Dead Man


Jonathan Rosenbaum - 2000
    Here, the author argues that the film is both a quantum leap and a logical step in the director's career, and it's a film that speaks powerfully of contemporary concerns.

The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer's Amazing Pulp Journey


Fred Nadis - 2013
     Meet Ray Palmer. A hustler, a trickster, and a visionary. The hunchbacked Palmer, who stood at just over four feet tall, was nevertheless an indomitable force, the ruler of his own bizarre sector of the universe. Armed with only his typewriter, the Palmer changed the world as we know it –  jumpstarting the flying saucer craze; frightening hundreds of thousands of Americans with “true” stories of evil denizens of inner earth; and reporting on cover-ups involving extraterrestrials, the paranormal, and secret government agencies. As editor for the ground-breaking sci-fi magazine Amazing Stories and creator of publications such as Other Worlds, Imagination, Fate, Mystic, Search, Flying Saucers, Hidden World, and Space Age, Palmer pushed the limits and broke new ground in science fiction publishing in the 1940s and 1950s—and was reviled for it by purists who called him “the man who killed science fiction.” In the first-ever biography devoted to the figure who molded modern geek culture, pulp scholar Fred Nadis paints a vivid portrait of Palmer—a brilliant, charming, and wildly willful iconoclast who helped ignite the UFO craze, convinced Americans of hidden worlds and government cover ups, and championed the occult and paranormal. Palmer overcame serious physical handicaps to become the most significant editor during the “golden age” of pulp magazines; he rebelled in his own inimitable way against the bland suburban vision of the American Dream; he concocted new literary genres; and he molded our current conspiracy culture decades before The X-Files claimed that the truth was out there.

Life in the Universe


Jeffrey O. Bennett - 2002
    It has been developed specifically for emerging courses in astrobiology, though it can also be used for introductory astronomy.

How To Draw The Newest Pokémon : Featuring Some Sinnoh Characters


Maria B. Alfano - 2007
    That's what makes them a challenge to battle--and a challenge to draw! But if you're determined to sketch 'em all, then this book is a great start. It's packed with tips to get you drawing the newest Pokemon characters. So sharpen your pencil and get ready to go!

Star Trek Vault: 40 Years from the Archives


Scott Tipton - 2011
    Covering all six Star Trek television series and the ten original feature films, the book highlights the far-reaching social and scientific optimism that underpins the franchise, dwelling on milestones such as its groundbreaking mixed-race casts and technologies that have since become commonplace, before taking an in-depth look at the making of each series and movie. Fully illustrated with more than 350 images, and including 13 interactive reproductions of the most fascinating memorabilia from the CBS archives--on-set signage, hand-drawn storyboards, blueprints for Picard's captain's chair, and a vintage T-shirt transfer--Star Trek Vault provides a broad perspective on the voyages of Captains Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer. The ultimate treasure trove of Star Trek imagery and memorabilia, Star Trek Vault is sure to appeal to both the casual and the die-hard fan.Praise for Star Trek Vault: “[A] treat for your inner Trekkie. It’s the perfect gift whether you are a fan of Kirk or Picard. Or Janeway . . . we guess.” —Entertainment Weekly

A Man's World: The Double Life of Emile Griffith


Donald McRae - 2015
    However, I love a man and many say this makes me an evil person.' On 24 March 1962, when Emile Griffith stepped into the ring in Madison Square Garden to defend his world title against Benny Paret, he was filled with rage. During their weigh-in, the Cuban challenger had denounced Griffith as a 'faggot' and minced towards him. In the macho world of boxing, where fighters know they are engaged in the hurt game, there could be no greater insult. At that time, it was illegal for people of the same gender to have sex, or even for a bar to knowingly serve a drink to a gay person. It was an insinuation that could have had dangerous consequences for Griffith - especially as it was true. In the fight that followed, Griffith pounded Paret into unconsciousness, and the Cuban would die soon after, leaving Griffith haunted by what he had done. Despite this, he went on to fight more world championship rounds than any other fighter in history in a career that lasted for almost 20 years. In Donald McRae's first sports book in more than a decade, he weaves a compelling tale of triumph over prejudice - Griffith was black, so doubly damned by contemporary society, but refused to cower away as society wished. A Man's World, longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, is sure to become a classic piece of sports writing.

Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting


David Reed - 2011
    In twenty-four hours I’m gonna lose my memory. So here’s everything you need to know.Monsters, demons, angels, vampires, the boogeyman under your bed: I’ve seen it, I’ve hunted it, I’ve killed it. I’m not the only hunter out here, but there aren’t as many as there used to be. Not near as many as there need to be. I’ve learned everything I can about every damned critter that walks, crawls, or flies, and I’m not gonna let that all be for nothing. I’m not going down without a fight. I’m not letting everything I’ve learned disappear. So that’s what you’re holding in your hands—everything I know. Anything that’d be useful for Sam, Dean, and the hunters that come after me.It’s a guide to hunting...it’s a guide to me. My last will and testament. Ya idjits.

Dark Convergence


Dave Gross - 2013
    Nemo soon learns of the Convergence’s plans to transform Caen and its people to suit their enigmatic goddess, who favors machines over the living.Amid this clash Nemo must withstand the temptation of the Convergence’s message to those who, like himself, are fascinated by technology. Aurora proves to be a different sort of enemy than he has faced before—something of a kindred spirit, albeit one bent on destroying all he holds dear.

Anvil!: The Story of Anvil


Lips - 2009
    Forming their band 'Anvil' they went on to become the 'demi-gods of Canadian metal', releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generation including the world-dominating bands Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, all of whom went on to sell millions of records. Anvil's career would take a different path, however, as they slipped straight into obscurity...Almost thirty years later Lips and Robb, our unlikely musical heroes, are still chasing their dream. Anvil! The Story of Anvil, their autobiography, follows the ups and down of their career and their volatile friendship (which has now spanned almost four decades), reveals their dedication and unadulterated passion for their music, and carries us along on their last-ditch quest for fame and fortune. Based on Sacha Gervasi's award-winning film of the same name, and published to coincide with its worldwide release, this hilarious yet poignant book reminds us that if you believe in yourself, stick by your friends and never give up, you really can make your dreams come true. You cannot fail to be moved by this story. Anvil rock!

The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order


Aaron Contreras - 2019
    From Respawn Entertainment comes a brand-new action adventure game which tells an original Star Wars(TM) story around a surviving Padawan set shortly after the events of Star Wars(TM): Revenge of the Sith(TM).

Warped Factors


Walter Koenig - 1998
    Enterprise, and beyond. Not a typical Hollywood memoir, "Warped Factors" is anything but aloof. Koenig's very human narrative is full of the kind of insecurities and quirks anyone can relate to. With wry, wit, striking candot, and a true gift for storytelling, Koenig takes us on a sometimes bumpy but often hilarious trip through his galaxy. Blind faith and a healty sense of irony seem to sustain him as he relates a steady stream of ancedote, including: Pitching a sotry to an NBC producer who is in the midst of having an out-of-body experience; Having a laoded gun placed in his ear by a jealous manager; Performing a controversial play that was interrupted by someone believed to be a member of the Amrican Nazi party dressed in the unifrom of a Chicken Delight delivery boy; Getting fired from a CBS movie of the week for staring at the director; Being mistaken for a bell hop during a public appearance in his "Star Trek" uniform; Declining a "Star Trek" convention attendee's invitation to help sacrifice a chicken in her hotel room.Of course, this amusing memoir also takes us behind the scenes of "Star Trek," with fresh perspecticves not only on the cast members themselves but also on the development and evolution of the megalithic sci-fi legend. In fact, Koenig includes a numer of the script ideas he himself pitched over the years including a proposal outline for "Star Trek IV" (one that saw the deaths of several main crew members including Kirk) and several for "The Next Generation" series.Finally, Koenig offers candid reflections not only on the "Star Trek" years but on his life and career since. Most notable are his well received stints on stage and his curent role as the insidious Alfred Bestger on television's "Babylon 5." Enjoying both critical and popular success, Koenig has once again confirmed his enduring position in science fiction's acting pantheon.

