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This book is both a fantasy and romance.I loved reading about the 1940's. What an interesting time in American history! In this book we get to travel back in time with the main character and meet his true love. We go on a roller coaster ride with him on a quest that brings him romance,heartache and redemption. This book has a whimsical outlook on love,written with humour and wit. I highly recommend this read for those who want to escape to another time and find romance along the way.

I have heard that writing a novel is like being on roller skates. You go partly where you want to go and partly where the darn thing takes you. I agree with that. I've also heard that a lot of authors come to think of their books as their children. I agree with that also.
Writing this novel 'Will I Ever Know' and now well into the sequel 'Lost in the Spell, I can relate to both comments. You get an idea, run with it when all of a sudden the characters take over and begin to write things you never dreamed of. I tried to write a book that would appeal to a reader like me. I like suspense, a romance, some comedy,cliffhangers, something to keep me turning the pages. A combination of film-noir and screwball comedy. I think 'Will I Ever Know' has elements of both of these.
I've given 'Will I Ever Know' 5 stars in all humility. Well I had to give it something or this wouldn't get published. I'm proud of my child! I make no apologies.
The genesis of this project started in May of 2006. I heard Katherine McPhee sing 'Someone to Watch Over Me' on American Idol. It was stunning! One of my favorite old songs and she gave a terrific performance. My wife has built up a collection of classic songs by classic singers and wanting to compare Katherine with some of them, I asked my wife if she could dig some of them out for comparison listening. After hearing 5 or 6 of them Katherine was looking pretty good. Then I came to Frances Langford. Frances Langford? A singer? My only recollection of Frances was as a comedienne starring with Don Ameche in an early sit-com, 'The Bickersons' Frances was brilliant but Blanche Bickerson a singer? Well this would be good for a laugh at least. (Shows you how much I knew)I put the CD on and was totally blown away! This gal could really SING! I mean S I N G! I wound up listening to the entire CD. The songs I knew, the songs I didn't know all done to perfection. I had never heard anything like it. I did my research on Frances and discovered all about her wonderful singing career. Featured vocalist on Bob Hope's radio show. Guest star on numerous radio shows. Movie star with 30 movies to her credit, most in starring roles. Queen of thousands of GI's, touring endlessly with Bob Hope entertaining the troops. 6 other wonderful CD's filled with her glorious voice. What happened to her? Well the music scene changed in the 50's. Something called Rock N' Roll replaced Swing. Frances divorced hubby Jon Hall and married Ralph Evinrude, heir to the Evinrude outboard motor company. Frances unofficially retired in the mid 50's, moved back to her native Florida, opened up a very successful restaurant and lived a long happy life. She died in 2005 at age 92 with no regrets. She was by all accounts a very happy lady. I had come to love and revere this charming woman and was disappointed that she has become largely forgotten today. How can you forget that Voice? Or that indescribable beauty? I began collecting photo's from her heyday in the 40's, then expanded to photos from the 30's and early 50's. I bought all of her movies I could find, relying on Turner Classic Movies for the rest. Her movies in addition to the great music show her to be an adorable warm sincere actress that captures your heart every time. What could I do to get Frances the recognition and her rightful place in musical history? I thought about writing a biography but that would mean years of research with resources I didn't have. How about a novel? While watching her 1936 movie 'Palm Springs' and listening to her sing the song 'Will I Ever Know' the idea hit me. In that song she sings the words, "the moment that I see him I will know him, no matter how impossible it seems. I know just what he'll do, I know just what he'll say, we have met before in dreams." That stunning rendition and the dreamy far away look in her eyes made me think of time travel. Having Frances haunted by those words and dreaming of a man running to her but fading out before she sees his face. While in the present day a man discovers her singing that song and just knows she was singing about him...in 1936. This man, Chad Henson, longs to meet her but how? She'd be in her nineties and dead to boot. He gets a job with a crazy professor working on a time machine. The professor is reluctant to send Chad back in time for fear he might change something that would cause the Cosmos to go into Chaos. One day alone in the time machine room, Chad sends himelf back in time to 1945 where Frances is filming Chad's favorite movie, 'The Bamboo Blond' What happens I leave to you, dear reader, to find out!
I've labeled this a 'fantasy time-travel, romance novel. Although, upon further review, I find it's mainly a romance novel. The love that Frances and Chad have for each other is the type of love that I think even the most jaded of us long for. A love so powerful it is all consuming. A few find it. Most of us long for it. A love that nothing can conquer, not money problems, a carful of kids, success or failure with our jobs. A love that nothing can diminish.
Lets look at these characters. On the one hand you have Frances Langford. She was 32 years old in 1945. Incredibly beautiful, talented, extremely popular, married to a good guy, Hollywood Hunk, Jon Hall. What could she see in an average guy, 34 year old Chad Henson? A lifelong under achiever, toiling in a menial sales position and being let go when his store merges with another chain. Married after a series of bad relationdhips and divorced. The answer simply is I don't know...such is the power of love! As Frances says in the book "I looked deep in his eyes and I knew, I really knew!" Who can explain...Love?
Since you've read this far, why not take the next step and check out some of Frances CD's and movies available here on Amazon? A good place to start is the CD 'Sweetheart of Song' It has only 10 songs but it also boasts the best audio quality with all of the material taken from broadcasts to the GI's during WWII. It also features many of the songs that are in the book. The song 'Will I Ever Know' can be found on the CD 'Serenade' and is also in the movie 'Palm Springs' Then I hope you'll check out 'Will I Ever Know' the book and get caught up in this wonderful romance. At the end I hope you will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.
I wrote this in the hopes it might be of interest to anyone curious about 'Will I Ever Know' and Frances Langford and help you gain some insight into what it's all about.

