Entertainment Books

Like so many other deceased musicians, there are way too many "insider" books about the person. This is the only authorized book by the Bob Marley Foundation and it is a superb picture book. Filled with an abundance of color and black and white photographs this book brings the man to life. The pictures are rare as some are private family photos that are being released for the first time. This is a book that you want nearby so you can look at the photos periodically and remember the man as you listen to his music. The introduction by his wife Rita Marley is heartfelt and lays the foundation for intimate views of Bob Marley. His passions, his friends, his children, and even his music is here for all fans of Bob Marley. One of the cool features of this book is the format and how the narrative is given using some of the titles of his albums as a backdrop. Just a great book about a great man who passed this world much too quickly but left his mark for all to listen to the whisperings of a mystic. "Bob will come again. Like Christ he shall come in a new name"-Rita Marley.

Songs of Freedom truely gave me as a Bob Marley fan a better look at the life of a legend. Next to Bob's biography, Catch a Fire, this is the best acount of Bob Marley I have read. Songs of Freedom is filled with unseen photgraphs and quotes from Bob's loved ones, friends, and colleagues. An excellent story that has touched me deeply. I give this book a strong recomendation to life long Marley fans and those who have yet to discover the mystery, inspiration, and spirituality in this mans life.

A must for any Bob collection. I found a few new facts, but overall much of the same info elewhere. Get "Catch a Fire" for the story and "Songs of Freedom" for the pictures. It's proudly displayed in my office with the rest of my Bob, Reggae, and Jamaican souvenirs.

I loved this book. The pictures were very nice to look at. This book tends to focus more on Bob's music career then his personal life though. But otherwise this is a great book for all you Marley fans.

Being a huge roots & dancehall fan of almost 7 yrs, this book is essential for any reggae collector of Bob Marley. I first enjoyed the intro by Rita Marley and the rest of the book is great. I must say that it is well-worth the money

One love, Jah Schreiber

If you like Cary Grant, you'll love this book. The photos are among the best I've seen. Jenny does a great job of summarizing Cary's life, sticking to the facts and leaving out the controversial rumors . I find my self constantly picking up this book just to gaze at the photos. This book will look great on any coffee table.

This is a must own book! It is so full of photos of Cary Grant and details so much of his life. I would call this a picture book, and promise you won't be disappointed! I had the privelege of meeting the author and having her sign my copy. She is a fellow eMail Warbride, is funny, witty, and a wonderful person. She has written several other books that are well worth owning as well. Do youself a favor, buy this book today! ...

Jenny does an excellent job showing off the magnificent CG. This is a must for all interested in Cary and his films. There are beautiful publicity shots and movie stills. Great Job Jenny!

P.S. Hey Brian Thanks!!!!!!

I received this book as a gift. It serves as an excellent guide to one of the most graceful and wonderful men of Hollywood. The pictures are beautifully arranged and capture the essence of who Mr. Grant was. Even the youngest Cary Grant fan will want to own this book.

Indeed, this book is one meant to be displayed. I was immediately struck by the slick, high-quality paper used to enhance the many, many photos of the dashing Cary Grant. Ms. Curtis leads us through Grant's life with comprehensive, yet concise captions beneath each photo. The dignity and charm in her writing reflect the beloved characteristics that personified Cary Grant.

I really enjoyed this book, and I think it's definitely worth considering if you're interested in how stories can be told in video games. I've bought plenty of books about video game design and storytelling. (I'm a programmer who's been making video games professionally for about 10 years -- I wish more people would include their personalbackground in their book reviews...) Some books on game design are written by people who obviously have more "static media" backgrounds like books or movies, and don't understand the fundamental problem of making a story in a situation where the audience has freedom to do what they want. Another problem that a lot of people don't understand is that people playing a video game don't necessarily WANT a story, in the sense that they are playing a video game because of the interactivity, and not to watch a 10 minute cutscene to learn some back story. If they wanted to watch a movie they'd pop in a DVD.

