20% off
1
of
1
Kill 'Em and Leave
Searching for the Real James Brown
Series: Deep Cuts
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 2,907 ratings, 465 reviews)
Brief Description
"A formidable free-style book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery preaching," Rolling Stone magazine A Guardian best music book of 2016 The music of James Brown was almost a genre...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
Save 20% Off
Savings are calculated from our regular price of
$29.99
compared to the current price of
$24.00.
$2400
$2999
Usually:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
On Sale
in
Clearout Sale
until
2 Nov or
while stocks last
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
Kill 'Em and Leave
$2400
$2999
Usually:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
Vanya Insull (aka VJ Cooks) visits Book Hero
We were lucky to have a visit from popular foodie, home cook and baker Vanya...
Is the newest Jack Reacher one of the best?
Our favourite crime solving, bad guy beating nomad is back and Lizzy and Edd were...
Heartstopper's Alice Oseman visits Book Hero
We were so excited to have Alice come to visit Hero HQ, as huge fans...
Shirl and Lizzy Review The Starving Bride
Catherine Chidgey does it again with another incredible novel that will have people talking for...
New Releases to add to your TBR this week (19th October)
One of my favourite sci-fi authors has a new book that I cannot wait to...
See moreA personal journey in search of the soul legend James Brown by National Book Award-winning novelist James McBride
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
"A formidable free-style book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery preaching," Rolling Stone magazine
A Guardian best music book of 2016
The music of James Brown was almost a genre in its own right, and he was one of the biggest and most influential cultural figures of the twentieth century. But the singer known as the 'Hardest Working Man in Show Business' was also an immensely troubled, misunderstood, and complicated man.
Award-winning writer James McBride, himself a professional musician, has undertaken a journey of discovery in search of the real James Brown, delving into the heartbreaking saga of Brown's childhood and destroyed estate, and uncovering the hidden history of Brown's early years.
Series: Deep Cuts
View all-
20% offKill 'Em and Leave
"A formidable free-style book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery preaching," Rolling Stone magazine A Guardian best music book of 2016 The music of James Brown was almost a genre in its own right, and he was one of the biggest and most influential...Paperback$2400Usually:$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Hit So Hard
FOREWORD BY AUDREY GOLDEN, AUTHOR OF I THOUGHT I HEARD YOU SPEAK Hit So Hard is a memoir of renewal and hope; a window onto the '90s Seattle grunge scene, and a testament to the enduring power of the music Patty Schemel helped create as drummer in Hole with Courtney Love. With a brand new introduction by Audrey Golden to...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
On Some Faraway Beach
Foreword by Alan Warner 'A book that sets new standards for rock biography' Guardian Reissued as part of White Rabbit's Deep Cuts series, On Some Faraway Beach is the first and only ever comprehensive and authoritative biography of Brian Eno, featuring interviews with many of his key collaborators over the years: from Bryan Ferry to David Byrne and Robert Wyatt....Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Feel Like Going Home
Feel Like Going Home vividly brings to life such early blues masters as Muddy Waters, Skip James, and Howlin' Wolf, along with illuminating excursions into the blues-based rock 'n' roll of Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, and the Sun Records label. With unique insight and unparalleled access, celebrated author Peter Guralnick (Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley)...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
FOREWORD BY JAMES MURPHY 'Literally changed the course of my life' James Murphy When someone says, 'You have to know your history...' this is it. A pop culture classic for over two decades, now fully refreshed and updated as part of White Rabbit's Deep Cuts series, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life is the whole unruly story of dance...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Altered State
'The definitive story' Q Magazine 'I can't recommend this marvellous piece of work enough' Irvine Welsh From its first publication in 1997, Altered State established itself as the definitive text on Ecstasy and dance culture. This new edition, reissued as part of White Rabbit's prestigious Deep Cuts series, sees Matthew Collin take a thrilling trip through the acid house Summer...PaperbackSold Out -
William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll
'If you simply follow Burroughs through the rock 'n' roll years you'll see him achieve a flickering ubiquity - lurking here, eavesdropping there, photobombing the whole parade. It becomes a kind of alternative history' NEW YORK TIMES Reissued with a new Foreword as part of White Rabbit's prestigious Deep Cuts series, William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n'...PaperbackSold Out -
William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll
William S. Burroughs's fiction and essays are legendary, but his influence on music's counterculture has been less well documented—until now. Examining how one of America's most controversial literary figures altered the destinies of many notable and varied musicians, William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll reveals the transformations in music history that can be traced to Burroughs....PaperbackSold Out -
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life
'Literally changed the course of my life' James Murphy 'The chapter on Larry Levan alone transformed me into wanting to be your favorite DJ' Questlove 'The original and still the best' Gilles Peterson 'We can't tell the story of dance music without speaking the names of Sharon White and Judy Weinstein, so I welcome this vital update' The Blessed Madonna...HardbackSold Out
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781399627382
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 14 November 2024
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: White Rabbit
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 28.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 239g
Pages: 256
About the Author
James McBride is the author of the New York Times-bestselling Oprah's Book Club selection Deacon King Kong, the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, the million-copy-bestselling memoir The Colour of Water, the novels Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna, the story collection Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal and an accomplished musician, McBride is also a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.
