Bruce Lee Books

Updated edition has a glossier cover. Corrected some of the issues from an earlier edition noted by some readers, but the book is basically the same as the earlier one - minus any small production errors. Has a great behind the scenes look at The Crow and Twilight Zone-The Movie and a rare look behind Bette Davis' last film The Wicked Stepmother. Also Amityville Horror story look at the real killings ands the movies tale.

Not to be confused by Reel Terror, a book containing the stories that influenced several sc-fi and horror movies. This book focuses on the tragic real life events surrounding some recognizable movies.

Be warned, the book is cheaply made and is 8.5 x 11, not a standard paperback size as I was expecting. For the price, I would recommend trying to find it at your local library over purchasing. But a good read, nonetheless.

The book was kind of interesting. The first few stories "The Crow" and "Twilight Zone, The Movie," were definitely eerie and gruesome. Loaded with details I didn't previous know. But for a book with the title Reel 'Horror', some of the stories were just plain boring. I thought the book was about actual deaths that took place during the filming of various movies. Only the first few movies were about mysterious or nasty deaths. The rest were just stories of production woes. Poltergeist did have deaths, but none occurring on set. Who cares about the production problems on Bette Davis' last film? It doesn't qualify as 'horror' in any way (although the director and producers probably disagree). The Jaws story wasn't terrifying at all. What was it doing in the book? And I couldn't get past the various typos throughout the book. There are at least 5 on every page. Some mistakes are too grievous to be overlooked. The author refers repeatedly to the director of Poltergeist as Tobe Cooper! (it's Hooper!!). Out of sheer curiosity, I looked up the cinematographer named on the Bette Davis story, and couldn't find his name in the database. His name is also not the name listed on the official credit of cinematographer who worked on the film. Hmmm...I simply had to check references after the Hooper incident! It makes me wonder about the credibility of the authors' references. While there may be an explanation for certain questions (perhaps the cinematographer quit halfway through production and was replaced?), I can't believe they mispelled a directors' name....Not very interesting. I'd try a different title than this for some real 'reel horror'.

Not all inclusive but this book has some interesting stories that I havent seen before. It's not the usual horror stuff that tries to talk about the themes or hidden meanings. This book is fun because it goes into the making of the movie. Some good coverage of Twilight Zone the movie, the Crow and the rare Bette Davis flick Wicked Stepmother. It also covers the usual making of big flicks like Exorcist, Jaws and Psycho, but it's the rare ones that make the book a treat. Small publisher so there's not a lot of money put into the printing. Quality is ok. Some nice pics, some typos, but overall an interesting read. I recommend if you like back story stuff around hollywood flicks.

After going through Batman's rigorous training, Dick Grayson, the first Robin, is ready to partner Batman in the fight to eradicate crime in Gotham City. But in order to do so, he has to pass his final test: to elude Batman from sunset till sunrise. Things take a turn for the worse when Robin unknowingly stumbles onto something which may cost him his life. Now Batman must race against time to find Robin before it is too late. This is one of the best stories I have ever read. If my memory is right, this is the first Bat book I bought (by the way, I am not a Batman fan). Definitely worth buying.

This story takes place right before the first Robin (Richard Grayson) starts working steadily with the Batman. It gives us a good insight on his thought process and we can see some of his innocence when going through the test.

I like the art, which conveys the story very well visually and it had a good ending that shows hope for the future.

I would reccommend this story to all fans of Robin and Nightwing, since he was the original Robin.

Over the years, Batman is one of the few comics that I've stayed interested in (and the only DC), but I really didn't think Gauntlet was that great. It's Robin's right of passage, but the storyline is only mediocre. And even the art isn't that great. But I still like Batman.

