This is the first and definitive biography of one of the most iconic, complex and enduring legends of Hollywood's golden age, whose major presence in American film, radio, television, stage and theater lasted beyond the second half of the 20th Century, and whose classic films are known throughout the world. Written by New York Times bestselling, prize-winning author Marc Eliot - Cary Grant, Walt Disney, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson, and others - with unprecedented access to the family, friends, and Heston's private papers, diaries, journal, writings and estate, he tells an unforgettable tale of an extraordinary life you may find difficult to put down. Eliot's biography is rich with facts details and anecdotal material that bring to life the complex story of this most iconic of American popular cultural giants to illuminate Heston's greatest achievements and his personal failures. He examines how a small boy from the backwoods of Michigan rose to become one of Hollywood's most legendary stars, one of the Greatest Generation's true-life war heroes - he saw action in the Pacific Theater during World War Two, before moving with his young wife from Chicago to New York's Hell's Kitchen to begin their struggle to find success in the theater. Eliot traces Heston's pioneering work in live television, his being discovered by Hollywood because of it, and tells the amazing saga of his three films for Cecil B. DeMille and his two for William Wyler, including The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, the latter for which he won a Best-Actor Oscar, with fascinating new details, documents and photographs never before seen. Eliot follows Heston through the genre of Science Fiction, which he helped revive with Planet of the Apes, and sheds new light on every one of Heston's iconic films. He also examines Heston's long political involvements, from boom one of the organizers of Hollywood's faction of marchers who joined with Martin Luther King, Jr. for the March on Washington, to his mentoring under Ronald Reagan for eventual presidency of the Screen Actors Guild, to his late-in-life presidency of, the National Rifle Association, all the while refusing the Republican Party's continual pleas for him to run for president of the United States after Reagan. With unprecedented cooperation with Heston's family, and never-before-seen personal photos, documents and hand-written letters, Charlton Heston: Hollywood's Last Icon for the first time tells the real story of Charlton's Heston's amazing life, an incisive, detailed, compelling portrayal, both for longtime fans, Hollywood movie lovers everywhere and a new college and TCM generation discovering Heston's work for the first time.

King Lear is arguably the most complex and demanding play in the whole of Shakespeare. Once thought impossible to stage, today it is performed with increasing frequency, both in Britain and America. It has been staged more often in the last fifty years than in the previous 350 years of its performance history, its bleak message clearly chiming in with the growing harshness, cruelty and violence of the modern world. Performing King Lear offers a very different and practical perspective from most studies of the play, being centred firmly on the reality of creation and performance. The book is based on Jonathan Croall's unique interviews with twenty of the most distinguished actors to have undertaken this daunting role during the last forty years, including Donald Sinden, Tim Pigott-Smith, Timothy West, Julian Glover, Oliver Ford Davies, Derek Jacobi, Christopher Plummer, Michael Pennington, Brian Cox and Simon Russell Beale. He has also talked to two dozen leading directors who have staged the play in London, Stratford and elsewhere. Among them are Nicholas Hytner, David Hare, Kenneth Branagh, Adrian Noble, Deborah Warner, Jonathan Miller and Dominic Dromgoole. Each reveals in precise and absorbing detail how they have dealt with the formidable challenge of interpreting and staging Shakespeare's great tragedy.

Lauded by his peers, Van Heflin won a place in the hearts of cinemagoers with his portrayal of a resolute homesteader in George Stevens' timeless classic Shane. But there was far more to this superlative actor than one role. He impressed in all genres and could convincingly portray every kind of character from a heel to a hero and each shade in between. This first full-length work about him provides a full commentary of all his films with insights into his life as a sailor and his stage career. The aim is to restore him to his rightful place among the gallery of stars of Hollywood's Golden Age to whose luster he added a stage craftsman's unique talent. He first caught the public attention as the sensitive drink-addicted friend of gangster Johnny Eager for which he won the Academy Award and contributed notable performances in a string of terrific noirs, dramas and westerns. He was especially memorable as the psychotic cop in Joseph Losey's masterpiece The Prowler but equally at home as the doubtful executive in Negulesco's smart satire Woman's World. A restless spirit whose heart never left the sea he learned early on about life and human motivations sailing the oceans of the world; this undoubtedly informed his natural acting instinct. A versatile risk-taking actor he was never concerned with popularity or comfortable with the trappings of stardom. However he brought to every role a rare emotional intensity which made all his portrayals real and ensured they should live for all time.

