Jason Statham has risen from street seller through championship diving and modelling to become arguably the biggest British male film star of the twenty-first century. This is the first book to offer a critical analysis of his work across a variety of media, including film, television, video games and music videos. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of Statham's career, from his distinctive screen presence to his style, branding and celebrity. Accessibly written, and featuring a contribution from Hollywood director Paul Feig, who worked with Statham on the 2015 action-comedy Spy, the collection will appeal to a wide audience of scholars, students and fans. -- .

"A Wonderful, Gentle Teacher" gives the reader a glimpse of rural life on a family farm in Northeastern Wisconsin in the early 1920's and 1930's. See life in rural Northeastern Wisconsin through the eyes of a young child, adolescent, young man, coach, experienced teacher, father and retired educator's eyes. Read about the physical setup, classroom environment, instructional techniques and responsibilities of the old "grade one through eight," one-room schools of the 1930's and 1940's. Learn what was required and expected of an upper-midwest prospective teacher as he prepared for and pursued a career as an educator in mid-20th century America.

Few actors achieve in their lifetime what Sir Ian McKellen has. A repertoire of vast commercial success coupled with critically acclaimed and authoritative Shakespearian roles. A man whose gargantuan personality and varied achievements inspire both admiration and affection. McKellen has been feted and admired in every country across the globe, and has been knighted by, and received the Companionship of Honour from Queen Elizabeth II. He is an icon of, and ardent campaigner in, the cause for LGBT rights. Many of us know of McKellen through his depiction of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. Garry O'Connor's definitive biography reveals the man behind McKellen the actor. The inside story of the person himself: a constantly developing drama and a work in progress. Yet Garry O'Connor pulls no punches: some of his revelations may be controversial to his fans, even explosive, given McKellen's constant ability to shock and surprise. The author has himself directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and directed McKellen in some of his very first roles. This is an unflinching, yet deeply intimate and affectionate, biography that, like McKellen himself, will stand the test of time as a rounded and complete portrait of one of the most unusual geniuses of our times.

William Forsythe's reinvigoration of classical ballet during his 20-year tenure at the Ballett Frankfurt saw him lauded as one of the greatest choreographers of the postwar era. His current work with The Forsythe Company has gone even further to challenge and investigate fundamental assumptions about choreography itself.

William Forsythe and the Practice of Choreography presents a diverse range of critical writings on his work, with illuminating analysis of his practice from an interdisciplinary perspective. The book also contains insightful working testaments from Forsythe's collaborators, as well as a contribution from the choreographer himself.

With essays covering all aspects of Forsythe's past and current work, readers are provided with an unparalleled view into the creative world of this visionary artist, as well as a comprehensive resource for students, scholars, and practitioners of ballet and contemporary dance today.

VOLUME TWO OF TWO. France. Germany. Italy. Russia. Poland. Czech Republic. Romania. Mexico. Japan. Iran. All over the world -- everywhere except in the U.S. -- the legendary Jean Gabin continues to be considered one of the greatest movie stars of all time. In the U.S., he's definitely considered to be a cult figure (in 2002, twin Gabin festivals were presented at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and at the Walter Reade Theatres in New York), but for the vast moviegoing public, and just like a lot of the greats, he's fallen off of the radar.

That's about to change, however, because in 2008, Allenwood Press presents the very first English-language (and two-volume ) book about Jean Gabin, ever. (There's not even an old, out-of-print book about Gabin in English, if you can believe that )

WORLD'S COOLEST MOVIE STAR: THE COMPLETE 95 FILMS (AND LEGEND)OF JEAN GABIN by CHARLES ZIGMAN VOLUME TWO, which has been subtitled "Comeback/Patriarch," covers Films 47 through 95, which Gabin made between 1954 and 1976. During this period of his career, instead of playing his famous tragic drifter character, he played a series of mega-cool gentleman-criminals, and world-weary (yet life-loving) patriarchs, and he even turned out some hilarious comedies during this period, which are criminally unknown in the U.S. The tone of the book is "fun," as opposed to "academic" and "pretentious," and its goal, is to introduce as many people as possible to the films of Gabin; to that end, this book is loaded with rare photographs, many of which have never appeared even in previously published French-language books about Gabin.

This is a book for Jean Gabin 'newbies' and 'completists' both: For the uninitiated, there are some biography and 'intro' chapters which place Gabin, and his famous big-screen persona into perspective. For the completists, I (the author) have 'unpacked' every single one of Jean Gabin's ninety-five theatrical feature films, even the more than fifty pictures which have never been subtitled into English before, so that readers can feel, by poring through the chapters, that they are actually seeing the films, first-hand. Excerpts from newspapers written 'back in the day, ' both in the U.S. and in Europe, show how prominent movie critics received Gabin's pictures the day they were first released, in the 1930s through the 1970s.

In short this two-volume book is for everybody. Besides being the first books about Jean Gabin in the English language, WORLD'S COOLEST MOVIE STAR is also a first, because it happens to be the very first filmography book related to Gabin in any language: Even in France, where there have been many published biographies of Jean Gabin, there has never been a book concentrating on each of the actor's ninety-five films.