I think the author really understands these difficulties. You want to make an emmersive worl, but you need to do it very quickly. So he talks about dialog, and how to convey as much information as possible in as few words as possible. He talks about how to get the player to sympathize with a chaacter, from the situation that characetr is in, to the design of the character art, to the words that the character says. All of the information is very practical, not like some books that leave you with a bunch of high-level nonsense that doesn't work in a real game. I really appreciated that he wasn't one of these "video games are mindless because they don't tell a story" type of guys. Or acting as if video games need to learn how to tell a story in order to "grow up" like movies or TV have. In a straight up action game or fighter, you don't need as much of a story as you do in a more adventure game. Playing a video game is a just a different experience, and the story has a different role, it's NOT the holy grail like some people think. Rather than trying to tell you how to convert video games into novels, he describe ways that you can inject story without taking away from the inetraction. I think he makes a good case that in almost any game, you can introduce just a bit of characetr depth and relationships, without stopping for a ten minute cutscene, and it adds value to the game.

This author's background was originally in TV, but he also has considerable experience in video games. I felt like he has a good background to be writing the book, and was speaking from experience.

The only negative comment about the book is that I found several of the chapters to be very similar. Like you'd be reading a chapter, and you'd think, "Hey, didn't I just read this exact same thing a few chapters ago?" Actually, you didn't, this chapter is covering a very slightly different topic. In other words, I think he could have consolidated a few chapters, which would have saved me some time. I suppose this makes it easier to jump around, since you don't rely on information from previous chapters. But I found it a little repetitive.

All in all, a really good book for anybody interested in video game design or storytelling in general.

Cons: The book seemed slightly long for what it was, kept reusing the same semi-obscure examples from the writer's experience, and didn't always go in the directions I wanted it to go (for example more detail on world building, settings, or individual story scenes would have been appreciated).

Pros: It didn't matter that it didn't go where I wanted it because it was still very entertaining and unexpectedly beneficial to follow the writer on his path. The book is solid from start to finish and doesn't have a false air of superiority about it; everything is very practical and friendly. Definitely a good read that rewards the effort.

I've known Lee Sheldon for several years. He is one of the most pleasant and knowledgeable people I've met in the game industry, so I was very much looking forward to this book. Suffice it to say that I wasn't disappointed.

Writing for games has a lot in common with writing for other media (e.g., character and theme) and a lot that is unique to itself. Lee does an excellent job of covering both aspects - so much so that I would recommend this book to writers with absolutely no interest in interactive media. (I've read my share of writing books over the years, and this one stands at the top of the heap.)

Of particular interest to me were chapters 3-6 on character and chapter 14 on modular storytelling, the most elegant way I've seen of organizing a linear experience into a non-linear structure. The book also does an excellent job of discussing storytelling in massively multiplayer games and provides extensive background material, much of which is intended to set up and justify Lee's modular storytelling model - rather more background than necessary, actually, since you should be sold on the need for something like modular storytelling long before he gets around to explaining it.

The book's does have a few faults. For example, a couple of the later chapters feel out of place, and the text is dusted with a handful of puzzling and sometimes repeated typos (Eowen? Kalishnakov?) But these are of little consequence and should not detract from your enjoyment.

Highly recommended.

This book is excellent. Sheldon is witty and insightful and his book is a joy to read. I can't really think of anything negative to say, although I should perhaps mention that this book is pretty focused on RPGs and adventure games, since these are the genres which have traditionally relied most on story. Anyone interested in developing their understanding of storytelling in games should definitely pick this book up.

I am working on forming a game development studio, and our team is in the middle of producing our flagship title, an RPG entitled "Revolution's Dawn." I am the main writer of the script, and I just recently finished reading this book. Where I thought my duties as a writer were finished, I now see new openings to provide dialogue and sidequests to fill in the backstory, plot gaps, and other means of enrichment that I didn't see before. Because of having read this book, my team and I can now take this game and bring it into the realm of what we intended it to be-a vehicle for telling a story.

While the title of the book is "Character Development and Storytelling for Games," the book really focuses more heavily on the latter. I was expecting the former, but by no means am I complaining! I have been able to break through blocks in my own role as a writer for this project.

