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A Brief Guide To James Bond
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Book Synopsis A Brief Guide to James Bond by : Nigel Cawthorne
Download or read book A Brief Guide to James Bond written by Nigel Cawthorne and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-09-20 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's fascination with Bond is unstoppable. James Bond is the greatest British fictional hero of the post-war era. He also has a huge following in the US - and around the world - as a legendary Cold War warrior, and now as a daredevil able to take on the villains of the post-Cold War world. The Bond books are all in print. Today, Sebastian Faulks is writing new stories while Charlie Higson is writing children's versions. In this comprehensive guide to Ian Fleming, the books, the films and the world that was created out of 007, Nigel Cawthorne uncovers Bond's allure. It comes with special sections on the main characters - Q, M, the Bond Girls, and the women who first inspired them; the cars, and the incomparable baddies. It will be the ideal gift for fans and aficionados alike and will be published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of DOCTOR NO; the new film is scheduled for autumn 2012.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide To OZ by : Paul Simpson
Download or read book A Brief Guide To OZ written by Paul Simpson and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-11-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if Dorothy Gale wasn't the only person who went to see the Wizard of Oz? MGM's landmark 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, did not mark the beginning of adventures in Oz. Both before and since, dozens of tales have been told of the Marvellous Land of Oz, and its inhabitants such as the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Hungry Tiger and Jack Pumpkinhead. In this fascinating and wide-ranging book, Paul Simpson looks back at the Famous Forty - the original novels by L. Frank Baum and his successors which entranced generations of children with their wonderful world of munchkins, princesses and wicked witches. He examines the many ways in which the stories have been retold in movies - from the silent era to Disney's recent blockbuster Oz the Great and Powerful - and on television, featuring everyone from Tom & Jerry to trades union leaders. On stage, Oz has come to life in the many revivals of The Wizard of Oz musical and the worldwide reign of Elphaba in the smash hit Wicked. Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the world's best-loved film and the whole magical world of Oz with its vampires, muppets, dragons, living statues and so much more.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide To Agatha Christie by : Nigel Cawthorne
Download or read book A Brief Guide To Agatha Christie written by Nigel Cawthorne and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-06-19 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agatha Christie’s 80 novels and short-story collections have sold over 2 billion copies in more than 45 languages, more than any other author. When Christie finally killed off her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, the year before she herself died, that ‘detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep’ in Christie’s words, received a full-page obituary in the New York Times, the only fictional character ever to have done so. From her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, a Poirot mystery, to her last, Sleeping Murder, featuring Miss Marple, Crawford explores Christie’s life and fiction. Cawthorne examines recurring characters, such as Captain Arthur Hastings, Poirot’s Dr Watson; Chief Inspector Japp, his Lestrade, as well as other flat-footed policemen that Poirot outsmarts on his travels; his efficient secretary, Miss Felicity Lemon; another employee, George; and Ariadne Oliver, a humorous caricature of Christie herself. He looks at the writer’s own fascinating: her work as a nurse during the First World War; her strange disappearance after her first husband asked for a divorce; and her exotic expeditions with her second husband, the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. He examines the author’s working life – her inspirations, methods and oeuvre – and provides biographies of her key characters, their attire, habits and methods, including Poirot’s relationships with women, particularly Countess Vera Rossakoff and Miss Amy Carnaby. In doing so, he sheds light on the genteel world of the country house and the Grand Tour between the wars. He takes a look at the numerous adaptations of Christie’s stories for stage and screen, especially Poirot’s new life in the eponymous long-running and very successful TV series.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide To The Hunger Games by : Brian J. Robb
Download or read book A Brief Guide To The Hunger Games written by Brian J. Robb and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive and compelling guide to Suzanne Collins's bestselling young-adult, dystopian trilogy The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Already a publishing phenomenon to rival Harry Potter (over 50 million copies sold), the four blockbuster movies starring Jennifer Lawrence have grossed almost $3 billion dollars at the box office. Suzanne Collins has created a series of characters and situations that have struck a chord not only with the target audience of teenagers, but which have also drawn in adult readers: the series is second only to Harry Potter in NPR's popular poll of the Top 100 Teen Novels. Robb explores themes in The Hunger Games, and the influences and inspirations that lie behind the books, highlighting where Suzanne Collins has drawn on mythology and history, reshaping them to fit her universe. He examines the characters and situations created in the book and how these have impacted on the books' largely teen readership. He also looks at reactions to the books from fans and critics, both acclaim and criticisms faced by the author. Robb chronicles the adaptation of The Hunger Games from acclaimed, best-selling novel to blockbusting film. With a script by Suzanne Collins herself, the film has made stars of Jennifer Lawrence as Collins' heroine Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide to Jeeves and Wooster by : Nigel Cawthorne
