He has been a reviewer since 1965 (long for Time magazine), has written almost forty books on the subject, and has produced and directed thirty documentaries. He has counted as personal friends many of the leading filmmakers of the twentieth century. Call it “obsession,” “lunacy,” or a “grand passion” (Schickel grants all three), but there’s simply no one who knows film better. Now Schickel gives us the ultimate summing up: a history of film as he’s seen—and lived—it, a tour of his favorites, a master class in what makes a film soar or flop. Schickel’s no-holds-barred, often raucously irreverent opinions can range from panning classics, to spotlighting forgotten treasures, to defending the art of “popular” genres such as horror, westerns, screwball comedy, and noir. Beyond his picks and pans, Schickel offers a wealth of behind-the-scenes anecdotes (a love note from Marlene Dietrich, Frank Capra’s unlikely path to success, Annie Hall’s original title), career studies of our greatest performers and auteurs, and candidly intimate glimpses of his own life in pictures (an evening with Greta Garbo, John Ford’s advice on directing, a “dust-up” in defense of Monty Python). Above all, Schickel gives us a collection of the true gems, the immortal moments that have stuck with him over a lifetime of movie watching—the transcendent scenes, characters, lines, shots, scores, even lighting cues that offer, each in their way, pure “movie magic.” Buster Keaton, His Girl Friday, Ingrid Bergman, Taxi Driver, Star Wars, Stanley Kubrick, Pulp Fiction—Schickel reveals all the films and the forces behind them that have kept him coming back for more. An essential addition to any cinephile’s library, Keepers is the curation of a brilliant connoisseur and critic, but more than that, it’s a love letter to film from one of its most dedicated devotees.

    Contains the official biograpy of the Crypt Keeper, a history of EC Horror Comics, 105 covers, and other stories, facts, and features relating to Tale from the Crypt.

    They have become cultural icons, standing not only for different kinds of art but also for different ways of living. Matisse, known for his restraint and intense sense of privacy, for his decorum and discretion, created an art that transcended daily life and conveyed a sensuality that inhabited an abstract and ethereal realm of being. In contrast, Picasso became the exemplar of intense emotionality, of theatricality, of art as a kind of autobiographical confession that was often charged with violence and explosive eroticism. In Matisse and Picasso , Jack Flam explores the compelling, competitive, parallel lives of these two artists and their very different attitudes toward the idea of artistic greatness, toward the women they loved, and ultimately toward their confrontations with death.

    Elfrink revealed that a Miami clinic, Biogenesis, had been supplying illegal performance enhancing drugs – PEDs – to many of the nation’s top baseball stars. One name stood out among all the others: Alex Rodriguez, the highest-earning player in the game.Over the next year and more the story would unravel with incredible details about tanning salon robberies, coded text messages, and furtive steroid injections in the men’s room. In late 2013 Alex Rodriguez would be hit with the longest suspension in MLB history, prompting an ugly fight between him and top league brass. Fourteen other players, including superstar Ryan Braun, were also given shorter suspensions. Tony Bosch, Biogenesis’s founder, would appear on 60 Minutes in an effort to tell his side of the story.What’s already been reported in the press has been fascinating; but the story behind the headlines that Elfrink and Newsday reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts have unearthed is even more dramatic and full of new, shocking details. Using exclusive documents, never-before-reported records and interviews with top sources, this book takes the reader inside drug deals, athletes’ mansions, and confidential suspension hearings to tell the true story behind the sport’s continuing PED crisis.Both news-breaking sports journalism and wild South Florida noir, Blood Sport is simultaneously a revelatory record of the steroid and PED era’s continuing evolution and a call to arms for how to end it – this time, for good.

    Reminiscent of Raymond Roussel and Harry Mathews, Krusoe has combined an eccentric character and an outlandish plot to create an unforgettable book.

     The early 1980s were an exciting time for music. Hair metal bands were selling out stadiums, while clubs and house parties in New York City has spawned a new genre of music. At the time, though, hip hop's reach was limited, an artform largely ignored by mainstream radio deejays and the rock-obsessed MTV network.But in 1986, the music world was irrevocably changed when Run-DMC covered Aerosmith's hit "Walk This Way" in the first rock-hip hop collaboration. Other had tried melding styles. This was different, as a pair of iconic arena rockers and the young kings of hip hop shared a studio and started a revolution. The result: Something totally new and instantly popular. Most importantly, "Walk This Way" would be the first rap song to be played on mainstream rock radio.In Walk This Way, Geoff Edgers sets the scene for this unlikely union of rockers and MCs, a mashup that both revived Aerosmith and catapulted hip hop into the mainstream. He tracks the paths of the main artists--Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Joseph "Run" Simmons, and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels--along with other major players on the scene across their lives and careers, illustrating the long road to the revolutionary marriage of rock and hip hop. Deeply researched and written in cinematic style, this music history is a must-read for fans of hip hop, rock, and everything in between.

    In this revision Hasel has incorporated significant scholarship since 1982; his bibliography of Old Testament theology, with nearly 950 entries, is the most comprehensive published to date.

    National ads/media.From the Trade Paperback edition.

