The Media Tourist

A deep, delicious dip in the fountain of Coca-Cola history

For God, Country & Coca-Cola

By Mark Pendergrast

Softcover, 524 pages ($21.99 / Basic Books)

You may never swallow one particular brand of soda pop quite so casually again after reading the juicy details in this revised and expanded third edition, which brings the controversial 127-year history of the Coca-Cola company to life with zesty detail—and paints a picture of the present that finds once-rival soft drink brands united on the defensive as culprits in America’s obesity epidemic.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Making music not only sounds good, it’s good for you!

Imperfect Harmony

By Stacy Horn

Softcover, 256 pages ($15.95, Algonquin Books)

Music not only sounds good, it’s good for you—and even better if you make it with others. That’s the premise of this nifty new book, in which the author, a singer in a choral group herself, describes the positive, life-affirming powers of lifting your voice. Skeptical? Consider Horn’s reporting that singing relieves tension headaches, lowers blood pressure and has many more clinically documented, scientifically proven health benefits to the body and mind. If ever a book could make you want to break out in song, this is it!

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Ronstadt autobio even more poignant after Parkinson’s news

Simple Dreams

By Linda Ronstadt

Hardcover, 256 pages ($26, Simon & Schuster)

From her childhood and family roots in Arizona to her pioneering role in Southern California’s country-rock scene of the ’70s (one of her early backup bands went on to become the Eagles!) and beyond, to genre-crossing Grammy Awards, Broadway plays and collaborations with Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton, Kermit and Frog and Homer Simpson, this detailed but easygoing memoir spans the unique, wide-ranging musical journey of one of American pop music’s most successful stars. Made even more poignant and absorbing by the recent news that her singing voice has now been silenced by Parkinson’s disease, Simple Dreams is a warm, friendly and unassuming reminder of just how loudly it once rang out.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Flashbacks, gossip & other recollections from the music network’s original air jockeys

VJ

By Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter & Martha Quinn (with Gavin Edwards)

Hardcover, 318 pages (Atria Books, $24)

The story of MTV, the cable TV channel that forever changed everything about music, is told through back-and-forth, first-person accounts of its original video jockeys, or VJs, who became stars alongside the musical acts they hosted, interviewed and promoted. Enlightening, educational, and highly entertaining—especially for anyone who came of age during the ’80s—it’s full of personal insight, colorful anecdotes, hilarious flashbacks and juicy gossip, all straight from the on-air personalities who hung out, partied and occasionally even hooked up romantically with the biggest singing stars of the era.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine

Behind the scenes of morning television & its personalities

Top of the Morning

By Brian Stelter

Hardcover, 312 pages ($28 / Grand Central Publishing)

Your wake-up coffee will taste a bit zestier if you sip it while reading this riveting, revealing rundown of the high-stakes world of morning television, which digs into the vicious rivalry between Good Morning America and Today, the behind-the-scenes, career-shuffling upheavals at the competing networks, and an examination of the surreal connection between audiences and the “news personalities” they invite into their homes to start every weekday morning.

—Neil Pond, American Profile Magazine