Download or read book A Brief Guide to Jeeves and Wooster written by Nigel Cawthorne and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-03-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive guide to P. G. Wodehouse's two best-loved comic characters, Bertram Wilbeforce Wooster and his valet ('Reggie') Jeeves, Bertie's friends and relatives and their world of sunshine, country houses and champagne. Although the stories may seem quintessentially English, they were for the most part written in the United States by a man who spent more than half his adult life there, eventually becoming a citizen in 1955. The first stories involving the two characters are even set in New York, while those that aren't are set in an England that has never existed, contrived to appeal to an American audience. Cawthorne offers fascinating insights into Wodehouse's world, his life - on Long Island and elsewhere - the wonderful short stories and novels and the many adaptations for stage and screen.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien by : Nigel Cawthorne
Download or read book A Brief Guide to J. R. R. Tolkien written by Nigel Cawthorne and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-10-18 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A very readable overview of Tolkien and his work, incorporating a brief biography, an examination of the books and a look at the process of filming his work, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings saga. It explores how Tolkien's background as a medievalist and linguist informed the languages of Middle-earth, the influence of his Catholicism and Tolkien's legacy in fantasy. A timely book to coincide with the first of Peter Jackson's two keenly awaited Hobbit films.
Book Synopsis A Brief History of Superheroes by : Brian J. Robb
Download or read book A Brief History of Superheroes written by Brian J. Robb and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-05-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating written exploration of the superhero phenomenon, from its beginnings in the depths of Great Depression to the blockbuster movies of today. For over 90 years, superheroes have been interrogated, deconstructed, and reinvented. In this wide-ranging study, Robb looks at the diverse characters, their creators, and the ways in which their creations have been reinvented for successive generations. Inevitably, the focus is on the United States, but the context is international, including an examination of characters developed in India and Japan in reaction to the traditional American hero. Sections examine: the birth of the superhero, including Superman, in 1938; the DC family (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Justice Society/League of America), from the 1940s to the 1960s; the superheroes enlistment in the war effort in the 1940s and 50s; their neutering by the Comics Code; the challenge to DC from the Marvel family (The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and The X-Men), from the 1960s to the 1980s; the superhero as complex anti-hero; superheroes deconstructed in the 1980s (The Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Batman), and their politicization; independent comic book creators and new publishers in the 1980s and 90s; superheroes in retreat, and their rebirth at the movies in blockbusters from Batman to Spider-Man and The Avengers.
Book Synopsis The James Bond Film Guide by : Will Lawrence
Download or read book The James Bond Film Guide written by Will Lawrence and published by Eaglemoss. This book was released on 2021-12-14 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrating 60 years of James Bond films! The essential guide to all 25 Bond adventures, including No Time to Die, starring Daniel Craig! The James Bond Film Guide has it all: facts on the stories, characters, vehicles, gadgets, and locations of each 007 movie. This authorized guide takes fans through six decades of one of the entertainment industry’s greatest, most-enduring film franchises ever, and it boasts nearly 1,000 photographs, posters, and movie images from the filmmakers’ extensive archives. 007 expert Will Lawrence, author of Blood, Sweat and Bond: Behind the Scenes of Spectre, delivers an indispensable guide to what happened in which film – and when – providing everything new and longtime fans alike could ever want to know about the world of James Bond. That phenomenal world has been at the center of EON Productions’ iconic film franchise, the long-running big screen series in history, since the release of Dr. No in 1962, and continuing later this year with No Time to Die.
Book Synopsis A Brief History of Walt Disney by : Brian J. Robb
Download or read book A Brief History of Walt Disney written by Brian J. Robb and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-10-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Both a fascinating account of Walt Disney’s own significant artistic creations, from the iconic Mickey Mouse to the groundbreaking Snow White in 1937, and an insightful history of the hugely successful entertainment behemoth he created, from Dumbo to Pixar’s Toy Story, as well as the hugely popular theme parks. But Disney’s dark side is also explored: his disputed parentage; industrial disputes; his work for the FBI; and his anti-Communist and allegedly racist and antisemitic views. The company Disney built is today stronger than ever, encompassing not only the ongoing legacy of Disney animation, but also acting as the guardian of other well-loved creative endeavours, such as Pixar, The Muppets, Marvel Comics and now Star Wars. Sections include ‘Before Mickey: The Road to the Mouse House’, covering from 1901 to 1945 – the creation of Mickey Mouse, the creation of the world’s first full-length animated feature film, the Golden Age of animation and Disney’s help for the American war effort, despite labour disputes; ‘Disney Studios: The Disney Genius’ – difficult times, theme parks and television, live-action movies, including Mary Poppins; ‘Animation’s Second Coming’, from the Lady and the Tramp to The Sword in the Stone, and Walt Disney’s death; ‘After Walt: The Disney Legacy’ – family attempts to keep the studio afloat, decline and the loss of lustre in the 1970s and 1980s; ‘Disney Resurgent’ – a triumphant rebirth under new management with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Lion King and other blockbuster hits; ‘From Eisner to Iger’ – the corporate battle for the soul of Disney; ‘Disney Goes Digital’ – from Pixar to Star Wars, via Marvel Comics and The Muppets, Disney buyy up other studios, themselves often enough inspired by the original.
