Books like Raw Talent by Jerry Butler

Malcolm Gladwell explores what makes high‑achievers different, arguing that success is largely shaped by culture, family, and unique upbringing rather than innate talent.

Grit shows that success depends more on passion, perseverance, self‑control and determination than on talent or luck; Angela Duckworth’s research explains how these qualities can be cultivated to achieve excellence.

Carol Dweck explores how the two fundamental mindsets—fixed and growth—shape our attitudes, goals, and success across work, relationships, and parenting, offering practical strategies to shift from stagnation to opportunity.

Daniel Coyle explores the roots of skill, arguing that biology and myelin growth are key to success, and offers readers a practical program to cultivate their own talent.

Ron Jeremy’s autobiography reveals the life of the famed pornographic actor who transitioned from adult films to mainstream entertainment, detailing his early ambitions, Hollywood attempts, and the challenges of pursuing legitimate acting.

A philosophical exploration of how to articulate and account for the self, proposing an ethical practice rooted in critical autonomy.

Bounce examines how competition shapes human behavior, debunking myths about talent, merit and performance through scientific research and real‑world examples—from sports and business to education and politics.

Here is wonderful, up-to-date material for scene study, selected from the best plays from recent theater seasons. More than 20 monologues for both men and women, carefully chosen to display the widest range of dramatic ability, are essential for auditioning actors. A large selection of parts for woman provide exciting opportunities to sharpen acting skills in roles that brought accolades from New York's toughest critics. More than 80 scenes in all, many previously unpublished, allow every actor, professional, amateur or student, to choose from either smart, sassy, often outrageous comedy or deeply moving drama--a unique, balanced collection of the most successful contemporary plays. 84 fully playable scenes with story notes. Monologues from the best new plays--including Agnes of God, Sly Fox, Key Exchange and Nuts. The best contemporary selection of scenes for women--more than 50 in all. Schulman and Mekler provide 78 new, fully playable scenes with story notes, including more monologues for men and women from today's best new plays. A diverse selection of scenes and characters to challenge the full range of readers' talents as actors.

In this now-classic study, Linda Williams moves beyond the impasse of the anti-porn/anti-censorship debate to analyze what hard-core film pornography is and does - as a genre with a history, as a specific cinematic form, and as part of contemporary discourse on sexuality. For the 1999 edition, Williams has written a new preface and a new epilogue, "On/scenities," illustrated with 26 photographs, and has added a supplementary bibliography.

A raucous and revealing oral history of the birth of the adult film industry, The Other Hollywood peels back the candy coating to let the true story be told -- by the stars, movie makers, and other industry players who lived it. And what a story it is: Through hundreds of original interviews, contemporary newspaper accounts, police reports, court testimony, and more, Legs McNeil and coauthors Jennifer Osborne and Peter Pavia trace today's billion-dollar industry from its makeshift, mob-connected origins to the Internet age. Along the way we encounter porn stars such as Linda Lovelace, John Holmes, Traci Lords, and Savannah -- along with countless mainstream stars, politicians, FBI agents, and more.Epic, hilarious, and moving, The Other Hollywood contributes to the porn industry the one thing missing in all previous accounts: a vivid, tragicomic, irresistible humanity.

This in-depth, comprehensive history of cinematic pornography is the first book of any kind to detail sex in film. It probes the earliest attempts of a century ago and chronicles the proliferation of porn to the present, concentrating on the last quarter-century since the legendary Deep Throat, when porn penetrated popular culture. Luke Ford is the best-known source on the contemporary world of pornography - the only journalist writing about the industry, yet not employed by the industry. It is this unique position that gives Ford the objectivity he needs to successfully complete a project such as this.