Books with author J. Chapman

Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener’s Companion takes a long overdue look at the music and stage act of rock music’s self-styled arch-villain. A provocateur from the very start of his career in the mid-1960s, Alice Cooper, aka Vince Furnier, son of a lay preacher in the Church of Jesus Christ, carved a unique path through five decades of rock’n’roll. Despite a longevity that only a handful of other artists and acts can match, Alice Cooper remains a difficult act and artist to pin down and categorize. During the last years of the 1960s and the heydays of commercial success in the 1970s, Cooper's groundbreaking theatricality, calculated offensiveness, and evident disregard for the conventions of rock protocols sowed confusion among his critics and evoked outrage from the public. Society’s watchdogs demanded his head, and Cooper willingly obliged at the end of each performance with his on-stage self-guillotining. But as youth anthem after youth anthem - “I’m Eighteen,” “School’s Out,” “Elected,” “Department of Youth”—rang out in his arena concerts the world over and across airwaves, fans flocked to experience Cooper’s unique brand of rock. Critics searched for proper descriptions: “pantomime,” “vaudeville,” “retch-rock,” “Grand Guignol.” In 1973 Cooper headlined in Time magazine as “Schlock Rock’s Godzilla.” In Experiencing Alice Cooper: A Listener’s Companion, Ian Chapman surveys Cooper’s career through his twenty-seven studio albums (1969-2017). While those who have written about Cooper have traditionally kept their focus on the stage spectacle, too little attention has been paid to Cooper’s recordings. Throughout, Chapman argues that while Cooper may have been rock’s most accomplished showman, he is first and foremost a musician, with his share of gold and platinum albums to vouch for his qualifications as a musical artist.

I COMMANDED AND FOUGHT WITH 2 PARA AT THE BATTLE OF GOOSE GREEN. I WAS HEAD OF COUNTER TERRORISM FOR THE M.O.D. THIS IS MY TRUE STORYStumbling from a university anarchist meeting into a career in the army, Chip Chapman is aware of how consciously incompetent he is. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst confirms his worst fears. He is eventually let loose on 6 Platoon of 2 Para and, via the Falkands War, manages to elevate himself to a position of conscious competence and save his career.Snapshots on all aspects of military life, and government decision making, show the military at work and play. This hilarious, touching, informative and though-provoking insight into a generation of soldiering in the late 20th century and beyond is set against the drumbeat of the social and educational rhythms of the Cold War to the nihilism of 9/11. Chip Chapman eventually manages to somehow climb the greasy pole to become a General.With echoes of David Niven's The Moon's a Balloon, Lelsey Thomas' Virgin Soldiers and the travelogues of Bill Bryson, Chapman captures the rawness, spirit and fortitude of the soldier in both peace and war.

Christmas is coming, and Teddy is so excited! "Is it Christmas yet?" he asks Big Bear. "Soon," Big Bear replies. Big Bear tells him that first, there are presents to wrap, a cake to bake, a tree to decorate-so much to do! Teddy desperately wants to help Big Bear get ready, but every time he tries, he ends up making a mess-and making Big Bear angry! Will they ever be ready to have the perfect Christmas?

"Licence to Thrill" follows Bond from the 1962 'Dr No', through all the subsequent Bond films, exploring them within the culture and politics of the times, as well as within film culture itself. When James Chapman's rip-roaring journey through the annals of celluloid Bond first appeared in 2000, the London "Evening Standard" said, 'Chapman demonstrates that there is more to the 007 franchise than just girls, guns and globe trotting', and Stephen O'Brien, writing in "SFX" magazine called the book 'thoughtful, intelligent, ludicrous and a bit snobby. Bit like Bond, really.' "Licence to Thrill" went on to establish itself as one of the best books on Bond, and one that has made readers think in new ways about 007. For this new edition, Chapman has now brought the story right up to the present, with a revised Introduction, a new Chapter One and, most importantly, full coverage of Brosnan as Bond in "The World is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day", as well as, of course, a brand new chapter on "Casino Royale" and Daniel Craig's new-look Bond.

In 147 Things, Jim takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the best bits of everything, from the mind-blowing to the ridiculous. As with his videos, no subject is off-limits and he’ll lift the lid on his life and his relationships, sharing embarrassing stories and things he’s learnt along the way. If you’ve ever felt weirded out by the fact we’re seven billion (mostly) hairless apes spinning around a giant ball of flaming gas, or that we all begin as tiny humans INSIDE our mothers, or that many of us keep slightly-less-dangerous wolves in our homes, then you need this book in your life. Jim wants to inspire you with the sheer unlikelihood of us all being here and equip you to feel just a little less overwhelmed by the small stuff.

A little owlet employs a big bag of tricks when Grandma tries to get him to settle down to sleep. Grandma carries little Mo to the top of the tree when it's bedtime. She smoothes some leaves into a soft nest and lays Mo carefully in the middle. "Play with me?" Mo giggles. "No, Sweetie, it's time for bed," Grandma responds. She reads in pleasant silence for a while, until Mo calls out that he hasn't had his bedtime snack. With effort, Grandma flies down to get it (a cookie, disappointingly, not a vole) and bring it back up to Mo, who again asks to play. Grandma's answer is the same. Not even leaves falling from the nest onto her head or Mo's loud declaration that "It's an emergency!" changes her mind. But she does come up with a plan. She will go to sleep, and Mo, after putting her to bed, can play to his heart's content. Mo is delighted, but he finds that the effort of arranging a nest for Grandma and flying down to get her bedtime snack has made him...sleepy. At last, he settles into his makeshift nest, and Grandma has a chance to read her book in peace. Chapman's story is simple and hardly original but pitch-perfect. Her owls look soft and friendly, and her backgrounds use an appropriately warm palette that frames them nicely. An ideal story for those who prefer softer edges to their bedtime shenanigans. (Picture book. 3-6)

Two T. Rexes are whisked away by their time machine to ancient Egypt, where King Tut mistakes them for Sobek, god of the Nile. They are treated to glorious feasts and magnificent tours. But when the aliens land—they're in the middle of constructing the pyramids—and expose the supposed gods as mere dinosaurs, everyone's mad. Will the dinosaurs escape? This laugh-out-loud romp through time and space is perfect for storytime, bedtime, read-alouds, and guaranteed giggles!