Joel Hirschhorn
and Jennifer Carter

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Songwriting
2004 Second Edition
(Alpha, 2004)

Joel Hirschhorn sold over 93 million records as writer of pop, rock, country, R&B, theatre and film songs.  He won two Best Song Oscars (for "The Morning After" from "The Poseidon Adventure," and "We May Never Love Like This Again" from "The Towering Inferno") and two more nominations:  "Candle On the Water" from "Pete's Dragon" and the "Pete's Dragon" score.  He was nominated for two Tonys and four Golden Globes.

His show, "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers," co-written with Al Kasha, had over 3,000 productions in the United States, Europe, Spain, Ireland and the Far East.

Less known was Joel's teaching career.  Joel gave private songwriting lessons and conducted numerous seminars at UCLA, USC, Santa Monica College and around the country.  On TV, he talked of his unique teaching style with Regis Philbin, Maury Povich and Larry King.

Joel's bestselling book, If They Ask You You Can Write a Song" has been utilized as a textbook in dozens of colleges, and The Complete Idiot's Guide To Songwriting, Vol. II drew praise from professors, principals and students, as well as from peers such as Marvin Hamlisch, Carole Bayer Sager and Maureen McGovern.

In the Complete Idiot's Guide To Songwriting, Joel covers every genre -- from pop, rock, country, blues, rap, Latin, R&B, theatre, children's songs and film music.  He talks about the value of:

       *    Hooks
       *    Repetition
       *    Visual sense
       *    The best grooves and chords
       *    How to make a hit demo
       *    How to be a great song salesman
       *    How to become a successful producer
       *    How to find the best collaborator
       *    How to find golden ideas
       *    How to come up with top titles
       *    How to legally protect your material

Other hit books by Joel Hirschhorn:  

Titanic Adventure with Jennifer Carter
Joel's wife, Jennifer, was the first woman in history to dive down to the Titanic.  She led the 1987 expedition that brought up hundreds of priceless artifacts.  Her story, as expedition leader of an all-male crew, coping with betrayal, hurricanes and theft, is a dramatic tale of a woman's courage -- and a saga that fills in many of the missing pieces of Titanic history.

Notes on Broadway with Al Kasha
As fellow songwriters, Kasha and Hirschhorn had a special rapport with all the legendary theatre composers.  In this startlingly candid volume, they learn the creative secrets and personal frustrations of such composers as Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked"), Kander and Ebb ("Chicago"), Tim Rice ("Aida"), Stephen Sondheim ("Assassins"), Bock and Harnick ("Fiddler On the Roof") and dozens more.

Reaching the Morning After with Al Kasha
An inspirational biography of Kasha's battle with agoraphobia and chilc abuse, and how he overcame these hurdles to become an Academy Award-winning composer.

If They Ask You, You Can Write a Song with Al Kasha
How to write, sell and protect your material.

Rating the Movie Stars
Profiles of all the major film stars from the silent era to the present, along with critiques and ratings of all their movies.

Titanic Adventure
One Woman's True Life Voyage
Down to the Legendary Ocean Liner
by Jennifer Carter & Joel Hirschhorn
Foreword by William F. Buckley, Jr.
(New Horizon Press, 1998)

This extraordinary journey takes Jennifer Carter from an ordinary life as a bank clerk and mother of three to the bottom of the ocean as the commander of an otherwise all male French/American expedition to the "unsinkable" ocean liner. There, Carter becomes the first woman to dive the Titanic and an indelible part of the Great Ship's ongoing history and mystique.

Even as a child, Jennifer dreamed of joining an expedition dedicated to finding and photographing the Titanic. Her chance comes in 1987 when a French/American expedition is assembled. From the beginning, her role as expedition leader on the Titanic '87 mission is beset by challenges. The French and Americans regard each other with hostility and distrust; a devastating hurricane, the kind that had aborted three previous Titanic expeditions, strikes; a volatile mutiny explodes, and a heralded PR man searching for further glory attempts to subvert Jennifer's command of the crew and campaigns to have her removed.

All are grueling tests of Carter's resolve to complete the momentous undertaking and bring back the first artifacts from the sunken ocean liner as a legacy to those whose lives were lost. And the moment she has lived for, her trip down to the legendary ship's glorious, haunting remains, is one she will never relinquish despite the dangers, risks and implicit warnings that nobody could be rescued if the submarine the Nautile malfunctioned. With passion and insight, Carter details the exciting eight-week expedition and the historic dive which makes her an inseparable part of the Titanic saga. Both a gripping, at times harrowing, action story that pits humankind against the elements of nature and a powerful testament to one woman's journey of self-discovery, empowerment and love against the backdrop of a perilous quest, Titanic Adventure provides an enthralling piece of the puzzle that the Titanic is and always will be.