Will I Ever Know is a well written delightful read. Chad Henson is a young man struggling with his daily life until he happens to hear a song by Frances Langford. He is convinced she is singing the song for him and soon becomes a man possessed. He wants more than anything to go back in time to meet this girl of his dreams. This whole idea seems impossible until he meets Professor Ernst von Schlaban and his time machine.

The description of the professor and his laboratory are magnificent. He can easily be pictured rushing around his untidy lab in his little white coat with hair standing on end. You are drawn into the story rooting for Chad as he sends himself back in time to the 1940's to meet Frances who happens to be haunted by the same song and looking for the man of her dreams. The lovers have very little time together because all the while poor Chad is getting bounced around from place to place as the mad professor tries to bring him back to present day.

Chad grows a lot in the story and manages to be resourceful enough to get by fairly well knowing he could be swept away any minute to a different time and place but hoping it is back to his original destination. You find yourself wondering which decade or century he will end up in next as the professor goes though his paperwork and turns the dials on the time machine.

As an added bonus you are taken behind the scenes and into the daily life of Frances Langford. Charles Henry does an excellent job of describing her rehearsals with Bob Hope and the parties she attends for celebrities as well as her personal life and friends. Everything moves along quickly and will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. I felt like I was right there in the story with everyone.

This book is filled with emotion as the characters laugh and cry and sometimes things go awry. The reader is left wondering if Chad will be able to find Frances again in the 1940's and stay with her or if this will turn the cosmos into chaos as the professor warns.

This is a must read. I am looking forward to the continuation of this story in the next book.

Charles Henry spins and weaves this story from the beginning and you are captured immediately. I have not read a book like this in a long time that requires me to complete the book as soon as possible. I really enjoyed this book!

His main charactor, Chad Henson, becomes so real to you that you want him to have his romance with the dead Francis Lanford and you want it to happen now. This is a story in time travel and I like how he combines the historical information with the current history. All of you movie star buffs will enjoy this also and I would make it a must read. I feel most certainly, that this will not be the last book that you will see from Mr. Henry.

I want to thank the author immensely for sending me this fabulous work that kept me engaged on a train ride from Baltimore to New York. The book had me so enthralled that I was at my destination before I realized I had left my starting point.

