Books — In Stock — Books 
A special selection of disc guides and discographies, music history, record art books, graphic novels, and some nicely-priced remainders!
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(Items 1 – 56 of 56)
Random House, 2007. New Copy ... $4.99 17.00
Our fair city of Chicago has always been a pretty sleazy place – but back at the start of the 20th century, there was a higher kind of sex trade going on – one that featured high class houses of ill-reputed, and well-educated hookers – which led to a lot more crossing over between ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
John Hopkins University Press, 2007. New Copy ... $6.99 39.00
A very hefty look at the early years of television – a time when the format was trying to really set itself apart from other American media, especially radio – and was brimming over with new ideas and fresh opportunities! The author writes from a deeply historical perspective – ... read more Book
IDW Publishing, 2017. New Copy ... $8.99 29.99
A beautiful book of graphic imagination – a book that features 60s-styled ads for toys that never existed – but which take us back to the glory days of Matchbox, Big Daddy Roth, and Aurora Monster Models! The artwork is all by Marty Bauman – who would have made a heck of a toy ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Skyhorse, 2018. New Copy ... $3.99 18.99
A nicely expanded version of this important look at the career and music of Aretha Franklin – one that was first published at the end of the 80s, but which has been refined over the years to follow her changing career – and updated in this final edition, which covers the last decade of ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Chicago Review Press, 2012. New Copy ... $4.99 29.95
A stunning look at the great Mary Wells – one of Motown's first female acts of the 60s, and one of the decade's most important early soul figures as well! Mary's work on record is very well-known, but the story behind the music is completely different, and surprisingly dark at times – ... read more Book
Yale University Press, 2014. New Copy ... $6.99 45.00
A beautiful book for a really fantastic exhibition – one that looks at the interplay between modern art and early television in the US – with fantastic parallels that include both work on TV, and around the format itself! The volume is done like the best gallery books – lots of ... read more Book
Atria, 2013. New Copy ... $2.99 17.00
The first big voices of MTV tell the tales of the early days of the influential music network – as Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn all spent quite a bit of time as on air "VJs" – which was the music television version of a radio jock! Back at the ... read more Book
(Spine has a remainder mark.)
Abrams, 2010. New Copy ... $9.99 45.00
A very cool book put together by Kidrobot – documenting the many changes in the world of vinyl collectibles over the past few years – as things move way past standard figures and blind boxes! The book features a huge range of global artists – dozens of folks who are transforming ... read more Book
City Files, 2016. New Copy ... $11.99 60.00
The amazing story of an overlooked Chicago hero – photographer/historian/activist Richard Nickel – who spent a good number of his adult years trying to salvage and call attention to the creations of architect Louis Sullivan – before meeting an early death, while getting crushed in ... read more Book
Faber & Faber (UK), 2015. New Copy ... $4.99 36.00
An incredibly dense book on the psychedelic scene of the 60s – a huge volume that not only looks at an impressive array of music, but also the wider trippy culture, too – but all with a level of text that goes far beyond most of the thinner volumes on the period! Many of the chapter ... read more Book
Abrams Comic Arts, 2012. New Copy ... $12.99 40.00
We've been living with the comics of Daniel Clowes for so many years, we sometimes forget how great he is – so fortunately, we've got this wonderful book to remind us of his genius all over again! Clowes is incredible – a comic stylist who's not only drunk deep of the best modes of the ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, 2013. New Copy ... $8.99 28.99
A really great entry in this always-wonderful series – one that offers up interviews with some of the most important comic artists of the 50s – the legendary talents who worked for the groundbreaking EC Comics! The book is nice and big, and full of images throughout – ... read more Book
Hat & Beard, 2018. New Copy ... $34.99 60.00
A beautiful expansion of a famous moment in creative journalism – the famous 1968 issue of Esquire magazine that featured William S Burroughs, Terry Southern, Allen Ginsberg, Jean Genet, and Abbie Hoffman at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago! The results of that tumultuous event have ... read more Book
Polygon (UK), 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 14.99
Stuart Cosgrove has turned us on to plenty of music over the years – we first began reading his NME articles many years back – and this time around, he delivers a wonderfully detailed history about his youth as a fanatic for American soul music on the UK scene! Cosgrove was lucky ... read more Book
Penguin Books, 2015. New Copy ... $2.99 30.00
A wonderfully-written autobiography from Elvis Costello – a book that's not only completely illuminating for any fan of his music, but which stands quite strongly on his own, even if you're not a longtime fan of the man himself! The volume almost sets a new standard for musician ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Harper Perennial, 2013. New Copy ... Just Sold Out!