Brigitte Bardot contributed an original foreword to Volume Two. (VOLUME ONE IS AVAILABLE SEPARATELY - ISBN #978-0-9799722-0-1.)

5 C Hero is the inspirational story of Joel Stephens, a truly gifted athlete and devout Christian, who lived the values of Christianity, Courage, Compassion, Character, and Commitment. With the brightest of futures ahead of him, Stephens lost his battle with a rare form of cancer in 1998 at the age of 22. D'Aloisio, as coach, mentor, and friend, knew Stephens better than most. In this book, he chronicles the record-setting athletic exploits of Joel throughout his high school years as well as his professional career as a baseball player in the Baltimore Orioles organization, and his decision to accept a scholarship to play Division I football for Syracuse University. In many ways, Joel's story parallels that of Ernie Davis, the "Elmira Express," who was the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. More important than any athletic achievements, Joel's faith and his concern for others are the qualities that define Joel Stephens. D'Aloisio takes the reader on a painful odyssey as Joel accepts his illness yet valiantly struggles to overcome it. This tragic story is told with humor, intensity, and great warmth. It is remarkable that Stephens touched so many lives in such a short period of time. Even after his death, his legacy continues to grow through the Joel Stephens Foundation and other charitable organizations and events held in his honor. For those who knew Joel, this book will bring them even closer to an old friend; for those who never had the opportunity to meet Joel in person, this book will help you realize what you missed.

VOLUME ONE OF TWO. (VOLUME TWO AVAILABLE SEPARATELY.) France. Germany. Italy. Russia. Poland. Czech Republic. Romania. Mexico. Japan. Iran. All over the world -- everywhere except in the U.S. -- the legendary Jean Gabin continues to be considered one of the greatest movie stars of all time.

In the U.S., Gabin is definitely considered to be a cult figure (in 2002, twin Gabin festivals were presented at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and at the Walter Reade Theatres in New York), but for the vast moviegoing public, and just like a lot of the greats, he's fallen off of the radar.

That's about to change, however, because in 2008, Allenwood Press presents the very first English-language (and two-volume) book about Jean Gabin, ever. (There's not even an old, out-of-print book about Gabin in English, if you can believe that ) It's WORLD'S COOLEST MOVIE STAR: THE COMPLETE 95 FILMS (AND LEGEND) OF JEAN GABIN by CHARLES ZIGMAN.

VOLUME ONE, which has been subtitled "Tragic Drifter," takes us through Gabin's first forty-six films, including the internationally renowned "Grand Illusion" and "Pepe Le Moko," a period spanning the years 1930 to 1953, during which time he played movie history's most famous tragic drifter. During the 1930s and 1940s, Gabin's popularity in the U.S. nearly eclipsed that of Bogart, James Cagney, and Bette Davis. (Ever heard anybody say, "Come with me to the Casbah. We will make ze beautiful muzeek togezaire?" It was famously attributed to the character Jean Gabin portrayed in the 1937 gangster classic "Pepe Le Moko," even though he never actually uttered those words. In fact Gabin's 'Pepe' character even inspired Warner Bros. to create its legendary cartoon skunk, Pepe Le Pew, whose looks and voice were modeled on the actor.)

The tone of the book is "fun," as opposed to "academic" and "pretentious," and its goal is to introduce as many people as possible to the films of Gabin; to that end, it's loaded with rare photographs, many of which have never appeared even in previously published French-language books about Gabin. This is a book for Jean Gabin 'newbies' and 'completists' both: For the uninitiated, there are some biography and 'intro' chapters, which place Gabin, and his famous big-screen persona into perspective. For the completists, author Charles Zigman has unpacked every single one of Jean Gabin's ninety-five theatrical feature films -- even the more than fifty pictures which have never been subtitled into English before -- so that one can feel, by poring through the chapters, that one is actually 'seeing' the films, firsthand. Excerpts from newspapers written 'back in the day, ' both in the U.S. and in Europe, demonstrate how prominent movie critics received Gabin's pictures the day they were first released, in the 1930s through the 1970s.

In short this two-volume book is for everybody. Besides being the first books about Jean Gabin in the English language ever, WORLD'S COOLEST MOVIE STAR is also a first because it is the very first 'filmography book' related to Gabin, in any language: Even in France, where there have been many published biographies of Jean Gabin, there has never been a book concentrating, in great detail on each of the actor's ninety-five films. The legendary actress Michele Morgan, who appeared with Gabin in five feature films, has written the foreword to Volume One. ALSO AVAILABLE: VOLUME TWO (ISBN # 978-0-9799722-1-8).

RUSS DiBELLA is a leisure-pursuit writer and musician with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications / Journalism from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). As an avid reader and writer who has written everything from inspired works of poetry, prose and song lyrics to the more unyielding requirements of professional documents and freelance feature articles (with a concentration on concert reviews) during the past twenty-five years, he offers this first book as a culmination of all his writing experiences to date. Professionally, DiBella has been in outside sales for nearly twenty years and resides in Southern New Jersey with his wife and twin daughters.