The story has some overtones of a Richard Mattheson novel (Somewhere in Time) as Chad Henson (his name is similar to the author's) becomes infatuated with a recently deceased movie star named Frances Langford. Frances' magical voice is what does the trick for Chad. Through means kind of out of Jerry Lewis type movie, Chad is able to travel to the past and meet Frances, first as an elderly woman and then her more younger self. Chad is convinced that Frances was always searching for her perfect mate when she sang Will I Ever Know and that Chad himself is that perfect mate.

The author goes on to perfectly capture the mood of the 1940's and its many Hollywood icons. Telling any more about the book would be a spoiler but I hope the Mr. Henry will let me know when the next installment of the story will be ready because I can't wait for it to come out!

A Woman's View, by Jeanne Basinger, was rightfully the most interesting history based book I have ever read. Although it can be lengthy at times, it touches on subjects in which I had barely any knowledge of, and shows how it was reflecting the time period of the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Seeing as though this was about women right after the women's rights movement in the 20's, this book shows how Hollywood used female movie stars to incorporate the countries opinions on them. With that, I thought the introduction chapter on the genre of these types of movies was absolutely spectacular. It really made me have so much respect for women during these time periods. They had such class and such morals, which, sad to say, is starting to slowly fade away, or can at least be argued that it is.
A few of the sections of this book that I thought was the most interesting, were the ones about twin women in movies and the fashion and glamour of women. Before reading this book, I never really thought into the idea that being a woman in Hollywood, and acting a certain role represented something as a whole. These actresses were not just playing the part of their assigned character; they were representing women as a whole. With their fashion, their speech, and their actions, I found it truly inspiring to know that they were stepping out of their comfort zone and taking risks with the roles that they chose to act out.
One chapter, entitled Duality, included how Hollywood used twins in their movies to represent one specific point in these movies. This chapter, being one of the more detailed ones, showed how twins portrayed particularly two things: the good and the bad. The good twin, usually dressed in fashionably acceptable clothes and appropriate styles, was usually criticized by her twin, which represented evil, or the bad. I thought it was very much a shock to me how many of the so called "bad" twins in these Hollywood movies were constantly pretending to be their twin to confuse their family, friends, or even their husbands! Many of them did this only to find some sort of revenge on their twin for whatever reason they could think of. In my mind, I would have never thought of this as being presented in movies during these time periods, but I also have to remember that this was also a time when women were really standing up for what they believed in and stepping out of the ordinary molds they had always been put into.
What was so fascinating about this book was how Basinger found a way to represent women in film in such a respectable way, and not so much trashy as some may have viewed it at the time. Women like Loretta Young, Kay Francis, and Greta Garbo are true heroines when it comes to paving the way for all future actresses, and also for open our countries eyes to the lives of women, and really shows that they were becoming less and less like housewives and more like the hardworking entrepreneurs that they really were and always will be.

This book articulates for me why I have always loved this genre of film. The author highlights the work of many fine actresses of the period whose work is overlooked in many film books. Although the ideas they espoused may be dated, the desire of women to see the concerns of their private lives played out on screen still exists. I believe that the next century may bring a resurgurce of this type of film.

This is one of the most enjoyable "film studies" I have ever come across, essentially about "soap opera" 'women's pictures' of the 1930's and 1940's but expanding into the 1920's and 1950's a bit and touching on other types of films and the great women stars from this time period. From Kay Francis (who is the cover girl and Basinger's main muse for this tome) to Rita Hayworth, this is a wonderful book for any one obssessed with films from the era, it's like finding a new best friend to talk about these classic films. Basinger writes informatively yet in plain academic-free language making the book a pleasuer to read - and she knows when to crack wise and when to be serious, no mean feat. It's a skill a lot of "movie historians" don't have.

If you love movies you must read Ms. Basinger's marvelous study of "women's pictures" which encompasses the stars that acted in them, the directors that guided them, the writers that gave them life and the studios that distributed them. Hollywood history, women's history, art history all rolled into one readable and thought provoking volume. This one is right up there with Louise Brooks by Barry Paris as one of the best books on film and those who created it.

