Rich Merritt: Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star

USA 2005, 468 pp., brochure, € 14.59
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Rich Marritt - the good son, the teacher's pet, Southern gentleman, model Christian student, Marine officer, and the not-so-anonymous poster boy for a »New York Times Magazine« article on gays in the military - tells the story of his complicated sexual past that caused an international scandal when »The Advocate« outed him as »The Marine Who Did Gay Porn«, putting his life in a tailspin. It's the story of how a boy who never listened to pop music, never cursed, and didn't have his first drink until 18 exploded into a life of drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, prostitution, and pornography. In this memoir, the author writes about growing up behind the »Fortress of Fundamentalism«, about how he came to despise Christian fundamentalist views, about the harsh realities of military life under the »Don't ask, don't tell« Clinton policy, and about his experiences of working in the male porn industry.

David Riggs: The World of Christopher Marlowe

UK 2005, 411pp., pb, € 17.95
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
The biographer evokes the atmosphere and texture of Marlowe's life, from the stench and poverty of a childhood spent near Canterbury's abattoirs to the fanatical pursuit of classical learning at school. Marlowe won a place at Cambridge University, where he entered its world of 18-hour working days, religious intrigue and twilight homosexuality, tolerated but unspoken. The gifted student was not immune to the passions and fears of the wider society, and Riggs describes the mood of England in those years when Elizabeth's crown was anything but secure, and Spain and the Papacy were determined to overthrow her regime. Looming above everything is the Elizabethan state and its spy rings, with which Marlowe was already involved early on. His undercover missions brought him into contact with Catholic conspirators who were plotting to kill the Queen.

Marc Almond: In Search for the Pleasure Palace

UK 2005, 248 pp., pb, € 12.95
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
»What happens to people like me who were once pop stars? Am I destined for a life of daytime TV appearances, reunion tours and well-meaning strangers struggling to recognize me before hesitatingly asking, >Didn't you used to be Marc Almond?<« Despite an impending 40th birthday, a milestone age that often results in some sort of midlife crisis, Marc Almond, singer and songwriter, is not quite ready to take his place in the »they were once famous« line-up. In this rollercoaster journey he goes in pursuit of the thrills, spills and bellyaches that made each day of his youth memorable and created an image of him that was decadent, debauched and worringly misunderstood. From swingers' nights in Croydon to the lost haunts of Barcelona, from Bangkok go-go bars to Vegas lap-dance clubs, from Russia's surreal underbelly to the pre-Giuliani-clean-up New York, Marc is a observant guide to a world he was once master of.

Robert Trachtenberg (ed.): When I Knew

USA 2005, 120 pp., brochure, € 21.95
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
Documentarian Trachtenberg brings together the comical, sometimes bitter and always poignant moments when gay men and women first realize (or admit) the truth about their own sexual preference. Trachtenberg has gathered some famous names for his collection (Gavin Lambert, Arthur Laurents, B.D. Wong, Simon Doonan), but perhaps the freshest stories come from voices unknown. What surprises is how often these moments stem from confrontations with an ostensibly heterosexual mass culture: TV, Broadway, the movies, organized sport - all of which are represented in the lavish set of collaged color illustrations that fill most every page, along with comics and candids of the contributors. Readers will fall in love with these anecdotes, from the 7-year-old who looked under the TV set to sneak a peek under Tarzan's loincloth, to the inquisitive grandmother who asked her grandson, »You don't like a girl to get married? You prefer a boy?«

Dirk Heißerer: Im Zaubergarten

Thomas Mann in Bayern. D 2005, 303 S., geb., € 23.54
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
Die Hälfte seines Lebens verbrachte Thomas Mann in Bayern. Der Autor von »Im Zaubergarten« verfolgt Thomas Manns bayrische Stationen von seinen Schwabinger Verstecken über die erste Wohnung in München bis hin zur herrschaftlichen Villa in der Poschingerstraße am Herzogpark (1894 - 1933). Dabei geht der Autor den Spuren nach, die dessen bayrische Stationen im Werk Thomas Manns hinterlassen haben. Sie reichen von den Buddenbrooks bis hin zu Doktor Faustus. Die »literarische Topographie«, deren Auswirkungen sich bis in die Exiljahre nachzeichnen lassen, ist mit Bildmaterial angereichert.

Stephen Citron: Noel & Cole

USA 2005, 360 pp., brochure, € 16.59
Kostenloser Versand ab 20 Euro Bestellwert.
Cole Porter and Noel Coward have come to represent the ultimate in sophistication and urbanity. »Anything Goes«, »It's De-Lovely«, »Bitter Sweet«, »Night and Day«, and »Kiss Me, Kate« are but a few of the imperishable plays, musicals, and songs they created. Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores, and letters, plus some interviews, this double biography presents an often surprising portrait of these geniuses and their works, and is packed with numerous photographs. The book interweaves their biographical strands with consummate skill, giving the reader an insight into both men's private lives, illuminating their musical achievements, including a frank discussion of their homosexuality.

Helmut Koopmann: Thomas Mann - Heinrich Mann

Die ungleichen Brüder. D 2005, 531 S., geb. , € 30.74
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
In letzter Zeit haben bei der Betrachtung des Werks von Thomas Mann seine homoerotischen Neigungen im Vordergrund gestanden und sein Bestreben, diese geschickt in Buchform zu verpacken. Dabei ist als beeinflußender Faktor sein Bruder Heinrich Mann und dessen Werk völlig aus dem Blickfeld geraten: beide Brüder verband ein nicht immer konfliktfreies Rivalitäts- und Konkurrenzverhältnis. Insofern war Heinrich für Thomas Mann zeitlebens die wichtigste literarische Bezugsperson. Kaum ein Roman ist frei von diesem Einfluß. »Im Schlaraffenland« entstand als Reaktion auf Thomas Manns »Buddenbrooks«. Darauf antwortete Thomas wiederum mit »Felix Krull«. 1903 löste Heinrichs Roman »Jagd nach Liebe« einen heftigen Streit zwischen den bdeiden Brüdern aus. Mit dem ganz anderen Liebeskonzept von »Tod in Venedig« versuchte Thomas dann seinen Bruder erneut zu übertreffen.

Frédéric Tonnon, Marisa Garau: ABBA - Ihre ganze Geschichte

D 2005, 392 S., brosch., € 30.74
Kostenloser Versand innerhalb Europas.
Sie sind längst als eine Legende in die Popgeschichte eingegangen - ihr Stil, ihre Show, ihre Musik sind so zeitlos wie unerreicht. Basierend auf aktuellen Interviews, vermittelt »ABBA« Informationen aus erster Hand und versucht aus der Perspektive von Kennern die Band von innen her zu beleuchten. Das Leben und die Karrieren von Benny, Björn, Agnetha und Frida stehen im Zentrum dieser Biografie: egal, ob als ABBA-Mitglieder oder solo, ob im Rampenlicht oder hinter den Kulissen. Das Buch folgt den Pfaden ABBAs von den ersten Stehversuchen in den 60er Jahren über den Sieg beim Grand Prix 1974 bis heute. Dabei werden auch Aspekte wie die ehelichen Dramen hinter den Kulissen, die Gründe für die Trennung und die Kontroverse über den Rückzug von Agnetha werden nicht ausgespart.