Craft Biography

“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.

This classic of spycraft is based on Allen Dulles's incomparable experience as a diplomat, international lawyer, and America's premier intelligence officer. Dulles was a high-ranking officer of the CIA's predecessor - the Office of Strategic Services - and was present at the inception of the CIA, where he served eight of his 10 years there as director. Here he sums up what he learned about intelligence from nearly a half-century of experience in foreign affairs.

Neal Schon has been the melodic constant in five decades of shifting rock landscapes. From his teenage recruitment by Santana to founding Journey, from the anthems of Escape to the resurgence of “Don’t Stop Believin’” in the streaming era, his guitar has carried both cultural weight and unforgettable identity. Neal Schon – Singable Guitar offers the definitive account of how one guitarist shaped not only a band, but the sound of American arena rock itself. Drawing from the San Francisco club circuits, the high-pressure sessions of Infinity and Frontiers, and the business battles ...

Peter Seibel interviews 15 of the most interesting computer programmers alive today in Coders at Work, offering a companion volume to Apress’ highly acclaimed best-seller Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston. As the words “at work” suggest, Peter Seibel focuses on how his interviewees tackle the day-to-day work of programming, while revealing much more, like how they became great programmers, how they recognize programming talent in others, and what kinds of problems they find most interesting.

Until the mass hysteria of the seventeenth century, accusations of witchcraft in England were rare. However, four royal women, related in family and in court ties - Joan of Navarre, Eleanor Cobham, Jacquetta of Luxembourg, and Elizabeth Woodville - were accused of practicing witchcraft in order to kill or influence the king. In Royal Witches, Gemma Hollman explores the lives and the cases of these so-called witches, placing them in the historical context of 15th-century England, a setting rife with political upheaval and war.

Lindsey Buckingham is more than the guitarist behind Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits—he is one of popular music’s most exacting architects. Lindsey Buckingham — Go Your Own Way traces his journey from Palo Alto bedrooms and high school choirs through the volatile years of Rumours, the bold experiments of Tusk, and the precision pop of Tango in the Night, into his restless solo career and post-Fleetwood Mac reinventions. This definitive biography examines the discipline that has shaped Buckingham’s music for five decades. From his intricate fingerstyle guitar technique—thumb, index,...

From the 2-time Tony Award-winner and the star of TV’s Younger, funny and intimate stories and reflections about how crafting has kept her sane while navigating the highs and lows of family, love, and show business (and how it can help you, too). Whether she’s playing an “age-defying”...

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography A groundbreaking study of the first Black female novelist and her life as an enslaved woman, from the biographer who solved the mystery of her identity, with a foreword by...

“Little and Often is a beautiful memoir of grief, love, the shattered bond between a father and son, and the resurrection of a broken heart. Trent Preszler tells his story with the same level of art and craftsmanship that he brings to his boat making, and he reminds us of creativity’s power...

Unbounded: From Sorrow to Summit follows Mary Craft's journey to reach the summit in her personal life. In this motivational, story from the past 15 years of her life, Mary shares lessons on recognizing your vulnerabilities, understanding your fears, and the step-by-step process you can take to let go of those fears.

Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll transports listeners back in time to witness the remarkable evolution of the American restaurant chef in the 1970s and 1980s. Andrew Friedman goes inside Chez Panisse and other Bay Area restaurants to show how the politically charged backdrop of Berkeley helped spark...

Many books, fiction and nonfiction alike, purport to probe the inner workings of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Many attempt to create spine-tingling suspense or allege that America's civilian spy operation has run amok and been infested with rogues and criminals. But this book is different. In fact it’s a unique straightforward, honest, surprisingly captivating memoir by one of the CIA's most well-known and honored career officers.

Today, even as so many of us spend hours in front of screens and in the virtual world, there is a growing movement that recognizes the power in the personal, the imperfect, the handmade. Eric Gorges, a metal shaper, taps into that hunger to get back to what's "real" through visits with the fellow artisans he has profiled for his popular public television program. In this book, he tells their stories and shares the collective wisdom of calligraphers, potters, stone carvers, glassblowers, engravers, wood workers, and more while celebrating the culture they've created.

Authors Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key build on the popularity of their 2022 Webby Award-winning podcast and delve deeper into the world of sketch, helped along with new essays created expressly for the book by comedy greats.

Across five decades of rock history, few guitarists have pursued tone as relentlessly—or as fearlessly—as George Lynch. Tooth and Nail Strings tells his story from the ground up: a kid in Auburn, California chasing Hendrix on a battered Telecaster, a craftsman obsessed with wood grain and sustain, and a lifelong experimenter who turned precision into poetry. Drawing on exhaustive research, studio archives, and first-hand documentation, this biography follows Lynch from the smoky clubs of Los Angeles through his meteoric rise with Dokken, his reinvention with Lynch Mob, and his evolution...

Success isn’t just about creating a successful business, the fame, or the money. It’s about seizing every opportunity to learn and grow. It’s about the person you are behind the scenes. Throughout his career, Jesse James has been known as many things: reality star, criminal, thrill seeker, husband, father, entrepreneur. With all these titles, Jesse has built his empire on one common theme—hard work.

Gillian Welch emerged from California suburbia to become the modern custodian of Appalachian music, transforming stillness, patience, and devotion into a lifelong artistic philosophy. This definitive biography traces her journey from adopted daughter of Hollywood composers to the matriarch of a living tradition that spans the Carter Family to the streaming era. Drawing from meticulous archival research and first-hand accounts, Gillian Welch: Keeper of Appalachian Tradition explores how her minimalist songwriting and decades-long partnership with David Rawlings reshaped the sound of ...

Joe Elliott’s voice has powered one of the most enduring bands in rock history. From the soot-stained terraces of Sheffield to sold-out stadiums across five continents, Def Leppard’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and the relentless discipline of craft. Pour Some Vocal on Me charts Elliott’s journey with an insider’s detail and a historian’s clarity, revealing how a teenage glam fan became the frontman of a global institution. Across thirty chapters, the book traces Elliott’s development from shouting over pub jukeboxes to commanding arenas with precision diction and ...

David Paich has shaped the sound of popular music for more than five decades, yet his story has remained largely in the shadows. David Paich brings his extraordinary journey to life in full documentary detail. Born into Los Angeles’ studio culture as the son of arranger Marty Paich, David grew up surrounded by orchestral scores, film cues, and the daily grind of professional musicianship. By the time he was a teenager, he was already rehearsing like a veteran, internalizing the discipline that would make him one of the most in-demand session keyboardists of the 1970s. This biography ...

Socialist, philosopher, and poet William Morris (1834 - 1896) was at the center of the design renaissance of the 1880s, not only because of his celebrated hostility to aspects of machine culture, but because of his success as a designer and businessman whose work had enormous influence on the next generation of artists, craftsmen, and designers.