The story of Charlie Parker is often draped in hyperbole and exaggeration – which is why it's extra great that this biography is handled by Stanley Crouch – one of the few writers we could trust to get past the hype and really find a way to link Parker's life and music! As you might ... read more Book
(Spine has a remainder mark.)
Thames & Hudson, 2017. New Copy ... $11.99 40.00
A really lovely late-life portrait of Billie Holiday – an oversize book that's filled with black and white photographs taken during the month of April, 1957 – when Billie was headlining at the Sugar Hill club in Newark! Holiday's late troubles are well-known, and often etched upon her ... read more Book
Prestel (Germany), 2015. New Copy ... $8.99 60.00
A treasure trove of beautiful objects designed at mid-century – all creations of designer Peter Muller Munk – German by birth, and part of the wave of creative talent to come to America during wartime – which meant that we got to reap all the benefits of Peter's genius! Famous ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, 2015. New Copy ... $11.99 39.99
The continuing genius of Steve Ditko – served up here in a batch of obscure work for Charlton Comics at the end of the 50s – material that's hardly ever gotten any exposure outside of its initial release! Like the previous volume, the stories here are all shorter horror and sci fi ... read more Book
(Cover has some light wear, but books are in great shape otherwise.)
Fantagraphics, 2016. New Copy ... $9.99 39.99
The genius of Steve Ditko knows no bounds – and although the comic genius is best known for his later work on Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and countless other classics – his early material is also pretty darn amazing! This excellent volume collects a whole host of rare sci-fi stories ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, Early 50s. New Copy ... $6.99 28.99
The earliest work of comic legend Steve Ditko – compiled here in a book that features a wealth of material that you'll never see otherwise! Ditko's best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man in the 60s – but the work here is from a decade before, and features amazing sci-fi and horror ... read more Book
(Softcover version.)
Abrams, 2014. New Copy ... $3.99 60.00
There's a man standing on the cover, but you might have to look close to see him – and that's part of the style of Liu Bolin – a Chinese artist who paints himself to blend in with his surroundings! The approach is pretty darn amazing – sometimes more successful than others, and ... read more Book
Duke University Press, 2016. New Copy ... $4.99 26.59
A collection of essays on a great range of musical topics from Chuck Eddy – a writer whose work you might know from Creem or The Village Voice – and who covered a surprising amount of music in his decades in publication! The book brings together columns from a four decade stretch that ... read more Book
Kant (Czech Republic), 2012. New Copy ... $2.99 45.00
New York drinking spots – all photographed in a really timeless way by Czech photographer Jiri Erml – a guy who clearly knows his way around a tavern! The images here are all from the early 90s, but they're also all black and white – and taken in a way that feels much older than ... read more Book
Back Bay, 2004. New Copy ... $3.99 17.99
The story of Hank Williams – written by Colin Escott, the man whose words we've loved in countless liner notes over the years – and who's an even better writer when he stretches things out in a full length format! Forget the cover image – which is designed to cash in on the 2015 ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Yale University Press, 2015. New Copy ... $8.99 35.00
Coney Island is a hell of a place – a refuge for New Yorkers for over 100 years, and still pretty amazing today – with a surprisingly strong legacy that also includes the park's influence on more serious artists over the decades, a legacy that's presented beautifully in this oversize ... read more Book
University Of South Carolina Press, 2008. New Copy ... $2.99 19.98
South Carolina has been home to a surprising amount of jazz musicians over the years – a list of talents that includes Houston Person, Chris Potter, Webster Young, Etta Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Arthur Prysock, Nappy Brown, and a number of others – all of whom are featured in separate ... read more Book
Prestel (UK), 2016. New Copy ... $8.99 70.00
A huge volume of modern art from the Kunstmuseum in Bern, Switzerland – presented here partly as a way of undoing some of the damage of the Nazis, and the restrictions they made on German and European art during the 30s! The book features a number of essays on the topic of "degenerate ... read more Book
