Biography & Autobiography : Entertainment & Performing Arts

For two generations of Americans, reading Ann Landers's daily column was as important as eating breakfast. For nearly fifty years an entire nation turned to this quick-witted, worldly-wise counselor for advice on everything from dinner etiquette to sex. But who was the woman behind the byline?. Iowa-born Eppie Lederer was first hired by the Chicago Sun-Times to take over the daily advice column in 1955 -- and over the next half-century she helped shape the nation's social and sexual landscape. Award-winning journalist Rick Kogan was Ann Landers's last editor and close friend, and he paints a fascinating, full-bodied account of the triumphs, the wisdom, the courage, and the trials of one of the twentieth century's most enduring icons -- including her painful lifelong feud with her identical twin sister, "Dear Abby"; her stubborn refusal to shy away from even the most controversial topics; and the tragic breakup of her own thirty-six-year marriage. Filled with remarkable stories shared by people from all walks of life who were profoundly affected by the good sense and guidance of Ann Landers, America's Mom is a moving tribute to a singular woman who has earned an eternal place in our culture ... and our hearts. more...

Price: $10.95

In this book, Sean Martin considers the whole of Tarkovsky’s oeuvre, from the classic student film The Steamroller and the Violin, across the full-length films, to the later stage works and Tarkovsky’s writings, paintings and photographs. Martin also seeks to demystify Tarkovsky as a ‘difficult’ director, whilst also celebrating his radical aesthetic of long takes and tracking shots, which Tarkovsky was to dub ‘imprinted’ or ‘sculpted’ time, and to make a case for Tarkovsky’s position not just as an important filmmaker, but also as an artist who speaks directly about the most important spiritual issues of our time. more...

Price: $9.99

The first modern biography in English of Russian composer-pianist Anton Rubinstein, this book places Rubinstein within the context of Russian and western European musical culture during the late 19th century. It explores his rise to international fame from humble origins in Bessarabia, as well as his subsequent rapid decline and marginalization in later musical culture. more...

Price: $31.95

Audrey Hepburn: an enduring screen legend and one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her photograph graced the covers of magazines across the world for half a century, yet in a movie career lasting forty-five years she made only twenty-six feature films, from blink-and-you’ll-miss-them walk-ons in classic films (The Lavender Hill Mob) to enduring masterpieces (My Fair Lady and Breakfast at Tiffany’s) that remain with the viewer long after they’ve left the cinema. As well as an introductory essay, the Pocket Essential Audrey Hepburn has at its core Audrey the film star and each of her films (and the re-makes) is reviewed and analysed, including background information and trivia. more...

Price: $7.99

What do you need to make money making movies? The answer, according to cult hero, creator of the sexploitation film, and the man the Wall Street Journal once dubbed the King Leer of Hollywood, Russ Meyer, is: “big bosoms and square jaws.” In the first candid and fiendishly researched account of the late cinematic instigator’s life, Jimmy McDonough shows us how Russ Meyer used that formula to turn his own crazed fantasies into movies that made him a millionaire and changed the face of American film forever. more...

Price: $17.95