Also by James McBride
View all-
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
"I loved this book" BONNIE GARMUS, author of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY "A generous, compassionate book about the power of love and community" LOUISE KENNEDY, author of TRESPASSES "THIS is his best book" ANN PATCHETT, author of TOM LAKE "I can't recommend this one highly enough" HARLAN COBEN THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER BARACK OBAMA'S BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK AMAZON.COM NO.1 BOOK...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Five-Carat Soul
'McBride at his brave and joyous best' New York Times Book Review 'A furious joy drives these glimpses of brave lives in perilous places' San Francisco Chronicle An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by a Civil War General now sits in the home of a black minister in Queens. Five strangers find themselves thrown together and face...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Miracle at St. Anna
'I envy those about to discover Miracle at St. Anna for the first time' Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry 'Searingly, soaringly beautiful' Baltimore Sun Towards the end of World War Two, four soldiers from the Army's Negro 92nd Division find themselves separated from their unit behind enemy lines. Risking their lives for a country in which they are...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
THE RUNAWAY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New York Times Notable Book • A New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Winner of the 2024 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction From one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2024 Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR/Fresh Air, Washington Post,...Paperback$5300Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
The Color of Water
As a boy in Brooklyn, James McBride knew his mother was different. But when he asked her about it, she'd simply say, 'I'm light-skinned.' Later, he wondered if he was different too and asked his mother if he was black or white. 'You're a human being,' she snapped. 'Educate yourself or you'll be a nobody!' And when James asked what...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Good Lord Bird
'Wildly entertaining. A rollicking saga about one of America's earliest abolitionists' People 'Just so brilliant' John Green Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856. When an argument between Henry's master and legendary abolitionist John Brown turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town - along with Brown, who believes Henry to be a girl...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Song Yet Sung
'A complex, ever-tightening, increasingly suspenseful web' Washington Post 'Gripping' New York Times In the days before the Civil War, an enslaved woman named Liz Spocott escapes from her captors into the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland's eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves and free blacks. Liz is near death,...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
"I loved this book" BONNIE GARMUS "A generous, compassionate book about the power of love and community" LOUISE KENNEDY "I can't recommend this one highly enough" HARLAN COBEN "THIS is his best book" ANN PATCHETT THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER BARACK OBAMA'S BOOK OF THE YEAR PICK AMAZON.COM #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR BOOK OF THE YEAR IN: The Guardian, New Yorker,...PaperbackSold Out -
Deacon King Kong
Deacon King Kong is a New York Times bestseller about community, race, and religion from the National Book Award winner, James McBride. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK CHOSEN BY BARACK OBAMA AS A FAVOURITE READ TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NEW YORK TIMES & WASHINGTON POST 'Brilliantly imagined, larger than life, a tragicomedic epic.' -...PaperbackSold Out
More from Biography & Memoir
View all-
New ReleaseOne Helluva Ride
"This book is about where I came from, what I fought against, and what I chose formyself. Fame can blur the truth; this is my attempt to bring it back into focus." A legendary actor and Hollywood Icon whose five-decade career spans film, television,and producing, Michael Douglas has won two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, fiveGolden Globes, a Primetime Emmy,...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseA Life in Lyrics
Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest showmen of the twentieth century. With his unparalleled voice and searing on-stage energy, he was a great pretender, a killer queen and a champion of the world. But behind the glamour lived a musician and lyricist talented beyond measure, and the creative force behind one of the most culturally significant and musically diverse...Hardback$5000Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseSwan Song
Beautiful. Beloved. Hunted. The extraordinary life and death of Diana, as told by her brother, Charles – available to pre-order now. ‘When asked, ‘What was it like, growing up with Diana?’, my first thought is always, But I don’t know what it was like not to grow up with her…’ In September 1997, Charles Spencer stood in Westminster Abbey before...Hardback$5499Elsewhere:$6500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseFictional Selves
From the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Sex and the City comes a candid and deeply personal memoir. In this highly anticipated memoir, the beloved actor and star of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Sex and the City and more shares his utterly original account of his offbeat journey in Hollywood, his battles with fear and...Hardback$4799Elsewhere:$6000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
New ReleaseThe Steps
The long-awaited memoir from a true Hollywood icon. We know Sylvester Stallone as one of the most revered actors, writers, and directors of all time, yet his life story is every bit as dramatic, intense, and inspiring as his greatest creations on screen. Bringing together a no-holds-barred account of a fascinating life with messages of hope, positivity, and resilience, in...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Home Again
Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again.This is more than a rock story. Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it. From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
18% offDogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...Paperback$2700Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Famesick
Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgun wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through her journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
21% offThis Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$5800Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Signed Copy
Stakes
Read our interview with author Noelle McCarthy! A darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the author’s bestselling memoir Grand. You have to invite him in. You have to want the vampire’s badness in the house with you. Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Built for This
Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Even the Good Girls Will Cry
Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a fan letter to a P.O. box, Melissa Auf der Maur's first band scored an opening slot for the Smashing Pumpkins in her bohemian home town, Montreal. Sensing Melissa's talent, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love. Whisked from her local scene, Melissa joined Hole just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Biography & Memoir lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listBiography & Memoir
Memorable Memoirs of Kiwi Women
Looking for an amazing local memoir of one of the many amazing women here in Aotearoa? Here's a great list, featuring some...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Lucky You're Tough]()
Lizzy's listBiography & Memoir
Memorable Memoirs of Kiwi Men
Looking for an amazing local memoir of one of the many amazing men here in Aotearoa? Here's a great list, featuring some...View the list