Book Synopsis A Brief History Of Video Games by : Rich Stanton
Download or read book A Brief History Of Video Games written by Rich Stanton and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2015-07-23 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Stanton writes with terrific verve and precision . . . his understanding of the seductive pleasures of gaming takes us right to its heart.' Maria Bustillos, Times Literary Supplement 'The best overview book of the industry that I've read.' Andrew Liptak, io9 From the first wood-panelled Pong machines in California to the masterpieces of engineering that now sit in countless homes all over the world, A Brief History of Video Games reveals the vibrant history and culture of interactive entertainment. Above all, this is a book about the games - how the experience of playing has developed from simple, repetitive beginnings into a cornucopia of genres and styles, at once utterly immersive and socially engaging. With full-colour illustrations throughout, it shows how technological advances have transformed the first dots and dashes of bored engineers into sophisticated, responsive worlds that are endlessly captivating. As thrilling and surprising as the games it describes, this is an indispensable read for anyone serious about the business of having fun.
Book Synopsis A Brief History of the Martial Arts by : Jonathan Clements
Download or read book A Brief History of the Martial Arts written by Jonathan Clements and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2016-10-13 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'If I had to pick a single general martial arts history book in English, I would recommend A Brief History of the Martial Arts by Dr Jonathan Clements' RICHARD BEITLICH, Martial History Team blog From Shaolin warrior monks to the movies of Bruce Lee, a new history of the evolution of East Asian styles of unarmed combat, from Kung Fu to Ninjutsu Folk tales of the Shaolin Temple depict warrior monks with superhuman abilities. Today, dozens of East Asian fighting styles trace their roots back to the Buddhist brawlers of Shaolin, although any quest for the true story soon wanders into a labyrinth of forgeries, secret texts and modern retellings. This new study approaches the martial arts from their origins in military exercises and callisthenics. It examines a rich folklore from old wuxia tales of crime-fighting heroes to modern kung fu movies. Centre stage is given to the stories that martial artists tell themselves about themselves, with accounts (both factual and fictional) of famous practitioners including China's Yim Wing-chun, Wong Fei-hong, and Ip Man, as well as Japanese counterparts such as Kano Jigoro, Itosu Anko and So Doshin. The history of martial arts encompasses secret societies and religious rebels, with intimate glimpses of the histories of China, Korea and Japan, their conflicts and transformations. The book also charts the migration of martial arts to the United States and beyond. Special attention is paid to the turmoil of the twentieth century, the cross-cultural influence of Japanese colonies in Asia, and the post-war rise of martial arts in sport and entertainment - including the legacy of Bruce Lee, the dilemma of the ninja and the global audience for martial arts in fiction.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide to Smart Thinking by : James M. Russell
Download or read book A Brief Guide to Smart Thinking written by James M. Russell and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2020-04-02 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each book is summarised to convey a brief idea of what each one has to offer the interested reader, while a 'Speed Read' for each book delivers a quick sense of what each book is like to read and a highly compressed summary of the main points of the book in question. The titles covered include thought-provoking classics on psychology, mindfulness, rationality, the brain, mathematical and economic thought and practical philosophy. The selection includes books about self-improvement as well as historically interesting accounts of how the mind works. Titles included go back as far as the Epictetus classic The Enchiridion and Bertrand Russell's charming The ABC of Relativity, and proceed through classics such as Edward de Bono's Lateral Thinking and into the digital era with titles such as The Shallows and Big Data. The books are arranged chronologically, which draws attention to some of the interesting juxtapositions and connections between them. Some of the titles included are: Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt; Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell; Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari; The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload, by Daniel J. Levitin; The Descent of Man, by Grayson Perry; How the Mind Works, by Steven Pinker; Black Box Thinking: Why Some People Never Learn from Their Mistakes - But Some Do, by Matthew Syed; We Should All Be Feminists, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond; The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb; Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl; The News: A User's Manual, by Alain de Botton; Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking, by Richard E. Nisbett; The ABC of Relativity, by Bertrand Russell; The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson; The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life, by Michael Puett; A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking; Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives, by Tim Harford; Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think, by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger; Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis; The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science That Could Save Your Life, by Ben Sherwood; Black Box Thinking, by Matthew Syed; Chaos: Making a New Science, by James Gleick; A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson; The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr; Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality, by Scott Belsky; The Enchiridion, by Epictetus; Gödel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas R. Hofstadter; What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami; and Lateral Thinking, by Edward de Bono.
