Don McLeese's Books

Slippery Steps isn't your typical, helland- back recovery memoir. I never intended to quit drinking, rarely gave it a thought. I'd spent decades as a successful and productive journalist. I was a loving husband and father. My life worked, and worked well. Until it didn't. Freedom from drinking has enriched my life in ways I'd never imagined. I'd been numbing myself to sleep, and sleepwalking my way through life. It's never too late to wake up. This is a book about how the worst day of my life turned out to be one of the best.

“[A] compulsively readable biography . . . Essential for fans of Yoakam and lovers of good music writing.” ―Library Journal From his formative years playing pure hardcore honky-tonk for mid-’80s Los Angeles punk rockers through his subsequent surge to the top of the country charts, Dwight Yoakam has enjoyed a singular career. An electrifying live performer, superb writer, and virtuosic vocalist, he’s successfully bridged two musical worlds that usually have little use for each other: commercial country and its alternative/Americana/roots-rocking counterpart. Defying the label “too country for rock, too rock for country,” Yoakam has triumphed while many of his peers have had to settle for cult acceptance. Four decades into his career, he’s sold more than twenty-five million records and continues to tour regularly. Now award-winning music journalist Don McLeese offers the first musical biography of this acclaimed artist. Tracing the seemingly disparate influences in Yoakam’s music, McLeese shows how he’s combined rock and roll, rockabilly, country, blues, and gospel into a seamless whole. In particular, McLeese explores the essential issue of “authenticity” and how it applies to Yoakam, as well as to country music and popular culture in general. Drawing on wide-ranging interviews with Yoakam and his management, while also benefiting from the perspectives of others closely associated with his success (including producer-guitarist Pete Anderson, partner throughout Yoakam’s most popular and creative decades), Dwight Yoakam pays tribute to the musician who has established himself as a visionary beyond time, an artist who could title an album Tomorrow’s Sounds Today and deliver it.

Biography of Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American major league baseball player.

When the Motor City 5 stormed the stage, the band combined the kinetic flash of James Brown on acid with the raw musical dynamics of the Who gone berserk. It's a unique band that can land itself on the cover of Rolling Stone a month before the release of its debut album and then be booted from its record contract just a few months later. Rock had never before seen the likes of the MC5 and never will again. Many of us who were floored by the 5 in concert were convinced that this was the most transcendently pulverizing rock we would ever experience, while many more who heard or read about the band dismissed the 5 as a caricature, a fraud, White Panther bozos play-acting at revolution. There was always plenty of humor to the 5-visionary knuckleheads-though the question was whether they were in on the joke. Frequently ridiculed during their short career, they've since been hailed as a primal influence on everything from punk to metal to Rage Against the Machine to the Detroit populist resurgence of the White Stripes, Kid Rock and Eminem.

Biographical and science-related information on the life of Albert Einstein and his knowledge of physics.

Updated for 2020, beautiful photos and text examine the issues endangered gray wolves face and how they can be saved.

A biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, who believed in helping the poor and worked for the rights of women and for laws to protect children.

Updated for 2020, Rich content and beautiful photos examine the habitat, diet, and characteristics of various types of insects.

Discusses a person, who in his daily life, considered lives beyond his own to make the world a better place, particularily for the poor, oppressed, and underrecognized.

Discover the people who, in their daily lives, considered lives beyond their own to make the world a better place, particularly for the poor, oppressed, and underrecognized.

Biography Of The Chief Who Was Considered A Great Leader Not Only By Native Americans But Also By White Settlers.

Mother of civil rights, teacher's daughter, going to school, getting married, riding the bus.

Don Breithaupt's book on Aja includes a detailed song-by-song analysis, an extended interview with co-writer, co-founder, singer, and pianist Donald Fagen, and discusses a wide range of Aja-related issues.