Let me preface my review by stating my interest in this book was the author's interpetation of the Fu Manchu character. Overall, this was a good book on an important topic that receives scant attention: prejudice against Asians. The Fu Manchu character, like most fiction from Colonial Britain, has racist elements. However, the author is not sufficiently familiar with the work of the character's creator, Sax Rohmer. Rohmer loved what was then called the Orient. His heroines are Oriental. Fu Manchu is depicted as a genius and a man of integrity at all times. Later books in the series (Rohmer wrote of the character from 1912 to 1959) depict him not as evil, but as devoted to a cause often (but not always) at odds to the West. The rise of Communism in China is at cross-purposes to Fu Manchu's ambitions and the last few books see the character more on the side of the Western protagonists in defeating their common enemy. What is more, Fu Manchu was part of a tradition (owing much to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Moriarity and Sherlock Holmes) of villains and heroes with veiled admiration for one another and who would clearly unite if not for their divisive principles. The author seems to be reacting more to the hackneyed portrayal of the character in film and television adaptations (which are far from faithful to Rohmer's text). Case-in-point, the infamous Fu Manchu moustache which the author emphasizes as a racial stereotype is not the invention of the character's creator who described Fu Manchu as devoid of facial hair in all thirteen novels and four shorter works that he appeared in. Even in the earliest, most racially insensitive books, Rohmer was quick to note that most Chinese immigrants were law-abiding citizens. The harmful stereotype that sprung from the character developed seperately from the writer who loved all things Eastern and wanted to share that love with his readers the world over.

So much of men's studies does not take men of color into account. Then, that which does focuses on African-American men, and sometimes Latino men. Thus, Chan's book is a direly needed intervention. The book focuses upon Chinese-American men, but it is applicable to Asian-Ams of many ethnicities. This book would be a wonderful edition to any collection of Asian-American studies texts or works on men of color. Chan has two projects. First, he discusses the history and racist underpinnings of four Chinese-Am men in popular culture of this century: Fu Manchu, Charlie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Shiang-Chi. Second, Chan is trying to formulate a Chinese-American masculinity that is neither sexist nor homophobic. He thus encourages "ambi-sexuality" and borrows the idea of "democratic manhood" from Michael Kimmel. My only critique of this text is that it did not have photos of the characters Chan examines. (I mean, I have heard of Charlie Chan, but I've never seen any of the decades-old films that use him.) In brief, if you enjoyed what Lisa Lowe said about Asian-American women in "Immigrant Acts", you will really love what Chan says about male counterparts in this book. Many readers may be turned off by the deeply academic, and some might say overly "PC" lingo that the author employs. Still, I think every Chinese-American man should own this book. I am very pleased that I bought and read this book; it's brilliant!

The first Bruce Lee biography out of the gates in the UK in 2003 had an educational flavour and carried the weight suggested in its title by being issued in hardback form. The Importance of Bruce Lee plays the educational card well by giving Bruce Lee's life and times a social and historical context that provides a supportive framework to what's on offer, adding an extra dimension in terms of quality.

Although the book is specifically aimed at a younger market, which comes across clearly in the style of writing, this in no way impedes its accessibility. The Game of Death colouration of the sturdy cover is either a happy accident or an ideal marketing ploy, while the author's view of Bruce Lee comes from outside of the usual fan-based arena these books usually stem from and benefits because of this, with the information presented as concise but impartial. Quotes are lifted from a cross-section of works, primarily from the writings of Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce Thomas and Tom Bleecker and are well integrated into the main body text. Sidebars focusing and providing more detail on Bruce Lee related issues make for a nice touch, although a section on Brandon Lee's death seems out of place based, as it is on a sensational article from an entertainment periodical.

While the book is an agreeable experience, it can't be considered an essential purchase. I could pin this on the fact that for an educational book it isn't entirely free of faults; although the text is factually based there are one or two minor errors that should have been picked up in the editing process. This is just a tiny niggle though and shouldn't deter newcomers from adding it to their collection, especially if their criteria is an easily read introduction to the life of Bruce Lee. Old timers, however, might want to give it a miss, as there's little to sink their teeth into here.

I started out my summer with a biography, The Importance of Bruce Lee. The author of this fantastic biography, Andy Koopmans, provides so many details that you could just imagine being in Bruce Lee's shoes. For example, Bruce Lee was a bus boy while growing up and he hated it! I can see why, because one of my chores is HHH--that stands for hand wash, hand dry, and hand out the dishes and silverware. One reason I enjoyed this book was because when I was done with it Bruce Lee became a hero to me. Another reason I enjoyed the book was because I happen to be a very serious martial arts fan.

