expanded edition also covers a wider timeframe than ever before and features an A-Z listing of relevant artists with discographies, personnel details, band histories, comment on the music and personal recollections.

Absolute beast of a book, thicker than most Paving Slabs...