Jeanine Basinger is to be congratulated for shedding light on a too-little studied aspect of Hollywood history. She puts the movies and the stars she discusses in the context of how movie-going women perceived them at the time. In doing so, she concentrates not on the "greatest" stars, but rather on secondary figures like Kay Francis, Ann Dvorak, and Loretta Young, women who had (sometimes surprisingly) immense popular appeal while they were making movies but whose careers either faded, made the transition to character rather than leading-lady status, or moved to television. She reminds us that the "woman's picture" was far more than the drama of suffering and renunciation (like "Now, Voyager", "Back Street", or "Autumn Leaves") we most commonly think of today. She broadens her definition to include virtually any film that either focused on a woman as its central character or concerned itself with traditionally "women's" concerns.

What she makes clear is that, despite the pronounced limitations of the world view of the woman's picture, it represented a varied and vigorous film culture in which (as she writes) "on the screen ... the woman will decide. She is important. She matters. She is the Center of the Universe."

"A Woman's View" is that rare thing -- a scholarly examination of mostly obscure figures and works that is at the same time an excellent and entertaining read.

Wow, i never even knew who Jean Gabin was, but this book was written in such clarity and liveliness that i am inspired and interested in learning more about him.

a wonderful delight for movie buffs!

Exhaustively researched, exceptionally informative, incredibly entertaining...

If one is even casually acquainted with the films of Jean Gabin (and if you haven't seen "La Grande Illusion," it should be at the top of your Netflix queue), this is a must-read.

This book is exhaustive and incredibly entertaining. It suggests to me that a course on Gabin would make an excellent addition to film school curriculum because of the depth, breath and sheer entertainment value of so much of his work. I really enjoyed this book. I valued Gabin as an actor in some of my favorite films before reading it but now I really understand him as a man. Good work, Mr. Zigman.

Jean Gabin: World's Coolest Movie Star written by Charles Zigman is one of those one-of-a-kind books that everyone should have to reference. Mr. Charles Zigman skillfully reviews, comments, digests and provides little known facts about this amazing French film star, his life and his movies. The writing is compelling, strong and rich. This fast paced book should grace every coffee table in America, Europe & Asia.

The Greatest Movie Star of all time... outside the English speaking world - "World's Coolest Movie Star: The Complete 95 Films(and Legend) of Jean Gabin" is a look at one of the best film actors the world has ever known which spanned nearly fifty years, and a war hero, husband, father, and farmer on top of all that. Covering his life and career in completion, author Charles Zigman introduces him to the English speaking world, where he holds quite the cult following, as best as he can, and leaves no detail to the reader's imagination. "World's Coolest Movie Star: The Complete 95 Films (and Legend) of Jean Gabin" is a must for any serious collection dedicated to film and cinema.

One thing I would like to clarify: Most of the films whose posters are in this book were done during the period where there was no X rating(which came in October 1968), but instead they were "adults only" films. Approximately 80% of the posters are of such films(many of which are considered lost or perhaps hidden in a basement or ???), usually companies like Something Weird video puts out these films.

There are some posters of XXX films in here(Deep Throat, Misty Beethoven, Debbie Does Dallas, a couple with John Holmes), but I would have liked to see more of those, hence my rating goes down a notch. I still recommend this book. (The most interesting poster to me was an "adults only" film with cowboy star Lash LaRue--I hope this film surfaces someday.)

Over 150 adult movie posters from the 60's and 70's are inside, all of them full page and almost every one in color too! Classic taboo fare like "Debbie Does Dallas" and "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" is represented alongside such forgotten wonders as "Lust Combo", "Room and Broad" and "Assignment: Female". Some posters feature photographic images while others have very nice art work that would appeal to fans of pulp paperback or magazine covers. Almost every one has a fantastic blurb designed to titillate and seduce the movie-goer into buying a ticket. As you gaze in wild wonder at each provocative image you come to realize that the posters are far more interesting than the movie could ever be! Many say things like, "A Film So Incredible You Must See It To Believe It!" I can't think of a more fitting description for this marvelous book! I wait patiently for Volume 2!

This book is to adult movie posters as Art of Rock is to music posters. The posters themselves are great, and the book is in itself a great reference guide to exploitation films of the era. These posters are not obscene by any means, and so even if you are not interested in adult films you may enjoy the posters based solely on their artistic originality and merit. They surely bespeak a more creative and exciting time in world culture. I advise listening to some good lounge music and sipping an ice-cold martini as you flip through this first-rate book. Truly, this will be a collector's item.

