Just as the Academy Awards have an impact upon stars and their careers, their achievements influence the Academy and contribute to the rich history of the Oscars. Upset wins, jarring losses and glaring oversights have helped define the careers of Hollywood icons, while unknown actors have proven that timing sometimes beats notoriety or even talent. With detailed discussion of their performances and Awards night results, this book describes how 107 actors earned the Academy's favor - and how 117 others were overlooked.

This is my eleventh collection of short stories. A financial expert in New York who has had a breakdown believes that life on Earth originated from Venus and that we are destroying this planet as we did that one. An UK government agency considers the consequences of the impending release of a convicted foreign agent. A fading French film star muses upon or hallucinates about his past life and his most famous role. A series of people disappearing on a Mediterranean island are investigated with unexpected consequences. A couple of itinerants wander through a seaside town encountering a series of odd individuals and incidents. In California, a private detective undertakes an investigation and faces attempts on his life. These and other stories, some humourous or semi-autobiographical, have been written since I retired in 2008.

This is a memoir and selection of games played between 1958 and 2018 by the amateur chess player Roger Paige. He played for Cosham in the Portsmouth League, Hampshire and Middlesex county teams and London University and the `Athenaeum' Chess Club in the London League in the 1960s and early 1970s. He is currently retired and living in Edinburgh. He mainly nowadays plays on the Internet.

This is a collection of 60 recent and older chess games played by the author. In the notes, there are many more of his games quoted. The collection includes the offhand games the author played with Mikhail Tal at Hastings 1963/64.

This is my tenth collection of short stories. An elderly man becomes `news' after he writes about his encounter with Ernest Hemingway in Pamplona years ago. A writer holidaying in West Texas meets James Dean in Marfa years after the latter's supposed death. A postal clerk remembers selling a stamp to John Wayne who was filming in London. A reporter traces the ex-chauffeur of a gangster to learn his story. A British Lord worries about his accident prone wife who has gone skiing in the Scottish Borders. A mystery writer becomes a witness in a local murder. A strange ship loads an odd cargo in a port. A mute, nameless man becomes a patient in a psychiatric hospital. A sunken treasure is found off the coast of Florida during a Presidential political campaign. They are a mixed bag of old and new, some semi-autobiographical or humourous, all intended to entertain.

Recently graduated, a young man gets a job on a distant volcanic island. A retired horror film actor gives an interview about his career. In Brooklyn, a delivery man meets Groucho Marx in an elevator. Shanghaied in San Francisco, a man is marooned by his captors. These and other stories in my 9th collection reflect the comedy and tragedy of life. Set in various countries, dreams, the magic of the cinema, and the way life can confuse are re-occurring themes. Often things are not what they should be, even for the author!

This latest collaboration in the Library Programs that Inspire series explores library media center events that target the high school age audience. Detailing particular methods to inspire high school students to appreciate and use the library media center, this guide provides compelling evidence of the potential for young adult programming as an effective teaching tool. This practical guide provides everything you need to plan, execute, and evaluate events that will get the attention of even your least motivated high school students. Emphasizing the benefits of effective programs, the authors offer creative techniques to enhance the curriculum, improve school library media center use, broaden student interest, and inspire lifelong learning. Programming foundations and examples from across the nation, as well as practical advice and helpful resources, provide the necessary inspiration to help you team up with educators, parents, and student volunteers to create unique, effective, and memorable events that will motivate your teenagers to fully take advantage of all that the school library offers.

Here is everything you need to plan, execute, and assess school library events. Aside from emphasizing the benefits of effective programs, the authors offer details on providing support services to enrich programming. Several examples of successful programs from across the nation provide the necessary inspiration to create your own imaginative and memorable events-events that motivate young students to fully take advantage of media center resources.

Securing the interest of energetic, independent middle school students is one of the greatest challenges of school librarians. In this book--the third in the Library Programs That Inspire Series--acclaimed authors Patricia Potter Wilson and Roger Leslie bring you some of the best programming ideas to motivate your middle school patrons and encourage lifelong learning. Examples of successful programs from award-winning Blue Ribbon middle schools across the nation provide the necessary inspiration to create library events that will get the attention of even your least interested students. Find out which programs are most effective, innovative, and entertaining--without draining your resources and energy