If you are looking for the "right" way to write your story, you won't find it here. What this book does instead is to open doors, and then let you decide whether to walk through them or not. And even then, you still have to choose for yourself what to do once you've walked through them. If you are looking for new openings in crafting your game _and_ writing your story(and synthesizing them both together), this is the book for you.

Britt Lamond played in the first episodes of Disney's Zorro. He was Capitan Monastario. The book wonderfully chronicles those first 13 episodes. Mr. Lamond makes a fantastic presentation of what went on behind the scenes. I have always thought the sword fights were the best I'd ever seen and after reading the book I realize why. Guy and Britt were well trained in sword fighting before Zorro ever came along. If you love Guy Williams as Zorro you will love this book. Thank you "Capitan Monastario"!

Britt Lomond has treated us to a rare, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most beloved TV series of all time (and still playing throughout the world today). "Chasing After Zorro" is a first-hand account of his experiences on-and-off the set, as well as the circumstances leading up the series' inception. It is written with the kind of insight, humor and love that only one of the actors who helped kick-off the series could offer. It is an endearing glimpse into a different (and long-gone) time in Hollywood and Disney.

With his long career in front and behind the camera - Mr. Lomond worked in production for years after acting - he presents a well-rounded view of the workings and politics that existed during those first 13 epissodes. He also sheds light on the friendships he had with the other people involved in the series, from Guy, Henry and Gene to the writers and directors, and even to Walt Disney himself. From the very first page with his dedication to his family, you know that you are in for a genuine and touching journey into the heart of those first Zorro episodes.

I highly recommend this one-of-a-kind book for any Zorro fans out there.

For those of us who remember the Zorro television series (the Walt Disney one, which is the only one for true Zorro fans), this book is a treasure. Britt Lomond gives us an interesting and informative tour of the first 13 episodes of the Zorro TV show, the ones in which he played the villian, Capitan Monastario. As many others have noted, he set the standard for villians in the series, and even though the succeeding bad guys (and gals) were exceptionally villianous in their own right, Capitan Monastario, as defined and played by Mr. Lomond, was never equaled and certainly never beaten.

The behind-the-scenes stories Mr. Lomond tells are fascinating, and he has uniformly kind words to say of his co-actors and the production personnel who did such a wonderful job of making the show so successful that it is still popular almost 50 years later.

That success was made possible by the contributions of artists like Mr. Lomond. He details each of the 13 episodes in which he appeared in the 13 chapters of his book, a fine way to present his material. In particular, he often notes the changes he himself made in the script. He would memorize the script, but then, where he thought his character would have said something different or would have said the same thing but in a different way, he would make the changes during the filming. Almost always, his changes were approved by the director. What this illustrates more than anything else is Mr. Lomond's professionalism. What he was doing was his very best to present his character as he thought the character actually was, or would have been had he been a real person. He was not satisfied with merely speaking his lines as written in the script; rather, he brought to the role an experience as an actor that was unique. Mr. Lomond even imagined the life of his character prior to the time depicted in the programs, in order to best know how his character would be motivated in various situations, and thus know how his character would act, react, and speak. By doing so, he depicted the personality of his character consistently in the best way.

Thus, he would study the script in the context of his own idea of what kind of man his character was, and he made changes which did not aggrandize his own role, but made the programs better because of his insistence on his character's acting and speaking the way he should. That kind of professionalism is, I think, rare in any line of work, including acting.

Mr. Lomond has nothing but praise for the others who worked so hard on the series, including unstinting praise for Guy Williams, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, Than Wyenn, Tony Russo, and the other actors. The humorous stories he tells, such as tricks the actors played on one another, are fabulous, and he tells one story of a trip on the ocean in Guy Williams's sailboat that turned into a disaster and could very nearly have killed all on the boat. He has particular praise for Walt Disney himself as well as the directors, the production designer and art decorator, and others who made the programs look so good.