But I must add that I share a frustration with the other reviewers: Where is Volume II???? Once that is released and I have it on my shelf, I would like to extend my congratulations to the producers of this work: you did it right and created a valuable documentation of this aspect of 20th century social history, an interesting aspect indeed.

This book is fantastic. Nourmand and Marsh rock for compiling all these great old posters for this book. The book says it is Volume One -- is there a Volume Two yet?

Over 150 pornographic movie posters from the 60's and 70's are inside, all of them full page and almost every one in color too! Classic taboo fare like "Debbie Does Dallas" and "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" is represented alongside such forgotten wonders as "Lust Combo", "Room and Broad" and "Assignment: Female". Some posters feature nude or semi-nude photographic images while others have very nice art work that would appeal to fans of pulp paperback or magazine covers. Almost every one has a fantastic blurb designed to titillate and seduce the movie-goer into buying a ticket. As you gaze in wild wonder at each provocative image you come to realize that the posters are far more interesting than the movie could ever be! Many say things like, "A Film So Incredible You Must See It To Believe It!" I can't think of a more fitting description for this marvelous book! I wait patiently for Volume 2!

a great book with nice pictures and stories. i'm afraid the script printed didn't match what the actors' were saying. however, i still enjoyed the movie. this classic will live on forever. laugh & enjoy. ****

For years.The fans of Abbott & Costello wanted to find out how their most famous film parody of horror movies"Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein!"came about.A few books have come to light in recent years:"Movie Comedy Teams"by Leonard Maltin,"The Abbott & Costello Book"By Jim Mullholland and:"Abbott & Costello In Hollywood!"by Ron Palumbo & Bob Furnemack.Now..As a companion to These three manuscripts is the paperback edition of the film's script.Film historian Phil Riley has found an early draft of the script that shows us all scenes and dialogue that never appeared in the final release print:"Oh Oh! And Up Pops The Devil","You're not going to leave me with all of this work"."You're not suppose to throw away all of that fat wasite".etc in terms of the film's dialogue.There is one scene that was never used in the film and sadly.It prohibieted Poor Lou from using his improvational skills as a true movie clown.The scene has "Dracula"(Bela Lugosi)using his hyponotic powers to lure poor"Wilber Brown"(Costello)back into the castle for the brain transplaint.Lou keeps trying to run away.But the power of the evil vampire's spell is so strong that he is constantly being pulled back into the castle via the cave entrance.He finds a rock and sits there."Dracula"(Bela) by now is getting madder than hell! And he says to "Wilber"(Lou)"I Said Come Back!"."Wilber Brown"sits on the rock and says"'No! I'm sitting right here and I'm not going back!".Until both Lou and the rock are zipped back into the cave and into the evil clutches of "Dracula"(Bele Lugosi) and "Dr.Sandra Morney"(Lenore Aubert).The book also shows some photos from the film and some wonderful behind the scenes candid pictures from the cast members,the film's director(Charlie Barton),The film's producer(Bob Arthur)and Dialogue Director(Norman Abbott..Bud's newphew)and the members of the Abbott & Costello families.There are also some thoughts about the making of the film from the team's family members and the true story of how this classic parody was conceived and filmed by the book's author:Mr.Riley.For fans of horror movies and for fans of classic comedy movies.This is one book to have in your collection.Bravo Phil! Kevin S.Butler.

This is a great treasure for Abbott and Costello fans as well as Chaney, Lugosi, or Universal fans. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book. The script is still titled "The Brain of Frankenstein" and includes deleted scenes which further add to the story. As someone who has seen the film many times the added info gives new insights as to the characters performances.

Classic horror film stars meet legendery comic duo make for great film and great book. behind the scenes info with rare photographs and insight into the relationships with all protagonist's. Also critic's reviews and posters and billboards from the orginal time of film's release.