Judgment Night


Nick Pollotta - 1991
    mass market paperback book

Platinum Girl: The Life and Legends of Jean Harlow


Eve Golden - 1991
    Born into the pleasant middle-class world of Kansas City, Missouri, in 1911, Harlow (nee Harlean Carpenter) was the daughter of a solid, if dull, dentist, whose wife had unfulfilled aspirations to a career in films. The family was hardly prepared for what came next. Jean became a bride at sixteen, was separated at eighteen, a film goddess at twenty, a wife again at twenty-one, and a widow within a few months of the wedding. Her husband, top MGM executive Paul Bern, committed suicide (it was widely and mistakenly believed) out of despair over impotence.Bern's suicide threatened to plunge Jean Harlow into a scandal that might have ended her career. But, driven by her irresistible sparkle, glamour, and sensuality, the young star's fortunes continued to skyrocket in unforgettable films like Red Dust, Dinner at Eight, Bombshell, Reckless, China Seas, and Libeled Lady as she appeared with the likes of Clark Gable, John and Lionel Barrymore, Mary Astor, Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Rosalind Russell, Spencer Tracy, and William Powell.She married a third time in 1933, was divorced a year later, only to become engaged to her sometime costar William Powell. Noting that the extremely well-paid Blonde Bombshell was perpetually on the ragged edge of bankruptcy, Powell hired a private detective to investigate Harlow's stepfather, Marino Bello, who - it turned out - had long been defrauding her. Despite this and the on-again, off-again engagement to Powell, Harlow seemed unstoppable. Then, in the midst of filming Saratoga in 1937, the twenty-six-year-old Platinum Girl succumbed to kidney failure.In this, the first biography of Harlow since Irving Shulman's sensationalistic and often inaccurate 1964 book, Eve Golden explores the woman behind the legends and the scandals. The world evoked here is at once glamorous, nostalgic, poignant, and tragic. Yet, in its way, the brief life of Jean Harlow is a story of success, of a triumphal struggle with Hollywood and the consequences of rapid fame. Golden's deeply researched narrative is lavishly illustrated with rare film stills, posters, and exclusive photographs from family archives. Harlow emerges not as an oversexed mannequin, but as a vulnerable, hard-working, and tremendously likable woman who molded herself into a remarkable actress. This is an important book about one of Hollywood's most extraordinary personalities.

The Autobiography of James T. Kirk


David A. Goodman - 2015
    Kirk chronicles the greatest Starfleet captain's life (2233–2371), in his own words. From his birth on the U.S.S. Kelvin, his youth spent on Tarsus IV, his time in the Starfleet Academy, his meteoric raise through the ranks of Starfleet, and his illustrious career at the helm of the Enterprise, this in-world memoir uncovers Captain Kirk in a way Star Trek fans have never seen. Kirk's singular voice rings throughout the text, giving insight into his convictions, his bravery, and his commitment to the life—in all forms—throughout this Galaxy and beyond. Excerpts from his personal correspondence, captain's logs, and more give Kirk's personal narrative further depth.

Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille


Scott Eyman - 2010
    DeMille lived a life as epic as any of his cinematic masterpieces. As a child DeMille learned the Bible from his father, a theology student and playwright who introduced Cecil and his older brother, William, to the theater. Tutored by impresario David Belasco, DeMille discovered how audiences responded to showmanship: sets, lights, costumes, etc. He took this knowledge with him to Los Angeles in 1913, where he became one of the movie pioneers, in partnership with Jesse Lasky and Lasky’s brother-in-law Samuel Goldfish (later Goldwyn). Working out of a barn on streets fragrant with orange blossom and pepper trees, the Lasky company turned out a string of successful silents, most of them directed by DeMille, who became one of the biggest names of the silent era. With films such as The Squaw Man, Brewster’s Millions, Joan the Woman, and Don’t Change Your Husband, he was the creative backbone of what would become Paramount Studios. In 1923 he filmed his first version of The Ten Commandments and later a second biblical epic, King of Kings, both enormous box-office successes. Although his reputation rests largely on the biblical epics he made, DeMille’s personal life was no morality tale. He remained married to his wife, Constance, for more than fifty years, but for most of the marriage he had three mistresses simultaneously, all of whom worked for him. He showed great loyalty to a small group of actors who knew his style, but he also discovered some major stars, among them Gloria Swanson, Claudette Colbert, and later, Charlton Heston. DeMille was one of the few silent-era directors who made a completely successful transition to sound. In 1952 he won the Academy Award for Best Picture with The Greatest Show on Earth. When he remade The Ten Commandments in 1956, it was an even bigger hit than the silent version. He could act, too: in Billy Wilder’s classic film Sunset Boulevard, DeMille memorably played himself. In the 1930s and 1940s DeMille became a household name thanks to the Lux Radio Theater, which he hosted. But after falling out with a union, he gave up the program, and his politics shifted to the right as he championed loyalty oaths and Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anticommunist witch hunts. As Scott Eyman brilliantly demonstrates in this superbly researched biography, which draws on a massive cache of DeMille family papers not available to previous biographers, DeMille was much more than his clichéd image. A gifted director who worked in many genres; a devoted family man and loyal friend with a highly unconventional personal life; a pioneering filmmaker: DeMille comes alive in these pages, a legend whose spectacular career defined an era.