The more than 600 stories written by O. Henry provided an embarrassment of riches for the compilers of this volume. The final selection of the thirty-eight stories in this collection offers for the reader's delight those tales honored almost unanimously by anthologists and those that represent, in variety and balance, the best work of America's favorite storyteller. They are tales in his most mellow, humorous, and ironic moods. They give the full range and flavor of the man born William Sy...

“I’ve got the name for our publishing operation. We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random. Let’s call it Random House.” So recounts Bennett Cerf in this wonderfully amusing memoir of the making of a great publishing house. An incomparable raconteur, possessed of an irrepressible wit and an abiding love of books and authors, Cerf brilliantly evokes the heady days of Random House’s first decades.Part of the vanguard of young New York publishers who revo...

Donald Klopfer and Bennett Cerf had been partners in Random House for seventeen years, but Donald decided that he had to become a part of an even greater endeavor—the defeat of Nazi Germany. Not long after Pearl Harbor, Donald, who was then forty years old, took a leave from Random House and joined the United States Army Air Forces. He served for two and a half years, finally becoming an intelligence major in a B-24 group in England.Donald and Bennett wrote to each other regularly ...

Richard Schickel's text, combining critical analysis and a re-interpretation of all the available biographical information, masterfully maps the intersections where a great star's personal history and his screen personality met in a style as elegant, graceful and witty as the actor himself.

Some sample anecdotes: 1) Simon and Schuster once published a children's book titled Dr. Dan the Bandage Man. As a publicity gimmick, they decided to include a half-dozen band-aids in each book, so publisher Richard Simon sent this telegram to a friend at Johnson and Johnson: "PLEASE SHIP TWO MILLION BAND-AIDS IMMEDIATELY." The following day Mr. Simon received this telegram in reply: "BAND-AIDS ON THEIR WAY. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" 2) As a young woman, ballerina Margot Fonteyn wish...

Blonde, vivacious Jean Arthur is best remembered today for her unizue, childlike voice and for the handful of classic Thirties and Forties movies she made for directors Frank Capra and George Stevens, such as You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The More the Merrier and her last picture Shane, released in 1953. But not many know that her 30-year film career dates from the early Twenties, when she was an inexperienced contract player at Fox. In fact, Arthur appeared in ...

In this penetrating and riveting biography of one of Hollywood's most beloved screen icons, Donald Dewey probes beneath Jimmy Stewart, the conservative image and ideal, to reveal James Stewart, the actor and the man.Through hundreds of interviews and in-depth analysis of his seventy-five films, the author assesses how the Hollywood man-about-town of the 1930's and 40's - Stewart's lovers included Ginger Rogers, Olivia de Havilland and Marlene Dietrich - became the epitome of Americ...

A lively portrait of mid-twentieth-century American book publishing—"A wonderful book, filled with anecdotal treasures" ( The New York Times).According to Al Silverman, former publisher of Viking Press and president of the Book-of-the-Month Club, the golden age of book publishing began after World War II and lasted into the early 1980s.In this entertaining and affectionate industry biography, Silverman captures the passionate spirit of legendary hou...

A pictorial history celebrating the life and legacy of the 35th President of the United States.Foreword by Caroline KennedyThis selection of more than 300 images—including family letters, personal ephemera, and captivating photographs—collected by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, many never seen before, features the beloved and revered Kennedy family. This remarkable history dates from 1878 through 1946—up to the aftermath of World War II and the b...

" From his unique perspective of friendship with many of the actors and actresses about whom he writes, silent film historian Anthony Slide creates vivid portraits of the careers and often eccentric lives of 100 players from the American silent film industry. He profiles the era's shining stars such as Lillian Gish and Blanche Sweet; leading men including William Bakewell and Robert Harron; gifted leading ladies such as Laura La Plante and Alice Terry; ingénues like Mary Astor and Mary Bri...

The actress Teresa Wright (1918–2005) lived a rich, complex, magnificent life against the backdrop of Golden Age Hollywood, Broadway, and television. There was no indication, from her astonishingly difficult—indeed, horrifying—childhood, of the success that would follow, nor of the universal acclaim and admiration that accompanied her everywhere. Her two marriages—to the writers Niven Busch (The Postman Always Rings Twice; Duel in the Sun) and Robert Anderson (Tea and...

Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light is the definitive biography of the Master of Suspense and the most widely recognized film director of all time.In a career that spanned six decades and produced more than 60 films – including The 39 Steps, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds – Alfred Hitchcock set new standards for cinematic invention and storytelling. Acclaimed biographer Patrick McGilligan re-examines his life and extraordinary work, challenging perceptions of Hitchcock a...