Books written by Nelson George

The Darkest Hearts

McDonald's wanted him to do a commercial for their new breakfast menu. An energy drink wanted him to endorse a product called “Break of Daye.” A deodorant company wanted Lil and Mama to post a series of Instagram pics of them using the ...
Thriller: The Musical Life of Michael Jackson

That night I thought about the great American cinema masterpiece Citizen Kane, Orson Welles's epic vision of the rich, brilliant, and ultimately doomed Charles Foster Kane, who died disgraced, alone, and unloved in his California ...
The Accidental Hunter

lime-green driver tossed the keys up in the air. By the time they'd come down and D had turned to free Night and Tandi, the engines of the kidnappers' bikes were roaring. They took off in opposite directions.
Hip Hop America

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down, Hip Hop America is the definitive account of the society-altering collision between black youth culture and the mass media.
Elevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball

Links the history of race relations to the history of basketball by reviewing the era of the first Black teams, the first integration of teams, and the innovations that Black players have brought to the game
Hip Hop America

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down, Hip Hop America is the definitive account of the society-altering collision between black youth culture and the mass media.
嘻哈美國

嘻哈美國
Top of the Charts: The Most Complete Listing Ever

Top of the Charts: The Most Complete Listing Ever
The Death of Rhythm and Blues

From Nelson George, supervising producer and writer of the hit Netflix series, "The Get Down," this passionate and provocative book tells the complete story of black music in the last fifty years, and in doing so outlines the perilous ...
The Michael Jackson Story

The story of Michael Jackson's rise to stardom based on interviews with family members, friends, and business associates.
What Is Hip-Hop?

Tying these images back to their original sources makes for quite the history lesson. Make sure to keep a device nearby. A must-read reference for any hip-hop family." --Kirkus Reviews "Verdict: these books are pretty damn cute.
Seduced

This is a sex story, a New York story, and a music biz story rolled into one, starring a humble, beautifully average middle-class dreamer, who's not unlike a male version of a Terry McMillan heroine." *Touré
The Death of Rhythm & Blues

The Death of Rhythm & Blues
Hip Hop America

Examines the contribution of entrepreneurship, music technology, and Black slang to the success of rap music; explores rap's controversial themes; and analyzes its popularity
Where Did Our Love Go?: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound

Nelson George's chronicle of Motown Records' rise and fall remains a classic account of an essential American music company and its dynamic founder Berry Gordy Jr. Gordy's uncanny instinct for...
The Accidental Hunter

We'll be covering our regular gigs, plus working in this bodyguard thing. Staffing is one of our problems now.” “At most,” D assured him, “it'll only be for a month. I can't see Bridgette Haze here much longer than that.
City Kid: A Writer's Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Success

"City Kid is perhaps one of the seven greatest books ever written.
The James Brown Reader: Fifty Years of Writing About the Godfather of Soul

Nelson George and Alan Leeds have assembled the first comprehensive collection of writings about the late, great Godfather of Soul, creating a fascinating mosaic of the man and the musician.
Buppies, B-boys, Baps, And Bohos: Notes On Post-soul Black Culture

In this new and expanded edition of Nelson George's classic cultural study, contemporary black culture is chronicled through essays on music, film, sports, publishing, politics and city life, both uptown...
The Hippest Trip in America: Soul Train and the Evolution of Culture & Style

From acclaimed author and filmmaker Nelson George ("the most accomplished black music critic of his generation"—Washington Post Book World), The Hippest Trip in America tells the full story of this legendary pop-culture phenomenon.