Mr. Lomond is a multi-talented artist, having acted in many stage, movie, and television roles, and also having worked in many different jobs behind the cameras. Look him up on [...] and you will see just how many different jobs he has done. Thus, he knows the filmaker's craft inside and out, and that makes his comments on the actors and production staff on the Zorro TV series that much more meaningful. He knows whereof he speaks, and he has done many of the jobs of the people about whom he writes in this book.

The substance of Mr. Lomond's writing is entertaining and full of information. The only criticism I have of the book is that he was not well served by the editors and proofreaders of his book; there are a great many typographical and other errors, not the fault of the author. The book is nonetheless deserving of 5 stars because of Mr. Lomond's writing.

If you are a Disney Zorro television series fan, this book is a must for you. If you are not, buy it and read it anyway; it will give you insights into the making of television programs that you would never know otherwise; and it will make you a Zorro fan if you are not one already.

What a pleasure it was to read this book. I enjoyed it immensely. Mr. Lomond had the right touch in writing about his experiences on the Zorro set. I especially enjoyed all the behind the camera material. It is very poignant to have read this book, shortly before Mr. Lomand died.

Britt Lomond gives us a lovely glimpse into the world of the Zorro phenomenon as it played out via Disney's magic in the late 1950's and early 60's. He treats us to a behind the scenes look at how the duels between Monastario and Zorro were choreographed... and how he still bears the Mark of Zorro to this very day from the sword tip of Guy Williams. Also revealed, perhaps inadvertently, is the wonderful nature of this man... who with gentlemanly grace accepted the role of Monastario rather than the coveted role of El Zorro... all for the good of the show and not his own ego. A recommended read...

This was a huge help to me to get through some tough levels that I was really stuck on. It is not so much a "cheat" as a walkthrough of what is going to happen. I only gave the book four stars because I thought it could have gone over actual in game controls more thoroughly.

This is a really good book i don't think that i cold have beaten the game without this book it tells u all about the units and what to do in each of the missions

It includes instructions on how to beat the individual missions, tips for playing the AI, differences between Nod and GDI. A great book for a great game! A definite buy!

This book helped me beat Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun. It helped because I was stuck on the last GDI mission and the sixth Nod mission. The book helped me beat these missions so that I can go on.

This book helped me beat Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun. It helped because I was stuck on the last GDI mission and the sixth Nod mission. The book helped me beat these missions so that I can go on.

The best book about David Bowie, in a non-bio way.
The meat of the book are its song by song chapter, and album by album chapter.
The song by song covers every Bowie song, taking about its form and whats its about.
The album by album chapter covers each album in great detail.
The book also has chapters about Bowie's art, acting, videos, ect. In all it has nearly everything you'll need to know about David Bowie's career.

If you are a Bowie fan, this is must reading. Pegg is extremely accurate, and his accounts of the songs Bowie has written and the stories about how the songs were recorded are fascinating. He does a great job tying Bowie's lyrics and music to places and times in Bowie's life, creating a full picture of all that was happening. The accounts of Bowie's tours and albums are accurate and excellent reading, very concise without being wordy or over the top. To get the complete picture of Bowie the entertainer buy this book. I have been a huge fan of Bowie since 1984 and this is the best book ever done on him.

The Complete David Bowie is definitely the best account of David's work, presenting in the first part of the book each and every song he has ever written or sung and continues with his albums, singles, movies and live appearances.

Don't get me wrong, Nicolas Pegg has done a great and painstaking job and the book is a great source if you're going to write a thesis on Bowie(!), but I wouldn't call it fun reading, mostly because of its structure, which is similar to that of a dictionary or encyclopedia! However, there are many interesting facts and quotes that will draw your attention, and you get to hear the explanation of many of his songs from David! -e.g. I didn't know what the theme of Heathen (The Rays) was and why it brought tears to his eyes in one of his concerts...

I think it's a very good and detailed piece of work, as long as you know what you're getting!

As a collector of Bowie's music, I found this book invaluable. It filled in some gaps in my understanding of the great ones music and cleverly clarifies the evolution process from one Bowie phase to the next.
The book makes reference to many rare and unreleased songs which is vital to a serious collector.
It is written plainly and factually with no hint of worship.
If you are only concerned with Bowie's music then this is the book for you. Essential.