Another great book added to my collection.When I was reading this book,i kept thinking back to when I was watching the episodes and I laughed a lot.It all made a little bit more sense to me,(Im not all that good when it comes to understanding everything that they say)This book is a MUST HAVE for any AbFab fan!

Having seen most of the episodes that are in script form in the book, it was really hilarious to read them and think back on the episode. Five+stars for this one!!!!!!!!

Jennifer Saunders is one of the world's greatest comedy writers. If you are serious about comedy then you need to see Jennifer's show, "Absolutely Fabulous" on Comedy Central Cable TV. Airs on Saturday afternoon 4p.m. (Pacific time). This comedy was so succesful the American Networks rejected it for being "too funny!" Go figure. In any case, if you want to learn some great comedy buy this book, and watch the TV shows. You can also purchase Jennifer's movie, "The Last Shout" and her TV episodes. Jennifer Saunders is top notch professional comedy to the utmost. James Russell/California.

Buy this book-PLEASE! Do everything you can to get your little hands on it. You will not regret your purchase. J. Saunders is a comedic genius. She writes with the talent and craft that all comedians-turned-tv stars in the US dream they could posess. No comedian--not Jerry Seinfeld, Rosanne Barr, Jim Carrey--can write anything remotely as entertaining, funny, and completely fresh as Saunders. Not even Friends is this funny--and I enjoy that show.

No American sitcom can touch the level of orginality, spunk, finese, and energy of this British television show. In fact, 90% of the things done and said on this show are not permitted on American television (save the cable channel Comedy Central) because the show would be so funny (in comparison to all other US sitcoms) that it would expose the Grand Canyon-esque gap between it's sublime quality and the bloody mess that is American sitcoms.

(If you do not believe me, that US shows have become, well, redundant bird droppings, just watch any show starring a one-time-stand up-comic and see if they don't do the "I killed/lost your pet and bought a new one that looks exactly the same to fool you" number). Pure, uninspiring wishy-washy tv. I'm 24 and I swear that I have been watching the same show over and over again, no matter who they get to star in it or try hide this fact under a new series name. Sounds like you? Enter . . . Abosultely Fabulous.

Absolutely Fabulous 2 is truly beyond hilarious. My gosh! I do not know how J. Saunders and J. Lumley are able to transform mere words on a page to the masterfully acted characters of Edina and Pasty that they inhabit on screen.

I will never grow tired of reading or watching these episodes. Although this collection lacks the episode "France" which is also another favorite, the book features the scripts for the best ABFAB episodes ever. I am talking "Poor" "Morocco" and "Hospital"--they are the series finest and showcase Eddie and Pats at their best.

Buy and read this book while watching the corresponding episodes to see what I am talking about. You will not be disappointed unless you were expecting God to appear--oh, wait, that happens, (in Absolutely Fabulous the Last Shout which is absolutely required watching). Bye, Sweetie Darlings.

My daughters (2 and 4) love the Backyardigans and this book is a great addition to the set and for any Backyardigan fan!

Pablo's Agent Secret is a very popular character in our house. If you liked Super Secret Super Spy, you'll like this book. It's good for helping younger kids learn to read since they already know and like the story.

Book is fun and there are many different voices you can use...evil Lady in Pink, Agent Secret is more of a James Bond in our house, evil dimwitted henchman, a computer, and Austin has many different voices since he is in disguise most of the time. We have a good time reading it and doing evil laughs. My daughter has now been talking like a robot though, but very cute.

my children just love anything backyardigans and this story we have been reading at night before bedtime and they love it

Frank Thompson does an excellent job of depicting the sadness yet triumph of the real battle in San Antonio in this book. This is an excellent novel which ties in adventure, action, war, comedy, and romance into one great book. Great portrayals of Davy Crocket, Jim Bowie, and William Travis. They truly were heroes. Sam Houston is also good, deciding whether to accept his destiny as a general, or to stay with his wife Talihina and the Cherokee Indians. This is a great read, and I highly recommend it.