One of the youngest survivors of the Warsaw ghetto, author Sahbra Anna Markus lived a life only those who have survived Hitler's hell can imagine. In Only a Bad Dream? she narrates the drama of her early years through her most vivid memories. Sahbra courageously recounts those childhood experiences in her compelling voice, now freed from the repeated warnings: "Don't tell anyone you're a Jew." "Don't forget you're a Jew." "It was only a dream." "Hang on tight, or you'll get lost and die."

She tells of traipsing through forests at night, fleeing certain death, of her parents hiding her in a church, desperate to save her life. A frantic search for surviving family found the Markuses traveling throughout Europe on foot, by rowboat, military train, farm wagon, trucks, and finally the ship Caserta that delivered them to the land of hope, freedom, and new beginnings-the only Jewish homeland, Israel.

Only a Bad Dream shares how, in the midst of hunger and deprivation, Sahbra still found joy in simple things like cats, the moon, wolves, and fireflies. A story of the triumph of the human spirit, this memoir provides strong insight into the courage, strength, and dignity possessed by those who endured the Holocaust.

IN "THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE," music legend Clive Davis recounts an extraordinary five-decade career in the music business, while also telling a remarkable personal story of triumphs, disappointments, and encounters with some of the greatest musical artists of our time, including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, the Grateful Dead, Patti Smith, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Alicia Keys.
Orphaned in his teens, Davis earned a full scholarship to New York University and another to Harvard Law School. He served as General Counsel of Columbia Records and, in a totally unexpected stroke of fate, became head of the company overnight. More surprisingly, he learned he had "ears," a rare ability to spot special talent and hit records. Those ears contributed to the success of three companies--Columbia, Arista, and J--where Davis dis-covered and developed more unique artists than anyone in the history of the music industry.
What began on the grass at the Monterey Pop Festival with the signing of Janis Joplin has evolved into a lifelong passion and calling, spanning genres, including rock, pop, R&B, country, jazz fusion, and hip-hop. His is the imprimatur that has helped shape contemporary music and, over the years, our popular culture.
"The Soundtrack of My Life" is an essential book for anyone interested in the story of popular music, the fascinating ups and downs of the music business, the alchemy of hits, and the dramatic life of a brilliant leader . . . and listener. It is a riveting read from beginning to end.

Constituting the first comprehensive look at Ruth Maleczech's work, Jessica Brater's companion is a landmark study in innovative theatre practice, bringing together biography, critical analysis, and original interviews to establish a portrait of this Obie-award winning theatre artist. Tracing Maleczech's background, training, and influences, the volume contextualizes her work and the founding of Mabou Mines within the wider landscape of American avant-garde theatre. It considers her performances and productions, revealing both her interest in making ordinary women important onstage, and her predilection for resurrecting extraordinary women from history and finding their resonances within a contemporary theatrical context. Brater considers Maleczech's investment in redrawing the boundaries of what women are allowed to say, both on stage and off, and shows how her commitment to radical artistic and production risks has reshaped the contours of a contemporary theatrical experience. Highlights of the volume include discussion of productions such as Mabou Mines' Lear, Dead End Kids, Hajj, Lucia's Chapters of Coming Forth by Day, Red Beads, and La Divina Caricatura, as well as a close look at Maleczech's final work-in-progress, Imagining the Imaginary Invalid.