The Complete David Bowie is definitely the best account of David�s work, presenting in the first part of the book each and every song he has ever written or sung and continuing with his albums, singles, movies and live appearances.

Don�t get me wrong, Nicolas Pegg has done a great and painstaking job and the book is a great source if you�re going to write a thesis on Bowie(!), but I wouldn�t call it fun reading, mostly because of its structure, which is similar to that of a dictionary or encyclopedia! However, there are many interesting facts and quotes that will draw your attention, and you get to hear the explanation of many of his songs from David! �e.g. I didn�t know what the theme of Heathen (The Rays) was and why it brought tears to his eyes in one of his concerts�

I think it�s a very good and detailed piece of work, as long as you know what you�re getting!

Have recently purchased this book. Started skimming through it and couldn't put it down. There was a party for every occasion and it was all planned out for you. The tips were fantastic. I plan on buying more for gifts. This book will make a great Christmas gift and will definitely be on my shopping list in December. I hope they do another book. It was so easy to follow and I know I will have no disasters at another party.

This book has everything you can think of when it comes to party planning! I got some really cute theme ideas and I love the 'Chips and Tips' throughout the book! Great Resource for anyone! This would be a great gift!

I was very impressed with the numerous party themes and quantity of ideas for each theme. This is planning made easy and I recommend this book to all hosts and hostess -- whether this is your first party or you have been throwing parties for years, this book is perfect for different ideas, more ideas to enhance been-around themes with easy to follow directions, everything to make a party memorable! Great resource for any organization (church, Scouts, philanthropic, etc.) planning social and fundraising events. I have been a professional party planner (family and corporate) for years and love this book! I recommend it highly as one of the best on the market and I personally give these books as gifts.

This book will make you get off your couch and want to party. With the clever ideas, tips on every topic you would not even amagine, and most of all the expert advice for all sorts of celebrations. All the work is done for you all you have to do is pick and choose. Great job to you both for a wonderful book... Dawn Hogan, celebration expert, speaker, author of party planning guides.

Why did it take these guidebook people so long to discover a need for this book? Cambria and Sachs have done a superior job of streamlining the stresses of party giving so that the hostess has a chance of having just as much fun as her guests. Thanks, guys!

I am 47.
I started to see Allen's movies a long time ago.
Every year, 90 minutes with an unknown friend,
sometimes fun, sometimes tragic, always entertaining.
Every important moment of my life could be associated with a Woody's film.
Every sentimental feeling, as well.
I have the habit to discuss a movie, after having seen it, usually in a "Pizzeria" with my friends.
I want to reassure Mister Allen that this habit is alive.
The book shares with us his professional story along the years, from the sixties right now.
It's a fantastic way to live all the emotions from the opposite point of view,
and it is a real pleasure.
I share also more of Mister Allen's reflections about life and death, and i was very
disappointed when his italian voice (Oreste Lionello), in a recent TV interview on an italian network,
used Mister Allen face to express ideas completely different from the author.
Explicitly, but anycase a sort of violence against Mister Allen.
Woody, life is very difficult, but it would have been worst without you.
Thanks a lot.

This is a great way to learn about Woody Allen, his craft, and his films. Organized thematically and chronologically, you see what films Allen really cares about and what he did just to fill the time. Some of his films were clearly throwaways for him. He made them because he's always working, but hardly remembers them and doesn't care to (Scoop, Small Time Crooks, Sleeper). Others are passions, like The Purple Rose of Cairo or Husbands and Wives. Allen is also, not surprisingly, self-depreciating, believing that his career is mostly self-indulgence that only a small audience appreciates. Of course, this underestimates himself and how impressive it is that he can have a regular output of one or two movies a year that, regardless of whether they are one of his best, are always well made, well acted, and interesting. The insights into how Allen works and how quickly, are interesting for fans. It also makes those of us who fancied ourselves writers realize what a true talent is. The best part of this book, there is no diversion into Allen's personal life which may be of interest to some, but not this reader. This is a great way to read about Allen's career, his collaborators, and his methods.