Featuring more than 125 full color photographs, Frank Thompson's The Alamo: The Illustrated Story Of The Epic Film is an amazing tour of "The Alamo", from director John Lee Hancock, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, and more. "The Alamo" was the first theatric film about the brutal battle in over 40 years; The Alamo: The Illustrated Story Of The Epic Film includes a point-by-point summary of historical events, an extensive tour of casting, costuming, historical recreations and set design, the full movie script, and more. A treasure for cinema buffs especially, and the perfect companion volume to anyone who enjoys and appreciates the power "The Alamo"movie has had in bringing history to life.

The Alamo: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film is a must have for fans of the Alamo. The book includes over 120 pictures from the movie, including the making of and production stills. As well, the full script is included in the book so readers can see what was cut from the final version of the movie. It is interesting to see all the things that director John Lee Hancock had to cut from the originally intended version. The book documents the making of the huge movie, background on cast and characters, and even some Alamo history on society and in the movies. If you enjoyed the movie, I highly recommend this book. Check out Frank Thompson's The Alamo: The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film!

Author Frank Thompson reveals hundreds and hundreds of details of the making of the most current version of 'The Alamo', which is surely to be the most historically accurate film on the subject.

From the beginning of director John Lee Hancock's interest in the Alamo in his childhood, through his early meetings with producer Ron Howard (originally slated to direct), to the hiring of two major historians and the building of the detailed and awe inspiring set, right into the extra-filled battle scenes complete with authentic weaponry and perfect period wardrobe, Thompson escorts the reader on an amazing visit to the set of what is certain to be 'the movie masterpiece of 2004'. Reading this book will educate you about the making of this weaponry, the selection of the cast, the decisions on the locales, the building of the sets, and every other intricate facet of film making at its best.

Get the inside scoop on the unusual 'naming' of extras, the selection of composer Carter Burwell (Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou), and what part Matte World Digital and CG plays in crafting 'The Alamo'. You will truly feel as if you are physically on the set hearing the actors recite their lines when you read the entire screenplay, which is contained in this book. Discover why the cast, including stars, bit players, and extras were totally personally dedicated to the making of this masterful film.

All this interesting inside information is accompanied by: 100+ beautiful color photos (many of which are full page) of the actors, the scenery and all that will make this film a beautiful visual experience, as well as historical details and time charts of the actual event that culminated with the cry of 'Remember the Alamo'.

You will 'remember' reading about the making of 'The Alamo' while you watch it unfold on the screen. This beautiful book will entertain and enlighten you and your enjoyment can only extend your pleasure when actually seeing the film for yourself.

A quote early in the book from actor Billy Bob Thornton begins: "When I first got here and I walked on the set, I got a chill up my back bone like I can't describe....and every time we walked through the gate...we were in 'The Alamo'...". Every time you open the pages of 'The Illustrated Story of the Epic Film The Alamo', you will be on that same set as if by magic.

Thompson has done an extraordinary job in capturing the making of what is destined to be a classic epic film. If you are not already dying to see this film, you will certainly change your mind after reading the book. If you ARE already hyped-to-the-max to view 'The Alamo', this will just increase your anticipation to nearly the I-can't-stand-the-wait level.

This calendar is awesome !! There are 12 pages with Alias stars and it is perfect for the walls. If you love ALIAS you should get this ASAP..

This calender has GREAT pics from season 4! If you are truely an Alias fan you should deff have this hanging on your wall. I love the pictures and its so exciting to see who it will be for each month =)

I am not going to go into explicit detail on so simplistic an item.

The actual day-to-day calendar aspect of this product is typical for wall-mounted calendars. The pictures this time are a little fresher, and there are more of them, which is a good thing. Nearly every shot is a promo shot from Season 4 (of course) and while I could wish for some perhaps more original stances and poses, if you're an Alias fan, it's always nice to see one of your favorite cast members when you need to check the date or your plans for the month. A smallish version of the photos is up on this site, so you can tell what you're getting before you buy.

Only fans would get a kick out of this, but if you're a fan, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

What is great about the "Alias: 2006 Wall Calendar" is that it really is an "Alias" calendar and not a Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow calendar. After the month of January, which features a head shot of Garner as Sydney as the main photograph, with three candid shots of Sydney in disguise and one of her with Michael Vaughn, the star of the show never gets another photograph as big in the rest of the entire calendar. Yes, there are more pictures of Jennifer Garner than anybody else in the calendar, but the rest of the cast members in the ensemble each get their own pages (as a point of contrast and comparison, "The Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2006 Wall Calendar" has five pages for Buffy and only three other cast members get a month to call their own).