    In it, Roger Housden offers us poems on life and death, happiness, seeing ourselves in relation to the world, and, of course, the ineffable--the things that really matter when the chips are down. He describes these passionate poems as "bread for the soul and fire for the spirit."The poets Housden has chosen are Billy Collins, Hayden Carruth, Dorianne Laux, James Wright, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Mary Oliver from the United States, D. H. Lawrence and John Keats from England, Rainer Maria Rilke from Germany, Fleur Adcock from New Zealand, and Seng-Ts'an from sixth-century China. And yes, that adds up to eleven, not ten. Housden decided to include a bonus poem for his faithful readers in this, the final volume of the series. As before, Housden's luminous essays provide an elegant and easy passage into the sometimes daunting world of poetry, enabling readers to feel that in him they have found a trusted guide and mentor.

    The late Kaleel Jamison, one of the first women to enter the field of management consulting, experienced what she described as nibbles, little bites that life takes out of you--really attacks on your self confidence. Her longtime best selling book, The Nibble Theory, is a process for dealing with the world that moves the reader toward personal power and growth arising out of the unique values and strengths of each person. Kaleel cared deeply about the unique combination of gifts and talents that each of us brings to the world. She felt that she had a mission, and feared what would be lost if we, as individuals and organizations, did not take on the sacred responsibility of being, and supporting others in being, the biggest circles possible. That's what makes this book so important. --Frederick A. Miller, President and CEO, The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc.

    For the Harlem-born ex-Marine, being an officer of the law was the ticket he'd been waiting for to move up from a low-wage security job and out of the Polo Ground Projects in New York City—and take his mother with him.Heyward was warned of the temptations he'd encounter as a new officer, but when faced with financial hardship, he suddenly found himself unable to resist the income generated from selling contraband to inmates. In his distinctive voice, Heyward takes you on a journey inside the walls of Rikers Island, showing how he teamed up with various inmates and other officers to develop a system that allowed him to profit from selling drugs inside the jail.Corruption Officer is a jarring exposé of a man having lived on both sides of the law, a rare insider's look at a corrupt city jail, and a testament to the lengths we'll go when our backs are against the wall.

    INTO BOY -- She was cunningly trained to act out the role of a missing lad who stood to inherit the most fabulous fortune in England. INTO BEAUTY -- She was just as capable of donning a wig and a revealing gown to play the part of a devastating society seductress. INTO BATTLE -- But nothing had prepared Rolande to face the charm of a captivating, conscienceless aristocrat on one hand, and the danger of an unknown assailant of the other...as suddenly she had her fair hands full in a fight for life and love that she dared not lose...

    He’s a shepherd at heart. His insights on culture always take me into a better understanding of the world we live in. I’m grateful for him in so many ways.”—Don Miller, author of Blue Like JazzAn epic journey into the deepest mysteries of faithLost is not just a television show. It has become much larger than that, growing into a complex, mystery-filled epic that has garnered over twenty-three million participants. Some might call these people viewers, but you don’t just watch Lost—you participate in it. It demands that you dialogue with the story, seeking theories, discussing with friends, and comparing yourself to the characters.Lost has broken all the formulas for television, and in doing so has drawn together millions of people on a shared journey that explores life, faith, history, science, philosophy, hope, and the basic questions of what it means to be human. It’s the seemingly infinite ideas, philosophies, and biblical metaphors that draw us in and leave us wanting more.The Gospel According to Lost explores each of these elements in an analysis of faith and metaphor—a perfect resource for those who want to go even deeper into the journey.Inside, you’ll discover what Lost has to say aboutThe clash between faith and reas0n, on the island and in real life;The struggle with guilt that consumes each character—and sometimes us too;The dichotomy between fatalism and fate, and what the Bible advises;How being lost—on an island or in society—presents an opportunity for reinvention that liberates some and paralyzes others.

     Zelda Campbell was just a college student when she met and fell in love with her professor; they married before she graduated. Zelda's love for Charlie was wonderfully passionate--though it came with extras: his daughters Caroline and Cathy. And so begins Zelda's dramatic roller-coaster ride in step-parenting (aka "stepping"), marked by joyous highs and tear-stained lows. As Zelda struggles in her new role, the young girls are constant reminders of Charlie's past life. Further, Charlie's shrill ex-wife is a demanding presence Zelda cannot ignore. Fast-forward thirteen years, and Zelda and Charlie now have two children of their own. A Fulbright scholarship sends the family to Finland, where Charlie lives out his academic dream and Zelda must once again put her own aspirations on hold. But then an attractive man from her past enters the picture, offering the enticing prospect of an entirely different life. Given the opportunity to choose the road not taken, Zelda must evaluate her life and at last decide where her heart truly lies. Includes a captivating preview of Nancy Thayer's upcoming novel "Nantucket Sisters"! Praise for the novels of Nancy Thayer "The queen of beach books.""--The Star-Ledger"" " "Thayer has a deep and masterly understanding of love and friendship, of where the two complement and where they collide."--Elin Hilderbrand "Thayer's gift for reaching the emotional core of her characters [is] captivating."--"Houston Chronicle"" " "One of my favorite writers."--Susan Wiggs "Thayer portrays beautifully the small moments, inside stories and shared histories that build families."--"The Miami Herald" "Thayer's sense of place is powerful, and her words are hung together the way my grandmother used to tat lace."--Dorothea Benton Frank

    From the acclaimed author of Waiting to Surface comes the story of four college friends whose reunion reawakens old desires and grudges--with fatal results.