If you are a die hard Woody Allen fan you will love this book. It's a ringside seat to what goes on in his brain from writing to casting to directing to when the film is released. If you aren't a die hard fan, but simply like some of his movies you will appreciate him as a writer and a filmmaker. It's a really interesting book about Woody and his movies over a 30 year period!!

This is one of those rare books where we actually get a clear insight into the creative process of a great filmmaker. Techniques, style, philosophy and approach are covered in great detail. Gives awesome insight into the man and the movies he made. I really enjoyed it.

Ok I don't like Mr. Allen...I simply thrive upon his presence in this universe.

I never just saw a Woody Allen movie, read a Woody Allen short story or listened to a Woody Allen monologue...I was a participant in them. No I don't think I am psycotic, maybe a semi-adjusted bipolar person, who is cynical and overly critical about most things in this life, however swimming in the wake of Mr. Allen I somehow manage to smile at the "awful grace" of this existance. I do feel guilty since he does the heavy lifting and I benefit from it.

Recalling his movies is like recalling my first kiss, scoring my first touchdown, pineing my first broken heart or noticing death for the first time.

I recall each flick; when, where, who I saw it with, and the state of mind I left the theater to pursue the endless nuances of the adventure.

To the book. I hesitated picking it up as it is four hundred pages and did I really want to be mesmerized by Mr. Alllen and Mr. Lax during this very busy time. I resisted for almost four days then I was seduced, trapped and on my way to an intellectual orgasm that seems to continue when I turn each page.

These two guys are like friends you wish you had who made you totally comfortable hearing them talk and thilled that you are allowed to just be in the room and honored to be listening.

If you are an educator you must study it, if you are a doctor you must examine it, if you are performing artist you must value it, if you are a writer you must consume it and if you are, like myself an everyday person you gotta love it.

Bravo guys you gave me a great holiday gift.

Growing up watching the TV shows and later watching them on Christian TV, I am a great fan of theirs. I even visited their museum in California and just missed seeing Roy. I loved the book. I'm not a great reader but couldn't put it down. I even plan to read it again!

The Cowboy And The Senorita provides fans of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with a new, authorized biography based on the contributions of the Rogers family, who share their inside story of the two. From Dale's determination to be a singer despite her position as a teen single mother to Roy's first wife's death and his struggles raising three children alone, Cowboy And The Senorita packs in black and white photos and high drama to re-create the special challenges and lives of the two.

There is a reason why Roy and Dale were and are national treasures, and this book reminded me why...their convictions, integrity and humility demanded that they were off screen what they were on screen, and their fans knew it and loved them for it. This is not only a nostalgic, entertaining, and inspiring story, I found it to be direct and readable and loaded with some wonderful rare photos. This is going to be the gift I give to everyone my age and older who needs a smile and a warm memory, and to everyone my age and younger who needs real and proven human heroes to look up to and imitate.

I loved this little book. Not a Hollywood whitewash, but a real story of two people whose love of family and faith shined for a whole generation because of their earnest values and huge hearts.

Chris Enss's, The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans is one of the most heart-warming and well written biographies about the "King of the Cowboys" and the "Queen of the West." The personal stories of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans are very well crafted, and the author is able to capture the essence and soul of these two wonderful people. Ms. Enss is articulate, animated, and amazing when she read excerpts from her book at a Barnes & Noble store. Fans of her wonderful book should really meet the author in person. I truly hope an audio version of this book gets produced soon.

Being a huge Dawson's Creek fan, I just had to purchase this book and am I glad I did! The postcards are great! They truly capture the essence of the show!

Because I have already made it clear that I love Dawson's Creek, it's obvious that I would love this! The poscards are great! The pictures help to show why the show is so great!

My name is Jenn and I want to be just like Jenn on the show. she is my role model. i hope to one day be as experienced as her. think about it she gets to fool around with Dawson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is sooo awsome. I love the pictures and of course I will never send them. Ther just to cool. In all the pictures Pacey is soo cute. I love this postcard book!

I loved this postcard book. All the photos are great! I would NEVER actually send these postcards to anyone because the pictures are just too great!