This is a book of twenty nine mostly unrelated stories that range from wilderness adventures, mental health issues, personal essays and life in northern Minnesota. Fantasy happens periodically. You will meet a blue rat/cat, preacher magician and a former heavyweight boxing champion in the Classy Lumberjack Bar and Lounge. A teenage boy will see unexpected strength in his father during a canoe trip. A fisherman becomes afraid of his comforting fantasies. A black bear from Ely, Minnesota flies to Arizona. A van driver takes odd passengers to rehab and medical appointments in Duluth. A young male schizophrenic panhandler stays positive. An obnoxious cigarette smoker mysteriously vanishes on a Lake Superior dinner cruise. A Charles Russell painting travels a zig zag path.

The definitive biography on Buddy Holly. Ellis Amburn presents the most comprehensive biography ever written about the legendary figure Buddy Holly, a young man who transformed the course of American music with his shocking blend of country, western, and rhythm 'n' blues. Having devoted the last five years of his life to this work—crisscrossing the rural paths of the United States from Texas to Iowa to Minnesota—Amburn portrays Holly as a mythic antihero, whose rebellious, dramatic life was a reaction against the constricting values of America in the 1950s, when his music was regarded as the work of the devil. From his wild days as a juvenile delinquent, to his first romances, to his early associations with then virtually unknown singers like Elvis Presley and Waylon Jennings, Holly emerges as a deeply tortured, driven individual and a brilliantly talented young man in a hurry to make it as a star. And like many stars, Buddy Holly’s would ultimately be tragic and bittersweet.

Late January of 1978. Football season is over; the lights from all of the Christmas trees are out. Full-time cabdriver, sometime card shark Keith Waverly is feeling good driving two exotic dancers to work. But his mood turns sour when he witnesses the violent abduction of a local street hustler. Later, when the man is found with his head ventilated by bullet holes, Waverly is dragged into a world of high-rolling gamblers, crooked politicians, sex, drugs, violence and really bad weather, with only his wits and his new girlfriend to pull him out.

In this lavish full-color volume featuring 225 photographs, Taavo Somer, the creative mind behind Freemans, the iconic New York City restaurant, barber, menswear shop, and bespoke tailor, reveals the creative process behind the development and design of the "rustic-luxe" and holistic approach of this cultural phenomenon and pioneering brand. Nestled in a secluded alleyway off Rivington Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Freemans Restaurant is an oasis of calm, beauty, and exquisite food in a crowded, chaotic city. Founded by Somer—one of the defining figures in the New York social and design culture for more than a decade—this one-of-a-kind eatery with rustic décor has redefined New York dining since its opening in 2004. A dozen years later, Somer’s vision has extended to other eateries and bars such as his restaurant, ISA, in Williamsburg, which references 1970s California, and the Rusty Knot, a nautical-themed dive bar in the West Village, as well as a men’s clothing line and bespoke tailoring services, a barbershop model that has been emulated the world over, and an organic approach to interior design that speaks to the soul. Somer was the first to establish the now popular "lumberjack chic" style; the interior of his bars and restaurants—with furnishings handcrafted by the designer in his unique, signature style—harken back to the beauty and simplicity of more rustic times. Now, in his first book, Somer opens the doors to the Freemans world. With an elegant, sumptuous design and dozens of color photographs shot specifically for the book, Freemans showcases the interiors of his numerous Freemans ventures, other restaurant spaces he’s conceived and owns, as well as the classic, superbly tailored American-made men’s clothing, bespoke suits, barbershop, and food and drink that comprise Somer’s iconic—and now much-copied—style. Somer reveals the inspiration behind Freemans—including the restaurant down the alley, acclaimed menswear store Freemans Sporting Club, and the pioneering Freemans Sporting Club Barbershop—sharing the story of his evolution as an architect, designer, and tastemaker, from his rural Pennsylvania childhood to his architectural apprenticeship in Minneapolis to his arrival in New York, where at first he designed t-shirts and threw parties in a Financial District strip club. Freemans also takes fans into the nineteenth-century farmhouse in upstate New York he renovated and landscaped, inside his restaurant ISA, and bar the Rusty Knot, and across the world to the Freemans Sporting Club store in Tokyo, the remarkable four-story townhouse he designed, which has rarely been seen by an American audience. A comprehensive exploration of Somer’s singular vision, Freemans will appeal to the many devotees of the Freemans world, as well as lovers of fine living through its exploration of design, dining, architecture, gardens, and men’s fashion.

It's March of 1978 and a battered, steaming wreck lays at the bottom of a 50-foot cliff. Former boxing champion and football star Johnny Beam is found crumpled and broken behind the steering wheel. Beam was a gambler, in trouble with the law--and now dead. Was it an accident? Suicide? Murder? How did the former hero end up like this? In the lily-white northern town of Zenith, Minnesota, only one thing was certain: Johnny Beam stood out like a fly in a bottle of milk. Fly in the Milk is a work of crime fiction, a provocative tale of death, betrayal and hypocrisy spanning three generations.