For more than a quarter century, Al Pacino has spoken freely and deeply with acclaimed journalist and bestselling author Lawrence Grobel on subjects as diverse as childhood, acting, and fatherhood. Here, for the first time, are the complete conversations and shared observations between the actor and the writer; the result is an intimate and revealing look at one of the most accomplished, and private, artists in the world.

Pacino grew up sharing a three-room apartment in the Bronx with nine people in what he describes as his "New York Huckleberry Finn" childhood. Raised mostly by his grandparents and his mother, Pacino began drinking at age thirteen. Shortly after he was admitted to the renowned High School for Performing Arts, his classmates nicknamed him "Marlon," after Marlon Brando, even though Pacino didn't know who Brando was. Renowned acting coach Charlie Laughton saw Pacino when he was nineteen in the stairwell of a Bronx tenement, and the first words out of Laughton's mouth were "You are going to be a star." And so began a fabled, lifelong friendship that nurtured Al through years of not knowing where his next meal would come from until finally -- at age twenty-six -- he landed his first salaried acting job.

Grobel and Pacino leave few stones unturned, touching on the times when Pacino played piano in jazz clubs until four a.m. before showing up on the set of Scarecrow a few hours later for a full day's work; when he ate Valium like candy at the Academy Awards; and when he realized he had been in a long pattern of work and drink.

As the pivotal character in "The Godfather" trilogy and the cult classic "Scarface," Pacino has enshrined himself in film history. He's worked with most of Hollywood's brightest luminaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Michael Mann, Norman Jewison, Brian De Palma, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, and Robin Williams, among many others. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards before winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in "Scent of a Woman." Pacino still seems to prefer his work onstage to film and, if he's moved by a script or play, is quick to take parts in independent productions.

"Al Pacino" is an intensely personal window into the life of an artist concerned more with the process of his art than with the fruits of his labor, a creative genius at the peak of his artistic powers who, after all these years, still longs to grow and learn more about his craft. And, for now, it's as close to a memoir as we're likely to get.

Not only is Al Pacino known as 'one of the greatest actors in all of film history', he is also considered 'one of Hollywood's most notorious bachelors' (imdb.com) as well as being one of the most enigmatic and private celebrities in the world. For the first time, AL PACINO offers a deeply personal and revealing window into everything from his growing up in the South Bronx, where he shared three rooms with nine people, to his fabled studies with Charles Laughton and Lee Strasberg, his father's absence, his mother's early death, and how he bounced through a series of odd jobs until his first paid role at the age of 26. He reveals his childhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player, describes his first drink at 13, and admits his once ate Valium like popcorn at the Academy Awards. Though he has been involved with women like Diane Keaton and Beverly D'Angelo, the mother of his three children, he has never married and here reveals why, and how his feelings have changed. Through it all, he has delivered some of the most seminal performances in film and theatre history and worked with most of its biggest stars. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards before winning Best Actor Oscar for Scent of a Woman. AL PACINO is an intensely personal look at a creative genius at the peak of his powers who, after all these years, still longs to learn more about his art. And for now, it's a close to a memoir as we are likely to get.

In 1999, after almost twenty years of symptoms, Montel Williams, a decorated naval officer and Emmy Award-winning talk show host, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He was struck with denial, fear, depression, and anger, and now he's battling back. Graced with strong values, courage, and hard-won wisdom, he shares his insights in this powerful book on the divergent roads a life can take, and recounts how he rose to meet the challenges he's faced. Surprising, searing, and deeply personal, Climbing Higher is as honest and inspiring as its author.

THE ULTIMATE INSIDER'S LOOK AT THE FINE ART OF INTERVIEWING
"I had a fantasy the other night that this interview is so great that they no longer want me to act--just do interviews. I thought of us going all over the world doing interviews--we've signed for three interviews a day for six weeks."
--Al Pacino, in an interview with Lawrence Grobel
Highly respected in journalist circles and hailed as "the Interviewer's Interviewer," Lawrence Grobel is the author of well-received biographies of Truman Capote, Marlon Brando, James Michener, and the Huston family, with bylines from Rolling Stone and Playboy to the New York Times. He has spent his thirty-year career getting tough subjects to truly open up and talk. Now, in The Art of the Interview, he offers step-by-step instruction on all aspects of nailing an effective interview and provides an inside look on how he elicted such colorful responses as:
"I don't like Shakespeare. I'd rather be in Malibu." --Anthony Hopkins
"Feminists don't like me, and I don't like them."--Mel Gibson
"I hope to God my friends steal my body out of a morgue and throw a party when I'm dead."--Drew Barrymore
"I want you out of here. And I want those goddamn tapes "--Bob Knight
"I smoked pot with my father when I was eleven in 1973. . . . He thought he was giving me a mind-extending experience just like he used to give me Hemingway novels and Woody Allen films."--Anthony Kiedis
In The Art of the Interview, Grobel reveals the most memorable stories from his career, along with examples of the most candid moments from his long list of famous interviewees, from Oscar-winning actors and Nobel laureates to Pulitzer Prizewinning writers and sports figures. Taking us step by step through the interview process, from research and question writing to final editing, The Art of the Interview is a treat for journalists and culture vultures alike.

This lengthy 1978 interview, along with Grobel''s astute observations, reveals the man, the actor, the husband and the father in crisis as no other book does.'