Book Synopsis A Brief History of Gangsters by : Brian J. Robb
Download or read book A Brief History of Gangsters written by Brian J. Robb and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2014-11-20 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The romanticised American gangster of the Prohibition era has proved an enduringly popular figure. Even today, names like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano still resonate. Robb explores the histories of key figures, from gangs in the Old West, through Prohibition and the Great Depression, to the likes of John Gotti and Frank Lucas in the 1970s and 1980s. He also looks at the gangster in popular culture, in hit TV series such as Boardwalk Empire. Although the focus is strongly on the archetypal American gangster, Robb also examines gangsters around the world, including the infamous Kray twins in London, French crime kingpin Jacques Mesrine, the Mafia Dons of Sicily, and the rise of notorious Serbian and Albanian gangs. Infamous Australian outlaw Ned Kelly makes an appearance, as does Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, while other sections provide details of the Chinese Triads and the Yakuza in Japan. Robb also explores the gangster in popular culture, especially in film and television. Recent hit TV series such as The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire and blockbuster movies like Public Enemies and Gangster Squad show that the gangster is here to stay.
Book Synopsis A Brief History of the Spy by : Paul Simpson
Download or read book A Brief History of the Spy written by Paul Simpson and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2013-01-17 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the end of the Second World War to the present day, the world has changed immeasurably. The art of spying has changed too, as spies have reacted to changing threats. Here you will find the fascinating stories of real-life spies, both famous and obscure, from either side of the Iron Curtain, along with previously secret details of War on Terror operations. Detailed stories of individual spies are set in the context of the development of the major espionage agencies, interspersed with anecdotes of gadgets, trickery, honeytraps and assassinations worthy of any fictional spy. A closing section examines the developing New Cold War, as Russia and the West confront each other once again.
Book Synopsis A Brief Guide to Star Wars by : Brian J. Robb
Download or read book A Brief Guide to Star Wars written by Brian J. Robb and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-09-06 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: George Lucas was a rebel, refusing to make films in the style of the dying studio system, relentlessly pushing the technology of the day, and almost alone in understanding the potential of merchandising; but he was a rebel who built an empire. From the staggering unexpected success of the original Star Wars in 1977, when cinema attendances exceeded 20 million for the first time since 1963, through The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, then the 'dark times', the 16 years leading to the blockbusting prequel trilogy - this is the fascinating story of how it all happened. Life-long Star Wars fan and movie journalist Brian J. Robb edited the official Star Wars magazine for a decade and visited the sets of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith in Australia (observing director George Lucas at work), as well as the famous Skywalker Ranch. He has interviewed many of the stars and crew of all six Star Wars movies.
Book Synopsis A Brief History of Mathematical Thought by : Luke Heaton
Download or read book A Brief History of Mathematical Thought written by Luke Heaton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emblazoned on many advertisements for the wildly popular game of Sudoku are the reassuring words, -no mathematical knowledge required.- Anxiety about math plagues many of us, and school memories can still summon intense loathing. In A Brief History of Mathematical Thought, Luke Heaton shows that much of what many think-and fear-about mathematics is misplaced, and to overcome our insecurities we need to understand its history. To help, he offers a lively guide into and through the world of mathematics and mathematicians, one in which patterns and arguments are traced through logic in a language grounded in concrete experience. Heaton reveals how Greek and Roman mathematicians like Pythagoras, Euclid, and Archimedes helped shaped the early logic of mathematics; how the Fibonacci sequence, the rise of algebra, and the invention of calculus are connected; how clocks, coordinates, and logical padlocks work mathematically; and how, in the twentieth century, Alan Turing's revolutionary work on the concept of computation laid the groundwork for the modern world. A Brief History of Mathematical Thought situates mathematics as part of, and essential to, lived experience. Understanding it requires not abstract thought or numbing memorization but an historical imagination and a view to its origins. --
Book Synopsis The Rough Guide to James Bond by : Paul Simpson
Download or read book The Rough Guide to James Bond written by Paul Simpson and published by Rough Guides. This book was released on 2002 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
