Captain Balthasar de Alaman--lover of war, hater of Jews, Muslims, and homosexuals--is falsely imprisoned for heresy by the inquisitor of Toledo, his own brother. Facing trial, torture, and possibly the galleys or burning at the stake, Balthasar escapes from the Spanish Inquisition's prison, adding murder to the heresy charge in so doing. His plan: flee Spain and become a soldier of fortune in Italy. But to become a condottiere, he must first obtain the necessary money and arms. Accordingly, he attempts to rejoin the army of Ferdinand and Isabel besieging Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. His perilous journey is marked by pursuit, a bloody confrontation with a pack of wolves, a life-threatening infection, convalescence in a libertine monastery, the battle for Granada, and a near-fatal bludgeoning and robbery. His odyssey becomes a philosophical journey when he is saved from death, first by a homosexual comrade-in-arms, then later by a compassionate Jewish family. Both rescues batter his entrenched prejudices which are further pummeled by an encounter with a sympathetic heretic: a Moor. But it is the Jewish family's comely Elisheva who causes him the greatest turmoil as the pair's feelings for each other smash against the seawall of religious incompatibility. Only at the end of his harrowing odyssey does Balthasar finally learn the nefarious secret behind the false charge of heresy and his brother's role in it, forcing him to choose between saving his own life or his father's.

Hailed as possibly the most comprehensive oral history of Superman to be committed to print, Voices From Krypton combines over 85 years of Superman's legacy into a sweeping tale of how the champion of the oppressed became one of the world's most recognizable pop culture icons. Not only does this epic collection include interviews with Superman favorites like Henry Cavill, Tom Welling, and Zack Snyder, Voices From krypton also dives into the Tim Burton directed Nicholas Cage movie that never happened. You might think you know Superman, but you haven't yet read Voices From Krypton.

This is the unauthorised, uncensored, and unbelievable true story behind the making of a pop culture phenomenon. The original Star Trek series debuted in 1966 and has spawned five TV series spin-offs and a dozen feature films, with an upcoming one from Paramount arriving in 2016. The Fifty-Year Mission is a no-holds-barred oral history of five decades of Star Trek, told by the people who were there. Hear from the hundreds of television and film executives, programmers, writers, creators, and cast as they unveil the often times shocking story of Star Trek's ongoing fifty-year mission - a mission that has spanned from the classic series to the animated show, to the many attempts at a relaunch by beloved feature films. Make no mistake; this isn't just a book for Star Trek fans. Like Saturday Night Live's bestselling Live From New York, here is a volume for all fans of pop culture and anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of a television touchstone.

When the Disney Channel aired its original movie High School Musical in January 2006, they were expecting a fairly solid ratings response. What they got was a cultural phenomenon that not only launched the film into the stratosphere, but also turned its young cast into superstars. The first time the show aired, it drew almost eight million viewers; the next night, on a repeat airing, another six. The movie soundtrack hit No. 1 on the Billboard pop-music charts six weeks after its release, with nine singles from the soundtrack on the chart in the same week. The May 2006 release of the DVD sold 400,000 units on its first day; Disney has a version that high schools around the country can license and perform; there are talks about a Broadway version, the sequel High School Musical 2 is scheduled to go into production in January 2007 for a summer 2007 airing, and the soundtrack album has gone triple platinum and remains in Billboard's Top 20. All In This Together: The Unofficial Story of High School Musical is a comprehensive look at the creation and making of this landmark film. It provides detailed profiles of its cast members, including Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, and Corbin Bleu. It explores in detail the film's impact, following the cast as they promote High School Musical around the world, and providing all available information and conjecture about High School Musical 2. Timed for release in advance of the movie's sequel, All In This Together: The Unofficial Story of High School Musical is the perfect collectible for the film's millions of fans.

Beauty and the Beast may be a tale as old as time, but never has it been more imaginatively told than in the 1987-90 live action television series created by Ron Koslow. The concept has a noble lion-man, Vincent (Ron Perlman), member of a vast, wondrous community located beneath the streets of Manhattan, who saves the life of New York socialite turned assistant district attorney Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton). As he nurses her back to health, a connection is formed between them that drives the rest of the series as their worlds intertwine, exploring their love as well as the darker underpinnings of society. Now as the show celebrates its 25th anniversary, 'Above & Below: The Unofficial 25th Anniversary Beauty and the Beast Companion' looks back at the making of the series, beginning with profiles of Hamilton and Perlman and continuing with a behind the scenes look at every episode through the eyes of the various writers and directors who helped bring it to life, among them George R.R. Martin, creator of Game of Thrones; and the team of Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, creative minds behindHomeland. Together, they recount struggles with the network (including fears regarding the Catherine/Vincent romance), the challenge of changing creative course in response to declining ratings, and being forced to completely reconceptualize the series when Hamilton departed at the end of season two. How could a show calledBeauty and the Beast survive without its leading lady?

Captain Balthasar de Alaman--lover of war, hater of Jews, Muslims, and homosexuals--is falsely imprisoned for heresy by the inquisitor of Toledo, his own brother. Facing trial, torture, and possibly the galleys or burning at the stake, Balthasar escapes from the Spanish Inquisition's prison, adding murder to the heresy charge in so doing. His plan: flee Spain and become a soldier of fortune in Italy. But to become a condottiere, he must first obtain the necessary money and arms. Accordingly, he attempts to rejoin the army of Ferdinand and Isabel besieging Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Spain. His perilous journey is marked by pursuit, a bloody confrontation with a pack of wolves, a life-threatening infection, convalescence in a libertine monastery, the battle for Granada, and a near-fatal bludgeoning and robbery. His odyssey becomes a philosophical journey when he is saved from death, first by a homosexual comrade-in-arms, then later by a compassionate Jewish family. Both rescues batter his entrenched prejudices which are further pummeled by an encounter with a sympathetic heretic: a Moor. But it is the Jewish family's comely Elisheva who causes him the greatest turmoil as the pair's feelings for each other smash against the seawall of religious incompatibility. Only at the end of his harrowing odyssey does Balthasar finally learn the nefarious secret behind the false charge of heresy and his brother's role in it, forcing him to choose between saving his own life or his father's.