Yale University Press, 2013. New Copy ... $8.99 45.00
A fascinating book, and one that's way deeper than you might guess from the simple JFK reference on the cover – but that's what we'd expect, coming from the genius of Lee Friedlander! JFK is definitely the subject of these photographs from the early 60s – but the man himself is never ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, 2014. New Copy ... $8.99 34.99
Drew Friedman is a hell of a comics artist – one who's always admitted a great legacy to the legends of the past, which really comes through in the classic style of his draftsmanship! Drew's been amazing us with his images for many decades – and with this special project, he goes back ... read more Book
Pantheon, 2017. New Copy ... $6.99 40.00
One of the greatest writers on singers presents his essential collection of albums from the 20th century – all served up with the kind of loving detail that's always made the prose of Will Friedwald so great! Will's written the book on Frank Sinatra – literally – and on Tony ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Little Brown, 2018. New Copy ... $8.99 40.00
Gary Giddins' great second chapter in the career of Bing Crosby – handled with all the same detail and deep knowledge of the music as the first volume – and continuing this much-needed look at one of the most important figures in pop music during the 20th Century! Crosby helped forge ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Yale University Press, 2016. New Copy ... $6.99 30.00
Ralph J Gleason might just be one of the coolest cats to ever write about music – a key part of the San Francisco scene during the postwar years – where his talents helped illuminate both the worlds of art and music during the beat generation – then really helped shine a spotlight ... read more Book
Prestel, 2016. New Copy ... $15.99 49.95
A fantastic photographic art book, but one that also tells the story of the legendary Bruce Davidson – a key talent whose amazing eye really helped move the form of photography forward in the 60s and 70s! The book is filled with images from some of Davidson's most famous series – ... read more Book
University Of Pennsylvania, 2005. New Copy ... $4.99 24.95
Group soul harmony gets some great treatment here – in a well-done book that follows the music from the street corner to the airwaves – all with a thoughtful mixture of oral history and the larger issues of the time! Author Stuart Goosman focuses especially on harmony groups on the ... read more Book
Little Brown, 2018. New Copy ... $3.99 28.00
A detailed look at the moment when hip hop went from a sideline to a mainstream force in the music business – a time when producers became executives, major labels allowed smaller boutique imprints, and everybody started making a lot more money on the music! As you'd guess from the title, ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Duke University Press, 2020. New Copy ... $15.99 21.95
Groundbreaking work from David Grubbs – a name you might know from his decades as a musician, singer, and improviser in a variety of settings – or from his more recent emergence as an author – heard from here in a book that unifies both sides of his creative personality! In some ... read more Book
Fantagraphics, 2012. New Copy ... $16.99 75.00
Stunning color Sunday pages from the early days of newspaper comics – and material that we'd rank right up there with better-known classics by talents like Windsor McCay, Frank King, and Lionel Feininger! Johnny Gruelle shares plenty with the genius of those greats – and his Mr Twee ... read more Book
Flatiron Books, 2015. New Copy ... $6.99 19.99
Way more than just a simple book of record cover images – and instead a love letter to the sound and style of the disco generation – put together from classic album artwork, and augmented by thoughtful musings by the author! The book features full color reproductions of over 250 album ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Alfred A Knopf, 2018. New Copy ... $2.99 28.95
Painter Duncan Hannah dropped into the New York scene right at the start of the 70s – and spent most of the decade being right where the action is – from shows, to clubs, to parties, and a host of other cultural hotspots – eventually leading the kind of life most of us can only ... read more Book
(Spine has a small remainder mark.)
Harper Design, 2017. New Copy ... $1.99 15.99
A Chicago coloring book, but one that's maybe not great for kids – because the cityscapes within are full of important examples of Chicago architecture – usually somewhat complex, which means that they're not to be colored by the weak of hand! The book features images from Wrigley ... read more Book
(The spine has a small remainder mark.)