Harry Caray is one of the most famous and beloved sports broadcasters of all time, with a career that lasted over 50 years. Always a baseball enthusiast, Caray once vowed to become a broadcaster who was the true voice of the fans. Caray’s distinctive style soon resonated across St. Louis, then Chicago, and eventually across the nation. In The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball’s Greatest Salesman, Don Zminda delivers the first full-length biography of Caray since his death in 1998. It includes details of Caray’s orphaned childhood, his 25 years as the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, his tempestuous 11 years broadcasting games for the Chicago White Sox, and the 16 years he broadcast for the Chicago Cubs while also becoming a nationally-known celebrity. Interviews with significant figures from Caray’s life are woven throughout, from his widow Dutchie and grandson Chip to broadcasters Bob Costas, Thom Brennaman, Dewayne Staats, Pat Hughes, and more. Caray was known during his final years as a beloved, often-imitated grandfather figure with the Cubs, but the story of his entire career is much more nuanced and often controversial. Featuring new information on Caray’s life—including little-known information about his firing by the Cardinals and his feuds with players, executives, and fellow broadcasters—this book provides an intimate and in-depth look at a broadcasting legend.

When the Motor City 5 stormed the stage, the band combined the kinetic flash of James Brown on acid with the raw musical dynamics of the Who gone berserk. It's a unique band that can land itself on the cover of Rolling Stone a month before the release of its debut album and then be booted from its record contract just a few months later. Rock had never before seen the likes of the MC5 and never will again. Many of us who were floored by the 5 in concert were convinced that this was the most transcendently pulverizing rock we would ever experience, while many more who heard or read about the band dismissed the 5 as a caricature, a fraud, White Panther bozos play-acting at revolution. There was always plenty of humor to the 5—visionary knuckleheads—though the question was whether they were in on the joke. Frequently ridiculed during their short career, they've since been hailed as a primal influence on everything from punk to metal to Rage Against the Machine to the Detroit populist resurgence of the White Stripes, Kid Rock and Eminem.

Biography Of The Great Chief Of The Lakota Sioux Tribe, As Well As The Native American Who Defeated General Custer.

The Internet And Email Have Changed Our Lives. Find Out Why By Reading The History, Characteristics, Uses, And Future Applications Of This Incredible Invention.

Biography Of Stonewall Jackson Who Was A Confederate General During The Civil War.

Biography Of George Meade Who Is Remembered As A Major General For The Union, An Engineer, And A Surveyor For The Army.

Biography Of Robert E. Lee Who Was A Great Hero As Well As A General In The Civil War.

Biography Of Thurgood Marshall Who Became The First African American Justice Of The Supreme Court.

Explores Cesar Chavez's Life As A Mexican-American And His Important Role As A Labor Leader. Chavez Dedicated His Life To Improving The Lives Of Migrant Farm Workers.

Examining The Life Of Jonas Salk, Who Founded The Vaccine For The Polio Disease ,"Salk Vaccine", And Also Founded The Salk Institute.

Biography Of The Great Chief Of The Shawnee Tribe Of Native Americans Who Was Known As A Statesman, A Warrior, And A Patriot.

Biography Of Ulysses S. Grant Who Was The 18Th President As Well As Being Remembered As A Great General.

Explores The Life Of Phillis Wheatley And Describes Her Patriotic Involvement In The American Revolution.

A biography of Samuel Clemens, who became famous as the author Mark Twain.

Biography of Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American major league baseball player.

A biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, who believed in helping the poor and worked for the rights of women and for laws to protect children.

Read About Spartans, The Ancient Greek Warriors, In This Graphic Illustrated Book.

Biography Of The Great Chief Of The Shawnee Tribe Of Native Americans Who Was Known As A Statesman, A Warrior, And A Patriot.

Biographical And Science-Related Information Examining The Life Of Robert Fulton And His Invention Of The First Steamboat To Work Successfully.

Biography Of Jeb Stuart Who Is Remembered As A Great Officer And One Of The Bravest And Best Southern Generals.

Explores Amelia Earhart's Life And Her Family. Shows How Strong Her Desire Was To Fly An Airplane And Break Records, Just Like Men Did During That Time.

Book's by Don McLeese

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