Among the several things I liked in the book are all the surprises. No, no, no, not like cake and brownies and presents. But things I didn't know that I found out, such as Bruce Lee's youth gang, the Tigers, a gang that lost a lot of fights. But Lee never admitted defeat. Bruce Lee's love life was the biggest surprise of all. I mean, who would expect his life to be like Romeo and Juliet? He was a dragon in love with girls. In Hong Kong girls adored him but in America it was harder to find girls. Lee, however, was determined. If a girl he liked passed him, he would take off his shirt and beat up one of his bigger students to impress her. I'm eleven years old and the mix of Bruce Lee's fighting and romance reminded me of things I like to hear about.

I would recommend The Importance of Bruce Lee to anyone interested in martial arts, Bruce Lee (that one is kind of obvious!), and the life of a movie actor. After reading this book, whenever I push myself to extremes like swimming fourteen laps and biking five miles every day, I think of Bruce Lee. I'm thankful to Andy Koopmans for writing this inspiring biography. I've read biographies before but nothing like this one. I enjoyed this book so much that I'm going to read whatever else I can find written by Andy Koopmans.

"The Legendary Bruce Lee" is a modern reprint of an excellent book that was originally published back in the 1970s, not too long after this martial artist legend's death. However, that item has been out of print for many years, so this is a great opportunity to get a newer version of it. The modern reprinting seems to include all of the original text and photos, so it would make a great addition to your Bruce Lee collection.

This book tells the story of Bruce Lee skillfully and it is really a 'must have' for Bruce Lee fans.

--Lonnie R. Gardner

Well, I got this book about three days ago, and it's pretty nice. It's very thick, and there is a lot of very good information in it. It covers a wide range of System.Web namespaces, and goes into some of the System.Data namespace, but it neglects something as important as the System.Web.Mail namespace. I guess it's hard to include everything in one book, but something are more important than others, and I think that the ability to send email is one of them.
Overall, I think I am really going to like this book, but I am going to be aware that there are some things left out of it.

If you are doing a writing project, trying to get ideas to write, or just in the mood to learn something about your favorite authors, then Author Talk is a book that you should read. It is very in-depth, and it provides an up close and personal look at the lives of many different writers. This is a great book that is worth looking at even briefly when you are passing through the biography or children's nonfiction section of your library.

Excellent two-part books on a behind-the-scene of Mr. Bruce Lee's directrial debut "The Way of the Dragon (aka Return of the Dragon)". An arthur claims that he is an avid Bruce Lee fan, and he surely proves it on this book. Part 1 covers from the development of the film and the location shooting in Italy. (I haven't read Part 2.) The book is filled with never-before-seen rare pictures of Mr. Lee during the production of the film. Great reading as well. One thing I am not happy about the book is 'printing'. Especially photographs. Majority of them are not treated with justice. The book contains some well-known photos of Mr. Lee, and even those familiar ones are badly printed. It's something to do with a quality of work done by its bookmaker, I imagine. Hopefully a revised version will be published via another bookmaker in the future because this book is too important for all Bruce Lee fans.

Does Bruce Lee live? - This is the question that came across Ivor Wishart's mind, an investigative reporter. Bruce Lee Lives? , written by Max Caufield, is a book about the investigation on heroin traffic and police corruption in Hong Kong by Ivor Wishart. He then finds himself investigating Bruce Lee's death or if, in fact, he was murdered by the CAS (Chinese Asian Syndicate). The CAS is equivalent to the mafia, only bigger, and has control of most of Hong Kong.
Wishart presents theories of how Bruce Lee may have been murdered, either with poison or acupuncture. He then makes a conclusion that Bruce may still be alive and working with the CAS. The book goes into deep detail of his investigations and the missions he performs to find the location of the hidden heroin production plants in Hong Kong and his search for Bruce Lee.
The book is well written. You will definitely enjoy it if you're a Bruce Lee fan. I recommend you to even buy it. It's all together a good read.

very interresting book for all Bruce Lee / Jeet Kune Do / Martial Arts students, i recommend "fighting words".