Duke, 2013. New Copy ... $5.99 26.95
The future of jazz is now, even if it's in the past – as the editors here bring together a selection of essays that document the forward-thinking movements in jazz from the mid 60s onwards – some of which are only getting full appreciation all these many years later! There's a nice ... read more Book
Blank Forms, 1977. New Copy ... $18.99 20.00
A fantastic side of the many talents of Joseph Jarman – best known as a key member of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, and a saxophonist whose talents were crucial to the formation of the AACM – but also a very strong writer, as you'll discover in this book! This version is the full 1977 ... read more Book
Abrams, 2012. New Copy ... $11.99 40.00
A lavish examination of the work of William Klein – an important postwar photographer who moved into the worlds of film and graphics in the 60s – and left an indelible imprint on both the scenes in New York and Paris! The book offers up Klein's work in a few different slices – ... read more Book
Almighty & Insane Books, 2020. New Copy ... $16.99 20.00
The secret history of Chicago house music – a side of the scene that's even more obscure than its many rare records or long-departed clubs! The book is a fantastic follow up to the first volume – and like that one, features rare flyers, posters, and ads for some of the underground ... read more Book
Yale University Press, 2015. New Copy ... $5.99 20.00
Nearly 30 years of work from one of the best writers on rock and roll – served up here in a nearly-endless succession of columns all based around a single format – one that many other publications have copped over the years, but which Greil Marcus virtually invented at the Village Voice! ... read more Book
St Martins, 2013. New Copy ... $4.99 22.99
The title's a bit misleading – as there's not really any noise going on here, and the main focus is on lyricism – given that the author spends his time interviewing a huge array of famous songwriters for this project! The book is very large, and features author Daniel Rachel ... read more Book
Liveright, 2017. New Copy ... $5.99 29.95
Hank Williams only managed to spend 29 short years on our planet – but he packed a hell of a lot of life and creative activity into a space just short of three decades – all covered in great detail here by author Mark Ribowsky! The book's nice and hefty – and not only spends a ... read more Book
Philip Wilson Publishers (UK), 2009. New Copy ... $3.99 53.00
A really special selection of work from British artist David Harrison – a large volume that focuses mostly on his paintings of the early 21st Century – a time in his career when Harrison was creating these amazing paintings that were both representational and fantastic at the same time! ... read more Book
Tortoise Books, 2019. New Copy ... $9.99 23.99
A beautiful little book from one of the more inspired creative talents on the Chicago scene – writer/artist Dmitry Samarov, who's always got a talent for getting to the heart of the city – and for being very open about what matters, and why! This book is Dmitry's love letter to the ... read more Book
(Limited edition first pressing!)
Bloomsbury/Sigma (UK), 2019. New Copy ... $2.99 28.00
The fascination story of one of the coolest mixtapes ever – the unique Golden Record that was attached to the Voyager space probe – a gold-plated album that was our way of communicating with interplanetary cultures in the 70s! The record was quite unique – and featured greetings ... read more Book
Fotofolio, 2004. New Copy ... $3.99 29.95
Images of America at play in the early 70s – all shot by photographer Bill Owens in Northern California, and brought together as a really beautiful document of the time! As with Owens' Working book, this one features a huge range of different subjects – golfers, dirt bikers, movie ... read more Book
Fotofolio, 2008. New Copy ... $8.99 29.95
Amazing photographs from the 70s – all part of a "work" project by photographer Bill Owens, who shot most of these images in the Central Valley of California! Owens showed up while folks were working, snapped a portrait of them at their job – and also took down a brief ... read more Book
Canongate, 2004. New Copy ... $5.99 16.00
Elvis Costello has given us his own detailed account of his life and music – but before that well-circulated volume was released, Grame Thomson did a pretty great job with this one – using his years of experience as a music journalist to plumb the depths of the man and his recordings! ... read more Book
Norton/Kicks, 2009. New Copy Book ... $6.99 12.95
Iceberg Slim, eat your heart out! Andre Williams finally has a book of his own – a set of late life writings that are surprisingly great! The work came out of a post-rehab effort to get his thoughts down on paper, but without putting them in song – and the material is surprisingly ... read more Book
Dey St, 2017. New Copy ... $2.99 45.00
A vivid love letter to vintage Vegas – one that's filled with images of the city from the 50s through the 80s, and which also features a special forward by Wayne Newton, and an afterward by Donnie & Marie! The pictures are the real strength of the book, though – and are presented ... read more Book
(Items 1 – 56 of 56)