To name names the others getting the one big and four small shots are Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane, Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn, Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon, Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman, Greg Grunberg as Eric Weiss, Mia Maestro as Nadia Santos, and Victor Garber as Jack Bristow. If there are interesting shots of any of the characters undercover (e.g., Marcus Dixon doing his island guy routine) those are usually included in the candid shots. But I also want to note that for most of these shots the actors certainly look like they are in character, which is a nice touch. As a result, this is one of the better calendars for a television show that is out there this holiday season.

The calendar part of the calendar gives you the phases of the moon and national holidays. If you actually want to write things down on the calendar to remember appointments, birthdays and the date of the final episode of "Alias." The show will end in 2006 but the calendars should continue for a while as a retrospective for the show. That is already true for the 2006 version given that Vaughn is dead, Nadia is in a coma, and Weiss has a new day job (not that death, lack of consciousness or new employment has prohibited any of the characters from appearing in episodes this last season). But when ABC started playing around which where "Alias" was in the schedule I figured it was going to be the end of the road for the series.

Foley, Jack, editor. "All: A James Broughton Reader". Lethe Press, 2008,

"Long Live Gaiety for all the Laity"

Amos Lassen

James Broughton was quite a man yet to many he is basically an enigma. He was on top of the list in poetry and cinema and those that were familiar with his work adored both it and him. Now we have James Foley who has collected and edited the "best of Broughton" and we are able to look at his genius.
Broughton was a complex man and very talented. He reads like his nickname "Big Joy" and this wonderful anthology of Broughton's work gives you a look at the mind of a man who never achieved the status he deserved, His place in the canon of GLBT literature is secured by "All" and it will probably have you looking for more Broughton to read.
Broughton strongly believed in the power of laughter. His poetry abounds with whimsy and humor and it is evident that he never took himself seriously. He was innovative and never afraid to try a new idea.
The book is a great introduction to James Broughton and I feel the work of Jack Foley is perfection. Not many can laugh ay both themselves and G-d and Foley has found the best of Broughton doing both.
Aside from Broughton's writings which include his poetry, his journals, pieces about his films there is an interview with the man himself which is loaded with insight and am introduction by the editor which frames the selections. There is also an appendix entitled "Reflections: James Broughton's Films and the Art of Poetry" which is absolutely amazing.

Jack Foley has done a masterful job of collecting the very best of James Broughton's poems, plays, and prose and made them again accessible to a public in need of Big Joy.

While I was not very familiar with James Broughton's work, I had heard how much people liked him as both a poet and filmmaker. Poetry is not my first choice of reading but I can be induced to try out anything unfamiliar to me as it was with this book. The book was very engaging and let the reader immerse themselves in the author's personality. Broughton comes across at times, a happy and care free person and then there are times you can sense a bit of unhappiness or depression. All in all the reader gets a chance to see all facets of the author as a person and a great poet/filmmaker. The book somewhat serves as a primer on some of the collected works of James Broughton. It does this job admirably and I was intrigued to keep reading all the way to the end in one sitting. I highly recommend this book. The book can also serve as a literary work that needs to be added as a permanent fixture into the annals of gay literature for the GLBT community to have as a piece of their own history. Bravo to Jack Foley for putting this book together.

With the release of this important book on filmmaker and poet James Broughton we are handed a unique experience, for it is "the very first book to allow the various aspects of Broughton's complex personality to 'sing' to one another." Broughton, or "Big Joy," was so vastly talented and led such an extraordinarily interesting life, that one comes away from this gorgeous and excellently structured book wondering how we did without it. Foley knew Broughton personally; perhaps this is one of the reasons he brought the book to perfection. If you are familiar with James Broughton's work, you already know you must have this book. If you have not experienced Broughton's poetry, film or journals, treat yourself -- you're in for "Big Joy."